Many expected the Marquez brothers to dominate, but the man with the number 5 was responsible for the sensation in Q2 on Saturday. Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR), the oldest, but not the longest-serving MotoGP rider in the field (this is, of course, the man with the number 93 on his Lenovo Ducati), delivered an outstanding performance, taking P3 and thus the front row. In the Tissot Sprint Race, the fast man from Cannes followed suit in the afternoon, taking fourth place as the best non-Ducati rider.

Spectacular Marquez Brothers show in Las Termas de Rio Hondo

Shortly before the start of the season in Thailand, Marc Marquez had been very modest in his press conference. At the time, he stated that, as a newcomer to the Lenovo Ducati factory team, he was initially orienting himself towards his teammate Bagnaia, who had considerably more experience with the factory Ducati and thus served as his reference. After the sprint race in Argentina and three consecutive victories, this seems, in retrospect, more than polite understatement, to put it mildly. At least after the Thai GP in Buri Ram, a comment by “Pecco” attracted a lot of attention when he frustratedly remarked in the finish line interview, “Marc was just playing with us in the race.” Admittedly, if a MotoGP rider deliberately drops behind his successor due to a tire pressure warning indicator in his Ducati cockpit, only to overtake him again shortly before the finish, he’s a so-called cool guy. We prefer to call him an exceptional talent with almost unlimited abilities, capable of getting the maximum out of most situations despite all handicaps. Just as masterfully as at the season opener, Marc Márquez continued in Argentina. Once again, spectators saw only his brother Alex capable of even remotely keeping up with this season’s clear favorite. But in the end, the older of the two once again prevailed with an absolutely outstanding performance.

Finally, after a break last year, the MotoGP bullets roared again at the start in Argentina. The man on the right front with the 93 made short work of it and took the lead, which he controlled from then on, just as he did on lap 1 in Thailand. His teammate Pecco Bagnaia, in particular, seems increasingly frustrated at the finish. Perhaps this is due to the fact that many observers are wondering how the last few years would have turned out if Marquez had competed with equivalent equipment to his own.

The MotoGP sprint race – third Marquez double in a row

While KTM’s hopeful Brad Binder crashed out on the first lap, the man in pole position didn’t give a damn. Only his brother Alex (BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati) was initially able to follow Marc Marquez halfway, as the latter took control immediately after the start. The younger of the two then tried everything to put as much pressure as possible on the world’s best rider that MotoGP had ever seen. But the 93 countered all attempts at attack with absolute aplomb and never left any doubt as to who would ultimately see the checkered flag first. Just like in Buri Ram, Bagnaia was already fighting in a hopeless position after just a few laps. The two-time world champion from the car capital of Turin in northern Italy never had a realistic chance of intervening in the fight for victory. So, third place for the third time in a row was not a surprise, and his strained smile after crossing the finish line seemed rather forced. It was a completely different story for fourth-placed Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR). The experienced and far too often underestimated Frenchman delivered a flawless performance as the “best of the rest” behind the fastest Ducati riders. Hardly anyone at HRC Honda would have dared to dream of this just a few months ago.

It was particularly encouraging, as in Thailand, that all manufacturers were represented in the top ten in the sprint race in Argentina. However, with the format and scoring system adopted from WorldSBK, Fabio Quartararo, in tenth place and the best Yamaha rider, unfortunately didn’t benefit from this. Even tenth place no longer awards points, but that doesn’t stop the FIM and Dorna (and unfortunately almost all reporters) from statistically equating victories in the Tissot Sprint Race with races over the full distance in the Superbike World Championship, which is, of course, utter nonsense and unthinkable in MotoGP.

Surprising – the always overlooked two-time Moto2 World Champion

After yet another best result for the Japanese manufacturer, the only question that remained for Johann Zarco was why he hasn’t joined the factory team long ago. Joan Mir, in eighth place, somewhat salvaged the team’s honor by scoring two points, while his teammate Luca Marini, in thirteenth, failed to shine. Idemitsu Honda LCR rider Somkiat Chantra, a rookie, also learned his lesson by finishing third from last. But we’re used to that from the team bosses responsible for Zarco. Having voluntarily resigned from KTM despite giving his all as a factory rider in his third year of MotoGP, Johann was subsequently overlooked every time Ducati considered his promotion. On the contrary, despite his excellent performances, Zarco was no longer even wanted to stay in the Pramac semi-factory team. His subsequent switch to LCR Honda meant he faced a very difficult 2024 season. But a man like him is never going to be defeated, as his results from the previous year underline. Although he only finished 17th in the World Championship, he was the best Honda rider, scoring a full 20 points more than the two Honda factory riders, Mir and Marini, more than both together. Given such numbers, it’s often surprising why, unlike in football, MotoGP team bosses like Pit Beirer (KTM) or Alberto Puig (HRC Honda) aren’t fired, even after years of drastic failure. The wiry former GP winner Puig from Barcelona is unlikely to be solely or even primarily responsible for the Japanese brand’s recent recovery from its slump.

Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) – not only one of the most popular riders among fans, but also among commentators. His in-depth analyses are always a feast for interviewers, in stark contrast to the platitudes of someone like Francesco Bagnaia. You can often tell from the man’s eyes that he’s thinking something completely different when he speaks into the microphone. The Frenchman with the puppy-dog eyes, on the other hand, is something like pure authenticity, and his remarks always make sense.
A one-two victory by a pair of brothers was already a first in Thailand, but no one would have dared to predict that the Marquez brothers would achieve this feat three times in a row before Saturday, and four times in a row at the Grand Prix. If things continue like this, Francesco Bagnaia will not only have to brace himself, but also ask himself why Alex Marquez doesn’t more than deserve the seat in the Lenovo Ducati instead.

The tops and flops of the second round in Las Termas

Alongside crowd favorite Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) and the two Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati riders Morbidelli and Di Giannantonio, rookie Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team Aprilia) was one of the most outstanding figures in South America, finishing in eighth place. The modest and very fast Japanese rider thus impressively confirmed his formidable performance from the season opener in Buri Ram. He left five factory riders in his wake and was only narrowly beaten by experienced Red Bull KTM veteran Brad Binder at the finish. On the other hand, despite fourth place in the GP and third in the sprint, Vice World Champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia was one of the big losers. His perhaps overly optimistic assessment of the upcoming rounds in Argentina and Texas, which he emphasized in Thailand, was little to be seen in Las Termas de Rio Hondo. Of course, only 2 of the expected new record number of 22 laps have been completed (the cancellations by Dorna and FIM in recent years advise caution in this regard), but the proud Italian is not unreasonable to ask when he will, as so often in the past, lose his composure in the race and find himself in the gravel trap after making riding errors.

A beaming Franco Morbidelli of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team after his impressive performance in the second Grand Prix of the season. The fast Italian, with half-Brazilian roots, had to wait a full four years to stand on the podium again after Jerez 2021 (then for Yamaha). He must have taken particular satisfaction in the fact that he even beat his friend and reigning vice world champion “Pecco” of the Lenovo Ducati factory team.

Honda again outstanding thanks to Zarco, KTM and Yamaha disappointing

The Frenchman’s formidable performance once again provided a strong ray of hope for Honda, which was further underlined by the two HRC factory riders, Joan Mir (P10) and Luca Marini, just behind him in the Grand Prix. At KTM, it wasn’t Pedro Acosta, who was far too often overrated by many supposed experts, especially in 2024, who saved the Orange team’s honor, but rather South African Brad Binder. However, 7th and 9th place are not the results that Sporting Director Pit Beirer, who surprisingly is still in office, had hoped for. Things went even worse for Yamaha, which is somewhat surprising given the prediction made before the season by Ducati manager and former Superbike rider Davide Tardozzi. However, we doubted his statement that the Japanese company would be Ducati’s strongest challenger in the 2025 World Championship. If, on the other hand, the good man had picked Honda, he might not have been so far off the mark. But perhaps the Italian, who didn’t even receive any points for his first victory in the Superbike World Championship (for more on that, see the History section for WorldSBK on this page), was just trying to distract. In any case, he and the so-called mastermind “Gigi” dall Igna, including the Marquez brothers, Bagnaia, and not to mention the VR46 flagships “Morbido” and “DiGia,” have all the serious title contenders under contract at Ducati. Yamaha, on the other hand, is naturally hoping for another exploit from Austin specialist Alex Rins, who even managed a surprise win there two years ago on the uncompetitive Honda.

Co-favorite for the podium finish, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), unfortunately didn’t make it past the first corner, as his crash unfortunately meant an early end for the Italian factory team’s only hope. The season could hardly have started worse for the Noale-based manufacturer, even with his injury-related absence from the first three rounds (Jorge Martin will be out at least until and including Austin). Only the Trackhouse Aprilia Racing rookie Ai Ogura was able to shine, as he had previously done in Buri Ram.
The Argentinian GP in numbers, with the Marquez brothers’ fourth consecutive one-two finish and runner-up Francesco Bagnaia even missing the podium for the first time. Behind the top five in the race, it was once again Johann Zarco who set the tone for Honda, leaving the HRC factory riders well behind. KTM flagship Brad Binder was once again the best of the Oranges with P7 despite a poor eleventh starting position, while teammate Acosta delivered a modest performance.

KTM and the many questions and questionable bubbles

Many paddock members see Pit Beirer as one of KTM’s main problems. He is considered primarily responsible for the loss of MotoGP superstar Jorge Martin, the current reigning world champion who competed for the Ajo KTM Team (in Moto2) until 2020. After that, the Austrian manufacturer, still threatened with collapse, also lost fast riders like Miguel Oliveira (now with Pramac Yamaha), Raul Fernandez, who has moved to Trackhouse Aprilia, and Augusto Fernandez (currently under contract as a test rider for Yamaha). When it became official that, under the leadership of CEO Stefan Pierer, now considered highly shady in Austria, around a quarter of a million motorcycles had been produced in stockpiles and, in return, questionable millions were distributed to shareholders despite mounting billions in debt, everything changed. Already in complete financial turmoil, Pierer had even bought MV Agusta, possibly to distract from the impending collapse that now threatens KTM. Banks and suppliers are having to write off billions of euros, and it’s currently unclear whether the company can even continue operating after hundreds of layoffs. An investor is reportedly willing to risk around a billion euros for this. Otherwise, the “Pierer Mobility Group,” with KTM as its flagship, will finally go bankrupt.

First corner after the start of the 2025 Argentinian Grand Prix, with pole sitter Marc Marquez (No. 93, Lenovo Ducati) already in the lead, having only briefly relinquished the lead to his brother Alex (BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati), just like two weeks earlier in Buriram. In the final laps, however, the older rider regained his composure and within a very short time, he pulled away from him.

The fairy tale of the contract extension with KTM

Against the backdrop of the KTM debacle, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, long since dubbed a liar by numerous insiders, recently took the cake. The 78-year-old Catalan from Barcelona seriously claimed before round two that he was already in negotiations with KTM about extending their MotoGP contract with Dorna beyond the 2026 season. This is, of course, absolute nonsense and a blatant lie, because the future of the Austrian company would first have to be secured for this to happen. However, this is still far from a done deal, and one wonders, what about the Grand Prix of Kazakhstan and India? These were solemnly promised by the spaniard to the public for this season in the summer of 2024 after their cancellation last year. When the calendar was published, there was no mention of the sudden disappearance of the two events.

As in Buri Ram (Thailand), this was the third all-Ducati podium in the premier class. From left: Alex Marquez (P2), winner, and his brother Marc, as well as “Frankie” Morbidelli. When the race continues in Austin (Texas) in two weeks, many expect a different podium finish, although Franco Morbidelli, in addition to his 2017 Moto2 victory, also shone there with a fifth-place finish in the 2019 MotoGP. The clear favorite at the US GP, however, is, of course, the man in the middle.

Absolutely scarce – critical voices

One can’t help but get the impression that all the calendar mishaps by FIM and Dorna, as exemplified by the aforementioned events, as well as countless failed attempts with Hungary (for example, last year’s Balaton Park Circuit was canceled at short notice for WorldSBK), were purely motivated by greed and not by any serious intentions. But since the few critical voices from earlier times have long since fallen silent, hardly any journalist dares to openly criticize Dorna and FIM. One of the last to do so was the former editor-in-chief of the German-language Powerslide magazine and later Speedweek (founded by the now-deceased Red Bull billionaire Mateschitz). But to even gain access to the press center of MotoGP and WorldSBK, a writer apparently can no longer afford to do so. In the end, the loser is the sport. A bad example of this is the Superbike World Championship, where the reigning world champion from Turkey now refers, not without reason, to a “Ducati Cup.” See also our review of the season opener in Australia, we had already described it that way before Toprak.

Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) – the young Spaniard is still struggling to break into the top after a season riddled with crashes. It took a full two rounds for the first rumors to surface that he had an option on the table at Ducati, just waiting for a signature. Given the lackluster performance of his KTM and the uncertain future prospects of the Austrian company, this is hardly surprising.
The three fastest in qualifying, with the Marquez brothers on the left and surprise man Johann Zarco, who impressively demonstrated Honda’s upward trend. The speedy Frenchman was one of the many victims of misguided KTM policies in 2019, even voluntarily requesting an early termination of his multi-year contract mid-season. The resulting mudslinging by the Orange and Red Bull Media cast a negative light on Pierer, Beirer, and their ilk. Several media attempts were made to portray the split as a dismissal of the fast rider from Cannes.

Conclusion of the second round before the Texas GP

While reigning world champion Jorge Martin, wearing the number 1 on his factory Aprilia, will also be absent in Texas due to a hand injury, Marc Marquez’s opponents face a particularly difficult task in the next round. Anyone who looks at our statistics for the US Grand Prix since 2005, along with all the stops at each stage, doesn’t have to do much to figure out who will be the favorite heading to Austin. Marc Marquez’s almost unbelievable record in North America impressively underscores how comfortable he always feels there, and especially at the COTA (Circuit of the Americas). His streak of nine consecutive MotoGP victories is unique, and only he himself has achieved something similar, for example, at the Sachsenring in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, as an eight-time winner from 2013 to 2021. The Catalan is on a mission, and it will be difficult, perhaps even impossible, to stop him. Marc is desperate to equal his former arch-rival Rossi’s record of nine world titles, which he now only needs one more world championship to achieve. His Lenovo Ducati teammate Bagnaia seems unlikely to be able to prevent this, and everyone else likely lacks the necessary consistency. It’s likely that his brother Alex Marquez will be the one who can put the most pressure on the older of the two. The other Ducati riders and the riders on rival brands are unlikely to be able to do so, least of all last year’s highly praised “rookie sensation” Acosta, who, after finishing ninth in Thailand, also delivered a rather lackluster performance in the Argentinian GP.

Our summary of the current standings in the World Championship, with a dominant rider who, after numerous setbacks, once again leaves no question as to who is the world’s best MotoGP rider since 2013 and indeed since the inception of this premier class formula. The two men, who are currently the only ones in the top seven not riding a Ducati, certainly had the fewest riders on the list.

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