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☆ ‘Drive to Survive’ or Ride to Thrive? MotoGP looks to break out of F1’s shadow after $4.2 billion deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Jonathan Hawkins | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

One thing that MotoGP has in its favor is its frequently raucous unpredictability, a far cry from the sometimes-processional nature of F1. Reigning double world champion Pecco Bagnaia agreed. What that documentary series delivered in spades was human drama, making household names out of F1’s competitors and their teams. Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty ImagesThree-time MotoGP world champion Wayne Rainey now runs the MotoAmerica series, which nurtures US motorcycle track talent, as well as King of the Baggers. We need entertainment, and now Baggers are here at MotoGP, strictly to help build the crowd, build the excitement, and in the end it’s about entertainment.”Wayne Rainey is a three-time MotoGP world champion.

Persons: COTA, ” Carlos Ezpeleta, Pecco Bagnaia, “, ”, Dan Rossomondo, doesn’t, Rossomondo, ’, ’ ”, Marc Marquez, ” Marquez, Valentino, Rossi, Dani, Pedrosa, Jorge, Lorenzo, Casey, Stoner, Roland Sands, Jonathan Hawkins, Harley Davidson, Sands, “ You’ve, who’s, ” Sands, Viñales, ” Rossomondo, Lionel Messi, Valentino Rossi, Mirco Lazzari, Wayne Rainey, King, Wayne, Rainey, ” Wayne Rainey, Natalie Cardenas, Christopher, Silas, Jack, “ We’ve, Natalie, ” Christopher, Maverick Viñales, Pedro Acosta’s, Bastianini, you’ve, it’s Organizations: Texas CNN, Formula, Liberty Media, MotoGP, Liberty, CNN, One, Premier League, “, Sprint, CNN Sport, Ducati, Maverick, Aprilia, MotoGP’s Locations: Austin, Texas, Austin , Texas, Americas, California, America, Italian, States, Spain, COTA

☆ ‘Sleeping giant’ MotoGP awakens in Qatar, with eyes on US – and a little help from rapper Pitbull and AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Jonathan Hawkins | Becky Anderson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Bagnaia rides during the second free practice session ahead of the 2023 French Grand Prix. The 2024 season will also see the debut of a US based-team, Nashville’s Trackhouse Racing, which is co-owned by musician Pitbull. Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty ImagesThe American sees the Sprints as a gateway to the main race for new fans. He says the newly refurbished Qatar facility, which also hosts F1, is a boon for the participants, too. “The race at night is something that was [the Qataris’] idea 20 odd years ago, and they did it.

Persons: Daniel Rossomondo, “, CNN’s Becky Anderson, ”, Rossomondo, Mirco Lazzari, Francesco ‘ Pecco, Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, Álex, Jorge Martín, Pedro Acosta, Márquez, Jean, Francois Monier, Nashville’s, Pitbull, ” Rossomondo, Dorna, ” Marc Márquez, Toshifumi Kitamura, it’s Organizations: CNN, NBA, Qatar –, MotoGP, Ducati, Honda, Warner Bros Discovery, TNT Sports, ” MotoGP, Getty, “ Riders, Warner Bros . Locations: Qatar, Americas, Murcia, AFP, United States, American, Europe

☆ Di Giannantonio takes Qatar GP win, Bagnaia extends championship lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Victory marked a special weekend for Di Giannantonio, who also finished second in Saturday's sprint . I was struggling with the front (tyre) but I saw Pecco (Bagnaia) making little mistakes," a grinning Di Giannantonio said in a post-race interview. Bagnaia lost the lead with four laps to go but the Ducati rider has still put one hand on the rider's championship after extending his lead over Martin to 21 points. Up front, Di Giannantonio did not let up. "We managed to do a perfect start, I tried to create a gap but Diggia (Di Giannantonio) was incredible.

Persons: Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio, Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, Luca Marini, It's, Martin, Marini, Marc Marquez, Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, Jack Miller, Giannantonio, we've, Jorge, Rohith Nair, Toby Davis Organizations: Qatar, Prix, MotoGP, Circuit, VR46 Racing, Ducati, Thomson Locations: LUSAIL, Qatar, Bengaluru

☆ Motorsport icon Marc Marquez shares the biggest lesson and toughest decision of his career
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

BURIRAM, THAILAND - OCTOBER 28: No.93 Marc Marquez of Spain and Repsol Honda Team during qualifying at Chang International Circuit on October 28, 2023 in Buriram, Thailand. (Photo by Supakit Wisetanuphong/MB Media/Getty Images) Supakit Wisetanuphong/mb Media | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesMotoGP legend Marc Márquez says leaving Repsol Honda — where he has won six premier class world titles over the last decade — was the biggest and most difficult decision of his career. Márquez will leave his current team at the end of this season of Grand Prix motorcycle racing (MotoGP). Since then, a series of serious injuries and a drop-off in performance of the Honda bike relative to rival manufacturers, particularly the currently dominant Ducati, have prevented him from tilting at a record-equalling seventh premier class world championship. At Gresini Ducati, a satellite team of the flagship Ducati Lenovo factory team, Márquez will be riding what is currently the most dominant bike on the grid.

Persons: Marc Marquez, Spain, Supakit Wisetanuphong, Supakit, Marc Márquez, Repsol, —, Márquez, Joan Mir, Gresini, PHILLIP, Mirco Lazzari Organizations: Repsol Honda Team, Chang, Circuit, Getty, Repsol Honda, Prix, Honda, Ducati, Gresini Ducati, CNBC, videolink, Malaysian, Phillip, Ducati Lenovo Locations: BURIRAM, THAILAND, Buriram, Thailand, Malaysia, PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, San Remo, Phillip Island, Australia

☆ Pramac's Martin smashes lap record to grab pole at Thailand Grand Prix
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Title-challenger Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing secured his third pole position of the season at the Thailand Grand Prix by setting a lap record on Saturday, with VR46 Racing's Luca Marini and Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro joining him on the front row. I am strong, and this is the most important thing," the 25-year-old Martin said after his performance, including the record 1 minute 29.287 second lap. "I did not expect to do 29.2, I think that is a very good lap... The Marquez brothers, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez topped Q1, with the Gresini Racing rider coming ahead of the six-time MotoGP champion, who also has the most wins at Buriram. Alex Marquez managed to finish seventh and Marc Marquez eighth in the final session.

Persons: Jorge Martin, VR46 Racing's Luca Marini, Aprilia's, Espargaro, Francesco Bagnaia, Martin, Marco Bezzecchi, Brad Binder, Marquez, Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez, Maverick, Fabio Quartararo, Johann Zarco, Augusto Fernandez, Quartararo, Pearl Josephine Nazare, William Mallard Organizations: Pramac Racing, VR46, Chang, Circuit, Buriram, Aprilia, Thomson Locations: Thailand, French, Bengaluru

☆ Bagnaia wins Indonesia GP as Martin throws away championship lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Ducati Lenovo's Francesco Bagnaia celebrates after winning the MotoGP race at the Mandalika International Street Circuit in Kuta, Lombok, Indonesia, October 15, 2023. Antara Foto/Wahyu Putro A via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMANDALIKA, Indonesia, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia battled heroically from 13th on the grid to win a thrilling Indonesia Grand Prix in Mandalika on Sunday, as he reclaimed the lead in the riders' championship after Jorge Martin crashed out. Bagnaia crossed the line 0.306 seconds ahead of Aprilia's Maverick Vinales in second, while Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, the 2021 world champion, finished third. Champion Bagnaia is back on top of the riders' standings with 346 points, with Martin (328) in second and VR46 Racing's Marco Bezzecchi (283) in third. After Martin crashed, Vinales was briefly in the lead but Bagnaia kept up his aggressive riding, slowly and steadily gaining ground on the Aprilia rider before blowing past him in the 20th lap.

Persons: Ducati, Francesco Bagnaia, Antara, Jorge Martin, Bagnaia, Aprilia's, Vinales, Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, Martin, Marco Bezzecchi, Pramac Racing's Martin, Pramac, Johann Zarco, Pecco, it's, Quartararo, Gresini's Fabio Di Giannantonio, Red Bull, Brad Binder, Jack Miller, Luca Marini, Binder, Marc Marquez, Aadi Nair, Muralikumar Organizations: MotoGP, Circuit, REUTERS Acquire, Aprilia, Red, Red Bull KTM, Gresini Racing, Thomson Locations: Kuta, Lombok, Indonesia, Mandalika, Bengaluru

☆ Marquez to join Gresini Racing team after Honda exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But I'm also sure that the whole Team Gresini will help me a lot," he added. Marquez, who joined the Repsol Honda team in 2013, won the last of his six championships in 2019, finishing 151 points clear of his nearest rival. He will join his brother Alex, who has impressed since he made the switch from LCR Honda to Gresini ahead of the 2023 season. "This is a historical moment for the Gresini Family," Gresini boss Nadia Padovani Gresini said. "The fact that Marc Marquez chose to race with us in the upcoming season is absolutely fantastic and I'm extremely happy to be able to make it official."

Persons: Honda, Marc Marquez, Issei Kato, Marquez, it's, I'm, Gresini, Alex, Nadia Padovani Gresini, Rohith Nair, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Prix, MotoGP, Gresini Racing, Ducati, Honda, Repsol Honda, Thomson Locations: Motegi, Japan, Bengaluru

☆ Marc Márquez: MotoGP maestro officially set to leave Honda
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Jonathan Hawkins | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Márquez will end his 11-year association with Honda, the factory team announced Wednesday, finally ending weeks of speculation around the rider’s future. “Honda Racing Corporation and Marc Márquez have mutually elected to terminate their four-year contract prematurely at the end of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season,” HRC announced in a statement. In an emotional social media post following Honda’s announcement, Márquez shared what he said was a message to one of his team. “I don’t know where to begin. I don’t know if I’m doing right or wrong, I don’t know what will happen in the future, I don’t know if all this will turn out well, but what I do know is everything we have achieved together,” the post read.

Persons: Marc Márquez, “, Álex, Márquez, I’m, Santi Hernández, Clive Mason, Álex Márquez, ” Organizations: CNN, Honda, “ Honda Racing Corporation, ” HRC, Ducati, MotoGP, Great, Triple Locations: Great Britain

☆ Gresini waiting for Marc Marquez decision, says Ducati director Ciabatti
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 23 (Reuters) - Gresini Racing have the opportunity to sign Marc Marquez next season and are waiting for a decision from the six-times MotoGP champion, Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti said on Saturday. Marquez has struggled with Honda this season and the Spaniard has finished only three races, his best finish being seventh place at Misano earlier this month. The 30-year-old said earlier this month that he will come to a decision during the Indian and Japanese Grands Prix. "As far as Gresini goes, I think it obviously looks like they have this opportunity and they are waiting for Marquez’s decision," Ciabatti said in an interview with MotoGP at the Indian Grand Prix. "For sure one is to stay with Honda, the other two we can only guess... You should ask Marc Marquez and Gresini what's going on.

Persons: Marc Marquez, Paolo Ciabatti, Marquez, Ciabatti, Alex, Gresini, Gresini what's, Rohith Nair, Pritha Sarkar Organizations: Ducati, Honda, Prix, MotoGP, Lenovo, LCR Honda, Thomson Locations: Japanese, Japan, Bengaluru

☆ Bezzecchi takes pole at inaugural Indian MotoGP
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bezzecchi clocked the best time of one minute, 43.947 seconds to pip Pramac Racing's Martin by 0.043 seconds for his first pole since the British GP in August. Bagnaia holds a 36-point lead over Martin in the overall standings, with Bezzecchi a further 29 points behind in third. Luca Marini, Bezzecchi's team mate, qualified in fourth place ahead of factory Honda duo Joan Mir and Marc Marquez. "I want to dedicate this pole to a friend of mine that unfortunately left us a couple of days ago." Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez has been ruled out of the remaining MotoGP weekend after suffering a double rib fracture in qualifying, his team said.

Persons: Marco Simoncelli, Misano, Mooney VR46, Marco Bezzecchi, Jennifer Lorenzini, VR46 Racing, Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, pip Pramac Racing's Martin, Bagnaia, Martin, Luca Marini, Bezzecchi's, Joan Mir, Marc Marquez, Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez, Hritika Sharma, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Marino, Marino Grand Prix, MotoGP, Rights, VR46, Ducati, Honda, Circuit, Thomson Locations: Marino Grand, Misano Adriatico, Italy, Rights NOIDA, India, New Delhi, Hyderabad

☆ Aprilia's Espargaro wins in Britain with last-lap pass
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Espargaro denied Bagnaia his fifth grand prix win of the season by 0.215 of a second, with the top four separated by just 0.750. Espargaro was up to second by lap six, helped also by team mate Maverick Vinales and Jack Miller clashing and running wide ahead of him. "At that time, my plan was to pass him (Bagnaia) and try to go away," said Espargaro. "But when it started to rain I said 'OK, stay quiet behind Pecco, it's better that he open the track'. Honda's six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez fell five laps from the finish, continuing a grim run for the struggling Spaniard who has yet to complete a grand prix this season.

Persons: Aleix Espargaro, Francesco Bagnaia, Binder, Marc Marquez, Espargaro, Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia, Bagnaia, Brad Binder, Marco Bezzecchi, Pramac Ducati's, Jorge Martin, Espargaro's, Maverick Vinales, Jack Miller, Portugal's Miguel Oliveira, Martin, Younger, Alex, Alan Baldwin, Alex Richardson, Ed Osmond Organizations: Prix, Silverstone Circuit, Aprilia, Ducati Lenovo, Red Bull KTM Factory, MotoGP, KTM Bezzecchi, Silverstone, South, KTM, Stowe, Spaniard, Ducati, Thomson Locations: Silverstone, Britain, Bagnaia's, Argentina, London

☆ Alex Marquez beats Bezzecchi to Silverstone sprint victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Spaniard Alex Marquez beat late-charging Marco Bezzecchi to become the fifth different sprint winner in nine rounds of the MotoGP season with victory in the 10 lap race at Silverstone on Saturday. The Gresini Racing Ducati rider, who started on the front row in third place, beat VR46 Ducati's pole-sitter Bezzecchi by 0.366 seconds with Aprilia's Maverick Vinales third. The younger brother of six times MotoGP champion Marc, who finished 18th for the struggling Repsol Honda team, Marquez took the lead from KTM's Australian Jack Miller on the second lap on a drying track after heavy rain. Alex Marquez was one of several fallers in qualifying, with some riders questioning whether the sprint should go ahead on safety grounds before conditions improved. "I didn't expect such difficult conditions in the race," said Bezzecchi, who had a big crash in qualifying after securing pole and came back at Marquez in the closing stages.

Persons: Alex Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, VR46, Bezzecchi, Aprilia's Maverick, Marc, Repsol, Marquez, Jack Miller, Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Pramac, couldn't, Alex, Alan Baldwin, Christian Radnedge Organizations: Silverstone, Ducati, Repsol Honda, Pramac Ducati, Marquez, Vinales, Thomson Locations: London

☆ Bagnaia smashes lap record to take Americas GP pole
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Apr 14, 2023; Austin, TX, USA; Francesco Bagnaia (1) of Italy and Ducati Lenovo Team rounds turn 11 during the MotoGP second free practice at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-USA TODAY SportsApril 15 (Reuters) - Ducati's reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia smashed the circuit lap record to take pole position for the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Saturday. The factory team rider's best lap of two minutes 01.892 seconds, at an average speed of 162.8 kph, secured pole for Saturday's later sprint and Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas. LCR Honda's Alex Rins, second but 0.161 off the pole pace, and VR46 Ducati's Luca Marini completed the front row. Gresini Ducati rider Alex Marquez, VR46 Ducati's championship leader Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia's Alex Espergaro filled the second row.

☆ Alex Marquez battles fire and damp track to take pole at Argentina GP
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 1 (Reuters) - Alex Marquez overcame a crash and fire on his Gresini Ducati machine in the first qualifying session to take his maiden pole position in MotoGP at the Argentina Grand Prix on Saturday, on a damp track where his tyre gamble paid off. "I did my best with the wet tyres. Later on I go in I thought there was no time to change the tyres. But we changed the tyres... and it was working, so really happy for that and looking forward to the sprint and the race." Maverick Vinales of Aprilia, who dominated Friday practice, was fifth fastest while Johann Zarco of Pramac Racing completes the second row.

☆ Binder 'fights like hell' to win Argentina sprint from 15th on grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, Argentina, April 1 (Reuters) - Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder put on a masterclass in bravery and skill to win Saturday's MotoGP sprint race at the Argentina Grand Prix after starting 15th on the grid. I got super tight in turn one and just tried to hug the inside," Binder said in a post-race interview. Once Bezzecchi got past his Italian compatriot Marini, he looked to hunt Binder down on the final lap but the Red Bull KTM rider held on for the win. The step they made from yesterday was unreal - my bike worked fantastic," Binder added, as he moved up to fourth in the championship. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Mark Potter and Pritha SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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