It all comes down to this.
After 19 races, four changes to the championship lead and an unprecedented fightback, just Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo remain in contention for the 2022 MotoGP title with one race remaining.
Either winner will write an improbable chapter in motorcycling history.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFrancesco Bagnaia was so close to the MotoGP championship trophy that he could have seen his own reflection in the solid silver plaques bearing the names of the riders he hopes to emulate at this weekend’s Valencia Grand Prix.
He had been placed alongside the glittering prize in a photo shoot with title rival Fabio Quartararo, who he leads in the standings by an almost unassailable 23 points.
But despite being closer to the trophy than he’s ever been before, he refused to touch it.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFrancesco Bagnaia is on the cusp of doing the unthinkable.
Just nine rounds ago the man christened as Bologna’s best hope was watching his bike slide through the gravel at the Sachsenring as reigning champion Fabio Quartararo powered up the road and to eventual victory.
His fourth crash of the year put him a staggering 91 points off the title lead. No rider has ever come back from such a margin.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFabio Quartararo has been cursed by his own pre-season prophecy of non-competitiveness on his outgunned Yamaha M1.
Only a brief spell of success in the middle of the year threatened to disprove his prediction from way back during pre-season testing. Since the midseason he’s been forced to helplessly watch on as other riders chipped away at the points lead he’d toiled so hard for.
This weekend comes his final reckoning.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe hot and humid Indonesian Grand Prix will test riders and bikes to their limits in just the second round of the MotoGP season, but Jack Miller has a secret weapon inside his leathers.
He’s from Townsville.
The forecast for Mandalika all weekend is for 30 degrees and around 80 per cent humidity, and there’s a permanent risk of thunderstorms throughout. But that’s no big deal for Queenslander Miller.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMotoGP will spend the weekend at an idyllic Lombok resort town, but the first Indonesian Grand Prix in 25 years will be anything but relaxing.
MotoGP doesn’t race around street circuits, but the designers of this brand-new track have penned a metropolitan-style layout to test riders in what will be a unique challenge.
The sport arrives in South-East Asia with a new title leader, Enea Bastianini, but the young Italian will have his work cut out from him to hold his advantage on a circuit that will advantage the Japanese bikes over the grunt of his Ducati.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFor the last two years MotoGP had been living in a fundamentally Marc Márquez-free universe in which riders who aren’t the 29-year-old Spaniard have been free to carve up the premier-class championship for themselves.
Your perspective on these two years will likely vary wildly depending on why you watch MotoGP and which riders you’re a fan of.
But if you’re Honda boss Alberto Puig, they’re an aberration.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe 2021 season must feel like a distant memory for reigning champion Fabio Quartararo.
It’s been less than five months since the 22-year-old made himself France’s first motorcycle world champion — less than five months since El Diablo flossed with a giant CGI devil after clinching the title in Misano.
But those heady times must’ve felt like a lifetime away as he crossed the line ninth and more than 10 seconds behind Qatar Grand Prix winner Enea Bastianini.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMotoGP was at its unpredictable best in its first weekend back for 2022, with Enea Bastianini opening the season with an emotional maiden victory with the independent Gresini team.
The sophomore rider was a rare bright spot for Ducati on an unexpectedly difficult weekend for the Italian manufacturer — indeed expectations throughout the field bore little resemblance to the outcome of the race in Doha, with the form guide blown wide open.
Perhaps the sole exception was Fabio Quartararo, who would be taking no pleasure in discovering his dire pre-season predictions for Yamaha’s stinking form have proved true.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMotoGP returns for 2022 with a record-breaking calendar, three world champions with points to prove and a field as wide open as ever.
Fabio Quartararo will attempt to defend his maiden championship, but the Frenchman has had barely a good word to say about Yamaha’s prospects after preseason testing. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez gets closer to full fitness with each passing day after two seasons of injury. And Joan Mir will be eager to prove his 2020 title was no COVID-influenced fluke.
There are two Aussies to keep an eye on too, with Jack Miller in desperate need of a strong, consistent showing to prevent a Ducati reshuffle among its mammoth eight-bike contingent, while Remy Gardner continues his year-long rivalry with nemesis turned teammate Raul Fernandez.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSEpisode 21 presented by spokes.com.au features MotoGPâ„¢ race-winner and Fox Sports TV analyst Chris Vermeulen as he joins us to wrap up the 2020 season, debate who should make and miss out on the top 10 riders of the year, and look ahead to 2021.
Episode 20 presented by spokes.com.au features Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2016 winner Cal Crutchlow as he joins us to reflect on the final races of his 10-year MotoGPâ„¢ career, what makes Marc Marquez the sport’s standout rider, Jack Miller’s future world championship chances and the fondest memories of his podiums at Phillip Island.
Episode 18 presented by spokes.com.au features Suzuki’s MotoGPâ„¢ World Championship leader Joan Mir, as he joins us to talk about his title chances and why this season has been so unpredictable, while we preview the final three races of 2020 with MotoGPâ„¢ pit lane TV reporter, Simon Crafar.
Episode 16 presented by spokes.com.au features American 1993 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz joins us to wrap up Alex Rins’ win for Suzuki at the Aragon GP, the impact Marc Marquez’s absence has had on the 2020 title contenders and which first-time MotoGPâ„¢ winner has impressed him most this season.
Episode 12 presented by spokes.com.au features South Africa’s rookie sensation Brad Binder, who discusses winning just his third MotoGPâ„¢ race, how KTM has become a force to be reckoned with and what it’s like racing against Valentino Rossi, while we analyse Sunday’s race at Misano and the unpredictable 2020 season with the doyen of MotoGPâ„¢ TV commentators, Nick Harris.
Two-time MotoGPâ„¢ World Champion Casey Stoner joins us to offer his thoughts on an unpredictable season to date, Valentino Rossi’s future at age 41, Jack Miller’s move to the factory Ducati outfit for 2021, and what Marc Marquez’s absence means for this year’s championship.
Five-time 500cc Motorcycle World Champion Mick Doohan joins us to discuss crashes, contract controversy and Jack Miller’s first podium of 2020 at the Austrian Grand Prix, while we review all of the talking points on and off track from a dramatic weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
Episode 3 presented by Nash Advisory features special guest Jack Miller. The Aussie MotoGPâ„¢ rider joins us to talk through his fourth-place finish at the Spanish GP and his Ducati contract for 2021.