+ A
A -
MotoGP
Losail
After months of waiting, MotoGP is finally back this weekend. The 2021 MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 World Championships will all fire to life under the lights of Losail International Circuit at the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar from March 26-28.
A new reigning champion begins the year on the throne, Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) even as eight-time world champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) on medical advice will miss the season-opener.
Doha hosts the first and second Grands Prix of the season and Losail also opened its doors for all the official winter test days this year.
Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) arrives with the biggest target on his back, flanked by a flotilla of Yamahas as the testing timesheets saw the Aussie and his teammate Francesco Bagnaia bookend a top five reigned by Ducati and Yamaha.
Miller will definitely be one to watch as the lights go out, however, as will Bagnaia. Losail has also seen the Borgo Panigale factory enjoy some serious success of late, and the stage is set for the Bologna bullets to start the season in full throttle. Then there are the likes of Johann Zarco either as the Frenchman moves to Pramac Racing and has ever more experience with the Italian machine, also proving his mettle in testing.
The timesheets in testing were far from a one-trick pony though. Three Yamahas ended the test within less than a tenth and a half of Miller at the top: Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and last year’s Championship runner up Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT). Vinales starts the year settled in, Morbidelli likewise. Quartararo switches to the factory Yamaha squad, but seems to have immediately found his footing.
So too has nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) as the legendary Italian – never one to push for a stunner in testing but still near the top ten – was full of enthusiasm after the five days on track that prefaced the season.
Just behind them, sixth in testing saw Aprilia come to the fore. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) put the Noale factory’s nearly all-new bike right up there every time he went out on track, and increasing expectation has so far been backed up by ever-increasing pace.
And then there’s Suzuki. Seventh and eighth was where reigning champion Joan Mir and Suzuki Ecstar teammate Alex Rins ended the Qatar Test, and the feedback has been positive. Consistently fast and consistently threatening in 2020, nothing in testing said Suzuki won’t be out the blocks to defend both the riders title and the teams’ championship.
The Hamamatsu factory’s Achilles heel – if such a thing exists in a season of such success – was qualifying last season, so that may be the first thing to keep a keen eye on as Saturday arrives.
LCR Honda Idemitsu’s Takaaki Nakagami will be hoping to move forward too after a slightly more muted test, as both he and new teammate Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) suffered a few crashes – the latter also injuring his foot but ready to head back out for Round 1. Both fought for podiums last year and Alex Marquez successfully, as a rookie no less.
KTM, The Austrian factory ripped up the history books and wrote a few replacements in 2020, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) winning them their first MotoGP race – and his new teammate Miguel Oliveira then adding two more wins for KTM as well as becoming the first Portuguese premier class winner.
Friday practice, qualifying and then finally the first race of the year are often a wiser litmus test. Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) will be looking for more this year too as he starts his second season, needing to move up from where he ended testing, and new arrival Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) will be interesting to watch too as he adapts to his new bike.
The stage is set, the floodlights are primed and the grid is ready to start another rollercoaster season of racing with the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar.FRIDAY, MARCH 26
13:50-14:30 Moto3 FP1; 14:45-15:25 Moto2 FP1; 15:40-16:25 MotoGP FP1; 18:10-18:50 Moto3 FP2; 19:05-19:45 Moto2 FP2; 20:00-20:45 MotoGP FP2
SATURDAY, MARCH 27
13:25-14:05 Moto3 FP3; 14:20-15:00 Moto2 FP3; 15:15-16:00 MotoGP FP3; 17:30-17:45 Moto3 Q1; 17:55-18:10 Moto3 Q2; 18:25-18:40 Moto2 Q1; 18:50-19:05 Moto2 Q2; 19:20-19:50 MotoGP FP4; 20:00-20:15 MotoGP Q1; 20:25-20:40 MotoGP Q2
SUNDAY, MARCH 28
14:40-15:00 Moto3 WARM-UP; 15:10-15:30 Moto2 WARM-UP; 15:40-16:00 MotoGP WARM-UP; 17:00 Moto3 RACE (18 laps); 18:20 Moto2 RACE (20 laps); 20:00 MotoGP RACE (22 laps).
Losail
After months of waiting, MotoGP is finally back this weekend. The 2021 MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 World Championships will all fire to life under the lights of Losail International Circuit at the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar from March 26-28.
A new reigning champion begins the year on the throne, Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) even as eight-time world champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) on medical advice will miss the season-opener.
Doha hosts the first and second Grands Prix of the season and Losail also opened its doors for all the official winter test days this year.
Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) arrives with the biggest target on his back, flanked by a flotilla of Yamahas as the testing timesheets saw the Aussie and his teammate Francesco Bagnaia bookend a top five reigned by Ducati and Yamaha.
Miller will definitely be one to watch as the lights go out, however, as will Bagnaia. Losail has also seen the Borgo Panigale factory enjoy some serious success of late, and the stage is set for the Bologna bullets to start the season in full throttle. Then there are the likes of Johann Zarco either as the Frenchman moves to Pramac Racing and has ever more experience with the Italian machine, also proving his mettle in testing.
The timesheets in testing were far from a one-trick pony though. Three Yamahas ended the test within less than a tenth and a half of Miller at the top: Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and last year’s Championship runner up Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT). Vinales starts the year settled in, Morbidelli likewise. Quartararo switches to the factory Yamaha squad, but seems to have immediately found his footing.
So too has nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) as the legendary Italian – never one to push for a stunner in testing but still near the top ten – was full of enthusiasm after the five days on track that prefaced the season.
Just behind them, sixth in testing saw Aprilia come to the fore. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) put the Noale factory’s nearly all-new bike right up there every time he went out on track, and increasing expectation has so far been backed up by ever-increasing pace.
And then there’s Suzuki. Seventh and eighth was where reigning champion Joan Mir and Suzuki Ecstar teammate Alex Rins ended the Qatar Test, and the feedback has been positive. Consistently fast and consistently threatening in 2020, nothing in testing said Suzuki won’t be out the blocks to defend both the riders title and the teams’ championship.
The Hamamatsu factory’s Achilles heel – if such a thing exists in a season of such success – was qualifying last season, so that may be the first thing to keep a keen eye on as Saturday arrives.
LCR Honda Idemitsu’s Takaaki Nakagami will be hoping to move forward too after a slightly more muted test, as both he and new teammate Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) suffered a few crashes – the latter also injuring his foot but ready to head back out for Round 1. Both fought for podiums last year and Alex Marquez successfully, as a rookie no less.
KTM, The Austrian factory ripped up the history books and wrote a few replacements in 2020, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) winning them their first MotoGP race – and his new teammate Miguel Oliveira then adding two more wins for KTM as well as becoming the first Portuguese premier class winner.
Friday practice, qualifying and then finally the first race of the year are often a wiser litmus test. Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) will be looking for more this year too as he starts his second season, needing to move up from where he ended testing, and new arrival Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) will be interesting to watch too as he adapts to his new bike.
The stage is set, the floodlights are primed and the grid is ready to start another rollercoaster season of racing with the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar.FRIDAY, MARCH 26
13:50-14:30 Moto3 FP1; 14:45-15:25 Moto2 FP1; 15:40-16:25 MotoGP FP1; 18:10-18:50 Moto3 FP2; 19:05-19:45 Moto2 FP2; 20:00-20:45 MotoGP FP2
SATURDAY, MARCH 27
13:25-14:05 Moto3 FP3; 14:20-15:00 Moto2 FP3; 15:15-16:00 MotoGP FP3; 17:30-17:45 Moto3 Q1; 17:55-18:10 Moto3 Q2; 18:25-18:40 Moto2 Q1; 18:50-19:05 Moto2 Q2; 19:20-19:50 MotoGP FP4; 20:00-20:15 MotoGP Q1; 20:25-20:40 MotoGP Q2
SUNDAY, MARCH 28
14:40-15:00 Moto3 WARM-UP; 15:10-15:30 Moto2 WARM-UP; 15:40-16:00 MotoGP WARM-UP; 17:00 Moto3 RACE (18 laps); 18:20 Moto2 RACE (20 laps); 20:00 MotoGP RACE (22 laps).
