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

Rossi leaves Oz on top

18 February 2005

Rossi leaves Oz on top

World Champion Valentino Rossi put himself back at the top of the pile again after finishing the three-day Phillip Island test with the fastest time. Rossi finished the session with a best lap of...

Tamada tops Sepang test

11 February 2005

Tamada tops Sepang test

Makoto Tamada became the only rider to record a lap time under two minutes and one second on the final day of MotoGP testing at Sepang in Malaysia. Tamada, who has switched from Bridgestone to...

Davies shows potential

11 February 2005

Davies shows potential

Britain’s Chaz Davies celebrated his 18th birthday with testing at Valencia yesterday, Thursday, February 10, finishing as top privateer and fifth fastest 250cc rider overall. Aprilia’s Sebastian...

Gibernau heads GP test

11 February 2005

Gibernau heads GP test

Sete Gibernau heads the unofficial list of test times from the opening day of three days of MotoGP testing at Phillip Island in Australia. The Telefonica Movistar Honda rider recorded a time of...

Porto & Kallio head test

04 February 2005

Porto & Kallio head test

Sebastian Porto and Mika Kallio head the unofficial timesheets for the 250cc and 125cc GP classes after the first day of testing at Valencia on Wednesday, February 9. Despite rain in the early hours...

Future GP stars picked

04 February 2005

Future GP stars picked

Two young Brits have been selected for the MotoGP Academy – a scheme to train six of the most promising young riders in Europe. The Brits-for-the-future are teenagers Bradley Smith and Daniel Webb. ...

Rossi out in the cold

04 February 2005

Rossi out in the cold

Yamaha MotoGP riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards took time out from getting ready for the new season by heading up to the Italian Alps to try out a pair of Yamaha snowmobiles at the World Ski...

How to land a job in GPs

01 February 2005

How to land a job in GPs

If you’re looking for a career in MotoGP it looks like there is a great place to start – Swansea Institiute’s School of Automotive Engineering. Graduate Andrew Griffith has just landed himself a job...

Ellison stays on track

01 February 2005

Ellison stays on track

British MotoGP rider James Ellison keeps himself bang up to date with paddock gossip on the motorcyclenews.com Have Your Say forums. James, still waiting to see more than a drawing of the V6 WCM...

McWilliams to ride in BSB

01 February 2005

McWilliams to ride in BSB

Jeremy McWilliams will be riding in British Superbikes this year after being forced out of MotoGP. The 40-year-old Ulsterman, who has been in GPs for over 10 years, was hoping to ride for the...

Suzuki unveil '05 GP bike

28 January 2005

Suzuki unveil '05 GP bike

Suzuki unveiled the 2005 GSV-R MotoGP machine in its race livery at Bridgestone’s New Year Reception in Tokyo. The launch was held in partnership with the tyre firm which will supply Suzuki during...

Ducati unveil '05 GP bike

21 January 2005

Ducati unveil '05 GP bike

Ducati has unveiled the Desmosedici GP5 in its 2005 race livery on top of the Groste glacier in the Dolomite mountains in Northern Italy. “The bike that Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa will race...

Ducati top 3-day test

21 January 2005

Ducati top 3-day test

Loris Capirossi has made a good start to the MotoGP season, taking the fastest time on all three day’s of the unofficial test in Sepang. The Malaysian test saw all the top teams in attendance with...

HRC split with Doohan

21 January 2005

HRC split with Doohan

The Honda Racing Corporation has announced that Mick Doohan will not return as its General Manager in 2005. The Australian five-times 500cc world champion’s contract expired at the end of 2004. He...

Sepang GP test: Day 2

21 January 2005

Sepang GP test: Day 2

Loris Capirossi again set the fastest time during a scorching day in Sepang, Malaysia, where track temperatures reached as much as 58 degrees. Ducati are proving better prepared for 2005 after a...

Sepang GP tests: Day 1

21 January 2005

Sepang GP tests: Day 1

The Sepang circuit in Malaysia is home to almost every GP team over the next few days as the first major test session for 2005 is underway. Loris Capirossi went quickest on the first day for many of...

Davies tests for 250GPs

21 January 2005

Davies tests for 250GPs

Chaz Davies begins testing today with the Aprilia Germany 250GP team in preparation for the 2005 Grand Prix season. The British rider signed to remain with the Aprilia team over the New Year, after...

Honda confirms GP riders

14 January 2005

Honda confirms GP riders

Honda has finally confirmed that Max Biaggi will head the factory Repsol Honda MotoGP team alongside Nicky Hayden. Biaggi is currently recovering from a broken ankle which he sustained in a fall...

Suzuki set for Sepang

14 January 2005

Suzuki set for Sepang

The Suzuki MotoGP squad will begin testing at Sepang in Malaysia on January 21, with riders Kenny Roberts Jr, John Hopkins, and new team boss Paul Denning. The latest version of the Suzuki GSV-R will...

Kurtis Roberts to AMA

01 January 2005

Kurtis Roberts to AMA

Kurtis Roberts has accepted an offer to ride in the 2005 AMA Superbike Championship just minutes before a soft deadline for new riders. Roberts will ride a Honda CBR1000RR for the Erion Honda team,...

Exclusive Rossi interview

01 January 2005

Exclusive Rossi interview

Valentino Rossi says Honda has a series of secret plans which could revolutionise motorcycling. The Yamaha riding world champion reveals how he heard about them when he raced for Honda – and why he...

Best GP trophy for Brno

22 December 2004

Best GP trophy for Brno

The IRTA ‘Best Grand Prix Trophy’ has been awarded to the Czech Grand Prix at Brno in Moravia in 2004. The award is based on a points scoring system that covers every aspect of running a GP,...

Brit GP date moved

22 December 2004

Brit GP date moved

Changes have been made to the 2005 MotoGP calendar, with the British GP at Donington Park switching to July 24. Other changes include the Italian and Catalunya racers, which move a week later, to...

Provisional GP entry list

15 December 2004

Provisional GP entry list

The provisional entry list for the 2005 MotoGP season has been release with D’Antin Ducati, Aprilia and Proton still to confirm their riders. One thing that stands out is that despite becoming...

Battaini to join WCM

15 December 2004

Battaini to join WCM

Experienced Italian Franco Battaini is about to sign to join the WCM team for 2005. Battaini hopes to put the final stamp on negotiations by the end of the week. The 32-year-old has spent eight years...

GP teams reshuffle

08 December 2004

GP teams reshuffle

It’s not just the riders that are changing teams in the GP paddock, with the Aprilia racing director and Kenny Roberts’ chief mechanic deciding to quit their teams. Suzuki Chief Mechanic Erv Kanemoto...

Donington traffic plans

08 December 2004

Donington traffic plans

After the horrendous traffic problems encountered by GP fans at this year’s British GP, Donington Park is conducting a traffic impact study as part of the on going improvements to the circuit. The...

Uncertainty for Davies

08 December 2004

Uncertainty for Davies

British 250cc GP rider Chaz Davies is still not 100 per cent sure where he’ll be riding in 2005. Davies finished the 2004 season in 13th place on a ‘kit’ Aprilia machine. The 17-year-old, who made...

Aprilia to quit MotoGP?

24 November 2004

Aprilia to quit MotoGP?

Shane Byrne and Jeremy McWilliams could be looking for work later this week as rumours grow that the Aprilia team will not compete in MotoGP in 2005. The team has faced an uncertain future since the...

Checa tops Jerez test

24 November 2004

Checa tops Jerez test

Carlos Checa has ended the three-day Bridgestone tyre test at Jerez with a fastest lap that beats the time Valentino Rossi set to take pole position at the circuit earlier this year. Checa was at the...

Xaus signs for Yamaha

24 November 2004

Xaus signs for Yamaha

Ruben Xaus has confirmed the rumours that he will be riding a Yamaha next year by signing for the Tech 3 Fortuna squad. The Spanish rider impressed the team with his third place finish in the Qatar...

Rossi packs up for winter

24 November 2004

Rossi packs up for winter

Yamaha completed its three-day test in Sepang today with Valentino Rossi posting the fastest time of the test. Rossi put in 44 laps, mostly on the 2005 version of the M1, including an endurance test...

Bayliss fastest in test

24 November 2004

Bayliss fastest in test

After the first wet day of testing at Valencia in Spain, Troy Bayliss has gone fastest on the Honda RC211V. In intermittent rain, the Australian former WSB champion was working alone in the Camel...

Proton V4 sets hot pace

24 November 2004

Proton V4 sets hot pace

It looks like the Proton MotoGP team may get a reprieve from running at the back of the grid in 2005 with the shake-down test of its new V4 engine at Jerez last week showing a lot of promise. The...

Camel riders named

17 November 2004

Camel riders named

Camel Honda has announced its official 2005 MotoGP rider line-up: Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss. Both riders will be riding the yellow Camel Honda RC211Vs on Michelin tyres. Bayliss, WSB champ in...

Biaggi breaks leg

03 November 2004

Biaggi breaks leg

Max Biaggi’s plans for a strong winter of testing in preparation for the 2005 MotoGP season have been dealt a cruel blow after he broke his ankle in a Supermoto accident. Initial reports suggest the...