2025 Spanish MotoGP: Alex Marquez fastest in FP1 despite crash
Gresini Ducati rider Alex Marquez led Marc Marquez in Jerez FP1
Alex Marquez, second in the 2025 MotoGP standings, topped FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix for Gresini Ducati despite a small crash at Turn 1 during the session.
MotoGP’s fifth round of the season has brought it to Europe to begin an extended stay on the continent that runs through to September.
Alex Marquez hit the ground running at his home event aboard his Gresini-run GP24 despite a crash at Turn 1 with just over half the session gone.
He led the way by 0.357 seconds after a late blast on fresh medium rubber, with championship leader and older brother Marc Marquez second on the factory Ducati.
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo completed the top three, while Pecco Bagnaia was seventh on the sister Ducati as he looks to extend his Jerez winning streak to four this weekend.
Alex Marquez led the session at various points in the early stages, setting the pace five minutes into the 45-minute FP1 with a 1m38.686s.
He improved this to a 1m37.686s moments later, which he followed up with a 1m37.239s.
With around 18 minutes to go, the younger Marquez brother crashed on the way into Turn 1, but was unscathed in the fall and able to quickly get back to pitlane for his second bike.
On this, he produced a 1m36.831s on new medium rubber to see out FP1 fastest of all.
Second-placed Marc Marquez didn’t run new rubber in the latter stages of a session that began with the points lead encountering several issues on his factory team Ducati.
An unusual clutch feeling led him to ditch his number one bike early on, before he was forced to return to pitlane on his second machine due to a suspected oil leak.
With the clutch settings altered on his number one bike, Marc Marquez would shoot to the top of the standings with just over 20 minutes to go with a 1m37.188s.
Completing the top three was the factory Yamaha of 2020 Spanish GP winner Quartararo, who also elected against fresh rubber in the closing stages of FP1.
Maverick Vinales led the KTM charge in fourth two weeks on from his ride to a podium at the Qatar GP, while Joan Mir was fifth for Honda.
Jack Miller was sixth on the Pramac Yamaha after a late time attack on a fresh medium rear, while Bagnaia was 0.015s behind him in seventh on the sister factory team Ducati.
Johann Zarco was eighth on his LCR Honda, with Alex Rins (Yamaha) and Fracno Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) completing the top 10.
Aleix Espargaro was 11th at the end of a fresh tyre run in FP1 as he makes his Honda debut as a wildcard.
He headed Fabio Di Giannantonio on the second VR46 Ducati, while Marco Bezzecchi was the lead Aprilia in 13th.
Augusto Fernandez continues to deputise for the injured Miguel Oliveira at Pramac and was 17th, while Jorge Martin’s stand-in at Aprilia - Lorenzo Savadori - was 2.768s off the pace in 23rd.
