27.09.2025
MotoGP 2025 - Round 17 of 22, Motegi – Qualification and Sprint
- Pedro Acosta celebrates his third Sprint podium of the season and third from the last six races with a strong charge from the second row
- Brad Binder rides to P12 in the Sprint and after a fast crash in Q1 dented his hopes of a better qualification slot than P18
- Enea Bastianini regains a lot of ground from the penultimate row in the Sprint and hovers on the edge of the top ten before his race is halted by a technical issue. Maverick Viñales makes more race mileage to rank P16
- Pole Position for the KTM GP Academy as Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda sets a new lap record on his KTM RC4 in Moto3
MotoGP began the rolling overseas stint of the 2025 calendar with the annual visit to Motegi. The 4.8km course with 14 turns is housed within the Mobility Resort complex and usually involves an unpredictable climate across the three days. Motegi has staged the Japanese Grand Prix since 2004 and been part of the MotoGP schedule since 1999, and in that time has become synonymous for the two ‘underpass’ sections as well as the high braking demands of the layout.
Pedro Acosta scorched to the 2nd fastest lap-time in a frenetic and competitive practice schedule through Friday that saw a spate of crashes as the track varied in temperature and grip. The Spaniard was the sole direct entrant to Q2. Q1 on Saturday morning saw Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales, still in the rehab phases from his left shoulder injury, end the session with P18 and P21 and P23 positions respectively on the grid. Acosta faced a technical issue that delayed his participation in Q2 but was able to salvage a forceful attempt for Pole and was just 0.158 away, meaning P4.
The Sprint laid rubber for 12 laps. Acosta muscled into P3 and then into P2, which he held for most of the duration until Marc Marquez made a late lunge. Pedro crossed the line for 3rd place, 3.6 seconds from the winner. Bastianini produced a brilliant surge to reach as high as 13th, with Binder for company as both avoided a first turn melee, but the Italian did not reach the flag. The South African, who’d suffered a quick fall at Turn 12 earlier in the day, persevered to score 12th while Viñales rode to 16th.
The Japanese Grand Prix build-up now begins in earnest and the 24-lap race will start at 07.00 CEST and 14.00 local time.
Pedro Acosta, 4th in qualification, 3rd in the Sprint: “We have to be happy. We had the crash yesterday and not many laps in qualifying. The team also had to work hard after Q2 and we didn’t get too nervous. In the end we had the pace for the podium. With the medium tire tomorrow it will be another kind of race and difficult for everyone but we have the speed to make a good one. I feel we have potential for more. It will be a race of management.”
Brad Binder, 18th in qualification, 12th in the Sprint: “Not too much to say really. On the start with all the carnage I got really hung out to dry and I was really lucky to escape all the mess. After that I tried to come through but it was super-difficult to overtake so many bikes. I managed to pass a couple of guys but I was battling with upright spin. We’ll have to make a plan for tomorrow.”
Maverick Viñales, 23rd in qualification, 16th in the Sprint: “My shoulder is better than expected but I have two corners for quick change of direction where I have a bit of a handicap. For the rest I am impressed by how I have been able to improve and how the shoulder is feeling. I’m quite positive that every weekend is a step forward. We need to make an analysis with the bike because we have a lot of front-end sliding and I cannot be fast. We have to make a reset and recover the feeling I had before.”
Enea Bastianini, 21st in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “Yesterday afternoon I was confident of improving but in the end nothing was better and the others improved. During qualifying I had the yellow flag three times and it was impossible to do a better result for the grid position. When you start behind like this then it’s difficult.I am hoping to find something for tomorrow because like this…it is very frustrating.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We have quite mixed feelings. Once again a great performance by Pedro. After a few issues he managed two laps in Q2 and 4th on the grid was very good. He showed his level in the Sprint by fighting at the front and keeping his podium position. A positive run for tomorrow and we hope we can show the same potential in the longer GP race, maybe with the harder rear tire option. With Brad, unfortunately the start position was quite far but he was fighting well in the Sprint and after the first corner accident we’re OK with 12th. Enea and Maverick did not have the best day of the season: technical issues and Maverick’s higher targets lay ahead in the races to come.”
Grand Prix of Japan photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1:42.911
2. Joan Mir (ESP) Honda +0.092
3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.132
4. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.158
18. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:43.694 (Q1)
21. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:44.178 (Q1)
23. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:44.710 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Japan
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 20:59.113
2. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.842
3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +3.674
12. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +13.823
16. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +20.706
DNF. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 produced a condensed pack of eager racers on Friday with just one second dividing P1 to Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Jacob Roulstone in P16. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Alvaro Carpe was just outside the bracket, in P17, but world championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda and Valentin Perrone were lodged inside the top six and were eying the first rows of the grid.
The sunny and humid conditions found on track on Friday continued for Saturday and the Q1 and Q2 run. Rueda emerged with the best chrono attack in qualifying. His last effort (made without a tow) was good enough for his fifth Pole Position of the season and set a new reference for Motegi. Perrone was extremely close and was quarter of a second adrift in P2, giving both Red Bull KTM teams optimum real estate on the grid. The Argentine rookie will stare at an empty track from the front row for a fourth time in 2025. Carpe improved to P12 for the fourth row and Roulstone will start from the eighth and P22.
17 laps of Moto3 will launch when the red lights disappear at 04.00 CEST.
Jose Antonio Rueda: “The lap was incredible, and I was on the limit to take Pole. I’m happy we made it and it was important for the race tomorrow. We worked well with the team today with a view to the race and to fight in the best possible way at the front.”
Moto2 saw Red Bull KTM Ajo pairing Collin Veijer and Daniel Muñoz go straight through to Q2 after decent speed on Friday. Moto2 was also incredibly tight for lap-times. Veijer left it until his final flying lap to find the tenths of a second necessary to secure P9 and the third row of the grid while Muñoz, appearing as a replacement for the recovering Deniz Öncü once more, powered to P17 on his first visit to Motegi. The Moto2 race will run for 19 laps.
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Japan
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:54.826
2. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.238
3. Joel Kelso (AUS) KTM +0.254
8. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.436
10. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.618
12. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.704
22. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:57.019 (Q1)
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Japan
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) 1:47.925
2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.132
3. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.204
9. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.636
17. Daniel Muñoz (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.127
PRESS CONTACT
Evangelia Sissis
PR Manager MotoGP
+43 676 665 2742
evangelia.sissis@ktm.com