The CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team had an unfortunate round in Qatar, with Miguel Oliveira being the most “chastised” due to an injury that meant a premature end to the season for the Portuguese rider, something that Wilco Zeelenberg recalled.

The Team Manager of the Malaysian team regretted the Portuguese rider’s absence from Sunday’s race: ‘Of course, Miguel did not participate in the main race because of the accident yesterday, a big injury on the shoulder, while it seems that there are no major ligament problems, but basically his season has come to an unfortunate end’.

He believes, however, that Oliveira could be back at the Sepang tests – from 6 to 8 February: ‘Anyway, he will be fit for the Sepang test next year and in this moment, this is all that matters’.

O conteúdo Wilco Zeelenberg regretted Miguel Oliveira’s premature farewell to racing in 2023: ‘His season has come to an unfortunate end’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Marc Marquez shared his insights on Jorge Martin’s performance during the MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar. Martin, who had been exceptional in the Sprint race, experienced a significant downturn in the main race, leading to a loss of crucial points in the championship.

Marquez, who followed Martin closely throughout the race, observed that Martin’s performance was not his usual standard. He noted, “It was difficult for me to follow the pace of those in front, so I stayed there with Martin all the time. I was practically behind him for the entire race.” Marquez commented on Martin’s struggle, saying, “It’s not that he suffered excessively, but he didn’t have much more. Simply put, when you’re not finding it, you’re not finding it. It wasn’t the usual Martin.”

Regarding the potential cause of Martin’s issues, Marquez was cautious in his assessment. He suggested that if a tire is overheated at the beginning of the race, it becomes ineffective for the remainder of the race. However, he refrained from definitively attributing Martin’s performance issues to the tire, the rider, the team, or the bike without seeing the data. Marquez emphasized the importance of tire management, indicating that a good tire can perform poorly if not handled correctly at the race’s start.

“  I did a lot of laps this year behind Martin, behind Pecco a few laps, those that lasted because they always had a very high level and went much faster than us. But there Martín was suffering, he wasn’t turning in the same way, he didn’t have the same speed, and he wasn’t accelerating compared to the Ducatis who normally accelerate quite well. What happened ? What went wrong? I don’t dare say it, but it’s clear that he lost a lot of points for the championship,  ” he adds.

He still  “  dares  ” to show a direction… “ I don’t dare say without seeing the data if it’s the tire or what . It can be a very good tire but if you overheat it at the start of the race it is no longer useful for the whole race. It might be a bad tire, but if you take care of it at the start of the race, you’ll have more at the end  .”

“ And it might be a good tire, but if you increase the pressure because you overheated it, the bike won’t perform the same either. At the start I saw that it had failed, but I don’t dare say that it was the tire, the rider, the team or the bike without knowing it . What is clear is that he has lost points and now needs to show his best version to try to win the two remaining races in Valencia. And this way we have more opportunities to make mistakes .” 

Marquez’s comments reflect his expertise and understanding of the complexities of MotoGP racing, particularly the critical role of tire management. His observations also highlight the fine line between success and struggle in the highly competitive world of MotoGP.

O conteúdo Marc Márquez leaves some messages in the air about Jorge Martín race: ‘What happened ? What went wrong? I don’t dare say it, but it’s clear that he lost a lot of points for the championship’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Razlan Razali didn’t hide the fact he was very disappointed with how things have gone, once again, for the team, mostly given Miguel Oliveira’s injury that will put the rider out until the next season, even missing the next few tests.

The Founder and Team Principal CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team addressed the round as follow, with a special note towards Oliveira: ‘Well, words again cannot describe with how disappointed we are in the second last race of the year. Miguel is out with a broken scapula for the rest of the season which means he will not participate for the last race in Valencia and the Valencia test. […]. So, we go to Valencia next week and we wish Miguel a great recovery and we will see him next season’.

The malaysian also said that Lorenzo Savadori will take the vacancy left by the portuguese on the next round.

O conteúdo Razlan Razali devastated with last weekend and Miguel Oliveira’s absence: ‘We wish him a great recovery’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Luca Marini returned to the podium with a third-place finish at the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix. He was unable to contend for the win against Fabio di Giannantonio (Gresini/Ducati) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), but he believes that his pace was sufficient and that he fell victim to race circumstances.

The Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider stated in a press conference that Bagnaia taking the lead early on thwarted his plans: ‘I’m really satisfied with the weekend, we’ve made a very solid work. The feeling with the bike was good. I knew that probably I wasn’t the fastest because Fabio showed us a very good pace from Friday. It’s just a pity because Pecco made an amazing start and my plan was to start well and be first at the end of the first lap and try to open a gap with them because I knew that with the soft front [tyre] I had something more maybe on the left corners in the first two laps. But then when I saw Pecco in front I said: «OK. Let’s manage a little bit the tyres»’.

Subsequently, Marini said that he ended up losing time behind other rivals, which cost him the chance of winning: ‘Fabio and Álex [Márquez] behind me were pushing a lot, they overtook me, and then I’ve lost a lot of time with Álex and Brad [Binder], so the opportunities of the victory were gone. But I was just trying to manage the tyres in the best way because with the soft front when you reach too much temperature it’s very difficult to ride. For my starting position the choice was to put the soft. I could also do the race with the hard, but the plan was another. But I’m very satisfied with my performance, my tyre management was good and I think had the pace to fight with them for the victory. But I’ve lost too much time during the race’.

O conteúdo ‘I had the pace to fight for the victory, but I’ve lost too much time’ – Luca Marini aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Francesco Bagnaia came very close to the MotoGP title with the second place at the Qatar GP. However, not everything left him satisfied in yesterday’s race in Losail, where he lost out to Fabio di Giannantonio (Gresini/Ducati).

The Italian stated in a press conference that he was pleased with his overall performance, leading a significant portion of the race: ‘I’m happy, but I’m not 100% happy. I did what I was expecting from myself on the Sprint race. On Saturday I was expecting this pace but I didn’t have the possibility to do it. In the main race everything went perfect and I tried to push from the start, I tried to do my ideal race, and it was nice to be back and leading, pushing, doing my pace. It was a long time that I wasn’t doing it. So I’m very happy for that, I’m happy for the pace we showed’.

However, Bagnaia was dissatisfied with the mistake he made while trying to regain the lead from Di Giannantonio and went off track: ‘I’m not happy because I already did the same mistake in the past – in 2021 I did the same with Johann Zarco. So I’m not happy for that, because normally I learn from my mistakes. But in any case I wasn’t expecting this sucking from his slipstream. We have to be happy, Di Gia was fantastic all the weekend and in the race his pace was better than mine’.

O conteúdo ‘I’m not happy, I already did the same mistake in the past’ – Francesco Bagnaia aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Fabio di Giannantonio emerged victorious at the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix, securing his first win in the premier class at a time when his future in the grid may be in jeopardy. The Gresini rider didn’t let himself be intimidated by the direct duel with the champion and championship leader, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), surpassing his rival without showing any signs of being pressured.

The #49 revealed in a press conference that in the past week, there were negative developments about his future that left him particularly determined to win the round at Losail:

– I want to be honest: let’s say that after Malaysia something about my future happened and it wasn’t a good thing. So I arrived at home with a lot of anger, but in a positive way. I’ve said two or three times to my closest friends and family: «In Qatar I’m gonna win». And all the guys were saying: «Fabio, don’t say it, please, because if you say it the energy goes away». And I told: «I say to you now, I’m gonna win». But for sure when you arrive here you have to make all the things well and you have to make it happen. For sure it wasn’t easy, but we made it.

O conteúdo ‘After Malaysia something not good happened about my future’ – Fabio di Giannantonio aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The defeat in the Moto3 World Championship didn’t sit well with Ayumu Sasaki. The Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP rider wasn’t able to keep the title fight until the end, witnessing Jaume Masiá clinching the championship at yesterday’s Qatar GP. And it happened in a way that left him displeased to the point of not congratulating his rival.

Quoted by the website Motosan.es, the Japanese rider lamented the move by Masiá’s teammate at Leopard Racing, Adrián Fernández: ‘Masiá… one or two times he was quite aggressive at turn six. But that was ok. Suddenly his teammate came in the middle; we lost everything four laps from the end. He slowed down in the middle of the track, and the gap to the front group increased’.

Sasaki believes that this wasn’t the right way to decide the title, so he didn’t congratulate Masiá, even mentioning a shameful situation: ‘I wanted to fight correctly with Masiá because if I had lost fairly, I would have understood and congratulated him. If everything had gone to Valencia, it would have been fine. But losing like this, I think I didn’t lose fairly. So, I can’t congratulate him because this is a shame, but it is what it is’.

O conteúdo Ayumu Sasaki didn’t congratulate Jaume Masiá: ‘This is a shame’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The end of yesterday’s race at Losail was full of controversy, especially after the words of Jorge Martin, who admitted that he had somehow seen his chances of fighting for a good result – and therefore the world championship – seriously diminished after a hypothetical sabotage to his rear tyre.

The spaniard even admitted to journalists that he felt he was beaten more by what happened off the track, and that if he had been beaten in a direct battle, he wouldn’t have been so upset:

– I don’t know what to expect from Michelin. We’ll wait for them to analyse the tyres and we’ll probably have to meet to see what happened. I did a half-box, I think it helped me to cool off. But I don’t feel like I was beaten on the track; I was beaten off the track. If I’d been beaten in a one-on-one, I’d probably be less angry than I am in this situation.

O conteúdo ‘If I was beaten on a one-on-one I’d be less angry’ – Jorge Martin aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Pol Espargaró finished the Qatar MotoGP GP in a modest 18th place. The veteran from GasGas Tech3 didn’t have the means to fight for a better result in Losail, marking one of his last rounds before retiring from the circuit.

Speaking to the press, the Spaniard said he faced significant challenges throughout the race, and his performance wasn’t at its best, as he now shifts his focus to the Valencia GP:

– I’m normally struggling with this bike with the front. I struggle to make the bike turn and it was a very difficult race. For sure my performance wasn’t good anyway together with the problems I had on the bike. I struggled a lot during all the race. Nothing to say, let’s move to Valencia and let’s have fun on the last one of the year.

O conteúdo ‘I struggle to make the bike turn and my performance wasn’t good’ – Pol Espargaró aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Fabio Quartararo finished the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix in seventh place, keeping his streak of top-ten results. However, he wasn’t particularly pleased with his performance in yesterday’s race at Losail.

The Monster Energy Yamaha rider mentioned that he did the best he could, feeling faster than the day before but struggling to fully showcase that competitiveness:

– It was a good race, a great start – it wasn’t like Saturday. But even if I felt faster than on Saturday, but on Saturday was easier to make the lap time. But it was our pace, it was the best race we could do. Then, in the last laps, to overtake Álex [Márquez] was really, really difficult. I was faster, but I couldn’t do it. I think we can be happy with our race.

O conteúdo ‘I felt faster than on Saturday, but…’ – Fabio Quartararo aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.