Bezzecchi takes maiden win for Valentino Rossi’s team

VR46 Ducati rider Bezzecchi made an immediate impression on the MotoGP paddock in his debut season in 2022 when he scored a podium at Assen.

Riding the championship-winning 2022-spec Ducati for his sophomore campaign with Valentino Rossi’s team, Bezzecchi eased to a maiden grand prix victory at a wet Rio Hondo to add to the second he claimed in Saturday’s sprint.

Nailing his launch off the line from second on the grid, Bezzecchi went unbothered throughout the 25-lap grand prix to lead a Ducati 1-2-3 from a hard-charging Johann Zarco and poleman Alex Marquez.

Bezzecchi’s first grand prix win puts him nine points clear in the championship after factory Ducati counterpart Bagnaia crashed out of second in the race late on.

Persistent rain all day in at Rio Hondo led to MotoGP’s first wet start since last year’s Thailand GP, with the entire field unanimous in its decision to run medium front and rear wet Michelins.

Bezzecchi got the best start from the front row to snatch the lead from Marquez, as Bagnaia slotted into third after the opening few corners.

Franco Morbidelli was able to latch onto the back of that leading trio, with the top four quickly breaking away from the rest of the pack.

Behind, there was heartbreak for sprint winner Brad Binder, who crashed out at Turn 5 on the first lap after Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales made slight contact as he overtook the KTM.

At Turn 7, Morbidelli’s Yamaha team-mate Fabio Quartararo was knocked down the order from 10th to 16th after Takaaki Nakagami forced him onto the slick painted run-off.

Both the Binder/Vinales and Quartararo/Nakagami incidents were placed under investigation, but no further action was taken by the stewards.

By the end of the first lap, Bezzecchi was already seven tenths clear of Marquez on the Gresini Ducati and would continue to extend that advantage.

Come the end of lap 13, Bezzecchi was 3.6s clear and would open that gap out to over five seconds when Bagnaia and Marquez engaged over second.

Bagnaia made his first move for second on lap 15, the factory Ducati rider steaming up the inside of Marquez at Turn 9.

Marquez retaliated with a great move on the inside of the fast Turn 11 left-hander, but Bagnaia made a decisive pass at the penultimate turn.

Second looked like it would be nailed on for Bagnaia, but the world champion crashed at the penultimate corner two tours later.

Bagnaia…