The Best Midfield Battles from the First Half of the 2025 MotoGP Season
13 August 2025There’s no doubt that Marc Marquez has proven himself to be an astounding force in the 2025 MotoGP championship fight, and we’ve seen some intense battles between himself, his teammate Francesco Bagnaia, and his brother Alex Marquez so far this season. However, with 22 riders on the 2025 grid, there have inevitably been plenty of impressive battles happening outside of the podium fights. Here are some of the most exciting and engaging midfield battles from the season so far.
Binder vs Acosta - Tissot Sprint, PT Grand Prix of Thailand
From the first lap of the first Sprint of the 2025 season, Pedro Acosta was right on the tail of his new teammate Brad Binder. By Lap 3, Acosta was ready to pounce, trying to outbrake his fellow KTM rider and claim 8th position from Binder - a rider known in the paddock as being difficult to overtake. Riding side by side, on equal machinery, it was up to Binder to showcase some of his trademark skilful defending, whilst Acosta studied Binder’s approach to each corner, and waited for the perfect moment to strike.
Acosta vs Mir vs Ogura - Grand Prix, Gran Premio YPF Energía de Argentina
Forming the rear of an eight-rider group in the opening laps of the Argentina Grand Prix, Acosta, Mir, and Ogura all looked capable of progressing further up the field. Their biggest hurdle however, was each other, as they spent the majority of the 25 laps either glued to the back of each other’s bikes whilst eyeing up potential overtaking spots, or attempting to eke out a gap whilst the other two battled. The running order of these three riders changed multiple times throughout the race, with a combination of carefully planned, smooth overtakes, and spontaneous passes as each rider took advantage of the others' mistakes.
Viñales vs Acosta - Tissot Sprint, Michelin® Grand Prix of France
Acosta features once again, this time battling it out against another of his KTM peers, Maverick Viñales, during the Sprint at the French Grand Prix. Fresh from arm pump surgery, Acosta had gained several positions at the start of the Sprint, and was keen to keep that momentum going, but Viñales had other ideas. The two riders were swapping positions throughout the first lap, outbraking each other, and after an initial scuffle, Viñales put his skill and years of experience in MotoGP to good use as he rode behind Acosta, observing and calculating his best move.
Morbidelli vs Aldeguer - Grand Prix, GoPro Grand Prix of Aragon
You've got to work hard to overtake Franco Morbidelli without him immediately attempting to pass back, a lesson Fermín Aldeguer definitely learnt back in Aragon. A tussle during the opening laps saw Morbidelli and Aldeguer swapping positions, but the real action happened later on in the race. Come Lap 18, both Aldeguer and Morbidelli pulled off some incredibly bold moves as they fought for the inside line and dared to brake the latest, in a battle that culminated in contact between the two Ducati riders, with both luckily managing to stay on track.
Aldeguer vs Miller vs Binder - Grand Prix, Tissot Grand Prix of Czechia
With 4 laps to go in the Brno Grand Prix, Brad Binder was as close as he could get to the back wheel of former teammate Jack Miller’s Yamaha. After running wide after an attempted pass, Binder’s smooth recovery saw him ease past Miller into 8th. But this scrapping held the two riders up enough to bring Fermín Aldeguer into the mix, with the rookie - who had at this point in the season garnered a reputation for his fearless battling on track - eyeing them both up, as he sought to fight his way up the order.
The talent, skill, and tenacity of the riders on the current MotoGP grid is undeniable, and has led to some fantastic racing throughout the field in 2025. With the summer break now over, get ready for more late-braking and strategic defending as we go into the second half of the 2025 MotoGP season.
