“Not easy” for Martin to see Thailand MotoGP tyre wear after Australia loss
The Pramac Ducati rider was on course to convert pole to victory in last Saturday’s grand prix at Phillip Island, but plummeted to fifth on the final lap as his soft tyre gamble backfired. It dropped him 27 points behind title rival Francesco Bagnaia coming to Thailand, with Martin fastest on Friday despite a crash […]
Honda MotoGP atmosphere hasn’t changed since departure announcement
The eight-time world champion has been with Honda for his entire MotoGP career, but has elected to quit with a year left on his current contract to join Gresini Ducati in 2024. Marquez won’t be able to bring any of his crew with him to Gresini aside from tyre technician Javi Ortiz, but says nothing […]
Martin tops tight second practice despite crash
The Pramac Ducati rider comes into the Buriram event 27 points adrift of factory Ducati counterpart Francesco Bagnaia after losing the victory in Australia last week on the final lap. With under half a second covering the top 18, Martin emerged as fastest of all with a final flying effort of 1m29.826s. However, he did […]
Michael Ruben Rinaldi set for Motocorsa World Superbike seat
Rinaldi had been left searching for alternative employment when Ducati made the decision to promote Nicolo Bulega directly from World Supersport to its works WSBK team, where he will join Alvaro Bautista. It had been thought that Rinaldi was holding out to see whether a space would open up at Honda amid the uncertainty regarding […]
Martin leads Vinales in FP1, Bagnaia only 10th
Maverick Vinales and Alex Marquez traded the fastest time in the opening quarter of the session, the Gresini rider setting the early pace on a 1m32.030s before Vinales moved the goalposts with a time of 1m31.657s. Marquez struck back with a 1m31.486s just after the 15 minute mark, before Vinales went 0.002s quicker to snatch […]
Zarco says first MotoGP win makes 2024 Honda switch “even easier” now
After 120 grand prix starts, 33-year-old Zarco finally scored his maiden MotoGP victory in a thrilling Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island last Saturday. The Frenchman had not won a race since the 2016 Valencia Moto2 finale, following his second title success in the class. He will move to LCR Honda next season on a […]
Marc Marquez says he won’t race for free at Gresini MotoGP team in 2024
In an interview Italian outlet moto.it, Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti said it was his understanding that Marquez would be «racing on practically zero contract», which is to say without a salary. Marquez announced after the Japanese Grand Prix that he would be breaking his current contract with Honda a year early, with his move […]
Why MotoGP’s newest podium finisher is now best placed to replace Marquez at Honda
With exactly one month to go until the end of the 2023 season, the Repsol Honda team is the only one on the MotoGP grid that has not completed its line-up of riders for next year. This is an absolutely anomalous situation, but one that the Japanese manufacturer has been forced into as a result […]
2024 WSBK calendar includes just one round outside Europe
Australia will be the only overseas destination on the 2024 schedule, with Phillip Island staging the opening round on 23-25 February following a pre-season test the week before. The Mandalika Circuit in Indonesia has been dropped after just three seasons, likely due to the track’s financial problems, while Circuito San Juan Villicum will also not […]