Michael Scott | May 18, 2018
Friday News From 2018 French MotoGP—Andrea Dovizioso is to stay with Ducati in MotoGP. This unsurprising announcement started the weekend at Le Mans, bringing to an end faint rumors that last year’s title runner-up was flirting with Repsol Honda and Suzuki, and extending their partnership until the end of 2020.
Friday News From 2018 French MotoGP
With a five-year tenure so far, Dovi is already the longest-serving Ducati MotoGP rider, and after 23-race winner Casey Stoner, the Bologna marque’s most successful, with eight wins, six of them last year.
He joined the factory in 2013, taking the place of Valentino Rossi, whose two years with the Italian team had been disastrous for all.
“I think I and the team were in the same situation in 2013.” He said.
“Nobody believed that I could win the World Championship, and after Valentino, nobody believed in Ducati. We started from the bottom together.
“I know a lot about Ducati, and they know a lot about me.”
Negotiations were described as “difficult” by team boss Paolo Ciabatti; but only, according to the rider, “because it is difficult to make a big contract; we spoke about important things.”
His negotiations with other factories had been real, the rider said, because “every rider needs to be really egotistical to be fast – it’s normal; so I was open to other teams. It’s normal to have an open mind.
The signing leaves second Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo even more exposed, as the multi-champion struggles to come to terms with the Desmosedici.
But to Lorenzo, it changes nothing.
“It was expected – no surprise,” he said. “I am happy for Andrea and Ducati. It was the most logical thing because he is very competitive on the bike. But it doesn’t affect my position.”
He had a new chassis at Le Mans, which he said improved the entry to and the middle of the corner, and handled the bumps better; but he had only one here, which made the situation difficult because it wasn’t possible to transfer ideas from one bike to the other.
“I will have two at Mugello,” he said.
Rins stays at Suzuki
Another signing had also been expected: Alex Rins is to stay with Suzuki for another two years.
This was announced on the eve of the French GP. The Spaniard was already earmarked for a future with the third Japanese team, after having once been expected to join Yamaha.
Second Suzuki rider Andrea Iannone still looking for a job, and at Le Mans Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio admitted that he was “talking to other riders” and that Iannone was talking to other teams.
The rider said enigmatically on Thursday: “In a few days, everyone will know my future.”
A Ducati for who?
With the possibility of a factory Ducati seat alongside Dovi next year and a handful of strong riders still without contracts, the competition is hotting up.
As well as Iannone, whose return to Ducati is considered unlikely but not impossible, another candidate is Danilo Petrucci, who told the press that he has been offered but refused a World Superbike ride.
His Pramac Ducati teammate Jack Miller is also a likely prospect, after seven top ten finishes in the last seven races.
Asked today about his chances, he said: “We’ll have to wait and see. I just do my job, and if I’m seen as fit enough, that’s good.”
Aleix Espargaro stays at Aprilia
More contract news came from Aprilia, where current rider Aleix Espargaro has also signed on for another two years, to the end of 2020.
“I am really pleased,” the Spaniard said. “In nine years in MotoGP, I have not been with any team for more than two years. This will give me stability.”
While the latest Aprilia has shown a big improvement, good race results have been lacking, with a single top-10 in Texas, and three non-finishes.
“We have had some problems with the new engine,” he admitted. “But I think we have shown good potential.”
Team-mate Scott Redding is another who will be out of contract at the end of this season; along with fellow-Briton Bradley Smith.
Batholemy still there, but for how long?
Controversial Team Marc VDS boss Michael Bartholemy—accused of corruption and embezzlement a fortnight ago at Jerez—was defiantly present, heading the MotoGP and Moto2 squads at Le Mans, at the same time as further press reports had already announced his replacement.
Bartholemy, who vehemently denies all charges, had earlier issued a statement on the team’s letterhead confirming he would be continuing in his Team Principal role at Le Mans. The “allegations of financial impropriety” had not been made formally, he said, but only in the press, while his own “repeated requests through my legal representatives for evidence” had received no response from team owner Marc van der Straten—the Belgian brewing billionaire.
Van der Straten, the statement continued, had made no confirmation of termination of the contract; while a meeting earlier arranged by van der Straten on May 14 was canceled without explanation or rescheduling.
But the German-language website Speedweek.com, which broke the original story, reported that former JiR team owner Luca Montiron had already reached an agreement with van der Straten, who was en-route to Le Mans and would be taking over the team forthwith.
More aero
The stop-and-go nature of Le Mans brought out the wings – in particular, a new set from Honda, very similar to the pointed loop favored by Yamaha, and in the same way sailing close to the wind. The deliberately vague regulations forbid sharp edges, but these units are very similar to last year’s banned winglets.
They were especially favored by Marquez, who said: “We have decided to play our Joker”; a reference to the fact that they have now used their single allowable update for the season.
“With this fairing and the one we were already using, I think we will have something to suit every circuit this year,” he said.
The advantage here was to tame the tendency to wheelie, and his generally anti-wing team-mate Dani Pedrosa confirmed that “you have to fight the bike less on the straight”. In general, the big new wings improved the balance of the bike.
Both riders had tested them at Mugello in the break after the Spanish GP, where, Pedrosa said, “we wanted to see what the effect would be on top speed.”
Pressed for details, he gave a mysterious smile, then said: “The numbers are one thing, the feeling is another. But on the long Italian straight, usually the fastest of the year, “we understood that the fairing is not so useful at Mugello”.
Footnote: Unusually, Cal Crutchlow was also using the earlier sandwich-sided Honda fairing at Le Mans, but was non-committal as to whether he would race it. “This is a wheelie circuit, so I wanted to test it. There are positives and negatives, but there are also other strategies, like with electronics. I don’t know if I’ll use it tomorrow,” he said.
French MotoGP to stay at Le Mans
The French GP will stay at Le Mans until 2026, after a renewal of the contract between Dorna and promoter Claude Michy, who has turned the event into a major success after it had faltered at Paul Ricard.
The first race at Le Mans was in 1969, but it has been held continuously here since 2000.