Marc Marquez says he had a ‘special fire burning inside him’ as he sought redemption from his sprint crash in the MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix.
The factory Ducati rider beat Aprilia rival Marco Bezzecchi in a race-long battle at Misano to clinch his 11th victory of the season and inch closer to his seventh premier class title.
However, it was far from a perfect weekend for the Spaniard, who recorded his first sprint DNF of the year on Saturday after crashing out at Turn 15 just seconds after snatching the lead from Bezzecchi.
The incident not only ended his streak of eight consecutive sprint victories, but also ended his record of finishing inside the top two in every half-distance race of 2025.
While Marquez was initially relaxed following the sprint, citing the comfortable lead he had in the championship, he admitted that the crash – his first major error since the Spanish GP in April – served as extra motivation in Sunday’s race.
“[It was] one of the toughest [races] of the season, of course. Marco was a super tough opponent,” he said. “Congrats to him because even though I was faster than ever in the last laps, he was even replying in a very good way.
“But today I had a special fire inside of me after yesterday’s mistake. I always try to reply in the best way possible and the best reply was to try to win the race.
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team crash
Photo by: Danilo Di Giovanni / Getty Images
“The best way to forget the sprint for a rider is just to come back, to ride the bike again, and give their best, and this is what I did today. From the warm-up I had extra concentration and extra energy.
“But honestly speaking, in the last laps I fought against a very tough Marco Bezzecchi, who was pushing super hard.
“Both of us were pushing more than usual, but it was his home GP and he had extra motivation, and I had the extra motivation from yesterday’s crash.”
Marquez moved into the lead on lap 12 when Bezzecchi ran wide at Turn 8, but unlike at most races this season, he wasn’t able to pull away after hitting the front.
Bezzecchi kept the Spaniard honest throughout the race, with the two trading fastest laps as the chequered flag drew close. Ultimately, Marquez prevailed in the battle by just over half a second, extending Ducati’s winning run, in GPs, in the championship.
The 32-year-old explained that he not only had to be mindful of a potential retaliation from Bezzecchi but also the risk of a long-lap penalty, having been caught infringing track limits on four separate occasions.
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Photo by: Andreas Solaro / AFP via Getty Images
“Behind Marco, I already understood that today he was riding well. I was there, I was not far,” he said. “I had a bit more speed than him in the first part of the race, but he was defending Turn 6 today, but was a bit slower on the exit. So then he was braking later at Turn 8 to try to defend.
“It was a super long last part of the race, especially when I overtook Marco, I got it a bit under control. But it was that mistake that made it easier to overtake him.”
He added: “In the middle of the race, I made three mistakes in a row at Turn 11, I touched the green part three times, and then I touched another time and I already had four warnings.
“At a fifth [offence], I would have a long lap. I was extra careful on the greens. But even like this I was riding in a good way.”
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