Brilliant Brno. Red Bull KTM had cause to plant another MotoGP milestone at the Grand Prix of Czechia with Pedro Acosta racing to 3rd place in front of 95,700 fans wedged into the famous Automotodrom. The result marks the first GP podium for the KTM RC16 in 2025. The Spaniard followed up his P2 in the Saturday Sprint at the twelfth meeting of the season with a strong blast to P3 on Sunday. Meanwhile, the KTM GP Academy made it to the top of the Moto3 rostrum once more thanks to Jose Antonio Rueda’s seventh win of the year with the Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM RC4.
The sun shone on a resurrected Automotodrom Brno as both MotoGP and the crowds returned for the first time in five years. In 2020 the world championship rounded the 5.4km layout and Brad Binder flew to KTM’s very first premier class victory. Expectations were lofty after a bright Saturday in 2025 where Pedro Acosta led the Sprint and classified P2 by less than a second and Enea Bastianini surged to P3: Red Bull KTM’s maiden Prosecco bottles this term.
Sunday’s Grand Prix lasted for 21 laps. Acosta started from P7 on the grid, Bastianini in P11 and Pol Espargaro and Brad Binder had work to do from P14 and P19 respectively. Acosta and Bastianini swung into action near the front of the field. Pedro hunted the rear wheel of Marco Bezzecchi for P2 for long stages and then had to defend 3rd place in the final two laps with tire wear increasing. Enea’s charge to P4 was short-lived as he lost control entering Turn 3 on lap seven and went into the gravel. Despite the DNF, the Italian emerged unharmed and encouraged by his most competitive weekend of the season to-date.
Further back Binder and Espargaro both rode brightly and proactively to log 8th and 9th positions.
In the wake of two double headers in five weeks, MotoGP will now break for a summer hiatus. Round 13 will take place at the Red Bull Ring for the Grand Prix of Austria and home turf for the Red Bull KTM crews on August 15-17.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd and 7th in the championship standings: “The last time I was on the podium was in Thailand last year and it’s been a long journey to come back here. I want to thank all my orange crew: it was not easy for them, also to handle me when we had tough moments! We’ll keep going. We’ll have a break now and try for more at Red Bull Ring.”
Brad Binder, 9th and 12th in the championship standings: “I managed to get from 19th to 8th in the end so, yeah, I still never had the pace I was looking for but somehow we were a little better today. I found a way to be better in mid-corner and exit but I was losing a lot of time in braking and entry. This is something we have to work on and find the combination, if we can do that then it can be very positive. We tried something completely different with the bike, a little bit with the engine character and it helped a bit with the edge grip and the drive. It just seemed to be a more controllable in my hand, so I was really happy about that and by no means am I happy with 8th position but – even though it doesn’t look like it – we are slowly starting to figure it out. The really good thing is that both Pedro and Enea were super-fast this weekend so I have some good things to check and figure out how they are doing it.”
Pol Espargaro, 10th: “I had a little of everything this weekend. In yesterday’s Sprint I was super-relaxed and enjoyed it so much, and in the race maybe I asked a little bit too much of myself, especially at the start and with a new system we have. Then I calmed myself and said ‘I am here to enjoy…’ The bike was good and working well this weekend from the beginning. I came back quite quick, and I think the rhythm was there to be fighting for 5-6th positions…but it was P9, and with that I can say I was quite pleased. There are three KTMs in the top ten, which is amazing. While I am racing I am testing as well and I think there are some updates about to come on the bike that are promising. I think they are going to come soon for our factory guys. I’m pretty positive for the second part of the year.”
Enea Bastianini, DNF and 17th in the championship standings: “The start was not as good as yesterday but I made a comeback, and coming up to 4th I braked hard for Turn 3 without any slipstream and I was with a lot of angle on entry. It was a mistake. I wanted to fight for the podium again today but it didn’t work out. The track here and the new tarmac was good for us this weekend. We knew straight away we could fight for something good. I think we have improved the riding and we made a step with the bike also.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A great weekend. We are happy to continue the solid work for the race today, as yesterday, and the whole GP has been positive for us. It’s a reward for all the work over the last months. The podium speed on both days for Pedro and Enea proves that we are in the right direction and I’m also happy with the results of Brad and Pol. Having those top ten results is very important and, of course, it’s down to the riders but also the hard work of all the people at the factory and the race teams and the development crew. A huge thanks to everyone.”
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Czechia
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 40:04.628
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia +1.753
3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +3.366
8. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +17.371
9. Pol Espargaro (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +18.163
DNF. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 381 points
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 261
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati, 213
7. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 124
11. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 69
12. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 68
17. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 49
KTM GP Academy
The Moto3 grand prix provided 16-laps of close calls and position-swapping-bedlam in which the KTM GP Academy played a significant role and the KTM RC4 again showing its technical prowess. Championship pace-setter Jose Antonio Rueda blasted to the front of the main group from P2 on the grid. He made a breakaway with the fastest time on lap nine and defended a two-second gap to the flag. Rueda, like many other riders in the class, was discovering the demands and markers of Brno for the first time. The result and ninth podium in 2025 increased his lead in the world championship standings from 73 to 85 points; a gap of more than three grands prix with 10 left to go.
Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Valentin Perrone showed his natural speed and ability by latching onto the top ten and the rear of the principal pack. The Argentine made sure of P8 by the finish for his sixth top ten classification.
Rueda’s Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Alvaro Carpe missed a few tenths of a second per lap to get into podium contention and circulated inside the second group with Jacob Roulstone also in the slipstream. The Spaniard finished in P12 with the Australian collecting the last two points in P14. Red Bull KTM Ajo are leaders in the Teams ranking (149 points) while KTM have a 151-point advantage in the Constructors competition.
Jose Antonio Rueda: “With this feeling it’s incredible to go into the summer break: another victory and more points for the championship. I want to say thanks to my team for the job this half-season so far. We need to keep working this way until the end. I’m happy to achieve this victory and it’s for everyone who supports me. Let’s enjoy it.”
In Moto2 Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Collin Veijer was more advanced on the grid than teammate Deniz Öncü but the Turk, winner of Grands Prix in Aragon and Germany, recovered ground in the opening laps to latch onto touching distance of the top ten. Öncü rode well to pick up points for 13th. Veijer, despite being baulked in the first couple of corners, crossed the line in 16th.
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Czechia
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 33:40.677
2. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +3.471
3. David Muñoz (ESP), KTM +3.495
5. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +3.689
8. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +5.579
12. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +10.711
14. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +10.817
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 228 points
2. Angel Piqueras (ESP), KTM, 143
3. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 133
4. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 126
9. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 73
13. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 63
18. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 34
Results Moto2 Grand Prix of Czechia
1. Joe Roberts (USA) 36:03.441
2. Barry Baltus (BEL) +1.079
3. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +3.625
4. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +7.365
9. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team +14.736
13. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo +17.451
16. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +21.754
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP), 188 points
2. Aron Canet (ESP), 163
3. Barry Baltus (BEL), 134
6. Deniz Öncü (TUR) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 100
13. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 60
16. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 43
20. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 13