MotoGP Updates

2021-07-14 19:37:56 MotoMatters.com
Paddock Pass Podcast Episode 222: Summer Break - Silly Season Speculation, And More
In the latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast, Steve English, Neil Morrison, Adam Wheeler, and David Emmett gather to cover some of the topics coming up over the summer break. We start off on a tangent, discussing soccer and what it means to be a fan again, and our plans for the summer, before moving on to talk about the calendar for the second half of the MotoGP season, and how a rise in Covid-19 infections might affect it.

Then we dive into the burgeoning Silly Season. We talk about who will take the seats expected to open up at Petronas Yamaha for next year, and what the team's options are. We discuss Raul Fernandez' imminent promotion to MotoGP, and what it means for KTM and their pool of talent. And we talk wildcards and replacement riders, with Cal Crutchlow set to take the place of Franco Morbidelli for the next three races, and Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa possibly making wildcard appearances for Aprilia and KTM respectively. Open / Comment

2021-07-09 21:27:43 MotoMatters.com
Editor's Blog: Plans For The Summer Break
As some of you might have noticed, updates to the site have been less frequent over the past week. This is in part because, with MotoGP on a five-week hiatus, there is not much going on in the world of Grand Prix motorcycling, other than a lot of managers frantically texting Lin Jarvis and Johan Stigefelt about the vacant Yamahas for 2022. But it is too early for anything to come of that.

The other reason for posting to be a little slow on the site is also because I need a break too. It has been a very long, hard 12 months: first, the insanely compressed 2020 MotoGP season, with 13 races in 18 weeks, and barely a moment to catch your breath. Then I traveled to the UK to help my mother and brother care for my severely ill father. And after he died, I have had to balance the care for my grieving mother - nearly 57 years is a long time to spend together, and the loss of that love has left a gaping hole in her life - with covering the start of a fascinating 2021 MotoGP season. Open / Comment

2021-07-09 19:47:08 MotoMatters.com
Paddock Pass Podcast Episode 221: Toprak Seizes Control Of WorldSBK In Donington
Though MotoGP is on its longest summer break in years, WorldSBK is here to carry the load through the summer. And last weekend's round of World Superbikes at Donington Park helped shake up the championship, with Toprak Razgatlioglu taking over the lead from odds-on favorite Jonathan Rea. As usual Steve English and Gordon Ritchie gather to compare notes on the weekend.

The state of the championship is where Steve and Gordo start, asking if this is a sign of Jonathan Rea's stranglehold on the WorldSBK title being broken at last, or whether the 6-time world champion's crash was just a slip up, and whether Razgatlioglu is capable of challenging Rea consistently. They also discuss BMW's strong weekend, with podiums for both Tom Sykes and Michael van der Mark, and they take a look at the difficulties Ducati faced at Donington Park, and what it means for the title chances of Scott Redding and Michael Ruben Rinaldi. Open / Comment

2021-07-08 20:36:42 MotoMatters.com
Paddock Pass Podcast Episode 220: Moto2 And Moto3 At Assen
Though the Assen MotoGP race and its fallout raised the most talking points, the Moto2 and Moto3 races left plenty to discuss as well. Steve English, Adam Wheeler, David Emmett, and a windswept Neil Morrison gathered to discuss the events of the Moto2 and Moto3 races, and what they might mean over the summer break.

The crew start off the Follow Up Show Fueled By Marc VDS Racing with the winner, Raul Fernandez, and what his future might hold. They discuss what he said himself about where his future lies - in Moto2 with the Ajo KTM team - and the rumors placing him in both the Tech3 KTM team and the Petronas Yamaha squad. Open / Comment

2021-07-08 16:35:26 MotoMatters.com
Guest Blog: Mat Oxley - Kevin Schwantz: How I Rode Part 1
Few grand prix stars are as revered as Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 500cc world champion, who rode with an ocean of natural riding talent and a tidal wave of aggression

Kevin Schwantz helped define an era of grand prix racing that’s rightly considered one of the sport’s golden ages. The American’s vicious battles with countrymen Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson and Australians Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner are the stuff of legend.

Who better to explain those days than Valentino Rossi, who grew up watching these races and idolising Schwantz? Open / Comment

2021-07-06 12:36:09 MotoMatters.com
2021 MotoGP Calender Changed Again: Phillip Island Canceled, Portimão Returns For Second Race
The ongoing fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to reshuffle the 2021 MotoGP calendar. This morning came news that the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island has been canceled for 2021, with an extra round at Portimao added before Valencia to take its place.

The news had been widely anticipated, as Australia continues to maintain a strict border policy, making staging international sporting events almost impossible. The dropping of Phillip Island means that the Sepang race has been moved a week earlier, to October 24th, and an additional round added at Algarve International Circuit in Portimão on November 7th, a week before the final round in Valencia. Open / Comment

2021-07-05 17:42:48 Crash.Net
Zarco: Everything is coming together, I have to go for it
Johann Zarco, whose MotoGP career was in serious doubt when he left KTM midway through 2019, is Fabio Quartararo's nearest title rival at the midway stage of the 2021 season. Open / Comment

2021-07-05 17:42:48 Open / Comment

2021-07-05 16:57:19 MotoMatters.com
Assen Moto2 & Moto3 Review: Neil Morrison On Raul Fernandez' Future, Augusto Fernandez' Revival, And Pedro Acosta's Hospital Bed Ride
TT Circuit Assen produced two excellent contests in the Moto2 and 3 classes. Yet the biggest story of the weekend related to the future of one certain star…

Fernandez – will he stay or go?

Never mind Maverick Viñales. Raul Fernandez was the talk of the paddock once again after news from reliable outlets confirmed he will join current team-mate Remy Gardner in Tech 3 KTM next year in MotoGP.

Not just that; Fernandez produced another performance that demonstrated this year’s title fight will be far from a one-horse race. A day on from becoming the first rider to score four pole positions in their rookie Moto2 campaign since a certain Marc Marquez in 2011, the 20-year old produced a fightback that would have gained even the eight-time champion’s approval.

Here he displayed the composure to recover from a second lap mistake at turn seven that saw him drop to ninth. All appeared lost for the Spaniard as the Marc VDS Kalex team-mates of Sam Lowes and Augusto Fernandez, and championship leader Remy Gardner made up an exciting three-way fight for the lead, 1.7s ahead. Then Fernandez went to work. He made short work of four riders ahead to join the leaders on lap 13. And not one of them had an answer for him as he pulled clear in the closing laps to win by just over a second. Open / Comment

2021-07-05 12:20:53 Crash.Net
Gresini adds another sponsor to Ducati MotoGP project
Gresini Racing continues to add more names to the fairings of its 2022 MotoGP Ducatis. Open / Comment