MotoGP’s second spherical of 2025 takes it from Thailand to Argentina, as Termas de Rio Hondo hosts the Argentinian Grand prix for the primary time since 2023.
Final day out in Thailand, Marc Marquez dominated with two race wins to shoot to the highest of the standings. He’s the person to beat already.
Reigning champion Jorge Martin will once more miss out attributable to damage in Argentina.
Listed here are 5 crunch speaking factors earlier than the motion begins this weekend.
Marc Marquez, specialist in Argentina
If Bezzecchi and Aprilia are to win this weekend they won’t solely need to beat Ducati but in addition Marc Marquez, who by now are handily paired.
Marquez just isn’t solely the championship chief and never solely the the winner of the earlier Grand Prix on arrival in Argentina; however the eight-time World Champion can also be essentially the most profitable rider within the historical past of MotoGP at Termas.
The Spanish rider has gained there on three events: 2014, 2016, and 2019. He also needs to have gained in 2015 when he selected the mistaken tyre and in the end crashed out whereas battling with Valentino Rossi, 2017 when he crashed whereas main by two seconds, and 2018 when he rode his bike backwards on the grid to obtain one ride-through penalty earlier than incurring a time penalty on the finish of the race having made contact with many of the subject as he scythed his method into the top-10.
The one two Termas races you’ll be able to say indubitably Marquez was not in competition to win are the 2022 and 2023 editions, each of which he was unable to contest by damage.
In consequence, Marquez is the clear favorite this weekend even with out contemplating his ominous Thailand efficiency.
In a method, Marquez profitable this weekend would virtually not be a narrative in any respect, however simply that itself is indicative of the place the Ducati Lenovo Group rider holds the collection at current.
Alex Marquez a challenger to his brother
Alex Marquez
If Marc Marquez’s dominance in Thailand was pretty anticipated, the 2 second locations of Alex Marquez have been a lot much less so.
After Francesco Bagnaia was out of Q2 on Friday and compelled into Q1, everybody anticipated that he would enhance on Saturday. And he did, so when he was crushed to second by the #73 Gresini Racing Ducati within the Dash, everybody anticipated that he would enhance once more on Sunday and enhance his place within the Grand Prix.
This time, although, he didn’t. Or, no less than, not sufficient to beat Alex Marquez, who led 15 laps (considerably artificially, admittedly) and was by no means beneath any crucial strain from Bagnaia even after he relinquished that lead.
Argentina has additionally been an excellent observe for Marquez prior to now; to not the extent of his brother, however he was third behind the aforementioned Zarco and Bezzecchi within the moist 2023 race.
So, whereas most individuals are in all probability anticipating Bagnaia to leap previous the youthful, taller of the Marquezes this weekend, maybe it gained’t be that easy for the Italian.
What’s up with KTM?
It’s exhausting to know precisely what to say about KTM as a result of they appear to be within the worst place you could be in: not on the entrance, but in addition not on the again. It’s not a catastrophe but for KTM, however it’s not nice both. They’re middling, and due to this fact considerably invisible.
Pedro Acosta’s crash within the Grand Prix in Thailand was nothing new or surprising, however no less than when he was crashing out in Motegi final 12 months he was attempting to win the race.
The Austrian model’s solely actual trigger for positivity in Buriram was the race of Enea Bastianini, who after an terrible winter, terrible follow, terrible qualifying, and an terrible Dash, was in a position to go from twentieth to ninth within the opening race of the season.
However, whereas it was a turnaround of kinds for the Italian, it was nonetheless only a ninth place.
Brad Binder was just one place and 0.124 seconds higher in eighth, whereas Maverick Vinales was out of the factors in sixteenth.
There’s a finite period of time that middling stays middling in racing, finally it turns into failing. The method of transferring from one to the opposite is likely to be sped up for KTM this 12 months by the apparently enhancing Japanese manufacturers, however KTM might arrest the slide in Argentina – a spot they’ve been victorious earlier than, due to Brad Binder within the 2023 Dash.
Observe grip might resolve the outcome
After all, every little thing that occurs this weekend in Argentina can be in a roundabout way conditioned by the observe grip.
This itself doesn’t make Argentina distinctive, though the severity of the grip, or lack thereof, at Termas de Rio Hondo is probably most notable in Argentina in comparison with some other MotoGP venue.
It’s partly why Marc Marquez has been so efficient there, and why riders like Jorge Lorenzo by no means actually stood on the market, as a result of a high-corner-speed model is often much less efficient and harder to take advantage of when the grip is low.
This 12 months’s Argentinian Grand Prix is prone to be particularly grip-dominated as a result of period of time that MotoGP has been absent from the circuit (the 2024 occasion was cancelled, so MotoGP hasn’t been again since 2023), in addition to the dearth of different racing that takes place there.
It’s pure hypothesis to say how observe circumstances can be earlier than anybody has even walked the observe, however it is likely to be cheap to count on an honest quantity of cleansing to be occurring within the first periods of the weekend.
Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia to threaten Ducati
The highest Aprilia in Thailand completed fifth, and Marco Bezzecchi completed sixth, so it’s barely odd to be positing the Italian as not solely Aprilia’s finest hope of a powerful lead to Argentina this weekend, but in addition the rider most definitely to have the ability to problem the dominant Ducatis.
However Bezzecchi, like Aprilia, has a powerful historical past at Termas de Rio Hondo. Just one 12 months after Aprilia was on the highest step of the rostrum due to Aleix Espargaro in 2022, Bezzecchi gained the 2023 version of the Argentinian Grand Prix on a year-old Desmosedici, his first MotoGP win.
The circumstances weren’t terrible, however affirmatively moist, and Bezzecchi dominated, profitable by 4 seconds over Johann Zarco.
It was in moist circumstances in 2018 that Bezzecchi had taken his first Grand Prix victory in any class, profitable the Moto3 race on the PruestelGP KTM by 4.6 seconds over Aron Canet.
On each events, Bezzecchi thrust himself right into a type of title competition. In 2018, he gained twice extra – in Austria, then Japan – earlier than in the end lacking out on the the title to Jorge Martin; whereas in 2023 Bezzecchi went on to win in France and India earlier than a coaching crash forward of the Indonesian Grand Prix brought about his season to tail off within the last races.
Bezzecchi has to this point acquitted himself effectively as an Aprilia Racing rider, however the efficiency of Ai Ogura in Thailand signifies that, after a preseason during which the Italian proved his worth to the Noale marque, the strain is again on the #72 to ship the outcomes the bike is able to.
In Thailand, that was a top-five, perhaps a top-four. In Argentina, it is likely to be just a bit bit extra.
