Marc Marquez Avoids Penalty to Take 11th Sprint Win

KTM celebrate Czech double podium after both factory Ducatis run into tyre pressure dramas

In dramatic scenes at the 2025 Czech MotoGP Sprint Race at Brno, Marc Marquez once again stamped his authority on the sprint format, claiming his staggering 11th Sprint win of the season out of 12. But this one came with layers of intrigue, with tyre pressure investigations, on-track chess matches, and a dream double-podium for KTM.

The race began under overcast skies, with Francesco Bagnaia lining up on pole. And Pecco made the most of his start, rocketing off the line to snatch the holeshot. Marquez swept through on Bagnaia at turn 3 however and slammed the door decisively at Turn 7 to consolidate the lead. Meanwhile Alex Marquez floundered in 20th after suffering wheelspin off the start line, while Fabio Quartararo did his best to contain a charging Pedro Acosta behind him.

On lap 2, Acosta blew by Quartararo at Turn 1 to move into third, while Enea Bastianini had Quartararo firmly in his sights and looked sharper than he has all season.

Marco Bezzecchi’s impatience got the better of him as he made contact with Quartararo in an overzealous passing attempt, costing him valuable time. All this played into the hands of race leader Marquez, who slowly extended his gap to Bagnaia by nearly a second on Lap 4.

Midway through the race, Marquez posted a blistering lap to gain even more time on Bagnaia, which then led to baffling scenes as Bagnaia appeared to yield track position to both Bastianini and Quartararo, clearly deciding he needed to manage his front tyre pressure.

Then, in farcical scenes, the lead changed hands as well with Marquez rolling off to let Acosta past, who had been almost 3 seconds behind.  The multi-time champion then proceeded to ride as close as possible to Acosta’s tailpipe as he too desperately tried to get his front tyre pressure within legal limits.

On Lap 9, whatever warning lights Marc had seen on his dash must have dissipated, and he sliced ruthlessly past Acosta on the change of direction through the esses, lighting up his rear tyre through Turn 10 as he attempted to break clear of the KTM man once again. Acosta threw everything at the final lap, sliding his KTM into corners in a breathtaking all-or-nothing display, but Marc’s pace was inexorable.

Marquez crossed the line with a 0.5s buffer over Acosta for yet another Sprint triumph. Bastianini finished in third—a heroic effort given just over a week ago he was recovering from a severe stomach bug, apparently losing 3kg body weight in the process. KTM celebrated the double-podium in front of their newly appointed CEO Gottfried Neumeister, who was in the paddock.

Bezzecchi continued his run of good form in fourth, just missing out on another Aprilia podium, while Quartararo held on for fifth ahead of Raul Fernandez. Pole-sitter Bagnaia limped home seventh—his promising start undone by front-end management dramas. Jack Miller finished 12th, one place ahead of teammate Oliveira – with whom he is fighting for the remaining Pramac seat in 2026.

Post-race drama hung in the air though, with FIM MotoGP Stewards investigating Marc Marquez for tyre pressure irregularities. The paddock held its breath, but eventually the all-clear came through that no further action was required.

Marc Marquez is now the unchallenged king of the short race format, having taken an astonishing 11 Sprint wins from 12 attempts in 2025. It has almost become routine seeing him celebrate on top of the Sprint podium, but seeing two KTMs there is another matter. In a year where contract rumours have swirled around Acosta given his well-known displeasure at KTM’s slow progress this season, the young Spaniard underlined his renewed commitment to the Austrian brand with one of his finest MotoGP rides to date.

With 361 points, Marquez now leads the championship by nearly 100 points over brother Alex thanks to the Gresini rider’s rare nil-points score, while Bagnaia slips even further behind on 200 points. Bezzecchi in 6th place is now just a few points shy of Diggia in 4th and Morbidelli in 5th, while Acosta’s podium finish sees him jump ahead of Zarco for 7th with 108 points.

Heading into tomorrow’s full-length race, Marc once again looks untouchable, provided he doesn’t need to pull over and let people pass him again. It will be interesting to see if the KTMs can replicate their sprint form in the main race though, and Bastianini could be one to watch given his habit of getting faster the longer a race goes. Bagnaia is also a Sunday man and could provide Marc with a stiffer challenge over 20 laps, with the Italian showing glimpses of his best this weekend.

2025 CZECH MOTOGP SPRINT RACE

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