After MotoGP visited the Red Bull Ring in Austria last weekend \u2013 all high-speed straights into big braking zones into 90-degree corners \u2013 the series heads to a brand-new circuit an hour outside Budapest for round 14 of the season, and one where there\u2019s many more questions than answers. <\/p>\n
Is the 4.1km track too slow for MotoGP? Is it wide enough? Is the first sequence of corners \u2013 a heavy braking stop at turn one that leads into a right-hander that almost turns back completely on itself before a swoop left through the following three corners \u2013 safe enough, particularly after the first World Superbikes race there last month began with a six-bike pile-up on the opening lap that caused a red flag? <\/p>\n
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Top speeds will be low, familiarity for most will be non-existent, and adaptability will be the name of the game. And in the modern-day MotoGP era from 2002, one man has historically adapted faster than most. <\/p>\n
Marc Marquez arrives in Hungary off six straight sprint\/Grand Prix doubles from Aragon to Austria; the last time he didn\u2019t cross the line in first place was the main race at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix in late May. Three times in his career \u2013 the Circuit of the Americas in Texas in 2013 (his maiden Grand Prix win), Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina (2014) and Buriram in Thailand (2018), Marquez has crossed the line first when MotoGP first visited a new track.<\/p>\n
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\u2018PRETTY RIDICULOUS\u2019 <\/a> Inside Yamaha\u2019s \u2018useless\u2019 Austrian GP, and Aussie\u2019s response<\/p>\n AUSTRIA TALKING POINTS<\/a> Spaniard matches 2014 streak as rookie turns heads<\/p>\n The most recent new track on the calendar \u2013 the Buddh International Circuit in India that was visited for what looks set to be the one and only time in 2023 \u2013 was conquered by Marquez\u2019s Austrian GP rival Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), while of the other riders on the current grid, only Pramac Yamaha\u2019s Miguel Oliveira (Portugal 2020 and Indonesia 2022) has won when MotoGP visits pastures new for the first time.<\/p>\n As 2025 has shown, Marquez doesn\u2019t need any help to rack up race wins, but Ducati left no stone unturned for the first visit by the sport to Hungary since 1992, sending all six of its race riders and test rider Michele Pirro to Balaton Park with seven Ducati Panigale superbikes to cut laps around the track during the recent mid-season break. <\/p>\n Opinions were mixed, Marquez diplomatically emphasising \u201cin 22 races, we need to have different layouts\u201d, but Fabio Di Giannantonio commenting \u201csome places are pretty tight\u201d. <\/p>\n Marquez\u2019s teammate Francesco Bagnaia \u2013 who comes to Hungary after a miserable weekend in Austria where he retired from the sprint race and finished eighth in the Grand Prix to fall 197 points adrift of the championship lead \u2013 felt the safety concerns were overblown, predicting the MotoGP bikes won\u2019t even use sixth gear. \u201cI think we are going so slow that safety is not a problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Given the Italian\u2019s struggles this season \u2013 he\u2019s won one race while his teammate is up to 21 and counting \u2013 a change from the norm can only have potential to be positive. Whether an unfamiliar circuit is enough to break a familiar pattern remains to be seen, but Hungary at least offers a level \u2013 slow, narrow and tight, but level nonetheless \u2013 playing field.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s your Insider\u2019s Guide to round 14 of the MotoGP season, with the 26-lap Hungarian Grand Prix set for 10pm AEST on Sunday after the 13-lap sprint race at 11pm Saturday AEST.<\/p>\n Marco Bezzecchi, who won the Indian Grand Prix for Ducati in 2023, is MotoGP\u2019s most recent victor when the series visited a new track for the first time. (Photo by Prakash Singh\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n USE ME OR LOSE ME: MILLER RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH YAMAHA<\/p>\n Jack Miller\u2019s frustration with being in contract limbo for 2026 escalated on Thursday in Hungary, the Australian indicating he\u2019ll \u201cmove forwards on other options\u201d outside of MotoGP should Yamaha not elect to sign him for a second season next year. <\/p>\n At the Italian Grand Prix in June, Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Paolo Pavesio said the confirmation of who would partner incoming World Superbikes star Toprak Razgatlioglu for 2026 would come \u201cbefore the summer break\u201d, which began after the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno on July 20. <\/p>\n Over a month later, neither Miller \u2013 out of contract at the end of this season \u2013 nor Pramac teammate Oliveira, who has a deal for 2026 but with an option on Yamaha\u2019s side \u2013 are any wiser about their futures, and Miller\u2019s patience is wearing thin. <\/p>\n With news emerging in the lead-up to the Hungarian Grand Prix that rising Moto2 star Diogo Moreira is likely to enter MotoGP next year with Honda \u2013 the Brazilian was in the frame at Yamaha \u2013 Miller has a stronger claim on retaining his seat, given he\u2019s outscored Oliveira 52-6 and outqualified him 9-1 on the same bike this season. <\/p>\n Asked if he was any closer to knowing his 2026 plans, Miller replied: \u201cYour guess is as good as mine at the moment in terms of what [Yamaha\u2019s] strategy is and what they plan on doing.\u201d<\/p>\n PIT TALK PODCAST: Marquez salutes and Yamaha slumps in Austria, but what\u2019s on the cards for a brand-new track in Hungary? Listen to Pit Talk below.<\/p>\n \u201cI have options, and I\u2019m going to move forwards on other options if it doesn\u2019t come quickly,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n When quizzed on whether those options are outside of MotoGP \u2013 Miller has been linked with a role at Ducati\u2019s World Superbike team \u2013 the 30-year-old answered in the affirmative. <\/p>\n \u201cYes, it\u2019s clear there are no other availabilities [in MotoGP],\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI have a deadline in my mind \u2026 I\u2019m not telling you guys, but myself personally, I have a deadline. I\u2019ve been more than patient enough. If you want me, you want me. If you don\u2019t, you don\u2019t. It\u2019s as clear as that. The more time that goes on, I feel that way. <\/p>\n \u201cI was looking forward to developing the V4 [engine] and working with them closely to try to help them, I feel like I have a lot of information to give and a lot of input and can help with a project like that. <\/p>\n \u201cIf they cannot see the value in that, then I understand and I will move on and do something different.\u201d <\/p>\n Earlier this week, Autosport reported that Moreira, 21, is likely to be offered full factory rider status and a three-year deal with Honda as Brazil looks set for its first rider on the grid since Alex Barros in 2007. The sport will return to Brazil for the first time since 2004 next season, with Goiania hosting round two of the season from March 20-22. <\/p>\n Oliveira, too, is in the dark with Yamaha\u2019s plans. <\/p>\n \u201cI have no news about the future,\u201d the Portuguese rider said.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that after this race we will have something else to comment about, but at this moment I\u2019m just focused on my job in the team, doing the best I can, which will be the same approach before and after any decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller qualified and finished last on a nightmare weekend for Yamaha in Austria last time out. (Yamaha Motor Racing Srl)Source: Supplied<\/p>\n NOT BETTER, BUT DIFFERENT: MARQUEZ ON 2025 DOMINANCE<\/p>\n Runaway world championship leader Marc Marquez feels the 2025 version of the rider who won the first of his six MotoGP titles 12 years ago is \u201cdifferent\u201d as opposed to better, as he enters the Hungarian weekend on his best run of form since 2014. <\/p>\n Marquez won his sixth straight Grand Prix last Sunday in Austria<\/a>, his longest winning streak since he won the first 10 races of the 2014 season, and has won all six sprint races from Aragon to Austria as well; of the 26 races held across sprints and Grands Prix this season, there\u2019s only five that he\u2019s not won. <\/p>\n With a 142-point series lead over younger brother Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati), Marc Marquez wasn\u2019t sure if his present is better than his decorated past. <\/p>\n \u201cDifferent versions \u2026 in 2019, it was different,\u201d he said of his most recent championship season, where he finished first or second in 18 of the 19 races.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe the way I did the time attacks, the way I was fast immediately, or the way I approached the races was more aggressive [in the past]. Now, I\u2019m riding in a different way, smoother, and just try to use more the experience.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I know is that I\u2019m with the best bike with the best team, and it\u2019s in my hands to win races and to achieve my main goal, which is the world championship.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n SPIELBERG RACE REPORT<\/a> Marquez buries hoodoo, Aussie struggles to last<\/p>\n