VOLUME 62 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 P89
The outpouring soon after
showed just what he'd invested
to rescale the championship
summit. As the tears flowed dur-
ing his muted celebrations, the
four surgeries on
his upper right
arm, two bouts of diplopia and
€25 million pay-cut in 2024 were
all worth it.
"This is more than a title," he
said. "The most difficult thing
was fighting against Marc. One
Marc said stop, the other said
continue. In the end, I followed
my instinct and never gave up.
"It's hard to find the words to
describe the emotions I'm feeling
right now," he added. "After the
challenges and the injuries of
The real Pecco
Bagnaia stood
up in the Sprint
for a dominant
victory, his first
of the year in the
Saturday format.
MARTIN KO'D – AGAIN
The factory Aprilia riders' races
were over before they started
on Saturday. And Jorge Martin
is facing yet another spell on
the sidelines after he took out
teammate Marco Bezzecchi at
the race's first turn, fracturing his
right collarbone along the way.
"The x-rays revealed a displaced
fracture of the right collarbone,"
read an official team statement
that came soon after the race. It
was quickly determined that he
would return to Spain on Sunday
morning to undergo surgery "for
the reduction and fixation of a
fracture of the right collarbone"
by Dr Xavier Mir. Racing in
Indonesia next weekend appears
highly unlikely.
ALEX MARQUEZ
REWARDED WITH FULL
FACTORY DUCATI
Friday didn't quite go to plan
for Alex Marquez, as he faced
his first trip through Q1 of the
season. Yet the double World
champ was buoyed by news he
will receive a full factory Ducati
for 2025 after his sterling cam-
paign. Rather than running three
new bikes and three-year-old
machines, as in 2025, Ducati will
add an extra full-factory machine
to its roster for 2026. "Really
excited," said Alex of the news.
"I think it's a reward for the team,
especially. If you see historically
from Gresini with Ducati, from the
first year with Enea [Bastianini],
second one with me and with
Diggia [Fabio Di Giannantonio]
who won a race, also with Marc,
this year with me, so unbeliev-
able what a small team can do.
Briefly...
(Below) Jorge Martin (standing)
clattered into teammate Marco
Bezzecchi in the Sprint race in huge
fashion. The result was a compound
fracture of his collarbone and
more time on the sidelines for the
outgoing number one.
