The MotoGP season is starting soon, and two brothers, Marc and Alex Marquez, did really well during practice in Buriram, Thailand, on Friday. MotoGP is a big motorcycle racing competition. Marc Marquez, who has won the world championship six times, was the fastest in the morning practice. It was super hot outside, but he still did great. He’s 32 years old and from Spain. This year, he’s racing with a new team, Ducati, alongside another champion, Francesco Bagnaia from Italy.
In the afternoon practice, though, Marc’s younger brother Alex surprised everyone. Alex, who also rides a Ducati, finished with the fastest time of one minute and 29.020 seconds. That means he rode one lap around the track quicker than anyone else that session. Marc came in second, just 0.052 seconds slower than Alex. Even though Marc is more famous, Alex beat him this time.
Francesco Bagnaia, Marc’s teammate, didn’t do so well. He was 10th in the morning and dropped to 13th in the afternoon. He got upset because another rider, Franco Morbidelli from Italy, slowed him down when he was trying to go faster. Morbidelli finished fifth, but Bagnaia wasn’t happy with him.
Another Spanish rider, Pedro Acosta, came in third. He rides for a team called KTM.
The racing weekend is just starting. On Saturday, there’s a shorter race called a sprint race with 13 laps. It gives points to the winners. Then, on Sunday, the main race happens in Buriram. These are the first chances for riders to earn points in the 2025 season.
Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia are a strong team at Ducati. Some people call them a “dream team” because they’re both really good. But others think having two fast and famous riders together might cause problems during the 22 races this season. Marc switched to Ducati from another team, Honda, and did well in practice before the season started. Many people think he could win the championship again—he hasn’t won since 2019.
Sadly, the current world champion, Jorge Martin, won’t be racing in Thailand. He’s also from Spain and had a bad crash during pre-season testing in Malaysia. He broke bones in his right hand and left foot. Then, this week, his team, Aprilia, said he got hurt again while training and needed more surgery. Now, he’ll miss the races in Thailand and the next one in Argentina in mid-March.
