2' min
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix turned into a bittersweet day for Ducati. While the Borgo Panigale team celebrated their 100th MotoGP victory and secured the constructors' championship with six races to go – their sixth world title and fifth consecutive – Pecco Bagnaia had a nightmare on the track. After a turbulent race, Bagnaia crashed with seven laps remaining while running in third place, further jeopardizing his chances of defending the world title.
The victory went to Enea Bastianini, who made a daring last-lap overtake on Jorge Martin. Despite being overtaken, Martin increased his lead in the overall standings, extending his advantage over reigning champion Bagnaia to 24 points.
Next year, neither of the top two riders on the podium will be riding for Ducati, adding a bittersweet note to the race. Marc Marquez claimed the third spot on the podium with a steady but unremarkable performance, which saw him overtaken in the standings by Bastianini by just one point. The rider from Rimini now trails Martin by 59 points in the championship.
Enea Bastianini celebrated his seventh MotoGP victory by proudly waving the Italian flag. Although Martin extended his lead in the standings, the disappointment of not claiming the top spot at Misano was evident.
The race began with Martin taking the lead right from the start, but Bagnaia regained the top spot at the first corner. The Spaniard closely followed Bagnaia for four laps before reclaiming the lead, with Bastianini slotting in between them. Behind the trio, Binder's crash left Acosta and Marc Marquez battling for the remaining positions. After a third of the race, Martin and Bastianini were separated by less than three-tenths of a second, while Bagnaia struggled to keep pace, falling over two seconds behind.
With seven laps to go and Bastianini closing in, Bagnaia lost control at turn 8, ending up in the gravel. A secure third-place finish vanished in an instant, the result of an overly ambitious attempt at a comeback. In the final three laps, Bastianini relentlessly pressured Martin, who fought back hard, but the decisive, albeit borderline, overtake handed the victory to the Italian rider.
Marco Bezzecchi finished in fourth place, followed by Franco Morbidelli. The next race is scheduled to take place in Indonesia next weekend.
