Quatararo fears Ducati speed ahead of new season
MotoGP opens a marathon season on Sunday in Qatar with champion Fabio Quartararo trying to hold off Francesco Bagnaia on the faster Ducati, while both glance back anxiously at Marc Marquez.
Marquez has made it clear he is chasing a man who has left the circuit. Valentino Rossi retired at the end of last season after racing in the elite category since 2000, two years before MotoGP was created.
The Italian won seven top-class world titles. At a few days past his 29th birthday, Marquez has six.
"My goal is to fight for the title," Marquez said at the Honda team presentation, but he added that the competition would be tough.
"Fabio was champion, and he deserves to be because he was the most consistent, but Pecco Bagnaia ended the year being the fastest with the Ducati."
Marquez returned last season after crashing a few laps into the 2020 campaign. For much of last season, he struggled and he sat out the last two races with double vision.
With one good arm, he still won three races, all at tracks with an emphasis on left-turning corners, which the Spaniard preferred even before smashing his right arm.
"Today everything looks good, the vision is perfect, the arm is better too," he said in February.
Worryingly for his rivals, the revamped Honda seems to be quicker. The second factory rider, Pol Espargaro, set the best time at pre-season testing in Indonesia and then declared: "I've never been so fast."
That might not be an entirely a good thing for Marquez. In previous seasons, the Honda bikes have been set up to suit his risky and aggressive riding style.
Quartararo, a 22-year-old Frenchman, has also made a habit of winning with bikes on which others struggle. Last season he collected 278 points while the other three men who raced factory Yamahas over the season collected just 31.
After winning five of last season's first 12 races, Quartararo struggled to keep up with the accelerating Ducatis as Italian Bagnaia won four of the last six.
At testing, the Frenchman complained to the motorbike media that Yamaha has been unable to deliver a greater top speed.
"Last year we were an average 9kph (slower), today we are at 9kph. So we didn't make any steps forward," he said.
"If you have no power, you adapt yourself, like I did in the past. So, if we need to adapt we're going to adapt."
Yet while Quartararo has a lower top speed than the Bologna Bullets, testing suggested he still compensates with the best average speed over a lap.
While Yamaha, KTM and Honda will all have one satellite team this season, Ducati has three.
"When you know that there will be eight Ducatis, eight of the fastest bikes ever, it will be difficult," said Quartararo.
It is going to be a long season.
After 14 races in 2020, all in Europe, and 18 last year in a second Covid-curtailed season, there are 21 on the schedule. That is up from the 19 in each of the two seasons before the pandemic.
Finland makes its belated return after a 40-year gap. Indonesia, which hosted two races in the 1990s, is also added. Australia, Argentina, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, all cancelled in each of the last two seasons, are scheduled to run in a season that stretches to November 6
(责任编辑:行业动态)
- 广州市白云区供销联社携手6所院校15支队伍,加力提速推进“百千万工程”
- Truth commission confirms mass killings of Christians by communists during Korean War
- Online forum on ‘Facets of Modern Day India’ to be held from Sept. 1
- 客户投保车险一定要留被保险人的真实信息
- 夏凤俭与四川建安工业有限责任公司董事长耿海波座谈
- 14 Heists, Robberies, and Other Great Capers
- Congressional Republicans care more about loyalty to Trump than the rule of law.
- 严制度强监管 确保电梯运行安全
- Pugnacious sports networks, anti
- PS5 Pro: There are new whispers that the release date is fast approaching
- In 'Fortnite,' a volcano erupted and a whole city was wiped out
- Organic solar cell is made for use with indoor light
- “精准助学”不让一名学生因困失学
-
“精致小春姐”顾春芳:华丽白西装、镶钻水晶拖鞋,带来新兴凉果No.1
“精致小春姐”顾春芳:华丽白西装、镶钻水晶拖鞋,带来新兴凉果No.1_南方+_南方plus“欢迎收听广东‘讲错’电台编外节目之广东省第一届农事运动会乡村直播大赛......”来自云浮市新兴县的村播“精 ...[详细] -
Hamilton to race in Abu Dhabi after negative Covid
LONDON:Seven times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton will return for Mercedes in Sunday' ...[详细] -
Kanye's reluctant smile at the Met Gala is a mood
Kanye West, we love to see you smile.The rapper made an appearance at the Met Gala on Monday, where ...[详细] -
雅安雪雁自驾游管理服务有限公司与四川省营地与自驾旅游协会联合宣布:启动打造百亿级自驾游安全保障平台。茶马古城将为自驾客提供舒适的客房茶马古城将为自驾客提供舒适的居住环境。茶马古城将为自驾客提供舒适的居 ...[详细]
-
By the time I tapped out of Persona 5after 60 hours of a massive high school adventure that I was en ...[详细]
-
雅安日报/北纬网讯21日是冬至,标志着天气将进入“数九寒天”。当天我市各地以阴天来应景,然而严寒度不强,气象专家表示,今年冬至确实比去年同期要暖和。市气象台预报,22日起连续三天,我市以阴天或小雨天气 ...[详细]
-
North Korea to hold military parade today
North Korea is set to hold a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of its armed forces' found ...[详细] -
遇见“莓”好!蓝莓产业支撑广东乡村产业振兴调研行动启动!_南方+_南方plus3月6日,蓝莓产业支撑广东乡村产业振兴调研行动以下简称“调研行动”)启动会在广东仲恺农业工程学院举行。本次调研行动旨在通过 ...[详细]
-
“笋货”上市采购旺!清远西牛麻竹笋迎秋季尝鲜热_南方+_南方plus西牛麻竹笋,尝鲜正当时!进入八月以来,清远英德的西牛麻竹笋加工企业正加足马力迎接上市旺季。素有“蔬中第一珍”之誉的西牛麻竹笋正次第拔 ...[详细]
-
7 best places to get your drama fix on the internet
At heart, all of us live for drama. Who doesn't love to watch a thread descend into a dumpster fire? ...[详细]
- Tesla issues recall for 9,100 Model X cars
- No one can compete with the sexiness of this turkey sandwich
- KCCI preps for inter
- I don't know who needs to hear this, but these memes are good
- Weather update for second Pak vs Ban second Test match day one
- NYC lifts ban on electric bikes, but hoverboards still illegal
- How Neil Gorsuch avoids saying absolutely anything of substance.