The king is back – this was the conclusion from the first MotoGP weekend in BuriRam in northeast Thailand. Now back as a factory rider, but no longer with Repsol Honda but in the Ducati Lenovo team, Marc Marquez impressively showed who the path to the title in the Grand Prix season that has just started should lead through. In the absence of world champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), who was absent for the first two rounds due to a hand injury, the maestro was once again in a class of his own.

Repeated Marquez Double at the Thai season opener

With his 112th podium and first Grand Prix victory on the factory Ducati, Marc Marquez dominated the premiere of the season almost at will after his sprint victory the day before. Confirmation of this came in an interview with third-placed Franceso “Pecco” Bagnaia, when he stated in complete dismay that his teammate had only played with his opponents in the race. With the exception of fourth place, the first GP of the season in Thailand was a copy of Saturday’s Tissot Sprint Race. Thanks to Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who swapped places with Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team Aprilia) this time, this resulted in a quadruple victory for Ducati. But behind them there was the brand diversity that had been longed for before the start of the season with Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) and the two KTM riders Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini. Jack Miller, who was supported the day before, narrowly missed out on the top ten in eleventh place on his Pramac Pertamina Enduro Yamaha. It is not only the Marquez brothers who are hoping that things will continue like this when Argentina will once again host the MotoGP just two weeks later after its 2024 retirement.

Second double victory in BuriRam for Alex (left) and his 2024 Gresini Ducati teammate Marc Marquez, now in the service of the Lenovo Ducati factory team, for which he justified his commitment as a newcomer with the maximum number of points in Thailand. It is clearly visible in this picture that there are currently hardly any differences between the two motorcycles, because Ducati will be using the 2024 model as the basis for the next two years. Of course, there will be ongoing detailed improvements for the 93 during the season within the framework of the regulations, which will probably not be available for the 73.
The Chang Circuit is relatively simple in design, with the start-finish straight on the left in the picture, and fast corners are few and far between on this track. Regardless of the time of year, the course places high demands on the drivers and their equipment, particularly due to the high temperatures, which are usually well over 30 degrees Celsius. We usually combined our visit to the races with a beach holiday and therefore spent most of our time in Phuket or other holiday destinations in Thailand.

Findings from the first of 22 planned rounds

In addition to Marc Marquez, who is considered by many observers to be the top favorite for the 2025 World Championship after his best times in all tests of the year, his brother Alex on the BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati also emerged as one of the most serious challengers alongside Vice World Champion Bagnaia and the reigning champion Jorge Martin. The latter, however, will have a very hard time defending his title, not only because of his move to the Aprilia factory team, but also because of his failed pre-season preparations. After breaking his foot in a highsider in Sepang, less than half a day of testing and a broken wrist during training just a few days before the start of the season, his chances may have already slipped away at the start of the still young year. While Pedro Acosta, who was celebrated as a rookie sensation by countless commentators last year, continues in the KTM factory team as he did in 2024 with far too many crashes, disappointing their expectations, the Oranges will have to rely primarily on his teammate Brad Binder and newcomer Enea Bastianini. However, the fans’ expectations of exciting races alongside Aprilia are mainly more likely to lie with the two Japanese factories, which are definitely on the right track to catch up with the competition thanks to their concession advantages.

A stoppie worth seeing from “Pecco” Bagnaia, who, as last year’s winner of the GP of Thailand, was at a disadvantage this time against the Marquez brothers. The vice world champion from Italy does not have particularly good memories of the next event. Only sixth in the 2023 sprint race, the Lenovo-Ducati factory rider even missed the points at the Grand Prix of Argentina after his fall in the race.

More excitement in MotoGP than in Moto3 on Sunday

While Marc Marquez, who was comfortably in the lead at the beginning, let his brother Alex pass him by dropping out on lap 7 of 26, making the race exciting until shortly before the end, there was no doubt about the winner in the junior class with their compatriot Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) from the last third of the race onwards. The young Spaniard crossed the finish line with a lead of more than 7 seconds, while his role model with the 93 took his time for his final sprint until the fourth to last lap. From then on, however, the opponents of exceptional talent Marc Marquez were also lost and he suddenly drove lap times at the finish that all the competitors behind him despaired of. After this weekend, we are only a little surprised by the statement made by Ducati manager Davide Tardozzi, who described Yamaha as their toughest competitor shortly before the start of the season. As the first winner in WorldSBK history, who curiously failed to score any points due to a retirement in the second race (for more information, see “History” on this page), no one can deny the Italian’s expertise. Nevertheless, given the sobering result of the Japanese manufacturer, which is now competing with two teams, his prediction was clearly off the mark. But the season is only just beginning and hopefully Yamaha can close the gap to its best opponents as soon as possible.

At the beginning, things were still very close in Moto3, with Rueda ahead of David Muñoz (who later crashed), Matteo Bertelle (finally fifth) and the other pursuers. Two Italians, two Englishmen and two Japanese, as well as one Thai, one Australian, one Argentinian and one Austrian ultimately did not see the finish flag.

Spanish festival also in the middle category

Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex) ensured all-Spanish dominance in the Moto2 race on the first GP weekend. The Madrilenian had already clearly distanced himself from his first pursuers, Celestino Vietti (Team HDR Heidrun Boscoscuro) and Gonzales’ teammate Senna Agius, halfway through the race when the Australian caused the Italian to fall while attempting to overtake. The fast Agius almost lost his guaranteed podium place as a result and the Moto2 World Championship favourite, originally from the WSSP 300, won comfortably ahead of fellow countryman Aron Canet and Aegius, who was able to catch the Brazilian Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) shortly before the finish despite a long lap penalty. After the all-Spanish podium in Moto3, this resulted in an Iberian double victory, as in the following MotoGP race.

A fantastic start to the season for the German Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP team, with both riders on the podium alongside Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) in second place on the left. In the middle is winner Manuel Gonzalez and on the right is Aussie Senna Agius, the surprise man of the first Moto2 round in BuriRam.

Some strange results from the GP of Thailand

Curiously, the Moto3 double victory was won by a manufacturer that is currently fighting for survival and whose production is currently at a standstill with around a quarter of a million motorcycles in storage. Why KTM can still invest an estimated 50 to 90 million euros and at the same time several hundred employees have just lost their jobs is not only surprising to us. Officially, the MotoGP racing team had stopped further development in the premier class from December 2024, but this was proven to be a blatant lie by an interview with Tech 3 KTM team boss Herve Poncharal shortly before the start of the season. In any case, the future of the oranges is by no means only at risk in racing, which, according to media reports from his country, is due to the Austrian Stefan Pierer. In record time, he had accumulated debts of over 2 billion euros, while apparently paying himself and the other shareholders millions at practically the same time. Apparently, this man is still at large, unlike the other billionaire bankrupt Rene Benko from the same Alpine republic, something many Austrians do not really understand.

With only 15 pilots finishing, the junior class had, unsurprisingly, the highest dropout rate. With the exception of South African Ruche Moodley and Cormac Buchanan from New Zealand, only Spaniards and Italians scored world championship points, which is certainly not something that has happened very often.
The unlucky rider of the day in the middle class was undoubtedly Celestino Vietti, who crashed innocently and was denied a safe podium. The Turk Deniz Öncü, Tony Arbolino (Italy) and US boy Joe Roberts in particular fell well short of expectations, missing out on the top ten by a wide margin. WorldSSP World Champion Adrian Huertas also had a tough time after switching to Moto2.
Results overview of the first Grand Prix of the 2025 season in Thailand, with Pedro Acosta only second to last after his fall in the final corner. The young Spaniard, who was hailed by many as a rookie sensation last year, but whose maturity for the premier class is now being questioned, is one of the losers of the season opener, along with fellow brand rider Maverick Viñales and Yamaha factory rider Alex Rins. Local hero and rookie Somkiat Chantra from the LCR Honda team, on the other hand, should be given some credit, as he finished for the second time in the still young season, only just behind established riders.
HRC Honda factory rider Joan Mir seemed to have shaken off his reputation as the crash king from last year after finishing 9th in the sprint race. But Sunday’s race brought a major setback for the 2020 MotoGP world champion with his fall in the final corner, meaning Johann Zarco had to fly the flag for the Japanese factory again. Last year, Mir only scored points in eight of 40 races. However, the 2025 Honda seems much more competitive than in the recent past.
As Aprilia had already announced in advance, the reigning world champion Jorge Martin will be absent for at least the second round in Argentina, which is why we have already included this in our summary. There is a risk that the Spaniard’s hand injury means that his title defence is already over, not least because he has hardly been able to clock up any kilometres on the factory Aprilia so far.

Conclusion before the continuation in South America in 2 weeks

Franco “Morbido” Morbidelli’s narrow lead over his closest rival Ai Ogura in the World Championship interim rankings gives hope for a greater balance of power in the new season. The two top ten placings of Brad Binder on the factory KTM and Johann Zarco with the HRC Honda in the LCR team are not exactly perfect, just like 11th place in the Thai GP by Jack Miller in the Pramac world champion team (new with Yamaha). Nevertheless, things could be a bit different in Argentina, which also depends on the weather. For the next two rounds in Argentina and Texas, in completely different climatic conditions than in Thailand, which is always far too hot for some visitors, a lot is likely to change in terms of the balance of power. At least according to the current forecast, no rain is expected in Termas de Rio Hondo, with daytime temperatures expected to be around 30 degrees Celsius.

Our shot from the main entrance of the Chang Circuit in BuriRam, a small town in the north-east of Thailand, where the season opener took place for the first time in MotoGP history at the beginning of March 2025. Not an ideal place for fans who like to stay in a hotel or at least a guesthouse, because there is almost no overnight accommodation within a reasonable distance on race weekends when world championship races are held here. Camping in temperatures of almost 40 degrees Celsius is of course not an option for normal people either.
Aerial view of the race track in Las Termas de Rio Hondo, a holiday region in Argentina, where, after a fire-related cancellation last year, the second round in South America continues, as is often the case. At the premiere of this track for MotoGP, a rookie named Marc Marquez won on the Repsol Honda. The Catalan later took two more victories, but also suffered several retirements in the following years.

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© MotoGP).