Valentino Rossi says his failure to finish in the top 10 in Friday MotoGP practice at Phillip Island was down to not focusing on using the soft option rear tyre. The Yamaha rider ended up 12th-fastest after the opening two sessions, 0.752 seconds slower than surprise pacesetter Aleix Espargaro in second practice and half a

Jorge Lorenzo is considering reverting to the old Ducati fairing after struggling during Friday MotoGP practice at Phillip Island. While Lorenzo was eighth and 11th in the two sessions, his title-contending team-mate Andrea Dovizioso finished in the top four in both. Lorenzo has been using Ducati’s new aero fairing since the championship’s return from summer

An early Marc Marquez lap was good enough to top the opening 45-minute practice session for MotoGP’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. Marquez wasted little time getting down to business when the session kicked off, the points leader consistently the first to dip into the 1m31s, the 1m30s, and then the 1m29s bracket. By

Andrea Dovizioso’s current MotoGP title challenge is reminiscent of the late Nicky Hayden’s championship-winning 2006 campaign, reckons Marc Marquez. Hayden, who was killed earlier this year in a cycling accident, claimed an against-the-odds premier class crown 11 years ago, coming out on top against Valentino Rossi in the final race of the year at Valencia.

Johann Zarco has brushed off criticism from Jorge Lorenzo about what the Ducati rider described as ‘PlayStation’-style riding during last weekend’s Motegi MotoGP round. Lorenzo and Zarco came to blows on the fourth lap of the Japanese Grand Prix, as Lorenzo found himself eased wide by the Tech 3 Yamaha rookie at Turn 9. It

Cal Crutchlow believes Marc Marquez still holds the edge in the MotoGP title fight with Andrea Dovizioso despite the Ducati rider’s victory at Motegi. Dovizioso cut the gap to Marquez in the standings to 11 points after securing a fifth victory of the season in a thrilling battle against the reigning champion in tricky conditions

Valentino Rossi has tipped Kohta Nozane to become Japan’s next MotoGP star following the Yamaha test rider’s premier class debut last weekend at Motegi. Nozane, a regular in the FIM Endurance World Championship and All-Japan Superbike series, was drafted in at short notice to deputise for an unwell Jonas Folger at Tech 3 Yamaha for

Jorge Lorenzo says he would not give up a first win for Ducati to help team-mate Andrea Dovizioso’s MotoGP title charge until the final race. Lorenzo stated earlier in the season that he was open to obeying team orders to help Dovizioso if and when the time came. Dovizioso is now just 11 points behind

Andrea Dovizioso says he and Ducati find themselves in a “strange situation” that is making them more “relaxed” about their MotoGP title showdown with Marc Marquez. Dovizioso came out on top in an epic wet-weather battle against Marquez last weekend at Motegi to close the gap in the championship to 11 points with three races

Tech3 Yamaha has announced Australian veteran Broc Parkes will fill in for an unwell Jonas Folger in this weekend’s Phillip Island MotoGP race. After being struck down by a suspected mononucleosis, Folger was forced to miss last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, and was replaced by Yamaha tester Kohta Nozane. Tech3 said at the

Motegi MotoGP race winner Andrea Dovizioso says preparing a last-lap strategy was key in seeing off title rival Marc Marquez in a “tense” duel for victory. At the start of the final lap of the wet-weather event, the Ducati rider looked set to finish runner-up to Marquez – but a major moment at Turn 8

Jorge Lorenzo has slammed fellow MotoGP rider Johann Zarco for ‘PlayStation’-like riding after the duo’s clash in the Japanese Grand Prix. Ducati rider Lorenzo had taken the lead of the Motegi race on the opening lap, but began to fade soon after, rapidly losing positions. But his descent down the order was also assisted by

Valentino Rossi says he was left with “pain everywhere” following a dramatic early crash during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. The Yamaha rider was an early retirement in tricky conditions as he suffered a major highside at Turn 7 on the sixth lap while running in ninth place. Rossi had already crashed in Saturday’s

Marc Marquez has apologised to Andrea Dovizioso for reaching “the limit” with an aggressive pass during their stunning fight for victory in MotoGP’s Japanese Grand Prix. After passing early leader Danilo Petrucci, Marquez and Dovizioso engaged in a fierce fight for victory that ended with a final-lap showdown. The elbow-to-elbow racing started when Dovizioso made

Andrea Dovizioso closed the gap on MotoGP points leader Marc Marquez after coming out on top in an epic dice for glory in the wet at Motegi. The race turned into a two-way fight between this year’s title protagonists, a reprise of their pulsating Red Bull Ring duel earlier the year, which was also won

Valentino Rossi reckons he was fortunate to avoid further damaging his injured leg in his practice four crash ahead of this weekend’s Motegi MotoGP race. Rossi, who is still recovering from breaking his right leg in a training accident in early September, fell at the Turn 8 left-hander during FP4. The Italian was quickly able

A “pissed off” Cal Crutchlow claims he “can’t ride” his LCR Honda MotoGP bike in the wet this year after struggling to 15th place in Motegi qualifying. The British rider was knocked out in Saturday’s first segment qualifying after struggling in wet conditions he usually thrives in. Crutchlow was a loss to explain why he

Marc Marquez insists he has no regrets over the tyre gamble that cost him a likely Motegi MotoGP pole, as the Honda rider felt the mileage on slicks was more important. Championship leader Marquez topped FP1, FP3 and FP4 during the rain-affected Japanese GP weekend and looked a strong favourite for pole as he initially

Maverick Vinales admits he can see his MotoGP title ambitions “slipping away” following a dismal run to 14th place in qualifying at Motegi. Yamaha rider Vinales lies third in the standings, 28 points down on leader Marc Marquez with four rounds left, and needs a big result in Japan to keep his championship challenge intact.

Johann Zarco grabbed a shock MotoGP pole position at a wet Motegi, as slick-tyre gambles backfired for Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales was eliminated in Q1. After setting the quickest time of the weekend so far in FP4, Marquez seemed nailed on for pole when he immediately bettered his own benchmark with

Honda rider Marc Marquez reckons Jorge Lorenzo is favourite for MotoGP’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, based on the Ducati rider’s strong pace in Friday practice. Lorenzo, whose Friday was hindered by an FP1 crash involving LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, ended the day fourth-fastest in a wet second practice. But Marquez reckons Lorenzo was

Yamaha has failed to get on top of its wet-weather issues and has got worse in such conditions as the 2017 MotoGP season has progressed, according to Maverick Vinales. Both of Motegi’s Friday practice sessions were affected by rain, with Marc Marquez leading the morning’s opening session for Honda before Andrea Dovizioso’s Ducati took the

Marc Marquez led a rain-soaked opening practice session for MotoGP’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, beating nearest rival Aleix Espargaro by almost nine tenths of a second. In torrential conditions, Marquez was the rider to beat throughout Friday morning’s 45-minute session, grabbing the top spot from title rival Maverick Vinales with a 1m58.303s around 15

Jorge Lorenzo says he can take more risks in the last four MotoGP races of the season in pursuit of a breakthrough Ducati win because he has “nothing to lose”. Lorenzo’s best result during his first year with Ducati has been third place, having stood on the podium at Jerez and Aragon. The three-time champion

Bradley Smith says that KTM’s announcement that he will remain a race rider for the Austrian manufacturer in 2018 solves an “awkward situation”. KTM issued a statement on Wednesday confirming that Smith will be team-mate to Pol Espargaro again next year, despite his struggles to match the Spaniard this season. The pressure on Smith was

Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga will make his sixth successive MotoGP appearance at Motegi in this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. Nakasuga has seven premier class starts to his name, having been handed wildcards with Yamaha each year for his home race since 2012. His best result from those outings was an eighth place finish in

KTM has retained both Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro for the 2018 MotoGP season. Test rider Mika Kallio contested several rounds as a wildcard entry this year, but the under-pressure Smith has been given the nod to retain a full-time ride on the KTM. The confirmation ends speculation that KTM could switch Smith and Kallio,

Ducati’s MotoGP title contender Andrea Dovizioso believes people are “freaking out” about his strong form this season because they had previously underestimated him. Dovizioso has taken four victories in 2017 and lies second in the standings, 16 points behind main title rival Marc Marquez with four races left this season. His tally of wins for

Yamaha MotoGP team boss Lin Jarvis does not expect contract extension talks with Valentino Rossi to begin until several races into the 2018 campaign. Rossi’s current contract runs out at the end of next season. The Italian’s current deal was signed on the eve of the 2016 season and was announced during the Qatar weekend,

Honda test rider Hiroshi Aoyama will stand in for the injured Jack Miller at the forthcoming MotoGP round at Motegi. Miller broke his leg in a training accident in Andorra last Friday and has been forced to sit out next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. Aoyama, 35, has now been announced as Miller’s replacement at the