MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

MotoGP is back at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina, so what better way to start than with news about Austin, Texas? The reigning world champion isn't in Argentina, and wasn't scheduled to be in the pre-event press conference, but he called in anyway, phoning in from his car. His recovery from the scaphoid injury he suffered in a training crash wasn't proceeding as quickly as he hoped, he said, and he wouldn't be able to ride at the Grand Prix Of The Americas in Austin, Texas. And probably not in Qatar either.

"I'm really suffering," Martin said. "It's not my moment, I'm struggling to recover as fast as I would like." He would skip Austin and maybe also Qatar, and would really like to test himself before he returned to racing. "I would like to make some kind of test before coming back to racing, because I'm not feeling really good. And I know Massimo [Rivola, Aprilia Racing CEO] is also working on that, let's see if we can make it possible."

A test is going to be hard. Martin is able to ride a production bike, but Aprilia is in category C as far as concessions are concerned. That means no testing for contracted riders (i.e. riders on the official MotoGP entry list for 2025) outside of official IRTA tests. The first IRTA test is at Jerez. And if Martin is going to ride at the test in Jerez, he might as well try to ride at the weekend.

Patience is a virtue

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.

The Buriram MotoGP test confirmed Ducati as the preseason favorite, with Aprilia a close second and KTM possibly on the prowl. But what about the Japanese manufacturers? After a couple of years in the wilderness, are they any closer to regaining competitiveness?

The tension which has been building up around the possibility of racing at Valencia after the devastating storms there defused after the MotoGP Safety Commission, the body in which the riders talk to Dorna and the FIM about everything of concern, from track safety to sporting regulations and more. Any journalist with a rider's phone number was messaging them the instant they emerged from meeting.

Which is how we found out that Dorna and the local authorities in the Valencia region had decided to cancel the 2024 Valencia round of MotoGP, set to take place from 15th-17th of November. Half an hour or so later, Dorna issued a formal announcement, stating that the round had been canceled and they were seeking an alternative location for the final event of the season. To the palpable relief of everyone concerned.

After the race weekend at Motegi, a few loose ends remain to be picked up. Though the race was hardly captivating, there were several things worth noting in Japan. So here's a quick rundown.

Champ

We have to start with the 2024 Moto3 champion. David Alonso showed the kind of speed and maturity in winning the race that brought him the title. He kept a calm head, stuck in the front group, and worked his way forward when it counted. There was never any real doubt he would win the race once he hit the front.

There is good reason to believe that Alonso is special. Winning 10 races in a season is impressive. Doing it in the space of 16 races even more so. Joan Mir and Fausto Gresini managed the same number of races in a Moto3 or 125cc season. Mir took 17 races to get to 10 wins in 2017, the year he won the Moto3 title. Gresini won 10 races in a row to win the 1987 title, though it was actually 11 in a row, counting the last race of 1986.