MotoGP™ fans, your Saturdays start to be boring now! The final Super Saturday of the season is now done and dusted, as Red Bull KTM Tech3 completed the ultimate qualifying and Tissot sprint of the season. Enea Bastianini once again provided a solid effort in the afternoon sprint race to earn 13th at the checkered flag from P20 on the grid. Maverick Viñales, who raced for the first time since Japan, finished 18th after qualifying in P21.

Grand Prix of Valencia

QUALIFYING
So, Enea Bastianini was for sure eager to try making the cut to Q2, but a tough fight awaited, with the timesheets remaining super close after FP2 this morning. As Q1 started, the Italian began with a 1’30.273, and then a 1’30.073 had him in 6th at the pitstop, while Raul Fernandez and Johann Zarco were the two provisionally qualified. Maverick Viñales was close too, as a 1’30.154 had him in 8th halfway through the final Q1 of the year. Run 2 was on, Bastianini found a way to bring his time down to a 1’29.948, and Viñales also improved with a 1’29.987. However, Raul Fernandez had set a solid 1’29.036 early into his run 2, one that remained unbeaten, as the Spaniard headed to Q2, alongside Zarco. Bastianini qualified in 20th, and Viñales, 21st, while Marco Bezzecchi grabbed the final pole position of 2025.

TISSOT SPRINT
As we went sprinting one last time this season, it was Alex Marquez who took the lead while Pedro Acosta went to 2nd from 5th at lights out, and poleman Marco Bezzecchi was in 3rd. From 20th on the grid, Enea gained 1 position in the opening lap, and his ascension continued on lap 2 as 4 more positions were gained to enter lap 3 in 15th behind Alex Rins. Bastianini was quick to overcome the Yamaha rider, to sit in 14th after 4 laps. Teammate Maverick Viñales was excited to line up on the grid for the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix. From 21st, the Spaniard kept his position at the lights out, and the double crash of HRC duo Mir-Marini saw him sit in 19th after 2 laps, and Jorge Martin going wide at the next lap meant 18th for Top Gun. Three laps into the sprint, just 0.145 seconds separated Bastianini from his ex-teammate Francesco Bagnaia, but the Ducati rider closed all possible doors as Bestia eased things down, and the gap grew bigger. Halfway through, Alex Marquez led Acosta by 1,5 seconds, and next there was Raul Fernandez in battle for 3rd against a pressuring Fabio Di Giannantonio. Viñales focused on his pace, as the main focus was to get back to it, and Top Gun crossed the line in 18th. A bit more ahead, teammate Bastianini had found the extra strenght to come back on his ex-teammate to sneak into the 13th place in the final seconds. Good progression once again by the Italian, who will be keen to do more laps on the long distance on Sunday, as lights will go out one last time at 14:00 local time, for 27 laps!

ENEA BASTIANINI: "I gave my 100% like always, but of course we are not happy with 13th, even if we won the battle against Pecco at the end, I am sure that both him and I would have prefered battling for the podium. The pace was not so bad, and I think that we have margin to improve for the main race, so we will try our best. This track is quite difficult, it is small for a MotoGP bike, and we are all so close, it will be difficult to make overtakes on Sunday, but anyway let's see where we can arrive. We will give everything!"

MAVERICK VIÑALES: "It has been a good day for us overall. It was very important to understand if all the small modifications we made to adapt my position on the bike were positive, and they were, so I am happy. My shoulder is not fully ready yet, I still feel limited, but the bike is working super well, so this makes me really calm."

NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "This last weekend of the season is looking pretty much the same to the others for Enea Bastianini, meaning a disappointing qualifying, followed by a decent performance in the sprint. He managed to get a good P13 from P20 on the grid with decent laps, which is good, but we are obviously not satisfied. We have a big target heading to next season, the one lap performance to improve, and this is going to be our main focus during the pre-season. On the other hand, Maverick Viñales has been riding a MotoGP bike for the first time in a month, so for sure he needs to be back to speed and find a decent setup. The target of the weekend is to be fully ready for Tuesday's test, and we are heading in the right direction. There is just one race left, and we think that Enea can target the top 10, while Maverick will focus on building up his speed to be ready for the test."

QUALIFYING RESULTS

1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), Aprilia Racing, 1'28.809
2. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, +0.026
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA), VR46 Racing Team, +0.044
20. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.912 (Q1)
21. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.951 (Q1)

TISSOT SPRINT RESULTS

1. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, 19'37.490
2. Pedro Acosta (SPA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, +1.149
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA), VR46 Racing Team, +2.637
13. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +11.911
18. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +16.699

TRACK RECORDS

All Time Record: 2025 - M. Bezzecchi (ITA) - 1'28.809 - 162.3 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2023 - B. Binder (RSA) - 1'30.145 - 159.9 km/h
Best Pole: 2025 - M. Bezzecchi (ITA) - 1'28.809 - 162.3 km/h
Top Speed: 2025 - M. Bezzecchi (ITA) - 342.0 km/h