Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) ended his 2025 season in style, earning his third Sunday victory of the year at the season finale. The Italian star impressed in Valencia, fending off a hard-charging Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) as Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) completed the podium. It was the first Aprilia one-two since 2023, leaving plenty of talking points to get stuck into ahead of the important post-GP Valencia Test!
"I won this bike in a bet"
Pressure? No issue for Marco Bezzecchi, who charged to victory on Sunday afternoon, finishing 0.686s clear after an intense end to the GP. It was a perfect end to the season for the #72, who walks away from 2025 with P3 in the World Championship, giving himself and Noale factory plenty to celebrate. Reflecting on the weekend, Bezzecchi explained his unique bet and celebration!
Bezzecchi: "The perfect way to finish 2025, that’s for sure. I’m not sure that I am also perfect. It was a fantastic race. I am super happy with how things went in the last part of the season. Very, very satisfied with the job done by my team, from the whole crew, the engineers in Noale and everyone else. Very, very happy. Of course, we start again on Tuesday. I can’t wait.
"I love my bike. It was super cool. I won this bike in a bet because I told Massimo that if I was able to win three races, then the bike was coming home. And I won the bike, so I had to ask her if she wanted to marry me. Fortunately, she said yes."
"For my family, it was a super nice day"
It was nearly a second win of the season for Raul Fernandez, with the Trackhouse star unable to convert a P4 start into victory at Valencia. Fernandez displayed incredible pace, closing the gap to Bezzecchi in the late laps. However, the #25 was unable to clinch gold, settling for second position and completing a special day for his family with younger brother Adrian clinching his first victory in Moto3!
Fernandez: "One week ago, I had a big crash in Portugal, and I never thought that I was fit to race in Valencia. But with all the physio, we did a super good job. I felt quite good. Of course, I had a little bit of pain in the last part of the race, but it is Valencia. I love this track. I enjoy riding here a lot. I tried. Marco had a little bit more in some corners, and I couldn’t try.
"Anyway, I’m happy. I think Aprilia is doing a super good job. Also, for me and for my family, it was a super nice day with the first victory for my brother and now with my second MotoGP podium."
"We always worked with our heads down"
Fabio Di Giannantonio returned to the Grand Prix podium for the first time since Phillip Island, securing third position after a confidence-boosting weekend. The Italian qualified on the front row, backing up his third in Saturday’s Sprint with third on Sunday – following an intense fight. Di Giannantonio took the opportunity to reflect on the weekend and the season, celebrating his and the team’s hard work
Di Giannantonio: "We worked so hard this year. It has been super unpredictable results every time, but we were always united with the team. That is not taken for granted. We always trusted each other. We always worked with our heads down. Never stopped. In the end, it worked well because we improved the bike. I was able to be a little bit more consistent, especially in the last part of the season. These results show that we are making a step forward. Today we were the first Ducati."
"I just wanted to say ‘hi’ to my fan club"
Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) made his MotoGP return in Valencia, returning to the starting grid for the first time since Motegi. Martin retired from Sunday’s Grand Prix, remaining cautious as he continues to recover. The 2024 MotoGP World Champion took the opportunity to wave to his fans before returning to the pits, as he ended the year with some positives.
Martin: "I did my two Long Laps, and then I just tried to understand some things on the bike. I was really tired the whole weekend, so the target was already to stop in the race. We spoke with the team, and the intelligent decision was to stop after a few laps. I already did 14 or 15 laps, a bit more than yesterday, which was a good sign. But I was very tired and in pain, so it made no sense to continue.”
"The team told me on the pit board, so as soon as they told me, I did one more lap. I just wanted to say 'hi' to my fan club. It’s strange because here in Valencia it's always super nice to end the season, and you can celebrate coming back to the box."
"It was so hard to slow down the bike"
2025 proved to be a challenging season for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), and Sunday’s Valencia GP was no different. The #63 crashed out on the opening lap following a collision with Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda HCR). Zarco stayed on his machine, crossing the line in P12 after serving a Long Lap Penalty. The Frenchman later apologised for the incident, describing the tricky opening lap in detail.
Zarco: "I am super sorry to Pecco. I saw Quartararo struggling with the fork lock, and because he couldn't unlock it at the first corner and second corner, I thought that he had a technical problem. So the target was to overtake Fabio as quickly as possible.
"On this changing direction on the brakes, I decided to overtake him, but at that moment, I made the move, it was so hard to slow down the bike, and to avoid Brad Binder. If I had tried to go into turn 4, I would have hit Brad Binder. I avoided Brad, but in doing so, I went wide and crossed the line of Pecco."