MotoGP News: Marc Marquez comes back to win the Qatar GP

Polesitter Marc Marquez drove his #93 factory Ducati to victory in the Qatar GP at the Lusail International Circuit after contact on the opening lap with his brother Alex saw him lose the lead to Franco Morbidelli.

Alex Marquez then tangled with Fabio di Giannantonio over third place a few laps later, earning a long-lap penalty.

Bagnaia, starting eleventh, briefly passed teammate Marc Marquez for second, before Vinales brilliantly surged past both red Ducatis.

Vinales’ rise was complete when he passed Morbidelli for the lead on the brakes into Turn 1 with 12 laps to go.

Marquez had to battle Maverick Vinales’s KTM late in the race, but in the end he opened the gap to almost 2-seconds over his former Repsol Honda teammate.

Francesco Bagnaia, winner last time out after his teammate crashed out from the lead, brought the other factory Ducati home in 3rd for the final podium position, but he had nothing for his faster teammate and was 4.5s behind Marquez.

However, Marc Marquez revealed on the grid that he was concerned with front tyre life, not only the rear, for the full 22-lap distance.

Perhaps for that reason, the #93 looked content to shadow Vinales, who then gifted Marquez the lead when he ran wide with 7 laps to go.  From there Marquez was never headed.

Marc Marquez so far this season:
Quali – P1, P1, P1, P1
Sprint – P1, P1, P1, P1
Race – P1, P1, DNF, P1

With 13 laps to go, Viñales got the better of his second factory Ducati. This was stunning from the Tech3 star, and a lap later, he led. Same spot, same outcome. Morbidelli lost the lead for the first time, and Marquez powered past the Italian as well. Bagnaia was then desperate to pass Morbidelli as the VR46 Academy duo swapped positions five times on Lap 11 of 22, but it cost the pair crucial ground. Over the line, Bagnaia was 0.9s behind Marquez.

Zarco was the next rider to get the better of Morbidelli as the Frenchman grabbed P4, and the Italian started to immediately lose ground. With eight laps to go, Viñales was still holding Marquez at bay, with Pecco 0.8s behind the top two. Then, a mistake. Viñales was slightly wide at Turn 6 and that opened the door for Marquez to take the race lead baton with seven laps to go, so what could Viñales and Pecco do now?

PIN PULLED – MARC MARQUEZ STYLE

The answer, for now, was not a lot. Marquez was the fastest of the trio, but only by a tenth over Bagnaia. However, Viñales was 0.3s slower than Marquez on Lap 17, so was this the KTM start beginning to run out of grip and steam? It wasn’t – it was Marquez finding pace. The fastest lap of the race was landed by the six-time MotoGP World Champion – it was two tenths quicker than Viñales and seven tenths faster than Pecco.

Three to go. Another fastest lap of the race for Marquez saw the #93 stretch his lead up to a second, as Bagnaia slipped 1.4s behind Viñales. And heading onto the last lap, it was as you were. Marquez led Viñales by 1.5s, Bagnaia was in a comfortable third and sure enough, as the chequered flag waved, Marc Marquez bounced back from his Austin disappointment with an almighty bang. For the first time since 2014, Marquez claimed victory and with it, strengthened his Championship position ahead of a date with Jerez.

Viñales’ P2 result is a huge boost for KTM – what a ride from Top Gun in Doha. Bagnaia will be disappointed to lose ground in the title chase but after a below par Saturday, a comeback ride to P3 was a job well done by the Italian.

2025 MotoGP Qatar GP Results

* Under investigation for possible tire pressure infringement