The Spanish GP according to Boris…

MotoGP 2025

Round Five – Spain – Jerez – Sunday

How wondrously cruel and exalting is MotoGP? What other sport so tortures the Spanish? In their house, no less. In blessed wild Jerez where more than 220,000 of them came to watch the ongoing Spanish domination. They roped themselves to the hillsides, beat their chests, and howled at the sky from before dawn to late at night. It was quite a sight.

This was the weekend of Marc Marquez. Of course it was. It was his home race. He was probably conceived at this track. Bet his father had his fingers crossed that night too. A complete redemption of Marc was expected, because while it may be Marc’s home race, it is the hated enemy who has ruled Jerez. Rossi has won here six times. Marc has only three victories at this track. It was also the track that busted Marc rather seriously all those years ago, and put a long pause on his astonishing career.

This weekend was when he would be redeemed.

And it sure did look like that at the end of the Sprint Race. But it did not look like that at the start, or indeed, in Qualifying. Against all expectations, Fabio Quartararo manhandled his recalcitrant Yamaha onto pole. Marc was in second, and Pecco Bagnaia in third. Truly a hyper-talented front row of professional murderers.

The plan, as far as I could tell – and this applies to both races – was not to let Marc get away at the front. Once that happens, he just rides away and everyone is playing Catch The Marquez. Which has proved largely impossible this year.

But what if you could disrupt the Marquez conquest? What if you gadflied him, made him try harder, made him work? Of course, you’d have to do it right from the start, otherwise he’d just ride off.

Against all expectations, Fabio outgunned the Spaniard to the first corner and clung ruthlessly to the lead for a lap or so. Then, when Marc made the pass he was always going to make, he ran Fabulous a little wide, the Yamaha got jinky, and down went Fabulous.

The howling Spaniards on the hills then got exactly what they came to see, the Marquez Mafia one and two, with Pecco a disconsolate third. Marc aside, it was also starting to look like his brother Alex was on another level this year. How that has happened is anyone’s guess.

Come Sunday, a repeat was fully expected. Marc on the top step, Alex behind him, and Pecco (or maybe even Fabulous), on the lowest step – and mass Spanish onanism.

What we all got instead was something else entirely. It was one of the best and most determined rides by a rider who has too long languished away from the podium, cursed as he is with a bike that just cannot match the Ducatis.

Once again, Fabulous went out hard, this time followed by Pecco, who must be well and truly over his seemingly unbeatable team-mate. So, while the Frenchman eked out a half-second lead, behind him, Pecco and Marc went at it like cats in a bag.

Marquez the Lesser, clearly overstimulated by Spanish glory, charged into the fray, and almost took both his brother and Pecco out in Turn One. But he collected himself, and briefly let Marc and Pecco flood the Ducati Factory pit with anxiety as the team-mates wrestled for second. Somehow, against all expectations, he levered himself into third behind Pecco and ahead of his brother.

But then Marc crashed. His front-end washed out. The crowd-packed hillsides heaved in anguish.

Rookie Aldeguer was suddenly also looking very sharp in fourth, then he suddenly wasn’t as the gravel came to eat him. This put Maverick, the one single hope KTM has on that grid this year, into fourth. And as Fabulous rode the rims off his Yamaha out in front, the race was shaping up to be a pearler.

The pit-boards must have told them the Crimson King was having an early shower, and you could almost see Fabulous, Alex, and Pecco grinning under their lids. But Alex did more than grin. He turned it up some and went past Fabulous to grab the lead.

That’s it, I thought. Pecco will do Fabulous next. This is Pecco’s big chance. The Yamaha is clearly being rogered to the other side of its comfort zone by the Frenchman. But no. Fabulous held his nerve, and while it looked for a while that Pecco would catch him, it was not to be.

No-one was going to catch Alex. He speared off into the distance much like his brother has always done, so the Spanish still had heaps to cheer about.

Marc had actually rejoined the race after his off, and was being amazing. His Ducati, its left side smashed to bits, was carving its way back into the points. His lap-times were every bit as fast as the boys up the front, and he was making sure and steady progress through the field.

Miller’s bike threw all of its electricity away, so Jack went back to his garage. Mir crashed again, making that his ninth DNF in the last 11 races.

With ten laps left to go, Franky Morbidelli, who had looked strong all weekend, failed to negotiate Turn 11. He had flubbed his start, but was recovering steadily, and then he was listening to the crackling gravel. Luckily, he didn’t break anything but has been diagnosed with a cervical contusion (bruised spine), and is going to sit out the Monday test.

Young Chantra, the pride of Thailand, discovered his forearms were no longer up to the task of piloting MotoGP bikes, and retired with arm-pump.

We were also treated to the wildcard return of Aleix ‘The Captain’ Espargaro this weekend. The Captain had been given a new Honda to poke in the guts, as befits his role as a development rider for HRC. He plonked a bright yellow helmet on his head, and off he went to rediscover how uncompetitive he was. Marc actually passed him on his busted Ducati. At the end of the race, it was discovered that The Captain’s tyre pressures were not kosher, and his time penalty put him back in 17th, or second-last, given the attrition rate.

Marini was the best-finishing Honda, a shade ahead of Zarco back in eleventh. Binder, sixth behind Digi, kept a cranky Acosta at bay, ensuring his Alpha status in the KTM concern. Rumours are swelling that Puig has been scratching at Acosta’s hotel door and waving HRC offers at the prodigy. Pedro himself remains hugely disgruntled at not being as competitive as he feels he is, but we certainly won’t know anything until after the summer break.

Ai Ogura remains the most impressive rookie, and indeed the most impressive Japanese rider for some time. He is certainly cloaking his Trackhouse team-mate, Raul Fernandez, in shame every race. It’s just a matter of time before the American bosses get their ruthless on here, I think.

So, Alex Marquez now leads the championship again. But only by a single point from his brother. Pecco is 20 points adrift of the lead, and while the season is still young and we know lots of crazy shit is going to happen, these three will likely be locked in mortal combat for the rest of the year.

Sadly, the current champion, Jorge Martin, is not yet in the mix. He has been released from hospital, but there is no word yet on when he might return. Likely, it will be in the second-half of the season.

Will Marc take the title this year? Maybe. It’s likely. But then, maybe not. This is MotoGP, after all. The fat lady has not even arrived at the opera house yet, let alone preparing to sing.

Le Mans is next.

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