MotoGP, Austin J2: Fabio Quartararo, the big surprise of the Sprint, Yamaha surprises, Aprilia disappoints and Ducati still dominant

Fabio Quartararo, who started from an anonymous 11th place in qualifying, decided to set Austin on fire during the Sprint of the 2025 Grand Prix of the Americas at COTA. The Frenchman, like a masked superhero, emerged from the background to flirt with the top 5, finishing 6th and leaving everyone speechless, including himself! Yamaha, which was given up for dead after flops in Thailand and Argentina, suddenly found its wings, while KTM, Honda, and Aprilia battled their demons. Up front, Marc Marquez held his own as favorite, but Pecco Bagnaia gave him a hard time from the start, while Alex Marquez watched for the slightest opening. The infernal trio eventually dropped the pack, leaving the VR46s of Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli more than 6 seconds behind – a chasm after 10 laps!

Le 2025 Grand Prix of the Americas Sprint had its share of surprises, and one of the most notable was the performance of fabio quartararo, who managed to fight for the top 5 after an average qualification in 11th position. While Yamaha seemed in difficulty, Quarterly pulled off a strong sixth-place finish. However, he couldn't explain why this burst of performance took place: " In the morning, the pace wasn't optimal, but at least we had some rhythm. We were consistent. Of course, much slower than the Ducatis, but unlike Argentina, we had at least some rhythm »

The duels between Quarterly and the duo VR46 were intense and enjoyable to watch. In the race, he made the most of his car's capabilities. Yamaha , despite an obvious performance deficit compared to Ducati, faster in the corners and with better acceleration. Trying to follow them, I put a lot of weight on the front wheel and made some mistakes, but I also made some good saves. It was great, even though we didn't have an exceptionally good rhythm ", highlighted Quarterly after the race.

However, behind the leading trio led by Ducati, the others had more difficulties. KTM, Honda et Aprilia struggled to keep up. Peter Acosta, although excellent in qualifying with a fourth place, saw his performance drop in the race due to grip problems, which forced him to deal with constant vibrations on the rear wheel. The vibrations are unimaginable, truly the worst I have ever felt. ", told Acosta, frustrated by this persistent problem for more than a year. His teammate Brad Binder did not fare any better, settling for 12th place after losing several positions on the last lap.

Ai Ogura after the Sprint in Austin: " We Aprilia riders need to wake up, including me. »

On the Honda side, Joan mir fell while in seventh position, another sign of the fragility of the Japanese machine this season. It was a different, unexpected fall. ", has explained Mir, which suffers from the low top speed of the Honda, a significant deficit on the long straight ofAustin.

The difficult weekend of Aprilia continued, with none of the machines reaching Q2, and Marco Bezzecchi still struggling to make up for lost time following technical problems on Friday. The rookie Ai Ogura was the only one to stand out, taking ninth place. Last year, Aprilia had dominated and won in Austin with Casa Particular in Viñales. This time we were far from the mark. What do you think? George Martin thinks when he sees the current performance? The beginner Ogura sums up the situation well: " I think Aprilia is strong on this circuit, but it was probably mostly thanks to Maverick. We Aprilia riders need to wake up, including me. ».

In summary, the Austin Sprint showed that if Ducati remains the undisputed leader in performance, Yamaha , led by Quarterly, and others like KTM, have shown that they are not far behind, although technical problems and performance gaps in the race continue to compromise their chances against the dominance of Ducati.

MotoGP, Austin Sprint: ranking