Austin MotoGP 2016

Year: ALL

Clutch issues leave Rossi in the gravel

11 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Clutch issues leave Rossi in the gravel

Valentino Rossi has blamed clutch problems for his crash out of Sunday’s third round of the 2016 MotoGP championship at Texas’ Circuit of the Americas. Struggling with clutch problems for the past two...

Austin MotoGP review - Stepping up to the Marc

11 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Austin MotoGP review - Stepping up to the Marc

Honda and Marc Marquez seemed lost during pre-season testing and few would have predicted such a strong start to the season, but the Spaniard is charging hard and took another sizzling win in the...

Lowes unable to stop Texan win for Rins

10 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lowes unable to stop Texan win for Rins

Sam Lowes has been unable to stop a Texan victory for Alex Rins, with a charge from the start not enough to shut down the lead to his Spanish title rival at the Circuit of the Americas. Rins was able...

Fenati dominates Moto3 field for Austin win

10 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Fenati dominates Moto3 field for Austin win

Romano Fenati has dominated the Moto3 field in Austin to take a controlling win, ending up victorious from Jorge Navarro by an impressive three seconds at the flag. Navarro was the early leader,...

Rins tops red flagged Moto2 session

10 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Rins tops red flagged Moto2 session

Alex Rins has emerged on pole position for tomorrow’s Moto2 race at the Circuit of the Americas, coming out top of a frantic duel at the end of the session after red flags inadvertently created a...

Marquez continues to control for pole

09 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Marquez continues to control for pole

Marc Marquez has continued to control at Austin, by taking pole positions for tomorrow’s race at the Circuit of the Americas and firmly establishing himself as the favourite, as he aims to make it...

Oettl takes advantage of conditions for debut pole

09 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Oettl takes advantage of conditions for debut pole

Philipp Oettl has taken advantage of mixed conditions in Austin to take his maiden pole position in the Moto3 class, after an early fast lap before shower of rain gave him his advantage. Setting a...

Smith reinvents the wheel in Austin

09 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Smith reinvents the wheel in Austin

Bradley Smith has set out to reinvent the wheel on his Monster Yamaha at this weekend’s third round of MotoGP in Austin, radically adjusting his M1 machine after struggling in the opening two...

Quartararo sets the pace in Austin

09 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Quartararo sets the pace in Austin

Frenchman Fabio Quartararo has set the pace on the opening day of action in Austin for the Moto3 class, taking the top spot by 0.1 from fellow KTM rider Romano Fenati. However, it was a sea of Hondas...

Marquez dominates on opening day in Texas

09 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Marquez dominates on opening day in Texas

Marc Marquez has resumed where he left off the last time MotoGP took to track in Texas, by dominating the opening day of track action at the Circuit of the Americas. Taking the top spot by three...

Rossi puts blame for tyre problems on Ducati

07 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Rossi puts blame for tyre problems on Ducati

Valentino Rossi has put the blame for the tyre problems suffered by Scott Redding last time out firmly on the shoulders of Ducati, speaking in the press conference for this weekend’s third round of...

Welsh minister refuses underwriting for ‘unacceptable risk’ of Circuit of Wales

07 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Welsh minister refuses underwriting for ‘unacceptable risk’ of Circuit of Wales

Welsh Assembly economy minister Edwina Hart has refused to underwrite the Circuit of Wales project, saying that it was an ‘unacceptable risk’ to the government in light of the “significant question...

Lorenzo to make Ducati switch

06 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lorenzo to make Ducati switch

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo looks odds on to become a Ducati rider for the 2017 and 2018 MotoGP seasons, ending a long and lucrative partnership with Yamaha. MCN understands that the...

Crunch time for Circuit of Wales

06 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Crunch time for Circuit of Wales

The Circuit of Wales project has reached a critical point, with the next 24 hours being key to whether the ambitious project in South Wales will go ahead or not. The crunch comes from the imminent...

Redding left rueing what could have been

06 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Redding left rueing what could have been

Scott Redding has been left rueing what could have been after a difficult weekend for the Pramac Ducati rider in Argentina – first with delaminating tyres and then with an electrical problem robbing...

MotoGP stranded in Argentina!

05 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP stranded in Argentina!

A large number of the MotoGP grid and paddock have been left stranded in Argentina, with continuing bad weather in the Termas de Rio Hondo area meaning that the charter flights designed to move the...

Espargaro left fighting ‘crazy overtakes’

05 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Espargaro left fighting ‘crazy overtakes’

Pol Espargaro has been left bemoaning his results from Sunday’s Argentine MotoGP race despite taking a strong finish in sixth, after his last lap battle with Hector Barbera cost him fourth place. The...

Weekend to forget for Lorenzo

04 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Weekend to forget for Lorenzo

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo has admitted that Argentina was a weekend to forget for him, after crashing out in the opening half on Sunday’s race and leaving the track with zero points...

Crutchlow admits Argentine mistakes

04 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Crutchlow admits Argentine mistakes

Cal Crutchlow has held his hands up and admitted that the crashes that saw him fall not once but twice from yesterday’s Argentine Grand Prix were no one’s fault but his own. The LCR Honda rider, who...

Hard work pays off for Marquez and for Honda

04 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Hard work pays off for Marquez and for Honda

The hard work of pre-season testing has paid off for Marc Marquez and for Honda, according to the double world champion as he took his first win of the 2016 season in Argentina. Struggling all...

Marquez wins crazy race in Argentina

04 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Marquez wins crazy race in Argentina

Marc Marquez has taken victory in one of the craziest races in recent memory in Argentina, triumphing in a battle in which the mandatory pit stop enforced due to a tyre failure yesterday was only one...

Zarco wins from Lowes in tricky conditions

03 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Zarco wins from Lowes in tricky conditions

Reigning Moto2 world champion Johann Zarco has taken his first win of 2016, holding off a late charge from the Federal Oil Kalex of Sam Lowes to take the win in tricky conditions at the Termas de Río...

Pawi takes first ever Malaysian win in Moto3

03 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Pawi takes first ever Malaysian win in Moto3

Khairul Idham Pawi has given Malaysia their first every Grand Prix victory by taking the win in the second round of the 2016 Moto3 world championship in Argentina. Winning at only his third attempt,...

Argentina race may see mandatory pit stops

03 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Argentina race may see mandatory pit stops

A mixture of changing conditions and tyre issues has left today’s MotoGP race at Argentina’s Termas de Río Hondo circuit with a number of bewildering permeations as to how the day might pan out. The...

Michelin withdraw ALL rear tyre options for race

02 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Michelin withdraw ALL rear tyre options for race

Michelin have taken the unprecedented step of withdrawing BOTH rear tyre options for tomorrow’s race, instead electing to use only their back-up option not previously offered to the field. The news...

Marquez takes pole despite late crash

02 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Marquez takes pole despite late crash

Marc Marquez has taken pole position for tomorrow’s Argentinian Grand Prix, despite a heavy crash at turn one towards the end of the fifteen-minute session. Controlling the entire session, he was able...

Redding suffers suspected tyre failure in FP4

02 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Redding suffers suspected tyre failure in FP4

Pramac Ducati rider Scott Redding was lucky to walk away from MotoGP’s FP4 session after a suspected rear tyre failure brought out the red flags half way through the session. Suffering from what...

Binder dominates for debut Moto3 pole

02 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Binder dominates for debut Moto3 pole

Brad Binder has dominated Moto3 qualifying at Termas de Río Hondo to take his debut pole position in the class by 0.3 ahead of the Team Sky KTM of Romano Fenati. Binder controlled much of the session,...

World champion Zarco find Moto2 form

01 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

World champion Zarco find Moto2 form

Reigning Moto2 world champion Johann Zarco has finally found his form in Argentina, making the most of slippery track conditions to slide his Ajo Motorsport Kalex to pole position by 0.190. “I’m happy...

Marquez and Pedrosa top ‘strange’ day in Argentina

01 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Marquez and Pedrosa top ‘strange’ day in Argentina

Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have taken their Repsol Hondas to first and second on the opening day of action at Argentina’s Termas de Río Hondo circuit, with four RCV213s in the top five after an...

Bastianini tops Moto3 action

01 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Bastianini tops Moto3 action

Enea Bastianini has topped the opening day of Moto3 action in Argentina, holding off Romano Fenati and Andrea Migno in both sessions to make it an all Italian affair on the provisional front row of...

Grip issues at Termas highlight Michelin differences

01 April 2016 by Simon Patterson

Grip issues at Termas highlight Michelin differences

The massive difference between last season’s Bridgestones and this year’s Michelin tyres has been highlighted by a lack of grip for the opening MotoGP session at Argentina’s Termas de Río Hondo...

Smith: “We need to be careful in the first 24 hours”

31 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Smith: “We need to be careful in the first 24 hours”

Bradley Smith says that it’s going to be important to be careful on the Termas de Río Hondo circuit on the opening day of this year’s Argentinean MotoGP race, as the rarely used track comes up to...

Crutchlow out to repeat 2015 success in Argentina

31 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Crutchlow out to repeat 2015 success in Argentina

Cal Crutchlow is keen to replicate his 2015 form at Argentina’s Termas de Río Hondo circuit, where the LCR Honda rider top podium success last year. He was able to convert a fourth place into a podium...

Lorenzo keen to try ‘difficult’ Argentinian track

30 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lorenzo keen to try ‘difficult’ Argentinian track

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo says he’s looking forward to this weekend’s Argentinian race at Rio de Hondo Termas, as the series returns to a track where the Spaniard struggled in...

‘Question marks until Friday’ for Marquez

30 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

‘Question marks until Friday’ for Marquez

Marc Marquez says that his question marks about just how far Honda’s improvements have come will remain until he takes to the track in Argentina on Friday, despite taking a podium finish at the...