Marc Márquez turned Thailand into his playground, pocketing the PT Grand Prix of Thailand with a tactical clinic that doubled his weekend haul. The Ducati Lenovo Team ace—the first to win a Grand Prix on a Ducati debut since Casey Stoner in 2007—edged brother Alex Márquez by 1.732 seconds, with Francesco Bagnaia 2.398 back in third. It’s 25 points and the early title lead for the six-time champ.
“It was truly the perfect weekend,” Márquez said post-race. “Results aside, the important thing is the incredible feeling I have with the bike and the team. The strategy for the race was to push hard in the early stages to create a gap and then try to manage it. As the laps went by, however, I noticed I was at the limit with regards to the front-end tyre pressure and I had no choice but to give up one position. It was really hard to be in Alex’s slipstream with this heat as I struggled breathing properly. I waited for the right moment to retake the lead and create the right margin, and things went as I had hoped. I’m happy.”
Márquez nabbed the holeshot from pole, Alex tucked into second, and Bagnaia held third off the line. Ai Ogura flashed to third on lap one’s Turn 1 sweep before fading, while Pedro Acosta’s top-five bid ended with a Turn 1 spill on lap four. By lap seven, Marc slowed out of Turn 3—tyre pressure or fuel play?—handing Alex the lead. “It was a great weekend,” Alex said. “Today we gave it all and an excellent result came; we knew we could repeat the same type of race as yesterday, but it’s not a given over a 26-lap distance. We’re leaving Thailand with plenty of points and awareness of our strength. Marc and Pecco have something more but we’re working on staying with them at each race: we managed to do so here and we must be very happy with it.”
Mid-pack, Marco Bezzecchi, Jack Miller, Raul Fernandez, and Joan Mir diced for sixth—until Mir’s Honda tucked at Turn 12 on lap 16, killing his top-10 shot. Marc shadowed Alex through lap 18, Bagnaia a second back but slipping. “I was expecting a bit more today but honestly speaking, the race was a very long one and I couldn’t bridge the gap,” Bagnaia said. “I tried to get closer to Alex, but each time I was less than half a second away from him, I ended up struggling grip-wise. I tried everything I could but my feeling wasn’t perfect today. We lost 14 points this weekend, but we need to look forward and try our best in Argentina. It’s not my favourite circuit, and this one wasn’t either, but we’ll do our best to get a good result.”
Lap 23, Marc struck—Turn 12, clean pass, lead retaken. Alex had no answer; Bagnaia closed late but settled for third. Franco Morbidelli nabbed fourth, Ogura’s rookie fifth—best debut since Márquez in 2013—shone 7.450 back. Bezzecchi fought to sixth, Johann Zarco’s Honda surged to seventh, Brad Binder took eighth, Enea Bastianini clawed to ninth, and Fabio Di Giannantonio edged Miller for 10th. Miller’s 11th topped Yamaha, Fabio Quartararo sank to 15th after a lap-one plunge, and local Somkiat Chantra hit 18th.
Márquez’s 112th podium ties Dani Pedrosa. Argentina’s next—he’s rolling hot.
Top 10 – PT Grand Prix of Thailand:
- Marc Márquez (Ducati Lenovo Team)
- Alex Márquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) +1.732
- Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) +2.398
- Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) +5.176
- Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) +7.450
- Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) +14.967
- Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) +15.225
- Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +19.929
- Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) +20.053
- Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) +21.546
