Alex Marquez resists Acosta for Sprint victory in Valencia.
The final Sprint of the season saw the 2025 runner-up hold out against ‘The Shark’ as Diggia vs Raul Fernandez goes to the wire.
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) took honours in the final Tissot Sprint of 2025 as he cruised to victory on Saturday afternoon. Making it back-to-back Sprint wins and a third of the season, the #73 headed home a strong ride from Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who had to come from the second row, whilst Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) bagged third after a late attack for the podium against Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team).
LIGHTS OUT! Bezzecchi drops, Acosta shines, Marquez leads
Getting the perfect launch from P2 on the grid, Marquez grabbed the holeshot to beat polesitter Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) into Turn 1. It was a rapid start from Acosta, who elevated himself from fifth to third and by Turn 2, into P2. ‘Bez’ dropped down to sixth behind the likes of Fernandez, Di Giannantonio and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) after a Lap 1 to forget for the polesitter.
TEAMMATE CLASH: Mir takes out Marini at Turn 2
At the start of the second lap, there was drama for Honda as Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) lost the front at Turn 2, taking out teammate Luca Marini, ending their Sprint. Mir has a Long Lap penalty for the GP race for the incident. At the same corner a lap later, there was contact between Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), resulting in the #54 being pushed wide. Miller was soon handed a penalty to drop three places for that, which he failed to do and was therefore given a Long Lap Penalty, hurting his charge to Sprint points.
BATTLES BEHIND: Bezzecchi gets to P5, Morbidelli climbs
After battling hard, Bezzecchi had finally cleared Quartararo for fifth but the Italian now had over a second to catch up on Fernandez and ‘Diggia’ ahead of him. At the front, the gap had grown to 1.4s by the halfway stage with Marquez managing it perfectly over Acosta, the latter still chasing a first win in MotoGP. The #37 needed to start thinking about those behind as those behind started to close him down. On Lap 9, meanwhile, Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) got through on Quartararo as ‘El Diablo’ dropped back.
P3 FIGHT: head-to-head on the penultimate lap
In the fight for third, the gloves had really come off between Di Giannantonio and Fernandez as they swapped places all the way from Turn 4 to Turn 6 on the penultimate lap. All of the fighting was giving Bezzecchi second wind and with the last lap looming, time was running out for the final rostrum place.
AT THE FLAG: Marquez majestic in last Sprint of 2025
On the last lap and it was all settled at the front with Marquez taking honours ahead of Acosta who made it four consecutive Sprint podiums. Not only did the Spaniard take P2 but that, combined with a P14 for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), means he is now into P4 in the standings with six points over Pecco.
Di Giannantonio held on to take third ahead of Fernandez, whilst Bezzecchi will be wanting more on Sunday after P5 on Saturday. The Italian does at least secure third in the Championship and with that, the first time Aprilia finish in the top three of the Riders’ Championship in MotoGP. Morbidelli was able to hold off Quartararo for P6 whilst Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came home eighth from P15.
Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) takes ninth for a first Sprint point since his home GP at Motegi. That means Honda are just out of scoring range with Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) in tenth – making it nine points they still need from Sunday to change concession rank from D to C… tune in tomorrow to see how the dice rolls on Sunday!
Find full Sprint results HERE and come back tomorrow for Sunday in Valencia and the final showdown. See you at 14:00 local time (UTC +1) for the Grand Prix race!
BMW M Award: record winner Marc Marquez back with a bang
The winner of the 2025 BMW M Award in MotoGP™ is Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team). The record holder in this special competition has once again claimed the coveted prize for the fastest qualifier of the season – for the eighth time. The Spaniard had already made history by winning the BMW M Award seven years in a row between 2013 and 2019. Now Márquez has returned to the top. His prize this year is the new BMW M2 CS* in Velvet Blue Metallic.
The presentation of the winner’s car took place on Saturday after the final qualifying session of the season in Valencia, Spain, where Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP™ rights holder Dorna Sports, and Axel Mittler, Marketing Manager at BMW M GmbH, handed over the keys.
After several challenging years, Marquez made an impressive comeback in 2025. He dominated the season and clinched the world championship title in Japan at the 17th of 22 rounds. In the BMW M Award standings, Marquez collected so many points – despite there remaining only a maximum of 25 on offer per weekend as opposed to the 37 points for a Sprint and GP win – that with eight pole positions and five additional front-row starts he could no longer be caught, even though he missed the final four rounds of the season due to injury. Marquez won the 2025 BMW M Award with 351 points, finishing eight points ahead of his brother Alex Marquez in second place.
Marc Marquez: “It took a few years, but I’m really happy to see my name back on the list of BMW M Award winners. This season has been a dream for me, even though I obviously didn’t imagine it ending with a shoulder injury that made me miss the final races. But it’s great to be here in Valencia and to be recognized once again as the fastest qualifier – for the eighth time! I actually found out I’d won the while I was out buying fruit – my brother Álex didn’t manage the result he needed in the penultimate qualifying in Portimão to keep the contest open. But I promised him he’ll get to drive the car too! For us, it’s always something special when our performances on the track are recognized in this way. Now it’s time for the winter break, and my goal for 2026 is clear: to win the world championship, and this award, again!”
The 2025 winner’s car, the BMW M2 CS, is the latest exclusive special model from BMW M GmbH in the premium compact high-performance sports car segment. It impresses with outstanding agility, significantly increased performance, exceptional driving dynamics, and particularly sporty design features. The straight-six engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology and high-revving characteristics delivers an impressive 390 kW/530 hp. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via the standard 8-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic. The BMW M2 CS accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds. Thanks to the extensive use of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components in both the exterior and interior, the BMW M2 CS is also the lightest M2 of the current generation.
As part of its extensive activities as the “Official Car of MotoGP™”, BMW M GmbH presents the BMW M Award at the end of each season to the best qualifier. Before Márquez extended his record in 2025 with his eighth victory, Francesco Bagnaia had won the coveted award for the past three years. The list of winners since the award’s introduction in 2003 also includes Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, Fabio Quartararo, Sete Gibernau and Nicky Hayden.
For more information on BMW M GmbH, its partnership with MotoGP™ rights holder Dorna Sports since 1999, and the involvement as the ‘Official Car of MotoGP™’ see: www.bmw-m.com.
Moto2: Gonzalez fifth, Moreira ninth as Holgado claims pole.
The Aspar star earns his fourth pole position of the season as the two title contenders start from the second and third rows of the grid in Valencia.
A fourth pole position of the season was clinched by Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) in another record-breaking Moto2 qualifying session that saw World Championship leader Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) qualify in P9 for the finale, with title rival Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) starting from P5 as he guns for victory on Sunday.
Moreira got the job done in Q1 to come through into the pole position fight, and while P9 isn’t ideal for the Brazilian, it could have been a much worse afternoon for the rider 24 points clear in the title race. Gonzalez has to win in the curtain closer to stand any chance of clinching the title, and the Spaniard is looking to do that from the middle of the second row.
Gonzalez will have to overcome Holgado, second place Izan Guevara (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2), and his teammate Senna Agius as the Spaniard and Australian earned front row starts, with Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) spearheading the second row in P4 ahead of his farewell ride in Moto2. Alex Escrig (KLINT Forward Factory Team) will line up on the other side of Gonzalez in P6; that’s a top job from the Spaniard, while Moreira has the two Red Bull KTM Ajo riders ahead of him on Row 3 – Collin Veijer leading teammate Daniel Muñoz.
So there we have it. The grid is set for Moto2’s title showdown as we now look forward to crowning either Moreira or Gonzalez as our 2025 World Champion.
Moto3: Fernandez denies teammate Almansa for Valencia pole
The two teammates go into Sunday’s 20-lapper as the favourites, heading the field after their qualifying tussle.
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) clinched pole position for the Moto3™ Grand Prix of Valencia on Saturday afternoon with a mega lap of 1’36.990s enough to finish ahead of the opposition. Behind, teammate David Almansa (Leopard Racing) made it a Honda 1-2 whilst Maximo Quiles’ (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) charge for runner-up spot will go from P3.
After an intense Q1 session, Stefano Nepa (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) and Hakim Danish (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) were the four who bagged graduation to Q2. In what was a slow start to the session, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), Guido Pini (LIQUIMOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Fernandez were the only riders on track in the first five minutes as the others played a game of strategy. Furusato set a benchmark of 1’37.459 but now the rest of the field has started their flying laps in the second half of the session.
After the first couple of laps, pacesetter Almansa had leaped into P2 with a new lap record but with three minutes on the clock, there was time left for the order to change with 16 riders covered by a second. The challenge came from within as Almansa’s teammate Fernandez stormed to pole on his final run to deny the #22. 0.136s splits the Leopard Racing Hondas and both have the pace to have their own battle on Sunday.
Quiles rounds out the front row and always comes on strong for Sunday and with a second front row in three GPs, will be one to watch. Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) heads up the second row ahead of Marco Morelli (GRYD MLav Racing), who made it four Hondas in the top five. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completes the second row. Elsewhere, Nepa took a first top ten grid position since COTA with P7 whilst Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), currently P2 in the standings, starts P10.