MotoGP’s 2025 🌞season is officially underway after last weekend’s Thai Grand 🎐Prix, bringing an end to a several week stay for the series at the Buriram track.

MotoGP held two official pre-season tests this winter, all of them in Fe𝓰bruary, with three days taking place at the start of the month at Sepang in Malaysia.

The followin🔯g week, MotoGP headed to Thailand for two final days of testing at Buriram before kicking the season off at the same venue💛 on 28 February - 2 March.

MotoGP starting the season at the same track it concluded testing is nothing new. The last time it didn’t do this was in 2022, when it held its last pre-season test at the new Mandaliඣka track in Indonesia before beginning the campaign in Qatar.

The effect this has on th🎃e opening round is that everyone comes into Friday practice already pretty much dialled in, having had se🎀veral days of testing to gather data already.

Often, this makes the racing closer at the first round. However, at the 2025 Thai GP this wasn’t case as 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Marc Marquez control꧒led both the sprint and🍎 the grand prix (albeit having while having to drop to second in the latter to avoid a tyre pressure penalty).

The 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:factory Ducati rider was asked if MotoGP should look to start its seasons away from the same track it tested on ♊in the winter, which led to an intere♈sting observation from Marquez.

“Starting in a circuit where you already test means it’s more difficult to overtake and it’s more difficult to make the difference, because from FP1 everyone is braking on the [right]💛 place, everybody has the correct set-up,” he said.

“Even this morning (speaking on Saturday) I tried to improve the good pace we had and I took a step back because it was not the way. But in 💞the end, we need to understand also the price, the money, the budget. I mean, it’s easier to test before the first GP at the same circuit because for the teams - especially the satellite teams - it’s a big help.”

KTM rider 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Pedro Acosta echoed these comments, noting: “At the end, you come here with the work done more or less, you k𝄹now what you need. For me, the real first GP will come in Argentina to see where we are and everything.

“But we need to save money also. This champཧionship is not ch♕eap and we need to save money in some ways. But I think we should have the first race in another track.”

How competitive have MotoGP season-openers been in recent years?

Last weekend’s Thai GP saw the top 15 - those who 💖score points - in the grand prix covered bඣy 26.456s, while the winning margin was 1.732s and the spread covering the podium was 2.398s.

The latter figures show a reasonably tight top three. But, as Crash analysis showed following the race, Marc Marquez was on course to win by just under four seconds had he not been forced to drop behind brother 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Alex Marquez to increase his front tyre pre🦂ssure to avoid a penalty.

Read more: Why Marc Marquez's MotoGP rivals were spared a brutal beatdown in Thai GP

Marc Mar🐻quez had been in strong form from the final pre-season test in Thailand and was firm favourite to win the grand prix coming into it.

Last year’s Qatar Grand Prix saw 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Pecco Bagnaia win by 1.329s over KTM’s 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Brad Binder, while the top three was covered by 1.933s. The top 15 spread across 20.717s. While Bagnaia was put under some pressure, he wasn’t actually ever headed for an entire lap. The main battle was for second between Binder and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Jorge Martin, with the latter on the losing end.

The 2023 season opened in Portugal, where the last test of the winter campaign took place. Bagnaia won again, but was shadowed 0.687s by 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Maverick Vinales. The podium was covered 🍷by 2.726s, while the top 14 (only 🌟14 riders finished) was covered by 27.050s. Again, save for lap one, Bagnaia led every time across the line.

The 2022 Qatar GP is an interesting case to examine. With the field turning up to Lusail without prior testing there, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Enea Bastianini was able to take his Gresini-run Ducati to a maiden grand prix victory by just 0.346s 𝄹over Brad Binder on the KTM.

Pol Espargaro comp🎶leted the podium for Honda, his last visit to the rostrum with the Japanese marque, in third and was just 1.351s behind Bastianini. While the top 15 was spread by 41.107s, that was largely down to the fact that the remaining classified runners were rookies. That race saw an actual overtake for the win, too, with Bastianini moving ahead of Espargaro on lap 17 of 22.

While Marc Marquez did have to overtake Alex Marꦍquez in the 2025 Thai ꦦGP on lap 23 of 26, this was circumstantial. Bastianini at the 2022 Qatar GP came from fifth on the grid and chipped his way through the riders ahead to get to the top step of the podium.

The 2021 Qatar GP opener was highly competitive. Pre-season testing concluded at Lusail, while Mot♏oGP would stay at the circuit for two races due to C♛OVID-19 travel restrictions impacting the calendar that year.

The top three were covered by 1.129s, with Maverick Vinales winning by 1.092s. The top 15 was covered by just 16.422s and 10th-place was under 10 seconds from the race win. Again, this was a race that saw a rider come through the field to win, with Vinales starting from si🃏xth and having to eventually overtake Bagnaia on lap 14.

The 2020 Spanish GP was a unique one. With COVID delaying the season to July, pre-season testing had actually originally finished in Qatar ahead of what was meant to be the curtain-raiser for the year at Lusail. A two-day tesℱt was scheduled for the week of the 2020 Spanish GP, which became the first round of the campaign, though this ultimately led to one of the most dominant winning margins of recent times at an opening race.

168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Fabio Quartararo was 4.60🎉3s up the road from Maverick Vinales at the chequered flag, while the podium was covered by 5.946s. Just under 40s split 15th from first.

Pre-COVID, the 2019 s꧋eason began in Qatar after the final test at the same circuit. And it was a barnstormer. Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez engaged in a thrilling late battle tha💞t saw the latter go for a last corner lunge that ultimately didn’t pay off. Dovizioso won by 0.023s, while the top three was spread by 0.320s.

From first to 15th, 15.093s was the gap. For context, that would have put you a comfortable eighth in the 2025 Thai GP with KTM’s Binder 19.929s adrift of the lead in that position last wee🌱kend.

In theory, starting the season at the same place testing finished should create a reasonably exciting grand prix. The 2022 Qatar GP proved the opposite can 🍃be true, as that played into the hands of those on dialled in satellite bikes, but that is something of an outlier.

What the above data also shows is just how badly modern MotoGP biღkes actually affect the racing. While⭕ aero was present on bikes in 2019, those fairings were not as advanced as they are now. Ride height devices still hadn’t been widely introduced either.

Perhaps some of the uncertainty that a normal race weekend produces is missing when a season starts at the same track where testing finished. But the dullness of the 2025 Thai GP weekend is more a result of regulation set t♑hat makes bikes harder to race with, while a Marc Marquez in unstoppable form certainly was a major contributing factor.