Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1219692
VOLUME 57 ISSUE 10 MARCH 10, 2020 P133 postponement of the season start is another chance for fac- tory engineers to get ready. So far, the opening round at Losail is without the main players. MotoGP had already tested there and gone home again; Motos 2 and 3, however, were already there for their tests, and thus in place to race in front of the usual empty grandstands when Qatari officials effectively shut the bor- ders, especially Italian travelers. This ruled out not only such riding luminaries as Rossi, Dovizioso and Petrucci, but whole swathes of factory crewmen. No MotoGP race then. A day later, round two in Thai- land was indefinitely postponed. This shifted the putative start of the season to the GP of the Americas, four weeks after the Qatar event. However, the way the virus and associated panic is going, this is also at risk. On to Argentina on April 19, then. Or even Jerez in the first weekend of May, etc. It remains to be seen. Dorna's emergency calendar reshuffle has already shifted the Thai race until after the summer break, and when CEO Ezpeleta said that he might have to ask the FIM to delay its December prize- giving ceremony, he was only half-joking. The major beneficiary is Rep- sol Honda, for both personal and technical reasons. Marc Marquez has at least another four weeks to regain full strength after his second suc- cessive bout of mid-winter shoul- der surgery. Unlike at the tests, he will be able to "ride as I like," which is always formidable. Factory engineers have also had a reprieve, after the un- derwhelming test performance of the 2020 RC213V, always a fast but flawed machine, all- conquering only in the hands of Marquez. Among the usual problems colleague Cal Crutchlow re- ported a lingering problem with front-end fidelity that makes the Honda alarmingly crash-prone on corner entry, as he and Marc demonstrated. Meanwhile, the 2020 chassis and aero pack- age were so disappointing that Marquez switched back to a previous version in his bid to do better than seventh-fastest. Chassis changes are permit- ted through the season, but aero, engines and gear-ratio choices are frozen from the start of scrutineering before the first event. Since that first event remains at some indeterminate future date, this allows engineers to think again about the Qatar test data, without the pressure of having to make instant deci- sions. Tire specs also remain in abeyance, but Michelin is un- likely to want to change plans al- ready set in rubber, being in any case busy enough finding ways to get the tires already delivered to Qatar and Thailand back to Europe. The bikes and atten- dant equipment, by the way, are already back in Europe, awaiting developments. Not only Honda will be glad of the delay. Aprilia's all-new 90-de- gree V4 arrived in Losail virtually untested and proved quick but unreliable. They will appreciate the chance to put some more miles on the motor, both on track and on the dyno. Ducati, Suzuki and KTM will also not be sitting on their hands, but Yamaha has a special chance to take extra benefit. While only official test riders are allowed to exercise MotoGP bikes, Yamaha has the services of Jorge Lorenzo, which should prove a significant asset. The rest of us will just have to wait. It seemed timely that Dorna introduced the MotoGP Fantasy game just days before the can- cellation, giving "a new way for fans to enjoy" the championship. Sadly, a look at rules that would otherwise have held minimal interest shows that the game is linked to real-life results. Ah well, for something that is really virtual (and also virtually real) there is always the MotoGP E-sport Championship, where the racing is all on screen. Now, remember to go and wash your hands after reading this. CN