drivers, teams, calendar… everything that changes

A new era opens for MotoGP in 2025. While waiting for its takeover by Liberty Media to be validated by European authorities, the championship has already adopted a new visual identity, embodied by a new logo, and the changes will be numerous on the field, with a new team for the reigning world champion, Jorge Martín, as well as for Marc Márquez…

MotoGP 2025 riders and teams: Pramac changes bikes, three rookies arrive

The grid is turned upside down since it is only in the official Yamaha and Honda teams that the duos remain unchanged. After Jorge Martín’s title on a Pramac Ducati, the Madrilenian left the brand and signed up with Aprilia. Ducati had decided in the spring not to promote him to its official team, and the team also separated from the manufacturer to join forces with Yamaha, which found four motorcycles. We will thus have a more balanced field with an official team and a satellite team for each brand, except Ducati which retains an additional partner.

The game of musical chairs saw Marc Márquez join the official Ducati team, his place at Gresini being taken by rookie Fermín Aldeguer. Márquez will replace Enea Bastianini, who arrives on a KTM from the Tech3 team alongside Maverick Viñales, from Aprilia. The duo replaces Pedro Acosta, promoted to the official team, and Augusto Fernández, now Yamaha test rider.

At Aprilia, Aleix Espargaró left his starting role to become a Honda tester. Jorge Martín will thus team up with Marco Bezzecchi, who left VR46, where he is replaced by Franco Morbidelli, who arrived from Pramac. The best independent team of recent years will not only have a new bike but also two new riders, Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller, who returns to a team he knows well.

Miller was not retained by the official KTM team while Oliveira left the satellite Aprilia at Trackhouse, where he will be replaced by Moto2 champion Ai Ogura. The third debutant will be Somkiat Chantra on a Honda from the LCR team.

Among the riders who retain their place, we find Pecco Bagnaia at Ducati, Fabio Quartararo at Yamaha, Johann Zarco at LCR and Fabio Di Giannantonio at VR46, now with a latest generation Ducati.

2025 MotoGP Calendar: three circuits added

The 2025 MotoGP season plans 22 races, like a year ago… but several races were then canceled – in Argentina, Kazakhstan and India – and only one added, a second event in Misano called GP d’Émilie -Romagna. Kazakhstan and India are not on the program this year but Argentina makes its return, the Czech Republic GP appears for the first time since 2020 and the Hungarian GP is reborn on a new circuit, Balaton Park.

The calendar has also been rebalanced to avoid the very dense end of the season in 2024, which saw a sequence of six races in seven weekends. The series of three Grands Prix in as many Sundays even disappear completely. The season will begin in Thailand for the first time, before an American tour including stops in Argentina and the United States.

Used to opening the season, the Qatar GP will be the fourth round, before the European season, during which we will see the British and Aragón GPs switch to the first part of the season. Conversely, the Catalan GP and the Portuguese GP will take place in the second part, with the visit to Portimão becoming the penultimate meeting. Before that, the overseas tour will be reduced to four races, Thailand was no longer part of it.

MotoGP 2025 tests: Buriram replaces Losail, Aragon replaces Mugello

Winter testing will begin like every year at Sepang, first with a Shakedown reserved for beginners, test riders and representatives of Yamaha and Honda, the two brands remaining in category D of the concessions. A few days later, all the drivers will be reunited on the same circuit. The final pre-season test is scheduled for Buriram in Thailand, which will host a big presentation on February 9 in Bangkok.

During the season, we will find the traditional tests of Jerez and Misano, the day after the first and last in Europe of the season. The third test during the championship will be held just after the Aragón GP, ​​while it was organized after Mugello last year.

Regulation 2025: great stability and engine freezing

Before the expected revolution of the 2027 regulation, which provides for a new generation of engines with reduced displacement, a reduction in the space given to aerodynamic elements and the ban on height variators, the regulatory framework remains very stable for 2025.

In order to allow manufacturers to focus on new products for 2027, MotoGP has even imposed a freeze on engine development. The blocks which will be approved before the start of the season will therefore no longer be able to evolve until the end of 2026, except for brands in category D of concessions, and with rare exemptions linked to reliability for others. builders.

The application of the regulations could evolve since after numerous criticisms from the drivers, Freddie Spencer abandons his role as president of the race stewards at the Grands Prix, to be replaced by another former driver, Simon Crafar. Andrés Somolinos and Tamara Matko remain the two other stewards designated by the FIM.