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MotoGP: Alex Marquez takes first pole position of season ahead of brother Marc, as Francesco Bagnaia falls to P21 at Grand Prix Catalunya
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Updated 06/09/2025 at 15:48 GMT+1
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BK8 Gresini's Alex Marquez scored his first pole position of the season, and his first since 2023, at Grand Prix Catalunya on Saturday. He is two spots ahead of the championship leader and his older brother, Ducati Lenovo rider Marc Marquez. Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha took second spot. There was disappointment for Francesco Bagnaia, who managed a lowly 21st place.
'It's not nice viewing' - Bagnaia struggles in Grand Prix Catalunya Q1
Video credit: TNT Sports
BK8 Gresini's Alex Marquez claimed his first pole position of the 2025 MotoGP season on Saturday at Grand Prix Catalunya.
The Spaniard will now be in pole position for both Saturday’s Sprint race and the full-length race on Sunday, both shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Marquez’s older brother, Ducati Lenovo rider and six-time world champion Marc Marquez, is 175 points clear at the top of the world championship leaderboard - and if results go his way in Spain and then in Misano, San Marino, in the next round, he could emerge as a seven-time title winner.
The pressure was on his younger brother to perform, and TNT Sports expert Neil Hodgson had suggested that this was a track which suited Alex more than it did his brother.
With more right-hand corners than left-hand corners, Marc’s "special power" was mitigated, and Alex has always excelled on fast right-handers.
Alex had looked in top form in the practice sessions in the first two days of the weekend, and set a track record of 1:37.536s for his winning time.
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'Aleix, you've lost this position!' - Espargaro reluctant to give up spot to Marquez
Video credit: TNT Sports
It was his first pole position in qualifying for two years, the last coming at the 2023 Grand Prix in Argentina.
Alex’s brother Marc recorded a time of 1:37.945s to take the final spot on the front row, and Fabio Quartararo squeezed in between them in second spot.
While Ducati Lenovo will be pleased that their title leader continues to thrive, there was a huge disappointment for his team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.
The two-time world champion has struggled all season and suffered a miserable time at Balaton Park in Hungary in the previous round.
- 'Can't use his special power' - Why Marc Marquez could struggle against brother Alex in Catalunya
- Hodgson column: Fear of failure, not crashing, is what haunts MotoGP riders
Despite that, he was cautiously optimistic going into the action in Spain, but then failed to qualify from Q1 and will start both the weekend’s races from 21st place.
There was disappointment for another world champion, as Jorge Martin came in 18th place.
Martin has been injured for much of the season, and on his Aprilia bike he may not yet be feeling fully fit or accustomed to what is still a relatively new machine for him.
Stream every race of the 2025 MotoGP season live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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