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

Jerry Burgess predicts fierce Casey Stoner challenge

31 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jerry Burgess reckons Honda and Casey Stoner will pose the biggest threat to Valentino Rossi’s hopes of capturing the MotoGP title at the first attempt for Ducati in 2011. Rossi’s legendary crew chief...

Yamaha focus on improving rear grip in 2011

31 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Improving rear grip has been a key winter development target of Yamaha as the Japanese factory seeks to continue its domination of MotoGP without talisman Valentino Rossi in 2011. Rossi and 2010 world...

Video: Valentino Rossi on track on a Ducati

31 January 2011

Valentino Rossi has returned to the track for the first time since his shoulder operation, and you can see how it went it this video showing the Italian legend on a Ducati 1198 Superbike. Just 73 days...

First shots of Stoner's 2011 Honda RC212V

31 January 2011 by Dan Aspel

These are the first official photos of Casey Stoner alongside the Honda RC212V that he’ll be racing in the 2011 MotoGP season. There are apparently few updates to the machine except for the new...

Lorenzo is "No.1"

31 January 2011 by Dan Aspel

MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo has unveiled his racing logo for the 2011 season: a number one made of the initials J and L. He said: “I have been lucky with my design because the No 1 works really well...

Rossi faking it

28 January 2011 by Joe Cunningham

Further to the comments about Vale faking his shoulder problems. After being wiped out on a roundabout by a careless car driver which resulted in my bike being written of and me being in hospital for 5 days with back and shoulder damage in which the tendon was totally ripped off the shoulder bone. I had a operation on the November 10 2010 to re-attatch the tendon (Left shoulder athroscopic...

FTR and Speed Up continue in Moto2

27 January 2011 by MCN Sportsdesk

British manufacturer FTR Moto and the Italian Speed Up Team will challenge for the 2011 Moto2 World Championship with the youthful line-up of 19-year-old Spaniard Pol Espargaro and 18-year-old French...

Danny Kent lands top 125GP ride

24 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Danny Kent has landed a top 125GP ride in the team that won last year’s crown with Spanish sensation Marc Marquez. Kent, who impressed during selected wild card appearances at the end of the 2010...

Eight Brits in Grand Prix in 2011

24 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

British talent in the Grand Prix world championship will be at its highest level in years in 2011 with eight riders confirmed for the forthcoming season. Cal Crutchlow will lead the challenge in the...

Scott Redding heads triple British Moto2 attack

24 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding will be hoping to emerge as a serious title threat in 2011 as he heads a three-pronged British challenge in the successful Moto2 class. The Gloucestershire rider will again ride for the...

Lorenzo's brolly dolly

18 January 2011 by trevor.cummings

TC at the Barcalona MotoGP round, sharing MCN with Lorenzo’s Brolly Dolly! Photo taken by the Notts Tuesday club.

Qatar MotoGP to be run over four nights

18 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

The opening round of the 2011 MotoGP world championship, which will include Valentino Rossi’s Ducati debut and Cal Crutchlow’s premier class bow, will be run over four nights in March. Five practice...

Nicky Hayden expects fierce competition in 2011

14 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden reckons the 2011 MotoGP field is so strong that it is impossible to single out who will be the big challengers this year. The 2006 world champion finished seventh in the rankings last...

Phillip Island date change debate drags on

14 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Plans to switch the Australian MotoGP race to a much earlier date on the world championship schedule in 2012 are still under discussion. Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta and a host of top riders including...

Ducati boss surprised at Casey Stoner departure

14 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ducati CEO Gabriele del Torchio has said he was surprised that Casey Stoner opted to quit the Bologna factory to sign a deal with rivals Honda for the 2011 MotoGP world championship. The Australian,...

Dorna suspends Suzuki legal action

13 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta has confirmed he is not planning on taking imminent legal action against Suzuki after the Japanese factory reduced its involvement in MotoGP in 2011 to just one...

Ducati against electronics reduction

13 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ducati boss Claudio Domenicali says the Bologna factory is against a campaign to get the influence of electronic rider aids significantly reduced in the MotoGP world championship. One of the most...

Video: Valentino Rossi’s 2011 Ducati unveiled

12 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

This is the first look at the factory Ducati GP11 Valentino Rossi hopes will help him capture a tenth Grand Prix world title this year. Unveiled at the spectacular Madonna di Campiglio ski resort in...

‘Exceptional’ Valentino Rossi boosts Ducati

12 January 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ducati MotoGP designer Filippo Preziosi reckons Valentino Rossi’s arrival has galvanised the Bologna factory as he hailed the ‘exceptional’ Italian star earlier today. In a press conference that...