Ducati MotoGP rider Francesco Bagnaia believes his second-place finish in the Misano Grand Prix “was the maximum” he could have accomplished in the race.

The double-reigning champion led throughout the race’s nascent stages, but he was unable to stop Marc Marquez from passing in interchangeable conditions.

Bagnaia chose to stay out on the slick tyres rather than swap bikes, which his championship rival Jorge Martin elected to do, costing the Spaniard several spots.

The factory Ducati rider understood the importance of bringing the bike home when he was aware of Martin entering the pit lane.

With the track easing up in the laps following, he settled for second behind future 2025 team-mate Marquez.

In the context of the championship, Bagnaia’s second place means Martin’s championship lead is cut to only seven points heading into the next round.

“It doesn’t taste like a victory because it isn’t a victory but it is still very good,” he said after the race in Misano.

“I’m a believer! I want to win but today second place was a huge result in terms of the championship.

“Yesterday I was angry because I had the chance…but I didn’t take it,” he said of his runner-up result behind Martin in the Saturday Sprint. “But today was the maximum I could do.

“In hindsight, a second place under these conditions was the best result we could have aimed at.

“Once the rain started falling, I saw Franco (Morbidelli) crashing out and I chose to ride in a bit of a safer way, while Marc (Márquez) ended up being the stronger and braver of us all.

“I did all I could to stay with him and had a shot at the lead on a couple of occasions at the ‘Curvone’ corner, but I was never incisive enough to make it happen.”

Bagnaia disclosed that his injuries sustained from the previous round in Aragon took their toll throughout the weekend.

“After Aragon it was a really tough Monday,” the Italian explained. “I wasn’t able to do much, and the pain was starting, a lot.

“We worked a lot with my crew and my physio and they did a fantastic job in the end. I’m very proud of what we did.

“In the final laps, I saw that Enea’s gap went up to more than three seconds and in that moment, I lost some of the concentration, also due to the fact that my fitness condition wasn’t ideal. We did our best, unlike yesterday, so I’m happy.”

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MotoGP World Champion leader Jorge Martin admits it was his idea to pit and swap bikes during the short rain period at the San Marino Grand Prix.

The consequence of Martin’s pit stop was losing 19 points of his championship lead to Francesco Bagnaia as the rain eased off in the laps following his move to Wet tyres.

Martin decided to re-enter the pits and switch back to slick tyres, but by that point, the damage was done, and his big gamble didn’t pay off as he came home in 15th.

“I was thinking more about the race than the championship, so I thought it was better to stop,” Martin explained after the race, having been running second at the time and had already banked 12 points after winning the sprint on Saturday.

“Next time I will wait behind Pecco and do the same.

“For sure it was wet. I think [Franco] Morbidelli crashed. If it kept [raining] the same then I would have won! But from one lap to another it stopped. As soon as I exited from the box I waited but then understood that the best option was to go back.”

Martin revealed that he and Pramac hadn’t formulated a plan pre-race if the rain came down, though every team had a second bike if riders felt it was the right time to swap.

“We didn’t speak about it, and I didn’t know what was coming,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I stopped. Maybe this time we missed a bit of understanding between us.

“I mean, it was 100% my fault. But yeah, it’s always useful to get feedback and have more information before the race.”

“Corner three to 11 was raining a lot, that is why I took my decision. Next time, I will follow my rival.”

Martin now has a seven-point advantage over Bagnaia heading into the second Misano race, with Marc Marquez 53 points behind and Enea Bastianini 62 points adrift.

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Gresini Ducati rider Marc Marquez made it consecutive MotoGP wins at Aragon and Misano aboard his GP23 Ducati, but his latest triumph came “totally unexpected”.

The eight-time champion believes his success in Misano was due to the mid-race shower, which saw him rise up to the podium places.

Championship leader Jorge Martin then made the call to pit onto the wet weather tyres, a gamble that didn’t work in his favour as the track remained slick conditions.

Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia opted to stay out, with the Spaniard winning the race from ninth on the grid by a distant 3.1s.

Marquez told Autosport: “This one was totally unexpected, especially because starting in ninth place, without those drops it was impossible to fight with the top guys.

“We knew that our second part of the race was super strong and for me, the most important thing.

“One point is to lead the race, but the other point is to open a gap to the world champion and to Pecco who is super-fast here.

“I was able to ride in a very good way, very fast and defend in the first part of that second part of that race. And then attack in the last laps.”

Martin’s risky move to pit on the wet tyres ended his race as the weather eased up in the following laps, but Marquez didn’t think a bike swap was necessary.

“Of course, at one point if there was one more lap raining like this then maybe it’s time to go in.

“But especially when I saw that nobody went in and only one rider [did] you need to stay out and this is what I did.

“I controlled in a good way, but then on the next lap is when I attacked. I gave everything. I saw some riders crashed because it was super wet in turns one and two but we managed it well.”

Marquez’s success now puts him as an outsider into championship contention, with 53 points between himself and Martin, who has a seven-point advantage over Bagnaia.

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Gresini’s Marc Marquez took an impressive MotoGP victory ahead of Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in changeable conditions at Misano. 

Marquez recorded back-to-back victories for the first time since 2021 as Bagnaia slashed Jorge Martin’s championship lead down to seven points after the Pramac rider’s lapse in judgement saw him cross the line a lap down in 15th. 

Bagnaia started well from pole to keep his lead ahead of Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli in second, who was able to stay in front of teammate Martin going into Turn 1.

Martin responded quickly and was able to pass Morbidelli to get himself up into second and was preparing to chase after Bagnaia out front. 

The Pramac rider looked to be the faster of the two and made a move on Bagnaia at Turn 1 but contact forced Martin to sit up, which allowed Morbidelli and the GasGas of Pedro Acosta to close in. 

Acosta made an attempt to pass Morbidelli at Turn 5 for third, but contact with the Italian’s bike cost the Spaniard his wing – and shortly after he crashed out of fifth, but rejoined the race. 

Morbidelli was running as the fastest rider on track, but crashed out of third as he was closing in on teammate Martin.

As light rain started to come down, Martin was cutting the gap to Bagnaia in front, but ran wide to cost himself the chance of an overtake.

GasGas’ Augusto Fernandez crashed as the rain continued to fall, as the teams started to question whether it would be worth gambling on a change to wet tyres.

Martin made the decision to come in to change bikes – and was joined in the pitlane by the Aprilia duo of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales, Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez, Yamaha’s Alex Rins and the rejoining Acosta.

Out front, the gap between the top eight riders closed dramatically, as Marc Marquez took over from Bagnaia to lead the race. 

It quickly became evident that it was the wrong call from Martin and the other changers as they returned to the pits on Lap 10 to go back to the dry bikes –  effectively ending any chances of a victory after being lapped by the leaders. 

Bagnaia looked comfortable in following Marquez around in second, knowing that his championship rival was further down the order, holding a comfortable margin over teammate Enea Bastianini in third.  

Marquez was able to cruise to his second successive victory ahead of the Ducati duo of Bagnaia and Bastianini.

Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder came home in fourth ahead of VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi in fifth, as the Gresini of Alex Marquez was able to outdrag the Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo to the line for sixth. 

Jack Miller was eighth on the KTM, leading home VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio in ninth and Red Bull KTM wildcard Pol Espargaro, who rounded out the top 10. 

Trackhouse’s Miguel Oliveira finished the race as the top Aprilia rider in 11th, ahead of the Honda trio of Johann Zarco, Takaaki Nakagami and Stefan Bradl. 

Martin was able to salvage a point from a nightmare race in 15th, narrowly ahead of the Aprilia of Viñales in 16th. 

Acosta finished 17th after crashing on the fourth lap, as Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse and Alex Rins on the Yamaha closed out the classified finishers in 18th and 19th.

Aleix Espargaro retired following a double bike swap, while Repsol Honda saw neither rider take the start, with Luca Marini electing to sit out of the race after becoming ill overnight after Joan Mir’s withdrawal due to gastroenteritis earlier in the weekend.

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Ai Ogura took a significant Moto2 victory ahead of Aron Canet to take the championship lead at Misano.

MT Helmets’ Ogura crossed the line 0.609s ahead of Canet to jump ahead of teammate Sergio Garcia, who could only manage a 12th-place finish, in the Riders’ standings. 

It was a great start for the poleman Tony Arbolino of MarcVDS as he pulled away from Ogura, who passed KTM Ajo rider Celestino Vietti at Turn 1 to move up into second. 

A calm first lap ended with SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez in the gravel after crashing out of the final corner while running sixth, delivering another blow to his championship chances.

Aron Canet was setting an electric pace in the opening stages and overtook Vietti for third on Lap 2, and then set the lap record while overtaking Ogura for second as he looked to get on terms with Arbolino out front. 

The Gresini pair of Manuel Gonzalez and Albert Arenas were exchanging places for fifth and sixth, with Gonzalez bettering Arenas behind the leading quartet. 

Championship leader Garcia, who was having a nightmare weekend after qualifying down in 26th, got a solid start and moved up to 21st as he looked to progress through the field. 

Fermin Aldeguer was attempting to recover from his crash last weekend at Aragon, and overtook Arenas for 6th and was followed through by Diogo Moreira and Jake Dixon.

Out front, it was Canet with the pace and he overtook Arbolino for the lead, looking to use his advantage to break away from the Italian. 

A few errors from Arbolino after losing the lead allowed Ogura to pass him for second as the Japanese rider looked to close the gap to Canet. 

Further down the field, Garcia was on the road to recovery as he overtook the American Racing duo of Joe Roberts and Marcos Ramirez on Lap 17 to move up into the points positions. 

Out front Canet’s pace was slowing up which allowed Ogura, Arbolino and Vietti back into contention for the victory.

It was Ogura who took advantage with his superior late-race pace, as he overtook Canet for the lead and attempted to break with four laps to go.  

Vietti, who was the fastest of the leading four, crashed out of fourth place, putting an end to any chances of a home victory for the KTM Ajo rider. 

It was Ogura who took victory, six-tenths clear of Canet in second as poleman Arbolino brought it home in third. 

Gonzalez kept his faint championship hopes alive with a fourth-place finish, ahead of form-man Dixon in fifth.

SpeedUp’s Aldeguer was sixth ahead of Filip Salac in seventh and Moreira in eighth – Arenas and Husqvarna rider Darryn Binder rounded out the top-10.

Binder’s team-mate Senna Agius finished 11th with Garcia’s charge ending in 12th and the Spaniard relinquished his championship lead in the process.

Roberts had an underwhelming afternoon in 13th with future MotoGP rider Somkiat Chantra and American racing’s second rider Ramirez completing the points-paying positions in the final race classification.

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Leopard Racing’s Angel Piqueras took a stunning Misano Moto3 victory over Tech3’s Dani Holgado despite serving a double long-lap penalty.

A photo-finish separated the Spanish duo as Piqueras crossed the line 0.035s clear of Holgado in second. 

David Alonso got a good start from pole, but the Leopard of Piqueras got the jump from fourth on the grid and was able to swoop around the outside of the front row starters Luca Lunetta and Ivan Ortola, as well as poleman Alonso, to take the lead. 

An incident further back in the field saw Boe Motorsport’s David Munoz, CIP’s Ricciardo Rossi and Aragon winner Jose Antonio Rueda crash out of the race at Turn 1, with CF Moto’s Joel Esteban and MT Helmets’ Ryusei Yamanaka also running off into the gravel. 

Piqueras looked to break out front knowing he would have to take a double long lap for a crash with Scott Ogden in practice, but he was being followed by Ortola and Holgado, who were looking to close the gap to CF Moto’s Alonso in the championship. 

Holgado made the first move to overtake Piqueras for the lead as the trio looked to extend their margin over the duelling Lunetta and Alonso behind.

There was impending heartbreak for Lunetta, as the stewards ruled that he had made a jump start, along with Leopard’s Adrian Fernandez, and both received double long-lap penalties, putting an end to their chances of victory.

Piqueras dropped out of leading contention as both Leopard riders opted to take their long laps on Lap 3 – the Spaniard rejoined in 15th after completing his penalty, still running as the fastest rider on track. 

Lunetta opted to take his long lap on Lap 4, which left Ortola and Holgado as the leading duo with a 1.6 second advantage over the chasing pack led by Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato.

Furusato was leading the fight for third over Australian Joel Kelso and Alonso, with Alonso taking the pair in an effort to close the gap to the leading duo.  

It wasn’t long until the lead group became a group of five as Furusato overtook Alonso and Holgado in quick succession to move up to second. 

Holgado retook Furusato to restore his second place a lap later, though Furusato would repay the favour as the two continued to tussle for second behind Ortola. 

Alonso looked to stake his claim for victory on Lap 16, as he overtook Furusato and Holgado to get up to second and chase after Ortola. 

Alonso then took Ortola at the start of Lap 17 and looked to break away from Furusato and Holgado as the duo continued their battle. 

The battles out front brought Piqueras back into contention, as he overtook Collin Veijer, Kelso and Ortola to put himself in contention for the lead.

Piqueras forced Furusato into a mistake as he advanced onto the podium and was chasing down Holgado and Alonso on the final lap.  

The Leopard rider was clearly the fastest out of the leading pack, and his pace advantage saw him overtake Alonso for the lead.  

The battles raged on in the top three, but contact between Alonso and Holgado saw the Colombian relegated to sixth, and he would be demoted a further place to seventh following a post-race penalty. 

Holgado refused to give up the chase and had a better exit out of the final corner but it was Piqueras who took the flag for his first win in the Moto3 class, as Ortola rounded out the podium. 

Furusato came over the line in fourth while Husqvarna’s Veijer was fifth, ahead of the duelling Kelso in sixth and championship leader Alonso in seventh.

Veijer’s Husqvarna team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki took eighth with Lunetta and SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Filippo Farioli completing the top-10.

Snipers’ David Almansa missed out on the top-10 by less than a tenth of a second, with Tech3’s Jacob Roulstone just a few tenths behind him in 12th.

Fernandez’s long-lap penalty resigned him to 13th place with Stefano Nepa and MLAV Racings Ogden rounding out the points-paying positions.

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Pramac’s Jorge Martin took a commanding Sprint race victory in Misano to extend his MotoGP championship lead over Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia. 

Martin got a fantastic start from the second row of the grid and led the Sprint from start to finish to open up a 26-point gap to Bagnaia in the championship. 

Bagnaia got a good start from pole position, but it was a lightning reaction time from Martin to get the best start from fourth as he swooped past the reigning World Champion to take the lead into Turn 1.

Bagnaia continued to follow Martin with the pair trading fastest laps throughout the race, as they pulled away from Pramac’s second rider, Franco Morbidelli in third. 

It was a positive start for Enea Bastianini, as the Ducati rider moved from eighth to fifth on the opening lap, and was quick to pass KTM’s Brad Binder on Lap 4 as he looked to chase down Morbidelli for the final spot on the podium. 

The Tech3 GasGas of Pedro Acosta and Red Bull KTM of Binder were fighting for bragging rights as the top non-Ducati, with the Spaniard pulling a bold move on the South African to move up to fifth. 

Marc Marquez was looking to recover from a qualifying crash that made him start ninth on the grid as he passed VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi and KTM’s Jack Miller to get up to seventh, allowing him to chase after Acosta and Binder ahead of him.  

It proved to be a nightmare day for the VR46 squad, as both Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed out of the race and were the only non-finishers of the Sprint, with team owner Valentino Rossi watching on from the sidelines. 

Out front, the gap between the front pair remained steady, but the Italian had nothing for the Spaniard, as Martin took the flag 1.4 seconds ahead of Bagnaia, while Morbidelli was able to fend off a late charge from Bastianini for third. 

Marquez overtook Acosta for fifth on the final lap, as the rookie finished the sprint as the top non-Ducati, while Binder led Miller over the line as the factory KTMs finished seventh and eighth. 

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo picked up the final point in ninth ahead of Gresini’s Alex Marquez in 10th, while the Aprilia pairing of Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro finished outside the points in 11th and 12th. 

Johann Zarco was the top Honda rider as he came home in 13th ahead of KTM wildcard Pol Espargaro.

Trackhouse’s Miguel Oliveira finished 15th, leading home Tech3’s Augusto Fernandez and teammate Raul Fernandez. 

Repsol Honda’s Luca Marini was 18th, as Yamaha’s Alex Rins and LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami rounded out the classified finishers.

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Francesco Bagnaia was in his own world as the Italian rider earned his second MotoGP pole position of the year at his home race of Misano.

The home favourite will start from the front, as he formulated a lap time of 1.30.304s, a new lap record around one of the calendar’s fastest tracks.

Accompanying the double reigning champion on the front row are fellow VR46 Academy graduates Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi, with the duo outpacing the championship leader Jorge Martin to make it an all-Italian front three.

After third and fourth-placed finishes in the Aragon Grand Prix, Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder continued their strong pace to put the KTM in fifth and sixth for both Misano races.

Enea Bastianini was in the middle of a Gresini Ducati sandwich, with younger brother Alex Marquez establishing the seventh spot on the grid. Marc Marquez, however, crashed at the fast Turn 15 with three minutes left on the clock, which meant he could not go out again and finished the session in ninth spot.

Fabio Quartararo rounded off the top ten with a strong showing aboard his Yamaha M1, with Maverick Vinales and Jack Miller rounding off the fourth row of the grid.

Notable names to miss out on Q2 were Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Both riders were unable to muster a strong lap time in the dying embers to progress through, therefore will start 13th and 14th on the grid respectively.

Younger brother to Aleix and KTM test rider Pol Espargaro will occupy the 15th spot on the grid, with surprise name Johann Zarco starting 16th, with the Frenchman finding half a second on his nearest Honda challenger aboard the LCR machine.

Augusto Fernandez ended his Q2 session in the 17th spot, with the Trackhouse duo of Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez following behind before the Japanese manufacturers taking up the final four spots of the grid.

Alex Rins will occupy the 20th spot on the grid with a disappointing outing despite his team-mate’s strong finish. Luca Marini and Taakaki Nakagami finished 0.2s and 0.3s adrift of its biggest rival, Yamaha.

Stefan Bradl, Honda’s test rider, was no match to his teammates and finished a whole second adrift of Nakagami in the last spot.

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VR46 Ducati rider Marco Bezzecchi posted in the all-important last lap to top the final MotoGP practice session at Misano.

The GP23 Ducati rider crafted the quickest lap time of 1.31.237s, with GP24 Ducati and championship protagonists Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin rounding off the top three positions.

Enea Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli displayed their quick pace in the final session, with both GP24 teams inside the top five.

Pol Espargaro finished the session as the highest non Ducati rider, with Gresini rider Marc Marquez close behind.

Rookie Pedro Acosta ended his session in the eighth spot, with fellow Gresini rider and younger brother Alex Marquez two tenths adrift of the GasGas rider.

Ninth to 12th place was separated by only 0.013s, with the GP23 Ducati, Aprilia, Yamaha and KTM occupying these spots.

Aleix Espargaro finished as the lead Aprilia rider and ended the session in tenth, with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo feeling optimistic about configuring a solid result in Misano.

Brad Binder finished his session with only 0.001s separating himself and the Frenchman, with VR46 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio in 13th spot.

Miguel Oliveira once again finished as lead Trackhouse rider, with KTM’s Jack Miller finishing his session in 15th respectively.

Maverick Vinales’ struggles aboard the current Aprilia continue, with the Spaniard finishing in a lonely 16th spot ahead of fellow compatriot Alex Rins.

Augusto Fernandez finished in 18th spot, with the closing positions occupied by Honda riders and Raul Fernandez.

Takaaki Nakagami finished as lead Honda, with team-mate Johann Zarco only a tenth away.

Luca Marini finished behind the LCR duo, with Raul Fernandez struggling around the Misano circuit with the second-to-last spot occupied.

Honda test rider Stefan Bradl rounded off proceedings, with 2020 champion Joan Mir sitting out the whole weekend due to illness.

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A superb display of late runs from Francesco Bagnaia displayed his rapid pace in MotoGP second practice, putting the Italian on top of the timesheets in his local track of Misano.

Marc Marquez once again finished the session in second place but finished 0.185s adrift of his 2025 factory team-mate.

The Pramac Racing duo of Jorge Martin and Franco Morbidelli finished third and fourth, respectively, with the pair separated by only 0.001 of a second.

Enea Bastianini followed his team-mate Bagnaia into Q2, with rookie Acosta finishing as the clear distant KTM rider aboard his GasGas Tech3 bike.

Marco Bezzecchi formulated a strong seventh spot despite his struggles earlier in the day, with Maverick Vinales finishing in eighth spot. His team-mate Aleix Espargaro endured a late crash in Turn 1 on his final run which put him out of Q2 contention.

Fabio Quartararo cemented his place in Q2, his first since his home race at Le Mans earlier in the year, to deliver a crucial result for the Japanese marque which has spent a monumental amount of time fixing its bad form.

Jack Miller established a strong practice result of tenth spot to force his team-mate Brad Binder into Q1 on Saturday, with the duo separated by a tenth of a second.

Pol Espargaro came close to a Q2 spot but finished the session within 0.001s of his own brother Aleix, with the top 13 riders separated by 0.749s.

Miguel Oliveira could only muster the 14th spot aboard his Trackhouse Aprilia, with Johann Zarco once again finishing as the lead Honda rider.

Fabio Di Giannantonio’s struggling Friday continued with VR46 Ducati, with the Italian finishing 16th.

Alex Rins’ session in 17th with Yamaha, ahead of surprise name Alex Marquez in 18th spot with it all to do for Saturday’s qualifying.

Augusto Fernandez and Takaaki Nakagami occupied 19th and 20th, respectively, ahead of Raul Fernandez, who rounded off a disappointing day for the American outfit Trackhouse.

Luca Marini and Stefan Bradl occupied the final two spots for Honda, with both riders unable to compete with their team-mates.

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