Pecco Bagnaia concluded a dominant MotoGP weekend at the Dutch TT with a triumph in Sunday’s grand prix. The factory Ducati rider led from the start until the finish line, finishing 3.6 seconds ahead of Pramac rival Jorge Martin. This victory narrowed the gap between them in the championship standings to just 10 points.
Martin, who received a three-place penalty, faced an even more challenging task starting from fifth on the grid. Despite quickly moving up to third and overtaking Maverick Vinales, Martin couldn’t match Bagnaia’s impressive speed.
The battle for the final podium position was intense throughout the race. Vinales faced early challenges from the Gresini duo of Marc and Alex Marquez before Fabio Di Giannantonio joined in. However, it was Enea Bastianini, riding for the factory Ducati team, who secured third place. Starting from 11th on the grid, Bastianini made a remarkable late-race surge, gaining eight positions from start to finish.
Meanwhile, Alex Marquez, who initially lined up in third place due to Martin’s penalty, was quickly overtaken by Martin and dropped down the order. Marc Marquez, Alex’s brother, took fourth place on the opening lap by overtaking Vinales at Turn 5.
By lap three, Bagnaia had extended his lead to almost a second, setting the fastest lap on the second lap. The battle for the fastest lap continued between Bagnaia and Martin, but Bagnaia managed to pull a 1.2-second gap by lap six. Marc Marquez followed closely behind, with Vinales and Di Giannantonio in pursuit. Di Giannantonio eventually overtook Vinales for fourth place at the final chicane.
An unusual moment occurred for Marquez on lap eight when he seemingly let Di Giannantonio pass for third place, gesturing for him to move ahead. Vinales was close behind the two riders.
Bastianini’s performance improved significantly in the final 10 laps. He recorded the second-quickest lap time on track, making progress through the field. Bastianini overtook Pedro Acosta to claim sixth place on lap 17. On lap 19, Vinales moved into third place ahead of a slowing Marquez and Di Giannantonio. One lap later, Bastianini passed Di Giannantonio for fifth place and then overtook Marquez at Turn 1 on lap 21 to secure fourth place.
With three laps remaining, Bastianini managed to pass Vinales, but the gap to the leading duo was too large. Bastianini settled for third place, finishing seven seconds behind Bagnaia. Vinales made a mistake, running wide at the final left-hander, allowing Marc Marquez to reclaim fourth place. Vinales was further penalized for exceeding track limits, dropping him to sixth place behind Di Giannantonio.
In a late twist, Pedro Acosta suffered a heartbreaking crash, removing him from contention. Brad Binder, who was running in seventh place, became the top KTM rider. Alex Marquez finished in eighth place, followed by Raul Fernandez of Trackhouse Racing in ninth place.
Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli secured 10th place, leading KTM’s Jack Miller and factory Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo. Johann Zarco was the leading Honda rider in 13th place for LCR.
Augusto Fernandez finished 14th for Tech3 GasGas, ahead of Trackhouse Racing’s Miguel Oliveira. Oliveira received a long-lap penalty for exceeding track limits on lap 16 but encountered further trouble when he ran into the gravel while serving the penalty, resulting in a second long lap.
LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami crossed the line in 16th place, while Luca Marini, another Honda rider, ended the race in last place after a trip into the gravel at Turn 4.
Factory Yamaha rider Alex Rins crashed out at Turn 1, and VR46-run Ducati rider Marco Bezzecchi crashed out at Turn 5 on lap four. Although Bezzecchi remounted, he retired from the race two laps later.
Honda rider Joan Mir, who has been struggling this season, also crashed out at Turn 4 on lap seven.