Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) stormed to win number four of the 2025 campaign as he opened up a 32 point lead in the title race, while Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing) and Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) joined him on the podium. It was yet another gripping visit to Aragon, and these are some of the biggest Talking Points from Round 8!
“We lost points but we gained confidence”
After what could only be described as a miserable couple of recent outings, it looked like the Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) of old on Sunday in Aragon. Some late modifications to his race setup made the world of difference and gave him a far more optimistic outlook on a P3 finish than perhaps he normally would have.
Bagnaia: “I’m happier for this third place than other results that we did in the past.
“We just changed the disc of the bike. It was something that we never did in the past. It was something we didn't think about because it’s normally always the same. It was a huge step and helped me to be able to brake less and reduce the speed more.
“Mugello is a track where I was always super competitive. I just want to arrive there and at least fight for it. Not like this weekend that I finished on the podium, but I never had the chance to win. I would like to have at least a chance.
We lost points, but we gained confidence. Honestly, after yesterday, after the last two GP’s, was important to restart from a position like today. It was also important for the team. I’m very happy about this podium. It’s true that the last time I finished third was in Jerez, and I was upset. I was angry. Things can change quickly. I just need to be happy about today and try to continue working.”
“I started to think about that mistake”
The Aragon GP was a Marc Marquez masterclass. Leading every session and every lap of the Grand Prix. While from the outside it looked like smooth sailing for the #93 on Sunday, he admitted that he began to have doubts as past mistakes crept into his mind.
Marc Marquez: “If we want to fight for the Championship, we cannot have a weekend where we repeat mistakes like we did in Austin. The other ones, okay, but Austin was a big mistake and then today I was very focused. With six or seven laps remaining, I started to think about that mistake. I asked myself, ‘how should I manage the situation?’ But then I was looking the lap time and I was riding on low: 47s without full concentration. Then I decided to increase the speed to be focused again."
It proved a special occasion in general for the Marquez family once again, with both Marc and Alex on the podium at a circuit located just two hours from where they grew up.
Marc Marquez: “I just enjoyed that last lap and the finish line with Alex. In Jerez, I was sadder than usual because he won and I was not there on the podium to celebrate with him. But today we were able to celebrate together in the podium.”
Alex Marquez: I already said in Jerez that for me was a super special Sunday, but I was missing Marc on the podium to celebrate together. Today we were able to celebrate in front of all the family, all the fans there in turn 13. Was super nice. Happy for him because he took the victory, but he is our rival.
“It was a fun fight”
One of the highlights of the Aragon GP was seeing Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing) rub elbows as they battled for fifth in the latter stages of the Grand Prix, having already made some moves against each other across the opening exchanges. In the end, it was the experienced Italian who got the better of the rookie, but it's fair to say both enjoyed the fight!
Morbidelli: “I wasn't having the feeling I was expecting and I risked crashing three times, two big ones, at Turn 9 and Turn 10. So I'm really happy that I was able to bring the bike home, even more so that it was in P5, because at the end I found myself fighting for fifth with Fermin. It was a really nice battle. He had a great potential at the end and I'm pleased that I could get the better of him but he was he was really strong. It felt similar to the battle with Marc in Silverstone, the difference was the ending. With Marc, I couldn't beat him. This time with Fermin I could but he was really strong.”
Aldeguer: “It was a fun fight. In the end, I think it was a good race. I'm not 100% happy, because if I had finished 5th and won the battle, maybe I would be happier. But we didn’t get the best start, because I spun. I didn’t lose a lot of positions, but I didn’t recover any.
“The first fight with Morbidelli, after the second lap, he touched me, I went straight, I lost a lot of time and the feeling wasn't very good for a recovery. When I arrived to Morbidelli again, my front tyre was a little bit destroyed for the graining. Also the temperature went up a lot. And then I try to fight as best I could, but Morbidelli is hard to battle and also he has a lot of experience and he won. But I am a rookie.
“We gained a lot of experience from this battle and with a sixth position we have to be very happy because eight races ago I would have signed up for this type of result!”
“I’ve never been happy with seventh”
For the first time ever in his Honda career, Joan Mir has picked up consecutive top 10 finishes. The HRC rider came out on top of a brilliant mid-pack battle to claim seventh on Sunday in Aragon, picking up nine points, which has brought him to 27 for the year, which already exceeds the total earned in his previous two seasons.
Mir: “Finally, we could finish a race with a more or less good result. I’ve never been happy with seventh position during my career, but now yes, now I'm happy. So, imagine the situation that we are in. We are in a very difficult situation and finally being able to fight with these guys. We have to be happy for it.
"We have to be happy. We don't have the tools to do anything more. We don't have any more options. So, I will go to bed very calm with myself, knowing that I gave my 100%. We have to continue pushing, we are a lot closer than last year, but it’s not enough.
"We are pushing hard. We are, I think, doing a good job and we are in the process to be back, but still we miss acceleration, top speed and grip. This is something that we must improve.”