#SpanishGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE: Marquez wins
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Marquez clinches Jerez Sprint victory as Quartararo crashes
Five Saturday victories in a row are something that only reigning World Champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) has been able to achieve before – until now. Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), after polesitter Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) crashed out on Lap 2, delighted a magnificent Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain crowd by clinching a gold medal in Jerez as the World Championship leader beat Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) by just over a second in Jerez. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took the chequered flag in P3 to pocket a decent haul of Tissot Sprint points, the Italian was just over three seconds adrift of Sprint King Marquez.
A SPRINT-DEFINING OPENING TWO LAPS
From a historic pole, Quartararo was beaten off the line by Marc Marquez but late on the brakes into Turn 1, the Yamaha star grabbed P1 back expertly to lead the pack around the opening lap. Alex Marquez was up to P3 from P4 on the grid, with Bagnaia holding off Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) – the Italians sat fourth and fifth.
Then, drama unfolded on Lap 2. Marc Marquez managed to get alongside Quartararo going into the Dani Pedrosa corner at Turn 6. The latter, hanging it around the outside on the dirtier part of the circuit and braking ultra hard, saw his Sprint cruelly end as the front end washed out from underneath him. A real shame after a stunning Saturday in Jerez for Quartararo.
BRINGING IT HOME
So, where did that leave us? Marc Marquez led Alex Marquez by half a second, with Bagnaia 0.8s behind the Gresini Ducati in third. Morbidelli was 0.4s away from Bagnaia in P4, rookie Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) was fifth after an early scare on Lap 1, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) a close sixth.
With eight laps to go, Marquez’s lead over Marquez was up to a second, but that closed to 0.9s a lap later. However, the #93’s lead rose to 1.4s with five laps remaining and with three laps left, it was still hovering around that number. Bagnaia wasn’t attacking Alex Marquez, and Morbidelli was now a second off his compatriot, so it looked like no late challenges for the podium positions were coming unless a mistake was going to be made.
And those potential mistakes didn’t arise. To the tune of 100,000 Spanish supporters filling the famous Jerez hillsides, Marc Marquez held off Alex Marquez to clinch his fifth consecutive Tissot Sprint victory, as the #73 collects another Saturday silver medal. Important points were secured by Bagnaia in P3, but the Italian will be searching for more in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
THE SPRINT POINTS SCORERS IN JEREZ
Morbidelli was P4 with Aldeguer impressing again to collect a Sprint P5 in front of his home crowd, as Di Giannantonio managed to hold off Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) to earn P6. Viñales crossed the line in seventh, 2.3s ahead of eighth place Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), as 2020 World Champion Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) picked up the final Saturday point in P9 ahead of tenth place Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
MOTOGP – RACE: Mr P1: Alex Marquez clinches maiden win as Quartararo makes rostrum return
Mr P2? Not anymore. Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) is a MotoGP winner after the new World Championship leader emerged victorious in what was a hugely dramatic Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain that saw Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) crash out on Lap 3 – and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) hold off Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) to clinch his first Grand Prix podium since 2023.
AN OPENING LAP BARNSTORMER
Corr, what a first lap. Quartararo launched superbly from pole, and so did Bagnaia from third. Marc Marquez didn’t get away as well as he would have wanted, and immediately the #93 was P3. Bagnaia tried to show a wheel to Quartararo at Turn 2 but thought better of it as Turn 6 saw Alex Marquez almost collect his older brother. The Spaniard was in way too hot but managed to hook it back up and hold into P4, as Marc Marquez and Bagnaia went into battle at Jerez’s famous stadium section.
Marquez dived underneath his teammate at Turn 9 to the roar of 100,000 fans. But Bagnaia, hanging it around the outside and getting a better run out of Turn 10, got back alongside the six-time MotoGP World Champion. Then, contact between the Ducati duo! Both were fighting for the same piece of asphalt, and it was the #63 who came out on top.
MARC MARQUEZ CRASHES FROM P3
An opening lap for the ages was then followed by monumental drama. The home hero, Marc Marquez, while shadowing Bagnaia, crashed at Turn 8 on Lap 3 while sitting in P3. Seemingly asking too much of that front end, the Spaniard was down and out of victory contention – but not the Grand Prix.
HOW THE GRAND PRIX WAS WON
Where did that leave us then? Quartararo led from Bagnaia, but Alex Marquez shoved his way past the Italian to climb into P2 and set his sights on trying to latch onto and pass El Diablo. Further back, there was more drama as lead rookie Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) crashed at Turn 6 from fourth place.
On Lap 10 of 25, Quartararo was keeping Alex Marquez at bay and Bagnaia was lapping 0.6s behind the Gresini star. Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was 1.3s behind the factory Ducati rider in P4 before Lap 11 saw a change of the Grand Prix lead.
Turn 1 saw Alex Marquez strike. An aggressive but great move up the inside of Quartararo saw the Sprint silver medallist snatch the race lead baton, and within a lap, his lead was up to 0.8s. Now, what could Bagnaia do about passing Quartararo?
After a few laps, the answer was nothing. And Viñales was beginning to reel in Quartararo and Bagnaia, while Alex Marquez’s lead grew to 1.7s on Lap 16 of 25. On Marc Marquez watch, he was now back in the points after crashes for Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) promoted Marquez into P15.
With five laps left, Marquez’s lead was 2.4s over Quartararo, and the latter was keeping Bagnaia 0.6s behind. Viñales was now 0.4s away from a podium spot, as we saw Marc Marquez and Aleix Espargaro (Honda HRC Test Team) enjoy a little battle for P13 on Lap 21.
Three to go. Was there life left in the fight for P2? Bagnaia was trying, but Quartararo was hitting all his markers in his efforts to keep the #63 behind him, as Alex Marquez edged closer to a maiden MotoGP win.
Two to go. It was as you were, with Viñales seemingly now settling for a P4 – the #12 was 0.9s away from Bagnaia’s tailpipes.
LAST LAP TIME IN JEREZ! Only a mistake now would cost Alex Marquez a famous win, and Quartararo was still far enough ahead of Bagnaia that it wasn’t allowing the latter to show a wheel. And after being Mr P2 for much of 2025 so far, Alex Marquez clinched a well-deserved maiden MotoGP Grand Prix win to crown himself Mr P1 in front of his adoring home fans.
Quartararo did fend off Bagnaia for an outstanding P2 finish and his first Grand Prix podium since the 2023 Indonesian GP. What a weekend for Yamaha, and although it’s not a fourth Jerez victory in a row, Bagnaia’s second P3 of the weekend brings solid points to the Italian’s camp.
YOUR SPANISH GP POINTS SCORERS
After the disappointment of a post-race penalty in Qatar, Viñales backed up his quality display by earning P4 in Spain, with Top Gun finishing three seconds up the road from fifth place Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team). Brad Binder and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Pedro Acosta crossed the line in P6 and P7 in what was a much more positive Sunday for KTM, as Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) rounded out the top 10.
Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) took the chequered flag in P11 and having crashed early doors, a disappointed Marc Marquez managed to salvage a P12. Not the Sunday Marquez was searching for, but those four points could prove pivotal.
We can be happy with our final result especially after the weekend we have had. I felt confident in the first part of the race, but the vibrations of the bike in the fast corners were really difficult to manage, and I lost a bit of the feeling at some point. Still, I managed to overtake a few riders and I felt much better after. We have an important test tomorrow, we have important things to try out to increase our performance so I am looking forward to that. After that, we will go to Le Mans, one of my favorite tracks and my team’s home round where I want to be competitive, so let’s get the work done tomorrow!
Enea Bastianini – P9
I feel I’ve made a lot of progress over these last races. But now, shaving off that final second is the hardest part, especially because of my role this year, where testing new parts makes it difficult to focus purely on speed. Still, I’m happy with the progress we’re making.
Augusto Fernández – P16
When you test new elements, you clearly need time to assess them, so this can slow you down and have an impact on performance. We are constantly trying to improve and grow the bike in order to provide a better RS-GP25 to both Marco and Jorge. On Monday, we’ll have the tests and a lot of new upgrades to try. Also, part of what I tested this weekend in Jerez will subsequently be given to the Aprilia factory riders.
Lorenzo Savadori – P18
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Spain.