2025 CzechGP Race Report

It was the first ever Tissot Sprint at Brno and a first pole start of 2025 for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) so right from lights out, there was lots on the line. After what seemed like a tyre pressure battle led to both Pecco and teammate Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) slowing up, the #93 soon pushed his way to the front to make it another Sprint success. He took gold ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), making it two KTMs on a podium for the first time this season. 

FIRST STAGES: battles all the way through the pack
Snatching the holeshot, Pecco lead the way until Turn 3 when teammate Marc attacked and took over at the front. Elsewhere, a poor start from Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) left him down in 19th on Lap 1 whilst at Turn 3 on Lap 2, Augusto Fernandez (Yamaha Factory Racing Team) slid off and collected Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR), ending both their Sprints. Into P3 on the second lap, Acosta got himself ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) whilst the Frenchman was rubbing fairings with Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) at Turn 10. Meanwhile, Bez's returning teammate, World Champion Jorge Martin, was up into P7 in the early stages.

TYRE PRESSURE CONCERNS: Pecco and Marc slow from leading positions
At the end of Lap 4, Bastianini was capitalising on his strong weekend so far and into fourth and ahead of Quartararo, but the drama was further up the road. On the exit of Turn 4, Bagnaia slowed down and was passed by Acosta, Bastianini and Quartararo. A lap later and it could have been a replay – this time for Marc Marquez; the #93 likewise slowing down and letting Acosta through to let the #37 lead in his first outing at Brno.

Both the Ducatis slowing down but getting straight back into the pace suggested that tyre pressures needed controlling but whatever it was, the last three laps had Acosta, Marc Marquez, Bastianini and Quartararo all in victory contention. Behind, Bezzecchi clambered ahead of Pecco at Turn 11, now into the top five, with Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) next up.

LATE CHARGES: Bezzecchi and Fernandez move up, Marc retakes P1
On the penultimate lap, Bezzecchi worked his way into fourth ahead of Quartararo as his trademark late pace came to the fore. Up at the front and on the direction change from Turn 8 into Turn 9, Marc Marquez pounced in what would prove to be a Sprint-winning pass on ‘El Tiburon’. Another success in the Sprint for the Championship leader who extended his Championship advantage, with a first Sprint podium for Acosta since Aragon 2024. Two KTMs on a Sprint podium underline their previous happy memories at Brno and it's a first rostrum of the year for Bastianini. There was a small caveat on top of the podium with Marquez’s tyre pressure under investigation but that was soon over, the win standing for Marc.

ROUNDING OUT THE ORDER: Bezzecchi just off the podium, Martin 11th
Bezzecchi claimed P4 with Quartararo behind him. On the final lap, Fernandez pushed his way into sixth place ahead of polesitter Pecco, whilst Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and super-sub Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) completed the points-paying positions. On his comeback ride, Martin finished in 11th, just behind Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Alex Marquez, meanwhile, was forced to settle for P17 and zero points after the nightmare start.

MOTOGP - RACE

Marc Marquez fends off Bezzecchi to make Ducati history

Sometimes, you just have to sit back and admire greatness. Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) emerged victorious on Sunday at the Tissot Grand Prix of Czechia to become the first Ducati rider to win five Grands Prix on the spin, but he was made to work for it in the first half of the battle. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) put up a good fight to collect P2, 1.7s away from the win, as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) held off a late Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) comeback to pick up his first Sunday rostrum of the season.

LIGHTS OUT: Bagnaia earns holeshot
Bagnaia punched off the line well and got the holeshot but like yesterday, Marc Marquez was through at Turn 3. Not for long though. On the cutback through Turn 4, Pecco led again and then Bezzecchi carved his way past the #93 at Turn 5.

That’s how it was over the line but Pecco was wide at the penultimate corner, costing him time, so that allowed Bezzecchi to make a move at Turn 1 on Lap 2. Marc Marquez, like he did on Lap 1, passed Pecco at Turn 3 and this time there was no way back for Pecco.

PASSES AND DRAMA: Bez leads, Alex Marquez crashes and then so does Bastianini
Meanwhile, Alex Marquez’s (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) disastrous weekend continued. The rider second in the championship was down at Turn 12 after an audacious move up the inside of Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) didn’t pay off. The luckless Mir was taken out, and the Honda rider, along with Alex Marquez, were out of the Grand Prix from P5 and P6, so that was zero points in Czechia for the #73. A hammer blow for the Gresini star’s title hopes.

Further up the order, it was Acosta’s turn to pass Pecco at Turn 3 on Lap 3, as Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and then Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) carved their way past Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Next up behind Quartararo: Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing).

On Lap 5, Bastianini’s charge continued. The Italian was through on his former teammate Bagnaia, with ‘The Beast’ now 1.4s behind his KTM stablemate Acosta. But then, Bastianini was in the gravel. Turn 3 saw the #23 lose the front end and it was Grand Prix over for Bastianini, a shame after his best weekend in orange. 

THE WINNING MOVE: Marquez pounces
Lap 8 saw a change for the lead. Marc Marquez, at Turn 3, pounced on Bezzecchi. And the #93 got his elbows out through Turn 4 to keep Bezzecchi behind him, so what did the championship leader have in his pocket? Acosta was right with the top two now, while Bagnaia sat 1.7s adrift of the podium fight.

A 1:54.184 played a 1:54.4 for Bezzecchi and a 1:54.5 for Acosta, seeing Marquez go 0.5s clear at the front at the start of Lap 10. A lap later, the gap was up to 0.8s, and then with a fastest lap of the Grand Prix, Marquez’s lead grew to 1.2s on Lap 12 of 21.

Bezzecchi was giving this a good go. Bezzecchi dipped into the 1:53s for the first time, a 1:53.999, but on the same lap, Lap 14, Marquez found a 1:53.787. And on the following lap, Marquez went even quicker. A 1:53.691, coupled with a 1:54.085 from Bezzecchi, saw the lead climb to 1.9s.

With Marquez giving no one a chance of fighting for the win, attention turned to the rostrum fight. Pecco was gathering some late race momentum and from just under two seconds away, with three laps left, the Italian was 0.5s behind Acosta. That was then 0.4s with two laps to go, as Bezzecchi continued on his way to P2, 0.9s ahead.

And on the last lap, Pecco was within attacking distance - just. Marquez was 1.6s clear of Bezzecchi and controlling things at the front, with the latter safe from being pounced on from behind. Could Bagnaia muster something up to grab P3? The answer - fortunately for KTM, unfortunately for Ducati - was no.

The answer was also no to could anyone beat Marquez in Brno? The #93 took the chequered flag 1.7s ahead of Bezzecchi to become the first Ducati rider ever to win five Grands Prix in a row. Simply put: chapeau.

Fair play to Bezzecchi as well, that’s another Sunday podium for the #72, as Acosta held off Pecco to clinch his first Sunday podium of the season. Ducati, Aprilia and KTM on the Brno rostrum.

YOUR POINTS SCORERS: Brno edition
Pecco’s P4 won’t be enough for the polesitter, but he’ll take the positives following his second half of the race charge. Fifth place went to Fernandez, who enjoyed his best weekend of the season, and that P5 is his equal best in MotoGP. Quartararo was less than a second behind the Trackhouse rider in P6, with the returning Martin coming home in a fabulous P7. That’s a phenomenal comeback effort from the #1 after a torrid few months of injuries, and a real boost for Aprilia, Martin and MotoGP ahead of the second half of the season. How good was it seeing the #1 back?

Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) came out on top in a good fight between the rookie and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), while Maverick Viñales’ super-sub Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3) caps off a superb weekend in Brno by taking away a P10 over the line. But then Aldeguer was given the equivalent of a Long Lap penalty as a time penalty, putting him back down to P11. So Binder takes P8, Espargaro P9 and Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) completes the top ten.

Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) managed to stay head of Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) in that battle, with Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completing the scorers. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) ended a tougher weekend outside the points and heads into summer break looking to bounce back.

Augusto Fernandez P18

Enea Bastianini NC

"The race finished early for me unfortunately, but our first laps were really good. Our start was not as good as yesterday, but we were able to comeback, with really good overtakes. Once I was in 4th, I was riding for the first time of the race without a slipstream, I broke hard, with a lot of angle at the entry, and I made a mistake at T3 unfortunately. Anyway, we have had a good weekend, it has been really good for us. It was nice to arrive at a new track, to discover it without any other reference. Our bike worked really well, so I am happy with the steps made! I tried to fight once again for the podium, but we will try again next time."

MOTO2
California Dreamin’: Roberts fends off Baltus for victory in Brno

At the venue he claimed his debut Moto2 podium at back in 2020, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) returned to the top step for the first time this season with a phenomenal Czech GP victory. The American fended off the hard challenge of Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) as the Belgian pockets back-to-back P2s ahead of the summer break, with Manuel Gonzalez’s (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) P3 seeing the Spaniard stretch his title chase lead.

After things got close at lights out between polesitter Baltus and Roberts, it was the American’s teammate Marcos Ramirez who grabbed the holeshot as drama unfolded for Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) at Turn 1. The Spaniard was down from the middle of the pack and that was his points hopes over.

Baltus pinched the lead of the race at the end of Lap 1 with a great move at the final corner, as Ramirez took the first of his two Long Lap penalties on Lap 3. That dropped the #24 to P7 behind home hero Filip Salač (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), and when he took his second, Ramirez was P12.

On Lap 6, both Canet and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) had parked their Triumph-Kalex machines, handing Gonzalez a fantastic chance to stretch his points advantage ahead of the summer break. And it was the Spaniard who was shadowing the P1 battle between Baltus and Roberts, with the Californian making a move stick on Lap 7 to lead in Brno.

By Lap 10, Roberts and Baltus were now pulling clear of Gonzalez, with the #16 setting the fastest lap of the race on that lap – a 1:59.4 played a 1:59.6 for Baltus. With five to go, the gap was still just 0.2s between the American and Belgian, but that rose to just under 0.4s with four laps left.

Gonzalez was 2.6s away from the victory fight, so it was all about Roberts vs Baltus. With two laps to go, Roberts was keeping Baltus at bay by 0.5s, with the latter not able to quite get close enough to attempt a pass.

And then it was last lap time. The gap? 0.6s in Roberts’ favour. Baltus wasn’t close enough to engage in battle and for the first time since the 2024 Italian GP, Roberts returned to winning ways. Baltus clinched his fourth second place of the season to rise to P3 in the overall standings and Gonzalez collected a very handy 16 points in his quest for the Moto2 title.

Rookie Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) earned an impressive P4 ahead of Celestino Vietti (Sync SpeedRS Team), with Izan Guevara (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) a solid P6 in Brno. Ramirez strung together an impressive race following his double Long Lap penalty to beat Salač to P7, with the Czech star ending his home GP in P8.

David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) were the final top 10 finishers, while Sachsenring podium finishers Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) end their Brno weekends with a disappointing P11 and P12.

Roberts wins again, Baltus comes close, and Gonzalez strides to a 25-point championship lead heading into the summer break.

Diogo Moreira NC

"It was a difficult weekend for me. I tried to race like I did in the previous Grand Prix races, but with my elbow in this condition, I couldn't do any more. I have three weeks ahead of me to recover and get back in shape for the next GP in Austria."

MOTO3
Rueda takes lights-to-flag Brno victory ahead of gloves-off P2 battle

A record gap between P1 and P2 in the standings after 12 rounds is just what Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ordered ahead summer break and it’s what he came away with from his first visit to Brno. Behind, a battle between Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) and teammate Dennis Foggia lit up the group battle, with Quiles ultimately securing second ahead of David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) who came from last on the grid to third for a third straight rostrum finish.

Storming into Turn 1 and grabbing the advantage, Championship leader Rueda edged out polesitter Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and fellow front-row starter David Almansa (Leopard Racing). Quiles was soon up into P2 halfway through the first lap whilst further behind, Muñoz had made a lightning getaway from the back of the grid and was already into the points. By the start of Lap 3, the Aragon and German GP winner was already inside the top ten whilst 2020 Czech GP winner Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) had clambered his way into the top three.

At the halfway stage, Rueda had begun to get the hammer down whilst Quiles and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) battled for podium honours. Foggia was up to second but the fight had left a second gap between the #99 out front and the chasing pack. By the end of Lap 9, Quiles was back into P2 but back-to-back fastest laps by Rueda meant the pressure was on for the #28.

The scrapping continued and with five to go and a two second gap to Rueda, it was very much a battle to decide the final two spots on the podium. Behind the duelling CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar machines came Piqueras, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), Muñoz and Almansa. Into the last lap and Quiles led the way with Piqueras, Muñoz and Foggia nipping at his heels. At Turn 6, the #64 muscled his way into P3 and then P2 by Turn 10. It was all coming down to Turn 13 but fantastic defensive work from Muñoz made it hard for Quiles. Rueda took a seventh win of the season, Quiles managed to slipstream his way into second whilst Muñoz’s last-to-third ride keeps up his run of top five finishes and makes it a fourth podium in five GPs. Piqueras’ wait for a rostrum return continues as he took P4, ahead of Foggia and Fernandez, the latter of which took his first points since Le Mans.

Almansa took more solid points in seventh and closes in on top Honda honours in the standings, whilst Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) fought his way into eighth. Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and polesitter Pini rounded out the top ten. Elsewhere, it was a notable ride for Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), working his way up the order into P11 before a double Long Lap for causing a crash drops him out the points, meaning star debutant Marco Morelli (DENSSI Racing – BOE) moves up to 13th to impress first time out. 

Adrian Fernandez P6

“After the bad streak we have suffered during the last few races, it was very important for us to finish this race. It wasn't the result we wanted, but this tastes like glory after everything we've been through lately. We have to keep working in this direction, and I am sure we will come back stronger after the summer break. As always, a big thanks to the team!”

David Almansa P7

“It was a very tough and fast race. The feeling with the bike was very good, but I struggled when it came to overtaking. Nevertheless, I gave my best on every lap, trying to stay in the group. We finished with a 7th place today after a difficult weekend, and we will keep working during the break to keep improving for the next one in Austria!”.

Riccardo Rossi NC