18:16
This has been a breathless Qatar GP so far! Zarco running well in fifth, Aldeguer sixth, Acosta seventh, Quartararo eighth, Marini ninth and Ogura 10th.
Alex Marquez is up to 11th.
Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing, 2025 Qatar MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
2025 Qatar MotoGP as it happened
Recao the 2025 MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix
Marc Marquez will start on pole for Sunday's 22-lap 2025 MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix.
The factory Ducati rider came into the fourth round of the 2025 MotoGP season trailing Alex Marquez by a single point in the standings, after crashing out of the lead of the Americas GP two weeks ago.
Marc Marquez also expected to struggle relative to his nearest rivals Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, but snatched pole with a new lap record on Saturday in Qatar and went on to win the sprint.
He now leads the championship again by two points and will be looking to extend that advantage on Sunday evening. Marc Marquez hasn't won a Qatar GP since 2014, and hasn't been on the podium on a Sunday at Lusail since 2019.
Alex Marquez will go from second on the grid and is looking to at least maintain his 100% runner-up spot record following his run to second in the sprint on Saturday.
Joining them on the front row is Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, who was a fine fifth in the sprint.
Pecco Bagnaia has been left in 11th on the grid following a crash in qualifying, with the factory Ducati rider unable to get any higher than eighth in a sprint where he struggle with the feeling of his bike on the smaller fuel load.
He is now 21 points back in the championship.
Reigning world champion Jorge Martin made his first race start of the year in the sprint after qualifying a solid 14th on his return from injury. He eventually faded to 16th in Saturday's race and is hoping to simply make it to the chequered flag in the grand prix.
The 2025 Qatar GP begins at 6pm BST.
13 Apr 2025
18:15
Lap 7/22
Marc Marquez takes second back from Bagnaia at Turn 1. Hard move. Vinales fastest rider on track. Morbidelli 0.7s clear in front - his lead is coming down.
18:14
Great ride from Vinales right now. He is a previous winner in Qatar, so this is a good circuit for him. Let's see how long that tyre holds up on that KTM.
18:13
Alex Marquez has served his long lap penalty and has dropped to 12th.
18:13
Lap 6/22
Onto lap six and Morbidelli's lead is 1.2s. Bagnaia sets successive fastest laps in second, with Marc Marquez just behind.
Vinales is close behind in fourth ahead of Zarco, Alex Marquez, Aldeguer, Acosta, Quartararo and Ogura.
18:12
One thing to consider here is that Marc Marquez did say that this would be a race of tyre preservation. So, he could well be playing the long game. But right now, his pace is not strong.
18:11
Morbidelli's lead is at 1.1s still from Bagnaia.
18:11
Lap 5/22
Bagnaia takes second from Marc Marquez into Turn 1 at the start of lap one. Marquez is struggling with that damaged bike!
18:11
Penalty - Alex Marquez
Alex Marquez has been given a long lap penalty.
His 100% streak of second-place finishes is over.
18:10
Lap 4/22
Replay shows Alex Marquez was the instigator in that clash. He got out of shape on the way into Turn 12 trying take third back.
Onto lap four, Morbidelli's lead is 1.1s. Bagnaia is now up to third and chasing down his team-mate Marc Marquez!
18:09
Collision - Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez
Contact into Turn 12 between DiGia and Alex Marquez. The latter is eighth, DiGa at the back of the pack.
18:08
Di Giannantonio has taken third from Alex Marquez at Turn 10.
18:08
Quartararo is getting beaten up. He's down to ninth after a hard move from Aldeguer.
18:07
Jorge Martin is 19th after the first two laps.
18:07
Lap 3/22
Onto lap three and Morbidelli's lead is up to 0.776s and he's set the best lap of the GP so far.
18:06
Morbidelli is 0.7s clear of Marc Marquez halfway through lap two.
18:06
Replay of Turn 1 showed Marc Marquez squeezing Alex Marquez and the pair just touching. Morbidelli swept past on the outside.
18:05
Lap 2/22
Onto lap two and Morbidelli leads Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez, Di Giannantonio, Vinales, Bagnaia, Quartararo, Zarco, Aldeguer, Ogura.
18:04
Morbidelli is half a second clear already. Marc Marquez has some damage to the rear of his Ducati. Vinales is fourth, Quartararo is down to sixth ahead of Bagnaia.
18:04
Lap 1/22 - Race start
Marc Marquez led into Turn 1 but the Marquez brothers made contact and Morbidelli leads!
18:00
Warm-up lap
The warm-up lap is underway and we are now just moments away from the start of the 22-lap grand prix.
17:55
Five minutes to go!
17:54
KTM riders endured a torrid evening on Saturday as the soft tyre backfired on them, while chatter issues once again reared their head.
A grand prix it was on the podium at last year, this is shaping up to be another tough evening for KTM.
17:51
10 minutes till lights out.
17:50
One rider to keep an eye on this evening will be Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer.
He was fantastic in the sprint, finishing fourth and narrowly missing the podium. He feels like he's got something in hand to challenge the top three this evening.
