2025 Czech Republic MotoGP News—Saturday
Sunday MotoGP Race
Bagnaia punched off the line well and got the holeshot but like yesterday, Marc Marquez was through at Turn 3. Not for long though. On the cutback through Turn 4, Pecco led again and then Bezzecchi carved his way past the #93 at Turn 5.
That’s how it was over the line but Pecco was wide at the penultimate corner, costing him time, so that allowed Bezzecchi to make a move at Turn 1 on Lap 2. Marc Marquez, like he did on Lap 1, passed Pecco at Turn 3 and this time there was no way back for Pecco.
Meanwhile, Alex Marquez’s (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) disastrous weekend continued. The rider second in the championship was down at Turn 12 after an audacious move up the inside of Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) didn’t pay off. The luckless Mir was taken out, and the Honda rider, along with Alex Marquez, were out of the Grand Prix from P5 and P6, so that was zero points in Czechia for the #73. A hammer blow for the Gresini star’s title hopes, and he’ll now face a Long Lap penalty in Austria too.
Further up the order, it was Acosta’s turn to pass Pecco at Turn 3 on Lap 3, as Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and then Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) carved their way past Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Next up behind Quartararo: returning reigning Champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing).
On Lap 5, Bastianini’s charge continued. The Italian was through on his former teammate Bagnaia, with the ‘Beast’ now 1.4s behind his KTM stablemate Acosta. But then, Bastianini was in the gravel. Turn 3 saw the #23 lose the front end and it was Grand Prix over; a shame after his best weekend in orange.
Lap 8 saw a change for the lead. Marc Marquez, at Turn 3, pounced on Bezzecchi. And the #93 got his elbows out through Turn 4 to keep Bezzecchi behind him, so what did the championship leader have in his pocket? Acosta was right with the top two now, while Bagnaia sat 1.7s adrift of the podium fight.
A 1:54.184 played a 1:54.4 for Bezzecchi and a 1:54.5 for Acosta, seeing Marquez go 0.5s clear at the front at the start of Lap 10. A lap later, the gap was up to 0.8s, and then with a fastest lap of the Grand Prix, Marquez’s lead grew to 1.2s on Lap 12 of 21.
Bezzecchi was giving this a good go. Bezzecchi dipped into the 1:53s for the first time, a 1:53.999, but on the same lap, Lap 14, Marquez found a 1:53.787. And on the following lap, Marquez went even quicker. A 1:53.691, coupled with a 1:54.085 from Bezzecchi, saw the lead climb to 1.9s.
With Marquez giving no one a chance of fighting for the win, attention turned to the rostrum fight. Pecco was gathering some late race momentum and from just under two seconds away, with three laps left, the Italian was 0.5s behind Acosta. That was then 0.4s with two laps to go, as Bezzecchi continued on his way to P2, 0.9s ahead.
And on the last lap, Pecco was within attacking distance… just. Marquez was 1.6s clear of Bezzecchi and controlling things at the front, with the latter safe from being pounced on from behind. Could Bagnaia muster something up to grab P3? The answer – fortunately for KTM, unfortunately for Ducati – was no.
The answer was also no to could anyone beat Marquez in Brno? The #93 took the chequered flag 1.7s ahead of Bezzecchi to become the first Ducati rider ever to win five Grands Prix in a row. Simply put: chapeau.
Fair play to Bezzecchi as well, that’s another Sunday podium for the #72, as Acosta held off Pecco to clinch his first Sunday podium of the season. Ducati, Aprilia and KTM on the Brno rostrum.
Pecco’s P4 won’t be enough for the polesitter, but he’ll take the positives following his second half of the race charge. Fifth place went to Fernandez, who enjoyed his best weekend of the season, and that P5 is his equal best in MotoGP. Quartararo was less than a second behind the Trackhouse rider in P6, with the returning Martin coming home in a fabulous P7. That’s a phenomenal comeback effort from the #1 after a torrid few months of injuries, and a real boost for Aprilia, Martin, and MotoGP ahead of the second half of the season. How good was it seeing the #1 back?
Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) came out on top in a quality fight with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), while Maverick Viñales’ super-sub Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3) capped off a superb weekend in Brno by taking away a P10 over the line. But then Aldeguer was given the equivalent of a Long Lap as a time penalty after an incident with Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), putting the Gresini rider back down to P11. So Binder takes P8, Espargaro P9 and Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) completes the top ten.
Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) managed to stay head of Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) in that battle, with Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completing the scorers. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) ended a tougher weekend outside the points and heads into summer break looking to bounce back.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—Sunday MotoGP Race
| 1 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | 40m 4.628s |
| 2 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +1.753s |
| 3 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +3.366s |
| 4 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | +3.879s |
| 5 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +10.045s |
| 6 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +11.039s |
| 7 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +15.820s |
| 8 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +17.371s |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +18.163s |
| 10 | Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +18.669s |
Moto2 Race
At the venue where he claimed his debut Moto2 podium in 2020, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) returned to the top step for the first time this season with a phenomenal Czech GP victory. The American fended off the hard challenge of Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) as the Belgian pockets back-to-back P2s ahead of the summer break, with Manuel Gonzalez’s (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) P3 seeing the Spaniard stretch his title chase lead.
After things got close at lights out between polesitter Baltus and Roberts, it was the American’s teammate Marcos Ramirez who grabbed the holeshot as drama unfolded for Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) at Turn 1. The Spaniard was down from the middle of the pack and that was his hope of points over.
Baltus pinched the lead of the race at the end of Lap 1 with a great move at the final corner, as Ramirez took the first of his two Long Lap penalties on Lap 3. That dropped the #24 to P7 behind home hero Filip Salač (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), and when he took his second, Ramirez was P12.
On Lap 6, both Canet and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) had parked their Triumph-Kalex machines, handing Gonzalez a fantastic chance to stretch his points advantage ahead of the summer break. And it was the Spaniard who was shadowing the P1 battle between Baltus and Roberts, with the Californian making a move stick on Lap 7 to lead in Brno.
By Lap 10, Roberts and Baltus were now pulling clear of Gonzalez, with the #16 setting the fastest lap of the race on that lap – a 1:59.4 played a 1:59.6 for Baltus. With five to go, the gap was still just 0.2s between the American and Belgian, but that rose to just under 0.4s with four laps left.
Gonzalez was 2.6s away from the victory fight, so it was all about Roberts vs Baltus. With two laps to go, Roberts was keeping Baltus at bay by 0.5s, with the latter not able to quite get close enough to attempt a pass. Tthen it was last lap time. The gap? 0.6s in Roberts’ favour. Baltus wasn’t close enough to engage in battle, and for the first time since the 2024 Italian GP, Roberts gets back on the top step. Baltus clinched his fourth second place of the season to rise to P3 in the overall standings, and Gonzalez collected a very handy 16 points in his quest for the Moto2 title.
Rookie Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) earned an impressive P4 ahead of Celestino Vietti (Sync SpeedRS Team), with Izan Guevara (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) a solid P6 in Brno. Ramirez strung together an impressive race following his double Long Lap penalty to beat Salač to P7, with the Czech star ending his home GP in P8.
David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) were the final top 10 finishers, while Sachsenring podium finishers Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) end their Brno weekends with a disappointing P11 and P12.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—Moto2 Race
| 1 | Joe Roberts | USA | OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) | 36:03.441s |
| 2 | Barry Baltus | BEL | Fantic Racing LINO SONEGO(Kalex) | +1.079s |
| 3 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +3.625s |
| 4 | Daniel Holgado | SPA | CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) | +7.365s |
| 5 | Celestino Vietti | ITA | Sync SpeedRS (Boscoscuro) | +7.494s |
| 6 | Izan Guevara | SPA | BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 (Boscoscuro) | +9.467s |
| 7 | Marcos Ramirez | SPA | OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) | +10.112s |
| 8 | Filip Salac | CZE | Elf Marc VDS Racing (Boscoscuro) | +11.193s |
| 9 | David Alonso | COL | CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) | +14.736s |
| 10 | Albert Arenas | SPA | Italjet Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) | +16.214s |
Moto3 Race
A record gap between P1 and P2 in the standings after 12 rounds is just what Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ordered ahead summer break and it’s what he came away with from his first visit to Brno. Behind, a battle between Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) and teammate Dennis Foggia lit up the group battle, with Quiles ultimately securing second ahead of David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP), who came from last on the grid to third for a third straight rostrum finish.
Storming into Turn 1 and grabbing the advantage, Championship leader Rueda edged out polesitter Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and fellow front-row starter David Almansa (Leopard Racing). Quiles was soon up into P2 halfway through the first lap whilst further behind, Muñoz had made a lightning getaway from the back of the grid and was already into the points. By the start of Lap 3, the Aragon and German GP winner was already inside the top ten whilst 2020 Czech GP winner Foggia had clambered his way into the top three.
At the halfway stage, Rueda had begun to get the hammer down whilst Quiles and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) battled for podium honours. Foggia was up to second but the fight had left a second gap between the #99 out front and the chasing pack. By the end of Lap 9, Quiles was back into P2 but back-to-back fastest laps by Rueda meant the pressure was on for the #28.
The scrapping continued and with five to go and a two second gap to Rueda, it was very much a battle to decide the final two spots on the podium. Behind the duelling CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar machines came Piqueras, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), Muñoz and Almansa. Into the last lap and Quiles led the way with Piqueras, Muñoz and Foggia nipping at his heels. At Turn 6, the #64 muscled his way into P3 and then P2 by Turn 10.
It was all coming down to Turn 13 but fantastic defensive work from Muñoz made it hard for Quiles. As Rueda took a seventh win of the season, Quiles managed to slipstream his way into second whilst Muñoz’s last-to-third ride keeps up his run of top five finishes and makes it a fourth podium in five GPs. Piqueras’ wait for a rostrum return continues as he took P4, ahead of Foggia and Fernandez, the latter of which took his first points since Le Mans.
Almansa took more solid points in seventh and closes in on top Honda honours in the standings, whilst Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) fought his way into eighth. Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and polesitter Pini rounded out the top ten. Elsewhere, it was a notable ride for Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), working his way up the order into P11 before a double Long Lap for causing a crash drops him out the points, meaning star debutant Marco Morelli (DENSSI Racing – BOE) moves up to 13th to impress first time out.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—Moto3 Race
| 1 | Jose Antonio Rueda | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | 33:40.677s |
| 2 | Maximo Qulies | SPA | CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team (KTM) | +3.471s |
| 3 | David Munoz | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +3.495s |
| 4 | Angel Piqueras | SPA | FRINSA -MT Helmets – MSI (KTM) | +3.559s |
| 5 | Dennis Foggia | ITA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +3.689s |
| 6 | Adrian Fernandez | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +3.867s |
| 7 | David Almansa | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +4.420s |
| 8 | Valentin Perrone | ARG | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (KTM) | +5.579s |
| 9 | Ryusei Yamanaka | JPN | FRINSA -MT Helmets – MSI (KTM) | +5.597s |
| 10 | Guido Pini | ITA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +5.985s |
Marquez’s front tire drama explained
On the one hand, Marc Marquez’s Sprint performance encapsulated everything wrong with modern MotoGP. The Catalan found his front tire pressure to be too low during the 10-lap race. Knowing the pressure could not be under 1.88 bar of pressure for more than 30% of the race, he dropped behind Pedro Acosta before comfortably passing his compatriot with a lap to spare.
This isn’t racing. Yet the drama created some excitement in a race he would have otherwise dominated. But how did it happen?
“In some race tracks, the engineers always try to be in the limit of the pressures, because we have a bit more performance. Yesterday we didn’t ride in the dry, and the new surface is super good. We are riding in a different way. The rear grip even is too much and then you cannot force the front because the rear grip is too much.”
“So all these things makes the life of the engineers a bit more difficult.” Marquez’s pressure, along with those of Alex Rins and Ai Ogura were placed under investigation post-race. Yet Dorna soon confirmed an issue with the warning system caused this.
“The post-race investigation into the tyre pressures for riders #93, #42 and #79 quickly revealed an incorrect minimum pressure setting in the Race Direction warning system,” said a Dorna spokesperson. “Therefore no further action nor investigation was necessary.”
Pecco’s pickle
At first, it appeared Pecco Bagnaia had befallen he same fate as his team-mate. Sat second, he sat up on lap five to let Pedro Acosta through. So, had his front tire pressure dropped too low?
The Italian thought so, as he received a warning on his dash. Yet he later revealed there was an error. “I was stuck behind the others trying to get the pressure to go up but I didn’t and was sure 100% to get the penalty,” he said. “Then I arrived at the box and looked at the screen and saw I wasn’t under investigation. So, I wasn’t understanding the situation. I checked the telemetry and saw from the second lap I was over the limit. Honestly, I had a dashboard problem today.”
On this happening during a truly miserable campaign, Bagnaia added, “It cannot happen. Normally it doesn’t happen. But in this season, it can happen.”
KTM Strong
As new CEO Gottfried Neumeister watching on from pit lane, KTM enjoyed its best Saturday of the year with Pedro Acosta and Enea Bastianini both on the podium. Even Pol Espargaro, the injured Maverick Viñales’ replacement, scored a point for ninth.
“A lot of things came together this weekend,” explained Espargaro. “Historically we are fast here. This morning I was very quick with the used tyre. This helped all the guys think, OK, this retired guy is fast! We can really go faster than him! Also, when the track is super grippy as it is, Ducati mechanically generate this grip and we struggle a bit more than them. So when we have this natural grip with the track our guys are super quick, and we can use it to be fast. our bike works super good in these conditions.”
Of his own performance, Bastianini stated the fact he had never ridden at Brno on a Ducati was a help. “I never was here with the MotoGP bike and it was a small advantage for me because I was without any reference, any line and I started this GP with a different mindset and it’s been better.”
MotoGP Sprint Race
Snatching the holeshot, Pecco Bagnaia lead the way until Turn 3 when teammate Marc Marquez attacked and took over at the front. Elsewhere, a poor start from Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) left him down in 19th on Lap 1 whilst at Turn 3 on Lap 2, Augusto Fernandez (Yamaha Factory Racing Team) slid off and collected Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR), ending both their Sprints. Into P3 on the second lap, Acosta got himself ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) whilst the Frenchman was rubbing fairings with Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) at Turn 10. Meanwhile, Bez’s returning teammate, World Champion Jorge Martin, was up into P7 in the early stages.
At the end of Lap 4, Bastianini was capitalizing on his strong weekend so far and into fourth and ahead of Quartararo, but the drama was further up the road. On the exit of Turn 4, Bagnaia slowed down and was passed by Acosta, Bastianini and Quartararo. A lap later and it could have been a replay – this time for Marc Marquez; the #93 likewise slowing down and letting Acosta through to let the #37 lead in his first outing at Brno.
Both the Ducatis slowing down but getting straight back into the pace suggested that tyre pressures needed controlling but whatever it was, the last three laps had Acosta, Marc Marquez, Bastianini and Quartararo all in victory contention. Behind, Bezzecchi clambered ahead of Pecco at Turn 11, now into the top five, with Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) next up.
On the penultimate lap, Bezzecchi worked his way into fourth ahead of Quartararo as his trademark late pace came to the fore. Up at the front and on the direction change from Turn 8 into Turn 9, Marc Marquez pounced in what would prove to be a Sprint-winning pass on ‘El Tiburon’. Another success in the Sprint for the Championship leader who extended his Championship advantage, with a first Sprint podium for Acosta since Aragon 2024. Two KTMs on a Sprint podium underline their previous happy memories at Brno and it’s a first rostrum of the year for Bastianini. There was a small caveat on top of the podium with Marquez’s tyre pressure under investigation but that was soon over, the win standing for Marc.
Bezzecchi claimed P4 with Quartararo behind him. On the final lap, Fernandez pushed his way into sixth place ahead of polesitter Pecco, whilst Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and super-sub Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) completed the points-paying positions. On his comeback ride, Martin finished in 11th, just behind Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Alex Marquez, meanwhile, was forced to settle for P17 and zero points after the nightmare start. That’s 12 more lost to Marc Marquez in the championship chase… but Sunday is another day.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—MotoGP Sprint Race
| 1 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | 19m 5.883s |
| 2 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.798s |
| 3 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.324s |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +1.409s |
| 5 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +2.292s |
| 6 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +3.358s |
| 7 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | +3.648s |
| 8 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | +3.920s |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +4.748s |
| 10 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +5.902s |
Moto2 Qualifying
Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) went from Q1 to pole position at Brno, edging out Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) by 0.020. Just to rub it in, the Belgian also set his lap behind the American. Roberts’ teammate Marcos Ramirez completes the front row, pushing Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) down to P4.
A crash for second in the championship Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) early in Q2 sees him start from P18 on the grid.
Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) leads the rookie charge in P5, with Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) also on the second row in P6. Home hero Filip Salač (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) launches from P9 in Brno.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—Moto2 Qualifying
| 1 | Barry Baltus | BEL | Fantic Racing LINO SONEGO(Kalex) | 1m 58.322s |
| 2 | Joe Roberts | USA | OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.020s |
| 3 | Marcos Ramirez | SPA | OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.257s |
| 4 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.389s |
| 5 | Daniel Holgado | SPA | CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) | +0.483s |
| 6 | Senna Agius | AUS | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.568s |
| 7 | Jake Dixon | GBR | Elf Marc VDS Racing (Boscoscuro) | +0.658s |
| 8 | Matteo Pasini | ITA | Fantic Racing Redemption (Kalex) | +0.697s |
| 9 | Filip Salac | CZE | Elf Marc VDS Racing (Boscoscuro) | +0.781s |
| 10 | Alonso Lopez | SPA | Sync SpeedRS (Boscoscuro) | 0.821s |
Moto3 Qualifying
Moto3 was frantic as ever during qualifying; Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) took pole position to lead the charge into Sunday, ahead of Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in second and David Muñoz (Liqui MolyDynavolt Intact GP) in P3. Muñoz’s back-of-the-grid start means it’s David Almansa (Leopard Racing) who returns to the front row on the grid in P3.
Maximo Quiles will spearhead the second row, and the star rookie is joined on Row 2 by CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar teammate Dennis Foggia and Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3).
Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) came through Q1 to qualify 10th, which means a P9 starting slot, one place behind impressive debutant Marco Morelli (DENSSI Racing – BOE).
Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) didn’t take part in Q2 after his FP2 crash and will be reviewed ahead of the race on Sunday.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—Moto3 Qualifying
| 1 | Guido Pini | ITA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | 2m 05.019s |
| 2 | Jose Antonio Rueda | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.026s |
| 3 | David Munoz | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.038s |
| 4 | David Almansa | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +0.072s |
| 5 | Maximo Qulies | SPA | CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.156s |
| 6 | Dennis Foggia | ITA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.169s |
| 7 | Valentin Perrone | ARG | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (KTM) | +0.251s |
| 8 | Adrian Fernandez | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +0.375s |
| 9 | Marco Morelli | ARG | DENSSI Racing – BOE (KTM) | +0.557s |
| 10 | Angel Piqueras | SPA | FRINSA -MT Helmets – MSI (KTM) | +0.582s |
MotoGP Qualifying
All eyes were on 2022 and 2023 MotoGP World Champion Bagnaia in Q1, and it wasn’t smooth sailing in the opening stint for the Italian. Pecco pitted after sitting up and out of his second flying lap while he was P6, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Maverick Viñales’ replacement Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3) occupying P1 and P2 as things stood.
A better lap came in from Bagnaia on his second run though. A 1:52.715 saw the Italian go 0.4s clear of Di Giannantonio, before Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) climbed to P2. Not for long though. The impressive Espargaro jumped back into the top two before Di Giannantonio went 0.184s off Pecco – but that wasn’t enough. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) powered his way to P2 to go 0.060s away from Bagnaia, so the pressure was on Di Giannantonio in the closing stages.
Did the Italian have a reply? He improved his time, but Di Giannantonio stayed P3. Fernandez’s very solid lap was good enough to knock the VR46 star out of qualifying, as Bagnaia and Trackhouse’s Spaniard strolled into Q2.
The first benchmark lap was set by Marc Marquez and it was a 1:52.522, with Quartararo slotting into an early P2 to sit 0.093s away from the #93. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) placed themselves in P3 and P4, with the returning Martin P10 after his opening effort in Q2.
Having not yet set a lap, Bagnaia was on a charge with five minutes to go. The #63 was 0.119s under Marc Marquez’s time through split two, 0.133s under through split three, and over the line, Pecco pocketed provisional pole by 0.219s.
What did Marc Marquez, Quartararo and the others have in response? Bezzecchi, after running into the gravel at Turn 1, was down as he started his next flying lap, meaning his front row hopes were gone. And with the yellow flags still waving, a lot of laps were scrubbed off with two minutes to go.
Fernandez’s wasn’t though. The #25 rose to P5 from P12, which shoved Alex Marquez down to P7 as one time attack lap remained for Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, Quartararo, Alex Marquez and Acosta, who were all on track together and fighting for prime position.
Marc Marquez led the freight train and through Sector 1, he lit up the timing screens. The gap was 0.245s through the third split as pole position looked guaranteed – until it wasn’t. Marc Marquez was down at Turn 13 and it was in the same place where Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) had crashed just a second before – as the penultimate corner caught out Friday’s fastest duo.
So with that late drama, pole position went the way of Marc Marquez’s teammate Pecco. A first of the year for the #63, as the championship leader had to settle for P2, with Quartararo earning P3.
Bezzecchi’s crash, in the end, didn’t cost him a place as the Aprilia ride spearheads Row 2, with Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) securing his best qualifying result of the season with P5, also his best since the Indian GP in 2023. The 2020 World Champion has Fernandez alongside him in P6, that’s his best Saturday morning result of the campaign too, as Acosta fronts Row 3 in P7.
Alex Marquez has work to do from P8 if he’s to stop Marc Marquez from extending his championship lead, with Zarco completing that third row in ninth. P10 went to Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), 11th belongs to Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), and reigning World Champion Martin starts from P12 in his first Grand Prix since Qatar.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—MotoGP Qualifying
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | 1:52.303s |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | +0.219s |
| 3 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.305s |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +0.341s |
| 5 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.460s |
| 6 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +0.493s |
| 7 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.527s |
| 8 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +0.547s |
| 9 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | +0.574s |
| 10 | Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.677s |
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP News—Friday
Marc’s advice for Martin
Jorge Martin received the best advice he received during his injury break came from current championship leader Marc Marquez – and he didn’t heed it.
Marquez messaged his injured compatriot soon after his Qatar smash, and told him to avoid making any rash decisions when healing, something he later reflected would have served him well. “This is very difficult, but taking a look back, I can say Marc texted me,” said Martin when asked for the best advice he received. “A lot of people texted me, but Marc was one of them. And I really appreciate his message. But he told me ‘don’t take any decisions [about your future] when you are injured. So now, thinking back, to there I can say maybe this was the best advice.”
Zarco content with LCR stay
Now that Martin is confirmed to stay at Aprilia, Johann Zarco has insisted he would be content to stay in LCR Honda for 2026, as long as he can considered HRC’s number one MotoGP rider.
“Jorge Martin staying at Aprilia it means there are more questions marks about where I can go,” he said. “The position of number one rider, I’d like to be it. But because things can move in Honda, maybe I can still be the number one rider in LCR. But for the moment this is standby.
“Ideally it would be staying with LCR. What we’re building, it’s pretty good. I need to keep my crew chief. The relation is growing with Lucio. With the experience I have, I can please the partners more than other riders.”
Enea’s return
Enea Bastianini was back in action at Brno after a one race absence and revealed he didn’t miss the German Grand Prix because of appendicitis, as was feared at the time, but rather a bacterial infection.
“It was very complicated because in the end, after many tests, I discovered that I had contracted a bacteria called campylobacter from eating chicken. A chicken ruined my weekend,” he said.
“I had a lot of inflammation, but then the tests ruled it out. In MotoGP, you have to be 100% and I don’t think I am. I tried to train a bit before coming here, even yesterday. Overall I’m fine, but I’m not close to my peak form. The biggest problem is the weight loss. I did a kind of reset.”
Friday MotoGP
The storylines stretch further than the quickest trio though as reigning World Champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) makes an eye-catching return to finish P5, with Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) going from on the deck to Q2 in a matter of minutes at the end of play. Plus, we’ll be seeing Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) in Q1.
A huge downpour at the end of Moto2 Practice carried over to bring us a delay to MotoGP Practice proceedings in Brno. Thankfully, the lull wasn’t too long and once it was safe enough, Practice began at a rain-soaked Czech GP as the field got down to business in the pursuit of a top 10.
With 48 minutes to go, the returning reigning World Champion sat P1 before teammate Marco Bezzecchi climbed above the #1. How good is it to see Martin back and looking in the groove? Very good is the answer, much like the grip the new Brno surface was providing as the times continued to tumble by the lap as the conditions improved.
The session leader, Bezzecchi, was then down at the exit of Turn 4 with 43 minutes to go. The Italian was a tad wide and ventured through the standing water, and unfortunately it caught out the British GP winner. Meanwhile, the goalposts were moved by Marc Marquez with 36 minutes left, with the #93’s 2:04.421 the time to beat.
As we entered the final 20-minute zone, Zarco was Marquez’s closest challenger, 0.4s down, with Quartararo, Martin and Bezzecchi the provisional top five. However, both Alex Marquez and Bagnaia were sitting outside the all-important top 10.
A few dry lines were appearing – particularly down the hill into Kevin Schwantz corner, Turn 10 – but there was too much water on plenty of other parts of the Automotodrom Brno with 12 minutes left to see slick tires unveiled in Practice.
Despite it drying up, the riders were struggling to improve their times. Was this the crossover point where the wet tyres, especially the softer rear Michelin wets, started to struggle as track temperatures rose? It certainly looked that way. And then, drama was endured for the rider second in the championship.
Alex Marquez was down at Turn 7, and he didn’t have a lot of time to get back to the box and back out. The #73 was P11 with six minutes to go, and no improvements were coming for 13th fastest Bagnaia either.
Alex Marquez did make it back in time to head back out, so the Spaniard gave himself a chance of saying goodbye to a potential first Q1 appearance of 2025. It was all down to one last lap for both Alex Marquez and Bagnaia and for the latter, his Friday Q2 push was done.
Marquez’s wasn’t though. Through split three, the #73 was 0.7s away from his brother’s effort, and across the line, a 2:04.993 was enough to propel Alex Marquez into P9 and therefore, Q2. Fair play to the Gresini star, that was top-notch stuff.
Bezzecchi and the returning Martin complete the top five behind the top three in what was a confidence-boosting day for the reigning World Champion in tricky conditions. Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) heads into Q2 in P6 while Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) sits seventh on Friday ahead of fit again Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—Friday MotoGP
| 1 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | 2:03.935s |
| 2 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | +0.469s |
| 3 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.530s |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +0.557s |
| 5 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +0.721s |
| 6 | Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.781s |
| 7 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.876s |
| 8 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +0.943s |
| 9 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +1.058s |
| 10 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.283s |
Friday Moto2
Moto3 may have been dry but the dark clouds rolled back into Brno and the rain came in buckets for Moto2. Leading the charge into Saturday and with the top 14 locked in for Q2 following a fast stint when it was dry, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) hit the jackpot at the right time ahead of home-hero Filip Salač (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), with Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) pocketing a Friday top three.
Sachsenring race winner Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finished P15 and will have to compete in Q2 on Saturday afternoon. Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego), Gonzalez’s chief title threat, is safely into Q2 along with fourth in the championship, Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). Ahead of his pit lane start on Sunday, Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) ended Friday down in P28.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—Friday Moto2
| 1 | Joe Roberts | USA | OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) | 1m 59.032s |
| 2 | Filip Salac | CZE | Elf Marc VDS Racing (Boscoscuro) | +0.542s |
| 3 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.572s |
| 4 | Marcos Ramirez | SPA | OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.687s |
| 5 | Senna Agius | AUS | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.739s |
| 6 | Matteo Pasini | ITA | Fantic Racing Redemption (Kalex) | +0.874s |
| 7 | Aron Canet | SPA | Fantic Racing LINO SONEGO (Kalex) | +0.875s |
| 8 | Jake Dixon | GBR | Elf Marc VDS Racing (Boscoscuro) | +0.959s |
| 9 | Alonso Lopez | SPA | Sync SpeedRS (Boscoscuro) | +0.990s |
| 10 | Celestino Vietti | ITA | Sync SpeedRS (Boscoscuro) | +1.058s |
Friday Moto3
Despite completing just four laps in FP1, later in the day Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) came to play in a dry Practice at the Tissot Grand Prix of Czechia, fronting the Moto3 field with a 2:05.840. Teammate and championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda was P2 and Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) completed the top three as a late lap from Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) pushed title-hunting Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) into Q1. It’s the first time this season that we’ll see Piqueras in Q1.
A pair of fast rookies complete the top five in the form of Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) and Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3). Sixth fastest David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) has been handed a back-of-the-grid penalty for being slow on line in Practice. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) is another regular podium contender who faces Q1 in Brno.
2025 Czech Republic MotoGP Results—Friday Moto3
| 1 | Alvaro Carpe | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | 2m 05.840s |
| 2 | Jose Antonio Rueda | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.157s |
| 3 | Maximo Qulies | SPA | CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.334s |
| 4 | Guido Pini | ITA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.371s |
| 5 | Valentin Perrone | ARG | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (KTM) | +0.438s |
| 6 | David Munoz | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.490s |
| 7 | Joel Kelso | AUS | LEVELUP – MTA (KTM) | +0.514s |
| 8 | Dennis Foggia | ITA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.563s |
| 9 | Ryusei Yamanaka | JPN | FRINSA -MT Helmets – MSI (KTM) | +0.590s |
| 10 | Scott Ogden | GBR | CIP Green Power (KTM) | +0.797s |
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