Assen, The Netherlands

Franco Morbidelli Signs Two-Year MotoGP Deal With Marc VDS

Submitted by David Emmett on

As had been widely trailed, Franco Morbidelli has signed a two-year with the Marc VDS squad to move up to MotoGP. The deal will see the Italian take the place of Tito Rabat inside the Marc VDS team for the next two years, with an option to sign on for a third.

Morbidelli had also been under consideration for a ride with Ducati, but the relationship the Italian had built up with the team proved decisive.

With Morbidelli signed, the focus will now switch to the second seat in the Marc VDS squad. Jack Miller is still the favorite for that seat, the Australian currently in talks with the team. Miller's priority is to secure the best package available, however. The outcome of those talks will depend on what Honda can offer Marc VDS in that regard.

Below is the press release from the Marc VDS team:

Morbidelli to step up to MotoGP with Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS

Franco Morbidelli will step up to the premier MotoGP category in 2018, after agreeing a contract extension with Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS in Assen today.

Morbidelli, who leads the Moto2 World Championship, will remain with Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS for a further two years. The agreement reached today also includes an option for a third year, should the Italian wish to continue with the team for the 2020 MotoGP season.

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2017 Assen MotoGP Saturday Round Up: Weird Grids, Hot Tires, And Team Troubles

Submitted by David Emmett on

Motorcycle racing is an outdoor sport. The riders are at the mercy of the elements. Not just the riders, but the teams and factories too. A bike that works well in the dry may be terrible in the wet. A bike that is strong in the wet may struggle when conditions were mixed. Finding the right balance when conditions change can throw the best laid plans into disarray.

All of these questions were multiplied by the weather at Assen. With nothing between the circuit and the North Sea but a row of sand dunes, the odd high rise office block, and a hundred kilometers of pancake-flat farmland punctuated by the occasional tree, the wind, sun, and rain blow out just as quickly as they blow in. The weather at Assen is as fickle as a pretty teenager in a crowded disco.

That made it tough for MotoGP at the Dutch circuit. Searching for the right setup was both perilously difficult and ultimately futile, for as soon as you found something in the right ballpark for the conditions, the rain would come or the track would dry out, and you would have to start all over again. Add in tarmac which has fantastic grip in the dry but diminishing grip in the dry, and you had a recipe for, if not chaos, then at least a fairly random mix of riders topping qualifying.

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2017 Assen MotoGP FP4 Result: Zarco Gets the Slick Window Right

Submitted by Zara Daniela on

The sun decided to come out and play at the beginning of the fourth practice session, prompting the riders to get a quick taster of the conditions before heading back to the garage to have their bikes prepared for dry conditions.

Only a handful of riders decided to stay out for more than one lap on wet tyres, as the mechanics kept busy with set-up changes, while keeping an eye on the forecast that threatened with another shower.

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Why Cal Crutchlow's Aerodynamic Fairing Is Not Technically A New Fairing

Submitted by David Emmett on

Just how clever has Honda been with their fairings? At Assen, Cal Crutchlow spent Friday going back and forth between bikes with and without the addition of aerodynamic side pods on the outside of the fairing. That led to some confusion among the media. Had Honda homologated the aerodynamic fairing already? Or was this something new?

https://twitter.com/MotoGP/status/878226315484299264

I went to see Danny Aldridge to ask what the situation was, and the MotoGP technical director explained the situation. The fairing Crutchlow used at Assen is exactly the same one he has been using all year. But because the side pods are detachable, only connected using rivets, the fairing counts as a single, homologated unit both with and without the side pods.

The rules are somewhat ambiguous, and it is this ambiguity which Honda have exploited with the fairing. The relevant part of the regulations reads as follows:

It is allowed that some parts of a homologated Aero Body component may not be mounted on the motorcycle (eg. hand guards used in wet weather only).

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