Five jaw-dropping headlines which would stun MotoGP

Expect the unexpected.

Even in MotoGP, crazy eventualities turn out to be true and force fans and experts to reconsider how they look at the sport.

In the past it has been Suzuki dropping out, Marc Marquez joining Ducati or Liberty Media buying MotoGP.

What are the seismic events which might realistically happen this year after the summer break?

Crash.net experts predicted one fanciful headline which might become a reality before the end of 2025…

‘Fabio Quartararo sets a fast lap time on Yamaha V4 debut’

Peter McLaren: All eyes will be on the new Yamaha V4 when factory star Fabio Quartararo gets his long-awaited first test of the machine, potentially during the official Misano test in September.

Quartararo is second only to Marc Marquez for pole positions this season, with four poles, plus other front-row starts on the current Inline M1. Given his one-lap speed, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Frenchman place the V4 high on the timesheets during a new-tyre time attack.

However, it’s consistent race pace and racing performance - especially when battling rivals on the current crop of V4 machinery - that Yamaha is aiming to unlock.

‘Fabio Quartararo on the brink as V4 fails to impress’

Derry Munikartono: It’s no secret that Fabio Quartararo is running out of patience with Yamaha, and the second half of the 2025 season could mark a critical tipping point. While the Iwata factory has made incremental gains—especially in qualifying—the race-day issues remain unresolved. Quartararo has pinned his remaining hope on the long-awaited V4 engine prototype, currently in parallel development with their current Inline-4 engine. 

But if that V4 doesn’t show a meaningful leap forward compared to the underperforming inline-four, expect tensions to boil over. Publicly, Fabio has kept things diplomatic, but behind the scenes, frustration is mounting. If Yamaha’s bold new direction fails to deliver real speed and consistency, don’t be surprised if Quartararo seriously starts weighing his options for 2027—and makes that discontent very, very public

Alex Whitworth: It’s hard to imagine much more happening in 2025 after such a dramatic opening half of the season off-track.

Perhaps the second-half headlines will come on the track, though, and, in that case, put me down for Augusto Fernandez wildcarding with the Yamaha V4 before the end of the year.

‘Pecco Bagnaia and Ducati’s relationship…’

Jordan Moreland: Pecco Bagnaia and Ducati's relationship. One to watch.

Lewis Duncan: It seems an unfathomable thing to think given what happened over the last few years, but it’s hard to see Pecco Bagnaia winning another grand prix this season.

The double world champion won 11 grands prix last year and was just 10 points away from a third title, having been held back by eight non-scores in the 2024 campaign. With Marc Marquez as his team-mate, it was expected that Bagnaia would raise his game in a big way.

But his 2025 has been hugely disappointing. Unable to ride around his braking issues on the GP25, he is already 168 points behind Marc Marquez and is 48 points behind Gresini’s Alex Marquez in second.

After 12 rounds, Bagnaia has one grand prix victory to his credit - and that was at COTA, when Marc Marquez crashed out of a commanding lead. He has no sprint wins to his name in 2025 and only took a first pole 12 rounds in.

Heading into the summer break, Bagnaia effectively wrote off his hopes of battling with his team-mate in the second half of the season. With Alex Marquez, for the most part, the more consistent best-of-the-rest contender and an ever-growing threat from the likes of Aprilia, Bagnaia so far hasn’t shown enough to suggest he can win again in 2025.