Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez continued his dominance in the 2025 MotoGP season as he claimed victory in the Sprint at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Spaniard recovered from two nasty-looking crashes in Friday practice to win his ninth Sprint race of the season. Marquez claimed ‘I didn’t push’ in qualifying as he feared causing more damage to his body in another crash.
The 32-year-old qualified P4 behind brother Alex Marquez, his Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia and polesitter Fabio Quartararo. But it did not take long for Marc Marquez to take the lead and command the field.
With his 14th win of the season, including Sprints, Marquez has extended his lead further in the standings. Meanwhile, teammate Bagnaia’s struggles have continued on the GP25 as he could only manage fifth in the Sprint at the Dutch Grand Prix.
It could have been worse for the Italian as he was running P6 until Quartararo crashed in the closing stages. Bagnaia lacked the pace of the Marquez brothers, Marco Bezzecchi, Quartararo and Fabio Di Giannantonio; something which Neil Hodgson thinks prompted ‘serious conversations’ at Ducati.
Jorge Lorenzo says Alex Marquez is ‘without a doubt’ ready to join Ducati
Despite the expectations placed upon Bagnaia at the start of the season, he has offered little competition in the title battle. Alex Marquez has been the rider who has challenged brother Marc the most in 2025.
The Gresini rider, who has taken part in 98 races in his MotoGP career, has found a new level on the GP24 this season. He has finished in the top two in every Sprint race thus far and in six of the nine Grand Prix.
Alex Marquez was on the pace of his brother throughout the race, looking much quicker through sector three and the right-handers. However, he did not look to make a move on the tight, fast-flowing circuit and settled for P2.
Speaking after the race via DAZN, MotoGP legend Jorge Lorenzo was left impressed by the Gresini rider’s performance. He thinks he is ready for the step up to the factory outfit.
“Without a doubt Álex is ready to wear red. He is having an excellent season. He doesn’t fail at any track.
“Today we saw him practically at the same speed as Marc and he deserves that position. That doesn’t mean that Bagnaia doesn’t deserve it, but right now they are at a very similar level, both Pecco and Álex.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Marquez from net worth to career stats
Francesco Bagnaia will be alarmed by Jorge Lorenzo’s comments as his Ducati woes continue
While Lorenzo was quick to say that Bagnaia still deserves to have a seat at Ducati, those comments about Alex Marquez will certainly unnerve him, especially given his current form.
Ducati have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to help the Italian find improvements, having complained constantly of a lack of feeling in the front end of the GP25.
Bagnaia’s new brake discs improve that feeling in the bike, but did little to give him a competitive edge. While he battled for the lead in the opening laps in Mugello, he faded away and finished fourth.
His latest disaster at Assen will be worrying, but the team are refusing to give up on their star rider. Luigi Dall’Igna has been saying Ducati owe Bagnaia something in private meetings, given the success he has brought the manufacturer in recent seasons.
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