The Mobility Resort Motegi track has not been going easy on the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad so far, with both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales ending a disappointing Super Saturday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan. After respectively qualifying in 21st and 23rd on the grid, Bastianini retired from the sprint race this afternoon following a technical issue, while Viñales continued to struggle with his RC16, and completed the 12 lap-shootout in 16th.

Grand Prix of Japan

QUALIFYING
As expected looking at the timesheets of Friday’s Practice, qualifying at Motegi turned out to be a tight one, once again. Twenty riders closed the opening FP2 this morning less than one second from each other, with Enea Bastianini taking the 18th time and Maverick Viñales in P20. As Q1 began, both Bastianini and Viñales joined a busy session, alongside the likes of Alex Marquez, missing out on Q2 for the first time this season! In his first run, Bastianini's best lap was a 1’44.178 that had him in a provisional P11 (+0.749), while Viñales sat in P14 at the pit stop with a 1’44.710. In the second run, both riders did not find the way to improve their lap times, and those earlier laps remained their best. Bastianini was set to start the Japanese Grand Prix from P21, and Viñales in P23 as he closed the starting grid.

TISSOT SPRINT
The sun was still shining at 3pm in Motegi for the Tissot Sprint, when both Bastianini and Viñales lined up at the back. As lights were out, both Red Bull KTM Tech3 riders negotiated a solid start as they sneaked on the inside of T1 to pass through the big crash of Aprilia Racing’s duo, Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi. Bastianini had gained 8 positions in the first corner to sit just right behind Jack Miller, in P13. Enea settled in the first couple of laps in that position, keeping it up with a constant gap of 0.4 seconds to Miller. However, Brad Binder was behind, and in the last corner of lap 4, the South African passed through Bastianini, who was now in 14th.  Unfortunately, the number 23 was forced to retire following an unfortunate technical issue on lap 7 out of 12, calling it an end for the day. Maverick Viñales had also ceased his opportunity as Martin and Bezzecchi were out at T1, and he powered through to P14 from P23 in just a few turns at the sprint start, behind teammate Binder. However, he dropped two positions in the next sequences as he lost some mid-group battles. One lap done, and that was P16 behind Fabio Di Giannantonio, but soon, wild card and local hero Takaaki Nakagami challenged Maverick for 16th. The number 12 appeared to suffer during the early laps, and we saw him drop to 18th at the end of lap 3, overtaken by both Nakagami and Zarco, and next, it was Oliveira’s turn. Maverick was in P19 half way through the sprint. He eventually crossed the checkered flag in 16th following a few other race incidents. Difficult Japanese campaign so far for the squad, so heads down, and a lot of work awaiting us overnight to arrive on Sunday in better shape. Do not miss the main event of the Motul Grand Prix of Japan tomorrow, at 14:00 local time (UTC+9), for 24 laps, as we might have a new – or returning – king crowned!

MAVERICK VIÑALES: "I have two corners here with fast changes of direction from right to left, where I am feeling a bit weaker because of my shoulder, but overall I am quite impressed with how much I have improved, so it is a step forward from that side. However, on the bike's side, I have not been feeling good on it since our return, the dynamic has been different, with a lot of slides at the front, and I am unable to be fast. It feels like we need to start from zero again. Our target at the moment is to recover the bike, and get back to what I had before my injury. I am pushing the factory to bring back the aero package that I liked, so let's see! Once we feel good again, we can start thinking of being competitive again. For tomorrow, let's see, we will give our best."

ENEA BASTIANINI: "Unfortunately, we had an engine problem in the sprint, so we had to retire. Sad end to the day, which was not great to be honest. I was expecting a bit better because I felt good towards the end of Practice yesterday. Nothing was better for us today while all other riders improved, and I was a bit unlucky with the yellow flags in Q1 this morning. Anyway, when you start from P21, you know it is going to be difficult. I jumped to P13 at the sprint start because of the crash at T1, which was nasty, so I was in a better position, but anyway, we did not really get a chance. Japan is quite frustrating so far, because one of our strongest points with the KTM is the braking, and we are struggling here, despite the track being very demanding in that area. When I arrive in the corners with a lot of speed, I can't stop the bike because the front locks, and it is compromising a lot of my exits. Hopefully we can find something for tomorrow, either way, it will be very hard to fight for the top 10."

NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "The result of today's sprint race is a short summary of the weekend we are having in Japan so far, unfortunately. Both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales are facing issues that we are struggling to solve. It is clear that Maverick is still not at his 100% physically, but it is not the main problem of the weekend, because he is not feeling right on the bike at the moment. There is an issue bothering him, and we are doing everything we can to fix it so he can feel much better in tomorrow's main race. The story is similar for Enea, with the same issue on the bike more or less, and he does not have the confidence from the past races, and having to retire from the sprint after a technical issue is not great. We see some positives thanks to Pedro Acosta's performance, so we know our package works and we have room for improvement, so let's go back to our computers, carefully study everything, and hopefully we can help both riders feel better for Sunday."

QUALIFYING RESULTS

TISSOT SPRINT RESULTS

TRACK RECORDS

All Time Record: 2025 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'42.911 - 167.9 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - J. Martin (SPA) - 1'44.461 - 165.4 km/h
Best Pole: 2025 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'42.911 - 167.9 km/h
Top Speed: 2025 - M. Marquez (SPA) - 320.4 km/h