MotoGP qualifying results as Marco Bezzecchi scores Valencia Grand Prix pole and Francesco Bagnaia suffers Q1 exit

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Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi scored pole position for the 2025 season-closing Valencia Grand Prix, after topping qualifying with his 1:28.809 lap of the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

The 22-round 2025 MotoGP season concludes this weekend at the Valencia GP, where Marc Marquez is not racing owing to his injury. Ducati have been without this year’s champion for the final four rounds of the campaign after needing surgery on his right shoulder in October.

Qualifying for the Valencia Grand Prix even brought yet further misery for Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia. The 28-year-old suffered a mechanical failure during Q1, which ensured that he did not advance into Q2 for the fourth time through the final nine rounds of the 2025 campaign.

But Aprilia could celebrate this Saturday, as Bezzecchi beat Alex Marquez of Gresini by only 0.026 seconds to score the final pole position of the year at the Valencia GP. It marks his fifth pole of the year, putting Bezzecchi level with Fabio Quartararo and behind only Marc’s eight.

Marco Bezzecchi scores pole for the 2025 MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo

KTM’s Pedro Acosta set the initial pace during Q2 at the Valencia GP, as the Mazarron native posted a 1:29.298. Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia had set the benchmark pace moments earlier but he slipped to P6 by 0.136s as the first flying laps of the final qualifying this year followed.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marco Bezzecchi from net worth to race number

Yet Acosta was soon 0.331s off the pace, as Gresini star Alex Marquez became the first rider to dip below 1:29 with a 1:28.967. VR46’s Franco Morbidelli and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo would slot between Marquez and Acosta with their initial efforts, as Bezzecchi fell to just P9.

Bezzecchi would be among the first riders to return to the circuit for their second runs in Q2, as the Italian tried to improve. Only Pramac’s Jack Miller, Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer and LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco had set slower lap times than the Aprilia rider during the early phase.

Venturing back out early at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo during qualifying for the Valencia GP worked for Bezzecchi. The 27-year-old Italian beat Marquez’s early provisional pole time by 0.158s with a 1:28.809, while Miller briefly also moved to P5 before Acosta returned to P2.

Marquez also improved on his earlier lap time with his second effort, but the Spaniard was still 0.026s down on Bezzecchi’s eventual pole time. And as quickly as Acosta returned to P2 he slipped to P5, as less than one tenth of a second covered the top five places in qualifying.

Raul Fernandez advanced as Francesco Bagnaia bowed out in Q1 during qualifying for the 2025 Valencia GP

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia set the early pace during Q1 at the Valencia GP, as the two-time champion strived to avoid another early exit to close out his miserable campaign. He posted a 1:29.732, but Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez and LCR’s Johann Zarco instantly went quicker.

Qualifying for the Valencia GP did not start well for Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez on the V4-engined YZR-M1, as well. The 28-year-old crashed on his first flying lap at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, on another key outing for the Iwata crew as they develop their 2026 engine.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

Bagnaia returned to the circuit earlier than the rest for his second run of Q1 to try to post a faster effort without the risk of any yellow flags. The 28-year-old did not improve his earlier lap time through the first, second or third sectors, but he edged into P2 after finding 0.148s.

It would also mark Bagnaia’s final attempt as the Italian had to pull over shortly after due to an apparent issue with his Ducati GP25. And it would be a costly failure for Bagnaia, as KTM rider Brad Binder moved into P2 seconds later to eliminate the Turin native from qualifying.

Multiple riders improved their lap times in the final minutes of Q1, including Zarco returning to P2 with his penultimate effort and Honda test rider Aleix Espargaro splitting the LCR racer and KTM’s Binder. Zarco advanced with Raul Fernandez by 0.060s to Honda’s Luca Marini.

Full 2025 MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix qualifying results