#motogp

For the longest time  Ducati was the only brand with winglets on their MotoGP bikes, but now they’re popping up like mushrooms.  Yamaha‘s machinery has been sporting them most of this season, and now  Honda just tested six, yes six of them, on Marquez’ bike in the Jerez test that took place yesterday.

Since MotoGP is the cutting edge of motorcycle technology, even with the new restrictions aimed at cost reduction, any time we can get a glimpse into the rarefied world of making motorcycles go – and stop – faster is an opportunity to be savored. In first part of Brembo’s Secrets of Braking in MotoGP series, we learn the reasoning behind the move to 340 mm discs on MotoGP bikes. We hope you find it as fascinating as we did.

Just when we thought we knew what to expect from the 2016 MotoGP season, today happened. The practice sessions leading up to the (first of four) Spanish Grand Prix found the factory Yamaha team consistently at or near the top of the charts. Repsol Honda wonderkid Marc Marquez was competitive while struggling with rear grip. Valentino Rossi waited until the last lap of Q2 to lay down the fastest lap of the weekend, for his first Jerez pole since 2005. Today, The Doctor made a house call on Jorge Lorenzo, “administering a dose of his own medicine” in winning at Jerez for the first time since 2009.

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.

The worst kept secret in the MotoGP paddock has finally been let out: Jorge Lorenzo will make the move to Ducati starting in 2017. Both Ducati and Yamaha released statements today, the former announcing it had reached an agreement with the Spanish rider, the latter confirming that Lorenzo would be parting ways with the Japanese marque whom he started his MotoGP career with in 2008. While we don’t know the exact reasons Lorenzo decided to make the move, I offered up 10 reasons of my own last week.

The worst kept secret in the MotoGP paddock is that current champ Jorge Lorenzo is jumping ship to Ducati for 2017. Several media outlets have already announced the move as a done deal, though as I write this neither Bologna nor Lorenzo have said anything – yet. There’s a lot of risk involved should George make the move, not least of which is utter failure should the move not bear fruit, but I think the switch is a good idea. Here are 10 reasons why.

As the pinnacles of technology and performance in their respective fields, you can’t get any more advanced than MotoGP and Formula 1 in the motorcycle and automotive worlds, respectively. And when pitted against each other, a Formula 1 car will smoke a MotoGP machine. Interestingly, there are only two circuits that play host to both series – the Sepang circuit in Malaysia and the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Information provided by Brembo – brake provider for both MotoGP and Formula 1 – gives us some interesting insights into the dynamics at play during a lap of COTA for both machines.

After an exhausting, confusing and ultimately revelatory weekend in Argentina, MotoGP boogies 4500 miles north to Austin, deep in the heart of Texas, for Round 3 of the 2016 season. Since its inception in 2013, the pretentiously-named Circuit of the Americas has hosted an annual Honda clambake, the other teams invited mostly to fill the grid and add to the festival atmosphere. Repsol Honda pretty boy Marc Marquez has started and won from pole all three years, and looks ready to do the same on Sunday.

Cast your vote for who’s gonna win this week’s MotoGP race in Austin. Hint: Marc Marquez has won every MotoGP race held at COTA since the track’s Grand Prix debut in 2013. Can he make it 4 in a row?

Think you know your MotoGP racing history? Take this short quiz and prove your worth!

After a convincing performance in the Qatari desert two weeks ago, defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo confronts one of his demons this week. The Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina, running as usual at the shiny new-ish Termas de Río Hondo, operates outside of Lorenzo’s Land. One of five venues on the 2016 calendar where Lorenzo has yet to taste victory in the premier class (quick – name the other four*), Lorenzo will have his work cut out for him this weekend. *COTA, The Sachsenring, Red Bull Ring and Sepang.

The 2016 Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar marked the beginning of a new era in MotoGP, that of Michelin tires and standard electronics across the grid. In the run-up to the race, hopes that some new faces would emerge from the pack and find their way to the podium had been soaring. Under the lights of Losail, however, defending champion Jorge Lorenzo held serve for Yamaha against a strong challenge from Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez; the Usual Suspects had once again asserted their dominance of the sport.

In a quirky, fun video Alpinestars asks its racers from a variety of racing disciplines if they’re fast. Which… of course they are. The second video is a self-promotional thing, but it has some cool MotoGP footage including crashes, where Alpinestars gear helped keep the crasher safe.

To the surprise of no one, Jorge Lorenzo set the fast time in the first outing of the 2016 MotoGP season at Losail. Rossi was right behind with Iannone rounding out the top three. Maverick Viñales continues to show impressive speed in fifth, while the two factory Repsol Honda riders only managed 7th and 8th for Pedrosa and Marquez, respectively.

Here we are again, nosing around the garage area and the vicinity of the start/finish line, anticipating a full new season of MotoGP. Everyone is optimistic. Everyone is putting their best foot forward. The power brokers, the likes of Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis and Honda’s Livio Suppo, are maintaining low profiles, keeping their powder dry in case – this probably of more concern to Suppo than Jarvis – their 2016 project turns out to be a dumpster fire.