‘Clever’ Marc Marquez hailed for his genius that Francesco Bagnaia lacks after Brno Sprint tyre pressure ‘farce’

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Ducati got away with one in the Sprint Race at the 2025 MotoGP Czech Grand Prix, as Marc Marquez overcame his front tyre pressure warning to win at Brno this Saturday.

The Bologna Bullets led the way during qualifying in the morning, as Francesco Bagnaia beat Marquez to pole position for the Czech GP due in part to the latter crashing while on a faster lap. Yet glory in the first-ever Sprint race held at Brno nearly slipped through Ducati’s fingers.

Ducati misjudged the front tyre pressure settings on each of their bikes thanks to the lack of data the Borgo Panigale team gathered in the dry in practice. So, Bagnaia and Marquez both had to sacrifice track position in the Sprint to try to build their front tyre pressures back up.

Bagnaia was the first Ducati rider forced to back off, as the 28-year-old eased off the throttle to allow KTM rival Pedro Acosta into second place on Lap 5 of 10. Yet Marquez soon met the same fate when the warning light on the 32-year-old’s dashboard then illuminated on Lap 6.

Francesco Bagnaia made ‘a mess’ of managing his Czech Sprint tyre pressure warning, unlike Marc Marquez

Riders must keep their front tyre pressures above a minimum of 1.8 bar for at least 70% of a Sprint Race. So, Marquez – who was 2.792s clear of Acosta when he first backed off – clung onto his Spanish compatriot’s exhaust until the penultimate lap when he regained the lead.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend

But while Marquez pulled straight in behind Acosta and ultimately re-passed the KTM star at Turn 9 to go on and win by 0.798s, Bagnaia fell to P7 and was 3.648s shy of his teammate by the chequered flag. And Michael Laverty feels it ‘once again’ showed how smart Marquez is.

Bagnaia lost all of his rhythm after lifting off, having been 1.235s behind Marquez before the tyre pressure warning on his Ducati GP25 lit up. So, along with letting Acosta through for P2, Enea Bastianini, Fabio Quartararo, Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez even overtook him.

Laverty told TNT Sports 2 (19/07, 14:38): “Pecco made a bit of a mess of it when he dropped back. He needed to slot straight back in, as Marquez did.

“Marc does it so well, he just jumps straight in behind and he’s right onto the rear wheel to make sure he’s getting the heat from the exhaust to heat up the front tyre from the Pedro Acosta KTM in front. Once Pecco drops into the pack, he just got absolutely beat up.

“Pecco went backwards, Marc judged it to perfection. He’s right on Pedro’s rear wheel. He does make this pass with this change of direction into Turn 9 and dropped the hammer to put a bit of a gap in.

“He had two choices when he knew the dash light was on. Could he win by eight seconds today? Probably not in a 10-lap Sprint. So, once again, Marc is the clever operator.”

Neil Hodgson calls Ducati out for the ‘farce’ of getting their tyre pressures wrong at Brno

Bagnaia immediately found himself playing the role of the prey for a pack of vultures during the Sprint Race at the 2025 Czech GP upon receiving his front tyre pressure warning. While Marquez only gave up a place to Acosta, Bagnaia was a sitting duck for the field to overtake.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

Bastianini pushed Bagnaia out of his way at Turn 9 to get his first podium finish since leaving Ducati for KTM Tech3 this season, which also opened the door for Yamaha rider Quartararo. It was then the turn of Aprilia rider Bezzecchi on Lap 7 with a move down the inside at T11.

Trackhouse Aprilia ace Fernandez also then added to Bagnaia’s woes on the final lap at T12 after getting a superb run on the two-time MotoGP champion out of Turn 11. And it was all thanks to Ducati’s mistake with Bagnaia’s front tyre pressure, which Neil Hodgson raged at.

Hodgson said on TNT Sports 2 (19/07, 14:13): “What a farce from Ducati! What a mistake. A huge mistake. They’ve set those front tyre pressures, and they are wrong… I’m lost for words. It’s a tricky one to explain.”