Category: MotoGp

The final round beckons for MotoGP in 2017. A season that has seen five winners and one of the best head to head duals in years has arrived at the last setting. Valencia in Spain offers the 18th and crucial conclusive meeting of the year, with the chance to witness one of the most heroic battles in a last round Grand Finale. Marc Marquez needs 11th or better to win the championship, regardless of where challenger Andrea Dovizioso finishes. The Ducati rider in turn must win if he is to stand any hope of winning the championship, something that very few people had thought about prior to 2017. Will we see the expected result or will Valencia throw up one of the all-time greatest shocks in motorcycle racing history… again – remember 2006?

Marc Marquez is in control of the championship. He has been dynamite since winning in Germany, finishing either 1st or 2nd at each GP – with the exception of two races: Silverstone, when an engine fault literally blew his chances of winning and in Malaysia, last time out – where he was 4th. Those results mean that whilst Marquez is all but champion, he is exactly that. The championship is not yet sewed up and one mistake, like we saw with Valentino Rossi in 2006, sends it all tumbling away. By mistake, I mean that it doesn’t have to be his own. Valencia has seen pile ups at turn 1, turn 2 and turn 14 before now, meaning it could be someone else’s accident that brings him down. Equally, weather could play its part and give Marc an unexpected scare. Or, dare we say it, another mechanical? However, all things look in Marc’s hands. Not only is he in control of the title race but he has great form in Valencia. In 2012, he won the Moto2 race from the back of the grid and he also won in MotoGP 2014, from 5th. He was 3rd in 2013, giving him his first premier class title, whilst he finished a close-run 2nd in 2016. Marc hasn’t crashed at Valencia in the race since 2009 in the 125cc class, when he remounted and finished 17th. Can the run continue? He hasn’t had back-to-back 4th place finishes since Silverstone and Misano last season but don’t forget, 4th is more than good enough.

Andrea Dovizioso has put in a valiant effort in 2017, emerging from the pack as the only rider able to chase down Marc Marquez. A credible threat? Absolutely. He has beaten up Marc Marquez in last-lap, last-corner fights and has the potential to do that again this weekend. Is he a realistic threat? It all depends what you talk about. I personally believe that he can win the race, to become the first Ducati winner at the circuit since 2008, in the Stoner era. However, it is a mountain to climb to win the championship. Dovi can only do what he can do, he has to go out to the front and win the race. That will be his ‘job done’. Similar to Valentino Rossi in 2015, where he did what he could and got to 4th, leaving it in the hands of the motorcycle Gods to see if he would become champion from there. Dovizioso has never won at the circuit before and his best result on a Ducati was in 2014, in 4th. If he does win, it will be his 7th win of the year, the most Ducati have had in GP since Casey Stoner, exactly 10 years ago. Can Dovi do it? Realistically no, theoretically yes. Having said that, remember 2006…

Maverick Vinales can’t take 2nd in the championship now, having had a disaster in Malaysia which saw him languish in 9th. Vinales will be 3rd in the championship, as teammate Valentino Rossi cannot catch his new partner. Maverick will be looking to achieve Yamaha’s first win in the 2nd half of the season, an astonishing statistic. The Yamaha rider has won at the Ricardo Tormo circuit before, in 2011 on a 125cc bike and in 2013, in Moto3 – the latter of which was a titanic scrap between himself and Rins for the championship.

Valentino Rossi heads to a circuit he absolutely despises. It was the scene of his big crash in 2005 during qualifying, forcing him to start 15th – he finished 3rd. In 2006, he crashed out, resulting in him losing the title and Nicky Hayden taking it. In 2007, a monumental crash in qualifying saw Rossi fracture his hand in three places. In 2011, he was taken out in a first corner pile up and in 2015, he started from the back of the grid in his quest to win the GP title – he didn’t take his 10th crown. Rossi last won at the circuit in 2004. The last time Yamaha didn’t win a race in the 2nd half of the season was in 2003, when they didn’t win a race throughout the entire season.

Dani Pedrosa is 5th but has a chance of catching Valentino Rossi for 4th overall, which isn’t actually unlikely. Pedrosa has great form at Valencia and is the only rider to have won races in all classes at the circuit. Three wins and four other podiums stand Dani in good stead for an assault on 4th in the championship this weekend. He was 3rd in 2015 – his most recent podium. His last win came in 2012, in dodgy weather conditions. Pedrosa has been on the podium at every race in Spain so far this year and if he makes it on the podium again, it’ll be the first time since 2012 that he has achieved 4 Spanish podiums in as many Spanish races in one season.

Johann Zarco is already confirmed as top rookie in 2017 and will be wanting to give Tech 3 their first ever podium in Valencia – a previous best result was in 2011, with 4th for Britain’s Cal Crutchlow. Johann Zarco himself has won at the track, last year in Moto2, after a thrilling battle with Franco Morbidelli in the early stages of the race. A Frenchman hasn’t had back-to-back podiums in MotoGP since Regis Laconi at Ricardo Tormo and Phillip Island in 1999 – he was the last French winner, ironically at the Valencian GP. The last back-to-back podium for Tech 3 was at Assen and the Sachsenring, in 2013 with Cal Crutchlow.

Jorge Lorenzo’s 2nd place ahead of Zarco in Malaysia keeps his hopes of a 6th place finish overall in the standings alive. The Spaniard hasn’t had a great season but he could become the first ever Spanish winner on a Ducati in MotoGP. Lorenzo has won at Valencia on four occasions; 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016. One truly incredible statistic is that Ducati haven’t ever had a back-to-back 1-2 finish in Grand Prix.

Danilo Petrucci’s heroic ride in Malaysia from the back to 6th demonstrated just how much of a top rider he is. Danilo Petrucci is a winner at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, back in 2009 in the European Superstock 600 class. His best result at the circuit in GP racing remains an 8th place in his rookie season, in 2012. For the last two seasons, he has finished in the same place he qualified in. Petrucci is 16 points behind Lorenzo in the championship, making it hard to catch him but not insurmountable.

Cal Crutchlow is 17 points further back in the championship. The top Brit has been a bit ‘hit and miss’ in 2017 and hasn’t had a podium since Argentina, round two. Crutchlow crashed out of a safe 2nd place in the 2012 Valencian GP and has a best result of 4th at the circuit, in his rookie year in 2011. Crutchlow won the World Supersport race at the circuit in 2009 and qualified on pole for the World Superbike round there in 2010.

Jonas Folger still holds onto his 10th place in the championship but yet again is not flying the Tech 3 Yamaha flag or the Bundesflagge. He is replaced by Michael van der Mark, who is fresh off the back of a 4th place in WSBK at Losail. He was 16th in the last GP, at Sepang.

Suzuki slumped to yet another poor result in Malaysia, with no points on the board again. They have never had back-to-back no-point scoring finishes during their return to MotoGP. The last time they had back-to-back no-point scoring finishes as a two bike team was in 2003, with John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr., at Le Mans and Mugello.

Aprilia will be racing in RED this weekend, a charity supported by the Gresini Team last season at the same event. Aleix Espargaro could mathematically finish in the top 10 but he would have to win. If he scores two points more than Scott Redding, then he may take 13th, however, Iannone is just 2 points behind Aleix. Teammate Sam Lowes will bow out of the team after Sunday’s race, as he hopes to get third point-scoring ride of the year.

KTM made their return to premier class action at Valencia last season, where Mika Kallio suffered an electrical issue. The Austrian manufacturer will want a repeat of Sepang, where both bikes came home in the points for a 6th time this year and a 2nd consecutive GP. Kallio achieved a 1.32.092 in qualifying last year and that will almost certainly be surpassed this weekend if conditions remain dry.

The Aspar Ducati team head to Valencia with both riders having been on the podium there at some in their careers. Bautista was 2nd in the 250cc class in 2009 and Karel Abraham won the Moto2 race a year later. Both riders have also had top 5s in MotoGP, with Bautista 4th in 2012, having started from the pit lane and Abraham in 5th in 2011, after a battle for Rookie of the Year with Cal Crutchlow.

The Marc VDS outfit continue their resurgence to form, on Jack Miller’s side anyway. The Australian was 8th in Malaysia, still nursing a broken leg. The Valencian GP will be his last race for Marc VDS, as he moves to Pramac Ducati. Tito Rabat hasn’t scored a point since Phillip Island and will be looking to bow out of the team with a good result, as he moves to Avintia next season. Both riders have won a race in Valencia before; Miller in 2014 in Moto3 and Rabat in Moto2 in 2015.

Scott Redding will make his final appearance for Pramac Ducati this weekend, as he heads to Aprilia to replace Sam Lowes next season. Redding’s best finish at the Ricardo Tormo circuit was 5th in 2010 and his best in the premier class was back in 2014, when he was 10th for Gresini Honda. It’ll be the first time since 2014 that Redding hasn’t had a podium in the season – if he doesn’t get one this weekend.

Lastly, it will be the last premier class GP (for now) for Loris Baz and Hector Barbera, as they head to WSBK and Moto2 respectively. Baz has never scored a point in Valencia in GP, whilst Hector Barbera’s best premier class result was 8th in 2010. The Spaniard has won in the 125cc class in 2004 and then in the 250cc class in 2009. Barbera hasn’t had back-to-back point-scoring rides since Mugello and Catalunya, earlier in the year.

It is advantage Marquez at the head of the field, as he pursues title number six. Dovizioso hasn’t won the MotoGP title before but it could all change on Sunday. One of the biggest climaxes to a season before, the 2017 Valencian Grand Prix is arguably the most important race in the history of Ducati in MotoGP. Yamaha will want to end the season on a high, having won the last two Valencian GPs. One thing that we must remember about MotoGP is this: the only thing predictable about MotoGP is that it is totally unpredictable – Charlie Cox, on many occasions.

The 2017 MotoGP champion will be decided in Spain at the final round of the season, after Andrea Dovizioso won the Malaysian Grand Prix and Marc Marquez finished 4^th, enough to prevent the Spaniard winning his 6^th world title. Dovizioso scored 12 points more than Marquez, enough to bring the deficit to the defending champion down to just 21 points.

After a downpour between the end of Moto2 and start of MotoGP, the premier class race got underway in terribly wet conditions, similar to that of 12 months before. Marquez ambitiously bounced down the inside at turn one from row 3 but ran out wide with Jorge Lorenzo, leaving Johann Zarco to lead for Tech 3 out front. By the end of lap 1, Lorenzo recovered to 2^nd with Marquez 3^rd. Championship challenger Dovizioso was 4^th with pole-man Dani Pedrosa 5^th.

On lap 5, Andrea Dovizioso made his first move. He passed Marc Marquez to take third but that was not enough: the Italian needed to take 8 points or more away from Marquez; at the time, it was a mere 3. Marquez never looked like fighting back but he maintained the pace and held onto the shirt tails of the leading three at the time.

With Zarco’s lead whittled down to virtually nothing, it was time for the Ducati of Jorge Lorenzo to move ahead. He made short work of Zarco and before long, Andrea Dovizioso followed his so-far-winless teammate, taking 2^nd. This now meant that Dovi was taking 7 points off Marquez, 1 shy of the crucial 8 required. This introduced the possibility of two scenarios for the title to be kept alive: Marquez would have to drop back, which would include teammate Dani Pedrosa passing him – an unlikely scenario. The other scenario was Andrea Dovizioso passing his teammate, who, as we have already alluded to, is winless. Would Dovizioso be helped to keep the title alive by Lorenzo? The same multi-million Euro investment Jorge Lorenzo, who is the team’s number 1?

Dovizioso pushed Lorenzo all the way, with the Bologna Bullets blasting off into the distance – over three seconds clear of Johann Zarco who in turn had a massive lead over series leader Marc Marquez.

Perhaps the shock of everything was the fact that there were less riders interfering with Marquez and packing out the places in the order. Back in 2015, Rossi and Lorenzo, as close as it was come the end of the season, hardly met on circuit – either because they were too far out front from each other or there were riders separating them – Silverstone and Phillip Island examples of the latter. On Sunday, there were no signs of Rossi, who looked good in the dry. Likewise, for Petrucci, a demon in the wet – although he suffered a breakdown on the sighting lap. The Suzukis weren’t in the mix and Jack Miller was also out of the top 6. How vital will the lack of interference be at the end of 2017?

We then saw a message from Ducati’s pit crew appear on Lorenzo’s dashboard. “Suggest mapping 8” it read. Whilst we all took to Twitter to ‘suggest’ what “suggest mapping 8” meant, Jorge Lorenzo lost the front of his Ducati at the re-profiled turn 15, allowing Dovizioso to power past Lorenzo and lead across the line. Dovizioso was now in a position where he would take a whole 12 points off Marquez, enough to keep the championship alive.

Dovizioso won for a 6^th time in 2017 and Ducati got their first 1-2 since Austria last season, as Lorenzo came home in 2^nd – his best result on the GP17. Johann Zarco got his 2^nd podium of the season, as he completed the top 3, giving Tech 3 their first taste of champagne in Malaysia.

The championship moves on and heads back to Europe, where all is to play for in what is set to be some of the most high-pressured racing of the season. Who will be the winner of an incredible championship?

Image by: MotoGP

The Malaysian MotoGP gets underway this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2017 season, at Sepang, approximately 35 miles away from the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. Since the switch back to 1000cc motorcycles, Dani Pedrosa has won three times from five races, although last season, it was Italian and current championship challenger, Andrea Dovizioso who took honours. The Malaysian GP has been hosted at three venues in total: the current Sepang circuit since 1999, Johor in 1998 and Shah Alam from 1991-1997. Marc Marquez comes into the weekend with a 33 point lead, after a disastrous Australian GP for rival Dovizioso. This means that a finish in the top two will be enough for Marc Marquez to win the championship, regardless of what ‘Dovi’ does.

With Marquez leading the championship by 33 points, he has to be favourite to take the championship, whether it be in Malaysia or at Valencia in Spain. The Spaniard hasn’t been lower than 2nd since Misano and if you take out Silverstone, the last time he was off the podium would be at Mugello, in June. Marquez won the Malaysian GP in 2014 and also won the 125cc race at Sepang in 2010. However, Marquez crashed in 2015 after him and arch-rival Rossi came to blows and last season, he crashed but remounted to finish 11th. One mistake for Marquez could swing the championship wide open.

Andrea Dovizioso has a simple task: he must beat Marc Marquez by 9 points to keep the championship alive until the Valencian Grand Prix. A race winner at Sepang last season, Dovi has just two other podiums in the premier class at Sepang: in 2008, which was his first ever premier class podium and in 2010, when he was 2nd to Valentino Rossi. Dovizioso hasn’t had back-to-back finishes outside of the top 10 since 2002, at the Sachsenring and Brno. That is a record he will not want to update. Between 2010 and 2016, Dovizioso’s best finish at Sepang was 8th, so it is a track that he hasn’t particularly shone at in the past. Will that change this weekend?

Maverick Vinales returned to the podium at Phillip Island, having been missing from the top three positions since Silverstone in August. The Spaniard was 8th and 6th in 2015 and 2016 respectively at Sepang but will want to consolidate his podium pace this weekend. The last time he had back-to-back podiums was at Le Mans and Mugello, in the first third of the season. Vinales is a winner at Sepang too, taking victory back in 2011 – his first season of racing and his first visit to the track. He also won the Malaysian Moto2 race in 2014 so that proves that he could be a race winner this weekend as well. If he was to win, he’d be the first ever premier class winner at Sepang who has also won a Moto2 race. Vinales can’t mathematically win the championship but he could be just as big an upset.

Valentino Rossi’s heroic ride to 2nd in Australia was his first podium since Silverstone. ‘The Doctor’ hasn’t had back-to-back podiums since the opening three races of the season, an incredible statistic given Valentino still holds 4th in the championship. He has won at Sepang a total of six times in the premier class and won at Shah Alam in 1997. Rossi made his GP debut in 1996 and that was also at Shah Alam, where he finished 6th. Yamaha haven’t had a race win at Sepang since Rossi won their in 2010 but they have also never had a 1-2 at the venue. Rossi is 31 points behind Vinales, meaning he needs to score 7 or more points than him to keep the race for 3rd in the title alive. He is 48 points behind Dovi, meaning nothing less than two wins in the final two races will give Rossi 2nd overall – an unlikely outcome.

Dani Pedrosa was demoted from 4th to 5th in the standings after a dire Australian GP, in which he was 12th. It was the 3rd time in 2017 that Pedrosa had finished a race outside of the top 10, eliminating him from the championship race. Pedrosa has won three times in the past five races at Sepang, making him a hot favourite this weekend. A win for Pedrosa would match Valentino Rossi’s current record of six wins at Sepang. The last time Honda had a double podium was in 2013, a performance they will seek to repeat. Dani Pedrosa hasn’t had back-to-back finishes outside of the top 10 since Donington Park and the Sachsenring in 2001 and he will not want to update that fact. Pedrosa is 14 points behind Rossi.

Johann Zarco has won at Sepang twice, in 2015 and 2016 in Moto2. He was the first rider since Hiroshi Aoyama to achieve this feat. If Zarco was to get on the podium on Sunday, he would be the first Frenchman to stand on a premier class podium at the Malaysian GP since the event started back in 1991. The reigning double Moto2 champion is yet to DNF since the Qatari Grand Prix at the start of the season and has finished every Malaysian GP since 2013 in the points. Tech 3 haven’t had a podium at Sepang in MotoGP, with their best result being 4th, with Ben Spies, back in 2010.

Jorge Lorenzo somehow retains 7th in the championship, despite the Spaniard finishing 15th at the Australian GP. Lorenzo has never won a premier class race at Sepang and will be hoping to become the 4th Ducati rider to win in Malaysia, joining Capirossi, Stoner and Dovizioso. Lorenzo did however win the 2006 250cc race, although that is his only win at the circuit.

Danilo Petrucci missed a huge opportunity to close in on Lorenzo at Phillip Island, with his dire 21st place finish. Petrucci hasn’t had back-to-back finishes outside of the points since Catalunya and Silverstone in 2012, his first season of GP racing. Petrucci was 10th at Sepang last year and 6th in 2015. Teammate Scott Redding has finished every Malaysian GP in the points since 2011 and will yearn for that run to continue.

Cal Crutchlow is 9th in the championship and his 5th place in Australia helped him close in on the battle for 7th overall. Crutchlow has never scored a podium at Sepang and his last back-to-back top 5 finishes came at Aragon and Motegi last season. His best result at the Malaysian GP remains a 5th, from 2015.

10th place in the championship belongs to Jonas Folger but once more, he isn’t racing due to his virus. Michael van der Mark gets his long-awaited opportunity to ride a premier class MotoGP prototype machine and is the German’s replacement this weekend. The Dutchman has been to Sepang before, on a World Superbike Honda Fireblade, where he achieved a 7th and 6th last season and a 5th in 2015.

The factory Aprilia team will be hoping for a change of luck this weekend, as their lead rider, Aleix Espargaro, recovers with a fractured hand and does not take part. That means all eyes will be on Sam Lowes, who has a best result of 13th at Sepang, back in 2015. Last year, Aprilia had a 7th place finish from a row three start, with Alvaro Bautista.

Andrea Iannone’s return to form over the last two GPs have been a welcome return to form for Suzuki too. Iannone hasn’t finished three consecutive races in the top 10 since Brno, the Red Bull Ring and the Sachsenring last year. Suzuki in turn haven’t had three double-top-10s on the bounce since Mugello, Le Mans and Jerez last season.

KTM come off the back of an incredible Australian Grand Prix, where they had their first ever double-top 10. The Austrian manufacturer will be looking to achieve their first back-to-back double-top 10s and possibly even break into the top 8 for the first time ever. Pol Espargaro will be looking to continue his run of top 11 placings and Bradley Smith will hope to achieve his first back-to-back top 10 since Losail and Termas de Rio Hondo in 2016.

Aspar Ducati will be looking to have a change of fortunes after a difficult Australian GP, endured by all Ducati teams. It was the first time Alvaro Bautista had finished a race outside of the points since Brno last year. If he finishes outside of the points again at Sepang, it will be the first time since Austria and the Czech Republic last season that he has done it on consecutive occasions. Karel Abraham was 14th at Phillip Island and has a best finish of 10th at Sepang, back in 2012.

Marc VDS made a welcome return to form at Phillip Island – or one of their riders did. Jack Miller lead the opening laps at home in Australia to the delight of the 36,000 people trackside. His 7th place meant he kept hold of 12th in the championship. Tito Rabat will be hoping to get his first top 10 of the season at Sepang. He won in Moto2 in 2014 and was 3rd in 2015.

Last but by no means least, Avintia Ducati come to Sepang in search of returning to point scoring ways. Both riders were in the top 5 last season, with Barbera beating Baz. The last time the team failed to finish a race in the points on two consecutive occasions was in 2014, at Aragon and Misano.

The championship could be won this weekend with Marc Marquez looking odds on to wrap it up, now he has a 33 point lead. However, as we have seen in British Superbikes this season, a 33 point lead could be slashed if bad luck falls in order. Vinales, Rossi and Pedrosa could all be massive championship upsets on Sunday and after a hardcore ride at Phillip Island, Johann Zarco will be more determined than ever before to mount the podium, after coming so close Down Under. What the weather will do on race day is another question? Could the heavens open and give us a championship fight or will we see Andrea Dovizioso’s championship dreams become drowned out? Time will tell.

Marc Marquez took his sixth win of the year and his second ever in Australia after a frantic Phillip Island race on Sunday. The Spaniard broke clear of an eight-man scrap for the win in the final laps to take to the top step of the rostrum. It was a disastrous race for title rival Andrea Dovizioso, as the Italian suffered an early run off and was only able to fight back to 13th. It leaves Marquez now 33 points ahead in the points table. Valentino Rossi took second – his first podium since Silverstone – as he came out on top of the fight for the podium, with teammate Maverick Viñales taking third. Viñales is now out of the Championship fight, 50 points back with two rounds to go. Two wins for Vinales and two DNFs for Marquez would not be enough for the Yamaha man to take the crown, as he would only draw level on points. Marquez would win on count back of victories.

It was Marquez who got the initial lead into turn one, however he couldn’t retain it into The Southern Loop as a sensational start from Jack Miller from the middle of row two saw the home-hero carve his way through into the lead before pulling the pin and bolting off at the front. Viñales was the man in third on the charge, as he tried to keep his title hopes alive. As an incredible first lap concluded, the next big drama was into Doohan’s at the start of lap two, when Dovizioso and whole host of other riders went wide, leaving the Italian down in 20th.

A huge chain of eight riders closed in on Miller in the lead. Rossi and Viñales were the first to get through, straddling the Marc VDS Honda on both sides down the Gardner Straight. A lead group of Marquez, Viñales, Rossi, Andrea Iannone and Johann Zarco began to fight it out. The group was cut down to seven riders in the chasing pack, as Aleix Espargaro crashed out at turn 1, putting him out of the race and also, out of the forthcoming Malaysian GP.

Here were just some of the battles: Marquez vs Rossi, Zarco vs Rossi, Viñales vs Marquez, Iannone vs Zarco…in one of the most aggressive and hard-fought battles of the century, the passes came thick and fast, each, just as aggressive as the previous.

Zarco was one of the most flamboyant and outstanding. After tagging the rear of Marquez at Honda hairpin, he forced Valentino Rossi out wide at the exact same corner. A few laps later, the Tech 3 Yamaha man powered around the outside of Maverick Vinales at Doohan’d, a 140mph sweeping first corner. Zarco continued to show his front wheel, going side-by-side with Valentino Rossi and leaving rubber marks on the Italian as they went through the Hayshed corner, on the charge up Lukey Heights. Valentino was also run wide by arch-rival Marc Marquez, as the two contacted on the exit of The Southern Loop, costing Rossi another place as Iannone passed him too.

Once Marquez was in the lead, however, the reigning champion was able to start pulling a gap with five laps to go. As the battle for 2nd raged on behind, the Repsol Honda rider began to sprint off, leaving the fight to get on the podium to three riders on the final laps: Rossi vs Viñales vs Zarco.

With some of the craziest and most desperate lines ever ridden around ‘The Island’, ‘The Doctor’ was able to win the scrap for 2nd. However, all three were neck and neck over the line. Over the line behind the nine-time world champion, it was Viñales just edging ahead of the Tech 3 of Zarco, taking third for a return to the podium but a concrete end to his chance of the title. Zarco’s fourth, however, confirmed him as Rookie of the Year, despite it not justifying the hardcore racing he displayed.

After Iannone got pushed back in the closing stages, Cal Crutchlow took fifth ahead of ‘The Maniac’, with early race leader Miller, rookie Alex Rins and both of the Red Bull KTMs completing the top ten; Pol Espargaro just pipping Bradley Smith. Dovizioso suffered late on after losing out in a drag to the line with both Scott Redding and Dani Pedrosa. Redding in turn was the top Ducati. Behind Dovi was Karel Abraham and fellow Ducati rider, Jorge Lorenzo, completing the top fifteen, compounding a terrible weekend for the Italian marque.

Sepang and Malaysia now beckon for the GP circus. Will we see another thriller to top off what have been some of the best ever fly-away Grand Prix in recent memory?

Image by MotoGP

MotoGP heads Down Under for round 16, as we go to the Australian Grand Prix, coming from the high-speed, high-stakes Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, near Ventnor, Victoria. The track oozes fast bends and long, sweeping corners, as well as dead-stop hairpins and undulations. After their battle in Japan, Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso will be looking to reignite their title fight and go head-to-head once more. Likewise, Maverick Vinales will want to give Yamaha something to cheer about as the manufacturer is still yet to win a race in the second half of 2017. Phillip Island has consistently hosted some of the best GPs over time and can also spring a few surprises. Last season, it was Cal Crutchlow who took the win and back in 2006, Marco Melandri took a surprise victory. Who will it be this time?

Marc Marquez’ championship lead has been whittled away after losing a last-lap last-corner battle with Andrea Dovizioso at Motegi. The Spaniard has a terrible form in Australia, finishing just one race in the premier class, of which he won, in 2015. A disqualification in 2013, crash in 2014 and likewise again last season place Marquez on the back foot going into the Australian Grand Prix. Marquez is one of just three Spaniards to win at Phillip Island in the premier class, the others being Alex Criville in 1997 and Jorge Lorenzo in 2013. Will be become the first Spaniard to win two?

Andrea Dovizioso will be desperate to prove a point at Phillip Island. The smooth Italian left it late to take victory in Japan but, like in Austria, he beat Marquez on the run to the line. Ducati as a manufacturer have enjoyed endless success in Australia, winning four races with Casey Stoner. ‘Dovi’ has also won at the circuit, back in the 125cc class in 2004. He was 4^th last season but 13^th the season before, whilst his last podium was back in 2011 on a Repsol Honda. He has just one other podium in 2007 in the 250cc class, finishing 3^rd.  In 2016, Marquez outscored Dovizioso in the last three races by the just three points. Will it be the same again this year?

Maverick Vinales is 41 points back of Marc Marquez and 30 behind Andrea Dovizioso. You’d have to say that it really is over for a championship challenge from the new Yamaha rider. Another disappointing result in Japan – where he was 9^th – now means that Vinales can’t hand more than 9 points to Marquez or more than 20 to Dovizioso if he is to remain in the championship race. Vinales was third at Phillip Island last season and 6^th in 2015, both results coming for Suzuki. He was a winner in Moto2 in 2014 and 2^nd in Moto3 in 2013. Vinales isn’t out of the title race just yet but it’d take bad luck to go the way of the two ahead. Anything is possible in GP racing.

Dani Pedrosa’s championship charge is now realistically over, as he is 74 points back off leading teammate, Marc Marquez. The Spaniard retired in Japan, meaning he must win every race and hope that Marquez picks up just one point from the remaining races. On top of that, Pedrosa doesn’t go well at Phillip Island, with his light body weight often being the reason he can’t generate heat into his tyres on an often cold track. Pedrosa didn’t start last season’s Australian GP and was 5^th in 2015. His best result was 2^nd, in 2013 but he’s never won in the premier class. Could he shock us all come Sunday?

Valentino Rossi mathematically can’t win the MotoGP championship in 2017, as he is now 76 points back of Marc Marquez with just 75 points left for the taking. Rossi has endured one of his most injury hit seasons of his career this year and of late, that has been detrimental to the Italian’s fall in form. He loves Phillip Island however, taking 2^nd last season, 4^th in 2015 and winning most recently, in 2014, as well as a podium in 2013. Rossi won every Australian Grand Prix from 2001-2005 and had won at the track in 1998 and 1999. ‘The Doctor’ is the only rider to have won more times than Casey Stoner at the venue and he will be looking to extend that margin this weekend, as he is out there purely to race.

Johann Zarco completes the top six in the standings. The Frenchman started from pole at Motegi before dropping back to 8^th in the closing stages – although he still finished top Yamaha. Tech 3 as a team have been successful at Phillip Island before, with a 3^rd place back in 2014, with Bradley Smith. Zarco hasn’t had a top five at the Australian Grand Prix since 2012 in Moto2 but did score a podium there in 2011. There has never been a French winner in the premier class at Phillip Island and the last time a French rider won at all in Grand Prix at Phillip Island was 2008, with Mike Di Meglio in the 125cc race. The last French rider to stand on the podium at Phillip Island in the premier class was Regis Laconi, also on a Yamaha, in 1999. The only other Frenchman to stand on a premier class podium at Phillip Island was Christian Sarron, in 1989. Could Zarco set the record straight?

Jorge Lorenzo is the 7^th rider in the standings. He has won at Phillip Island three times; once in MotoGP and twice in the 250cc class. Lorenzo finished 6^th in Japan and he hasn’t had back-to-back 6^th places since Donington Park and Assen in 2008. That is one record Jorge Lorenzo will not want to break.

Danilo Petrucci is closing in on Lorenzo for 7^th. Petrucci, currently 8^th, took his fourth podium of 2017 and will be hoping to make it five at Phillip Island. The Australian circuit is one of just two tracks at which Petrucci has finished every race in the points – the other is Valencia. His best result is 9^th, coming last season.

Cal Crutchlow has mixed memories of Phillip Island. The Brit, who is 9^th in the championship standings, won last year’s race – the first time a British rider had ever won the Australian Grand Prix in any class. However, he crashed out of 2^nd on the penultimate lap in 2014. He has one other podium, coming in 2012, when he was 3^rd.

Jonas Folger isn’t racing again this weekend. His seat is filled by Broc Parkes. The Australian has four World Supersport podiums to his name at the track as well as a 5^th way back in 2001 in WSBK, for NCR Ducati. He has never scored points at Phillip Island in his GP career.

Suzuki looked well and truly back in good shape at Motegi, taking 4^th and 5^th with Iannone and Rins. This was the first time Suzuki achieved a double top-5 placing in a GP since the 2016 Japanese GP, when Vinales was 3^rd and Aleix Espargaro was 4^th. Suzuki haven’t had back-to-back double top-5 placings since Brno and Misano in 2007, with John Hopkins and Chris Vermuelen.

KTM arrive in Australia, looking to improve on a mixed Japanese GP. They haven’t had all of their fielded bikes in the points since Misano. Both riders have scored podiums at Phillip Island at some point in their careers, with Smith scoring one in MotoGP. KTM have never raced at Phillip Island so we will get a better indication of their performance after practice.

Aprilia had a good Japanese GP, with Aleix Espargaro finishing 7^th and Sam Lowes finishing 13^th, a personal best for Lowes. It was the first time that both of their bikes had scored points in the same race since Valencia last year. Stefan Bradl scored a third row start for the manufacturer last season at Phillip Island and they will want the same again from their riders this season.

The Aspar Ducati team will want more from their riders at Phillip Island. Both failed to finish at Motegi and they haven’t had back-to-back non-point-scoring rides since Eugene Laverty and Nicky Hayden in 2015, at Malaysia and Valencia. Bautista has had a win and two podiums in the smaller classes but neither rider has finished higher than 5^th in the premier class.

Scott Redding’s difficult 2017 continued in Japan, when he finished 16^th and out of the points. He was 7^th at the Australian Grand Prix last year and has two podiums at Phillip Island from Moto2, in 2010 and 2012. His Moto2 championship challenge in 2013 came to an end at Phillip Island when he suffered a bad wrist injury, so he will want to make happier memories.

The Marc VDS Honda team are back to their normal line-up this weekend, with Jack Miller returning from injury for his home Grand Prix. Miller was 10^th in the race last season and won the Moto3 event in 2014. Tito Rabat has just one podium at Phillip Island back in 2014 in Moto2. That was also the last time he scored a point in Australia.

The Avintia Ducati team had both of their bikes in the points at Motegi, with Baz 10^th and Barbera 14^th. That was the first time since Silverstone, back in August. They haven’t had back-to-back double point-scoring rides since Losail and Termas de Rio Hondo at the start of the year. Baz has never scored a GP point at Phillip Island, although he was 2^nd in a WSBK race at the track in 2014. Barbera was 2^nd in the 250cc class in 2009 but that is his only podium. The Spaniard hasn’t scored a point at the track since he was 5^th there, in 2014. This is his best result in the premier class at the venue.

The championship can’t be decided this weekend but it could take a turn in either Dovizioso’s or Marquez’ direction. One mistake or bad weekend could prove costly to their title charge and allow the pendulum to swing in either direction. Maverick Vinales will be there to pick up the pieces if the two leading riders in the championship tangle. You can never discount Valentino Rossi at the Phillip Island circuit and just watch out for Danilo Petrucci, who could spring a surprise come race day.

Jonas Folger will miss the Japanese Grand Prix, having been flown back to Germany with a suspected virus. The rookie German said that he has been feeling weak since the San Marino GP and said that “even leaving the hotel room was impossible”.

“I came to Japan and was motivated for these three flyaway races, but I’ve been feeling really weak since the Misano and Aragon rounds. On arrival here, I have been struggling with my energy levels, even leaving the hotel room was impossible for me, and unfortunately, I had to miss some Yamaha events, which I’m very sorry for”, stated Folger – 10^th in the championship.

“I met with Hervé (Poncheral) on Wednesday night and we agreed to go for a check with the doctors this morning. I met with Dr Charte and the Clinica Mobile team and they have advised me to return to Germany right away for a series of blood tests”.

“I’ve had Epstein Barr virus in the past and it’s a possibility that this has flared up again and resurfaced but we can’t be sure until I’ve had these tests in Munich. I am sorry for my whole team and for Yamaha at their home race. I would like to thank them for all their support. Also, sorry to my personal sponsors, I appreciate them all standing by me at this difficult time. Now we must remain positive and aim to come back stronger.”

Folger’s absence means that his 10^th place in the championship could be under threat from Alvaro Bautista, who has scored a podium in the premier class before at Motegi, in 2012. The German will be replace by Kohta Nozane, a 20-year-old Japanese rider, who described the call-up as “a big surprise” and that he “can’t believe” he will be racing at the Japanese GP.

Image by: Yamaha Racing

Maverick Vinales has declared that he and his Yamaha team must keep fighting in the championship battle, even though his chances of title victory took another blow at Aragon. The Spaniard finished 4th once more, handing more points to Marc Marquez. This means that the next four races are crucial for Maverick, who hasn’t won since Le Mans, in May.

“The next Grand Prix, held in Japan, is very special for me since it’s one of my favourites of the season and it’s also the home race of Yamaha. I hope to do a good job and be able to collect more points for the championship, which is crucial to continue fighting for the title”, began Vinales, ahead of the Japanese GP – an event at which he finished 3rd in last season.

“For the next races we have to try to work even more than usual. We have to keep fighting and working with high motivation, even though it will not be easy to complete the last part of the season and bridge the gap between the championship leader and me”, he said. Vinales is 28 points behind Marquez in the championship.

“I will try to work even harder and I arrive in Japan with the aim to learn and be even stronger. I’m convinced that, with the support of the amazing fans at the Motegi circuit, we will be able to give our 100%.”

Whilst taking four podiums at the Motegi circuit, Vinales has never won. That is one statistic he will want to change for 2017 and also for the good of his championship credentials.

Image by: Yamaha Racing

The 15^th round of the MotoGP championship season comes from Motegi in Japan, with the title still all to play for, unlike last year when Marc Marquez had his first chance to win the title. The Twin Ring Motegi circuit has been on the calendar since 2000 and has been home to the Japanese Grand Prix since 2004. Marc Marquez has won at the track on just one occasion in the premier class – last season – but Honda have won a total of five times, with Yamaha and Ducati winning four times. It promises to be a great weekend of racing, as well a potential turning point in the championship – although it mathematically can’t be won.

Marc Marquez has won the last two races in 2017 at Misano and Aragon. Marquez hasn’t won three on the bounce since Assen, Sachsenring and Indianapolis in 2014, a staggering statistic for someone who has took 18 wins and two titles since then. The 24-year-old has not finished outside the top five at Motegi since 2009 and has taken two other victories at the venue – one in the 125cc class in 2010 and one in Moto2 in 2012. Marquez will be hoping to extend his championship lead to above 25 points, which not only gives him a race-in-hand over the opposition but also gives him a shot at the title at Phillip Island.

Andrea Dovizioso had a terrible Aragon and haemorrhaged 16 points to Marquez. Dovi knows he has to take points back out of Marquez in Japan to have any realistic chance of the championship. With the exception of Casey Stoner in 2010, all of Ducatis wins in Japan have come from an Italian rider. Dovizioso – who has taken four wins in 2017 – finished 2^nd to Marquez last year, whilst finishing 5^th in 2015. The 31-year-old has taken two pole positions at Motegi in the premier class, in 2010 and 2014. His worst result was 2013 with 10^th but apart from that and 9^th in 2008, he has never finished outside the top 5 at Motegi. Could Sunday be a Dovizioso and Ducati success story?

Maverick Vinales is really on the back-foot as we approach Japan, with him giving more points to Marquez last time out at Aragon. Vinales hasn’t won since Le Mans and his last podium was Silverstone and before that it was Brno. Vinales was third last year on the Suzuki at Motegi, although he failed to finish in 2015. Vinales has never actually finished a race at Motegi outside the top four but at the same time, he hasn’t won at the Japanese venue. Yamaha’s last win came in 2014 with Jorge Lorenzo, despite taking pole position for the last two seasons. The rival Japanese manufacturer will be desperate to reignite their title fight with a win in Honda’s backyard.

Dani Pedrosa was the winner of the Japanese GP in 2015, coming from eight seconds behind to beat Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard hasn’t had back-to-back 2^nd places since COTA and Termas de Rio Hondo in 2014 so a 2^nd in Japan would update that statistic. Pedrosa didn’t start the race in Japan last season but was a winner at the track in 2011 and 2012. He has two other wins in the smaller classes too – in the 125cc class in 2002 and in 2004 in 250s. A podium for Pedrosa would give him 9 for the season, his highest since scoring 10 in 2014. Pedrosa must finish 11^th or higher to remain in with a chance of winning the title this year, although realistically, he could do with beating teammate Marquez.

Valentino Rossi caused an earthquake when he announced he would be racing at Aragon and he triggered even bigger aftershocks after running 2^nd for almost 50% of the race. Eventually finishing 5^th, Rossi has been hard in training at his ranch to try and speed up his recovery. Going into Japan, the Italian is two points shy of Dani Pedrosa and is 56 points behind series leader Marquez. The 38-year-old veteran has won at Motegi just twice, in 2001 and 2008. He has achieved 9 other podiums however and will be hoping to repeat his pole position success of last year. ‘The Doctor’ has crashed out of the Japanese GP three times in the premier class and will surely be hoping not to do the same as last year. Rossi must finish 9^th or higher to have a mathematical chance of the title but in reality, he just needs to take as many points off his rivals as possible.

Johann Zarco continues to hold onto 6^th place in the championship. Zarco has finished every race this season, with the exception of the Qatari GP where he crashed out the lead. Whilst that statistic may be impressive, Zarco’s last top five was in Austria and he has only had one podium finish – at home at Le Mans. The Frenchman took his first ever GP win at Motegi in 2011 and also won the Moto2 race at the track in 2015. A French rider has never won in the premier GP class in Japan at any circuit. Could Zarco break that record? He is 51 points off Valentino Rossi’s 5^th place in the championship and mathematically can’t win the championship, relieving Zarco of any pressure, so he can attack fully in the final four races.

Jorge Lorenzo is the 2^nd Ducati rider in the championship. He hasn’t taken back-to-back podiums since Sepang and Valencia last season and will be itching to use the Ducati’s horsepower at Motegi, as the circuit hosts four long straights. Lorenzo has won at Motegi three times and has taken four other podiums. Could Jorge take a win this weekend?

Aprilia’s hopes of a good weekend will be sky-high after finishing the closest to a race win ever at Aragon last time out. Aleix Espargaro was 6^th and will be looking to give Aprilia their first ever top 5. Sam Lowes’ season has been a difficult one, so he will be looking to finish in the points for only a 2^nd time this year. He hasn’t had a top 20 ride since the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The factory Suzuki team have had a disastrous 2017 campaign. Andrea Iannone didn’t ride at Motegi last year and hasn’t finished a race at Motegi since 2014, where he was 6^th. Alex Rins hasn’t had a top 10 at Motegi since 2014 but apart from that and a 4^th in 2012, he hasn’t had any other top 10s. It may be another tricky weekend for Suzuki at home.

KTM continue to impress – in the Pol Espargaro corner anyway. Pol is level on points with Iannone going into the Japanese round, on 37 points. Since Assen, every race Espargaro has finished has been in the points. Bradley Smith however will be feeling the pressure, especially after wildcard Mika Kallio beat him again at Aragon. Smith last scored points at Misano, finishing 10^th, which is so far his best finish for KTM. Neither KTM rider has finished inside the top five before at Motegi in the premier class.

Danilo Petrucci is top independent team rider, in 8^th place. Petrucci endured a disastrous weekend at Aragon, finishing 20^th. It is the first time since Aragon in 2016 that he has finished a race outside of the points. The last time it happened in back-to-back GPs was in 2012, at Catalunya and Silverstone – his rookie season. Teammate Scott Redding finished ahead of Petrucci for the first time since Phillip Island last season (calculated on the basis that both riders have finished the race). Redding has finished every race since Brno in the points and will be looking to extend that run to Motegi, where his best finish so far is 9^th, achieved last year.

Cal Crutchlow did not capitalise on Petrucci’s dire weekend at Aragon, as he crashed out whilst inside the top 10. The Brit’s best result at Motegi is a 5^th from last season, although he retired from a podium battle with Alvaro Bautista in the closing stages of the 2012 race, after running out of fuel. Crutchlow has finished the last two Japanese GPs in the top six, although he didn’t finish in 2014.

Jonas Folger is 10^th in the standings, making all four Yamahas appear in the top 10 places of the championship. The German was 2^nd in the 2015 Moto2 race at the track and 3^rd in 2013 in the Moto3 class. A German rider has never scored a podium in the premier class at any Japanese GP. Could Folger set that record straight?

The Aspar Team have Alvaro Bautista in 11^th and Karel Abraham in 18^th in the championship; both riders have achieved a podium at Motegi at some point in their careers. Alvaro was 7^th last season at Motegi and took a podium for the Gresini Honda team in 2012. Karel Abraham has only finished one premier class race in Japan and that was in 2012 but he was 3^rd in 2010, in the Moto2 class.

Jack Miller is next up in 12^th but isn’t racing this weekend due to a broken leg. He is replaced by Hiroshi Aoyama, who finished 2^nd at Motegi in the 250cc class in 2009. He finished 15^th in the premier class last year. Tito Rabat on the other side of the garage has been more impressive of late. He has a best result of 3^rd at Motegi, back in 2014.

Loris Baz and Hector Barbera are the last riders left to cover. Baz has confirmed he will leave the GP paddock after this year, therefore this will be his last race at Motegi. The Frenchman has never scored a point in Japan. Barbera was 17^th last year, as a replacement rider in the factory Ducati team. His best result in Japan in the premier class has been 9^th, in wet conditions two years ago.

Whatever happens at Motegi, it promises to be a pivotal race in the championship. Will Marquez be able to escape the attentions of his rivals or will they hunt him down and narrow the point’s gap at the front? Could weather play a part in proceedings? It has done before. Will we see Aprilia and KTM up the sharper end again, like at Aragon? Of course, it could be another frantic race, which will be just as unpredictable as others have already this season. We will have to wait and find out.

• Race Record (Considered lap circuit record): 1.45.350 – Jorge Lorenzo, 2015, Yamaha
• Fastest Lap (Any timed session) 1.43.790 – Jorge Lorenzo, 2014, Yamaha
• Top Speed – Andrea Iannone, 2015, 314.3kmh/195.29mph

Aprilia finished closer to a victory than ever before in the premier class, just under seven seconds away from Marc Marquez on Sunday at Aragon. Aleix Espargaro used a good qualifying position to give him an advantage late on in the race, with the Aprilia once again demonstrating how user-friendly its tyres are.

“I think everyone had fun today! It is not often that so many riders are so close all the way to the chequered flag in MotoGP”, began an elated Aleix Espargaro, picking up his second 6th place of the season.

“It was a hard race, but I liked it. At a certain point, I thought that I might be able to have a go at fourth place with Valentino and Maverick but when there were only a few laps left, they picked up their pace and I had to settle”, continued the Spaniard – who took his only premier class podium at Aragon in 2014.

Aleix Espargaro’s result means that he leaps to 14th in the championship, just three points behind 12th, occupied by Jack Miller.

“I any case, I am satisfied with the sixth place finish, but especially with the gap behind the winner. We are improving constantly and we demonstrate this basically every weekend. Unfortunately, we have been lacking consistent race results”, said Aleix, highlighting that top six positions need to be happening on a more regular basis.

“In any case, we still have four rounds to go on tracks that I really like, so I want to finish this season well”.

Image by: MotoGP