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

BT Sport confirm Suzi Perry as new face of MotoGP

09 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

BT Sport confirm Suzi Perry as new face of MotoGP

BT Sport have confirmed MCN’s story from last week that Suzi Perry will return to MotoGP, becoming the new face of the broadcaster’s coverage alongside Craig Doyle. A huge fan favourite in the past,...

Video: Avintia take to the snow with Ducati GP14s!

08 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Video: Avintia take to the snow with Ducati GP14s!

Ever wondered how you get a MotoGP bike up a mountain and down again? Or what a Ducati GP14 sounds like running through the narrow streets of Andorra? Well, wonder no more, as Avintia Ducati give us a...

Iannone pleased with testing times

07 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Iannone pleased with testing times

Andrea Iannone has walked away from the final testing days of the 2016 pre-season pleased with his times on the new GP16 Ducati machine, content with the progress he made. Finally lapping the Losail...

Laverty: ‘The bike feels like mine now’

07 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Laverty: ‘The bike feels like mine now’

Eugene Laverty says his Apsar Ducati is finally starting to feel like his own bike, as the Northern Irishman comes close to finding a base setting with the GP14.2 machine after missing much of the...

Video: Marquez and Pedrosa go classical

07 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Video: Marquez and Pedrosa go classical

Watch Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have some fun with renowned violinist Ara Malikian, just because they can, in the Japanese manufacturer’s latest video promotion ahead of the...

VR46 Moto3 takes all the headlines at Jerez test

06 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

VR46 Moto3 takes all the headlines at Jerez test

The Team Sky VR46 KTM team have taken all the headlines at the first Moto3 test of the winter after the team’s duo of Romano Fenati and new boy Nicolo Bulega stole the limelight. It was Fenati who...

Lowes fastest on final day as Pons tops overall times at Jerez

06 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lowes fastest on final day as Pons tops overall times at Jerez

Britain’s Sam Lowes has topped the final day of the first Moto2 official test of the winter at Jerez, but was unable to touch Axel Pons’ impressive lap time from the middle day of the three-day...

Aprilia ‘making important progress’ with new RS-GP

06 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Aprilia ‘making important progress’ with new RS-GP

Aprilia have made important progress in the final three days of pre-season testing with the new RS-GP machine, after finally getting to take stock of their progress against their rivals, according to...

Smith says 2016 testing ‘very different’

06 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Smith says 2016 testing ‘very different’

Bradley Smith has described the 2016 pre-season as ‘very different’ to previous years, as the Yamaha rider undergoes the first major rule changes of his time in MotoGP with new electronics and...

McPhee reveals 2016 Moto3 Peugeot

05 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

McPhee reveals 2016 Moto3 Peugeot

Scotsman John McPhee has pulled the covers off the Peugeot Moto3 machine he will hope to take t success in the 2013 Moto3 championship. A re-branded Mahindra machine but with direct support from the...

Viñales happy with used-tyre pace and seamless gearbox

05 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Viñales happy with used-tyre pace and seamless gearbox

Winter testing sensation Maverick Viñales says he’s most happy with the pace he’s been able to take from used tyres, after finishing the final pre-season test of 2016 in third overall. Losing the...

Redding: P2 time came from electronics improvements

05 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Redding: P2 time came from electronics improvements

Scott Redding has put the impressive lap time that left him P2 overall at the final pre-season test of the winter down to continuing advances made by him and the Pramac Ducati squad with the control...

Lorenzo under lap record to maintain Qatar domination

04 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lorenzo under lap record to maintain Qatar domination

Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo will start the opening weekend of the 2016 MotoGP season as the clear favourite, after continuing his run of form at the Losail International Circuit on the final...

Viñales takes the top spot on day two

03 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Viñales takes the top spot on day two

Maverick Viñales has proved that his ultra-fast pace at Phillip Island two weeks ago was no mere fluke by topping the time sheets at the end of the second day of action at the final MotoGP pre-season...

Stoner’s Qatar test possibly in doubt

03 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Stoner’s Qatar test possibly in doubt

Casey Stoner’s planned test this week at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit may be in doubt, as the Ducati Corse team seek clarification on rules banning testing near race weekends. Stoner was due...

FIM scrap penalty point punishments

03 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

FIM scrap penalty point punishments

Motorcycling governing body the FIM have scrapped MotoGP’s punishments for amassing penalty points, in a controversial decision that looks to be a continuing part of the aftermath of the Sepang...

Luthi and Lowes on it at Jerez test

03 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Luthi and Lowes on it at Jerez test

Former world champions Thomas Luthi and Sam Lowes have topped the time sheets on the opening day of the official pre-season Moto2 test at Jerez, with the Swiss rider finishing the day 0.118 ahead of...

Confident Rossi shrugs off first lap crash

03 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Confident Rossi shrugs off first lap crash

Valentino Rossi has shrugged off a crash after only ten corners of the Losail circuit in yesterday’s first day of testing at the Qatari track. The Movistar Yamaha rider got caught out at turn ten on...

Suzi Perry to join BT Sport for 2016?

03 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Suzi Perry to join BT Sport for 2016?

Former BBC MotoGP presenter Suzi Perry looks set to make a welcome return to screens in 2016, with MCN’s sources saying that she will be confirmed as part of the broadcaster’s revamped team for the...

Lorenzo clears off on opening day at Losail

02 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lorenzo clears off on opening day at Losail

Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo has cleared off from the rest of the field on the opening day of the final pre-season test at Qatar’s Losail circuit, topping the day’s session by nearly half a...

Video: Behind the scenes of the Aprilia RS-GP's development

02 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Video: Behind the scenes of the Aprilia RS-GP's development

With the final pre-season test of the 2016 MotoGP season set to get underway today at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit, Aprilia have rolled out the all new RS-GP machine Stefan Bradl and Alvaro...

Aprilia roll out 2016 RS-GP

02 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Aprilia roll out 2016 RS-GP

Aprilia have rolled out the all-new RS-GP MotoGP machine that Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista will contest this season, ahead of it’s debut against it’s rivals at the final Qatar pre-season test. The...

MotoGP bosses hit with multi-million euro fine

02 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

MotoGP bosses hit with multi-million euro fine

MotoGP bosses Dorna, as well as CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and CFO Enrique Aldama personally, have been hit with multi-million euro fines by the Spanish Supreme Court, after a ruling on stock sales dating...

Yamaha and VR46 Academy sign supply deal

01 March 2016 by Simon Patterson

Yamaha and VR46 Academy sign supply deal

Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Academy, the nine-time world champion’s development and mentoring program, has signed an exclusive deal with Yamaha to supply machines for the youth riders. The deal will see 26...

Lowes pleased with progress ahead of final tests

27 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lowes pleased with progress ahead of final tests

Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 rider Sam Lowes says he’s in a good place ahead of the final tests of the pre-season, after completing his second test on the new-to-him Kalex machine at Jerez. Sometimes...

Lowes reveals Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 machine

26 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lowes reveals Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 machine

British Moto2 hopeful Sam Lowes has pulled the covers off the 2016 Kalex machine he will campaign in this year’s world championship. He revealed the bike – in the colours of new Indonesian title...

Baz: Not much grip in the snow!

26 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Baz: Not much grip in the snow!

Avintia Ducati racer Loris Baz has admitted that there wasn’t much grip form his Michelins yesterday, as he rode across the snow at Andorra’s Grandvilara ski resort for the team’s unusual...

Michelin testing stymied by mystery issue

26 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Michelin testing stymied by mystery issue

New tyre providers Michelin were left fighting exactly what they didn’t want on the opening days of the Phillip Island test as they continue to work to finalise their race tyres – a mystery quality...

Smith still has work to do at Qatar

24 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Smith still has work to do at Qatar

Monster Energy Tech 3 Yamaha racer Bradley Smith says it’s clear that there’s still work to be done for the squad ahead of the opening round of the 2016 MotoGP championship late next month. Finishing...

Ducati boss Dall’Igna: We have to win

24 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Ducati boss Dall’Igna: We have to win

Ducati Corse Racing Manager Gigi Dall’Igna has firmly set out his targets for the 2016 season – winning races. The Italian manufacturer, which Dall’Igna has been heralded as playing a key role in...

Dovizioso aiming big for new season

23 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Dovizioso aiming big for new season

Factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso says it’s time for him and the Italian manufacturer to start aiming big for the upcoming season, after a strong winter of development and testing. Working to...

2016 Aprilia RS-GP on track in Qatar

23 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

2016 Aprilia RS-GP on track in Qatar

The 2016 Aprilia RS-GP MotoGP machine has broken cover at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit, with Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista completing a three-day test ahead of next month’s final official...

Ducati roll out painted wings on new GP16

23 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Ducati roll out painted wings on new GP16

Ducati have rolled out their new 2016 MotoGP machine in the colours it’ll sport for the 2016 season, live streaming the event from the firm’s Italian firm’s headquarters in Borgo Panigale,...

Watch: Ducati to unveil 2016 MotoGP machines

23 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Watch: Ducati to unveil 2016 MotoGP machines

Ducati are set to pull the covers off their 2016 MotoGP machines later this morning at the Ducati Auditorium in their Borgo Panigale factory in Italy. The entire event will be live-streamed thanks to...

Petrucci to undergo surgery for broken hand

20 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Petrucci to undergo surgery for broken hand

Octo Pramac Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci will undergo surgery on Monday to plate the second, third and fourth metacarpals he broke in his right hand after a high-speed fall at Phillip Island’s turn...

Lorenzo downplays testing crash

20 February 2016 by Simon Patterson

Lorenzo downplays testing crash

Jorge Lorenzo has played down his crash in the closing stages of this week’s second pre-season test at Phillip Island. The Movistar Yamaha racer was one of a number of racers to fall in the closing...