Marco Bezzecchi
Alex Marquez took his first pole position of the 2025 MotoGP season after a stunning lap during qualifying for the Catalan Grand Prix on Saturday.
After securing ten front-row starts this season already, six of those in second-place, the Gresini Racing rider finally took his first pole position since the 2023 Argentine Grand Prix, 889 days ago.
Marquez has spent the current campaign in the shadow of his championship-leading brother, Marc Marquez. Alex has benefited from the help of Marc throughout the campaign; the two premier class riders often train together in hopes of besting each other on-track.
The younger Marquez’s performances this year, which have seen him occupy the second spot in the riders’ standings, have also increased the possibility of Alex getting full factory support from Ducati next year.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Marquez from net worth to career stats
Gavin Emmett and Neil Hodgson were in awe of Alex Marquez’s pole position lap in Barcelona
Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage of qualifying for the Catalan Grand Prix, commentators Gavin Emmett and Neil Hodgson were in awe of the gap between Marquez’s pole position lap and that of his rivals behind him.
“Wow! He made three-tenths of a second up in the final sector alone!” Emmett exclaimed after he passed the start/finish line to take pole.
The Spaniard was chasing Pedro Acosta’s provisional benchmark that was set just moments before.
“That was just unbelievable,” Hodgson applauded. After being asked where the extra time came from by Emmett, Hodgson replied, “Well, it just… It must have been in the corners for him. You could see him sliding on the bike, it must be in the corner speeds.”
Fabio Quartararo sandwiched himself in between the two Marquez brothers on the front row of the grid, with the gap between Marquez and Quartararo standing at a staggering 0.267s. His brother, on the dominant Ducati GP25, could only manage to get within 0.409s of him.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Gresini from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy
Sylvain Guintoli believes this is the strongest Alex Marquez has been all season
Speaking before the start of qualifying, former MotoGP rider Sylvain Guintoli expressed how impressive Marquez has been in Barcelona in reference to his other performances that have seen him sit in second place in the riders’ standings for the majority of the season.
“Alex and Marc have been on great form, especially Alex,” Guintoli told his co-host. “Alex, he’s always a little bit under the radar, but this weekend, he’s 100% back.
“And actually, since the start of the season, I don’t think he’s ever been as strong as he is this weekend so far.”
The Ducati rider has had a difficult few races before the start of the Catalan Grand Prix weekend. He hasn’t been on the podium in any of the last three races, his longest podium-less streak of the season.
However, Gresini teammate Fermin Aldeguer identified that recent tracks haven’t suited Marquez’s style. It’s clear to see the difference between tracks that are suited to the Spaniard as opposed to those that aren’t, owing to his pole position in Barcelona.
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