As the grid lined up for the start of the 2016 Dutch TT – the first MotoGP race in the Netherlands not to be held on its traditional Saturday slot – 167 grands prix had passed since a rider on a satellite machine took to the top step of the podium. That streak would be

One-time MotoGP race winner Jack Miller will step up to the factory Ducati team for the 2021 season, with an option to extend his stay by a further year. Miller made his MotoGP debut in 2015 straight from finishing runner-up in the Moto3 class, spending three seasons as a Honda-contracted rider with LCR and Marc

Suzuki rider Alex Rins says he’d rather go straight into racing when the coronavirus-delayed MotoGP season begins instead of having a test before the first event. The outbreak of COVID-19 has delayed the 2020 season and forced the postponement or cancellation of the first 11 scheduled races of the original calendar. MotoGP has set out

Jorge Lorenzo will make his Esports debut on Sunday for MotoGP’s latest Virtual GP, which will be staged at Silverstone and feature the Moto2 and Moto3 classes. Three-time MotoGP world champion Lorenzo retired from racing at the end of last year following a miserable season on the works Honda. He returned to Yamaha, with whom

Ducati is close to securing Jack Miller to form part of its works MotoGP line-up for the 2021 season, as a host of Pramac replacements from Moto2 have also emerged. Miller has been part of the Ducati family since joining satellite squad Pramac in 2018, and has had machine parity with the works riders since

Joan Mir insists that he longer sees himself as Suzuki’s number two rider after completing his rookie MotoGP season last year. Moto2 graduate Mir concluded his first campaign in the premier class 12th overall with less than half the points tally of teammate Alex Rins, albeit missing two races in the wake of a heavy

On the anniversary of his untimely death in 2017, Autosport sat down with two former team-mates – Dani Pedrosa and Michael van der Mark – to remember 2006 MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden and the qualities which made him a motorsport hero The high-pressure nature of professional sport and the personal sacrifices that must be

Jorge Lorenzo reckons that Yamaha stablemate Valentino Rossi could start to win MotoGP races again if the seven-time premier class title winner gets a bike he is comfortable with. Rossi is about to embark on his 21st season in the premier class and his 15th for Yamaha and, although he hasn’t won a race since

Alex Marquez has admitted he is a “little bit worried” by the pressure of having limited time to prove himself worthy of a new Honda MotoGP contract this season. Reigning Moto2 champion Marquez was promoted to a works Honda ride for 2020 on a one-year contract, but the coronavirus-induced delay to the season comes at

Ducati test rider Michele Pirro says the ban on MotoGP wildcards this season is unfair and suspects the decision could be related to Honda not wanting Jorge Lorenzo to race for Yamaha. The decision to stop manufacturers entering extra bikes in certain races during the coronavirus-delayed 2020 campaign was announced last week by the Grand

Contract negotiations between Ducati and Andrea Dovizioso for the 2021 MotoGP season are still on hold, with the rider’s manager confirming no proposal has been made to his rider. Dovizioso’s current deal with Ducati is up at the end of the year, but discussions over a new deal have stalled as both parties disagree on

MotoGP’s 2019 rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo admits his rivals “looked at me differently” after taking his debut pole at Jerez last year. Quartararo guided his customer ‘B-spec’ Petronas SRT Yamaha to six poles and seven podiums in a debut season which has earned him graduation to Yamaha’s works team alongside Maverick Vinales in 2021. It

KTM has revealed it opposed Aprilia’s request to continue developing its MotoGP engine before the 2020 season starts, and has no plans to deviate from its current design. On Friday it was announced that the premier class’s two concession manufacturers would be granted more time to work on their engines, instead of having to stick

On this day in 2012, Casey Stoner dropped the bombshell that he’d be retiring at the end of the season. On that Thursday afternoon in France, the double MotoGP world champion shattered Honda’s hopes of assembling the ultimate dream team for 2013 On 17 May 2012, MotoGP’s greatest enigma shocked the world on the eve

Suzuki MotoGP team boss Davide Brivio says he feels Ducati should not drop Andrea Dovizioso amid rumours that the Italian veteran is considering a change of scenery for 2021. Although it had been widely assumed Dovizioso was prepared to commit to Ducati for another two years, recent reports in the Italian media have linked him

Three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo won’t get a wildcard return with Yamaha in 2020, as wildcard entries have been outlawed for this year. Lorenzo was due to make his first grand prix appearance since announcing his retirement at the end of last year in the Catalan Grand Prix for Yamaha, originally scheduled for June,

KTM boss Pit Beirer says the Austrian marque’s plan is to retain its current MotoGP line-up of Pol Espargaro and Brad Binder, casting doubt on the rumoured Andrea Dovizioso switch. In the last week, three-time MotoGP World Championship runner-up Dovizioso became linked with a shock move to KTM as contract negotiations with Ducati hit a

Ducati needs Andrea Dovizioso more than the veteran MotoGP rider needs the Italian manufacturer, claims Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella. Dovizioso’s bargaining position for a fresh deal with Ducati for 2021 and beyond was strengthened considerably when the Borgo Panigale marque’s top two targets, Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo, both re-signed with Yamaha. Ducati was also

Aprilia has requested an exemption from the engine freeze MotoGP has implemented this year in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, Autosport has learned. At the core of Aprilia’s radically-revised 2020-spec RS-GP is an all-new 90-degree V4 similar to that used by Honda, Ducati and KTM, replacing the old 75-degree unit. However, the Noale marque

The coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented time for this generation, and has had devastating effects worldwide, with over four million people infected and over 280,000 killed. But, in this time of crisis, the best in humanity has been brought out as everyone – in big and small ways – have been making a difference

Valentino Rossi will return to the grid for the fourth edition of the MotoGP Virtual race, which will feature a MotoE race for the first time. The coronavirus crisis has forced the first 11 rounds of the 2020 MotoGP season to be either cancelled or postponed, with the campaign aiming to start in late July

Fabio Quartararo says he hopes that Italian MotoGP fans do not “hate” him once he replaces Valentino Rossi at the factory Yamaha squad next season. Petronas SRT Yamaha rider Quartararo has secured a promotion to the Iwata marque’s works operation for 2021 after a stunning rookie campaign last year that featured six pole positions and

Alex Rins admits that the widespread perception the Suzuki MotoGP bike is the easiest on the grid to ride “annoys” him. Last year, Rins scored his first victories aboard the GSX-RR on his way to fourth in the riders’ standings, triumphing at both the Circuit of the Americas and Silverstone. Team-mate Joan Mir also enjoyed

Valentino Rossi admits he has “more potential” this year thanks to the arrival of new Yamaha MotoGP crew chief David Munoz in the winter. Seven-time MotoGP world champion Rossi announced late last season that he would be parting ways with then-crew chief Silvano Galbusera, who had been with the Italian since 2014 as replacement for

Andrea Iannone’s lawyer is “confident” a verdict on the Italian MotoGP rider’s appeal against his 18-month doping ban can be achieved by July, when the season is due to begin. Aprilia rider Iannone was handed the ban at the start of April after testing positive for an anabolic steroid during last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix,

In the second instalment of free episodes from Motorsport.tv’s Duke archive, relive a farcical 1989 US Motorcycle Grand Prix which offers a stark reminder of how far MotoGP safety has come. The 1989 American Motorcycle Grand Prix isn’t history’s most significant race, but a re-watch of the event offered up a grim reminder of what

MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports and Jerez have agreed a proposal to host the first two 2020 rounds in July to be sent to the Spanish Government for approval. The outbreak of COVID-19 has forced the opening 11 rounds of the season to be scrubbed from their original slot, with the Qatar, Dutch, German and Finnish

In recent days, Petronas SRT has confirmed talks have been held with Yamaha about putting a deal in place for the 2021 MotoGP season for Valentino Rossi. Nine-time grand prix motorcycle racing world champion Rossi has lost his place at the works Yamaha team to Fabio Quartararo for 2021, but was promised full support from

Three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo says he has been “convinced” of Andrea Iannone’s innocence amid the Italian’s 18-month suspension for doping. Aprilia rider Iannone was handed the ban by the FIM after testing positive for an anabolic steroid late last year, but the 30-year-old has always insisted he was not at fault and has pledged

Jerez is in discussions to hold the first two rounds of the delayed 2020 MotoGP season on consecutive weekends at the end of July. So far, the global coronavirus pandemic has caused the opening 11 races on the original calendar to fall by the wayside, with the Dutch TT, German and Finnish Grands Prix becoming