MOTOGP ROUND 16 | Boo Him if You Dare

Marc shrugs off a hostile crowd, Moto2 and Moto3 reports, plus quotes from all the Aussies

That’s one way to shut them up. Marc Marquez (Lenovo Ducati) ensured the volume was taken down a notch in Italy by resisting a fearsome Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) challenge on the Italian’s patch to take one his most impressive wins of the year. Boo him at your peril.

Just as brother Alex (Gresini Ducati) completed a redemption arc the previous week in Barcelona, it was Marc’s turn in Italy. Here, he crashed out of a Sprint encounter he was likely to win only for that disappointment to hone his focus on Sunday. The wild celebrations that greeted his crash by a minority of Italian fans no doubt added to his motivation no end.

Jumping from fourth on the grid to overtake Bezzecchi in six laps, Marc then dramatically tucked the front at Turn 15 to confirm a first non-score on a Saturday all year. “I did the hard part, then messed up the easy bit,” he later fumed. He’d have to do it all again on Sunday.

And do it he did. But even if Marc had won ten races prior to this weekend, no one was expecting him to have to work as hard late on. Any thoughts Marc could coast to an 11th win of the year were quickly dispelled as he and Bezzecchi exchanged fastest laps three times in the last six laps, with both on the ragged edge. The Aprilia rider didn’t quite get close enough to pass, but at least he harried the winner until the end. “Together with Assen, that was the toughest victory of the year,” said Marquez after. “My heart rate was super high in the last laps. I wasn’t thinking about the championship – and neither was Marco!”

His podium entrance, taking off his leathers before displaying them the wrong way around to many of the 89,000 capacity – a nod to footballing god Lionel Messi – was all about delivering on enemy territory. With a first match point now possible at the next round, this one tasted extra sweet.

There was equal delight on Bezzecchi’s side. Though he ultimately fell short, there was a dignity in how he took defeat, admitting he’d given it everything: “Besides the victories, this was maybe the strongest weekend of my career.” Improving Aprilia’s best race time here by 9s from last year also pointed to how far the RS-GP has come.

Saturday hinted at this being a straight scrap between the pair. Bezzecchi jumped into an early advantage on Sunday, leading through Turns 1 and 2 as Marc jumped Alex and fellow front row starter Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) on the run to Turn 1. The VR46 Ducatis of Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio tucked in behind, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM), Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati), Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) and Luca Marini (HRC Castrol) all involved.

Initially, Marc harried Bezzecchi in an attempt to take an early lead and give his front tyre some breathing room. Yet he soon realised there would be little stopping the Aprilia as Bezzecchi’s fastest lap the third time around opened up a half-second lead.

Behind, Acosta was making smart progress thanks to moves on Di Giannantonio on lap two, Morbidelli on lap four, and Quartararo on lap six, each time at Turn 8. With Alex in his sights, an unlikely podium charge wasn’t a longshot. Yet his KTM ground to a halt on lap eight with his chain jumping off the sprocket exiting Turn 6. His frustration when giving his RC16 the middle finger after was merited – teammate Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) suffered the same fate on Friday afternoon.

The Misano World Circuit’s attritional nature was also evident as Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) and Joan Mir (HRC Castrol) took one another down on lap one (Turn 4), Bagnaia crashed out eighth on lap nine (Turn 14), and Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) fell out of tenth on lap 12 (Turn 14).

Bezzecchi was nearly another casualty after his moment at Turn 8 saw him relinquish the lead the 12th time around. Soon Marc had a six-tenths advantage, and the contest was in danger of being run. Yet how the home hero rallied. By lap 16, Alex had dropped away, making this a two-way fight. And the Aprilia was within 0.2s of the leader, just as Marc was given a track limits warning.

Even when the pair were right on the ragged edge, there was something extra to give. Marc lowered the pace further, posting a fastest lap on lap 21, stretching his lead out to 0.49s. But back came Bezzecchi, a fastest lap on lap 24 bringing him back to within 0.3s. The factory Ducati showed it still had more to give, as Marc threw in another fastest time with two remaining.

That was just enough to get it over the line as he came home 0.5s clear of his assailant. Alex was seven seconds in arrears, showing the lead pair were in a class of their own. Morbidelli benefited from Acosta’s misfortune to take fourth, as he held off the late charge of Di Giannantonio, who struggled early on with the extra grip of the rear tyre before increasing his pace. Aldeguer was a solid sixth, Marini a frustrated seventh – even if he was top Honda and 12 seconds faster than last year’s race.

Quartararo eventually dropped to the back of the Ducatis and Marini after getting passed at Turn 8 on laps 14 (Morbidelli), 17 (Di Giannantonio) and 18 (Aldeguer). Miguel Oliveira (Pramac Yamaha) took ninth, a second straight race he’s been second Yamaha since learning of his sacking. Binder was relieved to finish considering KTM’s otherwise awkward day. Augusto Fernandez (Monster Energy Yamaha) ensured the V4 YZR-M1 scored points in its first race, albeit 61s back of the victor.

For the second weekend in succession, Marc (512 points) was unable to extend his lead over Alex (330). Bagnaia’s (237) shocker leaves him vulnerable to Bezzecchi’s (229) surge.

2025 SAN MARINO MOTOGP RACE

Surprise of the weekend

Luca Marini. More for his way of approaching Curvone than anything else. “Go in super-fast, lose the front, open the throttle and everything is fine. In the past Honda was struggling there with Marc, but they saw my data and said good job.”

Crasher of the weekend

Pecco Bagnaia. Just when you think the three-time champ’s season can’t get any worse, he finds new holes to slump into. Said “I’m living a nightmare” after 14^th in the Sprint. He couldn’t even face the press on Sunday.

Moto2 – Vietti’s home stroll

This day couldn’t have gone any better for Celestino Vietti (SpeedRS Boscoscuro). Launching from second on the grid, the home hero immediately assumed control, passing Dani Holgado (Aspar Kalex) to establish an early lead.

From there, he wasn’t headed. After gradually edging clear of Holgado in the early laps, he simply had to defend late on when his rear tyre had dropped significantly.

Initially, the lead pair were clear of a frantic four-way fight for third, which included title rivals Manuel Gonzalez (IntactGP Kalex) and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Kalex) as well as Senna Agius (IntactGP Kalex) and Barry Baltus (Fantic Kalex).

Baltus was the fastest of them all. Having passed Agius (lap four), Moreira (lap 11) and Gonzalez (lap 13), he quickly cut down Holgado’s advantage for second. A move with four to go give him a clear shot at Vietti; 2.4s behind, the Belgian kept it interesting until the end, closing to within 0.7s at the flag.

Holgado held on to third, but only after Agius – fourth by lap 21 – had a massive front-end moment into Turn 8. That dropped him behind Moreira for fifth, and one place ahead of Gonzalez, who struggled badly with tyre wear. Aron Canet (Fantic Kalex) was a distant seventh.

It means Gonzalez’s (227 points) lead is up to 39 points with Moreira and Canet (188) both tied in second.

2025 SAN MARINO MOTO2 RACE

Moto3 – Rueda has one hand on title

There were a few wobbles over the past weeks. But Jose Antonio Rueda (Ajo KTM) took total control of the Moto3 World Championship thanks to his latest win, achieved by a brilliant last-corner pass on Max Quiles (Aspar KTM).

The pair had been among six riders scrapping for victory on the final lap. Early contact between David Muñoz (IntactGP KTM) and pole-sitter Valentin Perrone (Tech3 KTM) had taken the Spaniard out of the lead group and pushed the Argentinean back to sixth. But his comeback was inspired, as he quickly caught Rueda and Joel Kelso (MTA KTM), who had been doing the running up front.

Soon he latched on to – and passed – Max Quiles (Aspar KTM), Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Honda) and Angel Piqueras (MSI KTM), who had also tagged along to join the lead pair.

The final lap was typical all action. First Perrone took himself out of victory contention by running wide at Turn 12. Fernandez jumped above Kelso for third and then Rueda dove under Quiles at the final corner to claim an eighth victory of the year. Even sweeter was how Piqueras was fifth, with Perrone rejoining in sixth.

Rueda (295 points) now has real breathing space, extending his lead over Piqueras (217) to 78 points. Quiles (188) is third.

Jack Miller (Sprint 14th, Race 12th)
Jack’s weekend was heavily conditioned by a massive moment through Turn 12 in FP2, which deprived him of his number one bike in qualifying. Starting 20^th was always going to be tough but two good comebacks followed. “I gave up a lot of time in the early laps then settled into a rhythm. I felt pretty confident between lap 8 and six to go, when I did my best lap. The bike was in a sweet spot there. Then as we got to the later stages, with the full (sized) fuel tank, she was almost a little bit too stiff. In general, a solid Sprint and main race. Missing a little bit of speed, but solid.”

Senna Agius (5th)
Senna put recent disappointment behind him to record a best finish since Aragon in early June. Having qualified sixth, he was fortunate to save a massive moment. “I can’t complain. I should’ve kept a calm rhythm and accepted fourth was the best result today. But I saw the podium and that feeling came back inside me which I’ve been missing the past month to really race. I went for it. I got a kick from the rear, and locked the front on the outside of the kerb. Would’ve been a massive crash so fifth is good. We’re back. We had a good reset this weekend. Fifth is not what we desire but it’s super important from my side.”

Joel Kelso (4th)
It was a good Saturday for Joel. He followed up qualifying second by confirming his plans for 2026. And Sunday was just as strong, as he led the early laps before getting among the lead fight in his best ride since Le Mans. “When I get the feeling I need on the bike, I can fight. This weekend in the box we’ve had a phrase: Only my new French bulldog understands me. What it really means is a lot of stuff behind the scenes happens. But I know I’m one of the fastest out there. Last weekend we got the feeling back. I can brake how I want, keep mid-corner speed and feel the front end. Super strong pace. Happy with that.”

Jacob Roulstone (11th)
Knowing his GP future is on the line, this was a big weekend for Jacob. He duly delivered on Saturday, qualifying third and on the front row for the first time. The 20-year-old was seventh for the most part, before dropping back into the clutches of the chasing pack as his rear tyre wore out. “I knew I’d struggle with the pace. I couldn’t ride with the medium front Pirelli. On Friday I felt good with the used soft. Saturday was a really good day and was a big step for me. I gave it my all. The tyre dropped quicker than I was expecting. I need to work on this as it’s a reoccurring thing. But I didn’t give up.”

Cormac Buchanan (17th)
A solid weekend for the Kiwi, who just missed a spot in Q2 due to exceeding track limits on his fastest lap in Q1. Then early contact with another rider deprived him of the chance of fighting for points. Still, a top 20 finish and Cormac is gradually recovering his confidence. “The main goal was to finish. From yesterday I felt really good. Q1 was strong but I nipped the track limits which cost me Q2. I had a decent start but had big contact with (Nicola Carraro) and that spat me off the track. I was running the soft tyre, it got dirty and dropped in temperature. From there it was just about staying on.”