MotoGP News

FIM Stewards Revise Marc Marquez Penalty - Double Long Lap To Be Served Next Time He Races

By David Emmett | Tue, 28/03/2023 - 10:06

The FIM Stewards have been forced to revise the penalty they imposed on Marc Marquez, for hitting Miguel Oliveira on the third lap of the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday. Initially, the Stewards Notification was worded such that the Double Long Lap Penalty would have to be served at the Grand Prix of Argentina, due to take place at Termas de Rio Hondo this Sunday.

However, Marc Marquez broke his thumb in the crash, fracturing the first metacarpal in his right hand. The Spaniard has since had surgery, but has decided to skip the next round in Argentina.

By a strict reading of the Stewards Notification, Marquez would only have to serve the penalty at Argentina. But after the controversy that produced, and debates over the correct application of penalties, the Stewards have issued a second Notification, clarifying that Marquez will have to serve the penalty during the Sunday race in Argentina, or the next Sunday grand prix he races at.

Portimão MotoGP Subscriber Notes: Pecco's Perfect Weekend, And Marc Marquez Messes Up

By David Emmett | Tue, 28/03/2023 - 01:33

The first weekend of MotoGP sprint races proved so packed with action and controversy that it is hard to know where to begin. Add in the vagaries of MotoGP life – travel to and from circuits and airports and other commitments – and it is hard to give the opening round at Portimão the full detail it deserves.

So in note form, a few very quick thoughts on the race on Sunday, and how it played out. I will expand on some of these in the next couple of days.

Dream start for Bagnaia

After taking victory in the sprint race on Saturday, Pecco Bagnaia dominated the grand prix on Sunday. It took him one lap to take the lead, and once he did, he controlled the race completely. Maverick Viñales – an impressive ride from the Aprilia man – pushed Bagnaia hard for the first half of the race, but the Ducati rider inched away from him in the second half of the race, before extending the gap in the last few laps. You never had the sense that victory was under threat.

Miguel Oliveira To Miss Argentina Grand Prix - MotoGP Grid Down To 18

By David Emmett | Mon, 27/03/2023 - 18:48

Miguel Oliveira has been ruled out of the following round of the Argentina Grand Prix. The Portuguese rider sustained a leg injury when he was hit by Marc Marquez on the third lap of the full race at the opening round at Portimão.

The absence of Oliveira brings the number of MotoGP riders out of the second round of the series to four. Pol Espargaro suffered a fractured vertebra and fractured jaw during practice on Friday. Enea Bastianini broke a shoulder blade during the sprint race on Saturday, when Luca Marini lost the front and wiped out the bike of Bastianini. And Marc Marquez suffered a fractured thumb in the crash he caused when he blocked the front and hit Jorge Martin and Miguel Oliveira.

The press release from the RNF Aprilia team appears below:

Injury forces Miguel Oliveira to sit out Argentina Grand Prix

Marc Marquez To Miss Argentina - And Avoid Double Long Lap Penalty

By David Emmett | Mon, 27/03/2023 - 07:07

Marc Marquez is to miss the Argentina round of MotoGP after having surgery on the thumb he fractured in the crash in which he clipped Jorge Martin and hit Miguel Oliveira. Marquez had surgery on Sunday night, after returning to Barcelona.

Missing the race in Argentina will also mean he will not have to serve the Long Lap Penalty imposed by the FIM Stewards for causing the crash. The wording of Long Lap Penalties always specifically names the event in which the penalty is to be served.

That was the case for Fabio Quartararo after the Dutch TT in Assen in 2022, for example, who had to serve a Long Lap Penalty at the following race in Silverstone. Ayumu Sasaki was handed a Long Lap Penalty in Argentina in 2022, after causing a crash at the previous round in Indonesia. All the others I checked also specifically named the grand prix in which the penalty was to be served.

Portimão MotoGP Saturday Notes: Sprint Races, Pros And Cons

By David Emmett | Sun, 26/03/2023 - 01:16

If Friday was the warm up for the new schedule, Saturday was when it hit home hardest. The familiar pattern – FP3 in the morning, including a mad dash for a spot in Q2 in the final 15 minutes, then FP4 in the early afternoon followed immediately by qualifying – was gone. In its place, a lot of confused journalists (well, at least one, myself), suddenly confused by the fact that it was not yet 11am and MotoGP was already starting Q1.

Moto2 and Moto3 had a more normal pattern – they kicked off a little earlier in the morning, and qualifying was a little later in the afternoon than last year – but after qualifying for the Moto2 class, it was time for the first ever MotoGP sprint race. That turned into a genuine barn burner, in both senses of the phrase. It was exciting. It was something new. And it was really rather scary.

The day held a lot of surprises. Lap records tumbled in all three classes: by just under a tenth of a second in Moto2, half a second in Moto3, and by a whopping 1.5 seconds in MotoGP. Bikes and riders we had written off stunned the fans. Riders we had hyped up disappeared were utterly faceless. There is no substitute for racing to uncover the reality.

Portimão MotoGP Friday Round Up: When Safety Should Be Paramount, But Sometimes Isn't

By David Emmett | Sat, 25/03/2023 - 02:01

The first day of MotoGP's new era did not proceed entirely to plan. There were a lot of reasons for that, some the fault of Dorna, some completely out of their hands. But we will get to that in a minute. First, an institutional failure.

As the MotoGP riders entered the final and hectic 15 minutes of what we must now call P2 – the second timed practice, which in effect determines who will pass directly into Q2, and who will have to hope to defeat 10 other riders in Q1 for one of the two spots which will take you into Q2 – the combination of low grip, falling temperatures, and sheer unbelievable pace the riders were setting came back to bite a couple of the MotoGP riders.

Two men fell within a couple of seconds of each other, in almost the same spot, in almost the same way. Pol Espargaro fell first, his rear letting go over the crest at Turn 10, before spitting him off the bike. Miguel Oliveira fell a few seconds later, a little way ahead of Espargaro, the rear of his Aprilia letting to in a similar way, and catapulting the Portuguese rider high into the air, before he came down hard enough to knock all of the wind out of his sails.

Cause of the crash

The 2023 MotoGP Season Preview: Anything But A Foregone Conclusion

By David Emmett | Fri, 24/03/2023 - 00:31

Writing MotoGP season previews used to be a relatively simple affair: discuss the four or five riders who had a realistic chance of winning the championship, compare the strengths and weaknesses of the Yamaha vs the Honda, and ask whether Ducati have done enough this year to catch up. A few notes on the remainder of the grid, and you were done.

Previewing the 2023 MotoGP season is potentially a much more time-consuming affair. All 22 riders on the 2023 grid have grand prix victories to their name in one class or another. All five MotoGP factories had bikes on the podium last year, and only Honda didn't score a win. There are 13 world champions lining up in MotoGP in 2023. To say the grid is stacked with talent is an understatement.

Potential champions this year? Obviously Pecco Bagnaia has a good chance of defending. But Yamaha have given Fabio Quartararo the extra speed he was missing to be able to challenge. Enea Bastianini could well surprise and upset his factory Ducati teammate. Aprilia have refined the RS-GP to a point where Aleix Espargaro is a serious candidate, and there is no doubting the talent of his teammate Maverick Viñales either. Jorge Martin has a better bike and a point to prove, and sprint races will play right into his hands. Miguel Oliveira is very much in the same boat. And it would be foolish to write Marc Marquez off, whatever the state of the Honda at the moment.

Sprint Races: The Right Answer To The Wrong Question

By David Emmett | Wed, 22/03/2023 - 23:49

In its 75th season, the premier class of grand prix motorcycle racing is to introduce something revolutionary. For the first time since Assen moved race day at the Dutch TT to Sunday, MotoGP is to race on a Saturday. 2023 sees the introduction of sprint races, half-distance races to be held at the end of the day on Saturday, in addition to the usual full-length races on Sunday.

If you want to know exactly how this will work, I would refer you to the piece I wrote on Monday, answering most of the questions I have seen on the MotoGP sprint races. But it is worth asking what Dorna hope to achieve by the introduction of sprint races.

The short answer, of course, is to add some excitement to the series, and better value for spectators at the circuits. "It's time to give MotoGP more exposure, not only on television but also to the fans," said FIM president Jorge Viegas at the presentation of the new schedule at the Red Bull Ring in 2022. "We need more fans, we need a better spectacle, and we are going to fill the schedule on Saturdays."

Empty grandstands

This had been brought into stark contrast last year at some tracks. Attendance at the Portimão round of MotoGP had been mediocre, and Jerez had a little sparse. Mugello was almost deserted, a track where previously the hillsides had been packed. By contrast, Le Mans was sold out, and Assen was not far off being full. The German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring was heaving with fans, back to pre-pandemic levels.

2023 MotoGP FAQ: Everything You Wanted To Know About Sprint Races But Were Afraid To Ask

By David Emmett | Mon, 20/03/2023 - 23:54

The MotoGP championship faces one of the biggest shakeups in recent years in 2023. The biggest change is of course the introduction of sprint races (or "Sprints", as Dorna is trying to insist on calling them). That change, allied with a calendar expanded to 21 rounds, has a lot of knock-on effects in the championship.

All of this is likely to confuse regular fans who have committed the former schedule to memory. And it will confuse new fans, who are still struggling to work out what happens when during a MotoGP weekend.

To help you keep track of the new schedule and the sprint races, here's your handy FAQ for the most important changes to MotoGP for the 2023.

What The Actual Sprint?

What is this "sprint race" you speak of?

Sprint races are a new, shorter race added to the schedule. Only the MotoGP class will have sprint races, Moto2 and Moto3 will have just the one main race on Sunday, as last year. Dorna wants you not to call them "sprint races", but to refer to them as "Sprints". This request is almost certain to fall on deaf ears, especially as the FIM sporting regulations refers to them as "Sprint races".

When does the sprint race happen?

Saturday, 3pm local time. Sprint races will have a big impact on the schedule. I'll explain more later though.

How long is a sprint race?

Interview: Pecco Bagnaia's Crew Chief Cristian Gabarrini On Bagnaia's Turnaround, Sprint Races, Ride-Height Devices, And Rider Feedback

By David Emmett | Mon, 20/03/2023 - 09:15


Cristian Gabarrini (right) celebrating with Pecco Bagnaia after winning the Dutch TT at Assen in 2022

It is hard to overstate just how big the turnaround of Pecco Bagnaia's season was in 2022. Going into the Dutch TT at Assen, Bagnaia trailed championship leader Fabio Quartararo by 91 points. Ten races later, Bagnaia clinched the championship at Valencia with an advantage of 17 points. The Italian had clawed back 108 points in ten races, an average of nearly 11 points a race.

The man who helped Bagnaia achieve that incredible comeback has experience winning world championships. Ducati Lenovo Team crew chief Cristian Gabarrini already had two MotoGP titles under his belt with Casey Stoner, first at Ducati, then at Honda. He oversaw Marc Márquez' first championship in 2013, as technical advisor in the Repsol Honda team, before returning to Ducati.

He is a quiet, modest man, softly spoken, who weighs his words carefully. That meticulousness is also apparent in his work as a crew chief: Pecco Bagnaia's garage is well organized and well run, the bike always ready for Bagnaia when he needs it. He is thoughtful, his responses to questions revealing a very sharp intellect indeed.

At Sepang, I had a long and very in-depth interview with Cristian Gabarrini. We spoke about the pressure of defending a championship, how sprint races will change MotoGP this season, how Pecco Bagnaia turned his season around, and the change Gabarrini saw in the Italian.