Factory Ducati rider Marc Marquez completed an impressive victory in the 2025 MotoGP season opener in Thailand.
The 32-year-old became the first rider to win for the Ducati factory squad on debut since Casey Stoner at the 2007 Qatar Grand Prix.
Just like in the Sprint race on Saturday, Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia accompanied Marquez on the podium.
The older brother Marquez launched best off the line and steered clear from Turn 1 on the opening lap. However, the younger brother Marquez and Bagnaia retained positions despite the factory Ducati rider’s efforts to edge through.
Ai Ogura rose to fourth place aboard his Trackhouse as Jack Miller relinquished his qualifying position as all riders approached the second sector.
After Lap 1, the Marquez brothers maintained strong gaps out front. The opening laps saw the factory Ducati rider cement a lead between 1.2s and 1.5s over his brother, but notably Bagnaia couldn’t quite match the Gresini rider’s pace.
KTM rider Pedro Acosta crashed out early on at Turn 1 on Lap 3 after losing the front of his RC16. He was placed seventh before his crash but managed to rejoin, having all the work to do from last place.
Things went quiet for the subsequent laps but on Lap 7 inside Turn 3 the camera panned to the leader slowing down. It was suggested that the front tyre’s pressures were too high, but the Marquez brothers swapped positions, and the eight-time champion regained up to full speed soon after.
Despite the bizarre moment, VR46 Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli dispatched Ogura’s satellite Aprilia to seal fourth spot. The Italian started the race in ninth despite qualifying sixth after impeding Bagnaia in qualifying.
On the topic of the two-time MotoGP champion, he caught up to within 0.6s of the Marquez brothers, but had to be cautious due to the VR46 rider up behind him.
Joan Mir produced a stunning performance all race and rose through the field to an impressive seventh place. However, his race ended on Lap 15 at the final corner at Turn 12.
Marco Bezzecchi overtook Jack Miller at Turn 3 to rise further up to sixth place on his debut for Aprilia, as he eyed up Ogura.
Out front, the Spanish duo remained in the top two positions. Despite a wobble from the Gresini rider, there was no clear sign that the older brother Marquez was going to make a move.
However, the inevitable move was sealed in the final corner with four laps to go, then released a statement to the paddock by dominating the rest of the race.
As he crossed the finish line he extended the gap to 1.7s over his brother, winning the season opener for the first time since the 2014 season.
Gresini rider Marquez completed his weekend with two second placed finishes in a row to get his 2025 campaign off to a strong start.
The second factory Ducati rider of Bagnaia was no match to the Marquez duo, but brought the bike home in third.
Morbidelli salvaged fourth place for VR46 Ducati and was in his own world, finishing 3.1s behind his fellow VR46 Academy graduate and 2.5s ahead of rookie Ogura.
Ogura’s fifth place was a more than impressive outing for his debut Grand Prix, finishing as the lead non-Ducati rider and only 7.5s off victory.
Bezzecchi and Johann Zarco battled it out for sixth and seventh, but the Italian clung on to produce a strong finish on his debut with his Italian marque.
Despite Acosta’s crash, KTM rider Brad Binder and Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini completed eighth and ninth place, respectively. Bastianini rose his way up the field despite his notable struggles throughout the weekend.
Fabio Di Giannantonio fended off Miller for tenth place and Honda’s Luca Marini sealed 12th place.
Fermin Aldeguer completed his debut race for Gresini Ducati in 13th, defeating the second Pramac Yamaha rider Miguel Oliveira.
Fabio Quartararo rose to 15th after his bad start to claim the final point as the Frenchman overtook Maverick Vinales and Alex Rins in the final laps.
Somkiat Chantra delivered 18th in front of his home crowd on his debut for LCR Honda.
Acosta finished a distant 19th after his crash but still defeated the final classified rider of Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori.
