Bezzecchi Secures Phillip Island Sprint Victory as Bagnaia Suffers Dramatic Setback
Phillip Island, Australia – Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia stormed to victory in the MotoGP Sprint race at Phillip Island on October 18, completing 13 laps in 19:03.971 minutes. raúl Fernández (Aprilia) finished second, 3.149 seconds behind, while Pedro Acosta (KTM) rounded out the podium in third, trailing by 5.310 seconds. The race delivered a stunning upset for championship contender Francesco Bagnaia, who plummeted to 19th place, finishing 32.408 seconds off the pace.
This result injects important volatility into the MotoGP World Championship battle with just seven races remaining. Bagnaia’s disastrous performance allows championship leader Alex Marquez to extend his advantage, now holding 545 points. The Italian’s struggles, coupled with Bezzecchi’s win and Acosta’s podium, demonstrate the intensifying competition as riders vie for the title. The Sprint results also highlight Ducati’s mixed fortunes, with a strong showing from Fabio Di Giannantonio in fifth overshadowed by Bagnaia’s unexpected fall and Bastianini’s climb to tenth.
The top ten finishers included Jack Miller (Yamaha) in fourth, followed by Di Giannantonio, Alex Marquez, Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), Luca Marini (Honda), Pol Espargaro (KTM), and Enea Bastianini (KTM). Bastianini impressively gained ten positions, moving up from 20th to 10th. Alex Marquez secured sixth, while Quartararo, Marini, and Espargaro claimed the final championship point-scoring positions.
Further down the order, Joan Mir finished 11th, with Johann Zarco, Alex Rins, Miguel Oliveira, and Franco Morbidelli completing the points. Somkiat Chantra preceded Bagnaia in 18th, while Michele Pirro finished 20th. Fermin Aldeguer retired three laps down, and Brad Binder suffered a significant setback, finishing 12 laps behind the leader.
motogp Phillip Island, Sprint (October 18) – Top 20:
- Marco Bezzecchi (I), Aprilia, 19:03.971
- Raúl Fernández (E), Aprilia, +3.149 sec
- Pedro acosta (L), KTM, +5.310
- Jack Miller (AUS), Yamaha, +5.376
- Fabio Di giannantonio (I), Ducati, +5.414
- alex Marquez (E), Ducati, +6.109
- Fabio Quartararo (F), Yamaha, +8.706
- Luca Marini (I), Honda, +8.938
- Pol Espargaro (E), KTM, +9.252
- Enea Bastianini (I), KTM, +9.752
- Joan Mir (E), Honda, +10.231
- Johann Zarco (F), Honda, +12.104
- Alex Rins (E), Yamaha, +12.132
- Miguel Oliveira (P), Yamaha, +17.494
- Franco Morbidelli (I), Ducati, +18.967
- Ai Ogura (J), Aprilia, +19.784
- Lorenzo Savadori (I),Aprilia,+25.185
- Somkiat Chantra (T), Honda, +28.945
- Francesco Bagnaia (I), Ducati, +32.408
- Michele Pirro (I), Ducati, +35.523
World Championship standings after 37 of 44 races:
- Alex Marquez, 545 Punkte
- Marco Marquez, 366
- Francesco Bagnaia, 274
- Marco Bezz
