The #73 is Mr P2 no more! Quartararo and Bagnaia join the new World Championship leader on the Spanish GP rostrum as Marc Marquez crashes…
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.
Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Espargaro and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) – following an early crash – closed out the points scorers in Jerez.
NEXT UP: LE MANS
He’s done it. Alex Marquez is a MotoGP winner and once again, he’s the title chase leader. Jerez, you delivered. And next up, we land at another all-time legendary venue… Le Mans. What lies ahead at the French GP?
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