Moto2/3 Preview – Form guide on cusp of Chang season opener

MotoGP 2025

Round One – Thailand GP – Buriram

Moto2 Preview

As a new era began with Pirelli tyres for Moto2 and Moto3 in 2024, lap records were smashed around the world and it will be interesting to see what gains can be made this year.  2025 is Triumph’s seventh season as the exclusive engine supplier in Moto2, and the triple 765 cc engine will continue as the heart of Moto2 until the end of 2029, marking a decade of Triumph power in the mid-class.

Moto2 riders have a racier gearbox to use in season 2025. The sequence of the gears has been changed, so neutral now sits at the top of the order, removing the need to pass through neutral while racing.  Triumph has achieved this by a comprehensive redesign, introducing a new selector drum with revised tracks that allow the gears to engage in their new positions. Billet machined to achieve the optimum design geometry, mass and inertia, the bespoke geometry also accommodates the new mechanical neutral lockout, which can only be activated by the rider, giving riders the freedom to engage between 1st to 6th gear without passing neutral when racing. When riders need neutral in the pitlane or on the start-line, they can select neutral only by manually deactivating the lockout. All of this is housed within a new crankcase developed explicitly for this season’s Moto2 engine.

Reigning Moto2 Champion Ai Ogura, Spanish youngster Fermin Aldeguer and Thai sensation Somkiat Chantra have all graduated to the premier class.

After cruising to the Moto3 title in 2024, David Alonso graduates to Moto2 in 2025 with the CFMoto Inde Aspar Team.

David Alonso

“The first race of the year is always special, but this year I’m going to take the start of the season as a continuation of the tests, as a new opportunity to continue understanding how to ride the bike. I see this GP as three more days of continuing to grow and to keep adding kilometres until the time comes when I don’t have to think so much.”

Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) is the highest-placed returnee for ’25 and – at last – comes into a Moto2 season as a Grand Prix winner.

Manuel Gonzalez’s (Liqui Moly Intact Dynavolt GP) rise through the ranks saw him take five podiums and a win en-route to the bronze medal in 2024.

Alonso Lopez (Team HDR Heidrun) and now-teammate Celestino Vietti, both seasoned frontrunners too, make the return to the class.

Meanwhile, Jake Dixon’s tough 2024 saw him start injured but take two wins, as part of a purple patch of four consecutive rostrums, something no other rider achieved. If it’s replicated, expect the Brit to be a contender – although he’ll have to adapt to a new team in Elf Marc VDS Racing and a new chassis in the Boscoscuro.

Tony Arbolino vacates the team to join the all-new BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 team alongside Izan Guevara, whereas it’s all the same for the OnlyFans American Racing Team who retain Joe Roberts and Marcos Ramirez, the former of which was a Grand Prix winner last year and the latter who took a second podium in the class.

Izan Guevera

“Finally, the first GP of the season is here! We are starting with great excitement, especially after such a strong preseason. I’ve been training hard, and the Jerez test was key in helping us build a solid foundation. We’ve put in a lot of work and we are clear on how to approach this season’s start. There‘s a lot of motivation, and we are eager to translate the work we‘ve done into solid results on the track.”

Don’t sleep on Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) however: the Brazilian star, highly regarded as a big talent ready to emerge, finished off his rookie season last year with frequent top tens and a first podium. The rookie of the year aims to become the first Brazilian winner ever in the intermediate class. Watch this space!

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Beyond the established names in the class, there’re fresh, fast and familiar faces that are new to Moto2: Alonso’s graduation is a mouth-watering prospect as he partners up with Moto3 sparring partner and long-time rival Dani Holgado.

Dani Holgado

“We are ready to start a new season, the first with the CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team. The objective this weekend will be to learn a lot and finish the race, because there’s where you learn the most. I will focus on enjoying myself and giving my best.”

Likewise, 2024 Moto3 winners Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – FRINA – MSI) move up to Moto2 to earn their stripes at the next level.

Podium finishers Filip Salač (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Intact Dynavolt GP) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – the latter two rookies last year – seek to consolidate a fine 2024, whilst reigning World Supersport champion Adrian Huertas follows in Manuel Gonzalez’s footsteps and switches to Moto2 with the Italtrans Racing Team.

Senna Agius finished ninth overall at the recent Jerez Test. The 19-year-old and the Liqui Moly Intact Dynavolt GP are determined to regularly fight for top positions again in their second season together in the Moto2 class.

Senna Agius

“We had a really good test here at Jerez and I am now feeling more prepared than ever. One year later, I am looking at more experience going into the first race of the season. I am really happy with the feeling I got with my bike. Me and my crew worked great together. We diagnosed the weak areas and where we need to further improve in the first couple of races. For sure, we need to keep working but now the bike’s in a better spot as it runs really well and I am excited to get to Thailand, to pick up where we left off and keep working in the same way.”

Jerez Moto2 Test Times

Moto3 Preview

After a year that saw history made in Moto3, 2025 will likewise feature wise young heads and a plethora of new names. With that comes new rivalries, new stories, new emotions and new dreams. With 14 wins in 2024, seven of which were consecutive at the end of the year, David Alonso’s records will be the target for many in a frenetic new season of racing.

A key story in 2025 will be whether last year’s world number five can get a first win in Moto3: four podiums in 2024 and eight in his Moto3 career, David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Intact Dynavolt GP) has led six races but yet to lead them at the right time.

Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) is another who aims to get a first win, with the 20-year-old having his best season and first podiums last year.

2022’s Red Bull Rookies and JuniorGP champion Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) returns and was a winner in 2024, whilst four podiums and a win gave Angel Piqueras, now with FRINSA-MT Helmets-MSI, rookie of the year. They’ll be looking to establish themselves as new benchmarks.

Meanwhile Joel Kelso (LEVEL UP – MTA), Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA-MT Helmets-MSI) and Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) all took podiums but not wins, meaning they have clear aims for what promises to be a much more wide open affair in 2025.

Joel Kelso finished second at the recent Jerez Test and is eager to put his best foot forward at the season opener.

Joel Kelso

“Overall really excited to get this season started. I really enjoy the Asia rounds and especially Thailand, we had a great memory here last year with pole position. Look forward to getting things underway here this weekend and I think we can get a good result with the new team, and start out the season well. Let’s get cracking and see how the weekend turns out.”

Countryman Jacob Roulstone missed the test and will also miss the opening round this weekend as he recovers from neck injuries he sustained during pre-season training.

There are new names rising too.  Graduating, a flurry of rookies move up from JuniorGP, including champion Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), and multiple race winner, former Red Bull Rookies and European Talent Cup champion Max Quiles (CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team).

However, the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team starts 2025 with the absence of rookie Máximo Quiles. The rider from Murcia does not meet the minimum age to compete in the World Championship, 17 years old in his case after having finished in the top three in the Rookies Cup previously, until March 19. Thus, Quiles will miss the World Championship opener in Thailand and the second round, in Argentina. His replacement will be Austrian Jakob Rosenthaler, who will have on the other side of the garage the team’s permanent rider Dennis Foggia. The Italian arrives from Moto2 to fight for a title that eluded him in 2021 and 2022, when he was fighting, among others, with Aspar Team riders Sergio García and Izan Guevara. Now, Foggia needs to complete his adaptation to the category again to continue fighting for podiums and victories.

Dennis Foggia

“I am happy to be heading to Thailand to start a new season. These days we will evaluate the set-up we had in Jerez with the data we have collected, and we will continue working to fine-tune the bike as much as possible. We are ready for the first race, step by step we will reach the top.”

JuniorGP race winners Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) also join the fray, joined by young South African hopeful Ruche Moodley (BOE Motorsports) and a return of New Zealand representation in Cormac Buchanan alongside him in the team.

Jerez Moto3 Test Times

2025 MotoGP Calendar