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MotoMatters.com is delighted to feature the work of iconic MotoGP writer Mat Oxley. Oxley is a former racer, TT winner and highly respected author of biographies of world champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, and currently writes for Motor Sport Magazine, where he is MotoGP correspondent. We will be featuring sections of Oxley's blogs, posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website, over the coming months.

The race to arm MotoGP’s private teams with higher-performance CRT bikes is gathering pace. Last summer Honda announced that they will sell a lower-cost version of their RC213V and then two months ago Yamaha confirmed that they will lease YZR-M1 engines from 2014. At Le Mans the whisper going round the paddock was that Aprilia are working on a pneumatic-valve spring cylinder head for their RSV4 CRT engine, which could be ready by September.

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after an exhilarating French Grand Prix in Le Mans:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after the first day of practice at Le Mans:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams after the one-day test at Jerez:

Press releases from the Moto2 and Moto3 teams after Sunday's races at Jerez:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after the first day of practice at Jerez:

Press releases from the Moto2 and Moto3 teams after the first day of practice at Jerez:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after the first day of practice at Austin:

Press release previews ahead of this weekend's MotoGP round at Austin, Texas:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after Sunday's race at Qatar:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after qualifying for the race at Qatar:

Happiness: entering a corner knowing the bike will exit where you plan to

The Terminator. Lorenzo's lap times are as machine-like as ever

So far, the 04 is doing better than the 46. Dovizioso is surprising a few people

Stefan Bradl - only 10th fastest, but not for a lack of trying

The MotoGP class of 2013

Their steeds, an eclectic mix of machinery

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone ahead of the 2013 season opener at Qatar:

Every year, about now, there is one phrase which you will hear over and over again. With MotoGP testing behind us, and the start of the season imminent, every race fan chants the same mantra: "This could be the best MotoGP season ever!" Reality tends to intervene rather quickly, and the races never seem to pan out the way race fans had been hoping. Intriguing? Yes. Entertaining? Often. Thrilling? Not nearly as often as hoped.

And yet there is a genuine chance that this year could be different. Events inside MotoGP have been converging to a point which promises to see a return to the thrills of a previous era in MotoGP, one in which epic battles were fought out on the old 990cc machines. Though the days of tire-smoking action are long gone - killed off forever by the insistence of the factories that electronics must continue to play a major role in premier class racing - the battles could be back.

The ingredients which will spice up MotoGP? Two men, well matched in talent and in equipment - though both would dispute the latter claim, saying the other bike holds the upper hand. A grand old champion, returning to a bike he understands and knows he can ride and keen to prove he has not lost his edge. A fast young upstart, a fearless - some would say reckless - challenger, brimming with self-belief, overflowing with talent, and spoiling to make his mark. A talented underdog, a bull terrier desperate to get his teeth into the front runners, and bristling with resentment at the lack of factory support he believes he deserves. A stricken factory, fallen from its former glory, and determined to make amends, starting on the long road to recovering what it believes is its rightful place at the front. And a gaggle of young riders - some younger than others - determined to claim their place in the spotlights, and preferably on the podium.