Italian rider Marco Bezzecchi, piloting the Ducati Desmosedici GP22, stunned the field by securing his first MotoGP pole position and the fifth of his career. He set a new circuit record during the Thai Grand Prix qualifying at Chang International in Buriram.
Bezzecchi clocked a 1:29.671 on the Buriram track, surpassing the previous best of 1:29.719, established in 2019 by Fabio Quartararo aboard the Yamaha YZR M1.
Marc Márquez, riding the Repsol Honda RC213V, endured a day of issues yet showed physical improvement. Although he finished eighth, his progress hinted at a gradual return to form and a growing confidence in handling some of the bike’s tougher right-hand corners, a sign of continued development.
The fourth practice session underscored Ducati’s dominance on the circuit, with five Ducati bikes in the top ten and persistent rhythm challenges for Márquez and Aleix Espargaró on the Aprilia RS-GP, while Maverick Viñales also faced a tougher pace than his best form would suggest.
The session saw Márquez take charge early in the second segment, posting a 1:30.343, narrowly behind the overall quick time of 1:30.205 set by Jorge Martín on the Repsol Honda, a time achieved early in the weekend but outpaced by the trail of faster laps from Miguel Oliveira on the KTM RC16.
Oliveira briefly held second before Espargaró moved up, aiming to secure a place in Q2. Aleix Espargaró’s best lap stood at 1:30,202, which placed him at the top of Q1 by a margin of 0.141 seconds ahead of Márquez, with others close behind as the session progressed.
In the final minutes of the first knockout round, Márquez reclaimed provisional pole with a 1:30,038, while Espargaró dropped into Q2 after Oliveira’s strong lap had dashed his hopes for a quicker progression to the next stage. The mood on Espargaró’s pit wall reflected the pressure and urgency of the moment.
The second knockout session began with Jack Miller, the Australian rider who had been leading the charge for Ducati in Australia’s opening laps, but Quartararo soon surged to the front with a 1:30.166, pushing Márquez into sixth place as the field intensified.
Moments later, Miller regained the lead, only to be overtaken by Pramac teammates Jorge Martín and Johann Zarco. Quartararo then moved to third, his pace signaling a strong return to form with more than seven minutes left to race against the clock.
Italian Pecco Bagnaia appeared next, posting a 1:29.775, just a thousandth shy of Buriram’s absolute record. With over a minute remaining, anything could still happen. Jorge Martín responded with a 1:29.692, briefly grabbing the top time before Bezzecchi’s late push shattered the record by 0.021 seconds, a stunning conclusion to a dramatic session that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. Bezzecchi’s late run solidified pole, while Martín’s best could not prevent Bezzecchi from claiming pole position by the narrowest of margins.
The front row for the race ended up being fully Ducati, with Bezzecchi, Jorge Martín, and Bagnaia leading the charge. Behind them stood Fabio Quartararo, Johann Zarco, and Enea Bastianini, followed by Jack Miller, Márquez, and Luca Marini in the subsequent positions.
Márquez battled to maintain pace and avoid a repeat of earlier instability at the finish-line entry, but a couple of moments at the braking zone prevented a top result. He ultimately finished the session in a position that mirrored the day’s testing challenges, matching the hard-fought nature of Buriram’s circuit demands. Other notable riders, including Alex Rins, Miguel Oliveira, and Brad Binder, also closed within striking distance, underscoring the competitive tail of the field. [Source: MotoGP coverage]