How Pecco blasted back to the top step while Marc confirmed world title number nine, plus all the action from the lower classes and quotes from the Aussies
After watching the Japanese Grand Prix it was entirely fair to ask: Where had this Pecco Bagania (Lenovo Ducati) been for the previous 16 rounds? The Italian rekindled some of his old magic to take a dominant double victory, and ride like the former champion he is for the first time in 2025.
The question remained – just how could a rider who had finished the previous six races (Sprints included) in 13th, ninth, 14th, seventh, 13th and DNF’ed lead every lap of both races and destroy the field so convincingly? The secret lay in the post-race test at Misano, where it’s believed the Italian reverted to the very base of last year’s bike, including chassis and swingarm. Not even a smoking Ducati late on could prevent this one.
His reaction to the Sunday success was telling. He was happy, of course. But also “angry – honestly, if I found that solution before, maybe it could have been a different championship.” He also pointedly thanked Performance Analyst Manuel Poggiali, as well as former great Casey Stoner, on Thursday and soon after for backing up his comments and insisting something was awry with his set-up. The implication was Ducati’s engineers had not done the same.
As he said, “better late than never”. Yet Bagnaia’s comeback did little to take away from the main story at hand. Marc Marquez (Lenovo Ducati) wrapped up his ninth world title thanks to a cruise to second place. In truth, the 34-year-old knew as early as Friday that he would just need to avoid mistakes, as brother Alex (Gresini Ducati) struggled to get his GP24 dialled in.
There were plenty of nerves along the way, including just before the race start. “I tried to control it, but it was difficult to breathe,” Marc later said. He was clearly riding stiff in the early laps as he regularly ran wide and struggled to pass Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM). But once second, the only thing he had to face were his own emotions.
The outpouring soon after showed just what he’d invested to rescale the championship summit. As the tears flowed during his muted celebrations, the four surgeries on his upper right arm, two bouts of diplopia and a multi-million-dollar pay cut in 2024 all seemed worth it. “This is more than a title,” he said. “The most difficult thing was fighting against Marc. One Marc said stop, the other said continue. In the end I followed my instinct and never gave up.”
In a near perfect day, he even had his old crew, as well as his current one, to celebrate in parc fermé after Joan Mir (HRC Castrol) took a richly deserved third place at Honda’s home track. Having watched teammate Luca Marini steal the headlines in recent weeks, the Majorcan overcame a few early scares to climb from fifth to confirm the RC213V’s massive recent progress.
The grid was down one rider on Sunday after Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) took himself and teammate Marco Bezzecchi out of the Sprint, breaking his right collarbone in the process. The displaced bone required a fourth operation in a desperately troubled title defence. Even with a bruised right leg, the Italian still made the grid.
It was his compatriot Bagnaia that led the way into Turn 1 with Acosta and Marc behind. Meanwhile, Mir’s bobble entering Turn 2 gave Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) the space to opportunistically take fourth with Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati), Bezzecchi and Alex following.
Ending the first lap, the victory fight was as good as done as Bagnaia had streaked 0.7s clear. His lead surpassed 1s the second time around, and continued to rise until lap 11. By then he already had 3.7s in hand. Only later on would a factor out of his control put victory in doubt.
From the first lap, Marc’s attention was elsewhere. Having placed second in the Sprint, he knew that finishing two places behind Alex would be enough for the title. With his brother seventh, he was understandably risk-averse. Thus he favoured the long game, over a sketchy pass on Acosta, knowing he’d have the edge on worn tyres. He showed signs of nerves on laps seven and nine, as he ran in hot to Turns 5 and 10 respectively. Yet he was easily by Acosta at Turn 3 on lap 11 to sit second.
Soon after it was another name he was defending from. Mir had composed himself after a wild first lap before overtaking Quartararo for fourth at Turn 3 (lap two) and then Acosta for third at Turn 7 (lap 14). Soon he was charging after Marc, only for the world-champion-in-waiting to respond.
By then it was clear Acosta was on the ropes, his rear grip all-but-disappearing as the laps ticked by. Bezzecchi was by for fourth (lap 15) and Morbidelli (lap 17) followed to fifth soon after. And the KTM rider’s chance of a solid finish ended when he ran through the gravel at Turn 1 on lap 19.
That left the order static. But a note of jeopardy remained, as Bagnaia’s lower exhaust started coughing blotches of smoke with alarming frequency from lap 15. Technical Director Danny Aldridge was soon remonstrating with Ducati General Manager Gigi Dall’Igna. Bagnaia’s lap times were his saving grace, as his rhythm barely faltered. “I just felt less performance in the exit of some corners,” he said. Thankfully, his bike held on as he came home 4.1s clear of Marc, who struggled to contain his emotions on the final lap.
Mir took a first podium in 1,421 days in third, his race time 25s better than last year’s fastest Honda, with Morbidelli almost catching Bezzecchi for fourth late on.
Acosta’s faux pas also promoted Alex to sixth, a strong recovery considering his troubled weekend and regular difficulties under braking. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) was never far behind as he came home in seventh, while Quartararo’s eighth did little to lift his increasingly despondent mood. A glum face when posing alongside Yamaha president Motofumi Shitara told its own story. Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) was just behind his compatriot in ninth, with Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) having a muted debut MotoGP weekend in Japan.
Marc (541 points) is now uncatchable, with Alex (340) 201 points behind. His second is far from secure with Bagnaia (274) back on form. Bezzecchi (242) remains fourth.
Surprise of the weekend
Pecco Bagnaia. From the despondency of recent rounds to one of his most commanding weekends ever. If only they’d implemented these changes earlier. Also drew level with Eddie Lawson and Dani Pedroa for all-time wins (31).
Wrecking ball of the weekend
Jorge Martin. You wonder what he’s done in a previous life to deserve this. While the Sprint error was entirely his own doing, another spell on the sidelines could write off a dismal 2025 for good.
Moto2 – Holgado Heavenly in Japan
This was all set up for a Manuel Gonzalez (IntactGP Kalex) win. Along with Jake Dixon (Marc VDS Boscoscuro), the pole sitter had the best pace going. Yet Moto2 in 2025 has shown it’s rarely straightforward. The title leader blew the start, had contact at Turn 1 and was facing a recovery from ninth.
All the while Dani Holgado (Aspar Kalex) broke clear of the hectic fight for second, which included Tony Arbolino (Pramac Boscoscruo), Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Kalex), Dixon and David Alonso (Aspar Kalex) in the opening laps.
Once second, Dixon could showcase his speed. From 4.4s back on lap ten, the Brit whittled the deficit down to 1.3s by the flag. Truth is, Holgado could cruise from mid-race to claim a second Moto2 win. Moreira held off a stern Alonso challenge on the final lap for third.
Gonzalez was thankful that Arbolino, who underwent surgery on his right arm to alleviate arm pump post-Misano, was tiring midrace, which allowed him to come home fifth – a decent result considering he was handed a Long Lap for tagging Celestino Vietti (SpeedRS Boscoscuro) at Turn 10 on lap four, which caused the Italian to fall.
Gonzalez (238 points) still limited the damage with Moreira (204) now the clear contender. It was another dire weekend for Aron Canet (Fantic Kalex, 189), whose 15th place saw him lose further ground.
Moto3 – Muñoz capitalises on chaos
On the day the MotoGP title was sealed, the championship race was as good as done come the end of Moto3 as well, as Jose Antonio Rueda (Ajo KTM) produced a brilliant late rally to capitalise on Angel Piqueras’ (MSI KTM) late crash.
The order had been thrown by the unexpected arrival of a soft rain shower three laps in. Not hard enough to merit a red flag and done after eight minutes, it nonetheless threw a couple of early challengers, with Joel Kelso (MTA KTM) dropping from first on lap three to 11th on lap six. Likewise, Rueda fell back to tenth having sat third early on.
Conversely, David Muñoz (IntactGP KTM) came into his own as he jumped Valentin Perrone (Tech3 KTM) and Max Quiles (Aspar KTM) on lap six to lead. From there he was never headed as he took a third career win by 1.6s.
Rueda’s late recovery was nothing short of awesome. He had joined the podium fight by lap 14. And quick moves on Perrone (penultimate lap) and Quiles (last lap) guaranteed a priceless second place considering Piqueras had fallen from seventh on lap 12. Quiles’ late block on Perrone at the victory chicane sealed third.
Rueda (315 points) is nearly home and dry with his advantage over Piqueras (222), who rejoined to finish 11th, now up to 93 points.
THE AUSSIES (and Kiwi)
Jack Miller Sprint (Sprint: DNF, Race: DNF)
Disappointment for Jack at one of his best tracks. He was hamstrung by qualifying 14th and from there was unable to overtake. He climbed to 11th before crashing out on the final lap of the Sprint. Then his chain snapped when 14th on Sunday. “We went super conservative with the fuel map at the beginning and I felt we could’ve done more. Even still, the tyre drop was still there. Three laps to the end the chain snapped and that was all she wrote. It was a weekend that had good potential but we weren’t able to unlock it. Very difficult to make overtakes – you’re just waiting for the boys to make a mistake.”
Senna Agius Result (DNF)
A tough round. Technical issues on Saturday morning meant the 20-year-old was on the back foot. Although he found improvements, he failed to get out of Q1 and qualified 20th. It was a tough prospect from there. Senna started well and was sat in 17th when he crashed out at Turn 3. “Nothing really to say, except that I gained a few positions on the first lap and showed some nice overtaking manoeuvres. But then I felt like I was at the limit when braking. Then I had a moment when turning into turn five, which unfortunately resulted in me crashing. I apologise to the team for this mistake on my part. It was a difficult weekend.”
Joel Kelso Result (p8)
One that got away. Building on his good feeling at Misano, Joel was poised for another victory push. Starting third, he was up and leading by lap two. Yet the shower of rain seemed to spook him. While others pushed on, he fell back to 11th in just three laps. “When the rain started falling, I didn’t manage the situation well enough,” he admitted soon after. “Normally I find a good feeling in these kinds of conditions, but not today. Once it dried up my pace was strong, but I had already left too big of a gap to the front. Overall, the weekend was really positive and I know I’m riding well at the moment. We’ll go again next week.”
Jacob Roulstone Result (p13)
A solid recovery for Jacob after a tricky Friday and Saturday. Having launched well from 20th, he was soon caught up in another rider’s crash at Turn 2, which saw him end lap one in 23rd. He kept his head down during the brief shower and had picked off ten riders by lap nine. “That was pretty chaotic! I had a really good start but had to avoid a crash just in front of me, so I dropped to the back. I was able to put my head down and catch back up. I actually felt really confident when it started to rain. Overall, we are happy. I hope we can figure out our bike set-up earlier into the weekend.”
Cormac Buchanan Result (p16)
The young Kiwi is growing in confidence. Having come through Q1 and qualified 16th, he showed steel during the rain shower to join the fight for tenth. “I had a bad start in the race. The rain started coming down and I felt really comfortable in those conditions. I made lots of overtakes but was then punted wide by another rider and lost 3s. That was when everyone put the hammer down and got detached from the group fighting for P10. It was another positive weekend for us. Even to be fighting for the top ten is clear confirmation we’re getting closer to where we were, as I couldn’t even dream of that in Misano. I’m starting to feel like the old Cormac again.”
