The final pole position battle of the 2025 MotoGP season at Valencia was an intense and thrilling affair, with the top five riders separated by less than a tenth of a second! That's right, folks, the competition was fierce, and the margin for error was razor-thin.
Marco Bezzecchi, the Aprilia MotoGP rider, emerged as the hero of the day, securing the last premier class pole position of the season. But here's where it gets controversial: Bezzecchi's journey to the top wasn't without its challenges. He had a close call during his first run, almost losing control behind Fermin Aldeguer's Gresini Ducati bike. However, he bounced back with a brilliant second run, maximizing the potential of his rear tire to claim the top spot and hold onto it.
The Ducati duo of Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio were hot on his tail, finishing just 0.026s and 0.044s behind, respectively. They'll join Bezzecchi on the front row, setting the stage for an exciting race.
Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez dominated Q1 and continued his impressive form in the second session, securing a starting position directly behind Bezzecchi in fourth. Meanwhile, Friday's leader, Pedro Acosta, could only manage fifth, despite being just 0.096s off the pace. A crash in the practice session before qualifying may have affected his performance, but he still managed to use his primary bike in Q2.
And this is the part most people miss: the battle for sixth place! Fabio Quartararo, riding for Yamaha, finished 0.169s off the pace, closely followed by former teammate Franco Morbidelli, now riding for VR46 Ducati. Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) and Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) rounded out the top eight.
Joan Mir led the Honda contingent in tenth, followed by Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) and Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia). Despite Ogura's impressive lap time, only 0.562s off pole, he found himself at the back of Q2.
The provisional Valencia GP grid is as follows:
- Bezzecchi
- Marquez
- Di Giannantonio
- R. Fernandez
- Acosta
- Quartararo
- Morbidelli
- Miller
- Aldeguer
- Mir
- Zarco
- Ogura
- Marini
- Espargaro
- Binder
- Bagnaia
- Martin*
- Oliveira
- Rins
- Bastianini
- Vinales
- Bulega
- A. Fernandez
- Chantra
*Martin will serve a double long lap penalty.
Luca Marini narrowly missed out on advancing to Q2, with just 0.06s separating him from Honda stablemate Zarco. Aleix Espargaro was even closer, just 0.006s behind Marini, with Zarco using the test rider as a reference on his fastest lap.
Marini and Espargaro will be joined on the fifth row by Brad Binder, who, despite being the second-best KTM rider, could only manage 15th position.
Pecco Bagnaia, who had a rough Friday, looked much stronger on Saturday but unfortunately suffered a bike failure during his Q2 bid. He had just moved up to second on his last run in Q1 and was improving, but was forced to pull over in the second sector, ultimately being demoted four places.
Returning to MotoGP, Jorge Martin and Maverick Vinales finished 17th and 21st, respectively. Vinales was half a tenth ahead of Ducati stand-in Nicolo Bulega, who replaced the injured champion Marc Marquez. Marquez is in attendance with the factory Ducati team, adding to the excitement.
Augusto Fernandez had another crash on the V4 Yamaha prototype at Turn 8, but he returned to the track and avoided last place, which went to Somkiat Chantra on the second LCR Honda.
So, what do you think? Who will come out on top in this thrilling MotoGP season finale? Will Bezzecchi's pole position translate into a race win? And what about the returning riders, Martin and Vinales? Let's discuss in the comments and share our predictions!
