Reigning world champion Bagnaia appeared poised to secure his first sprint victory since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix as he led by just under a second at the beginning of lap nine.
However, the Ducati rider committed a braking error, sliding off the track at Turn 1, plummeting to fourth position, and relinquishing the lead to Vinales, closely followed by Pramac’s Jorge Martin.
Despite battling gastroenteritis, Vinales displayed determination, widening the gap to Martin in the final laps and clinching victory by 1.039 seconds, marking his first win with Aprilia and his first win since the 2021 Qatar GP when he raced for Yamaha.
Marquez executed a bold move, overtaking Martin at Turn 5 on the last lap to secure second place, earning his inaugural podium with Gresini Ducati.
Despite his error, Bagnaia finished fourth, maintaining a slim two-point lead in the championship standings.
Starting from fifth on the grid, KTM’s Jack Miller surged into the lead, while Bagnaia advanced to second with an overtake on Vinales at Turn 3.
Pole-sitter Enea Bastianini slipped to fourth, and Martin dropped to sixth from his third-place start. Marquez passed Bastianini for fifth on the opening lap, and Martin followed suit shortly after.
On lap two, Marquez made a daring move on Vinales at Turn 11, briefly making contact before securing third place. Bagnaia seized the lead from Miller at the final corner of lap two, while Marquez relegated Miller to third on lap three.
Vinales reclaimed second on lap five, with Martin overtaking Marquez for third a lap later. Despite Bagnaia’s lead extending to a second, he faltered on lap 12, sliding to fourth after a braking error at Turn 1.
Vinales successfully held off Martin’s challenges to secure victory, with Marquez passing Martin on the final lap to claim second place.
Although Vinales’ sprint win marked a milestone as the first rider in modern MotoGP to win for three different manufacturers, official records do not count sprints as official wins, necessitating a Grand Prix victory to solidify this achievement.
Bagnaia finished 3.033 seconds behind the podium in fourth, followed by Miller and Bastianini, while rookie Pedro Acosta secured seventh place for Tech3 GasGas. Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo finished eighth and ninth respectively for Aprilia and Yamaha.
Quartararo’s teammate, Alex Rins, crashed out on lap three, while Brad Binder and Fabio Di Giannantonio suffered separate falls on the following lap. Johann Zarco also experienced a fall while riding for LCR Honda.