Marc makes history in Czech GP

The 2025 Czech Grand Prix marked five years to the weekend since Marc Márquez (Lenovo Ducati) suffered what was very nearly a career-ending break to his right humerus – and the MotoGP World Championship returned to the Brno circuit after a five-year hiatus. So it was only fitting that the now thoroughly dominant Márquez became the first Ducati rider to win five consecutive Grands Prix, after taking both the Sprint and GP double on a weekend when his closest title rival Álex Márquez (Gresini Ducati) failed to score a single point.

It didn’t all go the Spaniard’s way. A late crash in Q2 meant he had to start from second on the grid behind teammate Bagnaia; front-tyre pressure issues in the Sprint meant he had to relinquish an unassailable lead to Red Bull KTM’s Pedro Acosta before re-passing him for the victory on the penultimate lap; and while he passed holeshot-getter Bagnaia for the lead at Turn 3, a mistake on the exit of Turn 4 put him back in third behind Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing).

Bagnaia ran wide heading into Turn 1 to start lap two, which allowed Bezzecchi through, as Márquez repeated his Turn 3 move on Bagnaia – this time for second place. Acosta used the KTM’s speed to draft past front-row starter Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) for fourth. Behind them, Álex Márquez (Gresini Ducati) attempted an over-ambitious move on Joan Mir (HRC) for sixth, but both ended up gesticulating in the gravel.

One rider on the move was Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM), who – after qualifying 11th – was up to fifth behind Bagnaia by just the fourth lap of the race. With his reigning champ teammate Jorge Martín making his race return, Bezzecchi was doing his very best to keep Márquez behind him, posting three consecutive fastest laps, as the top two began to pull away from Acosta in third. Bastianini relegated Bagnaia to fifth on lap 6, but he lost the rear a couple of corners later, opening a two-second gap back to Bagnaia, with Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse Aprilia) another 0.4 sec adrift in sixth.

Márquez’s inevitable move on Bezzecchi for the lead came on lap 8, which brought Pedro Acosta back into the victory battle. But a series of fastest laps from Márquez allowed him to pull clear – times which only Bezzecchi could get near – meaning the top three were strung out by lap 12, with Bagnaia a further 1.7 sec behind Acosta.

After qualifying 12th, Martín was up to seventh behind Quartararo, as a battle for eighth began to unfold between Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) and Fermín Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati). Márquez kept finding more speed at the front – and so too did Bagnaia – his personal best lap coming on lap 16 as the gap ahead to Acosta in third began to shrink. In five laps, the 1.7 sec gap on lap 12 was down to just seven-tenths the 17th time around, as Acosta’s pit board gave him the hurry-up.

Binder got through on Miller on lap 18 – an outcome the Aussie said was a result of clutch and engine-brake issues – with Aldeguer relegating the Yamaha to 10th a few corners later. Aldeguer then got through on Binder with three laps to go, and as they crossed the line for the penultimate time, Bagnaia was just 0.289 sec from Acosta to start the final lap.

It got worse for Miller on the final lap, with Pol Espargaró (Tech3 KTM), in for the injured Maverick Viñales, snatching 10th from the Aussie – a place he was eventually given back after Fermín Aldeguer was handed a post-race penalty for a tyre pressure infringement.

Acosta responded to the late pressure from Bagnaia, and Bezzecchi fought to the end – both riders putting in their fastest laps of the race on the final time of asking. But no one had anything for Marc Márquez. The eight-time world champ crossed the line to take his eighth win of the season – his fifth GP victory on the spin – 1.7 seconds clear of Bezzecchi. Acosta was a second and a half adrift in third, putting three different manufacturers on the podium, and after his Sprint second place, the Spaniard recorded just his second-ever double podium.

For Márquez, though, it was podium number 121 and career win number 96 as the series heads into the four-week summer break.

“A super first part of the season,” is how he described it. “I’m riding super good. Now it’s time to relax, but we’ll keep the same mentality with the same intensity (in the second part of the season).”

Marc now leads the championship by 120 points – with 381 to his brother Álex’s 261. Bagnaia remains third on 213, while Bezzecchi’s recent form lifts him to fourth on 156, ahead of the VR46 pairing of Di Giannantonio (142) and Morbidelli (139).

The series will reconvene at Austria’s Red Bull Ring over 15–17 August.