It seems an age ago since the Phillip Island test in February. Back then, it was all about how the Ducati’s were quick, and that the Honda team was in for a long, long season…
But now, Marc Marquez is again world champion and all the predictions went out of the window.
The Championship hunt is now over, so now riders are simply hoping to gain some more wins to add to their tally. Marquez will be looking to wrap up the season in style, whilst Jorge Lorenzo will be counting down the days until he can finally ride his new Ducati for the first time…
Returning Faces…
As has been the norm this season, there is a whole host of replacement riders for this weekend’s race. Andrea Iannone continues to be unfit. which will disappoint the Italian after a good outing here last year. This means Hector Barbera will again ride the Ducati. Mike Jones will, therefore, get another outing on the Avintia Ducati at his home round.
Elsewhere, there is a historic return at Repsol Honda. Eight years after leaving for Ducati, Nicky Hayden will once again don the famous colours as the American deputises for the injured Dani Pedrosa. This will be Hayden’s second ride in MotoGP this season, after riding for the Marc VDS team at Misano.
Around the grid
Elsewhere, there is not much really left to prove. The final contract was signed this week, meaning we now have a full grid for next season. Cal Crutchlow and Pol Espargaro are very close in the race for the independent’s title, whilst Tito Rabat is a certainty for the Rookie of the year award. He hasn’t had too much competition, being the only rookie for 2016.
Yonny Hernandez will be making his final visit to the Island in MotoGP, after being booted out of Aspar next season. He will ride in the Moto2 class.
Moto2 – aka the Championship with something still on the line!
We only have one championship left to decide, with Johann Zarco and Alex Rins battling it out for the Moto2 crown. Zarco has a 21 point lead over Rins going into the final 3 races of the season, meaning a mistake for either rider could be very costly. Alex Lowes is now out of the race, after failing to perform too often to mount a serious title challenge.
Both Zarco and Rins will be making the step up to MotoGP next year, so this will be Rins’ final shot at the title, and Zarco’s final shot at becoming the first rider to defend his title in the class.
It’s another early start for UK viewers, with Moto3 practice kicking off the weekend at Midnight BST on Thursday. You can follow all the action here on Read Motosport!
Comments.
Loading comments…