Marc Marquez holds off Bezzecchi in tense duel at Misano

Marc Marquez wins on the way to Championship point in Motegi as the duo trade fastest laps to the flag

Having held off a heap of constant pressure from Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) in the second half of the Grand Prix, Marc Marquez’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) title-winning comeback is drawing ever closer after the #93 clinched victory on a fascinating Sunday in Misano. It means we head to the Japanese GP knowing Marquez can be crowned MotoGP World Champion if results go his way, and the only rider who can stop that from happening was third place finisher Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP).  

PRE-RACE DRAMA FOR MARTIN
Before a wheel had been turned in anger, there was drama for Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) after his RS-GP encountered an issue on the sighting lap. Because of that, he started the warm up lap from pit lane, would retake his original grid slot and then had to take two Long Lap penalties.

BEZZECCHI AND MARC MARQUEZ HIT THE FRONT
Once we got going, Bezzecchi held onto P1 at the start and just like in the Tissot Sprint, Marc Marquez got a pearling start and was immediately climbing all over Bezzecchi in P2, while Alex Marquez and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) sat in P3 and P4.

There were three early DNFs to report as Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) were both down at Turn 4 on Lap 1, with Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) crashing on Lap 3 in Sector 3. Then, Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was out of the Grand Prix on Lap 5, as fellow KTM rider Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) started to look threatening in P5.

On Lap 6, the top three – Bezzecchi, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez – were 1.5s clear of Acosta, who picked off Quartararo at Turn 8. However, a couple of laps later, Acosta’s RC16 said no more – the #37 was out after his chain fell off on the way down to Turn 8, the same problem teammate Brad Binder suffered on Friday.

Then, another big name was out of contention. This time, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). While running in P7, the Italian crashed at Turn 10 to end a forgettable weekend in Misano.

SMALL BEZ ERROR HANDS MARQUEZ THE LEAD
At the front, Bezzecchi had Marc Marquez for close company, while Alex Marquez sat around a second back in P3 on Lap 10 of 27. Then, a mistake came at Turn 8 for the leader. Bezzecchi was wide and that opened the door for the #93 to stroll on through to hit the front for the first time on Lap 12.

Now then Marco, what did you have in return? On Lap 17, the pair were separated by 0.2s as Bezzecchi clung onto Marc Marquez’s coattails, with Alex Marquez still lapping 1.1s behind. However, on Lap 20, Alex Marquez dropped to two seconds back and it looked like the fight for Sunday’s top honour was between Marc Marquez and Bezzecchi.

Lap 21 saw Marc Marquez set the fastest lap of the race, which saw the gap rise to 0.495s. Was that the warning shot? Was it the hammer blow? It was certainly a statement, but Bezzecchi responded by going slightly faster on the next lap – but it was only by 0.010s. The Italian was digging in, but would it be enough?

At this stage, it wasn’t. Marquez’s advantage rose to 0.6s with four laps to go, but then Bezzecchi threw in the fastest lap of the race. 0.3s in one lap, had Bezzecchi saved his best until the last three laps? But in response, the six-time MotoGP World Champion threw another stinging punch to set the fastest lap and go 0.5s clear.

So then it was last lap time. The gap? 0.415s. The penultimate lap was Bezzecchi’s personal best of the Grand Prix, but it didn’t look like it would be quite enough. And unfortunately for the Italian, it wasn’t. A tantalisingly tense affair saw Marc Marquez hold on to put his Sprint crash behind him and collect 25 points ahead of Bezzecchi, who did brilliantly to pile on the pressure for the second half of the Grand Prix. The top two were in a league of their own on Sunday, with Alex Marquez handing Gresini a special home turf podium 7.7s behind the top two.

THE MISANO POINTS SCORERS
Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) beat teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio as the VR46 duo finish P4 and P5, as rookie Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) leaves Misano with a solid P6. Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) continued his fine form to finish P7 on home soil, the Italian crossing the line ahead of Quartararo, Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Binder, the South African completing the top 10.

Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) was P11, Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) earned P12 ahead of Martin in P13, Augusto Fernandez (Yamaha Factory Racing Team) on the V4-Powered YZR-M1 in P14 and Thailand’s Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) in P15.

Find full results here and see you back at Misano for the test on Monday before we head for the Mobility Resort Motegi!

Follow the stories from Sunday:

- "Messi does his talking with a football, I do mine on the bike" - Marc Marquez on his Sunday win

- Bez may have been beaten but it was a stunner from the Aprilia rider on Sunday: "I gave it my all"

- "WHAT A RACE!" - listen in on the podium room with Unheard

- Alex Marquez on a confidence-boosting podium to follow up his Barcelona win

2025 Red Bull GP of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera sets another record crowd at Misano

174,821 spectators have flocked through the gates at Misano over the course of the 2025 San Marino GP, making it another new attendance record set this season - the perfect way to celebrate racing here until 2031 inclusive.

Vietti masters Misano for first victory of 2025

Blasting off from P2 and leading by the first turn, Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team) didn’t put a foot wrong as he eased to a first win of the season in front of a packed home crowd. A sensational ride by the winner and also by the rest of the podium finishers as Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) climbed from fourth to take P2 and Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) backed up his Barcelona win with P3 at the San Marino GP.

Snatching the holeshot to Turn 1 from P2 on the grid, Vietti made a lightning start to get ahead of polesitter Holgado and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) and Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP). Further back and on the exit of Turn 6, Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) was forced out and that dropped him down and outside the top ten after a decent start.

By Lap 7, the battle at the front had settled down somewhat with a gap forming between Holgado in P2 and Moreira in P3. On Lap 9, Gonzalez made a lunge at Turn 14 to pass the #10 but ran wide, allowing the Brazilian to retake third but it wasn’t done yet. Gonzalez tried again at the start of Lap 11 at Turn 1 but Moreira retaliated again at Turn 4, the battle now allowing Baltus and Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) to form a queue for the last podium place. At Turn 11, Gonzalez launched his latest attack and this time made it stick as Moreira ran off track but then, on Lap 13, the #18 found himself under attack from Baltus and the Belgian took third.

Moreira continued to drop back as he battled with Agius from Turn 10 and down to Turn 11 on Lap 15, the Australian now breaking into the top five. Meanwhile, the fight for P1 had seen Vietti stretch his advantage to over a second for the first time in the Grand Prix, now looking on course to take a first win of 2025 and a second consecutive win at Misano. Holgado was encountering problems of his own as he was under attack from a charging Baltus, who got P2 with four to go.

In the battle behind, Agius cleared Gonzalez after a Turn 1 error for the Spaniard, also allowing Moreira to come by too. However, on the penultimate lap, a mistake by Agius at Turn 8 as he ran wide, leaving him vulnerable to Gonzalez as both of them struggled for grip in the closing stages. Moreira, now a safe fourth, ready to take vital points out of the #18’s lead.

Out front though, Vietti was perfect, resisting a late charge by the #7 to take a first win of 2025 and a third podium of the season, and it also sees him become the 10th different winner of the season - a Moto2 record. Baltus was a fine second for the fifth time this season, whereas Holgado was on the rostrum again in third. Moreira got to the chequered flag in fourth ahead of Agius, whilst Gonzalez was sixth; only three points taken out of Manugas’ lead but that could prove vital going into the final six rounds of the season.

Injured back in Barcelona, it was a solid ride from Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) to take seventh place and not lose too many points to Gonzalez. David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) clinched eighth from 11th on the grid, ahead of Tony Arbolino (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) and the Italian's teammate Izan Guevara. After his Lap 1 excursion at Turn 6, Dixon came home in 16th.

Check out full results here and see you in Motegi!

Rueda snatches last corner win from Quiles in Misano thriller

Last lap, last corner. That’s a proper way to win a race, and that’s exactly what Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) did in Misano as the championship leader takes a giant leap towards the title ahead of our flyway tour. Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) was the rider to lose out on the win but it’s a return to the rostrum for the star rookie, as Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) earns a late P3 to stand on the podium for the first time since Argentina.

From the off, Joel Kelso (LEVEL-UP MTA) and Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) swapped positions three times in the opening three corners and coming out on top was the Australian. David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) made a positive start, he was P3 before he overtook Perrone for P2 going through Turn 12 and 13, as Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Rueda completed your early Moto3 top five.

By Lap 5, a front group of eight had formed that included Kelso, Perrone, Muñoz, Rueda, Fernandez, Quiles, Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and Roulstone. Then, a mistake from Muñoz. Turn 4 saw the #64 launch a move up the inside of Perrone that wasn’t really on and once Perrone - who was running his normal racing line - closed the door, contact was made. Both ran wide, with Muñoz going gravel tracking. Perrone lost a couple of places and dropped to P6, with Muñoz down in P19 and out of victory contention.

On Lap 7, Kelso and Rueda were now 0.7s up the road and at Turn 8, Rueda struck. The championship leader led for the first time, so what did the #99 have in his pocket – and what did Kelso and the chasers have in response?

The response, in fairness, was strong – especially from Quiles, who aggressively overtook Kelso on Lap 10, before the Aussie returned the favour a lap later as the top six bunched up, with Roulstone just losing touch at this stage.

With five to go, Rueda, Perrone, Kelso and Quiles were 0.6s up the road from Fernandez and Piqueras, and this could be crucial points lost for the #36. And with three to go, it certainly looked like it was between the top four for victory in Misano.

With two left, things started to heat up. Quiles and Perrone exchanged P2 in the opening sector, with Perrone coming out on top. Rueda led, but it was all change through Turn 12 and 13 and coming out of it with the race lead baton was Quiles. Perrone went from P1 to P4, as we strapped in for a last lap that now included Fernandez and Piqueras in the podium equation.

Halfway around the final loop, Quiles led from Rueda, Perrone and Fernandez, with Kelso now P5 and Piqueras P6. It all came down to the final sector and after a mistake into Turn 13, Perrone was wide and out of victory contention. Quiles held firm into Turn 14, but Rueda set up a phenomenal last corner move. A beauty right out of the top drawer saw the #99 clinch a huge 25 points to pinch the win from Quiles, as Fernandez clinched the final podium spot ahead of Kelso and Piqueras, with Perrone 0.9s off the win in P6.

Muñoz completed a fine comeback from P19 to P7, with Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completed the top 10. Roulstone crossed the line in P11 after fading in the latter half of the race, as Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), Almansa and Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) pick up the final points on offer.

So after that, Rueda takes a 78-point lead to Japan. We’ll be ready for more in Motegi!

Check out the full results from Moto3!