This weekend, the MotoGP round returned to Europe, to the Jerez circuit. The stakes were high: the Marquez brothers had to reign in front of their fans, Bagnaia had to wake up and the French had to confirm their good skills.
It was a crazy weekend! Here's our summary and analysis.
Qualifying: pole and record for Fabio Quartararo
On Friday, everyone was settling in, but it was clear that the fratricidal duel between Alex and Marc Marquez would spice up the qualifying sessions. In Saturday's Q2, it was Marc who played his wits against the wind, going out right at the start of the sessions, wheel-to-wheel with Alex. Alex played along, not refusing his wheel, but saw Marc set a blistering lap of 1'35.643. With the track record shattered, it looked like pole position was already in the bag. But, let's face it, we were glad to be wrong. Fabio Quartararo had already shown on Friday that his Yamaha was in good shape on a circuit that has always suited him well.
Fabio had a 2-lap run just before the end and took pole position on his very last attempt in 1'35.610. Not since 2022 and the Indonesian GP had Fabio tasted the joy of being the fastest rider on the grid. Marc Márquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), the untouchable since the start of the
season was beaten, but only by 33 thousandths. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took third place on the front row, more than a tenth behind Marquez and just ahead of Alex Marquez.
Good news for the Tech3 team: Vinales puts his KTM in 6th place in qualifying, confirming that the team has found something on the Austrian to make it easier to ride. Zarco closes the Top10 on his Honda, but is less flamboyant than in previous weekends, feeling less at ease.
Sprint: too much desire for Fabio Quartararo
On Saturday afternoon, crowds flocked to the circuit's hills to witness the first battle! The Yamaha rider got off to a good start, chased down by the aggressive Marc Marquez. Behind him, Alex Marquez got the better of Bagnaia. Unfortunately, after a first lap in the lead,
Zarco crashed out at Turn 6. Undoubtedly disturbed by this position and the noise of Marquez's Ducati on his saddle, Fabio went in too hard, losing the front and all the benefit of his good work since the start of the weekend.
This left the way clear for Marc Marquez, who put in a string of fastest laps to claim a solo victory, the 5th in 5 Sprint races for the Saturday emperor. His brother Alex once again took 2nd place. Eternal runner-up, but this benefits him in the Ducati hierarchy, where Bagnaia is once again powerless to keep up with the pace set by the two Spaniards. The former world champion won't be this year, at least not with his attitude and inability to surpass himself to catch the two furious riders in front.
As for the other French riders, Zarco also crashed out, while Vinales confirmed his position and picked up points on his KTM for the Tech3 team. 7th, 7.8 seconds behind the winner, is an excellent result.
Sunday, Alex forever
Moto3 and Moto2 World Champion, but not yet winner of a MotoGP grand prix. Alex stumbles in his quest for legitimacy. When you've got a brother like Marc, it's certainly a bit of a challenge. However, when it comes to performance, it's Marc who's cracked, leaving Alex with the win
victory in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd on Sunday!
At the first corner, it was Fabio Quartararo who kept his pole position advantage to take the lead. And it was an excellent idea, because behind him it was a mess, much to our delight. Bagnaia flexed his muscles and stole second place from
Marc Marquez. The Spaniard was hot-blooded and retaliated. It was a fantastic fight for a few corners, with the two men cutting in and out of each other's trajectories. At the front, Fabio took a breather, the fight slowing down the two Ducati officials. These two have no intention of spending their vacations together.
They'll even come into contact with each other, shoulder to shoulder - you don't have to be a prophet to see that it's not going to end well. On the 3rd lap, Marc Marquez sinned out of pride and lost control of his Ducati at turn 8, heading for the gravel trap! Bagnaia finally showed
it was about time. For a while, Alex Marquez tried to get in on the action, even risking a big collective crash, but ended up watching his brother's fall as a spectator. He quickly realized from his fourth place (before Marc's crash) that he had to seize the opportunity and the lead to perhaps take his first grand prix victory.
He quickly got to work, overtaking Bagnaia, who was suddenly less combative in front of Fabio Quartararo on his Yamaha. Firstly, because it's clear that Alex has a mission, and secondly, because Fabio can't sign up for another draw. The Yamaha rider didn't want to fight when the Gresini rider overtook him to take the lead. Fabio nevertheless finished second in the race, a result that confirms the revival of the Yamaha team which, with its new chassis, can dream of a happy 2025 season.
And behind?
Maverick Viñales confirmed this by riding a little solo in 4th place behind Bagnaia. Unfortunately, the Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider never managed to really catch up with the Ducati rider and hope for anything better than a chocolate medal. Nevertheless, it's another
great for the French team, who do a better job than the official KTM team! Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), the best Honda rider of the weekend, tried his best to take 5th place from Fabio Di Giannantonio, but the Honda rider tried too hard and crashed (again!) to lose everything.
Zarco 11th ahead of Marc Marquez 12th!
Johann Zarco on his LCR Honda saves the day thanks to a series of crashes and retirements. in 11th place, he couldn't have hoped for better this weekend. Let's hope he'll find what it takes to get his Honda up to speed at Le Mans and give us a treat, as he's been doing since the start of the season.
Remember Marc Marquez? We left him on lap 3 in the gravel trap, but he didn't give up. After raising his machine and setting off again in 22nd place, Marc Marquez did some Marquez! Riding a machine with a banged-up side and part of its ailerons gone, the 93-stroke rider made a fantastic comeback, overtaking the riders ahead of him one by one until an improbable 12th place, which still enabled him to score world championship points, less than 21 seconds behind his brother!
It's also worth mentioning Marc's great class, which we didn't see during his brother's lap of honour, leaving him to his own joy and rightful glory in front of a crowd of Alex's fans. Disappearing, making himself small, so that his brother could be as big as he is, quite a symbol. And the Marquez clan's joy exploded in the paddock when Marc finally embraced his crying brother to congratulate him and welcome him to the same rank as himself. The brothers thus become the first siblings to win a Grand Prix.
Championship driver standings at the end of the Grand Prix :
May 9-11, 2025: Le Mans
The next Grand Prix takes place in France in 15 days' time. We're hoping the French will be at ease, and we can't wait to see the new battle for the podium.
Photo credit : Motogp.com
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