MotoGP: Pecco pockets his first pole of 2025 to beat the #93 in Q2 as Quartararo takes P3 and Martin returns to race from 12th
Q1 to pole position equals a great morning’s work for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the double MotoGP World Champion claims his first pole of 2025. Late drama unfolded for his teammate Marc Marquez, but despite his final time attack lap Turn 13 crash, the championship leader will launch from P2 on the grid as the factory Ducati duo are joined on the front row by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), the rider second in the standings, is forced to settle for the third row launch in the Tissot Sprint and Grand Prix, which is his worst qualifying of the season.
Reigning World Champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) is set to line up in P12 as he returns to competition.
Q1 – BAGNAIA AND FERNANDEZ THROUGH, DIGGIA MISSES OUT
All eyes were on 2022 and 2023 MotoGP World Champion Bagnaia in Q1, and it wasn’t smooth sailing in the opening stint for the Italian. Pecco pitted after sitting up and out of his second flying lap while he was P6, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Maverick Viñales’ replacement Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3) occupying P1 and P2 as things stood.
A better lap came in from Bagnaia on his second run though. A 1:52.715 saw the Italian go 0.4s clear of Di Giannantonio, before Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) climbed to P2. Not for long though. The impressive Espargaro jumped back into the top two before Di Giannantonio went 0.184s off Pecco – but that wasn’t enough. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) powered his way to P2 to go 0.060s away from Bagnaia, so the pressure was on Di Giannantonio in the closing stages.
Did the Italian have a reply? He improved his time, but Di Giannantonio stayed P3. Fernandez’s very solid lap was good enough to knock the VR46 star out of qualifying, as Bagnaia and Trackhouse’s Spaniard strolled into Q2.
Q2 – LATE DRAMA SEES PECCO POCKET POLE
The first benchmark lap was set by Marc Marquez and it was a 1:52.522, with Quartararo slotting into an early P2 to sit 0.093s away from the #93. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) placed themselves in P3 and P4, with the returning Martin P10 after his opening effort in Q2.
Having not yet set a lap, Bagnaia was on a charge with five minutes to go. The #63 was 0.119s under Marc Marquez’s time through split two, 0.133s under through split three, and over the line, Pecco pocketed provisional pole by 0.219s.
What did Marc Marquez, Quartararo and the others have in response? Bezzecchi, after running into the gravel at Turn 1, was down as he started his next flying lap, meaning his front row hopes were gone. And with the yellow flags still waving, a lot of laps were scrubbed off with two minutes to go.
Fernandez’s wasn’t though. The #25 rose to P5 from P12, which shoved Alex Marquez down to P7 as one time attack lap remained for Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Quartararo, Alex Marquez and Acosta, who were all on track together and fighting for prime position.
Marc Marquez led the freight train and through Sector 1, he lit up the timing screens. The gap was 0.245s through the third split as pole position looked guaranteed – until it wasn’t. Marc Marquez was down at Turn 13 and it was in the same place where Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) had crashed just a second before – as the penultimate corner caught out Friday’s fastest duo.
So with that late drama, pole position went the way of Marc Marquez’s teammate Pecco. A first of the year for the #63, as the championship leader had to settle for P2, with Quartararo earning P3.
CZECH GP GRID
Bezzecchi’s crash, in the end, didn’t cost him a place as the Aprilia ride spearheads Row 2, with Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) securing his best qualifying result of the season with P5, also his best since the Indian GP in 2023. The 2020 World Champion has Fernandez alongside him in P6, that’s his best Saturday morning result of the campaign too, as Acosta fronts Row 3 in P7.
Alex Marquez has work to do from P8 if he’s to stop Marc Marquez from extending his championship lead, with Zarco completing that third row in ninth. P10 went to Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), 11th belongs to Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), and reigning World Champion Martin starts from P12 in his first Grand Prix since Qatar.
COMING UP ON SUPER SATURDAY: TISSOT SPRINT
Bagnaia on pole, Marc Marquez P2, Quartararo leading the fight to the Ducatis, Alex Marquez needing a great launch, and what can Martin muster up? Plenty of questions, and we’ll get the answers late this afternoon at 15:00 local time. Tune in.
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