ROLL UP, ROLL UP, FOR THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
Ladies and Gentlemen there's something special in the air. No, Dangerous hasn't been on the egg vindaloo again. Even better than that, it would appear that there are harbingers of spring all over the place. Daffodils are in bloom; leaves are appearing on the trees; and even the fair-weather bikers in the Fast Bikes office have stopped chewing the carpet and climbing the walls. The greatest of all, however, is that the MotoGP circus is in Qatar. Yes, that can only mean one thing. Winter is over and MOTOGP IS BACK!
Before you place your bets, however, let’s take a look at who’ll be on the grid in ’19.
The Main Players Repsol Honda Team - Marc Marquez & Jorge Lorenzo
This line-up has the potential to be one of the most mouth-watering intra-team duals in the history of the sport. Between them they hold 13 World Championships (including the last seven). Marquez rightly starts the season as the bookmakers's favourite, but Lorenzo has come to Honda with one intention: kickin' Marquez's ass! Both riders have had pre-season surgery; Marquez has had his troublesome shoulder operated on and Lorenzo had surgery on a fractured wrist. Expect both to be on form by lights out at Qatar.
Mission Winnow Ducati - Andrea Dovizioso & Danillo Petrucci
Ducati start 2019 with what is arguably the best and most consistent bike on the grid, and Dovizioso's going to have his best-ever chance of taking the title. In Petrucci he has a fantastic teammate. If Dovi is to have a shot at the crown, then Petrucci taking points from his rivals will be pivotal.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP - Maverick Viñales & Valentino Rossi
2017 and 2018 were tough years for the Japanese outfit. Yamaha have followed the lead of their rivals and created a bona-fide European test team with former MotoGP rider Jonas Folgar playing a key role. This will be music to the ears of Rossi and Viñales, who have also appointed a new rider coach and crew chief respectively. I expect Yamaha to be back on song quickly, with both riders being genuine title contenders. Who wouldn't love to see Rossi win a 10th title aged 40?
Team Suzuki Ecstar - Joan Mir & Alex Rins
Suzuki have a really exciting line-up. The fact that Mir has gone straight from a single season in Moto2 to a factory seat at Suzuki as a MotoGP rookie shows just how highly regarded he is. In Rins they have one of the best emerging talents, who is now fully comfortable at this level. Suzuki have had an impressive pre-season and Rins looks ready to contend for race wins.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Johann Zarco & Pol Espargaro
Whilst not at the sharp end yet, KTM continue to progress. Espargaro rounded off 2018 with a memorable podium finish at Valencia, and they've started 2019 well. At Sepang, Zarco was almost 1.5 seconds faster than KTM were at the same time last year. They’ll be aiming to make further leaps through the season and I expect more than one podium this year.
The Best of the Rest
Cal Crutchlow is definitely worth a mention. Regularly one of the quickest guys come Sunday, and one of the fiercest competitors. He's spent the winter rehabilitating from a complex leg break suffered at Philip Island.
This could well be the year of the rookies. Joan Mir, Miguel Oliveira, Fabio Quartararo and Francesco 'Pecco' Bagnaia are aguably the strongest crop of rookies in the modern era. On paper it should be a shootout between Bagnaia on the Alma Pramac Ducati and Mir on the Suzuki. However, Quartaro will be riding a 2019 Yamaha M1 for Petronas Yamaha SRT, which is famously user-friendly for newcomers to the MotoGP class. Oliveira has possibly drawn the short straw on the Red Bull KTM Tech 3, but he has the skills to pay the bills, as demonstrated by his close proximity to Zarco in the tests.
The year is set to be a modern classic. In the Chinese year of the Pig, who will be the swine of the story and who will bring home the bacon? We can't wait to get our Sundays back.