Another Marquez Masterclass in the Hungarian Sprint

Marquez skips clear of Balaton chaos to continue relentless title charge

In sunny but cool conditions at the much-debated Balaton circuit, the Sprint began with promise and peril in equal measure, but nothing could stop Marc Marquez from delivering another ruthless display of superiority.

Marquez launched perfectly from pole and seized the initiative, but was only just missed by an out-of-control Fabio Quartararo, who charged into Turn 1 too hot and fell. Enea Bastianini was forced off the track in the mayhem, while Marco Bezzecchi was also pushed wide and shuffled to eighth. As Bastianini tried to claw back positions, he clipped the rear of Zarco and went down, derailing KTM’s hopes early with Acosta also being badly baulked.

Out front, Marquez wasted no time. By Lap 2 he had fired in the fastest lap and opened a second over Fabio Di Giannantonio, with Franco Morbidelli holding third. Luca Marini capitalised on the early chaos to slot into fourth, Joan Mir shadowed in fifth, with Fermin Aldeguer looking dangerous in sixth. Even amid the upheaval, Francesco Bagnaia couldn’t make headway and was still marooned in 14th on Lap 3, his setup gamble manifestly failing to conjure any pace.

KTM’s day worsened when pre-race favorite Pedro Acosta then lost the front while trying to pass Jorge Martin for 10th on Lap 6, his third tumble of the weekend. Brad Binder’s race also unraveled after contact forced him into the pits for repairs, completing a nightmare Sprint for the orange bikes.

At the front, Marquez nudged the lead to 1.5 seconds, then 2.2, with a track limits warning showing how hard he was pushing. He was the only rider consistently in the 1:37s, matched briefly by an inspired Aldeguer as the rookie hunted down Marini for fourth. Spurred on, Marini dipped into the 1:37s himself and began reeling in Morbidelli for the final podium place, but the VR46 pair—Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli—held firm.

Into the final laps, the outcome was inevitable. Marquez had a comfortable 2.6-second cushion and managed it with ease, utterly in control of a field bereft of answers. He crossed the line ahead of Di Giannantonio, with Morbidelli sealing a brilliant double podium for the VR46 squad. Marini resisted Aldeguer to bank fourth for Honda, Mir backed him up in sixth to give the Japanese factory two bikes in the top six for the first time in ages, while Bezzecchi claimed seventh for Aprilia. Alex Marquez followed, while Jorge Martin delivered a standout salvage job to take ninth after starting 17th. Wildcard Pol Espargaro capped the top ten as the leading KTM.

For all the pre-race chatter, the Balaton layout did little to silence its critics. Overtakes were scarce, bottlenecks frequent, and the tight turn 1 geometry arguably contributed to the early collisions that shaped the race. But none of that bothered Marquez, who continued his bludgeoning domination at the front, now up to 13 Sprint wins for the season. His championship lead has ballooned to a scarcely believable 152 points, and at this rate he could conceivably wrap up the 2025 title by Misano – with a whole six rounds to spare. The rest, for now, are racing for second.

2025 Hungarian MotoGP Sprint Race