KTM 'salad box' and Aprilia 'rabbit ears' among tech innovations in Buriram
A selection of 🌠tech pictures from Buriram, where MotoGP teams completed their🎃 final pre-season test before the start of the 2025 world championship.

Ducati
The big news at Ducati was the factory team's decision to stick with last year's GP24 engine for 2025 and 2026. Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez will also start the year on the 'old'൩ chassis and fa🌸iring.

Here is💖 Marc Marquez, who was in a league of his own during a Grand Prix race sim🌳ulation run, with the old fairing:

Compare Marquez's fairing🎶 with Bagnaia on the new fairing (bigger lower duct, smaller side winglets) during day one:

Ducati again tried some new rear seat aero at Buriram. But as this isn't part of the Aero Body re💧strictions it can be added or removed a🍨t any time:

Ducati's carbon fibre sw𓄧ingarm doesn't feature the kind of aero tweaks seen on some other bikes:

A 'squashed' factory Ducati in holeshot mode:

Aprilia
With Jorge Martin out injured, Marco Bezzecchi did an impressive job at Buriram💧, being fꦍastest during a Sprint simulation and third on the overall timesheets (behind only the Marquez brothers) during his time attack.
Here, the evening light shows the details of Bezzecchi's Aprilia, including front fork♓ wings, fairing design and swingarm. The Italian said the bike he finished the test with would be the bike homologated t💟o start the season:

A close u𝔍p of the 'rabbit ear' Aprilia aero on the back of a Trackhouse machine:

Raul Fernandez rode despite recent hand surgery. Note the vent (arrow) directing air from the front of the bike to aꦆn area under the seat. Is it for cooling, or aero purposes?

An Aprilia carbon fibre swingarm with protection from the e🎉xhaust heat. Aprilia is the only manufacturer not to use Akrapovic, choosing SC Projec🎐t exhausts:

Bezzecchi wa𓄧s among the riders who suffered wheelspin during a practice start at Buriram, probably from the front holeshot device being set too low for the grip available:

KTM
KTM f🍰inished the test fourth on the timesheets with Pedro Acosta, who was🦩 second best to Marc Marquez (but an average of 0.6s per lap slower) during his 20-lap race simulation.
As at S🔯epang, the factory team of Acosta and Brad Binder continued with the larger rear seat 'salad box' (perhaps housing the electron൩ics):

However, here is Tech3's Enea Bastianini still using the standard rear seat un🐈it, albeit with the revised one-♚on-top-of-the-other exhaust position:

The KTM swingarm remains the most radical in MotoGP thanks to the saw-🐎ಞtooth aero:

Close-up showing the front wing, fender wing, fork wings and radiator van🐻es on the RC16:

ౠA front view, highlighting the fend𒐪er wing, fork wings and fairing aero shapes:

Acosta's RC16 in holeshot modeඣ for a practice start:

Yamaha
After challenging for best-of-the-rest behind Duc💫ati at Sepang, Yamaha had a more modest showing at Buriram with Fabio Quartararo (8th) and Jack Miller (10th) its only riders in the top ten.
The Monster bikes of Quartararo and Alex Rins were again in fu🐼𝓀ll livery:

However, the latest M1 aero sculpting was much easier to spot on theꦚ unpainted Pramac biܫkes of Miller and Miguel Oliveira:

Yamaha frame👍s are normally black (see Rins above), so a ꧙silver frame usually means a new design...

The M1 swingarm is officially described ♔as being made from a mix of 🦋'Aluminium/CFRP (carbon fibre)':

Yamaha's latest version of the lower fairing duct, directing air under the 🐬bike duri🌜ng cornering:

While side fairing design is merging in a similar direction, there remains a split between the rectangle box-shaped front🥃 wings of Ducati and Honda, with the drooping curves of Yamaha and Aprilia (and KTM in the midd𒊎le):

Quartararo's Yamaha as low as it can go during aඣ practice start:

Honda
Engine power remains a concern but Honda finished the pre-season on a positive note with Joan Mir posting the sixth fastest lap at Bu๊riram as well as a Sprint simulation beaten only by Marco Bezzecchi.

Luca Marini preferred the new Honda fairing at Sepang, when Mir and Johann Zarco picked 𝕴the standard design. Marini appeared to switch back to the older version at Buriram, running the same aero as the other RCVs:

The Buriram light highligh𝄹ts the Honda fairing on Zarco'sꩲ LCR bike:

A𝔍 close-up of the Honda front fairing shape and fork wings:

The all-aluminium Honda swingarm. The rꦰide height devi♌ce can also be seen poking out of the lower fairing:

The ride-height device in maximum 'holeshot' lowering configurati💧on, during a practi༒ce start by Zarco:


Peter has been in the padd🅷ock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc M🐼arquez’s injury issues.