MotoGP Features

A new year welcomes in a brand-new season of MotoGP and naturally everything is to play for with familiar faces in new places, teams at crossroads and a couple of new eras which begin in 2019.

With the Christmas almost here and the racing world taking a rest, it is the perfect time to look back on the year and pick out some of the highlights of the year.

The opening MotoGP test at Sepang in January took place without a Malaysian rider and certainly no sign of a Malaysian team.

When Johann Zarco shot from fourth on the grid to lead after just a few corners of his very first MotoGP race, many had to pinch themselves to believe what they were seeing.

Repsol Honda pulled off the biggest upset of the 2018 MotoGP silly season by reaching an agreement with Jorge Lorenzo, just before his breakthrough debut Ducati victory.

Nicolas Goubert, executive director of the new FIM MotoE World Cup, has pledged that the new electric bike class will be able to race flat-out from start to finish during its inaugural 2019 season.

Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna feels that, following Dani Pedrosa's retirement, it would be appropriate to reconsider a combined rider and bike minimum weight for MotoGP.

With Tech3 joining KTM, only two of the six MotoGP manufacturers will be without a satellite team in 2019. The factories in question, Suzuki and Aprilia, have opposing views on the importance of such a project.

Marc Marquez won his fifth MotoGP title in 2018, but official season statistics show that he also fell 23 times along the way, once again more than any other premier-class competitor.

Monday at Valencia was a time for Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna to weigh-up the 2018 MotoGP season and look ahead to 2019, which starts with testing on Tuesday.

Johann Zarco makes no excuses when accepting his fade during the middle chunk of the MotoGP season but upon his final Monster Yamaha Tech3 bow the exciting French rider reflects on his opening chapter in the premier class with pride.

The 2018 Independent MotoGP teams will run two MotoE riders next season, while the participating Moto2 and Moto3 teams will have a single MotoE entry.

Rewind 27 years, ahead of the first-ever Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix and the world was a very different place.

MotoGP Race Director Mike Webb has explained the reasoning behind Freddie Spencer’s appointment as the Chairman of the FIM Stewards Panel for 2019, stating the respect commanded by the American will compliment the experience and understanding of racing incidents that he brings to the role.

Marc VDS will not continue in MotoGP next season, while Angel Nieto (Aspar) will hand its grid places to the new Petronas Sepang Yamaha team... Repsol Honda: Marc Marquez (End of 2020)

The MotoGP paddock reconvened at Misano on Thursday with the cancellation of the previous Silverstone race a hot topic, not least in terms of what should happen to avoid a repeat in the future… Does Silverstone need to be resurfaced? Aleix Espargaro: "Definitely."

Aggregate Industries, which conducted this year's resurfacing of the Silverstone circuit, will be 'conducting a full review' following the cancellation of Sunday's British MotoGP.

KTM's plans to gain conclusive MotoGP race data with its 2019 machine have been thwarted by Mika Kallio's season-ending knee injury at Sachsenring.

KTM initially thought its MotoGP test programme would be less important in 2019, when the factory will double its presence on the grid to four bikes with the addition of Tech3.

MotoGP riders have a choice of engine maps which they can switch between, via a handlebar buttons, during a race.

Bradley Smith's early summer announcement that he was contemplating retirement sent tongues wagging, but also set his mind in motion. Is this really what I want?

Former 250GP title runner-up Fonsi Nieto has joined the growing band of ex-racer now employed as rider coaches by MotoGP teams. In the Spaniard's case he provides trackside feedback for the Alma Pramac Ducati team of Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller.

After a press conference to discuss Monster Energy's 2019 title sponsorship of the factory Yamaha MotoGP team at Brno on Thursday evening, Yamaha Racing managing director Lin Jarvis stayed to answer questions from a small group of journalists on the team's issues this season.

Aleix Espargaro doesn’t leave you second-guessing. Across a 35 minute interview he offers opinions on issues ranging from the length of the current racing calendar to the might of Piaggio, parent company of Aprilia. And there’s more than one take on his 2018 experience to date.