Rossi and Marquez to renew toxic rivalry in season opener

THE MOTOGP season kicks off in Qatar this weekend with fresh challenges and old rivalries as Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez square up again for the first time since last year’s toxic finale.

An aggrieved Rossi, now 37 and the oldest rider on the grid, decried a Spanish “stitch-up” last November after accusing Honda’s Marquez, pictured right, of helping Jorge Lorenzo win his third MotoGP title for Yamaha.

Formula One outfit Red Bull and British luxury carmaker Aston Martin have announced a technology partnership to build an Aston Martin-branded supercar.

Red Bull’s chief designer Adrian Newey will work with Aston Martin’s design boss Marek Reichman on the car, dubbed Project AM-RB-001, Red Bull said yesterday.

“This is a very exciting project for everyone at Red Bull Racing,” team principal Christian Horner said in a statement.

“Through this innovation partnership the iconic Aston Martin logo will return to grand prix racing for the first time since 1960, and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, led by Adrian, will be using Formula One DNA to produce the ultimate of all road cars.”

As part of the tie-up, Red Bull’s RB12 cars will carry the Aston Martin wings logo throughout the 2016 Formula One season starting at the Australian grand prix in Melbourne this weekend. – Reuters