MotoGP 2025
Thailand Test
Pedro Acosta set the pace at Buriram on Thursday morning, clocking a 1m29.133 on his 18th lap. His time edged out the 1m29.184 benchmark set by Marc Marquez on Wednesday, temporarily putting the KTM rider at the top of the combined timesheets.
Marco Bezzecchi also displayed strong form, setting a 1m29.244 on his 11th lap to climb the rankings. However, Alex Marquez then shook up the leaderboard with a scorching 1m29.034, dethroning Acosta to claim the top spot.
Half an hour later, MotoGP rookie Ai Ogura made a significant leap, shaving nearly a second off his best effort from Wednesday to climb to fifth on the live timing screens and sixth overall across both days. The 24-year-old’s rapid adaptation to the premier class is sure to excite both his Trackhouse team and Aprilia as a whole.
At this stage, neither Pecco Bagnaia nor Marc Marquez had set a fast lap. In fact, two hours into the session, Bagnaia was languishing in 20th place with a best time of 1m31.142. The 2023 World Champion did muster some pace in the second half of the morning to sneak inside the top ten, then improved to fifth late in the session.
As the final hour of the four-hour morning session got underway Marc Marquez dropped in a flyer, the first 28 of the test, a 1m28.855 on his 28th lap of the day on what was already quite a hot track. Going oh so close to the 1m28.700 all-time lap record set by Pecco Bagnaia during qualifying last year.
As riders headed to the lunch break it was once again a Marquez 1-2 at the top of the time-sheets, just as it had been on Wednesday. And when all was said and done in the afternoon with pre-season testing officially over, it was still a Marquez 1-2.
Marc Márquez
“The most important thing is to have completed the very long to do list we had at the beginning of these five days of testing. I’m happy, I have the confidence I wanted on the bike and we worked hard and well with the whole Team. We still need to sort out a couple of things, but I’m satisfied and can’t wait to get back here for the race. The goal was to have a balanced bike, we succeeded and this is the reason that pushed us to make some conservative technical decisions. I did a long run simulation and we are competitive even after 23 laps done at 3pm in the afternoon heat”.
Alex Márquez
“It was a positive test; we were fast and consistent with our lap times. Overall, the entire pre-season has been like this, and without a doubt, we can call it the best pre-season since I started racing in MotoGP. I have to admit that the race simulation wasn’t up to par; we had some issues with the bike, but I decided not to stop so I could train even in difficult conditions. Now we’ll take a little rest, and then I believe we’ll be ready for the start of the season.”
Pecco Bagnaia suffered some technical problems during the opening day of testing in Thailand but, as always, the Italian could lay down a lap time when he had to, finishing the test fifth quickest but it is fair to say that things didn’t go quite as smoothly on his side of the Ducati Lenovo garage. Nonetheless, Bagnaia showed scorching pace in Thailand last year on the GP24 and set the all-time lap record, which still stands. The Italian did not get around to a race simulation after losing much of Wednesday he spent Thursday working through his testing schedule. Nonetheless, when the lights go out back here in two weeks you know he is going to be on the money.
Francesco Bagnaia
“I’m happy, we were able to change direction after a complicated day. We have worked hard and only made progresses. The balance is positive, we are sure of our decisions on the technical side I mean and we are ready for the race. At the end I tried the time attack again, it wasn’t perfect, but that’s okay. I did several laps at 1.30 with used tyres and, despite the drop, the times were competitive. I have perfected the set-up for the GP, I can’t wait, we are confident and the Team has worked really well”.
Davide Tardozzi also confirmed that the only 2025 parts to be on the bike for the opening round will be electronic and suspension updates… meaning they’ve decided to stay with engine, chassis and aero from 2024, for now at least on most counts. Bagnaia still set the highest top speed of the test on the GP24 engine and knows the bike like the back of his hand.
Davide Barana – Ducati Corse Technical Director
“We are satisfied with the performance both on the time attack and the race simulations seen at Sepang and here at Buriram. A very challenging 5 days of testing: we had a lot of material to test, but starting from an extremely competitive base, we preferred to adopt a prudent approach. I have to say that both riders gave very precise feedbacks, this helped us a lot in setting the bikes for the first race and decide which upgrades to postpone instead”.
There was only rider in the Pertamina Enduro VR46 box in Thailand with Fabio Di Giannantonio in Italy recovering from shoulder surgery. In his absence, Franco Morbidelli stepped up to the plate and showed good pace.
Franco Morbidelli
“I am very happy with this pre-season, it was amazing. The team is working amazingly, and the team and I connected very quickly, we worked in the most focused way possible. Today we worked on the setting, trying to improve something more to prepare the race weekend. We did a positive race simulation, and we could collect interesting data, the day was complete and I’m happy about that. I’m very satisfied with all the teamwork. The performance was promising since the start, I am happy with what we’re doing, I feel ready to start the season”.
Pablo Nieto – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Manager
“The test was very positive and really important for Franco, because in two weeks we are back here for the first race of the season. We still miss the perfect setup on the bike, but we’re at 85-90%. Obviously, we know that there are many competitive bikes on this track, but I think we have margin to improve. I am happy with these two days of testing, and we are ready for the first race. Fabio is looking forward to coming back and we keep in touch every day, he can’t wait to ride, ma he needs calm. He only did one day of testing, and he will need to familiarize with the new bike in the first GP of the season, that will be like a winter test for him”.
The slowest Ducati rider in Thailand was rookie Fermin Aldeguer. The Spaniard did very well in Malaysia but the lower grip Buriram track surface posed some challenges for the 19-year-old who finished the final pre-season test in 18th place.
Fermin Aldeguer
“We’re almost ready for the start of the Championship. We’ve done a lot of laps both in Sepang and here. The feeling on this track in Buriram isn’t perfect yet, but we’re working well, and it was important to head home with a good feeling. I’m adapting well, and I think I’m ready to handle race distance. The more kilometers we cover, the better we understand the bike, the tyres, the electronics, and the team.”
Marco Bezzecchi seems to be taking to the latest Aprilia RS-GP with relish. Impressive in Sepang and even more impressive at Buriram, the 26-year-old Italian set the fastest ever Aprilia lap in Malaysia, and repeated that feat in Thailand. This also indicates that the Noale factory have made some progress with the latest RS-GP, particularly in regard to engine performance, which will have their injured world champion Jorge Martin champing at the bit to get back on the bike.
Marco Bezzecchi
“In these two days of testing, I learned a lot about how to get the most out of the RS-GP25. We had two productive days in which I was able to set some good time-attacks and also a sprint simulation, so I’m very happy. We worked well and made a lot of progress. The bike is competitive, and the 2025 engine works very well everywhere. Finally, we’ll be racing again soon!”
Aprilia will also be buoyed with the speed and maturity demonstrated by their 24-year-old Japanese rookie, Ai Ogura. Thursday saw Ogura try to understand and deal with tyre wear during longer runs, and adapting to those changes as they occur, before finishing the winter pre-season tests with the longest stoppie of the day and two excellent practice starts. Ogura and Bezzecchi put the most laps in during the Sepang and Buriram pre-season tests, 420 apiece across the five days.
Ai Ogura
“Today’s test was nice. After six days in Sepang, we found a lot of places that we needed to improve. In these two days we have been working on an area we found in Malaysia and I can say, that we improved this point, which is the biggest thing for me. I think myself and my team are really happy about the work we did in the eight days of testing. We have covered a lot of points and we have been working well so far and that’s the most important thing, I think. Fortunately, the first race is here in Thailand, so we’ll see – testing and the official race weekend will be different I guess, so I will just keep concentrating and let the first weekend come to me. I’m happy about the test.”
Raul Fernandez was carrying injuries from the Sepang Test ,and thus was somewhat behind the eight-ball, but the Spaniard managed 131 laps across the two days and finished with decent pace. Raul;s Thursday schedule included more work on electronic settings, tyre evaluation running for Michelin, work on the braking system of his RS-GP25, further aerodynamic options and finally, towards the end of the day, set-up work to improve stability under braking.
Raul Fernandez
“Overall, it was a positive test. This last part of the second day was quite difficult to manage because I was really beginning to feel the physical side. But I have a great team that helps me a lot and we managed the situation so, about that, I’m very happy. The best thing is that we could gather a lot of information for the race – we could not arrive at the first race with no information and like this, we have a base setup to start to work. With this it will be easier for everybody. Now it’s time to recover well, feel strong and get everything checked again in Spain with more time and then try to be at 100% for the first round.”
The lower grip conditions in Thailand compared to Malaysia last week held Yamaha riders back somewhat. Fabio Quartararo never got comfortable with any of the available front tyre options and much time will be spent on examining data ahead of the season opener to try and address that unfamiliar shortfall for Yamaha.
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“It was a different test than Sepang. In these two days, we mainly worked on fine-tuning the bikes for the GP, and we spent a lot of time on electronics set-ups. During Day 1, we had some difficulties, because the track was very green, and for all riders it was difficult to find a good feeling with the front. This got better today as the track conditions improved. We did a decent sprint race simulation, and at the end of the day we did a couple of time attacks which showed that again we were able to narrow the gap to the fastest time also in Buriram. Now, we have just enough time to analyse all the data, have some rest after spending 20 days in Asia, and get ready for the start of the season.”
Fabio Quartararo
“I think that we have made a small step forward compared to last year. This test was a bit complicated for me. Like yesterday, the front tyres were not our thing during these two days, so we have to try to figure out how we can improve for the first race. But I think that, judging by our riding, we are doing quite well. Hopefully, we can make a step with the front feeling, which is usually our strong point for the race. I think that our level is different than last year, but we want to go into this season with no expectations and just do our best.”
Alex Rins
“I’m satisfied with the work we have done during the preseason. We’ve done many days of riding here in Buriram and in Sepang, and we finished this test with good conclusions. I’m feeling quite confident. I improved my way of riding and my bike’s set-up, so now I’m able to be more consistent than last year. For sure, we need to keep working to find these 0.3-0.4s to improve our lap time but, overall, I’m quite happy. I feel ready to start the season.”
There were positives for the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP team, particularly on Jack Miller’s side of the garage. The Australian seems to be enjoying many characteristics of the YZR-M1 and is forging a good relationship with Crew Chief Giacomo Guidotti. Miller rounded out the top ten on single lap pace, but also ran a decent Sprint race length simulation. Despite limited time on the bike, Miller is already showing more pace than Alex Rins, let alone his Portuguese team-mate Miguel Oliveira.
Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
“Since the first day here in Buriram, especially in Miller’s side of the garage we have been making steady progress and that makes us very happy. Jack’s feeling with the bike is very good, while we still need to find a good balance with Oliveira, although little by little we are also making progress with Miguel. With the Thai GP now just around the corner, at the end of the day we have started to focus more and more towards the race weekend, where I am convinced we will be able to make more progress. It’s been a good winter anyway, the relationship with Yamaha has been great from day one, and that’s definitely a strength of this new relationship we have with them.”
Jack Miller
“The preseason was good. I feel very comfortable with the bike, the changes we have made have been a good improvement. And now we are ready to race, I am bored of testing and very excited to see what we can do when the lights go out. I feel that we have done the maximum in the off-season to be as ready as possible and now we just have to wait for the flag to drop. Coming back to a team I already knew well has made things easier and the transition working with Giacomo (Guidotti, Miller’s crew chief) has been very smooth. It’s a great pleasure to work with him, after the first day in Barcelona we understood each other pretty well and the relationship is getting stronger and stronger.”
Miguel Oliveira
“We struggled a little bit, but in this last day we finally managed to find the right way, to have a less nervous bike that allows me to better control the exit of the corners, reducing the movements. I am happy to have solved this problem, although we are aware that we will have to wait until the first races to solve some other ones. Until then, I will try to adapt as much as possible to the M1 and exploit its potential. We made a step forward on the long run with used tyres and that comforts me a lot. Now I can’t wait for the season to start.”
HRC’s Joan Mir was able to improve his best time from Wednesday by seven-tenths to end the test in sixth overall with a quickest lap of 1’29.399. This concludes a very positive pre-season for the double World Champion who has been able to continually put himself and the Honda RC213V inside the top ten in a number of conditions. Especially impressive was his final afternoon in Buriram, able to consistently lap in the 1’30s during a long run and put in a headline-grabbing second place finish in the final session in his one time-attack run. Over the first half of the lap Mir was very close to the fastest riders before losing the most ground through the final sectors. Honda still needs to find more horsepower to help survive on-track dogfights and they are still trying to get on top of some vibration issues.
Joan Mir
“The pace that we showed today in our Sprint simulation and also in the hot lap is the best I have been able to do since I have been with Honda. Today we only did one proper time attack, and we couldn’t put everything together, while other riders did two time attacks – so this makes me happy because we still have some margin and we could have been even higher. I can’t really ask for much more. Having said that, there are still some things that we need to improve so I am looking forward to seeing what the engineers do over the opening races of the year. Now it’s time to push hard in training for a week before we return here to race.”
Wrapping up his second pre-season in the factory HRC outfit, Luca Marini leaves Buriram with a best time of 1’29.783 and 14th place overall. Marini feels that the conditions during testing obscured the overall picture of where teams are and is ready for the empirical truth of a race weekend.
Luca Marini
“I am very satisfied with the job that my team, and all of Honda, have been able to do during this pre-season. It’s great to work with this crew, this team, everyone is pushing a lot and always. I have to say thanks to everyone. Now we are ready to start the year in just a couple of weeks back here in Thailand and I am sure we will see many things. During the tests, everything is a bit different and a race weekend always has a different story. We have been working a lot today to prepare for the race and anything that might happen. There’s still more to be done but we have made progress.”
Johann Zarco concentrated on fine-tuning his sensations on the bike to deliver precise feedback ahead of the homologation of the 2025 components on the final day of testing. The primary areas of focus were aerodynamics and electronics, particularly during the morning session. In the afternoon, he completed a long run, enabling him to collect valuable data and refine his approach for the season’s opening race, set to take place here in just two weeks.
Johann Zarco
“I improved my lap times slightly compared to yesterday, and today we tested many things to provide as much information as possible to the engineers. With better bike control and a deeper understanding, I feel I can perform better when it matters. There are still areas to improve, but I now see greater opportunities to do a strong job. This is a unique track, and we’ll do our best in the first race.”
MotoGP rookie Somkiat Chantra completed a long run in the afternoon, gathering valuable data ahead of the first race in front of his home crowd as a MotoGP rider.
Somkiat Chantra
“We improved our lap times today, and overall, I felt much better on the bike. This morning, we tested different setups to prepare for the race here. I love this track, and racing at my home circuit for the first time in MotoGP will be truly special.”
There will be some concern at KTM as on the long runs the performance dropped off dramatically as they used up the rear tyre. Pedro Acosta has demonstrated excellent one-lap pace both in Thailand and Malaysia, and is clearly the fastest rider in the Austrian camp, but Brad Binder was not a mile away. However, the South African never does his best work during testing. On the opposite side of that testing coin, Maverick Vinales regularly shows his best during testing. Vinales is upbeat and confident he will adapt further to the RC16. However, there didn’t seem to be too many positive vibes coming from Enea Bastianini’s side of the Tech3 garage. KTM will now have a brief respite to apply their final touches to the race machinery and confirm engine and aerodynamic mods for 2025 ahead of the rapidly looming season start.
Pedro Acosta
“We need to be happy. Again, we tried many things and we are getting the pace quite fast. It’s been a good pre-season for me and also for KTM because all four riders are thinking the same way, and the bike has already improved from last year. We are faster and it is easier for me to go faster. We need to be calm and then see how we can start the season here.”
Brad Binder
“Two days here has gone quickly. We did some time attacks in the morning today and then a longer run in the afternoon and it was not too bad. Some small steps for sure, and better than when we were here last time. I feel that we are doing quite well and we need to put some more small pieces together for when we come back here in two weeks. It will be nice to have a full race weekend: I feel like we have done a lot of testing already!”
Maverick Viñales
“The process is not easy, but we need to trust it. Everyday during the preseason, we have gotten closer to the KTMs of Binder and Acosta, as we have been feeling better and better. Today, we worked on long sprint simulations, and in the afternoon, I completed many laps to continue understanding and learning the behaviour of this machine. I obviously feel more satisfied after this test in Buriram than I was at the end of Sepang, because we had enough time to dig deeper, whereas in Sepang, everything was about discovery. Heading to the first round, I feel really motivated, I feel the motivation of the team too which is good, so I am excited. Things will be different of course during the first race, we will continue learning, so the goal will be to continue making a step forward, as it would not be realistic to aim for more.”
Enea Bastianini
“We put in a lot of work during these five days in Malaysia and Thailand, and I have to be honest, it was very complicated. We struggled a bit to find which directions to take, we tried many things, but I also understood that I will have to adapt my style to the RC16. We are closely watching the data from Pedro Acosta who is clearly the best rider of KTM, and if we want to be close to him, I need to change some things on my end, which is very difficult. Anyway, we ended the day with positive lap times, with improvement made, but I don’t feel ready to fight for the positions I want for now. We will need more work, more time, and we will have to take the rounds one after another.”
Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“Very busy weeks in Malaysia and Thailand but finally we have to be happy about all the development that has happened over the winter; for that a big thanks to all the engineers and the crew at the factory who have been working hard in this short time. The team at the tracks have been very focused and we have followed the program quite well. Here at Buriram we turned to testing a bit more for the season ahead and it has been promising. Testing is always testing but the measuring point then comes at the races. As I say constantly: let’s try to be better each day and that’s the way ahead.”
Sebastian Risse – KTM Technical Director MotoGP
“We are now ready for the first race. What we did here was a continuation of what we were working on in Sepang, not only for the homologation but for other parts we’ve been working on in a short logistical time frame, far from our base. We had to work very hard to get everything here and ready but we did it. These days we managed to bring all of our test items together as well as the directions people were going with their choices into a common path. We were fast and the bike feels good for the guys who have experience with it, while we went through a learning curve with the others but they showed some good highlights and I think there is more to come. We need to analyse and think about our tyre wear for the full race distance and this is something we’ll be doing over the coming week.”
Nicolas Goyon – Tech3 KTM Team Manager
“We completed the 2025 preseason today after an intensive winter work in both Sepang and here in Buriram. After almost 300 laps between Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini, we have put in a lot of work to give Maverick and Enea the most efficient preparation possible. The target for us was clearly to define the bikes for the race, which we have done, so we feel more or less ready. Both riders are feeling more comfortable on the RC16, and they have started to understand how to dance with it, but the learning will continue when we head to the race weekend and everything that comes with it. This is just the beginning of our story, and let’s write the first page in two weeks, as we will return to Buriram for the first race of the season.”
MotoGP will be back in action for the first race weekend of the year back here at Buriram in only two weeks time.
2025 MotoGP Thailand Test Times
Combined Times Day One & Two
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | M Marquez | Duc | 1m28.855 |
| 2 | A Marquez | Duc | +0.179 |
| 3 | M Bezzecchi | Apr | +0.205 |
| 4 | P Acosta | Ktm | +0.278 |
| 5 | F Bagnaia | Duc | +0.523 |
| 6 | J Mir | Hon | +0.544 |
| 7 | F Morbidelli | Duc | +0.599 |
| 8 | F Quartararo | Yam | +0.731 |
| 9 | M Viñales | Ktm | +0.751 |
| 10 | J Miller | Yam | +0.762 |
| 11 | A Ogura | Apr | +0.781 |
| 12 | B Binder | Ktm | +0.877 |
| 13 | R Fernandez | Apr | +0.877 |
| 14 | L Marini | Hon | +0.928 |
| 15 | E Bastianini | Ktm | +0.982 |
| 16 | J Zarco | Hon | +1.027 |
| 17 | A Rins | Yam | +1.207 |
| 18 | F Aldeguer | Duc | +1.230 |
| 19 | M Oliveira | Yam | +1.234 |
| 20 | S Chantra | Hon | +1.610 |
| 21 | L Savadori | Apr | +2.352 |
2025 MotoGP Thailand Test Times
Day Two
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | M. Bezzecchi | Apr | 1m29.060 | 336.4 |
| 2 | J. Mir | Hon | +0.339 | 331.2 |
| 3 | F. Bagnaia | Duc | +0.369 | 338.5 |
| 4 | M. Marquez | Duc | +0.436 | 335.4 |
| 5 | F. Quartararo | Yam | +0.526 | 335.4 |
| 6 | M. Vinales | KTM | +0.546 | 336.4 |
| 7 | J. Miller | Yam | +0.557 | 331.2 |
| 8 | R. Fernandez | Apr | +0.672 | 334.3 |
| 9 | A. Ogura | Apr | +0.681 | 334.3 |
| 10 | B. Binder | KTM | +0.699 | 335.4 |
| 11 | L. Marini | Hon | +0.723 | 334.3 |
| 12 | E. Bastianini | KTM | +0.777 | 333.3 |
| 13 | A. Rins | YAM | +1.002 | 333.3 |
| 14 | F. Aldeguer | Duc | +1.025 | 331.2 |
| 15 | M. Oliveira | Yam | +1.029 | 333.3 |
| 16 | F. Morbidelli | Duc | +1.130 | 333.3 |
| 17 | A. Marquez | Duc | +1.143 | 332.3 |
| 18 | P. Acosta | KTM | +1.196 | 333.3 |
| 19 | S. Chantra | Hon | +1.704 | 328.2 |
| 20 | J. Zarco | Hon | +1.843 | 329.2 |
| 21 | L. Savadori | Apr | +2.147 | 336.4 |
2025 MotoGP Thailand Test Top Speeds (Day Two)
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Speed |
| 1 | F. Bagnaia | Duc | 338.5 |
| 2 | M. Bezzecchi | Apr | 336.4 |
| 3 | M. Vinales | KTM | 336.4 |
| 4 | L. Savadori | Apr | 336.4 |
| 5 | J. Mir | Hon | 335.4 |
| 6 | M. Marquez | Duc | 335.4 |
| 7 | F. Quartararo | Yam | 335.4 |
| 8 | J. Zarco | Hon | 335.4 |
| 9 | B. Binder | KTM | 335.4 |
| 10 | J. Miller | Yam | 331.2 |
| 11 | R. Fernandez | Apr | 334.3 |
| 12 | A. Ogura | Apr | 334.3 |
| 13 | L. Marini | Hon | 334.3 |
| 14 | E. Bastianini | KTM | 333.3 |
| 15 | A. Rins | Yam | 333.3 |
| 16 | F. Aldeguer | Duc | 331.2 |
| 17 | M. Oliveira | Yam | 331.2 |
| 18 | F. Morbidelli | Duc | 331.2 |
| 19 | A. Marquez | Duc | 332.3 |
| 20 | P. Acosta | KTM | 332.3 |
| 21 | S. Chantra | Hon | 328.2 |
