MotoGP concessions can’t just be for Japanese marques
Yamaha and Honda’s current crisis has led Dorna Sports to consider reviving manufacturer concessions in a bid to help the struggling Japanese brands. But Oliveira believes teams with more bikes should face restrictions, and struggling smaller teams should be given more test days and tyres than those seeing success. The RNF Aprilia rider raced under […]
Yamaha retains Aegerter for 2024 World Superbike season
Aegerter stepped up to join Yamaha’s satellite GRT team for 2023 following back-to-back World Supersport titles with the Iwata marque. The Swiss rider established himself a top-five contender in the early part of the season, and sits ninth in the standings with four rounds left in 2023 — three places clear of team-mate Remy Gardner. […]
Bautista to make MotoGP wildcard with Ducati at Sepang
Bautista will contest the Sepang event on a factory-supported Desmosedici GP23 in the colours of Aruba.it, the title sponsor of the works Ducati WSBK outfit, on 12 November. It will mark the 38-year-old Spaniard’s first grand prix appearance since the end of the 2018 season, the year before he made the switch to Superbikes with […]
Zarco would be «proud» to help Honda transform MotoGP fortunes
The Frenchman has been linked to replace Yamaha-bound Alex Rins at LCR Honda for the 2024 season, as VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi looks set to take his place at Pramac Ducati. Zarco rode three races for Honda at the end of 2019 replacing the injured Takaaki Nakagami at LCR, and was heavily linked to a factory […]
Alex Marquez to remain at Gresini for 2024 MotoGP season
The younger brother of six-time series champion Marc Marquez first entered the MotoGP ranks in 2020 with Honda but it was at the British Grand Prix last weekend that he scored his first premier class victory, topping the sprint race. The result marked his first win since his title-winning Moto2 campaign in 2019 and followed […]
Bastianini’s Ducati MotoGP bike feels like he is ‘riding a chopper’
The Italian, who graduated to the factory team from Gresini this season, missed the first five races of 2023 after suffering a broken shoulder blade in the Portuguese Grand Prix sprint race. Bastianini returned at Mugello, finishing ninth in the grand prix, with a best result of eighth next time out at Sachsenring. He failed […]
The forgotten trooper of Honda’s MotoGP misery
After nine rounds of the 2023 MotoGP season, Honda’s haul of points in the constructors’ championship – in which only the leading rider from each brand contributes – is 89. Of that 89, 27 of those have been scored by LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami. Alex Rins has contributed the most at 47 and Marc Marquez the […]
Ducati’s view of Japanese rivals’ struggles
The dominance of Ducati and Alvaro Bautista in particular has caused concern in the paddock, as Yamaha and Kawasaki struggle to keep up with the all-conquering V4 R Panigale with their ageing packages. Ducati introduced an updated version of the V4 R for this season, which Bautista has used to devastating effect with 18 wins […]
Quartararo to decide Yamaha MotoGP future at Misano test
Last season, the French rider narrowly missed out on the world title despite making up for the shortcomings of his Yamaha, losing out to Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia at the final round in Valencia. It took until Bagnaia and Ducati’s engineers unlocked the full potential of the Desmosedici GP22 to turn it into the almost perfect […]