Espargaro ‘has more to be ashamed of than proud’ after Qatar MotoGP slap
The pair came together on track at Turn 6 in the early stages of the Qatar weekend’s third practice session on Saturday morning, as Espargaro tried to overtake. Aprilia rider Espargaro gesticulated furiously at Morbidelli and later slapped him on his crash helmet when the latter motioned to him to calm down. Espargaro was given […]
Martin takes vital sprint win to roll title battle to final round
Coming into Saturday’s sprint at Losail trailing Francesco Bagnaia by 14 points, the latter could have won the 2023 title this weekend. However, Martin’s charge to victory in the sprint and Bagnaia struggling to fifth means the gap between them shrinks to seven, ensuring the title battle will go to the final round of the […]
Espargaro hit with Qatar MotoGP grid drop and fine after Morbidelli slap
In the early stages of Saturday morning’s third practice of the weekend (officially designated as FP2), Espargaro and Morbidelli came together on track. Morbidelli had just passed the Aprilia at Turn 5 before Espargaro tried to do the same at Turn 6, with the pair connecting as they tried to turn in. Both ran wide […]
Marini snatches pole, Bagnaia heads Martin
Having taken a maiden pole last month in Indonesia, Marini added a second to his career tally when he fired in a 1m51.762s at the end of Q2 on his VR46 Ducati. He denied Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, who Marini is now also likely to beat to the vacant factory Honda seat for 2024, a […]
Marquez calls for “dangerous” Qatar MotoGP grid clean up
The asphalt at the Losail International Circuit has been repaved for the first time since it opened in 2004 ahead of this year’s event. As a result of this and the desert setting, grip was at a premium on Friday morning for the first practice session, with lap times well over three seconds off the […]
MotoGP title challenger Martin ‘lost all of practice’ to tyre issue in Qatar
The Pramac Ducati rider comes to Qatar trailing Francesco Bagnaia by 14 points and will lose the championship if he is outscored by 23 points this weekend. After a tough Malaysian GP last week in which he was beaten to third by Bagnaia, Martin’s Qatar GP didn’t get off to a great start as he […]
Fernandez tops second practice after late yellow flag chaos
The only night practice of the Qatar weekend proved to be a tight affair, as Fernandez on his year-old Aprilia edged ahead of Gresini Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio by 0.049 seconds after an hour of running. Maverick Vinales had been set to end second practice fastest of all with a new lap record, but the […]
Martin tops Zarco in first practice, Bagnaia third
MotoGP’s return to Qatar for 2023 has come later in the year than normal, after the event was shifted from its traditional season-opener slot due to major track works. As such, lap times at the end of a largely unrepresentative FP1 were some four seconds off the outright record of 1m52.772s set in 2021 by […]
Martin ‘doesn’t care’ if Bagnaia gets help from other Ducatis in 2023 MotoGP title chase
The Spaniard comes into this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix trailing Bagnaia by 14 points, after struggling to fourth in the Malaysian GP behind the factory Ducati team rider. As such, Bagnaia can win the championship in the penultimate round of the year in Qatar if he outscores Martin by 23 points. This has only happened […]