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

Yamaha riders weigh in on Ducati

30 May 2015 by Steve English

At Le Mans the top speed of the Ducati saw Andrea Iannone blast past Marc Marquez at will on the pit straight during their late race battle and with the fastest top speeds of the year reached at...

Lorenzo looking strong after day one

29 May 2015 by Steve English

Jorge Lorenzo was second fastest today and showed the potential to continue his strong run of form at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. Lorenzo has always been strong at Mugello and while he could...

Ducati looking strong but need another step

29 May 2015 by Steve English

Andrea Dovizioso topped the times on an impressive opening day for Ducati with the Italian leading the way ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone. Having tested at Mugello before the French Grand...

Nothing to choose between Rabat and Zarco in Moto2

29 May 2015 by Steve English

With only one thousand of a second separating Tito Rabat and Johann Zarco in the afternoon session Moto2 looks set to be very competitive this weekend with Sam Lowes two tenths of a second adrift...

Dovi consolidates pace to lead FP2

29 May 2015 by Steve English

Andrea Dovizioso consolidated his place at the top of the times in FP2 with the Italian leading the way from Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo. Dovizioso was able to consistently lap in the 1m48’s and...

Dominace from Antonelli in FP2

29 May 2015 by Steve English

Niccolo Antonelli followed up his strong French GP with a superb start to his home Grand Prix with the Italian topping the timesheet in the afternoon by over half a second from Efren Vazquez.

Lowes fastest and looking to make next step

29 May 2015 by Steve English

Sam Lowes has made a strong start to his Italian Grand Prix weekend by leading the times after opening practice at Mugello. The Speed Up rider was 0.005s faster than Thomas Luthi with Tito Rabat...

Dovi fastest with three Ducatis in the top five!

29 May 2015 by Steve English

Having tested at Mugello three weeks ago Andrea Dovizioso was able to get up to speed quickly at the Italian circuit with the Ducati rider topping the times ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea...

Bastianini fastest in FP1

29 May 2015 by Steve English

Enea Bastianini led the way after opening practice with Danny Kent second fastest but trailing the Gresini rider by three tenths of a second. Niccolo Antonelli was a further two tenths adrift with...

Rossi and Lorenzo grow to accept each other

29 May 2015 by Steve English

Valentino Rossi’s title challenge will be put to the test this weekend at his home Grand Prix. Rossi was the past master of Mugello with an unbeaten run of eight years but recently Jorge Lorenzo has...

Reaction to Smith and Espargaro racing at Suzuka

28 May 2015 by Steve English

Bradley Smith claimed the headlines this week with news of his Suzuka 8 Hours debut alongside his Tech3 teammate, Pol Espargaro, and both riders are looking forward to the challenge. “It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a while and from when I signed with Yamaha I wanted to ride it and they always told me that I was on the list of riders,” said Smith. “They said that they’d let me know when...

Espargaro to race through the pain

28 May 2015 by Steve English

Aleix Espargaro plans to race this weekend at Mugello with the Spaniard confident that despite having recently undergone surgery on his left wrist that he’ll be fit enough to compete at the Italian...

Jarvis gives his view on future MotoGP calendar

22 May 2015 by Steve English

Dorna’s talks with the Indonesian government this week about the potential to host a MotoGP race in the South East Asian country are just the latest in a series of ventures trying to tap into one of...

Rivals refuse to write off Marquez

21 May 2015 by Steve English

With Marc Marquez having won only one race this there has been plenty of talk that the reigning world champion won’t be able to successfully defend his crown. Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, the...

Dovi primed for Mugello win?

21 May 2015 by Steve English

In this weekend’ Motorcycle News you can read about how Ducati may well be the favourites to win next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. The turn of speed shown by the GP15 has been hugely impressive this...

Moto2 engine supplier open to tenders for 2019 onwards

20 May 2015 by Steve English

The tender for the contract to be the engine supplier for the Moto2 contract has been put open to bidders from the beginning of the 2019. At present Honda supplies the 600cc engines and having had the...

Italian fever in Moto3 at Le Mans

20 May 2015 by Steve English

The Moto3 race at Le Mans saw an all Italian podium with Romano Fenati claiming his first win of the year ahead of Enea Bastianini and with Pecco Bagnaia scoring the first podium of his career the...

Lowes continuing to learn

20 May 2015 by Steve English

Sam Lowes continued his maturation in the Moto2 class at Le Mans with the Englishman finishing fourth after another solid weekend that saw him make plenty of progress. Lowes, the 2013 World Supersport...

Crutchlow explains crash

19 May 2015 by Steve English

Cal Crutchlow was punished for a small mistake at Le Mans with the Englishman crashing out of the French Grand Prix in the early stages. Crutchlow had been enjoying a strong weekend but, like the...

Pedrosa: No answers for my crash

19 May 2015 by Steve English

Dani Pedrosa’s comeback from injury was marred by a crash but ultimately he was able to remount and finish the French Grand Prix and prove his fitness. The Spaniard had missed three races due to an...

Hayden: It was nice to be happy on a Sunday!

19 May 2015 by Steve English

Nicky Hayden had his best result of the year in last weekend’s French Grand Prix and afterwards the American half-joked that it was nice to smile again after a race. Having fought with the factory...

Espargaro will have surgery on Tuesday after Le Mans crash

18 May 2015 by Steve English

Aleix Espargaro will undergo surgery in Barcelona on Tuesday after rupturing a ligament in his right thumb after his frightening crash on Saturday at Le Mans. The procedure will be carried out by Dr...

Frustrated McPhee looking for support and solutions

18 May 2015 by Steve English

A clearly frustrated John McPhee told MCN after Sunday’s French Grand Prix that his season is ” season is fading away from us and we’re running out of time” to get his year back on track after another...

Michelin testing at Le Mans today

18 May 2015 by Steve English

Michelin will be gathering information today at Le Mans with Michael Laverty and Randy de Puniet testing for Aprilia and Suzuki respectively at the French track. Kawasaki tuning arm Akira are also...

Lorenzo takes Le Mans win – and second in the title chase

17 May 2015 by Simon Patterson

Jorge Lorenzo has taken second in the title from Andrea Dovizioso after powering to a controlling win at Le Mans, winning by nearly four seconds from teammate Valentino Rossi – who retains his spot at...

Luthi cruises to French win

17 May 2015 by Simon Patterson

Thomas Luthi has cruised to Moto2 victory in Le Mans, taking the win by two seconds from defending champion Tito Rabat. Johann Zarco, an early battler with Luthi, took the final podium spot. Luthi...

Fenati wins as Kent goes 31st to 4th

17 May 2015 by Simon Patterson

Romano Fenati has taken his first win of the 2015 Moto3 season, after taking an advantage into the closing corners of the final lap from a chasing trio of fellow Italians Enea Bastianini and Francesco...

Marquez quickest in MotoGP warmup

17 May 2015 by Steve English

Marc Marquez has been fast and consistent all weekend and in morning warmup for this afternoon’s MotoGP race at Le Mans he was once again the pace setter. Marquez ended the 20 minute session almost...

Lowes fastest in Moto2 warmup

17 May 2015 by Steve English

Sam Lowes looks to be in very competitive form at Le Mans this morning with the Englishman completing a string of 1’38s laps in the morning warmup to set the pace in Moto2. The Speed Up rider will...

Kent sets the pace in warmup

17 May 2015 by Steve English

Danny Kent may be starting from 31st on the grid in moto3 but the Englishman has set the pace throughout the weekend and did so again in this morning’s warmup session. Kent, riding for Leopard Racing,...

Crutchlow happy with fourth

16 May 2015 by Steve English

Cal Crutchlow was pleased with fourth fastest today at Le Mans and while the pace of Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso seems to be out of reach for him this weekend he could still end...

Lowes looking strong for the race after qualifying second

16 May 2015 by Steve English

Amazingly in Moto2 qualifying both Alex Rins and Sam Lowes set the exact same time in the 40 minute session this afternoon at Le Mans. By virtue of having a faster second fastest time Rins was awarded...

Pole for Marquez at Le Mans

16 May 2015 by Steve English

For the fifth consecutive year Marc Marquez took pole position at Le Mans for the French Grand Prix. Marquez was half a second faster than Andre Dovizioso with tricky conditions at le Mans proving a...

Petrucci and Espargaro through from QP2

16 May 2015 by Steve English

Danilo Petrucci and Aleix Espargaro made it through to QP2 at the French Grand Prix after setting the pace in the first qualifying session at Le Mans. A rain shower during the Moto3 qualifying session...

Baz fastest at Le Mans!

16 May 2015 by Steve English

Loris Baz and Alex de Angelis were the only riders to test the tricky conditions at Le Mans on slick tyres and the Open class riders were rewarded by setting the fastest times in FP4 ahead of...

Home pole for Quartararo with Kent 31st

16 May 2015 by Steve English

Fabio Quartararo gave the home fans reason to smile in the rain when the Frenchman claimed the pole position of his home Grand Prix career. Quartararo set his fastest time in the early minutes of the...