MotoGP

LCR has become the latest team to officially confirm its place on the MotoGP grid for the next five-year contract cycle with Dorna and IRTA, from 2022-2026. Former rider Lucio Cecchinelli started the team with ‘two technicians and one van’ in 1996. After nine years in the 125cc class, LCR moved to 250cc in 2002 and has competed in the MotoGP class, always with Honda machinery, since 2006. LCR has celebrated a total of 85 grands prix podiums and 24 victories in all the categories it has competed in, including three MotoGP wins with Cal Crutchlow. “First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to all the people who have worked with the LCR team since January of 1996, when we received our very first World Championship contract participation as a Team!” said Lucio Cecchinello. “II can’t believe that it’s been 25 years! A quarter of century lived with LCR riders and team personnel working at full speed on track and believe me, even off-track! “It is a great honour for me to announce that LCR has recently renewed with IRTA and Dorna, its MotoGP class contract participation until 2026. “I am grateful to be able to continue competing in the premier class category for 5 more years and I can’t wait to start a new chapter in LCR history with both of our riders Taka [Nakagami] and Alex [Marquez] on a full factory bike! See you soon on track and surely very soon on TV!” LCR is the second Independent team after Gresini to be officially confirmed on the 2022 grid. KTM and Ducati are the only factories to so far sign but Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Aprilia are also expected to continue.

Marc Marquez is back in training following the third operation on his broken right arm. The six-time premier class champion was most recently in for surgery on December 3, after which there was an extended silence from Honda. That was until the six-week check-up, at which time it described its superstar’s progress as “satisfactory”, although no forecast of a return to a motorcycle was given. Marquez has now taken to social media to show himself on an exercise bike with the caption “First day of indoor cycling”. The 27-year-old’s right upper arm is supported by a bracing device which runs all the way from his elbow to the top of his shoulder, having had a case of pseudarthrosis (also known as a ‘non-union’ or ‘false joint’) confirmed. There is no clear indication on when he might be able to compete again, with recovery timelines suggesting an absence of anywhere from the season-opener to the first six grands prix of 2021. Stefan Bradl told Speedweek, in his native Germany, earlier this month that “common sense” suggests to him that he will ride instead of Marquez at least in the Official Test at Sepang in February, although that was subsequently shifted to Losail in early-March. Bradl, a Honda Racing Corporation test rider, filled the breach for the balance of last year and completed a handful of laps on the 2021 RC213V at Jerez in the last two days. Andrea Dovizioso, formerly of Repsol Honda and most recently of the Ducati Team before his current sabbatical from grand prix competition, has stated that he would consider a Marquez fill-in role if an offer came.

Repsol Honda rider Stefan Bradl is the first rider to complete MotoGP laps in 2021, despite bad weather at Jerez. The German test rider took to the Andalusian circuit on Wednesday and Thursday. Since it was a private test, scheduled alongside World Superbike teams, Honda declined to provide any information on Bradl’s work but images show several RCVs in all-black livery. With engine design modifications forbidden under the Covid technical freeze, HRC will be forced to focus its efforts on chassis, electronics and aerodynamics changes, plus peripheral engine parts such as the intake and exhaust. Bradl, who replaced injured world champion Marc Marquez at Repsol Honda for most of last season, with a best race finish of seventh place, will also ‘probably’ return to Jerez again next week hoping for better weather. Such a comprehensive early testing effort suggests that, engine freeze or not, HRC has made significant changes as it seeks a return to winning ways in 2021. Bradl’s Jerez efforts should help compensate for the loss of the Sepang tests and lay the groundwork for the delayed start to Official MotoGP testing at Qatar in early March, when Marquez’s new Repsol Honda team-mate Pol Espargaro will make his debut. The race riders will have just five days to decide their technical package before the opening race (rookies and concession team Aprilia will have six days). It is still unclear when Marquez will be fit to return, but since Bradl is also likely to be present at the Qatar tests as part of the RCV development programme, the #6 would again be the obvious choice if a replacement is needed for the opening race weekend. Full-time MotoGP riders Johann Zarco and Maverick Vinales were also due to ride at Jerez this week, albeit doing some training on road bikes, but the bad weather prompted Vinales to cancel while Zarco only completed a handful of laps.

Gresini MotoGP boss Fausto Gresini remains in intensive care with COVID-19 as his condition remains “serious” due to his lungs being “hit hard” by the virus. The double 125cc world champion and veteran MotoGP team boss took ill just before Christmas and was hospitalised on 27 December in Imola. Due to his worsening condition he was transferred to a specialist COVID care unit in Bologna just before the new year, where has remained since. Gresini was placed into a medically induced coma, but was brought out of this in early January. Having remained under sedation and on a ventilator to aid breathing, doctors began to bring him out of this two weeks ago and he was able to talk to family members. However, in the last week he has had to be put back into sedation to aid breathing while on a ventilator – with the latest update from the Gresini team also confirming there is an infection in his lungs. A statement from the team read: “Fausto Gresini’s conditions remain serious, as the former motorcycle world champion is still in the intensive care unit of the Maggiore Carlo Alberto Pizzardi hospital in Bologna. “Here is today’s statement by Dr Nicola Cilloni: “Fausto’s general conditions are unfortunately still serious. “The lungs hit hard by the disease and by an overlapping infection are able to give oxygen to the blood only and aided by the mechanical ventilation machine. “It is still necessary to keep Fausto asleep almost always to allow the mechanical fan to work properly. “When he is periodically awakened, he is conscious and combative.” Much of the world is currently wrestling with a second wave of COVID-19 after several new, more infectious variants have emerged. This acceleration in infections in Malaysia forced the country to declare a state of emergency last week, which resulted in MotoGP having to cancel its scheduled first pre-season test at Sepang in February. It is not known currently how COVID will continue to impact the 2020 MotoGP calendar, though further revisions are expected. Currently, the Qatar test is still scheduled to go ahead in March, with two extra days added to make up for the loss of the Sepang outing.

The Frenchman visited their European Headquarters in Gerno di Lesmo, Italy. This shows the start of a dream year in the royal blue of factory Yamaha is officially underway for 2019 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Fabio Quartararo after he visited the Japanese factory’s European HQ in Gerno di Lesmo, Italy, on Monday. The 21-year-old was welcomed by Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, and Massimo Meregalli, Team Manager of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP squad. The trio took a tour of the Yamaha Factory Racing offices as the Frenchman becomes acclimatised with his new home for the next two years. He won’t be the only man making the switch from Petronas Yamaha SRT to the full factory concern, with crew chief Diego Gubellini also following Quartararo across. The pair will have to wait a little while longer, though, to become properly accustomed to the 2021 Yamaha M1, with his first opportunity coming at the opening day of the Qatar Test on March 6th.

MotoGP has partially replaced the Sepang tests which it cancelled with extra running at Losail. The Shakedown Test and the Official Test (all-in) which were to be held at the Malaysian Grand prix venue next month were this week called off due to a coronavirus-related local state of emergency. With MotoGP due to head to Qatar for a second all-in test on March 10-12, more days have been added to the schedule at Losail, earlier that month. After two days of set-up, a Shakedown Test for test riders and rookies will be held on March 5, before a full, Official Test on March 6-7. The second Official Test will proceed as originally planned. MotoGP rookies were first allowed to participate in the Shakedown Test last year, which is a boon this time around for Esponsorama Racing team-mates Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini, plus Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin. With Gresini Aprilia thus far having provisionally named Lorenzo Savadori as a race rider and therefore Bradley Smith as a test rider, both can also participate given the former’s total premier class grand prix experience amounts to three rounds at the end of last year.

Honda says Marc Marquez’s recovery is “satisfactory” six weeks after undergoing surgery for an infection in his arm. Marquez has been receiving treatment since he crashed and broke his right humerus in the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix last year. Following the incident, Marquez had an operation immediately afterwards to have a metal plate inserted into his arm to fix the bone. The Spaniard sought to contest the Andalusian Motorcycle Grand Prix that followed but decided not to compete due to pain. He later lamented the rushed attempt to get back riding, which he said stifled his recovery. The 27-year-old was ultimately unable to contest the remainder of the 2020 season, bringing an end to his streak of four successive championship wins. Marquez underwent an eight-hour surgery late last year and has since received a check-up six weeks later. “Today [January 14] Marc Márquez has gone to the Hospital Ruber Internacional for a medical check-up,” read a statement from the Honda Racing Corporation. “The eight-time world champion has visited six weeks after the surgery performed on December 3 for an infected pseudarthrosis of the right humerus. “A satisfactory clinical and radiographic evolution has been confirmed for the time of evaluation. “Marquez will continue with the specific antibiotic treatment and with a functional recovery programme adapted to his clinical situation.” There are concerns Marquez may be unable to contest the first half of this year’s MotoGP season amid a six-month recovery time. The 2021 season will get underway with the Qatar Grand Prix on March 28.

Suzuki MotoGP Project Leader Shinichi Sahara has said that Davide Brivio’s departure was “shocking news” to the team. It was announced that Brivio was to leave the Moto GP the team amidst rumours that he is set to join Renault’s rebranded F1 team, Alpine F1. The news came shortly after he helped Suzuki win their first World Championship in the series, and Sahara says that it came as a surprise to the staff, but is confident they can handle his exit. “It was shocking news. I really appreciate what Davide has done since he joined Suzuki; coming in at the start with the newly-created project and growing it to become a top team,” he said as per Motorsport Week. “For sure we are affected by it, but I don’t think we are going to lose the way without him (Brivio), because we always looked at things in the same way and agreed on the direction to take. “We also have expert staff to help us manage. I fully trust the team structure we have and the rest of the people who helped build it up. “When Davide told all the team staff, everybody was shocked, of course. “But before long we turned our minds towards the next steps to overcome this situation together. We will be more united than ever because we all love this brand, this team, and we will give 150% to carry on with the new challenges in the best way.” Brivio was widely credited for the work he did in his role as team manager since joining in 2014, and many saw him as an integral part of the team’s success. As far as Sahara as concerned though, it’s business as usual for the team, and the exit doesn’t change much. “In my opinion, it should not affect anything from now on,” he added. “We will be working as we know how, and even more than before now that we’ve won the championship. “It is always necessary to fine-tune the team structure to get the maximum performance from each team member as standard procedure, even without Davide’s leaving. But I think everyone is professional enough and has the know-how to go on in the best way possible. “I think that we can manage the situation with the people inside Suzuki, and it is the best way for us. We know who we are, how we work, how we interact, and what we need. We won’t look for an external manager right now, we will try to manage by ourselves.”

Like Formula 1, MotoGP will not escape changes to the 2021 calendar. On Tuesday afternoon it was announced that the pre-season test at the Sepang circuit could not take place. The Malaysian government has declared a state of emergency. For a long time it seemed that the pre-season tests could go ahead as planned. The track bosses, all the organisers involved and the Malaysian government had initially agreed that the February event could go ahead under strict conditions, but a rapid increase in positive coronavirus tests was not expected. The first test week (of three days) has therefore been cancelled, which means that only one week remains. From 10 to 12 March, the teams will test in Qatar. Two weeks later the season will start at the Losail International Circuit. However, it remains to be seen whether all of that can go ahead. In a statement, MotoGP said: “Any further updates or changes will be provided as soon as possible.” Rumour has it that the April races in America and Argentina will be cancelled and that the season could even start in Europe as it did in 2020.

Andrea Dovizioso has laid the blame for his exit from the factory Ducati MotoGP team after eight years on a fractured relationship with its general manager Gigi Dall’Igna.Dovizioso, who will take a sabbatical in 2021 announced during last August’s Austrian Grand Prix weekend that he would not be renewing his contract with Ducati beyond 2020, but remained coy on his motivation for this. It was thought at the time that Ducati and Dovizioso could not meet on financial terms on a new deal, but the 15-time MotoGP race winner says this is false and a deal was never tabled. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Dovizioso has opened up on what led to his Ducati exit, pointing towards the breakdown in relationship between himself and Dall’Igna since the 2017 season. “What is the relationship with Gigi? Zero,” admitted Dovizioso. “In the past years it was at 30%, then since Jorge Lorenzo arrived in 2017 – in arguing and going against each other – my team became a bit isolated. “We no longer talked about the development of the bike, we no longer held meetings to develop it. But in Ducati there is potential to do so, because the competence and skill [levels] are very high. Of these eight years it’s the only thing that makes me angry, because we could have done more. “Gigi and I have not spoken calmly since 2017.” Dovizioso denies that the decision not to go forward with him was unanimous among Ducati management, and claimed: “These decisions come only from Gigi. There is talk of Ducati, but it is wrong because all the decisions are his. Like the choice of Lorenzo in 2017. “At the beginning of 2016 there was the possibility of taking on [Marc] Marquez, but Gigi had already decided that he wanted Lorenzo.” Dovizioso suggests Dall’Igna’s mind was made up when the pair clashed during a technical meeting in 2019 between the German and Austrian Grands Prix. “Gigi stated that he understood that it was already over from the 2019 meeting between the Sachsenring and Austria,” he said. “That was supposed to be a technical meeting, we had different ideas, there was friction and we wanted to meet with all the engineers. “It started as a technical meeting but then ended as a confrontation between the two of us. Gigi felt attacked, beaten. I think at that moment he closed the doors, but he did it quietly and what he says confirms it. “It was said that I wanted this and that. All lies. There was never an offer, there were no negotiations. I still did not know that they no longer wanted me. But what they said was the confirmation that for Dall’Igna it was already over after that 2019 meeting.” Dovizioso is also critical of a lack of transparency over a 2021 Ducati deal, saying more knowledge of his standing within the team would have made him “consider the possibility of KTM in a different way” having held discussions which came to naught with the Austrian marque. He hasn’t ruled out the possibility of standing in for the still-recovering Marquez at Honda in 2021 but declined to comment on the situation and would prefer to “see what they propose to me, if they will” before making any plans.

Gresini MotoGP boss Fausto Gresini has shown signs of ‘slight improvement’ having been placed into a medically-induced coma due to COVID-19. The veteran MotoGP team boss was admitted to hospital on 27 December in Imola, Italy, after testing positive for COVID-19 just before Christmas. He was subsequently transferred to a hospital in Bologna to a specialist COVID ward as his condition deteriorated, with the Gresini team confirming he was placed into a coma due to low blood oxygen saturation levels. In a statement issued on Friday evening, the team says Gresini’s condition has improved enough to the point doctors are beginning “a slow awakening process”. “The conditions of Fausto Gresini – who was transported to the Carlo Alberto Pizzardi hospital in Bologna on 30 December – are slightly improving,” the statement read. “After his arrival at the hospital (Intensive Care Department of Prof. Cilloni) with very low blood oxygen saturation levels, the Gresini Racing Team Principal was induced into a pharmacological coma and received an endotracheal intubation to help organs’ oxygenation. “During the last few hours, in light of stable and improving general conditions, the doctors decided to begin a slow awakening process to allow independent lung ventilation. “Further updates will follow.” COVID-19 forced the 2020 MotoGP season to be delayed from its original March start date to July, with a new 14-round calendar centred in Europe implemented. MotoGP enforced strict protocols within the paddock to quell the spread of the virus, although several high-profile names still caught COVID-19 away from circuits. New Pramac MotoGP rider Jorge Martin was forced to miss the Misano Moto2 double-header after becoming the first rider to catch the virus, with nine-time grand prix world champion Valentino Rossi ruled out of the Aragon rounds after testing positive. Tech3 rider Iker Lecuona missed the last round of 2020 having tested positive for COVID-19, which came after a two-race layoff when his brother tested positive for the virus. The Gresini team will remain Aprilia’s official factory entrant in 2021, but announced in December it would once again be an independent outfit from 2022 – having last raced as a satellite squad in 2014 with Honda machinery. As a result, Aprilia will become a proper factory team from 2022.

Tech 3 MotoGP team boss Herve Poncharal admits he got “a little bit angry” when rumours of Andrea Dovizioso replacing Iker Lecuona for 2021 emerged during the 2020 season.Lecuona was drafted in to take the place intended for Brad Binder at Tech 3 in 2020 when KTM opted to move the South African into its factory squad to replace Johann Zarco. Admitting to Motorsport.com that his move to MotoGP perhaps came “too early”, having only made his Moto2 debut at the age of 16 in 2016, 20-year-old Lecuona managed three top 10s in his maiden premier class season on his way to 20th in the championship. Vastly inexperienced relative to his rookie contemporaries Binder and Alex Marquez who had 145 and 135 grand prix starts ahead of 2020 compared to Lecuona’s 56 – rumours emerged mid-season KTM could move Lecuona back to Moto2 and take on outgoing Ducati star Dovizioso. Dovizioso and KTM held discussions over a 2021 ride in the pre-season, but those talks came to nothing. Speaking to Motorsport.com, Poncharal says he was angered at having to field repeated questions on Lecuona’s future despite KTM confirming his 2021 place in the pre-season. “The good thing with Iker is he trusts the team and he trusts me a lot,” Poncharal said. “And I told him: ‘Iker, it doesn’t matter what you hear, it doesn’t matter all the bullshit you hear or read. “’Consult with yourself on your job and I’m telling you, you are my rider in 2020 and you will be my rider in ’21, 100%. So, don’t pay too much attention to this’. “Some journalists who also think they are a little bit [like] superstars kept on asking [about Dovizioso replacing Lecuona], and I was at some stage a little bit angry because it doesn’t matter how many time you say [it’s not happening], you feel there is sometimes a higher force or a higher person behind myself that is going to tell me to change [my line-up].” Dovizioso raced for Tech 3 in its Yamaha days in 2012, scoring six podiums, with Poncharal confessing he has “so much respect” for the Italian. But the Frenchman insists returning Lecuona to Moto2 in 2021 in favour of Dovizioso was never an option. “Andrea spoke with KTM during the winter and they didn’t manage to find an agreement,” he adds. “But then in August they [the media] were coming to me and I told everybody and the journalists, it’s a lack of respect [these rumours]. “We have a contract signed with Iker and why should we tell him to go back to Moto2? Riders are not toilet paper that you take and throw away. “We took him from Moto2, we took a big risk because it would have been easier to keep him in Moto2 one more year to try to win races and why not the championship, then move to MotoGP. “So, he followed us, he trusted us and after a year where he started to show his potential, we tell him to go back to Moto2. Never. “That would never happen with me and I am not glad that didn’t happen because it was never going to happen. “It was only some superstar media who know more than anybody, who were making their plans and thought that was going to be more exciting.”

Double MotoGP race winner Danilo Petrucci admits he is happy that Ducati fired him when it did, as it allowed him to secure top ride with KTM at Tech3 for 2021. Petrucci was handed his marching orders from Ducati before the coronavirus-delayed 2020 season got underway, with Pramac’s Jack Miller taking his place for 2021. The Italian soon engaged in discussions with KTM, signing a deal to join the Austrian manufacturer next year with Herve Poncharal’s Tech3 outfit. Tech3 scored two victories in 2020 courtesy of Miguel Oliveira, bringing Tech3’s haul to three alongside Brad Binder’s Czech Grand Prix win. Petrucci managed a victory at the wet French GP, but was affected heavily by the change in rear tyre construction from Michelin. The Italian admits he felt like he “failed my mission” when Ducati informed him he would not remain with the squad in 2021, but reflects on the timing of it in a positive light. “For sure it has been a very, very strange situation, but it has been very strange all the things happening in the world this year,” Petrucci said. “Looking back for sure, that day Gigi [Dall’Igna, Ducati general manager] called me and said I was not anymore in the factory team, was a very, very sad day because I felt like I failed my mission. “But looking back, I have to say thanks to him because his move permitted me to go to another factory that is really, really competitive. “Everybody at the beginning of the season didn’t think KTM was so fast. “But now the results are [strong]. So, I’m happy that Gigi fired me at the beginning of the season.” KTM’s three victories in 2020 lost it the concession benefits it has utilised since 2017, chief amongst which being an immediate ban on private testing with race riders. This means Petrucci won’t be able ride the RC16 ahead of the first official test at Sepang in February, but said he would do some windtunnel work with KTM after the Portuguese GP. “Unfortunately, they lost the concessions, the free testing, so I have to try the bike in February next year,” he said in Portugal. “But I will go in the windtunnel next week and will be very, very important because for example the top speed this year for me has been a problem. “So, working on that side is important. I think I will do motocross so much without covering the brand of the bike!”

Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis says Valentino Rossi will be a “very important part” in the development of the marque’s 2021 MotoGP bike despite his switch to the satellite Petronas team.After 15 seasons together, Rossi’s time at the factory Yamaha squad came to an end at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign, with the nine-time world champion remaining a factory-contracted rider with Petronas next year on current-spec machinery. Though Jarvis admits Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales will lead some of the development at the factory squad, but doesn’t believe Rossi “moving next door” will change his role much from what it has been previously at Yamaha. “He’s done 15 seasons with the Yamaha factory team. That’s quite extraordinary,” Jarvis said of Rossi’s time with Yamaha. “He did it in two stints, first seven years [from 2004-2010] before he took a two-year break [to join Ducati from 2011-2012] and then eight years when he came back [in 2013]. “So, it will be a change, there’s no doubt because moving next door as such will be different. But on the other side, it will not be different because Valentino will get full factory support next year. “He’ll be riding a factory bike with the same spec as the factory riders. It is true that some of the development will be led more by the factory team, but Valentino is a very important part of our data gathering. “Having more riders on the track is important and there’s no question our engineers will be looking at the data of Fabio, Maverick and Valentino to develop and further progress the factory bike. “But also, we get some interesting information as well from having Franky [Morbidelli] out there [on the older bike]. “So, I think that it will be not a huge change, it will not be a deficit in any case ,and it will not change very much how we develop the bike.”

KTM has expressed its interest in supplying Valentino Rossi’s team in MotoGP should VR46 become a fully fledged premier class outfit in its own right. VR46 will feature in MotoGP next year as a backer of the Esponsorama Racing (Avintia) entry which its 2020 Moto2 runner-up, Luca Marini, will ride. Speaking in the weeks ahead of that announcement, Rossi revealed he has had talks with Yamaha about bringing his academy team into the premier class, although not before the new team participation cycle begins in 2022. Such a tie-up would be a logical choice for VR46 given ‘The Doctor’, who is on his way to SRT, will have raced a Yamaha for 15 seasons by the end of 2021. Furthermore, Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal claimed he had been told that he was the Iwata marque’s second preference to VR46, in the months before announcing his switch to KTM. Poncharal asserted that there was no interest from Yamaha in supplying six entries (including its own factory team), but there are apparently no such reservations in Austria. With Gresini Racing having confirmed its ongoing participation in MotoGP beyond 2021, but not necessarily with current partner Aprilia, and the possibility of an SRT split from Yamaha, KTM could have multiple suitors for a new satellite deal. According to its Motorsports Director, Pit Beirer, it will consider all of them, including VR46. “If you don’t do business in this paddock with someone who has broken his word, you’ll be on your own relatively soon,” he told German outlet Speedweek.com, referring to a past Moto3 deal which was called off by Gresini. “We will hold talks with all serious interested parties. “We would be happy to hear from Valentino at any point in time, but preferably not before 2022 or 2023.” The latter element of that comment is a reference to KTM’s own development. A powerhouse in offroad competition, it broke through for its first MotoGP race win at Brno in the early stages of the 2020 season courtesy of Brad Binder, before Miguel Oliveira added two more on a Tech3 entry. KTM debuted in MotoGP in the 2016 season finale, in preparation for its first full season in the premier class, and Beirer would like to see it establish itself as a championship contender before adding another satellite team. “As soon as we can say that KTM has finally reached the top, we will discuss whether we can equip a second MotoGP customer team,” he explained. “If someone is interested, we would of course offer our bikes. “But this is not the moment to discuss something like this. “We took another huge step in MotoGP in 2020 because we won three races. We must first confirm this success next year.” Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will field Binder and Oliveira next year alongside a Tech3 line-up of Iker Lecuona and former Ducati Team rider Danilo Petrucci.