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MotoGP Qatar Test Preview

The Final Testing session before the MotoGP season kicks off at its First Race weekend at Lusail International Circuit – Qatar on 8-10th March 2024

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MotoGP Qatar Test Preview

MotoGP engines will roar again as the MotoGP circus comes to Losail International Circuit – Qatar for the official Qatar Test.
The Testing will be for 2 Days – Monday, 19th February 2024, and Tuesday 20th February 2024

Marquez: A New Challenge?

The testing is one to look out for Marc Marquez fans, as it marks Marc’s new challenge at Gresini Racing, riding the GP23 Ducati. Marquez will be trying to get himself more in tune with the machine as he transitions from the very different handling style of the Honda to a Ducati machine. In a video posted by MotoGP of a conversation between the current world champion Francesco Bagnaia and Marc – Bagnaia mentioned, “You are riding it (GP23) like the Honda,” which shows how much of a gap Marquez will have to bridge to extract the most out of the machine. 

MotoGP Qatar Test Preview

The Champions

The eyes would be set on the factory Ducatis of Bagnaia and Bastianini as they ride the 2024 Spec bike GP24. Bagnaia posted the fastest time of 1.56.682 on the final day of the Sepang Test, with Bastianini being a close 3rd with a gap of 0.233.

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Fightback from Martin?

Another Rider that fans will be keeping a close eye on is last year’s championship rival, Jorge Martin, who finished 2nd in 2023. Martin will be riding the GP24 in his Prima Pramac Racing team. In 2023, he put up a strong fight against Bagnaia, with the latter ultimately securing the championship. Martin is eager to start the season on a high note as he sets his sights on the factory Ducati seat for the 2025 season.

Other Constructors

Aprilia and Red Bull KTM have introduced numerous updates and aero devices to their bikes, making aero the focal point of discussions in the paddock. However, these innovations, including winglets and unconventional designs, haven’t garnered positive reactions from fans, Riders, and pundits within the MotoGP community.
Honda, too, is making a concerted effort to regain ground in the development game after two challenging years, ultimately leading to Marquez’s departure. Luca Marini has stepped in as Marquez’s replacement. Marquez, commenting after the Sepang test, expressed his impression of the progress that Honda has achieved, indicating that he is closely monitoring their advancements.

All these manufacturers aspire to challenge the dominance of Ducati. The question looms: will they succeed?
Only time will tell.

MotoGP Qatar Test Preview


The 2023 season proved to be challenging for Yamaha, with the 2021 world champion, Fabio Quartararo, going winless and securing only three podiums throughout the season. These struggles were attributed to issues with the Yamaha M1 machine.

In an interview with The Race, Quartararo expressed his hopes for continuous improvement, acknowledging the mental toll of the tough season, stating, “Hopefully we can keep going like that and improving. But it was a really tough season, especially mentally.”

Yamaha faced setbacks not only in terms of engine power but also with the ride height device and aero innovations. These challenges resulted in a pace and handling deficit for their Riders. Yamaha is determined to make a comeback, particularly with the concessions they have received in terms of development restrictions from the sporting regulatory body.

MotoGP Qatar Test Preview

The Rookie Wonder?

Another face that attracted attention has been the talented rookie Pedro Acosta, who set impressive fast laps on day 1 and a decent number of laps on days 2 and 3 of the Sepang test. Acosta’s performance was lauded by many as he stands to be tested by the twists and turns of the MotoGP rookie season. Don’t forget to keep your eye on the lap times this rookie sets at the Qatar Test.

Pedro Acosta: All about the new Moto2 World Champion

Schedule in IST 
19th Feb 2024 – 4:30 PM to 11:30 PM
20th Feb 2024 – 4:30 PM to 11:30 PM

The Test will not be streamed live – However, Live Timing will be available on MotoGP’s official website, with live Text Live text running as well. You can stay updated with the key events and incidents there.

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MotoGP Aragon: Marc Marquez Dominant at His Backyard

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Marc Marquez at the MotoGP Grand Prix of Aragon.
Credits: MotoGP

MotoGP made its way to Aragon, a place that is known as Marc Marquez’s backyard. Marquez demonstrated why exactly. A complete dominance from the Spaniard that saw him take the Pole and sprint win on Saturday, and then a win and the fastest lap of the GP on Sunday. Alex Marquez continued to be at the tail of his brother, finishing second, and Francesco Bagnaia scored a P3 on Sunday, a podium that will do a world of good to the confidence of the Italian before we head to his home turf in Mugello.

Read More: MotoGP Heads to Marquez’s Backyard in Aragon

Marquez Takes his 4th Win of MotoGP 2025

It’s not often you get to see a masterclass live, in Aragon, that is what everyone watching the Aragon GP witnessed. Marc Marquez had a perfect weekend, leading every session and every lap of the race. This win felt a long time coming, as this was Marquez’s first win since Qatar, which was all the way back in April. But before Qatar was Austin, where Marquez made a big mistake that resulted in him retiring from the race, Marc explained how those mistakes start to creep in and build doubts in the head.

ā€œIf we want to fight for the Championship, we cannot have a weekend where we repeat mistakes like we did in Austin. The other ones, okay, but Austin was a big mistake and then today I was very focused. With six or seven laps remaining, I started to think about that mistake. I asked myself, ā€˜how should I manage the situation?’ But then I was looking the lap time and I was riding on low: 47s without full concentration. Then I decided to increase the speed to be focused again.”

MotoGP Aragon: Marc Marquez Dominant at His Backyard
Marquez takes the win in Aragon. Credits: MotoGP

Confidence Boost for Bagnaia Before Mugello

Bagnaia has been struggling with his GP25 from the start of the season, but the last two races have been very miserable. The Italian rider had a retirement and a 16th place in the previous two GPs, even in the sprint, he only had a lonely P6 in the previous one. However, a P3 in Aragon has done a world of good for Bagnaia. In his own words, he has a confidence boost heading to Mugello, a track where he has always been competitive.

Positives for Joan Mir and Honda

It was the first time for Joan Mir to get back-to-back points finishes riding a Honda. A P7 in Aragon was a very positive result for the factory Honda team, their best this season. It was also Joan’s best finish since his P5 finish at the Indian Grand Prix in 2023. After a few hard years, Honda now seems to be getting back to fighting for points more consistently. They would hope to continue this fight and soon move up the ladder.

Championship Standings

As things stand, Marc currently sits 32 points clear of his brother Alex Marquez at the top of the standings.

Up Next

MotoGP heads to Mugello next from 20-22nd of June for the Round 9 of the world championship.

Desi Racing Co.Ā is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us onĀ Twitter/X/,Ā Instagram, andĀ LinkedInĀ to keep up with the latest motorsport newsĀ andĀ updates.

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MotoGP Heads to Marquez’s Backyard in Aragon

MotoGP returns after a weeks break, this time in Marc’s backyard in Aragon. Will we see him return to the top step or will we get another unpredictable winner?

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MotoGP Heads to Marquez's Backyard in Aragon
Marc Marquez after winning the Aragon GP in 2024. Credits: MotoGP

The FIM MotoGP 2025 championship takes us to Spain for the Aragon GP, the eighth round of the Championship. Spaniard Marc Marquez, who won the 2024 Aragon GP, is heading back to what people call his backyard, currently leading the championship by 24 points. Marquez, famously known as ā€œel tro de Cerveraā€ (Thunder of Cervera), has won 7 races at the iconic track since its inception, once for Moto 2 and 6 times for Moto GP, including 6 poles.

Marc Marquez Looking to Get Back to the Top Step at his backyard

Marc Marquez last won a Grand Prix back in April in Qatar. Since then, he has finished outside the points once and on the podium twice in the 3 races that followed. Coming to Aragon, he would be looking to return to the top step. This is also Marquez’s spiritual home GP, as turn 10 has also been named after him to suggest his dominance at the track with his 7 wins and 4 consecutive wins in the years 2016, ā€˜17, ā€˜18, ā€˜19.

Marc Marquez at MotoGP GP of the Americas
Image credits: MotoGP

Can Fabio get his first win of the year in Aragon?

Fabio Quartararo is on an insane qualifying run, the Frenchman has scored 3 pole positions in the last 3 rounds. Sadly for him, he has converted 0 of them to race wins, even retiring in the last 2. He comes to Aragon after a heartbreak in Silverstone, where he had to retire from a comfortable lead in the Grand Prix due to a technical issue with his holeshot device. Fabio will be looking to finally get himself on the top step of the podium this weekend.

MotoGP Heads to Marquez's Backyard in Aragon

Luca Marini’s Absence in Aragon

Honda Rider Luca Marini, who crashed and sustained multiple injuries during the testing for 8H of Suzuka and was left in intensive care, will not be returning for the Aragon GP. Honda has also decided not to call in any of their reserve drivers, instead, the team will run only Joan Mir for the Aragon GP.

Bagnaia continues to struggle

Pecco Bagnaia is yet to match Marc’s pace in the factory Ducati, but for the last 2 GPs, he is not matching his own standards. Bagnaia’s results in the previous 2 GPs are a 16th-place finish in Le Mans and a DNF in Silverstone. Bagnaia has struggled with the GP25 from the start of the year and is yet to find his feeling back with the bike again, as he mentioned to the press earlier. But, Bagnaia is still full of confidence as he mentions 2022 when he was 91 points behind the leader and still won the championship eventually. He would be looking to get back to the front this weekend.

MotoGP Heads to Marquez's Backyard in Aragon
Image credits: MotoGP

Unpredictable as ever: 5 Different Riders have won the last 5 races

When the season started, everyone thought it would be a walk in the park for Marc Marquez after looking at his utter domination early on this year. But, MotoGP has lived up to its unpredictable nature, and we have seen 5 different riders take the win in the last 5 races. It is also important to note that we have also seen 3 different manufacturers take the win as well, including a satellite Honda, something not a lot of people would have placed their bets on. As we head into Aragon, will we get a 6th different winner?

Where to Watch MotoGP in India

You can watch all the action live in India on Fancode or Eurosport. The detailed schedule in IST is given below:

MotoGP Heads to Marquez's Backyard in Aragon

Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/X/, Instagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.

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MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi Capitalizes as Quatraro’s Search for a Win Continues

Marco Bezzecchi makes the most of Fabio Quartararo’s misfortunes as he takes the win in MotoGP British GP.

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Marco Bezzecchi celebrates after winning the MotoGP British Grand Prix
Credits: MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo did something that many thought would be impossible at the start of the year: he scored a hat-trick of pole positions riding the Factory Yamaha bike. However, he is yet to convert it into a victory. Despite starting 6 races from the front (3 Grand Prix and 3 Sprints), he is yet to stand on the top step of the podium. Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi made the most of Quartararo’s misfortune to take his first win of the season.

Read More: MotoGP 2025: Riders brace for unpredictable weather at Silverstone

Hattricks of Poles and a Brace of DNFs for Quartararo

When the season started, anyone, even Fabio for that matter, would not have expected to get 3 back-to-back pole positions on his Factory Yamaha, a bike that has not been the most competitive in the recent past. But to his surprise, and everyone else’s, Fabio put in a storming lap to go 3 tenths clear of the rest of the field and get his third Pole Position of the season. But, as fate would have it, he also scored a back-to-back DNF in the Grand Prix.

In Silverstone, it was looking good for the Frenchman, as he was leading the race ahead of Bezzecchi, but a ride height issue in the middle of the race forced the Yamaha rider to retire from the race. He tried half a lap to fix the issue, but to no success.

Bezzecchi Gets His First Win of The Season

Starting from 11th on the grid, not a lot of people would have had Marco Bezzecchi on their cards to win the British Grand Prix. But the Aprilia rider slowly and steadily picked off riders one by one to climb up to second position, and when Quartararo’s misfortunes hit, Bezzecchi was at the perfect place to make the most of it and cross the finish line in first.

A season with lacklustre results for the Italian driver, this win would do him a world of good. Before this race, his best finish was 6th; now the win has shot him to 7th in the standings.

MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi Capitalizes as Quatraro's Search for a Win Continues
Marco Bezzecchi wins the British GP. Credits: MotoGP

Another Weekend of Struggle for the Factory Ducati

Riding on a wave of success at the start of the season, the Factory Ducatis have been struggling of late. Marc Marquez is no longer the dominating force, as he has lost out on Pole Position in the last 3 races, and in the most recent one, he wasn’t even on the front row. Marquez has still managed to salvage the Sprint races, winning every single one of them this year except the one on British GP Saturday, where he finished second to his brother Alex Marquez. Meanwhile Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the race after struggling throughout and dropping down the order before he went down.

Marquez struggled throughout this weekend, this has been a circuit where he does not go well historically either. His qualifying run put him on the second row in P4, Sprint was better as he managed to finish P2. The struggle paused for 2 laps at the start of the main race, where he took the lead of the race, before eventually crashing out of the race. A red flag due the another incident further meant the race would be restarted, but even then Marquez could only manage P3, after he dropped down the order outside the Top 10, then made a recovery ride to finish on the podium.

Back-to-Back Grand Prix Podiums for Zarco and Honda

Johann Zarco has been having a very underrated season this year. The last 2 races specifically, the French rider has managed to put the Honda on the top step of the podium in Le Mans and in second place in Silverstone. Throughout this season, Zarco has only been out of the points in one race. He currently sits fifth in the Riders’ standings with 97 points; for comparison, the next Honda rider is Luca Marini on 38 points in 13th.

MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi Capitalizes as Quatraro's Search for a Win Continues
Johann Zarco celebrates after finishing P2 in the British GP. Credits: MotoGP

Championship Standings

As things stand, the Marquez brothers still sit at the top of the standings with Marc ahead of Alex by 24 points.

Up Next for MotoGP

After a small break, MotoGP will now head to Aragon for Round 8 of the world championship from 6-8 June.

Desi Racing Co. is dedicated to bringing the latest updates and insights from the world of motorsport. Whether it’s Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, MotoGP, Indian motorsports, or other racing series, we’ve got you covered! Stay connected with us for in-depth motorsport coverage. Follow us on Twitter/XInstagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest motorsport news and updates.

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