And now for the main event of the show, because once again Ducati ended up winning it all and dominating the season with 17 wins, a surprise new contender in blue, but ultimately a return of MotoGP’s king to establish himself quite possibly as the greatest of all-time. That and all my thoughts to wrap up the end of the 2025 MotoGP Season. Let’s wrap-up the bikes for 2025.
Ducati – Manufacturer Position: Champions – 768 Points = 94.3%, Tier A for 2026
My goodness, what a down year for Bologna. Last year they scored 97.5% of all the points available. They’ve dropped down to 94%. Man, they’re cooked. Put ’em in rice.
But hold your horses, reader. I think this is a genuine case of having to dig beyond the numbers with the Dukes. If you think about how their season played out, and the pitfalls they fell into, you can make a feasible argument that Ducati got away with a lot of shit, and had their blushes spared by how good their GP24 was as an insurance policy.
Going all the way back to the Sepang test, Ducati’s original GP25 engine was chucked out of development because both Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia thought it was worse than the 24 that came before it. As we’ve spoken about before in many of the DRR’s written in 2025, Marc Marquez was able to blunt force trauma his way through the nagging issues the new bike had. IE: It lost a lot of its feeling in the front tire, and riders often had to guess how much grip they had, until it was a classic case of Death, Taxes, Ducati tucks the front. For both Bagnaia and Fabio Di Giannantonio, it became a persistent nightmare that ranged anywhere from harming their competitiveness slightly, and in extreme cases, derailing entire weekends and one rider’s entire Championship.
Marquez had the Championship effectively won in August. Bagnaia failed to finish in six out of the final seven weekends. Alex Marquez would effectively become what his brother was in 2024, being the outside antagonist to the factory team, only with a much stronger and depending on who you ask, more rider-friendly machine, winning three Sprints and three Grand Prix across the season and genuinely got people thinking: “Hey, is last year’s bike actually better?” Even Fermin Aldeguer got in on the act, winning in Mandalika in dominant fashion.
No matter how you slice it, if that’s the discourse coming out of your garage, then your development as a team has failed because in the eyes of many, you’re actually worse than you were last year. Again, Marc Marquez missing the final four race weekends is a bit of failsafe for those high on the Aprilia wagon, their true test is still to come. But I do worry that Ducati may end up falling for the same trap that Honda did when they had to manage the world’s fastest man. This is going to be a fascinating off-season to see how Ducati respond to their biggest threat since Quartararo in 2021.
And I think Ducati knows it too – Alex Marquez is on a GP26 for next season and should be in the frame for a factory seat if his breakthrough form continues into next year. Bagnaia will certainly be under pressure to find his old pace; Ducati have taken riders to the woodchipper for a lot less. And don’t forget, they also have to choose whether or not to take the third year option on Fermin Aldeguer’s hefty four-year contract. If they do, he gets factory support for Year 3. And if this season was anything to go buy, he’s trending in the right direction.
But that’s tomorrow’s problem – For now, party at Marquez’s place, please don’t touch the shoulder, or trash the new BMW in the driveway, it’s a collector’s piece. Having the best rider that’s ever walked the earth certainly cures a lot of problems…
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team (3rd)
Fabio Di Giannantonio – 6th in Points (262), 4 Podiums, 6 Sprint Podiums / Average Start: 8.5 / Average Finish: 9.4 / Sprint Ranking: 4th / Grand Prix Ranking: 6th
Franco Morbidelli – 7th in Points (231), 2 Podiums, 2 Sprint Podiums / Average Start: 7.3 / Average Finish: 9.8 (20 Races) / Sprint and Grand Prix Ranking: 7th
This is an intriguing team to evaluate because one man’s season makes you look at the others in a different light because remember, Diggia was on a GP25, while Morbidelli was on a 24’, this matters when you break it down.
As said earlier, the GP24 in the eyes of many was the better, more comfortable bike to ride and push when it mattered most. Diggia was very candid about his time with the GP25 this season and echoed a lot of Pecco Bagnaia’s complaints, a lack of feeling in the front of the bike, not being able to differentiate compounds and ultimately lacking confidence in the machine. Despite that, Diggia had a way better season than Morbidelli did, despite the numbers not quite saying so.
Morbidelli definitely started out stronger with some consistent and good Top 5’s early on, including a double podium in Qatar and another third place in Argentina. Weirdly though, he seemed to get worse as the season went on. I do wonder if that nasty crash he had at the Sachsenring Sprint race where he nearly ended up in the barriers with a burst set of leathers did a bigger number on him than was let on, because his form got a bit more erratic in the back half. Not to mention, the really embarrassing crash before the race had even started in Valencia to close out the season, crashing into the back of Aleix Espargaro (literally) on the grid, and breaking a bone in his hand in the process, missing the post-season test.
Across the garage, Fabio Di Giannantonio was a consummate pro, who got his head down and pushed on with his flawed GP25 and dug out more consistent results on a more temperamental package. On a bad day, like Pecco, he could still crash a bike or just end up outright slow like in Brno, or pitlane start that didn’t lead to much at Balaton, when Martin marched through the field by comparison. But on a good day, he was good for a podium finish, and excelled at the Sprints, something his fellow GP25 runner Pecco Bagnaia couldn’t do. I was actually surprised looking at the results at how good he was in the shorter format, fourth in points, and third in average finish (6.8). Not for the first time in this piece, only the Marquez brothers were better.
It’s easy to forget that Diggia was almost out of this sport this time two years ago, with VR46 saving him at the 11th hour. He’s taken the opportunity to become a genuine Top 10 rider on the grid and a solid pair of hands for Ducati to have. As for Franco, he suffered a lot of brain fades from sketchy racecraft and blocking penalties, and given he’s had two years now on the GP24, you’d think he’d have been right there with Diggia, and to be only 17 points in front of a rookie Fermin Aldeguer on the same bike, is a cause for concern. A big contract year for the Italian/Brazilian awaits…
Fabio Di Giannantonio – 8/10 / Franco Morbidelli – 6.5/10
BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP (2nd)
Fermin Aldeguer – 8th in Points (214), 1 Win, 3 Podiums, 3 Sprint Podiums / Average Start: 9.5 / Average Finish: 10.4
Sprint Ranking: 9th / Grand Prix Ranking 8th / Rookie of the Year
Alex Marquez – Championship Runner-Up (467), 3 Wins, 1 Pole Position, 3 Sprint Wins, 12 Podiums, 15 Sprint Podiums / Average Start: 4 / Average Finish: 6 / Sprint and Grand Prix Ranking: 2nd
Without a doubt, the best year ever for Gresini Racing, and probably the best for an independent in recent MotoGP history (Yes, I know Pramac won the team’s title in 2023, but Enea Bastianini spent half the year in a hospital bed).
Hell, even I was impressed with how much they were doing off the track. The social media admins copying famous albums, to the point where we saw Alex Marquez’s cheeks on main and pretending to open an OnlyFans account, was funny. They’ve come a long way from culturally appropriating Lewis Hamilton’s dreadlocks.
Fermin Aldeguer had a pretty proto-typical rookie season at first glance. A fair share of crashes and being a bit off the boil as he adapts to the top flight. But the flashes of when everything clicked was clear to see, and it was vindication for those who saw him excel in Moto2 as an 18-year-old.
The three big ones are obvious – A dry and wet double podium in Le Mans, fighting Pedro Acosta hard for that final podium spot in the clutch (It’s where we on M101 started the jokes that he was too young to experience fear). The comeback in Austria was incredible. 10th at mid-race, but faster than everyone on track in the back half to finish 2nd ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and forcing Marquez to put the hammer back down at the end was eyebrow raising to say the least.
And of course, Mandalika – Dominating the race by as much as nine seconds at points, destroying the field at a rate of half a second a lap, over some good runners scrapping for second. Yes, it loses a little lustre from a lack of Marco Bezzecchi (Of his own making), but you can only beat who they put in front of you. The first MotoGP rookie win since Jorge Martin in 2021 and the first sign of what Fermin could be in the future. Shoutout to Frankie Carchedi, possibly the best crew chief in the business, and now the fourth different rider he’s won a GP with.
I’m not quite as high on Fermin as some on the interwebs, but I can’t deny, he is MotoGP’s new potential man, and a hell of an insurance policy for Ducati to have in the long run.
As for Alex Marquez – What a difference a couple of years make. Last year on the GP23, he was a fringe Top 10 runner, rubbing shoulders with some of the other Ducati runners in yellow. This year, first time on a GP24, and he’s the number two rider in the Championship, by over 100 points. Remarkable turnaround.
The stat that sums it all up? Between Sprints and Grand Prix, we had 44 races in 2025. Alex Marquez was first or second in TWENTY-FIVE of them. For 75% of the season, Alex treated third like the floor was lava. The only man who was giving his brother a bloody nose and something to think about week to week. If nothing else, it made for tremendous entertainment on the track, so much so, certain journalists were implying he was softballing Marc on purpose. And we all know how I felt about that bullshit.
The only real black mark against his name was the middle of the season stretch from the Assen TT. Crashing into Pedro Acosta there and breaking a metacarpal in his finger ended up in the middle of a rough five weekend patch, including a poor German sprint, a scoreless weekend in Brno, and being lost in Balaton. The problem was – Marc Marquez scored 185 points out of 185 in that span. Alex went from genuine title contender, to dead man walking in the space of a month. And given what we know now about how Marc’s season ended, and given Alex finished 78 points off the Championship… it may have cost him the title in hindsight. Butterfly effect and all that.
But this is good – It means we’re talking about Alex in the context of being the very best in the sport, not just Marc’s brother anymore. This was a superb season, by a country mile his best as a bike rider, and there’s no reason to think he can’t do it again in 2026 – Now on the exact same bike as his brother. And on any level, seeing the two of them at the very top of the sport was a genuine joy, it doesn’t get much cooler than that. On to the next one…
Fermin Aldeguer – 8/10 / Alex Marquez – 9.5/10
Ducati Lenovo Team (Champions)
Francesco Bagnaia – 5th in Points (288), 2 Wins, 2 Sprint Wins, 3 Pole Positions, 8 Podiums, 7 Sprint Podiums / Average Start: 6.9 / Average Finish: 9.8 / Sprint Ranking: 6th / Grand Prix Ranking: 5th
Marc Marquez – 11 Wins, 14 Sprint Wins, 8 Pole Positions, 15 Podiums, 16 Sprint Podiums / Average Start: 2.5 / Average Finish: 3.9 / Sprint and Grand Prix Ranking: 1st (18 Races) / 2025 World Champion (545)
Man, where do we start here? Ducati made a complete horlicks of the GP25 by most metrics, and still did THIS. I’ve not mentioned the team totals here before, but it’s worth pointing out, that as a team, Ducati scored 835 points, a new MotoGP record, and were on the way for 1,000 as a team. And this was by all accounts, a BAD year. Sort of.
Because it’s hard to call it flawless, when you look at what happened to Pecco Bagnaia. This season played out like a Greek tragedy. He started out the season reasonably fine. In the mix in Thailand, distant in Argentina but still fighting for podiums as the floor all the way through the first half of the season. Even scored a win in Austin when Marc Marquez took his eyes off the prize and crashed in his second home, again.
My theory has always been that around Aragon kind of time in June, Pecco got a bit too cute fiddling and tampering with the bike, and it led him down a dark path of excessive tuning. I say this, because his season steadily got worse from around that point onwards, and it even showed nasty cycles of media talk. For example, claiming they’d make a breakthrough (Aragon and the 355mm brakes, or Balaton, shifting the entire rear back multiple centimeters), then having another bad weekend, and then telling the press: “Well, I dunno, this doesn’t make sense” in his exceedingly polite Italian tones.
And then the funky shit happens – He only goes and completely dominates Motegi with a Double Grand Slam victory, via a Frankenstein’s monster of a hybrid setup, old GP24 aero, swingarms and god knows what else that Ducati didn’t want to reveal to the press and was only found out by a very intuitive David Emmett. (If you’re not backing him on Patreon, what the hell are you doing? http://www.patreon.com/motomatters)
Mat Oxley cracked the code im Indonesia via an “off the record” meeting, or at least we thought as much – Ducati told him that they changed the ride-height device on his bike back to the 2024 version, and because it had a reduced physical impact on the bike as a whole when it came to feeling on corner entry, Bagania couldn’t feel his tires or level of grip with the 25’ version. He just hit the sweet spot with it under braking in Motegi, stuck with it for the rest of the season, and it didn’t work afterwards…
…Only for Oxley to drop a banger of an article via Motorsport Magazine on Wednesday, basically saying that he doesn’t believe Ducati, and that he thinks it’s the engine and its inertia that’s caused the issue. Why? Partly because Ducati have been so bad at communicating their problems and causing a vacuumed space of tinfoil hat theories that it caused people to genuinely think Bagnaia was being shafted on purpose, and that lack of communication has led to them lying in the past to cover their tracks, like in Mandalika. He’s got a point, Ducati made a complete horlicks of it. Being needlessly protective of the bike and Pecco themselves, with the latter openly admitting he was saying what Ducati told him to say. Anyone who’s ever worked in spin would have just passed out reading that paragraph.
PS: Do you really need me to point out that it’s really stupid if you think Ducati would intentionally sabotage their greatest rider, and someone worth eight-figures a year?
Personally, I find it hard to believe that Ducati would be that incompetent in terms of fixing an issue for a rider, that they’d wait 16 rounds into a 22 round Championship to make such a simple change. Oxley’s argument makes sense – If it’s not gross incompetence, it has to be an issue they can’t really fix. It has to do with the one element of the bike they can’t fix due to the rulebook and homologation. In simple terms, imagine trying to stop a bike where the front tire is slowing down, while the rear keeps accelerating. Yeah, now you know why Pecco was likely tucking the front so many times.
Whatever you want to believe, it got frustrating to the point where I think everyone was fed up with it by the end of the season. Davide Tardozzi at times couldn’t even look his rider in the eye. By Mandalika, they were actively shielding Pecco from the press after crashing from last, and being slower than Somkiat Chantra. Humiliating on any level for a 31-win, two-time World Champion.
It makes that Motegi win look even stupider when you realise that was the only other result that wasn’t a DNF in the final seven Grand Prix of the year. Now I need to say, this wasn’t all on Pecco – He was extremely unlucky to have a rear puncture in Sepang when running a comfortable third, and he was wiped out by Johann Zarco in Valencia, but there were just so many unforced errors. Every time Pecco pushed the envelope, even a little bit, he’d crash. And the contiuned issue of Pecco struggling with the balance of the bike when using the Sprint fuel tank was back too, so he couldn’t even lean on Saturday to pad his scoring. The Bozo gene was back, and it was at full power, it was like watching the final fight from Tekken 8 again.
It’s ultimately what makes looking at Pecco so intriguing for 2026. He’s in a contract year, and Ducati were evidently frustrated at the way his season ended, especially with Marc Marquez coming in, integrating quickly, and running the field over across the garage. That’s too big a disparity and it’s a weakness that other teams could exploit.
Ducati aren’t short of options if they wanted to replace him. Alex Marquez will be tempting on current form, and the marketing clout of having both brothers under one roof has to be in the mind of Claudio Domenicalli. Fermin Aldeguer is there if they want to take a punt on his future development. And if you want to get the chequebook out, make a serious offer to Pedro Acosta or Fabio Quartararo and I’m sure they’d listen. All of a sudden, Pecco’s gone from talisman and most successful Ducati rider ever, to genuine vulnerability and his 2026 will be a critical season.
As for Marc himself? Well, that went well.
Marc Marquez spanked this field into oblivion and he made it look relatively easy. Again, it took him a little time to find his footing in the form of early crashes in Austin and Jerez when he was knocked slightly out of his comfort zone.
But his season was defined by a 15-race winning streak in the middle of the year. Seven double victory weekends from Aragon all the way back to Barcelona and the Catalan Sprint. Before the streak started, he had a 24 point lead in the standings. By the end, it was 182. We joked in our Discord server, that Marc was almost on the brink of winning the title at Misano, in Valentino Rossi’s back yard. Could you imagine how THAT celebration goes down there? There’s not enough “He’s red!” by Davide Tardozzi in the world for that. Although, the Messi suit strip does come a close second.
I already broke a lot of his brilliance in 2025 down in other DRR’s and my piece when he won the title, but to keep it brief, he had the ability to channel more outright speed out of his machine than anyone else in the world. For those new here, he has a godlike superhuman abiity to feel and detect the feeling of his front tire, and has the reactions to have a much higher percentage of being able to “save” the front tire when losing grip. It’s a riding style many have tried to copy, because it’s so effective. And given the GP25’s known struggles, it became necessary.
He had a small weakness – Qualifying wasn’t his best, and he still had 8 pole positions. And it didn’t matter, because he was virtually unstoppable in Sprints. I evaluate Averages more harshly than some, I count DNF’s because they can be rider errors and need to be acknowledged as such, we can apply nuance after the fact. Many don’t. If you’re the latter, Marc Marquez’s average finish in Sprints was an inconceivable ONE. POINT. FOUR. He single-handedly tied Jorge Martin for the top of the all-time list in effectively one season. His average finish in races he finished? Exactly two. And there was a 12th in there from Jerez.
What more can you say? There were some fair doubts about what a 31-year old Marc Marquez would be, four years since his last truly competitive motorcycle. He crushed them all, as well as the 2025 field, into dust. If there was any doubt left in my eyes, it was eliminated. You’re witnessing the greatest MotoGP rider of all-time. Sorry Vale fans.
PS: …He only took part in 18 races and with two broken screws from his previous surgeries in his arm. And it was arguably only his third greatest season. Goodnight.
Francesco Bagnaia: 6.5/10 / Marc Marquez: AYFKM/10
And that’s it for MotoGP in 2025. We take a little break before the first 2026 Season Shakedown in Sepang on January 29th. February 27th for the first day of meaningful action in Buriram.
The 2025 MotoGP season as a whole? This was a strange year to cover. Maybe the most exhausting but also the most flat I can remember.
On the one hand, we had one of the biggest silly season stories ever with Jorge Martin dominating the airwaves for a good three months of the European calendar, twisting one way and then the next. It was exhilarating, bizarre, and exhausting all at once. Pedro Acosta very nearly went the same way, but it all settled down in the end.
On the track, this felt like the season most affected by the sport’s aerodynamics era. There were so many races that had close racing to the naked eye, but rarely did we get back and forth fights, as the man in second had to fight that dirty air within six tenths of the rider in front. So many times, often with Marc Marquez at the front, he’d chip away at those gaps until six tenths became a second, becoming 1.5, then two seconds, and eventually winning via death of 1,000 cuts. Beyond Mugello’s early carnage, there weren’t many out and out dogfights. Some of that is the brilliance of Marquez, a lot of it is the uncomfortable truth that these bikes cannot race each other effectively.
And MotoGP knows it. I deliberately omitted a new detail from Part 2 – Aprilia’s new leg wings at the back of the bike are set to be banned. Aprilia first started using them at the British Grand Prix, ironically, a race won by Marco Bezzecchi. Honda soon did the same for their bike too. Essentially, they generate more downforce at the back of the bike for extra rear end grip. They’re designed to break off when involved in an actual crash, but could harm the riders legs in the process.
Personally, it infuriates me in a world where everyone and their mother bitches and moans about the ride-height devices, their obvious danger, the fact they so constantly fail, and the increased chances of big accidents, that this might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. There absolutely is a danger with the leg wings – Bez got his leg caught in one when Fermin Aldeguer wiped him out in Catalunya. But there’s bigger fish to fry. Ride-height devices should have been banned five years ago, three years ago, last year, this year, today, tomorrow. The light is visible at the end of the tunnel – Aprilia reckons we’re going to lose 30-50% of the downforce of the bikes when 2027 hits. But we have one more year of this dangerous nonsense before then.
I wonder if this was the FIM and the manufacturers coming together in a shakedown to say enough is enough on the aero front. It’s been reported that a ban could be pushed back for the new regs in 2027 as a compromise, as Aprilia and Honda will likely reject a ban for next year due to their usage. Even with a rejection, Dorna and the FIM can force it through on Safety Grounds, but as said, 2027 seems the more likely outcome due to Aprilia and probably Honda digging in politically.
As a season, I was a bit more optimistic about the state of play than some pundits who were pencilling in Marquez from the off. They were right. In crunch time, no-one could touch him once he settled in the early rounds. Pecco Bagnaia was lost at sea, and while Alex Marquez was brilliant, he just couldn’t bridge that gap, even on a friendlier bike. There’s a nice upper class forming below with Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta having their best seasons yet, but significant progress you’d feel still needs to be made. One of the most chaotic silly seasons is imminent that could play a huge role as to how that 2027 era starts. All it takes is one domino falling and all hell could break loose.
I’ve not talked much about the Liberty Media takeover. Mostly because, there isn’t too much to say. The changes that are being proposed, or the minor ones that have already taken place, have been in the works from Dorna for years.
The pre-race ceremony was inevitable. Whether we want to accept it or not, Motorsport has become way more outwardly political in recent years. We just saw Stefano Domenicalli; F1’s CEO, shoulder-to-shoulder with the Secretary of Homeland Security in Las Vegas, Kristi Noem. And if anyone knows ICE right now – fucking terrifying what they’re doing and what they’re capable of against anyone they think is an illegal immigrant. While most cases won’t be as extreme, let’s not forget MotoGP is just as capable of turning a blind eye to its political influence. Remember, they raced in Qatar nearly 20 years before F1 did.
The sport absolutely needs a marketing reset. For years so many within the sport has complained that the only attention they attract is from energy drinks, oil companies and crypto bros. That’s where Liberty could be a real game changer, they’ve taken on tough promotional challenges like Las Vegas, or getting a $750m TV deal in the US with Apple. What could it do with MotoGP? We’ve already seen big new money potentially coming via Guenther Steiner investing in Tech3 at a gargantuan $20m. But will we see MotoGP’s factories continue to push for a Concorde style agreement like their F1 siblings?
The scaling back in relevance of Moto2/3 relative to the Premier Class has long been on the cards. Moto2/3 are now junior series, means to an end, not the standalone honours they were in the past. And sadly, the masses don’t care for the minor leagues. The new Hall of Fame reflects that, where rich swarms of its history will never get their true credit because it wasn’t on a 500cc bike. Angel Nieto, anyone?
I do worry for the future of those classes though. Being shoved to the back of the paddock, less potential TV time and coverage could force teams to potentially downsize or take on paying riders to cover the bills as Dorna’s concessions don’t stretch far enough. We got a very literal example in Moto2 in the final fortnight of the season as American Racing Team ripped up Marcos Ramirez’s 2026 already signed contract at the 11th hour and brought in Filip Salac from Marc VDS, who is paying for his seat. Grim that biking contracts are barely worth the piece of paper they’re written on. It’s also saddening that little videos made by friends like this for Moto3’s Jacob Roulstone are about as innovative as social media coverage gets within the sport, because teams can’t afford to spend $100k a year on two standalone social media admins. (Trust me, most places in Motorsport don’t have as many as you think, even the big ones…) Maybe Moto3’s cheaper regulation set frees up some money in… 2028.
My overall feeling is that MotoGP is a sport in limbo. It feels like some major cogs are about to turn, for better and for worse. The future of the smaller classes, what the new Premier Class regulations will bring in 2027, praying Moto3 is safer in 2028, just what major strategies will Liberty Media bring into play now they own the series. Will KTM still be KTM and where could CF Moto fit? How do you actually grow this thing and gain more new fans? Can you keep the teams happy? What’s the long-term future of the smaller classes?
There’s a lot of questions the sport has to answer, and I’ve not even talked about who could win on the track. The next three years are huge for MotoGP. Let’s see how they attack the next corner. Be careful of the chatter.
Before I go, I just wanted to say thank you. 2025 was without question the hardest year of my life as a MotoGP writer. A week before the season started, while still employed for the Motorsport Network I was thrust into being in charge of their entire MotoGP social output, as well as hosting the Tank Slappers podcast. I was so lucky to be able to work with such talented journalists like Richard Asher, Ben Hunt and Oriol Puigdemont, but it was so incredibly taxing. A full commitment, and I admit, it drained my enjoyment of the sport a bit. But I’m so very grateful to you, the Motorsport101 audience, for reading, sharing and enjoying my work. Thank you for sticking around, it means the world. See you in February for The Hater’s Guide.
Dre x
