2025 Argentina MotoGP: Marc Marquez wins tense sprint from pole
Marquez continues 100% record in 2025 in Argentina sprint race
Marc Marquez fended off Alex Marquez in a tense sprint at the 2025 MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix to take his second Saturday victory of the season.
After qualifying on pole with a new all-time lap record at Termas de Rio Hondo, factory Ducati rider Marquez was hot favourite to maintain his 100% winning record of 2025 in the sprints.
Though he came good on this, he was pushed hard by his GP24-mounted younger brother Alex Marquez for Gresini Racing in the 12-lap contest.
Marc Marquez was able to break away in the latter stages, however, getting to the chequered flag 0.903s clear of Alex Marquez in a repeat of the Thai GP sprint result.
Pecco Bagnaia completed the top three, but was once again no match for the Marquez brothers as he ended up 3.859s behind his team-mate.
Johann Zarco was fourth after a scrappy race from the front row, while Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top five.
Marc Marquez has extended his championship lead to 11 points over Alex Marquez, with Bagnaia 19 back in third.
On the opening lap, Marc Marquez grabbed the holeshot from pole as Alex Marquez and Bagnaia slotted in behind.
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo made a strong start from seventh on the grid to jump up to fourth and had a look at overtaking Bagnaia into Turn 5 - though couldn’t make it stick.
KTM’s Pedro Acosta moved ahead of Quartararo into Turn 1 on the second lap and looked like being a threat to Bagnaia’s podium plave, as he slid 0.5s back from the top two.
Acosta would ultimately fade to a distant ninth come the end of the 12-lap sprint, with Bagnaia able to put clear daylight between himself and the pack behind.
However, he didn’t have the pace to go with the top two, who ran line astern and repeatedly traded fastest laps in the opening tours.
While Alex Marquez was able to push his elder brother, he couldn’t get close enough to attempt any overtakes.
And at the start of the penultimate lap, Marc Marquez had broken Alex Marquez’s resolve as he took a lead of 0.7s, which he would swell to 0.9s come the chequered flag.
Behind the podium battle, Zarco - having dropped to sixth off the line - recovered to fourth on the LCR Honda and was 1.4s clear of fifth-placed Di Giannantonio on the VR46 Ducati.
Marco Bezzecchi was sixth on the factory Aprilia head of the sister VR46 Ducati of Franco Morbidelli, who was involved in a collision with Brad Binder on the opening lap that saw the KTM rider crash out.
Binder made a move at Turn 7, with Morbidelli attempting the cut-back into Turn 8 - the pair connecting in the middle.
The stewards investigated the incident, though deemed no further action was needed.
Honda’s Joan Mir beat Acosta in the final laps to finish eighth, while Quartararo dropped out of the points to 10th.
Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer and Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira collided at Turn 2 on lap five. The incident will be reviewed after the race.
