The 2016 MotoGP™ season kicked off with the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit. During the race it was Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who would carry on from where he left off in 2015 to take the race win ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda). There were also some rather tasty overtakes, with the battle at the front a particular highlight. The power of the factory Ducati Desmosedici GP bikes telling down the straights and the other riders were forced to try and make up for this lack of straight line speed in the corners, meaning there was action aplenty!
Round two consisted of the Argentina GP at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit. This time it was Marc Marquez who would emerge victorious, with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) completing the podium as Jorge Lorenzo crashed out. We also saw a brilliant battle between Rossi and the two factory Ducatis, plus a superb charge by Marquez through the field with a number of awesome overtakes…
The American Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas saw Marquez make it back-to-back wins as he romped to victory over Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team), whilst this time it was Valentino Rossi’s turn to record a DNF as he crashed out. It also saw Lorenzo cut a swathe through the field and Viñales on the Suzuki also pulled off some excellent moves…
Rossi responded at the Spanish GP at the Circuito de Jerez. The Italian went on to record his first win of the season ahead of Lorenzo, with Marquez completing the podium. The amazing Jerez circuit provides a number of overtaking spots and bore witness to a couple of excellent battles between teammates. Rossi & Lorenzo would fight it out early on, as would Marquez and Pedrosa, with some excellent moves between the four…
The French GP at Le Mans followed, with Lorenzo taking a flag-to-flag victory from his teammate Rossi, Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) recording his first premier class podium. Marquez crashed during the race, but remounted to cross the line in 13th. Rossi was the star of the day when it came to overtakes, the Italian battling his way from seventh on the grid, taking no prisoners on his way to the podium…
Next up was the Italian GP at the Autodromo del Mugello, which went on to become the closest race weekend in the history of the World Championships, with the first and second rider across the line in all three classes separated by a combined time of just 0.089s. Lorenzo would win the race by just 0.019s from Marquez after an incredible battle in the closing stages, with Iannone returning to the podium. Rossi unfortunately was forced to retire during his home race after a blown engine. The battle between Lorenzo and Marquez over the last few laps was rather special, so sit back and enjoy the two rivals going at each hammer and tongs…
Round seven was the Catalan GP at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Rossi bouncing back from the disappointment of Mugello to take a thrilling victory after an epic duel with Marquez over the last few laps. Pedrosa crossed the line in third to complete the podium, while this time it was Lorenzo’s turn for bad luck as Iannone unceremoniously took him out during the race. Taking centre stage was the battle between Rossi and Marquez over the last few laps, but there was also a spectacular double overtake on Iannone by Rossi and Viñales…