MotoGP overachiever so far? Eye-opening names rival Alex Marquez

There are several contenders from various manufacturers as we debated MotoGP’s overachiever at the summer break.

Alex Marquez is sitting second in the MotoGP standings which is his personal-best, but there are other riders who have arguably performed even further above expectations.

Because of the domination of MotoGP in 2025 by Marc Marquez, some of these underdog stories have gone under-the-radar.

But there are multiple riders who have performed better that critics might have predicted in the first half of this season.

Crash.net experts select one rider each for special attention for overachieving…

'Ducati wanted him for a reason'

Lewis Duncan: Fermin Aldeguer’s Ducati deal came just before a final Moto2 season in which he failed to build on the momentum of his sophomore campaign, leading to questions over just how ready the 20-year-old actually was for his MotoGP debut.

But Ducati wanted him for a reason and from the off showed good promise before putting a string of strong results together from the Qatar Grand Prix onwards. Cracking the top five in both races at Lusail, he followed that up with a fifth in the Spanish Grand Prix sprint, a double podium at Le Mans and another sprint rostrum at Aragon.

After 12 rounds, Aldeguer’s progression under Frankie Carchedi’s guidance has seen him maintain a top 10 placement in the standings and a 46-point gap over Ai Ogura - the reigning Moto2 world champion - in the rookie of the year battle.

Peter McLaren: Alex Marquez. I don’t think anyone would have predicted the size of the step forward he’s made this season. Seventeen podiums from 24 races (Sprints and Grands Prix), including a maiden MotoGP win at Jerez and inflicting Marc Marquez’s only head-to-head defeat so far in the Sprint at Silverstone. 

If he can hold onto second in the world championship, that would be a fantastic achievement for a satellite rider on a year-old bike.

Alex Whitworth: The obvious answer is Alex Marquez but I think it has to be Raul Fernandez. There’s not a chance I’d have had Fernandez down for being a regular top-six contender by the end of the first half of the season, yet he has been.

It was a tough start to the year for Fernandez, especially in contrast to his rookie teammate, Ai Ogura, but since the Aragon Test he has improved considerably.

'Thrown into a leadership role sooner than expected'

Derry Munikartono: Without question, Marco Bezzecchi on the Aprilia. Thrown into a leadership role sooner than anticipated, Bezzecchi became the unexpected cornerstone of Aprilia’s factory effort in 2025. His new teammate, Jorge Martin, was ruled out of pre-season testing due to injury and only briefly returned for the Qatar GP—the fourth round—before another setback forced him out again until just before the summer break at the Czech GP. 

That left Bezzecchi as the team’s main vocal point, not only leading on-track performance but also spearheading the RS-GP’s development.

Despite having very little prior experience with the bike, he rose to the challenge with impressive maturity and grit. His landmark victory at Silverstone, double podiums at Assen, and further top-three finishes in the Sachsenring Sprint and Sunday race in Brno weren’t just impressive—they were defiant statements of capability. 

Under immense pressure, Bezzecchi didn’t just survive; he thrived. Considering the steep learning curve, limited support early in the season, and the weight of a factory rider’s responsibilities, his performance makes him the standout achiever of the 2025 MotoGP season so far.

Jordan Moreland: When you look at the improvement from 2024 to 2025, Alex Marquez is the obvious answer. 

His performances in the first half of the season have been brilliant, consistently the closest challenger to his brother, consistently beating Pecco Bagnaia, and consolidating his position inside the top 3 of the Championship. I don't think Alex even expected to be this competitive in 2025.