The MotoGP machinery locked in storage in Qatar following coronavirus-cancelled season-opener has been returned to Europe following an extensive logistical mission. The outbreak of COVID-19 last month resulted in the Qatari government imposing travel restrictions on travelers from Italy, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the first round of the 2020 MotoGP season. MotoGP
Month: April 2020
Dani Pedrosa says he would now consider a return to MotoGP as a wildcard entrant, should KTM require him to test the RC16 in race conditions. Pedrosa stepped down from full-time competition at the end of the 2018 season after a 13-year stint with the Repsol Honda team in the premier class, which included 31
Several circuits are lobbying to stage the resumption of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series as soon as May despite current coronavirus-forced lockdowns. The NASCAR season has been paused since the 8 March race at Phoenix Raceway due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with the 8-9 May event at Martinsville in Virginia hoped to be the point
Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta expects MotoGP riders to take pay cuts in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, including those that have already signed contract renewals for 2021. The COVID-19 outbreak that has caused the opening nine races of the 2020 season to be either cancelled or postponed has placed great financial stress
Bobby Rahal has paid tribute to 1981 CART Rookie of the Year Bob Lazier, who died from complications arising from coronavirus at the age of 81 on Sunday. Lazier won the 1971 Formula B class at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, competed in the USAC Mini Indy Series and in Formula 5000 before graduating to
Maverick Vinales admits he felt he was missing Yamaha’s “trust” for much of the 2019 MotoGP season, which played a part in him strongly considering a Ducati switch for 2021. Last year, Ducati was open about its interest in securing Vinales’ services, and the 25-year-old himself did little to dampen speculation such a move could
Suzuki has firmed up half of its line-up for the 2021 MotoGP season after it confirmed it had retained the services of Alex Rins on Sunday. Rins made his MotoGP debut with Suzuki in 2017 following a two-year stint in Moto2 with Pons Racing, and has remained aboard the GSX-RR since then. The Spaniard repaid
2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud won his second IndyCar iRacing Challenge race after teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin collided with a lapped car at the virtual Twin-Ring Motegi. Pagenaud took the lead after leaders Power and McLaughlin collided with the lapped Oliver Askew, spinning McLaughlin into the wall and ripping off Power’s right-front
Cal Crutchlow says beating Andrea Dovizioso for his first MotoGP podium at the 2012 Czech Grand Prix was the “big turning point” of his career. Crutchlow stepped up to MotoGP from World Superbikes in 2011 with the Tech3 Yamaha squad, though endured a largely difficult opening campaign which yielded just one top five finish. He
The resumption of the coronavirus-halted 2020 NASCAR Cup Series has been delayed further, after the May event at Martinsville Speedway has been postponed. The coronavirus pandemic, which has now infected well over one and a half million people worldwide since the outbreak began at the start of the year, has caused chaos with the 2020
The start of the MotoGP season has been pushed back even further following the official postponement of the Sachsenring race in Germany. With the Italian and Catalan Grands Prix postponed earlier this month, the German GP – originally the ninth round – scheduled for 21 June, was left as the earliest possible starting point for
In Motorsport Heroes, the full-length feature film by Manish Pandey now available on Motorsport.tv, four legends of our sport share their successes, failures, personal struggles and life-threatening accidents. One of those heroes is Michele Mouton, who talks about how her WRC career ended amid the tragedy of the 1986 Tour de Corse. Mouton, who is
MotoGP will continue to use 2020 bikes next season as part of cost-saving measures to mitigate the financial impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the indefinitely postponed series. The 2020 season has had the first eight of its races either cancelled or postponed, with new government social distancing guidelines in Germany likely leading to
The Spa 24 Hours blue riband round of the GT World Challenge Europe has been postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Race organiser the Stephane Ratel Organisation has announced that the GTWCE Endurance Cup race set for 25/26 July will be put back after the Belgian government announced today an extension of its
The choice of who to replace Kyle Larson at Chip Ganassi Racing this season seems an obvious one. But then again, maybe it’s not, as JIM UTTER explains. Ross Chastain is a clear favourite to take over the No. 42 Chevrolet once real racing resumes after CGR fired Kyle Larson on Tuesday for the use
All MotoGP manufacturers aside from Ducati have opposed the idea to scale back the number of bikes per rider to just one as a cost-saving measure, Autosport has learned. The coronavirus pandemic has hammered the MotoGP World Championship, with the cancellation and postponement of the first eight races meaning no team is producing any income
Aleix Espargaro has revealed a deal to join Ducati for the 2015 MotoGP season was “practically done”, before it ultimately retained Andrea Dovizioso. Espargaro made his full-time MotoGP debut in 2010 with Pramac Ducati, before returning in 2012 with the Aspar team on its Aprilia CRT machine in 2012. He moved to the Forward Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing has released NASCAR Cup driver Kyle Larson following his suspension for the use of a racial slur. Larson had used the racial slur during the livestream of a NASCAR-sanctioned iRacing event on Sunday evening, put together by fellow drivers Landon Cassill and Garrett Smithley, when he appeared to lose communication on his
MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports has ruled out the possibility of the series having two-race weekends as part of a condensed schedule should racing get underway later this year. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the opening eight races of the 2020 campaign to be either cancelled or postponed due to lockdown restrictions worldwide, with the season
Jorge Lorenzo believes he may have secured a future with Ducati beyond 2018 had he not crashed out of a convincing lead of the 2017 MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix. Lorenzo spent nine years at Yamaha between 2008 and 2016, winning all three of his premier class world titles on the M1, before departing for
The Paul Ricard GT World Challenge Europe event set for May is the latest round of the series be put back or cancelled as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The six-hour GTWCE Endurance Cup round promoted as the Paul Ricard 1000Km scheduled for May 30 has been postponed until November 15 following an announcement
Kyle Larson has issued an apology after being suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for the use of a racial slur during a live-streamed virtual racing event on Sunday night. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Larson was competing in an iRacing event at Monza when he appeared to lose communication on his headset with his spotter. The 27-year-old,
The unprecedented effects of the coronavirus crisis on motorsport are beginning to show, with numerous teams and manufacturers in car and bike racing alike currently facing major difficulties. Ducati’s Borgo Panigale base is situated right in the major breakout zone for COVID-19, and the lockdown in place in Italy means Ducati has shut its shop
NASCAR is investigating an incident in which Cup Series driver Kyle Larson used a highly offensive racial slur during a live-stream broadcast of a virtual race on Sunday evening. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Larson was competing in an iRacing event at Monza featuring more than 60 entries, which was put together by fellow NASCAR racers
Pol Espargaro believes Honda will find it “difficult” to manage its Marquez brothers MotoGP line-up in 2020, especially as the pair are “very close” off-track. In the wake of Jorge Lorenzo’s retirement announcement, Honda moved to form the first all-brother rider line-up in MotoGP when it signed reigning Moto2 world champion Alex Marquez to join
Francesco Bagnaia beat Maverick Vinales in a chaotic second #StayAtHomeGP MotoGP Esports race around a virtual Red Bull Ring. Just as with the Mugello race, a five-minute qualifying preceded the 10-lap Red Bull Ring contest on the official MotoGP 19 game, with Pramac’s Bagnaia claiming pole in a crash-strewn session. Bagnaia beat Yamaha’s Vinales –
World Rally Championship winner Petter Solberg says he is in discussions with two car manufacturers to return to the WRC with his own team. The 2003 world champion with Subaru, Solberg won 13 WRC events in a decorated career that included a three-year stint as an independent following Subaru’s withdrawal in 2008. He officially retired
Seven-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi has named the three race victories he considers his “best”, and reveals the rivals which spurred him on most in his career. Should the 2020 MotoGP season get underway, it will his 21st in the premier class and mark his 24th year of grand prix racing, having made his
Ex-Formula 1 driver and inaugural Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr is considering a return to NASCAR, having raced in its three lead categories after his F1 career ended. Since losing his Jaguar FE seat to Alex Lynn midway through the 2018-19 season, Piquet has been racing in the Stock Car Brasil championship – frequented
Cal Crutchlow admits “there’s no reason why I won’t be racing” in MotoGP in 2021, having previously said that he expected his current contract to be his last. The LCR rider stepped up to the premier class from World Superbikes in 2011 with Tech3, and has gone onto win three races in that time. Currently