Aleix Espargaro admits he ‘needs’ Aprilia team-mate Andrea Iannone if he is to challenge for MotoGP podiums, with tensions between the pair now diffused after their Qatar test fallout. Espargaro branded Iannone as “super disrespectful” for comments the Italian made during the official livery launch of the 2020 Aprilia prior to the Qatar test last

MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports says it is offering financial assistance to all satellite MotoGP teams and the Moto2 and Moto3 squads to help pay staff wages during the coronavirus-enforced hiatus. The 2020 MotoGP season has had the first five rounds of the year either cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with at least

Jorge Lorenzo believes he will “not be short of offers” if he were to stage a full-time MotoGP comeback in the future, having retired at the end of the 2019 season. The three-time MotoGP world champion hung up his leathers at the end of last year following a bruising sole season aboard the factory Honda.

Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez says Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha wildcard at the Catalan GP proves he has “no fear of motorcycling”, but was “maybe afraid” of the Honda. Triple MotoGP champion Lorenzo announced his retirement from racing at the end of last year, following an injury-hit first season on the Honda that robbed him

Honda team manager Alberto Puig believes MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports has responded to the coronavirus pandemic better than “very hesitant” Formula 1 owners Liberty Media. The COVID-19 outbreak, which has infected well over 600,000 people worldwide and killed over 30,000, has forced the postponement and cancellation of many major sporting events, including the opening eight

Johann Zarco believes Ducati can “give me time” to prove himself on the year-old Avintia-run Desmosedici and show he deserves a factory MotoGP seat with the marque in 2021. The double Moto2 world champion has signed directly with Ducati for 2020 to ride a GP19 in Avintia colours, with the team now becoming an official

Honda team manager Alberto Puig has hit back at claims by Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna that the delayed start to the season will benefit HRC and Marc Marquez. The start of the 2020 MotoGP season will be pushed back even further following the cancellation of the Jerez round, meaning that the French Grand Prix stands

Valentino Rossi admits the forced hiatus for MotoGP due to the coronavirus pandemic has “messed up the plan” he had for deciding his future beyond the 2020 season. The 41-year-old nine-time grand prix motorcycle world champion did not commit to a contract extension with Yamaha at the start of the year as he wanted to

The 2020 MotoGP season is currently on an enforced hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the first five races now pushed out of their original slots. MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports and governing body the FIM have been proactive during this time, with a provisional calendar already published, while various plans have been mooted on

The MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez due to run at the start of May has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, becoming the fifth race to be scrapped. The COVID-19 outbreak is now centred on Europe, with Formula 1 recently postponing its Dutch and Spanish GPs, while cancelling Monaco altogether. MotoGP had its

Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso believes that a compressed schedule in the second half of 2020 owing to the global coronavirus pandemic will be “difficult for everyone”. The new season is currently due to begin at Jerez in early May following the cancellation of the Qatar Grand Prix for the premier class and the postponement

KTM MotoGP boss Pit Beirer has confirmed to Autosport that a test will take place prior to the coronavirus-delayed 2020 season getting underway. The current championship has had the first four races of the season struck from the schedule, while it is highly expected that May’s Spanish, French and Italian Grands Prix will also be

MotoGP has clarified its homologation rules for engines and aerodynamic fairings amid the coronavirus shutdown, with the cancelled Qatar race the point at which the rules are being enforced. MotoGP’s current technical regulations stipulate that engines and the first of two allowed aero fairings for all non-concession manufacturers (Yamaha, Honda, Ducati, Suzuki) must be homologated

Danilo Petrucci admits negotiations regarding a contract renewal with Ducati would have been underway by now had the start of the MotoGP season not been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. After being awarded a one-year extension to his works deal with the Borgo Panigale marque off the back of his Mugello victory last year, Petrucci

Aprilia MotoGP rider Aleix Espargaro says he feels “ready” to fight for the podium this season and doesn’t think there are many riders “quicker than me” on the grid. The 2020 season will be the elder Espargaro brother’s 10th in the premier class and his fourth with Aprilia, who will race its “revolution” RS-GP. Espargaro

Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti believes it will be “impossible” for MotoGP to begin its season before June or July given the worsening coronavirus situation in Europe. After the Qatar opener was run earlier this month for Moto2 and Moto3 only in light of the worsening COVID-19 crisis, the three following races in Thailand, Austin

Maverick Vinales says Jorge Lorenzo’s Barcelona MotoGP wildcard will be “important” for Yamaha to allow it to properly test new parts, and hopes the three-time champion will do further races. Yamaha announced earlier in the month that Lorenzo will make his MotoGP race comeback at his home Catalan Grand Prix (currently slated for June), just

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez and Honda have the most to gain from the coronavirus-induced delay to the start of the 2020 season, believes Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna. The worsening COVID-19 pandemic has put the start of the 2020 campaign on hold, with the season opener at Qatar taking place only for Moto2 and

The FIM and Dorna Sports have announced that MotoGP’s Argentine Grand Prix has been postponed a day after it was confirmed as the new season-opener. The outbreak of coronavirus and ever-tightening travel restrictions led to MotoGP having to cancel its original season-opener in Qatar, with Thailand and Austin subsequently postponed in the following week as

The Ducati MotoGP team is still planning to conduct a two-day private test in Valencia at the end of March despite the entirety of Italy being under coronavirus quarantine. After a partial lockdown on numerous provinces affecting 16 million people was put into force, the Italian government extended that quarantine to cover the entire country

Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta says it’s possible a replacement for the cancelled Qatar MotoGP race could take place earlier than the new 19 April season start in Argentina. Dorna had to cancel the Qatar race owing to tighter quarantine restrictions being imposed on Italian travellers, though Moto2 and Moto3 went ahead due to both

The MotoGP 2020 calendar has undergone a further revision prompted by the threat of coronavirus, with Austin ceding season opener status to Argentina and the finale moving a week later. An amended calendar was initially presented to the public on March 5, with Austin’s Grand Prix of the Americas becoming the first premier-class race on

FIM president Jorge Viegas admits MotoGP could resort to running two races on the one weekend should coronavirus force more races to be cancelled. Tighter quarantine procedures in Qatar for travellers from Italy initiated prior to the Qatar Grand Prix meant MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports had no choice but to scrap the season-opener for the

Qatar Moto2 Grand Prix winner Tetsuta Nagashima says qualifying 14th meant he had to think “like a beast” from the race start, with “win or crash” his only options. Nagashima has raced full-time in Moto2 since 2017, though made his debut as a wildcard back in 2013, and had thus far only managed a best

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Tetsuta Nagashima came through from 14th to grab a surprise emotional maiden Moto2 win in a frantic Qatar Grand Prix. Nagashima grabbed the lead late on and opened up an insurmountable gap to cruise to his first win, some 10 years after fellow Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa won the very first

Albert Arenas clinched the first Moto3 win of the new decade and KTM’s 100th after beating John McPhee by 0.053 seconds in a thrilling Qatar Grand Prix. Arenas spent several stints at the head of the field, and made a break with McPhee in tow on the final lap, repelling the Petronas Sprinta rider’s advances

Several MotoGP manufacturers are set to carry out a private test at Jerez later in March in the absence of racing this month as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This weekend’s season-opening MotoGP round in Qatar had to be cancelled due to new quarantine procedures being placed on Italian travelers by the country, while

Joe Roberts became the first American to qualify on pole in Moto2 since 2010 after beating Luca Marini in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix – with both setting identical laptimes. Roberts topped practice overall with a record lap of 1m58.421s in FP2 on Friday, and came into Saturday’s running as the favourite to end

Tatsuki Suzuki clinched the first Moto3 pole of the 2020 season after beating Raul Fernandez by 0.008 seconds in qualifying at Qatar. The SIC58 Squadra Corse rider had to go through Q1 after missing out on a top 14 place across the three practice sessions. Suzuki set the pace immediately in the second 15-minute session

MotoGP’s new season-opener in Texas has been thrown into significant doubt following the declaration of a state of emergency in host city Austin due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Circuit of the Americas, originally slated to host the third round of the 2020 MotoGP season, was subsequently due to kickstart the campaign on April 5