MotoGP

The 2023 MotoGP grid will shrink by two bikes following the shock decision by Suzuki to end its racing project at the end of the year. This has put the rider market into chaos with two top riders in Alex Rins and Joan Mir being put onto the radars of teams and manufacturers yet to

The three-time MotoGP race winner was unexpectedly thrown onto the 2023 rider market when Suzuki informed its team that it would be ending its MotoGP project at the end of the year back in May. Rins engaged in discussions with several teams, including KTM, Gresini Ducati and LCR – ultimately signing a two-year deal directly

In years gone by, the Ducati typically struggled at venues where a bike with agility was needed owing to the Desmosedici’s understeer problems. And while tracks where horsepower is a key characteristic continues to play favourably into the hands of Ducati, it no longer struggles at twisty circuits. In 2022 so far, Ducati has taken

The Spaniard was forced onto the rider market when Suzuki made its shock decision to quit MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season. The three-time MotoGP race winner engaged in discussions with several teams, including KTM and Gresini Ducati, but elected to sign a two-year deal directly with Honda and join LCR. It was

The 2022 campaign has been the strongest Espargaro has ever had in his grand prix racing career having taken his maiden MotoGP victory in April in Argentina. Since then, he has scored four more podiums and has only finished outside of the top five twice in the first 11 races. His title hopes took a

Three-time MotoGP race winner Rins was shockingly put onto the rider market for 2023 alongside team-mate Joan Mir when Suzuki announced following the Spanish Grand Prix that it would be quitting MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season. Rins has been linked to several teams, including KTM, RNF Racing for its switch to Aprilia

Morbidelli was Yamaha’s leading rider in 2020 aboard his Petronas SRT-run 2019-spec M1, the Italian winning three races and finishing runner-up to Suzuki’s Joan Mir in the championship. Since then he has struggled to recapture that form, with his ageing bike coupled with injury woes blighting his 2021 season, while a move to the factory

The South African – younger brother of Brad Binder – became the first rider since Jack Miller in 2015 to go directly from Moto3 to MotoGP this season when he was signed by RNF to ride a year-old Yamaha. PLUS: The MotoGP rookie fighting two fronts in his debut year Binder has endured a tough

At the halfway point of the season, the highest-placed Ducati rider in the standings is third-placed Johann Zarco, who is 58 points adrift of championship leader Fabio Quartararo. The marque’s leading factory team rider Francesco Bagnaia cut his deficit down from 91 with victory before the summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix, but still

Last month the six-time MotoGP world champion underwent a complex operation on his right arm. It was the fourth time has had surgery since badly breaking his arm in a crash at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix, as he bids to return to regain the full fitness and mobility he has lacked throughout his comeback

Reigning world champion and the current points leader Fabio Quartararo has been very critical of the lack of progress Yamaha made over the winter with its 2022 bike. In particular, Quartararo took aim at the fact the bike was still not delivering top speed enough to challenge its faster rivals, which has been an issue

According to reports in Spanish outlet Diario de Ibiza, Bagnaia crashed a Citroen into a ditch on the side of a road in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The Guardia Civil and local police arrived at the scene and performed a breathalyser test on the driver, who was identified as Bagnaia. Bagnaia gave a

Quartararo has been vocal about Yamaha’s lack of top speed gains with its engine since the November post-season test at Jerez last year, and admitted during February’s pre-season testing that the minimal progress with the M1 meant his MotoGP future beyond 2022 was open. In the early races he struggled for results, finishing ninth in

Before going on holiday after the Dutch Grand Prix, Quartararo said he wants as many MotoGP followers as possible to give their opinions to the initiative launched by championship promoter Dorna, together with Motorsport Network and Nielsen Sport. The survey is entering its final weeks before all the data is collected and analysed, with a

Quartararo was battling for second with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro when he lost the front-end of his Yamaha while overtaking the Spaniard at the Turn 5 hairpin on lap five of 26. The Yamaha rider remounted dead last with a damaged bike, while Espargaro lost 8.1s as he recovered through the gravel before going on to

Bagnaia’s championship hopes were dealt a small boost on Sunday at Assen when he stormed to victory from pole position, while points leader Fabio Quartararo crashed out and made contact with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro early on. This allowed Bagnaia to reduce his points deficit to 66, after it stood at 91 ahead of Assen following

The VR46 Ducati rookie stormed to his and the team’s maiden MotoGP podium last Sunday at Assen, when he shadowed Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia to finish second after qualifying fourth. It marked his second top five finish of the season, after he was fourth at Mugello having qualified second. But despite riding the 2021-spec Ducati that

On the Monday after finishing second at the 2021 Dutch GP, Vinales announced he would be quitting Yamaha a year into his two-year contract and was heavily linked to Aprilia. At the 2022 Dutch GP last weekend, Vinales scored his first MotoGP podium as an Aprilia rider and his first since the 2021 Assen race

Miller was handed the punishment for riding slowly on the racing line in Saturday’s qualifying at Assen after he’d just crashed, with Aprilia’s Vinales close to hitting him as he pushed on a flying lap. Despite Miller pleading his innocence, he was forced to serve a long lap penalty on the fourth tour of Sunday’s

Mir braked hard into his grid slot to engage the front holeshot device for the start, but caught Oliveira unaware. Oliveira ran into Mir and broke one of his wings, while Mir escaped damage. Both were able to complete the race, with Mir finishing eighth and Oliveira ninth. “Well, now you have to engage the

The Yamaha rider crashed trying to overtake Aprilia’s Espargaro on lap five of Sunday’s Assen race and collided with the Spaniard. The contact forced Espargaro off into the gravel and dropped him from second to 15th, with the Aprilia rider losing 8.5s trying to recover before eventually going on to finish fourth. The incident was

The Yamaha rider crashed on the fifth lap of the race at Assen while trying to overtake Aprilia’s Espargaro on the inside of Turn 5. Quartararo lost the front and slid into Espargaro, who was forced onto the gravel and lost over eight seconds as he re-joined in 15th. Points leader Quartararo also remounted, but

Espargaro jumped Quartararo at the start when the Yamaha rider ran wide into Turn 2, with the former moving up to second. After a brief battle went the way of Espargaro through Turns 5 and 6, Quartararo spent the next three tours stalking the Aprilia rider before launching another attack into Turn 5 on lap

As first reported by Autosport earlier in the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, outgoing Suzuki rider Rins is nearing a deal with Honda to join LCR next season on factory machinery. This was coming at the expense of Marquez’s place at LCR, with team boss Lucio Cecchinello all but confirming on Friday at Assen that the

The Australian crashed at the Turn 5 hairpin in the closing stages of Saturday’s Q2 pole shootout session at Assen. Having remounted to ride his bike back to pitlane, Miller was riding slowly on the racing line on the back straight exiting Turn 5 when Aprilia’s Vinales was coming through on his final time attack

Despite the threat of rain hanging over the Assen circuit on Saturday afternoon, the pole shootout session began with red hot pace as Pramac’s Jorge Martin set a new lap record of 1m31.708s. But factory Ducati counterpart Bagnaia smashed this with just over four minutes of Q2 remaining to claim his fourth pole of the

The damp and rainy conditions of Friday had given way for the start of the first fully dry session of the Assen weekend in FP3. It would take just nine minutes for Francesco Bagnaia’s best lap from the drying FP2 session on Friday to be toppled, with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales making the first move. Last

MotoGP’s return to Assen began with a fully wet FP1 session on Friday morning topped by Ducati’s Jack Miller. While there were only two crashes in FP1, a number of riders ran off track as they got caught out by the conditions. The track improved in the second half of FP1 as the rain eased

Espargaro crashed heavily in FP1 last weekend in Germany and was left with an injury to his ribs. He had to withdraw from the latter stages of the Sachsenring race due to the pain he was experiencing, but had expected to fare better this weekend at Assen. However, after a good start in the wet

Soaking conditions greeted the riders at the start of the first 45-minute practice of the Assen weekend, with forecasts looking unsettled for the three days. Despite the miserable conditions, the track was a hive of activity early on as most headed out to get some wet running under their belts. Suzuki’s Mir set the initial