This weekend, the MotoGP round made its way to the Losail (Lusail) circuit in Qatar. The stakes were the same as they have been since the start of the season: who could stop the Marquez brothers?
Qualifying:
The particularity of the Qatar Grand Prix is that it is run at night, whereas qualifying takes place during the day under the hot Qatari sun. In these conditions, which are not easy for everyone, Marc Marquez seems unflappable on a circuit which hasn't seen him win in 10 years. The Spaniard took pole position aboard his Ducati in 1'50.499s. A time which also gave him the absolute track record. Behind him, his brother Alex held on for second place.
Quartararo and Zarco set the pace in qualifying
El Diablo hadn't tasted the front row since 2022. The Frenchman put his Yamaha in the Top 3 and, for once, looked more comfortable than Jack Miller on the Yam'. Johann Zarco was also in the mix for a fine 7th place. There's every reason to hope for good results, especially as Zarco has been getting off to good starts of late.
The big wolves out of the picture
Bagnaia still can't do it! The Italian double world champion, who no longer seems to have the advantage of the factory team, is stumbling once again. Worse still, with 4 minutes 30 remaining in the qualifying session, he crashed, mortgaging all his chances of a fastest time. He started 11th on the grid, making his task even more difficult. On his return to competition, Jorge Martín discovered his Aprilia in competition, having only been able to complete around ten laps before his crashes and injuries. At the start of the weekend, as long as the pace didn't get too high, he seemed to be there. But at the end of the qualifying session, when everyone was going through the softs to set a time, the Spaniard couldn't keep up. He was severely handicapped, notably by badly bandaged hands, and finished 14th on the grid.
Sprint race: Top5 for Zarco, Victory for M.Marquez
The Sprint race was a repeat of the qualifying session. The Marquez brothers dominated, Alex even overtaking his brother, who was quick to reply, and they enjoyed a rather quiet race at the front. Behind them, Quartararo was in the mix but unable to hold on to 3rd place. VR46 rider Morbidelli set a good pace and overtook the Frenchman.
Quartararo then found himself chased by a group that was keeping up a good pace: Vinales (amazing all weekend with the KTM Tech3), Johann Zarco and rookie Fermín Aldeguer. Despite a setback, Morbidelli secured 3rd place in the Tissot Sprint. Behind him, Quartarato was overtaken at the end by Aldeguer for 4th place. The Yamaha rider still managed an encouraging Top 5. Johann Zarco, meanwhile, was having such difficulties that he had to retire.
Bagnaia, who started 11th and was one of the main contenders for the Top5, still couldn't make it. Worse still, Jorge Martin even managed to overtake him for a moment to take 11th place. In the end, however, a series of mistakes allowed the official Ducati rider to take 8th place, behind the other very talented rookie, Ai Ogura, who took 8th place on his unofficial Aprilia.
Sunday: Marc Marquez in total control
On Sunday, the illusion of the first few laps led us to believe that Marc Marquez was a little worse off than usual. In fact, the old fox Marquez had a plan: to save his tires at the start. So Marc Marquez willingly let Morbidelli lead the race and even take a slight lead. Behind him, Marc was dangerously annoyed by his brother, who even crashed into him! Both stayed on their wheels, however, and Marc Marquez's plan was unaffected, while Alex fell back in the standings. In the end, he had a second collision with Di Giannantonio and was given a long lap penalty. Feverish little brother? He may have been dreaming a little, and the pressure undoubtedly unsettled him a little as he arrived in Losail as championship leader.
As for the French, it was an unsuccessful first round for Quartararo, who plummeted from 3rd to 7th place. For his part, Zarco was in the right pack, accompanied by Vinales, who was always lively this weekend on his KTM. Aldeguer also confirms his good level since Austin, playing with the best.
Bagnaia opportunistic, Zarco flamboyant
Pecco is also in the right wagon and seems capable of keeping up the pace for the places of honour. The whole field battled fiercely at the start of the race, while Marquez looked very calm in second position. And when Bagnaia overtakes Marquez, it's a signal to the latter that he's waited long enough. His tire economy in the first third of the race gave him a clear advantage for the final third. He accelerates, flies away, catches Morbidelli, takes the lead and adieu, bisous, ciao, he flies away.
Behind him, everyone was a little out of breath on tires, and ô surprise Vinales was still there, very enterprising on his KTM to the point of staying 2nd behind Marc Marquez. Unfortunately for the Tech3 team, Vinales' tire pressure was too low and he was downgraded after the finish. Bagnaia, who never had the pace to keep up with Marquez, took 2nd place on the green carpet after finishing 3rd. Morbidelli takes 3rd place on the podium and Johann Zarco, who rode a magnificent race, takes 4th place (5th on the track) after penalties. Bagnaia's second-place finish was fortunate, as he was freed from Alex Marquez and Di Giannantonio. With these two on a regular basis, it's not certain that the second Ducati official will be on the podium. Above all, it's still a total humiliation because Marquez did what he wanted when he wanted!
Zarco 7th, Martin crashes again!
Jorge Martin had warned us that he wasn't there to push, and that he shouldn't crash. Unfortunately for the reigning world champion, the story was very different. The Aprilia rider crashed in the last third of the race at high speed, and it took him a long time to get up again. Evacuated to hospital, he suffered a pneumothorax and numerous rib fractures. It's time to lick his wounds, really, and make it a clean sweep this year.
Fermín Aldeguer finished fifth ahead of team-mate Alex Márquez, who came back to sixth at the end of the race (despite a long lap!) Fabio Quartararo finished seventh ahead of Pedro Acosta (KTM) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia). The Frenchman on his Yamaha even set some excellent lap times at the end of the race, right on the pace of the leaders. We'll have to get off to a better start next time. HRC's Luca Marini rounded off the top 10.
Thanks to this seventh victory in eight races, Marc Márquez now leads the World Championship by 17 points from his brother Alex Márquez. Pecco Bagnaia in 3rd place already looks doomed to miss out on the world crown.
By Vincent Beaucousin - Photos Ducati Corse / Yamaha Racing / Honda LCR
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