#Motogp

The 2018 edition of the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas will not be remembered as one of the best tilts of all time. Truthfully, it might not make the Top 100. But for defending world champion Marc Marquez, today’s walk in the park restored some order in the championship and washed away the ashes of Argentina. The series, picking up speed, now heads for Europe with the top five riders separated by eight points. Tight as tree bark.

Now that we’ve had 10 days to assess the Argentinian misadventure, a consensus seems to have formed around the BS being widely peddled by a petulant Valentino Rossi that Repsol Honda head case Marc Marquez should be put in front of an Italian firing squad and summarily executed. Marquez, it is true, may need to reconsider his approach to racing. This weekend could offer the opportunity he needs for a solitary retreat off by himself for a while, to ruminate on the sport and his place in it, and take the checkered flag when he’s done.

Upcoming Motorcycle Events: April 17 – May 15

Upcoming Motorcycle Events: April 10 – May 8

For 1) riding backwards on the grid before the start of yesterday’s Argentine MotoGP race after his bike stalled, and not starting from pit lane as ordered:

Today’s Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina had something for every taste and budget, even after the laughable theft of the pole on Saturday. Wait-a-minute weather? Check. Chaotic, delayed start? Check. Seat-of-the-pants rulemaking? Check. Quadruple MotoGP world champion having a mental Mardi Gras? Check. Riveting finish that shakes up the world standings? Check. Satellite teams kicking posteriors? Check.

Right now would be a pretty good time to forget most everything you thought you learned two weeks ago in the Arabian Peninsula. This week the sadists at Dorna take us from the desert to the jungle. From them sizzling wide open man-made Qatari spaces to a grueling, tighter Argentinian layout hacked out of triple canopy, deep in the humid heart of nowhere. Marquez and the factory Yamahas like this place.

Plans for a garden to commemorate Nicky Hayden have been approved by Misano officials, as was reported by Italian news source Rimini Today. The garden will be paid for by a group of Hayden’s friends, including Denis Pazzaglini, who became friends with the 2006 MotoGP champion during their time together at Repsol Honda.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two decades, the name Valentino Rossi should be a household name to motorcyclists worldwide. So beloved is “The Doctor” that the joke is Valentino is the hometown favorite at every race on the calendar. The truth is Rossi hails from a small town in Italy called Tavullia – a stone’s throw away from the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Rossi has single-handedly put Tavullia on the map and still calls the place home. If ever someone could be labeled a hometown hero, Rossi is it. In this video, we get a taste of just what the nine-time champion means to Tavullia and how much the locals cherish him.

Upcoming Motorcycle Events: Mar 27 – April 24

The season opener at Losail went mostly according to expectations, which is to say it was crowded up front. At one point I counted nine bikes in the lead group, a sight normally seen in Moto3. French sophomore Johann Zarco led from pole most of the day, fueling a lot of premature trash talk. Once his tires went up, though, it came down to Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez for early bragging rights. Round One goes to the Italian on points. No TKO.

Nothing like the start of a new racing season to turn the iron in a man’s blood into the lead in his pencil. All the speculation, all the testing, all the contingencies will become moot once the lights go out in far-away Qatar. The Alien class – Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales – is sharpening their fairings in anticipation. Another handful of riders dream of getting their tickets punched in 2018.

ED: Bruce Allen’s 2018 MotoGP season preview continues with a look at what we can expect from each team and their riders. If you missed it, here’s Part 1.

ED: With the pre-season testing now complete, Bruce Allen previews the 2018 MotoGP season. In this first part, Bruce presents his observations on the tests. Check back here next week for Bruce’s team-by-team analysis.

One of MotoGP‘s longstanding partnerships is coming to an end, as Tech3 announced it will stop being Yamaha‘s satellite racing team at the end of the 2018 season.