Five things we learned from the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix

Ducati celebrated a 1-2 in Japan on Sunday, with Francesco Bagnaia dominating from pole to return to winning ways and Marc Marquez finishing second to secure his seventh MotoGP title.

Japanese fans were also treated to a Honda podium as Joan Mir crossed the finish line in third on the factory bike, while Marco Bezzecchi salvaged fourth for Aprilia a day after he was involved in a horrific crash with team-mate Jorge Martin that left the latter with a broken shoulder.

Here are five key takeaways from the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix

Bagnaia’s troubles were as much about the bike as his mindset

In recent weeks, Ducati had come to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong with the GP25, and Bagnaia’s confidence issues with the bike stemmed from within. This was in direct contrast with Bagnaia’s own opinion, having maintained since the start of the season that Ducati’s 2025 challenger wasn’t giving him the same ‘feeling’ as the bike with which he won 11 grands prix last year. 

But finally, ‘Vintage Bagnaia’ made a triumphant return in Japan, setting a new lap record en route to pole before taking dominant victories in both the sprint and the grand prix. Admittedly, Marquez was riding well below his potential, with his focus very much on sealing a ninth world title, but the kind of performance Bagnaia put together made it all but clear that he is now back at his very best.

While Ducati isn’t willing to go on record about what exactly it changed on Bagnaia’s bike in the Misano test that preceded the Japanese GP, only saying that it used a ‘mix’ of components, it is understood that it has now incorporated certain elements from the GP24 to cure the issue. This means Bagnaia now has a bike that is more to his liking, even if it’s slightly outdated compared to the latest-spec machine. 

One can imagine that reverting to GP24 parts must have had a certain psychological effect on Bagnaia, given the toll this year’s struggles had taken on him. Marquez conducted an ‘A/B’ test with both the 2024 and 2025 aero in Misano and was able to deliver the same lap times by altering his riding style, showing there is nothing inherently wrong with the direction Ducati has taken this year. But it appears the DNA of the GP25 simply doesn’t suit Bagnaia, and he is better off racing a bike that is more akin to his 2024 machine.

Bagnaia would have also taken comfort from the fact that former Ducati and Honda star Casey Stoner agreed with his assessment – and that of Ducati’s rider coach Manuel Poggiali – after watching him closely in the Misano test. If the mental side was at least partly holding back Bagnaia in 2025, then Stoner’s presence and encouragement would have gone a long way in helping him turn around the season.

While the Italian is frustrated about how long it took to find a fix, he can now look forward to ending the season on a high and delivering an intra-Ducati title battle in 2026 that many were looking forward to this season.

Marc Marquez is human after all

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Dorna

For a rider who won races and titles every year like a machine, Marquez showed his emotional side as he broke down in tears after clinching his seventh series title on Sunday.

This was the raw side that only those closest to Marquez had seen after a horrific highside at Jerez in 2020 brought him to the brink of retirement. On Sunday, having left those miserable years behind, he cried openly in celebration of his title.

Perhaps more telling was his reluctance to directly talk about the lowest period of his life. While his ninth world title was entirely about bouncing back from injury and returning to the forefront again, he no longer wants to relive the moments that nearly broke him. Instead, he has made peace with himself and his desperate attempt to return to racing just days after undergoing surgery on his broken arm. This is a rider who is now far more mature, not only on track but also outside of it. 

In a way, Marquez’s career will always be divided into two halves: one before the injury and one after that. But while the phase he went through in the middle will continue to define him – and even motivate him – it’s no longer a burden he carries every day.

KTM can’t ride on Acosta’s shoulders forever

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Pedro Acosta has been the central figure in KTM’s MotoGP programme ever since he made his debut last year at the age of just 19. While his rookie season was inconsistent and error-prone, even if he was rapid in most races, he has now developed into a rider KTM can depend on.

But the problem is KTM is perhaps relying too much on him in MotoGP this year. After the Spaniard plummeted to last place with a mistake on lap 19, there was no one within its ranks to take over the baton for him. The result? For the first time in 2025, KTM did not have a single rider finishing inside the top 10 in a grand prix.

In fact, if it weren’t for Acosta, KTM’s best qualifying position would have been 18th, while in the sprint, it would have fared no better than 12th. The Spaniard truly saved KTM’s face in Japan by finishing on the podium in the sprint, even with all the problems he suffered on Saturday.

Acosta’s team-mate Brad Binder had been enduring arguably his worst season in MotoGP, and even after a new aero package in Austria, his results haven’t improved significantly. On Sunday, he finished a lowly 12th, almost 24 seconds off the lead.

Maverick Vinales showed real promise early in the season and should be sitting much higher in the standings, but the shoulder injury he sustained in Germany was quite serious, and he won’t be fully fit until the start of next season.

To be fair to Enea Bastianini, he had perfectly complemented Acosta’s efforts in previous races, even finishing on the podium in Catalunya at the start of this month. But in Motegi, he qualified 21st, leaving him with a mountain to climb in the race.

Considering that KTM had overhauled its line-up over the winter by getting rid of the weak links (Jack Miller and Augusto Fernandez), this was not the kind of problem it expected to face in 2025.

Jorge Martin’s 2025 campaign is now a complete write-off

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Qian Jun / MB Media via Getty Images

Much was documented about the miserable start to Martin’s title defence in 2025. From the double injury in pre-season testing, to another accident on his return in Qatar, and the very public spat with Aprilia over his intention to leave the team, his season had unraveled before it even properly began.

But after finally making a comeback in Czechia, Martin was finally getting the track time he desperately needed to understand and tame the RS-GP. There were a few highlights along the way, including a fourth-place finish in Hungary, and with his team-mate Bezzecchi putting together some starring performances, it was clear that Martin was going to return to winning contention once he had accumulated enough mileage on the bike. His long-run pace was already strong, so it was just going to be a case of sorting his one-lap weakness – something he believed was possible by splitting the set-up for qualifying and race.

But just when his favourite tracks Mandalika and Phillip Island were approaching on the calendar, Martin completely misjudged his braking point at the start of the sprint race at Motegi – admittedly after getting squeezed in a tight pack of bikes – and rammed into the side of his team-mate Bezzecchi. Martin was lucky not to get hit by other riders as he fell on the tarmac, but the impact was such that he broke his collarbone. The injury forced Martin onto the sidelines on Sunday, and from there he could only watch as Marquez seized the 2025 title.

A surgery is now scheduled in Barcelona on Monday, and while a timeline for recovery hasn’t been provided, he is almost certain to miss this weekend’s Indonesian Grand Prix. How many more races he would miss remains to be seen, but this was a scenario Martin could simply not afford. 

In a little over 45 days, Aprilia would be running its 2026 prototype for the first time at the Valencia test. It’s quite possible that Martin would have to jump on the next version of the RS-GP without having gained a full understanding of its current challenger.

Honda and Joan Mir’s partnership can work

Joan Mir, Honda HRC

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

For a significant period, Mir’s relationship with Honda appeared to be one of mutual necessity. Despite being one of Honda’s most vocal critics, frequently highlighting the lack of progress at the Sakura factory and the bike’s tendency to crash, Mir had limited options elsewhere. As his initial contract with the team neared its conclusion after the 2024 season, his choices were to retire from MotoGP or place his trust in Honda’s project for an additional two years.

Mir went with the latter choice, but even as Honda made genuine steps forward with the RC213V this year, the 2020 champion wasn’t its biggest beneficiary. Johann Zarco stole the early limelight at LCR Honda, winning in France and scoring another podium in Britain, while it was Luca Marini who took the lead role after HRC brought further improvements to its factory bikes.

Mir was also getting more competitive, qualifying fifth in Czechia and finishing sixth in both the Austrian GP and the Hungarian GP sprint, but he was still getting overshadowed by his team-mate Marini on the other side of the garage. Not to mention, he had retired from 10 out of the opening 16 grands prix, although on a number of occasions he was an innocent bystander while others made clumsy moves on him.

So it was refreshing to see Mir finally strike the chord at Motegi, as he claimed Honda’s first front row start with a brilliant lap in qualifying before converting that into a well-deserved podium finish on Sunday.

For Mir, this marked his first MotoGP podium since the 2021 Algarve GP, which came before his then-team Suzuki announced its surprise decision to withdraw from the championship. But beyond a personal highlight, this result was more about Mir and Honda finally achieving the kind of results they had hoped for when they first joined forces in 2023. The fact that Mir delivered the result on Honda’s home turf wouldn’t be lost on the Japanese manufacturer. 

Mir was supposed to be the foundation for Honda’s post-Marquez era. But while the jury is out on whether he can actually lead the marque, both he and Honda can put their miserable early years behind and aim for a better season together in the final year of the current rules era.