Category: MotoGp

The lack of FP3 sessions made FP4 a crucial session for the MotoGP riders ahead of qualifying on Saturday in Texas for round three of the 2019 season.

Electrical storms had brought rain and the threat of lightning to the Circuit of the Americas, but by the mid-point of FP4, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was out on slick tyres. At one point he had five seconds on the field. That gap came down to two seconds by the end of free practice, but going into qualifying he was the outstanding favourite.

Before he and the other Q2 contestants were out on track, though, there was Q1, from which Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) and Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) advanced to Q2, after a late charge from the pair of them which was almost completely unexpected.

This was a disaster for Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati). After making a mistake with the front tyre yesterday in FP2 (the Italian chose the medium front tyre instead of the soft), Dovizioso made another tyre-related error in Q1, deciding to run only one rear tyre for the session. The track improved a lot, though, and in the end it was his teammate, Petrucci, who bumped him out by less than a tenth of a second, much to the disappointment of Davide Tardozzi.

Mostly, Q2 went as expected. Marquez took pole position, although it was clearly not comfortable for the Spaniard. Two tenths was his advantage over Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in a surprising second place, but Marquez’ Honda made it difficult for the seven times World Champion, weaving in the straight, which according to Marquez was due to the wind. It was clearly quite violent – his foot came off the foot peg and Marquez himself admitted to rolling the throttle, which is obviously not something the #93 makes a habit of. Nonetheless, his 100% record of setting the fastest time in qualifying at Texas goes on.

Rossi’s performance was impressive. In FP4 he was quite strong in the mixed conditions he has tended to struggle with in the past, and in Q2 he was able to latch onto Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) for his first properly hot lap (the first attempt by Rossi was ruined by running wide on the exit of turn nine, which put him off line in turn ten and off the track on the exit), and he marginally improved on that time on his second run. Rossi’s worry on Friday was his race pace, but without the chance to try anything new today with the cancellation of FP3 and the mixed conditions of FP4, the warm up will be important for the Italian to try some changes.

Equally impressive was Cal Crutchlow who qualified third. The Briton has been strong all weekend and has a real chance of the podium tomorrow, so a front row start is important. Also, for Crutchlow, who is without a front row since Assen last year, a clear view of the first corner will be a welcome sight after the disappointment of Argentina.

Jack Miller (Lamborghini Pramac Racing) has had a bit of a special weekend, one similar to that we see from Marc Marquez. When the Honda doesn’t work, Marc makes it work, and that is precisely what Miller has done this weekend with the Ducati. Miller was the only GP19 to make it through to Q2 direct from free practice (the only other Ducati was his Pramac teammate, Pecco Bagnaia), and even when Petrucci joined him in Q2 after advancing from Q1, Miller beat his teammate of 2018 by just under three tenths, which in 2019 MotoGP terms is a significant margin. One of the Australian’s biggest strengths is his ability to grit his teeth and push on regardless of what the bike is saying to him. Considering the pace of his stablemates this weekend, the feedback the Desmosedici is giving him is presumably not so ideal, but the #43 is able to ride around that and make it do what he wants anyway. Whether Miller can do that for forty minutes tomorrow remains to be seen, but a top three is potentially on the cards.

Despite Miller’s ignorance of his bike’s apparent problems, it is Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who was the star ride of Saturday in the Lone Star State. The Spaniard put the KTM fifth on the grid, KTM’s best MotoGP qualifying, with a lap which was undoubtedly seemed like, twenty evaded crashes knitted together for a time which was only three tenths away from the front row. For Espargaro to put KTM only six tenths away from Marc Marquez on a circuit where he is yet to be beaten is an incredible achievement. To make a similar result tomorrow is unrealistic, but there is no doubt that Pol will make the most of the opportunity he has to compare his RC16 with the front running bikes in the beginning of the race tomorrow and, whatever happens, today has made the weekend for the KTM MotoGP squad.

Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the rider Espargaro used as a marker for his fifth-placed time. Vinales himself qualified sixth, at the back of the second row. The Spaniard was fast all of yesterday, and was actually the fastest of everyone coming into qualifying, so might be disappointed with a second row start for tomorrow. Either way, the important part for Vinales is the start and the first laps, because he needs to be strong at the start so he can use his strong late race pace.

It was a better qualifying for Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) compared to two weeks ago, improving nine places on his Argentinian grid slot with seventh place. The Spaniard has been quite quiet this weekend, not making anything spectacular, but he should be there in the race fighting for the podium.

Joining Rins on the third row of the grid are Petrucci and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), the rookie impressing again on the satellite Yamaha, out-qualifying teammate Franco Morbidelli by three tenths.

After a good run in Q1, Jorge Lorenzo’s Q2 session was compromised at the end of his first flying lap when he suffered the same problem of a chain coming off his RC213V as Marquez suffered in FP4 back in Argentina. Lorenzo parked the #99 RC213V up at the end of pit lane (mimicking Marquez in 2015) and ran back to the Repsol Honda box for his spare bike, but could only manage eleventh from there.

Last in Q2 was Francesco Bagnaia, who crashed both his GP18 Ducatis, and ended the session frustrated and two seconds off the pace having only clocked one semi-representative lap time.

As previously mentioned, Andrea Dovizioso failed to make it out of Q1, and the second-placed rider in the World Championship will start tomorrow’s race from a lowly thirteenth. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU LCR Honda) will join the Italian on row five tomorrow.

Row six sees Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) in sixteenth ahead of teammate Andrea Iannone and the impressive Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who once again out-qualified Johann Zarco (19th) on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16.

Joining Zarco on row seven tomorrow will be Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3), whilst Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) will line up alone on the back row.

Featured Image courtesy of Box Repsol

The Circuit of the Americas awaits the MotoGP field this weekend, two weeks on from Marc Marquez’ (Repsol Honda Team) dominance of the Argentinian round of the series.

For round three, the result will likely be little different. Marquez is unbeaten in COTA, and indeed on American soil since 2010. This weekend could see the seven-times champion more dominant than ever, at his best track with the best motor Honda has produced since 2014 in the premier class, and no one seemingly in a position to challenge him.

Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) of course shares machinery with Marquez, since they both operate out of the same garage. However, the condition of Lorenzo’s scaphoid has potential to restrict his potential this weekend, as the plethora of hard braking points at COTA mean a lot of stress is put through the arms and indeed the wrists of the rider. Any weakness in this area can be exaggerated in Texas, and the direction changes of the first sector exacerbate this even further. In addition to this, Lorenzo’s record in Austin includes only two podiums, the most recent coming back in 2016.

That 2016 race showed a contrast in fortunes for Lorenzo compared to the two riders who two weeks ago fought for second place pretty much from lights to flag. Three years ago, neither Andrea Dovizioso nor Valentino Rossi finished the race, with Dovizioso being collected by Dani Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda and Rossi crashing out early in the race at turn two, after burning his clutch out on the start.

However, both Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) have decent records in Texas, with two podiums each – Rossi’s coming in 2015 and 2017, and Dovizioso’s coming in 2014 and 2015.

Yamaha have had good results in the last few years in Texas. In fact, apart from 2014, a Yamaha has finished on the podium each year, with Lorenzo (2013, 2016) and Maverick Vinales (2018) adding to Rossi’s aforementioned Texan rostrum appearances. There will be three critical points for Yamaha, this year, in theory, at least. Firstly, it will be important for them to manage the front tyre well, which they failed to do in 2014. Secondly, Yamaha will need to accelerate off the corners well and find perfect traction, as their lack of power will be highlighted on COTA’s series of long straights and hard accelerations. Thirdly, Yamaha will need to find a setup that allows their riders to be strong on the brakes, as the time they lose on the straight will have to be made up getting off it.

The Ducati has struggled in recent years at COTA, Dovizioso languishing in sixth in 2017, and fifth last year. However, the improvements made by Ducati over the winter have the #04 in line for a better result this year.

Critically, the Ducati no longer seems dependent on grip for it to be fast. Termas is a famously slippery, dirty track, with a narrow line, and yet Dovizioso was able to fight for second place for the whole race.

This will be important in COTA, because once more the track has been shaved, like last year, and the condition of the track is questionable, with bumps, holes and cracks still noticeable on the surface. Fortunately, with IndyCar having a race a couple of weeks ago, there shouldn’t be the huge roosts we saw last year, as the Dallara-built single-seaters should have cleaned any rubbish left over from the shaving that was lingering between the stones.

Several other riders could be in contention for the podium in Texas this year, including Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), whose then-teammate Andrea Iannone took third place last year on the GSX-RR. Between last year’s victory Marquez and third placed Iannone was Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who should have also finished second in 2017, but crashed early on, and won his first Moto2 race at COTA in 2014. Additionally, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) – who had the pace for a clear second place in Argentina – could be well placed to take his second rostrum of the year this weekend.

Featured image of Marc Marquez courtesy of Box Repsol

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) entered the race for the 2019 MotoGP Argentinian Grand Prix as the clear favourite. The race saw him claim his third win in Termas, as well as the championship lead.

Marquez’ race was a strange one for him. He led from lights to flag, making the holeshot and did not see another rider before the chequered flag. By the end of lap one the Spaniard was already one second clear, and his advantage extended as far as twelve seconds, eventually winning by 9.8 seconds after slowing down to celebrate as he crossed the finish line. The reigning champion’s pace was stunning, and almost every lap was faster than the best lap time of any of his competitors.

That rule, however, excepted Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) whose race was over before it began, as he received a ride through penalty for a jump start. The validity of the penalty is arguable, to say the least, but looking retrospectively at Crutchlow’s pace it is impossible to debate that the trip through pit lane cost the Briton his second podium of the season.

Instead, the podium battle was fought between Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati), Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) and eventually Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar).

Initially, it was Dovizioso in second from Miller, the two Ducati riders able to use the power of the Desmosedici to repel any attacks from the more nimble Yamahas of Rossi, Vinales and Morbidelli.

Eventually, however, Rossi broke through Miller, and set about Dovizioso, who ultimately proved a tougher task for The Doctor.

Behind, Morbidelli was engaging in strongly contested battles with both Miller and Petrucci, which lasted for most of the second half of the race.
Maverick Vinales no doubt would have been involved in these fights from the outset, too, but a mistake in the middle of the race in turn five cost him a couple of seconds and a position to Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU). Vinales recovered the position from Nakagami, but only got back to Miller, Morbidelli and Petrucci by the time Alex Rins had arrived, and Dovizioso had escaped to have a private battle with Rossi for the final two podium spots.

That battle went down to the wire. Rossi passed Dovizioso a couple of times in turn thirteen, but the GP19 simply powered back by on the pit straight. The nine-times World Champion thought he would have a better pace than Dovizioso, however when he realised this was not the case, he let the #04 take point and chose to study his rival.

It always looked as though Rossi would make his final push for P2 in turn thirteen, he seemed to be sizing up Dovizioso into there on every lap, but the factory Ducati man was covering the line well on the entry. In the end, it was at turn seven that Rossi made his move on the final lap, with a neat out-braking manoeuvre on the inside of his compatriot. The move took away Dovizioso’s line sufficiently that he was unable to respond, as well, and Rossi was able to make a gap to the Desmosedici big enough to prevent an attack from his fellow Italian.

Second place for Rossi marked his first podium since Sachsenring last year, the factory Yamaha team’s first since Vinales’ win in Phillip Island, and Yamaha’s first podium as a factory since Johann Zarco finished second on the Tech3 Yamaha in Malaysia last season.

For the championship, Rossi’s defeat of Dovizioso was important too, as it meant that Marquez now leads the championship out-right by four points from Dovizioso. However, the #04 was content with the podium, as in the past couple of seasons the Ducati had not enjoyed Termas, and with Marquez being so strong in Argentina the damage limitation was somewhat successful for the Italian. Of course, with Texas next up on the calendar, damage limitation is a mindset Dovizioso will have to maintain.

The battle for fourth ended up being extremely closely fought, in the end by Jack Miller and Alex Rins, with the Australian coming out on top. Miller had looked to be riding quite aggressively throughout the race, but he still managed to save a lot of tyre for the end. It had initially looked like Rins would be able to break away in fourth and chase after the squabbling Italians ahead, but Miller fought back on the penultimate lap, and held Rins at bay for the closing two tours.

Alex Rins had looked strong on the race pace all weekend. In the two sessions where riders work exclusively on race pace: FP4 and warm up, Rins had featured towards the top of the times. His qualifying made things difficult, but from mid-race onwards it was clear he had the chance to fight for the podium. The move from Miller with two to go ended his hopes of that, but sixteenth to fifth is a stunning fight back from the Spaniard.

Sixth place went to Danilo Petrucci. He came under fire on the final lap from Maverick Vinales, but the Spaniard crashed with Franco Morbidelli on the final lap. Morbidelli seemed to be taking a normal line, but Vinales seemed to stop the bike on the apex to try and square off Petrucci, and the Petronas Yamaha rider piled straight into the back of the Spaniard. There was no anger from Vinales, however. In fact, the Spaniard checked on his Yamaha stablemate to see if he was okay. Furthermore, as trivial and ridiculous as it sounds, the public declaration on Instagram by Vinales that it was a ‘racing incident’ shows how the Spaniard viewed the crash which ended his race.

For Petrucci, though, the race represented a strong turnaround. Sixth might not seem so spectacular for a factory Ducati rider, especially when he was the last of the GP19s to cross the line, but after a poor weekend and disastrous qualifying he showed good resolve to fight for a top five and end up with a top six. In Qatar, the #9 rider had a great weekend and a poor race, but in Argentina he reversed that, somewhat. For the next races he needs to find the middle ground.

The double retirement of Vinales and Morbidelli promoted Nakagami to seventh, a position he deserved after what had been a stellar weekend for the Japanese, on in which he had been very strong and looked like a completely different rider on the RC213V.

Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) may not have had the stand out weekend he had in Qatar, but he took his first MotoGP points and first premier class top ten with eighth spot, and finished five seconds ahead of the duelling Espargaro brothers who finished ninth and tenth, Aleix (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) ahead of Pol (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by just under four tenths over the line.

Eleventh place went to Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who also scored his first MotoGP points, and came home as second KTM, only two tenths behind factory rider Pol Espargaro. An incredibly impressive result for the rookie.

1.6 seconds behind rookie Miguel Oliveira was Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) who finished twelfth after having a problem on the start which dropped him to twenty-first. A couple more laps and Lorenzo would have been thirteenth, as Cal Crutchlow crossed the line only four seconds back of Lorenzo after the Brit’s ride through.

In fourteenth, it was Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), who also scored his first MotoGP points after a pretty quiet weekend for the reigning Moto2 World Champion. Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took the final point in fifteenth.

Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3) had a much better weekend aboard the RC16 this weekend, and came home sixteenth, only two seconds behind Zarco, and just under three seconds ahead of Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who had a nightmare weekend, finishing seventeenth and last of the finishers.

There were five retirements: the Reale Avintia Racing pairing of Karel Abraham and Tito Rabat went down within a lap of each other, whilst Joan Mir retired the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR in the pit lane with four laps to go, before Morbidelli and Vinales crashed out on the final lap.

After looking strong throughout free practice, it was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who was the favourite to take pole position in Argentina ahead of the second round of the MotoGP World Championship, and so it was.

The reigning World Champion and the nine others who advanced directly to Q2 from free practice were joined in the pole position shootout by Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

Marquez led the field after the opening runs of Q2, and had Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) directly behind him. But it was in the second runs that the pace of Marquez’ competitors really ramped up.

Whilst everyone was in pit lane, preparing their second and final runs, Marquez went out to make a second, middle, run. It didn’t go to plan. He ran too hot into turn one, lost the front on the bumps and had to abort the lap. Fortunately, his plan was to make three runs anyway, so he had time to come back to the pits for another tyre.

He got back to pit lane just as everyone else was leaving for their second runs.

The first laps of all Marquez’ competitors on their second runs were electric, everyone setting red sectors throughout the lap, lighting up the time screen. After the barrage was complete, Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) surprisingly emerged as the provisional pole sitter from Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

However, on the first lap of his third run, Marquez reclaimed pole position by just over a tenth, ensuring he maintains his 100% pole position record at Termas in dry qualifying sessions. It is unlikely to end there for Marquez, though. His race pace seems a cut above everyone else, seemingly able to lap in the low to mid-1’39s with relative ease, whilst everyone else seems stranded in the mid to high-39s at best.

This is with the possible exception of Cal Crutchlow, but with the Briton blowing his final qualifying lap and having to start now from eighth on the grid, the odds are stacked even higher against the LCR Honda rider.

Maverick Vinales has been almost completely under the radar this weekend, finishing FP1 in eighteenth, and never really doing anything particularly spectacular – that is, until his lap to go provisional pole. He was unable to convert pole position to a good result in Qatar, so it will be interesting to see what he can do from the middle of the front row tomorrow, and whether he can fight for the podium.

With Marquez seemingly out of reach for the rest of the field, it could be a battle for second, and Andrea Dovizioso will be all too keen to win that battle in his quest to limit the damage Marquez can do to him in the championship at this track. From third on the grid, Dovizioso has a good opportunity to make use of his Ducati’s ‘holeshot device’, and try to hold Marquez up as much as he can. Failing that, the Italian must try everything to maintain second place, and the front row is almost the best place to start that defence.

After fourteenth place in qualifying for the season opener in Qatar, Valentino Rossi will probably be quite content with fourth on the grid. The Italian’s pace looks quite strong and could be in that podium fight, but the question – as always – will be about whether he can hold onto that rear tyre until the end.

The middle of row two will be occupied by Jack Miller, who might be a little disappointed to miss the front row. However, he has been fast all weekend, and to start in the front two rows is certainly not a bad thing. Another potential podium contender, and another potential missile on the run to turn one with the GP19’s ‘holeshot device’.

Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) ensures Miller sits in the middle of an Italian sandwich tomorrow. Tyre wear was the issue for the 2017 Moto2 World Champion in Qatar, so the second half of the race will be particularly interesting from Morbidelli’s point of view, as well as his tyre choice.

Morbidelli’s Petronas Yamaha SRT teammate, Fabio Quartararo, will start seventh tomorrow for his second ever MotoGP. As in Qatar the Frenchman has been fast all weekend, and is another who might interfere in that podium scrap in the first half of the race, although the youngster has himself acknowledged that it will take a little longer until he has understood completely how to make a strong race pace for the full distance. Joining the #20 on the third row are the LCR pairing of Crutchlow and Nakagami.

Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) has had a nightmare weekend in Argentina. A dreadful Friday was followed up by an improved performance in FP3 which saw him advance directly to Q2, but his frustration was visible in qualifying when he qualified only tenth on the factory Ducati. Alongside Petrucci are Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team), the #99 still trying to work out how to get the RC213V to work well for him.

The fastest rider to not make Q2 was Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who qualified thirteenth, and will be joined on row five by the impressive rookie Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing).

Qualifying was a disaster for both Suzuki Ecstar riders, with Alex Rins qualifying only sixteenth and Joan Mir only nineteenth. Team manager Davide Brivio is confident in their race pace, but it is going to be a big task for the two Spanish riders to fight back from their lowly grid slots tomorrow.

Between Rins and Mir are Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), the Frenchman in particular having looked much more comfortable on the KTM this weekend, although missing the ultimate lap time over one lap still, it seems.

The two riders joining Mir on row seven are Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3), and alone at the back on row eight is Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who qualified twenty-second and last.

Featured Image courtesy of Box Repsol

The second round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship takes place this weekend in Argentina, at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

Termas has had a habit of throwing up controversy since it made its debut on the MotoGP calendar back in 2014 – it has seen Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez clash twice, with opposite results, in 2015 and 2018; Scott Redding blow a rear Michelin in 2016 which caused a pit stop in the middle of the race and Michelin to completely change their design philosophy for the rest of the 2016 season and Danilo Petrucci ride unpenalized into the side of Aleix Espargaro last season.

This year, though, the controversy began three weeks ago in Qatar at the opening round. Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) won from Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in another of their last lap scraps, again being decided in the final corner. Dovizioso had been using Ducati’s new aerodynamic device which attaches to the swing arm, claimed by Ducati to cool the tyre. Aprilia, KTM, Honda and Suzuki all protested the result to the Race Direction on Sunday night after the race, but it was thrown out. They then put it to the MotoGP court of appeal, which made their decision this week, a decision which ruled the Ducati to be legal, and the result to stand. With the result of the previous race being decided so close to this weekend’s round, it is sure to be a big talking point in the paddock, and it shouldn’t be long until the other factories have their own versions of Ducati’s swing arm device.

In fact, for Ducati this weekend promises to be an interesting one, regardless of appeals and protests by their rivals, as a Desmosedici has not visited parc ferme in Termas since Eugene Laverty took fourth place and top ‘independent’ for Aspar in 2016. Furthermore, Ducati haven’t had a podium in Argentina since 2015 with Dovizioso, although they should of course have had a double rostrum in 2016. The last two years have been particularly disappointing for the Italian marque in Argentina. In 2017, Dovizioso struggled for pace all weekend and in the end was taken out by Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia as the Spaniard was avoiding Danilo Petrucci and lost the front; and last year Dovizioso could manage only sixth place in the mixed conditions. Having started once more with a victory, Dovizioso will be keen to back it up with another strong result this weekend in South America.

This will be especially important for Dovizioso’s title ambitions, as Argentina is one of Marc Marquez’ strongest GPs. Of the five races run in Argentina since 2014, Marquez has won two, and taken four poles. His win count would be higher, but for his catalogue of errors last year which resulted in a thirty-second penalty and no points for the Spaniard. Marquez has always shown strongly, though, in Termas, and it is difficult to see past him this weekend, especially with rain expected.

Whilst Argentina has traditionally been strong for Marquez, the same cannot be said for his Repsol Honda Team teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, who has not found the podium in Argentina since 2014 and hasn’t scored a point there since 2015 when he finished fifth. Still suffering with his scaphoid and likely still feeling some effects from the injuries he picked up from his high side in Qatar FP3, this weekend could be another tough one for the Spaniard.

After Marquez, the most successful MotoGP rider in Termas de Rio Hondo is Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). The Italian took a dramatic win in 2015, and made the podium on two more occasions, in 2016 and 2017. Last year, however, was a disastrous race for the Italian, even before the contact with Marquez he lacked pace and was lapping in eighth place – the fact that Marquez took a ride through penalty in the beginning of the race and still caught Rossi with several laps to go says a lot about both Marquez’ and Rossi’s pace at the 2018 Argentinian GP. Losail was also a disappointment for Rossi. At a track where both he and Yamaha traditionally excel, he qualified fourteenth and finished fifth, leaving him suggesting that in reality nothing much has really changed in the factory Yamaha camp over the winter. Rossi is still without a podium since Sachsenring last season and, despite a disappointing opening round of the season and difficult ace in Termas last year, his record at the Argentinian track suggests this could be his best opportunity to return to the rostrum before the paddock heads back to Europe.

With Maverick Vinales alongside Rossi in the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP garage, the factory Yamaha box is the only garage on the pit lane with two winners at Termas in the premier class. Vinales’ 2017 win feels like a long time ago, and whilst practice and qualifying in Losail three weeks ago implied that the Maverick of early 2017 was back, the race proved otherwise, as he slumped to seventh place after qualifying on pole.

Both Rossi and Vinales were hurt in Losail by the YZR-M1’s lack of top speed, and that is likely to hurt them again this weekend, with the long straight down to turn five. What Termas does not have that Losail did, though, is a long run to the (start/finish) line, and that could present an opportunity for the Yamaha riders.

Argentina was the scene of Alex Rins’ (Team Suzuki Ecstar) first MotoGP podium twelve months ago, and after a strong winter and impressive ride in Qatar where he took fourth place, the Spaniard will be after his first win in the premier class this time around.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) took a spectacular win in Termas last year, fighting in a four-way scrap with Miller, Rins and Johann Zarco for the duration of the race. It was Crutchlow’s third triumph in the premier class, and after a heroic podium in Qatar – after missing some feeling with the bike through preseason, a preseason hampered by the catastrophic ankle injury he sustained in Australia last October – the Briton will no doubt be after the rostrum once more this weekend, at the circuit which he took his first podium on Honda, when he stuffed Andrea Iannone back in 2015 in the final corner.

Featured image courtesy of Box Repsol.

On Sunday, the 2019 MotoGP World Championship began under the lights in Qatar at the Losail International Circuit. There was much anticipation regarding some outstanding rookies and also how Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) would fair from the fifth row of the grid. The other interest circled was around Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) ability to cope with the pressure of pole position. In the end, though, the race boiled down to that contemporary duel: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) versus Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati).

Ducati’s new ‘holeshot device’ had been seen clearly in action for the first time this weekend, with the world feed cameras picking up Ducati GP19s making unusual movements as they prepared for practice starts throughout the free practice sessions. Andrea Dovizioso proved the device works, by making the holeshot ahead of fellow GP19 rider, Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing), who came from the second row to beat both Marc Marquez and polesitter Maverick Vinales to the first corner.

Unfortunately for Miller, his race soon came undone when his seat came loose through the fast right-handers of turns twelve, thirteen and fourteen. The Australian tore his seat away between turns fifteen and sixteen, but the lack of grip he had without an actual seat meant it became impossible to rider quickly and consistently, and so eventually the #43 retired.

Miller left behind a group of around fifteen riders at the front, although that number soon dropped to ten as the field settled, and those incapable of keeping the front pace were dropped.

It was not long until the tactics of Dovizioso became clear. He would try to sit at the front of the race and control the pace, saving the tyre and taking few risks, knowing that he had the power on the straight to keep himself clear of any pursuers, as well as being safe in the knowledge that Marquez – the one rider in the group who could pass him in a straight line bar Dovizioso’ Mission Winnow Ducati teammate Danilo Petrucci – had no intention of leading the race himself.

It was not an easy task for Dovizioso, though, to stay in front. The Suzuki of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) soon made his presence known, and was able to pass Dovizioso on several occasions throughout the main portion of the lap, but was never able to hold Dovizioso’s Desmosedici at bay once they got to the straight. He did, however, lead three laps in the middle of the race, which showed the improvements Suzuki have made to the power of the GSX-RR over the winter.

Whilst Rins and Dovizioso had been fighting over the lead at the front, the top group had been diminished to nine riders, as Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) started to fall away. That left the three Yamahas of Vinales, Rossi and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) at the back of the front group which, once Dovizioso had dealt with Rins, was still headed by the #04 Ducati.
Dovizioso, surprisingly, was somewhat assisted in his stronghold over the leadership of the race by Marquez, who passed Rins on lap eleven, preventing the Suzuki rider from mounting any further assaults on the Desmosedici. Marquez knew the game of Dovizioso, and he didn’t need Rins escaping at the front to complicate matters.

In the final five laps, things started to heat up. Maverick Vinales made a failed attempt at passing the extremely impressive rookie Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on he inside at the penultimate corner on lap sixteen. That let Vinales’ teammate Rossi through into seventh place, and the Italian made his way past Mir on the next lap. A small gap had now appeared between Rossi and the front group. Vinales could see that, but again failed in passing Mir, sliding wide at turn four on lap seventeen, costing himself a further second, that he would not recover.

The gap Rossi suffered to the first five riders after passing Mir was overhauled by the Italian between turns five and seven, and with three laps to go he made his move on Petrucci for fifth place, a move which went without response from the factory Ducati debutant.

At the same time as Rossi moved on Petrucci, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) – who had been quietly sitting in a top six spot all race – made his move for a podium, passing Alex Rins for third, as the Dovizioso and Marquez started to construct a small gap, and gear up for a final lap duel.

Marquez beat Dovizioso to the line on the penultimate lap, but Dovi out-braked him into turn one, and held the line, not allowing Marquez to slide through on the inside mid-corner.

Knowing what happened the previous year when Dovizioso beat him when Marquez left his attack to the final corner, the #93 tried to pass at turn ten, but ran wide and Dovizioso squared him off through the sweeping turn eleven.

Marquez tried to go to the inside of turn twelve, but Dovizioso did not allow the door to open, and after a good run through turn fourteen for the Italian, an attack into turn fifteen was impossible for Marquez. It had to be the last corner, but Dovizioso had a good exit from fifteen, and was exceptionally late on the brakes into sixteen. There was little Marquez could do, but anyway he let the brakes off and block passed Dovizioso. But, as one year ago, Dovizioso squared him off, and even despite the improved Honda engine for 2019 and a slipstream, Marquez could do nothing to stop Dovizioso from taking the win and the initial championship lead.

Cal Crutchlow managed to hold off Alex Rins for what is in essence a second consecutive podium for the Brit, after his rostrum in Japan last year. It was a stunning comeback from a potentially career-ending injury for Crutchlow, one which surprised even him.

Fourth place for Alex Rins was unfortunate, as he had ridden superbly for the whole race, but in the end it was horsepower that cost him. Suzuki have made gains in the top end of their GSX-RR motor over the winter, but they need more if they are to challenge Honda and Ducati on a circuit with a 1.1km front straight, with the finish line way over halfway down it.

The same can be said for Yamaha. They have consistently been the slowest bike this weekend, and that cost Rossi, Vinales and Morbidelli. They all struggled to overtake anything which wasn’t a Yamaha and, to add insult to injury, Rossi was visibly weaker on traction compared to his rivals, especially through turn eleven where the bikes spin the rear tyre the whole way. Nonetheless, fourteenth to fifth was an impressive comeback from The Doctor, who is still without a podium since Sachsenring last year.

Danilo Petrucci was visibly distraught with sixth place, after seeming to have the pace to win throughout the weekend. Maverick Vinales came home in seventh place ahead of Joan Mir, who had fought with Marc Marquez on his MotoGP debut for half the race, and finished ahead of Takaaki Nakagami (9th) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who completed the top ten.

Eleventh place went to Franco Morbidelli whose soft tyre gave up on him in the final part of the race, whilst Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had a decent ride aboard the RC16, finishing twelve seconds off the win after a difficult weekend for the Austrian marque on a circuit which has been traditionally tough for them.

Jorge Lorenzo’s chances of a dream Honda debut went out of the window on Saturday, when he was hurt by two crashes in FP3 and then Q1. Fortunately for the factory Honda man, there is a three week break in which he can focus on recovering for round two of the season in Argentina. Behind him, Andrea Iannone scored points in fourteenth on his debut for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, as did Johann Zarco in fifteenth on his debut for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. It was also the closest top fifteen in MotoGP history, with just over fifteen seconds covering the points scorers.

Perhaps the most heart-breaking moment of the race was when Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) stalled his M1 on the grid before the warm up lap. The Frenchman had qualified fifth for his debut MotoGP and had been brilliant all weekend. From the start, Quartararo started to set fastest lap after fastest lap, and at one point had passed Jorge Lorenzo, before his tyre gave up and he slipped back to eighteenth. Nonetheless, the debut weekend of Fabio Quartararo in the premier class was exceptional, and the moment when he is racing against the very best in MotoGP at the front of the field is surely not far away.

There were only three retirements from the 2019 season opener, with Francesco Bagnaia (Alma Pramac Racing) joining his teammate Jack Miller back in the garage on his MotoGP debut thanks to having one of the winglets wiped off the GP18. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but unbalanced aero would have made the bike un-rideable. Finally Bradley Smith (Aprilia Factory Racing) crashed in turn one on the penultimate lap.

Although he was running last at the time, Smith’s crash on the RSGP caused some controversy post-race, as Suzuki protested the result of the race on two counts. Firstly, it protested that Cal Crutchlow had overtaken Rins under yellow flags – this protest was rejected.

Secondly, together with Honda, Aprilia and KTM, Suzuki protested the Ducati’s new aerodynamics, in which one piece hangs from the bottom of the fork leg, whilst the other hangs from the swingarm. Dovizioso used this setup for the first time in the warm up session for the Qatar race, but Danilo Petrucci had been using it since the Qatar test two weeks previously. Again, the protest was rejected on a lack of evidence, but it has been referred now to the MotoGP court of appeal, meaning the result could be entirely different for the season opener once the paddock arrives in Argentina for the second round of the season in three weeks’ time.

Featured image courtesy of Ducati

The 2019 MotoGP World Championship enjoyed its first qualifying session of the new season in Qatar, with impressive-looking rookies and a tight field meaning it was to be a fantastic session.

Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) took his second pole in successive grands prix after his wet weather pole in Valencia last November. Vinales reeked of confidence, lapping on his own in what were treacherous conditions – and his aggression on the brakes into the final corner was spectacular, the weight catapulting onto the front tyre. Despite being just under two tenths shy of Marc Marquez’ (Repsol Honda Team) outright lap record from Friday night, Vinales took pole by nearly two tenths, and consistently fast times posted in FP4 suggest he could be in the frame for the victory tomorrow.

But it will a difficult race for Vinales. Despite having a pace as strong as anybody, he will have to fight against bikes which are between 15kph and 20kph faster than him in the front straight.

One of those bikes is the Ducati Desmosedici GP19, and in particular the one ridden by Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati). The Italian has been almost invisible throughout the weekend, but in the long runs he has perhaps the best pace, and when it mattered, he showed he had the one-lap speed to give him a good grid position, finally taking second place.

In the past, the equal pace with his rivals would have been enough for Dovi, thanks to the straight-line speed of the Ducati. However, in Q2 Marc Marquez displayed the new engine in the Honda in its full potential, drafting past Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) on his way to the back of the front row.

Marquez had looked uncomfortable throughout the session, and in the end it was the tow provided by Petrucci that fired him onto the front row. Marquez also suffered two crashes on Saturday, in FP3 and FP4. The suggestion of a slightly weaker front end on the 2019 Honda compared to its predecessor means that its pilots could be some of those most at risk if the temperature is low tomorrow, and that seems to be what caught both Marquez and his Repsol Honda teammate Jorge Lorenzo out in Saturday night’s sessions.

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) took the fourth fastest time despite a crash late on in Q2. In this, Miller scored the first point in the sub-championship going on this season with himself, Danilo Petrucci and Miller’s Alma Pramac teammate Pecco Bagnaia, who are all fighting for the second spot in the factory Ducati team for 2020 alongside Dovizioso.

The middle of the second row sees the surprise of the weekend so far, with Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) qualifying fifth on his MotoGP debut. Quartararo has been fast all weekend, especially over one lap, and he put that into perfect practice in Q2. Like Vinales he will have his work cut out tomorrow against bikes which are so much faster than his, but already this weekend has been a big success for the Frenchman, beating both his teammate, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Yamaha stablemate Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in in his first ever premier class qualifying, and supposedly all with five-hundred revs taken off the top of his M1’s motor.

The second row for tomorrow’s MotoGP race will be rounded out by Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL), who made a stunning return after an injury from which he is still recovering to qualify sixth on a motorcycle with which he does not feel completely comfortable. Crutchlow is worried for the race, just to finish, if it starts at the planned 8pm, so it will be interesting to see what he can achieve tomorrow.

Danilo Petrucci has some outstanding-looking race pace, but he will be hoping Ducati’s holeshot device will propel him past some of the riders in front of him tomorrow, so that he can use that pace, after qualifying only seventh, in front of Franco Morbidelli and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU on row three.

As disappointed as Petrucci will be, the feeling will be similar for Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) after the Spaniard only managed tenth place on the grid for the opening race after such an impressive preseason. Rins will be joined by his teammate, Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) on the fourth row tomorrow.

Francesco Bagnaia was the fastest of those riders who did not make it through to Q2, and will start thirteenth tomorrow. On the face of it, especially with fellow rookies Quartararo and Mir in fifth and eleventh respectively, thirteenth doesn’t seem so fantastic for the reigning Moto2 World Champion, but the Italian will share the fifth row of his first GP with some hefty names: Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.

Rossi’s problems started on Friday evening, when an out-of-balance front tyre destroyed itself in five laps and left the Italian out of Q2 overnight. FP3 was too hot, too windy and too dusty for The Doctor to make an improvement and get into the top ten, and then a difficult Q1 saw him end his Saturday early, qualifying only fourteenth for the opening round of the championship. Unfortunately for Rossi, he has become only too accustomed to failing to make it out of Q1, and now tomorrow he faces another big fight back – one which, on paper, he seems entirely incapable of achieving. Rossi needs something big overnight if he is to make a good result tomorrow night.

Lorenzo’s problems also started when he failed to make the top ten on Friday night. The Spaniard then suffered a nasty high side on the exit of turn six early on in FP3, meaning he had to miss the rest of the session. After starting Q1 quite strong, the Repsol Honda rider looked good to advance to Q2, but a crash at the start of his second run ended those hopes, and he will start fifteenth tomorrow.

Seventeenth on his debut MotoGP grid is what faces Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s Miguel Oliveira tomorrow, as the Portuguese starts between the Spanish duo of his KTM stablemate Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in sixteenth and 2014 Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) in eighteenth.

Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will head up row seven tomorrow for his debut on the RSGP. Iannone had a bike problem at the end of Q1, although it didn’t seem as though he had the speed to make it to Q2 regardless. The Italian will be joined on row seven by Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) and Johann Zarco who will make his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing debut from twenty-first.

Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) still looks to be struggling to adapt to the RC16, and the Malaysian will start twenty-second tomorrow, in front only of Aprilia wildcard Bradley Smith (Aprilia Factory Racing).

Featured Image courtesy of Yamaha corporation

This weekend the 2019 MotoGP World Championship begins in Qatar, under the lights of the Losail International Circuit.

Losail is an interesting circuit. The long front straight – one of the fastest of the season – means that power is necessary, but the intensity of the corners after that mean that a sweet handling chassis can also be of use, especially in the three fast right-handers towards the end of the lap.

Partly because of this good combination and partly because Losail is home to the final preseason test – allowing riders and teams to already arrive at a good setting before the Grand Prix weekend even begins – the Grand Prix of Qatar regularly throws up a good race. This year, there are predictions of a ten-rider battle for the podium.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), is sure to be one of those riders fighting for the podium. It is slightly hard to believe that the reigning World Champion is about to embark on his seventh season in the premier class, and harder still, to believe that he could win his sixth title come the end of November. Regardless, the all-action Spaniard is not considered – by himself or anyone else – as a Qatar specialist. Marquez has never gone well in Doha – at least, not compared to other places. That said, he does have two wins to his name under the lights in 2012 – when he came back from his eye injury in Sepang 2011 to win – and 2014 when he won whilst with a fairly recently broken leg in a strong battle with Valentino Rossi. Marquez was also very close to the win last season, finishing just 0.027 seconds behind Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso. With the additional power of the Honda this year, perhaps the Spaniard can reverse that deficit in 2019.

Marquez also suffered in preseason this year, and is still recovering from surgery on his damaged shoulder in December of last year. In a similar way, Marquez’s teammate, Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) had his preseason blighted by injury: a broken scaphoid, which he doesn’t expect to be fully recovered from until the championship heads back to Europe in May. That said, Lorenzo showed some impressive speed in the Qatar test, and should be able to make at least the majority of the race in the battle at the front.

Lorenzo’s record is good in Qatar, too. In fact, it is the best, with six wins across all classes in Qatar, starting back in 2004 when he beat Dovizioso to the 125cc win in what was then the heat of the midday desert sun. Lorenzo also holds the race lap record in Qatar, from 2016 when he rode the M1 to his most recent win at Losail. A repeat of that 2016 result would be a tough ask this time round, but it would be a surprise to not see Lorenzo figuring in the front group come Sunday night.

Losail was always the circuit which suited the Ducati best, back when it couldn’t turn in, or through a corner, and when it had concessions and softer tyres. In 2018, Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) finally delivered on the victory both he and the Desmosedici had been promising since 2015. Dovizioso was also arguably the most settled rider throughout preseason testing, and is probably the favourite for this race, despite two riders in particular having potentially better pace, because of the speed of the Desmosedici on the straight.

Whilst Honda have made gains in the motor department compared to Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki have not. Suzuki have more power for this year, but they are still at a disadvantage to the Desmosedici in a straight line, and Yamaha’s engine development over the winter was primarily focused on using the tyre more efficiently compared to the last three seasons.

This means that whilst Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) – who topped the test in Qatar quite convincingly – and Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki Team) have arguably better pace than their rivals, their lack of straight line speed could make them easy prey for the likes of Dovizioso and Marquez in the straight.

Despite this, the pace the two Spaniards showed throughout testing – not just in Qatar, but in Sepang as well – means that they must be among the favourites for this weekends premier class Grand Prix.

Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha) and Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) should also be in the mix this weekend.

Rossi’s mood over preseason has been largely positive yet reserved, saying that Yamaha are on the right path but that they have more work to do. Vinales agrees with this, mostly, despite his superior pace. Even still, Rossi’s record (four premier class wins) in Losail means he will be expected to be fighting at the front this weekend. Additionally, Rossi has been on the podium in Losail each year since he returned to Yamaha in 2013, with the exception of 2016 when he finished fourth.

For Petrucci, there is a lot of pressure this weekend. It is his debut for the factory Ducati team, and he needs immediate performance. Fortunately for the Italian, his pace over the winter would suggest he is up to the task. He has showed on several occasions that he has the speed as well as the consistency to mean that the #9 Desmosedici GP19 will have a lot of expectation on it this season. The Italian does not have long to convince Ducati that they should keep him for 2020 – such is the nature of the MotoGP rider market – so a good result this weekend could be crucial.

As well as the factory riders, there are satellite rides who should have an eye kept on them this weekend.

Firstly, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas SRT Yamaha) has been impressive over the winter and could figure this weekend, although he appears to still be suffering with tyre life and acceleration issues.

Secondly, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) must always be considered as a potential front runner. However, the Briton is still suffering with his shattered right ankle – although it affects him less whilst riding – and a poor feeling with the front of the 2019 RC213V, a complaint echoed by Marquez. This will be a difficult weekend for Crutchlow, but it would be unfair to discount him at this stage.

The battle for rookie of the year also gets underway this weekend, of course. Francesco Bagnaia (Alma Pramac Racing) was second fastest in the Sepang test, half a tenth away from Danilo Petrucci’s new unofficial lap record, and had some promising race pace in Qatar.

Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas SRT Yamaha) came alive in Qatar, figuring often in the top five, and setting some impressive long runs, too.

Joan Mir (Ecstar Suzuki Team) has missed the headline times, but in many ways that is typical of Mir, who only has one pole position in his Grand Prix career, back in Austria 2016. Mir has, though, looked good on race pace.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) has not had the outstanding pace or speed of his three fellow rookies, owing largely no doubt to his machinery disadvantage – the KTM still very much in the early stage of its development – but compared to his KTM stablemates Oliveira has been impressive, setting comparative times to Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and being relatively close to Pol Espargaro’s (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) times, too.

The battle for rookie of the year could be one of the most intriguing and exciting parts of the 2019 MotoGP season.

The final MotoGP preseason test of 2019 took place over the weekend in Qatar, with teams and riders looking to try any last new things they might have wanted to evaluate before the first Grand Prix – in Losail – which gets underway in just nine days’ time, as well as look for further confirmation on items tested in Sepang a couple of weeks ago and to prepare for the Grand Prix of Qatar.

It was Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who topped the combined times of the test, with a 1’54.208. Vinales had two tenths on the field, but was still six tenths shy of Johann Zarco’s outright lap record set in last year’s Q2 session at the Grand Prix itself. Vinales’ positive tune – which has been a constant since the post-season Valencia test last November – continued throughout the Qatar test. The Spaniard happy with the feeling he has on the bike, though still pointing out Yamaha’s need to improve on acceleration. It was this concern which was echoed by Vinales’ Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammate, Valentino Rossi, who sounded almost desperate after day two of the test. The Italian spent the second day trying some new things, and lost his direction, ending the day in nineteenth. He recovered on the final day, but feels he needs more to fight at the front. Overall the preseason has been positive for Yamaha, but we won’t find out exactly how positive until the paddock returns to Europe.

It has not been an easy preseason for Honda, with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda MotoGP), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) all suffering from injuries throughout the winter. This was made clear on the first day in Qatar, after which Marquez declared that the RC213V was a way behind its rivals. However, the strength of HRC’s package was shown on day two, when that deficit was erased, and Lorenzo and Marquez climbed the time sheets. Marquez has still yet to make a proper long run, as he is still nursing his left shoulder, but the laps he did put together showed him to be one of the strongest, which – of course – is a surprise to no one. In comparison, Lorenzo spent a lot of the test working on ergonomics, a big part of his success in Ducati. The sooner HRC can get him completely comfortable on the RC213V the sooner he will be able to fight for wins regularly.

The test was something of a disaster for Cal Crutchlow, who is missing some feeling with the front of the 2019 RC213V – an area which has been worked on over the winter to try to stress the front tyre less under braking. Another issue which was affecting Crutchlow in Losail was the size of the boot on his injured ankle, because he could not use the rear brake properly. Things like that should get easier, in theory, for Crutchlow over the course of the season, but his feeling on the bike is something which could prove more problematic for the Brit in the longer term.

Ducati’s test was mixed, with Mission Winnow Ducati duo Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci both featuring in the top four on day one in Qatar, and Petrucci in fourth as well on the second day. However, by the end of the test, only one Desmosedici figured in the top ten, that of Petrucci. Meanwhile, fellow GP19 runners, Dovizioso and Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) were in fifteenth and eleventh, respectively. Dovizioso admitted to a misdirection on the final day in Doha, whilst Miller was content with his performance, and is positive about his chances for the season opener, as is Danilo Petrucci who showed impressive pace and consistency on his long runs.

Perhaps one of the things which helped Petrucci in the long runs is the new piece of aerodynamics debuted by Ducati in Qatar, which appears to direct air towards the rear tyre, keeping it cool. As the heaviest rider on the grid, Petrucci stresses the tyre more than any other, which is exacerbated by the Desmosedici’s massive horsepower (although it must be noted that, looking at speed traps, Honda seem to have completely erased their deficit to the 90-degree L4 motor in the GP19). The additional stress caused by Petrucci’s weight means he builds heat in the tyre more than any other rider, and it is this which limits the Italian the most, so any method Ducati can come up with to keep the rear tyre cool is welcomed with open arms by the number nine.

One of the most impressive preseason performers has been Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on his GSX-RR. After day two in Qatar, the 2013 Moto3 runner-up had featured inside the top two in four of the five days of testing and shown impressive race pace in both Losail and Sepang. Day three in Qatar saw Rins fall outside of the top ten, just as he had in Sepang, but there is no doubting the impressive gains made by Suzuki over the winter, and Alex Rins is clearly all too ready to take advantage of those. In Doha there was a new split-pipe exhaust for Rins to try (similar to those seen in Moto2 in the last couple of years). This may not have given an improvement in absolute power, but the top end gains made in the motor department of the GSX-RR over the winter may have prompted the engineers back in Hamamatsu to design a new exhaust to make that power more manageable.

Aprilia had a new fairing to try in Qatar, and also had the privilege of an Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who was fully fit to ride in all three days. Additionally, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was able to be fast, despite admitting that he had to push the limits of the bike to be competitive. So far, though, Aprilia’s reversion to 2017’s RS-GP design appears to be working, and they look set for a decent 2019.

KTM, like Ducati, had a mixed test. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) showed impressive speed throughout the three days, and reaffirmed his position as KTM’s strongest rider at the moment. His factory KTM teammate, Johann Zarco, however, seemed to take a step back from where he was after Sepang, and was only nineteenth at the close of the three days. There is clearly still a lot of work to do for the Frenchman with the RC16 before he is truly comfortable with it, but in Sepang he showed what his potential with the bike is, and both he and KTM should use that as encouragement going forward.

If nothing else, preseason testing showed us that the fight for top rookie this season will be spectacular. Francesco Bagnaia (Alma Pramac Racing) produced a brilliant hot lap in Sepang with his Ducati GP18 and went on to impress in race trim in Doha, ending the test thirteenth in the combined times, ahead of Dovizioso. Whilst Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) had some impressive speed in Qatar aboard his Suzuki GSX-RR.

Additionally, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was second in the Qatar test combined times, only two tenths from Maverick Vinales, and showed good speed on the long runs, too. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) may not be able to challenge the likes of Mir, Quartararo or Bagnaia on a regular basis this season, owing at least in part to his machinery, the progress the Portuguese has made over the winter has been impressive, and he is now clearly faster than teammate Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), and ended winter testing only 0.057 seconds slower than Johann Zarco. This year’s rookie battle might be the most exciting in recent memory.

With testing now complete before the season proper gets underway with free practice one at the Losail International Circuit on March 8th, the factories will now be sifting through the data gathered over these three days in Qatar to try and arrive at the Grand Prix in the best shape possible. It is not long now until we find out the reality of the order for the 2019 MotoGP World Championship.

Featured image courtesy of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl