Moto3

Press releases after the three-day test at Jerez for the Moto2 and Moto3 teams:

Moto2 times from the last day of testing

Improving weather saw lap times drop at Jerez, allowing lap records to fall in both Moto2 and Moto3 classes. In Moto2, it was Sam Lowes setting the pace, the Speed Up rider knocking four tenths of a second off Mika Kallio's pole record. Lowes spent most of the day using the carbon fiber swing arm the team used last year, with the aluminum swing arm still to be tried. The aluminum item is believed to be the better of the two, offering more improvement to come when the team gets a chance to try it out.

Behind Lowes, several riders made some big steps forward. Luis Salom finally beat his rookie teammate, ending the day in 2nd just a tenth behind Lowes. Johann Zarco remains fast, ending up 3rd and ahead of reigning Moto2 champion Tito Rabat, while Axel Pons had a good day to end 5th. Three tenths separated the top five, offering prospects of a very competitve season in 2015. Revelation of yesterday Alex Rins had a steadier day today, dropping down the order to finish 9th, while Alex Marquez showed good improvement, jumping up to 12th place, a second off the pace of Lowes, and just behind Mika Kallio. The battle between the two Alexes promises to be just as good as it was in Moto3.

Almost without realizing it, we find ourselves in the midst of a glut of motorcycle racing action. For 11 days, bikes and teams are testing, racing, and being introduced to the public at large. On Monday and Tuesday, the World Superbike teams had their last test of the pre-season at Phillip Island. From Tuesday to Thursday, the Moto2 and Moto3 teams are testing at Jerez. On Friday, the 2015 World Superbike season gets underway Phillip Island, culminating in the races on Sunday, featuring shock substitute Troy Bayliss. Then, from Monday, MotoGP returns for three days of testing at Sepang, followed by an extra day with Michelin tires, with the factory riders at the helm.

In between, we have seen the launch of the Ducati Desmosedici GP15, the CWM LCR Honda team is set to be launched on Wednesday, and there is even a presentation here in Holland by Eurosport, in which they will reveal their plans for MotoGP coverage in The Netherlands for 2015. There is so much going on that there are barely enough hours in the day to actually write about it. Enjoy the cornucopia while you can.

Crash! Bang! Wallop!

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 are featuring sections from Oxley's blogs, which are posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website.

Where does the British Grand Prix belong?

Where should the British Grand Prix have its home? What we are looking for is a circuit that tests the mettle of the riders as much as the metal of the motorcycle. There would be only three on my list: Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Silverstone.

To my mind, racetracks should have some primal scream to them; they should be more than mere technical exercise. On the current calendar – outside Britain – that means Brno, Mugello, Phillip Island and possibly Sepang; four circuits from 17 foreign venues.

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

Press releases from the Moto2 and Moto3 teams at the end of the three-day test at Valencia:

Persistent drizzle and a wet track saw the final day of testing for the Moto2 and Moto3 classes at Valencia go to waste in much the same way that the second day did. Adding insult to injury, one bike dumped oil on the track between turns one and four, causing a long delay as the track was cleaned. By that time, most of the teams had already packed up and were heading south, off to Jerez where testing continues next week.

Though the times were fairly meaningless, Hafizh Syahrin and Jorge Martin were the quickest in Moto2 and Moto3 respectively. Syahrin has already shown his mettle in the rain, the Malaysian rider taking a podium as a wildcard rider in the soaking 2012 edition of his home Grand Prix. In Moto3, Martin boosted his confidence with a strong result, the 2014 Red Bull Rookies champ making his debut this year.

The wet weather means that nobody improved their times from Tuesday, meaning that Fabio Quartararo leaves Valencia as fastest Moto3 rider, while compatriot Johann Zarco was fastest in Moto2 over all three days.

Moto2 times:

The weather meant track time was severely limited on the second day of the combined Moto2 and Moto3 test at Valencia. With a wet track, most riders preferred not to risk injury by going out for laps, with little to be learned. Times for both classes were well off normal pace, so there was little point to riding. The enforced layoff was welcomed by Efren Vazquez, who fractured the navicular bone in his right foot in a crash yesterday. With no action on track, Vazquez could recover, and consider trying again on Thursday, the last day of the test.

In the Moto3 class the Mahindra riders did spend some time on track, with seven of the nine riders on the Indian bike taking to the circuit. Given the results from the first day, Mahindra clearly felt there was still much to be learned. 

Conditions are not looking favorable for the last day of the test, due on Thursday, with more rain forecast. The Moto2 and Moto3 teams will hope for better conditions at Jerez next week.

Moto2 times

The provisional MotoGP calendar for 2015, updated on 11th February, when Silverstone was confirmed as replacing Donington:

Within a day of the announcement that the British round of MotoGP would not be held at Donington Park comes confirmation that the race will be held at Silverstone. The ending of the relationship between Donington and the Circuit of Wales meant that a replacement venue had to be found at short notice, and with only Silverstone currently capable of hosting a MotoGP round, the deal was quickly arranged.

The deal will see Silverstone host the British Grand Prix in both 2015 and 2016. By then, the Circuit of Wales hopes to have obtained both permission to build on public land, and the funding to actually start to do so, with the aim of hosting the 2017 race at the new track. The circuit faces considerable obstacles before that can happen, however.

Below is the press release issued by the Circuit of Wales and Silverstone announcing the deal:

Circuit of Wales announce they have reached an agreement to run British MotoGP™ at Silverstone in August 2015

- World Series by Renault move to early September

Press releases from the Moto2 and Moto3 teams after the first day of testing at Valencia:

With testing for the premier class at Sepang finished, the Moto2 and Moto3 riders took to the track at Valencia on Tuesday. Just about the entire field in both classes rolled out of the pits for the first test of the season, and with the weather improving as the day went on, times soon began to drop. By the end of the day, the fastest men in both classes were lapping under the official lap records.

In the Moto2 class, it was Johann Zarco who was fastest, setting a blistering pace on the Kalex. The Frenchman ended the day with a run that saw him under the pole record on four consecutive laps. Sam Lowes ended the day in 2nd, after a strong first day of testing. Lowes professed himself much happier with the changes to the bike over the winter, the Speed Up now sporting an aluminum swingarm and WP suspension. Reigning Moto2 champion Tito Rabat was third fastest, just behind Lowes, and just under four tenths off the pace of Zarco. 

Alex Rins made a very strong debut in the Moto2 class, ending the day in 6th, ahead of his teammate Luis Salom. Former teammate and reigning Moto3 world champion Alex Marquez had a much tougher day, leaving the first day with the 26th fastest time, some three seconds behind Zarco, and over two seconds behind Rins.

The British round of MotoGP will not this year take place at Donington Park. In a shock statement, Donington announced they were breaking off their partnership with the Circuit of Wales to host the British GP. In the statement, Donington claimed that they had not received the funding promised to them by the Circuit of Wales, which was needed to perform the upgrades required for MotoGP. With no money forthcoming, Donington had no choice but to break the contract, leaving the British round of MotoGP without a home, at least temporarily. Reports on the Motorcycle News website suggest that Silverstone will host the British race instead, with senior staff from the circuit having spoken to Dorna in Barcelona last week. 

The Estrella Galicia Moto2 and Moto3 teams, as well as the Red Bull KTM team, issued the following press releases after private testing at Almeria, and ahead of official testing at Valencia:

Preseason begins for Repsol Moto3 riders

First test of the year for Fabio Quartararo, Jorge Navarro and Maria Herrera at Almeria. Next Tuesday they will return to action in Valencia.

The 2015 season has begun for the Repsol riders in the Moto3 World Championship. The reigning champion and runner-up from last season’s FIM CEV Repsol, Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Navarro, were back onboard their Honda NSF250RWs at Almeria for testing. They were joined by Maria Herrera, riding a Husqvarna, for two days at the southern Spanish circuit.

Strong winds and lower temperatures prevented the Repsol riders from completing more than a few laps yesterday, but today they had good conditions in which to begin their preparations in earnest. Quartararo, Navarro and Herrera put in 76, 75 and 105 laps, respectively, to end their first test of 2015 with a positive feeling.

The three Repsol riders in the lower cylinder category will be back on their bikes on Tuesday, February 10th, at the Circuit de Valencia, for three more days of testing.

Fabio Quartararo 76 laps 306 km