2025 AustrianGP Race Report

The unbeaten run continues. Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) was made to work for it from the second row, but in the end, the #93 beat Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) to Tissot Sprint glory by just over a second. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) bagged a third straight top three after coming from Row 3 to P3 in KTM's backyard, as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) endures a torrid Saturday afternoon. 

LIGHTS OUT: BAGNAIA SUFFERS DISASTROUS START
Off the line, it was an absolute disaster for both Bagnaia and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) as both lit up the rear tyre big time, costing the riders in P3 and P6 a colossal chunk of time. Alex Marquez, meanwhile, grabbed the Sprint lead ahead of Marc Marquez, with Acosta passing Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) for P2 at the beginning of Lap 2 at the same place where on the opening lap, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) was forced to run wide. That saw the reigning Champion drop to P15, one place behind Pecco.

ALEX VS MARC FOR THE WIN
After the opening few laps, Alex Marquez was keeping Marc Marquez behind him by just under half a second, with Acosta losing touch after a small mistake at Turn 4. The #37 was now 1.3s behind the Marquez duo, and had a decent one second buffer to fourth place Bezzecchi in the fight for bronze.

Then, a change at the front. The #93 got a great run out of Turn 2B and made a move stick at Turn 3 with five laps to go, so could the #73 do anything in response? The answer with three laps to go was a firm no. Marc Marquez grew his advantage to 0.7s, but the red corner did have a track limits warning.

But, as expected, no mistakes came from Marc Marquez as he extended his incredible winning run to 11 on the spin in 2025. Alex Marquez crossed the line in P2, 1.9s ahead of Acosta, who kept Bezzecchi at bay.

YOUR POINTS SCORERS
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) handed KTM a double Sprint top five on home turf, with Aldeguer salvaging a solid P6 after his messy start. Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) collected the final points on offer, with Martin doing well to claw his way back up to P10.

MOTOGP - RACE
Marquez battles past Bezzecchi to end Red Bull Ring winless streak

The Red Bull Ring jinx is over for Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) as for the sixth time on the spin, the runaway MotoGP title race leader clinched maximum points. His path to BWIN Grand Prix of Austria victory wasn’t a simple one though as eventual third place finisher Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) led for large parts before rookie star Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), the Sunday silver medallist, mounted pressure on Marquez in the closing stages. However, neither were able to stop the #93 winning MotoGP's 1000th race. 

THE START: BEZ LEADS, PECCO VS MARC IGNITES

Having fluffed the start in the Sprint, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) nailed it to flirt with claiming the holeshot from polesitter Bezzecchi, but it was the latter who held onto P1. It was red vs red on the opening lap as Marc Marquez chucked it up the inside of Pecco and Turn 3 from deep, but Pecco was able to hold onto P2 on the run down into Turn 4.

A lap later, Marc Marquez made that Turn 3 effort stick to move past his teammate into P2, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) making Alex Marquez’s life difficult after the KTM star got a great launch from the third row. Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) then grabbed P5 from Acosta before the Italian ran wide at Turn 1, as Alex Marquez took his Long Lap penalty a lap later that saw him drop to P11.

MARQUEZ HUNTS BEZZECCHI FOR THE LEAD
At the front, Bezzecchi set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix on Lap 4 to hold Marc Marquez 0.6s behind him, while Pecco defended P3 from Acosta. That lead was being chipped away at by Marquez though and at the start of Lap 8, it was 0.2s between Bezzecchi and Marquez, with Pecco 1.1s behind in P3.

A few laps down the line saw Marquez drop to 0.9s behind Bezzecchi in what was now the biggest gap between the pair for pretty much the entire Grand Prix. Was the #93 just cooling his front tyre, or was this Bezzecchi demonstrating superior pace? Meanwhile, Bezzecchi’s teammate Jorge Martin saw his Grand Prix end after Aprilia Racing’s #1 crashed at Turn 7 on Lap 14.

On Lap 18 of 28, the gap was back down to 0.2s as Marquez reeled in Bezzecchi. And in the battle for P3, Acosta put an aggressive move on Pecco at the penultimate corner on the same lap to move into P3, and it’s a move that cost the Italian two places as Aldeguer followed Acosta through.

MARQUEZ MAKES HIS MOVE
Then, the blue touch paper was lit in the battle between Bezzecchi and Marquez. Turn 3 saw Marquez throw it up the inside and down the hill into Turn 4, Marquez led. Bezzecchi counterattacked at Turn 6 to retake the lead, before Marquez parked his Ducati on the inside of Bezzecchi at Turn 1 on Lap 20 to snatch the race lead baton.

ALDEGUER STORMS THROUGH, BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH FOR VICTORY
Aldeguer was a rider on the move. The rookie shoved his way past Acosta at Turn 2B and his pace was unbelievable. Aldeguer was the fastest rider on track and on Lap 22 of 28, the #54 was 1.7s behind Marquez and 1.1s away from Bezzecchi.

That soon became 1.1s away from Marquez and 0.5s off Bezzecchi. Aldeguer set a 1:30.120 on Lap 22, over half a second quicker than the top two – and it was the same on the next lap. And on Lap 24, Aldeguer was P2 at Turn 3 to now act as Marquez’s main threat for victory.

Four to go. Aldeguer was 0.9s away from Marquez and after passing Bezzecchi, two tenths were taken out of Marquez’s lead. Two more tenths were taken on the next lap, so it was now 0.7s between the Spaniards at the front with three to go.

Marquez steadied the ship with two to go though. His lead was up to 0.9s and now, it was only a mistake that would cost him another victory as Aldeguer just ran out of steam. And heading onto the final lap, the buffer remained at 0.9s.

No mistakes were made on the run to the chequered flag as Marquez won the 1000th MotoGP race, and grabbed a 25-point haul for the first time at the Red Bull Ring. Double wins in the last six Grands Prix, and that seventh MotoGP title creeps closer. Aldeguer was superb to push Marquez in the latter stages, and Bezzecchi’s weekend was another to remember as the Italian’s strong form continues – that’s back-to-back podiums for the first time since 2023 for Bez.

YOUR AUSTRIAN GP POINTS SCORERS
Acosta led the KTM charge on home turf in P4 and 1.8s behind was another KTM in the form of Bastianini. No podium, but a double top five signals a good day at the office for the Austrian manufacturer. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) battled his way to a positive P6, while Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came home in P7 after he was embroiled in some intense fights. Eighth went the way of a disappointed Bagnaia, who lost ground in the latter stages.

Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) held off Alex Marquez for P9, with the latter unable to recover from his Long Lap penalty. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) pocketed P11 ahead of Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR), Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and first of the Yamahas, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – the Frenchman taking the final point in a weekend to forget for the Iwata factory.

Enea Bastianini P5

"I am happy about the result, my best this year! From the start of the race, the sensations on the bike were positive. I made a small mistake after two laps because I was in the slipstream of Alex (Marquez), and I did not close the corner. I made a great comeback after, but in the last 5-6 laps, I did not have the same potential that I used to have. We did not have more, and I hope that we will find some solutions for the future. We have confirmed this weekend the results from Brno, and it feels good to be again in the top 5, it’s good for our morale after this first half of the season. I am feeling good, I am working a lot on my style and I really like the new aero provided by the factory, so let’s continue working like this!"

MOTO2
Moreira bounces back with victory as Gonzalez suffers DNF

Following a disappointing couple of Grands Prix ahead of the summer break, Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) bounced back with a huge 25-point haul in a dramatic Moto2 race that saw Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) forced to retire with a radiator issue. Second place went the way of Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) as the rookie clinches his debut Moto2 podium, while Celestino Vietti (Sync SpeedRS Team) collected P3 despite being handed a Long Lap penalty. 

Starting from pole, Holgado grabbed the holeshot ahead of Moreira and Gonzalez, as both Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) ran straight on at Turn 2A. Then, Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) crashed heavily on the exit of Turn 2B but thankfully, the Australian was able to walk away from the incident.

Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) was almost down at the start of Lap 2 at Turn 1 in a big front-end moment. The Spaniard was running in P10, with his title rival Gonzalez sitting in P4 behind Moreira, Holgado and Vietti.

But then, he wasn’t. Gonzalez was touring with some form of issue and that cost the Championship leader 10 places, because a few corners later, he was back up to racing speed. The situation now read that he was P14, and six seconds further down the road than he initially was. Bizarre.

However, two laps later, it was game over in Austria for a furious Gonzalez. A real kick in the teeth for Gonzalez’s title charge, especially having looked so strong all weekend, as we then learned it was a stone piercing through the radiator that caused the problem. A luckless Sunday for the #18.

Back at the front, it was Moreira still leading from Holgado and Vietti, with David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) building up some pace in P4. It was those four in the victory fight, and Alonso passed Vietti for P3 with nine laps to go. The Italian grabbed that position back though, but this little battle cost them both time as race leader Moreira and second place Holgado lapped untroubled just up the road.

With seven to go, Vietti was handed a Long Lap penalty for exceeding track limits, so that left Moreira, Holgado and Alonso in the fight for P1. Then, more drama at the front. Alonso, pushing hard in P3, crashed at Turn 9 with five laps to go to leave us with a two-horse race for victory, and that crash for the Colombian promoted Vietti back into P3.

With drama unfolding behind, the blissfully unaware Moreira eventually strode to an important victory by 2.3s over the impressive rookie Holgado, as Vietti earns another Red Bull Ring rostrum in P3.

Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) crossed the line in P4, half a second away from Vietti, with Tony Arbolino (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) rounding out the top five. Another rookie in the form of Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – FRINSA – MSI) finished sixth and held off Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) in the closing stages, with Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) earning his best Moto2 result to date in P8.

Izan Guevara (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) was ninth ahead of tenth place Canet, as the Spaniard cuts the gap at the top to 19 points ahead of a trip to Hungary. Moreira, meanwhile, drags himself back into the title frame and sits 35 points adrift of Gonzalez before we land at Balaton Park next weekend.

Diogo Moreira P1

"I'm delighted! What a victory! We had a great weekend. We need to keep it up because we still have nine races ahead of us. Thank you, everyone!"

MOTO3
Piqueras wins Red Bull Ring epic ahead of teammate Yamanaka

Coming out on top in a combative Moto3™ scrap, Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) returned to winning ways and headed home a 1-2 for the team with Ryusei Yamanaka in second. Rounding out the podium after an epic fight back from 14th on the grid, David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) put in a strong display as the gaps tighten in the title race.

OPENING STAGES: a fine start for Piqueras
The holeshot went to Piqueras, getting ahead of polesitter Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) into Turn 1 and despite the Argentinean’s best efforts, the #36 stood firm. However, it wasn’t long before Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) took over and led for the next few laps. A third of the way into the Grand Prix and the lead group of four had broken away from the chasing pack, with Yamanaka taking over at the front from Quiles on Lap 8 with Piqueras and Perrone forming the lead quartet. Behind, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) was fifth, just ahead of Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo).

Quiles resumed the lead on Lap 10 and now had Piqueras directly behind him. On Lap 13, Perrone made his move into the podium positions as he had hopes of repeating his Assen rostrum and perhaps delivering a first win for Argentina in 20 years. The gap back to Fernandez was now at 1.3s, edging closer into the final third of the race.

BUILDING TO THE FINISH: a battle to behold as the group grows
With 6 to go, Fernandez had got the gap to under a second after a stint of relentless laps, not giving up on the idea of a five-way battle at the front into the last laps. Two laps later and Quiles made another error, this time at Turn 6, running wide and giving Perrone the chance to lead into the last three. Behind, Fernandez made a mistake and dropped back to seventh but it was a stunning ride from Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), taking over the chase in fifth and with the lead group with three to go and David Muñoz was there too, never giving up.

LAST LAP: Piqueras triumphs in Austria
With a six-way fight onto the last lap, it really was anyone’s race; Muñoz had barged his way into P2 from 14th on the grid whilst Quiles and Perrone were shoved wide and down to P5 and P6. Piqueras led the way but it was a late surge from Furusato and Yamanaka, both battling into contention at Turn 7. Yamanaka made it to P2 at Turn 9 as Muñoz also barged into third but nobody could lay a glove on Piqueras, taking a first victory since Lusail and a first podium since Jerez. A 1-2 for the FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI squad with Yamanaka second, whilst Muñoz was third. Quiles salvaged fourth whilst a hard-fought fifth went to Rueda.

Furusato was sixth at the chequered flag having been duffed up in the last corners, ahead of Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), but the Italian didn’t serve a Long Lap Penalty for repeatedly exceeding track limits and therefore took 13th. Perrone fell out of contention in the last laps but came home seventh ahead of Fernandez, Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo).

Adrian Fernandez P8

“Today we lacked a better result, but we had a very positive race. We were able to set a good pace, but when I was catching up with the leading group, six laps from the end, I almost lost the front. This caused me to lose positions, but it also prevented me from having a better finish to the race, as since that moment I lost confidence in the front end. As always, I want to thank the team for their hard work!”

David Almansa P12

“Our race was not at all what we expected. I'm frustrated, because we had good pace, but I had some challenging laps due to some overtakes that caused me to run wide, losing positions and time. We were able to recover a little, putting in a good rhythm again in the final stages of the race, but we couldn’t end it in a better position”.

Riccardo Rossi P19