Category: Crew On Two

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WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu responds to Bulega challenge with treble in Portimao

Toprak Razgatlioglu added victories in the Tissot Superpole and Race 2 in Portimao to become the 2nd rider this season to secure a treble of victories in one round.  However, much like in Race 1 Nicolo Bulega ran him incredibly close after the Turkish rider didn’t do himself any favours with his race starts.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE

As with Race 1 on Saturday, Bulega got the hole shot into turn 1, powering ahead of Razgatlioglu who this time slipped to 3rd.   Danilo Petrucci spent exactly one lap ahead of Razgatlioglu, passing him at the first corner on lap 1 and losing the position at the same spot on lap 2.

On lap 5, Bulega lost the lead to Razgatlioglu at turn 3 in a move that the Turkish rider had visibly been setting up for some time.  Just after the lead changed hands, just outside the top three Bulega’s teammate Alvaro Bautista passed Andrea Locatelli for fourth.

As the 10-lap race entered its second half Bulega tried his best to keep pace with Razgatlioglu as Bautista hunted down Petrucci for 3rd.  The factory Ducati rider passed the satellite one with 2 laps to go, after which there was no time for the two-time World Champion to catch the leaders.

At least Bautista was able to demonstrate the pace that he could not show on Saturday after contact with Scott Redding in Race 1.  Another rider on the back foot from the previous day – Alex Lowes – did a great job to scythe through from the back of the field but could not make it into the top 10 within 10 laps, thus leaving him unable to change his grid position for Race 2.

Meanwhile, behind Locatelli in fifth the other BMW of Michael van der Mark was able to despatch the Honda pair of Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge towards the end.  Despite this, the Japanese manufacturer was enjoying a decent turn of pace, with its recent switch of suspension supplier possibly helping with their upturn in form.

Up front, the only time Bulega looked genuinely threatening against Razgatlioglu in the second half of the race was right at the very end.  Coming through turn 14 and the long turn 15 onto the start-finish straight Bulega rapidly closed on Razgatlioglu but had to change from the outside to the inside as they approached the chequered flag.

The positioning of his BMW on the final blast to the line have secured Razgatlioglu his first Tissot Superpole Race victory of the year by just 0.055 seconds.  Much like Race 1, it was clear that Bulega was capable of taking the fight to Razgatlioglu on the circuit that is notorious for being a favourite of the Turk, and hopes were high for another close tussle in Race 2.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS

Image Credit: WorldSBK

RACE 2

This time around, Razgatlioglu only lost one position from pole by turn 1.  Bulega led from his BMW rival and Aruba.it Racing teammate Bautista.

Locatelli held off Razgatlioglu’s teammate van der Mark for fourth while an entertaining battle for positions six through nine kicked off between Andrea Iannone, Remy Gardner and the Honda duo.  However, this action was thwarted after Iannone received a double long-lap penalty for jumping the start, with the Italian taking the first of these on lap 5.

Shortly after Vierge crashed out, as did Tito Rabat further down the order.  Up front, Bulega continued to lead from Razgatlioglu and they began to put as much as 0.7 seconds a lap between themselves and Bautista who simply had to settle for third best.

The laptimes of the top two as the race edged towards halfway were as quick as the pole position laps from last year, which illustrates both how dominant the two were around the Algarve International Circuit and how much the speed of their respective superbikes increases year-on-year.  Inevitably, as the race reached halfway Razgatlioglu began to close in on his Bulega as he sought to take the treble in Portimao but with 11 laps to go his charge was halted.

Jason O’Halloran (in for the injured Jonathan Rea) went down at turn 1 and was seemingly OK after the impact.  However, his Pata Maxus Yamaha careered into the air fence on the outside of the run-off area and the race was halted with a red flag.

This created opportunities for a couple of riders, most notably Scott Redding and Alex Lowes.  Just before the red flag Redding had trundled into the pits with a technical problem but just made it back onto the grid before the restart after the issue with his MGM Bonovo Ducati was solved, while Lowes finally started a race from a better position this weekend having made his way to 13th by the time of the stoppage.

The WorldSBK stewards announced a quick-restart procedure after the air-fence was inspected and repaired after not too long of a delay, but there was pandemonium at the Team Pata Go Eleven pits.

Iannone had not served his second long-lap penalty, which can be taken with six laps of the punishment being awarded.  His team tried to argue for their rider’s sake and Iannone avoided disqualification the regulations demanded he serve a double ride-through penalty for failing to observe the double long-lap.

Four penalties for jumping the start put paid to Iannone’s race and his gesticulations as he came through the pits shortly after his passing his main independent rival Petrucci clearly demonstrated his frustration with the decision.  After barely accelerating after coming out of the pits, the Italian rider eventually came back in and retired in a slightly selfish move considering that he could have collected some data for his engineers in clear air over the remaining few laps, but his anger got the better of him.

The remaining laps of the restarted race essentially represented a full points-paying event but constrained to the length of a Superpole race.  Razgatlioglu – for the fourth time this weekend – lost out to Bulega on the run to turn 1 and also slipped behind a fast-starting Locatelli who powered through from fourth on the grid.

Naturally Razgatlioglu made short work of Locatelli who – like Petrucci at the first start – stayed ahead of the BMW for precisely one lap.  By the following lap, Razgatlioglu made a sensational move on Bulega into turn 1, forcing his rival to sit up as he went through the apex of the corner as the BMW bulldozed him off his line.

At the same time, Locatelli fell back to fourth after Bautista passed him and quickly resettled into his own comfortable gap between the top two and the Yamaha behind.  There was a brief moment in the following lap where Bulega returned the favour on Razgatlioglu and allowed Bautista to close up, but the two-time WorldSBK title winner had no real answer for his teammate or the reigning champion’s race pace.

Razgatlioglu was back through on lap 15 of 20, after which the lead changed four times over the next three laps.  Further down the order, Tarran MacKenzie and Remy Gardner both crashed out while Axel Bassani engaged in a thrilling battle with Danilo Petrucci for 6th place – the latter securing the position right on the finish line on the final lap.

The fight between the top two remained on a knife-edge until the very end although Razgatlioglu just held on to take his first triple victory of the season after Bulega did so at the 1st round in Phillip Island.  The Ducati rider still holds a comfortable championship lea thanks to three wins and three second places from six races across the first two rounds of 2025 as WorldSBK next heads to Assen in the Netherlands in two weeks’ time.

Razgatlioglu may have felt like World Superbikes had become the ‘Ducati Cup’ after the drubbing he suffered in Australia, but his performance in Portugal reignited his and everyone else’s hope that this will be a tight contest between the BMW rider and the two Aruba Ducati’s this season.  However, Bulega might feel that he lost the battle but is winning the war, given how close he could run his rival on a track that has always been a particularly strong venue for Razgatlioglu.

RACE 2 RESULTS

Image Credit: WorldSBK

Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

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Moto2: Jake Dixon Dominates in the US to Take Back-to-Back Wins

The Moto2 Americas GP witnessed the first wet race for the class at the Circuit of The Americas, bringing a wave of uncertainty to the grid as riders debated between slicks and wet tyres. In the end, the wet tyre proved to be the winning choice, with Jake Dixon delivering a dominant performance from start to finish. Meanwhile, the five riders who gambled on slicks paid a heavy price, most notably then-championship leader Manuel Gonzalez, who struggled to 22nd place.

Fresh off his victory in Argentina, Jake Dixon has made it two in a row, clinching another dominant win at the Grand Prix of the Americas. The British rider was unstoppable in the challenging conditions, leading from start to finish and further strengthening his grip on the 2025 Moto2 World Championship.

Tony Arbolino made a strong return to the Moto2 podium by claiming second place. Completing the all-Boscoscuro podium was Alonso Lopez, who delivered a solid ride to finish third on the Team HDR Heidrun machine.

Aron Canet  was unable to match Dixon’s pace, crossing the line in fourth place, massive 28 seconds behind the race winner. Meanwhile, Izan Guevara showcased his talent in the tricky conditions, securing an impressive fifth-place finish for the BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 squad.

Unfortunately Celestino Vietti crashed out of 5th place with 2 laps to go. The day only got worse for him, as immediately after he rejoined, he crashed moments later…

Dixon’s commanding performance solidifies his status as a true title contender, showcasing the best version of Jake Dixon we’ve seen yet.

Feature Image Credit: Jake Dixon, COTA, race winner, Americas GP, Moto2, March 30 2025 © Gold & Goose

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WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu restarts title defence in Portugal after disastrous Australian opener

After a frustrating start to the defence of his Superbike World Championship title in Phillip Island five weeks ago, Toprak Razgatlioglu broke the lap record in Portimao to secure pole position before scoring a narrow victory over his main rival Nicolo Bulega in race 1.  Although there were not quite as many changes of positions as Razgatlioglu has experienced with Alvaro Bautista in the past, the lead changed hands several times between the BMW and his Ducati nemesis before the Turkish rider crossed the line just 0.067 seconds in front.

Things got off to a bad start for Razgatlioglu as he fell to fifth by the first corner.  A few seconds later, two of his Ducati-powered rivals crashed out as Bautista and Scott Redding came to blows as the field bunched up through turns 3 and 4, with Remy Gardner involved as well but surviving the contact.

There were six teams being represented in the top eight positions after the first lap.  Bulega broke free at the front of the Ducati-dominated pack with Andrea Locatelli in an impressive second for Yamaha and Razgtlioglu on his BMW the only riders from different marques in the front eight.

Razgatlioglu is notoriously strong around the Algarve International Circuit and the Turkish rider began to plot his way back through to the front.  His first victim was Danilo Petrucci who he swooped over the crest to pass around the outside in a sensational move before dispatching Sam Lowes and Locatelli by around one-quarter race distance.

It was not long before the reigning World Champion reeled in Bulega and the two began a 15-lap battle for the win that never looked certain until it was over.   A common theme across the position changes for the lead would be Razgatlioglu leading into turn 14 before Bulega deployed his slightly superior Ducati power through the long turn 15 to blast ahead by turn one on the following lap.

The fight was fairer this time around for Razgatlioglu compared to when he was riding for the slower Yamaha against Bautista’s Ducati before his switch to BMW, with their 2023 battles around the Portimao track living long in the memory of all those blessed to witness it.  However, Razgatlioglu still had to push as hard as he could to defeat a defiant Bulega in the sweltering Portugese Saturday afternoon sunshine.

The Ducati held a 2mph advantage on the BMW and it was at the end of the long straight on lap seven that Bulega first took his lead straight back from Razgatioglu, before Toprak finally cemented the lead for a while after an agressive move at turn 12 on lap 9.

Bulega was back in front briefly with a late move at the end of the start-finish straight on lap 10 but Razgatlioglu was back in front as the circuit tightened into turn 3 and the Ducati ran wide.  However, Bulega made a move stick into turn one once again on lap 14.

This lead for Bulega lasted three laps before Razgatlioglu then finally got the better of the Ducati into turn one.  Then came one last successful retaliation from Bulega with two laps to go before his Turkish rival once again got him back quickly and held onto win by 0.067 across the line at the end of a thrilling 20 laps.

There were just 17 riders who took the chequered flag.  Both of the Lowes brothers crashed out while running strongly with Sam eliminating himself from the top five not long after being moved aside by a charging Razgatlioglu and Alex sliding out of ninth place after a stellar recovery from the back of the grid (after an incident in qualifying) that came to nought.

The TV footage seldom focused on the action further down the grid as the top two stretched their lead on the rest of the pack despite passing and re-passing each other.  Locatelli was thrilled to take his and Yamaha’s first podium of the year – some eight seconds behind the two leaders and just one in front of top independent rider Petrucci.

Seven seconds behind Petrucci in fourth just five seconds then covered the rest of the top ten, with Gardner’s Yamaha being usurped on the run to the finish line by three of his rivals to end up in tenth.  There should be more action to look forward to in tomorrow’s pair of races starting with the 10-lap Superpole, but Bulega will need to pray the BMW on pole messes up the start once again if he is to stand any chance of defeating the rejuvenated Razgatlioglu.

Results from Race 1:
Image Credit: SBK

 

Feature Image Credit: SBK

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MotoGP: Marc Marquez Wins in Argentina for his Second Clean Sweep 

The brothers, who are still best friends, put on a brilliant show for the passionate MotoGP fans in Argentina, who could be heard cheering on their heroes every single lap of the race. They came home for their second 1-2 in a row, on a historic day for MotoGP in Spain.

Marc Marquez has equalled the legendary Angel Neito with his 90th win today. It was a stunning victory as he took his second clean sweep in as many races – he took pole, the sprint win and the race win for a perfect weekend in Argentina. 

Despite the result, it wasn’t quite as easy as he would have liked. His brother, Alex Marquez, led most of the race as he fought hard for his first ever MotoGP win. Alex took the advantage when his brother made an uncharacteristic mistake on lap 4, turn 1, and looked set to take the victory. 

Behind him, Marc was evidently pushing the bike to the limit as he wobbled and bounced each time he tried to make a move. The biggest moment happened on lap 15, at turn 11, when the rear of the Ducati bike stepped out and Marc very nearly went down. He then made a failed attempt for the lead on lap 18. He came from so far back that he was forced to go wide at turn 5, letting off the break to avoid contact. 

Eventually, with 4 laps of the race remaining, Marc got past at turn 4, making it stick into turn 5 and quickly pulling out a 1+ second lead. That didn’t stop the brothers from celebrating in parc ferme, with both singing and dancing with their Ducati and Gresini crews. 

Completing the podium today was Franco Morbidelli on the VR46 machine. He was able to steal this position away from Pecco Bagnaia early in the race and used the soft tyre to his advantage. He reported feeling unwell on Saturday but there was no sign of illness today. 

Morbidelli celebrated so much during the cool down lap that he wasn’t able to get the bike started again and had to be pushed into parc ferme by the track marshalls. Once there, he treated us all to some dance moves as he celebrated his first podium since 2021. 

Whilst he didn’t end on the podium today, it was a brilliant day for rookie rider Ai Ogura. There was a huge battle from 5th to 10th today, with riders jostling for position throughout the race. Shining through all this was Ogura who made brilliant moves to end the day in a solid 8th place.

It was a difficult day for Pecco Bagnaia who wasn’t able to capitalise on some of the early moves he made through the field. He started in 4th but had a great start and was quickly fighting with Alex Marquez for 2nd place. Once down in 4th, he then came under pressure from Johan Zarco on the Honda, but was able to just about hold off the frenchman. 

Speaking after the race, Davide Tardozzi, Ducati team manager, told the media that Bagnaia was suffering with a “small problem on the bike which didn’t give him the right feeling on the left corner[s]”. The Italian rider was clearly disappointed and dejected when he returned to his garage after the race. 

It was an even worse day for the other VR46 rider. Whilst Morbidelli was enjoying a podium, his teammate Marco Bezzecchi went down at turn 1 on lap 1. He let off the throttle to avoid contact with Mordibelli but ended up clipping the back of Fabio Quartararo’s machine. Bezzecchi went down into the kitty litter and Quartararo dropped down to the back of the grid. It was a horrible start for the Yamaha rider after starting the race in a fantastic 7th. 

There was another crash, this time for Enea Bastianini, who’s 2025 season is going from bad to worse. He is already struggling to get comfortable on his new KTM machine but, after contact with Raul Fernandez, he crashed on lap 2. He was able to rejoin the field but could only get as high as 18th today.

RACE RESULT

Image Credit: MotoGP

CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT 

With back to back 1-2 results in the first two sprint and feature races of the 2025 season, the Marquez brothers are still leading the championship fight. Despite his tricky day, Pecco Bagnaia can take comfort that he is still well within this championship fight, sitting in 3rd and just 15 points behind Alex. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto3: Piqueras takes top spot in Argentina

A group of motorcycle riders come towards a corner on a race track

A stunning last lap battle that came down to the last sector saw Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) pick up his first win of the 2025 season. He clinched the top spot in a race that saw many different leaders and some stunning overtakes. Second spot was secured in that same final sector by Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) with last lap leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) taking the final spot on the podium.

Ruedas teammate rookie Alvaro Carpe was the leader at the end of the first lap, however after some fierce battling he crashed out. David Almansa (Leopard Racing) and Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) also had turns leading the race, a lead group of 11 riders saw some fierce battles with Yamanaka coming home in P9 and Almansa in P6.

Polesitter Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP MTA Team) looked strong throughout the race, leading for part of it but was unable to turn pole into a victory and had to settle for P4 which he clinched after Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) exceeded track limits on the last lap demoting himself from P4 to P5.

Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) came home in P7 after an uneventful race, he came in ahead of Joel Kelso (LEVELUP – MTA Team) in P8 whos performance is impressive when his ride included two trips through the long lap penalty loop after some irresponsible riding.

The top 10 was rounded off with Stefano Nepa (SIC58 Squadra Corse) in what was a cracking weekend of Moto3 action.

Feature Image Credit: Pirelli

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MotoGP: Marc Marquez Wins Thailand Sprint Race

The first race of the 2025 season may not have been the most exciting or dramatic race but it’s the day all us MotoGP fans have been waiting 4 months for. 

He’s the rider everyone has been talking about during the pre-season. He, without a doubt, has the most pressure on him for 2025 as he is many people’s favourite for the championship. Marc Marquez has used that pressure to his advantage to take a dominant Sprint race win in Thailand.

Image Credit: MotoGP

He started the race on pole, led every lap and faced no real competition from any riders behind him. A dream start to his season and first blood in his battle with new team mate Pecco Bagnaia!

Just behind him was his brother, Alex Marquez, as they enjoy their first ever 1-2 race result. After a brilliant pre-season showing and strong qualifying result, Alex was able to bring his Gresini machine home in 2nd place. 

The final podium spot was taken by Pecco Bagnaia, who was visibly quiet during the celebrations. He enjoyed a short battle with Alex Marquez in the opening corners of the race but was unable to improve on 3rd. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Missing out on a podium spot by just less than 1 second was Ai Ogura. The rookie had a phenomenal race, staying with Bagnaia and, at some points, even close in on him and looking hungry for a podium. 

It was a difficult day for Jack Miller, who crashed out of 6th midway through the race, after a brilliant qualifying performance. The KTM Tech3 riders, Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini, who won this race 12 months ago, also struggled and ended the day in 14th and 18th respectively. 

As It Happened

As the lights went out and the race started, both factory Ducati bikes flew off the line. Bagnaia looked ready to take 2nd place but Alex Marquez gave him a good battle and was able to retain 2nd place. Both settled in behind Marc Marqeuz who quickly put clean air between himself and the rest of the grid. 

It was a good start for Ogura who took 4th place away from Jack Miller, who was shuffled down to 6th. 

It was a terrible start for Marco Bezzecchi, who’s bike bounced off the line and left him swallowed by the grid and stuck down in 18th. 

On lap 2, both KTM riders were catching up to Fabio Quartararo, in 7th. Pedro Acosta went wide and had to bail off the racing line. The following lap, Acosta got past his team mate Brad Binder at the inside of turn 4. 

He was then chasing down Quartararo for another few laps until, on lap 7, Acosta was finally able to get ahead. Acosta put the Yamaha rider under so much pressure that he forced him to make mistakes, which he then took full advantage of. 

One lap earlier, Jack Miller crashed out from 6th place, meaning Acosta was now up to 6th. 

By now, Marc Marquez has a comfortable 1.2 second lead ahead of Alex Marquez who, in turn, was 1.3 seconds ahead of Bagnaia. 

As things quietened down for the front half of the grid, there was a huge battle from 10th onwards. Johann Zarco, Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Fermin Aldeguer and Marco Bezzecchi were battling hard.

At turn 5, lap 11, Di Giannantonio went wide and was looking down at his bike. He bailed off the racing line and eventually retired the bike with a mechanical issue, taking him out of the battle. 

Top Ten

Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Marc Marquez Claims First Pole of 2025 in Thailand

MotoGP is back and the grid are in Buriram, Thailand, for the first race of the season. The three riders who appeared to be the “ones to beat” during pre-season testing have claimed the front row after qualifying today. 

Marc Marquez has started his factory Ducati career in the best way possible, taking pole position today. He kept his coll despite the rising temperatures, topping the timing sheets at the start of the session and remaining there throughout.

It was an odd Q2 session with two crashes in the final few minutes – the result yellow flags ruined all three fo Marc Marquez’s final runs but that didn’t matter. With others unable to improve on their times, he stayed safely at the top of the timings.

He lines up alongside his brother, Alex, giving us a Marquez 1-2 on the starting grid for the first time! Alex Marquez is clearly enjoying riding his new Gresini, setting a time  just 0.146s behind Marc. 

Just 0.027s behind Alex is Pecco Bagnaia, who had to come through Qualifying 1 to take 3rd place today. Bagnaia is forced to run in Q1 after a series of bad luck in free practice. He was impeded by Franco Morbidelli who was cruising at half speed on the racing line and then hit with a yellow flag that was shown by the stewards by mistake. They apologised to Bagnaia but weren’t able to reinstate his flying lap time. 

Impressively, Jack Miller and Ai Ogura will line up 4th and 5th. Miller has told media in the lead up to this weekend that he is really enjoying his new Prima Pramac machine and is jelling well with the Yamaha engine. Ogura, the 2024 Moto2 champion, is already showing his speed for his first ever MotoGP race weekend. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Qualifying 1:

As the first flying laps were completed, Baganaia went straight to the top, where he stayed for the rest of the session. DiGiannantonio was the first to take the second progression spot, but was bested by Jack Miller. 

As riders came out for their second run, Bagnaia made the bold decision to stay in the garage, presumably to save tires for the Sprint race later today. 

With two minutes of the session left, it started to look like Baganaia had made a mistake as everyone began setting flying first sector times. As Bagnaia took his helmet off, Miguel Oliveira popped up into 2nd place and the Ducati team began looking very nervous. 

The checkered flag fell and Jack Miller set a stonking lap, just 0.006s behind Bagnaia. He crossed the line and celebrated by slapping the tank of his bike and treating the fans to a a wheelie down the straight. 

Other riders were unable to improve and this left Bagnaia and Miller as the advancing pair. 

Qualifying 2:

In this second session, with track temperatures now up to a blistering 50°C, Pecco Bagnaia was the first to hit the top of the timing sheets, with a 1:29.259. However, given times we saw in free practice, he would need to improve if he wanted a front row spot. As if to prove this point, he was quickly bestest by both Marquez brothers. Alex was the first to take provisional pole, only to be shuffled down by his older brother, Marc, who set a 1:28.782.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, rookie Ai Ogura set a very impressive 1:29.134 to take provisional 3rd. His Trackhouse Aprilia is sporting a new, very classic, Gulf livery this weekend. 

As the riders start their second runs, Miller was following Bagnaia and using him as a marker. He set an identical sector 1 time to Marc Marquez and eventually ended up leaping from 12th to 4th – a phenomenal result for the improving Yamaha. 

Marc Marquez made a mistake on his next run, going wide at turn 8. This leaves him need to start over but, as he does so, Marco Bezzecchi goes down at turn 3 and the resulting yellow flag sees Marquez bail out of another fast run. The front of Bezzecchi’s Aprilia folds under him as he enters turn 3, forcing him to settle for 9th.

With just 1 and a half minutes left of the session, exactly the same thing happens again. This time, Joan Mir goes down on the exit of turn 3, while trying to force his HRC Honda back on to the racing line. Another yellow flag catches Marc Marquez and, this time, also his brother Alex. 

With tyres now losing performance, neither Marquez brother can improve their times on their last flying lap. In fact, the only riders to improve at Fabio Quartararo, going up to 10th, and Pedro Acosta, going up to 7th. 

Results: 

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Jorge Martin to Miss First Race of the Season

Our reigning champion, Jorge Martin, has seen his pre-season preparations go from bad to worse this week. He completed just 13 laps on his new Aprilia machine during testing and is now set to miss the first race weekend of his title defence season.

Martin suffered a crash in the opening day of testing which resulted in him missing the rest of pre-season testing in Sepang and Buriram. This left him with a fractured right hand and left foot. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Now, while training a home in Spain, he has suffered another accident which has left him with “complex” injuries, Aprilia have confirmed. 

This statement said “Jorge Martin suffered a complex fracture of the radius, some carpal bones on the left side and an ipsilateral calcaneal fracture of the left hand during a training session.” 

For the non-medical professionals out there, this loosely translates as a broken left wrist, hand and heel. 

His surgery today (25th February) was successful and completed via keyhole surgery, which should help to reduce his recovery time. However, it has not yet been confirmed how long it will be until he is back on the bike. 

Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia’s test rider, will replace Martin in Thailand and likely in any future races he has to miss.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: What We Learnt During Pre-Season Testing

Pre-season testing is over and we are just 14 days away from our first race of 2025. Things have felt a little different already this year for MotoGP – we have enjoyed our first ever season launch event alongside a very condensed testing schedule, with 6 days of testing across just 8 days. Now we have seen all the bikes on track in both Sepang and Buriram, what have we learnt and what can we expect this season? 

Despite Testing Headaches, Ducati Are Still The Bike To Beat

Ducati are clearly still the fastest bikes on the grid again in 2025. We left Barcelona and Sepang with Gresini on top, thanks to Alex Marquez. Yes; topping two tests! Buriram was led by his brother, Marc Marquez, on the factory Ducati.

Looking at sector times and listening to the rider’s comments, the factory team are evidently the ones to beat and many have argued that they have the strongest rider line up of the year as well. What has been interesting to see is how collaboratively new teammates Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia appear to be working together. There have been some expecting their partnership to blow up and end in tears, but both riders have been sharing data and regularly seen in each other’s half of the garage to share feedback and thoughts. 

However, the test wasn’t plain sailing for them. After listening to feedback from Marquez and Bagnaia, the team have decided to go back to the GP24* machine. And yes, we purposefully used an asterisk there. That’s because it isn’t exactly the same as the machine that crossed the line in Valencia, back in November. It will ultimately be the 2024 spec machine with a number of the 2025 developments that worked well. As Baganai put it, it is seen as the “GP24.9” machine.

Don’t be mistaken – this is not a step back for Ducati and shouldn’t be seen as a weakness ahead of the new season. It’s a sign of how strong and near-perfect their 2024 machine was. Marquez commented that the GP25 had “very weak points” so, having won 16 of 20 races last year, you can understand why Marquez and Bagnaia want to revert back to the “old” machine. 

“Today basically we concentrated most of the day to 2024 engine, because looks like if tomorrow doesn’t change a lot, it looks like it is the way.

Why? Because Ducati is very realistic and they know, and they are very smart, that we cannot take the risk to homologate an engine that if we are not 100% sure is better than 2024.” 

– Marc Marquez during the Buriram test.

 

Jorge Martin Has The Toughest Job This Year

Our 2024 champion has a lot of pressure on his shoulders this year – after being snubbed by the factory Ducati team, he made the bold move to join Aprilia, taking his #1 plate there for 2025. Jumping manufacturers makes his pre-season testing even more crucial, but it could have been worse for the Spanish rider. 

Martin was part of a day one disaster in Sepang, with 6 broken bones across 3 riders who were all declared unfit for the rest of the Sepang test. The champion had a huge highside that left him with a fracture in his right hand and left foot. He returned to Spain for surgery and his recovery left him out of the rest of the test. 

This means that he now has, arguably, the hardest job of anyone on the grid when the first race weekend starts in Thailand. He has to get up to speed with a new manufacturer “on the job”, with no space to find his feet. 

“During the launch, we said that the first phase would be about learning, but clearly with what has happened today that phase has been significantly delayed. All we can do now is wish Jorge the best of luck.” 

– Massimo Rivola (Sports Director for Aprilia) after the Sepang test. 

 

KTM Are Still In Hot Water

Over the winter break, many were concerned about KTM’s future. The MotoGP team entered self administration, made mass redundancies and stopped production of their race bikes after facing financial difficulties at the end of the 2024 season. After securing the needed monetary boost in January, they launched their bike and focused all messaging on their determination to race and fight. 

During pre-season testing, both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales, on the KTM Tech3 machines, were vocal about their struggles with their new machines. However, the factory riders were notably absent from all media scrums and instructed not to speak to any journalists. No reason has been given for this but it does raise questions over the team’s future, and the bike’s potential success, in 2025 and beyond. 

We all know Pedro Acosta is a future star of MotoGP (more about his testing performance below!) so he will be looking for clear signs of the team’s viability as he aims to showcase his championship winning potential to front-running teams. 

 

Alex Marquez, Pedro Acosta And Marco Bezzecchi Are Best Of The Rest

As we mentioned above Alex Marquez topped two of the three pre-season tests, and came 2nd for the last test in Buriram. He was fast from the moment he threw his leg over the GP24 machine for the first time in Barcelona and is clearly loving his new Gresini for 2025. 

Marco Bezzecchi, as he gets comfortable with his new Aprilia after making the move from the VR46 team, has also looked impressive throughout testing. He was 3rd fastest at the Buriram test and commented that he was “very happy” after making “a lot of progress”.  

Many are excited to see what last year’s rookie and fan-favourite Pedro Acosta can achieve on his new KTM factory bike. He was just behind Bezzecchi in 4th at the end of Buriram’s test and, importantly, head and shoulders above his team mate Brad Binder. 

Excitingly, we’re anticipating that the field will be much closer this year, with testing showing only marginal differences between a number of riders. 

“It was a positive test; we were fast and consistent with our lap times. Overall, the entire pre-season has been like this, and without a doubt, we can call it the best pre-season since I started racing in MotoGP.” 

– Alex Marqeuz after the Buriram test.

 

Yamaha Take The Crown For Most Improved

Many were surprised when Fabio Quartararo chose to stay with Yamaha for 2025 and beyond. However, they promised him team personnel changes and big steps forward in 2025. It seems that the Frenchman’s wishes have come true as his bike appears to have made a whopping 0.8 second gain. 

His biggest gains came in Sepang, with Buriram not fully going Yamaha’s way. However, they had predicted this and still ended testing feeling pleased with their progress. 

It wasn’t just the factory team making gains. Jack Miller on the Prima Pramac, who now run Yamaha engines, enjoyed a top 10 finish in Buriram and said that his new machine “is already my bike” after just the first test in Sepang. 

“It was a different test than Sepang. In these two days, we mainly worked on fine-tuning the bikes for the GP, and we spent a lot of time on electronics set-ups. During Day 1, we had some difficulties, because the track was very green, and for all riders it was difficult to find a good feeling with the front. This got better today as the track conditions improved. We did a decent sprint race simulation, and at the end of the day we did a couple of time attacks which showed that again we were able to narrow the gap to the fastest time also in Buriram.”

– Massion Meregalli (Yamaha Team Director), after the Buriram test.

 

As ever, pre-season testing is not a definitive insight into the season ahead and there is a lot still unknown. But what is certain is that the 2025 season is going to be an exciting one with a large number of riders who have a good chance to win races and enjoy success. But the most important question is who will add their name to the championship trophy after Valencia?

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Did Francesco Bagnaia Really Lose The Title Because Of His Mistakes?

The 2024 MotoGP season was nothing short of a rollercoaster, with Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia battling fiercely all the way to the end. When the dust settled, Martin walked away as the champion. But as fans and analysts picked apart the season, one question kept coming up: did Bagnaia lose the title because of his own mistakes?

It’s easy to see why people point to moments like Bagnaia’s crash in the Sepang sprint race as the turning point. But was that really the defining moment? Or is it just a convenient headline for what was actually a messy, unpredictable, and mistake-filled season for both riders?

Many argue that if Bagnaia hadn’t suffered so many DNFs, he likely would have won the championship, but if we remove Bagnaia’s errors, it is only fair that we also exclude the errors of Martin, otherwise this hypothetical scenario is trivial.

Looking Closely At The Mistakes

This wasn’t just a season where Bagnaia made mistakes. Martin had his fair share of blunders too. In fact, both riders admitted the 2024 championship was defined as much by their errors as their successes. Bagnaia may have crashed more often, but Martin’s mistakes were arguably more costly.

Bagnaia had seven crashes this season—three in main races and four in sprints. When added up, those mistakes cost him 73 points to Martin, factoring in both the points he missed out on and the small gains Martin made when Bagnaia dropped out. For example, in the Catalunya sprint, Bagnaia’s crash boosted Martin from 5th to 4th, earning him an extra point.

But here’s the twist: while Bagnaia made more mistakes, Martin’s crashes cost him more points. He fell only four times—twice in main races and twice in sprints—but three of those crashes came while he was leading. That handed Bagnaia maximum points in those races as Bagnaia was always second to him. In total, Martin’s errors cost him 82 points, nine more than Bagnaia, which does not even take into account the Spaniard’s Misano blunder, as he did not crash.

The tables below give a deeper dive into how the points losses were calculated.

For Bagnaia

For Martin

 

Not All Mistakes Have The Same Impact

So although it may seem that Martin has in fact lost out more this year from his errors, it is not immediately obvious that this is the case, as the natural assumption is that if a rider has more DNFs, he will have lost out on more points, but it is so important to consider what position each rider was in when they crashed and what position the contenders were relative to eachother when the crash happened. For example, if a rider crashed from 15th position, it is nowhere near as costly as if they crash from first place, so it’s not as simple as a “crash is a crash”.

Take Jerez and Sachsenring. Martin was leading both main races when he crashed, handing Bagnaia the extra points for winning while also missing out on the 25 points he would have scored. This amounts to a total points swing of 30, which is a monumental amount in the context of this fight. By comparison, Bagnaia’s crashes often came when he wasn’t in contention for a win, so the points he missed out on were usually smaller.

When you dig into the numbers, it’s clear that the story of the season isn’t as simple as “Bagnaia made more mistakes, so he lost.” Yes, he had more DNFs. But Martin’s errors, fewer as they were, had a massive impact on the championship too.

 Why Martin Won

So, did Martin win because of Bagnaia’s mistakes? Not really. Sure, Bagnaia’s crashes played a role, but that’s not the whole picture. It is rather ironic that if we create an errorless championship from the two riders, then Martin actually has a bigger lead!

Martin didn’t just win because Bagnaia slipped up—he won because he nailed the other crucial aspects of being a champion. His consistency this season was off the charts, managing to finish second 16 times across all races. He stayed calm under pressure and learned from past struggles with mental focus. That’s what made the difference, not just Bagnaia’s crashes.

It’s also worth highlighting how incredible it is that Martin won the title despite Bagnaia taking 11 wins this season. On paper, that might make Martin’s championship seem less impressive, but it actually highlights his strength. This wasn’t about piling up race wins—it was about delivering consistently strong performances across 40 gruelling races.

So, no—Bagnaia didn’t hand the title to Martin. Martin earned it. He proved that being a champion isn’t just about raw speed or winning the most races. It’s about resilience, strategy and mental fortitude.

This season will be remembered as one of the most intense and dramatic in recent MotoGP history. And Jorge Martin, the man who battled through it all to come out on top, deserves every bit of credit for his victory. Mistakes may have played a part, but in the end, it was Martin’s incredible consistency and growth as a rider that made him a champion.

Image credit to Gold & Goose
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