A tense fight between the brothers unfolds in Termas as Morbidelli keeps Bagnaia behind to clinch a long-awaited Grand Prix podium with Ducati.
Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) lit up his comeback run again in Termas de Rio Hondo as the famous #93 battled his way past younger brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) in the closing stages of the Gran Premio YPF Energía de Argentina to remain undefeated. Third place went the way of Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), the Italian returning to a Sunday parc ferme for the first time since 2021, as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is forced to settle for P4 in Termas de Rio Hondo.
HOW IT UNFOLDED AT THE FRONT: Marquez vs Marquez, Morbidelli climbs to P3
Marc Marquez fended off Alex Marquez to collect the holeshot into Turn 1 as drama unfolded for Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). The Italian, who made contact with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) after struggling to get his RS-GP stopped into Turn 1, crashed at the opening corner. Rider ok, and Quartararo dropped back.
At the front, Johann Zarco (LCR Honda CASTROL) was hounding third place Bagnaia, with Turn 8 a popular passing place for the Frenchman. This squabbling between Pecco and Zarco saw the Marquez brothers skip to a 0.7s lead, with Alex shadowing Marc in the opening three laps.
On Lap 4, there was a change for the lead. Alex Marquez capitalised on a small mistake made by Marc Marquez at Turn 1, as blue led red for the first time in Argentina. Meanwhile, Morbidelli had picked his way past Zarco and Bagnaia to climb into P3.
After a busy opening handful of laps, the Grand Prix settled down a tad as the riders settled into their early race rhythms. The blue corner Marquez was leading the red corner Marquez by 0.3s, Morbidelli was 0.7s behind the #93, with Bagnaia a further 0.8s off the back of his fellow Italian. Zarco, meanwhile, was 0.3s behind the #63 Ducati.
On Lap 11, it was as you were at the front. Bagnaia was losing ground though on the top three and Zarco was still swarming all over the rear end of his GP25. A couple of laps later, Morbidelli began to lose touch with Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez, but crucially, the #21 was still over a second clear of Bagnaia and Zarco.
With 10 to go, Marc Marquez had a bit of a moment coming through the fast Turn 11. It was a warning that cost the six-time MotoGP World Champion a couple of tenths, but a lap later, that deficit had been clawed back. And now, the #93 was properly swarming all over the rear Michelin tyre of Alex Marquez.
THE CLOSING STAGES: Marc Marquez makes his move
Lap 18 of 25 – an attempted pass. Marc Marquez lunged at Turn 5 but couldn’t get his bike hooked up and stopped in time, so Alex Marquez kept the lead with seven laps to go. And having run wide, the margin between the leader and chaser was up to 0.4s.
What a showdown it was. On Lap 19, the brothers exchanged fastest laps of the race, with Marc going slightly quicker to latch himself on the back of Alex. Then, another move. Again it was Turn 5 and this time, it was a pass that stuck. Now it was all about whether Alex Marquez had anything in response.
The early signs were no, there wasn’t a response. With four laps to go, Marc Marquez stretched his advantage to 0.7s. At the beginning of Lap 22 of 25, the gap was then just over a second, as Marc Marquez’s teammate Bagnaia was trying to put a late attack together to steal P3 from Morbidelli.
LAST LAP! Marc Marquez held a 1.5s lead over Alex Marquez, with Bagnaia 0.5s behind Morbidelli. Could the 2022 and 2023 MotoGP World Champion find a way to earn a late podium? No he couldn’t. And Alex Marquez couldn’t do anything about Marc Marquez from clinching another victory in 2025 as the #93 made it four wins from four – two Sprints, two Grands Prix – to begin his factory Ducati career in perfect fashion.
Another brilliant effort from Alex Marquez saw the #73 finish second again, as Morbidelli clung on to pocket his first MotoGP podium since the 2021 Spanish GP. Bagnaia was breathing down his neck but the latter walks away from Argentina with an underwhelming P4.
POINTS SCORERS: Argentina Sunday edition
On the final lap, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) pinched P5 away from the incredibly impressive Zarco, as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) collected a P7 after yesterday’s Lap 1 crash in the Tissot Sprint. Reigning Moto2 World Champion Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) produced a stellar ride to cross the line in P8 from 15th on the grid, but was then disqualified after the race for using a version of software not homologated by the Championship. That moves Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) up into P8 and means three Hondas are classified in the top 10 as each rider behind gains a place – putting Joan Mir in ninth and Honda HRC Castrol teammate Luca Marini in tenth.
That’s the Italian’s best Sunday result in Honda colours, as Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), Quartararo and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) rounded out the points scorers in Termas.
Two Sprints, two Grands Prix, four wins for Marc Marquez. It’s been a magical start to 2025 for the six-time MotoGP King and next up is a trip to the Circuit of The Americas – a track the #93 adores. Can anyone halt Marc Marquez’s momentum in Austin? Alex Marquez and Bagnaia will be two riders who’ll be desperate to do just that.
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