MotoGP

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After taking on the premier class for the first time last season with impressive results – including seven top ten finishes – KTM will now have even more representation on the MotoGP grid next season, announcing a new partnership to supply Tech 3 with machinery from 2019 and bring the number of RC16s on the grid up to four.

That comes soon after it was announced that the partnership between Tech 3 and Yamaha would be coming to an end at the close of 2018, with the two having raced together for two decades.

"We are very happy to join forces with Tech 3 in MotoGP from 2019,” says Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director.

"The team has many years of experience and achieved a lot of great results in this championship. Their professional structure will make us even stronger. Having four KTM RC16 on the grid is also another big step for us, both for the development of our MotoGP bike and expanding KTM’s structure in the paddock."

"From the Red Bull Rookies Cup up to MotoGP there is a clear path to the top. We are looking forward to start a great cooperation and I’m thankful towards Hervé Poncharal for the future trust in KTM."

source: motogp.com

MotoGP

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Andrea Iannone went quickest on the second day of the third and final preseason test at Losail International Circuit, blasting to the top late on to take over from compatriot Andrea Dovizioso.

Despite some early rain in the desert, the field got in some good running on Day 2 – and it was Dovizioso and reigning Champion Marc Marquez who ended the day closest to the ‘Maniac’ on the timesheets.

Iannone, who was also a key presence on Day 1 as he moved up the ranks from some more difficult tests at Sepang and Buriram, has been within the top five much of the time – and the Austria 2016 GP winner made a late attack to set a 1:54.586 and pull just 0.041 clear of Dovizioso, largely now confirming data and then working on race setup.

Teammate Alex Rins, who has impressed so far in preseason, also made it two Hamamatsu factory machines in the top five on Day 2 – taking P5 and 0.288 off his teammate.

Dovizioso, meanwhile, ended his test slightly early after completing a program of 41 laps and having led for much of the latter part of the day. 0.041 off the top, the 2017 runner up was overwhelmingly positive about his bike and his bike at Losail – having also completed a longer run on the newer chassis, but there tempering the reaction with positives but some negatives.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who was in the top echelons on Day 1, was P14 on Day 2 – putting in 53 laps and less than a second off Iannone.

Marquez, who was just 0.167 off Iannone, did make some headlines with a new aero update that was spotted on his Repsol Honda Team machine – as well as a crash.

But the reigning Champion was quotable as ever: “Even the crash was good – because we tried the other bike with a different setup.” He put in a long run – as did many – and despite a more difficult day, was fastest Honda.

LCR Honda Castrol and HRC test rider Cal Crutchlow was the second quickest Honda in P6, a tenth and a half off Marquez and locked out of the top five by just 0.025. Marquez’ teammate Dani Pedrosa, meanwhile, took it a little easier on Friday after a big crash on Day 1 – some pain in his hand meaning he didn’t push; tenth after 35 laps.

The fastest Yamaha was once again Johann Zarco  after Maverick Viñales had taken back the honour on Day 2. Zarco said it was a great day on track and was fourth overall, making a big improvement on new tyres. “Found what we were missing” was the Frenchman’s most telling soundbite, and after 49 laps that was evident on the timesheets.

Viñales, on the other hand, ended Friday in P7. Continuing to look for solutions to some issues plaguing the Iwata marque, the Spaniard did 52 laps and went fastest on his penultimate effort.

Teammate Valentino Rossi was P11 and only 0.034 off the top ten and Pedrosa in P10, and the ‘Doctor’ explained he was having some problems with the front tyre that put paid to a time attack. But the rider from Tavullia said his pace “wasn’t bad”, with that front tyre – especially over race distance – a key focus for his side of the garage.

The final day of preseason is now just around the corner, with Saturday set to bring down the curtain ahead of the first race weekend of the year. Is everybody ready?

source: motogp.com

MotoGP

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Johann Zarco leaves the Qatar Test as the fastest man on track, with the Frenchman just over a tenth over Jorge Lorenzo’s 10-year-old pole lap record to top the test with a 1:54.029.

Valentino Rossi hot back up into the higher echelons on Day 2 to get closest to the Frenchman as he was 0.247 further back – with Andrea Dovizioso completing the top three as he was once again a constant presence to be reckoned with.

Lorenzo’s record that Zarco was hunting down is a 1:53.927, set in 2008 when the now five-time World Champion debuted – a longstanding mark of pace at the venue to add some extra lustre to the Tech 3 rider’s laptime. Behind that show of outright pace from the Frenchman’s Yamaha, Rossi’s two and a half tenth deficit was nevertheless enough to put the Italian into P2 despite a crash earlier in the day – and Dovizioso was just 0.055 off his compatriot.

In fourth, Cal Crutchlow  was the fastest Honda with a 1:54.457 – continuing his fantastic preseason form – after putting in 57 laps, which was the most of the top five. It was incredibly close between the Brit and the third Yamaha Maverick Viñales, however, with the Spaniard – fastest in testing at the venue last season and the race winner – just 0.014 off after he made a late attack.

The top five were the same as the combined times on Day 3, but the man who leaves the desert sixth overall set his best laptime on Day 2 – Andrea Iannone. The Italian, whose 1:54.586 was the fastest lap on Friday, was sidelined on the third and final day of the third and final preseason test, suffering with illness.

Slotting behind the ‘Maniac’ and his Day 2 assault, Marc Marquez was seventh overall as he guns for his seventh title – and by another tiny margin, with only 0.005 in it. The reigning Champion also showed impressive pace on a long run, and did the most laps of anyone as he racked up 75. He ended the day sandwiched between the Team Suzuki Ecstar machines, as Alex Rins took P8 and ended preseason on form and fully healthy ahead of his sophomore season.

source: motogp.com

MotoGP

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Valentino Rossi confirmed at the Qatar test that he is likely to remain racing in 2019 and 2020, with the subject coming up when discussing the possibility of a future satellite VR46-run premier class team.

After Tech 3 and Yamaha parted ways for 2019, the rumor mill has been in overdrive about the future possibilities for a satellite team to run machinery from the Iwata marque – with one of the big talking points centered on the possibility of a future VR46-branded outfit doing just that.

“I didn’t expect Poncharal to leave Yamaha,” begins the ‘Doctor’. “We thought about it and it would have been a great opportunity, but in the next two years we will not make a MotoGP team with Yamaha.”

Then comes the headline, with Rossi confirming that it’s more a project for after he stops racing – and that very probably, that won’t be anytime before 2020.

“I'll probably race for the next two years, so hopefully, we'll talk about the team later when I stop - but not in 2019 or 2020."

After Marc Marquez signed on the Monday before Qatar and Maverick Viñales announced his future at the Yamaha Team presentation, will Rossi be the next to sign on the line?

source: motogp.com

 

         

 

 

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