The 2025 season has brought its share of unexpected performances, and Dani Pedrosa believes one rider in particular stands out above the rest.
One name that fits this narrative is Alex Marquez, who enters the current term coming off a career best second place finish in the standings last year.
Not many would have predicted such a result before the season began, but it’s led to Marquez earning a factory spec Ducati bike for next year as he tries to take the title from his brother Marc.
Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta also deserve mention. Bezzecchi has adapted well to his role as Aprilia’s top rider, quickly becoming one of Marquez’s main threats. Meanwhile, Acosta continues to impress in his second year, consistently getting more out of his KTM than expected. His push for a top-four finish is built on relentless effort as much as skill.
Marco Bezzecchi named Dani Pedrosa’s biggest ‘surprise’ of the 2025 MotoGP season
Pedrosa was speaking as a guest on the Dura La Vita podcast, where he discussed the thrilling Portuguese Grand Prix that saw Bezzecchi, Acosta, and Marquez battling for the top spot.
The former rider also praised the progress Aprilia has made in getting Bezzecchi to such a level.
“For me, he’s been the surprise of the year, just like Alex, who’s also been a real revelation this season. But I think Marco has done really well, because he switched brands and still pushed hard,” Pedrosa explained.
“He had the weight of the brand on his shoulders since Jorge was injured, and he came in as, let’s say, the second rider. Honestly, I didn’t expect it from him.
“Coming from Ducati, he got on a new bike, won races and even challenged Marc when they were together in some races. I’d also highlight that Aprilia has improved a lot.
“They already had a bike that was sometimes very fast but now it’s fast on more circuits. And above all it no longer has reliability problems like before.”
Injuries have not helped Fabio Quartararo nor Jorge Martin so far this season. After breaking his foot in Assen and hurting his wrist in Malaysia during testing earlier this year, Martin missed three consecutive races at Jerez de la Frontera (April 26th-28th), Le Mans (May 9th-11th), and Mugello (May 30th-June 1st).
How Jorge Martin’s absences have impacted Aprilia, according to Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Martin has missed 15 of the 21 races so far in 2025, which has left Bezzecchi as Aprilia’s sole regular rider for most of the season.
Bezzecchi recently spoke about the impact of Martin’s absence, noting that the team has lacked a lot of feedback from his experience as a former world champion. This void has shifted much of the development responsibility onto Bezzecchi and his crew.
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Despite that, he’s handled the role well, thriving under pressure and showing real progress in his new position within the team.
The dynamic between Bezzecchi and Martin will be interesting to watch once Martin returns. It’s unclear if he’ll be able to match Bezzecchi’s results right away or if it’ll take time for him to adjust to how much things have changed while he was out.
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