21.06.2025
MotoGP 2025 - Round 09 of 22, Mugello Circuit, Italy – Qualification and Sprint
- Maverick Viñales charges to 4th place and his strongest Sprint result of 2025 after nearing the lap record on Friday and topping Practice and Free Practice 2
- Enea Bastianini briefly enters the points-scoring range for the Sprint in hot conditions at Mugello but crosses the line in 11th
- Crashes for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder early in the 11-lap Sprint
- The KTM GP Academy roars in Mugello with a first Moto3™ Pole Position for Alvaro Carpe and a second row berth for Deniz Öncü in Moto2™
Picturesque and pacey: Mugello brought a typical Italian flavor to MotoGP for the sweeping and curvy 5.2km circuit’s 39th hosting of a Grand Prix and the ninth round of 2025. Tuscany cooked in high early summer temperatures as the riders and teams quickly found their marks and tried to refine set-ups for a course that rewards flow and consistent corner speed.
Red Bull KTM began the first of two Grands Prix on Italian asphalt this year with signs of promise. Both Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder were 2nd and 3rd fastest in FP1 with Maverick Viñales also in the top ten. During Practice on Friday Viñales excelled and almost broke the lap record to head the results sheets. Acosta made the Q2 cut in 8th, a meagre four tenths of a second from his brandmate while Binder was unlucky to crash at Turn 3 and didn’t have time to find another flyer. Enea Bastianini was 12th in Practice and much closer to Q2 entry.
Saturday’s schedule brought FP2 – again led by Viñales - and the run through Q1. Binder and Bastianini hovered around two tenths of a second from breaching the top two and confirmed 15th and 16th on the grid. Q2 provided a 15-minute rush for Pole Position and Viñales clocked the 5th best time with his latest attempt, giving the Spaniard a lot in the middle of the second row. Countryman Acosta was 8th fastest.
The Saturday Sprint involved 11 laps but the race was over quickly for Binder who was tagged while leant into the first corner and crashed. Acosta ran slightly wide into the long lefthanded final turn and also went down and out. Viñales made a pursuit for 3rd and came within striking distance of the position before running out of laps. His P4 was still a season-highest for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 crew. Bastianini sharpened his pace and passed the flag in 11th.
MotoGP goes long and hard for 23 laps and begins at 14.00 local time CEST Sunday afternoon.
Maverick Viñales, 5th in qualification, 4th in the Sprint: “A solid result and, so far, it has been a very positive weekend. It is important to keep pushing in the right way. I’m very excited for tomorrow because it is clear we have a great opportunity. I am aiming for a good start, good first laps, hitting the marks and lines and keeping the high level. I feel I can ride the bike smoothly and this will help for the long race distance. I flow through the corners really well. We just need to improve the last corner and I think I can bring that through the riding style.”
Enea Bastianini, 16th in qualification, 11th in the Sprint: “I think we have made a step but I still need to work on my weaknesses because I could not push with the front from the start. The pace was better later in the race and I think we can do something better tomorrow and go for the top ten. We have a base setting to play with now. We modified the engine brake and I am more comfortable with the rear brake and I can use it better.”
Pedro Acosta, 8th in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “I still think the hard tire choice was the best decision but I struggled to stop the bike. The first lap was a mess with guys hitting each other. I lost the front but I wasn’t forcing it. A mistake. It is what it is. I think our potential today was to fight [for the podium]. From 3rd to 5th could be our possibilities tomorrow.”
Brad Binder, 15th in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “I had a rocket launch: my start was insane and when I turned into Turn 1 I had a touch and it was enough to make the front end tuck. That was my race and very unfortunate. I could have done with some race time. My race pace is good and I’m sure I can make a decent comeback.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Brad was very unlucky to be taken out by another rider in the same corner and unfortunately Pedro crashed also after a small mistake into Turn 15. So, mixed feelings today but the most positive part of the Sprint was Maverick’s result and Enea’s improvement with his feeling on the bike. Tomorrow, we have the GP and, of course, our preparation has been good from Friday. We have to try and bring home as many points as we can and continue our positive line of work from most of the season so far.”
Grand Prix of Italy photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Italy
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 1:44.169
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +0.059
3. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.083
5. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.345
8. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.611
15. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:45.331 (Q1)
16. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:45.370 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Italy
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 19:31.416
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.441
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +2.561
4. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +3.099
11. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +11.870
DNF. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
DNF. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 brought the four riders of Red Bull KTM Ajo and Red Bull KTM Tech3 rapidly up to speed and with a keen emphasis on slipstreams and ‘tows’ to maximize an optimum lap-time. On Friday it was Alvaro Carpe who was best placed on the KTM RC4 in 7th position but Valentin Perrone (P8) and series leader Jose Antonio Rueda (P10) were both less than half a second from Pole. Jacob Roulstone was just 0.6 adrift, emphasizing the proximity that Mugello forces through the chronos.
Q2 on Saturday was busy with orange. Carpe and Rueda swapped Pole Position bids and it was the rookie who managed to carve ahead by a few tenths. Carpe used the track well to lodge his first P1 while Rueda, who has a two-race gap in terms of points in the standings, will sit alongside his countryman in P2. Q2 was a beneficial session for Red Bull KTM Tech3. Roulstone captured P5 for the middle of the second row and for a personal best qualifying status. The Australian was followed by Perrone in 6th meaning all KTM GP Academy bagged prime real estate for the 17-lap dash on Sunday morning, although Valentin was later given a sanction for slow riding on the race line and will now have to start from the rear of the grid.
Alvaro Carpe: “Today I took the Pole with that last lap, and it was like riding a bit crazy: all or nothing. I always want more! We’ll see tomorrow because it will be a very hard race with this long straight and very fast circuit. I love the track though.”
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Deniz Öncü floated into the Mugello paddock on the euphoria of his first Moto2 Grand Prix win (in just his second season) in Aragon almost two weeks previously. The Turk flew through Q1 and then Q2 to seize P6 on the grid and the second row. The team welcomed back Collin Veijer after the rookie had recovered sufficiently from right arm surgery. The Dutchman passed a fitness test on Thursday but has missed the last three rounds and still needs to build up track mileage. Collin was 22nd quickest.
The 2025 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup was again getting fast for the seventh and eighth races of the season and from the fourteen on the full slate. The championship dispute between Hakim Danish and Brian Uriarte took a swing on Saturday when the Spaniard finished 6th and the Malaysian could only score 13th. The 13 laps were tight and intense as eight riders were split by just one second at the finish and the flag as taken by Indonesia’s Veda Pratama.
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Italy
1. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:54.733
2. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.237
3. Scott Ogden (GBR), KTM +0.299
5. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.691
6. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.733
8. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.878
15. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +1.402
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Italy
1. Diogo Moreira (BRA) 1:49.745
2. Aron Canet (ESP) +0.086
3. Albert Arenas (ESP) +0.112
6. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.230
9. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.354
11. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.450
22. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:51.017 (Q1)
PRESS CONTACT
Evangelia Sissis
PR Manager MotoGP
+43 676 665 2742
evangelia.sissis@ktm.com