Sylvain Guintoli saw one ‘unreal’ moment from Fabio Quartararo before his Spanish Grand Prix Sprint crash

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Fabio Quartararo would not end Marc Marquez’s dominance in Sprint Races as well as qualifying at the Grand Prix of Spain after crashing, yet still impressed Sylvain Guintoli.

The Yamaha rider became the first person to deny Marquez a pole position in the 2025 term on Saturday morning at Jerez. Quartararo scored pole position for the Spanish GP with a late 1:35.610 lap in Q2 to usurp the benchmark the Ducati ace had posted by just 0.033 seconds.

But the Frenchman’s efforts to also end the Spaniard’s stranglehold in Sprints would last less than two laps this afternoon. Quartararo crashed fighting Marquez over the lead of the Jerez Sprint, trying to hang on around the outside into Turn 6 to overcome his bike’s power deficit.

Quartararo was a sitting duck on Jerez’s back straight as Marquez easily drew alongside the 26-year-old with the extra punch his Ducati packs. But, after fighting valiantly to stay in front on the opening lap, the 26-year-old being just one metre from the racing line saw him crash.

Sylvain Guintoli praises Fabio Quartararo for his ‘unreal’ start to the Spanish GP Sprint Race

Guintoli still believes Quartararo deserves praise for what the Yamaha star showed trying to fight Marquez in the Sprint at the Spanish GP on Saturday, though. He especially notes how strong the 2021 champion’s start was after his Ducati rival had a cleaner launch off the grid.

Despite Quartararo scoring Yamaha’s first pole since 2022 at Jerez, second on the grid gave Marquez more grip in the Sprint Race. But the Nice native refused to just give up the lead to the Cervera-born legend, so dived straight back at Marquez into Turn 1 to get the lead back.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Quartararo from net worth to career stats

Guintoli said on TNT Sports 2 (26/04, 14:37): “I just want to say a massive kudos to Fabio for what he’s done because that was unreal. What he did at the start was really, really strong.

“Marc was on the cleaner spot of the track [and] the first metres were better for him. Fabio responded in Turn 1 and he didn’t give up! He didn’t give an inch. Even though he ended up on the ground, I feel like he deserves massive praise for that.”

Fabio Quartararo had to get aggressive, but Marc Marquez only had to bide his time at Jerez

Quartararo knew he had to stay ahead of Marquez if the Yamaha pilot was to stand a chance to not only beat the Ducati rider but to deny the six-time champion a Sprint Race win for the first time this season. Marquez has won all five Sprints to start the 2025 MotoGP season yet.

So, his aggressive dive to regain the lead into Turn 1 which impressed Guintoli was essential for Quartararo’s Sprint Race. It allowed the 11-time premier class Grand Prix winner to take his sweeping lines and carry speed in the corners and meant he could at first stayed ahead.

But Marquez only had to bide his time for a chance to materialise, and made it count when it did on the run to T6 on Lap 2/12. The 65-time premier class Grand Prix winner will even now have his sights set on securing win number 66 this Sunday to stretch his championship lead.