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2017 MotoGP Season Preview: Part 2 – Nearly Alien

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There is some resistance to talk of there being “Aliens” in MotoGP. Why, fans ask, should we regard these riders as so very different from the other riders on the grid? In previous years, the answer to that objection was simple.

Of the 143 MotoGP races held between 2008 and 2015, only two had been won by someone other other than the riders regarded as MotoGP Aliens.

In 2009, Andrea Dovizioso won the British Grand Prix at Donington Park. And in 2011, Ben Spies won the Dutch TT at Assen. At both races, the weather conditions were a factor.

2016 put an end to that objection. Last season, there were a record-breaking nine winners in eighteen races. Andrea Dovizioso won his second race (and nearly won a third). Cal Crutchlow won two in the same season, one in the wet, one in the dry. Does that mean there are now more Aliens? Or does it invalidate the term altogether?

2017 is going to muddy the waters on the term Alien even further. Yes, there are five riders who can be expected to win a race every time they turn up at a track. But there are three or four others who are just as likely to spring a surprise and win a race this season.

Nobody would expect them to win six or seven races, but neither would anyone be surprised if they were to win one race each. If they are not quite Aliens, what then shall we call them? MotoGP’s astronauts?

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MotoGP

2017 MotoGP Season Preview: Part 1 – The Five Aliens

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And then there were five. Should that statement have a question mark after it? On the evidence of pre-season testing, definitely not. Maverick Viñales earned the right to add his name to last year’s list, dominating testing and finishing fastest in all four.

Marc Márquez demonstrated why he is reigning world champion, and why his rivals have reason to fear him even more this year. Dani Pedrosa finished fifth at Valencia and Sepang, then third at Phillip Island and Qatar.

Jorge Lorenzo found the process of adapting to the Ducati tougher than expected, but was third quickest on his first day on the bike, and fourth fastest at Qatar.

And the man with the worst pre-season results of the lot, Valentino Rossi is, well, Valentino Rossi. You only ever write off Valentino Rossi after the final race at Valencia is done and dusted. And not a millisecond before.

So we head into the first race in Qatar with five Aliens, all of whom are likely to win at least one race this year. Some, like Viñales, will win a lot more this year than they have in the past. Others, like Lorenzo, will win far fewer, but will surely end up on the top step at one race, at the very least.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast #47 – Qatar MotoGP Test

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Episode 47 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is our last episode from the MotoGP pre-season, and it sees David Emmett and Neil Morrison covering the recent Qatar MotoGP test.

Unsurprisingly, a hot topic of that conversation was about Ducati’s aerodynamic unveil – what is lovingly being called the “hammerhead” fairing for the Ducati Desmosedici GP17. The guys also talked about Honda’s pre-season testing strategy, as HRC searches for its 2017 engine setup.

The MotoGP conversation ends with a long discussion about the progress and state of all the top MotoGP riders, before the attention is turned on the Moto2 and Moto3 championships.

Of course with the pre-season now over, David and Neil can’t resist picking their riders for who will win the 2017 season, and whether they will be placing any bets for yours truly, by proxy.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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News

One New MV Agusta Debuting in 2017, Two in 2018

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It has been a long road for MV Agusta, over the past few years. However, the Italian brand seems ready to finally move on from its financial troubles, once we see its debt restructured in the Italian courts, and the investment secured from Black Ocean.

MV Agusta latest issues, which concern cash flow difficulties, seem to be balancing out as well, though the effect on the company’s new model lineup has been noticeable, with a disappointing lack of new machines to show at the 2016 EICMA show.

As such for the 2017 edition of the trade show, we should have measured expectations, with Giovanni Castiglioni saying in an interview with MCN that only one new model will debut later this year, and only two new bikes will be shown in 2018.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast #46 – Phillip Island MotoGP Test

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Episode 46 of the Paddock Pass Podcast covers the MotoGP test at Phillip Island, with David Emmett and Neil Morrison covering the second-to-last pre-season test before the start of the 2017 Grand Prix Championship.

Of course the talk of the test is the brewing rivalry between Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales, with the Yamaha factory riders showing impressive speed in Australia. Unsurprisingly, the mind games have already started for the season.

Aerodynamics is of course a topic of interest, with Aprilia, Suzuki, and Yamaha showing their aero packages already. We will still have to wait and see what the remaining factories come up with…or don’t, as the case might be.

KTM might be one of the factory teams without advanced aerodynamics this season, with the Austrian brand having bigger fish to fry in order to get the KTM RC16 better prepared for Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro. 

David and Neil also shed some much needed light on the satellite riders, especially the rookie riders, as the bevy of factory teams has made the competition for the private teams much closer and more difficult. 

The show wraps up with the various development efforts Dorna is undertaking to bring in new riders, from different nationalities, into Grand Prix racing, which will be something for fans to keep an eye on as the fruits of that labor ripen.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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News

New MV Agusta Brutale 800 Finally Coming to the USA

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It’s been over a year since MV Agusta introduced us to its revised and updated Brutale 800 – the three-cylinder sport bike getting the Euro4 treatment, a mild facelift, and a bevy of subtle technical changes.

The new MV Agusta Brutale 800 is a no excuses bike from the Italian manufacturer, and while moto-journalists like to joke that each new bike from MV Agusta is the “the best motorcycle yet” from the Italian brand, the new Brutale earns the title legitimately in our eyes.

Now, the machine is finally coming to US soil in the coming weeks, as a 2017 model, which means that American riders in the market for middleweight street bike will have a new brand to consider when mulling over their choice (the new Brutale 800 RR should be available later this summer t00).

Pricing on the 2017 MV Agusta Brutale 800 will be set at an expensive but reachable $13,498 MSRP.

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Racing

Michael Dunlop Racing A Suzuki GSX-R1000R at IOMTT

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Michael Dunlop will be on an all-new machine for the 2017 Isle of Man TT, as the Northern Irishman has inked a deal that sees him on the new Suzuki GSX-R1000R superbike for the North West 200, Isle of Man TT, and Ulster GP.

Confirming the news with Britain’s MCN, Dunlop says he will continue to ride with the Hawk Racing team in the Superbike class, with full-factory support from Yoshimura.

The deal also sees him campaigning another GSX-R1000R in the Superstock class under his MD Racing name, as well as a yet-to-be-determined Supersport model.

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Bikes

2017 Aprilia RSV4 & Tuono V4 1100 Pricing Revealed

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The new superbikes from Honda and Suzuki have been grabbing the headlines recently, but its the updated Aprilia RSV4 RR and Aprilia RSV4 RF superbikes that we are most excited to see for 2017.

The factory in Noale, Italy has been smart about consistently updating the RSV4, keeping its stout superbike package constantly relevant – the 2017 model year machines are no different.

New for this year is improved suspension, brakes, and electronics (now with cornering ABS), along with Euro4 homologation, which comes without a power decrease, thanks to an extra 300 rpm from the lighter engine components.

The 2017 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR and Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory get similar upgrades, and help to round out Aprilia’s sport bike lineup.

Of course, with those improvements comes an added cost, and the RSV4 and Tuono models will be a little pricier at the dealership for 2017.

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Rumors

WSBK: Jerez Will Be Added to 2017 WorldSBK Calendar

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The 2017 World Superbike calendar is close to being finalized. When it was announced at the combined WorldSBK/MotoGP test in November of last year, the calendar featured thirteen rounds of racing, only twelve of which had been confirmed.

The missing round, many present at the test felt, was a Jerez-shaped hole waiting to be filled. Now, we have learned, the penultimate round of World Superbikes will indeed take place at Jerez.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast #45 – Pre-Season Testing, Part 1

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Episode 45 of the Paddock Pass Podcast begins the 2017 racing season, and tackles the pre-season tests for MotoGP and World Superbike, which were at the Sepang, Jerez, and Portimão circuits.

In this show, Steve English, and David Emmett take us through the happenings on and off the track at these events, and discuss who is looking ready for the 2017 season, and who still has some work left to do before the green flag waves.

To start things off, first we get David’s account of the MotoGP testing at Sepang, where we got a quasi-glimpse of what to expect from MotoGP’s new riders, as well as how teams are dealing with the new ban on winglets.

Next, the show turns to the World Superbike paddock, where Steve gets us up to speed on what happened at both pre-season tests on the Iberian Peninsula. With a bevy of riders coming into WorldSBK as well as some shuffling of machinery, there’s no shortage of topics in World Superbike as well.

With the long wait over the winter now over, we should be bringing you shows regularly once again. Stay tuned for our next episode, from the MotoGP test at Phillip Island.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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