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MotoGP has arrived in Buriram, Thailand, and as always there is a lot of excitement and buzz for the championship opener. Ever since the chatter on the plane between colleagues and insiders during the long trip, even on the Wednesday before the race weekend, rumors and predictions are chasing each other all around the paddock for this already intense start of the season, so here below are the hot topics on everyone's lips.
Buriram GP without Jorge Martin, when will he return?
Leading the headlines of course is the news of Jorge Martin's injury during a training session and its repercussions. The Spanish champion was found to have a complex fracture of the radius and scaphoid of his left hand, not the same hand as the injury sustained in testing in Malaysia.
It was a second setback for the Spanish champion, he has already undergone surgery in Barcelona, but Martin will unfortunately be forced to miss the championship opener as confirmed by Aprilia itself, which will now field Lorenzo Savadori alongside Marco Bezzecchi. However, the question about the recovery time remains: will the number 1 be able to be on the grid already for the Argentine GP, or will we see him again at the GP of the Americas at the earliest? There are those who go even further citing Qatar or even the first European round in Spain at Jerez, but for official news we will have to wait. What is certain is that even his return will not be one of the easiest, having missed crucial tests to get the best approach to Aprilia's creature. The excellent Savadori in all likelihood will therefore carry on the development work, while the aspirations and expectations will fall on the shoulders of Bezzecchi, who in the tests has given very good indications.
The first 'in house' Ducati battle between Bagnaia and Marquez
It is for sure the leitmotif of this season, Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez together in Ducati constitute the most titled team in recent years , and will share the same box.
While in the tests the two champions agreed and were like-minded on the direction to take in development, prompting Ducati to keep the 2024 engine, which is still too perfect and competitive to take any risks, Thailand will be the first real battleground between the two. Marquez himself a few days ago commented on the subject, "if you put two roosters in the same henhouse at 22 years old it's a bomb, but now I'm more mature and Pecco is a gentleman." Managing such a situation will not be easy, there are those who joked that they would not want to be in Davide Tardozzi's shoes, but he has always been calm about it, pointing to the gestures of harmony and cooperation between the two, trusting that every storm will have to be managed.
Predictions about the results obviously abound: from the conclusion of the tests in which Marquez excelled over his brother Alex Marquez, to the historical one that sees him victorious twice before at the Thai circuit. Bagnaia's calling card, however, is not to be outdone; in fact, it was his ninth victory last year on this track, where he also won in Moto2, and of which he still holds the fastest lap record with a gap of a tenth and a half from the rival/teammate's best time in past tests.
The clouds over KTM are clearing.
Over the past few months there has been much talk about the crisis at the Austrian manufacturer and its possible effects on the racing department, despite the fact that on several occasions KTM's top management had reassured that the company's problems would have no impact on it. Understandably, therefore, these doubts also spilled over into the expectations regarding the season of Pedro Acosta, one of the likely protagonists, who moved to the factory team after a more than promising rookie season. In the last meeting with creditors, however, an agreement was reached that seems to have satisfied the latter with the Austrian manufacturer's restructuring plan. This turn of events therefore clears the clouds in no small way over one of Ducati's main rivals in the premier class, and bodes well for the continuation of development and the arrival of results from its riders: Acosta, Binder, Bastianini and Vinales.
The possible return of 'El Diablo' Quartararo and the progress of the Japanese manufacturers.
Absent from the fight in the top positions for too long, Quartararo's decision to stay at Yamaha last year made a lot of people raise eyebrows, but as events unfolded and with data from past tests in hand, perhaps the Frenchman had seen it coming. Clearly, the arrival of Campinoti's second Pramac team and two other experienced riders such as Miller and Oliveira will give an extra gear to the development of the Japanese manufacturer, but in the blue box there is already a new optimism, and the results in the past few tests of Quartararo seem to consolidate the idea that the long winter is over and that they are beginning to warm up the engines.
When we will see a competitive Yamaha and Quartararo again is hard to say, but already this season some satisfaction could come. Something similar in timing and manner should also be said for Honda, which, with the acquisition of Albesiano as technical director and a fresh MotoGP test team thanks to the arrival of Aleix Espargarò and Nakagami, seems to be on the right track. Again, the timing on the return to excellence for the Golden Wing manufacturer, which reluctantly let Marc Marquez leave, is difficult to predict. Two years after the rule change, however, the important thing is that the giant has awakened from its slumber.
After Thailand, the future of Moto3 could be decided.
Since 2012, 250cc single-cylinder four-stroke engines capable of producing about 60 horsepower have been required in Moto3. At the moment this poses two major problems for the category. The first is that a complete Moto3 bike costs roughly 175,000 euros, and the second is that for a rider the jump to the 145 horsepower delivered by Moto2 is often experienced radically.
Dorna is therefore reported to intend to hold a tender among manufacturers to restructure the category. The new bikes would have to be 500 cc twin-cylinder machines close to mass production, and capable of achieving 80 horsepower, but they would also have to maintain reduced costs compared to the current ones, and estimated at around 75,000 euros, a compromise not easy to achieve.
The whole thing is obviously with a view to lowering the costs of a category that in recent years - also due to the increase in the number of races - is beginning to show signs of fatigue. It is not yet clear, however, whether it would be to all intents and purposes a 'one-make' category as far as engines are concerned, but with freedom for the chassis.
Companies such as Ducati, Aprilia and Fantic have already declined to show any interest in taking over the smaller category, but other manufacturers such as Honda, Yamaha and KTM would seem interested instead. So far the World Championship organizer has not yet called any tenders, but after the Asian round something might start to move. KTM was among the first to show interest having won 7 of 13 championships since 2012 and with 14 riders on the RC4 to their credit. Honda has also shown interest, for years supplying CBR600RR factory engines to Moto2. The underlying problem, as outlined by Pit Beirer, is that having an engine that is both economical and competitive is a somewhat difficult goal to pursue.
