Surprise second Ducati MotoGP rider enters frame to replace Marc Marquez
With eight-time world champion Marquez joining Gresini Ducati next season, Honda has been desperately searching for a replacement. Miguel Oliveira was the favoured option, but Honda’s insistence on offering a one-year deal took the five-time grand prix winner off the table. Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio – whom Marquez will replace – then emerged as favourite, […]
Oliveira “not disappointed” by Honda’s MotoGP offer for 2024
Following Marc Marquez’s decision to quit Honda in favour of Gresini Ducati for the 2024 season, Oliveira emerged as HRC’s preferred option to replace him. The RNF rider is contracted to Aprilia for next year, but had an option in his contract that allowed him to leave if a factory team offered him a deal. […]
Espargaro admits Honda 2024 approach but will remain KTM MotoGP test rider
Espargaro raced with Honda in 2021 and 2022 having spent four seasons with KTM prior, before returning to the Austrian marque this year with the GasGas-branded Tech3 outfit. FEATURE: What compels a MotoGP rider to return to something that almost killed them? The eight-time podium finisher has lost his race seat at Tech3 for 2024 […]
Alex Marquez outpaces Martin in FP2
In a reverse of Friday morning’s FP1 session, Marquez led Martin by 0.174 seconds after posting a 1m57.823s on his final flying lap. KTM duo Jack Miller and Brad Binder trailed the Ducati pair, while Maverick Vinales was fifth on his factory Aprilia as team-mate Aleix Espargaro crashed three times. Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia was […]
Martin edges Marquez in first practice
The 18th round of the 2023 season marks the beginning of the final run to the end of the campaign, with three grands prix coming up to decide the fate of the championship. Pramac Ducati’s Martin trails reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia by 13 points coming to the Sepang round, and kicked off the weekend fastest […]
Aprilia withdraws new MotoGP clutch system after rival complaint
Maverick Vinales lamented on Thursday at the Malaysian Grand Prix that he could no longer use the latest starting system introduced by the Noale brand. «That is hurting us. But I can’t say anything more,» the Spaniard limited himself to saying. Asked afterwards by Aleix Espargaro, his team-mate, put his foot in his mouth: «Did […]
Bautista not expecting Pedrosa-style MotoGP wildcard at Sepang
Bautista moved to WSBK in 2019 with Ducati after losing his ride in MotoGP, previously serving nine years in the class riding Suzuki, Honda, Aprilia and Ducati machinery. The double WSBK champion will make his first MotoGP appearance since the 2018 Valencia GP this weekend in Malaysia as a wildcard with Ducati. Bautista hasn’t ridden the GP23 […]
The “joker” in Bagnaia’s arsenal for his 2023 MotoGP title fight
A double victory in Thailand narrowed the gap between Pramac’s Martin and his factory Ducati counterpart Bagnaia, which started at 27 ahead of the Buriram event. But Martin was hit with an official warning for running underneath the mandated minimum front tyre pressure limit in the Thailand GP. Should he break this rule again – […]
Quartararo told not to expect «big change» from Yamaha’s Valencia MotoGP test engine
Yamaha rolled out the first 2024 prototype engine at the Misano test in September, though it was met with a lack of enthusiasm from 2021 world champion Quartararo. He said at the time he expected much more than was offered, especially in terms of power, while the team contradicted this and noted that the test […]