After a less than ideal start, Marc Marquez wins the Aragon Sprint ahead of his brother Alex – Fermin Aldeguer third – Pedro Acosta fifth as the first Ducati rider
The Marquez family remains unbeaten in the 2025 MotoGP sprint season. After Marc had to bow to Alex at Silverstone, the Ducati factory rider turned the tables and won Saturday’s race at MotorLand Aragon ahead of his brother. Rookie Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini) finished third.
At the start of the 11-lap race, Alex Marquez took the holeshot and led into the first corner ahead of Franco Morbidelli (VR46-Ducati), because Marc Marquez had wheelspin on acceleration, and Pedro Acosta (KTM), who was battling with Aldeguer for fourth place.
This allowed the top three to break away on the first lap. At the start of the second lap, Marc Marquez overtook Morbidelli’s yellow Ducati and snatched second place. In the second lap, there was contact in the midfield.
Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) and Joan Mir (Honda) collided in turn 12. Both ended up far out in the run-off area. Mir crashed in the dirt and was annoyed. Miller was able to continue. The Australian received a long-lap penalty for the situation.
At the front, Alex Marquez initially had his older brother under control, but Marc Marquez turned up the heat at the halfway point. At the start of the sixth lap, he overtook the light blue Gresini Ducati and took the lead for the first time.
Marc Marquez immediately built up a lead and won the sprint for the seventh time this season. With this result, he extended his lead in the World Championship standings over Alex to 27 points.
“I had a small problem at the start,” he said, referring to the wheelspin. “My plan was to be in the lead from start to finish, but I saw that Alex was pushing hard in the first two or three laps—that was a bit of a weak point for me with the soft rear tire.”
“I knew then that he was going to overtake me. After that, it was all about managing the race and not making any mistakes. I’m happy – we’ve got some good information for the long race. I’ll try to get a little closer to Marc, but that’s going to be difficult here.”
Close battles behind the Marquez brothers
Behind the Marquez brothers, a battle for third place developed. Aldeguer was the only rider in the leading group to opt for the harder medium rear tire. The rookie closed in on Morbidelli.
With three laps to go, Aldeguer overtook Morbidelli to claim third place in a sprint for the second time in his career after Le Mans. Behind the Ducati riders, there were more battles in the chasing pack.
Morbidelli had to defend fourth place against Acosta in the final laps. The Italian managed to do so. Fifth place was nevertheless Acosta’s best sprint result this year. Fabio Di Giannantonio finished sixth on the second VR46 Ducati.
“I stayed calm, and towards the end of the race the feeling was great, perfect. Let’s see if we can keep the same pace tomorrow.” On Sunday, everyone is expected to ride with the medium rear tire.
Alex Marquez was in front at the start but was unable to pull away decisively: “I saw that Marc’s start wasn’t particularly good and thought: Maybe I can pull away a little. But he was right behind me on the first lap.”
Alongside Acosta, his KTM teammates Maverick Vinales (seventh) and Brad Binder (ninth) also scored World Championship points. Marco Bezzecchi finished eighth in between them. Starting from 20th on the grid, the Aprilia rider put in a strong comeback with the medium rear tire.
Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) lost a few places in the second half of the race and finished eleventh. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) crossed the finish line in twelfth place. After Mir’s retirement, Johann Zarco was the best Honda rider in 16th place.
The 23-lap Grand Prix starts on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (to the starting grid).