MotoGP 2025: Marc wins as Bezz shines in Misano

The history books will show that Marc Marquez (Lenovo Ducati) won the 2025 San Marino Grand Prix to set a new record for points scored in a single season, but the real star of the weekend was the ever-improving Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing).

After snatching pole position ahead of Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha), Bezzecchi led the Sprint until Marc passed him for the lead. But in a rare misstep, the Spaniard crashed out while trying to break away, handing the Italian victory.

To say Bezzecchi was “handed” the win doesn’t reflect how strong he was at his home circuit. From the front row, he nailed the holeshot in Sunday’s 27-lap Grand Prix, with Marc’s aggressive launch from fourth slotting him into second ahead of his brother Alex. Quartararo settled into fourth, followed by the VR46 Ducati pair of Franky Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) in seventh.

Bezzecchi laid down the fastest lap of the race on lap three, opening a half-second gap to Marc, but it was Acosta making the early moves. He dispatched Di Giannantonio for sixth on lap two, Morbidelli two laps later, and Quartararo for fourth on lap six. But his charge ended when his RC16 shed a chain on lap nine – the same problem that had plagued teammate Brad Binder’s KTM twice earlier in the weekend.

Marc posted personal best laps on laps seven and eight but couldn’t unsettle Bezzecchi, who immediately responded with a new fastest lap despite losing aero from his front wheel. Pecco Bagnaia’s torrid season continued when he slid out of contention, joining Joan Mir (HRC), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) and Maverick Viñales (Tech3 KTM) on the DNF list. Johann Zarco was caught up in Mir’s opening-lap crash but managed to remount. Reigning champion Jorge Martin was forced to serve a double long-lap penalty after his RSGP broke down on the sighting lap, while Yamaha riders Alex Rins and wildcard Augusto Fernandez were penalised for jumping the start.

At the front, Bezzecchi made his only major error of the weekend on lap 12, running wide at Turn 8 and opening the door for Marc. History suggested the eight-time world champion would then check out, but instead the race remained finely balanced.

At half distance, Marc held just 0.6sec over Bezzecchi, with Alex a further 0.9sec back. Morbidelli cleanly dispatched Quartararo for fourth, breaking the Frenchman’s resistance before Di Giannantonio, Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) and Luca Marini (HRC) also slipped through.

Every time Marc tried to escape, Bezzecchi answered. By lap 21, Alex was over two seconds adrift in a lonely third, while the top two remained inseparable. Marc fired in a new fastest lap, but Bezzecchi clung to him, setting up the prospect of a last-lap showdown to thrill the Misano faithful.

Bezzecchi set another fastest lap on lap 23, only for Marc to immediately respond. Despite giving everything to muscle his Aprilia into striking distance, Bezzecchi fell just short, with Marc taking his 73rd premier-class win by less than half a second – and earning his first championship match point for Motegi, Japan.

“Besides [losing] the victory, this is maybe the best race of my life,” Bezzecchi said in Parc Fermé. “I gave my whole, I’m destroyed, I wanted to give the fans the best show that I could.”

Alex Marquez completed the podium, almost eight seconds behind brother Marc, ahead of Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio, Aldeguer, Marini and Quartararo. Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha) and Binder – the only KTM finisher – rounded out the top 10. Aussie Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha) climbed from 21st on the grid to finish 12th.

Calling it one of the toughest races he’s faced on the factory Ducati, Marc admitted he felt the pressure of winning both Italian Grands Prix for the Bologna brand. “It was super important – and I did it,” he said, celebrating by stripping off his leathers on the podium and waving them to the crowd in a Lionel Messi–style gesture.

Marc now sits on 512 points to Alex’s 330. Bagnaia’s third place in the standings is under threat from Bezzecchi (237 to 229), with Acosta fifth on 188. Miller remains 17th with 58 points.

The series now heads to Japan, where Marc will have his first chance to seal the 2025 MotoGP World Championship in the full-length Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, 28 September.