The 21-lap race in Brno, Czechia proved to be an action-filled, exciting event for riders and viewers alike. With plenty of battles and overtakes, championship leader Marc Márquez once again stole the spotlight. With the win today, he makes history as the first Ducati rider to win 5 races in a row.
A Reduced Grid
Ahead of the weekend, Takaaki Nakagami stepped into the Honda LCR, replacing injured Somkiat Chantra. However, a crash in Saturday’s sprint race with Augusto Fernández saw Nakagami have to withdraw from the main race. The Japanese rider will receive an MRI to discover the true extent of his injury.
Crashes and Comebacks
It has no doubt been a difficult weekend for Gresini rider Álex Márquez. After a poor start in the sprint and a crash with his teammate, Saturday saw the first time this season the Márquez brother has failed to score points this season. The poor luck continued in the main race when on Lap 2 he collided with Joan Mir – taking them both out of the running.
Coming off of his P3 finish yesterday, Enea Bastianini was also looking ahead to another strong finish. Having started P11, the Italian was in P4 by Lap 6 – a strong start after being ill the previous week. His race however, came to an early finish when a lap later, the bike slid from underneath him, crashing at Turn 3.
In contrast, this was a race of comebacks for some riders.
Aprilia rider and reigning champion Jorge Martín achieved his first points in the 2025 season with a P7 finish. He made up 5 places throughout the race and managed to stay out of trouble with all the battles around him.
Replacement rider Pol Espargaro also achieved points – taking P9 on the final lap. This marks his first points since the San Marino Grand Prix in 2024, and his joint best finish since the 2022 Portuguese Grand Prix.
Brad Binder also had a positive race, finishing 8th and making up 11 places. He had plenty of battles to get there but showed that the KTM bike had pace this weekend – can the manufacturer continue this in the coming races?
History Made by Márquez
Marc Márquez won the main race by 1.753 seconds ahead of Marco Bezzecchi. This marks his 5th win in a row, and 5th double at that having won the sprint races too. In doing so, Márquez has made history and becomes the first Ducati rider to achieve this.
Starting 2nd on the grid, Márquez attempted a pass on teammate Francesco Bagnaia at the start, but was held off, which allowed Bezzecchi to take 2nd. Bezzecchi then went on to lead but by Lap 9, Márquez had taken the lead and was riding away from the pack. Consistently lapping faster than the rest of the grid, the Ducati rider also set the race lap record of 1.53:691.
“When Marc passed me, I immediately saw that he had something more. I tried to attack, but he was strong.”
~ Marco Bezzecchi in his post race interview
Considering his brother failed to score any points at Brno, Marc Márquez has now taken a significant lead of 120 points in the championship standings.
Pedro Acosta also scored a double podium with KTM this weekend, his first with the team and of the year. With the double podium, and Binder also showing pace, is this a sign of a stronger second half of the season for KTM?
The top ten (and points scorers) of the Czechia GP were as follows:
We now have a summer break before heading to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. With the riders getting some rest, what will the second half of the season bring us?