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/1358713
MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 / APRIL 2-4, 2021 LOSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / DOHA, QATAR P60 MOTOGP SET FOR AMAZON PRIME SERIES On the back of the success of Netflix's Drive To Survive behind-the- scenes series on Formula 1, MotoGP organizer Dorna has confirmed Amazon Prime is working on a similar show for the two-wheel series, to be aired next year. Riders were generally in approval. "Nowadays we depend so much on image to show the world what we are doing, and I think F1 has created a very good buzz around the sport because of what is happened backstage rather than the racing itself," said Miguel Oliveira. "As riders I think we could have a lot to gain on such a format coming out." MICHELIN UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT A consequence of back-to-back races at a track where the MotoGP field also conducted preseason testing is an ex- cess of rubber. Any rubber that wasn't at the tests or during race one was returned to Michelin and then redistrib- uted for round two. The problem? They have previously been heated to working temperatures before being sent back to Michelin. When allocated for a second (or third) time, grip characteristics vary. While Michelin insisted there was no drop in performance, there were com- plaints from several riders. Namely Pol Espargaro, who said, "When we put them [on], the grip level is low and is lower than the ones that have not been heated from the week before. They are very different. So when we put the proper one to make the time attack, the bike change a little and this makes me do a lot of mistakes." MOTO3 PENALTIES A new year, but the same old she- nanigans in Moto3. FP2 was another frustrating session to watch as riders waited around in pit lane for the fastest riders for so long, they were unable to complete their out-laps before the checkered flag. To make matters worse, seven riders were seen touring before the final corner, awaiting faster names to pass by. The FIM Stewards' reaction was as swift as it was tough. Seven names—Ser- gio Garcia, Romano Fenati, Dennis Foggia, Pedro Acosta, Deniz Oncu, Stefano Nepa and Riccardo Rossi— were handed pit-lane starts for Sun- day's race. It didn't matter for Acosta. He still won the race. ALBERTO PUIG: "WE'RE NOT THERE YET" Repsol Honda Crew Chief Alberto Puig tried to put a positive spin on the team's run in Qatar. "Well, the positive point is that despite some mistakes, running off track twice, Pol Espargaro finished only six seconds Briefly... Tech3 KTM had another dismal weekend with a crash for Iker Lecuona (27) and 19th for Danilo Petrucci (9).