MotoGP Argentina Race Report

Starting in the lead, leading every lap and every corner, Marc Marquez won the Tissot Sprint of the Gran Premio YPF Energia d'Argentina, extending the positive streak that in 2025 sees the Ducati Lenovo Team ace with full points. 

On Saturday afternoon at Termos de Rio Hondo, the second round of the season, the only rider who seemed capable of troubling the number 93 was his brother Alex, riding the GP24 of the BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP™ team: up until the eighth of the twelve scheduled laps, the younger of the two remained very close to the leader. But then he threw in the towel, crossing the finish line almost a second behind.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a greater gap, starting from fourth on the grid and taking bronze almost four seconds behind the winner. He rode a solo Sprint in which he kept Johann Zarco at bay, fourth after starting from the front row. The Frenchman from the Castrol Honda LCR team had a weak start in which he lost three positions. An uphill start for him, followed by two overtaking moves on Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who were lively in the early laps but then slipped to tenth and ninth place. 

Fifth place went to Fabio Di Giannantonio, with his teammate Franco Morbidelli two positions further back and protagonist in the early stages of a battle with Brad Binder in which the South African ended up on the ground. 

In the sandwich of the two fluorescent yellow Ducatis of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, sixth was Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). Joan Mir also scored points, eighth with the Honda HRC Castrol colours. His gap from his teammate Zarco was around five seconds.

MOTOGP - RACE
Marc Marquez takes it all: wins and leads the standings with full points

When on the fifteenth of the 25 scheduled laps at Termas De Rio Hondo for the YPF Energia Argentina Grand Prix, Marc Marquez decided to close in on his brother Alex to attempt an attack that would have put him in the lead of the race, the rear tire of his Ducati warned him: he was at the limit. 

A loss of grip in fact saw his GP25 suddenly go haywire, his outside foot coming off the footrest, a few meters given up to his opponent. Two laps later, while he was getting back underway, a jolt that however did not make him give up. On the eighteenth lap, the Ducati Lenovo Team ace then launched his first attack in a braking section in which he decelerates from over 330 to around 70 km/h to enter turn 5. Number 93 passed in front but went wide, giving the position to his brother. 

The mistake made him lose four tenths, which he recovered in around three laps. Then the Spaniard took advantage of Alex's uncertainty in the part of the circuit preceding Turn 5 and took the lead. He did not relinquish the lead until the checkered flag, crossing the finish line with a margin of over a second.

For him, first in the initial stages but slipping behind his brother from the BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP™ team on the fourth lap when he overdid it when braking for Turn 1, it was the ninetieth victory of his career in the various classes. A figure that brings him on par with his compatriot Angel Nieto, the second most successful in history with thirteen World Championships.

Thus in 2025 the first two rounds of the championship saw Tissot Sprint and Sunday GP carbon-copy the same result, with the Marquez brothers first and second, the elder in front and the younger following. 

The rider who closed the podium was different: Franco Morbidelli took the place occupied in the previous challenges by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). Starting from eighth on the grid, the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team rider immediately moved into sixth position and quickly worked his way up to third place, which he secured on lap four at the expense of his teammate Bagnaia. 

With a soft rear tyre and most of his opponents equipped with the medium, he managed to keep the gap from the leading pair to around a second until lap 12, when he gave in. Hence the question: will his tyre make it to the end? 

The answer was yes: Morbidelli crossed the finish line almost 5 seconds behind the winner. A great comeback for him: he stepped onto the podium 1,414 days after his last appearance. 

Fourth place went to Bagnaia, who battled with Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) in the early stages. After the initial skirmishes, having consolidated fourth position, the Italian pulled away from Morbidelli but managed to close in on him towards the end, starting the last lap with about half a second to make up. But he didn't make it. 

Zarco, fifth for most of the race, was overtaken in the final lap by another rider recovering, Fabio Di Giannantonio, on the soft tyre behind like his teammate Morbidelli. 

Seventh place went to Brad Binder, who on the RC16 of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team was about double the gap to Zarco, the first not riding a Ducati. The South African was more than 14 seconds behind. The Frenchman on Honda was seven.

Rookie Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Racing MotoGP), who started from the fifteenth spot on the grid, crossed the finish line in eighth place on the Aprilia RS-GP. But he was disqualified for a technical detail. His teammate Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) fell at the first corner in an episode in which he hit Fabio Quartararo. The best M1 was that of the other official Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team rider, Alex Rins, eleventh.

Enea Bastianini P17

"My race ended early, unfortunately, after Raul Fernandez pushed me out at T9 because he came too fast and I crashed, which was a real shame because I had a strong start, already fighting for 13th after one lap. I got up to rejoin the race, to gain experience and see how I felt, even though I was missing the wing on the left side. Our pace today was good, despite the strange feeling without a wing. The tyres dropped a lot in the last laps, but I pushed hard in the middle of the race, giving everything to recover. In the end we closed the gap and at least I didn't finish last, but it was an unlucky race for us."

MOTO2
Dixon dominates in Argentina

Jake Dixon (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) unrivaled on Sunday in the Moto2™ at Termas de Río Hondo. The British rider took the lead at the start and stayed there until the end of the race at the YPF Energìa GP of Argentina: behind him were poleman Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) and Celestino Vietti (SUP Racing).

Jake Dixon (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) got off to a great start and passed poleman Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) on the inside. Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing Team) held on to third place while Celestino Vietti (SUP Racing) got off to a good start, climbing from ninth to sixth place behind Filip Salač (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and a brilliant Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego). A day to forget for Adrian Huertas (Italtrans Racing Team) who fell in the first few metres.

Thanks to an excellent pace, Dixon significantly extends his lead over everyone else, starting with Manuel Gonzalez, while the battle for the final step of the podium heats up between Ramirez and Canet who overtake Salač, with Vietti and Darryn Binder (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) part of the chasing group.

On lap 11, Filip Salač and Marcos Ramirez touch: the Czech crashes while the Spaniard slips to sixth place. The final place on the podium is then fought out between Aron Canet and Celestino Vietti who two laps later passes the Spaniard. 

Dixon wins ahead of Gonzalez while Vietti gets the better of Canet, who in turn precedes Ramirez. Sixth place for Binder ahead of Escrig, Lopez, Holgado and Arenas. 11th place for Tony Arbolino (Blu Cru Pramac Yamaha Moto2). 

Diogo Moreira N.C.

“Unfortunately today was a difficult day. I didn’t have a good feeling with the front tyre and I went back to the pits to change it. Once I got back on track the feeling was better, it’s a shame how it ended. But now let’s not get discouraged and continue working: thanks to the team.”

MOTO3 
Piqueras prevails after intense battle

Angel Piqueras (Frinsa - MT Helmets - MSI) wins the Moto3™ race valid for the YPF Grand Prix of Argentina beating Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and José Antonio Rueda (Bull KTM Ajo) who completes another all-Spanish podium.

Ryusei Yamanaka (Frinsa - MT Helmets - MSI) gets off to a great start and takes the lead ahead of Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), David Almansa (Leopard Racing), José Antonio Rueda (Bull KTM Ajo), Angel Piqueras (Frinsa - MT Helmets - MSI) and Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP - MTA), who started from pole.

Yamanaka is passed by Almansa, Carpe and Rueda, until he slips to tenth position. Joel Kelso (LEVELUP - MTA) serves his double long lap and finds himself second to last. On the seventh lap, Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) crashes. 

With 11 riders in less than a second, Almansa remains in the lead while behind him there is a great exchange of positions. Halfway through the race, his teammate Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) attacks him and is then imitated by Rueda, while poleman Bertelle also climbs strongly and with three laps to go is in the lead ahead of Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), Carpe and Angel Piqueras (Frinsa - MT Helmets - MSI), followed by the two Leopards, Rueda and Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse). On the last lap, Furusato is passed by four riders while Carpe, fighting for the podium, crashes.

Piqueras passes Bertelle and at the checkered flag precedes Adrian Fernandez by 36 thousandths. Rueda completes the podium, ahead of Bertelle and Furusato. Sixth place for Almansa ahead of Lunetta, Kelso, Yamanaka and Stefano Nepa (Squadra Corse).

Adrian Fernandez P2

"Second race, second podium! We've had a great start to the season so far and I'm very happy. We need to keep scoring points, because the season is very long, but for the moment we're working in the right direction. What's true, of course, is that we still need to work on some details, like qualifying, to improve our weekends in general. Today I just want to thank my team and my family for their hard work and support. I can't wait for Texas!"

David Almansa P6

"I finished today's race with a bittersweet taste. I felt quite comfortable, I also had a good pace and I'm happy with the race I did because I was able to fight from start to finish, leading for some laps, fighting at the front... However, I took a wide line with a few laps to go and then made some mistakes that made me lose positions, crossing the finish line in sixth position in the end. We will definitely apply everything we learned from this race in the next one in Austin."

Dennis Foggia P11

“It was a very difficult race. We struggled with rear grip and I tried to attack. In the last two laps I pushed hard and managed to recover four or five positions. In the end we finished eleventh, gaining new points in the standings. We will continue to improve and the time will come to be at the front and attack. Thanks to the team for all the work, see you soon!”

Richard Rossi P18

Tatchakorn Buasri P21