Features

Bagnaia vs Marquez: Can Ducati Make Their Dream Team Work?

By David Emmett |

In the second half of the Ducati Lenovo MotoGP team presentation, the host, Barbara Pedrotti, asked Ducati test rider Michele Pirro how he would sum up the Bologna factory's 2025 MotoGP project in a single word. Pirro chose the phrase "Dream Team", which prompted Pedrotti to give him a pass for ignoring the set criteria as, she said, he had said the phrase quickly enough for it to be a single word.

In the context of MotoGP in 2025, the pairing of Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez certainly qualifies as a dream team. The rider who finally brought the riders championship back to Ducati after 15 years, then followed it up with another and came close to making it three in a row, paired with the greatest rider of his generation, and possibly of all time. As team manager Davide Tardozzi pointed out, they have 11 titles between them.

Jorge Martin: Right Rider, Right Place For Aprilia

By David Emmett |

Much of the attention at the launch of Aprilia's MotoGP project for 2025 centered on the question of whether Jorge Martin would run the #1 plate or continue to run his traditional #89. It was never really going to be a question, Martin explained as he unveiled his bike. "I didn't have any doubt about running the #1, because I've been fighting for this all my life." Perhaps there is a generational shift taking place, with riders preferring to run the #1 plate again after Pecco Bagnaia broke the perceived curse in 2023.

The unveiling was done well, though it wasn't captured on the live video stream. As Aprilia PR boss Antonio Boselli spoke to riders Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi before the livery was unveiled, the backdrop behind Martin showed his old number, #89.

Midweek MotoGP Link Dump: Ducati, Dall'Igna, Domenicali, A Honda Test, And Jack Miller

By David Emmett |

With the Trackhouse Racing launch behind us and the factory Aprilia launch coming up on Thursday, we are heading slowly back into the 2025 MotoGP season. And that means a trickle of news updates which are actually interesting, rather than just filler to hit an article count. Here's stuff worth reading.

Gigi Dall'Igna interview

Looking Ahead To 2025: MotoGP Predictions Part 2 - Martin On Aprilia, Yamaha's V4, Honda's Future

By David Emmett |

With the 2025 MotoGP season slowly starting to heave into view, it's time to make a few predictions of what may lie ahead. In the second part of my predictions for the coming season, I offer a few more hostages to fortune.

Jorge Martin - sacrificing 2025 for 2026

Jorge Martin's 2024 championship campaign was a huge improvement over 2023. The Pramac Ducati rider learned from the mistakes he made at the start of his 2023 campaign, and worked to improve them. The campaign wasn't quite flawless - he crashed out of the lead at both Jerez and Sachsenring, throwing away 50 points - but it was a massive step forward.

At Mugello, we learned that Ducati had chosen Marc Márquez over Jorge Martin to partner Pecco Bagnaia in the factory squad. And on Monday evening, after a rained off test, just as we were about to pack up and head home, we were told that Jorge Martin had signed with Aprilia.

It was unexpected, but not a surprise. The main reason that riders leave a team, factory, or manufacturer is because they do not feel they are being treated with the respect they deserve. And being passed over for the factory slot definitely felt like a slight.

Looking Ahead To 2025: MotoGP Predictions Part 1 - Marquez, Ducati, KTM, Acosta

By David Emmett |

With the 2025 MotoGP season slowly starting to heave into view, it's time to make a few predictions of what may lie ahead. There are a few things that seem almost set in stone for this year, but racing and reality have a way of surprising us. So below are my hostages to fortune for 2025. The first part appears today, with the rest to come tomorrow.

Meet your 2025 MotoGP champion: Marc Márquez

It is pretty much a given that Ducati will make it four rider championships in a row. And it is indisputable that the pairing of Marc Márquez and Pecco Bagnaia at the factory Ducati squad is the best team on the MotoGP grid in 2025. So the chances that one of the two will take the 2025 crown are pretty close to 100%.

So why pick Marc Márquez, a rider who hasn't won a title in five seasons, over Pecco Bagnaia, who won two of the last three titles and has spent all of his MotoGP career on a Ducati? The flippant (if correct) answer is because he's Marc Márquez. But the statistics bear this out.

EXCLUSIVE: Lin Jarvis Interview - Part 3, Rossi vs Lorenzo Round 2, Nearly Signing Nicky Hayden, And Looking To The Future

By David Emmett |

On December 31st, 2024, Lin Jarvis stepped down as Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, the organization that runs Yamaha's MotoGP project. In the 26 years that Jarvis has been in charge, Yamaha have known incredible success. Eight rider titles, with Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Fabio Quartararo, as well as six manufacturer and seven team titles. Under Jarvis, Yamaha won the triple crown five times, in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2015.

You can read the first and second parts of my marathon interview with Jarvis here (part 1) and here (part 2). In the final part, he talks about Valentino Rossi's return to Yamaha after leaving for Ducati in 2011 and 2012. He explains the delicate balancing act that required, which the fallout of the 2015 season nearly upended. And he talks about the riders who came after, including Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo, and the process of identifying talent.

Jarvis also talks about how Nicky Hayden got away from Yamaha, and the project he launched to turn Yamaha's failing fortunes around.

The Prodigal Son Returns

EXCLUSIVE: Lin Jarvis Interview - Part 2, Signing Valentino, And Rossi vs Lorenzo Round 1

By David Emmett |

On December 31st, 2024, Lin Jarvis stepped down as Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, the organization that runs Yamaha's MotoGP project. In the 26 years that Jarvis has been in charge, Yamaha have known incredible success. Eight rider titles, with Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Fabio Quartararo, as well as six manufacturer and seven team titles. Under Jarvis, Yamaha won the triple crown five times, in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2015.

You can read the first part of this marathon interview with Jarvis here. In the second part, we talked about how he signed Valentino Rossi, and how Rossi saved Yamaha's MotoGP project. Jarvis also talks about the gamble Yamaha took signing Jorge Lorenzo when it looked like Valentino Rossi might go off and race in F1, the difficulty of managing that situation, and the backlash he faced in Italy for doing so.

The Rossi years

Q: First came the switch from 500s to four-strokes. Was it still Max Biaggi who left and Valentino came?

EXCLUSIVE: Lin Jarvis Interview - Part 1, From Bantams To Burnout To Biaggi

By David Emmett |

On December 31st, 2024, Lin Jarvis stepped down as Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, the organization that runs Yamaha's MotoGP project. In the 26 years that Jarvis has been in charge, Yamaha have known incredible success. Eight rider titles, with Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Fabio Quartararo, as well as six manufacturer and seven team titles. Under Jarvis, Yamaha won the triple crown five times, in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2015.

Jarvis has managed some of the biggest names in the sport, including Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Ben Spies, and Fabio Quartararo. He has seen the highest highs and sometimes, the lowest lows. And after a difficult couple of seasons, he leaves Yamaha as they are rebuilding for the future.

It has been a very long and storied career. At the second Misano round last year, I sat down to take a long look back at his career with Lin Jarvis. He spoke at length about how he got interested in motorcycles, how he ended up running Yamaha's MotoGP project, and more. Jarvis talked about dealing with Max Biaggi, managing Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, and how difficult managing the fallout of 2015 was. Plus, he talks about missing out on Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.

The entire interview is to be published over the next three days. In the first part of the interview, Jarvis talks about how he got started, losing all his possessions in Rome, suffering burnout from pushing himself too hard, and managing Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa.

In The Beginning

Q: First of all, why motorcycles? How did you end up being involved in motorbikes?

Editor's Blog: Happy New Year, KTM Issues Bonds, RIP Bob MacLean, Economic Impact of Assen

By David Emmett |

Happy 2025! With the motorcycle racing year warming up, here's a round up of some of the more significant things to happen over the holiday break. There were more developments around KTM, the sad passing of former WCM owner Bob MacLean, and riders have been speaking to the press.

KTM - EGM convened, control to be ceded?

OPINION: Once More With Gusto - No, BMW Aren't Going To Race In MotoGP

By David Emmett |

As the KTM saga rumbles on, it churns up an incredible amount of speculation and rumor in its wake. And as sure as bears performing their ablutions in the outdoors, the name of BMW pops up as a potential candidate to take over KTM's spot on the MotoGP grid.

I realize I am offering a giant hostage to fortune here, but I can confidently predict this will not happen. I have already written two pieces this year explaining why I do not believe BMW will enter MotoGP, but KTM's insolvency means more people asking me whether BMW are set to take their place. The answer, I still believe, is no.

The good news

But first, a quick update on the situation around KTM. Gerald Dirnbeck at Motorsport-Total quotes Austrian newspaper Der Standard, who have a report on the latest developments.

The good news for the people working at KTM is that their December salaries will be paid as promised. The good news for the company is that the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), in a report commission by KTM for their insolvency proceedings, sees plenty of potential for KTM's motorcycle manufacturing arm. They report that they expect to see annual growth of more than 10% in what they describe as KTM's 'core markets', and stable growth of 3.5% in the off-road segment, where KTM is the undisputed market leader with a market share of between 40% and 60%.