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

MotoGP 2025

Round Seven – Silverstone
Saturday Sprint Round-Up / Results

Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) delivered a masterclass in the Tissot Sprint at Silverstone, pulling the pin to perfection and storming to a commanding victory by over three seconds. The Spaniard outpaced Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), who had no answer for his younger brother’s pace on Saturday.

While the Marquez brothers progressively disappeared into the distance, the fight for the final podium spot was anything but settled. In a gloves-off five-rider brawl, it was Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Team) who emerged on top, securing third after a gritty display in one of the most intense scraps of the season.

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Alex Marquez – P1

“We’re happy: both Marc and Pecco placed me as the favourite, but until you take to the track, you never know where you’re really at. Tomorrow it’ll be a whole different story but for once I must say that on paper we can battle for the win with Marc. For now, we’ll enjoy this first sprint win.”

Marc Marquez – P2

“With this second place, we saved our Saturday. So far this year, this has been the weekend where I’ve had the hardest time. Alex seems to have the better rhythm, and I think it’ll continue to be this way tomorrow, too. When I was in his slipstream, I kept losing the front and at one point, due to a burst of wind, I almost crashed; as I knew I had a three-second advantage on third place, I chose to secure the nine points. Unfortunately, with this wind you never know what can happen, as it changes every lap, and it looks like tomorrow it will be even stronger, so we’ll need to be very careful.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P3

“In the last couple of races we struggled, so being back at this level is a great achievement for me and the team. I think that this week at home has been super good for us because we worked so hard, we did plenty of videocalls to try to understand how to improve and all the things we tried are working. I’m super proud of the team. I did a good start and I was able to keep the pace during all the Sprint. Today I expected to do a good Sprint, but not that good in terms of results. I think that for tomorrow we are in a good shape, we can work a little bit more and try to be as close as possible to the podium guys to repeat today’s result.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P4

“I’m happy. It was a great sprint race and I had fun. It’s a shame about the small complication at the start which conditioned the early stage of the race. In fact, at a certain point, I found myself in nineteenth place. In any case, it was an extremely positive sprint race. The long race will be different, because managing the tyres will be fundamental, as will a good start. We are working well. The team is doing a great job and I want to thank each one of them.”

Johann Zarco – P5

“I’m pretty happy after today! Starting from ninth position on this track is tough, especially because the first corner is very demanding. I tried to manage the situation, got a good start, and from there I was able to control the bike the way I wanted, especially my pace and traction. That gave me an advantage with my riding style, and I really enjoyed the battles with my rivals. This fifth place is a great result! I’d like to thank the team, the sponsors, and everyone who believes in us. We’ll try to repeat this performance tomorrow!”

Francesco Bagnaia – P6

“Today I got a good start and tried to stay with the leading duo, but after four laps there was a clear drop in rear-end grip, and from then on, I was unable to be competitive. As I couldn’t be effective under braking, I had to use the rear more to make the bike turn, and that led to excessive tyre wear. We’re working on finding the right direction to bridge the gap, while also trying to improve my riding style and get back to the tyre management level I had in previous years.”

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“It was a really positive morning, I would say, but it wasn’t that positive of an afternoon. We need to understand what happened in the Sprint. Especially with the rear tyre I was struggling right from the start. The track was also not very grippy, so it was a combination of things that meant we were not so fast. We will analyse it well and try to see if we can find something positive, but it was not the best Sprint I did. It’s probably going to be a tough Race tomorrow, but I will give it my maximum, and then we’ll see what our potential is like. Being realistic, fighting for a top 5 or top 6 in races is our goal right now.”

Pedro Acosta – P8

“We did what we could do. It was frustrating not to have the ‘tools’ that we wanted today. We could fight up to a point and it was a good comeback. We are not here to finish 8th and not what we are working for, so we need to make a step. I want to compete. I have a lot of confidence in the team. The work they have made in every series is awesome. These guys are winners and know how to win championships and somehow we are just missing something in MotoGP at the moment and sooner or later we will make a big step. We need it soon.”

Jack Miller – P9

“I scored my first points in the Sprint, and I‘ll take that as a positive. But this afternoon we were struggling right from the start. I‘m not sure if it was due to the track conditions or something else, but the bike was moving around more than I expected. I think all of us Yamaha riders had a tougher time this afternoon compared to the morning or yesterday. We all had the same issues with corner entry, mid-corner, and exit, especially in the flowing corners. Turn 9 was particularly difficult for me; I think that everyone was passing me there. I was searching for traction everywhere but just couldn‘t find any. I think tomorrow will be a different story with the medium rear tyre. Overall, I‘m still happy with a decent day where, at least in the early stages, I was able to fight a bit. Now let‘s see what tomorrow brings.”

Luca Marini – P10

“Super satisfied with the job that me and the team did in the morning. We worked hard last night to set up the bike better for Qualifying and we finally made the step we have been looking for. I was feeling really comfortable to push for one lap and we achieved one target we had set. In the Sprint, I didn’t have the same feeling and normally we suffer with the Moto2 session before. I was able to put up a good fight with the other riders, but I was wanting more honestly. We know that we always do better on Sunday and with this better grid position, I am confident we can challenge for something.”

Franco Morbidelli – P11

“The Sprint was tough, I had a problem in the first lap and I lost many positions. Then I struggled because it’s very hard to bounce back when you are behind. But my laptimes were not bad. We advanced from the Q1, that is always difficult because there are many strong riders. In that moment, without any slipstream, we did a 58.2, only two tenths far from the front rows. Looking at the laptimes I had in the final stages of the race, I am confident for tomorrow. We need to improve more and maybe we could be competitive despite the three places grid penalty for tomorrow.”

Joan Mir – P12

“Until the Sprint race we were working a lot to find the last few tenths in Qualifying because that’s all we need – less than half a tenth and we were in Q2. On the other hand, my pace has been strong all weekend, and I was confident of doing a good result in the Sprint. A tough race, a tough day to be honest. Our pace wasn’t what we had expected it to be and I couldn’t make up the positions I was expecting to. We have one more day to try something tomorrow before moving on to the next challenge.”

Maverick Viñales – P13

“We are clearly lacking experience with the KTM on this low-grip track, so it is a good weekend to learn and improve the feeling. We felt good in the second half of the sprint, I was catching the group in front, but we need to be patient and keep working. We have to improve how we enter the corners, because it then compromises the acceleration, and all of this is because of the low grip. We have a good set up when track conditions are normal, but we have seen this weekend that there is still a long way to go when conditions are different.”

Fermin Aldeguer – P14

“It wasn’t an easy Saturday; we started well in the Sprint, but I made a mistake already on lap two, lost six positions and with the soft tyre, both the Hondas and the Yamahas were very close to the Ducatis in terms of performance, so I struggled. In the last lap I tried to overtake Acosta and ended up on the grass. We can do well tomorrow: we’re starting from row two and we must fight at least for the top ten.”

Enea Bastianini – P15

“The day has been quite difficult, because it is a bit frustrating to compare my lap times this year to the ones I had last year at that same track. Starting this morning, we felt something on the bike, the tyres were dropping quickly, so we tried some changes and it became better. We gave everything we had in qualifying, but it is not enough at the moment to make it to Q2 unfortunately. In the sprint, we suffered a lot with the rear grip, after 3 laps, the tyre dropped a lot which was strange. The strong wind was also not easy to manage, but anyway, we need to check all of these issues carefully tonight, and arrive tomorrow with better solutions.”

Miguel Oliveira – P16

“It was a bit of a complicated Sprint right from the start. I actually got off the line well and made up a couple of positions, but then in Turn 7 I had to go wide to avoid Morbidelli, who braked early to release his front device, which hadn‘t disengaged yet. Three riders got past me there. On top of that, I had very little rear grip from the beginning, the tyre just didn‘t perform like it did in qualifying. I‘m still missing about 4–5 tenths per lap to stay with the others, but I already knew back in Le Mans that I would have these 3–4 races where I‘d need to work on regaining my speed, step by step. I‘m taking it easy, not rushing things, but already this weekend I‘m battling with more riders than I was in France. Right now, it‘s all about me, not the bike. We‘ve seen that the bike is strong, especially on a single lap. But it’s mainly Fabio, who‘s in great form, getting the most out of it and riding it nearly to perfection.”

Aleix Espargaro – P17

“Today we kept working on a few items for Honda and we were able to do what we needed. Our objective is to find things to helps the factory riders and we are getting there. At the start of the Sprint, I went wide early and lost a lot, a lot of time but once we got back onto track our rhythm was good which is positive for tomorrow. It’s a shame we couldn’t get more out of Qualifying, but the Test Team and I are improving with each lap. More tomorrow, let’s enjoy!”

Lorenzo Savadori – P18

“The things we’ve been testing for a few races now are starting to work better. They obviously needed to be fine-tuned and we still have not achieved perfection, but when the time comes, they’ll be introduced on Marco’s bike as well. We are taking small steps forward and it is extremely positive. It’s also great to see Marco so fast, in spite of being so far back on the first lap.”

Raul Fernandez – P19

“I think today was exactly the opposite from what we expected. We improved a lot in these kind of fast corners in which we lost a lot of time compared to Marco (Bezzecchi) yesterday. We improved – from this morning, I felt good with the bike but we had some bad luck during the day. First, in Qualifying where I was fighting to get into Q2 in the last two laps I saw yellow flags, but at least we improved. Later, in the Sprint, I touched with Franco (Morbidelli). He was wide and came back and we touched – I’m not sure who’s mistake this is, it was probably just a typical race incident. But I lost my wings on the right side of the bike and I couldn’t brake. With the wind and no wings on one side of the bike it was super difficult. It was the first time I rode like this – very tricky and I couldn’t get any good information for tomorrow. I confirmed the good feeling with the bike, I think we are working well and Marco did an amazing race. We are not on his level right now but, I believe, we are closer than yesterday and if everything is working well tomorrow and we don’t have an incident at the beginning of the race, my target is to fight for the top 10. I think that’s a realistic goal for tomorrow.”

Alex Rins – P20

“Up until the Sprint race, the weekend was going in a good direction. In the qualifying, I ran into a yellow flag, so I couldn’t improve my lap time, but the performance level was much higher than 12th. In the Sprint, a rival passed me on the back straight, and then he was on my line. I couldn’t stop the bike and went into the gravel. After that, I was in last place, but I just tried to keep going at my pace. I had a lack of rear grip, maybe because of the track conditions, and we need to find out why. We will analyse everything, and let’s see what the weather will be like tomorrow.”

Somkiat Chantra – P21

“After the third lap, I started to struggle with my arm. I wanted to finish the Sprint, gather information, and see how I felt. Tomorrow will be difficult, but I will try my best. Thanks to the team for the great work.”

Brad Binder – DNF

“Qualifying clearly wasn’t very good but I knew what I had to do for the race: get a start and push-on. I got the start and passed a lot of guys but lost the front when I was pushing more. It’s far from ideal and the last thing I wanted. We have to forget and try again tomorrow. I feel that the top ten is within our reach. Quali was not good but racing is different.”

MotoGP Team Managers

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Aprilia Racing

“It was a positive sprint race, although a bit conditioned by the qualifiers. Marco had a thrilling comeback ride that confirms the technical value of what we are doing. The base is there, so we simply need to line everything up and achieve the results, because the performance is clearly there as well. We’ll keep working to try and take another step forward in the long race. With more laps to work with, we may be able to take better advantage of our consistency over race distance.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director

“Today’s third consecutive pole and All Time Lap Record was another great moment for Yamaha and the team. However, we knew that while Fabio’s one-lap performance is strong, race pace would be trickier. On top of this, the track conditions were not great, and all Yamaha riders suffered from a lack of grip because of it. Fabio was fighting hard for every position and point and got the best result possible under the circumstances. Álex was unlucky to catch a yellow flag in qualifying, because I think he had the potential to start from the second row. He also had a solid pace in the Sprint, probably good enough for a top-10 placement. It’s a shame that he ran off track, but we will get to have a do-over tomorrow. The team will analyse the data and see if we can improve in a few areas for the Race. We hope for good weather again!”

Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“I talk quite frequently about the positives of the GP weekends and the progress we are making, and this is in our systems and our processes. We are moving forwards, but we need a little patience. Jerez, for example, was good for the calm approach and the simplicity; of testing less things and making less changes. This weekend has been more challenging so far than the last two-three races and I think it is related to the track state and the low grip we have at the moment. We could see and feel this in the Quali and the start of the Sprint, which were a bit tougher for us compared to our competitors. Again, I want to keep positive for tomorrow when we go with the harder tyres and the longer GP. I think we have the chance to improve. The work is never-ending, but the challenges are still there when we have new tyres. With the longer distance we can show a bit more, as we have seen a few times this season.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“Surely, we were expecting a bit more from the Sprint Race after Jack‘s excellent qualifying performance that placed him on the second row. Unfortunately, both he and Miguel struggled with poor rear grip during the race, which prevented them from fighting for better positions. In the end, after a race that required a lot of effort and resilience, Jack still managed to bring home a point—his and the team‘s first in a Saturday race—which boosts morale and helps us move up in the standings. As for Miguel, he lost positions on the opening lap while avoiding another rider, and from that moment on, his race became an uphill battle. Still, we saw encouraging signs of progress from him as well. Now, we need to focus on understanding how to improve in order to be more competitive in terms of pace and race distance.”

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“This British Grand Prix is not exactly going as we were expecting. Maverick Viñales does not feel bad on the bike, but he was unlucky in Q1 with a technical issue in his last run. He would have had a good chance to go through without this issue, but that meant 18th on the grid, and the story becomes totally different. In the sprint, he rode with a decent pace and finished with a P13, which still highlights his potential for Sunday. It is not what we wanted, but I believe that tomorrow will be a different race with different tyres, and he has strong chances for the top 10. Enea Bastianini has not felt comfortable since the start of the weekend, he has struggled to find a good set up. He struggled in qualifying, and then in the sprint. However, we are staying positive, we know that Enea is strong with low grip conditions, and a different rear tyre on Sunday should help him score a few points.”

Davido Brivio – Trackhouse Team Principal

“We’ve been very unlucky today, but that’s racing. Unfortunately, Raul got hit by another rider in the first lap and the right part of the front wing was broken and then the bike became uncontrollable and unstable in some parts of the track. It was very difficult for him to ride it which, I think, made the race was very hard. Raul tried to finish just to try to pick up some information for tomorrow, but after one lap our race was destroyed. Anyway, these are things that happen in racing and we will try tomorrow again. Unfortunately, Ai couldn’t race. He’s unfit for the rest of the weekend and will go back to Barcelona tomorrow morning and will go under further examination on Monday and then we will discuss with the medical team what we need to do. Hopefully, he will be back for Aragon, but we need a few more days to understand.”

MotoGP Sprint Race Report

Fabio Quartararo launched perfectly from pole to grab the holeshot, but the Ducati trio behind him wasted no time locking horns. Alex Marquez muscled his way into second despite a bold outside lunge from Marc Marquez, who had rocketed off the line from fourth with typical aggression.

As the pack charged down the Wellington Straight, Marc was already up into second, and by the Hangar Straight, he’d swept into the lead. With six consecutive Sprint wins under his belt, it looked ominous — but this time, little brother Alex had other ideas.

Marquez vs. Marquez

Alex quickly dispatched Quartararo across the line and closed in on Marc. When the elder Marquez ran wide at Turn 3, Alex pounced, seizing the lead. From there, it became the Marquez sibling show, with the duo pulling clear of a chaotic battle for third.

Midfield Mayhem: Di Giannantonio Pulls Clear

Behind the Marquez brothers, the fight for the final step on the podium turned brutal. Francesco Bagnaia moved past Quartararo, followed closely by Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Team). What followed was a spectacular Quartararo vs. Di Giannantonio duel, with Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) joining the fray.

Bezzecchi, who had dropped well outside the top 10 early on, mounted a stunning late charge. He picked off Zarco, then blasted past Quartararo at the end of the Wellington Straight before setting his sights on Bagnaia. With Di Giannantonio having escaped the melee, Bez elbowed past Bagnaia, and Zarco followed with a slick move through Maggots and Becketts. Quartararo tried to strike as well but ran out of time.

Sprint Showdown: Alex Breaks Marc’s Streak

Out front, Alex Marquez kept his focus, never put a wheel wrong, and gradually built a gap before pulling the pin late to take his first Sprint victory since 2023. Marc Marquez settled for second, while Di Giannantonio returned to the rostrum for the first time since the Austin GP.

Marco Bezzecchi’s charge from near the back of the grid resulted in an impressive fourth, with his pace one to watch on Sunday if he makes life easier for himself early on.

Johann Zarco was fifth, with Bagnaia just holding on to that sixth place ahead of Quartararo.

Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) made a late charge to eighth at the expense of Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) as the rookie was elbowed back outside the points finishing places.

The Saturday points scorers were completed by Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team) after the Australian ran strong early on and was able to hold on to ninth at the flag ahead of Luca Marini, Franco Morbidelli, Joan Mir and Maverick Vinales.

MotoGP Silverstone Sprint Race Results

Silverstone MotoGP Qualifying Times

Moto2

The opening hurdle at Silverstone was a stacked Q1, with big names including Aron Canet, reigning Moto3 World Champion David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), and the Beta Tools SpeedUp duo of Celestino Vietti and Alonso Lopez all battling for just four transfer spots.

Late drama struck when Sergio Garcia (QJMOTOR – FRINSA – MSI) crashed at Luffield, bringing out yellow flags that neutralised the final sector for much of the field. Canet, Alonso, and Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing Team) all initially advanced, but a late flyer from Alonso Lopez saw him narrowly edge out teammate Vietti, putting one of Luca Boscoscuro’s bikes into Q2 and leaving the other stuck down in P19 on the grid.

Q2: A Title Showdown and Final Lap Frenzy

In the all-important Q2, Canet wasted no time rising to the top of the timesheets, with championship rival Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) his closest challenger throughout the session. The two title contenders traded fast sectors, locking into an intense back-and-forth duel.

Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) gave the home crowd hope early on, slotting into the provisional second row, but as the final laps flew in, he was unable to improve — unlike many of his rivals, who went on to push the Brit back to 13th by the chequered flag.

Canet delivered under pressure to secure pole position, while Diogo Moreira snatched a front-row start with a last-lap surge. David Alonso also vaulted up the order to P4, joining the second row in the closing moments.

Senna Agius, who was sitting in second just seconds from the end, was ultimately pushed back to join Alonso on the second row, rounding out a strong performance for the Australian after a thrilling Q2 finale lit up by red sectors across the board.

Senna Agius – P5

“A good Saturday ended with a second row start, although I would have liked to be on the front row. But the conditions were tricky and everyone on the track was behaving a bit unpredictably, it was practically like a Moto3 session. But overall, I am satisfied. We now have to analyze a few things to be good for the race distance. But I’m happy with P5 on the second row. A big thank you to the team, because they did a really good job.”

Silverstone Moto2 Qualifying Times

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

Q1 set the stage for high drama as four precious spots for Q2 were up for grabs. Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) continued his strong weekend form, leaving it late to top the session. Joining him in the Q2 graduation were Vicente Perez (LEVELUP-MTA), Stefano Nepa (SIC58 Squadra Corse), and Riccardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team) — all of whom delivered in a thrilling final burst of laps.

Cormac Buchanan (DENSSI Racing – BOE) was unlucky to miss out. After setting the fastest first sector of anyone, the Kiwi crashed at Turn 3. Though provisionally inside the top four, he was ultimately bumped to P19 as others improved. Fortunately, Buchanan was unharmed in the fall.

Q2: Rueda Fastest, But Penalty Changes the Grid

The focus then turned to Q2, with attention on Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda, teammate Alvaro Carpe, and Friday pace-setter David Almansa. Initially, Almansa looked off the pace, sitting as low as P14 after his first run, while Rueda held provisional pole.

But the final flying laps reshuffled the order dramatically. Running together, Almansa surged to P5, while Rueda capitalised on the slipstream to improve further and take pole position. That secured Red Bull KTM Ajo’s first 1-2 of the season, as Carpe bagged his first-ever front row in second place.

Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) completed the front row in third after an intense on-track scrap with Rueda at the end of the session.

Almansa ended up fourth, with Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) fifth, snapping his streak of front-row starts.  The Australian was flying on his hot lap and well fastest to the second split before slower riders held him up for the latter half of the lap.

Joel Kelso – P5

“We were really strong today. I’m convinced pole position was within reach. But unfortunately, we ran into a dangerous and absurd situation, which could’ve ended very badly. Race Direction will make their decisions, but we need to stay focussed on tomorrow. We’re starting from fifth, and we’re ready to fight. I feel great on the bike.”

Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) qualified sixth, maintaining his 100% record of starting on the front two rows.

Australian Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) had a mixed session. With a focus on adapting to the evolving conditions, he aimed to run solo but saw his final lap cancelled due to a shortcut. Still, he managed a 2’10.753 to qualify 13th.

Jacob Roulstone – P13

“Not too bad of a qualifying. Annoyingly, I had to do my lap on my own, but I had quite a good pace. However, we were once again bothered by slow riders just there in the middle, which cut my efforts. Big shame. We still have a little bit of work to do as a team for tomorrow, but I am confident that we can have a good race. Hopefully the weather will be good, but I am feeling positive about it!”

Following the session, Rueda was handed a grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line, dropping him one place and promoting everyone behind him up a position. That hands pole position to Carpe — his first in Moto3 — and shuffles the rest of the front rows accordingly.

All eyes will be on Rueda as he attempts a comeback in Sunday’s race. Can the Championship leader recover and convert pace into points? The stage is set for a thrilling Moto3 showdown at Silverstone.

Silverstone Moto3 Qualifying Times

2025 MotoGP Calendar