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The 2025 MotoGP season concluded with a dramatic Valencia Grand Prix, delivering unexpected results and setting the stage for the upcoming year. While the championship title had been decided earlier in September, the Valencia finale offered plenty of drama, particularly in the opening laps, with the race winner never in doubt, but the final podium positions surprising many.
Winner: Aprilia
Aprilia seized the spotlight at the Valencia GP, achieving a resounding victory with Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez securing a 1-2 finish. This marked the Italian manufacturer’s first 1-2 since 2023, capping off a season where Aprilia had demonstrated considerable potential but often struggled to capitalize on its opportunities.
Throughout the final stretch of the 2025 campaign, Aprilia emerged as a formidable force in MotoGP, showcasing its RS-GP’s competitive edge. However, various factors, including rider errors and unforeseen circumstances, prevented the team from consistently achieving top results.
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The Indonesian GP, for instance, highlighted Aprilia’s unrealized potential. The RS-GP possessed a distinct advantage over its rivals, leading many to believe that an all-Aprilia podium sweep was within reach. However, the team ultimately settled for a sixth-place finish, failing to fully exploit its competitive advantage.
Similarly, at the Portuguese GP, Marco Bezzecchi was the sole Aprilia rider left standing after Raul Fernandez’s withdrawal due to a practice crash. Despite the setback, Bezzecchi managed to salvage valuable points for the team, underscoring his resilience and determination.
At Valencia, however, everything clicked for Aprilia, with both Bezzecchi and Fernandez delivering exceptional performances. Bezzecchi executed a clean start, avoiding the holeshot issues that had plagued him in the sprint race. He maintained a consistent pace throughout the race, ultimately securing his third win of the 2025 season.
Fernandez, meanwhile, showcased his overtaking prowess, charging his way through the field in the latter stages of the race. He swiftly dispatched Fabio di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez, securing second place. The Spaniard’s ability to close in on Bezzecchi’s factory bike served as a significant confidence boost, particularly given his recent success in Australia just over a month ago.
Adding to Aprilia’s positive momentum, 2024 champion Jorge Martin made a comeback, completing 15 of the 27 laps. While his performance was not podium-worthy, it demonstrated his determination and contributed to the team’s overall success.
Loser: Pedro Acosta
For Pedro Acosta, the Valencia GP proved to be a disappointing end to a season marked by cautious optimism and unrealized potential. Despite expressing confidence in his chances heading into the final two European rounds, Acosta’s outlook shifted following his defeat to Alex Marquez in Saturday’s sprint race.
Rather than focusing on immediate victories, Acosta suggested that it could take him up to a year before he finally reaches the top step of the podium. While this projection was influenced by KTM’s trajectory rather than his own performance, it underscored the challenges he faces in his pursuit of a MotoGP victory.
After two seasons in the premier class, Acosta remains winless, a stark contrast to his previous successes in Moto2 and Moto3. While he genuinely appeared to have a shot at victory in Portugal the previous weekend, leading most of the sprint race until being overtaken by Marquez, he was never really in contention at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Topping Friday practice did raise hope, but in a tightly-packed field, he could only qualify fifth.
A brilliant launch placed him directly behind Marquez in the sprint, but he didn’t have the speed – or the tire life – to put up a fight to his Gresini rival. On Sunday, he failed to finish on the podium, as both Raul Fernandez and Fabio di Giannantonio sped past him on faster Italian bikes.
Winner: Honda
The Honda camp celebrated a significant milestone at the Valencia GP, as the manufacturer finally "escaped" the lowest tier in MotoGP’s concession system and drew level with its European rivals Aprilia and KTM.
While celebrating the loss of a regulatory advantage may seem counterintuitive, it was actually a key target for the Sakura-based manufacturer. Honda, after all, is not a new team aiming to climb up the ladder in MotoGP; it’s a fallen giant striving to reclaim its throne after years of frustration and underperformance. The loss of Group D concessions is a small but important step toward returning to regular victories and title contention.
The concession system was introduced to provide struggling manufacturers with certain advantages, such as increased testing opportunities and engine development allowances. Honda’s departure from the lowest tier signifies its progress in addressing the weaknesses of its RC213V bike and improving its overall competitiveness.
Honda has worked hard over the year to fix some long-running weaknesses of the RC213V, and it has been so successful that even Joan Mir has been able to rediscover his mojo and finish on the podium in both Japan and Malaysia.
His teammate Luca Marini also deserves a lot of recognition for his steady performances. While largely overshadowed by Mir in recent races, Marini came through when Honda needed him most, climbing from 13th on the grid to finish seventh and secure the points required for Group C status.
It was also an impressive turnaround for Honda from Saturday after Mir wiped out Marini on the second lap.
Loser: Francesco Bagnaia
Francesco Bagnaia’s miserable 2025 campaign ended on a bitter note as he was taken out of the race on the opening lap through no fault of his own.
This wasn’t a weekend where Bagnaia lacked pace and trundled at the back of the grid; he was still competitive until misfortune struck. But the fact that he failed to score a single point all weekend and dropped to fifth in the standings means he was one of the big losers in Valencia.
Bagnaia was already on the back foot on Friday as a wrong set-up direction and an oil cooler issue prevented him from making a direct entry into Q2. Things got from bad to worse when Ducati miscalculated the amount of fuel he needed for qualifying, leaving him a distant 16th on the grid for two races.
The sprint came and went without any major drama, but Bagnaia was climbing up the order after a rapid start on Sunday when Johann Zarco rear-ended him at Turn 4, bringing a premature end to his season.
While the two-time MotoGP champion was still refusing to give up hope after the race, his superstitious comments about ‘attracting negativity’ were hardly reassuring heading into the winter break.
Winner: Fabio di Giannantonio
Fabio di Giannantonio emerged as an unheralded hero at the Valencia GP, securing his first double podium finish (sprint and Sunday race) since Qatar 2023, where he claimed his maiden grand prix victory.
Qualifying on the front row for only the third time this season, Di Giannantonio battled Fernandez in the sprint before overtaking him three laps from the finish.
Fernandez proved faster on Sunday, but di Giannantonio made light work of Marquez and came on top in a feisty duel with Acosta to snatch third position. It was only his fourth Sunday podium of the year for the Italian, but in a season of ups and downs, the result was a vital boost for his morale heading into the winter break.
His late-race charge also saved Ducati’s podium streak from ending at 87 races, after Marquez tumbled down the order from second with inexplicable tire wear and vibration problems.
Finishing the year just 26 points behind fellow GP25 rider Bagnaia shows di Giannantonio’s season was stronger than it appeared.
Loser: Franco Morbidelli
Although Franco Morbidelli has sometimes faced unfair criticism this season based on his reputation rather than his on-track actions, the events of the Valencia GP reflected poorly on him.
Morbidelli was set to start seventh for the finale but lost concentration on the grid, ramming the back of Aleix Espargaro, who had qualified seven places ahead of him.
While we still don’t know what happened from Morbidelli’s perspective, the consequences of the incident were disastrous. The Italian immediately fell to his side after contact, forcing him to take the start from the pitlane.
To make things worse, he was forced to pull into the VR46 garage five laps later to retire due to what was later confirmed to be a fracture on his left hand. An exact timeline for recovery hasn’t been provided, but being declared unfit for Tuesday’s Valencia test is a significant setback that could severely impact his preparations for 2026.
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