At the 2025 Italian Grand Prix on the legendary Mugello circuit, Ducati once again proved itself to be the team to beat. Marc Marquez prevailed after an intense battle with his brother Alex and secured his 93rd Grand Prix victory. After 23 laps, the Spaniard crossed the finish line in 41:09.214 minutes with a lead of 1.942 seconds over Alex Marquez. Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the Ducati podium after overtaking Francesco Bagnaia, who had been battling for a long time, in the final stages to take third place.
Royal Enfield is causing a stir in 2025 with the presentation of an extremely limited edition FT450 Flat Tracker and a first glimpse of the upcoming Himalayan 650. With the FT450, the traditional brand is launching a pure flat track machine based on the new Guerrilla 450 platform and developed exclusively for its own Slide School program. At the same time, there are increasing indications of a larger adventure series: the Himalayan 650 is apparently close to series production.
The long-established US brand Indian Motorcycle has announced an exclusive, custom-designed Sport Chief RT for a major charity auction. The occasion is the upcoming “Back to the Beginning” concert – a unique event at which the original line-up of Black Sabbath, consisting of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, will be performing together on stage for the first time in over 20 years.
Since June 12, 2025, new, stricter regulations have been in force in Italy for the use of speed cameras, known as “Autovelox.” According to the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, these measures are intended not only to increase road safety, but also to ensure greater transparency and fairness. The reform was preceded by a long-standing debate about questionable speed camera locations and ever-increasing fine revenues.
NEW MOTORCYCLES
With the KLX230 Sherpa, Kawasaki is launching a new, small adventure enduro in 2026 that stands out above all for its lightness, robustness, and affordable price. It is positioned as an uncomplicated off-road bike for beginners and experienced riders alike – and could soon be available in Germany.
Royal Enfield continues to push ahead with the electrification of its adventure segment: The traditional Indian brand is currently testing the HIM-E, a fully electric version of the popular Himalayan, under real conditions in the high mountains. During a trip over the Khardung La, one of the highest motorable passes in the world (5,359 m / 17,582 ft), both the HIM-E and a potential new model with a combustion engine – the Himalayan 750 – were put through their paces. Also present: CEO B. Govindarajan and chief designer Mark Wells.
The KTM 450 Rally Replica 2026 represents the latest state of development in the rally-raid segment. Built on the basis of over two decades of Dakar experience and success, it is by far the closest motorcycle to the factory race bike. Developed and produced in Austria, it is limited to 150 units - supplemented by five extremely exclusive Sanders Edition models.
Legals
Greece is significantly tightening its road traffic regulations. With the aim of reducing the high number of traffic accidents, the Greek parliament has passed a comprehensive amendment. This affects both locals and tourists. Anyone who fails to comply with the new rules from 2025 onwards will face drastic fines and long driving bans. The measures include cell phone violations, speeding, drink driving, and parking motorhomes.
The British government is planning a far-reaching change to the legal requirements for the seizure and disposal of vehicles used for so-called “anti-social behavior”. This regulation could have drastic consequences for motorcyclists in particular. A public consultation will run from May 28, 2025, with the aim of obtaining opinions on shortening the deadlines for scrapping impounded vehicles by July 8, 2025.
MOTORSPORT
Michael Dunlop, 36 years old and a living legend of road racing, has now been officially honored for his extraordinary achievements at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. The Northern Irishman from Ballymoney was awarded the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the British royal family – one of the highest civilian honors in the United Kingdom.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu will make the long-awaited move to MotoGP in 2026, and it has now been officially confirmed. The two-time Superbike World Champion from Turkey has signed a two-year contract with the Prima Pramac Yamaha Team. After a brief but successful intermezzo with BMW, the 27-year-old is thus returning to the Yamaha family - but this time on the big stage of Grand Prix racing.
A weekend for the history books: Marc Márquez triumphs with a perfect weekend in Aragon, his brother Alex completes the family party. Francesco Bagnaia makes an impressive comeback after a difficult few weeks.
The traditional final race of the Tourist Trophy, the Milwaukee Senior TT, was canceled at short notice on Saturday evening. According to the race organizers, this was due to unpredictable and dangerous weather conditions - in particular strong, gusty winds from an unusual direction.
There was a disqualification in Supertwin Race 1 as part of the Tourist Trophy 2025 on the Isle of Man. Michael Evans, who was on the grid with start number 5 for the Dafabet Racing team, was removed from the classification. The reason for this is an infringement of the technical regulations following the race.
Michael Dunlop continues his impressive winning streak at the 2025 Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man: In the Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin race, the Northern Irishman secured his 33rd TT victory in total - and set a new lap record in the Supertwin class at the same time. With an average speed of 123.056 mph (197.995 km/h) on the final lap, he wrote another chapter in his personal TT history.
TECHNOLOGY
For a long time, the return of the two-stroke engine was considered virtually impossible. Strict emissions laws and high fuel consumption were seen as insurmountable obstacles. But US start-up Alpha-Otto has unveiled the REV Force, an engine that has little in common with classic two-stroke engines. It combines the latest high-tech solutions with the advantages of the two-stroke principle – and aims to make the combustion engine fit for a clean, flexible, and powerful future.
Japanese automotive supplier Toyoda Gosei is turning its attention to a previously neglected issue: active accident protection for motorcyclists. By developing its own airbag system for motorcycles, the company aims to help reduce injuries and fatalities in road traffic in the future.
Yamaha is marking a milestone in the motorcycle world with the introduction of adaptive Matrix LED headlights in the revised Tracer 9 GT+. This is the first time that this technology, familiar from the automotive sector, has been used as standard on a motorcycle. While it has been established in cars for over a decade, a number of technical hurdles had to be overcome before it could be used on two wheels.
Ducati is working on a new chapter in motorcycle technology - an automated clutch that does not neglect comfort or sportiness. What initially sounds like a classic step towards automatic transmission turns out, on closer inspection, to be a highly developed, adaptive system aimed at both ambitious riders and racing. With this technology, Ducati is clearly not just trying to catch up, but to set its own standards - in its own style: technically sophisticated, adaptable and future-oriented.