First MotoGP win for Rins
Always expect the unexpected. The GP of the Americas proved the truth of this, in an extraordinary afternoon of surprises. The biggest came from former King of Cota Marc Marquez, who sprang into the lead from pole position, and was better than three seconds clear when he crash
Bautista unstoppable with 11 wins from 11
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) now has enough WorldSBK trophies to build his own static football team, his 11th win of the season coming after an early struggle with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team). Bautista ran clear at the end to win by 4.688 seconds, but n
Problems for Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo suffered a costly replay of two problems that have previously afflicted his new Repsol Honda team-mate Marc Marquez, both of them coming at once. Firstly, having got through from Q1 to Q2, the chain jumped the sprocket as he was about to start his second timed la
KTM carbon-fibre scoop
The swing-arm spoiler took another turn on Saturday, with KTM fitting a carbon-fibre scoop visually similar to that used the day before by Honda, as the companies that had joined the unsuccessful protest against Ducati at Qatar now hastened to copy them. KTM’s version appear
Seventh consecutive pole for Marquez
There was to be no surprise after fans had waited through a barren morning for MotoGP qualifying. As every year since the first visit to CotA in 2013, it was the thrilling brinkmanship of Marc Marquez that put his Repsol Honda on top of the time-sheets. It was accomplished wit
FP3 sessions were cancelled at Austin
Bad weather and cautious local regulations meant that after a morning of waiting all Saturday morning FP3 sessions were cancelled at Austin. Although a biblical deluge had abated by the time schedule free practice was due to commence at 9am, rain was still falling … but more
Straight talking Jack Miller
Straight-talking Australian Jack Miller raised a laugh at the pre-race press conference when asked what had made the difference, after his very strong start to the year. “It’s the big thing between my legs,” he said. He quickly elucidated … “the engine.” It m
CotA Bumpiness
Bumps, bumps and more bumps – interspersed with low grip – were the talk of track at CotA, with riders universally bemoaning that the fantastic layout was spoiled by a sub-standard surface. Fresh efforts to improve the situation did win some positive remarks, but the gener
Riders Views on Crutchlow Argentina Jump-Start Penalty
While jump-start victim Cal Crutchlow insisted he had “moved on” from the ride-through penalty that robbed him of a podium finish in Argentina, rival riders were torn between approval of a firm rule and sympathy for the disproportionate severity of the penalty. Crutchlow h
Repsol Honda with a copy of Ducati’s controversial swing-arm scoop
Back at the dawn of their invasion of the motorcycle industry, the Japanese mantra was “copy, but improve”. Honda have clearly not forgotten the value of this. On the first day at CotA, one of Marquez’s pair of factory Repsol Hondas emerged with a copy of Ducati’s cont
MotoGP retires Nicky Hayden's #69 in Austin ceremony
Nicky Hayden’s famous racing number 69 – inherited from his father Earl Hayden – has been retired from MotoGP. A ceremony on Friday, attended by his family and friends, marked the honour, one of a number of tributes to the last American to win a GP World Championship. Ni
GP OF THE AMERICAS - FREE PRACTICE WRAP
Marc Marquez’s domination of the Circuit of the Americas came under threat on the first day of practice, in a hectic end as riders scrambled to secure a top ten finish, against the forecast of bad weather tomorrow. But the threat to the Repsol Honda rider’s superiority was