Fabio Di Giannantonio explained why he felt he “threw away” his chances of securing a podium finish at the Argentina MotoGP Grand Prix.

The Roman rider finished both the Sprint and Sunday race in fifth place, accumulating 16 points to his championship tally.

The VR46 Ducati opted for the same strategy as his teammate Franco Morbidelli, starting the 25-lapper with the soft rear tyre compound.

The start of his race saw Morbidelli squeeze through on Lap 1 which placed him behind KTMs Brad Binder as a result.

Di Giannantonio later found the right opportunity to pass Binder on Lap 15, then completed an ambitious last-lap move on LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco.

“Without [Franco] Morbidelli’s overtake, I think I would’ve finished the race differently. The start was good, and the plan was to reach a fourth, fifth position right away and then start the chase,” Di Giannantonio explained to GPOne.

“However, Franco did well and ruined my GP. I was behind Binder for three-quarters of the race and lost a lot of time, also because Brad [Binder] is very difficult to overtake.

“I had a great pace, to the extent that, after twenty laps, I was still doing 1.38.3s. But, by then, it was too late.

“I’m a bit angry because I feel I threw away a podium. With the current regulations, if you’re behind someone who’s breaking away, you can only save yourself if he makes a mistake.”

He continued: “In my case, the KTM rider made a small mistake, and I managed to squeeze in. Otherwise, I would’ve definitely been stuck.

“This is also why qualifying and the first few laps are crucial. In those stages, you have to take risks.”

Di Giannantonio admitted he ‘lost concentration’ in last laps

Di Giannantonio admitted post-race that he “lost concentration” in the last laps of the race due to exhaustion.

He is still nursing an injury after breaking his collarbone during the pre-season test in Sepang, which played a part in the closing stages of the Argentina race.

Although he wasn’t satisfied with not reaching his target, he was happy with the progression made since the season opener.

“Looking at the two top five, it was a really good weekend. In terms of speed and consistency, I really progressed from Thailand,” he reflected.

“I’m really happy and proud because we did a great job. Obviously, I can’t be 100% satisfied because I wanted to finish in the top three.

“It was hard, but not like last weekend [Thailand] where, in the last laps, I was exhausted.

“Here, in the closing laps, I lost concentration and even forgot to deactivate the holeshot twice. So I faced Turn 6 like on a chopper.

“I kept thinking about how to recuperate energy on the straight. In the next few days, I’ll try to train and prepare myself as the best as I can for Austin.

“I hope not, but I’m afraid it will be. Like I said, in the next few days, instead of resting, I’ll spend time recuperating muscle in my upper body.”

READ MORE – Franco Morbidelli ends four-year MotoGP podium drought in Argentina amid self-doubt battles

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Marco Bezzecchi admits he made “a bad mistake” on the first lap of the Argentina MotoGP race which took him out of points contention.

Bezzecchi and Aprilia were expecting to be strong around a circuit where the Italian won two years ago, but the potential never materialised throughout the weekend.

The Rimini native struggled in qualifying and as a result was attempting to make progress down into the first corner in Sunday’s race, but an overly ambitious move saw him make contact with the rear tyre of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.

While the Frenchman was able to continue running, albeit finishing down in 14th, Bezzecchi’s race ended in the gravel after the incident, which he has since taken full responsibility for.

“It was my mistake – I braked too late,” Bezzecchi said to Crash.net. “I managed to miss Franco Morbidelli, but unfortunately, I hit Fabio Quartararo’s rear tyre.

“So a bad mistake by me. I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to Fabio. I’ve already apologised to his team.”

“We had the pace to battle for the good positions,” Bezzecchi continued.

“We still need to improve in qualifying, and that will be my goal for the next GP.

“I also felt good on the bike in the warm-up session, and I expected to be able to ride a good race, but the mistake on the first corner changed my plans.”

Fabio Quartararo: ‘not much to say’ about Marco Bezzecchi crash

Quartararo admitted the incident was “unfortunate” but that his Yamaha machinery did not have the pace to keep up with the front runners regardless of the incident.

“There’s not much to say,” commented Quartararo. “The touch between Bezzecchi and me in the first corner was unfortunate. I went wide, I was in last place, and also our pace was not super good all weekend.”

“I could have maybe been a few positions higher, because starting the race like this, you pretty much keep your position. But it was a really tough weekend overall. Let’s see if we can do a bit better at the next GP.”

Bezzecchi was not penalised for the incident by the stewards after the race.

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Alex Marquez has hit back at claims he has “too much respect” for elder brother Marc Marquez following Sunday’s MotoGP race in Argentina.

The Gresini rider led most of Sunday’s grand prix but was overtaken with four laps to go, eventually finishing 1.362s behind the factory Ducati rider.

After the race, the younger Marquez was asked if he needs to “break the respect” he has for his brother to beat him, which the Spaniard found “disrespectful.” 

“I’ve had this question many times; ‘when will you lose the respect for Marc [Marquez]’ or ‘you respect too much Marc’,” said Marquez via GPOne.

“For me, this question is disrespectful to me. I’m a rider. I give my 100% always, I try to push for my team, for my sponsors. 

“I know that it’s my brother and I will have an extra respect when I overtake him.

“I’m the first one that wants to beat him and I want to win, but I’m more realistic than everybody because I know how Marc is. 

“I know his strong points and I don’t have any problem saying about them. Maybe you will not say directly what your rival is doing really good, but it’s my brother.

“I don’t have any problem saying it, and I don’t have any problem with accepting if he’s better than me in some points.

“So I will try to learn. I will try to give like always my 100%, but stop thinking I have too much respect for Marc.  We saw it today. We fight each other. He was faster than me and I gave my 100%.

“So I’m happy with second. I know that he is better than me in some areas and I will try to improve for the future.”

Marquez: ‘we need to improve in order to win’

Marquez came close to winning his first Grand Prix race but had to settle for a fourth-consecutive second place in races. 

The Cervera native admitted the elder Marquez can push more in the later stages of the race, and suggested this is an area he is seeking to improve. 

“I tried to push from the beginning, I did a good start, Pecco [Bagnaia] attacked me in turn 3 but I was able to come back to second,” Marquez said.

“I was feeling really good, I had a lot of doubts before the race about the tyre choice, but in the end I decided to be like Marc and Pecco with the medium rear.

“Later, when Marc did a small mistake at turn one I said, ‘OK, I go for it’. I tried to put a nice pace and was able to make a gap to the second group.”

“When he attacked me at Turn 5 I said, ‘OK, time to try’,” he added. 

“So I gave my 100%. I did a ‘38.3 but he was able to make ‘38.2. I was really on the limit. Nearly crashing all the corners.

“I tried to fight with him and to be there. But he’s able to be more on the limit in the last part of the race. So we need to improve there.

“But I’m super happy about all the weekend.”

Marquez: ‘I’m at my strongest in MotoGP right now’ 

The younger Marquez brother has never finished higher than eighth in a MotoGP World Championship season but currently sits second in the standings after a strong start to 2025. 

The Gresini rider confirmed he feels he is riding the best he ever has in the premier class. 

“It’s the moment where I feel at my strongest in MotoGP,” Marquez said.

“This bike suits me in a really good way with the riding style. So I’m just enjoying being on the bike. 

“I’m playing with the bike and it’s something really great. Just we need to keep going like that.

“The team are doing a super job, also the support from Ducati. We need to understand a few things from Marc, but here we were closer and it’s super nice to fight with your brother for a MotoGP victory.”

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Franco Morbidelli opened up about the self-doubt battles he faced before ending his four-year MotoGP podium drought in Argentina.

The Italian rider’s 1,414-day wait for another appearance on the rostrum ended as he secured third place at the Termas de Rio Hondo.

In those four years, the VR46 Ducati rider overcame various injuries and jumped ship from Yamaha to Ducati to turn his career around.

The former Moto2 champion spent one year at Pramac before returning home with the VR46 outfit, having previously been a graduate of Valentino Rossi’s Academy, which gave him another opportunity to impress on the same bike.

“They have been four very complicated years,” Morbidelli admitted to GPOne.

“In some [races] we didn’t make it by a narrow margin, in others we were really far away. Now to taste we are back on top and it will be nice stay there.

“Already last year, with the new bike, it should have been the moment of my rebirth, but just when we all thought the nightmare, we sank even further down, because I got injured and there were so many problems.

“Then the 2024 season ended with very good feelings, this year we got off to a very good start, and the extra year of experience on the bike gives me more feeling.”

Morbidelli discusses more about his internal battles

The Roma-born rider opened up about his internal battles throughout the four years.

“I had moments when I felt like I was forgetting how good it could be to be here, I had time to think about whether I was still capable, I had time to wonder if I was doing enough.

“I had time to think about lots and lots of things, good and bad.

“Now I am not even able to clearly say how I feel, it will be the Prosecco,” he joked.

Soft tyre choice paid dividends in the Sunday race

Morbidelli’s podium brought his championship tally to 37 points in the championship, six behind third-place rival Francesco Bagnaia.

The Italian explained that a challenging Saturday prompted a change in tyre choice for the main race, selecting the soft tyre compound.

“Yesterday actually I didn’t feel good on the bike and it got worse. In any case, today [Sunday] I chose the soft tyre, I knew I would have to give everything I had at the beginning of the race to make up as many positions as possible and afterwards focus mainly on managing the situation.

“During the race I saw that I could control the pace pretty well. I could not have caught up with Alex and Marc [Marquez], I just watched them from behind and it was a good battle.

“I will try in the future to improve the start of the weekend and the time attack to start a little bit ahead, because starting so far behind is not recommended to finish in the top 3.

“Finally, we still need to sort out that something we are lacking to stay with the two brothers.”

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Marc Marquez identified a surprise name he believes is his main MotoGP title opponent for the 2025 season.

Marquez completed back-to-back grand slams in Argentina, claiming pole before winning the Sprint and Grand Prix.

The Spaniard extended his lead at the top of the championship, equalling Angel Nieto’s record of 90 total wins.

He defeated his younger brother Alex Marquez by less than a second in the Sprint, before winning the race by 1.3s despite following him for most of the race after making an unforced error.

The Marquez brothers once again featured on the top two steps of the podium, before Marc stated post-race that he believes his younger brother is his main opponent for the championship.

“But Alex today I’m very impressed about his riding style. He was super smooth,” said Marquez to Crash.net.

“And I know when he is super convinced he is able to win a world championship, like he did in Moto3, in Moto2.

“So, at the end he is the main opponent for the championship.”

Marc Marquez took a ‘lot of risks’ to win the race

Despite leading for the first three laps Marquez ran wide at Turn 1 on Lap 4, which allowed his brother to take the lead.

The older brother prevailed in the end following an overtake on Lap 21, before clearing off into the distance to establish a 1.3s advantage.

The factory Ducati rider continued to heap praise on his brother’s performance, stating he rode “super smooth.”

The Spaniard admitted that to win the race he had to take more risks, which explained the incidents in which he experienced a few wobbles aboard his Desmosedici.

“Today I’m impressed about my brother, about Alex,” he added.

“In one part of the race I was thinking to finish second because he was riding super smooth, super good, always keeping the corner speed.

“I mean his tyre was not smoking. I said ‘ok, this guy today has another level’.

“Then in the end I survived. I took a risk, as you saw, I took a lot of risks – maybe too much in some points of the race.”

The post Marc Marquez identifies surprise name as his main MotoGP title opponent appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Marc Marquez clinched a resounding MotoGP victory in Argentina, completing dominant back-to-back race victories.

Polesitter Marquez held onto his lead and stayed ahead of his younger brother into Turn 1.

Marco Bezzecchi launched off his Aprilia at Turn 1, which resulted in a retirement, ending a torrid weekend for the factory outfit.

Bezzecchi’s crash forced Fabio Quartararo off the track, dropping down to 19th as a result.

Francesco Bagnaia and Johann Zarco swapped positions but the Italian made the move stick to take third spot, with his eyes set on catching the Marquez brothers.

Ai Ogura continued to impress the paddock by starting strong to claim tenth spot by the end of the second lap, providing some much needed optimism for Aprilia.

An early crash from Enea Bastianini saw him retire on Lap 2 in his second race weekend for KTM.

On Lap 4, Franco Morbidelli slotted himself past Zarco to climb up to fourth place, before younger brother Alex Marquez moved past his older brother for the lead.

Marquez wasn’t able to find the right line and ran wide at Turn 1, allowing the Gresini rider to seize the opportunity and overtake.

Morbidelli’s purple patch continued due to him choosing the soft compound rear tyre, overtaking his fellow VR46 Academy graduate Bagnaia after the long straight.

Quite remarkably, Ogura rose through the grid with relative ease, overtaking Alex Rins, Pedro Acosta, and Joan Mir in the early stages.

The Marquez brothers cemented a 0.8s advantage over Morbidelli as the race reached Lap 8, though the younger brother was under considerable threat out front.

Riders held their positions over the next few laps, with gaps forming between the Marquez brothers, VR46 Ducati rider Morbidelli, and Bagnaia and Zarco.

Few predicted Zarco would still be tailing the factory Ducati, given the Bologna machinery’s dominance, but the Frenchman’s Honda has shown noticeable improvements after a disastrous 2024.

Towards the end of Lap 15, the older Marquez brother had a tank slapper aboard his factory Ducati. It was clear he was pushing hard to catch up to his brother, but there was no way through just yet.

Marquez attempted a lunge at the end of the back straight on Lap 18 in what was an overly ambitious move, but he ran wide and now faces the hard work ahead to catch up.

The gap between the two riders extended to 0.5s, but credit to the incumbent leader, who had the edge at his brother’s strongest points on track.

Marc finally made the move on Lap 20 at the same Turn, ensuring that the race was in his hands.

The eight-time champion stretched his lead to 0.6s yet opted to still ride to the absolute limit, before extending the advantage to over a second.

The factory Ducati rider won once again around the Termas de Rio Hondo, equalling Angel Nieto’s record with the third most wins across all classes.

Marquez crossed the 1.3s clear of his younger brother, who managed to bring home another podium finish.

Morbidelli earned his first MotoGP podium in over four years despite late pressure from Bagnaia, who finished in fourth.

Fabio Di Giannantonio earned fifth following a last lap overtake on Honda rider Zarco, defeating the Frenchman who finished as the lead non-Ducati rider.

Brad Binder finished an impressive seventh for KTM, as rookie sensation Ogura forced his way through on Acosta to snatch eighth.

Joan Mir and Luca Marini finished within three tenths of each other to take tenth and 11th, boasting an impressive outing for the Japanese marque.

Alex Rins earned points to take 12th spot, followed by fellow compatriot Maverick Vinales aboard his RC16 KTM.

Jack Miller and Fabio Quartararo crossed the line 14th and 15th for Yamaha, respectively.

Trackhouse Racing’s Raul Fernandez missed out on the points and finished in 16th, defeating rookie Fermin Aldeguer.

Bastianini recovered from his crash to finish in 18th, ahead of rookie Somkiat Chantra who occupied 19th and finished as the final classified rider.

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Jack Miller expressed his appreciation to Pramac Yamaha for keeping him in MotoGP after his future in the series looked uncertain beyond 2024.

KTM decided to part ways with Miller from 2025 early into the 2024 season after the Australian rider failed to get to grips with the bike.

He achieved just one podium throughout his two-year stint, which left his career hanging in the balance.

“MotoGP has been my life for 10 years now, and last year it looked like it could honestly all be over,” Miller stated to MotoGP.com.

“Since that moment, I just decided to enjoy every moment that I had on-track.

“I feel extremely blessed to be able to do this hopefully for a few more years. I feel like my time isn’t done yet – last year that was the biggest thing for me, I didn’t feel ready to step down yet, I still feel like I have more to do.

“I guess this opportunity with Yamaha and Pramac, a massive thank you to them and to Paolo [Campinoti] because he saved me.”

Yamaha ‘probably the most committed’ MotoGP entrant – Miller

The 30-year-old heaped praise on the Japanese marque’s efforts to return to the front of the pack once again.

Yamaha and Pramac formed a long-term partnership to become its satellite entity – a partnership that Miller perceives as “a second factory team.”

“Yamaha are probably the most committed out of any manufacturer that I’ve worked with, putting on a whole second factory team,” he said.

“It doesn’t stop there; that whole testing structure, moving that all to Europe and really trying to focus on more of a European base in that area [while] keeping a Japanese focus on quality and the way that they work.

“They’re finding this balance very well between the two [Europe and Japan] and they’re taking all the right steps to do that.”

Miller’s decade-long experience in the premier class will be valuable to Yamaha, considering he has spent time riding with Honda and Ducati too, and the Pramac outfit from 2018 to 2020.

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Marc Marquez continued his MotoGP winning streak as he earned a third-consecutive victory in 2025 at the Argentina Sprint race. 

The Spanish rider came under significant pressure from Gresini’s Alex Marquez, but was able to maintain his composure to seal a third win in 2025. 

Marquez got a fantastic start from pole position and was able to maintain the lead down into the first corner. 

Francesco Bagnaia also got a good start on the second factory Ducati and was able to overtake Johann Zarco for third into Turn 1. 

Gresini’s Marquez preserved his second place but quickly came under pressure from Bagnaia, but the Italian was unable to get through after coming under fire from the fast-starting Fabio Quartararo.

The younger Marquez was the fastest rider on track in the early stages of the race and was able to break clear of Bagnaia to chase after his brother out front. 

Pedro Acosta made it past the duelling Zarco and Quartararo as he looked to continue a strong weekend, but was quickly passed by both riders.

The Frenchman was the fastest rider on track in the closing stages of the Sprint and he looked to cut the deficit to Bagnaia in third. 

At the front, it was Marc Marquez who took the chequered flag to continue his perfect record in races in 2025.

Alex Marquez earned another second place for the Gresini team, 0.903s behind the factory Ducati rider.

Despite a late challenge from Zarco, Bagnaia rounded out an all-Ducati podium in third.

Zarco took a welcome fourth for Honda as VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio ensured it was four Ducatis inside the top five.

Marco Bezzecchi was sixth for Aprilia after overcoming a challenge from Franco Morbidelli, while Joan Mir was eighth following a late battle with ninth-placed Acosta. 

Quartararo finished outside the points despite a fantastic start to the race in tenth, with Jack Miller and Alex Rins in 11th and 12th respectively. 

Luca Marini improved to 13th in the Sprint and Tech3 KTM’s Enea Bastianini showcased his late race pace to earn 14th. 

Ai Ogura led the Trackhouse riders over the line in 15th, with Raul Fernandez narrowly behind in 16th. 

Somkiat Chantra finished the race in 17th ahead of the struggling Maverick Vinales in 18th.

Fermin Aldeguer crashed on lap six but rejoined to complete the finishers in 19th.

Lorenzo Savadori retired from the race with a technical problem, joining Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder as the retirements from the Sprint.  

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Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta says it is negotiating a new five-year deal which would see KTM stay in MotoGP until at least 2031.

There have been great concerns over KTM’s future in the championship following its financial crisis which has unfolded over the last few months.

Last month it won vote with creditors which saw its restructuring plan approved, with the Austrian manufacturer set to pay off only 30% of its €2.2 billion debts.

In December, a creditors hearing concluded with KTM’s exit from MotoGP “planned” under cost-saving measures, but Motorsports Director Pit Beirer said during the brand’s 2025 MotoGP launch that it was already planning its 2027 engine. 

However, the manufacturer is in negotiations with Dorna to extend its stay in the MotoGP championship beyond its current contract, which ends in 2026.

“I’m worried, because I don’t like a team to be in this situation,” Ezpeleta told motosprint.it.

“At the same time, I’m not worried about the racing sector and the brand’s participation in the world championship, this absolutely not.

“On the contrary, we are negotiating right now with the KTM Group for the renewal of the agreement that will run from 2027 to 2031.”

Other manufacturers have also expressed support for KTM amidst its financial problems, with Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola saying MotoGP has to learn from the Austrian marque’s situation and bring the costs of the championship under control.

‘The Japanese manufacturers will be closer’: Ezpeleta on MotoGP concessions

Ezpeleta also referenced the current concession system aimed at boosting the struggling Honda and Yamaha back to the front of the grid.

Both manufacturers had a promising start to the season at the Thai Grand Prix, and while Ezpeleta doesn’t believe the Japanese brands be ahead of Ducati by the end of this season, he suggests they “will be closer”.

“Yes, even if there is still a while to go,” Ezpeleta said.

“More to Honda than to Yamaha. But I’m sure that at the end of this year they won’t be in front, because Ducati and Aprilia are very strong and KTM is also at a high level.

“But the Japanese manufacturers will be closer.”

READ MORE – KTM compares Pedro Acosta’s MotoGP approach to seven-time Formula 1 champion

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Marc Marquez demolished his own lap record to take a stunning pole position in Argentina MotoGP qualifying for Ducati.

Marquez set a new lap record on his first flying run in qualifying by a tenth, which he then surpassed one lap later to post a benchmark time of 1:37.023.

Nobody was able to beat the original time posted by the Spanish rider, but on his penultimate run he bested his previous records with a 1:36.917 to confirm his pole position. 

Alex Marquez took second place, 0.246s off his brother’s best time of the session.  

Johann Zarco completed the front row with a shock third place for the LCR Honda team. 

Francesco Bagnaia ended the session in fourth place ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta, who benefitted from Bagnaia’s slipstream, in fifth. 

Fabio Di Giannantonio achieved sixth in qualifying, while Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo narrowly missed out on the second-row seventh.

Franco Morbidelli was eighth after advancing from Q1 as Marco Bezzecchi took ninth for Aprilia. 

Joan Mir completed the top ten for Honda, a tenth clear of Brad Binder in 11th and Alex Rins in 12th.

Jack Miller narrowly missed out on a Q2 appearance and ended qualifying in 13th. 

Fermin Aldeguer was the top rookie in qualifying after finishing 14th, while Ai Ogura crashed on his last lap and could only take 15th. 

Luca Marini was 16th for the factory Honda team ahead of Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira in 17th.

Raul Fernandez took 18th for the Trackhouse team as three Aprilia riders were eliminated from Q1. 

Somkiat Chantra also crashed on his final run and ended the session in 19th for the LCR Honda team.

Tech3 KTM continued their struggles in qualifying and finished 20th and 21st, with Maverick Vinales leading Enea Bastianini.  

Raul Fernandez was 21st for Trackhouse as Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori completed the standings in 22nd.

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