This is it, the MotoGP™ bell has rang the start of the 2025 World Championship on Friday at the Grand Prix of Thailand, host to the season opener for the first time! The chase for the crown officially started, and Friday set the stage for 22 exciting rounds around the world. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini began their new adventure on the RC16, and respectively closed day 1 in 11th and 19th.
Grand Prix of Thailand
Eager to get things started for real on his new RC16 after leaving Buriram test on a positive note, Maverick Viñales launched his 10th season in the premier class this morning as he was one of the first on track when Free Practice 1 began. With the test not so far behind, the Spaniard settled back pretty quickly into a decent rhythm, to finish the opening session of the season in 9th with a best lap in 1’30.385. Track conditions became more and more difficult with extreme heat and a scorching sun awaiting the premier class for the first Practice of 2025. While the first half hour was about race pace preparation, the final 30 minutes were minitiously prepared, with a series of time attack-runs with different bike’s settings. Top Gun ended up with a late improvement to 1’29.681, but that was just 0.073 seconds too short of the top 10. As he finished in P11, Viñales will have to go through the pre-qualifying stage on Saturday morning, as he hopes to qualify to Q2.
Enea Bastianini’s start on the RC16 was somehow a little bit more timid than his teammate, but the Italian started his Thai GP campaign at his own rhythm. He continued his adaptation after six days of preseason, and the best of his 17 laps in Free Practice 1 was a 1’30.722, just behind KTM fellow Brad Binder, and 1.299 seconds from the top. In the afternoon’s Practice, his first with a different manufacturer since his arrival in MotoGP™, Enea Bastianini continued to look for improvements to prepare the race, as well as the time attack-sequence to come. He came in with a late 1’30.165, his fastest lap of the day, and finished in P19, a bit more than one second from today’s fastest, Alex Marquez. He will join teammate Viñales in Q1 at 10:50 local time (UTC+7). We’ll be back just before with Free Practice 2 kicking off at 10:10. After the qualifying sessions, lights will go out for the first time of 2025 at 15:00 with the Grand Prix of Thailand’s Tissot Sprint (13 laps).
MAVERICK VIÑALES: "Oh my god, I was so close! To be honest, I arrived this weekend with an open mind, to just enjoy and trust the process. I feel quite optimistic for the following days, because I saw more potential today. At the moment, I am not looking too much at the results, I am focusing on how I do things, if I do them well and in a positive way. The way I use the front brake is coming much better, more naturally now, so to me this is an improvement on the tests, and I feel like we are going to keep improving ourselves if we continue with this mentality."
ENEA BASTIANINI: "Today has not been easy, in the continuity of the winter tests, to be honest. I made many mistakes during my laps, and you lose a bit of confidence when you try to go for the time attacks. At the moment, our mentality is to keep working, keep improving, as the feeling is not good. As long as we are not feeling confident, it will be difficult for me. Today, I found it difficult to close the corners while braking, especially the last one. Being able to improve this is really important, so we are working on it. Let's continue working, and we will see how today goes."
PRACTICE RESULTS
1. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, 1'29.020
2. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, +0.052
3. Pedro Acosta (SPA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, +0.242
11. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.661
19. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.145
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2024 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'28.700, 184.8 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2023 - M. Bezzecchi (ITA) - 1'30.896, 180.3 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'28.700, 184.8 km/h
Top Speed: 2024 - P. Acosta (SPA) - 340.6 km/h
