Marquez Dominates Thai MotoGP Sprint Race

Ducati lock out the podium as Ogura Shines in Stunning Season Opener

Marc Marquez made a perfect start to his factory Ducati career, dominating the Thai Grand Prix with a flawless lights-to-flag victory. The eight-time world champion got the perfect launch off the line, immediately pulling a gap as the rest of the field scrambled behind. Ai Ogura made a sensational start, climbing to fourth, while Jack Miller slipped back and Marco Bezzecchi suffered a disastrous launch, losing ten positions in an instant.

By the end of the first few laps, only the Marquez brothers were lapping in the 1:29s, with Marc setting the fastest time while Alex worked hard to keep him in sight. Bagnaia, struggling in the opening laps, had already fallen two seconds behind and found himself under pressure from the fearless rookie Ogura. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta, in his usual aggressive form, almost ran his teammate off track while making an early move. Binder and Acosta became locked in a battle, allowing the fast-starting Quartararo to pull ahead.

As the race approached the midway point, Alex Marquez was still within a second of Marc, ensuring the race wasn’t entirely settled. Bagnaia had finally hit his rhythm and was now lapping as fast as the leaders, but the time lost in the opening laps left a mountain to climb. Ogura, riding brilliantly, refused to be dropped, proving that his promotion to MotoGP with Trackhouse Aprilia was well deserved. Further back, Miller was beginning a comeback battle with Morbidelli, as Quartararo loomed, looking to attack them both.

With seven laps to go, the gap at the front edged just over a second, with Marc appearing completely untroubled, riding calmly within himself. While Alex still had him in sight, his soft rear tyre was beginning to fade, and the gap crept out just a little more. Bagnaia was finally able to break free of Ogura, setting the fastest lap of the race, but the damage was already done, as he remained over two seconds adrift of Alex, making a late charge for second difficult at best.

Drama unfolded with six laps to go as Jack Miller crashed out, ending what had been shaping up to be a solid ride. Bagnaia began losing ground to Alex Marquez, as he settled for 3rd place rather than risking a DNF.

As Marc entered the final lap, his advantage had stretched to 1.5 seconds, showing he had been managing the pace all along. With a final glance behind, he celebrated across the line, taking his first victory of 2025 and delivering an immediate reward for Ducati’s bold decision to sign him. Alex Marquez held onto second, securing an extremely strong result for Gresini, while a relieved Bagnaia crossed the line in third – not a bad result given his struggles throughout practice.

Behind the podium finishers, Ai Ogura stole the show, finishing in a stunning fourth place on his MotoGP debut, keeping one of the sport’s most dominant riders honest for most of the race.

For Marc Marquez and Ducati, this was a statement of intent, with the eight-time champion looking as dominant and confident as ever. Bagnaia, meanwhile, will know he has work to do, as losing out to both his teammate and a satellite Ducati will sting. With Ducati looking dominant, the rest of the MotoGP field will have to respond quickly, but perhaps Bezzecchi can make things interesting if he can get a better start in tomorrow’s feature length race.

THAI MOTOGP SPRINT RACE