MotoGP
MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix Review: Bagnaia shines in Spielberg
Bagnaia masters the Red Bull Ring to deliver yet another dominating weekend.

The Red Bull Ring in the Austrian mountains was the stage to the 11th Round of the 2024 FIM MotoGP world championship. Read about it all in DRC’s weekend Review for the 2024 MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix. Read the weekend preview here .
Bagnaia completes the Double
The Ducati domination continues. After missing out last time in Silverstone, Francesco Bagnaia was on top form as he scooped up both the Sprint and the Race victory at the Red Bull Ring. The Italian qualified second behind title-fight rival Jorge Martin, missing on pole by just one and a half tenths.
Pecco produced a fantastic hole-shot lights out on Saturday. He and Jorge Martin were then scrapping for the lead, after which Martin had to serve a Long Lap Penalty and settle for second in the sprint, Pecco finishing with a very comfortable margin.
Going into Sunday, both Bagnaia and Martin were tied on 250 points, with Pecco becoming the leader by the virtue of more race wins.
On Sunday, Bagnaia got a good start, and converted it into the lead at the end of Lap 1, completing the move and becoming the leader officially as He and Martin barreled into Turn 1 on the second lap. After which, he went on to inflate his lead eventually finishing a whopping 3.2 seconds ahead of Jorge. Bagnaia would go on to put in the fastest lap of the race. The speedy 1:29:519 also breaking the lap record in the process. This show of performance puts the reigning champion 5 points ahead of his nearest rival Martin.
Marquez has a topsy turvy weekend
Difficult, draining and rocky were the words to describe Marquez’s weekend in Austria. The Spaniard qualified third, half a second off pole. Although he was happy about the front row start, he was also dissatisfied with his lack of pace.
Come Saturday, he would maintain that third place, but as Jorge Martin served his long lap penalty, Marquez pounced and took second place. He had the pace to secure a silver medal in the sprint, but crashed out at turn 3.
Sunday didn’t bear much luck for the Spaniard either, as he collided with the Prima Pramac Ducati of Franko Morbidelli. The pair, who also collided in Sachsenring, saw Marquez coming off worse once again and dropping deep into the field. Marquez would then go on to make his way through the field, picking off places one after the other, to finally finish fourth.
One positive from his weekend was the great race pace he showed. He was able to keep up with Jorge Martin and even pull a gap on him. Qualifying pace needs to improve, however, as he tries to prove why he is the right choice for the Ducati ride next year.
Aprilia, Honda and Yamaha fail to deliver
Aprilia for the second weekend in a row, fail to deliver the goods after a promising start. Friday was frustrating for Aleix Espargaro, but he recovered to a third place finish in the sprint after Marquez crashed out. On the other factory Aprilia was Maveric Viñales, disappointed by a low P6 in Qualifying. The Trackhouse Aprilias were also disappointing, finishing 13th and 20th in Qualifying.

Things would only get difficult for Sunday. Both the factory Aprilias went backwards from the start, finishing P7 and P9. Oliveira on the Trackhouse Aprilia could only muster 12th. A growing concern for the Aprilia bikes is that they are loosing a lot of pace as the race goes on. After a decent start, every single Aprilia was overtaken as they sunk to the lower points paying positions.
Meanwhile, the Japanese manufacturers were once again starved for pickings. Honda and Yamaha combined managed to score only two points at the hands of Nakagami. Honda and Yamaha seem to be deep in the lower-midfield slump, and still have miles to return to the top competition.
Lukewarm home race for KTM
Celebrating the Austrian GP as their home grand prix, KTM had a weekend with very high peaks and the lowest of lows.

Pedro Acosta, who is the lead KTM rider in the championship, started with three different crashes on Friday. That, however would be the least of his troubles. The wonderkid was unable to recreate his magic that got him multiple podiums earlier in the year. He finished the race in 13th, scoring 3 points in a tumultuous weekend. His teammate Augusto Fernandes also struggled over the weekend, finishing with a single point.
The factory KTM team had a much better weekend though. The KTM hero Brad Binder made it to Q2, albeit in 12th place. His team-mate Jack Miller produced a blistering lap to start fifth come race-day, the Aussie still looking for a ride for next season. However, the talking point in qualifying was the Wildcard.

Pol Espargaro impressed and not only managed to get into Q2, but also out qualified Binder and started 10th. He would then finish 11th, in the points for KTM on Sunday.
Come raceday, Jack Miller went backwards, but still just. He was only overtaken by Marquez as he charged. However, that would all change as Miller crashed out of sixth at the turn two chicane. This was his first major points paying position since the last year, and will surely hamper his chances of getting a seat next season.
The Sunday man Brad Binder delivered a brilliant home race for KTM on the other side of the garage. He managed to climb up all the way from P12 to P5, and was set for a P4 finish had Marquez not charged past him. This now puts him 6th in the bigger scheme of things and he overtakes Pedro Acosta as the lead KTM in the championship.
Rider Market and Injury Updates
The MotoGP grid will be getting a new rookie next season. Trackhouse Racing have signed Moto2 rider Ai Ogura for two years starting 2025.
Congratulations are also in order for Frank Morbidelli, who joins Pertamina Enduro VR46 for the 2025 season and beyond. VR46 have also extended Fabio Di Gianntonio’s contract for another two years.
In other news, Diggia suffered a pretty heavy crash this weekend, which left him with a dislocated shoulder. He was not able to start either race and qualifying, and it is uncertain if he will recover for the next round.
Championship Standings
This is how the championship looks like after the Austrian Grand Prix:

The next round of the world championship will take place from Aug 30-Sep 1 at the Aragon circuit in Spain.
Follow DRC for more updates related to the world of motorsports.
MotoGP
MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi Capitalizes as Quatraro’s Search for a Win Continues
Marco Bezzecchi makes the most of Fabio Quartararo’s misfortunes as he takes the win in MotoGP British GP.

Fabio Quartararo did something that many thought would be impossible at the start of the year: he scored a hat-trick of pole positions riding the Factory Yamaha bike. However, he is yet to convert it into a victory. Despite starting 6 races from the front (3 Grand Prix and 3 Sprints), he is yet to stand on the top step of the podium. Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi made the most of Quartararo’s misfortune to take his first win of the season.
Read More: MotoGP 2025: Riders brace for unpredictable weather at Silverstone
Hattricks of Poles and a Brace of DNFs for Quartararo
When the season started, anyone, even Fabio for that matter, would not have expected to get 3 back-to-back pole positions on his Factory Yamaha, a bike that has not been the most competitive in the recent past. But to his surprise, and everyone else’s, Fabio put in a storming lap to go 3 tenths clear of the rest of the field and get his third Pole Position of the season. But, as fate would have it, he also scored a back-to-back DNF in the Grand Prix.
In Silverstone, it was looking good for the Frenchman, as he was leading the race ahead of Bezzecchi, but a ride height issue in the middle of the race forced the Yamaha rider to retire from the race. He tried half a lap to fix the issue, but to no success.
Bezzecchi Gets His First Win of The Season
Starting from 11th on the grid, not a lot of people would have had Marco Bezzecchi on their cards to win the British Grand Prix. But the Aprilia rider slowly and steadily picked off riders one by one to climb up to second position, and when Quartararo’s misfortunes hit, Bezzecchi was at the perfect place to make the most of it and cross the finish line in first.
A season with lacklustre results for the Italian driver, this win would do him a world of good. Before this race, his best finish was 6th; now the win has shot him to 7th in the standings.

Another Weekend of Struggle for the Factory Ducati
Riding on a wave of success at the start of the season, the Factory Ducatis have been struggling of late. Marc Marquez is no longer the dominating force, as he has lost out on Pole Position in the last 3 races, and in the most recent one, he wasn’t even on the front row. Marquez has still managed to salvage the Sprint races, winning every single one of them this year except the one on British GP Saturday, where he finished second to his brother Alex Marquez. Meanwhile Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the race after struggling throughout and dropping down the order before he went down.
Marquez struggled throughout this weekend, this has been a circuit where he does not go well historically either. His qualifying run put him on the second row in P4, Sprint was better as he managed to finish P2. The struggle paused for 2 laps at the start of the main race, where he took the lead of the race, before eventually crashing out of the race. A red flag due the another incident further meant the race would be restarted, but even then Marquez could only manage P3, after he dropped down the order outside the Top 10, then made a recovery ride to finish on the podium.
Back-to-Back Grand Prix Podiums for Zarco and Honda
Johann Zarco has been having a very underrated season this year. The last 2 races specifically, the French rider has managed to put the Honda on the top step of the podium in Le Mans and in second place in Silverstone. Throughout this season, Zarco has only been out of the points in one race. He currently sits fifth in the Riders’ standings with 97 points; for comparison, the next Honda rider is Luca Marini on 38 points in 13th.

Championship Standings
As things stand, the Marquez brothers still sit at the top of the standings with Marc ahead of Alex by 24 points.
Up Next for MotoGP
After a small break, MotoGP will now head to Aragon for Round 8 of the world championship from 6-8 June.
Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.
MotoGP
MotoGP 2025 : Riders brace for unpredictable weather at Silverstone
Marc Marquez goes in with the largest championship lead so far this season at a track which has historically been a beacon of unpredictability.

The British GP, held at Silverstone since its conception, has historically been one of the most unpredictable races. Just in the past 10 years, 10 different riders have won the race at Silverstone. And the unpredictable British weather plays a large part in this. Heading into one of the most dramatic tracks on the calendar, the riders brace for unpredictable challenges, and unexpected contenders may emerge. Join us as we go over everything you need to know before the lights go off in Britain.
Read More: Johann Zarco takes the home race victory at Le Mans
Marc Márquez seeks to secure sophomore success at Silverstone

At this point, the preview section regarding Marc is gradually becoming a parody of itself. Marc is undoubtedly the best rider on the grid currently, and he is in his best form. It is undeniable that he will perform well.
However, Silverstone has not been Marc’s strongest suit. He has only managed to win one race here, all the way back in 2014. The closest he has gotten since is getting second place in 2019 in one of the closest races in MotoGP history, where he was barely edged out by Alex Rins on the final turn.
Now, Marc seeks to secure a second victory at this classic circuit. And as long as he manages to keep his motorcycle upright, there is no one who can prevent him. Or is there?
The Silverstone Dark Horses
Silverstone is used to throwing curveballs – once in a blue moon, an incredibly unexpected rider steps up out of nowhere and manages to clench the victory.

Just last year, as the title fight between Martin and Bagnaia was heating up, Enea Bastianini somehow swooped in and secured his first and only win of the 2024 season. However, now that Bastianini has moved to KTM, who are admittedly trying their best to improve, the chances that Enea could be a contender for the British GP are slim.

Similarly, in 2023, the British GP was won by none other than Aleix Espargaro. In fact, Aleix was one of only two non-Ducati riders to win that season, the other being Alex Rins. Aleix will be making an appearance in 2025 as a wildcard on the Honda. Even though Zarco managed to take the French GP for Honda, Zarco’s victory was by virtue of strategy rather than machinery or skill. Hence, Espargaro being a serious contender for the victory is also a pipe dream, but it is more realistic than Bastianini.

And then we have Alex Rins. The winner of the 2019 British GP. Arguably, the most exciting race in the past decade. Rins, in a display of pure skill, was battling with Márquez up until the very last corner of the very last lap, taking the chequered flag with a lead of mere 0.013 seconds.
However, since then, a lot has changed for Rins. Multiple crashes and injuries, plus moves to inferior teams and unreliable machinery, have left him in a sticky predicament. While he has the skill, he lacks the support from his team or from his own injured body. While Rins has managed to win in a glorious manner in the past, it is nigh impossible that he stands a chance this year.

Finally, we have Fabio Quartararo. The 2020 world champion has had his ups and downs over the past few years, but he finally appears to have found his groove, with back-to-back pole positions. Having already won at Silverstone in 2021, all El Diablo has to do is find a way to convert his qualifying speed into race pace, and he could be a very serious contender.
Bagnaia confesses troubles with Ducati machinery

The 2025 season has been a tragedy so far for two-time world champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia. He is currently trailing 51 points behind the championship leader in third place. After his sudden drop in pace last weekend, Pecco has finally admitted to having troubles with the front end of the bike, quote “It’s true I’ve been struggling with this bike […]”
This should be an early warning to Ducati not to make the same mistakes as those who came before them. Back in the days of Honda/Márquez dominance, Honda was incredibly determined to build the best motorcycle for Márquez. However, their focus on catering to one star rider resulted in them making a motorcycle that could not be operated by anyone besides Márquez. Ultimately, this led to Honda’s downfall. Ducati must take feedback from all their riders, championship leaders or not, to prevent suffering the same fate.
Championship Standings
Following are the championship standings going into the British GP :
Schedule and Where to watch
All MotoGP sessions can be watched in India on Fancode (digital) or on Eurosport (TV broadcast).
Following is the complete schedule of the MotoGP race weekend in IST:
Read more posts on MotoGP here.
Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.
MotoGP
MotoGP 2025 : Johann Zarco takes the home race victory at Le Mans
Both the Frenchmen have a magnificent home race, with Quartararo taking pole for second time in a row, and Zarco taking the big victory in MotoGP.

The French GP, held at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, was a glorious flag-to-flag spectacle for anyone to behold. Honda and Yamaha both stepped up their game to support two of their riders in their home race. Meanwhile, the ever-dominant Marc Márquez sets new records, extending his unbroken sprint winning streak. Join us as we review, session by session, the spectacle of the French GP.
Read more: Title fight heats up as the paddock heads to Le Mans
Weather Causes Chaos before Race Start
The rainy weather of Le Mans caused chaos in the GP before it even started. On the Warm Up Lap, most riders set off on slick tires on a wet track. Evidently this was a bad choice as almost everyone ran wide going into the first chicane, and Fabio Quartararo almost crashed out 3/4ths of the way into the lap.
SAVED IT on the warm up lap 🤯#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/XzkjluiDk9
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 11, 2025
The race got white flagged, and every single rider decided to go to the pit lane to swap bikes. Now, because too many riders were to start from the pit lane, the race got red-flagged as a whole and got delayed.
Furthermore, after the race restart, some riders, including the Márquez brothers, decided to pit again after the second warmup to swap back to slicks. Because the pit lane was closed, these riders were imposed with a double-long lap penalty.
Marc Márquez Regains his Championship Lead

After Marc’s unfortunate crash in Jerez, he lost the championship lead to his younger brother Álex. However, going into France, Marc was determined to regain his championship lead, and he ultimately succeeded in this endeavour.
Having qualified in P2 just behind Quartararo, Marc’s start to the sprint was rather uneventful. However, within just a couple of laps, he engaged in an aggressive back-and-forth with race leader Quartararo and managed to snatch the lead from him. He proceeded to cruise to victory in typical Marc Márquez fashion. With this sprint win, Marc has set a new record by winning six consecutive sprint races.
During the Grand Prix, however, things went a little differently for Marc. Because he went into the pit lane after the race restart, he was imposed with a double long lap penalty. Furthermore, Marc came into the pits for a third time to switch bikes again. Amidst this chaos, he lost a lot of positions, going down all the way to P7 at one point. He did make a recovery, amidst other riders also changing bikes or serving penalties, and ultimately finished the race in P2.
Fabio Quartararo’s Stellar Performance at Le Mans
The past couple of years have not been kind to Frenchman Fabio Quartararo. Complacency in development from Yamaha, along with a lack of support from his team, had placed Fabio as a mid-pack rider at best in the past few seasons. However, in these recent couple of races, Fabio has been making a recovery, from his pole position at Jerez, to finishing on the podium there. And he seems determined to keep pushing on.
At Le Mans, Fabio qualified in pole position, setting a time faster than the likes of Marc Márquez. During the sprint race, he had a stellar start and held his own. He did eventually get overtaken by Marc and a few others, and finished the race just short of a podium in P4.
During the Grand Prix, however, Fabio’s fortunes soured. Early on, his bike showed signs of instability, and in the midst of the early-to-mid race chaos, Fabio crashed out after a collision with Binder, ending his dreams of a victory on home soil.
Johann Zarco Knocks it Out of The Park

Zarco was heading into the French GP with big expectations. Being the best rider on a Honda currently, he was already in talks with the manufacturer, who was considering pulling him off the satellite LCR team and putting him on the factory team. And after his triumph, he has almost guaranteed himself that factory seat.
Zarco’s sprint was uneventful at best. He started from P11 and managed to claw his way up to P6. However, he really shone in the Grand Prix. Having made a better strategic decision on the tires as compared to the other riders, combined with not having to suffer a double long lap penalty, firmly placed Zarco in the lead, and he finished almost 20 seconds ahead of the runner-up Marc Márquez. With this victory, Zarco ends a 71-year drought, becoming the first French rider to win the French GP since 1954.
BACKFLIP TIME AT HOME 🤸 @johannzarco1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/PGeon2BDEq
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 11, 2025
Rookie Aldeguer finally finds his element

For the past few seasons in Moto2, Fermín Aldeguer was one of the most promising riders on the grid. That is why Ducati signed a contract with him at the beginning of the 2024 season. However, the move to the premier class has not been sunshine and rainbows for Aldeguer. For the first few races, he struggled to even make points.
However, Aldeguer had an awe-inspiring performance in Le Mans. He qualified in P4, just behind Quartararo and the Márquez brothers. During the sprint, he had a glorious battle with Quartararo for P3, which earned him his first sprint podium.
The Grand Prix was no different. Aldeguer held his own amidst the chaos, and he briefly managed to become the race leader for a lap. Ultimately, he finished the race in P3 after a glorious battle with Pedro Acosta, earning his first full race podium in the same weekend. Because of this, he overtook Ai Ogura as the best-performing rookie this season. Hopefully, we get to see similar performances from Aldeguer in the near future.
Highlights of the French GP
The following are some moments in the weekend that I consider particularly exciting :
- Marc vs Quartararo battle for the lead in the sprint
- Fermin Aldegeur vs Quartararo battle for third in sprint
- Race start chaos in the Grand Prix
- Quartararo vs Marc battle for the lead in the Grand Prix
- Aldeguer vs Acosta battle for P3 in Grand Prix
Championship Standings
Read more posts on MotoGP here.
Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/X, Instagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.
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