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/988082
IN THE WIND P46 REA EVALUATING FACTORY MOTOGP OPTIONS W orldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea is con- sidering a swap to the MotoGP series in 2019, but has made it clear he would only make the change "with the right package." Rea is managed by American racing stalwart Chuck Aksland, who was at the recent French MotoGP at Le Mans chatting to various MotoGP teams on his rider's behalf. Rea himself has stated a desire to remain with the Kawasaki Racing Team, with whom he has taken the past three WorldSBK Championships. Rea has previously raced in MotoGP on two occasions, replacing the injured Casey Stoner in the Repsol Honda team at Aragon and Mi- sano in 2012, scoring top-10 positions in both outings. As for the available 2019 factory seats in the GP paddock, Rea is fast running out of options as Ducati looks likely to exercise its option on either Jack Miller or Danilo Petrucci to replace Jorge Lorenzo alongside Andrea Dovizioso, and Suzuki is rumored to have signed Joan Mir to replace Andrea Iannone and part- ner Alex Rins. Iannone has been linked to Aprilia alongside the signed Aleix Esparga- ro; Yamaha has locked in Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, and KTM has signed Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro. Repsol Honda is a possible candi- date for Rea, as he could replace the yet unsigned Dani Pedrosa and partner Marc Marquez, although this appears somewhat unlikely. Tech3 KTM has signed Miguel Oliveira with Hafizh Syahrin likely to retain his ride within the team for 2019. CN LORENZO COULD RIDE SATELLITE YAMAHA IN 2019 J orge Lorenzo could be on a satellite Yamaha in 2019, as his dismal tenure at Ducati looks likely to conclude at the end of the current Mo- toGP season with both Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller seen as faster (and cheaper) options for Jonathan Rea heading to MotoGP seems unlikely, but never say never! Jorge Lorenzo could be reunited on a Yamaha next year, but not in the factory team. the Italian manufacturer. Where does that leave three-time MotoGP Champion Lorenzo? The Majorcan was originally linked to Suzuki to replace Andrea Iannone—ironically the same ride he replaced at Ducati—but with Suzuki going for Joan Mir, that ride is now out of the question. Lorenzo is fast running out of options for not just a factory seat but a seat at all in 2019, with the latest candidate coming in the form of a satellite Yamaha ride with Marc VDS, which has been in negotiations to split from Honda. Yamaha has no satellite team signed up for 2019 af- ter Tech3 announced it would move to KTM, and Dorna is known to want to keep Lorenzo in the championship on competitive equipment. Should the Yamaha and Marc VDS partnership materialize, Lorenzo would likely be partnered with incumbent Franco Morbidelli. CN