Recapping the Sunday MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 contests from Jerez

MotoGP 2025

Round Five – Spain – Jerez – Sunday

MotoGP Race Report

Fabio Quartararo launched superbly from pole, and so did Bagnaia from third. Marc Marquez didn’t get away quite as well as he would have wanted, and was third early on. Bagnaia tried to show a wheel to Quartararo at Turn 2 but then thought better of it, as at Turn 6 Alex Marquez almost collected his older brother after locking his brakes and running in way to deep. The Spaniard was in way too hot but managed to hook it back up and hold into P4, as Marc Marquez and Bagnaia went into battle at Jerez’s famous stadium section.

Marquez dived underneath his teammate at Turn 9 to the roar of 100,000 fans. But Bagnaia, hanging it around the outside and getting a better run out of Turn 10, got back alongside the six-time MotoGP World Champion. Then, contact between the Ducati duo! Both were fighting for the same piece of asphalt, and it was Bagnaia that came out on top and messed with Marc’s rhythm.

An opening lap for the ages was then followed by monumental drama. The home hero, Marc Marquez, while shadowing Bagnaia, crashed at Turn 8 on Lap 3 while sitting in P3. Seemingly asking too much of that front end, the Spaniard was down and out of victory contention – but not the Grand Prix.

Where did that leave us then? Quartararo led from Bagnaia, but Alex Marquez shoved his way past the Italian to climb into P2 and set his sights on trying to latch onto and pass El Diablo. Further back, there was more drama as lead rookie Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) crashed at Turn 6 from fourth place.

On Lap 10 of 25, Quartararo was keeping Alex Marquez at bay and Bagnaia was lapping 0.6s behind the Gresini star. Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was 1.3s behind the factory Ducati rider in P4 before Lap 11 saw a change of the Grand Prix lead.

Turn 1 saw Alex Marquez strike. An aggressive but great move up the inside of Quartararo saw the Sprint silver medallist snatch the race lead baton, and within a lap, his lead was up to 0.8s. Now, what could Bagnaia do about passing Quartararo?

After a few laps, the answer was nothing. And Viñales was beginning to reel in Quartararo and Bagnaia, while Alex Marquez’s lead grew to 1.7s on Lap 16 of 25. On Marc Marquez watch, he was now back in the points after crashes for Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) promoted Marquez into P15.

With five laps left, Marquez’s lead was 2.4s over Quartararo, and the latter was keeping Bagnaia 0.6s behind. Viñales was now 0.4s away from a podium spot, as we saw Marc Marquez and Aleix Espargaro (Honda HRC Test Team) enjoy a little battle for P13 on Lap 21.

Three to go. Was there life left in the fight for P2? Bagnaia was trying, but Quartararo was hitting all his markers in his efforts to keep the #63 behind him, as Alex Marquez edged closer to a maiden MotoGP win.

Two to go. It was as you were, with Viñales seemingly now settling for a P4 – the #12 was 0.9s away from Bagnaia’s tailpipes.

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Only a mistake now would cost Alex Marquez a famous win, and Quartararo was still far enough ahead of Bagnaia that it wasn’t allowing the latter to show a wheel. And after being Mr P2 for much of 2025 so far, Alex Marquez clinched a well-deserved maiden MotoGP Grand Prix win to crown himself Mr P1 in front of his adoring home fans.

Quartararo did fend off Bagnaia for an outstanding P2 finish and his first Grand Prix podium since the 2023 Indonesian GP. What a weekend for Yamaha, and although it’s not a fourth Jerez victory in a row, Bagnaia’s second P3 of the weekend brings solid points to the Italian’s camp.

After the disappointment of a post-race penalty in Qatar, Viñales backed up his quality display by earning P4 in Spain, with Top Gun finishing three seconds up the road from fifth place Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team). Brad Binder and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Pedro Acosta crossed the line in P6 and P7 in what was a much more positive Sunday for KTM, as Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) rounded out the top 10.

Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) took the chequered flag in P11 and having crashed early on, a disappointed Marc Marquez managed to salvage a P12. Not the Sunday Marquez was searching for, but those four points could prove pivotal.

Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Espargaro and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) – following an early crash – closed out the points scorers in Jerez.

Jack Miller‘s strong race had come to a heartbreaking early end. Miller, who had made an impressive start by charging up from 14th on the grid to 8th by lap 3 and then moving into 7th by lap 6, encountered an unexpected electrical failure that ended his day. At the time of the issue, Miller was running 11th, having lost a few positions after consecutive contacts with Franco Morbidelli, followed by Ai Ogura slipping past as well.

Aleix Espargaro crossed the line 14th but was subsequently demoted to 17th for a tyre pressure infringement.

Next up, we land at another all-time legendary venue… Le Mans. Can Fabio carry his hot form through to home soil…? The French crowd will likely make the Spanish look tame… Speaking of crowds, Dorna claimed 224,420 spectators across the weekend with more than 100,000 present on Sunday.

Jerez MotoGP Results

Jerez Moto2 Race

The perfect weekend on home turf always goes down a treat, and that’s exactly what Moto2 Spanish GP winner, Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), enjoyed in Jerez. The Spaniard was in a class of his own on Sunday afternoon; now, he’s the Championship leader again too. Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) was Gonzalez’s nearest challenger as the Belgian produced a fine ride to bag P2 and his first podium of the year, while Senna Agius made it two Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP riders on the famous Jerez podium with a hard-fought P3 finish.

From pole, Gonzalez grabbed the holeshot from teammate Agius as Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) lost ground from the front row. Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) made a fast and aggressive start to see the Brazilian climb to an early P2, as the top four – Gonzalez, Moreira, Agius and Baltus – built an early 0.8s lead over Arenas and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo).

Further down the order, Championship leader Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) was in P8 behind seventh place Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team), as we saw both CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team riders crash out. First, Daniel Holgado following contact with teammate David Alonso at Turn 13, and then the latter crashed on Lap 5. The reigning Moto3 World Champion collected the luckless Izan Guevara (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) along the way as both saw their races prematurely end at the Jorge Lorenzo corner.

The following laps saw the race settle down as Gonzalez stretched his lead to 2.6s by the end of Lap 11. Baltus was keeping Moreira and Agius behind him for the time being, with the latter making a move into the podium places with three to go. The Australian was past Moreira on the run down the hill into Turn 6, and then he faced a 1.2s gap up to Baltus in second place.

However, no one could lay a glove on Gonzalez. A pole position, lights to flag victory from the Spaniard saw him retake the Championship lead in front of his home fans, a simply wonderful weekend from the #18. Baltus bagged his first podium of the season with a classy P2, while Agius did eventually fend off Moreira to stand on the rostrum for the second time in 2025.

Senna Agius – P3

“I am very happy. It wasn’t an easy race because it was very long in terms of the tyres. I had a good start and was behind Manu, but I had problems in some key areas. When I got passed by two other riders, I thought I had lost because the race would be difficult for me with the front tyre. But I stayed calm and caught up with them again and attacked at the end with a nice battle. I’m proud of that because we managed to catch up and get ourselves back in the game. So that shows that we are strong. A big thank you to all the guys and girls at Intact GP, the team is working fantastically. But congratulations to the whole team for another double podium, which is very important. Not just for me, because we are back where I think we belong after a slightly more difficult time. We worked seamlessly this weekend. I really wanted my first win, but to be honest, the third place is great too. In the end, though, everyone was as happy as I was. So, a big thank you to them and also to the support from Australia, where my family watched the race.”

Moreira was forced to settle for P4, while Öncü picked up a P5 after his Qatar GP podium finish. Arenas was less than a second away from the Turk in P6, Vietti led home the Boscoscuro charge in P7, with Canet conceding the Championship lead after a P8 finish on home turf. Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) claimed some valuable points in P9 ahead of teammate Filip Salač, as Joe Roberts, his OnlyFans American Racing teammate Marcos Ramirez, Adrian Huertas (Italtrans Racing Team), Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Tony Arbolino (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) finished in the points-paying places.

Jerez Moto2 Results

Moto2 Championship Standings

Jerez Moto3 Race

The cliché goes that every Spanish rider wants to win the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez but for some, it means even more. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is one of those; born an hour away in Sevilla, he’s gone from watching it on TV with friends and family to winning it with them in attendance. A childhood dream was achieved with domination as Rueda gave the home crowd a victory in Moto3 to start off Sunday in style for the home fans.

Polesitter Rueda hit the front and snatched the holeshot on the opening lap, holding position in front of his home crowd. At Turn 6 on Lap 1, there was drama as Ruche Moodley (DENSII Racing – BOE) took out David Almansa (Leopard Racing) and David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP); the #64 of Muñoz was able to remount but an already-difficult GP due to his back of the grid penalty was made a whole lot harder. Lap 2 was likewise eventful, as Riccardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team), Vicente Perez (LEVELUP-MTA) and Cormac Buchanan (DENSII Racing – BOE) all fell in separate incidents, with New Zealander Buchanan rejoining.

With Rueda demonstrating his pace and supremacy that we already knew from Friday and Saturday, the field stretched out but Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) were digging deep and keeping him honest. With three seconds back to Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) behind, all three were alone for the podium places. Just past half-race distance, Rueda set the fastest lap, asking more from his rivals to see if they could keep up with his pace. On Lap 13 and sensing his compatriot breaking clear, Piqueras picked off Kelso at Turn 1 but the gap was bordering on a second. In his attempt to keep with Rueda, the #36 went wide, allowing Kelso back through, with the gap now at 1.5s.

That exchange was enough for the #99 to put his trademark on the Grand Prix, easing clear where he remained until the chequered flag, taking a magical home victory that never looked in doubt across the weekend. P2 was to be sorted out on the final lap however, with Kelso vs Piqueras at Turn 5 and Turn 6; it was close but eventually, it went the way of the Valencian to make it a Spanish 1-2, leading to a memorable celebration at Turns 9 and 10 on their slow-down lap.

Kelso’s podium is his second of the season whereas Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) made it three Spaniards in the top four, pipping Yamanaka, who was P5.

Joel Kelso – P3

“It’s hard to accept third place because maybe second was within the reach today. Still, it’s our second podium of the year, ant that’s a strong result. I stayed close to Rueda, but his pace was incredible. I tried to push, but it was too risky, better to secure another podium. On a track where I’ve always struggled in the past, we made big improvements. Now, we look forward with confidence to Le Mans, a circuit I really enjoy.”

Furusato was solid in sixth, with Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) a career-best seventh. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) made it all three of the most recent JunioGP Champions in the top eight, with Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and team-mate Valentin Perrone completing the top ten after their Long Lap Penalties from qualifying.

Jacob Roulstone

“I am disappointed with my first laps, the start was not as we wanted, I made too many mistakes, and obviously we had to complete the long lap penalty. Once done, I put my head down, focused on my pace with the goal to close the gap ahead. I could win the group battle which I am happy with. Our confidence on the bike and our riding ability have continued to improve, so I feel really good heading to the next round in Le Mans.”

Young Kiwi Cormac Buchanan was strong in the early stages of the race, progressing up into 11 th place before his points aspirations ended in the gravel trap after losing the front. After remounting, Buchanan managed to record impressive lap times despite considerable damage to his KTM machine.

Cormac Buchanan – P19

“There was no way I was prepared to have a DNF so I just had to pick up the bike and get on with it – even with bent handlebars, a missing footpeg and about 10kg of gravel stuck in it. We managed to maintain a fast pace even with the bike in very bad shape so we can hold our heads high. You never lose – you either win or you learn. As hard as it feels at the moment, I know these challenges are all shaping me into a stronger racer. The important thing is to respect the lessons I’m being taught. I feel all of the ingredients are there to make great results, I just need to put them all together and get the recipe nailed. We showed our pace is in the top 10 fight again, but I want to make it concrete by getting the points. Le Mans is a track I have really enjoyed in the past and I’m excited to experience it on the Moto3. I am doing everything I can to arrive as prepared as possible. It has been a difficult weekend with the injury from Qatar becoming more apparent while riding. It’s a really awkward injury with friction burns where I grip the handlebar but we are managing the situation as best we can.”

Jerez Moto3 Results

Moto3 Championship Standings

2025 MotoGP Calendar