Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez logged his factory Ducati debut with pole position at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix, edging out his younger brother Alex Marquez of Gresini at the Buriram International Circuit on Saturday.

Marc Marquez and brother Alex lock out the top two places on the grid in Buriram MotoGP qualifying. Marc Marquez will start his first MotoGP races as a Ducati Lenovo rider from pole position at Buriram.

New in the factory Ducati team, the six-time MotoGP™ World Champion was straight down to business and will start the Sprint and Grand Prix from pole

Ducati's highly-acclaimed 2024 bike was so good that they are going ahead with the same engine this season, a bold strategy that may allow rivals to close the gap but the factory team now has two MotoGP champions on board.

Ducati have opted to use 2024 engines, despite testing the newer spec, while Marquez still produced fearsome race simulations in preseason testing. “This is the first time that the Bologna factory, in a very long time, who have been the pinnacle of MotoGP are standing still,” Jack Appleyard reported from the Buriram paddock.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez grabbed pole position ahead of brother Alex for Sunday’s season-opening MotoGP race at Buriram in Thailand.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez was upstaged by his brother Alex in afternoon practice heading into the first race weekend of the MotoGP season at Buriram in Thailand on Friday. The start of the new MotoGP season has been overshadowed by the absence of world champion Jorge Martin.