Tire choice and conditions
All riders opted for soft tires on the rear wheel. The hard compound dominated on the front axle, with some riders such as Fabio Quartararo opting for medium tires. Conditions were sunny and dry, with an air temperature of 14 degrees and an asphalt temperature of 29 degrees.
The sprint: Bezzecchi with a wild incident
Aprilia put in an impressive performance in the 13-lap sprint race. However, there was an unusual incident right at the start: Marco Bezzecchi collided with a seagull on the warm-up lap, the remains of which were then left hanging in the fairing of his motorcycle. Bezzecchi himself described it as follows:
“It was pretty tough because right at the start I unfortunately hit a large bird – worse for him than for me, of course. But also for me, because I was quite shocked. Fortunately, nothing was damaged on the bike.”
Despite this shock, the Aprilia rider kept control and prevailed against his brand colleague Raul Fernandez after an exciting battle for position. Bezzecchi ultimately crossed the finish line first with a lead of 3.149 seconds (equivalent to around 43.12 meters at finishing speed).
Strong performances and dramatic scenes in the field
Jack Miller got off to the best start in the sprint, but Alex Marquez and Raul Fernandez were able to overtake him in the early stages. Fabio Quartararo lost ground early on and fell back to fifth place. Fernandez quickly took the lead, followed by Bezzecchi, who later passed his teammate. The two Aprilia riders pulled away from the rest of the field right from the start and were in a league of their own.
Behind them, a thrilling battle for the final podium spot unfolded: Pedro Acosta (KTM) held off Miller and Di Giannantonio until the finish line to secure third place – just 0.066 seconds ahead of Miller. Di Giannantonio completed the top five, just 0.049 seconds behind.
In the midfield, there were constant changes in position, especially between Alex Marquez, Miller, Acosta, and Quartararo. Fabio Di Giannantonio impressed with a strong second half of the race and worked his way up to fifth place. Fermin Aldeguer crashed and had to retire from the race early.
Disappointment for Bagnaia – more than 32 seconds behind
The race was less successful for defending champion Francesco Bagnaia. After a poor start, the Ducati rider found himself in 19th place early on and finished the race 32.408 seconds behind the winner – a bitter disappointment. Only substitute rider Michele Pirro finished behind him.
Comments from the top 3: Satisfaction and recognition
Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia):
“Fantastic work from the whole team. I’m super happy to have won today. This victory is for my team, all my guys, and all the fans.”
Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia):
“I was pretty relaxed on the bike and just tried not to make any mistakes. Marco was very fast. When I realized I couldn’t keep up, I tried to finish the race. Thanks to my team and my family. Let’s enjoy the moment.”
Pedro Acosta (KTM):
“Even though it wasn’t really our weekend, I’m super happy about the podium. The team is doing a fantastic job, even on a track like this, where we usually have great difficulty.”
Overview: The top 10 results in the sprint
- Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia)
- Raul Fernandez (Aprilia) +3.149 s
- Pedro Acosta (KTM) +5.310 s
- Jack Miller (KTM) +5.376 s
- Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) +5.416 s
- Alex Marquez (Ducati)
- Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
- Luca Marini (Ducati)
- Pol Espargaro (KTM)
- Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
Schedule for Sunday adjusted due to weather warning
Due to the forecasted gusts of wind, race officials have responded by adjusting the schedule for Sunday. The MotoGP main race will now start at 3:00 p.m. local time (6:00 a.m. CEST) instead of 2:00 p.m. as originally planned. Warm-up, Moto3, and Moto2 will take place one hour later accordingly.
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