MÁRQUEZ WINS AT MOTEGI AS BEZZECCHI HOLDS OFF LATE CHARGE FOR PODIUM

Alex Marquez endured a disastrous Motegi weekend, crashing out of both the sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix. He had qualified fifth, the second-best Ducati rider, but his failed first-lap attack on Pedro Acosta ended his sprint and earned him two long-lap penalties for the Grand Prix.

Marquez made a strong start on Sunday, finishing the opening lap fourth after passing Acosta. He served the first penalty on lap five and dropped to fifth, then fell to eighth after taking the second. He remained there until a crash ended his race—his third fall of the weekend.

The Spaniard said two mistakes, one in the warm-up and one in the race, had left him frustrated regardless of his position. He explained that he had placed his foot incorrectly on the bike and, while leaned over, shifted up twice instead of down once. “That’s why I crashed: the bike pushed forward while leaned over,” he said. “These are mistakes I can’t afford to make. Especially not twice on the same day.” The same gear-selection error had caused his warm-up fall. Two scoreless races cost him eighth in the championship, with Francesco Bagnaia moving ahead.

The hard rear tyre was another talking point after Michelin recommended the hardest option for Sunday following the sprint. No rider had tried it during Friday or Saturday, but the entire field used it in the Grand Prix. Marquez recalled his team joking that if the tyre worked, “it proves we all know nothing about motorcycles.” Its performance surprised the riders.

Ai Ogura also made the most of a busy Japanese Grand Prix, finishing sixth after starting 11th. The Trackhouse rider had struggled to break into the top 10 early in the weekend, though he later reached Q2. He had been fifth in the sprint, a result helped by Alex Marquez’s crash, and began Sunday by passing Di Giannantonio, Moreira and Zarco before joining a fight for fifth with team-mate Raul Fernandez and Acosta.

Ogura said he had a plan after getting past Acosta and felt quicker than Fernandez, but Acosta kept pace and passed him again. Back behind Fernandez, Ogura found that his team-mate maintained his speed to the finish without making mistakes. “That put quite a strain on me mentally,” he said. “Sixth is okay, but it could have been even better for the fans.” He added that thinking about next year’s home Grand Prix was motivating him.

Ogura finished 15 seconds behind race winner Marc Marquez and 13 seconds behind the leading Aprilia of Jorge Martin. He said the tyre choice had been uncertain even in warm-up, with many expecting to use the medium before the field switched to the hard. “I can’t complain, and after the race the wear looked perfect,” he said. With fifth and sixth in Japan, and Fabio Di Giannantonio scoring no points, Ogura moved up to fifth in the championship on 239 points ahead of the Indonesian Grand Prix.

Fabio Quartararo salvaged ninth place in the sprint after a strong Friday qualifying effort failed to translate into a competitive grid position. The Yamaha rider had set a 1:43.230 in Friday’s timed practice, earning direct entry to Q2 in seventh and beating championship leader Jorge Martin. But his 1:43.0 in Q2 was not enough: all 11 other riders in the session posted 1:42s, leaving Quartararo 12th on the grid.

He held his position through the opening corner, then moved up to ninth after Alex Marquez ran wide at Turn 1. Quartararo stayed there to the finish, taking the final point. He said he had expected to finish 12th or 13th, so ninth was the best realistic result once the three riders who crashed—Marquez, Pedro Acosta and Fabio Di Giannantonio—were taken out of the equation. “Of course, we’ll take the point, but we know our potential,” he said.

The result was not the only thing Quartararo enjoyed. Running a soft rear tyre, he spent much of the race about a second behind fellow Frenchman Johann Zarco and Raul Fernandez, watching their battle unfold. “I had a lot of fun in that race,” he said. “What Johann and Raul were doing in front of me was a pleasure to watch. The two of them were riding as if the world championship title was at stake.”

Quartararo did not have the pace to challenge them and crossed the line 1.7 seconds behind the pair, more than 10 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez. He remained 11th in the championship standings ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, just behind Honda rookie Somkiat Chantra.

Toprak Razgatlioglu finished 17th, 39.2 seconds behind Marc Marquez, in another difficult outing for Yamaha. Fabio Quartararo was 12th in the Grand Prix, while Razgatlioglu crossed the line ahead of only the injured Di Giannantonio and team-mate Jack Miller. Despite the result, the Turkish rider was in good spirits, while acknowledging that his best efforts were not enough.

Razgatlioglu said he was still struggling to extract performance from Michelin tyres and wanted the Yamaha to behave differently under braking. He also found adapting his riding style harder than expected. “In the races I’m better, but I don’t consider that my reality,” he said, explaining that a better feeling on the bike and the ability to brake in the right areas would bring faster lap times and stronger races. The front wheel’s tendency to lock or bounce was limiting his progress. He managed to pass Di Giannantonio, whom he believed was having problems, but could not get past Alex Rins. “I’d have scored no points anyway, because I lose everywhere,” he said. “Could I ride more with my style and be more relaxed, I’d be much stronger.”

After 32 of 44 races, Razgatlioglu had 18 points and sat 21st, with only long-term injured Maverick Vinales lower among the 22 full-time riders. He also backed Nicolo Bulega, the new Superbike champion who is set to join VR46 Ducati in MotoGP in 2027. Bulega’s experience testing MotoGP machinery and Pirelli tyres meant he was “more ready than anyone else,” Razgatlioglu said, adding that his younger age and riding style suited the class. “He’ll be strong in MotoGP too.”