BAGNAIA WINS AT MOTEGI AS MARQUEZ CLAIMS THE WORLD TITLE

Before the Japanese Grand Prix, Jorge Martin arrived as championship leader, 12 points ahead of Marc Marquez after the Austrian round, where Martin had taken pole and outpaced his title rivals in both races. Marco Bezzecchi was third, 42 points behind Martin, and no longer had a mathematical route to the lead in Japan.

Martin said the championship remained wide open and that consistency would matter over the long season. “That Marc is now the first rival, I see as a privilege,” he said. He also praised home favourite Ai Ogura, saying the Japanese rider had shown all season that he belonged among the best and had returned from the break with an impressive performance. Martin considered Ogura one of the riders still in contention for the title that year.

Despite his recent success, Martin said he did not yet regard himself as the fastest rider. He felt Marquez and Bezzecchi still had more speed, and said he needed to get more from himself and the Aprilia. He described the season as a mix of setbacks, such as Aragon, and strong responses, including Austria, where he had been “very happy” to bounce back. Martin had also won the Motegi sprint in 2023 after starting from pole.

Motegi’s 2025 Japanese Grand Prix ultimately delivered a remarkable Ducati double: Pecco Bagnaia won both the sprint and the main race, while Marquez secured the MotoGP world championship by finishing second on Sunday. It was a major comeback for the Spaniard, whose previous premier-class title had come six years earlier.

The paddock arrived from Misano with Marquez fresh from a dominant victory and on the verge of a ninth world title across all classes. Bagnaia, by contrast, had endured a difficult run and was described as being at a sporting low point. Early practice offered little hint of the Ducati success to come: Bezzecchi led for Aprilia, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Marquez third. Bagnaia ended the session seventh but found enough confidence to qualify well. The Ducati Lenovo riders lined up together on the front row, separated by Honda’s Joan Mir. Acosta qualified fourth, while Bezzecchi was ninth and Aprilia teammate Martin further back.

Saturday’s sprint brought a dramatic crash. Martin took out Bezzecchi at the first corner, leaving Martin with a broken collarbone and forcing Bezzecchi to work with Aprilia’s physiotherapist to recover for Sunday. Bagnaia led the sprint and beat Marquez by less than two seconds. Acosta completed the podium, with Mir fourth.

Bagnaia carried that form into the Grand Prix, finding the confidence and feel that had eluded him in the preceding races. He led for much of the contest, but his Ducati began producing intermittent clouds of smoke, raising fears of a serious mechanical failure. Marquez, following behind, also had to contend with the possibility that a breakdown could spill oil onto the track. Both bikes made it to the finish: Bagnaia took a second victory of the weekend, and Marquez crossed the line in second to clinch the title. The result gave Ducati a one-two and turned the weekend into a celebration for the team.

Mir finished third, while Bezzecchi, still recovering from Saturday’s crash, took fourth. Acosta spent ten laps running second behind Bagnaia before losing grip and crashing on lap 18. He remounted and finished 17th.

Ai Ogura scored the final point in the sprint, but Trackhouse withdrew him from Sunday’s race because pain from an incompletely healed injury remained too severe. Honda test rider Takaaki Nakagami finished the sprint but crashed out of the Grand Prix.

At the next event, Bagnaia scored no points after finishing last in the sprint and crashing in the race. Marquez also suffered a setback: Bezzecchi crashed into the new champion in the sprint, leaving him injured. Motegi’s celebrations were followed almost immediately by a reminder of how quickly MotoGP’s highs can turn into lows.