Francesco Bagnaia delivered a flawless performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, taking his first-ever race win at Motegi. The Ducati factory rider controlled the race from the start, maintaining an incredibly consistent pace to finish 1.189 seconds ahead of of title rival Jorge Martin.
As Marc Marquez completed the podium, finishing 3.822 seconds behind Bagnaia, the race saw early drama with crashes for Alex Marquez and Joan Mir on Lap 1, followed by yet another Pedro Acosta fall at Turn 14 on Lap 4,ending the rookie’s podium hopes.
Having to start 11th on the grid, Jorge Martin fought his way all the up to second, while Marquez overcame a mistake at Turn 1 on Lap 14 to hold off a charging Enea Bastianini for third.
Bastianini finished fourth, just half a second off the podium, while Franco Morbidelli rounded out the top five. Brad Binder finished sixth, just ahead of Marco Bezzecchi, with the Italian’s Fabio Di Giannantonio in eighth.
Aleix Espargaro and Jack Miller completed the top ten, the latter struggling with dropping pace as the race progressed.
Maverick Viñales and Augusto Fernandez both crashed out, as did Acosta, leaving the field wide open. Despite white flags being waved mid-race allowing bike changes, the weather held off, and no one opted for a switch.
