Top five MotoGP Sprint charge by Acosta in Misano

The flat, grippy layout of the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli meant MotoGP was back in San Marino and the second visit to the Italian peninsula this year. After the slick conditions of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last weekend, Misano provided a contrasting prospect for 4.2km, and 16 mixed bends of varying speeds: from the hairpins of ‘Tramonto’ and ‘Carro’ to the open high speed of ‘Curvone’.

The Red Bull KTM contingent was busy on Saturday morning. Enea Bastianini, Brad Binder and Maverick Viñales negotiated tight scrutiny of Q1 and the fight for just two slots into Q2. Less than one second divided the fastest 14 riders on Friday and the margins were even closer on day two. Despite maximum effort, the trio finished the morning session with P16 (Binder), P17 (Viñales) and P20 (Bastianini, with a late Q1 crash denting his chances) on the grid. Pedro Acosta, who had made the grade with a top ten placing on Friday afternoon, rallied through Q2 and looked to be fighting for Pole Position until a slip at Turn 14. The Spaniard settled in P9 and the third row.

The Sprint involved 13 laps and feverish attempts to gain positions through the opening curves. Acosta gained ground and arrived to the top five where he fought to lodge five points for his world championship total. Bastianini was equally as determined. He cut back nine places to make 10th. Viñales consolidated his potential for the 20-minute distance and arrived to the flag in 15th. Binder circulated near the top ten but technical reasons terminated his Sprint with three laps to go.

Tomorrow’s 27 laps of grand prix speed will be the last on European tarmac until mid-November. The race gets underway at the usual time of 14.00 CEST.

Pedro Acosta, 9th in qualification, 5th in the Sprint: “A bad start in the Sprint. I was 12th into Turn 4 and then the comeback was not bad! I think we had the pace to be further forward, and being top five in the end was quite OK after the mistake of qualifying and then of the start. We’re missing a little something and we have to manage issues due to the extra grip. We knew we’d have some tricky races…we’ll keep going.”

Enea Bastianini, 20th in qualification, 10th in the Sprint: “Tough qualifying. The crash in Q1 was a shame and the tire probably was not ready. I knew I could push for a strong lap. We’re not perfect here but I knew I could do something for the second time attack. So, starting from 19th was complicated but getting to the top ten was not bad. We have to look how we can improve the chatter and the wheelie. We have a lot of movement here with the bike but with the medium tire tomorrow it will be better. A top ten will be possible again but we’ll also hope for better.”

Maverick Viñales, 17th in qualification, 15th in the Sprint: “I’m not too effective in one fast lap for qualifying. The fast corners: I can ride a bit more normal but we have to be patient. There is a lot of changes of direction here. We feel we can be much closer to the front but this is the situation at the moment and I missed [shoulder] power because of the mobility. We have to continue with the work we are doing.”

Brad Binder, 16th in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “Not too much to say, unfortunately we had an issue and had to stop. I’ve been jumping between bikes this weekend, so it hasn’t been easy. A challenging weekend so far but let’s see tomorrow. I’m looking forward to a clean run.”

Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We were expecting a little more from the Sprint today but the weekend has been a bit challenging because the grip situation is different from Barcelona. It took some time for us to find the set-up and to make the riders more comfortable. In any case Pedro went straight to Q2, which was positive, but P9 was not ideal. However, it was a strong race as usual by him and we have to be happy with P5. Enea and Brad had to come back and Enea, in particular, to make it back to the top ten in this current MotoGP era was a really good job. Unfortunately, Brad needed to stop for a technical reason, and Maverick continued his recovery on the bike as planned. Another day tomorrow and we hope to be closer to the top. The long race and the different tires should be positive for us.”

1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia 1:30.134

2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.088

3. Fabio Quartararo (FRA) Yamaha +0.094

1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia 19:52.966

2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.000

3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati +2.551

Moto3 was already close to 2024 Pole Position pace after Friday’s Practice session and where Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda and Red Bull KTM Tech3 pair Jacob Roulstone and Valentin Perrone were locked into the top ten. Alvaro Carpe had to cut his way through Q1 on Saturday after a technical problem on Friday.

The qualification run on a warm Saturday afternoon sorted the first rows of the grid and prime positions for Sunday’s 20 laps. Heading the KTM GP Academy with the KTM RC4 was Perrone and Roulstone with P1 and P3 time attacks, separated by a tenth of a second. Rueda just missed out on the front row – by two-hundredths – and was P4 while Carpe did well for P10.

Valentin Perrone: “From the first lap of FP1 I felt super-good here. In Misano last year I won the last race of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup so I know the track and I love it. I put all my effort into that last lap to do it as perfectly as possible. I think I could still be better…but I’m really happy about this second Pole Position of the year.”

Red Bull KTM Ajo lunged into Moto2 action with Daniel Muñoz eager for more grand prix laps in the wake of his outstanding podium finish in Barcelona last week. The 19-year-old replaced Deniz Öncü once more in San Marino. Both Muñoz and Collin Veijer had to wade into Q1. The Spaniard ended Saturday with P17 on the grid while the Dutch rookie took P20: meaning the sixth and seventh rows for the 22 laps on Sunday.

Misano unlocked the seventh and final round of the 2025 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Brian Uriarte (Spain), Veda Pratama (Thailand) and Hakim Danish (Malaysia) came to San Marino eying title glory and the first of two races played out Saturday afternoon. After 15 laps it was Uriarte who crossed the line first on his KTM FR250 GP kitted machine to confirm the crown after Pratama crashed out.

Brian Uriarte: “Super, super happy. Unbelievable, and we have been working very hard. Last year was so close and this year…well, I’m champion! I have to thank all the guys for giving me the opportunity. Winning is amazing. The future looks bright.”

2. Joel Kelso (AUS) KTM +0.025

9. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.277

12. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.635

1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team 1:34.216

2. Celestino Vietti (ITA) +0.040

3. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +0.075

11. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.345