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Daily Tribune
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Tribune
Bruised Alex Marquez sets course to top Jerez practise times
AFP | Jerez de la Frontera Alex Marquez climbed back on his bike yesterday to set a Jerez course record in a flag and fall filled final practice session for the Grand Prix of Spain. The younger Marquez brother set a time of 1min 35.991sec on a Ducati Gresini, 0.103sec ahead of Italy's Francesco Bagnaia on a factory Ducati and 0.036 inside the course record the Italian set last year. Italian Franco Morbidelli was third on a VR46 Ducati. Championship leader Marc Marquez was fourth on a factory Ducati. Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, displaying the rediscovered competitiveness of his Yamaha, was fifth and the top non-Ducati. The session had been halted after nine minutes when Alex Marquez slid out as high speed on turn five. His bike rocketed across the gravel and through an air fence, forcing stewards to wave red flags while the barrier was repaired. After picking himself up, Marquez was ferried back on a scooter nursing his right hand. Alex Marquez had also crashed in the morning session but still set the fastest time. He repeated the trick in the afternoon. He returned for the final minutes of the session and quickly jumped to third before catapulting to a new record, as stewards repeatedly waved yellow warning flags. Quartararo, Jack Miller, Ai Ogura, Raul Fernandez and Joan Mir, were among riders who crashed during the session. Fermin Aldeguer, on the second Gresini bike, Johann Zarco on a Honda, KTM's Pedro Acosta, Fabio Di Giannantonio on a VR46 and Joan Mir on a Honda completed the top 10 who advance directly to the 12-rider final qualifying session on Saturday. That will determine the first four rows of the grid for the evening's 12-lap sprint and Sunday's 25-lap main race. The other 13 riders must ride in an earlier session with two places in Q2 at stake. Marc Marquez, the sixtime world champion, has dominated so far this season, taking all four poles, all four sprints and only missing out on a sweep when he fell while leading the Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas last month. He appeared to complete the afternoon session on one set of tyres, conserving his options for later in the weekend.
New Straits Times
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Bruised Alex Marquez sets course to top Jerez practise times
JEREZ: Alex Marquez climbed back on his bike Friday to set a Jerez course record in a flag and fall filled final practice session for the Grand Prix of Spain. The younger Marquez brother set a time of 1min 35.991sec on a Ducati Gresini, 0.103sec ahead of Italy's Francesco Bagnaia on a factory Ducati and 0.036 inside the course record the Italian set last year. Italian Franco Morbidelli was third on a VR46 Ducati. Championship leader Marc Marquez was fourth on a factory Ducati. Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, displaying the rediscovered competitiveness of his Yamaha, was fifth and the top non-Ducati. The session had been halted after nine minutes when Alex Marquez slid out as high speed on turn five. His bike rocketed across the gravel and through an air fence, forcing stewards to wave red flags while the barrier was repaired. After picking himself up, Marquez was ferried back on a scooter nursing his right hand. Alex Marquez had also crashed in the morning session but still set the fastest time. He repeated the trick in the afternoon. He returned for the final minutes of the session and quickly jumped to third before catapulting to a new record, as stewards repeatedly waved yellow warning flags. Quartararo, Jack Miller, Ai Ogura, Raul Fernandez and Joan Mir, were among riders who crashed during the session. Fermin Aldeguer, on the second Gresini bike, Johann Zarco on a Honda, KTM's Pedro Acosta, Fabio Di Giannantonio on a VR46 and Joan Mir on a Honda completed the top 10 who advance directly to the 12-rider final qualifying session on Saturday. That will determine the first four rows of the grid for the evening's 12-lap sprint and Sunday's 25-lap main race. The other 13 riders must ride in an earlier session with two places in Q2 at stake. Marc Marquez, the six-time world champion, has dominated so far this season, taking all four poles, all four sprints and only missing out on a sweep when he fell while leading the Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas last month. He appeared to complete the afternoon session on one set of tyres, conserving his options for later in the weekend. Marquez, who leads the standings by 17 points ahead of younger brother Alex, is a three-time winner in Jerez – in 2014, 2018 and 2019, but Bagnaia has triumphed in each of the last three years. Bagnaia won in the US after Marquez's error, but the Italian is already 26 points off the pace in third overall.--AFP
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Spanish MotoGP 2025: Bruised Alex Marquez sets course to top Jerez practise times
Alex Marquez climbed back on his bike Friday to set a Jerez course record in a flag and fall-filled final practice session for the Grand Prix of Spain. The younger Marquez brother set a time of 1min 35.991sec on a Ducati Gresini, 0.103sec ahead of Italy's Francesco Bagnaia on a factory Ducati and 0.036 inside the course record the Italian set last year. Italian Franco Morbidelli was third on a VR46 Ducati. Championship leader Marc Marquez was fourth on a factory Ducati. Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, displaying the rediscovered competitiveness of his Yamaha, was fifth and the top non-Ducati. The session had been halted after nine minutes when Alex Marquez slid out at high speed on turn five. His bike rocketed across the gravel and through an air fence, forcing stewards to wave red flags while the barrier was repaired. After picking himself up, Marquez was ferried back on a scooter, nursing his right hand. Alex Marquez had also crashed in the morning session but still set the fastest time. He repeated the trick in the afternoon. ALSO READ: F1 - Madrid circuit can be the world's best, says Carlos Sainz He returned for the final minutes of the session and quickly jumped to third before catapulting to a new record as stewards repeatedly waved yellow warning flags. Quartararo, Jack Miller, Ai Ogura, Raul Fernandez and Joan Mir were among the riders who crashed during the session. Fermin Aldeguer, on the second Gresini bike, Johann Zarco on a Honda, KTM's Pedro Acosta, Fabio Di Giannantonio on a VR46 and Joan Mir on a Honda completed the top 10 who advance directly to the 12-rider final qualifying session on Saturday. That will determine the first four rows of the grid for the evening's 12-lap sprint and Sunday's 25-lap main race. The other 13 riders must ride in an earlier session with two places in Q2 at stake. Marc Marquez, the six-time world champion, has dominated so far this season, taking all four poles, all four sprints and only missing out on a sweep when he fell while leading the Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas last month. He appeared to complete the afternoon session on one set of tyres, conserving his options for later in the weekend. Marquez, who leads the standings by 17 points ahead of younger brother Alex, is a three-time winner in Jerez -- in 2014, 2018 and 2019, but Bagnaia has triumphed in each of the last three years. Bagnaia won in the US after Marquez's error, but the Italian is already 26 points off the pace in third overall. Related Topics Alex Marquez / MotoGP
Gulf Today
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Marc Marquez outduels brother Alex for 'dream' Thai MotoGP win
Six-time world champion Marc Marquez used all his experience to fight back from a mid-race wobble to outduel his brother Alex Marquez for a "dream" win in Sunday's season-opening Thai MotoGP. It completed a dominant debut for his new factory Ducati team, with pole-sitter Marquez having romped to victory in Saturday's sprint at the Buriram Circuit for a maximum 37 championship points. The Spanish great took his 63rd MotoGP victory by 1.732sec from younger sibling Alex, who is still seeking a first chequered flag, with Italian two-time world champion Francesco Bagnaia third. Marc Marquez had opened a 1.5 second gap at the front in searing heat, when on lap seven he suddenly slowed on turn three with a tyre pressure problem to relinquish the lead to his brother. Marc tucked into second spot, lurking ominously on Alex's back wheel for another 15 laps as he managed his tyres expertly and kept the pressure issue under control. His strategy paid off as he made a decisive move with less than laps of the 26 to dive under Alex on turn 12 before stretching away to complete a second family one-two, after Saturday's sprint. 'I cannot ask for more' "Yesterday I was happy, today I am super happy," said Marc Marquez. "I mean it's a dream. I cannot ask for more. "We started this new journey in the perfect way, with pole position and a double victory, sprint and main race. I want to say thanks to the team. "And to share this weekend with my brother is something unreal for our family. "There are no words to describe how you feel when you are on the podium with your brother." Another Italian, Franco Morbidelli, was fourth on a VR46 Ducati and Japanese rookie Ai Ogura fifth on his MotoGP debut for Trackhouse Aprilia. "For one moment I thought I might hold on to win," said Alex Marquez. "Leading was not easy. I just tried to ride, not to override and not make mistakes. "But he was able to not use a lot of rear tyre and I was using up everything." Marc Marquez enjoyed a strong pre-season with the factory Ducati, having joined from Honda, and is strongly fancied to win a first world crown since 2019. "The last time I felt like this on a bike was at Jerez in 2020," he warned. Marquez and two-time world champion Bagnaia have been hailed as a factory Ducati dream team but some observers have cautioned that the high-octane mix of two fast high-profile racers could prove too combustible. "I gave my all," said Bagnaia. "But Marc, he was playing with us all day. So maximum ambition was to finish in P2 but we finished in P3. "Honestly I tried, but I was like I was in the cinema watching," he added of the battling brothers in front of him. "I am not here to finish third. It was the maximum I could but I will never settle for third place. Next time I will try to be second and then first. "But I need to start work on my setup, on my bike, and close the gap to them." Ogura, who came fourth in Saturday's sprint, put on a stunning performance on his main race debut to finish fifth for Trackhouse Aprilia, beating the factory Aprilia of Marco Bezzecchi, who was sixth. Somkiat Chantra finished 18th as he made history by becoming the first Thai rider to take part in a MotoGP race. The start of the new MotoGP season was overshadowed by the absence of world champion Jorge Martin. The Spaniard suffered broken bones in his right hand and left foot in a horror crash during pre-season testing in Malaysia and more fractures in training a week ago, needing further surgery. Aprilia said Martin would definitely miss the next race, in Argentina in mid-March, with no time frame put on his return to the grid. Agence France-Presse
