[YD14]

The 2021 MotoGP championship is finally here. A total of 22 bikes will line up on the grid from 6 manufacturers.

Some interesting bits from the off season:

• The 8 times world champion Marc Marquez isn't back yet and most probably will rejoin in Portugal (3rd round)
• Two of the often talked about team bosses have left us, Davide Brivio and Fausto Gresini. The former has moved to F1 and the later sadly passed away due to Covid-19.
• Tech3 haven't found another sponsor and so the team will race in the bright KTM orange colour.
• There are 3 rookies in the mix and all of them are riding Ducatis.
• There is a possibility of return of Dovizioso as he will test the Aprilia RS-GP on the Jerez circuit on 12th April.
• Lorenzo again acted irresponsibly on social media about Yamaha's decision to select Crutchlow over him. Jack Miller told him to grow up.

With lap times being more closer than ever before, all of the most talented riders in the world and theirs teams, across all the 3 championships, are pushing beyond their 100% to claim the honors. A very exciting and entertaining World Championship is awaiting us.


Where to catch the action:
In India the official broadcaster is the Eurosport channel where you can watch qualifyings, MotoGP FP4 and races. The channel is available on most of the mobile service providers' live TV app. You can also watch them on Discovery plus streaming app. The FP1, FP2 and FP3 are not broadcasted in India. For the extremely devoted fans, you can still watch them if you can get a hold of the live telecast of BT Sport 2 channel, broadcasters of MotoGP in UK.

[YD14]

362.4 km/hr!!! Zarco goes really fast on the 2021 Ducati. Bagnaia managed to do a 52.7.Sad to see that Miller is not on the front row. A sad sight again when you look at KTMs who have somehow managed their to drop their performance, not a single KTM in Q2.

Although Yamahas are fast too, but based on their last year performance, I would rather bet on Bagnaia and Jack for the victory.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[RM Motorsports]

What a last lap in Qatar GP. Joan Mir must be devastated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApLFIEIk3eA

[aravind.anand]

Vinales finally put together a race that would silence critics. What a performance from Top Gun!

The Ducati's launched like a missile off the grid - Rookie Jorge Martin shot from 14th to 4th, completing a Ducati 1-2-3-4 on lap one. The launch control of Ducati is a wonder.

After dropping to 8th on lap 1, Vinales fought back one by one to finally get to second, behind a dominant Pecco Bagnaia. The way Vinales used the slipstream of the powehouse Ducati was unbelievable. On that particular lap, Bagnaia manages 348 kmph, while Vinales aboard the much slower Yamaha M1 managed 349 kmph ! Such fabulous riding.

Mir's last corner strategy of going wide to pick-up momentum backfired, and the two Ducati's used their horsepower advantage to complete the podium. Mir would have been baffled by the Ducati's power advantage for sure.

Rossi & Morbidelli had a devastating race, never seeming strong and finishing 12th and 18th respectively.

Rins seemed mighty strong at one point, but lost steam (or rather rear grip) after being overtaken by Mir to finish 6th, behind Fabio Quartararo - who himself had an up-down-up sort of a race.

[fz_rider]

As expected, the premier class didn't disappoint! Brilliant second race in Qatar. A French 1-2 in the form of Fabio and Johan. Despite all the fire power, Ducati couldn't defeat Yamaha. Those M1's do handle brilliantly.

One last thing, Johan Zarco is your championship leader.

[pramods]

What a race, Fabio was unbelievable and Martin did really good for a rookie. 2021 seems to reason of rookies, moto3 has a new rookie sensation too..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5-RZBecBs8

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Excellent 1st 2 races, highlighted by super star performances by both the Yamaha boys!!

Boy, this season looks super exciting and the big daddy has not even joined yet.

I believed last season was for Yamaha to loose. I hope they fire this season. This is not going to be easy, but they should have a good shot at it. I am in no way discounting the Ducs or the Suzukis, its just that Yamaha should have more experience and as bike work well on more tracks.

CHEERS!!

Rachit

[YD14]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsmtalCqmq0

An interview of Maverick Vinales by Autocar India.

It's just another interview with all the standard questions and replies but, what I found interesting is Maverick trying to avoid questions about Fabio's performance. While after the two races in Qatar both the teammates were on equal footing, Portimao has changed that. While Fabio continued to display his excellent form, Maverick struggled from beginning to the end. While it is true that his pole-worthy lap was canceled, but the same was true for Bagnaia whose record-breaking lap was canceled and he still came through.

Maverick knows well that if this continued Yamaha would surely tilt towards one side. In fact, he is not the only one in danger. In Ducati, Bagnaia is stealing the show from Jack Miller and in Suzuki's garage, there is Joan Mir overshadowing Alex Rins. Jerez will be crucial for these teammates cum rivals.

[YD14]

VR46 team to enter MotoGP in 2022; agreement signed until 2026

Official press release:

Tanal Entertainment Sport & Media, the holding company of HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud, is pleased to announce an important strategic agreement with VR46 Team, Valentino Rossi's company, for the near future of Moto GP. In 2022 the VR46 Team will debut in the MotoGP class together with Tanal Entertainment Sport & Media with Saudi Aramco, as the new Main Sponsor for the period 2022-2026: the new ARAMCO Racing Team VR46 will heat the track supported by other important sponsors of the world scene.

Although rider details haven't been declared, it is speculated that one of them will be Luca Marini, who will be out of a ride next year as the Avintia team has decided to leave the premier class at the end of the 2021 season. Also, the manufacturer will have to be either Ducati or Aprilia as Suzuki hasn't decided on a satellite team yet. The latter seems more likely as Ducati is already close to sealing the deal with Team Gresini.

Link

[Porschefire]

I’ve missed out on watching all the races of this season, thanks to my sheer incompetence and ignorance of figuring out (or just asking someone or a simple google search) where to stream MotoGP live. No, motogp.com is expensive!

Note to myself: I will figure it out before Le Mans!

I did manage to watch a low resolution, highly out of sync video of today’s race on YouTube and my god, what a fantastic race it was! Super stoked to see Miller win the race and Ducati finish with a 1-2. I cannot name another rider in the paddock who deserved it more than good ol’ Jack (maybe Zarco, it’s been a while since I’ve seen his back flip celebration)! Luck was also in his favor today as ‘Flying Fabio’ faded towards the second half of the race.

What was more heartening to watch was the post race press conference camaraderie between the three that was so refreshing. Jack and Franco are truly the nicest guys out there, it seems like.

Coming to the most important matter, I think Franco’s podium showcased what’s terribly wrong with the Yamaha management. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, with all due respect, I don’t think Valentino Rossi deserves an official Yamaha contract and a latest spec M1 while Franco’s relegated to a two year old M1! This is not the way to treat the runner up of last season and the one who’s consistently been the best Yamaha rider. It is absolutely disgusting to watch someone who’s achieved almost everything in the sport, is past his golden days by a long mile and been struggling with consistency over the last 2-3 seasons, hogging a MotoGP ride that could’ve been for an upcoming talent from Moto2/Moto3. I would partly blame Lin as well as he was so desperate to part with VR46 the rider but maybe not with VR46 the brand (and the money) that he bartered the satellite ride! I really hope Franco does well this season and leaves Yamaha for good, next year!

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

where to stream MotoGP live.

I am watching MotoGP live on Eurosport HD through Tata Sky. Check out other ways to access Eurosport by clicking on the link below.

https://www.motoroids.com/news/euros...cast-in-india/

Cheers

[badri]

It's been a superb season of MotoGP! Looks like it can be anyone's Championship this year. Miller, Bagnaia, Quartararo, Zarco all seem to have realistic shot at title. Marquez will surely be back to winning ways but the title may be tough. Rossi seems to be working on his transition from a rider to team owner. He may still have it in him for the odd podium if conditions favour but now it looks more like he is over the hill and on the way down. Petronas should give Morbidelli the factory bike or lose him for next year.

[aravind.anand]

Yes, the title definitely can go in any direction. Last year despite the short Championship, no one even thought about Joan Mir after 5 races!

Marc Marquez is struggling, and he is not able to ride to his full potential yet. I reckon that Sachsenring is where he will truly shine - his favourite track where he holds an impeccable record + lots of left-handers, only the left side of his body works well at the moment. So until then it would be more like training for him and so the Championship is a long shot.

Rossi, clearly is struggling - the worst start ever, in his illustrious career, standing 19th at the moment. And going by the FP1 & FP2 sessions today - I do not think anything would change at Mugello. Sad moment as a fan to see him in this situation, where too many people are voicing that he should retire and give that factory spec bike to Morbidelli instead.

Quartararo, Miller and Bagnaia trio might take it to the last lap of the last race this season !!

Ducati should be really happy to have 3 of their bikes fighting for the championship.

[RM Motorsports]

Swiss rider Jason Dupasquier has succumbed to injuries sustained in a fatal crash at the end of Moto3 qualifying for the Italian GP at Mugello. MotoGP confirmed the 19-year-old’s death today.

Motor Racing is Dangerous.

https://www.firstpost.com/sports/mot...e-9669291.html

The fatal crash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbnFH3TuxJA