MotoGP News: Bezzecchi wins close fight for pole in Valencia

Marco Bezzecchi (pictured) delivered a masterclass to snag the final MotoGP pole of the 2025 season, blasting from ninth to top spot with a blistering lap record at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Locked in for a career-best third in the championship with Aprilia, the Italian’s 1m28.809 edged out Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) by a razor-thin 0.026s, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) rounding out a front row blanketed by just 0.044s.

Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) and Pedro Acosta (KTM) lurked within 0.1s in fourth and fifth, while Fabio Quartararo’s qualifying effort marked what could be Yamaha’s swansong for the inline-four M1, slotting him sixth to complete row two.

Fernandez and Johann Zarco punched their Q2 tickets by topping Qualifying 1, but it was a nightmare for Francesco Bagnaia—the Ducati star, second in practice, ground to a halt with a technical gremlin while holding provisional second. Brad Binder, Aleix Espargaro, and Zarco snatched the transfers, with Luca Marini bumping Pecco to 16th overall. Jorge Martin, fresh off his 2024 title-clinching masterstroke at Barcelona, lines up one spot behind on his injury return, while Marc Marquez and Toprak Razgatlioglu spectated from the pit lane.

The 13-lap Tissot Sprint fires up at 3:00pm local time—buckle up for what promises to be a thriller.

Q1 Drama: Fernandez and Zarco Advance as Bagnaia Breaks Down

Qualifying kicked off with chaos: Augusto Fernandez tumbled at Turn 8 on Yamaha’s V4 prototype, but it was Raul Fernandez who stamped his authority early, topping the timesheets by 0.032s aboard his Trackhouse Aprilia. Zarco slotted into provisional P2 for Castrol Honda LCR, with Bagnaia lurking third in a session where just 0.099s covered the top four—Espargaro in fourth.

Pecco surged to second with under five minutes left, just 0.030s shy of Fernandez’s benchmark. Then disaster: Bagnaia halted trackside with a mechanical woe, handing the reins to Binder, who displaced him from the top two. Espargaro and Zarco traded second, before Marini vaulted to third—sealing Bagnaia’s slide to fifth in Q1 and 16th on the grid. Fernandez and Zarco progressed, with Martin demoted to 17th.

Q2 Thriller: Bezzecchi’s Record-Breaker Lights Up a Stacked Field

After the interlude, Q2 erupted into frenzy. Acosta lit the fuses with a 1m29.298s opener, shadowed by Fernandez and Franco Morbidelli (VR46). Bezzecchi’s early wobble at Turn 2 sent him gravel-surfing, but Alex Marquez lit the afterburners for the session’s first sub-1m29 at 1m28.967s.

Morbidelli clawed to P2, and Quartararo conjured provisional front-row magic for Yamaha in P3. With six minutes ticking, Acosta, Fernandez, and Di Giannantonio held row two, Bezzecchi adrift in ninth post-mishap. But redemption called: On fresh Michelins, the #72 torched the timing screens to P1 with his record-shattering 1m28.809s.

Quartararo sharpened to P3, Jack Miller muscled into fifth, and Acosta’s personal best couldn’t hold the front row as Marquez and Di Giannantonio countered. Fernandez then knifed to fourth, with a mere 0.096s blanketing the top five and two minutes remaining. Pinch yourself—that’s MotoGP at its razor-edged best.

No one mustered a riposte: Acosta’s tires faded, as did the rest. Bezzecchi pocketed the season’s curtain-call pole in a session for the ages.

Fernandez’s Q1 heroics land him a whisker from the front row—brilliant. Acosta will stew in fifth despite sub-0.1s pace, Quartararo sixth and eyeing Yamaha’s farewell fireworks. Rows three and four stack intrigue: Morbidelli, Miller, Aldeguer; Mir, Zarco, Ogura.

Sprint Showdown Awaits

Less than a tenth splitting the top five?  The 13-lap Tissot Sprint could be explosive.

2025 Valencia Qualifying Results

* Rookie