17:48
Big stat now that Martin is back on the grid:
This is the first premier class grand prix in history to feature five world champions: Martin, Pecco Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo, Joan Mir and Marc Marquez.
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
17:49
Tyre update
Michelin has confirmed that everyone will use medium/medium. It claims tyre wear won't be an issue, but that isn't quite what Marc Marquez suggested a few moments ago.
17:46
15 minutes till lights out.
17:43
Honda's Joan Mir will start the grand prix after missing the sprint due to illness. He will go from 21st on his factory RC213V.
17:42
Marc Marquez has pretty much said on the grid that this will be a race of tyre preservation, particularly the front.
Expect a pretty frantic start to this race as a result before it settles into a rhythm before a final push in the closing laps.
17:41
Tyre choice
Everyone has gone to the grid on the medium/medium combination.
17:39
This will be a tough evening for Jorge Martin. He qualified a solid 14th on his return from injury and was 16th in the sprint, his first race on the factory Aprilia.
But 22 laps will be a big ask for the reigning champion given his physical condition.
17:38
Who can stop this guy?
Marc Marquez won the sprint race yesterday, and he starts from pole again today.
Marc Marquez
17:37
Pecco Bagnaia has got his work cut out at the start of this 22-lap grand prix. He will be launching from 11th on the grid, following a crash in Q2.
He is confident he will be able to make progress from there following a difficult ride to eighth in the sprint.
17:35
Pitlane has opened for the field to head to the grid. Let's hope for a calmer race build-up than what happened at COTA two weeks ago!
17:34
Marc Marquez leads the championship by two points after winning the sprint on Saturday. Alex Marquez is his nearest challenger, while Pecco Bagnaia is 21 adrift in third.
17:32
Starting grid
Row 1 - M.Marquez, A.Marquez, Quartararo
Row 2 - Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio, Vinales
Row 3 - Zarco, Aldeguer, Rins
Row 4 - Ogura, Bagnaia, Acosta
Row 5 - Bezzecchi, Martin, Marini
Row 6 - Miller, R.Fernandez, Binder
Row 7 - A.Fernandez, Bastianini, Mir
Row 8 - Chantra
17:30
Qatar GP build-up
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the 2025 MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix.
Race start in 30 minutes.
