Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi came out on top in the penultimate qualifying of the 2025 MotoGP season, securing pole for the Portuguese Grand Prix at Portimao - while practice pacesetter Alex Marquez crashed.
Riders had braved a damp track in the 30-minute practice session before qualifying, but despite the low ambient temperature qualifying, particularly Q2, was held in relatively conventional dry conditions - though with the build-up of grip from earlier in the weekend washed away, and massive track evolution between runs.
So weekend favourite Alex Marquez's provisional pole after the opening Q2 runs counted for precious little, especially when he then crashed from pole contention at Turn 3 when on his second rear tyre.
Marquez's crash and consequent fifth-place classification means his brother Marc, whose season is already over due to injury, has mathematically secured first place in the BMW M Award MotoGP 'qualifying championship' standings.
Marquez had been fastest in both Friday sessions and a very close second in the Saturday morning session before qualifying. But in his absence from the final Q2 runs, Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta monopolised the pole battle, Bezzecchi ultimately prevailing by 0.150 seconds.
Fabio Quartararo was again the best Yamaha in qualifying, this time going from Q1 to third on the grid, with Pecco Bagnaia moving up from 10th to fourth with his final lap - which put him a spot ahead of Marquez.
Johann Zarco, in his strongest run of form in quite some time, took sixth ahead of fellow Honda rider Joan Mir and Pramac Yamaha's Jack Miller, who had advanced from Q1 along with Quartararo.
The Q2 order was completed by Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), stand-in Pol Espargaro (Tech3 KTM), Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) and Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia).
Provisional Portuguese GP grid
1 Bezzecchi 2 Acosta 3 Quartararo
4 Bagnaia 5 A Marquez 6 Zarco
7 Mir 8 Miller 9 Di Giannantonio
10 Espargaro 11 Aldeguer 12 Ogura
13 Marini 14 Binder 15 Morbidelli
16 Bastianini 17 Rins 18 Bulega
19 Oliveira 20 Savadori 21 Chantra
Luca Marini was the fastest of those who didn't advance from Q1, a tenth off a Q2 transfer spot but three tenths up on the next-fastest rider behind him, KTM's Brad Binder.
Binder's Achilles' heel had been the final sector on Friday and it was that way again in a massive way in Q1, the South African losing four-to-five-to-six tenths that were the difference between a Q2 berth and a Q1 exit.
A Franco Morbidelli push lap divebomb on a touring Miguel Oliveira at Turn 14 was put under investigation, which quickly yielded a no-further-action verdict, but ultimately neither Morbidelli nor home hero Oliveira were really in the mix for Q2.
Marc Marquez's Ducati stand-in Nicolo Bulega was - the debutant latching on to Enea Bastianini as his reference point on both runs - but losing that reference when he went off into the gravel at Turn 10 late on, and then ending up only 18th on the grid.
Oh, what could've been ❌@nbulega was on course for a major improvement! #PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/xP6G6EbMIS
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 8, 2025
Raul Fernandez, who suffered a partial shoulder dislocation in a crash on Friday, did just six laps in pre-qualifying practice before deciding to park up for the weekend due to discomfort.
He was one of just 13 riders (of the 22 full-time entrants) to have competed in every grand prix this season up until this weekend.
