MotoGP championship leader Marc Márquez continued his perfect start to the 2025 season at the Circuit of the Americas by taking pole position for the Americas Grand Prix.
The factory Ducati rider had been unstoppable that season, winning the opening two Sprints and two Grands Prix. At the Americas Grand Prix he claimed his third consecutive pole, his first qualifying hat-trick since 2019. He would share an all-Ducati front row with VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio and his younger brother Álex Márquez of Gresini. It was the first time in 2025 that Álex and Marc had failed to lock out the first two grid positions, while Marc’s team-mate Francesco Bagnaia could manage only sixth.
Q1 was fiercely contested. With 8 minutes and 36 seconds remaining, Raúl Fernández crashed at the exit of Turn 9, bringing out a red flag. Before the interruption, the riders had yet to post valid lap times around the 5.513-kilometre circuit. Once the session resumed, the life of the soft rear tyres made the first flying laps crucial. Luca Marini quickly went fastest on the factory Honda and won this mini-shootout. Honda had already made encouraging progress in FP2, and Marini seemed to have found the bike’s sweet spot. He topped Q1 to join team-mate Joan Mir, who had already qualified directly for Q2. Factory Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo also progressed, his first lap after the red flag putting him provisionally second. On his second flying lap, however, he almost lost control at Turn 1 and then abandoned his attempt to improve. Honda LCR’s Johann Zarco, factory Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi and factory KTM rider Brad Binder all missed out on Q2. Both Zarco and Bezzecchi had crashed in Friday’s Practice session, which had hampered their qualifying preparations.
Q2 was equally tense. Gresini’s Fermín Aldeguer had a minor crash at Turn 1, and there were yellow flags and infringements involving riders taking shortcuts. Di Giannantonio briefly lost a lap time because of yellow flags and was shown third on the timing screens, but the decision was subsequently reversed and the Italian returned to second. KTM’s Pedro Acosta took fourth, while VR46’s Franco Morbidelli continued the team’s strong form in fifth, ahead of Bagnaia. Against the backdrop of Honda’s difficult recent years, Honda HRC riders Marini and Mir delivered excellent qualifying performances in seventh and eighth. At one stage in Q2, Mir followed Marc Márquez closely and looked comfortable in the Ducati’s slipstream through parts of the circuit. The 2020 world champion later crashed, bringing out yellow flags that almost affected Di Giannantonio. Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller, who had impressed in Friday’s wet practice, qualified on the third row. The fourth row comprised 2024 Americas Grand Prix winner Maverick Viñales of KTM, 2021 world champion Quartararo and Aldeguer.
Márquez’s outstanding performance put him on pole, raising anticipation over whether he could sustain that form in the Grand Prix and further strengthen his championship lead. His rivals would also be giving everything in the race as they tried to break Ducati’s dominance at the front and deliver an exciting contest for the fans.
2025 MotoGP Round 3 Americas Grand Prix qualifying results
| Position | No. | Rider | Team | Q1 time | Q2 time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Ducati Team | — | 2’01.088 |
| 2 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | VR46 Racing Team | — | 2’01.189 |
| 3 | 73 | Álex Márquez | Gresini Racing | — | 2’01.448 |
| 4 | 37 | Pedro Acosta | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | — | 2’01.504 |
| 5 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | VR46 Racing Team | — | 2’01.529 |
| 6 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Team | — | 2’01.611 |
| 7 | 10 | Luca Marini | Honda Team | 2’02.001 | 2’01.737 |
| 8 | 36 | Joan Mir | Honda Team | — | 2’02.008 |
| 9 | 43 | Jack Miller | Pramac Racing | — | 2’02.008 |
| 10 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | — | 2’02.019 |
| 11 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha Team | 2’02.113 | 2’02.032 |
| 12 | 54 | Fermín Aldeguer | Gresini Racing | — | 2’02.419 |
| 13 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia Racing | 2’02.195 | — |
| 14 | 42 | Álex Rins | Yamaha Team | 2’02.500 | — |
| 15 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Castrol Honda LCR | 2’02.636 | — |
| 16 | 33 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 2’02.637 | — |
| 17 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 2’02.868 | — |
| 18 | 79 | Ai Ogura | Trackhouse Racing | 2’02.909 | — |
| 19 | 25 | Raúl Fernández | Trackhouse Racing | 2’02.957 | — |
| 20 | 7 | Augusto Fernández | Pramac Racing | 2’03.805 | — |
| 21 | 35 | Somkiat Chantra | Idemitsu Honda LCR | 2’03.909 | — |
| 22 | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing | 2’04.254 | — |
Positions follow the Q2 and Q1 timing classifications. This qualifying timesheet excludes subsequent grid penalties. Results sources Official MotoGP Q1 timing sheet, Q2 timing sheet (© DORNA, 2025).
