This season’s action in MotoGP featured another dramatic display from Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira aboard the KTM machine. He secured his second win of the campaign amid tricky conditions in the wet. The podium was completed by Australian Jack Miller and Italian Francesco Bagnaia, both riders aligned with Ducati’s official squad, as the rain kept riders on their toes throughout the race.
Oliveira rode the KTM RC 16 to victory in challenging weather once again, following his success in Indonesia. The finish line saw Miller and Bagnaia join him on the podium, while World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo, riding the Yamaha YZR M 1, faced a tough day and finished far back in seventeenth, narrowing the gap behind Aleix Espargaró on the Aprilia RS-GP and Bagnaia as the championship battle tightened.
At the start, Marco Bezzecchi seized the initiative and led early, with Miller pushing hard on the Ducati Desmosedici GP22. The pace stayed intense as riders jostled for position along the course, trading places in the early laps and eyeing the best lines to extract grip amid the slick surface.
Marc Márquez, aboard the Repsol Honda RC 213 V, delivered a standout performance by climbing from a tough start to a solid fourth place. He returned to the pits after the race with a mix of satisfaction and intent, a sign of his ongoing effort to restore pace with the front runners after a challenging season start.
Behind them, Aleix Espargaró on the Aprilia RS-GP and Brad Binder of South Africa on the KTM RC 16 encountered incidents that drew immediate attention from Race Direction, which reviewed the events on track. The incident led to a long-lap penalty for Espargaró in the aftermath as the race unfolded with a heightened sense of caution among the riders.
Bezzecchi briefly ceded ground to Miller, only to reclaim it and push ahead on a high-stakes chase. The field remained tight as Bezzecchi, Oliveira, Bagnaia, Márquez, Martin, Zarco, and Alex Marquez threaded through the pack, each pushing to seize advantage in the late stages.
In a pivotal moment during the fourteenth circuit, Oliveira found space to retake first place, creating a comfortable buffer to extend his lead and secure a second win of the season. Espargaró used the moment to move up, finishing twelfth after a bold run through the pack, while Bagnaia closed in on Miller in a late surge that underscored the competitive depth of the race.
Espargaró and Binder maintained a fierce duel, with Espargaró finally overtaking Binder to claim eleventh place, while Maverick Viñales of Aprilia tracked closely behind. Oliveira cemented his lead in the standings with the rain-played victory, mirroring his Indonesia triumph and highlighting his ability to adapt to a variety of track conditions.
The race closed with Márquez attempting a bold move against Bagnaia at the approach to the finish line, a bid that did not come off, while Zarco looked to solidify fourth overall in the closing moments and keep pressure on Repsol Honda as the season continued.