And just like that, the first half of the 2025 MotoGP™ World Championship is over with the Tissot Grand Prix of Czech Republic closing round 12 of 22! The Red Bull KTM Tech3’s squad dare to dream bigger today after Enea Bastianini’s maiden sprint podium on Saturday in Brno. However, the Italian crashed out of lap 7 while he was chasing for the podium in 4th after a spectacular race start, a great shame for Bestia who could have enjoyed a Sunday podium before the summer break. Pol Espargaro still got it! The Spaniard delivered once again a stunning race, coming back all the way from P20 after a missed start, to take the checkered flag in 10th, before moving up to P9 following a post-race penalty of Aldeguer.
Grand Prix of Czechia
Saturday was a great day for Enea Bastianini who got to taste his first sprint podium in KTM orange with Red Bull KTM Tech3, after he took the 3rd place of an incredible Brno sprint. All ready to try doing it all over again, after a great feeling in the morning’s warm up. Once again launching from 11th, Enea’s start wasn’t as good as yesterday’s, and the Italian remained a bit stuck in between the pack entering turn 1. He lost a position but gained it back in the battle for 11th against Johann Zarco, and then he moved up to 10th as he overtook World Champion Jorge Martin to P10 entering lap 2. Next up in sector 1, Bastianini continued his ascension to 9th, quickly overcoming Jack Miller, and then two more positions were gained with the crash between Alex Marquez and Joan Mir. P7 after two laps for in-form Bastianini. The confidence was high for the number 23 as began the battle for 6th against Raul Fernandez, and an opportunity was rapidly seized with a smart move at T9 on the inside of the Trackhouse rider. P6. Next up, there was Fabio Quartararo, just like yesterday. Bastianini had completely closed the gap on the Frenchman entering lap 4, and the Beast was waiting to attack. Finally he did so with another smart overtake on Quartararo in the last sector of lap 4, which allowed him to escape towards Francesco Bagnaia, 0.448 seconds ahead heading to lap 5. A hungry Enea quickly closed on ex-teammate, and another nice and smooooooth move on the inside of Pecco at T9 saw him move up to 4th! Hectic first 6 laps so far! Pedro Acosta was 1.6 seconds ahead, but unfortunately, that was the end of the dream when Bastianini crashed at T3 of lap 7 as he committed a mistake at the braking. Anyway, well done to Enea for a great weekend in Brno after just being back from illness. The Italian reached Q2 for the first time with us, before making it to 3rd yesterday at the Sprint, and then he crashed while in 4th today, so it was by far the best weekend of the season for our number 23. Lots of positives to take heading to the summer break.
Our one and only one Pol Espargaro did us solid once again on Sunday at the Automotodrom Brno. Starting from P14 on the grid, the Spaniard missed a bit his start and dropped to 20th in a few corners, but entered lap 2 battling it out for 19th against Ai Ogura. The crashes ahead meant P18 after 2 laps, and the unfortunate crash of his teammate gave Pol P15 on lap 7, just after he had managed to overcome Ogura, for good. The Spaniard was riding with a solid pace, and that allowed him to overtake Fabio Di Giannantonio to 14th after 8 laps. The ascension continued with Alex Rins next on lap 11, and that was P13 for Polyccio! Johann Zarco was up next, and the lap times of Pol Espargaro (often within the 6/7 fastest of each lap) meant Pol closed on Zarco in no time, and he moved to 12th past the Frenchman on lap 14. Luca Marini was next entering sector 1 of lap 16, and it was P11 for Pol with just 6 laps to the checkered flag. In a last effort, Espargaro managed to catch Jack Miller, to eventually overcome the Australian in the final corner, to take P10! What a fantastic job from Pol! In the end, Espargaro finished in 9th with Fermin Aldeguer being handed a 3 seconds penalty post race.
Well, that’s it for us for now! The team will now enjoy a much-deserved summer break before we come back stronger and all rested, ready to take on the second half of the season! See you in Austria at the Red Bull Ring, on August 15-17!
ENEA BASTIANINI: "The race finished early for me unfortunately, but our first laps were really good. Our start was not as good as yesterday, but we were able to comeback, with really good overtakes. Once I was in 4th, I was riding for the first time of the race without a slipstream, I broke hard, with a lot of angle at the entry, and I made a mistake at T3 unfortunately. Anyway, we have had a good weekend, it has been really good for us. It was nice to arrive at a new track, to discover it without any other reference. Our bike worked really well, so I am happy with the steps made! I tried to fight once again for the podium, but we will try again next time."
POL ESPARGARO: "The bike has been working well here since the beginning of the weekend, and today in the race it felt great! I had a really bad start unfortunately. This weekend we were testing a new start system. Yesterday was good, but we are still lacking some knowledge in some areas, and today we saw it! Without considering this bad start, our rhythm was really good, similar to the 5th/6th positions, and I was really pleased with that. I did some really nice overtakes, and I enjoyed this weekend a lot. Maverick would have done a great job here, because this track would have suited his riding style perfectly, but I know he is making everything to come back with us!"
NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "This race was a rollercoaster of emotions for us. We knew that Enea Bastianini had potential to do a solid race. He took an ok start, but he was able to quickly recover many positions until P4. Unfortunately, he crashed at lap 7, which is a great shame, but I really want to keep the positives of this weekend. Enea achieved Q2 for the first time and he took his maiden podium with us yesterday, so it was his best weekend of the season, which is a good sign for the second half of 2025! Then I really would like to congratulate Pol Espargaro for his performance! He took a bad start and was in P20, but he recovered positions until P9 with a really solid pace. It is an impressive performance for a rider who has not raced in months, so we really want to thank Pol for being with us this weekend, and all the work achieved. Now it is time for us to take a much deserved summer break, recharge the batteries, and get ready for what is set to be an exciting second half of the season! See you in Austria in 3 weeks!"
RACE RESULTS
1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 40'04.628
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), Aprilia Racing, +1.753
3. Pedro Acosta (SPA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, +3.366
9. Pol Espargaro (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +18.163
DNF. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 15 Laps
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING
1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 381pts
2. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, 261pts
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 213pts
11. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 69pts
17. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 49pts
23. Pol Espargaro (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 8pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'52.303 - 173.1 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2025 - M. Marquez (SPA) - 1'53.691 - 171.0 km/h
Best Pole: 2025 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'52.303 - 173.1 km/h
Top Speed: 2025 - M. Bezzecchi (ITA) - 325.3 km/h
