Saturday at the Buriram Circuit started with a bang, as the first intense on-track battles of the season unfolded. The qualifying session lived up to its hype, featuring surprises and a historic moment for Marc Marquez, who secured his first factory Ducati pole.

Q1

The first challenge for some big names was to make it through Q1, and one of them was Francesco Bagnaia, who had his work cut out for him. After missing out on a direct spot in Q2 during Friday’s practice, he needed to deliver a strong performance. And in true Bagnaia style, he wasted no time, setting the pace and comfortably securing his place in the final shootout.

Fabio Di Giannantonio looked like he could progress, but the competition was fierce. Jack Miller delivered two stunning laps that put him into Q2. Despite late efforts from Di Giannantonio and Brad Binder, Miller held on tightly, joining Bagnaia. Meanwhile, Thai rider Somkiat Chantra will start from 21st on the grid.

Q2

The final 15 minutes of qualifying were packed with action. Bagnaia posted the first time of the session, but it wasn’t as fast as his Q1 effort. Then came Marc Marquez, who took provisional pole with a lap close to breaking records. His brother, Alex Marquez, was right behind him, while rookie Ai Ogura surprised everyone by briefly taking third place.

As the session neared its end, the battles intensified. Jack Miller continued his strong form, securing fourth place. Franco Morbidelli joined the second row in sixth, just behind Bagnaia in third. With only a few minutes remaining, Marco Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 3, bringing out the yellow flags. A few moments later, Joan Mir also crashed, disrupting Marc Marquez’s final lap attempt.

Despite these disruptions, Marc Marquez still had one last shot. Using his brother Alex as a reference, he pushed hard but fell short of setting a new lap record. However, his effort was enough to give him pole position, while his brother secured second place. Bagnaia rounded out the top three.

Jack Miller held on tightly to his P4, making it his best qualifying result. Even more remarkable was Ai Ogura, who secured fifth place and was the fastest Aprilia rider. Morbidelli took sixth, with Pedro Acosta in seventh, followed by Raul Fernandez and Bezzecchi.

Further back, Fabio Quartararo, Joan Mir, and Johann Zarco rounded out the top 12.