Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Ducati riders Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso disagree over whether the team’s 2018 MotoGP bike is better than last year’s version. Championship leader Dovizioso has endured two difficult races after winning the season-opener in Qatar, and suggested after the last race at

Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Bradley Smith believes he could remain in the KTM MotoGP fold by landing one of Tech3 satellite seats for 2019. It was confirmed this week that Smith had lost his KTM factory seat, with team-mate Pol Espargaro signing a contract extension and

Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Johann Zarco has been confirmed as KTM’s second factory MotoGP rider for the 2019 season, leaving no place for incumbent Bradley Smith in the Austrian marque’s works line-up. Tech3 Yamaha rider Zarco has long been a target of KTM, and is understood

Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Valentino Rossi has backed his former MotoGP team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to recover from a poor start to his second season at Ducati at the next race at Jerez. After the first three rounds of the 2018 campaign Lorenzo lies 16th in the

Get unlimited access You have only 5 articles remaining to view this month. Pol Espargaro has renewed his deal with KTM in MotoGP until the end of 2020. The former Moto2 champion joined the Austrian manufacturer on an initial two-year deal back in 2017, after having spent three years with the Tech3 Yamaha squad. He

MotoGP points leader Andrea Dovizioso says the recent Austin race confirmed Ducati’s negative aspects remain “too big”. After winning the Qatar season opener, Dovizioso has had two low-key rounds, finishing sixth in Argentina and then fifth at the Circuit of the Americas. Dovizioso complained about the Austin track not suiting his bike during the weekend,

Jorge Lorenzo has accused former MotoGP team-mate Valentino Rossi of copying him when the Italian returned to Yamaha in 2013. In his new book, titled What I Learned Before 30, Lorenzo recalls his experiences when he was reunited with Rossi at Yamaha after the latter’s dismal two-year stint with Ducati in 2011-12. Lorenzo, who joined

Honda MotoGP team principal Alberto Puig says the Japanese manufacturer needs more time to weigh up its 2019 rider options, as it considers whether to offer Dani Pedrosa a contract extension. Pedrosa has raced for the works Honda squad since his premier class debut in 2006, and has won at least won race per season

Andrea Iannone says he was close to “exploding with anger” before scoring his first MotoGP podium as a Suzuki rider in last weekend’s Austin race. The Italian finished third behind Marc Marquez and Maverick Vinales to register his first top-three finish since the 2016 season finale at Valencia, his last race for Ducati. Iannone has

MotoGP championship leader Andrea Dovizioso has rejected Ducati’s first contract extension offer, Autosport has learned. Dovizioso, who has been with Ducati since 2013 and finished runner-up to Honda’s Marc Marquez last year, has a contact that runs to the end of 2018 – and has been in negotiations over an extension. Team manager Davide Tardozzi

Maverick Vinales says Yamaha has made a big improvement on the weaknesses it carried into the start of the 2018 MotoGP season. Yamaha came into the campaign with Vinales’ team-mate Valentino Rossi urging it to invest more effort into finding a fix for the problems, and the team took its best result of the season

Jack Miller has revealed he tried to apologise to Jorge Lorenzo for his aggressive pass on the Ducati MotoGP rider at Austin, but the Spaniard “wasn’t having any of it”. Lorenzo endured a miserable race, sliding down the order and losing several places in the closing stages to drop to 11th at the finish. That

Johann Zarco is set to join the KTM MotoGP team for the 2019 season, Autosport has learned. The Frenchman has been linked to a KTM move since last year, although Honda and Suzuki are both known to have also been interested in securing Zarco’s services for next season. It is understood the Tech3 Yamaha rider

Valentino Rossi has described Honda’s MotoGP form as “worrying” after Marc Marquez gave the manufacturer its second straight victory at Austin. Marquez cruised to his sixth successive win at the Texas venue on Sunday while Yamaha rider Rossi could do no better than fourth. It follows Honda’s first win of the season in Argentina, which

Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo says his poor showing in the MotoGP race at Austin made him feel “very sad” and was “difficult to accept”. Lorenzo was the top Ducati on the grid in sixth, but he struggled in race trim, finishing 31 seconds behind race winner Marc Marquez in 11th. This meant the three-time champion

Marc Marquez says the criticism he received in the wake of the controversial Argentina MotoGP race gave him “special motivation”, as he dominated Sunday’s race at Austin. Marquez came in for criticism after an aggressive approach in Argentina, in which he clashed with Aleix Espargaro and Valentino Rossi, receiving a 30-second penalty for the latter

Marc Marquez overcame a grid penalty to score his sixth straight MotoGP victory at Austin in typically dominant fashion. Having been demoted to fourth place on the grid from pole for blocking Maverick Vinales in qualifying, Marquez leapt to second into Turn 1 as Andrea Iannone took the lead. The Suzuki man’s time in front

Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa says he is unsure whether he will be able to complete Austin’s race due to the pain he is suffering from his broken wrist. Pedrosa fractured his right wrist in a crash at the previous round in Argentina, undergoing surgery in the aftermath, and opted to travel to Austin to

MotoGP points leader Cal Crutchlow says his poor qualifying performance at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas was caused by a “bad tyre”. LCR Honda’s Crutchlow, who holds a three-point lead coming into the third round of the series, said he had heard of similar issues arising around the paddock. Crutchlow had been in the top

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez says the block on Maverick Vinales that cost him pole for the Austin race happened because he was focused on keeping Andrea Iannone ahead. Vinales was on a quick lap and set to challenge Marquez’s provisional pole benchmark when he came up on the Honda rider in the final sector

Honda’s Marc Marquez will start Sunday’s MotoGP race at Austin from fourth on the grid after a penalty for blocking Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales in qualifying. Marquez was placed under investigation at the end of qualifying for blocking Vinales at the tight left-hand Turn 15 while the Yamaha man was on a hot lap. The

Marc Marquez provisionally continued his unbroken run of MotoGP pole positions at the Circuit of the Americas, but is under investigation for baulking closest rival Maverick Vinales. Marquez predictably led the opening runs at the Austin, Texas track with a best lap of 2m04.134s, giving himself a 0.394s buffer over nearest challenger Valentino Rossi. But

Honda rider Marc Marquez dominated the rain-disrupted third MotoGP free practice session at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Marquez was among the few riders to better his Friday laptime before weather intervened, and ended FP3 four tenths clear of nearest rival Johann Zarco, who likewise posted his personal best lap of the weekend.

Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa says scoring points in this weekend’s Austin race in order would make the pain he is suffering from his broken wrist worthwhile. Pedrosa was given the all-clear to ride at the Circuit of the Americas on Thursday, just nine days after he was diagnosed with a fractured right radius from

Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone set a shock fastest time in second free practice for MotoGP’s Grand Prix of the Americas at Austin on Friday afternoon. Having spent much of the session playing second fiddle to Honda’s Marc Marquez, Iannone pulled out an amazing lap of 2m04.599s on the last lap of the session to beat Marquez

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez set the pace in first practice at Austin, beating nearest challenger Valentino Rossi by four tenths of a second. Marquez sat at the top of the time sheets for almost all of the 45-minute session at the Circuit of the Americas, a track where the Spaniard is unbeaten. He ended

Pramac Ducati rider Jack Miller says the “silly and immature” feud between Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez needs to end as it threatens the safety of MotoGP riders. Marquez’s recovery drive in Argentina had led to a wheel-to-wheel battle with Rossi and rode aggressively into Turn 13, colliding with the Yamaha rider and forcing him

Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa has been passed fit for this weekend’s Austin race. Pedrosa underwent surgery last week having fractured the radius in his right wrist on the first lap of the Argentinian Grand Prix. Honda tester Stefan Bradl had been tipped to replace Pedrosa in America, but Honda then announced he would travel

Scott Redding believes he can avoid the fate of his Aprilia predecessor Sam Lowes because of his greater MotoGP experience. Lowes joined Aprilia as a rookie on a two-year deal in 2017 but as early as last June it was looking into replacing him. He is now back in Moto2 having been dropped in favour

Andrea Iannone says he has offers to remain in MotoGP even if he loses his Suzuki seat for 2019, but insists his priority is to stay at his current team. Iannone had a troubled first year at Suzuki in 2017 and started the ’18 campaign with ninth and eighth in the opening two grands prix.