MOTOGP COMES BACK FROM SUMMER BREAK
After a month of stop, MotoGP returns to action this weekend in Austria, at the Red Bull Ring, which as we know, will not be using the same layout as Formula 1 due to the huge crash in 2021.
The last round at Brno saw Marc Marquez win for the 5th time in a row, taking victory in the Sprint Race as well, which was also his fifth consecutively. In a dominant season so far, the Ducati rider is approaching his 9th title in MotoGP, joining Valentino Rossi in number of championship wins.
His team mate Pecco Bagnaia has been struggling with the bike so far, one win and one pole are into his name in 12 races and he sits 4th in the standings. General manager of Ducati Gigi dall’Igna has stated at the start of the season:
“Half of the bike has 2024 pieces, we had to go back due to our riders’ complains, mainly under braking.”
Ducati tried to make Bagnaia adapt as much as possible to 2025’s bike, but the Italian wasn’t able to match his team mate’s pace so far.
While Pecco sits third in the standings, Marc Marquez’s brother Alex, is the current runner-up with a win in Jerez, and six 2nd place results. It is possible to say that both Spanish brothers got used to 2025 Ducati’s equipment more easily than Bagnaia.
An excellent Marco Bezzecchi occupies the 4th place in the championship. The Aprilia rider did not have the best start in 2025, but a sudden win at Silverstone skyrocketed the Italian’s motivation and performance. He now comes from two second place finishes in three races, counting a retirement while P2 in one of these rounds.
MotoGP returns to Austria with 21 of the 22 official drivers, the Thai Somkiat Chantra is injured in his knee due to a crash in motocross, and he will not be replaced this weekend, but he will in Budapest next week by Spaniard Aleix Espargaro.
2024 MotoGP champion Jorge Martin is set to take part in his third round of 2025 this weekend. After being injured for a crash in pre-season testing, he stayed out for three months until he came back to Qatar, but an accident in the Sprint Race left him aside for three further months. The Spaniard then returned for the Czech GP, where he incredibly finished 7th with Aprilia.
He stated during the media day in Austria that he gained a lot of weight due to being stopped for a long time, but has got back to intense cycling and training, in order to get back to form as soon as possible.
Maverick Viñales is also returning from injury this weekend. After a crash in Qualifying at the German Grand Prix, the KTM rider hurt his shoulder, and was set to comeback only after a 16-week stop. However, a little over a month later, Viñales has retrurned to the grid, claiming that it will take him a while to go back to full form.
Marc Marquez will try to keep his streak going as he gets close to another championship title, while Bagnaia will attempt to avoid Marco Bezzecchi of closing up and Alex Marquez of extending the gap in second place.
The riders hit the track for Free Practice 1 at 10:45 AM CET Time on Friday.
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