MotoGP rolls on to Misano – MotoGP/2/3 Previews

MotoGP 2025

Round 16 – Misano

Built in 1969 and extensively modernised from 1993 onwards, the Misano circuit has hosted MotoGP every year since 2007. It has been run clockwise since then, over a distance of 4226 metres. It is considered one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar, with 11 different braking zones (28.5 seconds spent on the brakes per lap). Brembo, the exclusive brake supplier for MotoGP, ranks it a category 4 circuit on a scale of up to 6.  Turns 1 (Variante), 8 (Quercia), and 9 (leading into Tramonto) are the most demanding in terms of braking.

The absence of very long straights, combined with the presence of one of the most challenging corners in the championship, the “Curvone,” where riders hit almost 300 km/h and put maximum stress through the tyres, plus five corners tackled at under 90 km/h, makes Misano a track where braking precision, quick acceleration, and cornering agility are essential. Front tyre wear rate is critical over race distances.

Alex Marquez stole the headlines in Barcelona with a gritty Gresini victory, bouncing back after crashing out of the Sprint while leading. On the day, Alex and the GP24 had the edge over Marc and the GP25, but you can be sure big brother will be out to restore the pecking order this weekend at Misano.

There’ll be no title sealed here, but with Ducati enjoying a second home round and Aprilia also racing on home turf, there’s no shortage of pride at stake.

With 487 points, 14 Sprint wins, 10 GP wins and a solid second place at the Catalan GP, Marc Márquez is chasing his sixth career win at Misano to further extend his lead in the standings before the overseas races. Only a P7 or better is required in Saturday’s Sprint to set up a title shot for Motegi; the odds remain firmly stacked in his favour.

Marc Márquez

“It was a great race in Catalunya, an amazing celebration with all the fans and on a track that, at least on paper, wasn’t perfect for my characteristics, we took the win in the Sprint and the second place in the GP. I knew Alex was very fast; already in the first free practice session he had a better pace in the final sector. Misano, on the other hand, is a track more suited to my style; it will be a weekend dedicated to all the Ducati fans; I can’t wait to get out on track”.

Alex, for his part, has never put two premier class wins back-to-back, but he arrives full of confidence and with the Gresini faithful behind him. Few will rule him out.

Pecco Bagnaia comes in on shaky form. A spirited charge from 21st to seventh last time out showed his grit, but he was nowhere near his best. Misano has been good to him, though, with a rostrum every year since 2020.

Pecco Bagnaia

“Misano is always special, we’ll try to enjoy the embrace of all the Ducati fans. We’re coming there motivated; we have struggled in Catalunya. After qualifying, it was an uphill weekend, but we also finished with a great race and a comeback on Sunday. We’ll start from these good feelings: we’ll keep working hard and use the track’s characteristics to our advantage”.

Marco Bezzecchi will be equally desperate to rebound after a rough Barcelona, and with both Ducati and Aprilia hungry to claim bragging rights on home soil, there’s plenty of motivation in the Noale and Bologna garages. Jorge Martin, meanwhile, continues to rack up laps and sharpen up after injury, and Misano is a track where he’s done plenty of testing mileage.

KTM arrive with momentum. Enea Bastianini looked sharp in Barcelona, a circuit not usually kind to him, and Misano is a place where he’s produced fireworks before. Pedro Acosta was lively again but shaded by Bastianini, and he won’t want to let that stand this weekend. Brad Binder was right in the thick of the fight in Catalunya, too, while Maverick Viñales is still working back from injury but buoyed by the pace shown by his KTM stablemates.

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“It is San Marino time, the last round in Europe before the traditional tour in Asia! This weekend is always followed by the last test of the season, and it is often the opportunity to get a taste of the next season’s bike, which is always exciting. In the opposite of Barcelona, Misano is defined by its high level of grip and it also has one of the highest speed corners of the championship, very much liked by riders. It is not often, but this year, our team is approaching San Marino with a local hero, with Enea Bastianini born and bred in Rimini, and he still lives in the area. Misano is a track where he trains a lot, so he knows it by heart, he has always been fast here, and he is arriving with the confidence from his first podium of the season, so it is certain that he will be competitive in front of his home crowd, we are excited to see what he can do with his KTM. Maverick Viñales is recovering step by step, after performing a full weekend in Catalonia and scoring points. All he needs now is time to get back to full fitness, because he proved in Barcelona that he has the speed, so let’s see how his body adapts to Misano track.”

Fabio Quartararo also gave Yamaha something to cheer with a Sprint podium and a solid fifth in Barcelona. Misano carries special memories for him as it’s where he wrapped up the 2021 title, and after sampling Yamaha’s prototype V4 in testing, he’ll be eager to keep building momentum.

Fabio Quartararo

“Overall, the Catalan GP weekend was really positive. The team did a great job after a difficult Friday to make it a great Saturday and also a good Sunday. For this GP, I hope we can start off the weekend in the right way in FP1. I really like this track because of the good memories I have of this place. I hope we can get straight into Q2, get the best starting position possible, and then enjoy the actual racing again.”

Teammate Alex Rins will be keen to rebound after a DNF, while Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio both have a point to prove in front of the home crowd. Gresini rookie Fermín Aldeguer could also be a wild card in the mix if he strings it together.

Fabio Di Giannantonio

“We arrive to Misano with the goal of having a consistent weekend, after several races where, for one reason or another, Sunday didn’t go as we hoped. It’s a track I know well, and we can have some fun, as we’ve already shown we’re fast and competitive. Hopefully, the home race will bring us the joy of being able to push at our maximum throughout the entire weekend. For sure, having family, friends, and fans around will give us an extra boost. We’ll try to make the most of that extra energy to put together a solid weekend.”

Further back, Johann Zarco, Luca Marini, Joan Mir, Miguel Oliveira, Jack Miller, and Raul Fernandez are all scrapping to re-establish themselves inside the top ten.

Jack Miller

“I love Misano, I love Italy, and I‘m really happy the San Marino GP has arrived. I really like this track – in the past, I‘ve often been very fast and competitive here – and I believe Yamaha can perform well on a circuit without crazy-long straights. Grip is usually high too, so I‘ve got a good feeling. Plus, I have many friends here, and it‘s always special to see them and race in such a great atmosphere.”

Luca Marini

“Racing in Misano is always a really special feeling and arriving there in good form makes it even better. Not just because it’s my home race, but I also like the circuit itself a lot and have been strong in the past there, so our objective is to continue like we have the past few weekends. We learned a lot in the race in Barcelona, and I am hoping to apply it this weekend to stay with those and the front and give the team and the home fans something to celebrate.”

Joan Mir

“It is a straight charge until the end of the season now, really busy for us and an important time for the future. Our situation is the same as previous weekends: we clearly have potential that is growing, and we need to make sure to put everything together early in the weekend to capture the top ten on the grid. Misano should help us, it’s a track I like riding a lot and we had our best result there last year. Since then, we have improved the bike a lot, so it will be a good opportunity to again map our progress.”

For Ai Ogura, fresh from his first top ten since Mugello, Misano offers another chance to underline why so many tipped him as a rising star.

Misano has a way of serving up the unexpected. For the Italians, it’s a stage layered with history and pressure, a track where reputations are forged and sometimes broken. For Marc Marquez, it’s about teeing up history in Japan. For Alex, it’s the chance to double down. And for the rest of the grid, it’s another opportunity to tear up the script.

MotoGP Championship Standings

Constructor Championship

Moto2

Fourth place in Barcelona may not sound headline-worthy, but for Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP), it was a result that could pay dividends later in the year.

With Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) sidelined by a crash and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) scoring only two points, Gonzalez was the quiet winner in the bigger picture, stretching his lead in the standings. He now carries a 38-point buffer over Canet into Misano, while Moreira trails by 42. Both will be desperate to respond before the flyaways begin.

The weekend also belonged to the new names making noise in the intermediate class. Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Impulse Aspar Team) delivered a fairytale on home soil, converting pole into his first Moto2 victory with a mature ride that saw him beat Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) by 2.5 seconds.

Dixon, back on the box for the first time since Germany, has inched to within a point of Barry Baltus in the fight for fourth overall. Just behind them, Daniel Muñoz (Red Bull KTM Ajo) stunned by claiming third in his very first Moto2 race as Deniz Öncü’s stand-in, giving the Spanish crowd more to cheer.

For Australian fans, though, the focus was firmly on Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP). The 19-year-old has been steadily building his rookie season, showing flashes of speed and the resilience to keep chipping away at the established names. While the Barcelona headlines went elsewhere, Agius continues to gather the kind of experience that could soon translate into consistent top-ten finishes. Misano is another track where he’ll look to take that next step, and with the likes of Gonzalez, Canet, and Moreira under pressure at the top, opportunities could open up for the young Australian to make his mark.

Local favourite Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team) is also one to watch. With five top-six finishes in his last seven starts and a victory here last season, he has both the form and the home crowd on his side. But with rising talent like Agius and Muñoz hungry to prove themselves, Misano may yet serve up another twist in a Moto2 season that refuses to follow the script.

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

It may only be five points, but right now winning is all that matters for Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) if he’s to keep Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) from marching to the 2025 Moto3 crown. Piqueras managed just that last time out in Barcelona, and he heads into Misano with good memories. This is, after all, the circuit where he took his very first Moto3 win last year – a victory made all the more remarkable by the fact he did it while serving two Long Lap penalties. A week later he pushed eventual champion David Alonso all the way for second. Add in two wins from his last three races, and the Spaniard arrives in Italy brimming with confidence.

Rueda remains the man to beat with a commanding 64-point lead, and his charge from a Long Lap penalty to second in Barcelona underlined exactly why. Two fifth-place finishes in Austria and Hungary had left the door open, so that podium was an essential reset for Rudea. He still controls the championship, but Piqueras has found form at the right time. Misano could be pivotal.

Behind the front-runners, the chasing pack will be desperate to respond. Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) all endured underwhelming weekends in Catalunya and will be eager to hit back. On the flip side, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) comes in off a hard-earned third in Barcelona and will be hoping that sparks a run of consistent podiums.

For Australian fans, the spotlight naturally falls on Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) and Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3). Kelso’s raw speed has never been in doubt, and he’ll be pushing to translate flashes of pace into another strong Misano showing.

Roulstone, meanwhile, continues to impress in his rookie season, steadily racking up points and edging closer to the sharp end. Every race weekend is another crucial step in his development, and Misano will be no different.

Across the Tasman, young Kiwi Cormac Buchanan (AGR Team) is also learning fast. Still new to the grind of a full Moto3 campaign, he’s been chipping away at consistency while showing glimpses of the fight that earned him his spot on the grid. A breakthrough result could be just around the corner, and Misano would be a fine place to deliver it.

With 102 points now separating Rueda from Quiles, the championship looks increasingly like a straight fight between Rueda and Piqueras. But in Moto3, nothing is ever that simple, and with the likes of Kelso, Roulstone, and Buchanan eager to make their mark, there are plenty of storylines bubbling beneath the title battle.

Moto3 Championship Standings

2025 MotoGP Calendar

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