The Ducati rider completed a remarkable championship recovery after capitalizing on his rivals’ mistakes in San Marino.
MISANO ADRIATICO, ITALY
Marc Márquez won the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano and moved to the top of the MotoGP championship for the first time this season. The Spanish rider now shares 274 points with Jorge Martín but leads the standings through the victory count, having won five Sunday races compared with Martín’s one.
Marco Bezzecchi began from pole position and entered the weekend as a leading championship contender. His challenge ended on the opening lap when he lost control of his Aprilia and crashed, allowing Márquez and Martín to fight for command of the race.
Martín briefly moved ahead on the seventh lap, but Márquez recovered the lead and managed his Ducati’s pace to the finish. Álex Márquez secured second place for Gresini Racing, while KTM rider Pedro Acosta completed an entirely Spanish podium. Fermín Aldeguer finished fourth, followed by Martín and Raúl Fernández, creating an unprecedented all-Spanish top six.
The victory completed a perfect weekend for Márquez after he also dominated Saturday’s sprint race. It represented his second consecutive Grand Prix double and strengthened a comeback that appeared improbable earlier in the season. At one stage, he trailed Bezzecchi by 102 points; after Misano, the Italian is 33 points behind the two championship leaders.
Francesco Bagnaia endured another difficult race, crashing out for his fourth retirement in five Grands Prix. His recent problems contrast sharply with Márquez’s growing consistency and further reinforce the Spaniard’s position as Ducati’s strongest championship contender.
Márquez will now defend the lead at the next round in Austria, where the equality of points leaves no margin for strategic caution. His advantage rests only on victories, meaning a single poor result could return Martín to first place. Misano changed the order of the championship, but it did not reduce its uncertainty.
Championships are decided when opportunity meets precision.