Ducati

A spectacular one-two for the Ducati Lenovo Team in Motegi’s Sprint: Francesco Bagnaia on the top step, with Marc Márquez in second place

First Sprint win of the season for Bagnaia


The Ducati Lenovo Team came out victorious in the Japanese Sprint with Francesco Bagnaia, who dominated the 12-lap encounter at the Mobility Resort Motegi. Marc Márquez finished the race in second place, further strengthening his chances to clinch the World Championship title already at the end of tomorrow’s race.

Bagnaia had the perfect start from pole – which he secured courtesy of the new outright lap record set in Q2 – and pulled away in the early stages before managing the lead up to the chequered flag. After starting from the front row, Márquez upped his pace later in the encounter, first moving up to third place with five laps left before overtaking Acosta for second two laps later.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will resume proceedings tomorrow morning at 9:40 local time (GMT +9) for the warm up, which will be followed by the Grand Prix of Japan, contested over 24 laps from 14:00.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“Winning is always important, but to do so in the Sprint, where I’ve always struggled this year, is truly something special. We never gave up and this is the result. I’m really happy and now we look forward to what’s ahead of us while continuing to do our best; I really hope we’ve found the key to turn things around. Let’s see how tomorrow goes, but we know we have the potential on our side. We need to get a good start, manage the situation, and try to stay in the battle for the win. Our goal is still the top five.”

Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd
“We kept improving throughout the race. I was attentive in the early stages, trying to avoid any unnecessary risk. I took some pressure off my shoulders as the laps went by and got back to enjoying riding the bike. It wasn’t easy to get to second position as the riders ahead are among the best under braking, and therefore very hard to overtake. I know there’s something big coming and it’s getting even closer: I can’t say I’m fully relaxed, but today we still made another crucial step towards our goal.”


************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 MotoGP 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. Unfortunately, the crash saw Martin sustain a broken collarbone, ruling him out of Sunday's Grand Prix.

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, on 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 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.

COMING UP: comeback loading…
So with that, a P2 finish no matter what will see Marc Marquez claim the title. To put it simply, Alex Marquez has to beat his brother – and beat him well – if the championship rolls into the Indonesian GP. A huge day awaits.


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Pramac Yamaha

The Sprint Race, which awarded the first points of the Japanese GP, 17th stage of the MotoGP calendar, did not smile on Prima Pramac Yamaha. At the opening corner, Jorge Martin tangled with Marco Bezzecchi, triggering a dramatic incident. Miguel Oliveira somehow avoided going down but was forced to drop to the back, beginning a long chase through the field that ended with 15th place.

Jack Miller also narrowly avoided being collected in the melee and then put together a solid race, climbing from 14th on the grid to the edge of the top ten, only to slide out on the final lap at turn 9 while holding 11th. Tomorrow at Motegi, the full-distance 24-lap race offers a chance of redemption, with both riders aiming to exploit their consistent race pace to bring home points.

Japanese GP schedule:
Sunday: 9.40 (2:40 CET) Warm-up; 14.00 (7:00 CET) Race (24 laps – 115,22 km)

GINO BORSOI
Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
“It‘s a real shame about Jack‘s crash on the last lap—it shouldn‘t have happened, and we need to work out how to help him avoid this kind of mistake in the future. The position he was holding at that moment was exactly where we expected him to be, fighting on the edge of the top ten, which reflects our current speed. Miguel, on the other hand, was very unlucky. Martin‘s crash at Turn 1 cost him so much time and so many places, stopping him from finishing higher, which we believe he could have.”

MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“It was a very tough race. So much happened at Turn 1, and honestly I was lucky not to get caught up in it. From that moment on, with the result already compromised, I focused mainly on understanding how to improve the feeling with the bike for tomorrow. We believe we have some good ideas to take another step forward, even though I expect a difficult race. The goal is to bring home some points.”

JACK MILLER
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“I set a good lap time in Q1, but unfortunately it wasn‘t enough to make it into Q2. The race was going well and I felt comfortable in my position. The front tire pressure was quite high, but I had no warning signs until the last lap at Turn 9, where unfortunately the bike gave way. There‘s not much more to say, I‘m very disappointed in myself and sorry for the team. Still, we have tomorrow, and we‘ll try to bring home a better result.”

************The Mobility Resort Motegi track has not been going easy on the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad so far, with both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales ending a disappointing Super Saturday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan. After respectively qualifying in 21st and 23rd on the grid, Bastianini retired from the sprint race this afternoon following a technical issue, while Viñales continued to struggle with his RC16, and completed the 12 lap-shootout in 16th.

Qualifying
As expected looking at the timesheets of Friday’s Practice, qualifying at Motegi turned out to be a tight one, once again. Twenty riders closed the opening FP2 this morning less than one second from each other, with Enea Bastianini taking the 18th time and Maverick Viñales in P20. As Q1 began, both Bastianini and Viñales joined a busy session, alongside the likes of Alex Marquez, missing out on Q2 for the first time this season! In his first run, Bastianini's best lap was a 1’44.178 that had him in a provisional P11 (+0.749), while Viñales sat in P14 at the pit stop with a 1’44.710. In the second run, both riders did not find the way to improve their lap times, and those earlier laps remained their best. Bastianini was set to start the Japanese Grand Prix from P21, and Viñales in P23 as he closed the starting grid.

Tissot Sprint
The sun was still shining at 3pm in Motegi for the Tissot Sprint, when both Bastianini and Viñales lined up at the back. As lights were out, both Red Bull KTM Tech3 riders negotiated a solid start as they sneaked on the inside of T1 to pass through the big crash of Aprilia Racing’s duo, Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi. Bastianini had gained 8 positions in the first corner to sit just right behind Jack Miller, in P13. Enea settled in the first couple of laps in that position, keeping it up with a constant gap of 0.4 seconds to Miller. However, Brad Binder was behind, and in the last corner of lap 4, the South African passed through Bastianini, who was now in 14th. Unfortunately, the number 23 was forced to retire following an unfortunate technical issue on lap 7 out of 12, calling it an end for the day. Maverick Viñales had also ceased his opportunity as Martin and Bezzecchi were out at T1, and he powered through to P14 from P23 in just a few turns at the sprint start, behind teammate Binder. However, he dropped two positions in the next sequences as he lost some mid-group battles. One lap done, and that was P16 behind Fabio Di Giannantonio, but soon, wild card and local hero Takaaki Nakagami challenged Maverick for 16th. The number 12 appeared to suffer during the early laps, and we saw him drop to 18th at the end of lap 3, overtaken by both Nakagami and Zarco, and next, it was Oliveira’s turn. Maverick was in P19 half way through the sprint. He eventually crossed the checkered flag in 16th following a few other race incidents. Difficult Japanese campaign so far for the squad, so heads down, and a lot of work awaiting us overnight to arrive on Sunday in better shape. Do not miss the main event of the Motul Grand Prix of Japan tomorrow, at 14:00 local time (UTC+9), for 24 laps, as we might have a new – or returning – king crowned!

Maverick Viñales: "I have two corners here with fast changes of direction from right to left, where I am feeling a bit weaker because of my shoulder, but overall I am quite impressed with how much I have improved, so it is a step forward from that side. However, on the bike's side, I have not been feeling good on it since our return, the dynamic has been different, with a lot of slides at the front, and I am unable to be fast. It feels like we need to start from zero again. Our target at the moment is to recover the bike, and get back to what I had before my injury. I am pushing the factory to bring back the aero package that I liked, so let's see! Once we feel good again, we can start thinking of being competitive again. For tomorrow, let's see, we will give our best."

Enea Bastianini: "Unfortunately, we had an engine problem in the sprint, so we had to retire. Sad end to the day, which was not great to be honest. I was expecting a bit better because I felt good towards the end of Practice yesterday. Nothing was better for us today while all other riders improved, and I was a bit unlucky with the yellow flags in Q1 this morning. Anyway, when you start from P21, you know it is going to be difficult. I jumped to P13 at the sprint start because of the crash at T1, which was nasty, so I was in a better position, but anyway, we did not really get a chance. Japan is quite frustrating so far, because one of our strongest points with the KTM is the braking, and we are struggling here, despite the track being very demanding in that area. When I arrive in the corners with a lot of speed, I can't stop the bike because the front locks, and it is compromising a lot of my exits. Hopefully we can find something for tomorrow, either way, it will be very hard to fight for the top 10. "

Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: "The result of today's sprint race is a short summary of the weekend we are having in Japan so far, unfortunately. Both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales are facing issues that we are struggling to solve. It is clear that Maverick is still not at his 100% physically, but it is not the main problem of the weekend, because he is not feeling right on the bike at the moment. There is an issue bothering him, and we are doing everything we can to fix it so he can feel much better in tomorrow's main race. The story is similar for Enea, with the same issue on the bike more or less, and he does not have the confidence from the past races, and having to retire from the sprint after a technical issue is not great. We see some positives thanks to Pedro Acosta's performance, so we know our package works and we have room for improvement, so let's go back to our computers, carefully study everything, and hopefully we can help both riders feel better for Sunday."

************"Fabio delivered a strong performance in qualifying this morning and showed some good defensive riding again this afternoon. Slotting into sixth early on, he defended that position well. He withstood Marini's pressure, and it earned him and our team four points. Álex was unlucky at the start. Though not personally involved in the Turn 1 incident, he was forced into the gravel to avoid the chaos. The gravel traps here are quite deep, so it requires skill and patience to bring the bike back onto the track safely. It ended his chances to fight with rivals today, but we have another opportunity tomorrow. We'll use today's data to maximize our potential for the main race."

FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"I couldn't attack the front group, so I had to defend my position instead. I pushed to the maximum, and I did some 1'44s at the beginning, which is quite fast for us. But today our pace was not enough to fight with the top guys. Tomorrow's longer race will also be a challenge, but I know how hard I can brake here. Luca had more pace than me today, but I had to defend my position, and I was quite good."

ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"After almost colliding with the bike of Martin or Bezzecchi and nearly crashing in the first corner, I went straight. I saw that bike from up close, and I was very lucky. In this type of crash you can get hurt easily. After that, losing 30 seconds on the first lap, I was riding by myself. We changed the set-up a bit today, and though I was not feeling super good on the bike, my pace was not bad: there were some 1'44s and some 1'45s. We need to analyse the data well. For tomorrow, we will go back to the previous setting and see how it compares. I'm looking forward to a do-over."Gresini Ducati

ALEX MARQUEZ #73
“After such a Friday, it was very hard to be competitive and among the best today. Having said that, it was a positive Friday as we made our way into Q2 with a surely improved feeling compared to yesterday. There’s plenty to analyse and work on in order to have a productive warmup.”

FERMIN ALDEGUER #54
“The start was a challenging one, as I saw Jorge getting past me in a very critical area. What’s important is that he recovers as soon as possible. The race itself wasn’t a bad one, but the front-tyre temperature, after two to three laps behind an opponent, became difficult to manage. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

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KTM

Saturday morning saw Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales, still in the rehab phases from his left shoulder injury, end the session with P18 and P21 and P23 positions respectively on the grid. Acosta faced a technical issue that delayed his participation in Q2 but was able to salvage a forceful attempt for Pole and was just 0.158 away, meaning P4.


The Sprint laid rubber for 12 laps. Acosta muscled into P3 and then into P2, which he held for most of the duration until Marc Marquez made a late lunge. Pedro crossed the line for 3rd place, 3.6 seconds from the winner. Bastianini produced a brilliant surge to reach as high as 13th, with Binder for company as both avoided a first turn melee, but the Italian did not reach the flag. The South African, who’d suffered a quick fall at Turn 12 earlier in the day, persevered to score 12th while Viñales rode to 16th.

The Japanese Grand Prix build-up now begins in earnest and the 24-lap race will start at 07.00 CEST and 14.00 local time.

Pedro Acosta, 4th in qualification, 3rd in the Sprint: “We have to be happy. We had the crash yesterday and not many laps in qualifying. The team also had to work hard after Q2 and we didn’t get too nervous. In the end we had the pace for the podium. With the medium tire tomorrow it will be another kind of race and difficult for everyone but we have the speed to make a good one. I feel we have potential for more. It will be a race of management.”


Brad Binder, 18th in qualification, 12th in the Sprint: “Not too much to say really. On the start with all the carnage I got really hung out to dry and I was really lucky to escape all the mess. After that I tried to come through but it was super-difficult to overtake so many bikes. I managed to pass a couple of guys but I was battling with upright spin. We’ll have to make a plan for tomorrow.”

Maverick Viñales, 23rd in qualification, 16th in the Sprint: “My shoulder is better than expected but I have two corners for quick change of direction where I have a bit of a handicap. For the rest I am impressed by how I have been able to improve and how the shoulder is feeling. I’m quite positive that every weekend is a step forward. We need to make an analysis with the bike because we have a lot of front-end sliding and I cannot be fast. We have to make a reset and recover the feeling I had before.”

Enea Bastianini, 21st in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “Yesterday afternoon I was confident of improving but in the end nothing was better and the others improved. During qualifying I had the yellow flag three times and it was impossible to do a better result for the grid position. When you start behind like this then it’s difficult.I am hoping to find something for tomorrow because like this…it is very frustrating.”

Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We have quite mixed feelings. Once again a great performance by Pedro. After a few issues he managed two laps in Q2 and 4th on the grid was very good. He showed his level in the Sprint by fighting at the front and keeping his podium position. A positive run for tomorrow and we hope we can show the same potential in the longer GP race, maybe with the harder rear tire option. With Brad, unfortunately the start position was quite far but he was fighting well in the Sprint and after the first corner accident we’re OK with 12th. Enea and Maverick did not have the best day of the season: technical issues and Maverick’s higher targets lay ahead in the races to come.”

************14th for Nakagami in Japanese GP Sprint

A busy day for home hero Takaaki Nakagami and the Honda HRC Test Team as the combination hunted for more performance. With a productive Friday under their belts, Honda’s Test Team set about getting the maximum performance out of the weekend in Motegi. Nakagami converted 20th on the grid to a solid 14th after the 12 lap Sprint.

Takaaki Nakagami 30
Rider – MotoGP

“Today is a strong day for Honda and it is nice to see the improvements coming for all Honda riders. Honestly speaking I was hoping for a bit more, it was a good recovery from 20th to 14th but the feeling with the bike was not the same as earlier. The engineers and I have time tonight to check everything and make a plan for tomorrow, today’s Sprint was more difficult than I would have liked. More to come, we don’t stop working.”

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Honda HRC

Mir grabs debut Honda front row with sensational lap of Motegi

A long-awaited return to the front row of the grid as Joan Mir equalled his best MotoGP qualifying result, putting his Honda in second before a spirited race to fourth. Honda HRC Castrol teammate Luca Marini locked in another top ten performance and increased his points total.

For the first time since the Italian Grand Prix in 2023, a factory Honda RC213V machine found its home on the front row of the grid. The result and subsequent performance in the Sprint race is the next step in Honda HRC’s continual journey back to the form which has amassed more than 800 wins across all classes. Boosted by recent upgrades, Joan Mir moved the Honda HRC Castrol garage to the edge of their seats as he went fastest with just a few minutes left in the Q2. His 1’43.003 – almost a second and a half faster than his 2024 qualifying time – would earn Mir second on the grid, his debut front row as a Honda HRC rider and his first since the 2022 Portuguese Grand Prix. A result which was met with great delight by Honda HRC staff and management.

Elation after a season of hard work and heavy knocks, Mir and the team quickly regained their steely focus for the Sprint. Starting well, the #36 held onto second for several laps before he became embroiled in an intense battle with champion elect Marc Marquez. Fourth at the chequered flag, Mir followed his qualifying performance with a career best finish in the Sprint race. A significant boost to morale and motivations, the targets for Sunday are clear.

The metronome that is Luca Marini continued to work away as he headed the third row of the grid in seventh, 1.4 seconds faster than his time set here in 2024 and only two tenths off the front row. With chaos erupting at the first corner, the Italian kept his composure and advanced forward as the 12-lap Sprint got underway. Tucking in behind Quartararo, Marini and the Frenchman tried to close the distance to the group ahead with the #10 ultimately ending just four seconds off the top five. Seventh and with three more points in hands, Marini’s march towards tenth overall continues.

Expectations are high for Sunday’s 24 lap as Honda HRC aim to end their home weekend on a high.

Joan Mir
Fourth

“I don’t think that there is any doubts that today has been a really positive day. We fought really hard for the podium in the Sprint and of course it would have been really nice to get it, but second in Qualifying and then fighting like we did – this is already a big reward. I’m happy for myself, my team, everyone in Honda – we have been working for these results for many years. Today we showed what we can do when everything lines up and we don’t have anything from the outside. For my confidence it’s super important and I am really focused on repeating everything again on Sunday.


Luca Marini
Seventh

“We are in the middle of a really good weekend, not just for myself but for Honda. Three bikes in Q2 directly is a really important milestone, but still, we can improve. I missed some time in Turn 10 during quali today, Joan showed today what you can do when you put everything together. Like always, the Sprint was a bit complicated managing the tyre temperature when I was behind Fabio but I think it has given us good information for Sunday. I know that we can do better and this is a really good feeling to bring not just into tomorrow, but into the races we have the rest of this year.”

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Aprilia



MARCO BEZZECCHI AND JORGE MARTÍN, WHO SUFFERED A FRACTURE, OUT AT FIRST CORNER OF SPRINT

Aprilia Racing had a Saturday to forget, with both riders crashing out at the first turn of the sprint at the Mobility Resort Motegi Circuit.

Starting from ninth on the grid, Marco Bezzecchi was involved in a crash triggered by Jorge Martín. The Spanish rider, who had started from seventeenth, lost control of his bike under braking at turn 1 and collided with his teammate. An unfortunate incident that ended the sprint for the two factory Aprilia riders within seconds.

As a result of the crash, Marco Bezzecchi has suffered a contusion to his right leg, luckily with no serious consequences.

Jorge Martin, after the crash, has undergone medical examinations at the circuit medical centre. The X-rays revealed a displaced fracture of the right collarbone. The rider was, then, transferred by helicopter to the Dokkyo Medical University Hospital for further assessment, where a CT scan showed no additional complications.

The Spanish rider will leave Tokyo on Sunday morning to return to Spain. On Monday, at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona, he will undergo surgery for the reduction and fixation of a fracture of the right collarbone. The operation will be performed by Dr. Xavier Mir and his medical team.

The day’s one bright spot was the Trackhouse MotoGP Team, with Raúl Fernández and Ai Ogura both finishing in the points, in eighth and ninth place respectively.

Rivola

Jorge and, especially, Marco did not start from the grid positions they deserved. A serious misjudgement under braking by Jorge unfortunately caused a heavy crash for both of them. Looking at what happened, we are lucky that only one rider was injured and that Marco, in the end, did not suffer any fractures. We are sorry to hear that Jorge will once again have to undergo surgery, after what has been a difficult season to say the least. The work of Aprilia Racing nevertheless continues at full pace: we know that on Sunday, Marco, even if not in top condition, will still be able to deliver a great race and we will do everything possible to give him the best bike we can.

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