Everything went right for Marco Bezzecchi on Saturday morning at the Red Bull Ring. The Italian advanced from Q1 to pole position for the Tissot Sprint and tomorrow’s MotoGP race. This is the first time the Italian has started in first place since 2023, and the first since he joined Aprilia Racing this season. Álex Márquez qualified in second, followed by Francesco Bagnaia in third.
What about our current MotoGP championship leader? For the first time in 2025, Márc Márquez will not be starting on the front row. The Ducati Lenovo rider qualified fourth, and will be joined on the second row of the grid by Enea Bastianini, the best-performing KTM rider of the session. Read on for all the qualifying action at the Austrian GP.
More Disappointment for Yamaha
After yesterday’s dramatic red-flagged Practice session, all riders on a Yamaha machine found themselves sitting at the bottom of the timesheet and in Q1. Joining them were the two Aprilia Racing riders, Jorge Martín and Bezzecchi. Despite bowing out early from yesterday and only running several laps in Free Practice 2, Maverick Viñales had decided to tough it out to ride in the session. However, the #12 was only able to put in one lap time before returning to the Red Bull KTM Tech3 garage.
With only fifteen minutes to get a fast lap in and advance into Q2, it didn’t take long for riders to start setting times. Halfway through the session, the two advancing spots had been claimed by the two Aprilia riders. Fabio Quartararo, with suspected pain in his hip from yesterday’s crash, looked dejected as he returned to the Monster Energy Yamaha garage before his second run. The Frenchman was unable to gain any pace and was knocked out of Q2 contention for the first time this season. He was the best qualifier amongst the other Yamaha riders, Jack Miller, Miguel Oliveira, and Alex Rins, all qualifying on the back rows of the grid.
Bezzecchi bailed out of his flying lap coming into Turn 1, taking the shortcut to return to the track and made it back around to try again. His teammate, Martín, fared no better with his lap time being deleted for a track limits infringement. Bastianini delivered for his team, jumping to the top of the timesheet, knocking Martín out of Q2 advancement. The 2024 MotoGP World Champion will start from fourteenth on the grid. Bezzecchi, however, was able to secure the second spot to go through.
A Shootout Q2 That Came Down to the Final Seconds
With Bastianini and Bezzecchi advancing, there were three KTM and three Aprilia machines to contend for pole position with the Ducati riders. Another fifteen minutes on the clock, and both Márquez brothers were first out of the gates, followed by Johann Zarco. The #5 had a nasty crash earlier this morning, but was fit to participate in the session. However, he came down again at Turn 4, effectively ending his chances to set another flying lap.
Á. Márquez split the two Ducati Lenovo riders to be the second fastest on the board. Pedro Acosta still had more than half of the session to play with as he improved his time with each lap. However, the #37 took a shortcut through the chicane in Turn 2 when the engine cut out. Due to this failure, it took Acosta longer to get back to the Red Bull KTM Factory garage.
As the riders returned to the garage to prepare for their second run, nine of them had all set times within one second of each other. Bagnaia started on his flying lap, but was closely followed by Bezzecchi. The Aprilia was able to perform better, jumping into pole position. The chicane at Turn 2 claimed another victim in M. Márquez, ending the session for the #93. Bagnaia ran off track not long after, and Raúl Fernández finished his session in the gravel. As if we weren’t already enraptured with the excitement in the final minutes, Acosta quickly started setting what could have been a lap worthy of pole position. However, a mistake cost him time, and he was only able to maintain seventh on the board.
Top 12 On the Grid
Here are the riders on the first few rows of the starting grid in the Tissot Sprint and tomorrow’s Grand Prix race:
With a long lap penalty to serve in tomorrow’s GP race and extreme braking conditions, Á. Márquez will have to have a near-perfect race to keep himself on the podium. Meanwhile, his older brother will need to work quickly if he is to take his twelfth Saturday win. Is there anyone who could upset his chances? Perhaps his Ducati Lenovo teammate or a KTM? Stay tuned for more action later today.