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

Video: Chris Vermeulen

29 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

We have exclusive footage from Sepang from MCN’s MotoGP writer Matthew Birt.

Video: Rizla GP riders

29 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Video: Rizla GP riders

With Rizla Suzuki continuing to look like the team best prepared for the start of the season, here Chris Vermeulen talks in Sepang to our GP reporter Matthew Birt about the challenges he and the team...

Champ relishes PI test

29 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Champ relishes PI test

Factory Honda rider Nicky Hayden is looking forward to this week’s Phillip Island test session to kick start the defence of his MotoGP world crown. Horsepower and electronic issues have hampered the...

Loris: We must find limits

29 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Loris: We must find limits

Italian veteran Loris Capirossi has refused to point the finger of blame at Ducati’s test team for failing to get a new engine management and electronic engine braking system up to speed...

Rossi wants more power

28 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Rossi wants more power

Yamaha still needs to improve engine performance despite Valentino Rossi’s test topping performance in Sepang last week. The Italian said he expects further performance upgrades when he returns to the...

Kawasaki boss aims high

28 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Kawasaki boss aims high

Kawasaki bosses have set an ambitious target to build an 800cc bike good enough to attract the cream of MotoGP talent by the end of 2009. Technical boss Ichiro Yoda said: “Our target to achieve a...

Hopkins: Suzuki are right

28 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Hopkins: Suzuki are right

Suzuki’s decision not to build a new 800cc bike that was a radical departure from its 2006 factory GSV-R 990cc machine is a key reason for the Japanese manufacturers blistering start to the new world...

Hayden gets used to 800

28 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Hayden gets used to 800

MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden reckons he is finally getting accustomed to life on the new 800cc machines as he goes in search of recapturing his world title in 2007. Hayden was a big fan of the...

Ducati: no mpg worries

28 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Ducati: no mpg worries

Loris Capirossi has denied persistent rumours that Ducati is on a knife-edge with the new fuel capacity regulations that come into force for the 2007 MotoGP world championships. As well as the...

No let up for Aussie star

28 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

No let up for Aussie star

Chris Vermeulen is hoping that Suzuki continues to aggressively develop its new 800cc machine to keep the Japanese factory at the sharp end of the timesheets in winter testing. Vermeulen and John...

Blog: Sepang over

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Blog: Sepang over

Howdy folks, sorry I didn’t blog last night but I didn’t get back from the track until 10pm, grabbed some room service and crashed out in a crumpled heap. Firstly a quick update on the sunburn, which...

Vermeulen: 'PI test vital'

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Vermeulen: 'PI test vital'

Chris Vermeulen reckons the acid test of how far Suzuki has progressed with its new 800cc GSV-R will come at the next two tests in Australia and Qatar. Phillip Island was the worst track for Suzuki...

Stoner targets electrics

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Stoner targets electrics

Casey Stoner goes home to Phillip Island this week hoping to make some in-roads into solving some of the electronic and power delivery gremlins that have dogged him at the last two tests on board...

Rossi backs Edwards

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Rossi backs Edwards

Valentino Rossi has backed factory Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards to make his big MotoGP breakthrough in 2007 – because the new 800cc bikes are more like a superbike. Double World Superbike champion...

GP champ's pain fades

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

GP champ's pain fades

Nicky Hayden is confident that his right shoulder will be restored to full fitness in time for the start of the 2007 MotoGP world championship in Qatar on March 10, 2007. Hayden returned to action in...

Loris wants fast start

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Loris wants fast start

Loris Capirossi is confident he can maintain the good form he showed at the end of the recent Sepang test session where he finished third fastest when he returns to the track on Tuesday at Phillip...

Hopper wants 16” tryout

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Hopper wants 16” tryout

John Hopkins said he would try a Bridgestone 16-inch front tyre in Australia this week if one became available. Despite Bridgestone bosses pledging not to follow rivals Michelin by switching to a new...

Hayden rules out diet

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Hayden rules out diet

Nicky Hayden says he won’t go on a crash diet to help him adjust to Honda’s small new RC212V 800cc MotoGP mchine. Before Christmas Hayden had hinted he might need to shed weight to help him make the...

Marco: "right to move"

27 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Marco: "right to move"

Bridgestone’s renowned front tyre has already convinced Marco Melandri that he was right to switch from Michelin at the end of last season. The Italian has been impressed with the Bridgestone front in...

Rossi wants record haul

26 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Rossi wants record haul

Valentino Rossi has targeted a 300-point haul to win back his MotoGP world championship crown. Rossi is still smarting after throwing away the title when he crashed out of the last round decider with...

Pedrosa wants new parts

26 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Pedrosa wants new parts

Dani Pedrosa is hoping he will get some new parts from Honda in time for this week’s Phillip Island test in a bid to spark some momentum into his 2007 pre-season campaign. The Spaniard was...

Tyre war heats up

26 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Tyre war heats up

American Colin Edwards believes it is too early to gauge whether Michelin’s new 16-inch front tyre will be a match for its Bridgestone rival in the 2007 MotoGP world championship. Michelin is pushing...

Melandri finding style

26 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Melandri finding style

Italian Marco Melandri believes he is slowly adapting his style to suit the new generation 800cc machines. The former world 250 champion has only tested Honda’s new RC212V twice and after finishing in...

Edwards: 'BHP to spare'

26 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Edwards: 'BHP to spare'

Colin Edwards reckons Yamaha has played it safe so far in the new 800cc MotoGP era and still has plenty more engine performance to come before the start of the 2007 season in Qatar. The Texas Tornado...

Kawasaki after Nakano

25 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Kawasaki after Nakano

Kawasaki’s technical chief Ichiro Yoda has admitted losing Shinya Nakano at the end of 2006 was a big blow. But Yoda added it shouldn’t seriously hamper development of the new ZX-RR 800cc...

Edwards praises tyre

25 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Edwards praises tyre

Colin Edwards was raving about the performance of Michelin’s new 16- inch front tyre in Sepang this week (January 2007). The French tyre company is pushing all of its top riders to try the smaller...

Loris: Bike at 80 per cent

25 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Loris: Bike at 80 per cent

Loris Capirossi believes Ducati’s new 800cc contender is only at 80 per cent of its potential as the Italian continues to seek electronic improvements to the V4 GP7. The former world 125 and 250...

Vale's hairy pair

25 January 2007 by Chris Newbigging

Vale's hairy pair

You’ve got to hand it to Rossi, he’s finding more and more ways to be wacky and different. Now he’s wearing boots covered in horse hair. MCN’s GP Reporter Matt Birt spotted the mad footwear as Rossi...

Jezza reveals setback

25 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Jezza reveals setback

Jeremy McWilliams is confident he will be able to return to MotoGP action at next month’s Qatar IRTA test. The hope is still there after a blunder by Spanish surgeons could have shattered his dreams...

Guintoli's crash ban

24 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Guintoli's crash ban

French MotoGP rookie Sylvain Guintoli’s baptism of fire continued in Sepang today when Yamaha barred him from riding after two crashes on the first two days. After a first day spill, the Tech 3 rider...

Vermeulen's experience

24 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Vermeulen's experience

Rizla Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen believes he can make a big impact in his second MotoGP campaign after another confidence boosting test in Sepang. The Aussie set his best time on a Bridgestone...

Rossi on electronics

24 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Rossi on electronics

Valentino Rossi topped the timesheets at the Sepang to signal his intent to claim back the MotoGP world crown before denying that the new 800cc machines placed more emphasis back in rider...

Hayden's work ahead

24 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Hayden's work ahead

Reigning world champion Nicky Hayden admitted Honda has plenty of work to do if he has any hope of retaining his world title. The American came to this conclusion after a tough return to the track in...

Sepang: Day 3

24 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi left his best till last, but ended the three day Sepang MotoGP test fastest after spending the first two days chasing Suzukis. Rossi’s best lap of 2:00.93 was the only one under the...

Yukio's MotoGP holiday

24 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

Yukio's MotoGP holiday

Former British Superbike favourite and current factory Suzuki WSB rider Yukio Kagayama has cropped up in the paddock at the Sepang test – on a jolly! Kagayama isn’t riding and has flown to Kuala...

No 16" for Bridgestone

24 January 2007 by Matthew Birt

No 16" for Bridgestone

Bridgestone has no plans to follow rivals Michelin and begin testing 16-inch front tyres for the new 800cc MotoGP era. Michelin started testing its 16-inch front at this week’s Sepang test in Malaysia...