Francesco Bagnaia: “I know the win came because of a crash for Marc”

Francesco Bagnaia claimed a surprise first victory of the 2025 MotoGP season after team-mate Marc Marquez’s hopes of a perfect six-race winning streak ended in a crash from the lead at COTA.

Bagnaia, under mounting pressure after being outpaced by Marquez in every session so far this season, admitted the Spaniard was again on another level before making his big mistake.

After chaos on the grid as Marquez triggered a mass exodus for slick tyres, the #93 converted his pole position into the early lead. Meanwhile, Bagnaia launched from sixth to third, then overtook Alex Marquez on lap 4 of 19.

Marc was already out of reach and still setting a peerless pace, but he crashed after being caught out by the Turn 4 kerb on lap 9. Once in the lead, Bagnaia monitored a two-second lead over the Gresini machine of new title leader Alex Marquez.

“It’s an incredible feeling, I’m very happy. It’s the first time I’ve won here at COTA,” Bagnaia said.

“I know that the win came because of a crash for Marc. He was faster than us, faster than everybody else today. So I was just trying to match his pace as best as possible.

“As soon as I saw him crash, I just kept pushing to open the gap to Alex. He was still very close, and it wasn’t easy - he was gaining a lot in Sector 1, staying close in Sector 2, and I was only able to pull away in Sector 3 by braking hard into Turn 12.”

Bagnaia will hope his victory marks a turning point after struggling to exploit his usual braking strength on the latest GP25, even though it is heavily based on last year’s GP24.

“The start of the season hasn’t been easy. From the winter tests to the first two races, I struggled to find my feeling under braking. But this weekend helped me a lot - I finally found what I was searching for,” he said.

“I’m really happy for my team, because they’re the ones always pushing me and making me smile while I ride. So thanks to them, thanks to my team at home who always work super hard to help me.

“I’m just super happy today… I’ve already lost my voice!”

Marc “was aggressive over the kerbs”

Marquez’s race unravelled at Turn 4, where he lost the front after cutting too much of the wet kerb and was sent sliding across the track.

“I could see he was very aggressive over the kerbs,” Bagnaia explained.

“To be that competitive, you have to cut a lot into Turn 4, but it was probably still a bit wet. Normally, I also try to use that kerb, but in today’s warm-up lap, I touched it and the grip wasn’t good.

“I saw him lose the front… But if he hadn’t crashed, he would have still been pulling away, because his pace was fantastic.”

Bagnaia: "I feel better than last year"

After his first COTA win, Bagnaia is focused on building momentum as MotoGP heads to Qatar.

“It’s difficult to say if I’m back to that sweet feeling of last year’s GP24.

“But last year, I really struggled here at COTA. I finished eighth in the Sprint and fifth in the race.

“This year, I’ve made a big step forward. Compared to last year, I felt much better.

“The next one is Qatar, a very good track for me, so I’ll just keep working and keep improving.”

Bagnaia has closed to within 12 points of new world championship leader Alex Marquez and is one point behind Marc.