Motegi 2025: Marc Marquez clinched the World Championship title, Bagnaia secured a miraculous victory

In the autumn of 2025, the Japanese Grand Prix once again heralded the start of the second major overseas tour. The MotoGP circus had travelled from the Adriatic coast at Misano – with an outstanding race winner in Marc Marquez and a thoroughly frustrated Pecco Bagnaia. Whilst ‘MM93’ was now serving up match point for his ninth title overall, Bagnaia was at rock bottom in sporting terms.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, the god of racing left no doubt as to his affection for the Bologna-based project. The visit to the Mobility Resort turned into the perfect Ducati party – albeit a little later than expected. After all, during the crucial qualifying session, there had been no indication yet of the spectacular red celebration to come. Bezzecchi (Aprilia) ahead of Acosta (KTM) – that was the competition’s first statement on Friday. Marc Márquez was listed in third place, whilst Pecco Bagnaia found confidence for qualifying after finishing P7.

It was here that Ducati Lenovo laid the foundations for everything that was to come. Both factory riders secured back-to-back positions, separated only by Honda rider Joan Mir. Whilst Acosta managed fourth place, Aprilia’s hope Bezzecchi could not get beyond ninth. His team-mate Martin fared even worse – and in doing so set the stage for a short-circuit on Sprint Saturday.

Martin räumte ab: Drama im Sprint für das Aprilia-Werksteam

Foto: Gold and Goose

For whilst the Ducati elite got off to a clean start in the races, Martin went completely overboard. The victim of his crash at Turn 1 was, of all people, Marco Bezzecchi. Whilst Martin withdrew from the event with a broken collarbone, the Aprilia physiotherapist set about getting ‘Bez’ back into shape. It worked – number 72 lined up again on Sunday.

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The mood in the Ducati camp was already buoyant. Pecco Bagnaia, who had vanished into the points void before Motegi, had held his own at the front in the sprint and won ahead of Marc Marquez. The gap was less than two seconds, which was also an indication that Marquez was already fully focused on his title-deciding ride on Sunday. KTM ace Acosta joined him on the podium – whilst Honda’s hope, Mir, had to settle for a disappointing fourth place over the short distance.

Pecco Bagnaia zitterte sich mit Rauchzeichen zum MotoGP-Sieg

Foto: Gold and Goose

The Japanese Grand Prix ultimately offered everything that MotoGP stands for. At Motegi, Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia managed – for reasons that remain a mystery to this day – to tackle the corners with renewed confidence. The 45-minute ‘therapy session’ in the final was accompanied by a Desmo-tech thriller. The GP25 signalled a serious fault with irregular but unmistakable plumes of smoke. Yet – number 63 held out. Bagnaia won again.

This made the situation doubly thrilling – as Marc Marquez, riding behind Bagnaia, had to reckon with a major breakdown, including an oil leak, at any moment. Yet number 93 also crossed the line unscathed. The Ducati team didn’t know where to cheer first. A one-two for Bagnaia – and the World Championship title for Marc Marquez. Red, red and more red – the images of the Corse triumph on the last weekend of September 2025 in Japan remain vivid to this day.

Jubel im Honda-Lager nach Platz 3 durch Joan Mir

Foto: Gold and Goose

This meant that the other outstanding performances were somewhat overshadowed. Among the other highlights were Joan Mir, who had now stormed into third place, and the fourth-place finish by the injured Marco Bezzecchi. For the rider from Rimini, those were 14 crucial points to secure his World Championship position in the final stretch of the season. The Japanese Grand Prix ended on a less than glorious note for KTM hero Pedro Acosta. For ten laps, the Spaniard battle it out in second place behind Bagnaia, before the RC16 rider began to lose grip. On lap 18, the number 37 rider slid off the track. Acosta didn’t give up, carried on and limped across the line in 17th place.

Even the cheers from the Japanese fans were rather subdued. In the Sprint race, Ai Ogura had at least secured the final World Championship point, but to the disappointment of the supporters, Trackhouse withdrew the Japanese rider from the Grand Prix. Reason: Severe pain following an injury that hadn’t fully healed. Honda wildcard Taka Nakagami only made it to the finish in the Sprint. The Honda test rider crashed in the GP.

PS: Following the miracle at Motegi, Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia crashed out again at the next event: last in the Sprint, a crash in the GP, zero points. And there were long faces on the other side of the Lenovo pit too, after Marco Bezzecchi had sent the new champion off with an injury in the sprint. Rarely have victory and defeat been so closely matched.

Marc Marquez krönte sich in Motegi zum Champion des Jahres 2025

Foto: Gold and Goose