It's game time for MotoGP as the 2016 season kicks off.
A new season begins for the MotoGP World Championship as the league undergoes radical technical changes. New Michelin tyres, revised fuel limits, a spec ECU and unified software have already shaken up the grid during the season test.
Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa gathered together for the traditional pre-race press conference. They were joined by rising stars Andrea Iannone and Maverick Viñales, both out to assert themselves as MotoGP aliens and contenders for victory in 2016.
Reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), opened the press conference: “Not a lot of things change from the outside where the people can see the bikes. For the riders, it’s really a big difference. Firstly with the tyres, the Michelins offer a completely different feeling on the bike and also with the new electronics, the same for everyone, are less sophisticated and much more difficult to ride and control, especially with the throttle. Anyway the pre-season has been very very good, better than we expected. In the three tests we did, we got a good feeling and did some impressive lap times.”
After winning the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar in 2015, Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) produced one of the best seasons of his career, missing the podium in just three races. It was a season full of epic battles and incredible comebacks and ‘The Doctor’ is ready for another exciting year:
“This year everything will be very interesting as we have a lot of differences, especially about riding the motorcycle. We changed things that make a big difference, the tyres are different and also the electronic system is a little more basic. During the winter season we saw a lot of riders who were very close in their performance, looks like more than last year. It means that to arrive at the front you have to work very well during the weekend and arrive strong on Sunday.” he said during the press conference.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) heads into 2016 looking to continue improving after taking major steps forward in the Qatar Test, he remains aware that Qatar may not be representative of the riders’ true level.
The 2015 season was Andrea Iannone’s (Ducati Team) first MotoGP podium, the Italian building on the great result throughout the year to challenge for many more podiums.
With constant work back in the Ducati factory, there’s little doubt the Italian will again be in mix, especially in Qatar, a track that has classically suited Ducati.
Much like Pedrosa, Iannone suffered from a lingering issue throughout the 2015 season. He was expected to undergo surgery on his shoulder during the off-season, but he opted to focus on physiotherapy.
The most impressive rider during the test was Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), the Suzuki rider topping the Phillip Island Test and ending third at the Qatar Test. All eyes are on Viñales as many are expecting big things from him this season.
Free Practice 1 begins at 19:55 Local Time on Thursday the 17th of March after the traditional ‘school photo’ at 14:45 Local Time.
