Francesco Bagnaia bounced back from a tough run of results to claim pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, while Marc Marquez moved a step closer to clinching the 2025 MotoGP title after qualifying on the front row.
Bagnaia set a new lap record at the rebranded Motegi Mobility Resort with a time of 1m42.911s to take the top spot by just under a tenth of a second from Honda’s Joan Mir, while Marquez took third place on a day his nearest rival and brother Alex Marquez could only secure eighth place on the grid.
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Marc Marquez laid the initial benchmark as Q2 began, setting a time of 1m43.413s on the factory Ducati.
But as the Spaniard backed out of his next lap and returned to the pits, he was usurped by a resurgent Bagnaia, who snatched the top spot by seven hundredths of a second.
Fabio Quartararo propelled his Yamaha to third place just minutes later, demoting Friday practice pacesetter Marco Bezzecchi to fourth, while Alex Marquez trailed in eighth place following the first runs after coming through from Q1.
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Lap times tumbled as riders returned on track on fresh tyres in the second half of the session, with Franco Morbidelli, Marc Marquez and even Mir taking turns at the top of the timesheets.
But Bagnaia moved the goalposts with just 20 seconds left on the clock, setting the first sub-1m43s lap time at Motegi to wrest control of qualifying again.
Although several other riders had time to complete their final flying laps, none could come anywhere close to the Italian, who secured his first pole position since the Czech GP in July.
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Mir missed out on a maiden MotoGP pole by 0.092s, but with second place he secured his best qualifying result with Honda – and fittingly on the Japanese marque’s home turf.
Championship leader Marquez was 0.132s off the pace in third place, but has a strong chance of wrapping up his ninth world championship – and seventh in MotoGP – on Sunday after his brother Alex could only manage eighth-fastest time with Gresini.
Meanwhile, KTM’s Pedro Acosta put in a solid effort to qualify fourth on the grid, despite a suspected ride-height device issue confining him to a single run in qualifying.
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Joining him on the second row of the grid will be Quartararo and the top VR46 Ducati of Franco Morbidelli, who took sixth after coming through from Q1.
Seventh place went to Luca Marini on the factory Honda ahead of Alex Marquez, while Marco Bezzecchi was the best qualifier for Aprilia in ninth.
Rounding out the top 10 was Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse Aprilia, while Johann Zarco and Fabio di Giannantonio finished 11th and 12th for LCR and VR46 respectively.
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Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Racing
Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Racing
Trackhouse Racing’s Ai Ogura will start the race from 13th on the grid after late yellow flags – triggered by crashes for Alex Rins and Brad Binder at separate corners – prevented him from progressing into Q2.
Pramac rider Jack Miller was 14th quickest, with Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer just four thousandths of a second adrift in 15th after going down at Turn 15 just minutes after setting his fastest lap.
Miller’s teammate Miguel Oliveira followed Alex Marquez out of the pits but could only manage 16th, while reigning champion Jorge Martin also had a tough day on the factory Aprilia, ending up 17th.
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Three KTMs were knocked out in Q1, with factory rider Binder languishing in 18th after his crash and Tech3 duo Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales doing no better than 21st and 23rd respectively.
Japanese GP – Q2 results:Q1 results:Photos from Japanese GP – Practice and QualifyingMarc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
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Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda
Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda
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Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
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Luca Marini, Honda HRC
Luca Marini, Honda HRC
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Jack Miller, Pramac Racing
Jack Miller, Pramac Racing
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Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing
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Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing
Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing
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Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
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Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing
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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda
Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda
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Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech 3
Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech 3
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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
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Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Racing
Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Racing
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Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda
Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
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Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
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Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
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Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
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Joan Mir, Honda HRC, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Joan Mir, Honda HRC, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Joan Mir, Honda HRC
Joan Mir, Honda HRC
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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
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Franco Morbidelli, VR46 Racing Team
Franco Morbidelli, VR46 Racing Team
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Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team
Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team
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Joan Mir, Honda HRC, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Joan Mir, Honda HRC, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
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Detail of the helmet of Marc Marquez , Ducati Team
Detail of the helmet of Marc Marquez , Ducati Team
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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
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Davide Tardozzi, Team Manager Ducati
Davide Tardozzi, Team Manager Ducati
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Santi Hernandez, Repsol Honda Team, crew chief of Honda
Santi Hernandez, Repsol Honda Team, crew chief of Honda
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