Yamaha MotoGP bike “needs less power” despite rider demands
Crutchlow is making a one-off MotoGP appearance this weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix for Yamaha in order to evaluate a raft of items to aid 2024 development. Due to the regulations, Crutchlow is not allowed to test the 2024 engine prototype that was brought to the Misano test and which Fabio Quartararo said he […]
Bagnaia can take “deep breath” after solving Ducati MotoGP braking issues
The reigning champion was an encouraging second-fastest on the opening day of the Motegi weekend, only 0.029 seconds shy of pacesetter Brad Binder on the KTM. Both Binder and Bagnaia, as well as third-placed Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro, eclipsed the eight-year-old Motegi lap record that was set by Jorge Lorenzo in FP2. Having arrived in […]
Marquez feels “unlucky” to miss Motegi MotoGP Q2 after yellow flag confusion
Honda rider Marquez had set a lap good enough to make the top 10 in Friday afternoon’s second practice session and thus secure a guaranteed spot in the second part of qualifying, but this was scrubbed for a yellow flag violation. The lap would have been good enough to get him into Q2, but the […]
Binder buoyed after setting Motegi lap record on new KTM chassis
KTM turned heads at the San Marino GP earlier this month when test rider Dani Pedrosa completed the weekend as a wildcard on the new carbon fibre frame. The 31-time MotoGP race winner finished fourth in both the sprint and the grand prix at Misano using the new frame, which was then tested on the […]
Honda makes MotoGP technical reshuffle amid Marquez uncertainty
Kokubu has been a mainstay at the Japanese manufacturer for over three decades, having joined Honda in 1986, working on its MotoGP project and even briefly in Formula 1. He did not travel to India last week and is also not present at Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix, and will most likely be followed […]
Binder tops FP2, Marquez and Quartararo crash
After it made its race debut at the San Marino GP with wildcard Dani Pedrosa, KTM has brought its new carbon fibre chassis to Japan for factory riders Binder and Jack Miller. With the new chassis offering better rear grip on the RC16, Binder used this to maximum effect on the soft rear tyre at […]
Martin fastest, then crashes in FP1
Martin, who arrives in Japan only 13 points behind fellow Ducati man Francesco Bagnaia, topped the timesheets with a best effort of 1m45.192s, which was enough to top the session by 0.138s from Augusto Fernandez. That came at the end of a run of three successive improvements for the Pramac rider, who knocked Bagnaia off […]
Quartararo calls record 2024 MotoGP calendar length «the limit»
The FIM announced on Wednesday that next year’s calendar will take in 22 rounds beginning in Qatar on 10 March and finishing in Valencia on 17 November. The new schedule features the return of the Aragon Grand Prix, which has been absent for 2023, as well as the second attempt at staging the Kazakhstan GP […]
Marquez «quite clear» on his MotoGP future decision
With an end to Honda’s current competitive woes nowhere in sight, Marquez has done little to quell talk of a sensational switch to satellite Ducati machinery, which would entail ending his contract with the marque with which he has spent his entire premier-class career. After a disappointing first test with the 2024 prototype Honda at […]