The high-speed Autodromo Mugello is not for the faint-hearted but Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder twisted the throttles hard of the Red Bull KTM RC16s to score 8th and 9th places at the ninth round of 2025 MotoGP. Maverick Viñales was in podium contention until being hit out of 4th at almost mid-race distance. The KTM GP Academy prospered once more thanks to Alvaro Carpe who was only 0.006 away from victory in Moto3™.
The first grand prix of the first double-header on the 2025 MotoGP slate took the series to the fast, hot and busy climes of Mugello: the atmospheric and spectacular site for the Italian round of the world championship since 1994. 15 corners and 5.2km of sweeps and drops had been the scene of KTM’s record-setting MotoGP top speed of 366.1 kmph in 2023 and 2024 hosted a 23-lap affair on Sunday afternoon. The Red Bull KTM RC16s starting from the second, third, fifth and six rows of the grid.
Maverick Viñales was the best qualifier in 5th and rode to a strong 4th place in Saturday’s Sprint. The former Grand Prix winner slotted into the front-running pack of five riders eying a podium trophy but he was hit out of 4th place after 9 laps. The onus then fell to Pedro Acosta and a determined Brad Binder in the lower half of the top ten. The teammates swapped track space and positions and crossed the line almost together in 8th and 9th respectively. Enea Bastianini fell on the final corner of the opening lap.
There is little respite for MotoGP this week with round ten involving a trip to one of the oldest courses on the calendar. The TT Circuit Assen stages the Dutch Grand Prix next weekend where the venue will celebrate its centenary.
Pedro Acosta, 8th and 8th in the championship standings: “Tough race. The wrong choice with the tires. I was struggling to turn. The only fun thing was the battle with Brad. I could see he could turn the bike. It was super-nice and I enjoyed that. We’ll have to see how we can do in Assen.
Brad Binder, 9th and 13th in the championship standings: “I got a decent start but didn’t really have the pace to go with the next group in front. I knew it was important to make the rear tire last until the end and also guard the front because it was very hot and I was surrounded by riders. I didn’t want it to tuck. It was a tricky race and I’m glad to finish. It’s by no means what I wanted but at least it’s a starting point. Importantly I found out what we need to finish for next week, and if we can get a little bit more stability it will be very beneficial.”
Maverick Viñales, DNF and 11th in the championship standings: “A really positive weekend, to be honest. We are getting closer and closer. I was feeling great in the race and really controlling the rear tire. Unfortunately a rider touched me and I crashed, and this is part of racing. I could not finish but we have to be happy because we are fighting for the top positions. The important thing is to continue in this way and be nearer the front as quickly as possible. We are growing well.”
Enea Bastianini, DNF and 16th in the championship standings: “One of the shortest races of my life! My start was good and I was close to the top ten and I tried to push. I lost time in the previous section and tried to make it up in the final corner but the front closed. It was important to make a good result both for me and the team because we were much faster this weekend and competitive in each session. This was one of the better GPs of the year and today could have been very good. It would have been useful for morale but, anyway, we learned a lot and we’ll be able to put this into the package. We’ll see for next time.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “For sure we expected results today and disappointment comes with two crashes. Yes, we had two top ten finishes and race-by-race we are making progress and improvements. I’m sure we will get our reward in the coming GPs because there are positives. In Pedro’s case we have to understand his feeling with the front end and the hard tire. For Brad it was a more solid day; after some crashes recently, it was important to finish and get some confidence back. Unfortunately Maverick could not finish and get what he deserved but his performance was incredible, and we have to build on that for the future. With Enea we also had a positive weekend after a lot of challenges recently. It’s a small boost for the coming races.”
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Italy
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 41:01.214
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.942
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati +2.136
8. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +19.349
9. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +19.377
DNF. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3
DNF. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 270 points
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 230
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 160
8. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 84
11. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 54
13. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 42
16. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 35
KTM GP Academy
The KTM GP Academy had a productive Grand Prix in the build-up to the Moto3 and Moto2 races on Sunday. Alvaro Carpe took his KTM RC4 to a maiden Pole Position with Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate and world championship pace-setter Jose Antonio Rueda alongside him on the grid. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Jacob Roulstone qualified a career-best 5th (in his second Moto3 season). Valentin Perrone was just behind the Australian on the timesheets but a belated penalty shuffled the rookie to the rear of the grid.
Moto3 was tight and tense for almost every lap of the full distance. There was contact in the pack and several gnarly crashes but the lead group dwindled to 12 runners with four laps to go with Carpe, Rueda and a resurgent Perrone in the midst. Carpe was very close in the final dash to the flag, missing out on victory by a slender 0.006 of a second but picking up his third podium of the year. Rueda was 4th, amazingly 0.102 from the winner, and Perrone in P8, less than half a second from the top step. Roulstone was in the second group, a victim of some of the chaos, and finished 13th.
Rueda has a 56-point margin in the championship standings with Carpe holding a very respectable 3rd in his maiden GP term. Red Bull KTM Ajo fronts the Teams table by 106 points while KTM are P1 in the Constructors contest. Perrone is 14th in the Riders listing and Roulstone is 20th despite missing the opening rounds due to injury. Red Bull KTM Tech3 ranks 9th from the 13 squads in the category.
Alvaro Carpe: “Very close! I thought I would be first and the gap was so close. I did a good job all weekend and during the race. I was always at the front and led a lot of the race. I’m very happy. Another podium and we have to continue this way. The race was difficult to manage, and it was impossible to make a gap with the others because of the slipstream. Anyway, OK, the performance could not have been better. Thanks to the team, all the sponsors and the people who support me. See you next race!”
Moto2 laid Pirelli rubber for 19 laps. Deniz Öncü started from the second row and was chasing his second allocation of silverware after securing his first win in the category at the previous round in Aragon. The Turkish racer made a fantastic start but then had to manage his tires, and conserved a pace good enough for 6th. Collin Veijer’s first race back after a three GP absence ended with 20th position and beneficial race mileage.
The 2025 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup delivered high thrills for the eighth race of fourteen on Sunday. 16-year-old Veda Pratama took his KTM-kitted motorcycle to a maiden victory after 13-laps on Saturday afternoon, and it was the Indonesian who pushed ahead again on Sunday morning. Pratama won from Hakim Danish by a hundredth of a second and with less than one second covering the top eight. Danish still leads the championship by 32 points from Brian Uriarte who was 5th on Sunday. The ‘Rookies’ next suit-up at the Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix in three weeks.
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Italy
1. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team 33:17.697
2. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.006
3. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.066
4. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.102
8. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.448
13. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +10.469
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 162 points
2. Angel Piqueras (ESP), KTM, 106
3. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 105
5. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 85
12. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 49
14. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 35
20. Jacob Roulstone (ESP), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 20
Results Moto2 Grand Prix of Italy
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) 35:34.695
2. Albert Arenas (ESP) +1.409
3. Aron Canet (ESP) +3.648
6. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +5.091
8. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team +5.924
15. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +11.967
20. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +16.830
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP), 143 points
2. Aron Canet (ESP), 134
3. Diogo Moreira (BRA), 103
7. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 72
13. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 37
15. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 36
19. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 11