Francesco Bagnaia showed a change in fortunes at the Japanese Grand Prix as he won the Sprint race ahead of championship leader Marc Marquez and KTM’s Pedro Acosta.
Marc Marquez could win the 2025 MotoGP title this weekend at Motegi, needing to outscore his brother Alex Marquez by three points over the course of the race weekend.
Bagnaia took his second pole position of the season on Saturday morning, and the Ducati rider got off to a good start in the Sprint race to keep his lead amid pressure at turn one.
Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi tangled at the first corner, with both Aprilia riders crashing out of the race after such a positive showing from the team at the previous round of the season in San Marino.
Marquez made his way up to third place on the seventh lap of the race, finally dispatching Joan Mir after chasing the 2020 premier class world champion for several laps.
The championship leader then moved past Acosta on the following lap, setting his sights on his factory Ducati teammate, which turned out to be in vain as the Italian rider kept his cool to take his first Sprint race victory of the current campaign.
Mir took the chequered flag in fourth ahead of Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo and Luca Marini.
Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura took eighth and ninth, respectively, with Gresini’s Marquez rounding out the top 10 riders.
Sprint race results for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix
| Position | Rider | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 20:59.113 |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | Ducati | +1.842 |
| 3 | Pedro Acosta | KTM | +3.674 |
| 4 | Joan Mir | Honda HRC | +4.300 |
| 5 | Franco Morbidelli | VR46 Racing | +5.130 |
| 6 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | +8.913 |
| 7 | Luca Marini | Honda HRC | +9.102 |
| 8 | Raul Fernandez | Trackhouse | +10.334 |
| 9 | Ai Ogura | Trackhouse | +10.480 |
| 10 | Alex Marquez | Gresini Racing | +11.487 |
| 11 | Fermin Aldeguer | Gresini Racing | +13.492 |
| 12 | Brad Binder | KTM | +13.823 |
| 13 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | VR46 Racing | +15.425 |
| 14 | Takaaki Nakagami | HRC Test Team | +16.352 |
| 15 | Miguel Oliveira | Pramac Racing | +18.211 |
| 16 | Maverick Vinales | Tech3 | +20.706 |
| 17 | Somkiat Chantra | LCR Honda | +21.833 |
| 18 | Alex Rins | Yamaha | +43.428 |
| 19 | Jack Miller | Pramac Racing | DNF |
| 20 | Johann Zarco | LCR Honda | DNF |
| 21 | Enea Bastianini | Tech3 | DNF |
| 22 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia Racing | DNF |
| 23 | Jorge Martin | Aprilia Racing | DNF |
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
