Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) – the former pilot of the HRC works team is now driving for Lucio Checchinello’s customer team. Like a year ago as a rookie, the brother of the multiple MotoGP world champion has not been able to convince in the tests this season either (© MotoGP).

Quirky topics around the start of the season abound

We have gathered some more or less original jokes about MotoGP. Among them are some more or less original and also quite bizarre topics, about which you do not always know exactly how seriously it is meant. Among the more harmless, if stupid, is a rhetorical question on the MotoGP site with the surtitle “Is Stefan Bradl the man to beat at Honda?” You have to know that at the time this was written there, the German had already tested the Honda countless times and after the first 2 days of testing in Losail was logically the fastest driver of the Japanese brand. Perhaps brand colleague Pol Espargaró had read this afterwards and was particularly motivated. In any case, the Catalan from Granollers was promptly over a second faster than Bradl on the third day of testing. This also answered the stupid question aptly.

Pol Espargaró – the Repsol Honda newcomer needed exactly 3 days on the bike, which was completely new to him, until he clarified who, in the absence of Marc Marquez, is by far the fastest rider of the most successful brand in the world (© MotoGP).

The almost perfect deception – the Losail Entry List

The following is a joke that came from Repsol Honda and for which, in contrast to the ridiculous question about HRC test driver Bradl, the Dorna editorial team cannot be held responsible. As is well known, Marc Marquez recently gave fairly open information about his state of recovery for the first time. As we made clear on March 8, 2021, when it comes to his return to the racetrack, reckon with weeks rather than months. See also on this page under “To the Marquez Comeback”. It is also known that many team bosses of the competition no longer want to accept Stefan Bradl as a permanent replacement for the Catalan like last year. This is precisely why Honda has now staged an almost perfect deception.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) after his violent rollover in the first race of the 2020 season in Jerez de la Frontera. He just announced that he had not practiced on a motorcycle for 8 months and that he had to practice slowly and first on weaker models. What his employer supposedly thinks about this, see the name marked in red in the following section (© MotoGP).

Full preliminary list of participants for the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar:
5 – Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing)
9 – Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing)
10 – Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia)
12 – Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP)
20 – Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP)
21 – Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamahaa SRT)
23 – Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama Racing)
27 – Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing)
30 – Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu)
32 – Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini)
33 – Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
36 – Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar)
41 – Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini)
42 – Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar)
43 – Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team)
44 – Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team)
46 – Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT)
63 – Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team)
73 – Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol)
88 – Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
89 – Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing)
93 – Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)

Tito Rabat (left), the jeweler son from Barcelona and Marc Marquez, the son of a truck driver as racing juniors in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. One of them just switched to WorldSBK, not quite voluntarily, and the other involuntarily became permanently injured. According to his medical history, an early comeback is completely unthinkable (© MotoGP).

Even some journalists fell for it

Even journalists seriously reported afterwards that Marquez would still appear in Losail. Regardless of his doctor’s examination, which according to Marc is still pending, this is absolutely unthinkable. Pol Espargaró is anything but a nose drill, but it took the Catalan almost three days to feel really comfortable on the Honda RC213V. From then on, however, he was faster than test drivers Bradl and Nakagami, as well as Alex Marquez. But anyone who seriously thinks that Marc Marquez rushes to the Honda with 5 or at the 2nd Qatar GP a total of 8 days in testing and training behind the competition, makes a fool of himself. This is completely independent of the opinion of his doctors.

Route sketch of the Losail International Circuit, where the MotoGP season opener will take place for the last time in 2021, as it was 2 years ago. Not only Qatar as a venue is very controversial, but also the incalculable risk with the much air travel necessary for this event. In times of Covid-19, only very few observers understand this.
The notorious Turn 2 on the Losail International Circuit – some drivers crashed here on the first three days of testing, including Stefan Bradl on March 10th. The German broke off his test day prematurely after only 15 laps. It is the first left turn after almost half of the distance since Turn 15. Since the left tire flank can cool down considerably by then, one of the most dangerous parts of the circuit in the desert state.

The Instagram playboy with a dark past

In Spain, Jorge Lorenzo is not only seen as a controversial person by many, because many of his compatriots consider him a tax evasion. The Majorcan who lives in Switzerland also seems to suffer from “Melandri Syndrome”. On the one hand, he seems to have some form of amnesia. There is no other way of explaining why he does not see how subterranean his performance was in his last MotoGP year. The fact that the chubby Playboy bragging about luxury cars on social media can be judged by anyone by himself. But not that Jorge repeatedly attacks and verbally attacks his former colleagues and competitors via the same medium. Tapping cheeky sayings doesn’t undo his embarrassing last season of 2019. Just like the little Italian, the Catalan is now eager to sully his positive years and fond memories of him with many fans. With his behavior, he is no better than all the haters who speak up on countless sites with mindless attacks and comments.

Jorge Lorenzo – Having failed miserably at Repsol Honda and fired from Yamaha as a test driver, he is working diligently to sully the fond memory of his excellent achievements from earlier years himself (© MotoGP).

The fortune-teller from KTM

According to Red Bull’s in-house propaganda department, Pit Beirer is said to have spoken out saying that there is no need to fear KTM. The time of this ingenious remark was in February, before the first tests. It is not clear whether the ex-motocross driver sitting in a wheelchair wanted to work as a fortune-teller or whether he had simply drunk one too much before telling. As the head of motorsport for the Oranges, he is definitely an insider and perhaps just wanted to take precautions, because this time KTM is entering the new season without the same blatant advantage as last year. Their test lead was huge and brought enormous advantages over the competition in the first half of the 2020 season.

Pit Beirer (KTM head of motorsport) photographed by us at the GP of the Czech Republic in Brno. Only in the fourth year came KTM’s first success right here, but due to the glaring test advantage on precisely this track of questionable sporting value. With some competitors it was not well received that the Swabian even made fun of them because they could not test freely like the oranges in lockdown. In Austria, this had already been possible from May through earlier repeal, not as in Italy and Spain.

The bitter reality of the present
The fact is that after 3 out of 5 days of testing in Losail, the Austrians are clearly wearing the red lantern. Except for Miguel Oliveira, all the orange drivers seem less than competitive at halftime. Truly, there is no need to fear them for the time being! However, if you look at the final result of the 2020 World Championship, it becomes clear that the best rider still competing for KTM was ninth in the World Championship last year. It is possible that Beirer really had too much alcohol in his blood when he gave his “interview”. It will be interesting to see whether the German will be happy with the driver’s choice in the coming season. With Zarco, the Austrian brand definitely lost a real gem in 2019 and a year later they also got rid of Pol Espargaró. After a 3-day Losail test, Binder has already had 4 falls in his bones and Lecuona complains of arm and shoulder problems, as was heard.

Miguel Oliveira in turn 1 on the Circuito de Jerez directly after the start, on the far right of the picture already halfway in the air instead of on his KTM. Brand colleague Brad Binder (behind the Portuguese in orange) had previously bumped into the Tech 3 KTM driver from behind. He had no chance and fell, which shouldn’t be the last time that KTM riders got each other out of the saddle (© MotoGP).