2025 has been memorable and complicated in equal measure for Yamaha. The Japanese factory started the year with an impressive outing at the Sepang test. Fabio Quartararo was consistently fast, topping the first day, ending the second day in second, and ending the test as third fastest overall behind Alex Márquez and Pecco Bagnaia.
Hopes were high. They were brought down several pegs at the next test, in Buriram, when Quartararo finished eighth overall, three quarter of a second behind Marc Márquez, the man who would go on to take the 2025 MotoGP title. (That test would prove to be rather prophetic, the top five – Marc Márquez, Alex Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Pedro Acosta, and Pecco Bagnaia finishing in the order they ended in the championship.)
The championship got off to a rough start, with Quartararo struggling to get into the top ten in the first three rounds, before scoring his first front row start and a sprint podium at Qatar. Things went even better at Jerez, where Quartararo took what would be the first of his five poles in 2025, and getting his first and only Sunday podium.
