Marc continues dominance in Hungary

It’s not a matter of if Marc Márquez (Ducati Lenovo) will win the 2025 MotoGP World Championship, but a matter of when, after the Spanish superstar scored his seventh double win on the spin at the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was the series’ first visit to the European country since 1992, the first at Balaton Park, but just as he did at the inaugural events in Austin, Termas and Buriram, Márquez became the first rider to spray the winning Prosecco.

It wasn’t a flag-to-flag victory for the pole-sitter and eight-time world champ. Once again, it was the in-form Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) who, from the middle of the front row, gave the Ducati man the most to think about. Contact between the pair at the tight Turn 2 caused Márquez to drop back to third place behind the VR46 Ducati of Franco Morbidelli, as Bezzecchi put his head down to try and create a gap.

By rights, it should have been Morbidelli’s teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio at the pointy end, after qualifying third and battling to second place behind Márquez in the Saturday Sprint, but electrical gremlins forced the Italian to start from pit lane.

Title rival Álex Márquez (Gresini Ducati) had a weekend to forget. After qualifying 11th, he was forced to start 14th after copping a three-spot grid penalty for irresponsible riding. It was largely inconsequential, though, when he crashed in the early stages and remounted at the back of the field.

Up ahead, Marc spent a handful of laps working out how to pass Morbidelli at a circuit that proved difficult for overtaking. Bezzecchi was making the most of his soft rear tyre and had posted three fastest laps in the first five, putting a second between himself and his fellow VR46 Academy rider.

Further back, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) — who had shown impressive speed in practice but crashed in qualifying to start seventh — was running in fourth ahead of Fermín Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) and reigning world champ Jorge Martín (Aprilia Racing). It was at Turn 8 on lap five that Márquez found a way through on Morbidelli, but the speed with which he reduced the one-second gap to Bezzecchi ahead removed any doubt as to who would win the Hungarian Grand Prix. Two consecutive fastest laps on the sixth and seventh circuits put Márquez right on the rear wheel of Bezzecchi, as Acosta also found a way through on Morbidelli for third place.

Two attempts for the lead came from Márquez on lap eight — first at Turn 1, then at Turn 5 — both of which Bezzecchi resisted to retake the lead. But another attempt into Turn 1 three laps later saw the race-winning move. A further series of fastest laps meant that by lap 13 Márquez was over 1.4 seconds clear of Bezzecchi, who now had Acosta for company.

Acosta had impressive pace, as did rookie Fermín Aldeguer, but a crash at the start of lap 14 only added to Gresini’s nightmare day. He remounted, but a shortcut at the chicane earned him a long-lap penalty. Pecco Bagnaia also took a trip through the long-lap penalty loop for the same infringement after one of his worst qualifying results — 13th — but the Gresini duo’s crashes ahead, as well as get-offs from Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM), Joan Mir (HRC), Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse Aprilia), Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha) and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda), helped limit the damage to the factory Ducati rider’s end result.

It took Acosta five laps to find a way past Bezzecchi — and even then it was an error from Bez rather than a breakthrough from Acosta that allowed the Spaniard through, illustrating just how clever Márquez had been to make his move quickly earlier on. With nine laps left of the 26-lap grand prix, Acosta was 2.7 seconds behind Márquez and just shy of half a second clear of Bezzecchi.

Morbidelli was holding firm in fourth, but came under pressure from Jorge Martín, who had excellent race pace and climbed to fifth from 16th on the grid. Luca Marini (HRC) was running strongly in sixth, ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM), wildcard Pol Espargaró (Tech3 KTM) and Bagnaia.

Like Márquez, Martín was on the medium rear tyre and was the fastest man on circuit on lap 18. He eventually found a way past Morbidelli for a season-best fourth on lap 22. Marini then tried a move at the chicane, forcing Morbidelli wide. While the shortcut Morbidelli took as a result of the lunge was understandable, he was ordered to drop a position and slotted back in ahead of Binder.

Márquez started the final lap well over three seconds clear of Acosta, who in turn was another 2.7 seconds clear of Bezzecchi. Bagnaia made a late pass on Espargaró for eighth but ran wide a couple of turns later to hand the spot back to the KTM test rider.

At the flag, 11 seconds separated Márquez in first and Martín in fourth, while Marini matched his fifth position from the Sprint to secure his strongest result of the season. Morbidelli held on for sixth after a bronze medal on Saturday, ahead of Binder, Espargaró, Bagnaia and Monster Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo in tenth. Álex Márquez picked up two points for 14th, almost 26 seconds adrift.

With 455 points, Marc now sits 175 clear of Álex on 280. Bezzecchi’s recent run of form means he’s only 31 points shy of Bagnaia, with 197 to the factory rider’s 228. Acosta (164) moves past Morbidelli (161) into fifth.

The series now heads to Marc’s backyard for the Grand Prix of Catalonia on 5–7 September.