Francesco Bagnaia returned to the top spot in MotoGP qualifying and followed it up with Japanese GP sprint win, ahead of Marc Marquez.
Qualifying –
The trials and tribulations of Barcelona and Misano now seem like distant memories for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the double MotoGP™ World Champion snatched pole position at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, continuing a weekend that has seen him back to his best. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) put in a stunner to run the #63 close in the battle for pole too, right in contention, but forced to settle for second. Still, that equals his best ever qualifying in MotoGP. Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), meanwhile, completes the front row at Motegi as he faces down Championship point on Sunday.
Q1 JUNGLE: the race to graduate with late drama –
Q1 was full of big names; Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), home-hero Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and reigning World Champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) all aiming to graduate to Q2. Ogura and Morbidelli were the two provisionally going through with five minutes to go, with Alex Marquez only third.
Having gone into P2, Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) then crashed at Turn 5 and paid the price as teammate Alex Marquez moved into the top two to nab that spot. Morbidelli hauled himself back into P1 ahead of an impressive charge from Ogura, before Alex Marquez had the final say, taking P2 before more yellow flags came out. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had a fast one at Turn 12 and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) went down at Turn 10, halting Ogura and Martin’s Q2 charge, leaving them 13th and 17th respectively, as Morbidelli and Alex Marquez headed to the pole battle.
POLE SCRAP: Pecco the favourite, Acosta with problems –
As Q2 got underway, there was instant drama for Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who pulled back into the pits after his out-lap with a technical issue. As everyone’s first runs were coming to a close, they all chased Pecco who, having been fastest on Friday, was leading teammate Marquez and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). With the final run on the horizon though, there was plenty of time for surprises.
In the last burst of track action, a flurry of red sectors and fast lap times. Morbidelli was the first to take provisional pole before Marc Marquez snatched it away, but the surprise was Mir, who rocketed up to P1. But a career first MotoGP pole for the #36 was just usurped with less than 30 seconds on the clock as Bagnaia completed his flying lap and snatched top spot.
CHEQUERED FLAG DROPS: Pecco perfect after Mir’s mighty challenge –
At the chequered flag, it was the first pole for the #63 since Brno and just his second of the 2025 season, ahead of Mir who equals his career-best grid slot of P2 and his best-ever for Honda. It’s the factory team’s first front row since 2023 and equals Honda’s best from this year, P2 in Germany with Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR). Marc Marquez’s title chances on Sunday remain undented, however, as he took P3 and rounded out the front row, just 0.132s behind his pole-sitting teammate.
Morbidelli completes the second row having been in the pole battle throughout, just 0.259s away from Bagnaia, whilst Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) made it two Hondas in the top seven. Alex Marquez was only able to come up with P8, meaning he has work to do if he’s to stop his brother’s title celebrations this weekend. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) clinched ninth ahead of Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).
Result: https://x.com/MotoGP/status/1971769060368306248
Sprint race –
Francesco Bagnaia: back in business. Ducati Lenovo Team’s double MotoGP World Champion returned to form with an almighty bang as the Italian cruised to a Tissot Sprint gold medal at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, beating teammate Marc Marquez by 1.8s. The latter, meanwhile, takes a huge stride towards being crowned 2025 World Champion on Sunday with that P2, because Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) finished P10, meaning no points were scored in the blue corner. And after a slightly dramatic day, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) salvaged a Saturday P3 for the Austrian manufacturer.
Bagnaia grabs holeshot, Aprilia duo crash at Turn 1 –
Bagnaia earned the holeshot from pole position with Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) keeping hold of P2, as a double dose of drama unfolded for Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin as both crashed out at Turn 1. Replays showed Martin got it all out of shape on the brakes and unfortunately tumbled into the pack, with Bezzecchi the unlucky rider to also go down in the incident. Elsewhere, Marc Marquez lost a place to Acosta and at the end of Lap 1, Pecco led the field by 0.6s. Alex Marquez was P9 at the end of Lap 1, and remember, he’s the only rider who can stop Marc Marquez from clinching the title at the close of play on Sunday.
Acosta, one the move once more, pinched P2 from Mir at Turn 5. Back-to-back fastest laps of the Sprint saw Pecco edge his advantage up to 0.8s by the end of Lap 3, with teammate Marc Marquez still sitting behind third place Mir. And that stayed like it was as the Sprint clocked onto Lap 6, with Marquez’s two attempts at passing his former HRC teammate not coming off so far. Up front, Pecco’s lead was now 1.6s as the Italian set a commanding pace. Acosta was lapping 0.5s ahead of the Mir, Marc Marquez battle, with Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) 0.8s in arrears in P5.
Then, Marc Marquez did make a move stick on Mir – and it was an aggressive one too. Turn 10 was the spot, a block pass on the Honda rider, but it was a harsh move that stuck as the #93 moved into the bronze medal spot with four laps to go. Up next: Acosta. And with three laps left, Turn 10 – again – saw Marc Marquez carve up the inside of Acosta to shuffle into P2, as Alex Marquez dropped to P10 behind home hero Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team). As things stood, he was gaining nine points on his title rival, and if that remains the same tomorrow, the 2025 MotoGP crown would be his.
Bagnaia shot onto the last lap with a 2.4s lead over Marquez, with Acosta clinging onto P3 bu 0.5s over Mir. Is the #63 back to his best? Well, today he was. Vintage Francesco Bagnaia stood up on Tissot Sprint Saturday to collect his first gold medal of the season, as Marc Marquez took a giant leap towards becoming a seven-time MotoGP World Champion in Japan with P2. Acosta held off Mir for P3, 0.6s the gap between the Spaniards over the line.
Motegi’s Sprint scorers –
Mir’s P4 rounded off a very successful day for the 2020 MotoGP World Champion and HRC on home turf, as Morbidelli completed the top five. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) kept Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) behind him as the Frenchman and Italian earned P6 and P7 ahead of Raul Fernandez and Trackhouse teammate Ogura, with the Japanese rider beating Alex Marquez to the final Sprint point.
Result: https://x.com/MotoGP/status/1971827352322597014
Jorge Martin out due to collarbone injury: https://x.com/MotoGP/status/1971834504441745746
