MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

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.

As the MotoGP title battle hots up, it is the small things which could end up making the difference. After Buriram, Pecco Bagnaia flew back to Italy to continue training at the ranch, and to prepare. Jorge Martin stayed out in Bali, to stay acclimatized to the tropical heat, and to avoid jet lag. "I decided to stay here because normally I struggle with jet lag, so I thought it would be a good option to stay here and get used to the conditions and train in the heat," he told the press conference.

These are the margins by which close championships are lost and won. But it is wrong to say that Martin's approach is better than Bagnaia's, or vice versa. The right approach will be the one taken by the rider who ends up claiming the 2023 MotoGP crown. As so much of motorcycle racing happens between the rider's ears, the right approach is whatever works at the time. Unfortunately, you only find out what works after the season is done. Hindsight is always 20/20.

There was a downside to staying in Indonesia, Martin admitted. "I think this week off I had too much time to think about everything," the Pramac Ducati rider said. "I prefer to race straight away because I had the feeling." The fear is always that you lose the momentum you had in a week off.

Rider reshuffle