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

Australia MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo plays down title prospects

14 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo has again played down his 2009 MotoGP title prospects ahead of this weekend’s crucial Australian race at Phillip Island. The 22-year-old believes all the pressure is on Fiat Yamaha...

Tech 3 confirm Mattia Pasini Moto2 talks

14 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Tech 3 Yamaha boss Herve Poncharal has confirmed his interest in 125 and 250GP race winner Mattia Pasini as a top option for the new Moto2 600cc world championship in 2010. The French team will run...

James Toseland’s crew chief to move to Moto2

14 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

The departure of James Toseland from MotoGP has proved costly for the crew chief at the centre of a bust-up between the British rider and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards last winter. Gary Reynders, who left Texan Edwards at the end of the 2008 MotoGP world championship to make a controversial switch to work with Toseland, will move to the new Tech 3 Moto2 squad. The arrival of Ben...

James Toseland to test R1 WSB bike in Portimao?

14 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

James Toseland looks certain to make his Yamaha World Superbike debut before the end of the month, MCN can reveal. The British rider is hotly-tipped to make a shock R1 appearance at the Portimao test...

Australia MotoGP: Casey Stoner targets home hat-trick

12 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner is confident he can claim a third successive victory on home soil at Phillip Island this weekend. All eyes will be on the 23-year-old in only his second race since his comeback from...

Australia MotoGP: Valentino Rossi looking to bounce back

12 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi is aiming to bounce back from his bitterly disappointing performance in the recent Estoril MotoGP when his title fight with Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo resumes in Australia...

Australia MotoGP: Bradley Smith looks to extend podium run

12 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith is targeting a fourth successive podium to continue his recent impressive 125GP form in Australia this weekend. After a dip in from at the halfway stage in the world championship, the...

Australia MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa aims for strong finish

12 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa is confident he can finish a disappointing 2009 campaign on a high. The Spaniard has again failed to mount a serious world title threat this season but goes into the...

Harris Promo Racing Moto2 tested

10 October 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Brit-based Harris Performance has completed the latest development tests of its Moto2 race machine and announced that it is ready to accept orders from confirmed Moto2 teams and other interested...

‘I’ll help Ben Spies’, vows Colin Edwards

09 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards has vowed to do all he can to help fellow Texan Ben Spies become an instant success in the MotoGP world championship in 2010. Both hailing from Texas, Edwards and Spies are good friends...

Suzuki deny engine crisis

09 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki has denied it will be the first factory to fall foul of new engine reliability rules in the MotoGP world championship. Factory boss Paul Denning denied rumours that both Loris Capirossi and...

Honda boss angry at new engine penalty

09 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Honda boss Shuhei Nakamoto has spoken of his ‘disappointment’ at recent changes to MotoGP engine durability rules. Cost-cutting rules introduced for the final seven races of 2009 meant riders could...

Suzuki delay Chris Vermeulen’s Kawasaki WSB debut

09 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki will not give special permission for Aussie rider Chris Vermeulen to make his Kawasaki World Superbike debut before the end of the MotoGP season. Kawasaki will test immediately after the final...

Another member of the Rossi fanclub

08 October 2009 by sean13

My 3 month old daughter Natalia already gearing up for next year’s Silverstone MotoGP

Colin Edwards: 'Electronics have extended my career’

08 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards reckons the huge advances in electronic rider aids have helped extend his career after the popular American signed a new MotoGP deal for 2010. The double World Superbike champion has...

Valentino Rossi impressed with Ben Spies

08 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has told MCN how impressed he has been with World Superbike sensation Ben Spies in 2009. The 30-year-old Italian, who is chasing a seventh MotoGP world title in 2009 as the paqddock...

Chris Vermeulen admits Ducati concern

08 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Chris Vermeulen has admitted he was worried about joining Ducati in MotoGP next season because of the difficulty in matching compatriot Casey Stoner’s results. Confident he would not be another...

Hayate eye Moto2 move

08 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Hayate’s hopes of retaining its MotoGP status in 2010 appear doomed. A frantic fund-raising mission to find a £5m budget to lease Yamaha YZR-M1 engines and build and develop a new chassis has...

FTR Moto unveil Moto2 race bike

07 October 2009 by Gary Pinchin

These are the first pictures of the new Moto2 machine built by FTR Moto, unveiled today at the Sports Bar and Grill, Marylebone Station in London. The bike is known as FTR Moto M209 and has been built...

Title race still in Valentino Rossi’s hands, says Jerry Burgess

07 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s quest for a seventh MotoGP crown is still firmly in the Italian’s hands, despite the setback of last weekend’s Estoril clash in Portugal. That’s the belief of Rossi’s legendary...

Toseland: “Ben and Colin deserve the ride”

07 October 2009 by Michael Guy

Despite the obvious disappointment of losing his Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP ride, James Toseland has given his backing to Ben Spies and Colin Edwards for next years championship. Toseland accepts that his...

Toni Elias heads Tech 3 Moto2 wish list

07 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP winner Toni Elias tops a Tech 3 wish list for the French team’s new Moto2 600cc world championship project. The Spaniard has lost his MotoGP ride after being axed by the Gresini Honda squad,...

Aleix Espargaro seals Ducati MotoGP switch

07 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Aleix Espargaro has secured the second Pramac Ducati GP9 ride after his recent impressive performances in the Indianapolis and Misano. The Spaniard’s dramatic upturn in fortunes mean he will partner...

Suzi Perry: James Toseland's MotoGP exit 'hugely disappointing'

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Suzi Perry reckons James Toseland’s MotoGP departure is ‘hugely disappointing’ for British race fans. The 28-year-old will make a swift return to WSB to try and reclaim the title he last won in 2007...

Cal Crutchlow’s WSB move sets back Gresini Moto2 project

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Italian race boss Fausto Gresini reckons Cal Crutchlow’s decision to partner James Toseland in Yamaha’s factory World Superbike team has set his Moto2 rider search back by two months. Crutchlow held...

Jorge Lorenzo: "I can win the title"

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo has told MCN his hopes of inflicting a shock MotoGP title defeat on Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi are back on track after a tedious but precious win in Estoril last...

Valentino Rossi curious to see Ben Spies race in Valencia

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi says he’s curious at seeing the level of performance from Ben Spies when the American make his Yamaha MotoGP debut in Valencia next month. The Texan, who will...

Ben Spies to race number 11 in MotoGP

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies will revert back to his favoured number 11 when he moves to the MotoGP world championship in 2010. Spies opted to run 19 in his rookie World Superbike campaign because factory BMW rider Troy...