Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagania explained his “weak point” which ruined his chances of winning the Qatar MotoGP race.

The Torinese rider had every reason to be happy after prevailing in the last round at the Circuit of the Americas, securing his first Grand Prix win of the season.

However, what followed in Qatar saw the double MotoGP champion struggle to maintain that consistency, finishing eighth in the Sprint and second in Sunday’s race.

“I have to be able to do the same on Saturday, what I manage to do on Sunday,” Bagnaia reflected to GPOne.

“Yesterday, in the Sprint, I was unable to be aggressive, and to overtake, while today I did.

“I can and must improve, because this is my weak point.

“Today, the only way I could try to fight against [Marc] Marquez would have been to start close to him, I was not in that position and it was my fault.”

Bagnaia revealed that quali was his ‘biggest problem’

Bagnaia suffered a late crash in qualifying, resulting in an 11th-place start, which he believed hindered his chances of winning the race.

Due to starting further back, Bagnaia admitted that his strategy was to attack from the off to build up as much ground as possible.

“I had a strong start, but it’s not easy to manage when you go so far behind.

“I probably pushed too much, then there was the duel with [Franco] Morbidelli and I wore out the tyres.

“When I passed Marc [Marquez] at one point, I started to feel the tyres dropping and realised that he was managing them instead.”

The Ducati rider admitted that tyre wear played a role after battling with the leading pack, and said third place was the best he could manage – until he was promoted to second following Maverick Viñales’ tyre pressure penalty.

“When you start so far back you have to use the tyres more to go out and pass the riders in front of you.

“The same in the fight with Franco, where among other things we lost a second to Maverick [Vinales].

“Then I tried to close the gap, I got within half a second of Vinales, but at that point, when there were six laps to go, I started to feel vibrations and I couldn’t be fast in certain situations anymore.

“The biggest problem, however, was starting 11th, if something that doesn’t happen, it’s hard to think of doing anything better than a podium. I really mustn’t be in that position anymore.”

The post Francesco Bagnaia explains ‘weak point’ that ruined Qatar MotoGP victory chances appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Fabio Di Giannantonio criticised Alex Marquez for “a dangerous manoeuvre” which took both riders out of contention in the Qatar MotoGP race.

Di Giannantonio and Marquez were running in the top five, when the Gresini rider launched an audacious move on the Italian and made contact. 

Both riders ran wide and suffered damage, with the Spanish rider receiving a long lap penalty for the incident. 

Di Giannantonio only managed to finish 16th while Marquez finished 7th after a move the Italian branded as “strange and dangerous”.

“An eventful race. My start was really good, I was there fighting for the top, because today I had the pace to make a podium,” said Di Giannantonio via Crash.net. 

“Then a strange manoeuvre by Alex. A dangerous manoeuvre by Alex.

“It’s a pity because I think that a mistake like this is not great in our level of riders in this championship. It’s a bit on the limit, especially for the penalty that we receive in case of [making] these mistakes.

“I think that we have to work for the future because at the end, the rider that’s completely destroyed my race finished in 7th [6th after Maverick Vinales’ penalty] and I lost any chance of doing a good race.”

Explaining the incident, Alex Marquez admitted he “made a mistake” and accepted he deserved a long lap penalty for the incident. 

“I tried to attack [back] on Turn 12 but it was not the moment, not the place,” Marquez said. 

I completely made a mistake in that point, so I want to say sorry to him and his team.

“It was a long lap, which I accept. It’s fair.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio: ‘Most important thing’ is Jorge Martin’s health

The Italian believes he would have had the pace to make the podium, but a further contact with Joan Mir saw the VR46 rider given a drop one position penalty. 

Di Giannantonio then had to take avoiding action when World Champion Jorge Martin crashed directly in front of him. 

It appeared the Italian had made contact with the Spaniard’s chest, who suffered six broken ribs and a collapsed lung on his return from injury. 

“We had the potential to make a podium, if you look at my pace, it was amazing. But most of all, I’m so happy that Jorge Martin seems [relatively] OK,” he said.

“This is the most important thing because I know how dangerous this sport is. He knows. Everybody knows. And to have him OK today is a great thing.”

The post Fabio Di Giannantonio brands Alex Marquez ‘dangerous’ following Qatar MotoGP collision appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Tech3 KTM boss Nicolas Goyon says the Qatar MotoGP round has left a “bitter taste” following Maverick Vinales’ tyre pressure penalty. 

Vinales crossed the line in second, which had seen him score a podium with four different manufacturers, but was awarded a 16-second penalty due to a tyre pressure infringement. 

The Spanish rider dropped from second to 14th as a result of the penalty, with Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli promoted onto the podium. 

Goyon admits Vinales’ disqualification has left the team with a “bitter” feeling. 

“It is quite obvious that we are leaving Qatar with a huge bitter taste after we were handed a late penalty,” said Goyon via Crash.net. 

“Maverick Vinales had an unbelievable weekend, with his best qualifying of the season.

“Today, he showed an incredible level of performance, riding at a strong pace fighting with the top guys at the front. The bike was fast, and he clocked in the second fastest race lap, so everything was working well.”

“Unfortunately we took a penalty for low tyre pressure, a rule that can sometimes be unfair, but rules are rules and we have to accept them,” Goyon said.

“It does not take away his performance which we will keep in our mind heading to the next round, so thank you Maverick for a strong weekend.”

Maverick Vinales: ‘I don’t care’ about Qatar MotoGP penalty

Despite losing a first podium with KTM, Vinales admitted in the post-race press conference that he didn’t care about the impending penalty.

“I don’t care what will happen afterwards,” he declared. 

“I’m happy with the result. I’m happy with the performance. We are very pleased.”

“This is something we [KTM] needed. And this is achieved for the project. So, I’m really happy.”Red Bull KTM boss Aki Ajo also praised Vinales’ performance despite the penalty, saying: “The podium potential by Maverick is important for the whole KTM family. We will now push even harder.”

The post Tech3 KTM slams ‘bitter’ Qatar MotoGP penalty awarded to Maverick Vinales appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Ducati’s Marc Marquez admits his collision with brother Alex Marquez on the first lap of the Qatar MotoGP race was due to his own error.  

The brothers led the field down into Turn 1, but the Ducati rider made an error on the corner exit, which meant the Gresini rider made contact with his older brother. 

Marquez lost a winglet due to the contact and was demoted to second after Franco Morbidelli took advantage of the incident.

The Spanish rider revealed he didn’t suffer any ill-effects after the contact, but accepted full responsibility for the incident. 

“The contact with Alex was a little bit more my mistake than his mistake, because I just opened the gas and I felt like the rear was going,” said Marquez via Crash.net. 

“I closed the gas again and he didn’t expect it. For that reason he hit me, and for that reason Morbidelli overtook me from the outside.

“But it was more a little bit my mistake. Luckily both of us stayed on our bikes.”

Marc Marquez: Qatar MotoGP round ‘most important weekend of the season’

Marquez completed his third race double of the season so far, but suggested the Qatar victory was the most important of them all.

The eight-time World Champion had only won once at the Lusail International Circuit in his premier class career but proved why he is the rider to beat with his victory. 

“I’m super happy, especially because to myself it’s the most important weekend of the season,” Marquez said.

“Because Thailand, Argentina, Austin were good circuits for me but here was the first circuit where I said ‘ok, maybe I will struggle a little bit’.

“And I knew that Pecco [Bagnaia] and Alex and [Fabio] Di Giannantonio and some other riders are super-fast here.

“But I worked a lot during the weekend. I did a step on the right fast corners, which was also super important.”

Marquez also admits he was preserving his tyres throughout the race, which saw him overtaken by Morbidelli and Maverick Vinales. 

“And as we see in the race, I did a different strategy because I just managed the front tyre,” he said.

“I knew that doing that strategy maybe Pecco would arrive because I slowed down the race a lot.

“Morbidelli was going but I didn’t care. I was just controlling my front tyre because I was not able to ride at my limit, because I have a riding style that pushes the front a lot.

“And in this circuit we struggled a lot. But then I just waited, when Pecco overtook me I said ‘ok, now I start the race’, and I started to push more.

“The last seven laps when I overtook Vinales, just I increased a bit more the brakes, the push, the turning and just tried to use the front tyre more. And that’s where I made the step.”

The post Marc Marquez admits the one mistake he made en route to Qatar MotoGP victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Marc Marquez produced a statement victory in the Qatar MotoGP race at the Lusail International Circuit ahead of Maverick Vinales and Francesco Bagnaia. 

The eight-time World Champion had to fight back from an unfamiliar third place as he recorded his second career win at the QatarGP, and his first since 2014. 

Marquez started on pole position and got another fantastic start to lead down into Turn 1 ahead of younger brother Alex Marquez. 

However, the younger Marquez made contact with his brother on the exit of the corner, which compromised both riders as Franco Morbidelli took advantage to lead the race. 

Bagnaia also made a good start from the fourth row of the grid, as he worked his way through to sixth by passing Fabio Quartararo.

Fabio Di Giannantonio made a pass on the younger Marquez for third, but as the Spanish rider attempted to respond, he made contact with the Italian and ran both riders wide. 

Marquez rejoined in seventh and was awarded a long lap penalty for the incident, but Di Giannantonio was relegated to 20th after losing one of his mirrors. 

Bagnaia, after being promoted into the podium positions, then found his way through on Marquez for second as the teammates went head-to-head on the track for the first time this season. 

Marquez waited two laps to get back through on Bagnaia, and was able to use the slipstream to make his move in the first corner. 

Vinales also had the pace to challenge the front runners, as the Tech3 KTM rider passed Bagnaia.

The Spanish rider clearly was in a position to challenge for the victory and stuck with Marquez before making his move into second on Lap 10.

Soon after Vinales took the lead of the race from Morbidelli, with Marquez also making his way through on the Italian for second. 

Bagnaia and Morbidelli then commenced a duel for the final podium position as the VR46 rider managed to maintain his place.

The Ducati rider was eventually able to make a move stick on his fellow VR46 academy graduate, with Zarco the next to put the one-time race leader under pressure. 

In the meantime, World Champion Jorge Martin was riding a solid race down in 17th on his return, but suffered a nasty-looking crash as his hand got stuck under the bike on his return from injury. 

Vinales made a mistake while running in the lead, which allowed Marquez to take the lead of the race for the first time since the first corner on Lap 1. 

Bagnaia was also closing in on Vinales for second, but the Italian appeared to use too much tyre and looked to settle for third. 

Marquez eventually took the chequered flag to record his third victory of the campaign by almost two seconds.

Vinales ended the Ducati monopoly of the podium by recording a second-place finish for the Tech3 KTM outfit, but was under investigation for tyre pressures. 

Bagnaia fought back from his fourth-row start to complete the podium in third. 

Morbidelli held onto fourth place ahead of Zarco in fifth, while Fermin Aldeguer continued his stunning weekend in sixth.

Gresini’s Marquez recovered after multiple Lap 1 incidents to take seventh as Quartararo earned eighth for Yamaha. 

Pedro Acosta won his battle with Marco Bezzecchi for ninth as the Aprilia rider had to settle for a top 10 finish. 

Luca Marini took home 11th for Honda as Enea Bastianini was unable to find his usual late race pace down in 12th. 

Alex Rins crossed the line in 13th ahead of Brad Binder in 14th, with Ai Ogura rounding out the points finishers in 15th. 

Di Giannantonio could only manage 16th after his contact with Marquez, while Raul Fernandez in 17th and Somkiat Chantra in 18th completed the finishers. 

Martin crashed out of the race along with the Pramac Yamaha pair of Augusto Fernandez and Jack Miller, while Joan Mir retired from the race due to illness.

The post Marc Marquez produces statement Qatar MotoGP victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Aron Canet produced a remarkable comeback to take his first victory of the season in the Qatar Moto2 race. 

Canet dropped to 11th on the start, but judged the race to perfection as he came back to win by 1.103s to take the lead of the championship.

Manuel Gonzalez got the jump off the line as he led down into the first corner ahead of championship leader Jake Dixon. 

Canet had an awful start from the front row as he wheelied off the line, which saw him demoted down to 11th.

Rookie Dani Holgado had a great opening lap around the Lusail Circuit and overtook Dixon to move into second place. 

Deniz Oncu made an aggressive move on Dixon to move onto the podium, which he replicated a few corners later to get past Holgado for second. 

Oncu and Holgado were then able to use the slipstream on the main straight to get past the leading Gonzalez. 

Albert Arenas further relegated Gonzalez as the Gresini rider moved into the podium positions. 

Arenas then took his chances and pulled a move on rookie Holgado, which he was able to make stick for second place. 

While the positions were changing out front, Canet was making moves through the field as he overtook Baltus, Dixon and Moreira to move into fifth. 

The Spanish rider set his sights on compatriot Gonzalez, and the Fantic rider was easily able to move past his championship contender. 

Canet continued his momentum as he returned to the podium positions by overtaking Holgado at Turn 1. 

A few corners later, the Spanish rider made his way through on Arenas for second – which meant he was free to chase after Oncu for the race victory. 

The main battle was for fifth place as Dixon and Arenas were joined by Diogo Moreira and Barry Baltus in their scrap for the.. 

Dixon made an error with seven laps to go and crashed out of sixth, which saw him lose the lead of the championship. 

Out front, Oncu made a mistake which saw Canet take the lead of the race after carving his way through the field. 

Gonzalez also found his way back through on Holgado to regain his podium position from the rookie, as he looked to stop Canet from breaking away at the front. 

Canet crossed the line to seal a remarkable victory by 1.103s over a surprise second place for Oncu, with Gonzalez completing the podium in third.

Holgado put in a fantastic performance to take fourth as Moreira stole fifth on the line from Baltus.

Celestino Vietti produced a double overtake on the final lap of the race to finish seventh ahead of Marcos Ramirez in eighth and Arenas in ninth. 

Filip Salac completed the top 10, with Moto3 World Champion David Alonso earning 11th place. 

Zonta van den Goorbergh took the flag in 12th with Dutch compatriot Collin Veijer trailing behind in 13th.

Senna Agius had to take a double long lap penalty for a jump start but finished the race in 14th, while Joe Roberts completed the points finishers in 15th. 

The post Aron Canet produces comeback Qatar Moto2 victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Angel Piqueras earned a stunning photo-finish victory in the Qatar Moto3 race at the Lusail International Circuit. 

Piqueras defeated Japanese riders Taiyo Furusato and Ryusei Yamanaka by just 0.009s over the line to take the lead of the championship alongside his victory. 

Poleman Ryusei Yamanaka was able to hold onto first position ahead of championship leader Rueda on the run down to Turn 1. 

Joel Kelso lost a position to Rueda on the start but responded almost immediately and was then able to pressurise Yamanaka for the lead. 

The Japanese rider returned to the head of the pack with the aid of the slipstream down the main straight. 

Angel Piqueras duelled with Rueda for the final podium position, but the KTM Ajo rider managed to keep his advantage. 

Both riders were then able to get past Kelso and then-race leader Yamanaka, as the battles raged-on throughout the opening laps. 

As the jostling for position continued, Dennis Foggia made contact with David Munoz as the Italian exited the race, with Adrian Fernandez narrowly avoiding the stricken bike as he served his long lap penalty from a practice incident. 

Yamanaka and Kelso managed to regain their positions from the Spanish pair, as it appeared to become a four rider shootout for the victory. 

David Almansa, who was bridging the gap to the leading riders, crashed out of fifth place with seven laps to go. 

Taiyo Furusato made progress from the midfield to join the lead group and capitalised on a mistake from Yamanaka to move onto the podium.

Furusato produced a double overtake on Piqueras and Yamanaka to lead the group over the line to start the final lap of the race. 

As the rest of the group started the final lap, championship leader Rueda suffered a problem with his bike and was forced to retire from the race. 

Furusato had the optimum position with five corners to go, and was able to launch an attack on Piqueras to take the lead of the race. 

However, the Japanese rider compromised his exit going into the final corner of the race, which allowed Piqueras and Yamanaka to take the slipstream. 

It was Piqueras who prevailed in a fantastic battle between the three riders, as he took victory by 0.009s. 

Furusato managed to hold onto second over the line ahead of compatriot Yamanaka who completed the podium. 

Kelso took the flag in fourth place, over seven seconds ahead of Riccardo Rossi in fifth. 

Munoz faced a conduct warning in the early stages of the race but crossed the line in sixth, as Sic58 Squadra pair Luca Lunetta and Stefano Nepa trailed behind in seventh and eighth respectively. 

Nicola Carraro earned ninth place, with fellow Italian Guido Pini rounding out the top 10. 

Alvaro Carpe made a good start to the race, but was forced to take a double long lap penalty for a qualifying collision and could only manage 11th. 

Scott Ogden, who was the victim of Carpe’s indiscretion in qualifying finished just behind the Spaniard in 12th, with Ruche Moodley finishing 13th. 

Tech3 KTM’s Jacob Roulstone battled his way to 14th, with team-mate Valentin Perrone completing the points finishers in 15th.

The post Angel Piqueras prevails in nail-biting Qatar Moto3 victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Ducati’s Marc Marquez continued his perfect MotoGP Sprint record in 2025 as he took a dominant victory in Qatar.

By taking his fourth Sprint win of the campaign, Marquez regained his championship lead by two points over his brother Alex Marquez.

Marquez got a good start from pole position as the front row held their positions going down into the first corner. 

Gresini’s Marquez appeared to have the pace to challenge his brother for the lead and used the slipstream to draw level with Marquez, but ran wide going down into the first corner.

Franco Morbidelli used the superior pace of his VR46 Ducati to move past former team-mate Fabio Quartararo into the podium positions. 

Francesco Bagnaia struggled in the opening laps and was overtaken by Ai Ogura and Jorge Martin in quick succession. 

The Ducati rider was able to regain 11th from the World Champion, but struggled to keep tabs on the Trackhouse rider ahead. 

Out front, Marquez was able to take the advantage in the closing stages of the Sprint, extending his advantage to one and a half seconds, with the minor points positions still up for grabs. 

However, the battle for the podium was blown wide open on the final lap of the race as tyre degradation took control, with Morbidelli, Quartararo and Fermin Aldeguer in contention for third place. 

At the head of the field, Marquez took the chequered flag to win his fourth consecutive Sprint race by 1.577s. 

The younger Marquez continued his streak of second places behind his brother, but lost his lead in the championship. 

Morbidelli prevailed to take the final spot on the Sprint podium, which saw a different rider on the rostrum for the first time in 2025. 

Aldeguer took a stunning fourth place ahead of Quartararo, who made a mistake in the final corner which relegated him to fifth. 

Fabio Di Giannantonio earned sixth place, five seconds clear of Ogura who stormed through to take seventh. 

Bagnaia appeared to recover from his struggles early in the race but was still disappointed in eighth, while Marco Bezzecchi took the final point in ninth. 

Maverick Vinales and Pedro Acosta suffered from tyre wear in the closing phases of the race and dropped out of the points into 10th and 11th respectively, while Alex Rins split the rest of the KTMs in 12th. 

Enea Bastianini scored a 13th place ahead of Brad Binder in 14th, with the South African taking the flag just under a tenth clear of Luca Marini in 15th. 

Martin ended his return to race action in 16th as fellow RS-GP rider Raul Fernandez finished just behind in 17th. 

Augusto Fernandez continued his stand-in duties and took 18th ahead of team-mate Jack Miller in 19th as Somkiat Chantra completed the finishers in 20th.

Johann Zarco exited the race due to a technical issue, while Honda reported Joan Mir was suffering from gastroenteritis, with the Spanish rider opting to sit out of the Sprint race. 

The post Marc Marquez prevails in commanding Qatar MotoGP Sprint victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Marc Marquez earned his fourth consecutive MotoGP pole position of the season by breaking the lap record at the Lusail International Circuit.

Marquez snatched pole away from younger brother Alex Marquez with the final lap of the session, as he continued his perfect qualifying streak.

The Spanish rider set the pace early on in the session but was still just outside challenging the all-time lap record held by World Champion Jorge Martin. 

Bagnaia had been heavily favoured to challenge Marquez throughout the weekend but crashed with less than five minutes remaining which meant the Italian would start from the third row at best. 

The session was drawn to a nail-biting end as Fabio Quartararo put his Yamaha on provisional pole, which was taken away moments later by Gresini’s Marquez. 

However, with the final lap of the session, the eight-time World Champion benefited from a slipstream from Franco Morbidelli to take pole with a time of 1:50.499.

The younger Marquez had to settle for second once more, with his time 0.101s off the best time from the Ducati rider. 

Quartararo was able to hang on to a front row start as he completed his best qualifying session of the season in third. 

Morbidelli set his best lap time on his final run and heads the second row of the grid, ahead of team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio in fifth and Maverick Vinales continued his strong showing around the Losail circuit in sixth.

Johann Zarco took seventh, sharing the third row of the grid with top rookie Fermin Aldeguer in eighth and Alex Rins in ninth.

Ai Ogura completed the top ten after progressing through Q1, as Bagnaia ended up 11th following his late crash. Pedro Acosta rounded out the fourth row in 12th.   

Marco Bezzecchi narrowly missed out on a place in Q2 as he ended qualifying in 13th ahead of team-mate and reigning champion Martin on his return, with Luca Marini joining the two Aprilia riders on the fifth row of the grid. 

Jack Miller qualified in 16th ahead of Raul Fernandez in 17th, while Brad Binder continued his difficult struggles aboard the KTM in 18th. 

Stand-in rider Augusto Fernandez had a decent showing for the Pramac Yamaha outfit in 19th and heads the seventh row, with Enea Bastianini in 20th and Joan Mir down in 21st.

Rookie Somkiat Chantra completed the standings after qualifying in 22nd. 

The post Marc Marquez snatches pole position in Qatar MotoGP qualifying appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Ducati’s Marc Marquez took control of the final practice session of the Qatar MotoGP round ahead of younger brother Alex Marquez. 

Marquez has returned to the form that saw him dominate the opening two rounds of the season, with his time of 1:51.877 the fastest of the third practice of the weekend. 

The first notable moment of the session came when championship leader Alex Marquez suffered his first crash of the season at Turn 15 while on his first timed lap.

Marquez’s incident came moments before older brother Marc headed to the top of the timing tower.  

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Ducati rider, as he had to produce a classic Marquez save at Turn 3 moments after posting his fastest lap of the session. 

The final moments of the session saw a flurry of fast laps come in, with Marquez’s time of 1:51.877 proving to be the fastest of the session.

Gresini’s Marquez responded to his early crash to end practice in second place, while Fabio Quartararo set a storming lap aboard the Yamaha to go third. 

Johann Zarco was fourth for LCR Honda with Pedro Acosta fifth and within half a second of Marquez’s time. 

Maverick Vinales continued the strong showing from KTM in sixth, ahead of rookie Fermin Aldeguer in seventh. 

Marco Bezzecchi led the Aprilias in the final practice session in eighth, with Ai Ogura just behind in ninth.

Alex Rins rounded out the top ten for Yamaha as Francesco Bagnaia only managed 11th. 

Franco Morbidelli led Fabio Di Giannantonio as the VR46 pair took 12th and 13th ahead of Brad Binder in 14th. 

Luca Marini was 15th for Honda as Jorge Martin ended his first Saturday practice session of the season in 16th.

Joan Mir finished practice in 17th for the factory Honda outfit, with Raul Fernandez 18th for Trackhouse. 

Enea Bastianini concluded the session in 19th for Tech3 KTM ahead of Jack Miller in 20th, who was narrowly ahead of team-mate Augusto Fernandez in 21st. 

Rookie Somkiat Chantra completed the standings in 22nd, 2.457s off Marquez’s best time of the session.

The post Marc Marquez takes command in final Qatar MotoGP practice appeared first on Motorsport Week.