A maiden MotoGP victory for Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), a Sunday mistake from Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) and a sublime weekend at the office for Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). The 2025 Spanish GP threw plenty of talking points into the ring, so let’s absorb some of them before we turn our attention to what might unfold in Le Mans.
“WITHOUT HIM, I KNEW I WAS THE STRONGEST”
Sitting behind Marc Marquez when he lost the front at Turn 8, Alex Marquez knew it was his golden opportunity to go on and clinch that much-sought-after first MotoGP victory.
“I knew that the opportunity today was huge. I was trying to be really focused. Especially when I saw Marc crashing on turn eight. I said, ‘Today is your day.’ Just tried to overtake these two guys. I knew that without Marc on track today, I have some opportunity, some chance, but without him, I knew I was the strongest one. So I just kept focused, kept going. When I overtook Fabio, I was just trying to make my pace without any crazy things and try to arrive today.
“When he lost the front, in that point I was saying inside the helmet, “No!” Because he was trying to save many times and then he disappeared from my side. Then in that moment, I was like, click. He activated me. It’s what I said when I saw him crashing. I said, it’s your day. You cannot lose the opportunity again like in Austin. So it was emotional for 0.5 seconds. Later on it was just focus on my race.”
“MENTALLY IT’S BEEN A BIG STEP FOR ME”
Form is temporary, class is permanent. Quartararo’s pole position and P2 finish were a massive boost for both rider and team, and a reminder of the Frenchman’s oozing quality – not that we needed it.
“I really enjoyed the race. It has been many years since I’ve been leading a MotoGP race. The feeling of having nobody in the front is amazing. Mentally it has been a big step for me to know that we are fast. We know that we can be fighting with these guys, but I think for the next races we have to keep no expectations.
“The bike is the same as the last two GPs, and we know how much we struggled in Qatar. So, let’s try to stay calm. The day we will have the opportunity to make this kind of GP, we will take the opportunity as much as possible to make what we did.”
“WE WANT TO BE READY FOR A WILDCARD”
Sticking with Yamaha, the progress of their V4 engine arose in Jerez following a private test in Valencia leading up to the Spanish GP. During the weekend, Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Paolo Pavesio provided an update on when we might see Yamaha racing a V4 engine.
"Yes, this I can say is our target. If we are capable to achieve the target we will see. We want to be ready for a wildcard, so we want to be ready with Augusto being on track really benchmarking our V4. If our new bike will be good enough and faster than the current bike, there is the possibility of racing with it next year"
“I’M NOT HAPPY WITH RACES LIKE THIS”
Important points were pocketed for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) in Jerez with a P3 finish in the Grand Prix, but the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Spanish GP winner wasn’t satisfied.
“I’m not happy with races like this. I cannot do anything again. I was quite happy for the first three or four laps that my pace and feeling was very good. As soon as I arrived to Fabio, I didn’t have any chance to overtake. Every time I was arriving at corner seven, eight, eleven, twelve I was losing a lot. The front was locking a lot and I was losing it everywhere. It’s a shame that it’s like this, but it is the situation right now.
“Luckily we have an important test tomorrow. We will work a lot to find a better balance because right now we are struggling. It’s just strange that corners where I was super strong last year, that were corners 11 and 12, this season I was struggling a lot, even more when was behind. Looking at Alex, he was super strong like I was last year. So, we need to maybe change something on the bike, to change the balance. Tomorrow will be an important day.”
“I NEED TO LEARN ABOUT THESE MISTAKES”
It was a Sunday that promised so much more in front of over 100,000 home faithful for Marc Marquez. The six-time MotoGP World Champion admits that if he wants to fight for the title in 2025, he needs to learn about these mistakes.
“Two times on the Sunday, so is there where I need to keep improving and try to understand and try to understand the character of this bike, that I feel super good. But these kind of mistake are the ones that, for example today, I don't understand a lot. But the bike is working super good because as we see without the wings, without everything, again I was riding well. But if I want to fight for the championship, I need to learn about these mistakes.”
“WE MADE POSITIVE STEPS TODAY”
Sunday’s Grand Prix was a much more positive day for KTM. Maverick Viñales’ (Red Bull KTM Tech3) P4 was followed by Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) securing a P6, his best Sunday result of the season so far.
“Much more satisfied with how we managed today, for sure. We made quite a big change with the bike and the thing was turning a helluva lot better today. It gave me the chance to manage the struggles I had. It gave better edge grip. So, yeah, we made some positive steps today for sure. It’s nice to make a positive recovery. I really need to work on my all out pace. I’m not fast enough, for sure. But my consistency was good. That’s where I need to find a bit more comfort to try and push it on a little bit and if I can do that then I think we can make a decent step.”