[five46]

MotoGP season 2018 was some history.

'El tro de Cervera' or the 'Thunder of Cervera' - Marc Marquez went on to clinch his 5th premier class motogp title, taking his overall title tally to 7.

Yamaha suffered their worst streak in their history with no wins for 25 races, which lasted from the 2017 German Grand Prix until Maverick won the Australian Grand Prix.

Valentino Rossi did not record a single race win, yet managed to finish on third in the championship standings.

Andrea Dovizsioso manages to finish runner-up for the title with much lesser fights to the line as much as he would have loved to have.

Jorge Lorenzo tames (?) the raging Ducati just when everyone writes him off, some - even off his career with 3 thunderous victories.

Lastly, Repsol Honda & Honda complete the celebrations for HRC with Team & manufacturers title for the season.

What does the 2019 season bring to the table? Who is your pick for the championship holder? Let the discussions pour in..

The 2019 season calendar is as under:



Also attached is a pdf of the calendar for offline use (courtesy FIM). (At the bottom of the post)

The rider lineup for 2019 season is as under:

Repsol Honda:
Marc Marquez (End of 2020)
Jorge Lorenzo (End of 2020)

Movistar Yamaha:
Maverick Vinales (End of 2020)
Valentino Rossi (End of 2020)

Ducati Team:
Andrea Dovizioso (End of 2020)
Danilo Petrucci (End of 2019)

Suzuki:
Alex Rins (End of 2020)
Joan Mir* (End of 2020)

Red Bull KTM:
Johann Zarco (End of 2020)
Pol Espargaro (End of 2020)

Aprilia Gresini:
Aleix Espargaro (End of 2020)
Andrea Iannone (End of 2020)

Tech3 KTM:
Miguel Oliveira* (KTM contract, end of 2019)
Hafizh Syahrin (End of 2019)

LCR Honda:
Cal Crutchlow (HRC contract, end of 2020)
Takaaki Nakagami (HRC contract, end of 2019)

Pramac Ducati:
Francesco Bagnaia* (Ducati contract, end of 2020)
Jack Miller (Ducati contract, end of 2019)

Avintia Ducati:
Karel Abraham (End of 2020)
Tito Rabat (End of 2018, set to stay)
Xavier Simeon (End of 2019)

Petronas Yamaha Sepang Team:
Franco Morbidelli (End of 2020)
Fabio Quartararo* (End of 2020)

* Rookie

[killjoy]

While I have voted for 46, it is more a representation of my hope rather than my logic there..

[Cyborg]

I feel this poll is a bit premature. While the rider does make a difference, it will take at least a couple of races to see individual bike performance.

All the riders in the poll have what it takes to be WC 2019, except Vinales in my opinion (he does not have what it takes) but the machinery has to support the rider too.

Cheers

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by five46

Who is your pick for the championship holder?

Heart says Dovi but knows Marc would sail through. Lorenzo doesn't differentiate between a teammate & another rider and hence might pose bigger risk to marc than other riders. And who knows how rookies (few past moto2 champions) handle big bikes and don't cause surprises/crashes.

Originally Posted by Cyborg

I feel this poll is a bit premature.

Agree; however waiting till testing or few races shouldn't make much difference to an individual opinion. We always want enough data to make a decision but riding is always a heart thing and so with rider one likes to be a champion.

[badri]

I have a strong feeling that this will be Dovi's year. I sincerely hope he wins the championship. Some key indicators in his favour are,

1. Ducati is well rounded bike now and except for the improved but still relatively weak mid corner turning performance, it's stronger every where. Acceleration, top speed, stability under braking etc. According to some rumours, the bike is producing more than 300bhp. Last year it won on traditionally weak circuits and ended the season on a high in Valencia. Unless Honda can come up with some magic, Duc will be the bike to beat

2. Dovi is reasonably strong in his head, has capability to trade blows with Marquez and still come on top . He holds the last corner fight-win record 3 to 1.

3. He has a non conflicting team member and is already doing ground work to develop a strong relationship which can help him during crucial time. Petrucci too seems to be reciprocating. Check out this article below.

https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/91...hanging-chance

I'm not really confident of the Yams improving sufficiently enough to challenge for championship.

Coming to Hondas, Marquez will still be the man to beat but he will have tougher competition this year.

Can't wait for the season to start!!

[aamateen46]

It would be Marc Marquez this year as well. We're seeing Schumacher and Rossi type domination with Marquez now. The competition is still not up to his level, yet. Wish Stoner hadn't retired.

[nkrishnap]

The title fight will be between Marquez and Dovi (subject to he doesn't lose too many points like 2018).

Lorenzo will pop in a few wins and Rins may win a couple. Consistency is crucial in 2019, wins and accumulating the points to end up at the top of the table.

[fz_rider]

MotoGp 2019 bike unveils so far. Ducati looks the most striking!

[nkrishnap]

3 day test at Sepang Circuit starts tomorrow. Honda and Ducati are ahead of others, however, I would be very interested to know how this test fares for Yamaha and Aprillia (2018 was a poor year for them).

Suzuki's are on a steady climb. A 3 way battle between Honda, Ducati and Yamaha will definitely spice up the 2019 championship.

[joe angelo]

Waiting eagerly to March 10 kick off.
Guys, what are the tv channels which air motogp live in India? Need to subscribe those channels in my dishtv which is messed with TRAI rules and confusions.

[ksameer1234]

As will every other season, I'll be rooting for Rossi for his 10th title. Somewhere in my heart though, I know that Rossi is probably past the opportunity to secure that elusive 10th championship. Hoping that Yamaha is able to deliver a competitive bike.

That being said, we may witness another season of MM93 dominance, unless Lorenzo manages to get on Marquez's nerves like he has done with all of his teammates.

Originally Posted by joe angelo

Guys, what are the tv channels which air motogp live in India?

I'll be following the season on Sony Liv app. Good streaming quality and coverage of the event!

[//M]

The MotoGP Monster Energy Yamahas had the Indian tricolor along with 'The Call of the Blue' decals during the Qatar test run.

[five46]

Has the old dog (Jorge) learnt new tricks on a Honda? Has the older dog (Valentino) taught new tricks to his old Yamaha?

There could not have been a more fantastic appetizer to the season.

Valentino, Jorge, Marc & Dovi complete the top 4 in FP1 at Qatar.

Bring it on motogp 2019!!!

[fz_rider]

More representative FP2 timing :

Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 53.380s [Lap 16/18] 352km/h

Maverick Viñales ESP Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 53.854s +0.474s [16/16] 337k

Jack Miller AUS Pramac Ducati (Desmosedici GP19) 1m 53.908s +0.528s [17/19] 352k

Danilo Petrucci ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP19) 1m 54.053s +0.673s [15/16] 344k

Fabio Quartararo FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT (YZR-M1)* 1m 54.154s +0.774s [15/17] 337k

Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP19) 1m 54.256s +0.876s [14/17] 349k

Franco Morbidelli ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT (YZR-M1) 1m 54.275s +0.895s [12/16] 343k

Alex Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 54.320s +0.940s [19/19] 341k

Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 54.367s +0.987s [14/15] 347k

Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 1m 54.402s +1.022s [15/17] 346k

Jorge Lorenzo ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 54.428s +1.048s [15/17] 343k

Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 54.444s +1.064s [16/17] 347k

Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 54.452s +1.072s [12/17] 351k

Francesco Bagnaia ITA Pramac Ducati (Desmosedici GP18)* 1m 54.801s +1.421s [14/16] 343k

Tito Rabat ESP Reale Avintia (Desmosedici GP18) 1m 55.032s +1.652s [16/18] 347k

Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 55.053s +1.673s [17/17] 345k

Valentino Rossi ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 55.137s +1.757s [15/16] 343k

Johann Zarco FRA Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 55.412s +2.032s [13/17] 341k

Andrea Iannone ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 55.432s +2.052s [14/16] 343k

Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16)* 1m 55.635s +2.255s [16/18] 345k

Karel Abraham CZE Reale Avintia (Desmosedici GP18) 1m 55.654s +2.274s [13/16] 342k

Hafizh Syahrin MAL Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) 1m 56.437s +3.057s [16/17] 338k

Bradley Smith GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 56.834s +3.454s [3/16] 346k

[aamateen46]

A tribute to the greatest of all time, before starting yet another season
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/motorsport/47473992