MotoGP Round 15 Barcelona Deep Dive

How Alex finally broke free of Marc’s shadow, Moto2 and Moto3, plus quotes from all the Aussies

For the second year running, the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya witnessed something of a Sunday redemption. While Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) exorcised his Saturday demons by winning the feature race spectacularly in 2024, home hero Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) did the same one year on, ending his brother’s seven-race victory streak in the process.

The ease with which Alex broke clear of Marc Marquez (Lenovo Ducati) shouldn’t take away from the feat. All weekend long he was billed as the rider to beat, his confidence with the GP24’s front end evident through the track’s awesome high-speed final rights from Friday morning. He then threw a certain Sprint success away by crashing out when Marc had given up behind.

And on Sunday he faced incessant pressure from behind from the moment Marc let him past on lap four. While his maiden premier class success in Jerez was impressive and fully deserved, it was only achieved once Marc had crashed out. Here he beat his brother hands down in a straight fight – arguably the first time anyone had done so all year.

Just as Bagnaia had waved a middle finger at Turn 5 – the scene of his Sprint fall – after winning out in last year’s Sunday encounter, so Alex celebrated wildly at Turn 10, rolling through the gravel playfully before waving both middle fingers. “Overconfidence” was to blame, he had said of his Saturday mishap.

As well as honing his focus on Sunday to avoid a similar blunder, the crash allowed him to iron out a rare weakness at his home circuit. “That mistake helped me to win today because I was already braking so late in the corner,” he said. For his part, Marc had no complaints. “Yesterday and today one rider faster than us. His strongest points are my weak points.” The fact he extended his title lead by seven points over what now counts as a difficult weekend was a crumb of comfort.

While Marquez brother domination was nothing new, their closest challenger was. Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) finally built on previous promise to climb from ninth to third. In a weekend when Team Owner Hervé Poncharal announced the sale of his team to an investment fund led by ex-Formula1 Team Boss Guenther Steiner, Bastianini shrugged off a Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) challenge mid-race to claim a first feature race podium of the year. As Steiner watched on, it couldn’t have been better timed.

This race may have lacked some out-and-out fighting, but Marc really made his brother work, running just 0.2s back with four laps to play. Alex, Marc, Bastianini and Acosta ran together for half the race distance. And there was also the welcome sight of all five manufacturers in the top eight as Honda and Yamaha had their own reason to be content.

More than 83,300 fans, the biggest Barcelona attendance since 2019, watched on as Marc took control from the first chicane, with Alex and Acosta behind and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) back two places to fourth. Luca Marini (HRC Castrol), Bastianini, Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) and Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) were just behind.

Marc’s initial intention was to stretch the lead group out, with Quartararo soon dropping back in fifth after Bastianini’s lap-three pass saw him jump to fourth. The championship leader then put his second plan into action as he let his brother by approaching Turn 1 on lap four.

Meanwhile certain chaos was narrowly avoided as Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) took down Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) at Turn 1, which in turn caused Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) to crash out at the following turn. “I rolled the gas a bit on the straight because the strategy was be behind him, save the tyres, open the gap with the third guy and try to attack in the last part of the race,” he later revealed. From there, Alex made the running with Marc hanging in behind.

As fun as it was to see the lead quartet circulate together, it wasn’t to last; it was soon clear that Acosta, the only rider to gamble with Michelin’s soft rear tyre as opposed to the medium, was in trouble. Bastianini sensed the brothers were breaking clear and moved by on the run to Turn 1 starting lap 11. He immediately impacted the 0.8s deficit to Marc up ahead. “At one point I had an eye on victory,” he later said. Only on lap 17 did his challenge start to fade.

That left the brothers scrapping it out for victory. Marc decided to give it a good go. By lap 19 he had closed a deficit that was once 0.5 down to 0.2. But two mistakes on lap 20 – the first at Turn 7, the second Turn 10 – underlined that this was Alex’s day. The Gresini rider would come 1.7s clear, with Bastianini 5.5s back in third.

At one point Acosta’s soft tyre gamble appeared doomed, as he dropped away from the victory fight. But the Spaniard rode well to keep the pack behind at bay. At first Zarco was a dangerman, as he fought with Quartararo, Marini, Ogura and Bagnaia, turning a wretched weekend around by jumping from 21^st to ninth in two laps. But a lap 11 fall at Turn 10 ended the Frenchman’s hopes.

From there, Quartararo brought home an excellent fifth, one second back of Acosta, to back up his exceptional Sprint podium on Saturday. Ogura picked off Bagnaia, crediting a revised fuel tank for his Sunday recovery, and Marini late on for an excellent sixth after the Honda man had burned up too much of his rear tyre. Miguel Oliveira (Pramac Yamaha) enjoyed his best race of the year, coming through to ninth, while Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) recovered to tenth after he ran off track with Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) on the first lap and rejoined in 18^th.

Marc (487 points) still extended his lead to 182 points, but with 259 still in play he can’t win it at Misano. Alex (305) strengthened his second place with Bagnaia (237) and Bezzecchi’s (197) respective challenges stalling.

Surprise of the weekend

Ai Ogura. The rookie has been in the doldrums for most of midseason as a series of fast crashes dented his confidence. He was rejuvenated here, managing his rear tyre brilliantly ahead of a spirited late attack.

Mug of the weekend

Franco Morbidelli. Taking a rider down once, as he did Martin in the Sprint, was one thing. To do so twice was verging on unforgivable. And he has form for this. A crash from 12^th only compounded matters.

Moto2 – Holgado stuns

Anything you can do, I can do better. From Friday morning, Dani Holgado (Aspar Kalex) appeared intent on proving he could repeat the feats of teammate David Alonso from two weeks ago.

Holgado was in total control here as he led into Turn 1, opened up a lead and managed it to the end to cap a flawless weekend when he never placed lower than second. In a race where tyre management was key, the 20-year-old rode like a seasoned pro as a number of the title favourites fell apart.

With Holgado’s victory never in doubt from mid-race, the excitement came behind as Dani Muñoz (Ajo Kalex), standing in for the injured Deniz Oncu, headed Jake Dixon (MarcVDS Boscoscuro) in the fight for second. Only on the penultimate lap did the Englishman secure the runner up spot, with Muñoz content to take a maiden career podium.

Manuel Gonzalez (IntactGP Kalex) rode a Smart race to fourth ahead of Izan Guevara (Pramac Boscoscuro), the SpeedRS Boscoscuros of Celestino Vietti and Alonso Lopez, and Alonso, who fought through from 25^th to eighth.

Gonzalez (217 points) extends his title advantage to 38 points after Aron Canet (Fantic Kalex – 179) crashed out at Turn 7 while Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Kalex – 175) was 14th after a late Long Lap for exceeding track limits.

Moto3 – Piqueras pips Rueda!

Angel Piqueras (MSI KTM) continued to pull back ground on runaway championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Ajo KTM) after the pair went head-to-head in another Barcelona thriller.

The stage was set for another remarkable Rueda comeback. Handed a Long Lap for careless riding on Friday, the Spaniard found himself back of a 15-rider lead group at the close of lap three. But he cut through the pack impressively to hit the front eight laps later.

With three to go, Rueda had gapped the rest to the tune of 0.3s. But Piqueras soon bashed aside the enthusiastic Taiyo Furusato (HTA Honda) to slipstream him to Turn 1 on the last lap. Rueda then had to contend with Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Honda), and passed Furusato brilliantly into the final turn to nab second. But Piqueras held on to win by 0.08s.

Pole sitter David Almansa (Leopard Honda) led home teammate Adrian Fernandez in fourth, with Guido Pini (IntactGP KTM) and Joel Kelso (MTA KTM) also within 0.8s of the victor.

Rueda’s (270 points) lead is still a healthy 64 points. But Piqueras (206) has regained ground for three races running. Max Quiles (Aspar KTM – 168) is out of it after a Turn 1 mistake left him 12th. KTM also wrapped up the Constructor’s title having won every race this year.

THE AUSSIES

Jack Miller – Sprint: 12^th, Result: 14^th
After confirming his stay with Pramac Yamaha for 2026, luck wasn’t on Jack’s side when on track. First lap contact in the Sprint and Sunday ruined both races. “It wasn’t terrible. Pace was decent. Unfortunately got hit at Turn 4 by Brad for the second time in two days and took a trip through the gravel and had to make my way up from dead last. Standard racing stuff. But two days in a row doesn’t need to happen. Bike was working alright. Pushed until the end. We made a step this weekend with our base setting. We have a good strategy for the next couple of Grand Prix.”

Senna Agius – Result: 18^th
Being present in Barcelona was something of an achievement for Senna after a terrifying first-lap collision in Austria three weeks before. While his concussion had subsided, he was still suffering pain in his right wrist. Remarkable, then, that he was among the fastest names on Friday and launched from sixth. Yet that was as good as it got. A tough start and Long Lap conditioned his race. “A really bad race. From lap five onwards, I had absolutely no grip. I couldn’t open the throttle. We now need to analyse why. My pace on used tyres was much better this weekend, and I had expected to be fighting for the top places today.”

Joel Kelso – Result: 7^th
Starting second and his first front row since Le Mans, Kelso was in the midst of the victory fight. Pushed wide mid-race, he recovered three places on the final lap. “The positive is at least we feel strong on the bike. That’s what we missed during the last six races. We went back to a setting that we know works. We were at the front but got pushed out by another rider and lost a load of positions. It was really difficult to come back from there. We were pretty strong on the last lap. We started it in tenth and then suddenly I overtook a few people. In Hungary we didn’t have the pace of the leaders, so at least we ran at the front again.”

Jacob Roulstone – Result: DNF
A heartbreaking end for Jacob as an engine failure forced him to retire on lap ten. This was a third DNF of the year when well placed, and was even harder to take as he searches for a ride on the ‘26 grid. “I’m heartbroken once again,” he said. “Three times in one, it’s a real disappointment. The other two times were simple things but to blow up an engine is a real big shame. It had to happen when I was riding really well. I was controlling the tyre and saving myself for the end. From lap one I just didn’t feel fast with the bike. This is a track I really like and I can’t believe it finished like this.”

Cormac Buchanan – Result: DNF
A disappointing end for Cormac, whose weekend promised so much on Saturday. He progressed through Q1 to qualify 18^th. But he struggled for feel in the race when hanging on to the back of the lead group. A lap-ten crash was tough to take. “I was entering Turn 7 when I locked the front. There was no chance to save it. Even from the first laps I didn’t feel the same as Saturday. I was just trying to stay with the group but it’s frustrating not to finish. The weekend as a whole was pretty positive. We improved from Friday. To get into Q2 was a good achievement. But it’s a shame to not show anything in the race.”

2025 CATALONIA MOTOGP RACE

MotoGP points standings after 15 of 22 rounds
Marc Marquez 487; Alex Marquez 305; Francesco Bagnaia 237; Marco Bezzecchi 197; Pedro Acosta 183; Franco Morbidelli 161; Fabio Di Giannantonio 161; Fabio Quartararo 129; Fermin Aldeguer 127; Johann Zarco 117

MOTO2 ROUND 15 CATALONIA RACE

Moto2 points standings after 15 of 22 rounds
Manuel Gonzalez 217; Aron Canet 179; Diogo Moreira 175; Barry Baltus 153; Jake Dixon 152; Celestino Vietti 116; Daniel Holgado 112; Deniz Öncü 100; Albert Arenas 96; Senna Agius 93; Marcos Ramirez 92

Moto3 Round 15 Catalonia Race

Moto3 points standings after 15 of 22 rounds
Jose Antonio Rueda 270; Angel Piqueras 206; Maximo Quiles 168; David Muñoz 163; Alvaro Carpe 149; Joel Kelso 132; Taiyo Furusato 103; David Almansa 101; Adrian Fernandez 100; Valentin Perrone 98