Australian Grand Prix 2016

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Qatar MotoGP: Marquez tops final practice, Smith makes Q2

05 April 2013 by Liam Marsden

Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez topped the Friday evening free practice session at the Losail circuit as the top ten riders for the Q2 qualifying session were decided. Marquez beat fellow Spaniard...

Crutchlow a title dark horse, say Rossi and Lorenzo

04 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow’s outstanding early 2013 performances mean the British rider can be a dark horse for this year’s MotoGP world championship. That’s the view of factory Yamaha duo Jorge Lorenzo and...

Cal Crutchlow plays down early Qatar speed

04 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow’s expectation management skills went into overdrive again in Qatar tonight after the British rider finished second in the opening MotoGP practice session under the Losail International...

Qatar MotoGP: Lorenzo tops first practice of 2013

04 April 2013 by Liam Marsden

Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo ended the first free practice of 2013 at the top of the timesheets after a late charge. Lorenzo displaced Tech 3 Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow to finish fastest,...

Ben Spies relishing Ducati challenge

04 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

A factory Ducati Desmosedici might not seem like the ideal choice of machinery for a rider looking to bounce back from the worst year of his career. Texan Ben Spies though will start that process in...

Cal Crutchlow looks ahead to Qatar curtain-raiser

03 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

British rider Cal Crutchlow is confident he is ready to pose a consistent podium threat in the 2013 MotoGP world championship. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider appeared relaxed and confident as he...

Rossi motivated to reach Lorenzo and Pedrosa level

03 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi reckons the challenge to once again battle Spanish duo Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa for victories in MotoGP is one of his big motivations in 2013. One of the intriguing aspects of...

Patience the key for Marc Marquez

03 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Rookie sensation Marc Marquez insists he won’t get swept away on a wave of expectation as the Spaniard’s MotoGP debut moves ever closer in Qatar. Speaking during the pre-event press conference for the...

Nicky Hayden: No doubt Ducati can deliver

03 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Throughout a turbulent recent history at Ducati, one thing that has not been shaken is Nicky Hayden’s unrivalled optimism. The popular Kentucky rider’s optimisim certainly showed no sign of fading...

Yamaha boss predicts ‘exciting' season

03 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis believes the 2013 MotoGP campaign, which kicks off in Qatar on Sunday night, will be provide more exciting and entertaining racing than last season. Excitement and anticipation...

Marc VDS boss: 2013 is crunch year for Scott Redding

03 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding’s Marc VDS Racing boss Michael Bartholemy reckons it is imperative that the British rider mounts a serious Moto2 world title challenge in 2013 to boost his hopes of a switch to MotoGP...

Bradley Smith hails ‘impressive’ Marc Marquez

02 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith says he has not been surprised to see fellow rookie Marc Marquez make such a fast and seamless transition to MotoGP in 2013. Marquez has made an instant impact on Honda’s factory RC213V...

Cal Crutchlow targets faster early race speed

02 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

British rider Cal Crutchlow believes he will have to be much faster in the opening three laps of MotoGP races in 2013 to help him become a consistent podium threat. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider...

Nicky Hayden: Ducati in a big hole for Texas race

01 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden has conceded that Ducati will be in a ‘big hole’ when the inaugural Texas MotoGP race is staged at the spectacular Circuit of the Americas (COTA) next month. Ducati was the only factory team not to travel to the recent private test session at the new COTA track near Austin. Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez took part in a three-day test, while Yamaha pair Valentino Rossi and...

Bradley Smith targets top six before end of 2013

01 April 2013 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith reckons the initial target in his rookie MotoGP campaign will be to finish ahead of Ducati’s factory Desmosedici. But the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider hopes to be fighting for the top six before the end of his first season taking on the likes of Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez. The British rider finished behind GP13 duo Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden in the last two...

Yamaha expects title challenge from Marc Marquez

31 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha expects Honda rookie Marc Marquez to mount a serious title challenge in his first MotoGP world championship campaign in 2013. The Repsol Honda rider has been the talk of winter testing after putting in some impressive performances on the factory RC213V, which included him setting the fastest time at the recent private Honda and Yamaha test in Austin, Texas. Marquez has repeatedly played...

Rossi’s Yamaha return perfect motivation for Lorenzo

31 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s return to Yamaha for 2013 will provide perfect motivation to help Jorge Lorenzo successfully defend his crown and try to win the MotoGP world title for a third time. That’s the view of the Spaniard’s factory Yamaha team boss Wilco Zeelenberg, who has been an integral figure in Lorenzo’s two MotoGP titles in 2010 and 2012. Rossi and Lorenzo will renew their rivalry next weekend in...

Honda expects fierce but friendly fight between Pedrosa and Marquez

30 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Honda is confident that the good relationship that exists between Dani Pedrosa and rookie Marc Marquez will not be soured by any potential battles on track in the 2013 MotoGP world championship. The...

Jorge Lorenzo boss: Hard to repeat 2012 consistency

29 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo’s factory Yamaha team boss Wilco Zeelenberg has admitted repeating the stunning consistency of 2012 will be a tough challenge for the Spaniard. Lorenzo clinched...

Michael Laverty talks MotoGP life

28 March 2013 by MCN

FreestyleXtreme recently caught up with sponsored athlete and PBM MotoGP rider Michael Laverty. Michael very kindly takes some time out before the first race at Qatar to talk about his hopes for the...

Andrea Dovizioso can lead Ducati revival in 2013

28 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso has the experience and talent to revive Ducati’s flagging fortunes in the MotoGP world championship. That’s the belief of the Italian’s former Monster Yamaha Tech 3 boss Herve...

Andrea Iannone: No big risk joining Ducati

28 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Italian Andrea Iannone doesn’t believe his move to Ducati for his first MotoGP campaign in 2013 is a big risk. The 23-year-old has arrived at Ducati at a time when the Bologna factory is looking to...

Kevin Schwantz: Ben Spies can bounce back at Ducati

28 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

American legend Kevin Schwantz has backed fellow Texan Ben Spies to bounce back from a nightmare 2012 when the new MotoGP season kicks off in Qatar next weekend. The triple AMA Superbike champion...

LCR targets regular podium threat from Stefan Bradl

27 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Bradl Italian MotoGP team boss Lucio Cecchinello says he expects Stefan Bradl to be a consistent podium threat in the 2013 MotoGP world championship. The 2011 Moto2 world champion is in his second...

Aggressive riding clampdown won't hurt MotoGP

27 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

A new penalty points system to clampdown on dangerous and aggressive riding across all three classes in the MotoGP world championship in 2013 won’t make the likes of Valentino Rossi or Cal Crutchlow...

Marc VDS poised for fresh MotoGP talks

27 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding’s Marc VDS Racing squad is poised to re-visit plans to move to the MotoGP class in 2014. The Belgian-based squad, which currently runs Redding and Mika Kallio in Moto2 and highly-rated...

Yamaha close to clinching engine lease deal for 2014

27 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha has confirmed it is in the final stages of negotiations with Dorna to offer to supply YZR-M1 engines for a maximum of four riders in the 2014 MotoGP world championship. Although MCN understands...

Ex-Valentino Rossi boss keen on management return

27 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s former factory Yamaha team boss Davide Brivio has spoken of his desire to return to MotoGP management, with the Italian locked in talks with Suzuki about leading the Japanese...

Bradley Smith motivated by Cal Crutchlow's form

26 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith says Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate Cal Crutchlow’s impressive winter testing form is providing the perfect motivation for him to quickly improve in his rookie MotoGP campaign. Crutchlow...

Cal Crutchlow: My goal is to win Qatar by one minute!

26 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow had good reason to crack jokes and be all smiles about his potential in the first MotoGP race of 2013 in Qatar next weekend after he topped the timesheets at the end of a rain-hit final...

Bradley Smith: I needed more seat time

26 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith admits that his MotoGP debut in Qatar next month will be a daunting experience because bad weather has robbed him of priceless time on track to adapt to Yamaha’s YZR-M1 machine. The...

Valentino Rossi unlikely to race new chassis in Qatar

26 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi is unlikely to race a new factory Yamaha YZR-M1 chassis in the season’s opening MotoGP round in Qatar next weekend. The Italian managed to evaluate the new frame at the end of the...

Valentino Rossi: Lorenzo was strongest in testing

26 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi believes factory Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo was the strongest rider during the 2013 MotoGP pre-season campaign, despite only setting the fastest time in one of four winter...

Cal Crutchlow fastest on final day of 2013 MotoGP testing

25 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow ended the 2013 MotoGP pre-season in the best way possible after the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider topped the timesheets on the final day of testing in Jerez. The British rider set a best...

MotoGP plans to ban private testing

25 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

Private MotoGP test sessions like the one Honda and Yamaha recently took part in at the new Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas will be banned in the future. HRC arranged a private three-day...

Moto2 to keep Honda engine until end of 2015

25 March 2013 by Matthew Birt

The Moto2 world championship will continue to use a Honda engine based on its CBR600RR motor until the end of the 2015 season at least. MCN understands that an additional one-year extension has been agreed to keep the current format after an initial agreement was reached for 2013 and ’14 at the end of last season. Honda’s initial three-year contract to supply the single make 600cc four-stroke...