Marco Bezzecchi claimed third place in the Motegi MotoGP race, recovering from a difficult Sprint on Saturday. The Aprilia rider started fourth, moved ahead of Pedro Acosta immediately and settled behind Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez in the early phase.

Bezzecchi initially stayed with the two leaders, but Martin and Marquez increased their pace on lap four and began to pull away. The podium fight remained within reach because the Italian continued to improve his lap times as the race progressed, producing his strongest pace in the closing stages.

A fight that lasted to the final corner

Enea Bastianini was also finding speed from fourth place and closed rapidly on the final podium position. The two Italians arrived together at the last corner, but Bezzecchi managed to keep third. After the finish, he described the result as particularly important after his disappointing Sprint performance and welcomed his return to the podium.

Bezzecchi said his main objective had been to finish inside the top three. He felt more comfortable with the bike in the second half of the race and was able to push harder, while Bastianini’s charge gave him additional motivation. The combination of improved feeling and the late battle allowed him to defend the position to the flag.

The podium put Bezzecchi back among the front-runners, but it did not prevent further championship losses. Martin and Marquez finished ahead of him in both the Sprint and the main race across the weekend.