What we learned from MotoGP’s decisive San Marino Grand Prix

A highly-anticipated duel between Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez failed to materialise in last weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix, as MotoGP’s title battle took another turn at Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Misano.

Aprilia suddenly goes from being the hunted to the hunter, with Ducati seizing the lead in both the riders’ and the manufacturers’ championship.

With a third of the season still left, there is all to play for, but a clear favourite is now emerging in the title fight.

Here are five things we learned from MotoGP’s San Marino GP

Bezzecchi has still not stopped making mistakes

Bezzecchi crashed out from the lead in Misano

Photo by: Getty Images

Marco Bezzecchi undid the progress he had made in the previous two weekends with an all-too-familiar error on the opening lap of the San Marino GP. Having bounced back from a bruising summer with four consecutive podiums across Silverstone and Aragon, it appeared MotoGP was witnessing a more mature version of the Italian - one that focuses on maximising his results on any given day instead of throwing everything on the line.

But Misano showed that Bezzecchi still has a long way to go if he wants to mount a serious title challenge. After nailing the launch and holding off Marc Marquez at Turn 1, he was simply too eager to build a gap and lost the front at Turn 13, crashing out of the race in spectacular fashion.

Considering how many points he had squandered in the early part of the year, plus the knee injury he is carrying after the crash at the Sachsenring, Bezzecchi never had much room to throw away big points. But with potentially just seven rounds remaining, the incident at Misano could prove to be a fatal blow to his title hopes.

Aprilia is feeling Ogura’s absence

Ogura's injury is hurting Aprilia's title hopes

Photo by: Glyn Kirk / AFP via Getty Images

Given how the form of its other riders had fluctuated from one weekend to the next, Aprilia could have benefited from having its one rider who has shown linear progress throughout the season: Ai Ogura.

In the title run-in, Aprilia needs a rider who is fast, dependable and consistent. And out of its current quartet, Ogura has been the only one to show all three traits. His late-race pace had always been his strength, but he also made rapid strides in his one-lap pace in the first half of the season. More importantly, he is reliable, having only made one major mistake this year - at Silverstone, when he crashed out.

At Misano, after Bezzecchi crashed and Jorge Martin unfortunately developed arm pump, Aprilia needed a Trackhouse rider to take over the baton from the factory duo. But with Raul Fernandez nowhere in the picture, the Noale gave away crucial points to its rivals - not only in the riders’ championship, but also in the manufacturers’ battle.

Ogura may not be ready for his own title tilt in his sophomore season in MotoGP, but Aprilia must be feeling his absence as it tries to prevent Ducati from seizing the manufacturers’ crown.

Ducati’s strength in numbers is proving decisive

Ducati has strength in numbers

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

The biggest talking point after qualifying was Bezzecchi’s record-breaking pole lap aboard the works Aprilia. But it wasn’t a bad session for Ducati either, which managed to put three bikes between Bezzecchi and his team-mate Martin.

Even with two of its riders struggling (Franco Morbidelli and Francesco Bagnaia), Ducati is winning the numbers game, especially against a depleted Aprilia stable.

This is proving to be crucial for the Borgo Panigale marque, and not only in qualifying. When Martin’s pace collapsed due to arm pump on Sunday, three Ducati riders were well-placed to overtake him, plus KTM's Pedro Acosta. That means when Ducati scored the maximum points in the manufacturers’ standings, Aprilia could only come away with 11.

So while Marc Marquez might be making the biggest difference in the riders’ standings, his stablemates are playing an equally important role in helping Ducati challenge for what would be its seventh consecutive manufacturers title.

KTM showed it can turn a weekend around

KTM transformed its fortunes with Acosta to reach the podium

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

After the insolvency proceedings that grappled the entire company last year and the engine issues that proved to be a serious headache for its engineers in the first half of this season, KTM is finally back on track in MotoGP. It’s why Pit Beirer sat down for a lengthy interview with the media at Misano, now that he finally has the time and mental space to engage in such discussions.

Even the team itself can focus on specific day-to-day challenges. After Pedro Acosta was left “angry” after he struggled to stop the bike on Saturday, KTM made significant changes overnight and tested them successfully in the warm-up. That allowed its star rider to claim another podium finish, just behind the Marquez brothers.

Ever since the season resumed at Silverstone, KTM has appeared to be in good shape, with the engine fixes ahead of Aragon only boosting its fortunes. The team is now contending for podiums on a regular basis, much like 2025 and the beginning of the current season.

Honda’s progress is becoming more evident

Honda has moved a step ahead of Yamaha in its bid to climb the MotoGP pecking order

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Since the season resumed after the summer break, Honda has scored almost twice as many points as fellow Japanese manufacturer Yamaha, and that is no coincidence. While Fabio Quartararo was previously able to beat the RC213Vs on some occasions, Honda has decidedly moved ahead in the recent three races.

At Misano, two Honda riders directly made it to Q2 on Friday, which again demonstrated the strength of the package. In the sprint, Luca Marini successfully defended his position en route to ninth, despite Quartararo attempting an all-judged move on him. Even on Sunday, when LCR duo Diogo Moreira and Johann Zarco crashed out and Joan Mir retired due to health concerns, Marini beat Quartararo to ninth place in a close contest.

Honda may not be able to score a podium this year, but it may pull away decisively from Yamaha in the constructors’ championship in the final part of the season.