Gentlemen, start your engines
WE are now into that exciting time of the year when the major international circuit racing championships roar into life.
The Moto GP and IndyCar seasons get under way this weekend in Qatar and St Petersburg (Florida, not Russia) and the Formula One season opens with the Australian Gran Prix next weekend in Melbourne.
In the crazy twowheeled world that is Moto GP, it would take a brave punter to bet against Honda’s Marc Marquez adding a sixth world title to the five he has won since 2013. Never mind that the Spaniard starts the season recovering from shoulder surgery; over the course of this season’s 19 races, he remains the rider to beat.
Those best placed to do that include teammate Jorge Lorenzo, newly arrived with Honda. I also fancy the chances of Ducati’s Andre Dovizioso, who finished as runner up in 2017 and 2018.
The likes of the legendary Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), Alex Rins (Suzuki),
Danilo Petrucci (Ducati) and Cal Crutchlow (Honda) should also feature during the season, but perhaps one to watch will be debutant ‘‘Pecco’’ Bagnaia: a protege of Rossi, he is stepping up to the big time after winning the Moto2 title, has been fast in testing, and has a reputation for being consistently quick.
Turning to Indycars, the presence of Scott Dixon makes this a series of special interest to Kiwis. Dixon, of course, starts this season as defending champion, presumably with several careerdefining goals in mind: securing backtoback titles and then there’s that elusive Indy 500 victory to chase for what would only be the second time. But Indycar is never easy to predict, with several drivers genuine contenders for the crown.
They include former champions Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud, and newcomer Felix Rosenquist, Dixon’s teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, who is making the switch to Indycars from Formula E.