Pol Espargaro saw Marc Marquez have to change after trying something that ‘didn’t work’ at Motegi

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Ducati rider Marc Marquez can secure the 2025 MotoGP title in the Japanese Grand Prix, but he did not have the easiest start to the weekend during practice at Motegi.

The 32-year-old is simply counting down the days until he is a seven-time MotoGP and nine-time world champion. Marc Marquez must outscore his brother, Alex Marquez of Gresini, by three points to increase his 182-point lead to 185 and win the title in Sunday’s Japanese GP.

Marc cannot clinch the championship in Saturday’s Sprint Race at Motegi, but he will go into qualifying with an early advantage over Alex. The factory Ducati rider finished pre-qualifying practice for the Japanese GP with the third-fastest time, while the Gresini star was only P15.

Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi set the pace on Friday with a 1:43.193, while KTM racer Pedro Acosta sealed second with a 1:43.329. Marc Marquez posted a 1:43.360 as the lead Ducati, while Alex Marquez must go through Q1 at the Japanese GP after only managing a 1:43.784.

Pol Espargaro saw Marc Marquez have to take ‘a bit more risk’ in pre-qualifying practice for the Japanese Grand Prix

But Pol Espargaro feels Marc Marquez was forced to change his approach during practice on Friday to secure an automatic spot in Q2. The KTM test rider noticed his Spanish compatriot often struggled to find the performance from his GP25 around Motegi’s downhill segments.

READ MORE: Everything to know about the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi

Espargaro also thinks Marquez initially tried to hold back some of his pace, but he ultimately had to accept taking more risks. The Cervera native posted his personal-best lap time with a little over two minutes left of the session, having fallen to 17th in the order with a 1:43.958.

Espargaro told DAZN, via quotes by Motosan: “A great time because he was having trouble going downhill at 1:43. I think he was holding back a bit, but it didn’t work out for him and he had to take a bit more of a risk. It’s still a very fast time, three-tenths off the record.”

Taking risks in practice at Motegi may make Marc Marquez’s title chances even easier

Marc Marquez would not have wanted to have had to possibly go through Q1 in qualifying for the Japanese GP this Saturday had the Ducati rider not changed his approach and taken more risks with his late flying lap during pre-qualifying practice on Friday, as Espargaro saw.

The champion-elect would have been expected to advance from Q1, had that awaited him. But Alex Marquez is not the only big name who could have jeopardised his brother’s hopes in the first stage of qualifying, with Fermin Aldeguer, Jorge Martin and Brad Binder also in Q1.

Instead, taking more risks in practice on the earliest weekend that Marc Marquez can win the 2025 MotoGP title secured him a Q2 spot, while his title-rival Alex Marquez may face a fight to get out of Q1. It may also now make Marc’s chances of taking the title that little bit easier.