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

BBC MotoGP coverage

13 April 2009 by alan pollard

I would just like to say that the BBC is a joke – I mean first race of the year, look on BBC1/BBC2, no MotoGP… eventually find it on BBC3… It was given to the BBC to enable more fans to be able to watch, ha! someone was having a laugh. Give it all back to Eurosport and bring back Randy.

MotoGP organisers

12 April 2009 by Anonymous

Well done organisers of the MotoGP in Losail! Do you have any brains? UK and Europe are only 2 hours away from Losail so why this stupid eco unfriendly floodlight joke! Lunchtime in the UK is fine and the USA have no interest in MotoGP. Even worse BBC showed some old git waddling around the track on a bmw twin, shouting something that could not be heard. I have seen school sports days that have...

Qatar MotoGP: Race postponed to Monday

12 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Race postponed to Monday

The opening round of the MotoGP world championship in Qatar has been postponed by a day because of torrential rain. Heavy rain started to fall just as the 18-rider field was about to start the warm-up...

Qatar MotoGP: Barbera takes 250GP victory

12 April 2009 by Liam Marsden

Qatar MotoGP: Barbera takes 250GP victory

Aprilia rider Hector Barbera has bounced back from a pre-season knee injury to win the first 250GP race of 2009 in Qatar. Barbera didn’t have it all his own way, after underdog Jules Cluzel led from...

Qatar MotoGP: Iannone takes 125GP win after rain stoppage

12 April 2009 by Liam Marsden

Qatar MotoGP: Iannone takes 125GP win after rain stoppage

Aprilia rider Andrea Iannone has won the first 125GP of 2009, but will only be awarded half points after the race was stopped due to rain after just four laps. Completing the podium was Julian Simon...

Qatar MotoGP: Alvaro Bautista takes pole

12 April 2009 by Liam Marsden

Qatar MotoGP: Alvaro Bautista takes pole

Aspar Aprilia rider Alvaro Bautista has claimed the first pole of the season after the 250GP qualifying session was postponed due to heavy rain. Bautista was the fastest of only two riders who managed...

Qatar MotoGP: Marco Simoncelli withdraws from 250GP race

11 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Marco Simoncelli withdraws from 250GP race

Reigning 250GP world champion Marco Simoncelli has withdrawn from tomorrow’s opening race in Qatar. The Italian bravely tried to ride just a week after breaking his right wrist in a motocross training...

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner takes first pole of 2009

11 April 2009 by Liam Marsden

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner takes first pole of 2009

Factory Ducati rider Casey Stoner will start from the front tomorrow after setting the fastest lap during qualifying in Qatar. The Australian dominated the session, consistently setting the fastest...

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith qualifies second

11 April 2009 by Liam Marsden

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith qualifies second

Brit Bradley Smith will start the first 125GP race of 2009 from second on the grid after team-mate Julian Simon bumped him off top spot. Fellow Brits Scott Redding and Danny Webb qualified 11th and...

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner quickest in first practice

11 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner quickest in first practice

Casey Stoner took his winter domination into the new MotoGP world championship campaign tonight, the Aussie topping the timesheets in the first practice session of 2009 in Qatar. A late attack by...

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith second in first 125GP practice

10 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith second in first 125GP practice

Bradley Smith got his 2009 campaign off to a bright start under the spectacular Losail International Circuit floodlights tonight when he posted the second best time in the opening 125GP session. The...

Qatar MotoGP: Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau end feud

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau end feud

Bitter MotoGP rivals Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau went a long way to burying their long-running feud after a very public and shock reconciliation in Qatar today. The pair shook hands and embraced...

Qatar MotoGP: Valentino Rossi hoping for exciting racing

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Valentino Rossi hoping for exciting racing

Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi has told MCN he hopes the new MotoGP season will deliver the excitement and thrills craved by fans. But the 30-year-old Fiat Yamaha rider, who starts the...

Qatar MotoGP: James Tosland ready for ‘massive year’

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: James Tosland ready for ‘massive year’

British MotoGP rider James Toseland has admitted that 2009 is the biggest year of his career as he prepares for the season opening race in Qatar on Sunday night. The double World Superbike champion is...

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner assured by wrist assessment

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner assured by wrist assessment

Aussie Casey Stoner has laid to rest any lingering pre-season nerves about the lengthy recovery of his left wrist injury ahead of this weekend’s crunch first MotoGP race in Qatar. Ever since the...

Qatar MotoGP: Jerry Burgess confident in 2009 Yamaha

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Jerry Burgess confident in 2009 Yamaha

Yamaha’s 2009 factory YZR-M1 is good enough to withstand a fresh onslaught from Ducati’s impressive new GP9, according to Valentino Rossi’s crew chief Jerry Burgess. After a nightmare first season in...

Qatar MotoGP: Jerry Burgess assesses Casey Stoner threat

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Jerry Burgess assesses Casey Stoner threat

Valentino Rossi’s legendary crew chief Jerry Burgess has inevitably marked Ducati’s Casey Stoner as the biggest threat to the Italian’s hopes of clinching a seventh MotoGP title in 2009. Assessing the...

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner confident in carbon fibre gamble

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner confident in carbon fibre gamble

Former world champion Casey Stoner is confident that he can show Ducati’s gamble on radical carbon fibre chassis technology can be a major success when he starts the new MotoGP season in Qatar this...

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith names 125GP title threats

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith names 125GP title threats

Bradley Smith has named Aspar Aprilia team-mate Julian Simon as his biggest threat in the 2009 125GP world championship. Get all the latest MotoGP news The Spaniard has dominated winter testing and...

Qatar MotoGP Danny Webb aims for 125GP podiums

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP Danny Webb aims for 125GP podiums

British teenager Danny Webb believes he can be a regular podium contender when the new 125GP world championship campaign kicks off on Sunday night in Qatar. Webb has secured a factory RSA Aprilia...

Qatar MotoGP: Suzuki eye return to 2007 form

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Suzuki eye return to 2007 form

Suzuki boss Paul Denning believes a successful season for the Japanese factory will be to emulate its success of the first year of the new 800cc era in 2007. Get all the latest MotoGP news Suzuki...

Qatar MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa to ride in first race

08 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa to ride in first race

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa will ride in this weekend’s opening MotoGP of 2009 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The 24-year-old will fly to the Middle East despite fears that left arm and leg...

Qatar MotoGP: Valentino Rossi backs Suzuki for success

08 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Valentino Rossi backs Suzuki for success

Reigning MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi has backed Suzuki to be the major surprise of 2009 ahead of the first race in Qatar this Sunday. The Fiat Yamaha rider, who won nine races last year to...

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith quickest in warm-up test

08 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith quickest in warm-up test

British teenager Bradley Smith posted the fastest time on the opening night of 125GP testing in Qatar as part of a warm-up for the first race of 2009 this weekend. Smith, who claimed pole position at...

Qatar MotoGP: Yamaha boss targets top three for Jorge Lorenzo

07 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Yamaha boss targets top three for Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo’s Fiat Yamaha team boss is confident the Spaniard can cut the gap on dominant duo Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi in 2009 to claim a top three MotoGP world championship finish. Lorenzo...

Qatar MotoGP: No secrets at Repsol Honda

07 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: No secrets at Repsol Honda

Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will have an open working relationship where both will be able to access each other’s data during the 2009 MotoGP world championship. New Honda MotoGP boss Shuhei...

Qatar MotoGP: Nicky Hayden looking to improve communication

07 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Nicky Hayden looking to improve communication

Nicky Hayden says it is crucial that he learns to communicate more clearly with his new Ducati squad ahead of his debut for the Bologna factory in Qatar this weekend. Get all the latest MotoGP...

Qatar MotoGP: Eurosport expert backs Valentino Rossi

07 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Eurosport expert backs Valentino Rossi

Eurosport’s expert summariser James Haydon has backed Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi to retain his MotoGP world championship crown in 2009. Italian Rossi kicks off the defence and his crown and his...

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner refusing to single out Valentino Rossi challenge

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner refusing to single out Valentino Rossi challenge

Casey Stoner has refused to single out Valentino Rossi as his big title threat ahead of the first MotoGP clash of 2009 in Qatar this weekend. Aussie Stoner has been in scintillating form during winter...

Qatar MotoGP: Suzuki optimistic ahead of 2009

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Suzuki optimistic ahead of 2009

Factory Suzuki boss Paul Denning has told MCN of his optimism at the prospects of Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen becoming regular podium challengers in the 2009 MotoGP world championship. The new...

Qatar MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo vows to cut out mistakes

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo vows to cut out mistakes

Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo has vowed to cut out the big mistakes in 2009 that cost him so dearly in his rookie MotoGP world championship campaign. Large parts of his maiden campaign were spent...

Qatar MotoGP: Nicky Hayden backs Casey Stoner’s title tilt

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Nicky Hayden backs Casey Stoner’s title tilt

Nicky Hayden has backed new factory Ducati team-mate Casey Stoner to mount a serious challenge to regain the MotoGP world crown in 2009. Looking ahead to the season’s opening race under Qatar’s...

Qatar MotoGP: Colin Edwards confident for 2009

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Colin Edwards confident for 2009

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards has backed himself to become a regular top six threat when the new MotoGP season kicks off in Qatar this weekend. The Texan has set consistent and competitive...

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith hails Randy Mamola influence

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith hails Randy Mamola influence

British 125GP world championship hopeful Bradley Smith believes the influence of mentor and former MotoGP star Randy Mamola will be crucial ahead of his 2009 campaign. The Aspar Aprilia rider has...

BBC releases 2009 MotoGP schedule

03 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

BBC releases 2009 MotoGP schedule

The BBC has released the schedule of its live and exclusive coverage of the 2009 MotoGP world championship. Three races will be screened live on BBC 1, including coverage of the British GP at...

MotoGP test at Jerez

02 April 2009 by Philip Bowman

MotoGP test at Jerez

We have just returned from Moto GP testing in Jerez (26-29 March 09). We had an amazing time and met lots of riders including Casey Stoner who was tucking into a chinese meal in a local restaurant.