MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

If there is a winter equivalent of the dog days of summer, then this week is it. Nothing stirs in the world of motorcycle racing, though it is the icy cold of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, rather than the sultry summer heat keeping everyone indoors. Riders slowly return to their training, teams are preparing for the first of the winter tests (January 29th-30th at Jerez for WorldSBK, February 1st-3rd at Sepang for the MotoGP shakedown test, followed by three days of official testing there from February 6th-8th), and behind closed doors, the factories are hard at work designing and producing parts for their 2024 prototypes. 

That means there has also been a dearth of news on the motorcycling front. Nothing much has happened. But here's one or two small items of note from the past week.

Gino on Franco and Marc

 With the departure of Günther Wiesinger from Speedweek, MotoGP reporting duties fall to Nora Lantschner. Lantschner spoke to Pramac Ducati team manager Gino Borsoi over the winter about new signing Franco Morbidelli and what the arrival of Marc Marquez means for the Italian factory. 

Borsoi's task, as he sees it, is to get Franco Morbidelli back where the Italian belongs, after two miserable seasons in the factory Yamaha squad. "I'm convinced that Franco will quickly get comfortable in our team, and will certainly find his feet on the best bike on the grid," the Pramac manager told Lantschner. "We mustn't forget that he was fighting for the championship in 2020."

The objective was for Morbidelli to be battling for podiums, and perhaps even more, Borsoi said. Though he had only briefly interacted with Morbidelli at the Valencia test, Borsoi said the team had found Morbidelli very easy to work with. "He is very open, he listens when it comes down to what he needs," Borsoi said. 

The Pramac team manager also had a few words to say about what the arrival of Marc Marquez at Gresini Ducati means for the Italian manufacturer. There was no doubt in Gino Borsoi's mind that Marquez would be competitive from the outset. "It's absurd to think that Marquez won't be competitive," the Italian said. "Marquez will definitely be one of the fastest riders, and he is going to be a problem for all of us."

Given Ducati's policy of openly sharing data, however, that also offered opportunities. The rest of the Ducati riders will be able to examine Marquez' data and use it to improve their own speed, Borsoi said. That would make all of the Ducati riders more competitive. 

The satellite question, again

After Jorge Martin came within a race of winning the 2023 MotoGP title, the arrival of Marc Marquez once again raises the question of whether Ducati would allow a satellite rider to beat the factory team to a MotoGP crown. The case of Marquez is a little different to Martin, of course: at Pramac Ducati, the Spaniard had exactly the same bike, with all of the upgrades, as defending champion Pecco Bagnaia in the factory Ducati Lenovo squad. 

Ducati Lenovo team manager Davide Tardozzi insisted to Motorsport.com that the policy of allowing the best Ducati rider to win would remain in place for 2024. "We will never, never stop one of the other teams against the factory team," Tardozzi said. All of the Ducati riders can see each other's data, and can try to use it to their advantage. 

It was up to the factory team and factory riders to beat the other six Ducatis on the grid, Tardozzi explained, pointing out that it is Ducati Corse CEO Gigi Dall'Igna's policy to support everyone and give the best parts to whoever proved they had the speed to deserve it, regardless of which team they are in. 

This, Tardozzi insisted, is how Ducati maintained its advantage. By encouraging competition inside Ducati, that raised the level of all their riders, and made them harder for everyone to beat. 

The 100km Dei Campioni flat track race at the VR46 Ranch

As every winter, Valentino Rossi and his VR46 Riders Academy are organizing the 100km Dei Campioni at the VR46 flat track ranch outside Tavullia, in Italy. 

The line up is fairly spectacular. Alongside Rossi himself, and the riders of the VR46 Academy including Pecco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi, Franco Morbidelli, and Luca Marini, there are a host of big names. Rising superstar, Moto2 champion and MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta will be attending, as will Moto2 riders Celestino Vietti and Manu Gonzalez, and Moto3 star Diogo Moreira. 

There will be big names from the WorldSBK championship as well. Yamaha's Remy Gardner will be at the ranch, as will Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Danilo Petrucci. A number of MotoE riders will also be present, including Mattia Casadei and Andrea Mantovani. 

There are also several flat track stars. Biggest dirt tracker is surely the American veteran and flat track legend Sammy Halbert, a Grand National champion. British flat tracking brothers Tim and Tom Neave will also be in attendance.

There is as yet no information as to whether the event will be streamed live, but there will surely be extensive coverage of the event on the VR46 Riders Academy social media channels. 

Where's Wilco?

The removal of the RNF organization and wholesale transfer of the MotoGP team to Trackhouse Racing, belonging to NASCAR driver Justin Marks, was a massive story at the end of the 2023 season. Though it was understood that riders Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez would stay with the team, as would the vast majority of the mechanics and team staff, there were still one or two question marks left open. 

One of those question marks was the fate of RNF team manager Wilco Zeelenberg. Would the Dutchman, who has been so instrumental to the squad's success, stay with the team, or would Trackhouse bring in someone else to manage the operation?

That question has now been answered. In an interview with ex-mechanic and now team coordinator Robin Spijkers, Dutch broadcaster RTV Drenthe revealed that Zeelenberg will continue to lead the team as before. Zeelenberg will ensure that the team can hit the ground running.

Personal update

Finally, a personal note. As my mother's recovery from severe illness has progressed so well that she is now able to look after herself again, I have returned home again, and can now get back to work. Expect content to return on a much more regular basis. There may not be much to report, but I have time to finish some of the pieces I started over the winter. Thanks for your patience and support, as always.