There are so many talking points from Jerez, the Marquez brothers providing some, while being overshadowed by an amazing performance from Fabio Quartararo and another lacklustre one from Pecco Bagnaia.

If the Sprint race went the way they all have so far this season, with a Marc Marquez easy victory, the Main race showed that the only person who can take the title from Marc is Marc himself. That’s two unforced errors so far – America was the first, both with huge point consequences.

He could get away with the errors if there was no consistent challenge behind him, but with both his brother and Bagnaia snapping at his heels at every race, these are mistakes he just can’t afford to make. Luckily, both times, he has escaped uninjured, but he, more than anyone, knows how to properly derail a season through injury. He bounced back once from a serious injury, but it took him a few years. He can’t afford to do that again.

Revelation of the weekend has to be Fabio Quartararo; it was a case of “where the hell did that come from” when he took pole position with a new lap record, beating Marc Marquez to the post, which hasn’t happened this year. Marc was no doubt going to lose his pole streak at some point this year, but few would have bet that it would be to a Yamaha.

But it happened, and in the Sprint race, Quartararo duly took the lead, only to throw it down the road at the beginning of lap two.

In the Main race, not only did Quartararo lead off the line but also held the lead for 10 laps before succumbing to an inspired Alex Marquez, who sensed that this was his day after brother Marc crashed. Quartararo’s disappointment at losing the lead would have been tempered by the fact that he then proceeded to keep Bagnaia behind him to the flag. I doubt there’s a crystal ball anywhere in the world that would have predicted that!

As if to back up the result, both Yamaha riders then professed great satisfaction with a revised engine in the post-race test at the same circuit on Monday, claiming a faster top speed with no loss of sweetness of handling. Now, wouldn’t that be something if the biggest challenge to Ducati dominance this year came from Yamaha?

Marc Marquez’s crash was nothing but carelessness on both his and Ducati’s part. Everyone understands that following other riders closely plays havoc with front tyre temperature, changing the profile of the tyre as the pressure increases and, therefore, reducing grip. At Jerez, it seems to be more of a problem than at some other circuits, and Ducati should have known this. So should Marc. By his own admission, he wasn’t pushing when the accident happened, saving his tyres for the end of the race, but, crucially, he was behind other riders for the first time that weekend, and he was caught out, as simple as that.

We are used to Bagnaia complaining that the smaller fuel tank used for the Sprint races hampers his ability to make the bike do what he wants it to. It does rather beg the question (after he has been complaining about it for the whole time there have been Sprint races), why haven’t Ducati and Bagnaia got to grips with that yet? It almost beggars belief. If he doesn’t like the smaller tank, why not fit the larger tank and half fill it? Or maybe it’s not that simple?

There’s also something going on in the Main races as well for the two-time world champion and, after the Spanish race he was complaining of low front end grip, especially when following other riders, which is something he wasn’t suffering on the GP24 last year, which is the bike Alex Marquez is using this year to great effect. He admits that he needs a strong and predictable front end, which he simply hasn’t got this year, and it’s hurting him in the races.

Overshadowing all this was the victor; what a ride that was by Marquez the Younger! He’s had a torrid time in MotoGP since being promoted in 2020, riding a Honda RC213V, after winning Moto3 and Moto2 titles. In 2023, he joined the Gresini team and immediately gelled with the Ducati, taking two podiums and two Sprint wins, although 2024 wasn’t a great year, despite being on the same machinery as brother Marc – a Ducati GP23.

Now on a GP24, he’s clearly a lot happier, and it’s showing in the results; nine podiums from ten races so far this year, including his first MotoGP win. He’s a serious championship contender, if consistency is anything to go by, and if he can be there to pick up the pieces when the factory Ducatis get it wrong, then a tilt at the title is not so far-fetched.

If the Spanish crowd was there to witness another Marc Marquez victory, then they got what was second-best by only a tiny margin; what a way to chalk up your first win, in front of an adoring home crowd. Watch Alex’s confidence surge with that adulation still ringing in his ears.

All the noise at the front of the race drowned out what was happening behind, which was, predictably, KTM, Aprilia, Honda and some Ducatis slugging it out for crumbs.

For the second race in a row, Maverick Viñales was the leading KTM, running a strong fourth throughout the Main race, after finishing seventh in the Sprint, again the leading KTM. There’s nothing suspicious about this; it’s merely the right rider on the right bike. Viñales is clearly much more comfortable with how the RC16 is working than either Binder or Acosta, and he’s using this advantage to the maximum.

In the post-race test, Binder sounded much happier with the bike, after trying several new ideas which improved his edge grip on corners and therefore the drive out of the corners. The RC16 is undeniably fast in a straight line, but that can’t be taken advantage of if drive out of the corners is compromised. It seems as if the first in-season test has come at just the right time for all of the teams, even if holding at a track where there has just been a race weekend meant that the track was unusually grippy from all the rubber laid down, perhaps skewing the progress apparently made.

So, we head to Le Mans in two weeks with a lot of riders and teams feeling a lot better about their chances after either a good Grand Prix or a good test; Alex Marquez, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales, Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta on the one hand and KTM and Yamaha on the other. All we need now is for Aprilia to get their house in order, and we could be in for a cracker of a season and, hopefully, more competition for the Marquez brothers.

It’s funny, but I was just thinking before the Qatar Main race how there hasn’t been much impact of the tyre-pressure rule in MotoGP in 2025, at least amongst the leaders. How devastating, therefore, that it should happen to the most deserving podium-sitter in recent memory.

In a season where KTM can’t buy a decent race performance, Maverick Viñales’ second place on the satellite RC16, after leading convincingly for a good few laps and then holding off Pecco Bagnaia to take second place at the flag, was nothing short of miraculous. It had many onlookers wondering just exactly what Acosta and Binder had been up to.

To have that second place taken away, thanks to one of the most contentious recent rules in the sport, must be galling, even though quiet contemplation will emphasise the positives of the performance and not the disappointment of the final result.

This result makes a mockery of the tyre pressure rule; how is a rider expected to spring a surprise during a race if there is the danger of having that result nullified post-race?

Viñales went to the grid expecting to run in traffic, which would heat up his front tyre, so he could afford to start with a too-low tyre pressure. As it transpired, the opposite happened, and his laps at the front meant that his front tyre ran under pressure for more than 60% of race time, hence the penalty.

Let’s not forget that the tyre-pressure rule was brought in after no one, not any rider or any team, had raised concerns that running tyres too soft was a safety issue, as no safety issue had ever been encountered. There was a minimum pressure “rule”, but it was largely self-policed by the teams, and the general thought seemed to be, “if they can run that low and get away with it, then so be it.”

Now, it is heavily policed and is making a mockery of the action we are seeing on track. Viñales completely deserved that podium (as did we, the viewer, watching a bike other than a Ducati running at the front) and let’s face it, how much advantage did running his front tyre a couple of tenths of a bar of pressure under the legal limit really help him? The best rider on the day deserves to be rewarded as such, and even though KTM can take encouragement from the performance, that will do little to ease the disappointment. Of course, rules are rules and breaking one by a fraction has to be seen as the same as breaking it by a mile; otherwise, where do you draw the line? Doesn’t mean the rule is right to be there in the first place, however.

Quite aside from that incident, it was a spectacular race. Marquez got the hole shot, only to be bashed into by brother Alex Marquez at the first corner (not the only contact Marquez the Younger would make with another rider during the race). This let fast-starting Franco Morbidelli through into first place, and he then proceeded to streak off into the distance, leading by more than a second at one point.

Bagnaia converted his lowly 11th place on the grid to third by lap four and second by lap five, although Marc Marquez took that place back a couple of laps later. Then came the hurricane that was Maverick Viñales.

He took third from Bagnaia on lap seven, second from Marc Marquez on lap 10 and first from Morbidelli on lap 11, all while Acosta and Binder were faffing around further down the order, making no impression at all on the leaders, albeit engrossed in their own personal and close battles.

It was hard to escape the conviction that Marquez was merely biding his time in second place, conserving his tyres for the end of the race (he had said before the race that the race would be a tyre-conservation exercise). Viñales looked comfortable in the lead, but he wasn’t breaking away from Marquez, and neither was Bagnaia being dropped.

But Marquez is nothing but menacing, and all it took was one mistake from Viñales, and Marquez was through and away, eventually crossing the line 1.8 seconds clear. However, Viñales’ pace was clearly no short-lived fluke, as Bagnaia failed to get past the KTM, eventually crossing the line 2.6 seconds behind the KTM rider. Morbidelli took a fine fourth and Zarco a remarkable fifth; again, where were the factory Hondas? It’s an all-too-familiar story this year as Zarco on the satellite Honda makes Mir and Marini look ham-fisted.

Alex Marquez clattered into the back of Fabio DiGiannantonio, who was running a strong third at the time, sending the VR46 rider to the back of the field and completely ruining his race, which had been shaping up nicely at the front, while Marquez was given a long-lap penalty, re-joining 12th and finishing seventh, thus ending his P2 streak in 2025.

All across the weekend, there were encouraging signs; Zarco’s fifth place (fourth after Viñales’ penalty), pushing Morbidelli hard all the way, albeit after a disastrous Sprint race where his Honda was so bad on the soft rear tyre that he retired rather than risk injury through crashing; Quartararo’s third place on the grid after an epic qualifying effort, finally finishing eighth in the Main race; the pace of the VR46 Ducatis, only one of which is a GP25 don’t forget, and that wasn’t the one that lead the race for ten laps. If Morbidelli’s tyres were spent far too early and he had nothing left to fight against Viñales, Marquez and Bagnaia by halfway through the race, then at least he contained the damage to bring it home fourth, which, of course, became third after the race.

There was an epic battle for seventh, with seventh to 15th all contesting at close quarters, including the factory KTMs, both Gresini Ducatis, a couple of Aprilias and both factory Yamahas.

On the flip side, there were also some worrying events, not least of which was Jorge Martin’s nasty crash in the Main race, in which he continued his painful start to the season by fracturing six ribs as he slid over the kerbs. Has there ever been a worse start to a defence of a title? Even without Marc Marquez’ dominance at the front, Martin’s 2025 title defence is basically a write-off; he would be well-advised to simply stop until fully and properly fit, even if that takes six months, and use the remainder of the year to get used to the Aprilia and help develop it for 2026.

At the end of the day, however, the Qatar race was another step in Marc Marquez’s seemingly inexorable charge towards the title; seven wins out of eight races so far (Sprint and Main) and four pole positions. A lead of 17 points over brother Alex is nothing to get excited about – as the race in America showed, such a small deficit can be overturned in an instant of miscalculation – but it is the psychological effect that cannot be understated, especially regarding Pecco Bagnaia. Simply put, can he only win when Marquez makes a mistake? If so, that is not how championships are won, and Bagnaia knows that.

He continues to struggle in the Sprint races, apparently ill-at-ease with the smaller fuel tank used for the shorter distances, and he has no answer for Marquez’s pace in the Main races. To suggest that Bagnaia won’t win a Main race on merit in 2025 would be disrespectful to his talents, but even the Marquez haters must have to admit that, on current form, he is going to be very hard to beat if he keeps it rubber side down.

For our part, as long as the races remain as entertaining as Qatar, then does it matter if Marquez wins every race? I’ve long said that I really don’t mind who wins, as long as the result is in doubt right to the flag or very nearly at the flag. More races like Qatar, and my wish will have come true.

Ruche Moodley: South Africa’s Next Big Hope

I rarely talk about Moto3, not because it isn’t great racing – it always is! But simply because trying to do justice to what are always incredible races is really difficult in mere words. Watching them is far more exciting than reading about them.

However, special mention must be given to a newcomer to the Moto3 class, South African Ruche Moodley. The competition in Moto3 is intense, with dozens of fiery young riders looking to make their mark while competing in the junior of the three MotoGP classes.

Out of the four races so far this year, Moodley has scored points in three, including a fine 13th place in Qatar. His post-race comments showed a keen intelligence and proved that he is a rider to watch in the coming months.

“I had a big wheelie off the line, so I had to get off the gas to bring the front wheel back to the ground. We opted to race on the slightly harder compound tyre. This meant the bike wouldn’t have the initial grip, but it would get better and be more consistent over the full race distance.

“I knew that I could learn a bit from racing with guys who are in their second and third year of Moto3. I had managed my tyre wear to keep a little in reserve for the end of the race. The race pace today was really quick. The heat, for the tyres and riders, was tough to deal with. It was the first time I had ridden in these conditions, and now I know how tough it is. I am glad that I kept my cool, as gaining experience is very important. To leave here with points is great.”

We’ll keep you posted as to his progress through the year.

How do you view Bagnaia’s victory in America? Did he win, or did Marc Marquez lose? Even though they ultimately come to the same thing, there is a distinction.

Bagnaia was having a much better race weekend in the U.S. than at the first two races, but the fact remains that he was still behind Marc Marquez in every practice, qualifying and the races. On the evidence of the first laps in the Main race, it was looking likely that Bagnaia had nothing to offer against Marquez’s pace. Marquez making a mistake was the only opportunity for Bagnaia.

Of course, Bagnaia was in the right place to benefit from such a mistake when it came, but the fact remains that, without that mistake, Bagnaia looked as if he was destined to finish second, and he was the first to acknowledge that; “I know that the win came because of a crash for Marc. He was faster than us, faster than everybody else today. So I was trying to match his pace as best as possible.”

However, displaying a new sense of confidence – and worryingly for his rivals – Bagnaia seems to have a handle on the problems that have been troubling him. “The start of the season hasn’t been easy. From the winter tests to the first two races, I struggled to find my feeling under braking. But this weekend helped me a lot – I finally found what I was searching for,” he said. Of course, that doesn’t mean that he can necessarily match the pace of Marquez, but a confident rider is a fast rider, and Marquez will almost certainly not get things all his way this season.

Bagnaia has traditionally struggled at COTA, finishing eighth and fifth last year in the Sprint and Main races, respectively. He’s never won here, so to do so this year will be a big boost, especially as the next round in Qatar is at a track where he has excelled in the past.

Another consequence of the Marquez crash is that a huge points advantage has been wiped out in one fell swoop; Bagnaia now sits only eleven points behind Marc, while Alex Marquez takes over at the top of the table, 1 point clear of his brother.

The start of the Main race was chaotic. A shower of rain right before the start prompted most riders to head to the grid on wet tyres, only Binder, Bastiannini and Ogura opting for slicks. But it was too dry for full wets and so, with three minutes to go before the warm-up lap, Marc Marquez made the decision to swap to a dry set-up bike in pit lane. Others quickly followed, with a gaggle of riders waiting to start the race from pit lane.

Now, the rules state that if there are ten or more riders wanting to start from pit lane, then the red flag will be shown, and a new start procedure will take place. Marquez knows the rule book back to front and realised that if he went, then so would many others, triggering the red flag. However, it now turns out that they hadn’t quite got the interpretation right.

According to the rules, should a rider leave the grid to swap bikes before the warm-up lap, they can take their place on the grid but will have to serve a ride-through penalty during the race, a point that Marquez and his crew weren’t clear on. If riders come into the pits after the warm-up lap, they have to start from pit lane when all the riders have passed the pit exit and still serve a ride-through penalty.

So Marquez gambled that enough riders would follow him into the pits to swap bikes, and luckily for him, they did, the ensuing chaos forcing a red flag and restart. Naturally, there were a few angry riders, some of whom had gone to the grid on slicks and who, perhaps rightly, thought that if you abandon your place on the grid, then it is forfeit. And so it would be if only one or two riders did that. Expect a clarification of the rules in the future.

From lights out, Marquez was in a league of his own, but Bagnaia was enjoying himself, battling with Alex Marquez for second place. The top ten was looking interesting, with Di Giannantonio, Miller, Morbidelli, Quartararo, Binder, Acosta and Aldeguer running in close formation. The plight of the Yamahas was there for all to see, as they lost out on the straights to the faster Ducatis and KTMs.

Marquez’ progress looked inexorable, leading by 2.2 seconds by lap nine. But that’s where it stopped as he slid gracefully out at turn four after taking too much kerb, which was still wet. He rejoined, but with a broken right foot peg, there was no carrying on, and the flawless start to 2025 was over.

That left Bagnaia with a comfortable lead over Alex Marquez, who couldn’t relax with Di Giannantonio right behind. If brother Marc’s 100% record was in tatters, then Alex’s would remain intact, with six second places from six starts.

Behind all this, both factory KTMs were out, Acosta crashing and Binder stopping with a technical issue. Zarco was running well but also crashed, as did Aldeguer and, surprise, surprise, Joan Mir, although Jack Miller went against form to get to fifth place and stay there, rather than falling down the order like fellow Yamaha rider, Quartararo.

For once, there were only four Ducatis in the top ten, even if they were in the top four positions. Completing the top ten were two Yamahas, two Aprilias, a Honda and a KTM. Encouraging as this may be, none of them are capable of mounting a serious challenge to the Ducatis, although it makes the midfield racing a lot more interesting than what’s happening at the front, unless, of course, you are a Marquez or Ducati fan!

At the end of the two races in Argentina and the U.S.A., Marquez hasn’t left with the points advantage many were predicting, given that both those tracks are Marquez strongholds. But they also prove that the pace is very much there and, barring mistakes, expect normal service to resume in Qatar, although Bagnaia and Alex Marquez will certainly have something to say about that.

We may be only two races in, but with another dominant weekend for the Marquez/Ducati trio and another lacklustre performance from Bagnaia, are we too early to see a trend? On balance, you’d have to say no, that Bagnaia and the other Ducati riders will have a say in proceedings sooner rather than later and, hopefully, throughout the season. Bagnaia even indicated that he might revert to last year’s GP24, on which he was so comfortable.

A Ducati whitewash is all but inevitable. On initial showings, it’s not looking likely that Honda, KTM or Yamaha will be able to challenge consistently at the front, relying yet again on freak conditions to spring a surprise.

Aprilia is a bit more difficult to predict, with the absence of Jorge Martin, but Ai Ogura’s performances have been brilliant and show that there is something in the RS-GP that will allow it to fight at the front, as long as it suits Martin’s riding style. Having missed so much pre-season testing, when he does return, he will have to do his testing and familiarisation during Grand Prix weekends; never an easy task.

It was always known that Argentina and the U.S.A. would play into Marc Marquez’ strengths, but there must have been a few groans up and down the pit lane when he and brother Alex took off at the front and then when Marc got past and took a relatively easy win. He’s looking so comfortable on the Ducati, and it’s doing what he both expects and wants it to do; it’s a dangerously effective combination, and it doesn’t seem as if anyone can do anything about it right now.

Despite the processional look to the race, there was tension at the front, even if the outcome was rather predictable; predictable but not certain as Alex Marquez was looking very comfortable in the lead but there is just something inexorable about Marc; that he would win was never really in doubt, if we’re honest.

More excitement was to be found behind the Marquez pair, as first Johann Zarco’s LCR Honda improbably tussled with Bagnaia, then Franco Morbidelli took over and took third place away from Bagnaia. It is high time that Morbidelli starts to earn his keep, which he certainly has to as he is the only Ducati seat that is up for grabs in 2026. Given KTM’s on-track struggles and overall uncertainty about the team’s future, there are inevitably many rumours doing the rounds that Pedro Acosta could jump ship for 2026 to Ducati – more specifically, Morbidelli’s seat – long-term KTM contract notwithstanding. He is certainly a talent that deserves the best equipment, and I don’t think there is anyone in the pit lane who wouldn’t like to see KTM up there with the leaders at every race, but sadly, they’re just not managing to get there.

Make no mistake, where KTM has got to in a few short years, compared to the multi-decade careers of the likes of Honda and Yamaha, is nothing short of remarkable, but the last few percentage points of development are eluding the Austrian concern. Following Ducati’s dominant 2007, the team languished in the wilderness for many years before Gigi Dall’Igna came on board, so a long gestation period is nothing new, but with the attendant financial worries that KTM is facing, will the team last long enough to come right?

In terms of our entertainment in 2025, we have to hope that Bagnaia, Martin, and all the rest will close the gap to the Marquez brothers. I don’t really care if Marquez wins every race, as long as each race result is in doubt to the last corner of the last lap. On the evidence of the first two races, that may be a forlorn hope.

A word or two about Simon Crafar, ex-racer, ex-TV pundit and now head race weekend steward for the FIM (and, no doubt, working behind the scenes with the FIM on safety and the spectacle of the series.)

When he was first introduced to us on our screens during race weekends, he was clearly uncomfortable, to the point where his on-screen personality came across as slightly inept. However, if you listened carefully, all the expertise he later brought to the job was there for all to see; he just didn’t know how to be natural and relaxed.

Happily, as he grew into the role, his pieces – either on the microphone or to camera – became well-presented and fascinating insights, allowing his natural affinity with what he was talking about to shine through, and he had a flair for putting even the most technical details into layman’s terms without seeming condescending; they were erudite and entertaining and he became a highlight of the race weekends.

It seemed a real shame, therefore, when it was announced that he would be exchanging the commentary team for the stewards’ room during race weekends. A loss for us, the viewers, certainly, but it seems, on early evidence, that it is an excellent move for MotoGP in general.

The first two races of the 2025 season might have been lacking in absolute excitement at the front, but that’s not to say that there haven’t been plenty of incidents throughout the weekends that have required investigation and potential penalties applied. And, throughout all, the stewarding has been notable for its calm-headedness, and there has been a clear indication that common sense is prevailing.

Stewards have generally been chosen in terms of their racing experience and have, for the majority, been excellent at their jobs. But not all have been universally liked.

Of course, that’s irrelevant; whether they are liked or not, and neither is it an indication of competency. But this isn’t a question of personal feelings; some have just rubbed the riders up the wrong way, and the lack of consistency and transparency of decisions have been issues all too often at the forefront of criticism. None of us can know the internal or external pressures of making decisions in mere minutes, without the benefit of hindsight, and there always is the human element to contend with.

The Crafar era has started well, with both consistency and common sense prevailing, and he has been widely praised for both qualities. Now, all we need to see is him once again in front of the camera, explaining why a particular penalty was awarded, so that the logic (or otherwise) is there for all to see. For sure, there will be some questionable decisions, but if these remain in the minority, then it’s a win for MotoGP and for us, the spectators.

Was anyone really surprised? Pre-season testing didn’t show anything conclusively, but – and maybe it was just me – there seemed to be a sense of inevitability about how Marc Marquez would go when it came to lights-out when racing proper resumed.

But surely no-one, least of all Marquez himself, could have predicted such complete and effortless dominance; pole position, Sprint and Main race victories; maximum points from the opening round. I’m not sure who took the fastest lap, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it was Marquez.

It all looked so easy. Even when Marquez M abruptly slowed and allowed his brother and rival Marquez A through, it quickly became clear that at worst it had been a missed gear and nothing more serious, given the way that he then shadowed every move Alex made, before taking the lead again and setting off into the distance without ever looking as if he was on the ragged edge.

As we now know, Marquez had been sent to the line with too low a front tyre pressure, an odd situation given that it was highly likely that he would lead from the front as he had in the Sprint race. Running in clear air, and riding well within his limit, he was in danger of incurring a penalty for too long with too low a pressure, so he let his brother through so he could run in his dirty air and get temperature into his front tyre. With that achieved, he calmly took the lead again, and that was that.

There are a lot of whingers who, for whatever reason, don’t like Marquez M; they had better find a way of liking him because this isn’t going to be his last victory this year so, if they’re going to enjoy the 2025 season, they’d better learn to accept it!

Meanwhile, Bagnaia had nothing to offer to counter the pace of the Marquez brothers ahead of him and even, in the Sprint race, had to defend against an incredible performance from rookie Ai Ogura on the satellite Trackhouse Aprilia. Bagnaia has every right to be worried for the rest of the season if this is how Marquez M can perform straight out of the box. Let’s not forget, also, that the next two races, in Argentina and the USA, are two of Marc’s favourite tracks.

Alex Marquez could be forgiven for being despondent at coming so close to his maiden GP victory and realising that his lead in the Main race was not through his own talent but because Marc needed it to be that way, but second on the grid and two second places in the races is nothing to be ashamed of (and what he predicted for himself at the beginning of the weekend). Look at it this way, he was an honest second – not gained through the misfortune of others – and managed to keep Bagnaia at bay for every racing lap. There’s no lack of skill there, just bad luck at having the best rider of his generation on the best bike of the moment as an opponent. Even if it’s your brother, it will still be hard for Alex to (potentially) see him lifting yet another title trophy. Of course, it’s going to be a long season and, as we know all too well, anything can and probably will happen, but right now, the signs aren’t good for anyone who’s not named Marc Marquez.

Bagnaia, by his own admission, was not riding at his best this weekend, and that is simply something you can’t do when Marquez M is your teammate. Bagnaia’s calm and kindly demeanour can’t entirely hide the extremely tough fighter underneath, and it is inconceivable that he won’t take the fight to Marquez more convincingly in the coming races. He proved in 2022 that he can overcome a large points deficit, but that’s not going to work every time, and he just can’t afford to fall any further behind Marquez if he is to be a title challenger this year.

So much for the podium finishers but, with this being the first race of a new season, there was plenty to talk about all the way down the field and you can’t start anywhere other than with yet another brilliant rookie performance, following on from Pedro Acosta last year (second place in only his second race). The protagonist this year was Ai Ogura on a satellite Aprilia RS-GP, run by Trackhouse racing and sporting one of the best liveries in recent memory – the light blue and orange colours of the Gulf Oil company.

Even with Bagnaia admitting he was riding below his best, he wasn’t left for dead by the Marquez brothers, but neither was he getting away from Ogura, who claimed a remarkable fourth place in the Sprint race and fifth in the Main race; that’s the best rookie performance since Marc Marquez in 2013. He was by far the best of the Aprilias and, if that is an indication of how good the Aprilia is, then we can’t wait for Jorge Martin to return in America, even if it’s by no means guaranteed that the RS-GP will suit the reigning champion.

Marco Bezzecchi on the factory Aprilia might have been beaten in both races by the rookie Ogura, but he messed up his weekend by crashing in qualifying, meaning he had to battle his way through both races, rather than having the clear air in which to demonstrate his speed. His wild start in the Sprint race with excessive wheelspin didn’t help his cause. The Aprilia clearly has the speed to run with the Ducatis so, if Bezzecchi can qualify cleanly, then he could spring a surprise or two.

Enea Bastiannini won the Sprint race here last year, which will make it all the more galling that his Sprint race time this year, albeit on a different bike – the KTM RC16 against the Ducati GP24 – was a full 27 seconds slower! 12^th in the Sprint and ninth in the Main race show that there is a lot of work to be done for the ex-factory Ducati rider. His teammate in the Tech3 team, Maverick Viñales, had an even worse weekend, finishing 14^th and 16^th, battling in the Main race with the Thai rookie, Somkiat Chantra on the LCR Honda.

Regarding the factory KTMs, it wasn’t the most encouraging start for the Austrian manufacturer, even taking away all the pre-season confusion about the very existence of the brand, which can’t have been a calm environment in which to prepare. Brad Binder managed eighth place in both races, while Pedro Acosta finished sixth in the Sprint and second last in the Main race after sliding out, and it’s an uncomfortable fact that the midfield might be the RC16’s natural place in the pecking order. Buriram offers completely different conditions to many of the races on the calendar, however, so maybe it’s premature to condemn the KTMs to underperformance all year; they might well spring a surprise or two, but as for running consistently at the front with the Ducatis, it looks a tall order.

In practice and qualifying, it looked as if progress had been made by Yamaha but the races belied that impression, for all Jack Miller’s efforts, which ended with a crash in the Sprint race while running sixth and 11^th in the Main race. Quartararo finished seventh in the Sprint but could only manage 15^th in the Main, while Alex Rins could only manage two 17^th-place finishes. About the only thing Yamaha can take away from Thailand, is the fact that top speed is no longer an embarrassment.

It was another weekend to forget for Honda, neither Joan Mir, Luca Marini, Johann Zarco nor Chantra looking at all competitive. For both Yamaha and Honda, 2027’s new rules can’t come soon enough.

So, the long wait is over and we’re back in business, even if that business looks to be largely similar to 2024 and 2023, with Ducati on top, Aprilia second best and the rest messing around behind. The least we can hope for is an intra-team battle between Marquez M and Bagnaia, with the satellite Ducati riders causing an upset or three and, hopefully, Aprilia getting stuck in. Quite how quickly Jorge Martin will be able to get up to speed will be an interesting storyline from America onwards, but it’s hard to envisage, even at this early point in the season, any plot other than a factory Ducati walkover in 2025.

With less than two weeks to go to the season’s first race and the two main pre-season tests behind us, things are not as clear as you might have expected.

Of course, testing ultimately reveals nothing, as every team and rider concentrates on different things while developing the bike. So lap times might tell a story, but they’re not necessarily a clear picture. Having said that, the cream inevitably rises to the top, and, predictably, Ducati was the bike everyone was chasing.

But it’s not as simple as that. Despite the Ducati GP25 being in existence, both Marquez and Bagnaia looked to be favouring last year’s GP24 engine and chassis during testing, which is not entirely surprising given its level of performance and superiority over the rest of the field in 2024.

Don’t forget also, that whatever engine is homologated for 2025 will also have to be used in 2026 as well, with no development allowed, so Ducati’s decision to stick with a known quantity of an engine is hardly surprising. What this means, of course, is that Marc Marquez had only to get to grips with an already-developed chassis and engine, rather than trying to sort out whole new designs, which can only help his confidence for the season.

The prospect of another Ducati-dominated season shouldn’t necessarily fill us with enthusiasm but when has MotoGP been any different? Also, if the fight between Bagnaia and Marquez is anything like that between Bagnaia and Jorge Martin in 2024, then we should be in for another vintage year of racing, especially as Marquez is not one to sit back and defer to a teammate who has been with the team a long time and had great success.

It would just be nice to have a couple of other manufacturers getting a sniff of a podium or race win, although, on the sketchy evidence of testing, neither Yamaha nor Honda are in a position to challenge at the front and KTM might be able to if the conditions are right, but consistently challenge, even with Acosta on board? As much as I’d like to see it, I’m not sure.

Talking of Martin, he was unfortunate enough to suffer a nasty, bone-fracturing high side after only 13 laps on the Aprilia in the first test of 2025, meaning that he missed the second test and will therefore enter the 2025 season rather unprepared, on a bike that is completely different to the Ducati GP24. The Aprilia RS-GP is a proven race winner but it hasn’t been as consistent as the Ducati. Could Martin be that magical and elusive “right rider on the right bike at the right time,” that brings success to Aprilia? Aprilia team manager Paolo Bonora admitted that the first four races of the season will be extended tests for Martin, having missed so much of the pre-season testing. That means he’ll be playing catch-up for the first two or three races but we know he’s got the pace if the Aprilia can match his talent.

There are a lot of new rider/team combinations this year, even if some teams have remained stable. The factory Yamaha and Honda teams retain the same rider line-up as in 2024 but elsewhere, it is all changed.

After being snubbed by Ducati, Enea Bastiannini moved to Tech3 KTM but he’s been struggling to adapt to the KTM whilst trying to unlearn how he rode the Ducati. Maverick Viñales, Bastiannini’s teammate, is also citing a completely different braking style to get the best out of the front end of the KTM. In the factory KTM squad, Pedro Acosta was again working his magic and was the fastest of the four KTMs, ending the test fourth overall.

Jack Miller definitely likes the front-end grip of the Yamaha, confirming what Quartararo has been saying all along. The Yamaha, like the Honda, just needs more power, although would that upset the balance of the chassis? It’s not a case of simply bolting in the rumoured V4 as that will necessitate a whole new chassis, designed around the power and torque characteristics of a V4 configuration. With the engine freeze, is it likely that Yamaha will take a chance on the new V4 for 2025, as untried as it is, or will the team wait until 2027 to bring it in? That could mean a further two years of pain and non-results at a time when they can least afford it.

Yamaha will at least have four bikes on the grid this year, with Pramac making the shock transfer to the Japanese team from Ducati at the end of 2024, despite having won the title on the Italian machine. This added rider input will likely only have an effect from 2027 when the new rules are introduced, but who knows how it will pan out through 2025 and 2026? The engine development freeze will negate some of the advantages of having four riders but the chassis might benefit.

Elsewhere, Franco Morbidelli has headed to the Pertamina Enduro VR46 squad, although he remains on Ducati machinery. Miguel Oliveira joins Miller at Pramac Yamaha, Marco Bezzecchi joins Martin at the factory Aprilia squad, and rookies Fermin Aldeguer, Ai Ogura and Somkiat Chantra make their MotoGP debut at Gresini (Ducati), Trackhouse (Aprilia) and LCR Honda respectively.

Let’s face it, though: for all the flurry of news and conjecture around pre-season testing, the season really begins when the pit lane lights turn green for the first practice session at the first GP which, this year, is set to be in Thailand on the 28th February. Only then will we have a proper idea of the pecking order and, even if the odds favour Bagnaia and Marquez being at the front, it is by no means a foregone conclusion.