Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi won the season’s last race in Valencia after fending off every challenge thrown by Trackhouse Racing’s Raul Fernandez.
Ballistic Bezzecchi
As the lights went out, Marco Bezzecchi made a superb launch off the line and was in the lead with Gresini Racing’s Alex Marquez in second.
Meanwhile, a messy moment in the early laps shook up the order as Johann Zarco ran wide into Turn 4 and clashed with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo), forcing Bagnaia into the gravel and effectively ending his season with a crash. Zarco was handed a Long Lap Penalty for the incident. Meanwhile, up front, the charge from Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) began to sharpen, having passed Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46) early, Fernandez started to chip into Bezzecchi’s lead.
Raul vs Marco
By Lap 11 of 27, the race had settled in with Bezzecchi leading, Fernandez in pursuit, Di Giannantonio and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) locked in battle for the third position.
With about five laps remaining, the gap had shrunk to barely half a second. The tension rose, but Bezzecchi held his pace, and the Italian refused to give even an inch. Fernandez, impressive in his final home outing, pressed hard, but Bezzecchi’s defence proved just resilient enough. Di Giannantonio claimed P3 after managing to keep Acosta at bay in the closing laps.
2026 Beckons
Morale was high for Aprilia as the season drew to a close. Bezzecchi’s victory underlined the progress the team had made, while Fernandez’s performance offered a glimpse of further potential.
And so the curtain falls on the year, with the focus now already shifting to the test sessions in Valencia and the promise of next season.
