“You were expecting a Balatro reference here, weren’t you?”
Welcome back to another edition of Dre’s Race Review, as MotoGP headed to a brand new track for the first Hungarian Grand Prix on its calendar since 1992. A fine vintage if you ask me, home to your fifth favourite MotoGP writer. Anyway, let’s get into a discussion about the track itself, and then some of the racing we saw, because Balaton Park… it’s complicated.
Walk In The Park
This was always going to be a much discussed race. From the time Balaton Park was finished back in 2023, and it was anticipated we were going to have a 2025 debut on the MotoGP calendar, there were concerns from this writer as well as many others.
The biggest concern for me was the lack of run-off areas. In case of a crash, you need stopping power to ensure a rider and/or bike isn’t hitting the wall at massive speeds. In certain places like Turns 1 and 2, and the back end of the track at Sector 3, I was initially worried about impact speeds if the worst were to happen. The track and organisers clearly agreed, as they added a chicane complex after Turn 11 to slow the bikes down further on the back straight up to the final complex at 15, 16 and 17.
Tell me, is it a good sign when only weeks out, Ducati organised a private trackday on Panigale V4’s and the best Pecco Bagnaia can do is describe the track as: “Different”?
Obviously as the race weekend progressed we actually saw riders take the track properly, and it didn’t help that Pedro Acosta had a big crash at the very fast 120mph Turn 8, where his KTM made it all the way to the fence and the height as it bounced off the wall and hit the camera tower, striking the camera itself. Thankfully, no-one was harmed. Now, I personally think this was a freak accident, I wouldn’t normally expect a bike crashing at that turn to go all the way to the wall and then bounce 15 feet up (Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro also crashed there and it was fine), but it probably didn’t help any assertions.
The chicanes themselves though, makeshift or intentional, were very narrow on the whole. Enea Bastianini demonstrated that when he crashed on the opening lap of the race itself on Sunday. He was very lucky he wasn’t collected on the racing line as the rest of the field came careening in. Again, I want to be a little careful before I pin this all on the track. It’s not the only place where complicated corner sequences with increased risk are – Misano’s had this problem for years with its opening chicane. Pecco Bagnaia got run over in 2023 at Catalunya’s opening chicane sequence and was lucky he was able to race again five days later.
The question I wonder – Is this an “acceptable” amount of risk for a MotoGP-level circuit? I genuinely don’t know what the answer to that question is. Everyone’s parameters for “safe” are different, and I do wonder if we’re being extra cynical about it because the layout doesn’t look nice, and/or it’s a brand new track compared to the more established runners we’re used to. Because if we’re slamming Balaton for its layout, I’m not sure we should be racing at Misano either, which has a lot of the same problems.
Another complicated element – There’s no getting around it, the track produced superb Moto3 and Moto2 races. Both were classics of their divisions and amongst the best races of 2025, all the way to the final corner, with difficult, but still achievable passing, battles, and shoulder rubbing, everything we associate with great racing. So it’s good enough for the lesser classes, does it stem back to the classic problems we have with MotoGP bikes at present, with the terribly dangerous ride-height devices, aero and all that corner speed?
In any case, we won’t have to worry about it for long. According to David Emmett, this was already the penultimate Hungarian GP at Balaton, with one more edition in 2026 before the Hungaroring finishes its modifications to make bike racing feasible there, aiming for 2027 and the new regulations. For the record, I have just as many concerns about bike racing there, with similarly short run-offs, barriers on the pit entry and very tight chicane sequences in Sector 2. But let’s see how that finished up.
To make one thing clear – I didn’t like this circuit and its layout. It’s painfully slow at the highest level, passing was incredibly difficult, it was very dirty offline and these bikes were only using five out of the six gears available because the range of speed needed was from 30-185mph. Many didn’t need first or sixth gear. Do I think it’s dangerous to the point where it shouldn’t be on the calendar? I’m not all the way there.
Yes, I did just write 830 words here to effectively conclude with: “I don’t know”. More folks with sports takes should do it more often, it’s an underrated thing.
Marquez Winning Streak Count: 14
Let’s not forget, Balaton Park is an anti-clockwise circuit with lots of stop-start sequences, and long flowing left-handers. Wonder who that helped.
Once again, it never really looked like Marc Marquez was going to lose on the weekend, and it was a classic case of the people who were quick, tripping over themselves. Pedro Acosta was incredibly fast in practice, but a crash in qualifying forced him to start from P7. Fermin Aldeguer at one point felt like his engine was being powered by Neil Hodgson’s hype-train after Austria the week before, but he qualified in eighth and crashed during the race.
Alex Marquez had continued another weekend of poor form with an 11th in Qualifying, a three-place grid penalty for blocking in practice, and then having the same issues from Austria where he got stuck and was unable to pass slower bikes. I’d talk more about Pecco Bagnaia’s struggles this weekend, but he was too busy backtracking from his “running out of patience” comments after Austria.
The Sprint was over in a matter of seconds, and I suspect that’s what amplified the comments about the track. Marc Marquez just about avoided the flying devil that was Fabio Quartararo sending one down the inside, locking his front brake, and then easing off hoping to find a space that wasn’t there. He clattered into the back of Enea Bastianini’s KTM, breaking its rear ride-height device. Fabio out, with a Long Lap Penalty for riding recklessly.
Enea Bastianini would continue, but with his ride-height device not working, he clattered into Johann Zarco at Turn 9, taking them both out. Double Long Lap penalty for the race, and one of the top contenders out of the effective running, before he crashed out on the opening lap of the GP. Welp.
Marquez won the Sprint with ease, but had to work harder in the race again. Marc stuffed his front nose in an area he shouldn’t have at Turn 2, nearly breaking some of his front aero. But in a race he was the only Medium Rear tyre runner of the big hitters, he waited for then race leader Marco Bezzecchi to spin up his rears, and then punish him into Turn 1 to pass for the lead. Marc ripped out a 1.5 second lead in a lap, and then it was all over. Pedro Acosta was there to pounce for second place on the KTM, finally showing what he could have done with a clean weekend, but with Marc three seconds ahead by then, second was the best result for the young Spaniard.
Tomorrow at the time of writing, Marc Marquez hasn’t lost a race since the British Grand Prix in May, exactly three months ago. He’s just become the first rider ever to win six, now seven races in a row with two different manufacturers. It’s 14 in a row if you include the Sprints. It’s his 10th DOUBLE victory of the year.
He now has a 175-point lead in the standings. If he outscores his brother Alex by 47 points across the next two weeks (Which isn’t unthinkable given how much his form has wilted), he can win the title in Misano with SIX weekends to spare. He probably doesn’t leave the track alive given they’ll be a member of VR46’s academy there with an “Intervention” from Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, but it’s a terrifying thought.
For The Good Of The Show
Inevitably, there was a debate in my mentions about Marc’s dominance in my Blue Sky mentions, and you can tell, people are starting to roll their eyes at this. Valentino Rossi comparisons were made, it’s bad for the fans, etc.
I’ll give some people this – The worst element of Marquez’s dominance is that he doesn’t have a bonafide contender. We ran through that list earlier in this column. Alex Marquez was the big surprise, but he hasn’t been the same since his broken finger in Assen, and even then, all his seconds don’t mean much when the same man keeps beating you every week.
Pecco Bagnaia has been slaughtered on the same bike, for reasons we’ve gone into multiple times in this series. Fabio Di Giannantonio has also struggled on the same GP25 that Pecco’s had. Franco Morbidelli has been inconsistent. Marco Bezzecchi’s been outstanding since July, but took too long to get going. Jorge Martin has spent more time on a hospital bed than on an Aprilia in 2025. And that bike’s definitely the closest we have to a Ducati challenger. KTM’s getting there but still feels off, and Japan is still now where they need to be. “We like our Champions to be challenged”, said TNT’s Gavin Emmett and it’s hard to argue with him, you’re going to have people lose interest with Marc feeling inevitable, but that’s the nature of sports sometimes.
This is the first time in 11 years that the best rider in MotoGP, is on the best bike, and you’re seeing the pros and the cons of that process. If anything else, it says a lot more about the sport struggling to find another talent like him since, in combination with a bike strong enough to lead the field.
And for me, Valentino Rossi comparisons are unfair. Rossi existed in an era pre-social media. The 2000s were a time of risks, where showmanship, flair and exuberance were championed and celebrated in culture. Rossi was drawing in attention the sport never had before because you were tuned in to see what he’d come up with next.
You know what’s kinda wild? If Rossi was born 15 years later, some of his stunts like bowling human skittles over, posing with a sex doll, or Snow White and the Seven Stuntmen would probably be seen as “cringe” in the social media era. I’ve seen my fair share of people dunk on Jorge Martin’s Terminator celebration in 2024, Bautista and Toprak’s gold race suits, Marquez’s pool table, and every football signing announcement video ever. Sometimes, “product of its time”, really is just that.
Rossi’s era also had similar issues with a lack of competitive field – Rossi won 51 out of 81 races in his five title-winning seasons, no-one else was in double digits), but we didn’t care as much because we felt more entertained, and Rossi was a bit more fallible than Marquez has been this season1. It doesn’t help Marc, that he doesn’t have the prime era of “aliens” anymore that Rossi had. Rossi succeeded in an era with Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner all at the peak of their powers. Marc only really got the back end once he showed up in 2013. Not the Spaniard’s fault by any means, but that’s the nature of sport and timing, where sometimes it can mean everything.
I openly admit, I’m a huge Marquez fan. I’m loving seeing him put down one of the greatest Motorsport seasons ever, with video game like numbers. But I do understand that a competitive field means much more to so many more people. But that’s the nuances of sporting integrity sometimes. Still, it could be worse. We could British Superbikes old playoff system – *shot*
The Lightning Round
A salute to Jorge Martin. Fourth place on just his fourth weekend of the season, and just 3.6 seconds off Marco Bezzecchi on the same bike, from 16th on the grid, is a superb achievement. Great to see the World Champion making clear progress on the Aprilia.
Is it kinda scary that despite its first weekend and a horrible schedule given the other Central European races around it, Balaton only drew 18,000 less fans across the weekend than Silverstone did?
Flowers to Luca Marini as well, for the best weekend a factory Honda rida has had since Marquez left them. Fourth in the Sprint and fifth in the Grand Prix, going to show you that at their best, Honda can run with the best of Europe. Weird how a punctured lung makes you quicker…
Seems Jack Miller bullying the Yamaha bosses into an answer on his future worked out for him. According to Autosport, Yamaha gave him a new contract on Thursday that will keep him with Pramac for one more year. With it, it looks like Miguel Oliveira is out of MotoGP, which is such a shame. The Portuguese veteran is a two-time runner-up in Moto2 and Moto3, and had five MotoGP wins in KTM colours, but struggles adapting to Yamaha and injuries have derailed his career. There’s murmurs he may replace Jonathan Rea at Yamaha’s World Superbike team, and I hope he goes over there and wins some more, he’s a quality rider.
Also with that, the silly season is just about done for MotoGP for 2026. Diogo Moreira is heading to LCR Honda to replace Somkiat Chantra and blowing up Honda’s Idemitsu’s ties, which is weird given DM10 just signed a Yamaha ambassador deal in Brazil. Whoops. That just leaves Alex Rins’ seat at the factory team as the last one left. I suspect he stays.
Everyone from seventh placed Diggia down is mathematically out of the running. We have eight full weekends and 296 points left on the table.
Outstanding wins for the rest of the Marc Marquez academy this weekend too. David Alonso was astonishing to come back from 11th on the opening lap to win in Moto2 over Moreira and Manu Gonzalez on the final lap. With it, Alonso became just the fourth rookie since 2016 to win in the Moto3 class2.
On top of that, Max Quiles took his second Moto3 race in a heated battle with Valentin Perrone and David Munoz. If only the teenager got the full season to play with, he’d genuinely be a contender. 10 Moto3 starts, two wins and six podiums already. Scarily good.
And I do love the fact that Pedro Acosta sent love to Joao, the cameraman whose bike he nearly hit the day earlier. Awww.
The Verdict: 5/10 (Meh) – Not terrible for a first go. Again, I think an element of that was Marquez’s poor start and recovery, but seeing him having to earn a pass did make the actual fight worth watching, and that’s worth something. Not much. But something. Go watch the Moto2 and Moto3 races, they’re race of the year contenders. See you back in Barcelona.
- Hell, Rossi’s 2002 is pretty much Marquez’s 2019 as a carbon copy. 11 race wins, four second places, just one DNF, and 140 point margin of victory. Don’t think we got any: “Rossi dominance will bore fans” photoshops… ↩︎
- The others? Raul Fernandez, Alonso Lopez, Pedro Acosta. One of these is not like the others… ↩︎
