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🚨 In a recent revelation to GPone.com, MotoGP™ World Champion Pecco Bagnaia shares his unique off-track habit and a surprising future aspiration. ❝I think about it every now and then,❞ Bagnaia reflects. His post-season ritual? Diving into the world of numbers and statistics on Wikipedia to analyze his performance. A blend of passion and precision! But here's the big news: ❝I’d like to win in WorldSBK too, but there is time,❞ Bagnaia admits. That's right, fans! Our MotoGP hero is eyeing glory in the Superbike world. From dominating MotoGP tracks to dreaming about Superbike triumphs, Bagnaia's ambition knows no bounds. Will we see him conquering new racing realms? Time will tell! #PeccoBagnaia #MotoGPNews #SuperbikeDreams #RacingChampion #MotorsportUpdate #FB01 #2TimeChamp #Ducati #Desmosedici #MotoGP #WorldSBK #469Motorsports

Everything you need to know about MotoGP's revamped first 2024 test https://lnkd.in/dF8tAzA4 MotoGP's customary pre-season shakedown test will be a particularly anticipated event in its 2024 form, thanks to the series' new concession rules. Ahead of the two full-field pre-season tests, every MotoGP factory will hit the track at Sepang for the shakedown on February 1-3. But while this outing is normally reserved for just test riders (as per MotoGP's stringent testing rules) and rookies, the shakedown will be opened up to factory Honda and Yamaha riders. That’s because both of the Japanese marques were placed in 'Rank D' under MotoGP's new concession systems after they hugely underwhelmed in 2023 relative to their European competition. Now allowed to use its race riders and not just test riders in private testing - which the shakedown is effectively an extension of - Yamaha will wheel out its 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo and highly-rated new signing Alex Rins, as well as decorated tester Cal Crutchlow. First and foremost, the extra shakedown test days at Sepang - which will be followed by three full-grid days at Sepang and three full-grid days in Qatar - will be crucial for the new arrivals within the Japanese brands' ranks. However, it is not viable for both manufacturers to just have their entire fleet of riders test morning-till-night for the duration of the shakedown, because both are still limited by a test tyre allocation of 130 sets for the season. For Yamaha, a presumed priority will be the 2024-spec engine, given what had been tried during 2023 were just minor steps in terms of power. Over at Honda, a prototype RC213V for 2024 was met by rave reviews at Valencia - lighter, more responsive and seemingly faster. But Honda too has a lot of gains to be made with the engine, as well as aero. At the same time, both Yamaha and Honda have more freedom to make gains on both fronts in 2024, unbound by an engine freeze and beholden to looser aero homologation requirements (in terms of number of designs rather than any aspects of design) than their rivals.

Acosta stars, crazy aero - What we learned from MotoGP shakedown https://lnkd.in/eANvTGz3 The first major track action of the 2024 MotoGP season has come a little earlier this year - thanks to new concession rules that allowed for the three-day Sepang shakedown to be attended not just by factory test riders and rookies, but the actual race teams of struggling manufacturers Honda and Yamaha. And while the Malaysian outing was largely closed off to the media and with riders mostly (more on that later) not speaking about their experiences until the main three-day test early next week, there was still plenty to notice from trackside - and from the timing screens. Without the full grid, it’s of course still hard to piece together too much of what the season will look like - but that doesn't mean that there weren't still some interesting things on show. We always knew that rookie sensation Pedro Acosta was going to get on pace in MotoGP, given his remarkable progression through the ranks of Moto2 and Moto3 over the course of only three seasons. Ending the final day of the test fastest overall, he was only a tenth of a second away from the qualifying time set by top KTM racer Brad Binder at October’s race. Among the most noticeable things on show was KTM’s continuing aero push - and the lengths to which it's gone in hiding its various developments. Designed with the full might of partner Red Bull's F1 aero team, it’s quite obvious that there’s been an injection of new thinking (...).

MotoGP™ champion Pecco Bagnaia sheds light on the evolution of his racing machine and the pursuit of perfect balance. ❝The good thing about the old [2022] bike was the entrance of the corners. You could keep a lot of speed and it had more turning,❞ Bagnaia reflects. This insight into the dynamics of his 2022 bike highlights his deep understanding of how subtle changes can impact his race performance. But with every new season comes a new challenge. ❝Last year’s [2023] bike was very good on traction, very good on the first part of braking, but I was losing a lot in the entrance to the corners.❞ Bagnaia's candid evaluation of the 2023 bike's performance shows his continuous strive for improvement. Looking ahead, Bagnaia is optimistic about the 2024 bike's potential. ❝I think that the weight distribution of the ’24 bike is more similar to the ‘22. It helped me, and also I think Enea [Bastianini], on the entrance to the corners.❞ His focus on finding the right balance between speed and control is a testament to his dedication as a top-tier rider. At the Valencia test, Bagnaia's attention was on the engine, seeking that perfect 'connection' under acceleration. The upcoming PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit test will shift his focus to the chassis, honing in on every aspect of the bike’s performance. #PeccoBagnaia #MotoGP #RacingTech #BikeEvolution #CorneringKing #2TimeChamp #Ducati #DucatiCorse #Desmosedici #FB01 #469Motorsports

Alex Marquez triumphed in a breathtaking 2023 Malaysian MotoGP™ Sprint race, outpacing Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia in a stunning display of skill and strategy. This marked his second Sprint victory of the season, following an impressive performance in wet conditions at Silverstone. The race was a rollercoaster of action and tactics, with reigning champion Bagnaia initially leading but ultimately struggling with pace, finishing ahead of Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder. The early stages saw an intense battle, with Marquez swiftly moving up from the second row, overtaking Martin and then Bastianini. The pivotal moment came on lap 6, when Marquez executed a masterful move to take the lead from Bagnaia, eventually winning by a comfortable 1.5-second margin. Martin capitalized on Bagnaia's difficulties, reducing his title lead to just 11 points. KTM AG riders Binder and Jack Miller followed closely, with Aprilia Official’s new cooling solution making its debut under the challenging conditions. In a day of mixed fortunes, Maverick Vinales finished tenth, ahead of the top Yamaha ridden by Franco Morbidelli, while Fabio Quartararo faced a challenging race, plummeting from 8th to 19th. Marc Marquez, starting from 20th, experienced a fall, adding to the season's challenges. This race reshapes the championship landscape, setting up an exhilarating full-length Grand Prix on Sunday. Stay tuned for more thrilling MotoGP action! 🏁 #MotoGP2023 #SepangGP #AlexMarquez #MarquezVictory #MotorcycleRacing #DucatiDominance #RacingThrill #MotoGPSprintRace #469Motorsports

UNPRECEDENTED SEVEN-YEAR DEAL SHOWS PRAMAC'S WORTH TO YAMAHA https://lnkd.in/ed7asS2V Yamaha’s new satellite MotoGP team deal with Pramac starts with an unprecedented seven-year commitment, highlighting how vital Yamaha felt it was to restore its presence on the grid to four bikes. Reigning teams’ champion Pramac’s switch from Ducati was officially announced after Friday practice at the Dutch TT, but both it and the startling duration of the initial deal were confirmed by Pramac CEO Paolo Campinotti in an interview with Italian publication GPOne during track action at Assen. Though long manufacturer/satellite relationships are far from uncommon (Pramac has been with Ducati for two decades), they are usually agreed on a rolling basis with much shorter-term contracts.

MotoGP World Championship calendar shakes up: it will start at the Thailand GP in 2025 and 2026 | Motorcycling | Sports MotoGP continues to shake up its calendar and the World Championship will start next year at the Buriram circuit in Thailand. It will be the first time that it will do so in Southeast Asia in the 21st century. The last time MotoGP started in the region was in Malaysia, still under the old 500cc name. This return replaces the Qatar night, an unmissable opening event since 2007 with the only exception of 2023, when works on the Lusail circuit forced the start of the championship to be moved to Portugal. The first Grand Prix of 2025 is scheduled for March 2. “As soon as Buriram joined the calendar, it became one of our favourite circuits. It’s easy to see why – it’s a fantastic place to enjoy MotoGP, with a layout designed to showcase compact racing, as demonstrated by last year’s spectacle,” explains Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta on the choice of the Thai track. “Southeast Asia is one of our most important markets, both for the sport and for factories and sponsors,” he adds. Since its introduction to the series in 2018, more than 800,000 fans have flocked to the Buriram International Circuit over four editions of the event. The dates of Ramadan in 2025 – from February 28 to March 29 – and 2026 – from February 17 to March 18 – have affected the usual planning of recent years and forced a rethinking of the initial part of the championship, which will probably include another date in the region. For now, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has not officially announced any other dates for the competition for the next season, and it is expected that the provisional calendar will arrive later during the current campaign. The Buriram circuit made its debut on the calendar in 2018 with Marc Márquez winning after a nice, tight duel with Andrea Dovizioso. The following year, the Thai track was the scene of the Spaniard’s eighth world title. The pandemic forced MotoGP activity to stop in Thailand until 2022, when the event returned with a victory for Miguel Oliveira in a downpour. Last year, Jorge Martín was the winner of the round located in the northeast of the country, which will once again welcome the riders on October 27 for the penultimate grand prix of the season. This change of venue for the initial stop of the World Championship comes after a 2024 plagued by logistical setbacks for MotoGP. In total, the promoter has announced six changes to the initial calendar of the championship after having announced the longest season in history with 22 stops. The cancellation of the Argentine GP due to Javier Milei’s policy of cuts was the first setback of the season, and then came the mess of postponements of Kazakhstan and India. Finally, the cancellation of both Grand Prix has forced a double stop to be scheduled in Misano in September to safeguard the minimum commitments with commercial partners and to hold 20 races. ...

Eight reasons MotoGP will be even better in 2024 https://lnkd.in/eyiaskAW MotoGP 2023 had its flaws, but it grew into the championship’s greatest title fight in years as Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin’s battle ebbed and flowed through twist after twist in the final three months of the season. And it was equally good value off-track too, thanks to Marc Marquez and the machinations over his future. OK, I can hear the sceptical voices as I type. Some of the loudest probably come from my colleagues on The Race MotoGP Podcast, where I’m happy to be the Tigger to my fellow pundits’ Eeyores at times. Yes, there is the possibility that once back on a competitive bike Marc Marquez will reveal that everyone who's won titles during his compromised years was just an inferior pretender. Yes, Ducati may still be near-unbeatable. Yes, the season is punishingly long, especially with sprints added, and the injury rate last year was unacceptable and couldn’t be shrugged off as a coincidence. Yes, the tyre pressure rule situation risks causing farces. Yes, it’s a huge shame that ‘dirty air’ is invading even motorbike racing and aero has been allowed to get out of control. I get all that. MotoGP 2024 will be flawed, too. But here are eight reasons why it’s also going to be even better than a 2023 season that will still be remembered as a classic (...).

𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵: 5.380 kilometres / 3.343 miles 𝗪𝗶𝗱𝘁𝗵: 12 metres 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: 6 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: 10 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 1.068 kilometres / 0.664 miles 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱: 2004 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 1m 51.762s (173.2km/h) Luca Marini (Ducati, 2023) 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗽: 1m 52.978s (171.4 km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2023) 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿: Jorge Martín (Ducati) 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿: Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) Constructed in just over a year at a cost of $58 million for the inaugural MotoGP™ event in 2004. Designed primarily with motorcycling in mind, featuring a flowing 5.4km layout popular with riders. Became the largest lit venue in the world in 2008 with permanent outdoor lighting for night races. Hosted MotoGP's first night race in 2008, won by Casey Stoner on a Ducati. Hosted the MotoGP season opener for 13 consecutive years from 2007 to 2019. Daytime races experienced track temperatures over 45°C, motivating the switch to night events. In 2009, rain postponed the MotoGP race to Monday, showcasing the circuit's unexpected weather challenges. Features alcohol-free cava for the podium ceremony, respecting Qatar's Muslim majority. Noted as one of the circuits with the greatest fuel consumption in the season. Extensive lighting installed without creating glare for spectators or riders and minimizing shadows. The strong braking into turn 1 or the high speed turn 13 are highlights of this track. Lusail International Circuit #LusailCircuit #LusailCircuitSportsClub #LCSC #MotoGP #MotoGP2024 #MotoGP75 #QatarGP #Lusail #Qatar #LusailInternationalCircuit

Putting the rest of the MotoGP puzzle together. In what has been undoubtedly the most manic rider market in perhaps even the history of MotoGP, there are still a handful of spots left to fill. These seats are namely at Trackhouse Aprilia, LCR Honda and Pramac (who make the switch to Yamaha). Though it is yet to be officially, announced, Fermin Aledguir is a Gresini rider in all but confirmation. While Miguel Oliveira seems to be the odds-on bet for the lead seat at Pramac, there isn’t a clear indicator of who will partner the Portuguese rider. It was speculated that either Alonso Lopez or Sergio Garcia could make the step up from Moto2. Both riders have had strong Moto2 campaigns thus far. There have been flashes of brilliance from Lopez, whilst Garcia has been the dark horse of Moto2 this year, the Spaniard currently a top the Moto2 standings. However, it has been reported by Motorsport.com’s Dutch site that the title sponsor of Pramac, Prima, wants neither Lopez nor Garcia on their bikes next season. This is reportedly due to the company wanting an Italian rider to fill at least one of the vacant spots. Tony Arbolino’s name has been thrown into the ring as a potential candidate for stepping onto the satellite Yamaha next year. Despite a difficult season, that has yielded the best of a 6th thus far, the Italian may have to find an increase in form to get his name on the dotted line. Another struggling rider in potential contention for the second Pramac seat is Jack Miller. The four-time race winner has had a bruising second season in orange, so much so that he was dropped in favour of rookie Acosta before the midway point of the year. Though Miller had previously stated that he hadn’t had a single offer, it was rumoured that Ducati had offered him Alvaro Bautista’s World Superbike seat. With still no confirmation of plans for next year from Bautista, a return to red could be an option for the Australian. Remy Gardner has also been linked to moving into the Pramac outfit, in what would be a return to the GP paddock. The Australian has been looking like the strongest Yamaha rider in World Superbikes this season, stepping onto the podium back in Assen. Gardner has made two GP appearances already this season, filling in for Alex Rins in Germany before taking over an injured Cal Crutchlow’s spot at the British GP. So, with at least some experience of the M1, Gardner could be a solid option for a second rider. It’s not just Pramac that has a spot that needs filling, as Trackhouse Aprilia are still searching for a rider to partner Raul Fernandez next season. After a pretty stellar start to his campaign, the smart money would have been on American Joe Roberts, seeing that it is an American-owned team...... https://lnkd.in/emetN2r8