The 2025 MotoGP season has reached its midpoint, and Marc Marquez is firmly positioned as the favorite to claim his seventh premier class title, largely influenced by the MotoGP 2025 sprint race impact. After 12 rounds, combining points from sprints and grands prix, Marquez leads by a substantial margin in the championship standings.
Marc Marquez’s Dominance Across Both Sprint and Grand Prix Races
At the summer break, riders had competed in 12 rounds, with a maximum of 444 points available through a combination of sprint races (offering 12 points for a win) and full grands prix (offering 25 points for a win). Marc Marquez, riding for the factory Ducati team, amassed 381 points—representing 85.8% of the total points possible. He secured eight grand prix victories and triumphed in 11 sprint races this season, achieving the maximum 37 points across eight race weekends, an unprecedented feat in the modern sprint era. His eight Sunday wins also mark his highest number since capturing the 2019 title, a season in which he won 12 grands prix out of 19.
Marquez’s single-season record for grand prix wins remains 13, set in 2014 during his sophomore premier class year. Notably, his victory at the Czech Grand Prix before the summer pause was his fifth consecutive, making him the first Ducati rider to string together such a streak. His longest winning streak in premier class races is 10, also achieved in 2014. By the midpoint of 2025, Marquez held a commanding 120-point lead over his closest rival, Alex Marquez, who races a 2024-spec Ducati for the Gresini team.
Second in the standings, Alex Marquez has one grand prix and one sprint victory this season, with a total of 261 points, capturing 58.7% of the maximum possible points across the 12 rounds completed so far.
Closer Contests for Second Place When Sprint Points Are Excluded
The sprint race format, now in its third year, has embedded itself as a vital part of the MotoGP weekend. The 2024 championship fight between Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin exemplified just how crucial sprint race points are in shaping title outcomes. Bagnaia won 11 grands prix—matching the highest tally for a single season since Marc Marquez’s 12 wins in 2019—but missed out on the championship by 10 points due to eight non-scoring weekends. Jorge Martin, meanwhile, won three grands prix but maintained higher consistency by rarely scoring under 20 points during race weekends.
In 2025, Marc Marquez has won every sprint except finishing second at the British Grand Prix. However, his grand prix performance has had a few lows, including a crash and non-finish at COTA, a 12th-place finish after falling off the podium at Jerez, and a third place at a challenging Silverstone race. These strong Saturday showings prevented his championship deficit from growing more significantly early on in the season.
Removing sprint points from the tally still leaves Marquez as the overwhelming leader after 12 rounds. On grand prix points alone, he has collected 240 out of a possible 300, about 80%, holding a 74-point advantage over Alex Marquez, who has earned 166 points (55.3% of the maximum). To put this lead in perspective, Marquez was 78 points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso at the same stage of his dominant 2019 title run.
Without sprint points, the fight for second place tightens considerably. Alex Marquez, with a single grand prix win and a non-scoring weekend at Brno, would lead Pecco Bagnaia by just one point, rather than the current 48-point gap. Sprint races have helped Alex Marquez maintain his edge, as Bagnaia has struggled with pace in sprint events, likely due to the smaller fuel tank mandated by regulations. Alex Marquez has appeared on the podium 10 times in sprints, including a win at Silverstone and seven runner-up finishes, whereas Bagnaia has only five third-place sprint finishes and three non-scoring weekends compared to Alex’s one.
Regarding grands prix, Bagnaia offsets those sprint disadvantages with six podiums, including a win at COTA, and three fourth-place finishes, which help him stay competitive in the standings if sprint points are nullified.
Following these riders, Marco Bezzecchi holds fourth place on grand prix points with his Silverstone victory and runner-up finishes at Assen and Brno, having amassed 115 points. Franco Morbidelli moves up to fifth with 102 points, followed by KTM’s Pedro Acosta with 98, VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio on 92, LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco—winner at Le Mans—with 89, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo with 69, and Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer holding 68 points.
The Championship Table If Only Sprint Race Points Counted in 2025
If the championship standings were calculated solely on sprint race results—where 144 points have been contested this year—Marc Marquez overwhelmingly leads with 141 points, or 97.9% of the total available. Under this scenario, his lead over Alex Marquez would trim to 46 points, as Alex has collected 95 points, representing 65.9% of the sprint points on offer. The gap then widens significantly to third-placed Fabio Di Giannantonio, who has 50 sprint points this season.
In this sprint-only ranking, Pecco Bagnaia drops to fourth place with 49 points, trailing his Ducati teammate by 92 points, and securing just 34% of the maximum sprint points available. Marco Bezzecchi would hold fifth for Aprilia with 41 points.
Marc Marquez’s dominance on Saturdays is so pronounced that his 141 sprint points alone would position him sixth overall in the current combined standings—just one point behind Di Giannantonio, who has 142, and two points ahead of teammate Franco Morbidelli.
Understanding the Influence of Sprint Races on the MotoGP 2025 Championship
The implementation of sprint races has reshaped the dynamics of the MotoGP championship battle, introducing a new layer of strategy and consistency that riders must manage across race weekends. Marc Marquez’s performance exemplifies how excelling in both sprint and grand prix races can create a commanding points advantage. Conversely, the narrower margins between the riders behind him reveal how sprint race points can influence rivals’ standings dramatically.
As the season progresses beyond the halfway mark, the role of sprint races remains pivotal in determining how the championship unfolds, especially in the battles for positions beneath the leader. With a significant lead, Marquez’s focus will be on maintaining his form, while riders like Alex Marquez, Bagnaia, and Bezzecchi will strive to capitalize on every point opportunity, sprint races included.
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. Why is MotoGP not so popular?
A. It’s unfortunate, but entertainment tends to attract more interest than sports. MotoGP wants to benefit from this trend. However, the current MotoGP doesn’t have personalities who bring enough drama to make it exciting.
Q. Has anyone won F1 and MotoGP?
A. John Surtees is notably recognized for being the sole person to achieve World Championships in both motorcycle racing and Formula 1 car racing. He excelled in both with courage and talent.
Q. Who was banned from MotoGP?
A. The Aprilia MotoGP team called the 18-month doping ban for Italian rider Andrea Iannone “ridiculous.” They plan to support his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Q. Why is Kawasaki not allowed in MotoGP?
A. Kawasaki finds MotoGP challenging in terms of cost and technology, which does not match its current goals. Instead, the company focuses on its achievements in WSBK, which helps boost their investments and enhances its reputation as a top producer of motorcycles.
