{"id":384527,"date":"2026-01-01T10:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/384527\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T10:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:39:16","slug":"a-history-making-motogp-season-the-best-of-mat-oxley-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/384527\/","title":{"rendered":"A history-making MotoGP season: the best of Mat Oxley in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

In January 2025, Mat Oxley was concerned. He (rightly) thought that the MotoGP season was set for a crushing title campaign by Marc M\u00e1rquez<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If there was little competition in the championship, would there be enough for him to write about?<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t an outcome he\u2019d leave to chance, and so, thanks to his tenacious ferreting in the pitlane, Mat delivered Motor Sport\u00a0readers the stories of Yamaha\u2019s V4 development, Aprilia\u2019s resurgence, and the expanding array of of handlebar buttons.<\/p>\n

Happily, his fears proved unfounded as the championship delivered too: both M\u00e1rquez brothers made history, contrasting with the travails of Pecco Bagnaia<\/a>, while Ducati started to face renewed competition.<\/p>\n

The year brought landmark milestones, but also, sadly, once again there was tragedy on the race track, with worrying details explored by Mat.<\/p>\n

Before we look towards a new season, here are five of the best columns from Mat in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is Marc M\u00e1rquez the GOAT?<\/p>\n

Marc M\u00e1rquez\u2019s seventh MotoGP title, after years in the wilderness, makes more history \u2013 he now has the longest title-winning career of all time, so now is a good time to answer the biggest question of them all<\/p>\n

September 28<\/p>\n

\"Marc<\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez celebrates a ninth world championship and seventh MotoGP title<\/p>\n

\n Ducati\n <\/p>\n

\u201cMarc wants to show to himself that he\u2019s the fastest, not the best, because to be fastest is the only thing you can do yourself. It\u2019s the people who must say who\u2019s the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of Marc\u00a0M\u00e1rquez\u2019s mechanics talking, so who is the greatest motorcycle racer, now and of all time?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt M\u00e1rquez is the greatest rider of the moment, indeed of the last 13 seasons.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been making history ever since he arrived in the premier class: he is still the youngest MotoGP king and now the fifth oldest, with the longest title-winning career of all time. Before M\u00e1rquez, the riders with the longest title-winning careers were Giacomo Agostini, who won his last championships ten years after his first, and Valentino Rossi, whose title-winning career lasted nine years. Marc\u2019s first and latest titles span 13 years and he\u2019s probably not done yet.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is Rossi a seven-time MotoGP king or a nine-time motorcycle world champion?<\/p>\n

MotoGP\u2019s owners are working to further separate grand prix racing\u2019s class of kings from the lower series, so who\u2019s a world champion now and what\u2019s in store for Moto2 and Moto3?<\/p>\n

September 24<\/p>\n

\"Valentino<\/p>\n

Rossi hatched his ninth world title \u2013 his seventh in the class of kings \u2013 at the 2009 Malaysian GP<\/p>\n

\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

To answer the question in the headline, Valentino Rossi is both, of course. He won seven MotoGP championships, one 250cc title and a 125cc crown.<\/p>\n

Why the question? MotoGP rights holders Dorna, now owned by Liberty Media, is once again pushing to further the gap between motorcycle racing\u2019s premier class and its intermediate and junior grand prix categories to focus more attention on the big class. One-class-to-rule-them-all.<\/p>\n

This follows the example of car racing, where\u00a0Formula 1\u00a0hogs all the limelight, while the F2 and F3 classes exist in the shadows, only noticed by the cognoscenti.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Road to MotoGP: the scandal of Borja G\u00f3mez\u2019s death<\/p>\n

Borja G\u00f3mez died last month during a Road to MotoGP event at Magny-Cours. Newly published testimony from Filippo Fuligni, who was also involved in the incident, shines new light on an entirely avoidable tragedy<\/p>\n

August 6<\/p>\n

\"Borja<\/p>\n

G\u00f3mez celebrates victory in June\u2019s Barcelona-Catalunya round of the Spanish Superbike championship<\/p>\n

\n Ruben De La Rosa\/NurPhoto\n <\/p>\n

It is just over a month since European Superstock rider Borja G\u00f3mez was killed during a Thursday test session for an FIM JuniorGP World Championship round at\u00a0Magny-Cours.<\/p>\n

Motorcycle racing is a dangerous game, which can easily turn murderous if the people in charge don\u2019t look after the riders.<\/p>\n

G\u00f3mez would almost certainly still be alive today but for what appears to be serious negligence, which had the test day go ahead despite a disastrous lack of marshalling and medical facilities.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old Spaniard, who was leading the European Superstock and Spanish Superbike championships, crashed his Honda CBR600RR on fluid dropped by another motorcycle. Usually marshals warn oncoming riders of dropped oil or water with red-and-yellow reduced-adhesion flags. But there were no marshals to wave flags.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What MotoGP handlebar buttons do: \u2018Now we have more, you can miss some!\u2019<\/p>\n

Riders have a lot to think about aboard their 300-horsepower MotoGP bikes, including 11 levers, buttons, switches and knobs on the left handlebar alone. No wonder they get confused!<\/p>\n

June 18<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Marquez mechanic compresses the GP25\u2019s rear end, while pulling lever No1<\/p>\n

\n Mat Oxley\n <\/p>\n

There\u2019s lots happening around the left handlebar of Marc M\u00e1rquez\u2018s Ducati Desmosedici GP25!<\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez\u2019s right hand may do the most important jobs \u2013 working the throttle and front brake \u2013 but it\u2019s his left hand that does the multitasking, with a total of 11 levers, buttons, switches and knobs to operate.<\/p>\n

These controls look after everything from brake-lever span and clutch to electronics maps and rear brake and onto holeshot and ride-height devices.<\/p>\n

Most of them have obvious jobs, others less so, especially the three holeshot levers. Although these will disappear from MotoGP bikes at the end of 2026 \u2013 when holeshot and ride-height devices are banned \u2013 Ducati is still secretive about which does what.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

How Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha were forged by WW2<\/p>\n

The Japanese manufacturers are having a horrible time in MotoGP, perhaps their toughest since they evolved from manufacturing weaponry for the Japanese military in World War Two<\/p>\n

January 1<\/p>\n

\"Kawasaki<\/p>\n

A damaged Kawasaki Ki-48 WW2 bomber. The Ki-48 was manufactured by Kawasaki. It used propellors manufactured by Yamaha\u2019s parent company Nippon Gakki, which were made with a special milling machine created by Soichiro Honda<\/p>\n

\n US National Archives\n <\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Big Four motorcycle manufacturers \u2013\u00a0Honda, Kawasaki,\u00a0Suzuki\u00a0and\u00a0Yamaha\u00a0\u2013 ruled bike racing from the 1960s until very recently. More than half a century of racetrack supremacy, along with (and funded by) total domination of the global road-bike market, all the way from step-thru scooters to superbikes.<\/p>\n

After World War Two there were as many as two hundred motorcycle manufacturers in Japan, but by the early 1970s the vast majority had gone bust, while others were absorbed. Only Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha remained.<\/p>\n

Why and how did that massive purge take place to create Japan\u2019s so-called Big Four?<\/p>\n

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