2025 Czech MotoGP: Marc Marquez wins farcical sprint, dodges tyre pressure penalty
Marquez won sprint on road at Brno amid tyre pressure drama
Ducati’s Marc Marquez won the Czech Grand Prix sprint on the road and dodged a tyre pressure penalty following a post-race investigation by the FIM stewards.
The championship leader came from second to take the lead on the opening lap and was set to dominate the 10-lap sprint at Brno.
But on lap six he backed off and gave the lead to KTM’s Pedro Acosta in an apparent attempt to boost his front tyre pressures.
Marc Marquez sat behind Acosta until the last lap, when he lunged up the inside of the KTM at Turn 9 and got to the chequered flag 0.798s clear of the field.
He faced an investigation for a tyre pressure infringement, which could have demoted him out of the points to 14th if found guilty, but was soon cleared of wrongdoing.
Acosta was second ahead of the returning Tech3 KTM of Enea Bastianini to complete a double rostrum for the Austrian manufacturer.
Pecco Bagnaia suffered the same fate as Marc Marquez, but dropped to seventh at the chequered flag.
The polesitter converted first place on the grid to the holeshot off the line, but succumbed to team-mate Marc Marquez’s advances at Turn 3.
By the start of lap four, Marquez was already 0.5s clear of his team-mate Bagnaia and would boost that advantage to over a second next time around.
But moments later into the fifth lap, Bagnaia eased off and allowed Enea Bastianini and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo through ahead of him in an apparent bid to boost his front tyre pressure.
On lap six, Marc Marquez would do the same, allowing Acosta into the lead.
The pair would swap positions again on the final lap, with Marquez claiming an 11th sprint win of the season. He now holds a lead of 95 points in the championship.
Acosta grabbed his first sprint podium since last year, as did Bastianini, who kept a recovering Marco Bezzecchi at bay after he made early contact with Quartararo at Turn 10 on his Aprilia.
Quartararo completed the top five, with Raul Fernandez for Trackhouse Aprilia pipping Bagnaia on the final lap for sixth.
Johann Zarco was eighth on the LCR Honda, with Tech3 KTM stand-in Pol Espargaro taking the final point in ninth.
Reigning world champion Jorge Martin was 11th in his first sprint since the Qatar weekend, with the Aprilia rider six seconds off the lead.
VR46 Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed out with six laps to go, while LCR Honda’s Takaak Nakagami and Yamaha wildcard Augusto Fernandez collided on lap two.
Alex Marquez endured a torrid start off the line from eighth and was involved in early contact, meaning he was only 17th at the finish.
Yamaha’s Alex Rins (18th) and Trackhouse rookie Ai Ogura (16th) were also under investigation for a tyre pressure infringement, but avoided sanction.
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