Reigning champ dominates as Aprilia stumbles at MotoGP home race

When Marc Marquez (Lenovo Ducati) left the last Italian Grand Prix in Mugello, Aprilia had dominated and he was 102 points behind then championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). So with Bezzecchi becoming the fastest-ever rider around the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli to snatch pole position with a new all-time lap record during Round 14, the San Marino GP was looking like it was shaping up to be more Aprilia home-round supremacy.

But Marc Marquez grabbed the holeshot of the 13-lap Sprint race and went on to win it from Bezzecchi and his championship-leading Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin. Pole man Bezzecchi knew he needed some early aggression in the main race to keep the factory Ducati behind him into the first corner, and that’s exactly what we saw.

It was all going to plan, too. The Aprilia man got the perfect launch and the holeshot, was ultra defensive during the first half of the lap and had a few bike lengths on Marquez, who had Martin, front-row starter Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) all in tow. But it all came unravelled at Turn 12, when the front end of his Aprilia RS-GP washed out and the home favourite broke the hearts of 100,000 onlookers to notch up his fifth Sunday DNF.

And while Marc Marquez inherited the lead, it was his brother Alex who was on the move, climbing from ninth on the grid to fifth. He posted the fastest lap of the race on lap three, passing teammate Aldeguer in the process and moved through on Acosta on lap four to take third. He was the quickest rider on circuit again on lap five as Jorge Martin looked to increase what was then a 14-point lead in the championship standings.

The Aprilia man snatched the lead from Marc Marquez at Turn 4 on lap seven, and for a moment the older Marquez looked to be in trouble as he was the slowest rider of the top five. Martin started lap nine three-quarters of a second clear of the nine-time world champ, with Alex now all over the rear wheel of his older brother as Acosta behind was the quickest of the lot.

Whatever it was holding Marc up disappeared. He posted a personal best lap of the race on lap 10, got within two tenths of the Aprilia rider on lap 11 and sliced past his RS-GP in the Turn 4 and 5 change of direction to seize the lead. Alex in third was still fast, and at half-race distance it was a three-way battle for the lead with nothing separating the three Spaniards in front of a record Italian crowd.

Both Marc and Acosta posted more personal best lap times as Martin struggled to keep the pace. Alex passed the Aprilia man for second on lap 14 before Acosta snatched the final podium position off him just two laps later. Later citing arm-pump as the reason he couldn’t run the same pace as his rivals, the biggest blow came from Aldeguer on lap 20, when the Gresini man relegated him to fifth place which meant the 19-point advantage he had when he arrived in Misano was now reduced to zero – assuming Marc Marquez made it to the finish line first.

Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) was sixth, ahead of the first Italian on circuit Luca Marini (HRC), while Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) completed the top 10.

Alex, sporting Marco Simoncelli tribute livery to mark 15 years since the Italian’s passing, wasn’t giving up without a fight. With seven laps to go, Marc was 0.7 seconds clear. The gap came down to half a second with five to go, but Acosta and Aldeguer both found some late-race pace with the latter putting in the fastest lap of the race on lap 22 of 27.

Despite Alex’s efforts, a rider with Marc’s experience wasn’t going to let an opportunity like that slip through his fingers and he held firm to cross the finish line almost seven-tenths clear of his younger sibling, who in turn was 1.5 seconds clear of Acosta at the flag.

Aldeguer finished a relatively lonely fourth ahead of Martin and Raul Fernandez to make it an all-Spanish top-six. Di Giannantonio and Bastianini both found a way through on Marini for seventh, eighth and ninth, while Quartararo completed the top 10.

Joining Bezzecchi in the DNF column was Aussie Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha), Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda), Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati), Joan Mir (HRC), Alex Rins (Monster Yamaha) and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda).

And now, with seven races left to run, Marc Marquez has collected 274 points and seized the lead in the world championship for the first time all season as he sits equal on points with Jorge Martin. Bezzecchi’s crash sees him fall 33 points adrift in third, with Di Giannantonio (223 points) and Acosta (209) rounding out the top five. Miller remains in 19th with 28 points.

The series now heads straight to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for Round 15, which kicks off in just five days’ time.