2025 Japanese MotoGP, Motegi – Sprint Race Results
Francesco Bagnaia’s Motegi renaissance continues with his first Sprint victory of the season, from pole position, at the Japanese MotoGP.
Bagnaia led from start to finish with team-mate Marc Marquez climbing to a late second place after spending much of the race trying to pass former Honda team-mate Joan Mir, for third.
The Ducati star, winner of 14 Sprints this year, made numerous mistakes before launching a successful block pass on the 2020 champion with 4 laps to go. Once free of the RCV, Marquez quickly caught and passed KTM’s Pedro Acosta for second place.
Marquez, who only needs to outscore brother Alex by just three points this weekend to be crowned as champion on Sunday, is firmly on course with the Gresini rider outside of the Sprint points in tenth.
Jorge Martin triggered a nasty Turn 1 accident when he lunged for the inside, lost control of his Aprilia and then slammed into the side of team-mate Marco Bezzecchi.
Both needed assistance from marshals before eventually walking away. Martin – who is likely to face a penalty – was seen holding his shoulder. Alex Rins, Johann Zarco and Jack Miller were also caught up in the incident but remained on two wheels.
2025 Japanese MotoGP, Motegi – Sprint Race Results |
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| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff |
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | 20m 59.113s |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | +1.842s |
| 3 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +3.674s |
| 4 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +4.300s |
| 5 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP24) | +5.130s |
| 6 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +8.913s |
| 7 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +9.102s |
| 8 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +10.334s |
| 9 | Ai Ogura | JPN | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25)* | +10.480s |
| 10 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +11.487s |
| 11 | Fermin Aldeguer | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24)* | +13.492s |
| 12 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +13.823s |
| 13 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP25) | +15.425s |
| 14 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | Idemitsu Honda LCR (RC213V) | +16.352s |
| 15 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +18.211s |
| 16 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +20.706s |
| 17 | Somkiat Chantra | THA | Idemitsu Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +21.883s |
| 18 | Alex Rins | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +43.428s |
| Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | DNF | |
| Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | DNF | |
| Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | DNF | |
| Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | DNF | |
| Jorge Martin | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | DNF | |
* Rookie
Whatever happened, Marc Marquez couldn’t be crowned champion in today’s Sprint, but will wrap up his first MotoGP title since 2019 if he holds an advantage of at least 185 points over Alex on Sunday afternoon.
That means gaining at least 3 points on his brother this weekend.
Marc and Alex (Gresini Ducati) are the only riders still in world championship contention, with Francesco Bagnaia facing pressure from Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi for third.
Ducati has won the last five races at Motegi since Marquez’s 2019 victory for Repsol Honda, courtesy of Jack Miller (2022 GP), Jorge Martin (2023 Sprint & GP) and Francesco Bagnaia (2024 Sprint & GP).
Joan Mir and home rookie star Ai Ogura are back in action after missing the Misano test due to injuries in the San Marino race weekend.
HRC test rider Takaaki Nakagami, who injured knee ligaments when he was taken down at Brno, is the second home rider on track this weekend.
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