Marini tops Friday, factory Honda pair make Q2
Friday’s second 70-minute session at the Buddh International Circuit was delayed by around 45 minutes due to some logistical issues affecting the beginning of the earlier Moto3 FP2. Once action got underway, Marini guided his year-old Ducati to a 1m44.782s to lead Pramac’s Jorge Martin by 0.008 seconds. In a first for the 2023 season, […]
Yamaha has two more 2024 MotoGP engines in pipeline after lukewarm first test
The YZR-M1 has regularly occupied the bottom part of the MotoGP speed traps in recent years, with its lack of grunt contributing to its slide down the order. Having won the title in 2021 with Fabio Quartararo and finished runner-up in the standings in 2022 with the Frenchman having scored three victories, it has scored […]
Bezzecchi tops FP1 from Marc Marquez
Jorge Martin and Luca Marini traded the top spot in the timesheets for much of the extended 70-minute session at the Buddh International Circuit, each enjoying long stints at the front on their respective Ducatis. Pramac rider Martin was the first among the two to break the 1m50s barrier as he set a lap time […]
How Indian heritage props up MotoGP’s leading championship contenders
For a country the size of India, home to the world’s biggest market for two-wheelers, it is quite surprising that no rider has managed to come up the ranks and gain a place in the premier class of motorcycle racing. Indeed, apart from a wildcard appearance in the Moto3 class for national champion KY Ahamed, […]
Yamaha’s MotoGP form will be worse if rider, team “not aligned”
The 2021 world champion was left disappointed with Yamaha’s 2024 engine prototype at the Misano test last week, noting that he “expected much better”. “I tested it and the feeling was… I expected much better from this test, but we have to stay positive and try to analyse what happened to improve for [the] Valencia […]
Morbidelli deserves factory Ducati MotoGP bike in 2024
Morbidelli lost his ride with Yamaha for next season earlier this year as he continued to struggle to recapture his past form on the factory M1. Initially linked to a switch to VR46 to ride a year-old Ducati next season, Marco Bezzecchi’s decision not to go to Pramac opened the door for 2020 championship runner-up […]
Mir won’t ride 2024 Honda MotoGP bike in India due to transport issues
Mir tested the prototype RC213V chassis at Misano after the San Marino Grand Prix earlier this month and described the new bike as a step in the right direction, even as he felt it failed to deliver the kind of performance gains he wants for 2024. Following the test session, Mir didn’t rule out the […]
Alex Lowes to skip Aragon after surgery
Lowes went under the knife last Tuesday following the previous round at Magny-Cours, where a damaged meniscus on his left knee left him unable to complete the Superpole race, while also ruling him out of the second full-distance race. Despite the operation being a success, the decision has now been taken for the British rider to […]
Riders have been “too hard” on India MotoGP track over safety concerns
This weekend marks the first ever Indian GP for MotoGP, which will be staged at the same Buddh International Circuit which hosted Formula 1 from 2011 to 2013. The track required upgrade works to improve safety, though these were only completed recently and several riders felt unease about the proximity of barriers to the circuit […]