Having been an innocent victim in a Turn 1 collision with team-mate Luca Marini in Saturday’s sprint, Bezzecchi enjoyed a clear race this time around as he retook the lead he had lost at the start to claim his third win of 2023.
Pramac’s Jorge Martin just held on to second position from the Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo, the two riders finishing just two tenths adrift of each other after a tense final lap.
Championship leader Bagnaia had been running second ahead of title rival Martin on lap 13 when he fell off his factory Ducati at Turn 4, suffering his third retirement of the season.
It allowed Martin to cut Bagnaia’s championship lead to just 13 points, with Bezzecchi also making inroads into his countryman’s advantage.
At the start of the race, Martin got the holeshot from second to take the lead into the opening right-hander, with Bagnaia also getting the jump on polesitter Bezzecchi to demote the VR46 rider to third.
But Bezzecchi wasted little time in regaining lost positions, moving back up to second behind Bagnaia when Martin ran wide at Turn 4 and dropped from first to third.
At the final turn, Bezzecchi sent his year-old GP22 up the inside of Bagnaia into the final corner, making the move stick to snatch the lead back from the reigning champion.
By the start of lap four, Bezzecchi was over a second clear of the chasing pack, helped by Bagnaia and Martin battling for position, before pulling even further clear of the pack in the middle of the race.
The 24-year-old eventually took the chequered flag more than eight seconds in front, scoring his first Sunday win of 2023 since the French GP back in May.
After Bezzecchi had checked out at front, Bagnaia and Martin initiated a close battle for second position, with Martin getting ahead on lap 5 with a textbook block pass on lap five.
Source: Autosport