MotoGP

Alex Marquez says his switch to the LCR Honda squad for the 2021 MotoGP season won’t be like “starting from zero” as he already knows the team well. The 2019 Moto2 world champion tested for LCR in Valencia last year ahead of his factory team debut in 2020, and will work with ex-Cal Crutchlow crew

Double MotoGP race winner Danilo Petrucci admits he is “happy” Ducati “fired me” when it did, as it allowed him to secure a ride with KTM at Tech3 for 2021. Petrucci was handed his marching orders from Ducati before the coronavirus-delayed 2020 season got underway, with Pramac’s Jack Miller taking his place for 2021. The

Yamaha says it is “confident” in the reliability of its engines for the 2021 MotoGP season, having been hampered early in 2020 by technical issues. The Japanese marque suffered mechanical issues on several of its engines across the Jerez weekends in July, with Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales and Franco Morbidelli all losing units to problems.

Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis says Valentino Rossi will be a “very important part” in the development of the 2021 MotoGP bike despite his switch to Petronas SRT. After 15 seasons together, Rossi’s time at the factory Yamaha squad came to an end at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign, with the nine-times grand prix world

Franco Morbidelli says he “can’t hide” the fact Yamaha’s decision to give him the older-spec MotoGP bike at the start of 2020 made him feel the weakest of its riders. The Petronas SRT rider was due to ride current-spec machinery in 2020, but ahead of pre-season testing Yamaha decided to keep him on what it

Incoming Pramac Ducati MotoGP rider Johann Zarco says he was forced to “make up for lost time” in 2020, which he links to his “inconsistent” campaign with Esponsorama Racing. Zarco signed directly to Ducati to join Esponsorama Racing (formerly Avintia) for 2020, having walked away from his two-year KTM factory deal following a tough opening

Three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo was a finalist on Spain’s version of the celebrity talent show the Masked Singer. Lorenzo contested the show dressed as a giant raven, sailing through the early rounds with the renditions of J Balvin’s ‘Morado’ and the Dire Straits hit ‘Walk of Life’. The former Yamaha, Ducati and Honda

Fabio Quartararo says Yamaha riders need to “believe” the marque can cure the problems which plagued its 2020 MotoGP campaign and cost it a chance at the world title. Yamaha ended 2020 with the most wins of any manufacturer with seven, though three of those did come courtesy of Franco Morbidelli on the older-spec M1,

Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio says a decision on the Japanese manufacturer having a satellite MotoGP team for 2022 will have to be taken by April. Suzuki and Aprilia are the only manufacturers on the current MotoGP grid without a customer outfit, though Brivio has repeatedly expressed a desire for the Japanese manque to have

Yamaha MotoGP boss Lin Jarvis says he still thinks Jorge Lorenzo “would have been an excellent test rider” for Yamaha had his programme not been scuppered by COVID-19. Three-time MotoGP world champion Lorenzo returned to Yamaha in the winter following his retirement from racing at the end of 2019, but only tested the 2019 M1

Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio says the double-header races at one venue suited its MotoGP rivals more during the 2020 season. The 2020 MotoGP calendar was heavily revised owing to the coronavirus pandemic, with the scheduled shortened to 14 rounds from 20 and centred in Europe. Of the 14 rounds, five circuits – Jerez, Red

Cal Crutchlow believes MotoGP will “keep seeing these surprise winners” next season even if it is run under normal circumstances with a full calendar. For the second time in five seasons, nine different riders took to the top step of the podium in MotoGP in 2020, with Fabio Quartararo, Franco Morbidelli, Joan Mir, Brad Binder

Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti says the manufacturer will “treasure” its time in MotoGP with Andrea Dovizioso, but concedes there was a need to “turn the page”. Dovizioso announced in August he would not be renewing his deal with Ducati beyond 2020 as the relationship between the pair broke down during contract negotiations for 2021.

MotoGP world champion Joan Mir says he “didn’t need” Marc Marquez to validate his 2020 title win despite people still questioning the legitimacy of the Suzuki rider’s victory. Mir ended a 20-year wait for Suzuki last month when he won the MotoGP world championship at the Valencia Grand Prix. But Mir had to immediately field

The 2020 MotoGP season was run under difficult circumstances, but proved to be the most unpredictable and thrilling campaign in its history. The championship was blown wide open on the first weekend of the coronavirus-delayed season, when reigning world champion Marc Marquez crashed and broke his arm. Ultimately never returning to racing in 2020, a

KTM has announced it has re-signed Dani Pedrosa and Mika Kallio as its official MotoGP test riders for the 2021 season. Kallio has been a key part of KTM’s test team as it built up its MotoGP project, and gave the RC16 its race debut at the 2016 Valencia Grand Prix as well as making

Aleix Espargaro admits he is “very angry” with how his 2020 MotoGP season on the Aprilia went as the marque “never proved” it was close to the leading bikes. Aprilia overhauled its RS-GP MotoGP bike for the 2020 season, with Espargaro believing podium challenges were a possibility after strong showings in the Malaysia and Qatar

Franco Morbidelli says he doesn’t believe keeping his current Yamaha MotoGP bike for 2021 will be an advantage despite the problems of the 2020-spec M1. The Petronas SRT rider finished the 2020 season as top Yamaha rider in second in the standings with three wins, equal on victories with team-mate Fabio Quartararo despite riding the

Suzuki team boss David Brivio says the marque was “very worried” ahead of its full-time MotoGP return following a disastrous wildcard outing in Valencia in 2014. Suzuki quit MotoGP at the end of the 2011 season citing to financial problems, but was courted back for 2015 ahead of the series’ major rules overhaul surrounding electronics

Fausto Gresini has confirmed his squad will return to being an independent MotoGP team from 2022 and will no longer be Aprilia’s factory entrant. Gresini has been present as a satellite outfit since 1997 in the premier class and has registered 14 wins and 41 podiums in its time. After splitting with Honda at the

Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has been released from hospital in Madrid following a third operation on the arm he broke at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Honda rider crashed heavily in the latter stages of July’s season-opener at Jerez, breaking the humerus bone in his right arm, which required an immediate operation. He

Valentino Rossi says Yamaha’s Japanese engineers take on board feedback from its MotoGP riders, but tend to “do what they want” anyway with the bike. Yamaha scored the most wins of any manufacturer on the grid in 2020, with Fabio Quartararo and Petronas SRT team-mate Franco Morbidelli tallying up six, while factory team rider Maverick

MotoGP world champion Joan Mir says he “can’t wait to start to have battles” with Marc Marquez, but admits Suzuki needs to improve its speed to fight him. Mir ended a 20-year wait for Suzuki when he won the 2020 title with a race to spare in Valencia last month, having amassed seven podiums –

Pol Espargaro admits Honda’s tough start to the 2020 MotoGP season “didn’t bother me” as he knew from his experience with KTM he could turn the bike around. Honda suffered its first winless season in the premier class since it returned full-time in 1982, largely a result of six-time world champion Marc Marquez’s absence after

The first ever VR46 team livery on a MotoGP bike, which Valentino Rossi protege Luca Marini will race with in 2021 aboard the Esponsorama Racing Ducati, has been revealed. Ducati confirmed last month it had secured the signatures of 2020 Moto2 world champion Enea Bastianini and Moto2 runner-up Marini to join the Esponsorama squad (formally

Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez is “seeing the positives” following a third operation on his broken left arm, according to his brother Alex Marquez. The elder Marquez brother broke his right humerus bone in a heavy crash during the 2020 season-opening Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, which required surgery to fix a plate and

Cal Crutchlow says there was no official offer from Honda for a role in 2021, but says HRC wanted him to be a replacement rider for MotoGP and World Superbikes. Crutchlow’s full-time racing career has come to a close after electing to sign a test rider deal with Yamaha for 2021 having lost his LCR

Marc Marquez says Joan Mir has “deserved” his 2020 MotoGP title win as he was “the most regular” rider on the grid. Mir only won once in 2020, but tallied up a total of seven podiums – more than any other rider – and wrapped up the title with a race in hand, ending a

Fabio Quartararo says he wants to “have less emotion” within himself when things aren’t going his way, following a tough end to the 2020 MotoGP season. The incoming factory Yamaha rider won three times for Petronas SRT in 2020, but his title challenge crumbled after a tough run of races from the French Grand Prix

Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has admitted his attempt to return to action at Jerez just days after surgery on a broken right arm was “a mistake”. Marquez crashed heavily in the closing stages of the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, breaking the humerus bone in his right arm which required an operation