American Racing Team rider Joe Roberts usurped the Losail lap record to end Moto2 Friday practice for the Qatar Grand Prix fastest on combined timesheets. As with Moto3, the Moto2 class was already present in Qatar for a pre-season test and will race this weekend – while the MotoGP grand prix is cancelled as a

KTM Ajo’s Raul Fernandez led the opening free practice Friday for the 2020 Moto3 season, after surging to top spot late on in FP2 for the Qatar Grand Prix. The coronavirus outbreak led to the Qatari government imposing new travel and quarantine measures, which meant the opening round of the year has had to go

Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta admits running MotoGP races behind closed doors is a consideration to minimise disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. New quarantine procedures for those travelling from Italy in Qatar led MotoGP to cancel to the first race of the season, while the second round in Thailand was postponed due to a

MotoGP has issued an updated 2020 calendar in wake of the coronavirus cancellations of Qatar and Thailand, with Austin officially the first round. New quarantine procedures implemented by the Qatari government on travelers from Italy led Dorna Sports to cancel the MotoGP season-opener, though Moto2 and Moto3 will race at Losail this weekend owing to

Retired triple MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo will return to racing in June’s Catalunya Grand Prix in a wildcard outing with Yamaha. Lorenzo announced his retirement from racing at the end of last season, after a difficult and injury-hit year on the Honda sapped him of confidence and motivation. Over the winter he penned a

Dorna Sports may move the Aragon MotoGP race forward by two weeks to accommodate the postponed Thailand round on October 4. The MotoGP promoter is continuing to work through a revised calendar amid the COVID-19 crisis, with the season-opener at Qatar already called off and the second round in Buriram postponed. It is yet to

CEO of Dorna Sports Carmelo Ezpeleta insists “there will absolutely be a 2020 MotoGP season” in a statement responding to the cancellation of the first two races due to coronavirus. On Sunday evening, series organisers Dorna confirmed it had cancelled this weekend’s Qatar MotoGP race owing to all travellers from Italy – which saw a

The opening two rounds of the 2020 MotoGP world championship have been scrubbed from the schedule due to travel restrictions put in place over coronavirus fears. On Sunday night series organisers Dorna Sports and MotoGP’s governing body the FIM announced it had to cancel the Qatar Grand Prix for the premier class due to the

The MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix has been postponed due to coronavirus fears, the country’s government has announced just hours after Dorna Sports and the FIM cancelled the opening Qatar race. Dorna Sports and the FIM officially confirmed the postponement of the Thailand GP later on Monday morning. A statement read: “Due to the ongoing coronavirus

MotoGP has announced its 2020 season-opener in Qatar will not go ahead due to travel restrictions brought about by the coronavirus outbreak. The virus – known as Covid-19 – originated in China and is reported to have infected more than 80,000 people globally and resulted in at least 3000 deaths since the outbreak. In recent

Pol Espargaro believes KTM is “in the pack” with Ducati ahead of the 2020 MotoGP season after a strong winter testing programme with its RC16 motorcycle. KTM ended the recent Sepang test seventh overall, while rookie Brad Binder guided the factory team RC16 to ninth on combined times at last week’s Qatar test. The evolved

Johann Zarco says his “main target right now” is to establish a “base” of top 10 finishes in the early part of his first MotoGP season on the Avintia Ducati. After quitting KTM midway through last year – and then being dropped outright after the Misano round – Zarco was thrown a lifeline by Ducati

Marc Marquez says his younger brother and works Honda MotoGP team-mate Alex must “earn” a contract renewal, and that he will not “impose” his preference on the Japanese manufacturer. Reigning Moto2 champion Alex was brought in to replace the retiring Jorge Lorenzo at the factory Honda outfit for 2020, joining his elder brother for his

MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez says Honda has “found the way” with its troubled 2020 RC213V, following a pre-season testing phase that “worried” the injured Spaniard. Marquez’s pre-season has been hindered by his ongoing recovery from a shoulder operation in November, though he admitted after a difficult Sepang test that he was more worried about

Valentino Rossi admits he is worried about the 2020 Yamaha’s race pace ahead of the first race of the new MotoGP season, as he is still ‘suffering’ with tyre wear. In recent years Yamaha riders have constantly struggled in races with rear tyres beginning to fade too much halfway through a race distance. Michelin’s new-for-2020

Maverick Vinales concluded MotoGP pre-season testing in Qatar fastest of all, while Honda appears to have hit a crisis point after Marc Marquez reverted to testing a 2019 bike. Honda’s troubles this pre-season have been well-documented, with both LCR’s Cal Cructhlow and world champion Marquez – who is also riding below fitness – critical of

MotoGP champion Marc Marquez says he is worried about the Honda bike’s performance in the Qatar pre-season test ahead of the 2020 season opener at the same venue. Though Marquez has not won at the Losail circuit since 2014, he has finished in the top five in every Qatar race since. After LCR rider Cal

Pramac rider Jack Miller has revealed he has been using Ducati’s new ride height adjustment device since last year’s MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix in October. Ducati introduced a holeshot device to its bike last year – though Miller had been racing it since the 2018 Motegi race – which allows the rider to lower the

Fabio Quartararo put Yamaha on top of the timesheets on day two of the Qatar MotoGP pre-season test, as the injured Marc Marquez destroyed his Honda in a heavy crash. Petronas SRT rider Quartararo, who topped the Sepang test outright after leading all three days in Malaysia, was an early pacesetter on Sunday at Losail

Valentino Rossi believes he needs to find “two or three tenths” to be able to battle for victory on the 2020 Yamaha following day one of the Qatar MotoGP test. The latest version of the YZR-M1 has proven to be a strong package, with Petronas SRT’s Fabio Quartararo topping the Sepang test outright on it,

LCR Honda rider Cal Cructhlow admits he is having to ride the 2020 Honda MotoGP bike like an “amateur” and feels worse on it in Qatar than in Malaysia. Crutchlow said at the Sepang pre-season test two weeks ago that the new-spec RC213V is worse at turning than its predecessor, which he was very vocal

MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez admits the nature of the Qatar circuit means he is struggling with his injured right shoulder more than he was at the Sepang test. The Honda rider underwent surgery on a partially dislocated right shoulder – which he sustained in a heavy crash at the Malaysian Grand Prix last year

Aleix Espargaro has branded comments Aprilia MotoGP team-mate Andrea Iannone made about the level of input he had in the bike’s development “super disrespectful”. Aprilia has radically overhauled its RS-GP for the 2020 season, which made a largely successful track debut at the Sepang pre-season test two weeks ago following a difficult campaign for the

Alex Rins led a Suzuki 1-2 on the first day of the final MotoGP pre-season test in Qatar, while Honda rookie Alex Marquez crashed twice during the session. Just three more days of testing stand between now and the first race of the season in Qatar in a fortnight, with riders taking to the Losail

Andrea Iannone now looks unlikely to contest the first round of the 2020 MotoGP season in Qatar next month, as his doping case is still yet to be resolved. Iannone is currently under suspension from MotoGP governing body the FIM after failing a World Anti-Doping Agency drug test during last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix. A

The Aprilia Racing Gresini team has become the final MotoGP manufacturer to unveil the colours its bikes will sport during the 2020 season ahead of the final pre-season Qatar test. This season will be Aprilia’s sixth since it returned to MotoGP in 2015 with a works effort in conjunction with Fausto Gresini’s satellite team. Aprilia

The Thailand Grand Prix, which is due to be the second round of the 2020 MotoGP season, will go ahead despite uncertainty over the outbreak of the coronavirus. Originating from nearby China in the province of Wuhan, the novel coronavirus has killed 1,775 people and infected over 70,00 people worldwide. The outbreak has effectively shut

The LCR Honda MotoGP team has unveiled its main livery for Cal Crutchlow for the 2020 season. Crutchlow tooks the wraps of the a largely unchanged bike livery at BT’s studios in London on Thursday, though his bike will sport several revised liveries across the campaign. The Briton will once again ride a works Honda

The factory Honda MotoGP team has announced it has re-signed six-time world champion Marc Marquez for another four years until ‘at least’ 2024. The 27-year-old made his premier class debut in 2013 with Honda as reigning Moto2 champion, and has since gone onto win six MotoGP titles in seven years – the latest of which

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi insists he did not feel “disrespected” by Yamaha’s decision to replace him with Fabio Quartararo for the 2021 season. The seven-time MotoGP champion will make way for Quartararo in the Japanese marque’s factory roster next year, and is mulling the possibility of retirement after 2020 – although Yamaha has made it