Qatar Grand Prix: Marquez Dominates Doha, Earning Fastest Lap and Podium Victory
A comeback victory win for Mark, regaining his position as the title leader in the Riders Standings—post his crashout at COTA.
Words by FP Team | 2 Minute Read
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Fans of Maverick Viñales, rider for Red Bull KTM TECH3, cheered in excitement at Doha, for what appeared to be Viñales' first podium finish for his 2025 season. However, post-race penalties for tire pressure forced some changes in the rider standings. With Viñales demoted to 14th, Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati was promoted from P4 to P2, while Franco Morbidelli of Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team found himself elevated to P3 after the changes.
From the get-go, Marquez grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1, but things got tense as contact was made with his brother, Alex Marquez, causing pieces of bodywork to fly off. This incident allowed Morbidelli to take the lead by slipping through on the left side of both Marquez brothers, going into Turn 2. By Lap 3, Morbidelli was building a lead, but it wasn’t without drama. A clash between Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio going into Turn 12 sent them wide and resulted in a long lap penalty for Alex. Because of the incident, Giannantonio was pushed back from 3rd place to 21st place, while Alex dropped down from 4th place to 8th place.
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As the laps rolled on, Bagnaia began his charge forward on his teammate, overtaking Marquez to take P2. With 12 laps left, the fight intensified as Viñales executed a stunning pass on Morbidelli—down the long straight heading to Turn 1, taking the lead momentarily before Marquez, using Viñales' slip-stream, retaliated, reclaiming his position.
As the race approached its closing, Viñales found himself struggling to maintain his earlier pace. A slight error at Turn 6 handed Marquez the opportunity he needed to seize the lead for good with just seven laps to go. From then on, it was a race against time as Marquez pulled away from the race pack, building a time gap between him and the other riders.
With three laps remaining, nothing but clean air ahead of him and no one to battle with for his position, Marquez clocked the fastest lap of the race, leaving his competitors trailing behind. When the checkered flag waved, he celebrated his long-awaited comeback victory after a dominating motogp season-opener, only to lose at COTA due to a crash at Turn 4, after riding over on a wet spot.
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Viñales' second-place finish is a momentous milestone for KTM, while Bagnaia's solid performance in third kept him competitive in the championship standings. Meanwhile, Morbidelli managed to recover for a P4 finish, and Alex Marquez fought hard to end the race in sixth.
Rider standings
1. Marc Marquez - 123 points
2. Alex Marquez - 106 points
3. Francesco Bagnaia - 97 points
4. Franco Morbidelli - 78 points
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio - 48 points
6. Johann Zarco - 38 points
7. Marco Bezzecchi - 32 points
8. Fabio Quartararo - 30 points
9. AI Ogura - 29 points
10. Luca Marini - 26 points
11. Pedro Acosta - 24 points
12. Brad Binder - 22 points
13. Enea Bastianini - 21 points
14. Fermin Aldeguer - 20 points
15. Jack Miller - 19 Points
16. Alex Rins - 14 Points
17. Maverick Vinales - 10 Points
18. Joan Mir - 08 Points
19. Raul Fernandez - 05 points
20. Augusto Fernandez - 03 Points
21. Miguel Oliveira - 02 Points
22. Lorenzo Savadori - 01 Points
23. Somkiat Chantra - 00 Points
Podcast: Crash MotoGP
FP Team
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