MotoGP starts from Buriram: Thailand GP schedule and TV times

Bologna, 25 February 2025 – The wait is over, even if one of the protagonists will be missing. The MotoGP gets underway this weekend in Buriram for the Thailand Grand Prix: the engines will start roaring. The challenge between Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez begins, but without the reigning champion Jorge Martin , who after the fall in the Sepang tests was injured again in the recovery phase and will have to miss the first race of the season. He will try to return in mid-March for the Argentina GP, the second round of the season, so the official Aprilia will have to focus everything on Marco Bezzecchi , also taken from Ducati where he had ridden in the Pertamina VR46 team. And so a Yamaha, rediscovered thanks to the concessions and very fast in the tests, is credited as Ducati's first rival. Fabio Quartararo now appears to be the most credible rival. In any case, fans will be able to enjoy a championship to be fully experienced.

Themes of the season

The first theme of the season is clearly related to the dualism between the teammates in the official Ducati team. Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia have many world titles but at the end of the year only one will be able to win it. The coexistence will have to be calibrated throughout the season, especially when the points start to weigh and the internal harmony risks breaking down. After all, as is often said in motorsport: the first rival is the teammate. Same bike, same team, same updates. A fight on equal terms. Who can threaten Ducati if not the Ducatis themselves? So watch out also for Franco Morbidelli , very comfortable with the Gp24, Fabio Di Giannantonio (the other VR46 rider), who however will need time to find his form again after a long stop, but also Fermin Aldeguer , the new baby phenomenon, and Alex Marquez , the two standard-bearers of Gresini. The closest among the other brands? Aprilia is without Martin (he will need 3-4 GPs), so the eyes fall on the official Yamaha that has had excellent tests with Fabio Quartararo . For Davide Tardozzi too, the Frenchman is the main rival at least in the first part of the season and among other things the three tuning forks find a satellite team and four bikes on the track (thanks to Pramac's move from Ducati): with more data the development will be faster. There is also curiosity for KTM after the bad economic crisis. Having avoided disappearance, the Austrians are banking on the phenomenon Pedro Acosta who will try his hand for the first time with an official team. A test of the nine for both the bike and for him. The big unknown is Honda . The Japanese are recovering after the bad 2024 season and in the tests they did not do badly on pace, but there is still a need to improve and the Mir-Marini duo certainly does not start out to compete for victories. Constant growth will be needed throughout the year to bring the top of Moto GP closer together.

Circuit

Designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, the Buriram International Circuit opened in 2014 and made its MotoGP debut in 2018. Located 410km northeast of the capital, Bangkok, Buriram means “land of happiness” and is characterised by the heat and humidity typical of Southeast Asia. The 4.554km circuit features 12 turns and has hosted rounds of the MOTUL FIM WorldSBK World Championship since 2015. Its state-of-the-art facilities can accommodate 100,000 people with several grandstands around the circuit offering privileged views for spectators. Overtaking opportunities are available on Turn 3, after the long straight out of Turn 1, on Turn 6 and especially on Turn 12, the final hairpin that leads onto the pit straight. In Moto GP, the circuit will cover 20 laps for a total of 118.4 kilometres.

The weekend calendar

Due to the time zone, the Thailand GP will be scheduled in the morning. In particular, Moto GP will take to the track for the first free practice at 4.45 on Friday, then Practice at 9. On Saturday, qualifying will start at 4.50 while both the Sprint Race on Saturday and the long race on Sunday will start at 9 in the morning in Italy. As for the other races, Moto 3 is scheduled for Sunday at 6 and Moto 2 at 7.15.

Friday 28 February 3.00am Moto 3 Free Practice 1 3.50am Moto 2 Free Practice 1 4.45am Moto gp Free Practice 1 7.15am Moto 3 Practice 8.05am Moto 2 Practice 9.00am Moto gp Practice Saturday 1 March 2.40am Moto 3 Free Practice 2 3.25am Moto 2 Free Practice 2 4.10am Moto gp Free Practice 2 4.50am Moto gp Q1 5.15am Moto gp Q2 6.40am Moto 3 Q1 7.15am Moto 3 Q2 7.45am Moto 2 Q1 8.10am Moto 2 Q2 9.00am Moto gp Sprint Race Sunday 2 March 4.40am Moto gp Warm up 6.00am Moto 3 Race 7.15am Moto 2 Race 9.00am Moto gp Race

Where to watch it on TV

The entire weekend of the Thai Grand Prix (February 28-March 2) will be broadcast live in its entirety on Sky Sport channels, including Sky Sport 1, 201, and Sky Sport Moto GP, 208, streaming on Sky Go and Now TV. As for free-to-air TV, TV 8 will broadcast all the qualifying sessions and the Sprint Race on Saturday live, while the Sunday races will be delayed with the following times: Moto3 at 11:00, Moto2 at 12:20 and MotoGP at 14:00. The commentaries will be entrusted to Rosario Triolo and Mattia Pasini for Moto 3 and Moto 2 and Guido Meda and Mauro Sanchini for Moto GP. Read also - New injury for Jorge Martin: he misses the Thai Grand Prix