Bagnaia credits Marquez crash for “incredible” first COTA win

Francesco Bagnaia claimed his first win of the 2025 MotoGP season at COTA after Marc Marquez crashed out while leading the race.

Francesco Bagnaia secured his first victory of the 2025 MotoGP season at the Circuit of the Americas today. But talking to the media following the race, he didn't hide the fact that his win became a possibility after Marc Marquez's crash which took him out the race.

Bagnaia inherited the lead after a run on a wet kerb saw Marquez, two seconds ahead at this point, damage his bike beyond the point of return early in the race.

Following his win, the Ducati rider openly admitted that luck played a large part in his weekend.

“It’s an incredible feeling, I’m very happy. It’s the first time I’ve won here at COTA. I know that the win came because of a crash for Marc. He was faster than us, faster than everybody else today. So I was just trying to match his pace as best as possible."

The rider further explained his strategy.

“As soon as I saw him crash, I just kept pushing to open the gap to Alex. He was still very close, and it wasn’t easy - he was gaining a lot in Sector 1, staying close in Sector 2, and I was only able to pull away in Sector 3 by braking hard into Turn 12.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

This win will be the rider's 30th MotoGP victory and his first at the challenging track.

The Austin race saw chaos before the first lap. With rain hitting the circuit, Marquez sprinted back to the pits just before the warm up lap to switch to his dry bike. Several other bikers followed suit, and the race start was aborted. The race was also shortened to just 19 laps.

Once the race did finally start, Marquez quickly commanded the race from the lead. But on the ninth lap at Turn 4, he lost control of the bike on a wet kerb and slid across the tarmac. Bagnaia was riding conservatively, and was able to dance his bike over the chequered flag.