After a 33-year absence, the MotoGP circus goes back to Hungary. The long-awaited return, scheduled for the 2025 season, marks a new chapter for MotoGP, which abandons the historic Hungaroring to land at the brand-new, futuristic Balaton Park.
Only two Grands Prix have taken place on Hungarian soil, both held at the Hungaroring. The outright debut was in 1990, when future five-time world champion Mick Doohan captured his first career victory. In 1992, it was the turn of another legend, Eddie Lawson , who sealed his last success and led Varese-based Cagiva to victory for the first time.
In 2025, history will be written at Balaton Park. The track, which has already debuted in July hosting a WorldSBK round dominated by future MotoGP rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (wins in all three races), will become the 75th different track to have hosted a premier class race and the 32nd in the modern era. A technical and unique challenge: it is one of only six circuits on the calendar, along with Aragón, Austin, Sachsenring, Phillip Island and Valencia, to run counterclockwise.
Changes on the grid: the Espargarós return to the track.
The Grand Prix will also see the return of two familiar faces to the race. Aleix Espargaró, Honda test rider, will take to the track as replacement for the injured Somkiat Chantra in the LCR Honda Idemitsu team. On the Red Bull KTM Tech3 side, Pol Espargaró will take the place of Maverick Viñales, momentarily out of the ranks.
Ducati: home testing and records to break
All of Ducati's riders, Marc Márquez, Francesco Bagnaia, Alex Márquez, Fermin Aldeguer, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, are already familiar with the track, having tested in early August at Balaton Park with the factory Panigale V4S.
The manufacturer from Borgo Panigale is chasing record numbers:
- 94: A Ducati on the front row in qualifying would be the 94th consecutive time, a streak that started at the 2020 Valencia GP.
- 80: Ducati is at 79 consecutive podiums. One at Balaton Park would mean stretching its record to 80, approaching Honda's all-time record (83 between the 1993 FIM GP and the 1999 Imola GP).
Márquez and Aldeguer: the hunt for history.
All eyes will be on Marc Márquez and rookie Fermin Aldeguer in particular.
Márquez is the only rider to have scored points in all 13 of this year's Tissot Sprints. If he wins, Balaton Park would become the 22nd different circuit where he wins in MotoGP, approaching the records of Mick Doohan (24) and Valentino Rossi (23). A win would also be his seventh consecutive, equaling a streak he has not made since his 2014 dominance (10 wins in a row) and his seventh consecutive Sprint victory, an all-time record.
Aldeguer, who will be 20 years and 141 days old on Sunday, could become the second youngest rider ever to win in MotoGP, after just Marc Márquez (20 years and 63 days in Austin 2013).
The hunt for a first win
There are as many as six riders on the grid who could secure their first career victory in the premier class: Raul Fernandez, Pedro Acosta, Luca Marini, rookies Ai Ogura and Fermin Aldeguer, and replacement Pol Espargaró. A weekend that promises to write pages of history on the fascinating new track overlooking Lake Balaton.