What's new in MotoGP? A First Trip to Balaton Park, Impressive Riding in Moto2, and New Contracts Signed
02 September 2025MotoGP’s historic first trip to Balaton Park
MotoGP made its inaugural visit to Balaton Park for the 14th round of the 2025 season, marking the first Hungarian round in the Motorcycle Grand Prix Championship since 1992.
Fans were once again treated to spectacular displays of talent and skill across all three classes, as drama unfolded and emotions ran high.
Away from the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, two contract renewals have now been confirmed for the 2026 MotoGP season, bringing us closer to knowing the full line-up for the last season using the current regulations.
Marc Marquez continues his impressive run of victories, as the Championship gap increases
Marc Marquez once again edged closer towards securing his ninth world title - his seventh in the premier class, with victories in both the Sprint and Sunday's Grand Prix. Marquez is now 175 points clear of 2nd place in the Championship standings, currently held by his brother Alex Marquez. Whilst Alex Marquez had an impressive start to his 2025 season with a number of Sprint and Grand Prix podiums, including his first MotoGP Grand Prix win in Jerez, a 14th place finish at Balaton Park was his worst result of the season so far, and allowed his brother to further extend his lead in the title fight.
Double Sprint celebrations for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team’s Fabio DiGiannantonio gave himself plenty of work to do, after failing to go directly through to Q2 during Friday’s Practice session. However, a strong Q1 performance saw him graduate to Q2, and eventually qualify on the front row, with his teammate Franco Morbidelli qualifying two places behind him in 5th. The two riders went on to secure a double podium in the Sprint, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively - a great result for the team owned by motorcycle racing legend, Valentino Rossi.
Positive performances continue for Aprilia Racing duo
Marco Bezzecchi’s Grand Prix podium streak continued in Hungary, as he finished 3rd in Sunday’s Grand Prix. Like DiGiannantonio, Bezzecchi’s performance in Practice saw him featuring in Q1, with brilliant riding securing him a spot in Q2, leading him to then qualify in 2nd position.
Jorge Martin experienced his strongest weekend of the season so far, picking up his first Sprint point of 2025, and finishing 4th in Sunday’s race, just one position behind his teammate - a feat made even more impressive by him achieving this from 16th on the grid. Given Martin’s lack of time spent on the Aprilia, due to the multiple injuries that have impacted his season, the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend has shown encouraging steps forward for the current MotoGP World Champion.
David Alonso makes history with Moto2 race victory
The current Moto3 World Champion, now in his rookie Moto2 season, started from 8th on the grid, but found himself riding in 11th as they crossed the line after the first lap. As the race continued, Alonso steadily cranked out fastest lap times as he moved his way up the field. With four laps to go, he had climbed to 3rd, and at the beginning of the penultimate lap, he passed Diogo Moreira to take 2nd position. An incredible last lap performance saw Alonso claim an emotional maiden victory in the Moto2 class, making history as he became the first Colombian to win in Moto2. Alonso’s win also makes him the eighth different Moto2 race winner in 2025, and the first rookie to win in Moto2 since Pedro Acosta.
Thrilling Moto3 race sees yet another close finish
After an intense battle throughout the 20 lap Moto3 race, featuring six riders battling for the three podium spots, it was polesitter Maximo Quiles who claimed the victory, taking the chequered flag just 0.018 seconds ahead of Valentin Perrone, after contact between the two rookies coming out of the final corner.
The win at Balaton Park is Quiles’ second victory of the season, having achieved his first win at the Italian Grand Prix back in June. Despite being too young to compete in the first two rounds of the 2025 season, and later missing two further rounds due to injury, Quiles’ strong race performances mean he currently sits 3rd in the Moto3 Championship standings.
New MotoGP contracts confirmed for Marini and Zarco
Luca Marini and Johann Zarco have now been confirmed to be staying with their current teams for the foreseeable future, with Marini signing for the 2026 season, and Zarco for 2026 and 2027, the first year of MotoGP’s new regulations.
Marini joined Honda’s factory MotoGP team in 2024, following the departure of Marc Marquez. After a difficult 2024 campaign, finishing 22nd in the Championship standings with 14 points, 2025 has been a great contrast, with Marini scoring points in every Grand Prix race he has started this season, and is outscoring his point total from last year by a considerable margin.
Zarco moved to Castrol Honda LCR, Honda’s satellite team, in 2024 but signed a contract with Honda to ensure he received works machinery, making him a factory rider. Zarco made headlines at the French Grand Prix in May as he became the first French premier class rider to win his home race since 1954.
The only seats now left as unconfirmed for 2026 are the second LCR seat (alongside Johann Zarco), the second VR46 ride (alongside Fabio DiGiannantonio), and the second Pramac Yamaha seat (alongside 2026 MotoGP rookie and double WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlıoğlu).
Round 15 sees MotoGP travelling to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, a track that has seen four different MotoGP race winners from the last four Grands Prix - will Marc Marquez continue his domination of the premier class, and become the fifth out of five?
