MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

When the race build-up started with a talented pair dancing the tango at the front of the grid, we should’ve known it’ll serve as a premonition for how the 25 laps of the premier class battle would unfold. Although the outcome was a predictable prosecco shower for Marc Marquez, celebrating his 90^th grand prix success, he got more of a challenge from Alex Marquez this time around. The Gresini rider took advantage of a few rare mistakes from his sibling to lead much of the race, before admitting defeat once more. The slight change to the podium was on its third step, where the familiar face of Pecco Bagnaia was replaced by a jubilant Franco Morbidelli, who returned to the podium for the first time since 2021. 

To no one’s surprise, Marc Marquez made an excellent launch off the line, staying ahead of Alex into turn 1, while Bagnaia once again demoted front-row starter Johann Zarco for 3^rd. However, the Honda man managed to hold onto 4^th this time around and even had a brief go at the Italian on the opening lap. Fabio Di Giannantonio was in the top 5 early on but was soon challenged by Morbidelli and a fast-starting Brad Binder, with Pedro Acosta, Joan Mir and Ai Ogura completing the top 10 on the opening lap. Meanwhile, contact between Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Quartararo at the first corner saw the Italian slide through the gravel and left the Frenchman at the very back of the field (although he did recover to score on point in the end). 

The Marquez duo were immediately the quickest men on track, so they hardly needed the help, but they still got a helping hand from Zarco who kept harassing Bagnaia over the first couple of laps. Left to sort things between themselves, a rare mistake from Marc Marquez running wide at the first corner opened the door for Alex to make a move for the lead at the start of lap 4. The exchange didn’t make much difference to the seven-tenth gap over their rivals, as Bagnaia seemed to struggle to run the same pace and soon passed the baton to pal Morbidelli, who picked up the chase after a handful of laps. Bagnaia had a bit of a queue forming behind him as well, with Zarco, Binder, Di Giannantonio, Ogura, Mir and Acosta tagging along for the ride. Alex Rins led the next group two seconds down the road.

Back at the front, Alex Marquez was keeping his brother under control, but a threat was starting to materialise from behind, where Morbidelli was picking up the pace in a last-ditch attempt to bridge the gap to the duo. Bagnaia didn’t seem to have the pace to match, at the 10-lap mark at least, when the Italian was stuck one second behind the podium positions but at least managed to shake off most of the pursuit, with the exception of Zarco. A second and a half down the road, Binder led the fight for 6^th place, with Di Giannantonio and Ogura as his biggest challengers, but Mir and Acosta were not fully out of contention either. That gradually changed over the next few laps, as the Spaniards squabbled for 9^th and were dropping tenths to the men ahead, but once Acosta made the decisive move at the halfway point of proceedings, he picked up the pace and left Mir to worry about teammate Luca Marini’s late race pace.

Despite Morbidelli’s best efforts, the hot pace set by Alex Marquez at the front allowed the leaders to keep the Italian at arm’s length and they escaped one second ahead by lap 12. Unlike two weeks ago, Marc Marquez seemed to be on the limit while chasing down his brother, getting a few warnings along the way, although it didn’t really lose him any time. The siblings were inseparable as the race entered its final 10 laps, but the next move didn’t come until eight laps remaining, when Marc Marquez had a go at turn five but went in hot and allowed Alex to sweep back in. While the poleman regrouped for another assault, the threat from behind was limited, with Morbidelli dropping three seconds back and managing a one second gap to Bagnaia, who was still busy holding off Zarco. Meanwhile, Di Giannantonio finally took 6^th from Binder with nine laps to go and quickly distanced the KTM man, attempting a late chase of Zarco. Seventh place seemed pretty secure for Binder, although Ogura seemed to be closing in after escaping unscathed from the battle with the other factory KTM of Acosta. 

Tension stayed high at the front of the race, as a ragged Marc Marquez was sniffing around the leader until eventually making a move stick into turn five, reclaiming the lead with five laps to go. This time around Alex Marquez had no immediate response and seemed to throw in the towel along with nine tenths of a second over the next lap. Once the Marquezes settled the score, all eyes moved to the shrinking gap between Morbidelli and Bagnaia – the two separated by only half a second as they started the final lap. Regardless, Morbidelli eventually secured a long-awaited return to the podium as Bagnaia waved the white flag. Di Giannantonio was more successful in applying pressure in the battle for 5^th and demoted Zarco at the final corner. Binder held off Ogura for 7^th, while Acosta resisted a late charge from Mir and Marini to hold onto 9^th. 

Marquez’s perfect start to the season sees him gain a 16-point advantage over Alex in the world championship standings, with Bagnaia losing more ground to his teammate, now 31 points behind. Morbidelli closes in to 37 points, with Ogura holding onto the top five – 49 points off the lead. 

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