Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint.
The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium.
It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign.
Photo: AP
He led from pole in stifling heat at Buriram and opened a comfortable 1.5-second lead over his younger brother by lap seven, when he suddenly slowed on turn three to fall behind.
Whatever the problem was, it was short-lived, as Marc Marquez tucked into second place and put relentless pressure on Alex Marquez as the brothers tussled for the lead, with Bagnaia lurking less than a second adrift in third.
“Yesterday I was happy, today I am super happy,” Marc Marquez said. “I mean it’s a dream. It’s a dream start my new journey with Ducati like this in Thailand where I won my last four championships, to be here with my brother — incredible “
Photo: AFP
Alex Marquez was made to work hard to hold the lead on his Gresini Ducati, and with four laps to go, his brother made his move, diving underneath at turn 12 and then disappearing off into the distance.
Franco Morbidelli was fourth and Japanese rookie Ai Ogura fifth on his MotoGP debut.
Marc Marquez had been fast all week, going quickest in opening practice on Friday before being pipped by his brother in the afternoon session.
“For one moment I thought I might hold on to win,” Alex Marquez said. “But he was able to not use a lot of rear tire and I was using up everything.”
Marc Marquez, who won the season-opener for the first time since 2014, enjoyed a strong pre-season with Ducati, having joined from Honda, and is strongly favored to win a first world crown since 2019.
Marc Marquez and Bagnaia have been hailed as a factory Ducati dream team, but some observers have cautioned that the high-octane mix of two fast high-profile racers could prove too combustible.
“I gave my all,” Bagnaia said. “But Marc, he was playing with us all day. So maximum ambition was to finish in P2, but we finished in P3.”
The start of the new MotoGP season has been overshadowed by the absence of world champion Jorge Martin.
The Spaniard sustained fractures to his right hand and left foot in a horror crash during pre-season testing in Malaysia.
Then his Aprilia Racing team this week said that Martin was in another mishap in training and had to have more surgery.
Aprilia said Martin would also miss the next race, in Argentina next month, with no time frame put on his return.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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