Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez continued his MotoGP winning streak at the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend. Including Sprints, the Ducati rider has now taken 12 victories in a row.
This year’s world championship has become a procession. Marquez is nearly 150 points clear of his brother Alex, and it’s possible that he seals the title at Misano in just three races’ time.
There were some exciting moments during Sunday’s race. Marquez didn’t take the lead until the closing stages after an entertaining back-and-forth with polesitter Marco Bezzecchi.
What’s more, Fermin Aldeguer charged from sixth on the grid to second, executing a particularly aggressive pass on long-time rival Pedro Acosta. That denied KTM a podium on home soil, though Acosta was third in Saturday’s Sprint.
Austrian Grand Prix boss says MotoGP is missing ‘charismatic’ Valentino Rossi
As reported by Motorsport-Total, just under 50,000 fans attended Sunday’s race. Though it’s one of the shorter tracks on the calendar, it can seat 105,000 spectators.
Most worryingly for circuit managing director Thomas Uberall, there was a sharp reduction of 17,000 from the 2024 race. Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin battled for the championship last year.
Speaking to ORF Styria, Uberall suggested that the sport is missing a high-stakes, compelling rivalry that will fill the grandstands. Alex Marquez has been accused of being overly compliant in wheel-to-wheel battles with his older brother.
“There are two points: The Marquez brothers lack that charismatic opponent – just like Valentino Rossi was. But hopefully, that will emerge again.
“And the second point, why it might be a bit less, is that our fans’ habits have changed, and therefore August is no longer so ideal as a peak travel season, and people might decide more often to go away on vacation instead of coming here.
“For this reason, we’ve decided to set the date for next year, 2026, for 20 September, in the Styrian autumn, so to speak.”
New owners Liberty Media will make filling the empty seats a top priority. Only then will there be a long list of new venues pushing to join the calendar.
Fabio di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi both paid tribute to Valentino Rossi last weekend
Rossi was in attendance for the race in his role as VR46 team boss. While he tends to maintain a low profile, he did have a considerable impact on the weekend.
Bezzecchi thanked Rossi for his advice after taking a surprise pole position on Saturday. The seven-time premier-class champion continues to manage the Aprilia rider even after he left VR46.
What’s more, Fabio di Giannantonio says Rossi is able to anticipate his feedback in ‘two minutes’. He’s an invaluable asset, but he must manage his own racing commitments.
Rossi and Marquez still don’t get on, as evidenced by one televised moment before the Sprint race. But Uberall and Liberty are waiting for the series’ next superstar to emerge and take the fight to the seemingly unstoppable Spaniard.
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