Yamaha

Valentino Rossi fears Yamaha has made minimal improvements to the performance problems with rear grip and traction which hampered its 2018 MotoGP campaign after suffering with familiar issues at the 2019 opener in Qatar.

Valentino Rossi says he wasn’t able to discover a solution to his front tyre degradation issues with his Monster Yamaha team as he toiled to 14 th place in qualifying and fears for a tough 2019 MotoGP opener in Qatar.

MotoGP debutant Fabio Quartararo had more eyes on him than special guest five-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Petronas Yamaha garage after bolting to fifth place in qualifying in Qatar.

Full qualifying results at the Qatar MotoGP Maverick Vinales has laid down a marker to his MotoGP rivals by taking the first pole position of the season ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marq

Maverick Viñales has hailed the impact of new crew chief Esteban Garcia, saying he now finds it easier to maintain a degree of calm and perspective throughout a MotoGP race weekend.

After topping the opening practice session of the new MotoGP season, Valentino Rossi’s start to 2019 hit the buffers in the second session as he dropped to 17 th place on the times struggling with a front tyre issue.

On paper, Fabio Quartararo is the least qualified of the 2019 MotoGP rookies, with only a single grand prix victory from four podiums in the Moto3 and Moto2 classes.

MotoGP FP1 results from Qatar  Valentino Rossi has topped the opening practice session of the 2019 MotoGP season edging out Repsol Honda duo Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez.

40-year-old Rossi starts his 24th grand prix season in perfect style by being fastest during MotoGP Free Practice 1 in Qatar, ahead of Lorenzo and Marquez. FP2 takes place this evening, under the floodlights.

Valentino Rossi may be preparing to start his 24 th grand prix season, but even he isn't sure who looks strongest - or how much better his Yamaha will perform -heading into this weekend's Qatar season-opener.

Maverick Vinales begins the new MotoGP season having been the fastest rider in the recent test at the same Qatar circuit, prior to which he also set an enviable race pace at Sepang.

Team: Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Riders: Valentino Rossi, Maverick Viñales Test Rider: Jonas Folger Bike: Yamaha M1 Best placed rider, 2018: Valentino Rossi, 3rd Best result, 2018: 1st x1, Maverick Viñales

Valentino Rossi starts his 24 th season of grand prix racing this weekend in Qatar. All but four of those campaigns have been in the premier-class, where the Italian has claimed seven championship titles and holds the all-time win record of 89 victories.

Maverick Vinales says after rediscovering his pace and rhythm on the Yamaha he can fight for the rostrum but feels development work is still needed at the 2019 season opener in Qatar.

Yamaha might just have finally turned a corner. After a winter of internal reorganisation and development, Maverick Viñales has been the star of the 2019 MotoGP preseason, while Valentino Rossi has never been too far away.

The new Petronas Yamaha Sepang team heads to its first MotoGP event, in Qatar this weekend, with riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo buoyed by recent testing results at the same Losail circuit.

-Jorge Lorenzo expects Marc Marquez to be a tougher team-mate at Repsol Honda than his previous experiences sharing a garage with Valentino Rossi during his Yamaha days (GPOne.com)

Lewis Hamilton wants to use his Qatar MotoGP trip as a learning experience for his preparations ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 season by listening in to how the Petronas Yamaha Sepang squad operate.

With MotoGP pre-season testing starting tomorrow, 2019 is gathering pace ahead of the new campaign.

MotoGP pre-season testing ends with Vinales fastest from impressive rookie Quartararo, forming a Yamaha one-two on a windy night in Qatar.

Fabio Quartararo has said his stunning third fastest time on the second night of MotoGP testing in Qatar didn’t arrive by chance, as the impressive class rookie continued to turn heads aboard the Sepang Racing Team Yamaha M1.

Fabio Quartararo could barely conceal his enthusiasm at the close of the first day of preseason testing in Qatar, as the Frenchman felt he had gone some way toward overcoming the braking deficincies he has faced in MotoGP to date.

Full WorldSSP race results from Phillip Island Randy Krummenacher avoi

Full race results for the first round of the 2019 World Supersport championship at Phillip Island, Australia. A mid-race pit stop was made mandatory due to tyre safety concerns. 1. Randy Krummenacher SUI Bardahl Evan Bros. Yamaha YZF-R6 16 laps