25.10.2025

Another podium finish for energetic Acosta in Malaysian MotoGP™ Sprint

MotoGP 2025 - Round 20 of 22, Sepang International Circuit – Qualification and Sprint

Pedro Acosta 2025 MotoGP Sepang Saturday © KTM Images/Polarity Photo

This press release has: 18 Images

A cloudy, hot and humid Sepang International Circuit was the stage for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pedro Acosta to fight for another Sprint podium result and score his fifth medal of the campaign with P3. Pol Espargaro stood out in his fourth appearance for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 crew this season by pushing for the top eight in the Saturday race, passing the flag in P11, as Enea Bastianini found his way past ten riders to seal 9th.

Pedro Acosta maintains his podium potential in 2025 MotoGP with the 5th fastest lap in qualification and a charge from the second row of the grid to P3 in the 10-lap Sprint
Red Bull KTM Tech3 Pol Espargaro is the second-best qualifier with P12 and only a collision with another rider in the Sprint stops the Spaniard from reaching higher than P11
Teammate Enea Bastianini lodges a lap-time in Q1 for P19 on the grid but rides with pace and precision to arrive to the top nine in the afternoon Sprint
Brad Binder qualifies P18 and then strives to make the Sprint finish, taking P16
Moto3™ world champion Jose Antonio Rueda narrowly misses out on Pole Position but starts the GP on Sunday from P3 and the front row

MotoGP jetted from the cool and unpredictable climate of Phillip Island to the tropical setting of the Sepang International Circuit for round 20. The 5.5km layout with two long straights and a mix of 15 quick and slow corners is familiar ground for the teams and riders due to its status as the opening test venue of the season. Mileage and knowledge of the Malaysian asphalt is not an issue so lap-times were already being battered from Free Practice.

The weather proved to be a hitch with rain on Friday causing complications, but Pedro Acosta was able to find the limits and a chrono ‘attack’ to head Practice with P1. Pol Espargaro was again up to pace and drifted into Q2 directly as well. Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini went into Q1 for a dry and warm Saturday and emerged with P18 and P19 on the grid respectively. Acosta vied for Pole Position after the first flyers of the 15-minute Q2 but a fall in the final minutes scrubbed his chances of P1. He will sit in the center of the second row after the 5th best lap. Espargaro was 12th.

The Sprint lasted for 10 laps and Acosta made a tremendous start. The Spaniard lunged into the fight for the podium positions and then managed the tire drop to run a clear 4th and his eighth top five Sprint classification of the year. Pedro was then elevated to 3rd after a sanction for another rider. Espargaro headed the second group and the spat for the top seven. Pol was relegated to P11 after contact with a rival almost ended in a crash as two racing lines came together. Bastianini rode brightly to carve his way past ten opponents and reach P9 for the final Sprint point and Binder reached the flag in P16.

The Grand Prix will begin at 15.00 local time and will run for 20 laps.

Pedro Acosta, 5th in qualification, 3rd in the Sprint: “OK, so finally a podium. I maintained the pace quite OK in the Sprint until the drop that we’ve been suffering since Japan. I knew it was going to be a long race! I made everything I could with what I had in my hands. Another race where we are consuming a lot of the tire. Qualifying was quite slow but the Sprint pace was quite fast. We’ll have to see for tomorrow.”

Enea Bastianini, 19th in qualification, 9th in the Sprint: “Like always, a bit better every day. We’ll arrive to Sunday faster compared to the other two days and always in the top ten. The problem is the same and I miss a bit of confidence, and this is true for qualifying. I’m missing the jump and the extra grip for the fast lap but in the race I can do my pace and today it was not so bad. Same story.”

Pol Espargaro, 12th in qualification, 11th in the Sprint: “More or less happy. I think our pace was good from the beginning and I could stay with the top guys and try to deal with the drop of the rear tire. I was about to be P8-9 but I had that small impact and lost some positions. I got two back, and reached P11, which was good but I’ll be looking for more tomorrow.”

Brad Binder, 18th in qualification, 16th in the Sprint: “Well, not much to say. Quali was not great and the race was worse. I started spinning from the first lap and just didn’t go anywhere. I had nothing for corner entry or exit. It was a mess. We have to figure out what happened and tomorrow can only be better.”

Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “The weekend has been very positive in terms of the work done. Of course, Friday was very challenging because of the unstable weather but, in any case, it was OK in the afternoon and that was the first consistent phase of work for Saturday and Sunday. We were happy with the information. One of the main topics for us was the tire life, and the real test for that will come tomorrow but we gained positive data from the Sprint. We still have a lot to do to make the right decisions and maximize the tire in these conditions. Pedro’s position was a little bittersweet because we could not keep our pace until the end due to the tire drop. Anyway, we are working on it. We’re thankful to have Pol here again -and we hope Maverick will be with us again soon - and he also brings useful information during the weekend. His performance was great. For Brad and Enea the starting positions were frustrating but Enea did really well, especially with used tires in the second part of the race. Brad had a challenging Sprint but, like Enea, we hope the longer distance will open some more possibilities.”

Grand Prix of Malaysia photographs can be found HERE

Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Malaysia

1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1:57.001

2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.016

3. Franco Morbidelli (ITA) Ducati +0.158

5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.362

12. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +1.173

18. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:58.183 (Q1)

19. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:58.189 (Q1)

Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Malaysia

1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 19:53.725

2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +2.259

3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +5.155

9. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +12.974

11. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +14.924

16. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +18.248

KTM GP Academy

Moto3 has already been painted orange for 2025: Jose Antonio Rueda as world champion, KTM as Constructors #1 and Red Bull KTM Ajo as the lead team for the season. The speed did not slow with three Grands Prix to go. Rueda and Alvaro Carpe, riding at Sepang for the first time, were 1st and 2nd after Friday. It was Rueda who then used the tows and slipstreams best through Qualification to register the 3rd fastest lap. Rueda was sitting on Pole until the last seconds of the session until he was nudged to P3. He will start from the front row for the tenth time in 2025 but will have to negotiate a double long lap penalty on Sunday. Carpe was 6th after Q2 in a top 12 split by only 0.8 of a second. Valentin Perrone’s Red Bull KTM Tech3 RC4 will be parked on the third row in 7th place. Teammate Jacob Roulstone was ruled out of the Grand Prix after a crash on Friday led to a fractured left hand. Moto3 will run for 15 laps on Sunday.

Moto2™ education continued both for Collin Veijer and Daniel Muñoz. The Dutchman and Spaniard took their first Moto2 laps at Sepang. Like the Moto3 class, times were tight through Q2. Muñoz was the more capable after a decent FP2 where he nudged into the top three. The rookie was eventually just 0.7 from Pole in Q2 and grabbed P5 for the second row. Veijer was not far adrift and will start the 17-lap dispute from P13.

Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Malaysia

1. David Almansa (ESP) Honda 2:09.846

2. Taiyo Furusato (JPN) Honda +0.094

3. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.230

6. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.450

7. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.451

8. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.505

21. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team 2:12.027 (Q1)

DNQ. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3

Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Malaysia

1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team 2:02.858

2. Barry Baltus (BEL) +0.562