MotoGP 2016 Jerez Preview

So Jorge Lorenzo’s move from the factory Yamaha team to the factory Ducati team is now old news. Maverick Vinales appears set to abandon the Suzuki team to take Lorenzo’s place. We don’t know which of the current Andreas laboring for Ducati will be dislodged next year, but Sam Lowes has been tagged to move up from Moto2 to unseat either Alvaro Bautista or Stefan Bradl on the Gresini Aprilia. Dani Pedrosa’s seat with Repsol Honda appears to be in play; Suzuki is said to covet him or Andrea Dovizioso for 2017-18. With several up-and-comers expected to graduate from Moto2 along with Lowes – Alex Rins and Johann Zarco first and foremost – the silly season is becoming more interesting than the 2016 championship season itself.

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Duke's Den - My Tour Of Racetracks Around the World: Part 4

In recognition of National Motorcycle Awareness Month, I’m going to link to my editorial from 12 months ago because I can’t think of much else to say about it.

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MotoGP 2015 Jerez Results

In the run-up to today’s Spanish Grand Prix, several things were clear. Defending world champion Marc Marquez would be riding wounded with a broken left pinkie. Jorge Lorenzo, dominating the practice sessions, had that look in his eye reminiscent of 2010, 2012 and late 2014. The Ducatis were having a tough time getting anything going in the Spanish heat. And Valentino Rossi had a great chance to secure his 200th career podium.

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MotoGP 2015 Jerez Preview

First it was Dani Pedrosa, after a disappointing season opener in Qatar, announcing that his chronic arm pump issues would require immediate surgery, keeping him out of the saddle indefinitely. Then, just the other day, we learn that teammate and Supreme Intergalactic Potentate Marc Marquez smashed the little finger on his left hand to bits in training, necessitating a delicate surgery and some hurry-up physio. Pedrosa is out, and Marquez has been deemed “questionable” for Round 4 this weekend. Several Italians smell blood in the water.

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MotoGP 2014 Jerez Results

On a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon in southern Spain, Marc Marquez took care of business, becoming the first polesitter to win in Jerez since Nicky Hayden in 2006. He is the first rider to win the first four races of the season since Valentino Rossi in 2002. He checked off Jerez on his list of Tracks Where I’ve Won Races, the last venue on the 2014 tour to make the list. He is undefeated since clinching the world championship at Valencia in 2013. In short, at age 21, he is the bomb-diggity of the MotoGP world.

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MotoGP 2014 Jerez Preview

In order to understand what we are currently witnessing in MotoGP, it is necessary to examine some semi-recent history in Formula 1 racing. (You know, the four-wheel set.) I am reluctant to do this, in that I believe contraptions with four wheels should be going 400 mph to match the terror of traveling 200 mph on two wheels, which F1 most certainly does not. But a short primer on F1 between 2000 and 2004 will shed some light on what we may have to look forward to for the next few seasons.

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Weekend Awesome – Aleix Espargaro, MotoGP's Star in the Making?

The opening round of the 2014 MotoGP Championship takes place this weekend and after the first two days of practice at Doha, one rider has stood out, topping the time sheets in the first three Free Practice sessions: Aleix Espargaro.

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