One week later, MotoGP is back at the same race track, with the same riders, and likely racing in pretty much the same conditions. Does this mean we are going to see exactly the same result in the Doha Grand Prix as we did for the Qatar Grand Prix?
That will depend. And it will perhaps depend on how well the MotoGP riders learn the lessons of last week, as well as the lessons of the past. If Maverick Viñales maintains the form he showed last Sunday, he will be very difficult to beat.
Saturday was a day for smashing records in Qatar. First up was the top speed record, Johann Zarco hitting 362.4 km/h at the end of the front straight during FP4.
Not just the top speed record for Qatar, but the highest speed ever record at a MotoGP track, the previous record 356.7 km/h set by Andrea Dovizioso at Mugello.
To put that in to context, it is 100.666 meters per second. Or put another way, it took Johann Zarco less than one second to cover the distance which takes Usain Bolt 9.6 seconds. It is a mind-bending, brain-warping speed.
The normal build up to a MotoGP weekend sees the teams and riders spend FP1 figuring out which tires they think will work, then FP2 working on setup and then chasing a preliminary spot in FP2, leaving themselves plenty of work for Saturday, especially in FP4. But, Qatar is not a normal weekend.
For a start, MotoGP arrives here after a total of five days of testing (well, four days, strictly speaking, as the last day of the test was lost to strong winds and a sandy track). Setups have already been found, tires have already been chosen.
The preseason is over. Preparations have been made, new parts tested, bikes, bodies, and brains readied, though not necessarily in that order. MotoGP is on the verge of starting another brand new season.
There was less to develop, test, and prepare this year, the aftermath of rules imposed during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic introducing freezes on engine development and limiting aerodynamic updates.
The four factories who did not have concessions in 2020 – Ducati, Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha – will all be forced to use the engines they homologated for their riders last year for the 2021 season.
KTM, who lost concessions thanks to a phenomenally successful season which included three victories, has been allowed to design a new engine for 2021, but must freeze it at the first race in Qatar.
Aprilia, the only remaining factory with full concessions, will be allowed to continue to develop their engine throughout 2021, and will have nine engines to last the season, instead of the seven the other factories have to try to make last the year.
In terms of aerodynamics, things are a little simpler: the riders can either use their 2020 aero package, or they can introduce one upgrade aero package at any time during the season (including at the first race).
And of course, aerodynamics packages are applied per rider, rather than per manufacturer.
Episode 192 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a special show with the Ducati Corse factory MotoGP team riders, Jack Miller and Pecco Bagnaia.
Joining the Ducati boys on the mics, we have Steve English, David Emmett, and Neil Morrison, and they provide some analysis to what Miller and Bagnaia have to say during their interviews.
Episode 186 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one get us ready for the MotoGP action, as we dissect what we can learn from the MotoGP team launches from Ducati, KTM, and Yamaha.
To handle that topic, we have Neil Morrison, Steve English, David Emmett, and Adam Wheeler on the mics, as they discuss what the riders and team bosses had to say about the upcoming MotoGP Championship.
As the 2021 MotoGP Championship season rapidly approaches, we are beginning to see our first glimpses of the bikes that will be on the grid this year. First up is Ducati Corse.
Episode 175 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one starts our review of the 2020 MotoGP Championship season, as we take a look at the fates of the various manufacturers.
On the mics, we have Neil Morrison and our newest member to the show, Adam Wheeler (from the magazine On-Track Off-Road).
Taking the manufacturers two at a time, this episode focuses on the results of the Suzuki and Ducati squads during the year. The two brands showed strong results, though perhaps in the most different of ways.
The penultimate piece of the 2021 MotoGP rider puzzle has fallen into place.
As has long been reported, Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini will be riding for the Avintia Ducati team next year. The young Italian pairing will be riding updated Ducati GP19s, with strong support from Ducati.
It was an open secret that Bastianini would be moving up to MotoGP after the Italian Moto2 rider announced as much at Misano in September.
Marini’s move was also long-anticipated, as protracted negotiations continued over how the VR46 Racing structure would replace the funding lost by replacing Tito Rabat, who had a contract with Avintia for 2021.
Those details took a long time to sort out, but are finally settled.
There is a bit of a shakeup in the factory Ducati WorldSBK squad happening right now, as Michael Ruben Rinaldi has been named teammate to Scott Redding for the 2021 season.
This means that Chaz Davies is departing the factory squad, while the team is also sees its name change to “Aruba.it Racing Ducati” for next year.
Episode 167 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a bit of a special show, as we are sharing with you one of our Patreon episodes.
In it, Ducati WorldSBK rider Scott Redding sits down for an interview, and then Steve English and Gordon Ritchie provide some insight and analysis to what Redding discussed.
It makes for an interesting listen, especially as we head into the final round of the 2020 WorldSBK Championship.