Alex Marquez Too Good in Silverstone Sprint

Gresini racing gun displays controlled aggression and untouchable speed to stop brother Marc taking 7th straight Sprint victory

Alex Marquez executed a masterclass at Silverstone in the Tissot Sprint, delivering a blistering performance that saw him claim victory by over three seconds – and in doing so, snap his older brother Marc Marquez’s impressive six-race Sprint win streak. The Gresini Racing rider looked sharp from the outset, quickly recovering second place after Fabio Quartararo shot off the line from pole position. While the front group jostled for early dominance, it was Marc Marquez who sliced through the pack to take over the lead by the end of the first lap, putting his Ducati Lenovo machine into a position many assumed he would monopolise once again. But the story took a different turn at Turn 3. After following in his brother’s wheeltracks, Alex seized his chance when Marc ran wide, slipping underneath and refusing to look back. Once out front, the #73 methodically built a buffer, dialled in unfazed by the pressure from behind. As the Marquez brothers pulled away out front, the real fireworks lit up in the battle for third.

Behind the breakaway duo, Quartararo, Bagnaia, and Fabio Di Giannantonio locked horns in a high-speed boxing bout. Bagnaia was the first to slide past the Yamaha, and Di Giannantonio wasn’t far behind. The two Fabios then went bar-to-bar in a duel that saw Diggia inch ahead, his VR46 Ducati surging past the factory Yamaha in a gritty move. But just as that trio began shuffling positions, Johann Zarco threw his name into the mix aboard his LCR Honda, and moments later, Marco Bezzecchi emerged like a missile from deep in the field.

Dropping well outside the top ten off the line, Bezzecchi’s late-race pace was electric on the machine that previously held the race lap record at Silverstone. He picked off Zarco and zeroed in on Quartararo, slicing through at the end of the Wellington Straight before shifting his attention to Bagnaia. Meanwhile, Diggia had broken free, laying down a strong rhythm to protect third. As Bezzecchi muscled past Bagnaia with elbows out, Zarco followed suit at Maggots and Becketts. Quartararo, caught in the melee, tried to launch one last attack on Bagnaia but ran out of time.

At the front, there were no such dramas. Alex Marquez stayed laser-focused, nailing every corner with textbook precision to take his first Sprint win since 2023 in commanding fashion. Marc Marquez had no answer and finished a resigned second, while Di Giannantonio’s return to the podium marked his first such result since Austin.

Bezzecchi’s barnstorming ride earned him a hard-fought fourth – his best result this season. Zarco crossed the line fifth, just ahead of Bagnaia, who had to scrap for every point. Quartararo settled for seventh, unable to claw his way back into the top six. Rookie Pedro Acosta carved through late to snatch eighth from Fermin Aldeguer, who slipped out of the points, while Jack Miller rounded out the Saturday scorers in ninth after showing early promise on his Prima Pramac Yamaha. Bastianini, who took the double here last year,  could manage only 15th, a full 18 seconds back.

Marc Marquez remains at the top World Championship standings with 180 points, but younger brother Alex has now slashed the gap to just 19, sitting in second on 161. Francesco Bagnaia is a clear third with 124 points but is now rapidly losing touch, with the Marquez brothers continuing their unprecedented sibling domination.

Ducati’s pace in race trim still looks unassailable, with Quartararo unable to turn his record-breaking one lap speed into a podium. Alex’s imperious pace makes him the hot favourite for the the full length race as well on the GP24, which is still proving to be more than a match for the GP25 at many circuits in his hands. For surprises we might have to look to Marco Bezzecchi, whose late charge up the field shows that Aprilia still shines at Silverstone.

Alex Marquez –  “We’re happy: both Marc and Pecco placed me as the favourite, but until you take to the track, you never know where you’re really at. Tomorrow it’ll be a whole different story but for once I must say that on paper we can battle for the win with Marc. For now, we’ll enjoy this first sprint win.”

Fabi Di Giannantonio – “In the last couple of races we struggled, so being back at this level is a great achievement for me and the team. I think that this week at home has been super good for us because we worked so hard, we did plenty of videocalls to try to understand how to improve and all the things we tried are working. I’m super proud of the team. I did a good start and I was able to keep the pace during all the Sprint. Today I expected to do a good Sprint, but not that good in terms of results. I think that for tomorrow we are in a good shape, we can work a little bit more and try to be as close as possible to the podium guys to repeat today’s result.”

Marco Bezzecchi – “I’m happy. It was a great sprint race and I had fun. It’s a shame about the small complication at the start which conditioned the early stage of the race. In fact, at a certain point, I found myself in nineteenth place. In any case, it was an extremely positive sprint race. The long race will be different, because managing the tyres will be fundamental, as will a good start. We are working well. The team is doing a great job and I want to thank each one of them.”

Fabio Quartararo – “It was a really positive morning, I would say, but it wasn’t that positive of an afternoon. We need to understand what happened in the Sprint. Especially with the rear tyre I was struggling right from the start. The track was also not very grippy, so it was a combination of things that meant we were not so fast. We will analyse it well and try to see if we can find something positive, but it was not the best Sprint I did. It’s probably going to be a tough Race tomorrow, but I will give it my maximum, and then we’ll see what our potential is like. Being realistic, fighting for a top 5 or top 6 in races is our goal right now.”

Jack Miller – “I scored my first points in the Sprint, and I‘ll take that as a positive. But this afternoon we were struggling right from the start. I‘m not sure if it was due to the track conditions or something else, but the bike was moving around more than I expected. I think all of us Yamaha riders had a tougher time this afternoon compared to the morning or yesterday. We all had the same issues with corner entry, mid-corner, and exit, especially in the flowing corners. Turn 9 was particularly difficult for me; I think that everyone was passing me there. I was searching for traction everywhere but just couldn‘t find any. I think tomorrow will be a different story with the medium rear tire. Overall, I‘m still happy with a decent day where, at least in the early stages, I was able to fight a bit. Now let‘s see what tomorrow brings.”

Silverstone MotoGP Sprint Race

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