A mid-race crash by Marc Marquez handed Marco Bezzecchi the MotoGP Sprint race victory at his home race in Misano.
The Rimini-born rider turned his pole position into his first Sprint race victory of the year, marking a first for Aprilia in 2025.
Pole sitter Bezzecchi established a quick getaway to take the holeshot into Turn 1, but fourth-placed qualifier Marc Marquez overtook his brother around the outside at Turn 2.
The Spaniard continued his aggressive start but still couldn’t find a way past the Aprilia. Marquez was strongest in the first, second, and final sectors, while Bezzecchi managed to break away at the fast Turn 11.
Bezzecchi noticed Marquez’s speed and on Lap 3 set the fastest lap of the race, extending his advantage to 0.5s.
At Turn 2 on Lap 5, Frenchman Fabio Quartararo crashed out from fourth place, unable to keep up with the Ducatis and Bezzecchi.
Bezzecchi’s 0.6-second lead vanished over the course of the lap, and the championship leader made his move at Turn 6 on Lap 6.
It seemed the RS-GP struggled in the corners, but his drop to second place didn’t matter as Marquez lost the front at Turn 15 and crashed out for the first time in Saturday’s short race this season.
Marquez got up immediately and headed back to the garage without a fuss, leaving Bezzecchi under pressure from the second Marquez brother.
From then on, Bezzecchi controlled the race to take the Sprint victory and secure an important 12 points for his third-place championship fight.
The Italian crossed the line a second ahead of Gresini rider Alex Marquez, marking his first top-step appearance since the main race at Silverstone.
Fabio Di Giannantonio fended off his VR46 Ducati team-mate Franco Morbidelli to claim the final podium place.
Pedro Acosta finished in fifth place for KTM as he finished three seconds behind the dominant Ducati.
Fermin Aldeguer narrowly missed out as he finished a tenth behind, but both riders overtook Honda’s Luca Marini throughout the race.
Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martín salvaged eighth place, closely followed by Trackhouse’s Raul Fernández, putting three Aprilia riders in the points.
Last year’s race winner Enea Bastianini rounded off the top 10 positions, while Honda’s Johann Zarco claimed 11th after a disastrous qualifying.
Rookie Ai Ogura posted 12th for Trackhouse, while factory Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia finished a subpar 13th despite all the drama out front.
Jack Miller and Pramac finished in 14th after defeating Maverick Vinales and team-mate Miguel Oliveira in the closing stages.
Yamaha’s Alex Rins and Augusto Fernandez followed behind, with Somkiat Chantra closing out the proceedings.
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