What we learned from the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix

Phillip Island didn’t exactly overturn the established MotoGP form guide, given that Indonesia had already hinted at what was going to happen in Australia. But there were still plenty of surprise results, as Raul Fernandez took victory for Aprilia Fabio Di Giannantonio Led the attack for Ducati in second place.

high speed collision Marco Bezzecchi And mark marquez Melbourne, Indonesia was also affected. Bezzecchi had to serve a double long-lap penalty, ending any chances of victory, while Márquez missed the race entirely to recover from his shoulder fracture.

Here’s everything we learned from the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

Aprilia has (mostly) fixed its rider problem

The Indonesian Grand Prix highlighted that Aprilia had serious rider problems. It was so bad that only two riders remained in the race with both george martin And Aye Ogura Had to be out due to injuries. But both remaining riders either made serious errors (as in the case of Marco Bezzecchi) or simply performed poorly (as in the case of Raúl Fernández), Aprilia finished sixth from a race where it should have at least scored a 1–2.

However, ultimately everything worked out for Noelle Brand in Australia, as she demonstrated her ability to achieve a double podium finish. Firstly, Fernandez didn’t make a single wrong move all weekend, finishing fourth in qualifying and a strong second in the sprint. Then, he took advantage of the moment in the race, asserting his dominance over the KTM rival pedro acosta After falling behind him briefly on lap 3. These early laps laid the foundation for his first win, as he escaped the midfield scrape that cost him a podium in Indonesia.

Bezzecchi, too, was cool after suffering his double long-lap penalty, opting to save his tires for a late charge rather than attacking immediately. Fabio QuartararoEach overtake was safe, without any of the carelessness that had sent both him and Marc Márquez into the gravel at Mandaluika.

Still, Aprilia needs to pick up the pace following Ogura’s return and Martin needs to finally get to grips with RS-GP. But at least the Noel factory is getting into a position where it can take advantage of the only bike capable of challenging Ducati.

Ducati is lost without Marc Marquez

Ducati has already lost two brilliant riders this year in Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, but the absence due to injury of its new star Marc Marquez is hurting it the most.

On several occasions this year, Marquez managed to win races where the Ducati was arguably not the fastest bike. But with the reigning world champion out of Australia, there was no other rider in his squad who could pull Desmosedici to victory ahead of the Aprilias.

francesco bagnaia When he highlighted his difficulties at Ducati it sounded like a broken record, Michel Pirro Competing in its first race in almost a year, Indonesia was the winner. fermin aldeguer Wasn’t seen anywhere on Sunday. Franco Morbidelli Qualified in 17th and Alex Marquez He was out of the podium battle after suffering a tire problem. The only defender was Fabio Di Gianantonio, who qualified second to Fernández from 10th on the grid.

But apart from Marc Marquez himself, no other Ducati rider this year has been able to consistently run near the front, not even his own brother Alex. This is a big problem for Ducati, especially as Aprilia now has a faster bike for at least certain types of tracks.

Bagnia’s troubles may remain a mystery even in 2025

For years, Ducati had struggled to find a rider who could compete with Bagnaia. But now with one of the most successful riders of all time in its line-up, Bagnaia himself has become the weak link. The result is that the factory Ducati Team The tinkling in its armor continues.

The Japanese GP now feels more like an outlier than a turning point in Bagnaia’s campaign. With only three rounds left, they may have to accept that they may never get a solid answer to why they are struggling so much in 2025.

Bagnaia started the weekend with two identical bikes and yet the differences between the two couldn’t be more stark. Conditions worsened on Saturday and he completed a 13-lap sprint in 19th, a 32-second deficit. Even the LCR newbie somakiyat mantra Accomplished over three seconds on the road on his Honda.

A wrong turn in the warm-up eventually guided him in the right direction for the race, although he still lost 14 seconds to the leaders when he went down in Siberia on lap 24.

The Malaysian GP should allow Bagnaia to assess how the bike’s behavior has changed compared to testing, but he would be better off finishing the season and focusing on 2026.

Yamaha and Fabio Quartararo have a lot of work to do

It is not unusual to see Fabio Quartararo qualifying on pole with his great one-lap pace and then falling rapidly in the race. But no one could have imagined that the Frenchman would finish 11th, more than 17 seconds off the lead.

Quartararo was nothing more than a drifter in the race, struggling to stop the bike and carry speed through the corners.

These issues would have been understandable if it was still the fastest Yamaha on track. But alex rinse Was able to get the better of him comprehensively, jumping from 11th to seventh on the final lap. While Rins was able to lap in the mid-to-high 1m28s on worn tyres, Quartararo stood firm in the 1m29s late in the race.

One can only hope that Quartararo’s struggles in both Indonesia and Australia are track-specific rather than indicative of some deeper issue.

Either way, this is not the way he wanted to perform in the Asia-Pacific leg of the season, especially given his doubts over the potential of Yamaha’s V4 bikes for 2026.

MotoGP needs a spark to keep fans interested in the final stages

The 2025 MotoGP title was not necessarily decided with five rounds remaining on the calendar, as it marked the completion of one of the greatest comebacks in the sport’s history. However, Márquez’s shoulder injury after just one week is a big problem, not only for the Spaniard but also for MotoGP.

Although a full timeline for recovery has not yet been established, it is likely that Marquez could miss all three remaining rounds. This means MotoGP will have to try to keep fans interested with the championship already decided and the absence of its biggest star.

There is also a broader issue. There are five world champions on the grid this year: Marquez, Bagnaia, Quartararo, joan meer And George Martin.

The two most recent title winners (Márquez and Martin) are out with injuries, Bagnaia is having a poor run of form and Quartararo has also been going through a tough time recently. That just leaves Mir, who has recently enjoyed a resurgence at the better factory Honda, but you could argue he’s not among the most famous riders on the grid.

Given the importance of the machinery, athletes are only part of the appeal in motorsport, but recent events show that MotoGP cannot always rely on its biggest stars for its marketing.

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– Autosport.com Team