What we Learned from Argentina MotoGP

Round two of the 2025 MotoGP campaign is in the books, but did we learn anything following another rout from Ducati?

At the Thai MotoGP, Ducati proved to be untouchable as Marc Marquez claimed pole position, sprint victory and his first Grand Prix win in the all-red of the factory team.

Fast forward another two weeks and the eight-time world champion completed what was a mirror image of the first round, as he again took pole but this time with a new circuit lap record, before going on to win both the sprint and Grand Prix ahead of his brother Alex Marquez.

Like his elder sibling, Alex was again second in both races which highlighted just how strong Ducati still is, while Francesco Bagnaia was third in the sprint. In the main race, Bagnaia was beaten to third by fellow Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli.

So… amongst all of Ducati’s domination, what did we learn?

Marc Marquez Looks like the 2025 champion in waiting

Yes, we have had just two races so far in 2025, but Marc Marquez looks reborn and has gelled with the factory GP25 bike like a duck taking to water.

Remove Alex Marquez from the equation and no other rider has sniffed pole position or the lead of a race through the first two sprints and Grand Prix.

Marquez has shown the type of dominance we saw at Honda on his very best days, and although the first two circuits have been favourites of his, there’s no reason to suggest he won’t continue this form going forward, especially since he’s riding the most complete bike on the grid.

Johann Zarco and Honda have arrived

Finally, I hear you say! Honda’s improvements over the winter finally seem to be yielding the type of results it would have hoped for as Johann Zarco was incredible to watch throughout the weekend.

A stunning P3 result in qualifying was backed up by two strong races where he finished as the first non-Ducati rider in both, but more importantly, he was the only rider on another motorcycle to really take the fight to the Borgo Panigale brand.

In the sprint, Zarco recovered from a difficult start to put his RC213V fourth at the finish line, before claiming sixth in Sunday’s race behind the top five Ducatis. Further back, the factory duo of Joan Mir and Luca Marini fought between themselves for ninth and tenth, with the pair ultimately separated by three-tenths.

Bagnaia is no match for Marquez, so far!

Make that either Marquez's brother, but particularly his team-mate who Bagnaia is expected to fight for the 2025 world title. The two-time champion has done well to limit the damage against Marc Marquez after two difficult rounds.

But limiting the damage is unlikely to be enough against Marquez this season and perhaps more of a worry for the Italian is that he doesn’t quite look himself.

It’s fair to say that Bagnaia has struggled to gel with his current Desmosedici bike, and that has only been compounded by the ease with which Marquez has been riding at the front of the field. 

Bagnaia is not a rider that we’ve ever really seen lose confidence, but he’s also never had a team-mate like Marquez who will continue to deliver with consistency, so unless the 28-year-old can rebound quickly - next up is Circuit of the Americas where Marquez is very strong - this season could get very difficult.

What has happened to Maverick Vinales?

I don’t know about you, but when Vinales left Aprilia to join KTM, it was a switch that I, personally, did not think would suit him that much.

But still, the Vinales that has turned up at the opening two rounds is a shadow of the rider who went on to challenge Ducati on several occasions last year. Vinales has struggled adapting to his factory RC16, and while that’s true for Enea Bastianini too, Vinales’s struggles have been very alarming.

Vinales on top form is something truly special to watch, but as of now, there has been zero evidence that he is close to performing anywhere close to those levels. Vinales was 18th in the sprint before a slightly better showing in the main race saw him climb to P12.

Ai Ogura is a star in the making

A bizarre post-race penalty due to a “non-homologated software” on his bike meant Ogura lost his eighth-place finish, but it doesn’t take away from how good the reigning Moto2 champion was.

On the backfoot after qualifying where he crashed and subsequently had to line up in 15th, Ogura wasted no time regaining ground in the Grand Prix as he delivered several brilliant overtakes.

Ogura was also the top Aprilia rider for the second race weekend in succession, although the penalty resulted in disqualification in the end. Still, signs are there that Ogura could be set for some very big results in 2025.

Ogura has also come into the Trackhouse Racing team and made light work of Raul Fernandez to this point, which is no easy task given the form the Spaniard showed at times last year.

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