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Motorsport

Winners and losers from MotoGP's San Marino Grand Prix

Marc Marquez Joan Mir Marco Bezzecchi Enea Bastianini Brad Binder Franco Morbidelli Gold and Goose Photography LAT Images Di Giannantonio Honda

The final European race before a string of flyaways stuck largely to form, with the usual protagonists slugging it out at the front around the switchbacks of Misano.

This being Italy, however, there was a bit of extra emotion for some of those who succeeded. And further down the field, a couple of unlucky folk had a cocktail of negativity come their way.

Winner: Marco Bezzecchi

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images)

Marco Bezzecchi’s win at the British Grand Prix still ranks as the highlight of an increasingly impressive 2025 for the factory Aprilia rider. But taking pole position and the sprint in front of an adoring home crowd has to be right up there for this most local of riders. Even giving best to Marc Marquez in the grand prix did little to dampen his mood after putting up a good fight.

Then there were the other factors that sweetened his on-paper results. This was Aprilia’s first race in Italy since the conclusion of the Jorge Martin saga – it could only be heartwarming for Bezzecchi to underline his role as de facto team leader so emphatically here, with his employer a far less distracted squad than it was at the Italian GP in June. Plus, his celebratory gags involving a wooden leg went down a treat – even if Italians struggle to explain the comedy reference involved to outsiders.

Loser: Joan Mir

Joan Mir, Honda HRC (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images)

Honda might be trending in the right direction, but this was an unfortunate weekend for factory rider Joan Mir. His troubles began on Friday, when he picked up an unfortunate neck injury after falling in practice. Things were bad enough to see him sit out Saturday entirely.

The silver lining for Mir was that he had already set a practice time fast enough for automatic Q2 participation, entitling him to 12th spot on the grid despite not setting a qualifying time as such. The 2020 world champion could be thankful for the vagaries of the weekend format on that front.

He completely failed to take advantage of this break on Sunday, however, by crashing on the first lap and skittling fellow Honda rider Johann Zarco into the bargain. Mir is certainly no boss-pleaser in comparison to in-form team-mate Luca Marini right now.

Winner: VR46

Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images)

After an up and down season, Misano’s favourite team could take the short trip home pleased that this was one of the ups. It was a solid weekend, the sort the yellow pair often delivered early in the season, when Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio quietly followed the biggest names home for podiums. Given that this seems to represent maximum potential for the Ducati satellite in 2025, San Marino was a race well run.

Morbidelli will have pleased Valentino Rossi after delivering on his promise to stay out of trouble this weekend. He outqualified team-mate Di Giannantonio with fifth on the grid, two places ahead of his fellow Roman, and headed him home with fourth place on Sunday. Di Giannantonio also grabbed third in the sprint, with Morbidelli just behind him at the flag. If only every weekend could be so straightforward!

Loser: Brad Binder

Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images)

Misano seemed to have it in for the South African aboard the factory KTM. Brad Binder battled engine braking issues on his preferred bike during the practice sessions, which meant he had to keep switching between that and the spare. He also lost his chain twice… an issue he put down to the aggressive kerb at the exit of Turn 6.

He eventually qualified 15th, a modest result given KTM’s recent uptick. Then tech trouble struck again in the sprint, when his steed broke down and refused to go any further. It was at this point that he was spotted remonstrating with his bike, reporting afterwards that things were “beginning to catch up with me a bit”.

Sunday provided a mild salve as he claimed a handful of points following a steady ride to 10th place.

Winner: Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team (Photo by: Danilo Di Giovanni / Getty Images)

You could argue that a man who sets the standards Marc Marquez does should not consider this weekend a success. It was neither a perfect haul of 37 points nor was there outright evidence that he was the fastest man over a single lap. He also went over the limit in the sprint, falling in a race for the first time since May. All a bit chastening.

But he did win the main race on Sunday, after all, defeating Marco Bezzecchi with his usual mix of lurking intimidation and tyre preservation. Redemptive wins are always a little sweeter, and that’s exactly what this was following Saturday’s blunder. More importantly, though, it meant he’d won both grands prix on Italian soil this season, his first after moving to the country’s most coveted factory seat. It was a perfect farewell gift for those at the Borgo Panigale works before he flies off to Asia to seal the world championship. Oh, and winning in old rival Rossi’s heartland would have been an additional spirit-lifter.

Loser: Enea Bastianini

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3 (Photo by: Jose Breton - Pics Action - NurPhoto - Getty Images)

The Tech3 rider has done no wrong since his dramatic turnaround in form at the Czech Republic Grand Prix before the summer break. But Enea Bastianini's streak finally ran out on home ground. He emerged from the weekend with no more points than he would have scored had he rented one of the thousands of sun loungers lining the Adriatic beaches down at the bottom of the hill.

If failing to make Q2 is a dangerous idea, then falling in Q1 is just plain suicidal. Bastianini did exactly that, which played no small part in his lining up 20th on the grid – the kind of neighbourhood he’d grown used to earlier in the year. He came through to 10th in the sprint, but that meant he was first of the losers in terms of points. On Sunday, he lost the bike at Carro on lap 12 when running 10th – and his RC16 would go no further without the help of a pickup truck.