> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Everything that happened in sketchy Jerez MotoGP qualifying - URL: https://www.the-race.com/motogp/marquez-denies-zarco-shock-jerez-motogp-pole/ - Published: 2026-04-25T09:51:20.000Z - Updated: 2026-04-25T11:39:05.000Z - Description: LCR Honda's Johann Zarco nearly pulled off an epic result at a damp Jerez, before Marc Marquez intervened - Author: Valentin Khorounzhiy - Tags: MotoGP, #marc-marquez, #ducati, #johann-zarco, #LCR Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez saw off LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco in a close Spanish Grand Prix pole battle at Jerez. After a dry Friday practice in which Marquez - and everyone else - appeared well adrift of brother Alex, qualifying on a drying track tipped the balance of power, and caused many a mistake. The pole shoot-out, delayed by five minutes due to track contamination from Franco Morbidelli's smoking VR46 Ducati in Q1, played out between Marquez and Zarco, coming down to laps in the final minutes. A last-gasp push from Zarco, who had advanced from Q1 comfortably with Pedro Acosta, came up short in the final corner - with 0.140s the pole margin in the end as Marquez took his first pole since the August 2025 Hungary round. VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio salvaged a front row start despite being a second off pole - followed by Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez and Acosta. The younger Marquez had gone down on his first Q2 run while following his brother, but rescued the session with a second run. Bezzecchi's Aprilia team-mate Jorge Martin was not afforded the time to do the same, crashing with a handful of minutes left and relegated from fourth to seventh in the order. That will become 10th on the Sunday grid due to [Martin's penalty for impeding](https://www.the-race.com/motogp/penalty-adds-to-jorge-martin-messy-day/) Alex Marquez on Friday - but he will keep seventh on the sprint grid. Enea Bastianini, Raul Fernandez, Pecco Bagnaia, Ai Ogura and Fermin Aldeguer rounded out the Q2 order - Aldeguer compromised by an early Q2 crash to a greater extent than Gresini team-mate Marquez. ## Provisional Spanish GP grid 1 M Marquez 2 Zarco 3 Di Giannantonio 4 Bezzecchi 5 A Marquez 6 Acosta 7 Bastianini 8 R Fernandez 9 Bagnaia 10 Martin 11 Ogura 12 Aldeguer 13 Binder 14 Mir 15 Marini 16 A Fernandez 17 Quartararo 18 Morbidelli 19 Razgatlioglu 20 Savadori 21 Rins 22 Miller 23 Moreira Brad Binder was the best of the rest in Q1, albeit nearly a second off advancing, followed by Honda works duo Joan Mir and Luca Marini - who proved no match for stablemate Zarco in the conditions. Mir is potentially facing a sanction, too, having ridden a damaged bike - with bodywork opened up on the right side and shedding corner after corner - back to the pits after a crash despite seemingly being signalled to pull over. The pre-qualifying practice session had shown some promise for Yamaha, but things were pretty bleak in the end - with tester Augusto Fernandez leading the Yamaha camp in 16th, 1.7s off the pace. Pramac riders Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jack Miller both looked capable of a challenge but Razgatlioglu - who had had an incredible save in morning practice, dropping the bike on its side through the Lorenzo corner but bouncing it back upright off his knee - was only 19th and Miller was compromised by a Q1 crash. The Australian fell at the aforementioned Lorenzo corner, then could only rejoin the session on his second bike - which wasn't working right. But a nominal laptime over 10 seconds off the pace did put him clear of rookie Diogo Moreira, the LCR rider crashing after having a lap good enough for 15th erased by yellow flags - then running out of time to rejoin the session.