MotoGP riders and Team Managers reflect on Qatar Sprint Race – Moto2/3 QP

MotoGP 2025

Round Four – Qatar – Lusail
Saturday Sprint Round-Up / Results

The scintillating 2025 Saturday streak continues for Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) as he completed a pole position and Tissot Sprint double at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar to wrestle back the Championship lead from second place finisher Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP). The bronze medal went the way of Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), as fellow Italian Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) evening ended with a disappointing P8 in Doha.

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Marc Márquez – P1

“We’re having a good weekend, one that I think is the most important of the season for me. It’s too soon to draw conclusions, with the full race still awaiting us tomorrow. At the moment, Pecco, Alex and I have a similar level. From the fifth or sixth lap onwards, with used tyres, I normally feel better in terms of riding, and that’s why I chose to try and pull away as soon as I felt that the bike was sliding a bit more. But the real difference this year has been in the time attack.”

Alex Marquez – P2

“We gave it a try today, but it wasn’t doable. I didn’t want to overtake him at that braking spot, but Marc did it earlier to pass me back and the attack finished there. I almost crashed at turn two while I was still close to him, and that’s when I realised it wasn’t the case to take risks. We bagged some more important points for the championship and gathered valuable data ahead of tomorrow’s race. Today Marc was faster than us and we must be happy with how it went.”

Franco Morbidelli – P3

“This podium is a really good result, at the start of the Sprint I was feeling very good with new tyres and I thought I had the chance to stay with the top guys, but then I had some issues, and I couldn’t express fully my pace. Anyway, great P3 and fantastic podium with Valentino here, I’m very happy. We started with a great Friday, we had a really good Saturday, with a P4 in qualifying, and the Sprint was consistent, let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Fermin Aldeguer – P4

“I’m very happy, I knew I could do a great race. I had the doubt on whether to use the soft or the medium tyre, I chose to be brave and it paid dividends. We were very quick in the last part and we have been feeling good so far this weekend – from the get-go. I’m learning a lot and quickly by racing with the frontrunners. We’ll try again tomorrow and push hard to be in the top five.”

Fabio Quartararo – P5

“It was really nice! I knew in qualifying that I was going to set a good lap time, but I didn’t know it was going to be that good. I made zero mistakes on the fast lap, and I felt fast. Our bike suits this track quite well, and we need to take the benefit from this. I have to throw everything at it. During the Sprint, I tried my best. Unfortunately, on the last lap I lost the front three times because I really wanted to fight for the podium. In the last corner, I completely lost the front, and Fermin overtook me. But I think we can be really happy about the day we had today. During this Sprint I learned a lot. There are some areas where I can push tomorrow, and in other areas I need to save the tyres to keep them in good shape. We did a good job today, so let’s analyse the data well, and, hopefully, tomorrow we can manage to have a great pace and a great start again.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P6

“It was a pity for the final position in qualifying, because we lost some time with a mistake in Turn 15 which cost us the front row. Unfortunately, in the Sprint, we had really strange feeling with the rear of the bike, and it was very difficult to manage. The situation was quite critical at the start, even dangerous, but the good thing is that we know exactly what happened, and tomorrow the issue will be fixed. On Sunday we can be there for the podium fight. I’ve always been a good racer in long distances; with today’s improvements, I can be one of the guys at the front.”

Ai Ogura – P7

“I enjoyed today a lot, especially the Sprint. From yesterday, we took a big step – in FP2 it went a lot better compared to yesterday and in Qualifying, our performance was very good. In the Sprint, I could overtake many riders; I think many of them in front of me were struggling with the soft rear tire. Anyway, some more points from the Sprint are great. That was a really nice 11 laps for tomorrow’s main race so, for us, it was really great today.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P8

“Today I struggled. Unfortunately, at the moment, I can’t overcome this limit I have in the sprint race, as braking hard and overtaking don’t seem to come as easily as I’d like. The opening lap wasn’t too bad, but then I got sucked in and it took me a while to make my way back, as I couldn’t ride at my pace. Qualifying was a different story altogether: after my first attempt, in which I didn’t feel at my best, I ended up crashing out in the second time attack, when things seemed better. It was my mistake, but I had to try.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P9

“This sprint race was similar to the previous races. I wheelied a bit at the start but then I was able to recover well. In the early stages, between battles and the usual difficulty with the new tyre, I struggled to squeeze out one hundred percent, partially due to problems with stability. However, once the tyres begin to run in a bit, I begin to have a better feeling as I’m able to push harder. I did some good overtaking and I always have plenty of fun, with good confidence on the bike, but I need to be more incisive in the early stages.”

Maverick Viñales – P10

“We made a mistake with the tyres choice in the sprint, but we are happy overall with our day, it has been really positive. We qualified well, and I felt strong in the first three, four laps of the sprint. I really thought that I could catch up with the front, but then our tyres dropped a lot with the soft at the rear, and I could not hold the pace. The choice will be easier tomorrow since we will go with the mediums, but let’s look forward to the main race, we are in a totally different place than two rounds ago, a much better place, so we are positive. Let’s keep working.”

Pedro Acosta – P11

“Difficult. We were quite convinced with the soft tire and we went for it but our chatter problem is still hard to manage anyway. We tried some settings from last year and this gave me back the good feelings I had in braking and the problems I had in Austin were gone…but the chatter is quite critical and we need to see what we can do for tomorrow.”

Alex Rins – P12

“I lost a lot at the start. We have to check why. Apart from that, today was a good day. We went directly from Q1 to Q2. In Q2, I was able to do a good lap whilst riding alone, so I was quite satisfied about this. But in the Sprint, I couldn’t do so much after the problem at the start. I got stuck behind Bezzecchi, Martin, and Binder. I was riding on the soft tyre, and this was the right choice for me, but it did mean I was riding a bit on the limit in the last few laps. It’s clear that for tomorrow we will be choosing the medium.”

Enea Bastianini – P13

“The day has been complicated overall. After yesterday, we tried to make some improvements on the bike setting, with a lot of modifications for qualifying and for the sprint. During the race, the confidence was much better, I tried to recover positions, which I did with P13. I am happy that we picked the right tyre-strategy, because we have gathered a lot of information which will be important for the main race, which we will race 100% with medium tyres.”

Brad Binder – P14

“Definitely not the right tire choice but I was having other problems and ran off track four times. It was very tricky and we need to get things under control for tomorrow. We need to try and figure it out but we’re all pushing to solve it. I think we’ll be OK because the guys have some ideas in the pocket but at the moment we know our limit and cannot go over it.”

Luca Marini – P15

“Tomorrow morning we need to try some things to improve for Sunday, usually it’s where we are stronger at each of Grands Prix. There’s work to do to improve our situation. We knew here would be a weekend with more things to overcome, so it’s not completely surprising. The good thing about weekends like this is that you can really focus and work on these areas because I think our overall package is quite good and we can be up there fighting.”

Jorge Martin – P16

“I knew my performance would drop after a few laps, but we achieved our goal which was to finish the sprint race. I had an outstanding start but, since I still don’t know the bike well, I am undoubtedly far from where I need to be in terms of riding. I need to be patient – it’s just a question of time to adapt and figure out the RS-GP25. However, I do not think that I have lost my speed. In the afternoon, I just barely missed going through to Q2.”

Raul Fernandez – P17

“The result is not great, but now we have to work and find something. This morning we changed the whole bike again- we made a completely new setup to understand something for Aprilia. We saw that this wasn’t the way and we lost the Qualifying a bit. For the Sprint we changed the setting again, back to the other way and we found something and I felt comfortable with. In the race, I did times of the top 7, top 8, but in the end, the start was not the best one and we couldn’t show the potential we really had today. But basically, I’m really happy, we found a direction and I found something to be happy again on the bike and I can enjoy it again. When we have to try some things on the bike, they might not be super helpful for us in that moment but will surely be useful for the future. So, it was good and we understood a lot of things today.”

Augusto Fernandez – P18

“For me, it wasn‘t a bad Sprint Race. I‘m improving my speed and pace and even though I‘m still toward the back, I‘m starting to close the gap and gain positions. It‘s a long process, but my feeling on the bike keeps getting better, as does my race pace. Today, I felt more like a proper race rider rather than just a test rider. I worked on the setup and began tailoring the bike more to my riding style, which is important not just for me, but also for Yamaha, to help us get more out of the bike. Looking ahead to the race, I have a few ideas for changes I might try, so let‘s see how it goes.”

Jack Miller – P19

“I decided to go with the soft rear tyre today; it was a big gamble, we tossed the coin, but it didn‘t pay off. I thought I might start to struggle after 8 or 9 laps, but by lap 4 I was already in trouble, which honestly surprised me. I didn‘t expect it to be that bad, maybe it was the cooler temperatures, or the sand, or something else on the track. Still, it was worth a shot, even if we hoped to get a bit more out of it. I got a decent start, but played it safe into Turn 1 and ended up getting boxed in, so I didn‘t gain much there. I picked off a few riders on the first lap, but then there was some chaos with Marini, Ogura, and I think Pecco was in the mix too. I found my rhythm and closed the gap, but as soon as I got past Marini, I started suffering on corner entry — first in the last corner, then pretty much everywhere. Tomorrow, we‘ll switch back to the medium tyre, and if I can get off the line well, I think we can move forward.”

Somkiat Chantra – P20

“In the Sprint, I was struggling on the bike, I didn’t feel as good as I did yesterday. We’re trying different things to improve and do better tomorrow. We’ll give it our maximum.”

Johann Zarco – DNF

“We made a big mistake with the rear tyre choice. We expected to manage just the wear drop-off, but I experienced a lot of chattering and couldn’t play with the throttle properly. I lost several positions and nearly crashed. It’s disappointing because I had been feeling good, I’m making solid progress, and we’ve done well throughout the weekend. I hope that with the medium rear tyre tomorrow, we’ll have better control. We’ll do our best to turn things around.”

MotoGP Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“It was definitely a good Saturday for our team. Having Fabio qualify in P3 underlines that we are making progress and are heading in the right direction. Álex also did a good job making his way through Q1 to take ninth on the grid, which is great. Like I said yesterday, starting towards the front can make a big difference here. Fabio had a good start and put himself in a good position to fight for a place on the podium. He came very close in the last corner of the last lap. Álex didn’t quite capitalise on his third-row start, so that is something we will hope to change for tomorrow, but he did manage the rear soft really well. We saw in today’s Sprint that tyre degradation is a key factor. Álex and Fabio seemed to be able to keep a good pace going when the tyres dropped, which is good information for tomorrow.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principal

“We enjoyed another race from Ai; a very good recovery, after the start and I think also a good show and a few overtakes. He did a good job today. We are also happy with the race of Raul, despite the position, but it looks like we found some good solutions in terms of settings for him and I hope we can bring that into the main race tomorrow. So, hopefully, Raul can start tomorrow more competitive – let’s try to repeat the progression we had today with Ai and make a better race with Raul tomorrow.”

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Aprilia Racing

“The sprint race was a bit complicated, especially in terms of preparation. Not managing to go through Q2, which means starting from behind, certainly conditioned the result. Marco had some difficulty at the start but then he managed to overtake several riders and maintain a good pace. We are still lacking a bit to be truly competitive and make a play for the important positions, but we are working hard. We are extremely pleased to see Jorge back on the track. In the sprint race, he had to settle in a bit, besides dealing with his physical problems, but we are rather happy because it is a good starting point. Ogura’s performance also continues to impress, demonstrating that the potential is there and it simply need to be exploited better than what we are doing.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“It‘s been a challenging Sprint Race. Overall, this Qatar GP is turning out to be a very interesting event. On one hand, we still have several areas to improve, as highlighted by Jack‘s crashes yesterday. On the other hand, Yamaha has made a significant step forward, as we saw with Quartararo fighting for the podium until the very end of the Sprint. Looking at the data, it‘s clear that both Jack and Augusto have strong potential. It‘s only a matter of time before that potential translates into results. We‘re continuing to work hard alongside Yamaha, and I‘m confident the results will come.”

Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“Of course our general performance in the Sprint today could be better but we feel we have made a step forward by understanding our needs and requirements. Perhaps the tire choice this evening didn’t help us to prove our current potential but we’ll see more of that tomorrow. We’ll apply what we have learnt here so far and go again.”

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“We are clearly frustrated with the sprint on Maverick Viñales’ side, especially after he did a top job in qualifying to reach his best grid position of the season with a second row in 6th, so we had good expectations for him. We made the wrong tyre choice which clearly ruined the end of his sprint. However, we must keep positive because Maverick has been fast all weekend so far, so we have every right to believe that he can deliver a solid performance on Sunday. Enea Bastianini has been struggling quite a lot since yesterday, with some issues on the bike which are bothering him. However, he stayed focused, and he found solutions in the sprint, which clearly helped him recover many positions in just 11 laps. That obviously gives us a lot of hope heading to the long distance on Sunday. Let’s put everything together, and I am sure that tomorrow we will be able to shine under the spotlights of Doha.”

MotoGP Sprint Race Report

The top three on the grid all launched off the line very well but it was polesitter Marc Marquez who grabbed the holeshot ahead of Alex Marquez and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Morbidelli and Fermin Aldeguer exchanged P4 at Turn 4, before the rookie got a little bit beaten up as Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda Castrol) forced their way through.

Meanwhile, at the end of the first lap, Bagnaia’s progress was P11 to P8. Not bad, but the Italian needed more. At the front, Alex got the better of Marc at Turn 1 on Lap 2, but the red corner bit straight back. And what were we saying about Pecco needing more? That’s exactly the opposite of what happened on Lap 2.

First Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), then Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and then 2023 and 2024 title rival, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), were ahead of Bagnaia.

At the front, Marc continued to lead Alex, with the gap between the two hovering around the 0.3s mark. Morbidelli was third, 0.7s further back, with Quartararo 0.3s away from his former teammate in P4. Viñales was well in touch in P5, as a mistake from Zarco cost the Frenchman a place to Aldeguer on Lap 4 of 11.

A fastest lap of the race was then set by Marc Marquez, seeing his lead stretch to 0.5s, but Alex Marquez responded with his personal best lap on the next lap to maintain that half a second.

Elsewhere, Aldeguer was flying. The Gresini rider quickly reeled in Viñales and made a move stick with five laps left, with Bagnaia still outside of the points in P11. That was then P10 as Zarco lost more ground after running wide at the final corner, with Bagnaia now facing the tailpipes of Acosta and Ogura.

Three laps to go. Marc Marquez was now 1.2s up the road and looked set to keep his 100% Sprint record, while Morbidelli was keeping Quartararo half a second behind him. Bagnaia passed Acosta at Turn 4 to climb into P9 – in other words, a point-scoring position.

Last lap time!

The victory fight seemed over, but the podium battle certainly wasn’t. Morbidelli’s margin had disappeared as Quartararo and Aldeguer swarmed. Could they do anything to pinch a podium from the Italian? Not quite. A small error at the final corner saw Quartararo hand Aldeguer a free pass into P4, but for the fourth Grand Prix in a row, Marc Marquez doubled up on a Saturday. Alex Marquez’s P2 run continued and Morbidelli did hold onto a bronze medal.

Aldeguer’s mid to late Sprint pace was nothing short of sensational as the rookie bagged a very impressive P4, with Quartararo backing up his front row with a hard-earned P5.

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was 0.5s adrift of the Yamaha star in P6, Ogura was the lead Aprilia in P7, with Bagnaia having to settle for a low-key P8. Work to do for Bagnaia ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) earned the final point in P9 as Viñales’ soft tyre gamble failed to pay off in the second half of the Sprint – the KTM rider slipped from P5 to P10.

And speaking of Aprilia, in his first Sprint appearance since the 2024 Solidarity GP, World Champion Martin crossed the line in P16 to get crucial mileage under his belt after his injury layoff. Martin will assess his condition in the morning and make a decision as to whether he will race on Sunday.

Joan Mir missed the Sprint Race as he was too ill from a serious bout of gastro.

MotoGP Lusail Sprint Race Results

COTA MotoGP Qualifying Times

Moto2

Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) is on pole for the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar, taking to the top by a tenth and a half to deny key rival Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) as the Brit was forced to settle for second. The two have been duelling it out so far in 2025 and it looks like Doha will be no different. Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) completes a front row of familiar names, another tenths in arrears as he looks to kick start his 2025 title charge.

Manuel Gonzalez

“I am very happy with this pole position because we knew we had the potential. But we also knew that I had to do a really perfect lap, because even though my bike is working very well, other riders have advantages at this track in some places, like extra speed, which maybe we had in Thailand in some corners. This is a very fast track, and I had to adapt to use these corners where turning is important to get a perfect lap. In the end I managed to do that with a really good lap. So, I’m very happy because we worked really well and made some changes during the weekend to adapt to the conditions here. Starting from pole position was obviously the goal for today, but we also worked a lot on race pace, tyre management and so on. And we are also strong in these areas. All in all, it was a perfect day.”

Fourth is Albert Arenas (Italjet Gresini Moto2) as his weekend of impressive pace continued in qualifying, and the same can be true of rookie Daniel Holgado (CFMoto Inde Aspar Team) in fifth. Zonta Van Den Goorbergh (RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP) completes Row 2.

Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Salac, Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) and Marcos Ramirez (American Racing Team) complete the top ten ahead of rookie David Alonso (CFMoto Inde Aspar Team).

Australian Senna Agius impressed with a good performance throughout the sessions. After a brief detour into Q1, he set the fastest time there with a 1’57.102 and ultimately secured himself the 13th grid position on row five in Q2.

Senna Agius – P13

“It was a decent qualifying session for us, we made a big step with the bike. Setting a good lap time in Q1 and getting into Q2 was the first step. However, the front tyre is quite critical, and we had to use the same tyre in Q2. But I was able to repeat the lap time, although I didn’t ride as aggressively to be a few tenths faster than I thought it is possible. But it’s important to stay calm because the race pace we showed this weekend is really good. I think we’ve taken a big step forward. On the other hand, I would have liked to have seen us a few rows further forward, because I think we had the potential. Nevertheless, I’m happy with the progress we’ve made and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Lusail Moto2 Qualifying Times

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

Ryusei Yamanaka’s pole lap came in with just under a minute left on the clock as the Japanese rider took knocked Joel Kelso off provisional pole. From there, no one could improve and there were also yellow flags out too after a crash for Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power). Rueda was bumped down to third to round out the front row.

Joel Kelso – P2

“The second day here in Qatar was definitely a positive one. Starting from the front row is always a great way to head into race day, and overall we’re feeling really comfortable. We did a lot of work on the harder compound too, and we’re confident it’s ready for the race. Now all the focus is on tomorrow, that’s the real moment of truth, and we” see what we can do. The team is doing an incredible job, everyone is pushing in the right direction and I’m really grateful.”

Behind that top three, Riccardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team) sits fourth and just ahead of Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), with rookie Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completing the second row.

Fernandez came through from Q1 to take P7 with Almansa just behind him, and rookie Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) takes P9 in an impressive push for the top ten. The top ten is completed by Nicola Carraro (Rivacold Snipers Team), just ahead of David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) as he looks for more when the lights go out.

Young Kiwi Cormac Buchanan will start from 16th on the grid.

Jacob Roulstone continues to build speed in his return from significant pre-season injuries and will start from 22nd.

Jacob Roulstone – P22

“I am disappointed to end the day like this of course, I feel like we had the potential to go to Q2, but we had a little misunderstanding. Anyway, let’s work tonight, try to get a good start, and we will try enjoying our second race of the year.”

Lusail Moto3 Qualifying Times

Moto3 Championship Standings

2025 MotoGP Calendar