MotoGP landed back in the confines of the Buriram International Circuit but with a fresh focus for the first of 22 Grands Prix in the longest season on record. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pedro Acosta was the highest-placed racer through the first day of qualification and the Sprint as the Spaniard launched from 7th on the grid to classify 6th.
- Pedro Acosta flies to the top six in the 13-lap Sprint after coming through direct entry to Q2 and a third row grid slot
- Brad Binder increased his pace on Friday and missed out on Q2 by less than three tenths of a second. The South African rides to 8th in the Sprint
- Viñales adjusts fast to the characteristics of the KTM RC16 and starts from 18th on the grid for the Sprint to record 14th
- Enea Bastianini is still in the acclimatization phase to his race motorcycle but completes his first day in Red Bull KTM Tech3 colors with 18th
- Moto3™ promise by the consistently rapid Jose Antonio Rueda who guides his KTM RC4 to the 3rd best lap-time in Q2 and will roll onto the front row for Sunday’s contest
MotoGP returned to Thailand two weeks after the second and last 2025 pre-season test and for the first Grand Prix of the season: the sixth MotoGP event to take place at the flat Buriram venue since the initial visit in 2018. The teams and riders were more than familiar with the fast 3.1km 12-turn layout, even though the temperatures were intense, pushing the mercury up to the mid/high-30s Celsius.
The Sprint lasted for 13 laps and the highlight for the KTM quartet was the early tussle between teammates Acosta and Binder inside the top ten. Acosta attacked, Binder resisted but then the Spaniard eventually found a gap and pulled forward to reach 6th. Binder collected 8th, ensuring that both riders posted their first championship points of the season. Viñales recovered ground in the middle of the pack and moved up to 14th while Bastianini reached the flag in 18th.
26 long, hard laps will constitute the Grand Prix tomorrow, starting 15.00 local time, 09.00 CET.
Pedro Acosta, 7th in qualification, 6th in the Sprint: “Well, we made a mess in the first corner, and I was not able to engage the front device. I lost positions and the temperature for the tire went up so quickly. It became a bit difficult. Our goal was the top five and to be consistent and, after what happened, I think we need to be happy. I had the yellow flags in the quali and lost the best two runs of the tire. But Q2 was not too bad. We’ll be starting from 6th tomorrow [Franco Morbidelli has a 3-place grid penalty] and the second row and that will be a bit better.”
Maverick Viñales, 18th in qualification, 14th in the Sprint: “First Sprint and we still have a lot to learn. We are not quite ready with the set-up and electronics and I also need to understand the bike a lot more. Still, we gained some positions and made progress and we are ready to face the longer race with the information we gained. Let’s see tomorrow.”
Enea Bastianini, 20th in qualification, 18th in the Sprint: “My first race and to be honest it was a bit of a disaster because I committed too many mistakes in the middle part. Tomorrow we have another chance but there will be many more laps to do and it will be hard. We have to fight and see what we can do.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “This weekend and the first Sprint was very important; it was an exercise to collect data at the beginning of the season and see where we are. We have tested and tried a lot, but race situations are always different, especially in extremely hot conditions like we have here, and it can be more challenging. There were many positive things about today and it was a bit of a practice for the grand prix race tomorrow. We gained a lot of info and I’m confident we can have a strong race with the guys.”
Results Qualifying MotoGPGrand Prix of Thailand
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 1:28.782
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.146
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.173
7. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.538
14. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1: 29.468 (Q1)
18. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1: 29.701 (Q1)
20. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:29.916 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Thailand
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 19:35.005
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.185
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +3.423
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +11.700
8. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +14.228
14. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +18.984
KTM GP Academy
Buriram waved a green flag for the KTM GP Academy six-rider roster in both Moto3 and Moto2 classes. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda sped his way to the front row after Q2 and after two days demonstrating podium potential speed. Teammate and 2025 rookie Alvaro Carpe was confident on his first outing as a full-time member of the Moto3 field by taking the KTM RC4 to the sixth best lap-time; a quarter of a second from Pole.
The Red Bull KTM Tech3 duo guided the same machinery around the roasting Thai track and rookie Valentin Perrone was 21st fastest while Joel Esteban assumed 23rd spot in the standings, which means the eighth row of the grid for the 19-lap race Sunday morning (starting 06.00 CET). Moto2 drew Red Bull KTM Ajo pair Deniz Öncü and Collin Veijer up to speed. Öncü is negotiating his second term in the intermediate category and was lively to fill 12th position and the same rank for the grid. Veijer is a rookie after claiming wins in both of his Moto3 campaigns in 2023 and 2024. The Dutchman rode to the 24th quickest time but only three tenths from the Turk. Moto2 will lap Buriram 22 times on Sunday.
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Thailand
1. Matteo Bertelle (ITA) KTM 1:40.400
2. Stefano Nepa (ITA) Honda +0.082
3. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.096
6. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.265
13. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.474
21. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:41.715 (Q1)
23. Joel Esteban (ESP), Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:41.889 (Q1)
25. Jakub Rosenthaler (AUT) CFMOTO Aspar Team 1:42.367 (Q1)
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Thailand
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +1:34.364
2. Celestino Vietti (ITA) +0.036
3. Aron Canet (ESP) +0.205
12. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.528
15. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.680
24. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:35.405 (Q1)
25. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team 1:35.441 (Q1)
