26.04.2025
MotoGP 2025 - Round 05 of 22, Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, Spain – Qualification and Sprint
- Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Maverick Viñales qualifies 6th and only 0.2 of a second from his first KTM Pole Position and then pockets three points with an uneventful ride to 7th in the Sprint
- Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pedro Acosta takes a top ten with 10th place and after starting from the end of the fourth row of the grid
- Brad Binder follows his teammate and picks up 11th position in Jerez after a close miss for Q2 on Saturday morning. Enea Bastianini gathers four places from P18 on the grid to finish 14th
- Jose Antonio Rueda unveils rampant form at his home round and earns Pole Position in Moto3 while Deniz Öncü goes close and qualifies 6th for Moto2™
The European chapter of MotoGP began around the sun-drenched curves and age-old 4.4km layout of Jerez for the Spanish Grand Prix. Each of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 riders have won and podiumed at the course in various classes: such is the prevalence of Jerez in modern day world championship racing and since its first GP fixture in 1987.
Fans and spectators poured into the facility from Thursday and for what is a hotbed of passion for MotoGP in this corner of the world. Free Practice 1 and Practice on Friday saw recent Qatar rostrum runner Maverick Viñales again strong with his lap-times as well as Pedro Acosta, who slid the KTM RC16 directly into Q2 as one of the top ten fastest by the end of the day. Brad Binder narrowly missed out in P11.
Saturday began with Free Practice 2 and then the rapid dip into Q1/Q2. Viñales was superior and reached the edge of the old lap record to move through Q1. Binder was only a few tenths of a second from the top two lap-times in Q1 and assumed 13th on the grid with Bastianini in 18th. The pace in Q2 was fiery. Viñales dropped his fastest chrono further to break the old Jerez record and then the new standard as well, registered on Saturday. His efforts were enough for 6th and the second row of the grid. He was just 0.2 of a second from Pole Position. Acosta roamed the limits and managed 12th.
In the afternoon the fifth Sprint of the season lasted for 12-laps. The race was a static affair with few position changes at the top of the leaderboard. Maverick crossed the line in 7th and had been catching 6th place before running out of time for more promotion. Pedro was just half a second ahead of Brad at the finish as the teammates circulated together in 10th and 11th respectively. Enea moved up to 14th.
MotoGP will get fast from the habitual race time of 14.00 CET and for 25 laps.
Maverick Viñales, 6th in qualification, 7th in the Sprint: “I’m happy with the feeling on the bike and how we keep learning and improving. It was not an easy Saturday with Q1 and Q2 but we moved through in a positive way, and in the morning I thought it was one of my best sessions with the KTM RC16: the balance, and the grip front and rear. In the afternoon the temperature was higher and the grip a bit less and it became more tricky to stop the bike and turn. For the first four laps of the Sprint I could not go with the others but then I started to come back a bit. Qatar was the opposite: the quali was hot and the race cool in the night. So, we need to try to understand how to make the next step but, so far, happy.”
Pedro Acosta, 12th in qualification, 10th in the Sprint: “It’s not easy when things don’t go how you expected or how you plan. The way is to keep pushing, keep continuing to work and this will pull us up. Yesterday was not bad and this morning was OK for pace but when the conditions change then a lot of unexpected things happen…and we need to understand how to find a way.”
Brad Binder, 13th in qualification, 11th in the Sprint: “I expected more from the Sprint but the conditions were quite different compared to the morning; it was a lot greasier on track and a trickier. I tried my best to manage it. The pace wasn’t bad but I was still too slow. We have a bit too much chatter and we need more edge grip but my guys have some ideas and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Enea Bastianini, 18th in qualification, 14th in the Sprint: “I can’t be satisfied because the expectation was higher, especially after Free Practice this morning. I was hopeful for the qualifying but we could only make 18th on the grid and this meant the Sprint race was difficult at the beginning with all the other riders and we lost a lot of time. I wanted more, and I am confident of a better race tomorrow.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “I would say the weekend so far has been quite positive because we are understanding more about our set-up and improving some areas but, as we see in the Sprint results, there is still a lot more to do. The grip held us back because in the afternoon it was lower than in the morning and this was critical for us and our four riders. In any case, we gained more time and laps for learning. Tomorrow the rear tire will be different and we feel the situation could be different among the manufacturers. We are trying to find the right answers to be more competitive tomorrow.”
Grand Prix of Spain photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Spain
1. Fabio Quartararo (FRA) Yamaha 1:35.610
2. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.033
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.145
6. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.242
12. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.730
13. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:36.584 (Q1)
18. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:36.827 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Spain
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 19:32.107
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.001
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +3.077
7. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +7.849
10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +12.673
11. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +13.204
14. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +17.918
KTM GP Academy
The Moto3 class readied for the 19-lap race on Sunday morning with a tight and tense series of sessions and Q1-Q2 chronos on Saturday. Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Jose Antonio Rueda was in an uncompromising mood and headed both outings on Friday ahead of his teammate. Rueda then glided through Q2 to snare his second career Pole Position and first of the season by over a quarter of a second from the next nearest rider.
Once again rookie Alvaro Carpe was impressive. Jerez is a circuit familiar to all Grand Prix riders due to its prominence as a European venue for testing and for slots on the feeder Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and FIM JuniorGP. Carpe was able to apply his knowledge and markers of the 13 curves to sit P2 behind Rueda in both sessions on Friday. Through Saturday afternoon and the crunch Q2 outing, he was 5th and less than half a second from Rueda.
Red Bull KTM Tech3 duo Jacob Roulstone and Valentin Perrone gave the KTM GP Academy four KTM RC4s in the top eleven during Practice and pushed the quartet into Q2. After the critical qualifying run the Australian had P8 and the Argentina P10 on the grid.
Jose Antonio Rueda: “I’m very happy. This continues the good job we have done this weekend and in the past races. To make Pole Position at my home GP is amazing, and I enjoyed it a lot and I hope tomorrow I can still keep enjoying it…and have some luck!”
In Moto2 Deniz Öncü set a barometer for his second season in the category with a strong podium result two weeks ago in Qatar. The Turk carried the momentum to Spain and by Saturday morning was able to place P1 in Free Practice 2; half a second faster than the next nearest rider. After Q2 Deniz ranked 6th and with a promising second row berth of the grid for Sunday. Collin Veijer was able to filter through Q1 and ranked 17th. The close nature of the class means the Dutchman was only one second from Pole but will nestle into the sixth row where he will get set for 21-laps.
Moto3 will open the Grand Prix timetable at 11.00, followed by Moto2 at 12.15 CET.
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Spain
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:43.755
2. Joel Kelso (AUS) KTM +0.287
3. David Muñoz (ESP) KTM +0.452
5. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.471
8. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.769
10. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +1.032
14. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +1.360
16. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +1.451
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Spain
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) 1:39.858
2. Albert Arenas (GBR) +0.032
3. Senna Agius (ESP) +0.068
6. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.197
8. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.383
11. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.465
17. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.064
PRESS CONTACT
Evangelia Sissis
PR Manager MotoGP
+43 676 665 2742
evangelia.sissis@ktm.com