BAGNAIA RETURNS TO POLE POSITION IN MOTEGI
Francesco Bagnaia, the reigning double MotoGP World Champion stormed to pole position at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan.
The Italian looked back to his dominant best at Motegi, denying Joan Mir what would have been a first premier-class pole. Still, the Honda rider produced a sensational performance to secure second, matching his career-best qualifying result.
Marc Marquez, meanwhile, lines up third to complete the front row, as he faces a pivotal race in the title fight on Sunday.
Q1 delivered plenty of drama, featuring several big names: Alex Marquez, Franco Morbidelli, home favourite Ai Ogura, and defending Champion Jorge Martin all vying for progression. For much of the session Ogura and Morbidelli held the transfer spots, with Alex Marquez stuck just outside the cut.
Fermin Aldeguer briefly broke into the top two before crashing at Turn 5, opening the door for his teammate Alex Marquez to capitalize. Morbidelli then reclaimed P1 with a strong late lap, Ogura countered with a surge, but Alex Marquez ultimately secured second before yellow flags from incidents for Brad Binder at Turn 12 and Alex Rins at Turn 10 disrupted the closing laps.
That left Ogura and Martin stranded in 13th and 17th respectively, as Morbidelli and Alex Marquez advanced to Q2.
The pole shootout was no less eventful. Pedro Acosta suffered early technical issues and had to return to the pits after his out-lap, leaving the rest to battle it out.
Bagnaia quickly set the pace, continuing his Friday form, with Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo closest behind after the first runs. But the final minutes were where the real fireworks erupted.
Franco Morbidelli briefly claimed provisional pole, only for Marc Marquez to snatch it away. Then came the surprise of the session: Joan Mir vaulted to the top with a blistering lap. But his dream of a maiden MotoGP pole was dashed in the dying seconds as Bagnaia produced a stunning final effort to steal back first position.
At the flag, it marked Bagnaia’s first pole since Brno and only his second of the 2025 campaign. Mir settled for second, equalling his best-ever grid position and handing Honda its first front-row start since 2023, matching the P2 Johann Zarco achieved in Germany earlier this year. Marc Marquez, just 0.132s off his teammate, completes the front row and keeps his championship hopes intact.
Morbidelli leads the second row after a strong showing, only 0.259s adrift of pole, while Luca Marini ensured two Hondas feature inside the top seven. Alex Marquez managed only eighth, leaving him with ground to make up if he hopes to prevent his brother’s potential title coronation. Marco Bezzecchi will launch from ninth, ahead of Raul Fernandez, Johann Zarco, and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
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