Marc Marquez, French MotoGP Race, 11 May 2025
MotoGP championship frontrunner Marc Marquez secured pole position for the Italian Grand Prix, edging out local favorite Francesco Bagnaia in a factory Ducati 1-2 finish.
The six-time world champion set the quickest time early in the session, aided by a tow from his younger brother, Alex (Gresini Ducati) at Mugello.
Fabio Quartararo, Bagnaia, and Alex Marquez pushed him down from the lead, but the Spaniard responded afterward to secure pole position.
The significantly improved Bagnaia secured second place, finishing slightly more than five-hundredths of a second behind Marc Marquez. Alex Maquez concluded the session in third place, just eight hundredths behind the leader.
Quartararo finished an impressive fourth after receiving the green light on Friday night to go back to the track following his crash during Friday practice. The Yamaha wiggled and maneuvered its way around the track, yet the 2021 champion finished nearly three-tenths behind by the conclusion of qualifying.
Maverick Vinales’s Tech3 KTM secured fifth place, followed by Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio in sixth and seventh, respectively. Pedro Acosta could only secure eighth place on the KTM after feeling optimistic on Friday night.
The second factory Yamaha of Alex Rins finished the session in ninth place, with Marco Bezzecchi completing the top 10 on his Aprilia RS-GP25. Q1 graduates Augusto Fernandez and FermÃn Aldeguer finished among the top 12 riders.
A somewhat dissatisfied Jack Miller secured the 13th position, as he was on track to advance into Q2 after a fast lap at the end but got eliminated by Fernandez. The Australian is striving to keep his position at Yamaha for the upcoming year, hence his emotions were justifiable.
Johann Zarco finished 14th, the victorious French Grand Prix racer facing challenges with the straight-line speed of his motorcycle, similar to other Honda competitors. Right behind him was Brad Binder, failing to advance into Q2 for the seventh time this season.
The South African felt hopeful on Friday, anticipating a fast time after resolving some problems. Evidently, the issues are more intricate than KTM initially believed.
The other Tech3 KTM, piloted by Enea Bastianini, ended Q1 in 16th place, while Pramac Yamaha’s Miguel Oliveira concluded the session in 17th. The Honda factory teammates Joan Mir and wildcard participant Takaaki Nakagami followed on the timing screen. The persistent slow pace in the fourth sector greatly obstructed the quality initiatives of the Japanese manufacturer.
Lorenzo Savadori, Ai Ogura, and Somkiat Chantra from LCR completed the grid.