“Nobody said it would be easy!” Marc Marquez crashes, qualifies on front row for Japanese MotoGP title chance
Marc Marquez crashed in final practice at Motegi, but bounced back to qualify on the front row ahead of Sunday's MotoGP title chance.
Marc Marquez will launch his Motegi title bid from the front row of the grid after emerging from a complicated Saturday morning at the Japanese MotoGP.
The Ducati Lenovo rider fell early in final practice, then grew frustrated with marshals as they struggled to steady his GP25 while attempting the recovery.
Eager to get his GP25 extracted from the gravel and continue vital preparations for the races, Marquez became frustrated at the efforts of the marshals as his bike nearly toppled over.
After joining in the recovery, the soon-to-be nine-time world champion was able to restart the bike off the track and return to the pits, finishing the session in third.
“Nobody said it would be easy!"
“Nobody said that it would be easy!” Marquez quipped afterwards. “But honestly speaking, I feel better and better.
“It’s true that the small crash in FP2 affected the confidence a bit, but then in qualifying, I felt comfortable with the bike, especially on the last run.
“Every time I went out on the track, I felt better and better.”
Marquez made a brief appearance on pole before losing out to a surprise challenge from Honda’s Joan Mir and then rejuvenated team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.
“Target done, that was the front row,” insisted Marquez. “Now we will try to achieve our next target that is try to fight for the podium in the sprint race, and the main target tomorrow.”
That 'main target' is to score at least three points more than brother Alex this weekend, allowing Marc to win the 2025 title on Sunday afternoon.
Alex could only claim eighth on the grid for Gresini Ducati, after fighting through Qualifying 1.
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
