Austria MotoGP Preview: Welcome To Ducati-Land

Perhaps Nicky Hayden’s most famous quote on MotoGP racing is, “that’s why we line up on Sunday, you never know what’s going to happen”. And while the spirit of Hayden’s quote persists, there are some weekends where it is quoted more in hope than in expectation. This weekend, the return of MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, is just such an occasion.

It seems fairly obvious that a Ducati is going to win this weekend. After all, a Ducati has won all but two of the eleven races held at the circuit since we first returned here in 2016. That was once in 2020, when Miguel Oliveira won the restarted race caused by Maverick Viñales overheating his brakes and destroying the air fence at Turn 1, and again in 2021, when Brad Binder stayed out in a downpour on slicks and slithered his way to victory. So it has been KTM denying Ducati a clean sweep.

It also seems fairly obvious that Marc Marquez is going to win. For a lot of reasons. Spielberg is one of just a handful of circuits where Márquez has not yet won, though he ran Andrea Dovizioso very close a couple of times when the Ducati was clearly superior. Márquez now has the tool to finish the job, in the shape of the Ducati Desmosedici GP25, or what passes for one. And he is utterly dominating the 2025 MotoGP season.