MotoGP: Marquez claims 100th career pole with lap record in Italian GP qualifying

ROME, June 21 — Marc Marquez took the 100th pole of his career on his Ducati debut at the Mugello Circuit at their home Italian Grand Prix today in a qualifying session where the lap record was broken several times.
It was Marquez's sixth pole of the season and the 72nd MotoGP pole of his career to go with his 14 poles in Moto2 and 14 more in the 125cc World Championship.
'I'm super happy because it was a real pole position, it was without (using) the slipstreams, alone and just trying to find my limits,' Marquez said.
'The pace was not bad but (I have to) be patient because in the afternoon with a warm temperature, it can change everything. But at the moment we are there and ready to fight for the sprint and main race.'
Marquez initially took provisional pole when he slotted in behind his brother Alex and used the Gresini bike's slipstream to his advantage.
As Alex crossed the line with the fastest time, Marc snatched top spot from him less than a second later with a lap record.
Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo then broke the record but before he could celebrate, Marc's Italian team mate Francesco Bagnaia went even faster on his home track where he has won the last three Grands Prix.
However, Marc had one more flying lap left in him and when the Spaniard crossed the line, he set a time of one minute and 44.169 seconds to pip Bagnaia to pole by 0.059 seconds. Alex will join them on the front row.
'I tried everything in qualifying, Marc was in super shape and it's tough to beat him. I wanted to start on the front row and this was the best result in qualifying (for me) this season,' Bagnaia said.
Quartararo was only fourth fastest despite breaking the lap record and he will be joined on the second row by KTM's Maverick Vinales and VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli. — Reuters

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Star

3 hours ago

• The Star

Rugby-France XV fight back to secure 26-24 win over England XV

FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Italy v France - Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy - February 23, 2025 France's Romain Taofifenua celebrates after the match REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -A try after the hooter by Romain Taofifenua gave France XV a 26-24 victory over their English counterparts in a non-cap match at Twickenham on Saturday, as winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso made a disappointing return from injury. Taofifenua burrowed over the try-line after England had led 24-12 with five minutes remaining but could not keep the visitors at bay in a game featuring four tries and a red card for each side. The match served as a warm-up for England's tour of Argentina and the United States, while France are preparing for three tests in New Zealand next month. France scored two early tries as hooker Gaetan Barlot crossed in the corner after breaking away from a driving maul, and lock Hugo Auradou burst into the England 22 after the visitors turned the ball over at the breakdown. England grew into the game, however, and after incessant pressure in the French 22, number eight Tom Willis scored in the corner before lock Alex Coles took a pop-pass from centre Seb Atkinson to cross the line. Feyi-Waboso, playing his first game since December after recovering from an injury, made two simple handling errors before receiving a 30-minute red card just past the half-hour mark. He was penalised for a high tackle as his arm struck the head of French flyhalf Antoine Hastoy. Initially a yellow card, it was upgraded to red on bunker review. Despite their numerical disadvantage, England led 19-12 at halftime when another strong carry from Atkinson broke the French defensive line and his pass to Joe Carpenter set up another try. Following a red card for French forward Cameron Woki, upgraded from yellow on bunker review, England added a fourth try when replacement loose-forward Alex Dombrandt went over in the corner. France had the advantage in the forwards, however, and powered over for two more tries with Taofifenua's effort converted by Hastoy to secure victory for the French. (Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)

New Straits Times

5 hours ago

• New Straits Times

Marc Marquez continues MotoGP dominance by winning Mugello sprint

MUGELLO, Italy: Marc Marquez continued his march towards a seventh elite world title by winning Saturday's sprint race at the Italian MotoGP and extending his lead at the top of the championship. The Spanish motorcycling great had to battle back from a disastrous start from pole position at Mugello to claim the full 12 points and move 35 points clear of his closest challenger and brother Alex Marquez. Marc Marquez, who dropped back into the middle of the pack after fluffing his start on his Ducati bike, eventually finished 1.441sec ahead of his second-placed sibling after overtaking him on the fourth lap. "At the start I don't know exactly what happened. The launch code was in, then I took it out and then I put it in again, then I lost a lot of positions," he said. "But we gave a good show out there and we won the sprint race. That was not the main target, the target was to try to not lose a lot of points, but I hope all these Italian fans enjoyed the show because the comeback was super nice." His teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who has won the last three GPs on home soil at Mugello, dropped back a position into third and is now 98 points off the pace in the title race. "I feel a bit disappointed, I would have liked to have given something more to this amazing crowd but unluckily this season I can't do what I know how to do, so it's a bit of a shame," said Bagnaia. "But it is what it is, we have time to solve the problems and try to keep all information possible to try to do something more tomorrow." It was his eighth win from nine sprint races this season after conquering his 100th career pole earlier on Saturday, and sets him up for another perfect weekend in what has been a dream campaign in his first season with Ducati's factory team. Marc Marquez has won the sprint and main race at the Thailand, Argentina, Qatar and Aragon MotoGP with eight race weekends completed so far in 2025. The 32-year-old is already red-hot favourite to draw level with great rival Valentino Rossi on seven world crowns, and move one behind all-time record winner Giacomo Agostini. Rossi was in the stands to watch more domination from Marc Marquez who in September he called a "dirty" rider who actively worked to stop the Italian icon from winning the 2015 title, which would have been his eighth. Jorge Lorenzo won the world crown by five points that year but his overall victory hinged on Marquez and Rossi colliding in the penultimate Malaysian MotoGP. Rossi was penalised for that incident and had to start the year's final GP in Valencia in last place, virtually guaranteeing Lorenzo the title before the race was run.

Malay Mail

9 hours ago

• Malay Mail

MotoGP: Marquez claims 100th career pole with lap record in Italian GP qualifying

ROME, June 21 — Marc Marquez took the 100th pole of his career on his Ducati debut at the Mugello Circuit at their home Italian Grand Prix today in a qualifying session where the lap record was broken several times. It was Marquez's sixth pole of the season and the 72nd MotoGP pole of his career to go with his 14 poles in Moto2 and 14 more in the 125cc World Championship. 'I'm super happy because it was a real pole position, it was without (using) the slipstreams, alone and just trying to find my limits,' Marquez said. 'The pace was not bad but (I have to) be patient because in the afternoon with a warm temperature, it can change everything. But at the moment we are there and ready to fight for the sprint and main race.' Marquez initially took provisional pole when he slotted in behind his brother Alex and used the Gresini bike's slipstream to his advantage. As Alex crossed the line with the fastest time, Marc snatched top spot from him less than a second later with a lap record. Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo then broke the record but before he could celebrate, Marc's Italian team mate Francesco Bagnaia went even faster on his home track where he has won the last three Grands Prix. However, Marc had one more flying lap left in him and when the Spaniard crossed the line, he set a time of one minute and 44.169 seconds to pip Bagnaia to pole by 0.059 seconds. Alex will join them on the front row. 'I tried everything in qualifying, Marc was in super shape and it's tough to beat him. I wanted to start on the front row and this was the best result in qualifying (for me) this season,' Bagnaia said. Quartararo was only fourth fastest despite breaking the lap record and he will be joined on the second row by KTM's Maverick Vinales and VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli. — Reuters