#Motogp

Mips, a world leader in helmet-based safety, is proud to announce its newest member to Team Mips: Aleix Espargaró, factory rider for Aprilia Racing in MotoGP™, the premier class of motorcycle racing in the world. 

A regular in the MotoGP paddock since 2009, Aleix is an extremely experienced rider with a number of podiums and pole positions on his scorecard. 

The opinions expressed by Mr. Allen do not reflect the views of the editorial staff here at Motorcycle.com. In fact, we would be surprised if they reflect the views of anyone remotely familiar with the sport.

Grand prix motorcycle racing – MotoGP to aficionados – is a Eurocentric parlor game for the rich and not-so-famous. It involves undersized riders holding on for dear life to 1000cc bikes with astonishing power-to-weight ratios on road courses at venues on four continents, several of which are in countries one is not anxious to visit. It is almost impossible to find on American television. Riders receive trophies for finishing third. It is the little brother of F1. It is NASCAR’s mentally challenged foreign cousin.

However, for the few of you still reading, at its best, MotoGP is the best racing on the planet, a series of hair-raising encounters between riders and machines traveling at well over 100 mph in unbanked turns, separated by inches, with the difference between winning and not winning often measured in a few thousandths of a second. (By comparison, the autonomic blink of an eye takes around 100 milliseconds.)

[Note: The half-baked opinions, reckless allegations, mis-statements of fact and otherwise actionable slurs below do not represent the views of Motorcycle.com. In fact, we are surprised if they represent the views of anyone at all.]

So much for 2022. It was a year that restored some normalcy to the MotoGP calendar after two years of Covid-related disruption. It was the year of The Comeback, Pecco Bagnaia’s resurrection from the ashes of spring. It was the year Aprilia stepped up to credibility and Suzuki retreated to incredibility. It was the year Marc Marquez convinced a lot of people his winning ways with Honda were behind him. It was the year Andrea Dovizioso left the fray and David Muñoz entered.

To celebrate 30 years since Aprilia won its first world championship title, Aprilia (or, more appropriately, the racing division) is introducing this, the RSV4 Xtrenta. Encompassing the same basic profile the RSV4 has carried since its birth over a decade ago, the Xtrenta is defined by the level of aerodynamic work the Noale factory has applied from its MotoGP program.

Since aero is the hot topic in MotoGP racing today, let’s start there. The XTrenta sports the huge front wing just below and beside the nose that has become so commonplace lately. Interestingly, Aprilia claims this wing not only creates more downforce for the front wheel but also reduces drag at the same time.

Let’s clear the air right off the bat with this one: This is *not* a crash-tested review, though I can understand why you would think so after I wrote about my recent experiences tumbling down the road in the Forcite MK1 helmet and Alpinestars’ own GP Force Chaser entry-level suit. While it’s never a great time to crash a motorcycle, the timing of those experiences brings a great deal of context to the latest in safety innovation by Alpinestars: the Tech-Air 10 airbag system. 

[Note: The half-baked opinions, reckless allegations, mis-statements of fact and otherwise actionable slurs below do not represent the views of Motorcycle.com. In fact, we are surprised if they represent the views of anyone at all.]

To the delight of pretty much everyone in or around MotoGP not wearing Repsol Honda colors, the 2022 season, at its midpoint, is unfolding pretty much as expected. Note the following exceptions to this statement, lifted from our very own pre-season preview:

New Faces

This season starts with seven underclassmen, three sophomores and four freshmen. New to the premier class last year were Italian speedsters Luca Marini (half-brother of the legendary Valentino Rossi) and Enea Bastianini, along with rising Spanish star Jorge Martin. The 2022 crop of rookies includes a pair of KTM guys, apparently chained at the wrists and ankles – Australian Remy Gardner and Spanish fast mover Raul Fernandez. These two don’t like each other, causing us to hope for a repeat of the hilarious scene back in the day when Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi shared a garage and had a wall built down the middle to keep them from gouging each other’s eyes out.

Two more Italians complete the 2022 grid, starting with Fabio di Giannantonio, repping the Gresini Ducati team. (We will be forced to refer to him this season as FDG in order to conserve our dwindling inventory of lower case N’s.) Last, and perhaps least, is young Marco Bezzecchi, filling the #2 seat on Valentino Rossi’s Mooney VR46 Racing Team.

Ducati has finally released details about its much-anticipated electric race bike, known internally as the “V21L” prototype. The V21L is important for several reasons. Not only is it the platform with which Ducati will tackle the MotoE championship, starting in 2023 as the sole supplier, but it can also give us some clues as to some of the solutions Ducati are experimenting with in regards to a future production-based electric motorcycle available to all. 

[Note: The half-baked opinions, mis-statements of fact and otherwise actionable slurs below do not represent the views of Motorcycle.com. In fact, we are surprised if they represent the views of anyone at all.]

MotoGP, the fastest sport on two wheels in the known universe, is back for what promises to be one of the most competitive seasons in history. Twelve well-financed teams. 24 riders, of whom only a handful can be excluded from consideration for multiple podium appearances during a 21-round campaign stretching from the streets of Indonesia to the jungles of South America to the Gulf of Finland. And the machines, hand-built to inconceivable tolerances, with power-to-weight ratios comparable to strapping a pair of big Evinrude outboards on the back end of a dinghy.

In the past ten seasons, only four men have claimed the title of MotoGP world champion. Jorge Lorenzo, gone but not forgotten, won it all during his Yamaha days in 2012 and 2015. Joan Mir, the young Spanish speedster with the girl’s name, claimed his win in 2020*, winning a single race in a season decimated by Covid. French heartthrob Fabio Quartararo became a world champion in 2021*.

*The asterisks signify seasons in which Spanish king of kings, Marc Marquez, who won the other six titles during the period, was injured or trying to return from injury. It doesn’t require much imagination to suggest that, had Marquez been healthy, both Mir and Quartararo would have watched him claim his seventh and eighth premier class crowns. For those of you new to the sport, he is the Michael Jordan, the Tom Brady, of grand prix motorcycle racing. Those of us who watched him during those years remain unworthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.

Big news out of the Ducati camp, as the Bologna-based manufacturer has announced it has reached an agreement with Dorna to be the sole supplier for the all-electric MotoE World Cup, which races alongside MotoGP at select rounds. Ducati’s involvement will begin in 2023 through at least 2026.

The news comes as Energica recently announced its partnership with the series was coming to an end following the conclusion of its contract in 2022. Energica’s Ego Corsa electric race bikes were the first, and so far only, motorcycle the MotoE series has ever known, so the announcement of Energica’s departure at the end of next year left many to wonder who would take its place.

With this latest announcement, Ducati has boldly claimed its entry into the electric motorcycle arena. In classic Ducati style, it is entering the world of racing to fast-track development of several different technologies – all with an eye towards a future electric motorcycle that will be available to anyone.

MotoGP fans are passionate. It’s a great time to mix it up with other fans, some of whom may be buddies you haven’t seen for years. So grab some friends and head to the MotoGP race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), as it is an amazing venue to watch racing. Plus, there’s plenty of room to spread out.

Dear Brad (and Friends),

As you’ve clearly stated, you and your friends watch motorcycle roadracing and you’ve certainly seen at least one rider throw their leg out in the air when they hit the brakes. Apart from the crazy lean angles and scuffed up elbow sliders we’re seeing riders accomplish these days, the leg dangle might be the most dramatic evolution of riding styles since Kenny Roberts put his knee on the ground for the first time.

It all started in 2005, when Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau were battling for the race win during the Jerez round of the MotoGP championship. Entering the final corner on the last lap, Rossi dove to the inside of Gibernau and stuck his foot out briefly before the two made contact. Gibernau rode off into the dirt while Rossi won the race. Motorcycle road racing has never been the same since, as riders the world over are sticking their feet and legs out every chance they get.

I know we’re supposed to remain neutral as motojournalists, but we’re people too, and when it comes to protective gear that could potentially save life or limb, when you find something you really like it’s hard to let it go. Such is my case with roadracing boots. I’ve tried a lot, and there are many good ones, but the boot I always come back to is the Supertech R from Alpinestars. When I’m wearing them it feels like I’m wearing my favorite pair of sneakers – that also happens to be able to protect my feet and ankles if I were to get separated from a motorcycle at ridiculous speeds.

This was the point with the Supertech boots all along. In case you didn’t know, Alpinestars made its name in footwear. Sante Mazzarolo, the founder of Alpinestars, created the first dedicated motocross boot with the legendary Roger DeCoster as his main test rider and developer. On the roadracing side, the one and only Kenny Roberts helped develop boots for that task.

Fast forward to the modern-day and we have the current Supertech R boot. Originally introduced in 2002 as just the Supertech (no R), 250cc Grand Prix World Champion Marco Melandri helped bring that boot to life. One of the goals all along was to have a highly protective boot that required zero break-in time. It needed to be comfortable immediately. We take it for granted now, but break-in periods for boots were, and still are, a real thing. Motocross riders can certainly relate.

Over the years the Supertech story has been one of continual refinement. In fact, if you’re familiar with the Supertech R boot you may look at the boot in these photos and not completely understand what’s different other than the graphics. The truth is several little details have been tweaked, amounting to one big change.

Valentino Rossi announced that he will be retiring at the conclusion of the 2021 MotoGP season. The nine-time World Champion confirmed his decision during a press conference today, just as the 2021 MotoGP season resumes from its mid-summer break for the Michelin Grand Prix of Styria in Spielberg, Austria.

The Doctor will retire as one of the most decorated grand prix racers of all time. Over his 25-year career, Rossi has won 115 races, including 89 in the premier class, and appeared on the podium 235 times. He is the only rider to win world titles in the 125, 250, 500 and MotoGP categories.

Rossi won his first world title in 1997, capturing the 125cc championship for the Nastro Azzurro Aprilia Team, winning 11 of 15 races. He won the 250cc class title in 1999, again for Aprilia, before making the jump to the 500cc class the following year. Rossi then won five world titles in the world, first as a Honda rider for the 2001 500cc class and the first two MotoGP class titles in 2002 and 2003. The following year, he joined Yamaha and won more MotoGP titles in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009.

Did you hear that great cry of happiness that went up through the land? No, it wasn’t the cheers associated with the change of the MotoGP of the Americas from provisional status to active on the schedule– though we are sure that many American motorcycle racing fans are quite pleased. Instead, it was most likely the cheers of three loyal MOrons who are the winners of our MotoGP giveaway. As a quick reminder, these three lucky people  gave us their contact information in exchange for a chance to win a prize package worth $868 and including: 

If you’ve been following the minimoto space, you’ve probably heard of the Ohvale name. The Italian company pumping out mini road racers has been a hot topic of conversation in trackday and racing circles. We all know that riding big bikes on a racetrack is a thrill unlike any other. But it’s also true that riding full-size sportbikes at trackdays can be pretty expensive – up the ante even more if you decide to go race. Beyond the cost of the bike itself, you’ve got trackday fees, fuel costs, and tire bills. The costs go up even more if you have to schlep it a long way from home and find lodging for a night or two.

Minimotos, and in this case Ohvale specifically, offer a much more affordable option while providing a lot of the same thrills as a big bike. Depending where you live, go-kart tracks are generally closer than big tracks, entry fees are tens of dollars rather than hundreds, tires last significantly longer, and it’s not uncommon to top off the gas tank at the start of the day and forget about it. All the while, the on-track experience mimics that of a sportbike – the dynamics and technique you use to go fast on a small bike all transfer over to the big ones, too.