I expected there to be more news over the winter break but the dominant discussion is KTM. They are more or less in the doo-doo but there are attempts being made to save their racing program in MotoGP.

https://www.motorsport.com/mot...News&utm_content=www

Bajaj owns the minority stake and they could buy them out. Then there are rumors that RedBull will take over the MotoGP program (huge, deep, pockets). KTM have a share holders meeting at the end of January. Other rumors are Lewis Hamilton is involved (with his management company), Mercedes as well, what a fucking mess. Apparently the root of the problem is Pierer who warned of a sales decline in 2024 but didn’t curb production to offset. They have 250,000 bikes (MX mostly) sitting in warehouses somewhere, not even shipped to stealers. They keep stating that the MotoGP program is a completely separate company from KTM and that they will remain, at least for the 2025/2026 seasons.

The 2025 team presentations from every mfr. are to be in the next few weeks and I’ll try to post them. At least we will get to see the new liveries for the coming season.

Here are the preseason testing dates:

Shakedown Test (Sepang): January 31st – February 2nd, MotoGP
Sepang Test: February 5th – 7th February, MotoGP
Buriram Test: February 12th - 13th, Moto2™ & Moto3™

Team reveals:

January 14th, Trackhouse (Aprilia), Charlotte, NC (USA)

January 16th, Aprilia (Factory), Milan, Italy

January 18th, Gresini (Ducati), Imola, Italy

January 20th, Ducati (Factory), Madonna of Campiglio, Italy

January 25th, VR|46 (Ducati), Jakarta, Indonesia

January 30th, KTM (Factory and Tech 3), Sepang, Malaysia

January 31st, Yamaha (Factory and Pramac), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

February 1st, Honda (Factory), Jakarta, Indonesia

February 8th, LCR (Honda), Bangkok, Thailand

February 9th, MotoGP season launch, Bangkok, Thailand

There will also be hoopla central around Assen this year. They are celebrating their 100th anniversary even though they haven’t been racing there for a full 100 years. Wars, Covid, etc caused breaks. MotoGP as it is now called started in 1949.

2025 Trackhouse Team Presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/live/7...?si=rJD6XmiSeiBR-6AT

July 18th is Brno!

Man, I had a good time at that track.
The elevation changes are awesome.

Glad to see it back, the Cz fans were both friendly and a shit-ton of motorcycles ridden there.

Factory Aprilia team presentation for 2025. Jorge Martin is not only using the #1 plate on this bike, he has it “all over the place”. He is definitely rubbing salt in Ducati’s pending wounds. This is worth the watch.

https://www.youtube.com/live/3...?si=ij8Z_jW8JOCElV1G

Gresini Team Presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/live/6...?si=IQ67z8fcF0FRO-jB

Ducati Factory Presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/live/M...?si=HKLr5qqkKcpMF2IR