MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

MotoGP riders learned a new English word last Sunday at Buriram. Typical of this was Joan Mir, who had crashed out shortly after the halfway mark. "I have burns," he explained to journalists, before turning to the Honda HRC Castrol press officer to ask "como se dice? (how do you say that in English), before journalists jumped in with the word "blisters". "Ah, the tire also!" Mir joked.

Blisters were a common theme. Official air temperature of 36°C (measured in the shade) meant there was little respite for rider nor machine. The combination of blazing sun, 300 horsepower, and hot air meant that the heat produced by the engines was not being dissipated to the air, but heating up frames and chassis as well. Temperatures of metal parts were reaching nearly 100°C.

We are off and running. The first points in the 2025 MotoGP season have been handed out, and we have a championship. So far, it is running pretty much as it did last year: three Ducatis on the podium and a race that was spaced out and predictable pretty much from the start. But that didn't stop the Saturday Sprint race at Buriram from being interesting, if not exciting to watch.

The atmosphere more than made up for the lack of on track action. The grandstands were once again packed with enthusiastic and loud MotoGP fans, vindicating Dorna's decision to start the season in Buriram instead of Qatar. That may not suit European broadcasters - a 9am CET start time is less attractive to TV audiences than either 3pm for a race in Europe or 6pm for Qatar.

(And yes, I am aware that the 3pm Buriram time is much more convenient for viewers in Australia, and to an extent on the West Coast of the US. The trouble is, TV audience sizes in those countries are nowhere near what they are in Spain, Italy, France, and the UK.)

It's Only Friday, as the riders like to say to hype-hungry journalists after the first day of practice. That is of course true, but this It's Only Friday has brought a whole ream of fascinating stories to follow. It is far too early to be drawing conclusions for the rest of the season, but so far, 2025 looks a lot less like 2024 than we feared.

Yes, Ducati is still clearly the strongest manufacturer. The Márquez brothers topped the timesheets on Friday, Gresini's Alex beating Lenovo's Marc by half a tenth of a second. And in terms of pace, Ducatis are looking strongest as well: Marc Márquez was running 1'29.9s on old tires, teammate Pecco Bagnaia 1'30.0s.

But there are signs the other factories are catching up. There are as many Aprilias in the top 10 and directly through to Q2 as there are Ducatis (three). All five manufacturers are straight through to Q2. There are two Hondas in the top ten, Joan Mir an impressive sixth fastest. And Pedro Acosta is both quick over a single lap and running just a tenth or two off Pecco Bagnaia's pace on used tires. It has been very interesting day indeed.

In many ways, the 2025 MotoGP championship promises to be one of the more interesting in recent years. Perhaps not the most closely contested - the general consensus among fans and pundits alike is that you can take your pick of whether it will be Pecco Bagnaia or Marc Márquez who ends up lifting the 2025 MotoGP crown - but behind the title fight, there are some fascinating developments to watch out for.

We may as well start with that title battle. The dominance of Ducati was so great last year that it is hard to imagine anyone other than Marc Márquez or Pecco Bagnaia walking off with the title. Despite the fact that they are sticking with their GP24 engine - a little more on that later - both Bagnaia and Márquez showed pace during the test, Márquez' race simulation at Buriram almost fast enough to win a sprint race.

While all eyes were on Ducati at the Buriram MotoGP test, especially because of the choice they faced between racing the GP25 or sticking with the GP24 and looking for improvements, it was easy to miss the other big stories on the grid. Stories which directly affect Ducati, as it happens. Because unlike last year, where Ducati pretty much had a free run at the MotoGP championship, it looks like the other manufacturers have made a big step in competitiveness.

Not enough to make betting on anyone other than Ducati winning the championship look extremely foolhardy. But enough to cause Ducati more than just inconvenience. MotoGP in 2025 does not look like being a one-horse race any longer.

Stepping up

It may sound strange, but Aprilia has come out of testing quite well, despite Jorge Martin injuring himself in the first couple of hours of the Sepang test. The bike is a big step forward, which I'll come to later. But the bigger step has been for Marco Bezzecchi, who has really grown in his role as factory rider in Martin's absence.