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MotoGP™: Back in business: Bagnaia takes stunning Sprint win as Marc Marquez strides towards title

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The #63 rolls out a perfect Saturday as Marc Marquez duels Acosta and Mir to take second – setting up a title chance on Sunday

Francesco Bagnaia: back in business. Ducati Lenovo Team's double MotoGP World Champion returned to form with an almighty bang as the Italian cruised to a Tissot Sprint gold medal at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, beating teammate Marc Marquez by 1.8s. The latter, meanwhile, takes a huge stride towards being crowned 2025 MotoGP World Champion on Sunday with that P2, because Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) finished P10, meaning no points were scored in the blue corner. And after a slightly dramatic day, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) salvaged a Saturday P3 for the Austrian manufacturer.

Bagnaia grabs holeshot, Aprilia duo crash at Turn 1
Bagnaia earned the holeshot from pole position with Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) keeping hold of P2, as a double dose of drama unfolded for Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin as both crashed out at Turn 1. Replays showed Martin got it all out of shape on the brakes and unfortunately tumbled into the pack, with Bezzecchi the unlucky rider to also go down in the incident. Unfortunately, the crash saw Martin sustain a broken collarbone, ruling him out of Sunday's Grand Prix. 

Elsewhere, Marc Marquez lost a place to Acosta and at the end of Lap 1, Pecco led the field by 0.6s. Alex Marquez was P9 at the end of Lap 1, and remember, he’s the only rider who can stop Marc Marquez from clinching the title at the close of play on Sunday. Acosta, on the move once more, pinched P2 from Mir at Turn 5.

Back-to-back fastest laps of the Sprint saw Pecco edge his advantage up to 0.8s by the end of Lap 3, with teammate Marc Marquez still sitting behind third place Mir. And that stayed like it was as the Sprint clocked onto Lap 6, with Marquez’s two attempts at passing his former HRC teammate not coming off so far.

Up front, Pecco’s lead was now 1.6s as the Italian set a commanding pace. Acosta was lapping 0.5s ahead of the Mir, Marc Marquez battle, with Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) 0.8s in arrears in P5.

Then, Marc Marquez did make a move stick on Mir – and it was an aggressive one too. Turn 10 was the spot, a block pass on the Honda rider, but it was a harsh move that stuck as the #93 moved into the bronze medal spot with four laps to go. Up next: Acosta.

And with three laps left, Turn 10 – again – saw Marc Marquez carve up the inside of Acosta to shuffle into P2, as Alex Marquez dropped to P10 behind home hero Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team). As things stood, he was gaining nine points on his title rival, and if that remains the same tomorrow, the 2025 MotoGP crown would be his.

Bagnaia shot onto the last lap with a 2.4s lead over Marquez, with Acosta clinging onto P3 bu 0.5s over Mir. Is the #63 back to his best? Well, today he was. Vintage Bagnaia stood up on Tissot Sprint Saturday to collect his first gold medal of the season, as Marc Marquez took a giant leap towards becoming a seven-time MotoGP World Champion in Japan with P2. Acosta held off Mir for P3, 0.6s the gap between the Spaniards over the line.

Motegi’s Sprint scorers
Mir’s P4 rounded off a very successful day for the 2020 MotoGP World Champion and HRC on home turf, as Morbidelli completed the top five. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) kept Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) behind him as the Frenchman and Italian earned P6 and P7 ahead of Raul Fernandez and Trackhouse teammate Ogura, with the Japanese rider beating Alex Marquez to the final Sprint point.

COMING UP: comeback loading…
So with that, a P2 finish no matter what will see Marc Marquez claim the title. To put it simply, Alex Marquez has to beat his brother – and beat him well – if the championship rolls into the Indonesian GP. A huge day awaits.

Find full Sprint results HERE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow the key stories from Saturday

 

Gonzalez grabs pole as Canet faces fight back in Japan

 

Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) hit back in style in Japan, taking pole to lead a duo of rookies as closest challenger Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) was forced to settle for fifth.

  • Equal on points with Moreira but with one less win, Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) has an even bigger challenge as he failed to make it up from Q1 and starts P22
  • Dani Holgado and David Alonso make it a CFMoto Power Electronics Aspar Team P2 and P3, the former pipping the latter late on
  • Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS) is in fourth ahead of Moreira, with Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) next up
  • Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing) is next up, making his way through from Q1 and just ahead of home hero Ayumu Sasaki (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP)

Read more here and for full results, click HERE – and then tune in for more Moto2 on Sunday!

 

Rueda back on top with last dash Motegi pole 

 

Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is back on top at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, taking pole position by just under quarter of a second as he looks to hammer home his advantage ahead of a looming championship point in Indonesia. Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) impressed once more to take second place following his pole in Misano, with Joel Kelso (LEVELUP – MTA) completing the front row after getting denied late on.

  • Angel Piqueras (MT Helmets – FRINSA – MSI) is just off the front row as the #36, second in the standings, lines up fourth
  • Home hero Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) leads the Honda charge in P5, just ahead of Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) completing Row 2
  • Friday’s fastest David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Intact GP) edged out rookie Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) for P7 

Read more here, find full qualifying results HERE!