MotoGP qualifying lit up today with a dramatic, edge-of-your-seat Q2, and it was Fabio Quartararo who stole the show — grabbing his first pole position since the 2022 Indonesian Grand Prix.
After a tense build-up, with Maverick Viñales and Marco Bezzecchi surviving Q1 to sneak into the final session, the battle for pole quickly exploded into life.
As the green flag waved, the heavy hitters wasted no time laying down their markers.
Marc Marquez came out swinging, obliterating the previous lap record by over three-tenths on his first flyer — a warning shot to the rest of the field.
His brother Alex wasn’t far behind either, sliding into second spot initially, while Bagnaia looked slightly on the back foot after being forced onto his second bike following a crash earlier in FP2.
Quartararo, meanwhile, quietly built up the pressure. The Frenchman narrowly missed out on breaking into the 1:35s early on, slotting into P4, but he was far from done.
As final time attacks began to load, Marquez looked set for a fifth pole position in 2025.
Finding another one and a half tenths in the first two sectors of his final lap, disaster struck for the Spaniard in sector 4.
Losing all the time he gained earlier on a misjudged braking maneuver into turn 13, an improvement was off the cards for Marquez.
With Marquez failing to push his best lap time down even further, it was Fabio Quartararo who took over the show.
WHAT A LAP 🤯🤯🤯QUARTARARO GOES TO P1#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/CJvYrr6QPh
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) April 26, 2025
Setting an unbelievable 1’35.610, he blasted to pole and secured a new all-time lap record, beating Marquez by 0.033 seconds.
Bagnaia salvaged third place, 0.145s back, completing a front row packed with world champions.
Alex Marquez was just three thousandths behind his brother, securing P4 ahead of a much-improved Franco Morbidelli.
Viñales, who had looked strong all morning, ended up sixth but still comfortably ahead of Fermin Aldeguer, Fabio Di Giannantonio, and the Honda duo of Joan Mir and Johann Zarco.
Marco Bezzecchi, after squeezing into Q2 via Q1, had to settle for 11th, while Pedro Acosta rounded out the session in 12th, half a second off Quartararo’s benchmark.
There was drama even before Q2 started, with Aleix Espargaró facing technical gremlins in Q1, Lorenzo Savadori crashing out at Turn 9, and Alex Rins — declared fit after a visit to the medical centre — doing just enough to place 23rd on the grid.
The big story, though, is Quartararo’s resurgence. After a rough spell, the Frenchman showed a flash of his old brilliance, delivering a lap when it mattered most.
The stage is now set for a spicy Sprint race later today — and if qualifying was anything to go by, we’re in for an absolute thriller.
