#Motogp

Here’s some eye candy for you: Honda’s MotoGP bike for the street, the RC213V-S, the picturesque Red Bull Ring in Austria, and Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa ripping laps in their Alpinestars Tech-Air Race suits as they learn a new circuit on the MotoGP calendar. And speaking of Pedrosa, listen in as he narrates a lap of the track from memory.

Dubbed The Greatest of All Time, or simply, the GOAT, Valentino Rossi is a living legend in the world of MotoGP. Fans can’t get enough of him, and frankly, neither can we. Thankfully, Rossi is also sponsored by Monster Energy drinks, who have funded the making of a five-part series entitled: Valentino Rossi: The Doctor. In this, the third of five episodes (you can catch episode 1 here, and episode 2 here), the series follows Valentino to his famed training ground: The Ranch. A throwback to the racers of the past, Rossi likes to keep his skills sharp by practicing in the dirt. But he also likes staying close to home when possible. Luckily, Valentino’s father, Graziano Rossi, purchased some land for his son long ago that Valentino turned into his personal playground for he and his friends to practice on. Check out Monster’s description of the video below, then keep scrolling to view the episode.

The 86th running of the Dutch TT Assen featured so many zany antics that a simple line listing would exceed the space available for this story. Australian Jack Miller’s first premier class win aboard the Marc VDS Honda sits at the top of this list, even though it took him two tries, as the first race was red-flagged after 14 laps. Valentino Rossi recorded his third DNF of the season, his once-high hopes for 2016 in tatters. And Marc Marquez, in deep yogurt early in the first race, leaves Assen with some breathing room between himself and the Yamahas in the 2016 world championship chase.

Seems like months ago when Ducati wildman Andrea Iannone T-boned Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo in Barcelona, handing the Mallorcan his second DNF of the season and costing him the 2016 championship lead. The triple world champion must now commence his attack on Honda wünderkind and series leader Marc Marquez at a venue where his recent fortunes have ranged from bad to worse. Meanwhile, teammate and rival Valentino Rossi and Marquez look to pick things up where they left off last June as we steam into Round 8 of 2016, The Motul TT Assen.

Misano 2010 Shoya Tomizawa
Sepang 2011 Marco Simoncelli
Catalunya 2016 Luis Salom

Just like Bruce Allen says in his  preview of Catalunya, “Suddenly, the season is getting away from Rossi.” Can the chosen one earn his first win in Barcelona in seven years? Is it a foregone conclusion that one of the three dominant Spaniards will win? Or maybe the kid from Figueres will mark his arrival as an official alien, having now sewn up the Yamaha contract, by winning on homeground. The spoilers to the party are Dovizioso and Iannone, both with something to prove.

Heading into Mugello two weeks ago, the world appeared to be Movistar Yamaha matinee idol Valentino Rossi’s oyster. Sure, he was sitting in third place, courtesy of his slide-off in Austin. But he was within striking distance of both Repsol Honda nemesis Marc Marquez and teammate/rival Jorge Lorenzo. His sense of the moment led many to expect a dramatic win at his home crib. Instead, a blown engine on Sunday has put him squarely behind the eight ball, the not-so-magic eight ball that had falsely predicted something grand in Scarperia.

Dubbed The Greatest of All Time, or simply, the GOAT, Valentino Rossi is a living legend in the world of MotoGP. Fans can’t get enough of him, and frankly, neither can we. Thankfully, Rossi is also sponsored by Monster Energy drinks, who have funded the making of a five-part series entitled: Valentino Rossi: The Doctor. In this, the second of five episodes (you can catch episode 1 here), the series follows Valentino to the biggest race on the MotoGP calendar: Mugello. Rossi’s home race, the pressure is always high, as are the demands for his time. But The Doctor loves this place and the fans love him back. If you could only attend one MotoGP race all year, Mugello is the one to be at and this video gives a glimpse into the reason why – the fans are some of the most passionate people you’ll meet anywhere. Check out Monster’s description of the video below, then keep scrolling to view the episode.

For those of you whose loyalties lie elsewhere, let’s be clear: Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo deserved to win the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM today. After a poor qualifying session on Saturday, he slingshotted his way into the lead in Turn 1 of Lap 1, withstood heated challenges from teammate Valentino Rossi and rival Marc Marquez, and crossed the finish line a blink of an eye in front of Marquez. But heading into the second third of the 2016 season, storm clouds are building on his horizon.

Mugello used to be, for Valentino Rossi, what Phillip Island was for Casey Stoner. During his salad days, between 2002 and 2008, Rossi stood on the top step of the podium at his home track seven straight times, while Stoner won the Australian Grand Prix six times from 2007-2012. On race days, the two old priests at the Catholic church in Tavullia, Rossi’s home town, would watch the race, get a load on with the locals, and ring the church bells afterwards. The bells have been silent after the Italian Grand Prix for the past seven years.

In a previous press release, Brembo explained why the MotoGP bikes shifted to 340mm carbon discs. Now, the manufacturer delves deeper into the use of carbon brake discs and the importance of maintaining proper operating temperature. As with the prior installment, the interview below is with Lorenzo Bortolozzo, Brembo MotoGP Customer Manager.

The record books will show that Yamaha defector Jorge Lorenzo won today’s French Grand Prix by 10 seconds over teammate and rival Valentino Rossi. The mainstream racing media will be busy slavering over young Maverick Vinales, who put a Suzuki on the podium for the first time since Loris Capirossi did so at Brno in 2008. The real story of today’s race, however, was the eight riders, including at least three contenders, who crashed out as if the race had been run in the wet, marking the first time the Rain Gods have ruined a race on a clear sunny day.

Dubbed The Greatest of All Time, or simply, the GOAT, Valentino Rossi is a living legend in the world of MotoGP. Fans can’t get enough of him, and frankly, neither can we. Thankfully, Rossi is also sponsored by Monster Energy drinks, who have funded the making of a five-part series entitled: Valentino Rossi: The Doctor. What’s it all about? Read the description below, straight from Monster Energy’s Youtube page, then keep scrolling to see the first episode.

Round 5 of the 2016 MotoGP championship brings those daring young men on their wingleted machines to the French countryside for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France. The Loire river valley is wine country and, as most folks know, you need rain and mild temperatures to grow a decent sauvignon blanc. What’s good for the grapes is, unfortunately, bad for motorcycle racing. Without a clue who might win Sunday’s race, it’s a safe bet that the Rain Gods will play a part in the outcome.

For the longest time  Ducati was the only brand with winglets on their MotoGP bikes, but now they’re popping up like mushrooms.  Yamaha‘s machinery has been sporting them most of this season, and now  Honda just tested six, yes six of them, on Marquez’ bike in the Jerez test that took place yesterday.