Francesco Bagnaia dominated the Tissot Sprint at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, winning from pole and taking gold, 1.8 seconds ahead of teammate Marc Marquez. Bagnaia grabbed the holeshot while Aprilia riders Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin crashed at Turn 1, with Martin sustaining a broken collarbone and ruled out for Sunday.
Marc Marquez fought past Joan Mir and Pedro Acosta to secure P2, putting him on the brink of clinching the 2025 MotoGP World Championship if Alex Marquez doesn’t outperform him on Sunday. Acosta finished P3, holding off Mir, while Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo, and Luca Marini completed the top seven.
With this result, Marquez gains a major points advantage, needing only to maintain his position to secure a seventh MotoGP title. Meanwhile, Moto2 and other championship qualifying sessions also saw top riders like Manuel Gonzalez, Jose Antonio Rueda, and Valentin Perrone performing strongly ahead of Sunday’s races.