MotoGP Championship leader Marc Marquez claims to be on the “exactly same bike” on the GP24, despite being the only factory Ducati rider in the Aragon Sprint’s top five.
Mark Marquez transformed Paul into his seventh sprint victory in his 2025 campaign, beating Gresini’s Alex Marquez in 2.080 seconds.
He was forced to recover from a poor launch, but took the lead on lap 6 of lap 11 and quickly pulled far away, extending his championship lead to 27 points entering Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Marc Marquez was the only factory finishing Ducati in the top five of the sprint, with Fabio di Giannantonio 6.379 returning to sixth with Pecco Bagnaia starting from the 12th point.
Ducati has already confirmed that the Factory bike operates a slightly different engine than the full GP24, but other parts, such as the real-ride height device, are understood to be a small upgrade on last year’s machine.
However, when asked why he was the only factory Ducati runner in the top five, Marquez claims he doesn’t know as he is said to be on the same bike as Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldegu, behind him on the podium.
“I ask engineers many times and always say the same thing. I ride exactly on the same bike as Alex, Fermin and (Franco) Morbidelli,” he said.
“I don’t know why, but I have the exact same bike.
“It’s true that I rode on Le Mans and Silverstone on different ‘specs’, but here I’m going to come back and have time to try it out on Monday’s test.
“Some things (it was different).”
Aragon Sprint’s Mark Marquez “Everything is Under Control”
Throws fourth shorter from the line due to wheel spin, but he says Ducati knows how to fix Sunday, but Marquez felt everything was “controlled” in the sprint.
He admits he had “some lock” when he charged at Alex Marquez for the lead on Turn 1 of lap 6, but says this is the only way to overtake the rider as quickly as his brother goes.
“At Qualey Lap, I was taking too many risks and trying to get faster than what I was exaggerating and my tires and bikes allowed, which made me slower,” he explained.
“And you are against the bike and you start to slide and sway everywhere, and honestly, it was enough to be in the pole position, not the best lap.
“Then, in the sprint races, it was all controlled, and I always feel the bike.
“It is true that at that moment, there were some locks in front of me that I overtake Alex, but that is also the only way to overtake a fast rider like Alex.
“The problem started at the start, the rear tires revved and I lost a lot of positions. But I was calm, controlled the race and scored those 12 points.”
Marquez and Pedro Acosta were in touch with one turn at the start of the sprint, one turn, but the former called this a “race incident” and resulted in losing speed from the line due to wheel spin.
“I was a little late, but I tried to brake hard, especially since the front and rear devices weren’t going to the right position, so I had to brake hard,” he added.
“But this type of racial incident always happens in the same pattern. When someone first has a problem and others arrive at a different speed, especially at turn 1 in Aragon, one of the trickiest points, the difference in speed makes these kinds of incidents.”
