[MotoGP™️] Motul Grand Prix of the Valencian Community | MotoGP Sprint Highlights

Download and watch it live on SPORTVNOW app. Yeah, it looks like after the injury, the injury of the strongest, Marquez, Bezzecchi came a little bit stronger. Let's go down to Giacomo for some news. Yeah, on the front three rows of the grid, everybody opts for the hard front tyre, soft rear tyre, apart from two, Ralf Fernandes and Polman, Marco Bezzecchi. On the VR46 Ducati, already picked off by a fellow Fabio Quattroro. Alex Marquez has got the drop briefly, has he? And Marco Bezzecchi, they go side by side on the run down to Tanto. Acosta's been super aggressive. Got the inside line on Bezzecchi. Around the outside, let's go with Ralf Fernandes. But it's Alex Marquez who leads. Acosta's gained three spots up to second. It was a great start by Acosta, but an equally poor start for Gian Antonio. Acosta has to swerve around him to avoid running into the VR46 Ducati. Quattroro also a big mover up to fourth. Bezzecchi's getting hammered here. Quattroro and Gian Antonio have picked him off here. So Bezzecchi led Alex Marquez briefly on that long run down into the first corner. Through sector one from Pol. Bez back in sixth. Yeah, Frankie Moore with Elliot behind him in seventh place. I don't think he'll be shy having a go at his fellow VR46 Academy graduates. So it's advantage. Marquez and Acosta from here with one and two. Quattroro fourth from Gian Antonio and Bezzecchi. There's Gian Zarco going side by side with the two factory Hondas. They're just outside the top ten. They're all behind. On the soft front tire. Both plummeted. Ayagura's back to 15th place on the first lap. As Gian Antonio goes past Quattroro. So Bez lost five places. And Ayagura, he's lost three places himself. He's outside the top 12. Who gained the most places on lap one? It was our outgoing world champion Jorge Martin. Joan Mir has had another DNF. Well, it's Luca Maria. It's the two Hondas. Are the two factory Hondas collecting each other here in this Grand Prix? It looks like they have. Both haven't come through the first sector. He's not got going at all. Got a really good launch away, didn't he? On the factory from pole position. But then he just went backwards. It's Jack Miller. Oh, Miller goes sideways. Speedway style. Takes some aero. It looked like a firm in Aldegare's Guzzini Ducati. So Aldegare started this lap in eighth place. He's been pushed back five places. Big, big contact there between Miller and Aldegare into two. And Aldegare, the stewards will be having a very close look at to see whether that was fair from Jack Miller. It was certainly a little wild. At the moment, it's Martin having made those six places up on the first lap. Yeah, so Miller barrels up the inside. And then, oh, no, this is the Honda crash. So that was the Hondas coming in as they wipe each other out. And it was Juan Mir into Luca Marini immediately apologizing. I think it's Alberto Pugi you might want to apologize to, Juan. Yeah, there is. Lock in the front on the brakes into turn two. On the outside, the completely luckless Luca Marini. He's had three crashes this so far this season. Bersseke just cannot get through, can he? On Quattroraro. Closes right up on the factory Yamaha's rear tire going into turn two. But he's been stuck in that sixth place. He certainly has plenty, as Jorge Martin is now dropping down the order. I certainly hope that Martin hasn't crashed. He hasn't. He's just ran on at turn eight. Yeah, a run-off at turn eight. Of course, he's going to be really ring-rusty at the moment, Jorge Martin. The last time we saw him in competitive action, oh, he goes barreling off, doesn't he, into the run-off area at turn eight. That's what it's there for. Last time we saw Martin in competitive action, he lasted one corner in the sprint in Mattei. That's a real shame because he was in contention. For the fourth tenth of a second over Acosta. In the slipstream goes Bersseke. He's made that work. Perfectly through on Quattroraro. Just had the inside line as he released. Into turn eight, and that's going to drop him further back from Alex Marquez. Yeah, and Alex was already looking pretty comfortable, wasn't he, at the front of the sprint. Closing in right now on Fernandez in third place. It is the Gian Antonio there on the 49 VR46 Ducati. Confirmation on your screens, Miller's three-place position drop. Acosta, Acosta, half a second that mistake into turn eight, so that's fine. There might be successive gold medals around his neck at the end of this sprint. This is going to be the key mistake as far as Acosta's concerned. Easy mistake to make into turn eight. He goes down three gears. I'll tell you what, he's done well. He's done well to stay on two wheels there because that was a real big moment, wasn't it, for the Spanish rider. It looks like, though, it is going to cost him any hope of winning this sprint. He's really suffering now because he's now reversing back towards Ralf Fernandez, who's backing up Diccio. So close to Quattro Aro. It's almost like he's going to have to make an attack very, very soon. This is Miller then. Well, he just goes, plows Aldeguerre. Took his arm away. Aldeguerre, how on earth is Aldeguerre still on two wheels there? Got his left arm yanked off the handlebar. Through came Agura. Finally, finally. I was going to say, Morbidelli was so, so close to Quattro Aro's rear tyre as they dropped down through 14. It was inevitable, really, if he just was able to pick up the slipstream that Frankie was going to be able to blast past Quattro Aro. He duly did. So Morbidelli then now pinches that sixth. Yeah, they're doing mid-130s. They're still quicker than Brad Binder behind. You would have just seen him a moment ago. It's been a good fight for third place. And fair play to Ralf Fernandez because he's been keeping the Gianantonio at bay for so, so much. Well, nobody knows just how good Alex Marquez is. Nobody knows the strengths and merits of Alex better than brother Mark. And even I think Mark will have to doff his factory Ducati cap and say, yeah, this has been an awesome performance by Alex. He hasn't put a foot wrong. He has been absolutely immaculate here so far. He's still holding that advantage over Acosta to 1.4 seconds. Gianantonio is running out of time to get through on a very resolute and resilient Ralf Fernandez, who's doing an absolutely phenomenal job for track house of Prelier, isn't he? Ralf Fernandez trying to hang on to that third sprint podium. Jack Miller does now come through the long lap penalty loop. So after he screamed at it for most of the race, the stewards have finally got the message across to the 43 to get out of the way. That will have annoyed Ayegura that because he's been stuck behind Miller's Yamaha for quite some time. And he's now not got a lot of time left to try and chase off after Brad Binder for 8th. That does now promote Ayegura into the points. So this is then the battle for the bronze medal position here in this Valencia sprint. Picking up some slipstream once again is the Ducati GP25 of the Gianantonio. Nothing wrong though, is there, with the exit speed out of 14, the top speed of that of Prelier, top speed that Marco Bersseke's got to try and attack him. Is Digi though going to go for it on the inside into Turn 4? He is. He's had to force that one. He's going to run in a little bit hot. Fernandez surely will have the inside line back as they go through 5. This reminds me of Morbidelli versus Miller on the last level of the Grand Prix here five years ago in 2020. Back again on the inside and Fernandez at 6 goes to Gianantonio. What a fight this is for 3rd. Well, Gianantonio has just decided there's a lap and a half of this sprint to go. I'm just going to go for this and just throw everything at it. Ralf Fernandez with the colors of the Valencia flag on his crash helmet, highly motivated to secure a medal here today. So the Gianantonio, the only problem is once the Ducati gets ahead of you, it's so, so hard to find a way back through and straight away, look, the Gianantonio with a bit of clear road ahead of him has put, what, half a dozen and maybe a little bit less bike lengths through on Fernandez who was good going on the brakes into Turn 11. Marco Bersseke all of a sudden has started to try and attack him. Is DiGio though going to go for it on the inside into Turn 4? He is. He's had to force that when he's going to run in a little bit hot. Fernandez surely will have the inside line back as they go through 5. This reminds me of Morbidelli versus Miller on the last level of the Grand Prix here five years ago in 2020. Back again on the inside and Fernandez at 6 goes to Gianantonio. What a fight this is for 3rd. Well, Gianantonio has just decided there's a lap and a half of this sprint to go. I'm just going to go for this and just throw everything at it. Ralf Fernandez with the colors of the Valencia flag on his crash helmet, highly motivated to secure a medal here today. So, Gianantonio, the only problem is once the catty gets ahead of you, it's so, so hard to find a way back through and straight away, look, Gianantonio with a bit of clear road ahead of him has put, what, half a dozen and maybe a little bit less bike lengths through on Fernandez who was good going on the brakes into Turn 11. Marco Bersseke all of a sudden has started to close right in on this pair directly ahead of him. In fact, Bers, he might just run out of time here because another lap or so Bersseke might fancy his chances of back-to-back sprint podiums. Hasn't worked out after a dazzling performance, an all-time lap record in Q2 this morning for Bersseke. He's going to come over the line to start the last sprint lap of 2025 in fifth place. Alex Marquez surely is nailed on for our last sprint win of the season. The Costa looks safe and secure in second. Who will take the final medal? Bersseke would have been hoping that that battle, which we were really enjoying between Fernandez and Bersseke, it carried on for a few more corners because it would have brought him right into play. But Alex Marquez with his brother watching trackside is now just, what, 10 corners away from a second consecutive Saturday sprint win. And once again, he's going to keep Pedro Acosta waiting. It hasn't been quite the heavyweight punches that we saw of a week ago between the top two, but it's been another tremendous display from Alex Marquez, the runner-up in the World Championship and about to win in front of his older brother. It's going to be his 27th podium finish of the season, showing exactly why he's getting the big Ducati upgrade next season. He will be on a GP26. He said himself, that's going to bring extra pressure. You're on a factory bike. You have to deliver. There's no hiding place, no excuses. He stepped up to the plate this year having gotten that Ducati GP24. I'm sure he will rise to the occasion next season as well as he gets the same machinery Quick check on Bagnaro who's having another thoroughly forgettable sprint down in 13th place at the moment. Through the final corner we go then. And having started 2025 on a sprint podium, Alex Marquez finishes it on top of the sprint podium here in Valencia. What a performance by Alex. He takes the chequered flag. 1.1 seconds clear of Pedro Acosta who is on the podium for the fifth time in the last six sprints. Still though, chasing that lucid first victory is the KTM star. Fabio Di Gianantonio scores just the seventh sprint podium of his career. He did just about get the better lay-ton of Ralf Fernandes. Marco Betseghi's victory charge, well, it lasted for about 500 meters on the run down to the first corner. Interesting to see what Betseghi says about his decision to go for the softer... ...trap.