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

MotoGP: Laverty disappointed with poor start

02 November 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Laverty disappointed with poor start

Eugene Laverty has been left disappointed with himself after making a poor start to Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix – and costing himself the chance to finish higher than twelfth despite strong pace in...

MotoGP: ‘Dovi deserves the win’ says Ducati boss Ciabatti

02 November 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: ‘Dovi deserves the win’ says Ducati boss Ciabatti

With Andrea Dovizioso taking his maiden with Ducati after four seasons of trying in Sundays Malaysian Grand Prix, MCN caught up with Ducati Corse boss Paolo Ciabatti after the race to get his thoughts...

Moto2: Annus horribilis continues for Lowes in Sepang

02 November 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto2: Annus horribilis continues for Lowes in Sepang

Sam Lowes’ annus horribilis has continued at the Malaysian Grand Prix, as the pre-season title contender once again failed to score points at the Sepang circuit after crashing out of Sunday’s...

Moto2: Zarco’s route to title glory

01 November 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto2: Zarco’s route to title glory

It hasn’t been an easy season in the Moto2 world championship for any of the pre-season favourites, and only a rocky road defending winner Johann Zarco to the first-ever successful defence of the...

MotoGP: Rossi wins race to second in title battle

01 November 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Rossi wins race to second in title battle

Valentino Rossi has achieved one of the key goals of his weekend at the Malaysian Grand prix by holding off teammate Jorge Lorenzo in Sunday’s race to finally secure his second place in the 2016...

MotoGP: Smith enjoys ‘fantastic’ return from injury

01 November 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Smith enjoys ‘fantastic’ return from injury

Bradley Smith has admitted that this return from injury following MotoGP’s three flyaway races has been better than he could have expected, after coming back only seven weeks after a horrific knee...

MotoGP: ‘Very important’ Ducati win for Dovi

01 November 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: ‘Very important’ Ducati win for Dovi

Malaysian Grand Prix winner Andrea Dovizioso has admitted that it was ‘very important’ to match the efforts of departing teammate Andrea Iannone this season and take his first win for Ducati. He took...

MotoGP: Dovi dominates in the rain to become winner number nine

30 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Dovi dominates in the rain to become winner number nine

Andrea Dovizioso has played a clever game to dominate this afternoon’s Malaysian Grand Prix, taking his second win in the premiere class and becoming the ninth MotoGP race winner of the 2016 season in...

Moto2: Johann Zarco claims second title in stunning style

30 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto2: Johann Zarco claims second title in stunning style

Johann Zarco has claimed his second Moto2 title in stunning style, taking a dominant win in the Malaysian Grand Prix and becoming the first man in history to win two races in the class in the...

Moto3: Bagnaia wins controversial race as 17 crash out

30 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto3: Bagnaia wins controversial race as 17 crash out

Francesco Bagnaia has won a stunning second Grand Prix in Sepang after leading nearly from start to finish – but rode clear of a race filled with controversy as half the field crashed out of...

Crutchlow: It’s amazing to beat Rossi, Lorenzo and Marquez

29 October 2016 by MCN Sport

Crutchlow: It’s amazing to beat Rossi, Lorenzo and Marquez

You can watch more from this Cal Crutchlow interview here and listen to the MotoGP rider praise his LCR Honda bike here and more and his thoughts on winning a world championship here. BT Sport is the...

MotoGP: Crutchlow not sure he’ll ever be MotoGP champion

29 October 2016 by MCN Sport

MotoGP: Crutchlow not sure he’ll ever be MotoGP champion

You can watch more from this Cal Crutchlow interview here and listen to the MotoGP rider praise his LCR Honda bike here and discuss how ‘amazing’ it is to beat Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Marc...

MotoGP: Impressive performance for Crutchlow despite broken hand

29 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Impressive performance for Crutchlow despite broken hand

Cal Crutchlow has pulled off an impressive performance in today’s qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix, finishing fifth despite crashing out of the session and remounting. Not even...

Moto2: Zarco annihilates the field at Sepang

29 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto2: Zarco annihilates the field at Sepang

Reigning Moto2 champion Johann Zarco has annihilated the field with his final two laps in qualifying for tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix to take pole position by a huge 2.1 seconds over Franco...

MotoGP: Dovizioso powers to pole in Malaysian rain

29 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Dovizioso powers to pole in Malaysian rain

Andrea Dovizioso has powered to pole position in the rain for tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix, taking the top spot from the Movistar Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo after playing his...

MotoGP: Crutchlow 'I’m in a great moment in my career'

29 October 2016 by MCN Sport

MotoGP: Crutchlow 'I’m in a great moment in my career'

You can watch more from this Cal Crutchlow interview here and listen to the MotoGP rider talk about his uncertainty of ever winning a world champion. BT Sport is the home of the MotoGP, watch the...

Moto3: Binder sneaks in late lap to take pole position

29 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto3: Binder sneaks in late lap to take pole position

Brad Binder has come out of nowhere to sneak in a late lap time and snatch pole position from Jorge Navarro and Francesco Bagnaia for tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix, in a rain-hit session that saw...

MotoGP: Crutchlow disappointed despite second place in the wet

28 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Crutchlow disappointed despite second place in the wet

Cal Crutchlow has been left disappointed by the opening day of action at the Malaysian Grand Prix, unhappy to be so far down the overall pecking order despite showing strong pace in the afternoons wet...

Moto2: Morbidelli makes the most of dry time at Sepang

28 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto2: Morbidelli makes the most of dry time at Sepang

Franco Morbidelli has made the most of a dry Moto2 free practice two session to top the opening day of action at the Malaysian Grand Prix, edging out Takaaki Nakagami and teammate Alex...

MotoGP: Gastroenteritis not enough to slow Marquez

28 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Gastroenteritis not enough to slow Marquez

A bout of gastroenteritis hasn’t been enough to slow Marc Marquez on the opening day of MotoGP action at the Malaysian Grand Prix, with the Repsol Honda rider finishing clear of the field thanks to an...

Moto3: Binder bides his time in the rain

28 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto3: Binder bides his time in the rain

Moto3 world champion Brad Binder has bided his time to top the opening day of action at the Malaysian Grand Prix, timing his move in wet conditions to perfection to end the day nearly a second clear...

MotoGP: Marquez admits end of 2015 season made him stronger

28 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Marquez admits end of 2015 season made him stronger

Marc Marquez has admitted that the events of the end of the 2015 season, when he went to war both on and off the track with Valentino Rossi, has made him both more determined and a better all-round...

MotoGP: Scooters banned from track after Sepang crash

28 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Scooters banned from track after Sepang crash

Scooters have been banned from on-track use during the Thursday track familiarisation session that takes place at every round of the MotoGP championship, after a crash during yesterday’s at Sepang. A...

MotoGP: Chapter one of KTM’s Road to Qatar

27 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Chapter one of KTM’s Road to Qatar

KTM have launched the first chapter in their video series documenting the route that the Austrian manufacturer is taking to the opening round of the 2017 MotoGP championship next year in...

MotoGP: 2017 entries for Moto2 and Moto3 revealed

27 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: 2017 entries for Moto2 and Moto3 revealed

The official list of entries for the 2017 Moto2 and Moto3 championships have been revealed, bringing no real surprises but going some way to confirm some of the rumours that have been circulating in...

Moto3: McPhee stuck in Australia after Phillip Island crash

27 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto3: McPhee stuck in Australia after Phillip Island crash

Moto3 racer John McPhee will be forced to remain in Australia for up to five weeks, after the injuries he sustained in a crash during last week’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island were deemed...

MotoGP: Redding wins Phillip Island scrap for seventh

26 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Redding wins Phillip Island scrap for seventh

Scott Redding emerged victorious from the biggest scrap of Sunday’s race at Phillip Island, after coming out on top of the fight for seventh that involved up to six riders at one point, and securing...

MotoGP: Smith delighted with injury recovery

26 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Smith delighted with injury recovery

Bradley Smith has walked away from the Australian Grand Prix delighted with his performance on Sunday, after taking a top eight finish that even he believed would have been unrealistic before the...

Moto2: Lowes looking to bounce back in Sepang

26 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto2: Lowes looking to bounce back in Sepang

Sam Lowes is looking to bounce back form a disastrous weekend in Phillip Island last time out with a better performance in this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang. Coming off back-to-back DNFs...

MotoGP: Marquez and Stoner 'amazed' each other with data

26 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Marquez and Stoner 'amazed' each other with data

Marc Marquez has admitted to MCN that when he first came to MotoGP in 2013, a valuable part of his learning process was using former Repsol Honda world champion Casey Stoner’s data to help show him...

MotoGP: Crutchlow calls for more factory support

26 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Crutchlow calls for more factory support

With two wins now under his belt during the 2015 season, Cal Crutchlow has already set his sights on bigger challenges for both the remainder of the 2016 season and for next year, as he looks to make...

Moto3: McPhee set to miss Sepang after horror smash

25 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

Moto3: McPhee set to miss Sepang after horror smash

John McPhee will miss out on this weekend’s Sepang Moto3 race as he returns to Europe to have surgery on injuries sustained in a horror smash in the early stages of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix that...

MotoGP: Rivals pay tribute to Crutchlow victory

25 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Rivals pay tribute to Crutchlow victory

Cal Crutchlow’s MotoGP rivals have paid tribute to the LCR Honda rider’s stunning victory last weekend in Phillip Island, admitting after the race that both the Brit’s pace had been unstoppable – but...

MotoGP: Iannone set for Sepang return

25 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Iannone set for Sepang return

Andrea Iannone will return to MotoGP action this weekend in Malaysia after missing Aragon, Motegi and Phillip Island thanks to an injury sustained in free practice for his home race at Misano six...

MotoGP: Crutchlow targeted Phillip Island from start of the season

25 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: Crutchlow targeted Phillip Island from start of the season

Cal Crutchlow has admitted that he targeted victory at last weekend’s Phillip Island round of the 2016 MotoGP season, knowing from the start of the year that it would be possible to take victory there...

MotoGP: ‘Testing data irrelevant’ for Michelin at Sepang

25 October 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP: ‘Testing data irrelevant’ for Michelin at Sepang

MotoGP one-make tyre manufacturer Michelin have admitted that much of the data they collected earlier this year in a three-day test at Sepang will be largely irrelevant for this weekend’s Malaysian...