Barely had the dust settled on the drama of the San Marino Grand Prix before MotoGP’s paddock was back in action. Monday at Misano meant testing — a chance for riders to reset, teams to trial upgrades, and for storylines to shift from podiums to prototypes.
Pedro Acosta, who endured a frustrating Sunday retirement, bounced back in style for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. The Spanish rookie lit up the timesheets to end the day fastest overall. Yet despite his headline lap, the biggest talking point wasn’t orange — it was Yamaha blue. For the first time, the Japanese manufacturer rolled out its brand-new V4 engine configuration across its full rider line-up, offering the clearest sign yet of their determination to claw back competitiveness.
KTM Bounce Back After Grand Prix Misfortune
Sunday’s race had been a disaster for KTM, with mechanical failures and bad luck leaving their garage in repair mode. But on Monday Acosta looked like a rider with a point to prove. Fast straight out of the blocks, he led the timing screens for most of the afternoon and came close to dipping under the 1’30 barrier in the second session. Despite admitting he still wasn’t fully comfortable through Misano’s high-speed sections, his 0.340s advantage over the field was an emphatic marker.
Brad Binder put in the mileage too, opting to ride until the very end of the test. His late improvements dragged him up to 14th — not a spectacular placing, but valuable data for KTM’s engineers.
Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) also chipped away. “The Beast” tested different setup ideas, while Viñales concentrated on rebuilding strength in his injured shoulder. His persistence paid off in the final hour when his times dropped significantly. Meanwhile, KTM test legend Dani Pedrosa sampled new parts — a swingarm variation and a revised rear exhaust. He was only 1.9s off Acosta despite finishing 21st, underlining the tightness of the field.
Ducati: Progress, but Pecco Hits the Deck
Over at Ducati, Alex Marquez flew the flag with a strong run to second overall. The Gresini rider focused on electronics refinement and consistency work, reporting that he felt satisfied with the day’s direction. His young teammate Fermín Aldeguer also logged extensive laps, targeting time-attack simulations that put him 10th by the flag.
Franco Morbidelli was the pick of the VR46 stable, finishing fifth. Fabio Di Giannantonio wasn’t far behind in seventh, a promising sign for the satellite squad.
But not everything went smoothly. Francesco Bagnaia experimented with a hybrid package of 2024 aero and 2025 chassis components in a bid to rediscover front-end confidence. Just as progress seemed possible, the two-time champion suffered a crash at Turn 1 late in the day. Marc Marquez, leading the championship hunt, split his workload across different swingarm configurations to sharpen corner exit. He wrapped up his running early, content with sixth. Test stalwart Michele Pirro completed Ducati’s roster, unveiling a stripped-back front-aero design, though his P23 showed there’s work still to be done.
Aprilia: Consistency and Fine Tuning
Marco Bezzecchi barely had time to process his Sunday heroics before climbing back onto the RS-GP. His focus was on revisiting an earlier chassis setup to see how it matched the bike’s current evolution. Jorge Martin, meanwhile, worked mainly on electronics and rider ergonomics, specifically handlebar positioning. Despite a small late crash at Turn 8, the reigning champion declared that Aprilia now has its “base package” about 75% ready.
Raul Fernandez impressed again, posting steady laps that kept him inside the top ten. With Ai Ogura sidelined after his race crash, Fernandez carried the Trackhouse banner alone. By day’s end, Aprilia could claim three riders in the top ten — Bezzecchi in third, Fernandez in fourth, and Martin ninth — a strong collective result for Noale’s factory.
Honda: Signs of Life
Honda’s difficult season hasn’t been short on criticism, but Monday brought small glimmers of encouragement. Joan Mir was absent, still in pain after his heavy Friday crash, so Luca Marini shouldered most of HRC’s development load. Testing a revised chassis and different rear-end aero, Marini wound up 11th, declaring the changes a “step forward.”
Johann Zarco pursued a similar programme, working long into the afternoon before slotting into 15th. Somkiat Chantra completed his laps early and finished 22nd. For Honda, raw positions mattered less than the reassurance that progress — however incremental — was visible.
Yamaha: All Eyes on the V4 Revolution
If one storyline dominated paddock chatter, it was Yamaha’s radical step. After years of sticking with its inline-four, the Japanese marque has gone V4. Monday marked the first time the entire Yamaha contingent — Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins, Miguel Oliveira, and Jack Miller — put the prototype through its paces.
The lap times weren’t headline-grabbing. Quartararo ended up 18th, Oliveira 16th, Rins 17th, and Miller 19th. But timesheets weren’t the point. What mattered was feedback, and here the signs were positive: all four riders echoed that the V4 had genuine potential and gave them new optimism. Quartararo, in particular, stressed that while the package is embryonic, the “direction is finally right.”
Wrapping Up Misano, Eyes on Motegi
So closed a packed fortnight for the paddock: a Sprint, a Grand Prix, a record crowd of 174,821 fans, and finally, a marathon Monday of testing. The contrast was striking — from Sunday’s chest-beating battles to Monday’s methodical lap-logging.
Acosta left Misano with the day’s bragging rights, KTM with renewed belief, and Yamaha with a headline-grabbing new chapter. But the real story lies further east. Next up is Motegi, where Marc Marquez arrives with the chance to clinch the 2025 MotoGP World Championship and seal one of the sport’s great comeback stories.
Images MotoGP
