2025 Americas MotoGP: Pecco Bagnaia wins after Marc Marquez crashes from lead
Bagnaia wins chaotic Americas Grand Prix for Ducati
Pecco Bagnaia won a dramatic 2025 MotoGP Americas Grand Prix after Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez crashed out of a comfortable lead.
Marquez came into Sunday’s 20-lap grand prix at COTA looking to extend his 100% winning record in 2025, having taken victory in Saturday’s sprint.
But he would ultimately crash out of the lead on lap nine, gifting Pecco Bagnaia a comfortable first victory of the season.
Second for Alex Marquez means Marc Marquez now trails his younger brother by one point in the standings.
There was drama even before the grand prix got underway, as rain prior to lights led most to fit wet tyres, though KTM duo Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini, and Trackhouse Racing’s Ai Ogura, fitted slicks.
The start was then thrown into chaos with three minutes before lights out, after poleman Marc Marquez ran off the grid to get his dry bike - triggering a number or riders, including Bagnaia, to do the same.
With some still on the grid and others running into pitlane with bikes heading in the other direction, the start was delayed.
There were no changes to the grid, as had been the case in Argentina 2018 in a similar situation, with Marc Marquez lining up on pole for the shortened 19-lap race.
Marquez grabbed the holeshot from pole, while Bagnaia battled with Alex Marquez for second over the opening tour.
This allowed Marc Marquez to lead by 1.1s to start lap two, with Bagnaia eventually getting a move for second done on the fourth tour at Turn 12.
Leading by over two seconds when he began lap nine, Marc Marquez’s race came to an end at Turn 4 when he took too much kerb and tucked the front of his factory Ducati.
This released Bagnaia into a lead he would not lose, with the double world champion scoring his first win of the season by 2.089s over Alex Marquez.
The Gresini rider, now the championship leader, kept VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio at bay in second, while the latter’s team-mate Franco Morbidelli was fourth.
Jack Miller was the leading Yamaha in fifth for Pramac, while Marco Bezzecchi came through from 13th to sixth for Aprilia ahead of Tech3’s Enea Bastianini.
Luca Marini scored his best Honda grand prix result in eighth ahead of Ogura and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo - who crashed his dry bike on the sighting lap before the aborted start.
The final points went to Alex Rins (Yamaha), Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse), Augusto Fernandez (Pramac), Maverick Vinales (Tech3) and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia).
Vinales was forced to start from pitlane after his bike developed an issue on the grid.
Marc Marquez rejoined the race after his crash on lap nine, but a broken fairing and missing foot peg forced him into pitlane on lap 13.
There were crashes for Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer - who was running fifth - KTM’s Pedro Acosta, Honda’s Joan Mir and LCR’s Johann Zarco, while Brad Binder retired with technical issues.
