“I never thought about racing in the States. However, now the situation is in which this is probably my only chance … to return to the World Superbike “- said Baz during the tests in Road Atlanta. So, the situation is this: Loris Baz has signed a contract with the Ducati HSBK New York team for the 2021 season, and he will compete in MotoAmerica in the Superbike class in a brand new Ducati V4 R. This is a key moment. The fact is that the American office of the Italian company is behind the Ducati HSBK New York. “We had one interesting meeting … – continues Baz. – After her, I had a hope of returning to the World Championship. But I’m not sure. I’m not sure if this will come true. However, my goal is to win MotoAmerica this year with Ducati to take advantage of this minor opportunity to get into Aruba.it Racing in 2022. Let’s see if we can pull this off! ”

Loris Baz hopes to follow the path of Scott Redding, who was kicked out of MotoGP but became British Superbike champion next year. After showcasing his style and capabilities aboard the Ducati V4 R, he was recruited to the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati works team where he replaced another former MotoGP driver, Alvaro Bautista. Redding tried to impose a 2020 title fight on Jonathan Ray, but two falls took him off the shortlist for the title. At the same time, Redding really showed that he has the power and speed to fight the Kawasaki. Now, Redding’s partner in Aruba.it is the young Italian Mikel Ruben Rinaldi. Borgo-Panigale wants to try him as the team’s flagship, at the same time, this is a hint to Redding that his 2-year contract will expire in 2021. There could indeed be a vacancy on the Ducati factory team in 2022, and Baz is hoping to hop on that boat. But for this he must win the American Championship. It’s that simple!

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Several interesting trends emerged in April in MotoGP, and they can dramatically change the face of the championship. First of all, we probably won’t see a new addition to Suzuki’s ranks in 2022. The plant’s management does not plan to subsidize the satellite in MotoGP. Most likely, the project will keep the 2 motorcycle format. And this opens up new perspectives for a range of Ducati and Aprilia transfers.

Team Suzuki Ecstar may keep the format in 2022 In 2022, subject to the conditions proposed by Dorna Sports, the number of Desmosedici prototypes should have been reduced to four (Factory Team and Pramac satellite). If Suzuki doesn’t give an expansion decision by the end of May, Ducati will have the option to keep 6 bikes on the grid (just as an inevitable circumstance). But Aprilia Racing, one way or another, will become a factory team and will become a full member of MSMA from January 1, 2022. And with all the wealth of choice, Noale has only one prospect: they need a satellite team to maintain contractual relations with the general promoter and IRTA. And this satellite will most likely NOT BE Gresini Racing, which has served the Aprilia factory project for the last 5 years.

Avintia Racing may leave the MotoGP paddock, making room for VR46 As Gresini Racing manager Carlo Merlini said in Portimao, after the death of Fausto Gresini, the project may reconsider its interests in MotoGP. Fausto insisted on remaining as the strongest independent team in the championship, and achieved his goal in December 2020. But with whom the team will go next, he never specified exactly. From many introductory notes, it was clear that the best option for Gresini Racing would be an Aprilia satellite. But Merlini says that now the best option for them is to move under the wing of Ducati – negotiations are already under way. Some insiders believe that through the mediation of Ducati, Gresini may field a “golden pair” of pilots in 2022 – Fabio Di Gianantonio and Enea Bastianini, who have already worked together in this team. At the same time, the Avintia Racing (Esponsorama) team will be finally torn apart: it will suffer the fate of the Aspar Racing Team, whose quota for places in MotoGP Avintia received in 2019. The same quota can be transferred to Dorna, for example, by Sky Racing Team VR46 … and this it will be easy!

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The real reason for this wildcard is a kind of “backup” for Honda pilots, if this stage for them suddenly turns into a total failure.

Stefan Bradl became part of the MotoGP paddock again after Marquez’s injury – 10 races in 2020 For the HRC representatives, the first two races in Qatar were another fiasco. LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez and LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami had the worst performers since the start of their Premier Class careers – they didn’t score a point. Repsol Honda rookie Paul Espargaro has not yet had time to get involved in work and cannot fully “replace” Marc Marquez. Mark’s results in Portimao turned out to be higher than expected: he became the best driver in Honda – finishing 6th, earning the plant 9 points. However, he is not physically ready to fight for the victory and the podium. Plus, there may be some flashbacks in Jerez related to the events of July 2020, when Mark suffered his most serious injury there. What are flashbacks in motorsport?

These “bad memories” can affect Marquez’s performance in a purely psychological way, as was the case with Jorge Lorenzo in his relationship with TT Circuit Assen. After a high-speed highside in the free practice of the 2013 Dutch Grand Prix, Jorge began to experience a painful fear of racing at the TT Circuit Assen, and if it started raining there, he generally lost the ability to drive for the result – and this continued until 2016, when he said goodbye to Yamaha. Moreover, if the first year Jorge was silent about the reasons for the sharp decline in productivity, then in 2015 he admitted: yes, he constantly remembers the moment of the accident and the pain he experienced as a result of the fall, as well as after the operation, when he immediately wanted to return to duty … In that race, he finished 5th, however, after the finish he was literally removed from the motorcycle – he himself could not move because of the terrible pain in his left shoulder. The situation with Marc Marquez is akin to that of Lorenzo in 2013. The fact is that until the weekend in Jerez begins, no one is sure whether Mark can overcome this natural fear of new pain or not. a chance to work as a prize pilot for at least one more season.

To be on the safe side, Honda puts Bradl out. And Stefan will be wearing Team HRC (test team) colors, not Repsol Honda.

Stefan Bradl Testing the Honda RC213V Prototype After Marquez’s return to the Portuguese Grand Prix, Stefan Bradl was able to return to his direct job as a Honda test driver. But for all the time that he replaced Marquez, he has greatly increased his level, so he brought enough points to the piggy bank of the factory in 2020. Bradl also finished the first two races of 2021 in Qatar wearing glasses. In particular, he finished the Doha Grand Prix in 9th place. Of course, Honda could have exhibited Bradl in Portimao. But the choice in favor of Jerez is obvious: Stefan spent almost the entire winter here, preparing the prototype of Marc Marquez for the new season; here Bradl is doing quite well on the whole – he can really earn valuable points for Honda if the prize drivers fail. Worst season for Honda in MotoGP history

Honda suffered a crushing defeat in 2020 due to the absence of Marquez in the World Championship: the Japanese plant finished the season in the penultimate, 5th position in the Manufacturers’ Cup, behind only Aprilia. In a short season, the rest of the Honda drivers were able to bring the plant only 144 points. By comparison, in 2019, Marquez alone scored 400 points, and Honda’s total Constructors’ Championship reached 426 points – 105 points more than Yamaha and 108 points more than Ducati. According to the regulations, only one is taken into account in the Cup of Manufacturers – the best result of the plant’s representative at the end of the race. That is, if three pilots of the same brand climbed to the podium at once, only 25 points of the winner will still be counted. Well, if the fastest representative of the plant was 10th, then 6 points will be taken into account, regardless of how the others finished. At the moment, Honda has only 55 points in the piggy bank, and the plant closes the list of 6 manufacturers – a situation absolutely unacceptable from the point of view of the company, which usually fights for the Triple Crown in the championship – all three titles – in individual and team events, as well as the Cup manufacturers.

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The first thing that has already been said: Valentino Rossi has successfully negotiated with the Saudi prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud on the creation of a joint project, the goal of which is a grandiose MotoGP promotion in Saudi Arabia. Conversely, a global advertisement for a future Formula 1 / Moto Grand Prix street circuit project in Jeddah.

A new view of Jeddah: a Formula 1 and MotoGP racetrack in the city center – a project in the very near future Read about what Saudi Arabia has planned there in Formula 1 and MotoGP here. The project is more global than Indonesia’s partnership with Gresini Racing. A kind of competition has also emerged: if the Indonesian Racing Team within Gresini is a plan for the junior Grand Prix classes (Moto3 and Moto2), then the Saudi prince needs everything at once – a presence in all three classes, including MotoGP. Less makes no sense. Cooperation with VR46 Racing is ideal: a name, a successful history and … Ducati! Here’s the fun part. Carlo Merlini, manager of Faenza-based Gresini Racing, said late last week that he was less interested in the partnership with Aprilia Racing than in signing a contract with Ducati. But Valentino Rossi can seize the initiative and take away from Gresini the quota for 2 remaining free Desmosedici. Here the priority will be for the one who pays in advance.
Hi guys! Everything is fine with us. The chronology of events is as follows. On March 26, Rossi held talks with the prince about a new partnership. Nobody knows exactly what it was about. But following the meeting, a contract was signed, according to which the high-tech media holding of Their Highness – Tanal Entertainment Sport & Media suddenly became the official sponsor of Sky Racing Team VR46. It was a month ago. After the Doha Grand Prix, Rossi returned to Italy. But from the airport I went … no, not to Tavuglia, but to Bologna, or rather, to Borgo Panigale. And what is in Borgo Panigale? That’s right, the headquarters and the Ducati factory! Most likely, Rossi agreed on everything with the Saudis and knocked out the necessary budget from them to open a full-fledged garage in the Royal class. While this is an assumption. And everyone will be expecting a big announcement.

We are talking about a budget of 10 million euros for the season; but this is only MotoGP, and there is also the Sky Racing Team VR46 project in Moto2, plus, you can very quickly revive the team in Moto3. She had to be exchanged for Luca Marini’s place in Avintia, if you remember. But if everything is exactly as it seems, the puzzle is added: Dorna and Ducati give Sky Racing Team VR46 the Avintia quota for 2 Desmosedici prototypes, VR46 enters MotoGP already in 2022; at the same time, Rossi announces the return of the teams to Moto3 and Moto2 under a new commercial name associated with Saudi Arabia and new partners. Such a new partner for VR46, instead of Sky, will be Tanal Entertainment, which is directly linked to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the operator of the Saudi Vision 2020 construction in Jeddah.

Sky Racing Team VR46 is rapidly approaching MotoGP If Rossi himself cannot get to the start of MotoGP in 2022, he will be happy to be the most famous team manager in the history of motorsport, especially since there is good money behind it. In this case, it will not be difficult to pair Enea Bastianini with Luca Marini. First of all, because Ducati intends to continue working with the Moto2 champion. Italian insiders are confident there will be a big announcement at Mugello. And that’s bad news for Gresini Racing. Merlini does not manage the capital of the Gresini family, and besides, there are not so many of them. He needs to find a budget to negotiate with Ducati. But the family is not sure that they are ready to pick up the banner that fell after the death of Fausto. In this case, Gresini will have two options: to leave the Royal class and focus on the lower grades, as the Aspar Racing team did before; or agree to Aprilia Racing’s proposal to continue the partnership by becoming a Noale satellite in 2022. This scenario is a complete reversal of the hypotheses voiced last week regarding the VR46’s chances of becoming an Aprilia satellite. But that was only a hypothesis, especially since it was not known about Rossi’s visit to Ducati.

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We are talking, first, about a monetary fine and a pit lane start for John McPhee and Jeremy Alcoba for a fight after the Doha incident, as well as a pit lane start for Darrin Binder and Dennis Onju for a dangerous FP2 ride in Moto3; secondly, about the deprivation of pole position and the best lap of Francesco Bagnai and Maveric Viñales in MotoGP. As for McPhee and Alcoba, there are no particular differences of opinion: they got off easily for a fight on the air, in addition, they had to publicly apologize and shake hands with each other. Both qualified in Portimao on the 1-2 lines and could fight for the victory, but lost everything due to intemperance. McPhee has been punished enough – he has not earned a point and has seriously rolled back in the Moto3 general classification. Alcoba managed to snatch a couple of points at the finish line. Onju and Binder paid more or less justifiably for interfering with other pilots’ fast laps. Here, the discussions do not differ too much in judgments: guilty, what to do! .. But Vinales was so depressed by his transfer to the 12th position that after the race he created a conflict situation in the social network and eventually lost his Twitter account. Banyaya, of course, was also very upset that he was deprived of a new lap record, but Ducati decided to accept the situation “as it is” and come to terms with the tough decision of the Directorate. In addition, the fact that the pilot did not notice the flag, which really was – is proven. Vinales was deprived of a fast lap for hitting the green, and this happened automatically, thanks to the triggering of sensors installed by Dorna Sports at the entire circuit – it is impossible to find fault with the work of the Stewards! Banyaya complained that the passage under the yellow flags and, as a result, the cancellation of the lap time – a) did not threaten anyone and anything, b) that he simply did not see the yellow flags and / or the signal on the light panel. Aleš Espargaro, the second oldest and most experienced MotoGP pilot after Valentino Rossi, is confident that the Directorate and the Steward Panel acted quite right. Unlike most MotoGP representatives, Espargaro believes that the Directorate is still acting too softly and loyally towards the Premier class pilots.

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