HOT HEADLINES: does an eighth winner of 2025 await at Sepang?
Five winners in the last five GPs and two new MotoGP victors in the last two – there’s everything to play for as we arrive in Malaysia.
The final stop on our flyaway tour, Sepang hosts MotoGP’s Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia. We trade the chilly edge and blustery winds of Phillip Island for the intense humidity of south east Asia where it’s all eyes on the fight for second – and whether or not there’ll be a late surge for a top four placing further down. With seven winners already in 2025, will we see greatness with an eighth this weekend? If recent form is anything to go by, it’s more than possible…
STATE OF PLAY: MotoGP’s unpredictability continues to Malaysia
With Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) and Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) all out injured and replaced by Michele Pirro, Lorenzo Savadori and Pol Espargaro respectively, MotoGP remains even harder to forecast than ever. The title is already wrapped up and it looks set to be a Marquez 1-2, with Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) within striking distance of securing the runner-up spot if things go his way in the Sprint. His form at Sepang promises much, too. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) is the #73’s closest rival now, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) in the standings. Bezzecchi has been the stand-out rider across the last two rounds but hasn’t been able to take victory on Sunday since Silverstone – with five winners from the last five, can he add his name to the streak at Sepang?
TIGHTENING FOR 4th: Bagnaia, Acosta and Di Giannantonio
Bagnaia’s last two weekends have been the most challenging he’s had in MotoGP but Sepang may offer a reprieve. Winner in 2024 and 2022 and P3 in 2023, as well as happy memories from his Moto2™ crowning moment in 2018, Pecco hopes to be back in contention at a circuit that suits his hard braking style. The #63 is only 41 points ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) too, who has become a firm fixture in the podium fight. But with a Sprint rostrum and P5 on Sunday in Australia, the quest for his first MotoGP win continues. 17 points further back, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) is back in the hunt for the top five overall after his Phillip Island podium. He missed Sepang in 2024 and was injured in testing there this year, so it’s a weekend of putting the past behind him for the #49.
FRESH FEEL: the new kids on MotoGP’s winning block
Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) are the two newest winners in MotoGP after their stunning rides in Indonesia and Australia respectively. A winner at Sepang in Moto2™ two years ago, Aldeguer hopes to get back towards the podium after a challenging time at Phillip Island whilst Fernandez rides the crest of a wave. Two Sprint podiums and a Grand Prix victory from the last two rounds, he’s now in the top ten in the overall standings and just 20 adrift of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). The Frenchman splits both of them in the standings and returns to a place where he and Yamaha have often been competitive – and where their pre-season promised much.
OUTSIDERS: upturns in form further back
All KTMs were in the top ten last time out and if qualifying improvements can be made, the likes of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and 2023 Malaysian GP winner Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) could be challenging for the top six too. Bastianini was on the podium in both the Sprint and Grand Prix at Sepang last season and the aim will be more of the same. Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) claimed a second top six in a row last weekend, making it his fifth top ten from six and is now just eight points away from being the top Honda overall in the standings. Making it his first back-to-back top ten finishes since the start of 2023, Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) returns to the track of his best result from 2024 and hopes to make it three in a row. Augusto Fernandez (Yamaha Factory Racing) is also out to bolster the ranks for Yamaha, but wildcarding the V4-powered YZR-M1.
BOUNCING BACK: points to prove with three to go
Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) had an Australian GP to forget and is now 25 points off Acosta and fifth overall whilst Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) dropped out of the top ten in the standings following his Phillip Island fall. Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) took his first Sunday points since Barcelona and seeks a return to the top ten in Malaysia, whilst a bittersweet taste lingered for Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) last time out, having crashed on Sunday after his P4 in the Sprint. It’s six points-scoring finishes in a row for teammate Miguel Oliveira, who hopes to extend his run to seven for the first time since 2022 and is a Moto2 winner at Sepang from 2017. Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU LCR Honda) completes the running and aims to get back in the points; he was in the top ten in the last two Moto2 Grands Prix in Malaysia.
After another unpredictable weekend, more records are on the line… can Sepang host another twist in the tale? Tune in this weekend to find out!
Moto2™: two points, three to play – game on between Gonzalez and Moreira
Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP’s Manuel Gonzalez and Italtrans Racing Team’s Diogo Moreira touch down in Malaysia separated by just two points in the Moto2 World Championship after their Australian GP scrap, with the gloves now officially off in this year’s scintillating title race.
A hard-fought P3 for the Brazilian, coupled with the Spaniard’s P7, saw the gap come down to almost nothing between the pair. With three to play, Fantic Racing duo Aron Canet and Barry Baltus, plus ELF Marc VDS Racing Team’s Jake Dixon, need to have a huge weekend if they still want to be in the mix when the final two weekends arrive. Canet sis 35 points back, Baltus sits 42 away, with Dixon 57 adrift.
The main focus, understandably, will be on the top two. The momentum sits firmly in Moreira’s camp, so a pendulum swing the other way this weekend feels important for Gonzalez after his DSQ and P7 in the last two. It really is game on now.
Last Sunday, no one could lay a glove on runaway winner Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP). The home hero produced a stunner on the Island, so can the Australian continue that form for the rest of 2025? The same question will be asked about David Alonso (CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team) after the 2024 Moto3 World Champion collected his third podium of the season last time out.
Two points in it, three to play. There’s no room for error as the Moto2 title race enters its closing stages, starting in Sepang.
Moto3™: Rueda chases more records as runner up scrap heats up
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda heads to Malaysia looking to continue his incredible run of form after the World Champion joined an elite club of riders who have won 10 Grands Prix in a Moto3 campaign with his Phillip Island victory. Meanwhile, the fight for second in the championship ramps up, with Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) now split by just three points heading to Malaysia.
Quiles can also wrap up the Rookie of the Year crown this weekend. However, he’ll likely be pushed hard by Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who returned to form in Australia with his first podium since Mugello – but the latter needs to be 50 points or under away from the #28 leaving Sepang. The gap now? 55. A battle to keep an eye on.
Elsewhere, Australian Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA), buoyed by his home rostrum last time out on the Island, will be aiming to be in the mix again, while last year’s Malaysian GP silver medallist, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), will be searching for a repeat performance a year on.
And there’s something extra from the Malaysian fans to be excited about in Moto3 this weekend, because Hakim Danish (AEON CREDIT SIC Racing MSI) makes his Grand Prix debut this weekend after his P3 finish in this year’s Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.
Plenty to play for then at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit!