Alex Marquez rides to the top

Alex Marquez has ridden out of his brother’s shadow by taking his first MotoGP win on home soil at Jerez and stealing the championship lead.

The younger Marquez enjoyed his time in the sun by taking a dominant 2s win for Gresini Ducati ahead of a spirted Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia.

Marc Marquez was nowhere to be seen at the front of the field as he was forced to lament a costly crash and could only manage 12th.

The mistake was enough to gift the MotoGP championship lead to Alex by a solitary point.

After finishing second five times, Alex Marquez made the most of his maiden win, sparking emotional scenes on the cool-down lap and in victory lane where he could not hold back the tears and the brothers embraced.

Earlier in the weekend Yamaha’s star Fabio Quartararo overcame his recent struggles to remind the grid of his class by beating Marquez to a first pole since 2022 by a slender 0.033s.

As a result it was game on during the Sprint and the pair went side by side into Turn 1 for the second.

But it was Quartararo, who cracked under pressure, crashing on the outside and seeing a golden opportunity slip.

Yet again Marquez dominated the remainder of the race, cruising home a second clear of his brother Alex with Bagnaia forced to settle for third.

It was a race of attrition with Australia’s Jack Miller crashing from 15th and Johann Zarco also sliding off at Turn 2.

However, things were different when the main prize was on the line on Sunday.

Quartararo managed to emerge from a thrilling opening lap in the lead ahead of the dicing Ducatis of Bagnaia and both of the Marquez brothers.

As the Yamaha rider took control, teammates Bagnaia and Marc Marquez banged shoulders multiple times with the #63 winning the contest for once.

Alex Marquez tried to join them with a big dive at Dry Sack, but overcooked it and had to settle for fourth.

More drama was on its way as soon as Lap 3 when Marc Marquez did the unthinkable.

The Spanish star slid off into the gravel at Turn 8 and was lucky to get back on the bike, but not without falling from third to 23rd.

Aldeguer was the next to fall out of contention, crashing from fourth.

All the drama was to Miller’s advantage as he soared to seventh.

But sadly electrical dramas saw the #43 Pramac Yamaha rider crawl out of the race after 15 laps.

Alex Marquez sensed his opportunity and snared second from Bagnaia with a calculated dive at the final corner on the following lap.

The Gresini rider then set about slowly trimming Quartararo’s lead and by Lap 11 he was in striking distance.

Alex Marquez selected Turn 1 as his attacking area and the Yamaha rider had no answer as the #73 blazed past.

Not only was it an important move for the race, but also for the championship as it saw Alex take the overall lead from his brother Marc.

All eyes then turned to Bagnaia to see if he could make the most of the opportunity, but he found it much harder to challenge the #20 and had to settle for third.

Joan Mir was fighting to give Honda some much needed points, but he suffered a ninth DNF in 11 races after crashing at Dry Sack.

A handful of laps later Franco Morbedelli was the latest rider to sacrifice a strong result by crashing from sixth.

The fall had implications in the championship as it completed Marc Marquez’s impressive ride to 15th and back in the points and he was not done.

The #93 snared 12th from Alex Rins on the final lap to limit the damage.

However, that was not quite enough with Alex Marquez clinging on to a one-point lead with the MotoGP championship suddenly alive before the French Motorcycle Grand Prix on May 9-11.

Image: Gold and Goose/Red Bull Content Pool

2025 Spanish Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Buy the new issue of Auto Action Premium HERE

Read the new issue of Auto Action Digital HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here or you can purchase a copy of the latest issue from one of our outlets here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine