MotoGP 2025
Round Three – USA – COTA – Sunday
Francesco Bagnaia – P1
“I’m really happy; it’s a special feeling to be back atop the podium after what wasn’t the easiest of times. I knew I had to be patient, as the feeling was not ideal, but we started this weekend in a good way as we built upon the progress made in Argentina. It’s clear that Marc was stronger today, too, but the conditions were tricky, and the kerbs were really wet, especially the one at turn five, which I had noticed already during the warm up lap. After his crash, I tried to pull away and it wasn’t easy, as Alex (Márquez) had a great pace. Winning is what keeps you going, especially when you miss that taste that you had many times before. It’s fantastic.”
Alex Marquez – P2
“Let’s enjoy the moment. This track is not among my favourites and I wasn’t feeling at my best today on the bike. Despite all of this and the chaos at the start of the GP, we did well in staying focused. When I saw Marc crashing out I realised I had to be twice careful and bring home the result. We’re leading the championship, for what’s worth, but it’s a great moment for me and my team. Let’s enjoy it.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio – P3
“I am really happy and proud of my team, who made an incredible job. I’ve said it many times, but I want to repeat that. We’ve been amazing, it’s a result we’ve been looking for since last year and it came here in the U.S. Wow! After all the work we’ve done in 2024 and a very hard winter, maybe unfair, we worked very hard together. The team helped me a lot and we are back to the fight now. I am very proud of this third place. We celebrate this result and the next goal is to keep working like this.”
Franco Morbidelli – P4
“I am happy with this race because on Saturday we struggled a bit, but today I felt good despite a bad start. The first laps were packed with battles, but then I could set my pace. Overall, we did a good weekend, but today we did a step forward. I felt a lot of potential in Sunday’s race. The goal for the next races is to mantain this momentum going and to try to be as close as possibile to the top places.”
Jack Miller
“It was a good day for us. We had solid pace throughout the entire race after a strong start, where I also managed to stay out of trouble at Turn 1. The bike was behaving well, and I was trying to get the maximum out of it. We definitely made some improvements from Saturday. I really hope we can continue this trend, and I‘m looking forward to Qatar, where, in dry conditions, we can keep working and making progress to improve the bike even further. I‘m also very happy for the entire Prima Pramac Yamaha team. They work so hard every day to give me a great bike, and they deserve a day like this. The atmosphere is so amazing that it just makes me want to give them more and more.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P6
“I’m rather satisfied with this race. It was obviously an extremely complicated weekend and our starting position conditioned us a bit. The second half of the race was especially positive. I began to feel increasingly better, both physically and in terms of my feeling with the bike. I was overtaking well and braking accurately. My pace improved consistently, which allowed me to make up a number of positions. When I saw that I was lapping at excellent times, I really started having fun. It’s a pity they shortened the race by one lap, because I would have been able to make a play for fifth place.”
Enea Bastianini – P7
“I am happy about my race, it has been the best one since the start of the season. I was riding very well from the middle until the end of the race, and I felt good for probably the first time on this bike. Our pace was good, and we improved as the laps went by, so I am happy. I think that we improved our bike from yesterday, which is positive for us, we are moving forward. We have found a good direction that we will need to check in the next round.”
Luca Marini – P8
“We confirm that our package is improving with each GP, and I think we were able to make a good a good step with the setting. The bike is working better, and I am really enjoying riding it, especially in the entry phase. But there were some mistakes from my side which limited our performance. I went with the wrong tyre, I put soft-soft and it was not a mistake I have ever made before in this situation. The track was able to dry very quickly, unlike on Friday when it took a long time to dry. Even with the wrong tyre, we made a really good race so this is the positive that we have to focus on. If we can put everything together, we can achieve even more.”
Ai Ogura – P9
“I think, in general, it was a tough weekend, but ninth in the Sprint and ninth in the main Race was a good result. In yesterday’s Sprint, I was gaining positions by myself but today there were a lot of crashes in the front and I couldn’t do so much from my side. It was still a top 10 finish, so me and my team can be happy about this weekend. I was on slicks before the start, so that was a big chance but, unfortunately, they delayed the start. I’m so sorry for my guys because they made the right choice but it didn’t pay off. It’s a shame, but it is what it is – a top 10 is still great, so it’s ok.”
Fabio Quartararo – P10
“I don’t understand why I crashed on the sighting lap. I was basically upright, the tarmac looked quite dry, and I wasn’t even pushing, but I lost the front – it was a strange crash. It was my first crash of the year, and the first one in a long time. I then went to the starting grid. I was on rain tyres during the first starting grid procedure, and it was a mess. Then we had the delayed start. My first bike was damaged anyway, so I had to use my second bike, which had a different chassis and swingarm… But, overall, we had a great weekend, especially the Sprint, and hopefully we’ll have better luck at the next one.”
Alex Rins – P11
“We were able to understand the bike and the set-up. We changed the set-up quite a lot compared to yesterday. We did a step in Warm Up, and it was positive. Then we made one more step for the main race. But, honestly, I’m happy with how I managed all the nerves, because it was super easy to make a mistake. We did a good start. I had some contact on the first lap, which forced me to go back to last the position. Step by step I recovered, and I was able to finish in P11. We will keep working, and let’s see if we can have a good feeling in Qatar.”
Raul Fernandez – P12
“I’m happy with the bike, like always. But I still need to be calmer. I made a lot of mistakes and also the mistake I made yesterday didn’t help because in the last six laps, I didn’t feel good with my shoulder. Anyway, I need to improve, try to be more relaxed and try to think more about what I have to do. Right now, I feel the bike is ready, I can ride like I want, we have the pace and everything is ready, but I make a lot of mistakes in tricky situations. I would like to improve that for the future. I have to think about a solution to come back with a fresh mentality as I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself and I should find something to help myself.”
Augusto Fernandez – P13
“It was a very complicated race at the end of a tough weekend due to the challenging conditions we faced. From the start, there was a big question mark over whether to use wet or dry tires. Obviously, for me, since I need to regain my rhythm while also helping Yamaha with development work, the second option was the best choice. I‘m happy because, in the end, I had a strong race with steady progress and an increasingly better feeling on the bike. On top of that, I managed to score three points, which is a big morale boost. These points are also thanks to the team, for the way they welcomed and supported me throughout the weekend. Last year, Prima Pramac won the World Championship, and after working with them these past days, it‘s clear why, they are an incredibly professional team.”
Maverick Viñales – P14
“On the grid, I was with wet tyres and the plan was to start and swap bikes, but as many riders started to leave, I thought the race direction had shown the red flag so everyone could have the same chances. Anyway, when we returned to the grid, the bike stopped twice so I had to start from the pitlane, which was unlucky. To be honest, I felt really good, I had a good rhythm and we have clearly made improvements this weekend, so all I want is to continue in that direction with the team. Today, we had the level to be inside the top 5, so we need to keep believing that we can achieve that target, and Qatar in two weeks can be a good track to do it, so let’s keep going!”
Lorenzo Savadori – P15
“I’m satisfied with the race because we took a big step forward. It was an extremely difficult weekend, with constantly changing conditions, but we had a good race pace and, most importantly, the things we tested gave us a rather clear direction to follow. In any case, these are elements that we will still need to check again during the upcoming private tests in Misano. It was a good race. We battled and we also managed to work a bit on speed and performance. It was positive to see the Aprilia bikes get close to the positions that count.”
Somkiat Chantra – P16
“It was a difficult race for me, really tough. This track has a lot of direction changes and corners, making it quite challenging. The positive thing is that we made improvements in the braking areas, and we’re working hard. We’re not giving up, and we’ll aim to do better in Qatar.”
Marc Márquez – DNF
“It was obviously a big mistake, because I had the race under control I was managing the gap, but I cut the corner at turn five a bit too much and lost the front. Was it a disaster? Yes, it was, but we’re human and sometimes we make mistakes. The good thing is that we’re still very close to the top of the standings, so we keep going. We’ll have the same approach in Qatar, trying to understand how to interpret the track the best way. Last year, I had my first racing weekend with Ducati there, and it went well. The good thing is that I know the reason behind my crash – the way I cut the corner; I’m sorry for the team but tomorrow is a new day and the start of a new week.”
Brad Binder – DNF
“A chaotic start! Nobody knew what was going on but when the race did start I got away really well and fought with the guys earlier on. I took my time to see where I could push with the wet patches on the track and after about half-race distance I felt I could push-on. I moved up another position but then we had an electrical issue and had to stop. Really unfortunately because we would have been guaranteed a top five. But, anyway, from yesterday to today we made an important step forward and the bike was a lot more how I wanted it, so hats-off to my team.”
Pedro Acosta – DNF
“Difficult to understand. I had a lot of front locking and we don’t know why. Quite tough and strange. The bike was working better until we had this problem. It is what it is. We need to try and understand what was happening and be stronger next time.”
Joan Mir – DNF
“It’s a real shame to crash out again while running up in a good position. It’s really frustrating to have this happen again because our potential is much more and especially this weekend. When riding alone I can be fast but when we are battling with other riders, I lose that feeling. I have to be very aggressive and then these things happen. The team and I need to work on this, our situation this year is very different to last year – we have the potential but we can’t get it out.”
Fermin Aldeguer – DNF
“I was feeling great today and we arrived to a moment in which it was necessary to decide on whether to accept fifth place or take a shot at fourth position. We know how it went as I unfortunately crashed out. We had the pace, I felt comfortable and quick without pushing too hard, and that’s why I tried: it didn’t go as planned but we keep all the positives from this weekend and we head to Qatar with great motivation.”
Johann Zarco – DNF
“It was good to start on slicks in the end. It was a crazy start to the race! I didn’t expect the track to dry that quickly, but luckily, we were ready and could make the switch. I’m happy that we took a step forward from yesterday to today, which allowed us to push and get the performance we needed. That’s really important. As for the crash, I lost the rear end of the bike. Overall, the key is that we’ve been competitive and received some positive signs. I’m happy with the progress we’re making, and I want to thank the team for their hard work.”
Team Manager
Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager
“Today’s win was a great one for Pecco. For Marc, on the other hand, a missed opportunity: he was leading, it’s true, but the good (and bad) of MotoGP is that you never know. In any case, it was a very positive weekend for Ducati, with the win in both races and with four Desmosedici GP machines in the top four. We have one really happy side of the garage, and the other not as much, but this is racing and it’s nothing new for us.”
Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager
“It has been a very good race for us because we know that this track is one of the most challenging both physically and technically. I am satisfied with Saturday’s qualifying – Diggia’s second place and Franky’s fifth. I’m very happy with Fabio’s podium and Franco’s fourth place of today’s race. We still miss something, we’re not at our 100% yet. But we’re on the right direction with two consecutive podiums – Franco’s one in Argentina and Fabio today in the United States. We have to keep working like this, in two weeks we will arrive in Qatar, a track we like a lot.”
Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
“It has been an incredible weekend, with both riders achieving outstanding results. For Prima Pramac Yamaha, securing a Top Five finish at this stage of the new partnership with Yamaha is almost like a victory. More importantly, the fact that Jack‘s gap to the leaders was just 11 seconds—compared to 22 seconds last year—demonstrates the significant progress we are making. Yamaha and our team have been continuously improving, and at least on this track, we‘ve cut our deficit in half, which is a strong indicator that we‘re heading in the right direction. Jack is simply outstanding—he put his heart into the race and maintained an impressively consistent pace, which is crucial for the development of the YZR-M1. A fantastic effort from him, and also from Augusto, who, despite the challenges of a last-minute call-up, not only finished in the points but also provided invaluable support to our engineers. Like the rest of the team, he did an exceptional job.”
Massimo Rivola – Aprilia Racing
“On a weekend that was a bit complicated for Marco, partly due to some of our mistakes, it was great to see his speed in the race. Marco confirmed his qualities as a fighter, capable of overcoming and rising up decisively. In three races, Marco has consistently demonstrated outstanding speed, even if we have still not managed to reap our full potential. In any case, we know that this is all part of the process. It was great to have Jorge in the garage with us and that was undoubtedly an extra source of motivation. Hopefully he will be fit for Qatar and we’ll finally be able to see him riding the Aprilia. As for what happened at the start, the regulations undoubtedly need to be revised in order to prevent situations of confusion at the race start, because it did not make for a good show, not to mention being confusing for the spectators.”
Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principal
“Of course, we are not happy about the way the start has been managed today because we took a gamble and made the right call with Ai. We were on the right tires but due to the other riders leaving the grid, the start was delayed. We took the risk, we did everything right but we couldn’t take advantage of that. But, again, Ai was able to recover a lot from P18 to P9 at the end. Also for Raul, he was able to do the race and recover several positions. We scored points so, overall, it was a positive day considering the difficulties of the weekend meant we had to start from P18 and P19. We recovered many positions with both of them, so we have to be happy about scoring all those points. This is confirmation that we have potential – Ai confirmed again his great shape and we’ll keep going.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director
“It has been quite a rollercoaster today. The crash on the sighting lap by Fabio made everthing a bit more complicated because, according to the regulations, if Fabio had entered pit lane, he would have had to start from pit lane with a different tyre specification and would have been handed a ride-through penalty. So, we had to tell him to go to the starting grid, and we prepared the bike there, changing the set-up from dry to wet. But then the start got delayed. The first bike was damaged, so we had to start the Race with the second bike, which hadn’t been used by Fabio all weekend. We didn’t have the time to change this bike from wet to dry. Basically, Fabio raced with a hybrid bike: a mix of wet and dry. With the bike like that, we didn’t know very well what was going to happen. On top of this. it seems that he received some unusual notification on his YZR-M1’s dashboard, which led to him riding the race in low-power mode, and we need to understand why this alert occurred. Álex found himself in a similar situation as the day before, during the Sprint. He showed a stronger pace at the end of the Race, but he unfortunately had lost a lot of time at the beginning. One silver lining is that yesterday and today Yamaha took a fifth and a sixth place. We are seeing progress, and this is important. We will try to build onto this for the next GP weekend in Qatar in two weeks’ time.”
Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“Our performance today was bit better than yesterday here at COTA: we cannot be happy with the final results or what happened but it hides some of the progress we are making. We have to examine why Pedro was struggling in what were difficult conditions between the dry of warm-up, the rain of the Sighting Lap and then a drying track that cause the race delay. On the other side of the box, Brad had much more feedback from his bike after some changes to the setting and this was more positive and we want to see how it will work in Qatar. We should have made the top five with him. It’s good to see that both Maverick and Enea are also making forward steps in their performance: Maverick in Q2 and showing a strong pace and Enea again really strong in the race. We’re in the right direction.”
Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager
“Somehow the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team managed to survive through this chaotic race. The start was really tricky with the weather conditions constantly changing between wet and dry. Both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales made their gambles, and Enea opted in slick conditions. However, the start was delayed, and Enea could not get the profit of his good gamble. Anyway, he did a good job this weekend, he is getting better and better on the bike, and this 7th place is a great reward for his work. I think we are on the good way. On the other side of the garage, Maverick’s bike stopped on the grid for an unknown reason, meaning he had to evacuate the grid and start from the pitlane. It was a shame as he was 10 seconds from the last rider after one lap, but he stayed focused and did not give up, until he recovered to P14 to score two points. He had a really good weekend so we are obviously disappointed because there was room for more for us today. Anyway, we are leaving Austin with a positive state of mind, because Maverick and Enea have both made great steps forward this weekend, so we are looking forward to the next round in Qatar.”
Piero Taramasso – Michelin
“Riders adopted different tyre strategies during the race. While most of the field opted for medium tyres both front and rear, several riders chose the soft compound – some only at the rear, and others at both ends. The entire Michelin Power Slick range delivered outstanding performance and consistency, even in such demanding conditions over the 19 laps of the Grand Prix. With a weekend marked by alternating rain, drying track, and dry conditions, Michelin once again demonstrated the strength and reliability of its range, providing riders with grip, consistency, and confidence – regardless of the weather or track demands.”
MotoGP Race Results
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