Spring weather has finally arrived in the west and yet here I am sitting at my desk instead of being out for a relaxing dual sport ride on the nearby trails. Not that I am complaining, the 2025 riding season is just getting started and there will be lots of time for riding starting with this coming week at British Columbia’s Area 27 racetrack.
Taking it to the track.
With continued advancements in technology, leading-edge performance is more accessible than ever. The only challenge is finding a location where all of this power can be unleashed. Unfortunately, the sight of sport bikes weaving through busy city traffic at speeds reaching more than double the posted limits remains commonplace.
Riding on the streets is sketchy enough at the best of times and especially in spring with gravel still all over the roads and drivers struggling to remember that they need to share the roadways with motorcycles. Add in unexpected obstacles like dogs, children chasing errant soccer balls into the street and cars turning in front of oncoming traffic, and the dangers of testing a bike’s limits on the street become even more profound.
Even with racetracks throughout the country offering track days, many riders continue to offer up excuses such as cost, bike preparation and more. Yes, there is a cost to attending a track day, but when compared to the cost of tickets, court appearances, legal representation and more that accompany getting apprehended when riding at race pace on the streets, the track is definitely cheaper in the long run. When it comes to bike preparation, riders are often surprised to learn that there are minimal requirements in order to get your bike on the track, often limited to taping up any glass parts, removing the license plate and making sure the bike is in good working order with decent tires.
Another common misconception is that track riding is limited to racers. In truth, while the racetrack is a perfect venue to experience the capabilities of modern motorcycles, and for racers to get in critical practice time, it is also a proven fact that spending time on the track will improve riding skills and make riders more competent when they return to the street.
So, next time you think of opening up your brand-new litre bike on the freeway, take a pause and think how much more fun it would be to take it to the track.
Speaking of the track, MotoGP is back in action this weekend
With four rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season in the record books, the questions on the forefront for many as the series arrived in Jerez for the Spanish GP surrounded Marc Marquez’ return to forefront of the sport and Ducati’s continued dominance.
At 32 years of age, Marquez is the second oldest rider on the 2025 starting grid, with only Team LCR’s Johann Zarco (age 34) being older. Prior to his move to a Gresini Racing Ducati for the 2024 season, an injury plagued three-year winless streak had many assuming that the career of the eight-time world champion (six MotoGP championships plus 125 cc and Moto2 championships) had run its course. Fast forward to 2025 season and coming into the fifth round, Marquez finds himself leading the factory Ducati team and back in a familiar position, sitting atop the standing with a 17-point lead over his nearest competitor, who happens to be his younger brother Alex, riding a Gresini Racing Ducati.
How much of Marquez’ return to form can be attributed to Ducati, is a matter of opinion, but there is no doubt that he is riding the premiere bike in the MotoGP paddock. Four rounds into the 2025 season, participation on podiums has been limited to the Ducati Lenovo factory squad, Gresini Racing and Valentino Rossi’s Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, all of whom are racing on Ducati motorcycles.
Given the long standing theory that success in motorcycle racing is 80 percent dependent on the racer and 20 percent on the bike, it would appear that Ducati has tipped the scales on this formula, but it would be impossible to discount the talent of Marc Marquez as he defies age and sets the stage for what promises to be an exciting 2025 season. With the next major rule changes for MotoGP not scheduled to come into effect until 2027, it remains to see if Marquez will be on the grid at that time, but it is interesting to speculate on how that would play out.
In the meantime stay tuned to www.insidemotorcycles.com for qualifying and sprint race results tomorrow and race results on Sunday.
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