An enthusiastic crowd of 54,717 were present at the Mobility Resort Motegi on Sunday to watch the 24-lap MotoGP race in Japan.

After a red-hot Sprint on Saturday, all MotoGP riders were advised by Michelin to use its harder option rear tyre compound for Sunday, even if no one had tested it on the previous two days. Warm-Up was extended to 20 minutes to give the riders extra testing time on the harder rubber, which was something of an unknown over race distance.

Starting from seventh, his best qualifying position of the year, Bastianini gained a place on lap one before passing Pedro Acosta at Turn 5 the second time around. Alex Marquez’s Long Lap Penalty then saw ‘La Bestia’ rise to fourth.

In that time, the front three of Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi had escaped. However, from midrace, Bastianini started to gain ground. An incredible run from lap 20 to 23, when the Italian set four fastest laps in succession, brought him to within 0.1s of third place. Even if he just missed out, this was Bastianini’s best Grand Prix result of the season, while his gap to the victor – 2.3s – is the smallest of 2026.

Viñales ensured it was a brilliant day for all Tech3. ‘Top Gun’ had risen from 19th to 16th by lap six. The Spaniard was then engaged in an exciting scrap for 14th with Johann Zarco and Somkiat Chantra, which he won to score two points in his first Grand Prix appearance since July.

There is little chance for the team to rest before travelling to the scenic island of Lombok for the Indonesian Grand Prix at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit, which runs from 9-11 October.

Enea Bastianini: “I’m very happy! I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, to be able to ride like that. In Warm-Up it was a bit strange because we tried this hard rear tyre as well as the medium. The hard worked from the first lap so the choice was clear for the race. It was a complicated start as I lost a bit of time overtaking Pedro [Acosta], who wasn’t so fast in that moment. I saw Marc [Marquez], Jorge [Martin] and Marco [Bezzecchi] break clear. But from the middle of the race, I tried to push a bit more each lap. At the end I was faster than them but couldn’t pass. Anyway, I had an incredible feeling and saw the chance of a podium, which was a surprise. We found our speed again after working a lot from Spielberg, where Pedro [Acosta] was much faster than us. Now we’re back at the front, so let’s try and keep this going.”

Maverick Viñales: “I’m happy because I found better feelings with the bike in every session this weekend. Honestly speaking, I expected to struggle much more today. I wasn’t worried about the shoulder but more the forearm. Here it gets really tired with all the heavy braking. But I found some good speed in the middle of the race even if I couldn’t push at my absolute maximum at the very end. Still, I need to push more in the correct place but I feel like I understand the bike much more now. All weekend was positive. Of course, I want to be fighting at the front, but there is a process I need to follow. It takes time to understand this bike and I feel we’re now in a good way. I’m really enthusiastic to get to Mandalika and keep improving.”

Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “I’d like to thank the whole Tech3 team for this great weekend, which has been by far the best of the season. We’ve seen a strong Enea Bastianini all through the weekend. To finish P4 in the Sprint and today’s race is a great result. It confirms that once Enea is able to qualify on the first three rows, the whole weekend changes and he’s able to fight at the front. He made another step today and amazed us by beating the race lap record four times in a row. We’ll leave the circuit with the race lap record, which is a great achievement. I’m really delighted and I hope we can carry on this momentum.

“I’d also like to say congratulations to Maverick. We know how tough it is to come back to MotoGP after some time away. Maverick’s target was to complete the whole weekend without making any mistakes and that’s what he’s done. Today the two points he scored are a reward for all his efforts over the past few weeks. Now he’s back again and I’m sure he’ll only get stronger in the last races of the year. Once again, congratulations to all the team. Let’s enjoy this evening before heading to Indonesia next week!."