Alex Marquez suffering from neck pain after bruising Malaysia MotoGP practice

Gresini Ducati MotoGP rider Alex Marquez says he is suffering from muscle pain in his neck following a bruising Friday at the 2025 Malaysian Grand Prix.

The 29-year-old returns to Sepang with second place in the 2025 standings in his sights, as he leads Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi by 97 points.

To become runner-up in the championship, Alex Marquez must hold a lead of more than 74 points over third.

The Gresini rider secured a direct Q2 place on Friday at Sepang, but suffered two falls across the day.

The second almost cost him a place in Q2, but the first in FP1 has forced him to cancel his media activities to undergo treatment for muscle pain in his neck.

“So, it was not an easy first day here in Malaysia,” he said.

“We started in a really good way in the morning, but we had some issues.

“Later on, especially the crash, it affected us a little bit in our work.

“But I’m quite happy for the rhythm that we have in the afternoon.

“The track is quite different compared to the pre-season.

“It was a bit of a difficult session because from the crash this morning, I have some pain in my neck, in the muscles.

“So, we need to recover for tomorrow and we need to keep going.”

Alex Marquez was strong at Sepang in the pre-season and has a sprint win to his credit at the Malaysian venue from the 2023 grand prix weekend.

It was a tough day for Gresini team-mate Fermin Aldeguer, as the Indonesian Grand Prix winner failed to gain direct access to Q2.

He will join factory Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia in Q1 on Saturday morning, while Marquez’s nearest championship rival Bezzecchi also faces the opening segment of qualifying.