HOT NEWS: Returning with a bang: get ready for MotoGP’s return to Assen…….

Has there ever been so much off-track talk points produced in such a short amount of time? Even though the race has three weekends off, MotoGP has been in the news since the Mugello Test, when the first shocking rider announcement of the season was made at 6 p.m. local time: Jorge Martin would be moving from Prima Pramac Racing to Aprilia Racing starting in 2025. That made it rather obvious who would be named at the Ducati Lenovo Team alongside defending champion Francesco Bagnaia, and sure enough, it was confirmed shortly afterward: Marc Marquez will be joining the factory team from Gresini Racing MotoGP. We’ll let the rumor mill handle the discussion of whether or not it was the official plan before Monday at 6 p.m. at Mugello.

Before KTM made their big 2025 revelation, there was a détente in the race to win announcement roulette. It was true that Enea Bastianini had switched from working beside Bagnaia to Austrian machinery. Though KTM managed to keep their entire lineup a secret, the rumors about who would be his partner had already started, and it was another shocking revelation: Maverick Viñales will be joining the “Beast” in a newly orange Red Bull KTM Tech3 outfit.

We now know that Marco Bezzecchi, who is leaving the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, will take his position at Aprilia. The pieces of their own intriguing puzzle are falling into place, but that’s all 2025. There’s still a Championship to be won this season. In 2024, the world’s most thrilling sport will still include 13 Grands Prix, 13 Tissot Sprints, and a maximum of 481 points. To get things back on track, two historic races will be held back-to-back, beginning with the TT Circuit Assen.

Then there’s Bastianini, only 57 off the top, and that could be less barring his adventures garnering attention from the FIM MotoGP Stewards at Le Mans and Barcelona, including his one-man insurrection there that dropped him outside the points. Mugello’s last lap, last corner move on Martin, however, shows what he’s got when the cards fall right. Viñales, meanwhile, is a master of Assen. His CV at the venue is one of the best on the grid and his form in 2024 strong. Can he get back into the podium fight and revive some COTA BatMav?

Teammate Aleix Espargaro has form at Assen too, including a podium last year as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) got done for track limits and the Aprilia was promoted. Espargaro has also pulled off that stunning two-for-one on Binder and now-teammate Jack Miller at the final chicane within recent memory. Binder, track limits aside, had podium pace too, and Miller – now on the market for 2025 – has fair form at Assen including his historic first MotoGP win in the rain in 2016.