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

Positive start for Vinales despite crashes

15 March 2015 by Steve English

Positive start for Vinales despite crashes

Maverick Vinales crashed twice on the opening night of the Qatar test and while it cost him track time he was upbeat afterwards as he assessed his day and looked forward to another two days of testing...

No feeling for Espargaro

15 March 2015 by Steve English

No feeling for Espargaro

Pol Espargaro struggled throughout the first night in Qatar with the Tech3 rider having a miserable day with a lack of feeling on the front end leaving him at a loss to explain his performance. The...

Pedrosa: Track needs to clean

15 March 2015 by Steve English

Pedrosa: Track needs to clean

Dani Pedrosa was not too worried after setting the fifth fastest time of the opening night’s running in Qatar. With track conditions dusty the Repsol Honda rider felt that the potential of the Honda...

Strong showing from Espargaro

15 March 2015 by Steve English

Strong showing from Espargaro

Returning to the scene of his stunning start to the 2014 season Aleix Espargaro showed the potential of the Suzuki once again with the fourth fastest time of the opening night of the Qatar test. The...

Early crash for Rossi in Qatar

15 March 2015 by Steve English

Early crash for Rossi in Qatar

Valentino Rossi’s Qatari test got off to the worst possible start with the Italian crashing on his third lap of the opening night’s running of the final pre-season test. Rossi crashed at turn eight...

Ducatis lead the way on opening night at Qatar

14 March 2015 by Steve English

Ducatis lead the way on opening night at Qatar

The Ducati’s led the way on the opening day of the final pre-season test with Andrea Iannone outpacing Andrea Dovizioso by one tenth of a second in Qatar. The pace of the Ducati’s was impressive on...

Pramac Racing show off 2015 Ducatis

14 March 2015 by Simon Patterson

Pramac Racing show off 2015 Ducatis

Pramac Racing have unveiled the Ducati GP14 machines that Danilo Petrucci and Yonny Hernandez will ride in the 2015 MotoGP championship. The bikes were revealed in a ceremony near the team’s base in...

Yamaha confirm full seamless shift gearbox

14 March 2015 by Simon Patterson

Yamaha confirm full seamless shift gearbox

As first reported by MCN last month, Yamaha have now officially confirmed the debut of a new seamless sift gearbox in the factory M1s of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo for the upcoming GP...

Suzuki to test race ready bike at Qatar

14 March 2015 by Simon Patterson

Suzuki to test race ready bike at Qatar

Suzuki riders Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro will have the race ready version of their new GSX-RR machine for the first time at the final pre-season test of the winter, which gets underway today...

Crutchlow doesn't expect heavy running in Qatar

14 March 2015 by Steve English

Crutchlow doesn't expect heavy running in Qatar

Testing in Qatar will begin today but Cal Crutchlow has told MCN that he will sit out the majority of the running due to the track conditions not being reflective of what we can expect when the MotoGP...

Final test of the winter gets underway

13 March 2015 by Steve English

Final test of the winter gets underway

The final test of the winter takes place this weekend in Qatar with three days of running for the full time MotoGP riders and another one day test for Michelin with the factory contracted test...

£120m investment secured for CoW

10 March 2015 by Steve English

£120m investment secured for CoW

This week is pivotal for the Circuit of Wales with a Public Inquiry opening today to allow for the deregistration of land at the proposed site of the circuit, This week has also seen a major...

CoW Public Inquiry opens today

10 March 2015 by Steve English

CoW Public Inquiry opens today

The Public Inquiry that will decide the fate of the Circuit of Wales opens today with the hearing expected to last up to eight days. The Inquiry offers all interested parties the chance to air their...

Lowes: I can make a massive step this year

09 March 2015 by Steve English

Lowes: I can make a massive step this year

Sam Lowes made a superb start to 2015 pre-season testing with the Speed Up rider consistently fast in the Valencia and Jerez tests and Lowes now feels ready to make a huge step forward and challenge...

Redding excited by one rider team

08 March 2015 by Simon Patterson

Redding excited by one rider team

Scott Redding says he’s delighted to be in a one rider MotoGP team for 2015. Lining up as part of the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS outfit, he will be the team’s sole rider in the premiere class...

Espargaro: Electronic changes helping Suzuki

08 March 2015 by Steve English

Espargaro: Electronic changes helping Suzuki

With two tests completed and one to go before the MotoGP season opens in Qatar in three weeks Aleix Espargaro is pleased with the progress that has been made by the Suzuki squad as they prepare for...

Vinales starting to understand tyres and electronics

07 March 2015 by Steve English

Vinales starting to understand tyres and electronics

In a crowded class of rookies Maverick Vinales has been the most impressive through three tests and the Spaniard, who won the Moto3 crown in 2013, has been pleased with his progress over 9 days of...

Suzuki reveals title sponsor and 2015 colours

06 March 2015 by Steve English

Suzuki reveals title sponsor and 2015 colours

Suzuki joined the rest of the MotoGP grid by formally revealing their 2015 livery for the GSXR-R. The Japanese manufacturer is returning to the class after a three year hiatus with Aleix Espargaro and...

Redding on hand to unveil Marc VDS

05 March 2015 by Steve English

Redding on hand to unveil Marc VDS

In perhaps the largest launch in memory the Team Estrella Galicia Marc VDS squad unveiled their 2015 lineup with MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and CEV championship squads all represented in Madrid. The main...

Ciabatti: You have to set ambitious targets

05 March 2015 by Steve English

Ciabatti: You have to set ambitious targets

In Sepang, Paolo Ciabatti, sporting director of Ducati, reiterated the teams desire to move forward again in 2015. The Italian squad has spent the last four years in the doldrums since Casey Stoner...

Aprilia unveil RS-GP MotoGP contender

05 March 2015 by Steve English

Aprilia unveil RS-GP MotoGP contender

Aprilia officially unveiled their 2015 MotoGP bike today in Italy with Alvaro Bautista and Marco Melandri on hand to pull the covers back on the RS-GP that marks the Italian manufacturers official...

New Moto3 Junior series to air live on BT Sport

04 March 2015 by Simon Patterson

New Moto3 Junior series to air live on BT Sport

The FIM CEV Repsol Championship, Spain’s domestic series and the home of the newly created Moto3 Junior World Championship as well as the European Moto2 series, is set to air live in the UK in...

Misano prepares for 2015 with new surface

04 March 2015 by Simon Patterson

Misano prepares for 2015 with new surface

Italy’s Misano circuit has begun their track modernisation with a full resurfacing of the 4.2km Grand Prix track. The tarmacking is only part of a host of upgrades designed to improve circuit...

Aprilia still backing Melandri but cracks are clear

04 March 2015 by Steve English

Aprilia still backing Melandri but cracks are clear

Marco Melandri made no secret of his thoughts about returning to MotoGP throughout last year and in Sepang he endured another miserable test and finished slowest of all and over four seconds off the...

Rivals sound off on GP15

04 March 2015 by Steve English

Rivals sound off on GP15

The new Ducati GP15 turns heads up and down the Sepang pitlane during the second test of the season and the performances of Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone certainly created a stir in Malaysia.

Iannone leaves Sepang impressed with GP15

02 March 2015 by Steve English

Iannone leaves Sepang impressed with GP15

Andrea Iannone continues to make progress with the new Ducati GP15 and spent this week adapting to the new bike and adjusting the setup to allow him to get closer to the potential of the new bike. “I...

Crash costs Espargaro track time in Sepang

01 March 2015 by Steve English

Crash costs Espargaro track time in Sepang

Two crashes blighted Pol Espargaro’s week in Malaysia but overall the Tech3 rider was pleased with the performance of the bike and some of the lessons learned during the initial three days at...

Pedrosa not worried about lack of a fast time

27 February 2015 by Steve English

Pedrosa not worried about lack of a fast time

Dani Pedrosa spent the week working on the Honda engine and having finished the second Sepang test with only the seventh fastest time he dismissed any suggestions that he was struggling for one lap...

Miller: We need to work on saving tyres

27 February 2015 by Steve English

Miller: We need to work on saving tyres

Jack Miller’s promotion to MotoGP has set tongues wagging up and down the paddock but the rookie is making progress in adapting to the bigger machine and the physical demands that it involves. A long...

Sepang Michelin test ends in fast crashes for front runners

26 February 2015 by Simon Patterson

Sepang Michelin test ends in fast crashes for front runners

The first test of next season’s new MotoGP control Michelin tyres has ended in heavy crashes for many of the factory riders testing the new rubber. Running their bikes with no setup modification from...

Redding left unimpressed by Abraham antics

25 February 2015 by Steve English

Redding left unimpressed by Abraham antics

Scott Redding finished the second Sepang test 16th fastest but the Marc VDS rider was pleased to have completed the programme as planned for the week. Redding logged 57 laps today and afterwards...

Marquez dominates final day of Sepang testing

25 February 2015 by Simon Patterson

Marquez dominates final day of Sepang testing

Marc Marquez has once again dominated the final full day of Sepang testing, completing 73 laps and finishing 0.3 clear of closest rival Jorge Lorenzo. His fastest lap, some 0.3 slower than his...

Laverty getting comfortable on open Honda

24 February 2015 by Steve English

Laverty getting comfortable on open Honda

A late lap saw Eugene Laverty get underneath the 2m02s barrier in Sepang and finish the day within three tenths of his teammate, Nicky Hayden. Laverty came away pleased with his progress on the Open...

Confident Crutchlow sees potential

24 February 2015 by Steve English

Confident Crutchlow sees potential

Cal Crutchlow finished the day eighth fastest after a overcoming a brake problem that affected the LCR-Honda rider throughout the day. Crutchlow, who found almost a second compared to yesterday, set...

Marquez irons out problems to go fastest in Sepang

24 February 2015 by Simon Patterson

Marquez irons out problems to go fastest in Sepang

Marc Marquez ironed out the problems on his Repsol Honda that delayed him on day one of the Sepang test to go fastest on the second of the four day event. Suffering from brake issues yesterday, he...

Stolen Lorenzo memorabilia recovered by Spanish police

24 February 2015 by Simon Patterson

Stolen Lorenzo memorabilia recovered by Spanish police

Guardia Civilia have arrested a man on the Spanish island of Mallorca after a large collection of Jorge Lorenzo memorabilia was stolen from a collection the double world champion had donated to the...