Marc & Alex may lead the way as favourites in Aragon but with unpredictability everywhere you look in MotoGP, can someone hit them for six?
A remarkable British GP brought a fifth different winner in as many Grands Prix, with three winning manufacturers in a row too. The most exciting sport on Earth is basking in unpredictability and it’s not done yet. MotorLand Aragon is our next stop on the calendar, a legacy home for Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) and a circuit he has a sparkling record at. Despite this, MotoGP in 2025 has no guarantee of the form guide being followed, so hold tight for Round 8…
5 IN A ROW: can anyone take charge?
Last time out, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) took honours despite qualifying 11th, showcasing that anything is possible in MotoGP. With Aprilia taking a first win of the season, they aim for back-to-back wins for the first time ever. A podium at Aragon in 2022 for Aprilia and a Bezt for the #72 of P7 last year, can he produce more magic this year?
He capitalised on Fabio Quartararo’s (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) technical issue at Silverstone, which ended his British GP. The #20 is the form rider in qualifying, with three poles in a row. Silverstone was his best chance yet of victory before it was cruelly snatched away out of his hands. At a circuit where he’s been on the front row three times before but never stood on the rostrum, ‘El Diablo’ seeks revenge at Aragon. Fellow countryman Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) is the highest points-scorer from the last two Sundays after victory at Le Mans and P2 in the UK – Aragon is a new challenge but surging to P5 in the standings, he’s a point behind P4 and 27 down on third.
P1 and P2 in the standings, Aragon is Marquez brother territory. Marc has a 24-point lead over his brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), something the #73 has stated means “he’s still alive”, being within the crucial 25-point win tally. 2024’s Aragon round was the return of Marc to the top step for the first time since 2021 but he now looks for his first win since Lusail, nearly two months ago after a winless May. Dominant in the Sprints but since ruffled in the Grands Prix – including by teammate Francesco Bagnaia and brother Alex at Jerez – the #93 fans will flock to Aragon this week to see him return to his Sunday best. For Pecco, he’ll look to repeat his astonishing battle with the #93 from 2021, where he beat him in a straight-up last lap showdown and for his first win. He won’t be wanting to repeat his 2024 battle with Alex though…
DUCATI GROUND: Independent surprises?
In 2024, Marc Marquez took Gresini to victory at Aragon and whilst this really is a Marc circuit, don’t underestimate surprises from behind. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) lies fourth in the standings but is being pressured by Zarco. A combative performance from P13 last time out to P4 and narrowly missing out on a podium to Marc, whilst teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio had a double top ten at Silverstone: Franky won the Teruel Grand Prix at Aragon in 2020 whereas P8 was the best ‘Diggia’ last year. Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) is set for a debut at Aragon on MotoGP machinery off his third top ten in four rounds, just two points behind fellow Murcian Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who is on for three top six finishes on Sunday in a row, although he retired at Aragon in 2024.
TAKING HOLD: a fierce mid-pack fight
Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) was mighty throughout Sunday’s Silverstone thriller before falling back in the closing stages; citing the importance of track position in terms of fighting off the opposition, he’ll hope for another strong qualifying this weekend, aiming for three top tens in a row. Despite chatter issues in the UK, it was a first finish on Sunday since Argentina for Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), and whereas teammate Luca Marini was aiming for an eighth points-scoring finish in a row for the first time, he's now sidelined through injury after a testing crash. A challenging Silverstone is in the past for all KTM riders and with Acosta leading the charge, teammate Brad Binder was strong at Aragon last year, whilst for 2022 Aragon GP winner Enea Bastianini and podium-finishing teammate in 2025 Maverick Viñales, their aim will be a vast improvement from Silverstone’s struggles.
ELSEWHERE: points to prove throughout
The second Grand Prix weekend in Spain is another opportunity to put on a solid display at home for Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – 2020’s winner – and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) –2021’s Moto2™ Grand Prix winner. Both have been in the points consistently of late. Miguel Oliveira’s (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) third weekend back since injury is in the offing but he continues to chase a first point since returning, whilst Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) hopes Aragon will yield his first MotoGP points – a circuit where he’s been in the top ten in the last two Moto2 GPs.
Housekeeping ahead of the round too: Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) continues deputising for reigning World Champion Jorge Martin, whereas Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) has recently undergone surgery on his leg injury sustained at Silverstone, with his presence to be confirmed. And, of course, we wait to see what happens in silly season rumourville. Tune in for the GoPro Grand Prix of Aragon this weekend!
Moto2™: Championship chase hots up heading to Aragon
A new winner in Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), a debut Moto2 podium finisher in David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) and two of the top four in the Championship scoring zero points. Silverstone delivered the drama and a brilliant race last time out, so what has Aragon got in store?
It was a tale of two opposing races in the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP box. Agius’ emotional first Grand Prix victory was his third podium of the season, while Manuel Gonzalez’s race ended after a failed attempt to pass Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) saw both score DNFs. And with none of the top four in the Championship finishing on the British GP podium, the points table has tightened ahead of Round 8.
Agius’ classy final chicane move was enabled by Aron Canet’s (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) attempts to steal 25 points away from Alonso. It ended with Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) following the Australian through to make it an Aussie-Brazilian 1-2 at Silverstone, with Colombia picking up P3. Canet, understandably, wasn’t happy with a P4 after leading the race for so long, so the #44 will be keen to respond on home turf.
Three points split Gonzalez and Canet at the Moto2 summit, with Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), last year’s Aragon GP race winner, in P3 after the Briton finished 11th (after a penalty) in front of his home crowd. Dixon is 27 points behind Gonzalez, and after going four races without a podium, the #96 will be searching for a momentum shift.
Baltus’ podium run came to an end through no fault of his own, so the Belgian rider lands in Aragon wanting to forget about his Silverstone non-finish. And speaking of podiums, can two of last year’s Aragon GP top three, Tony Arbolino (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), challenge at the front again? They'll be hoping that's the case.
Moto3™: Can the pack stop Rueda's victory run in Aragon?
Sunday couldn’t have gone much better for Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo). The #99’s victory from the back of the grid was nothing short of flawless, and it was a fifth win of the season that saw the Spaniard sail into a 54-point lead after his two chief title rivals notched up scoreless Sundays in the UK.
The duo we’re talking about are, of course, Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA). A last lap crash for the former was Piqueras’ second DNF in a row after his Le Mans crash, while Kelso’s race ended while leading in the opening exchanges. Both remain P2 and P3 in the standings, but the title chase tide needs to turn in their favour fast after Rueda’s third straight win. And next is a circuit where Rueda collected 25 points last year: MotorLand Aragon.
Elsewhere, Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) earned a debut Grand Prix podium after the rookie once again rolled out a stellar weekend. After missing the Spanish GP through injury, Quiles will be chomping at the bit to get going again on home soil in Aragon. And it’s a track he knows well too.
Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was a podium finisher at the 2024 Aragon GP, so arriving at MotorLand after collecting a P3 at Silverstone will give the Italian a timely injection of confidence. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), the lead rookie in 2025, now has back-to-back P4s and will be gunning for a rostrum return on home soil, with Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) keen to respond after a post-race penalty saw the Japanese star – who sits P5 in the standings – finish P12.
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) will be back in action too as the Moto3 field looks to try and put a halt to Rueda’s phenomenal run of early-season form.