MotoGP Valencia Sprint 2025: Alex Márquez wins, Acosta and Di Giannantonio on the podium

The final sprint of the 2025 MotoGP season in Valencia offered a mix of early incidents, tactical duels, and clear battles for position. Alex Márquez took advantage of his strong start, kept Pedro Acosta at bay, and claimed his third sprint victory of the season. Fabio Di Giannantonio prevailed in a close duel with Raul Fernandez to complete the podium.

Strong start and early decision at the front

Alex Márquez got off to a perfect start from second place and took the holeshot in turn 1 ahead of pole-setter Marco Bezzecchi. However, everything went wrong for the Italian: his launch control did not deactivate as intended, forcing him to approach the first corner more cautiously. He was only able to switch off the assistance again in turn 2, but had already lost around 1.5 seconds. In a sprint over 13 laps, this gap was almost impossible to close.

Pedro Acosta took advantage of the commotion at the start and moved up from fifth to second place. According to his own statement, he had to be extremely aggressive in the first lap, but was then unable to maintain his risk-taking because he had problems with the front wheel and had to go wide several times.

Márquez then controlled his pace, conserving his tires slightly at the start and only picking up the pace towards the end of the race. The gap to Acosta grew to over a second at one point. The lead remained stable, while behind them the battle for the remaining podium places raged.

Crash involving Honda factory riders and other incidents

The sprint was a sobering experience for Honda. Joan Mir crashed in turn 2 on lap 2, taking out his teammate Luca Marini. The race was immediately over for both of them. Later, there was another collision in the same section, this time between Jack Miller and Fermin Aldeguer. Miller received a three-position penalty, which he was unable (or unwilling?) to implement and therefore received an additional long-lap penalty.

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Bezzecchi’s comeback and tire choice

Bezzecchi worked his way up after his unsuccessful start, but remained behind his Aprilia teammate Raul Fernandez. Both Aprilia riders were the only ones to opt for the soft front tire. Bezzecchi later explained that he remained convinced of the decision. The mistake at the start was much more decisive for the missed podium.

Although the sprint ended disappointingly in fifth place, the Italian secured third place in the overall World Championship standings ahead of schedule.

Battle for third place: Close duel between Di Giannantonio and Fernandez

The most intense duel of the race developed in the battle for third place. Fabio Di Giannantonio and Raul Fernandez swapped positions several times in the final stages. “It was real, pure racing,” said Di Giannantonio after the sprint. The Italian ultimately prevailed and secured his next podium finish.

Finish: Márquez wins confidently, Acosta consolidates fourth place in the World Championship

Alex Márquez controlled the sprint to take the win. Acosta secured his fourth consecutive podium finish in the sprint and moved back ahead of Francesco Bagnaia in the World Championship standings. With Bagnaia in 14th place, Acosta goes into Sunday’s season finale with a six-point lead.

Di Giannantonio finished third ahead of Fernandez and Bezzecchi. Franco Morbidelli finished the race in sixth place, followed by Fabio Quartararo and Brad Binder, who improved from 15th to eighth place. Ai Ogura took the last point in ninth place.