MotoGP News: Bagnaia wins Sepang Sprint Race

Under the relentless Malaysian sun at Sepang International Circuit, Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (pictured) arrived with baggage from a turbulent stretch—heartbreak in Motegi still fresh, form swings that had fans questioning the Ducati maestro’s fire. But on this steamy Saturday in 2025, the Italian flipped the script, unleashing a flawless Sprint race victory that felt like destiny reclaimed.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Leading wire-to-wire in the 10-lap dash, Bagnaia didn’t just win; he dominated, pulling away with surgical precision to remind the paddock why he’s a two-time world champion.

The lights snuffed out, and Pecco pounced. A textbook launch from pole catapults him into the lead, with Alex Marquez’s Gresini Ducati shadowing like a loyal wingman and Pedro Acosta’s rookie fire on KTM nipping at their heels. Turn 1 unfolds in harmony—no sparks, no spills—as the trio ghosts clear of the pack, their exhaust notes harmonizing in a symphony of speed. By the end of lap one, Marquez’s slight bobble at the line gifts Acosta a fleeting sniff of second, but the Spaniard—fresh off his Indonesian triumph—reclaims it on lap two with a predatory pass, the Ducati’s torque flexing its muscle.

Behind, chaos brews in the mid-pack scrum. Joan Mir, the resurgent Honda ace, threads the needle on lap one, surging to fourth amid a frenzy of elbows and late brakes. His factory RC213V hums with menace, the gap to the leaders shrinking lap by lap. By lap four, Mir’s in podium contention, eyes locked on Acosta’s fading red tail. But fate, ever the trickster in MotoGP, intervenes cruelly: at Turn 9 on lap five, Mir’s Honda snaps sideways, spitting him into the gravel in a plume of dust and shattered dreams. The crash echoes like a thunderclap, yanking the pressure valve off the lead trio and handing Marquez breathing room.

Up front, Bagnaia’s in another postcode. By mid-race, his lead balloons past 1.5 seconds, the #1 Ducati carving clean lines through Sepang’s sweeping esses as if the track were built for him alone. The battle for the final podium step ignites, though—Acosta’s early zeal wanes, his KTM’s tires whispering complaints under the tropical heat. Enter Fermin Aldeguer, the Gresini sensation and Bagnaia’s would-be pursuer. The rookie, who’d clawed from Q1 purgatory, picks off VR46’s Franco Morbidelli for fourth just as Mir tumbles. Two laps later, Aldeguer’s predatory instinct shines: he slingshots past the laboring Acosta into third, the crowd roaring as Gresini Ducati paints the podium red.

With two laps ticking down, Aldeguer eyes Marquez’s mirrors, hunger gnawing at him. A second covers the gap to his teammate, but closing it proves a chasm too wide. He shadows Marquez home in third, capping a dream day for the Gresini squad—Alex’s runner-up sealing his vice-championship lock behind absent brother Marc (now a 100-point cushion over third), and Fermin’s charge clinching Rookie of the Year in a season of breakout brilliance.

Acosta, spent but unbowed, nurses his KTM across the line in fourth, fending off Morbidelli’s gritty VR46 chase for fifth. Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo slots sixth, his M1 finding rhythm too late, while Marco Bezzecchi—Aprilia’s podium hunter, gridded a lowly 14th after qualifying woes—stages a masterclass recovery. No early fireworks for the Italian, but his relentless race pace hauls him to seventh, nipping at Quartararo’s heels and leapfrogging Bagnaia in the standings… for now. Pecco’s Sprint haul yanks him back ahead of Bez in the championship tussle, third place a razor-thin prize.

The checkered flag barely settles when stewards drop a post-race bombshell: Aldeguer’s slapped with an eight-second penalty for breaching tire pressure regs. The drop shuffles him to seventh, behind Bezzecchi, turning Gresini’s glory to grit—but the Rookie crown stays his, etched in Sepang’s steam.

Elsewhere, drama simmers: Pol Espargaro and Luca Marini’s Honda tangle in the dying laps, spilling the latter into the runoff in a heap of fairings and frustration. Tyre choices? Uniformity reigns—every frontrunner on soft rears for bite, save the stand-ins Lorenzo Savadori and Michele Pirro, who gamble on medium fronts for stability.

As the sun dips, Bagnaia peels off his leathers in parc fermé, a quiet fist pump betraying the relief. The Malaysian Sprint isn’t just two points and a trophy; it’s exorcism, a vow that Pecco’s woes are rearview fodder. With the Grand Prix looming Sunday, Sepang whispers of redemption arcs unfinished. For now, though, Ducati’s king sits tall—crown polished, rivals in the mirrors, growing small.

Malaysian GP Sprint Race Results (after penalty) – 10 Laps

* Rookie