Although VR46 rider Bezzecchi briefly lost the lead from pole position, the man who had dominated the entire weekend was soon back past Bagnaia's factory machine. The world champion, who had started second, had no answer.
The result consolidates Bezzecchi's hold on third in the standings, with Bagnaia still leading Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin. Bagnaia's advantage has been stretched to 21 points following the sprint race, with Martin only able to finish sixth.
All the front runners opted for a combination of hard front tyre and soft rear. When the lights turned green, Bezzecchi lost out not only to Bagnaia at the first corner, but also to a fast-starting Brad Binder (KTM).
But it was only a lap later that the Italian was past Binder, with Bezzecchi then free to go after his countryman and Ducati rival Bagnaia. He promptly set the fastest lap of the race on lap three.
The battle had barely got going before it was over. Bagnaia ran wide on the fourth lap and almost lost the lead into Turn 5. He held on, but Bezzecchi simply blasted past him on the exit.
The lead remained a narrow one for the rest of the race, and hovered mostly just beneath the one-second mark, but Bezzecchi was able to control it from there to the flag.
Bagnaia was eventually able to shake off Binder, Quartararo and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, though his margin to the chasers was hardly comfortable either.
Source: Autosport