The 2016 Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP campaign got off to a cracking start when the season kicked off in Qatar with Jorge Lorenzo registering a dominant win as Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez were hot on his tail.
Valentino Rossi could only muster 4th place ahead of Dani Pedrosa and the ever-impressive Maverick Vinales was 6th. After a successful 2015 campaign against his highly experienced teammate Dovizioso, The Maniac’s challenge got off to a rocky start after a non-finish in Qatar.
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Moto2 saw Swiss ace Tom Luthi draw first blood with Luis Salom in second and Speed Up’s Simone Corsi in third after what can rightly be termed as an absolutely ding-dong race start where not one, not two but so many riders were caught jumping the start that even I’ve lost count!
Moto3’s usual fun and games resumed and by the time the laps played themselves out the top 2 were separated by a mere seven thousandth of a second, it was a good day in the office if you are Indian because Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia scored a podium for the Mahindra powered Aspar team.
A week later the circus travelled to Argentina for Round 2 of the 2016 season. The South American round seemed to be slated as the round of unusual results and the race where the history books were rewritten in Moto3.
Malaysian rookie Khairul Idham Pawi who had qualified 4th on the grid and with a rocket start, led from start to finish to become the first ever Malaysian winner in any category. The other big story was fellow Malaysian rookie Adam Norrodin who was on course for a career-best P2 but a crash on the final lap with one corner to go meant that the distraught rookie would have to wait a little longer for his fairytale journey.
Normalcy resumed in the intermediate class after Qatar’s Start Light system shenanigans and it was a fairly straightforward scrap eventually won by defending World Champion Johann Zarco who then treated us with his trademark backflip, behind him were Sam Lowes and Jonas Folger respectively.
MotoGP was a different story complete with upsets and controversy. Marc Marquez showed that he had put last season’s woes behind him with a dominant display to win the race and didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend… well until he slipped on the podium. Behind him were Rossi and Dani Pedrosa respectively.
Lorenzo meanwhile endured a race to forget as he struggled to adapt to the conditions and dropped it in the kitty litter. The two Ducatis were running strongly and swapping positions all the way until a costly error of judgment from Andrea Iannone wiped out both bikes so I’m guessing that Iannone and Dovizioso won’t be exchanging Christmas cards any time soon, Vinales meanwhile also ran a terrific race until he too ran afoul of the conditions. As we move into Round Three in Texas, here is what we might be expecting.
Moto3:
This early on in the championship and there are no clear favourites to win the championship. The more established riders like Binder, Navarro, Quartararo, Tonucci and the like are facing stiff competition from the rookies like Bendsneyder, Canet, Bulega, Mir etc.
There is absolutely nothing to choose between them. The 33-rider field will now be heading to Austin, Texas for Round 3 of the MotoGP season, where the scene last year was won by Danny Kent who is now riding in Moto2.
The next best rider was Fabio Quartararo in second who will be looking to continue his fine form in America, but this season has got off to a rather slow start for him having barely managed back to back points finishes. Brad Binder is currently leading the standings have achieved podiums in both races so far.
Moto2:
After the Qatar debacle, which certainly did not please the riders with the official jumpstart count being 8 riders, they will be looking past all that. According to Mike Webb, there was a problem with the camera and playback system but they could clearly see that six had jumped the start.
By the time the system was up and running it was already mid-race and two more offenders were caught. But a ride through was not possible at that stage so the next sensible course of action was a 20 second time penalty.
Argentina saw the return of the Zarco Backflip with a dominant win in Rio Hondo. That catapulted him to 2nd in the standings behind Tom Luthi.
MotoGP:
Lorenzo began his title defence with a win in Qatar but it went wrong in Argentina where he failed to see the chequered flag. That meant that the battle was down to Marquez and Rossi with the former leading the championship. Is this a sign that the Marquez that we knew in 2014 was back? We will have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, Pedrosa has calmly slotted in 3rd position just waiting for either of his competitors to slip up and give him the chance to retaliate. In the Ducati camp, it was a mixed season with Dovizioso on the podium in Qatar and a retirement in Rio Hondo. Iannone, on the other hand, seems to be exploring the origin of his nickname “The Maniac” with a double retirement, the second one having dragged Dovizioso with him.
Suzuki rider Maverick Vinales enjoyed a fine sixth place in Qatar but crumbled under pressure in Argentina. It is also worth mentioning that Eugene Laverty finished in a career best 4th in Round 2 of the season.
Moto2 graduate Tito Rabat seems to have settled in nicely in the Estrella Galicia MotoGP team. Now everyone will be heading to Austin, Texas where Marquez won last year and will be trying his hardest to remain King of America.
Austin GP?
But it has come to our attention that majority of the riders have been delayed in Argentina due to the fact that their flight to Buenos Aires was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
According to the Twitter feed of Ian Wheeler, ex-MotoGP commentator and current Marketing and Communications manager of Team Estrella Galicia, many of them are stranded including Stefan Bradl, Alvaro Bautista, Scott Redding, Michele Pirro, Hector Barbera, Loris Baz, Cal Crutchlow, Jack Miller, Tito Rabat, Franco Morbidelli, Alex Marquez as well as material for the Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP teams and material belonging to Dorna.
Last we heard four buses have been chartered to pick up the riders and teams and transport them to the capital from where they will hopefully catch a flight to Texas in time for the GP.
