Gresini rider Alex Márquez (2nd) commented in the MotoGP lounge: “It was a wild ride”

In sixth place behind four Aprilia riders and his brother Marc, Alex Marquez hadn’t made much of an impression on dry tarmac on Friday. On Saturday morning, now on a wet track, the runner-up in the world championship fought his way into the front row in the qualifying session, right next to his older brother.

In the 13-lap sprint – by which time the track was dry again – Alex Márquez initially seemed to be easy prey for the chasing pack. But ‘AM73’ recovered from a less-than-successful opening lap. Marquez had enough pace to put the aggressive Pedro Acosta behind him once more and then set off in pursuit of Marc and Aprilia factory rider Jorge Martin.

With a gap of less than a second, Alex Márquez had plenty to watch. A flawless battle for the World Championship title was unfolding ahead of him. Alex Márquez, who had closed the gap on the fray once more, said: “It was chaotic in front of me; I had an ideal vantage point.”

Alex Márquez didn’t need to intervene in the three-way battle. On lap 8, championship leader Jorge Martín crashed out of the race in Turn 8 ahead of him. For a brief moment, Alex Márquez looked like a possible sprint winner, but the world champion showed no mercy and controlled his lead right to the finish line. Alex crossed the line 0.32 seconds behind Marc – a welcome result, following a run of weaker performances, for the beleaguered Gresini team as well.

Die erfolgreichen MotoGP-Sprinter auf Phillip Island mit Alex Marquez (li.)

Foto: Gold and Goose

Topic of the week

Topic of the week: MotoGP’s new schedule proved highly controversial

In 2027, MotoGP will also enter the 850cc era with a new schedule. It was not so much the changes themselves as the way the decisions were reached that caused a stir. A prime example of: ‘Talking helps’.

Thomas Kuttruf

Read More

TV Program

Today

Phillip Island: International Stream

MotoGP World Championship

25.10.2026 - 00:35

Alex Márquez’s summary after a turbulent Sprint Saturday at Phillip Island: “I tried to ride aggressively right from the start, because I felt good and I was convinced I could compete at the very front. But I lost time, particularly with Pedro Acosta. And when I was close again towards the end – that was the limit. It was really tough, but I’m really very happy to have made it to the finish behind Marc.”

“AM73” looking ahead to Sunday: “I think that with this good feeling today, I can be optimistic about what’s likely to be a wet and very long GP.” Not to be forgotten: the Gresini rider had secured second place on the grid on wet tyres. After 13 laps, there was even more good news. Iker Lecuona, standing in for Aldeguer, had also done the Faenza-based team proud with a 10th-place finish.