Marc Marquez Wins MotoGP Thai GP for Ducati despite tyre pressure problems

Marc Marquez has kicked off his 2025 MotoGP campaign in exceptional fashion, taking pole position, winning the sprint race and claiming victory in the Thai Grand Prix, despite some initial tyre pressure problems which saw Marc Marquez follow his brother Alex Marquez for around 18 laps.

As the lights went out, Francesco Bagnaia attempted to overtake Alex Marquez into the first corner, unfortunately for the Italian – to no avail, as the Gresini Ducati rider managed to get back ahead into Turn 2. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez would quickly build a devastating lead of over one second, a gap which is incredibly difficult to close at the Buriram International Circuit.

Ai Ogura would stay with the leaders early on aboard his Trackhouse Aprilia before being quickly dispatched by Franco Morbidelli, who also managed to overtake Jack Miller and Raul Fernandez in the opening few laps. Morbidelli would then go on to pressure Bagnaia, as the leaders were all separated by around one second to each other, a sign of the frustrating aerodynamics which can make racing quite difficult.

Pedro Acosta would crash at Turn 1 early on after going deep on the brakes and sliding off into the run-off area. A frustrating start for Acosta and for KTM as a whole, Enea Bastianini their highest finishing rider, finishing in just 12th place.

However, on Lap 7 at Turn 2, Marc Marquez would slow down drastically on the exit of the corner, allowing for his brother Alex Marquez to take the lead of the race, with Bagnaia now just a further half a second behind the pair of them.

It was quickly suspected that Marc Marquez’s Ducati was struggling with the tyre pressures, which cannot be too low for too long. Therefore, by dropping back behind Alex Marquez, it allowed for Marc Marquez to run behind another bike, allowing for the heat from the exhaust to wash over the Factory Ducati, subsequently heating the tyre an raising the tyre pressure, as well as also running marginally different racing lines in the attempt to look at making an overtake, which also slightly raises tyre pressures too.

Marc Marquez would be stuck to the rear of the Gresini Ducati ahead, not allowing for Francesco Bagnaia to get anywhere close. There would be a slight moment as Alex Marquez struggled for grip exiting the penultimate corner, which would in turn then bring Bagnaia right back into play.

After running inside the Top 10 for a while, Joan Mir would unfortunately crash at the final corner, the 2020 World Champion suddenly well out of contention for the points-paying positions. Marco Bezzecchi, the latest factory Aprilia rider, would bring a bit of a much-needed show as the rest of the field were separated by around one second to each other. Bezzecchi managed to overtake Jack Miller down at Turn 2, also fending off Raul Fernandez on the satelite Aprilia.

Eventually, Marc Marquez would dive up the inside of his brother at the final corner, re-claiming the lead of the race and immediately opening the gap to over one second by the end of the next lap.

Bagnaia would attempt to take second place from Alex Marquez to no avail, the Spaniard maintaining extremely strong pace, especially for the Satelite Ducati team at Gresini. Bagnaia appeared visually dejected in the post-race interviews, claiming that “Marc was playing with us” and “I was struggling with the tyres.”

Marc Marquez would round the final right-hand corner to claim an iconic victory for Ducati, the Spaniard’s first Grand Prix victory with the Factory Ducati squad, as Alex Marquez managed to stay ahead of Bagnaia and take second place, with the aforementioned Bagnaia making it an all-Ducati podium, with third.

Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio would both finish fourth and 10th for the VR46 Ducati team, certainly a step forward for VR46 compared to 2024, and also maintaining Ducati’s dominance in Thailand. Fellow VR46 Academy rider, Marco Bezzecchi, would end up finishing in sixth place on his Aprilia debut, again another huge step forward for the young Italian who had an incredibly strong 2023 but a slightly anti-climactic 2024 season. This result ensures that Bezzecchi and his teammate Jorge Martin, who was absent this weekend due to injury, may well have a machine that can challenge the Ducati’s at some of the less power-dependent circuits.

However, it was Ai Ogura, the rookie, who managed to finish in fifth place aboard the Trackhouse Aprilia, an extraordinary result for the Japanese rider in his debut race.

Johann Zarco finished in seventh position for LCR Honda, a brilliant result that does show that Honda have made steps forward over the winter. Meanwhile, Brad Binder would finish as the highest rider for KTM, coming in just behind Zarco for eighth place. Jack Miller also finished as the top rider of Yamaha, the Australian’s 11th place finish for Prima Pramac Yamaha ensuring somewhat of a strong points finish, as Luca Marini finished in 12th position, again showcasing the step forward that Honda has made, with teammate Mir also in the Top 10 before crashing.

Whilst Alex Marquez managed to finish in second place, his teammate and rookie Fermin Aldeguer came home in 13th place and therefore picks up some points on his MotoGP premier class debut, with fellow rookie Somkiat Chantra coming home in 18th position for LCR Honda.

Fabio Quartararo, despite a solid qualifying position with 10th, only managed to finish in 15th position and subsequently takes home just a single point from this Grand Prix for the Factory Yamaha squad, with teammate Alex Rins in 17th.

MotoGP Thai GP – Grand Prix Results

1st Marc Marquez, Ducati
2nd Alex Marquez, Gresini Ducati
3rd Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati
4th Franco Morbidelli, VR46 Ducati
5th Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Aprilia
6th Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia
7th Johann Zarco, LCR Honda
8th Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM
9th Enea Bastianini, Tech3 Red Bull KTM
10th Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Ducati
11th Jack Miller, Prima Pramac Yamaha
12th Luca Marini, Honda
13th Fermin Aldeguer, Gresini Ducati
14th Miguel Oliveira, Prima Pramac Yamaha
15th Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha
16th Maverick Vinales, Tech3 Red Bull KTM
17th Alex Rins, Yamaha
18th Somkiat Chantra, LCR Honda
19th Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM
20th Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia
DNF Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Aprilia
DNF Joan Mir, Honda

MotoGP returns in two weeks time for the Argentinian Grand Prix.

Featured Image: Ducati Corse Media