2025 FIM MotoGP World Championship

[CHT]

Marc Marquez journey back to leading the championship is indeed impressive.
Took a big pay cut to quit Honda, join Ducati junior team and make his way back up.

[Chuckjr]

The announcers on MotoGP are so much better than the BS anouncers from F1. Here are the race highlights from today.

[CHT]

just watch the video of Marc celebration with this team and Pecco watching from the side..Marc is getting into his head for sure.

[Ma55]

Marquez is an absolute phenomenon when it comes to controlling a motorcycle on the limit. His riding style, especially when saving front-end slides, is something that seemed almost impossible for years. It’s a combination of reflexes, physical strength, and that elusive intuition that allows him to know exactly when and how to press with his elbow to recover. Add to that his extreme riding position—shifting weight forward, low corner entries, and aggressive exits. He doesn’t ride like a traditional racer; he “fights” the bike, adapting in real time.

Remember those moments when Marquez is practically lying on the asphalt, with his knee, elbow, and almost his chin touching the track, yet he just keeps going? Examples? Sepang 2019, Assen 2018, or even on the Repsol Honda when he saved situations that would have meant a gravel trap for anyone else. It’s not just talent; it’s years of grueling work and a mindset that doesn’t accept limits. You can love him or hate him, but one thing is undeniable—no one rides like he does

[Chuckjr]

Great MotoGP update that talks about details of the Ducati set up for MM.

[Seanspeed]

I dont know if the GP24 is faster, but I'd say at this point it's definitely looking like it's easier to ride. In a way, it's helping keep this season somewhat interesting so far, but we'll have to see how development of GP25 goes. I have a feeling the GP24 is already such a near perfect bike that it's gonna be a thorn to the factory team for a good while yet.

[FrukostScones]

I dont know if the GP24 is faster, but I'd say at this point it's definitely looking like it's easier to ride. In a way, it's helping keep this season somewhat interesting so far, but we'll have to see how development of GP25 goes. I have a feeling the GP24 is already such a near perfect bike that it's gonna be a thorn to the factory team for a good while yet.

Yep.
Imagine what MM93 could do with the 2024 bike I already wanted to post here.

I think we are luck y that he has got this 2025 spec. (Whatever this spec is, because it seems to be quite complicated to find out what they are using, swing arm, aero parts, chassis etc.)

An AM73 is so good because he good, but the 2024 spec he rides is very good. ; P (RE. Morbidelli performance is the confirmation here).

I think Bagnagia is solely struggling because of the 2025 parts.

There was talk a him wanting to revert to his old 2024 spec but later denied.

I think this problem is also down to Ducati technical management because, when they think something is quicker the riders have to deal with it. For whatever reasons, data ("the data shows 2025 parts are quicker!") , marketing, who is right? I don't know.

Wasn't it with Lorenzo like this? Lorenzo wanted a different shape body of the bike "fuel tank" to be able to ride the thing, but the Ducati technical management declined?

I hope they allow Bagnaia to spec the bike to his needs, which also would mean it is his true 2024 spec again.

MM93 of course would need to stay on 2025

edit. spelling, punctuation.

[f1316]

Marquez crashing out of the lead is kinda not even the biggest deal here - it’s part of his style that he crashes quite a lot and he’s done it several times before at this circuit. More important was that Pecco was comfortably second fastest over a race distance on a track that isn’t among his best. I don’t see any way he was going to challenge Marc on pure pace but he was there to put a little bit of pressure on him and to pick up the pieces.

Now the key will be how they compare at tracks Pecco does favour. If Pecco can occasionally be the faster of the two - even if Marquez has the pace most of the time - then we can have a world championship battle. It only takes a few mistakes vs a consistent rival for things to even right out and ironically we saw that last year where Pecco generally had the pace over Martin. Maybe that lesson will come in handy this year…

[Seanspeed]

Marquez crashing out of the lead is kinda not even the biggest deal here - it’s part of his style that he crashes quite a lot and he’s done it several times before at this circuit. More important was that Pecco was comfortably second fastest over a race distance on a track that isn’t among his best. I don’t see any way he was going to challenge Marc on pure pace but he was there to put a little bit of pressure on him and to pick up the pieces.

Now the key will be how they compare at tracks Pecco does favour. If Pecco can occasionally be the faster of the two - even if Marquez has the pace most of the time - then we can have a world championship battle. It only takes a few mistakes vs a consistent rival for things to even right out and ironically we saw that last year where Pecco generally had the pace over Martin. Maybe that lesson will come in handy this year…

Tortoise vs Hare basically. Bagnaia was clearly the best rider last year, but lost for that same reason to Martin. He learned that MotoGP doesn't reward winning all that strongly, unfortunately.

Marquez has proven he can do consistent if he needs to, though. This was just a seriously weird mistake, running way too much on a wet curb that everybody knew to avoid. Dont even think it was pressure, he was in a perfectly comfortable position, I actually think he just got overconfident or had a lapse in concentration.

Honestly, unless Bagnaia can actually outcompete Marquez, it's still a psychological disadvantage, and he knows deep down that people will judge him on that. It'd be different if he didn't already have a title under his belt, but this one will mean a lot less if he cant earn it on pace. This isn't endurance racing, this is still a motorsport ultimately about being fastest.

[f1316]

Marquez crashing out of the lead is kinda not even the biggest deal here - it’s part of his style that he crashes quite a lot and he’s done it several times before at this circuit. More important was that Pecco was comfortably second fastest over a race distance on a track that isn’t among his best. I don’t see any way he was going to challenge Marc on pure pace but he was there to put a little bit of pressure on him and to pick up the pieces.

Now the key will be how they compare at tracks Pecco does favour. If Pecco can occasionally be the faster of the two - even if Marquez has the pace most of the time - then we can have a world championship battle. It only takes a few mistakes vs a consistent rival for things to even right out and ironically we saw that last year where Pecco generally had the pace over Martin. Maybe that lesson will come in handy this year…

Tortoise vs Hare basically. Bagnaia was clearly the best rider last year, but lost for that same reason to Martin. He learned that MotoGP doesn't reward winning all that strongly, unfortunately.

Marquez has proven he can do consistent if he needs to, though. This was just a seriously weird mistake, running way too much on a wet curb that everybody knew to avoid. Dont even think it was pressure, he was in a perfectly comfortable position, I actually think he just got overconfident or had a lapse in concentration.

Honestly, unless Bagnaia can actually outcompete Marquez, it's still a psychological disadvantage, and he knows deep down that people will judge him on that. It'd be different if he didn't already have a title under his belt, but this one will mean a lot less if he cant earn it on pace. This isn't endurance racing, this is still a motorsport ultimately about being fastest.

True on all counts. It was the third such mistake this weekend by Marc though - once in practice and then the big moment on lap 1 of the sprint. Yes, he certainly can do consistent when needed but it was odd to see so many moments on a weekend when he had such a big advantage.

As you say, Pecco had the speed advantage last year and still didn’t win. I’m intrigued to see the picture in Qatar - I don’t consider that a ‘Pecco track’, per se, but it’s not a Marc special like Argentina or COTA and Bagnaia seems to have made small step, so will be interesting to see if that’s enough to make him competitive next time out. If so, game on.