On the eve of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship in Qatar
Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso, Aleix Espargaro and Cal Crutchlow fronted up for the pre-season press conference and there’s excitement in the air.
Marquez, believe it or not, says he feels better than last year which has only got to worry his title rivals who have all worked hard over the break to try and claw back the gap to the Spanish wonder kid.
Valentino Rossi #46
Jorge Lorenzo revealed that he’s five kilos lighter than he was last year and is hoping to see some advantage on the straights as a result. Valentino Rossi compared the Qatar round to the first day of school and said he’s most looking forward to battling at the front with Marquez.
Jorge Lorenzo #99
Ducati rider Dovizioso is stoked to have finished the pre-season Sepang test on the top of the time sheets and reckons there’s still more to come from the hugely improved GP15 in terms of a consistent race distance. Funny man Cal Crutchlow answered the question from the media who asked him to describe his new Honda in one word to which he replied: “White”. He did, however, say that he’ll be pushing for a podium from the first race.
Andrea Dovizioso #04
Suzuki’s Aleix Espargaro resigned to the fact that podiums are probably out of the equation for the first few races, and did admit that his Open class Yamaha was indeed faster than the current Suzuki GSX-RR.
Aleix Espargaro #41
We chat at length with Marquez, Lorenzo, Rossi and Dani Pedrosa about the season ahead, their strategies and what they’re most concerned about in the upcoming season in the next issue of AMCN, on sale Thursday 2 April.