- Marc Marquez becomes the first Ducati rider to win five Grands Prix in a row
- Bezzecchi takes another hard-earned P2 as Acosta seals first Sunday podium of 2025
- Bagnaia fades to P4 despite late charge, while the championship gap grows again
At the Tissot Grand Prix of Czechia, Marc Marquez was once again unstoppable. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider extended his championship lead and made history as the first Ducati rider to win five consecutive Grands Prix. But it didn’t come easy.
From lights out, the battle was on. Francesco Bagnaia nailed the launch and took the holeshot, but Marquez was aggressive at Turn 3 and briefly took over. Bagnaia immediately responded with a cutback at Turn 4, reclaiming the lead, only for Marco Bezzecchi to storm through at Turn 5 and set the tone for the first half of the race.
That early chaos set up a fascinating front group, but it was also costly for others. Alex Marquez’s tough weekend took a disastrous turn as he clashed with Joan Mir at Turn 12, sending both riders out of the Grand Prix and delivering a major hit to the #73’s title campaign. Moments later, Enea Bastianini, who had been surging through the field and was chasing down Pedro Acosta, crashed out at Turn 3.
By Lap 8, it was Marquez’s time to strike. With Bezzecchi leading and Acosta in tow, the #93 moved decisively at Turn 3 and forced his way past. Holding firm through Turn 4, Marquez took control of the race and never looked back.
“I felt really good on the bike, just like in yesterday’s Sprint,” said Marquez. “I saw that in the early laps, Marco was pushing hard and taking some risks, so I decided to wait as the race was a really long one. As soon as I noticed the first drop in terms of grip, I overtook him and pulled a gap, and then controlled the race.”
That control was evident in the lap times. A series of fastest laps saw Marquez edge away from Bezzecchi, building a gap of 1.2 seconds by Lap 12. Bezzecchi dug deep and dipped into the 1:53s, but Marquez responded instantly with a 1:53.691 to stretch the lead to nearly two seconds.
“To be honest, the feeling with the bike was superb — even better than the one I had at the Sachsenring,” Marquez added. “I was riding smoothly and had some margin to go even quicker. I’m very happy, I enjoyed this first part of the season: the team and the engineers have really done an excellent job.”
Behind him, the podium battle intensified. Bagnaia, who had slipped to fourth, was closing fast on Acosta. By the final lap, he was just within striking distance, but the rookie held firm to seal his first Sunday rostrum of the year. Bezzecchi came home second, 1.7 seconds behind Marquez, securing another strong finish and Aprilia’s best Sunday result since Mugello.
Bagnaia had to settle for fourth, a frustrating result after starting from pole, but he can take heart from a strong second half of the race. Raul Fernandez capped off his best weekend of the season with P5, matching his career-best MotoGP finish. Fabio Quartararo came home in sixth, just behind Fernandez.
Jorge Martin impressed on his comeback with a gritty ride to seventh. Brad Binder took eighth after Fermin Aldeguer received a time penalty post-race, dropping the rookie to 11th. Pol Espargaro finished ninth, continuing his strong return, and Jack Miller completed the top ten.
Further back, Luca Marini held off Johann Zarco, while Ai Ogura and Alex Rins rounded out the points. Fabio Di Giannantonio ended a difficult weekend outside the top 15.
Twelve rounds into the season, Marquez now leads the standings by 120 points as he eyes a seventh MotoGP world title. Brno delivered another classic, and with Austria up next, the story of 2025’s title fight continues.
