2025 MotoGP came to an end under blue skies in Valencia and on a bright note for Red Bull KTM as Pedro Acosta challenged for another GP podium and sealed 4th place in the world. The final Grand Prix of the season took place in front of a capacity crowd in eastern Spain and saw three KTM RC16s classify in the top ten as Brad Binder rode to P8 and Enea Bastianini posted P10 after 27 laps.
For the 27th time since 1999, MotoGP rounded the looping 4km layout at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, a short distance west of Valencia. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 entered the fray for the last time this season with 5th, 15th, 20th and 21st positions on the grid and with hopes for maximum points and podium contention.
Pedro Acosta was fractions of a second from Pole Position and obtained his sixth Sprint podium of the season on Saturday. The 21-year-old made another decent start for the Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. He found track space in P5 then glided up to P4 and hunted the rear wheel of P3; making the move on lap 19. Pedro couldn’t quite hold on during an intense duel to the flag but his P4 meant a fifth consecutive top five ranking. The checkered flag brought Acosta to 307 points and P4 in the standings. He also added five podiums to his CV in 2025.
Brad Binder made his customary flight through to the top ten, and mixed up the order pushing for 6th: an impressive barrel from P15 on the grid. Enea Bastianini was also very proactive just a few positions behind Brad. The Italian fought with two other factory bikes and made sure of six points for P10 at the end while Binder crossed the line in 8th.
Maverick Viñales accumulated more mileage in the latest rehab phase for his left shoulder. #12 raced for 23 laps trying to hit his lines and markers at the Ricardo Tormo. Maverick made three top five GP results in 2025: his first season with the KTM RC16.
The 2025 figures reveal a total of six MotoGP podiums for the Red Bull KTM teams including three runner-up places as well as one fastest lap. The quest to boost these figures further for 2026 begins on Tuesday at Valencia with the first IRTA test ahead of the new campaign.
Pedro Acosta, 4th and 4th in the championship standings: “It could have been better but we gave what we could. We really had to manage the tires today and we missed grip at the start. For how we started the championship then to come back to 4th is not too bad and we were consistently in the top five but it was still not enough. I learned a lot as a rider…but I want more. We’ll cross our fingers for the Tuesday test and we’ll see what we have but then we have time until the test in Sepang next year.”
Brad Binder, 8th and 11th in the championship standings: “I wanted more from today. I had a good start again, not quite like yesterday, but I wanted to pick-off more guys but I lacked a bit more pace and the best I could manage today was 8th. A tough year. I feel like I can do a lot better than I did. Things did not gel this season, even if we did make some small improvements at the end. I’m looking forward to Tuesday.”
Enea Bastianini, 10th and 14th in the championship standings: “A good start and the first five laps were great. I was confident of recovering more positions but then my front tire dropped a lot and my dream of another comeback stopped. I was floating in the apexes so it was hard to keep the lap-times and I could not fight for more. It was strange because normally I can manage that part of the race but I reached the limit today. Apart from the mid-corners I was competitive and I saved the top ten. Now we work for Tuesday and I also know where I need to improve this winter.”
Maverick Viñales, DNF and 18th in the championship standings: “A hard race but I had good motivation and I was catching guys until my arm started to get tired and I made mistakes, running wide and going into parts of the track that had no grip. There was no need risk more in a part of the year that has no meaning. I did not want to cause a crash. For me the season has been very positive and I feel I made a big improvement on the mental side. It is important now to work well and get fit. I can’t wait until next year.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A solid finish to the season for us with three riders in the top ten and we can be happy with this. We had high expectations because the progress has been good and positive in the last months and in Portimao last week we were close to the top with Pedro. Tracks and circumstances change and the competition in MotoGP is so tight that results can be different. Anyway, we can be very happy with our trajectory this season. If someone had asked me at the Grand Prix of the Americas where we’d be at the end of the year then I would not have dreamt or imagined we’d be in this situation. We always want more but we have made big steps. We need to push on because we are getting closer to our target.”
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Valencia
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia 40:52.458
2. Raul Fernandez (ESP) Aprilia +0.686
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati +3.765
4. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 4.749
8. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +14.582
10. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +17.460
DNF. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3
Final World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 545 points
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 467
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia, 353
4. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 307
11. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 155
14. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 112
18. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 72
KTM GP Academy
For 20 laps Moto3 provided more gripping pack-racing. Alvaro Carpe was in the heat of the five-rider battle for the rostrum. Red Bull KTM Ajo had 10 wins, 18 podium finishes, 6 pole positions, and 6 fastest laps in 2025 (as well as Riders and Teams titles) before Valencia and Carpe worked to increase at least one of those tallies. He made a brave move on the final corner to seize P3 and was promoted to P2 for his fourth trophy of the year and his first since the Australian Grand Prix. His runner-up slot equaled season and career-best results from Thailand and Italy and concreted P4 in the standings for the teenager.
Valentin Perrone capped an impressive rookie Grand Prix year with 10th place at Valencia. The Argentine worked his way up from top ten speed to grasp two podium results by mid-season. He also took P10 in the Moto3 points table. Jacob Roulstone finished his two-year stint with the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad with 16th today. The Australian was also P16 overall for an injury-interrupted 2025.
World Champion Jose Antonio Rueda joined the Red Bull KTM Ajo crew in the pitbox. The Spaniard watched his replacement, Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup champ Brian Uriarte, finish 17th in his second appearance for the team.
Alvaro Carpe: “Brilliant! I want to say thanks to all the people that came here today and all the fans that supported me. I want to dedicate the podium to them. The race was very difficult because the group was pushing so hard from the beginning. It was difficult to manage. Thanks also to my team: this season has been incredible. A kiss also for all the people who suffered in Valencia this time last year.”
Moto3 has continued to be a happy hunting ground for KTM’s RC4. In 2025 the motorcycle owned 20 from 22 GPs, scaled the podium 49 times and achieved 18 Pole Positions.
Moto2 preceded the MotoGP Grand Prix chase and allowed Red Bull KTM Ajo duo Collin Veijer and Daniel Muñoz to build their confidence further. Both riders rolled onto the third row of the grid after incredibly close lap-times in qualifying. The Dutchman roamed the edge of the top five from the start of the race and made progress. He snatched 4th in the closing stages and was just half a second from a second successive rostrum appearance at the finish.
Veijer has scored 97 points for his maiden attempt at Moto2 and is 15th for the year. Muñoz tried to bank points for the sixth time from 11 outings replacing Deniz Öncü (who won the Aragon and German Grands Prix for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team) but was hit into Turn 2 and remounted but could rise no higher than P23.
The 2026 KTM GP Academy will consist of Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte in Moto3 for Red Bull KTM Ajo and Valentin Perrone with Rico Salmela for Red Bull KTM Tech3. Jose Antonio Rueda will join Collin Veijer for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 effort.
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Valencia
1. Adrian Fernandez (ESP), Honda 32:48.909
2. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.286
3. Taiyo Furusato (JPN), Honda +0.109
5. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.448
10. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +14.382
16. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +17.382
17. Brian Uriarte (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +17.522
21. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +32.932
Final World Championship standings Moto3
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 365 points
2. Angel Piqueras (ESP), KTM, 281
3. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 274
4. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 215
10. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 134
14. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 96
16. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 61
Results Moto2 Grand Prix of Valencia
1. Izan Guevara (ESP) 34:19.229
2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.717
3. Ivan Ortola (ESP) +2.327
4. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +2.888
18. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team +23.925
23. Daniel Muñoz (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1 lap
Final World Championship standings Moto2
1. Diogo Moreira (BRA), 286 points
2. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP), 257
3. Barry Baltus (BEL), 232
6. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 208
9. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 153
12. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 100
15. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 97