Another hot and demanding round of 2025 MotoGP with the visit to Japan. Enea Bastianini was highest ranked in 11th place with Brad Binder in 12th and Pedro Acosta had run in the podium positions for the first half of the 24-lap distance. The KTM GP Academy were protagonists again in Moto3™ with the KTM RC4 race bikes as Jose Antonio Rueda charged to runner-up.
Pedro Acosta, encouraged by his third Sprint podium medal of the season on Saturday but also curious to know if the medium tire compound would help or hinder his rally for more silverware, started with fierce intent and was into 2nd place in the opening exchanges. Brad Binder and Enea Bastiani had to be proactive in the first laps to make strides into points scoring positions. BB33 reached 13th and the Italian gave chase while Maverick Viñales was further back and trying to make inroads.
Acosta could not maintain his pace for the full 24-lap duration and a ‘moment’ while braking for Turn 1 put him off track and into the gravel. The Spaniard drifted down the race order and made it across the finish line in 17th. Bastianini forced his way up to 11th and was followed by Binder in 12th as the pair passed the checkered flag together. Viñales just missed out on Grand Prix points.
The Lombok island setting of the Mandalika Street Circuit will activate the Indonesian Grand Prix next weekend and another back-to-back fixture for 2025 MotoGP.
Enea Bastianini, 11th and 14th in the championship standings: “In general we can be happier than what we were yesterday, and we improved a bit the setup of the bike. From ten laps to go I improved my pace and I gave something more. This is a strange world. Sometimes, at some tracks, nothing works like what you want. I think we need to understand why and try to be competitive in every track. I hope to see us like 3-4 races in the past: competitive. I want to be back in the top five like a few races ago.”
Brad Binder, 12th and 11th in the championship standings: “A difficult weekend. I had a really good start but we had a lot of chatter from the beginning which made it difficult to ride the bike. The wheelspin when we were upright also finished the tire. Very tricky because I cannot take advantage of drive and corner entry is tough. If we can get to a circuit where we can lessen the chatter then we can do something; hopefully in Indonesia.”
Maverick Viñales, 16th and 16th in the championship standings: “A hard race for sure. Very tough but it was good to keep going. At a certain point I had quite a lot of pain but then I relaxed a little bit and it went away and I could push again in the last five-six laps. I think we made a good training for Mandalika and for the rest of the season but what I feel is that there is now a lot of work to do again on the bike because we are not pushing the tyres in the correct way.”
Pedro Acosta, 17th and 6th in the championship standings: “I knew it would be a tough race with the tire but I did not expect it to be that tough! I tried to pass for the lead in Turns 3 and 5 but couldn’t and then when I saw the rhythm I thought ‘OK, do your race and save the tyre’. I wasn’t pushing, which is hard for me! It is what it is. Now it is the moment to check the data with the team and check for some solutions. I was braking OK but didn’t have anything in Turn 1 at that moment, which was also strange. We’ll check and we’ll work.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Aside from the Sprint podium finish it has been a disappointing weekend for us. Our performance is not at the level that we want and not as expected. We knew from 2024 that we could have a tirewear challenge here in Motegi but even in the race today with the harder option it was worse than we anticipated. It was tough to accept, especially when we were in a position at the start of the race to be on the podium. We need to deeply analyze why things happened this way for these grip conditions and for this track. In any case we have to look positively to Indonesia because five-six races ago we were making progress. We will reset and go again at Mandalika and focus again on the podium there.”
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 42:09.312
2. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +4.196
3. Joan Mir (ESP) Honda +6.858
11. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +23.616
12. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +23.882
16. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +31.712
17. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +34.157
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 541 points
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 340
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 274
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 195
11. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 105
14. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 89
16. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 72
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 thundered into life with Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda speeding into the first corner from his fifth Pole Position of the season. The championship leader was accompanied by Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Valentin Perrone who had also qualified on the front row. The Moto3 pack also had to manage their tires and Alvaro Carpe and Jacob Roulstone work from mid-pack.
17 laps counted down with Rueda and Perrone involved in a group that was oddly dispersed. Rueda dropped the hammer in the final two circulations, despite the presence of light rain, to burst into podium contention and bagged his twelfth trophy of the campaign. Perrone was a tenth of a second away from 3rd place and had to accept P4 for the day after a tight last corner dice with Maximo Quiles. Roulstone and Carpe lapped close together and classified 13th and 14th.
KTM are already 2025 Moto3 Constructors world champions and Red Bull KTM Ajo are far ahead in the standings. Rueda was leading the points table by 78 prior to Japan and the gap is now at 93 with just 125 remaining.
Jose Antonio Rueda: “It was difficult at one moment because I didn’t know if the rain would become worse but when I saw it was time to push then I pushed to come back to the front! I wanted to win, as always, but today was good. I want to say thanks to the team…I’m very happy today.”
In Moto2 Red Bull KTM Ajo charted the progress of rookies Collin Veijer, starting from P9, and Daniel Muñoz, on the probe from P17 on the grid. The Dutchman kept a steady pace for a solid P10 by the flag: his fifth top ten result of the year. Muñoz couldn’t make it to the finish for the first time from his eight Moto2 appearances in 2025.
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Japan
1. David Muñoz (ESP), KTM 33:09.599
2. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.618
3. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +2.203
4. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +2.336
10. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +21.113
13. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +21.568
14. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +21.669
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 315 points
2. Angel Piqueras (ESP), KTM, 222
3. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 204
5. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 157
8. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 121
12. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 90
15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 50
Results Moto2 Grand Prix of Japan
1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +34:50.326
2. Jake Dixon (GBR) +1.304
3. Diogo Moreira (BRA) +5.943
4. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team +5.985
10. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +12.635
DNF. Daniel Muñoz (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP), 238 points
2. Diogo Moreira (BRA), 204
3. Aron Canet (ESP), 189
6. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 153
10. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 100
11. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 97
19. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 45