Bagnaia caps off perfect weekend as Marc Marquez clinches MotoGP title with P2

And so, after a weekend of anticipation, it was time get the ball rolling on the MotoGP Grand Prix to see whether Marc Marquez would clinch his seventh MotoGP title. At lights out, Bagnaia got a lovely launch again to grab the holeshot ahead of a fast-starting Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), as Marc Marquez kept hold of P3 on the opening lap. Alex Marquez was P7, one place behind Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing).

Pecco’s lead at the start of Lap 2 was 0.7s over Acosta, as Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) picked his way back up to P4 after dropping to P6 on the opening lap from the front row. And on the next lap, a 1:44.412 saw Pecco lead by 1.2s, with Marc Marquez tucked right behind his compatriot in P3.

There was an early retirement for Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) who encountered an issue on his RC213V to end another positive weekend prematurely. That meant HRC’s sole podium hopes fell into the lap of Mir and the 2020 World Champion was less than half a second away from Marc Marquez’s rear tyre.

At the end of Lap 6, Pecco’s lead crept beyond the two second mark, while it was as you were in the podium fight – but Mir gained some time on the #93 after the champion elect made a small error at Turn 5. Then, on Lap 9 of 24, another slight error came at Turn 10. It didn’t cost Marc Marquez too much time, but this wasn’t as smooth sailing as it could have been so far as he and Mir began to reel in Acosta.

By Lap 11, Acosta’s pace was beginning to suffer and at Turn 3, Marc Marquez drew alongside the KTM and made a move for P2 stick. And straight away, Marquez was able to begin lapping a very similar pace to his teammate Pecco, who was 3.7s up the road at the start of Lap 13. Marquez, meanwhile, had put some breathing space between him and Acosta, one second of it to be exact, as the #37 began to come under plenty of pressure from Mir, with Bezzecchi sniffing a podium chance in P4.

The pressure then told as Mir make a classy Turn 7 move up the inside of Acosta to jump into P3, as we then saw smoke coming out of his Ducati. What was the problem? Was it race ending? Not for now, and he wasn’t losing time either – but this was a concern for Bagnaia and Ducati, who was leading by 4.1s.

The gap went up again by a 10th on Lap 16, so for the time being, it wasn’t a full on issue. In the meantime, Acosta’s podium hopes were fading quickly as Bezzecchi and then Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) got the better of him.

With seven laps to go, Marc Marquez was in a title winning position. An as comfortable as one could be in his position P2, with Mir slowly chipping away at the gap between the former HRC teammates in P3. Mir, meanwhile, was 2.4s clear of Bezzecchi as the #36 and HRC began to dream of a phenomenal return to the podium.

Acosta’s top six hopes then ended with a Turn 1 runoff, as we saw more smoke coming out of Bagnaia’s Ducati. Pensive and worried faces were plastered across the factory Ducati box and pitboard, and across millions of faces around the world but Pecco continued on his way for now. The gap was coming down, it was now 2.8s with four lap left, but Pecco wasn’t even looking down or noticing something might be going wrong. Stange.

With two laps to go, Pecco led Marc Marquez by two seconds. As things stood, Marc Marquez just needed to guide his Ducati home for the greatest comeback to be completed. Mir was comfortable and now, a very lonely P3.

Last lap time. And history beckoned. A long look over the shoulder came on the exit of Turn 2 and it was empty space. You’re under no threat from behind Marc, that seventh MotoGP title is just a minute and a half away.

Four surgeries. Four years of mostly blood, sweat and tears. But finally, for the first time since 2019, Marc Marquez is a MotoGP World Champion again.