MotoGP riders and Team Managers reflect on Austrian Sprint Race – Moto2/3/E QP

MotoGP 2025

Round 12 – Brno
Saturday Sprint Round-Up / Results

The unbeaten run goes on. Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) extended his incredible 2025 winning streak to 11 consecutive victories after fighting from the second row to overhaul brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) for Sprint glory at the Red Bull Ring.

Marc crossed the line just over a second clear, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) continuing his fine form with a third consecutive podium in KTM’s backyard.

Marc Márquez – P1

“Obviously the crash in the second time attack during qualifying was a mistake, and it could have affected the outcome of the race as here. unlike how it may look, it is not easy to overtake. I tried to pass Alex in the early stages but he was very strong, so I prepared the attack for the final five laps and then managed the lead. We’re having an incredible season and our performance, especially on Saturday, is fantastic. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow, but my only goal is the ultimate one – the championship win.”

Alex Marquez – P2

“Too bad for that mistake at the exit of turn two. Until that moment, we did a good job to keep Marc behind. He likely had something more in the second part of the race and it would have been tough to win anyway… but it’s nine points for us, which are important given tomorrow’s long-lap penalty which could cost us some against our closest competitors.”

Pedro Acosta – P3

“I really enjoyed riding at the ‘Ring this year. Last season was hard to even be in the top ten. KTM made a big job in the summer break and we were able to make a big step. We are still missing a little bit…but we have enough pace to be top five in every session and step-by step we are coming closer. We made a super-plan with the team and we have more potential than we showed in the quali. We have been showing podium potential from the beginning. It’s quite nice and I really enjoyed today. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P4

“I’m happy. In the end, it was a positive day, considering the situation on Friday. Going to bed on Saturday with an outstanding pole position, which carries over to Sunday as well, amd with a fourth-place finish in the sprint race is positive. We are satisfied, but there is still plenty of room for improvement and this evening we’ll be working to take another step forward.”

Brad Binder – P5

“Definitely much better. In qualifying I didn’t put one decent lap together, which was disappointing. Anyway, when the lights went out for the race I still felt there was a good chance to do something a bit better. I was happy to finish up 5th in the Sprint today; it’s the best feeling I’ve had in a really long time and I’m looking to improve it a little more for tomorrow.”

Fermin Aldeguer – P6

“Considering our start, we did a great race. Sixth place in qualifying and in the Sprint are something to be satisfied about and tomorrow we’ll try to do a little better. We have the pace to do well and if we avoid this type of start, who knows the podium could be a realistic goal. We keep both feet on the ground and keep working.”

Enea Bastianini – P7

“Overall, I am happy enough with our day. We went to Q2 from Q1, and I had a proper fight for the pole position, until I made a small mistake in sector 3 and I lost some time. In the sprint race, Pecco’s spin was tricky to avoid, I had to go outside without braking, but I could not manage it. I lost many positions at the start. I tried to come back, but then I had contact with Quartararo and Di Giannantonio and went a bit wide. It was a bit tricky, I could not push as I wanted in the second part of the race, which is normally my favorite part, but we are trying to understand race by race how we can get that feeling back. We have confirmed the steps made from Brno here in Austria, which I am pretty happy with, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow, it will be important to try saving the tires, and hopefully we can fight for the top 5.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P8

“This morning I was really happy with the progress because we improved the race pace by a second. I expected a little more from the Q1, we were not able to pass to the Q2. We knew that the Sprint would have been tough, but I did a really good start, maybe my best one in MotoGP. There was a bit of chaos in the first corners and I took advantage of it. I was in a good spot, it’s a pity that I had some vibration on the rear and it was tough just to stay on the bike. Without this problem, we could have fought for the top five. For sure tomorrow there will be another story, so we will have to find a way to come back through the field and achieve a good result. We have a good bike, let’s try to have a proper start and to get into our pace right from the beginning tomorrow.”

Johann Zarco – P9

“I was really disappointed this morning after the crashes, also with myself. But we managed to turn the situation around and analyse the limits of our bike. I calmed down and tried to make the most of our potential, taking it easy for the Sprint. Given the high track temperatures, we believed in the medium rear tyre. I’m happy that the way we’ve been working proved that the medium was the right choice for us. Scoring points was important, and I also took the opportunity to analyse everything ahead of tomorrow’s race. Tomorrow, we’ll aim for a strong start, push hard, give our best, and fight for the best possible result.”

Jorge Martin – P10

“It was a good day of work and adaptation. I made a mistake on the first lap of the sprint race – I hadn’t disabled a device we use – and I went long at the first chicane, ending up in sixteenth place. The sprint race was the best session of the weekend. I managed to overtake several riders and make up positions and we came very close to taking home a point. It finally seems like we’ve found a base that gives me good sensations and that is definitely a positive sign.”

Fabio Quartararo – P11

“I expected this weekend to be tough, but not as difficult as today turned out to be. On one lap, I can usually always do something, but even on a new tyre it felt like I was on a used one. In the Sprint I was pushing on every lap like it was qualifying. I’m hoping it won’t rain tomorrow because we have no grip in the dry, so it will probably be worse in the wet. But if it does rain, we’ll just have to make it work.”

Luca Marini – P12

“Everyone was super lucky at the start today, could have been much worse. It’s tough to overtake here, so losing the time at the start stopped our race. I was able to do some good laps and take the most from it, a positive to get some information for Sunday. I’ve been happy with how my lap time has progressed over the course of the weekend, so if we can start in a better way then we can show our true potential.”

Joan Mir – P13

“It was a really chaotic start and as a result, we had to take action to avoid making it more chaotic and trying to avoid what happened in the last four races. Then the race was about coming back and just trying to overtake as much as possible, which isn’t easy at this circuit as it’s probably one of the hardest to overtake on from the whole calendar. I was able to reach my teammate, maybe with more laps we could do more but with the situation at the start I am content with what we have done. It gives us something for Sunday.”

Franco Morbidelli – P14

“It wasn’t bad, until this morning. We tried something to improve the feeling, in the qualifying I was eighth and the third row was not bad. Unfortunately, in the Sprint I had to cut off the throttle at the start because of a problem that other riders has and that affected me. I tried to recover during the race, maybe I could have been in Top5, but on this track it’s very hard to bounce back. Then, I made a mistake and I lost the opportunity to take points. Let’s see for tomorrow.”

Ai Ogura – P15

“Yesterday was good but for now I think a high 1:28 is the maximum I can do here. I feel like now I’m stressing the front tire too much so, for tomorrow, somehow I have to take some stress out from the front tire so that I can use it more. The difficulty I had today was straight braking because the front tire was on the limit. The exit is not really a problem, my main issues are all in the entry. That’s where I have to work.”

Alex Rins – P16

“We are trying to perform at our 100%. The qualifying lap itself was not bad, it was acceptable, but we were in a lower position than we wanted. The heat and the tyre that doesn’t quite suit our bike caused us to struggle in today’s Sprint and during this weekend in general. I was riding different lines, trying to adapt my riding style, and overall this part is going great – I’m adapting.”

Jack Miller – P17

“It‘s been a very difficult weekend as we continue to struggle a lot. I had a decent start and a brief battle with Pecco at the beginning when he ran a little wide at Turn 4; I passed him, but then he came back at Turn 6 and Martin also got through. In these conditions it‘s very hard to move forward, but very easy to go backwards. It‘s not easy. We‘ve tried to change as much as possible to get some rear grip, but we keep spinning a lot. It‘s a combination of the tire we have here, which doesn‘t work at all for us, and the track, which has a super low grip. We‘ll work hard tonight to try and find something for tomorrow, but unfortunately this is a track where, at the moment, you can see all the Yamahas are struggling.”

Miguel Oliveira – P18

“I expected a tough day, but honestly it turned out to be even tougher, especially because there was nothing we could do to improve the situation. My first impression is that I had a defective tire, because I was spinning even under braking, all the way up to sixth gear. I struggled a lot to stop the bike, and no matter what I tried—changing my line or being smoother on the bike—it just wouldn‘t react to any change of angle. It‘s quite frustrating to finish the day like this. We‘ll try to stay positive for tomorrow, but I‘m expecting another difficult race.”

Francesco Bagnaia – DNF

“What we know at the moment is the final result: I didn’t finish the race. We need to wait for the feedback from the engineers based on the few laps I was able to complete. I don’t exactly know what happened; I experienced a lot of instability, especially at the rear-end, which is something I had noticed already during the warm up lap. When we have more information, we’ll be in a position to know if adjustments are needed ahead of the race. It’s a pity because, despite the bad start, I had in theory the pace to get back in the points, but unfortunately it wasn’t possible today.”

Raul Fernandez – DNF

“We had a problem with the rear height device. When I was in fifth place I felt something was wrong and from this moment on, I didn’t feel good because the devise didn’t work. Then, I still tried to push to finish the race, but it didn’t work out. I think we did a decent Sprint and I will definitely take the positives for tomorrow. My start was one of the best ever, so there are many good points to take away from today into tomorrow.”

Maverick Viñales – DNS

“It was important to be on the bike this weekend to understand where I stand. Coming back just 1 month after that injury is already a miracle, because you normally need 2 to 3 months to be ok, and we probably won’t be at our 100% until next year, but I could be on the bike this weekend, so it’s already amazing. However, we need a bit more time to be at the maximum. It is going to be a long process, we will try to train well, to recover the muscle, and hopefully we can be back and fast soon. We will discuss things through with the team, but it is clear that there is no point for me to be in Hungary if I can’t be at 100%, it is probably smartest to be at home and continue recovering.”

MotoGP Team Managers

Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“A generally positive day with three riders in Q2 and great results in the Sprint: if we can make 3rd, 5th and 7th then we need to be happy. The start of the GP went well, except for Maverick but we knew that risk was there. It was still good for him to judge where he is for his recovery. Enea did great through Q1 and the race itself saw three decent performances. Technically and in our working methods we have made steps in the last two-three months and I have to say the atmosphere and the attitude and the spirit in the box is very good at the moment and this is an important thing. I think we had the potential today for even better results and tomorrow I believe we have the chance to repeat or be higher.”

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Aprilia Racing

“It was still a positive day because we managed to recover a bit from Friday’s difficulties thanks to the hard work of both the riders and the entire team. We achieved a great result in qualifying with Marco’s pole position, which was a wonderful thrill for everyone, but then in the race, we knew there would be difficult conditions. With Jorge, unfortunately, after the start there was a bit of traffic and some other issues, so he found himself in the rear guard, but he made a great comeback.”

Nicolas Goyon – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“It was a good Saturday here in Austria for Enea Bastianini who scored his second best sprint result of the season with a P7, after his podium in Brno. He managed to go from Q1 to Q2 for the first time this year too, so it has been a good day. It feels like Enea is finally starting to feel good on the bike, and he is enjoying the ride. The pace he had in the second half of the sprint gave us good hopes for tomorrow’s main race, and we think that we can fight for a strong result. The target was different for Maverick Viñales, he needed to understand his physical condition after his surgery. He tested his shoulder as he rode all FP1 on Friday, and partially yesterday afternoon, as the pain was quite big. It was still painful this morning, so there was no point to carry on this weekend. He needs a bit more time to recover, so let’s wait for him to come back in better conditions!”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director

“We didn’t expect qualifying to be as tough as it was today. Starting from the sixth row made things tricky for both Fabio and Álex. Fabio had a good opening lap, which gave him a better position to battle with rivals. He managed to hold off key challengers for several laps, so while 11th isn’t where we aim to be, there are encouraging signs. Moreover, looking at the overall race time of today’s and last year’s Sprint, he closed the gap to first by approximately 5 seconds. Álex had a harder start from P17, dropping to 20th early on. He recovered a bit mid-race and, after some intense battles, crossed the line in 16th. Overall, it was a challenging Sprint for both riders. We’ll regroup and give it everything in tomorrow’s Race. The weather looks unpredictable with a possibility of rain around 14:00 – so anything can happen.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principal

“It could have been a good day for Raul but unfortunately, we had this problem with the rear device. He was going very well, top 5, but that can happen. Raul was strong, keeping the pace of the top group, so we are happy about these signs but, of course, disappointed with how it ended – at least we know we can try again tomorrow. Ai struggled a bit this morning and I think he can get better and better but we need to work to try to find something for the race tomorrow and make him more comfortable and find more feeling. He recovered a few positions but you can see that he is not in the best situation. So, let’s work and try again tomorrow to recover from the disappointment for Raul and improve the performance of Ai.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha Team Director

“This is proving to be a very difficult weekend, where we‘re really struggling. There‘s no magic formula, just one solution: we have to keep working and working to improve.”

MotoGP Sprint Race Report

Drama hit instantly as both Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) went sideways when the lights went out and were swallowed up by the swarm.

Alex Marquez seized the holeshot, with Acosta quickly muscling past Marco Bezzecchi to take second place as they started lap two. Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) was forced wide early on, dropping him to 15th, just one place ahead of Bagnaia.

For the first half of the race, Alex Marquez held the upper hand, after Marc Marquez had worked his way through to second place over the opening laps and then capitalised on a small mistake by Alex with five laps to run to move through to the lead. From there, the brothers broke away from their pursuers.

Pedro Acosta completed the podium ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Brad Binder.

Aldeguer salvaged sixth after his messy start, with Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) making it three KTM machines in the top seven on home turf for the Austrian factory.  In the second half of the race, Aldeguer was faster than every rider on the circuit other than Marc.

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) rounded out the points as the top Honda.

Reigning World Champion Jorge Martin mounted a strong recovery to tenth.

Fabio Quartararo was the highest-finishing Yamaha rider in 11th, but at the Red Bull Ring, is taking a knife to a gunfight.

Pecco Bagnaia eventually retired after vibrations got so bad that braking was becoming problematic due to the pads being pushed back inside the calipers.

MotoGP Red Bull Ring Sprint Race Results

Red Bull Ring MotoGP Qualifying Times

Moto2

Moto2 qualifying was anything but straightforward in Moto2. Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) set a blistering lap to secure pole position in Q2, but a three-place grid penalty means the Spaniard won’t start from the top spot on Sunday. Instead, Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) is promoted to pole for the very first time in the class.

Dani Holgado – Pole

“I’m very, very happy with my speed this weekend. We’ve been in the top 10 in every session, and that’s important for me because we’re not usually there. This means that we’ve done a good job during the summer break. We’ve put into practice everything we’ve been working on these past few weeks, and it’s showing in the results. Tomorrow will be a long and difficult race. I’ll have fast riders around me, so I’ll try to make the most of it. It’s important to manage the tyres so we can fight in the final laps, but also to be aggressive in the early laps to maintain our position. We’ll be keeping an eye on the conditions, whether it rains or not, but whatever happens, we’ll try to do our best.”

Joining Holgado on the front row are Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) and former Spielberg winner Celestino Vietti (Sync SpeedRS Team), making for a fascinating mix of youth and experience at the sharp end.

The demoted Gonzalez heads up Row 2 in fourth, alongside Q1 star David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Australian charger Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP).

David Alonso – P5

“It was a very positive Saturday. In the morning, I tried to warm up and prepare for qualifying rather than looking for race pace. I didn’t feel very energetic, but I wanted to do a good qualifying session. I focused on riding, I didn’t look at the times or the board, and it worked very well for me in Q1. Q2 was very mental because it was difficult to repeat the time, at any moment you could lose two tenths and drop many positions. Everything is very tight, but we got the second row, which is the third time I’ve achieved that. Saturdays are tough for us, so it’s a big step forward. It’s a circuit with a lot of heavy braking, so it’s easy to make a mistake. Tomorrow it will be important to stay focused, be consistent and get a good start.”

Senna Agius – P6

“We made a good step with the bike this morning and that let me ride in a more natural way. With P6, we achieved a second row start for tomorrow. It wasn’t a perfect lap but we can have a great race from the second row!”

Championship contenders have work to do. Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego), still nursing bruises after his heavy FP2 crash, will start from eighth, while teammate and title rival Barry Baltus lines up 11th. Behind them, Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) face mammoth comeback rides from 21st and 22nd on the grid.

Red Bull Ring Moto2 Qualifying Times

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) has delivered a slice of history in Austria, storming to his first-ever Moto3 pole position and giving Argentina its first since 2021. But the lap wasn’t the only headline — earlier in the day, Perrone somehow pulled off one of the most jaw-dropping saves the class has ever seen. Hands down. Literally.

Valentin Perrone – P1

“The weekend has been super fun so far at the Red Bull Ring, we are enjoying our time here a lot. Yesterday we were 2nd all day, feeling super well on the bike. We gained more confidence in the morning’s FP2 heading to qualifying this afternoon. We knew the other guys were super fast, but we had a good pace and we could fight for the pole position. I tried to ride on my own in the first run, but it was not enough, so I decided to work with Carpe and Rueda in the second run, and they helped me a lot today, so thank you to both of them. I am super happy to take my first pole position in the category, I hope that we will carry on working like this for the rest of the season. We know that our opponents will push a lot tomorrow, but we will do our best, I feel confident, so let’s enjoy the show!”

Joining Perrone on the front row is Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), who’s been a constant threat all weekend, and his teammate Ryusei Yamanaka in third.

Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar) heads up Row 2, flanked by teammate Maximo Quiles — a pairing that provided fireworks in Brno — while Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will launch from eighth.

Joel Kelso rounded out the top ten and is looking to make early progress through the pack on Sunday.

Joel Kelso – P10

“Overall, qualifying didn’t go exactly as we hoped, with P10 being a bit lower than ideal. Still, it’s a solid starting point for tomorrow. I feel good on the bike and we’re continuing to work in the right direction. We’ll see if the effort pay off in the race.”

Jacob Roulstone had to go through Q1 to join Friday’s top 14 and finished 12th in Q2.

Jacob Roulstone – P12

“Congrats to Valentin for his first pole position! I am happy to have turned things around relatively well from yesterday. I struggled a little bit in the last push of Q2, because we had already used our tyres since we were in Q1, but overall I am pretty happy with the feeling heading to the race!”

Red Bull Ring Moto3 Qualifying Times

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