MotoGP - Argentina Grand Prix - Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo, Santiago del Estero, Argentina - March 15, 2025 Ducati Lenovo Team's Marc Marquez celebrates after qualifying in first place alongside second placed BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP's Alex Marquez and third placed LCR Honda's Johann Zarco REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
TERMAS DE RIO HONDO, Argentina (Reuters) - Marc Marquez beat his younger brother Alex in Saturday's sprint at the Argentina Grand Prix to extend his lead in the MotoGP championship and Francesco Bagnaia came in third as Ducati swept the podium.
Marc had clinched his second straight pole of the season with a lap record earlier on Saturday and the Spaniard led from start to finish, with Gresini Racing's Alex finishing less than a second behind him.
The sprint podium was a repeat of the season-opening Grand Prix in Thailand as Marc Marquez moved up to 49 points and Alex is 11 points behind. Bagnaia is 19 points behind Marc.
"It was a very difficult victory because Alex was pushing a lot... I kept pushing and the gap wasn't increasing at all until the end," Marc said as he remains perfect early in the season in his hunt for a seventh MotoGP crown.
Johann Zarco had done well to put a Honda bike on the front row for the first time since 2023 but the Frenchman made a poor start from the and fell behind Bagnaia and KTM's Pedro Acosta.
However, Zarco managed to claw his way back and even put in a fastest lap to give the struggling Japanese manufacturer a confidence boost as he finished fourth behind Bagnaia.
Up front, however, the Marquez brothers were in a league of their own as they continued to lap much faster than the rest of the pack and the pair soon began to disappear into the distance.
Whatever Alex did, he could not find an opening to move past his elder brother but the Gresini rider was all smiles despite finishing second.
"It was like training camp, trying to be as close to him as I can... I could not attack him because he was too fast until the end," Alex said.
Marc's move to the factory Ducati team was always going to be a challenge for twice champion Bagnaia and the Italian has work to do to catch up to his new teammate after he finished nearly four seconds behind in the 12-lap sprint.
"I tried my best to close the gap but it wasn't enough to fight against them. In this moment they are faster... Let's see tomorrow (in the race)," Bagnaia said after his 25th MotoGP sprint podium.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Ed Osmond)
