MotoGP riders reflect on opening day of business in Thailand

MotoGP 2025

Round One – Thailand GP – Buriram – Friday

Alex Marquez – P1

“To finish ahead of the field is a motivational boost for everyone, but it surely wasn’t our best day on the track. We struggled both in the morning and in the afternoon, as we tried to improve the bike compared to testing with some new set-up adjustments. In the end, we retraced our steps and got back to full speed. Marc looks like he’s from another planet here, and we’ll try to work to be as close as we can to him. The bike works well here, and we need to be solid already from tomorrow. It was a good Friday, but no points are awarded today.”

Marc Márquez – P2

“I’m happy with how today went; I wasn’t expecting my ‘first day at school’ to be like this. We had a good Friday; we stayed focused and we’re happy. We tried all the tyre combinations available as the feeling is different compared to the we had, so we need to have a clear picture of what we need for the sprint race as well as for the Sunday encounter. It’ll be crucial to qualify on the front row, with a podium-finish being the minimum target.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P4

“It was a great day. I’m very happy, and we worked well. In the end, despite the crash, I managed to get into Q2 with a strong time attack. The temperatures were slightly higher than during the test, in the morning and afternoon, which definitely affected track conditions. However, I have to say I felt good. We made a few small adjustments to adapt to the track conditions, and I’m satisfied.”

Franco Morbidelli – P5

“It was a positive first day here in Buriram because we already improved the pace compared to the test. There’s still something to improve in some areas, but overall, the day was very good. I feel better on the bike, we started in a good way and I am happy. In the second time attack I couldn’t complete a good lap because of yellow flags, but the one I did before was enough to be in P5. I am confident both for the qualifying, where the goal is to fight for the first row, and for the Sprint race”.

Joan Mir – P6

“This result means a lot for me and for the whole team. We have to be happy about this result and how the day has gone. We have had a hard time these past two years and this is a result of never giving up, it’s only something small but it is a boost to everyone in the project. I am able to ride as I want, braking hard, carrying corner speed and this is the result. We still need to work on some areas to close the gap to the others, but I think that we can continue in this way during the weekend and keep making progress in the next races.”

Raul Fernandez – P7

“I’m really happy. A nice bike is a fast bike! We should speak to Gulf and ask if we can do the whole season like this because it was really good for Ai and me. It was a really positive day. We need to improve more as I didn’t extract 100% of the potential of the bike – I still need to understand the bike better and we are still in the process. I lost three days of testing in the preseason, which made it harder, but I’m here and happy to be in Q2. Tomorrow we have another opportunity to continue to understand the bike and there are two or three corners in which I still want to work to get closer to Ai and Marco (Bezzecchi). But we are in Q2, this is important for the team and important for me personally. It wasn’t an easy month, but I was lucky to be back at the test and here now.”

Fabio Quartararo – P8

“I think that we achieved our goal. We expected to be more or less in this position. We know that getting into the top 10 on the Friday and securing a place for Q2 is quite difficult, but we got it done. We can be quite happy about today’s Practice. Last year I qualified in P6 here, but that was coming from Q1. Now I’m already in Q2, so I think that will be a big help for tomorrow. We want to improve step by step. The goal for tomorrow is to fight for the second row and then fighting for the top 9 would be nice.”

Ai Ogura – P9

“That was a good surprise to be straight into Q2 today. Overall, the feeling on the bike was great. It’s my first MotoGP weekend, my first Friday in this class and I think we can be super happy about today. Surely, the two days of testing here helped me as a rookie, maybe it’s going to be more difficult at another circuit. But the result is the result and I’m really happy about it. There are many more places to improve, even when my lap time was ok today, I was not riding consistently, so we will work on that. For tomorrow, I don’t have any expectations, just racing.”

Johann Zarco – P10

“First Q2 of the year, and it felt great! It’s a strong way to start the weekend. I set a good lap time early on, then focused on my strategy and tried to improve, but it was challenging. Tomorrow, the goal is to secure the best possible grid position and enjoy the Sprint with a solid result”.

Maverick Viñales – P11

“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.”

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Brad Binder – P12

“Solid day today. Focused on long runs this morning to understand the tyres for the main race. Felt better than during testing so we’ve made some steps forward. Unfortunately I couldn’t put a flying lap together this afternoon  went deep on the first lap, yellow flag on the third and by my last lap the best was gone. Missed out on Q2 but I reckon we’ve got the pace to get the job done tomorrow. A bit more track time in Q1 might not be such a bad thing.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P13

“It was a positive day, because we kept improving throughout the two sessions. This was clear in Practice, as we were very fast with used tyres and only one tenth away from the quickest rider – marc. Unfortunately, the last twelve minutes were quite unfortunate; we started the time attack a bit late and we were a bit tight. We got our lap-time cancelled in our second attempt, one that would have translated into a direct seed to Q2. Now we need to focus on doing well in Q1 and then aim at a front-row start.”

Jack Miller – P14

“The first Friday of the year is done. It wasn‘t bad, but it could have been a little smoother. The feeling was pretty good in the morning, and the balance felt slightly different compared to when we were here for testing. The right-hand side of the tire seems to be working better this week, which was a pleasant surprise. The small crash during the Practice session didn‘t help. The bike was working well, but we seem to struggle a bit more as the temperatures rise. When you try to stop the bike, you lose some front-end support. I locked it up a little too much, and down I went. Apart from that, I did my time attack alone, but then I encountered some yellow flags a couple of laps in a row, which didn‘t help my cause. I was close today, and hopefully, things will go the right way tomorrow.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P15

“It’s good to be back in the MotoGP paddock and I couldn’t wait to work again with the team here in Buriram. I think the comeback was very good, we did a great work even if we are not on top positions. I didn’t expect to suffer with the collarbone, I have pain in the shoulder, but I’m confident we will find a compromise thanks to the work of the team. We have a little technical gap because I didn’t test, but the bike has a great potential, and I can see a big margin of improvement”.

Luca Marini – P16

“A really positive day overall. We lost a little bit in the last moment with the yellow flag in our final run, but it happened to many riders. Until that moment we were always in a good position, our pace looks good, and the objective is to move to Q2 tomorrow – but it will be a big fight! I think we have some advantages which will help us in the Sprint and especially on Sunday so I am optimistic for the rest of the weekend, excited to see what we can do and to show the progress we have made.”

Alex Rins – P17

“Today we did some good work, especially considering where we were before. It doesn’t show in my position though. I did a 1’29.7s but then there was a yellow flag, and then on the last lap I ran wide in Turn 10-11, and I lost a lot. Even like this, a 1’29.9s was acceptable. The day started in a difficult way. I struggled to find rear grip and traction, but when we switched to the medium, it was 0.7s faster. So, we are now analysing it. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, when we will continue our work.”

Miguel Oliveira – P18

“I felt better in the morning than in the afternoon. We started the Practice session with the tyres we had finished the FP1, but for some reason nothing was working. We checked if it was because of the tyre – we were using the medium rear -, because the grip balance of the bike was a bit off, then we had two time attacks. Anyway, not the best day, even if the feeling on the bike was better than in the test, but we need to look at everything to see what we have to adjust for tomorrow and try to be faster. We know it‘s going to be tricky, especially if we want to use the soft rear not only for the Sprint, where I am not expecting any problems, but also for the race. In a heat like this it‘s going to be a challenge, here we have a lot of long braking points, and when you start to get a bit tired it‘s easier to miss those braking points. So, the key for the race is going to be consistency, trying to save some energy for the second part of the race.”

Enea Bastianini – P19

“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.”

Fermin Aldeguer – P20

“It was a very hot day and there was a bit of tension. I’m relaxed as the final result doesn’t really reflect our work. We were on track almost exclusively with used tyres, we worked well on our race pace, and we have a good base set-up for the race. Surely, we need to improve in the time attack, even though we have a mitigating circumstance: Bezzecchi crashed in front of us during our time attack and a yellow flag situation also made things complicated this afternoon. It won’t be easy tomorrow with Bagnaia in Q1, but we’ll give our 100%: it’s key to start close to the front.”

Somkiat Chantra – P21

“It’s been a nice day. I was able to observe and compare myself with many riders, which allowed me to learn and adapt to the category, lap by lap. We made some progress, but we still need to keep working on the areas where we are struggling. It’s a great emotion for me to be here in front of my crowd on my debut.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P22

“I’m really pleased to see three Aprilia riders in Q2, especially on a track that has historically been difficult for us. This is really good for all of us because it means we are all working in the right direction. As for me, clearly I’m looking for the best set-up, but we know it’s challenging to do this during a race weekend.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the last time-attack because we got two yellow flags.”

Massimo Meregallo – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director

“We have officially started the 2025 season, which is something Yamaha, our team, and Pramac have worked towards for a long time. We had hoped for more consistent results within our team today, but the extreme heat created some variables. Fabio made a good start this morning, and that helped him enter the afternoon time attack with a fighter’s mentality. He did a good job, and it earned him a place in tomorrow’s Q2, achieving his target. Álex was a bit unlucky encountering some yellow flags when he was on his second time attack. He was in a good rhythm and a good spot at the time but was forced to briefly stop pushing. In the end, his best lap and also a better lap that was cancelled due to yellow flags were both under the 1’30s mark today, showing he too is making progress. However, he is still searching for something that helps him shave off the 0.4s he’s missing. The team will gather all of today’s data and compare it to the testing data to find something for tomorrow. We are very curious to see what the Saturday Sprint and especially Sunday’s Race will teach us. Those two sessions will reveal our current level, and we will determine how to proceed accordingly.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Manager

“Today has been an exciting day, starting this morning with our new partnership with Gulf and this iconic color. We are so proud to represent them. We had an exciting morning and then I have to say, we had an exciting afternoon as well. It’s only Friday, it’s only practice, but to see both of our guys in the top 10 and three Aprilia’s in the top 10, we take it as a positive sign – a good start. Congratulations to both of our riders – Raul was in difficulties until the end and then he managed to do a great lap to secure a top 10. Ai did a great job and I think he surprised many people. We can be very happy today so, let’s try to keep going and hopefully have a good weekend and a good race tomorrow.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“It was a rollercoaster Friday in our debut as the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team. In the morning, I was very pleased to see how both Jack and Miguel immediately showed great potential, consistently setting fast lap times. However, in the afternoon, they both struggled more than expected. We know that as temperatures rise, our bike suffers more with rear grip, and we are working closely with Yamaha‘s engineers to address this issue. It‘s unfortunate that Jack had that small crash during the Practice session, as I am convinced he could have made it into the top 10 and secured a spot in Q2. As for Miguel, he faced grip issues in the afternoon that significantly affected his performance. I am looking forward to tomorrow‘s Q1 because I believe we have the potential to get at least one rider into Q2. We are aware that while our race rhythm is quite good, time attack is an area where we need to improve. But the positive takeaway is that, session after session, we continue to make progress in enhancing the bike‘s competitiveness.”

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