Qatar MotoGP 2016

No more testing, the 2016 MotoGP championship finally gets underway at the 3.3 mile floodlit Losail circuit, with all signs pointing towards reigning champ Jorge Lorenzo as the man to beat.

The factory Yamaha rider set an incredible 11 laps under the lap records over the winter, while his team-mate and rival Valentino Rossi only managed one.

Will Marquez finally click with the new Honda, control ECU and Michelin tyres, or will he just be an occasional annoyance for the title contenders? And let's not forget th surprise of winter testing - wunderkid Maverick Vinales, who pushed Lorenzo all the way in testing in just his second year on the Suzuki.

Year: ALL

Casey Stoner impressed with new Honda production bike

03 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has given HRC positive feedback on the new production RCV1000R racer that Scott Redding will campaign in the 2014 MotoGP world championship. The Aussie got his first chance to assess the...

Honda won’t use full fuel allowance for new production racer

03 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Honda has revealed its new production RCV1000R MotoGP bike that Scott Redding will ride in 2014 will not use the maximum amount of fuel permitted for non-factory machinery. Non-factory bikes in 2014...

Nicky Hayden: Ducati slipping further behind Honda and Yamaha

03 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden fears the gulf in performance between Ducati’s struggling Desmosedici and Japanese rivals Honda and Yamaha is increasing. The American, who will leave Ducati after a difficult five-year...

Honda plotting Rins and Marquez Moto3 dream team

03 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Honda’s threat to quit Moto3 after just two years appears to be a cover for an all-out assault on the 2014 title to break KTM’s domination of the 250cc four-stroke category. HRC management said at the...

Honda: Pedrosa can bounce back from Aragon nightmare

02 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa is no stranger to bouncing back from adversity and he has been tipped to pick himself off the floor again after last weekend’s disastrous Motorland Aragon MotoGP. The Repsol Honda...

19-race provisional 2014 MotoGP calendar unveiled

02 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

The 2014 MotoGP world championship will kick off in Qatar on March 23 and could be expanded to 19 races with Brazil featuring on the provisional schedule unveiled today. The Qatar night race will be...

HRC reflects on Marquez/Pedrosa incident

01 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Honda boss Livio Suppo believes Marc Marquez will have to change his super aggressive tactics after the MotoGP world championship leader was involved in a major talking point with factory HRC teammate...

Jonathan Rea rejects Pramac Ducati to stay in WSB

01 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Jonathan Rea turned down an 11th hour bid to join Cal Crutchlow on a Ducati Desmosedici in MotoGP next season to clinch an extended deal with the Pata Honda squad in World Superbikes. MCN revealed...

Josh Herrin to join new Caterham Moto2 squad

01 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Newly crowned American superbike champion Josh Herrin will join the new Caterham Moto2 squad for the 2014 world championship. The 23-year-old clinched the AMA title last weekend at Laguna Seca and...

Laguna Seca dropped from 2014 MotoGP schedule

01 October 2013 by Matthew Birt

Laguna Seca has lost its slot on the MotoGP world championship for 2014. As was first reported by MCN in mid-August, the California venue will be dropped from the calendar, despite having a contract...

Marc Marquez sorry for unlucky Dani Pedrosa

30 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Marc Marquez was both ecstatic and remorseful at the Motorland Aragon track yesterday (Sunday) as an incident with factory Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa overshadowed another fantastic MotoGP victory...

Cal Crutchlow: Marquez blameless in Pedrosa crash

30 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

British rider Cal Crutchlow jumped to the defence of MotoGP world championship leader Marc Marquez yesterday (Sunday) after the Spaniard’s aggressive riding was thrust under the microscope again at...

Jorge Lorenzo: Marquez ‘taking risks all of the time’

30 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo has been one of the biggest critics of compatriot Marc Marquez in 2013, but the reigning world champion refused to condemn the rookie sensation after yesterday’s dramatic Motorland...

Valentino Rossi avoids unwanted record with Aragon podium

30 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi scored a fifth podium of 2013 in yesterday’s Motorland Aragon MotoGP clash in Spain to avoid creating an unwanted slice of history for himself. With dominant Spanish trio Jorge...

Aragon MotoGP: Marquez extends championship lead with win

29 September 2013 by Liam Marsden

Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez has extended his championship lead to 39 points with victory in Aragon ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo got the jump and tried to stretch out a lead, but was unable to...

Aragon MotoGP: Terol cruises to home win

29 September 2013 by Liam Marsden

Aspar rider Nicolas Terol eased to his second Moto2 victory of the season from pole position at Aragon today. Terol got a brilliant start and had gapped the rest of the field by the end of the first...

Aragon MotoGP: Rins tops all Spanish podium

29 September 2013 by Liam Marsden

Estrela Galicia rider Alex Rins got the better of Maverick Vinales to take his fifth race win of the season at Aragon and move to second in the championship. Rins’ race-winning move came in the first...

Valentino Rossi finally happy with fourth

28 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Having finished fourth in the previous four MotoGP races you’d think that factory Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi would be growing weary of taking fourth spot. But after finishing fourth behind dominant...

Braking style tweak boosts Bradley Smith in Aragon

28 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith made a huge riding style breakthrough at the Motorland Aragon track today courtesy of some tough love from his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad in Spain. The 22-year-old was locked in a long...

Cal Crutchlow targets top five after worst qualifying

28 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow has targeted a return to the top five in tomorrow’s Motorland Aragon MotoGP clash after he slumped to his worst qualifying of 2013 in Spain this afternoon. A series of mistakes on his...

Aragon MotoGP: Terol starts from pole

28 September 2013 by MCN

Spaniard Nicolas Terol leads an all Spanish front row at Aragon ahead of team-mates Esteve Rabat and title hopeful Pol Espargaro. Espargaro’s main rival and current championship leader Scott Redding...

Aragon MotoGP: Marquez on pole

28 September 2013 by Liam Marsden

Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez will start tomorrow’s Aragon race from pole position after narrowly beating reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo by just 0.010s. Marquez broke Casey Stoner’s lap...

Top speed concern for Cal Crutchlow in Aragon

27 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

British rider Cal Crutchlow expressed concern about the top speed of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine after he ended the first day of practice at the Motorland Aragon track in sixth...

Brake and grip issues halt Valentino Rossi’s early charge

27 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

A front brake issue and a lack of rear grip conspired to make the start of the Motorland Aragon MotoGP weekend a tough one for nine-times world champion Valentino Rossi. The Italian was optimistic he...

Valentino Rossi talks new Moto3 venture

26 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has spoken for the first time about a new Moto3 project he will be heavily involved in next season to develop and nurture young Italian talent in the GP world championship. The...

Aleix Espargaro pushing for Aspar exit

26 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Spaniard Aleix Espargaro has publicly acknowledged informing his current Aspar MotoGP squad that he wants to quit and ride a new Yamaha YZR-M1 engine and chassis project in the Forward Racing outfit...

Andrea Dovizioso critical of Ducati ahead of landmark race

26 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso renewed criticism of Ducati’s struggling MotoGP project in Spain today on the eve of the Italian’s 200th world championship appearance at the Motorland Aragon. The former 125GP world...

Michael Laverty seeking to finalise 2014 MotoGP contract

26 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Michael Laverty’s future with the PBM MotoGP squad seems secure for 2014, but the British rider is hoping to finalise a deal imminently having not yet put pen to paper on a final contract. Laverty...

Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa urged to start faster

25 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Honda boss Shuhei Nakamoto doesn’t believe it is only machine tweaks that will boost Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa’s hopes of ending Jorge Lorenzo’s revival in the 2013 MotoGP title chase. Lorenzo is...

Ducati denies approaching Aprilia technical boss

25 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Ducati has denied approaching current Aprilia technical guru Gigi Dall’Igna to drag the struggling Bologna factory out of its MotoGP slump. Without a clear technical mastermind since long-serving...

Valentino Rossi needs faster starts to strengthen podium bid

24 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s bid to end a frustrating succession of fourth place finishes in MotoGP will be boosted if he can match factory Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo’s electrifying early pace. Lorenzo’s fast...

Tough to turn down MotoGP return, admits Redding's crew chief

24 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding’s long-serving crew chief Pete Benson has admitted turning down the chance to return to MotoGP with the rising British star in 2014 was one of the hardest decisions of his...

Damian Cudlin joins PBM for Aragon

23 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Aussie Damian Cudlin will bring a fresh perspective to the British-built PBM MotoGP frame when he joins Paul Bird’s premier class squad at this weekend’s Motorland Aragon clash in Spain. The 30-year-old, who has previous MotoGP experience as a stand-in rider for Pramac Ducati at the end of 2011, will replace Colombian Yonny Hernandez, who ironically has joined Pramac for the final five races of...

Patience key for Pol Espargaro’s factory Yamaha ambitions

23 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha newcomer Pol Espargaro will need to be patient to realise his factory Yamaha ambitions with a works YZR-M1 seat potentially unavailable until 2017. The Spanish Moto2 title contender will take Cal Crutchlow’s seat in the satellite Tech 3 operation next season, with his clear intention to secure a switch to the factory squad in 2015. Yamaha though has made it clear that it intends to agree...

Marc Marquez not concerned by fast starting Jorge Lorenzo

23 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP world championship leader Marc Marquez says he is not overly concerned with Jorge Lorenzo’s fast starting strategy that helped the factory Yamaha rider claim back-to-back wins in Silverstone...

HRC: Top six achievable for new production bike

19 September 2013 by Matthew Birt

A top rider on Honda’s new production RCV1000R MotoGP bike will be capable of upsetting the formbook to beat full factory prototype 1000cc machines at some tracks in 2014. Honda’s production bike qualifies for the new non-factory rules, which permits it to run 24 litres of fuel and use Bridgestone’s special soft tyres. That’s four more litres than the factory bikes to be campaigned by the likes of...