After a successful season opening round at the Grand Prix of Thailand where we saw the Chang International Circuit register a record-breaking attendance, a new party awaits us this week on the other side of the globe! For the first time since 2023, MotoGP™ will finally return to Termas de Río Hondo for the Gran Premio YPF Energía de Argentina for round 2 of the 2025 MotoGP™ World Championship. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales will be excited to reunite with motorcycle racing fans, always making their way in big numbers from all over South America to Termas, to celebrate MotoGP™.
Grand Prix of Argentina
Many learnings from the opening round in Buriram will be taken to the second round in Argentina this week, after Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales were able to get the feels of the KTM RC16 in sprint and main race conditions. After two days with mixed feelings, Sunday was the day of Enea Bastianini who delivered a remarquable performance in the main race. The Italian found his way to a brilliant 9th place from 20th on the grid to score his first points in Orange, something he will look to reiterate in Termas. However, Bastianini has not raced in Termas since the 2022, forced to miss out on the Argentinian round following an injury. The challenge will be to re-discover the track with a new machine. Teammate Maverick Viñales will also be looking forward to continuing getting his head around the RC16 on the 4.8km layout and 14 corners (9 right and 5 left). Maverick has already won in Argentina, back in 2017 on his debuts with Yamaha, after he had already won the opening round in Qatar. In Buriram, Top Gun failed to qualify to Q2 by a tiny margin, making the weekend a whole different story, but for sure the Spaniard will bring the experience from round 1 and turn it into progress and better results as we head to round number 2.
While we expect Termas de Río Hondo to turn into a big celebration from Thursday, the party on track will start on Friday, with Free Practice 1 at 10:45 (UTC-3), followed by the afternoon’s practice at 15h00. Can Red Bull KTM Tech3 make it to its first Q2 spots of 2025? This, we will find at the end of the one hour-session. More party, more track action on Super Saturday, as the day will start with Free Practice 2 at 10:10, followed immediately by the qualifying sessions at 10:50 local time. In the afternoon, lights of the Tissot Sprint will go out at 15:00 for 12 laps, before the main event takes place on Sunday at 15:00 (UTC-3) for 25 laps. BRING ON THE PARTY MOTOGP™!
ENEA BASTIANINI: "I am ready for the Argentina Grand Prix, it will feel nice to return to Termas, for the first time since 2022 as far as I am concerned! We made a really good step in Thailand, with a great moment for us on Sunday in the race. It was really important for everyone in the team to get this result, because it means we are improving! Of course I have not ridden in Argentina for a while, but I know the track well and I think that I can be competitive. Friday will probably be a bit difficult as we will need to figure out how the bike behaves on this track, but once we have the feeling, we will be able to improve, and hopefully have another good weekend!"
MAVERICK VIÑALES: "We have learnt a lot during the opening round in Thailand, especially during the sprint and in the main race, which allowed us to establish our starting point. Now, all we are going to do is work from there, continue understanding and learning the bike, session after session. We have not been in Argentina since the 2023 season, so for sure all of us will have to get used to the track again, especially that all riders and machines have evolved so much since the last time we were in Termas, so we need to re-adapt to the track step by step and see how our bike behaves on this track. I am super excited to come back to Argentina, there has always been such a great atmosphere in Termas de Río Hondo, with so many fans coming to support us from all South of America, and for sure it will feel nice to reunite with them after two years!"
NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "The Red Bull KTM Tech3 crew is now ready to head to Argentina for round 2, and for the first time since 2023! It is a real pleasure for all of us to be able to return to Termas de Rio Hondo, which is always a special place with MotoGP fans making the journey from all South of America to see the show! Thanks to them, their passion, their enthusiasm and their energy, Termas turns into a real party of three days as all gather to celebrate motorcycle racing, and we love going there! Our two riders Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales made good steps in the opening round in Thailand, and Enea Bastianini impressed us on Sunday with his P9 result from P20 on the grid, but for sure we will approach Argentina differently. We will have no reference since 2023, and Enea has not raced in Termas since 2022, and we know that track conditions can change a lot in a weekend. Maverick Vinales failed to qualify in Q2 in Buriram, which made his weekend a bit trickier, but for sure he gained a lot of experience, which he will use in Argentina to improve his overall performance. I am feeling confident that Red Bull KTM Tech3 can give a good show to Argentinian fans!"
ABOUT THE CIRCUIT
The Termas de Río Hondo Circuit is located 6km from the city which gives the venue its name, in the Province of Santiago del Estero. The circuit was officially inaugurated in 2008 during the visit of Argentina´s Touring Car Racing championship. In 2012, the reconditioning, enlargement and modernization of the circuit began, with the purpose of turning it into Latin America’s most modern, safe and vibrant circuit. The track hosted the third round of the Grand Prix of Argentina in 2014, bringing Grand Prix motorcycle racing back to Argentina after fifteen years.
Since its arrival to the MotoGP™ calendar in 2014, the 4.8 km layout of 14 corners (9 right and 5 left) saw Marc Marquez win three times, in 2014, 2016 and 2019 making him the rider with the most wins in Termas de Río Hondo. Absent from the calendar in 2020 and 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Prix of Argentina returned for another two editions in 2022 and 2023, before being cancelled in 2024. Marco Bezzecchi is the last rider to have won in Termas, in 2023. This year, Argentina is returning to the 2025 MotoGP™ World Championship for its 9th edition, and fans are expected in big numbers in Termas, as the small thermal city always turns into a big celebration of MotoGP™!
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2014 - M. Marquez (SPA) - 1'37.683, 177.1 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2015 - V. Rossi (ITA) - 1'39.019, 174.7 km/h
Best Pole: 2014 - M. Marquez (SPA) - 1'37.683, 177.1 km/h
Top Speed: 2023 - J. Martin (SPA) - 345.5 km/h
