Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez marched on for his second pole position of the 2025 MotoGP season at the Argentina Grand Prix.
The Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo has been a strong track for the six-time MotoGP champion in the past. He has won on three previous occasions – the joint-most in the premier class’ history.
Marquez has not raced on the circuit since 2019. He missed three years through cancellations and the rest through injury – and he is thriving in Argentina in the red of Ducati.
After grabbing pole and the Sprint and main race win in Thailand, everyone in the paddock expects Marquez to win in Argentina. He has given himself the best chance to do just that by putting his GP25 first in qualifying.
The 32-year-old was the only rider to break into the 1:36s as he repeatedly broke his lap record at Termas – he set it in 2014 with Honda.
However, the lap record was initially broken by Marco Bezzecchi who left Marquez wide-eyed in his garage on Friday. It shows that the Ducati rider will have competition in Argentina – including from Johann Zarco.
Neil Hodgson lauds ‘incredible’ Johann Zarco’s performance at the Argentina Grand Prix
Honda have been able to make a step forward in the 2025 season under the concession system. The manufacturer have been making use of testing to lift themselves off the bottom of the standings.
Their performance was shown in Thailand as Zarco finished seventh for LCR while Joan Mir would have finished in the top 10 had he not crashed at the final corner.
Zarco has continued that momentum into Argentina as he produced stunning pace on Friday and Saturday. The Frenchman will line up third for the Grand Prix behind the Marquez brothers.
Speaking on TNT Sports during Q2, Neil Hodgson was in awe of Zarco as he looked ‘comfortable on the Honda. Gavin Emmett also highlighted the inconsistencies the 21-podium rider had last year to show how much the Japanese manufacturer have progressed.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Johann Zarco from career stats to net worth
Hodgson said: “Incredible. From the very first lap from that first practice session, Zarco was right up there. He’s been consistent all weekend, looks really comfortable.”
“Do you know how many times Johann Zarco last year got inside even the top 12? Four times all year,” added Emmett.
“He was 10th in Aragon, he was… sorry five. 12th in Thailand, 12th in Solidarity, 11th in Malaysia and there was the one-off seventh in a strange track like Indonesia.”
Johann Zarco is targeting a podium at the Argentina Grand Prix
Honda engineers had to control themselves after pre-season testing about their progress from last year. But after Zarco’s performance in Argentina, they must be feeling optimistic about their chances in 2025.
Speaking in parc ferme after putting his RC213V on the front row, the 34-year-old is looking to challenge Marc and Alex Marquez and score a podium.
“When I realised this… it’s so nice. It’s so nice because it’s confirmed the speed of Friday,” he said.
READ MORE: Everything to know about LCR from the MotoGP team’s riders to Honda ties
“I was expecting to be on the first two rows but I knew that it [was] going to be tough.
“But [to] get this first lap almost perfect was so good and you always care that someone [will] get better but it meant it was good enough for the first row.
“It seems we can get an opportunity for a podium, so [I] will try to catch it and it’s so nice to be with the top brothers because in Thailand they were clearly too fast.”
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