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The 2020 MotoGP season threw up thrills, spills, and plenty of surprises and the 2021 season is poised to be yet another electrifying year of racing.
The last campaign was delayed and shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the revised calendar didn’t disappoint. With double-headers at some of the riders’ and fan’s favourite tracks including the infamous Jerez Circuit in Spain and the high-speed Misano World Circuit in San Marino.
In the opening round at Jerez in July, the reigning Champion Marc Marquez crashed out of third place whilst chasing Fabio Quartararo, suffering a fractured humerus that required three surgeries, the latest coming in December.
In true Marquez fashion, he tried to brave the injury the following week. Unfortunately for the Spaniard the pain was too much to bear and subsequently retired from the Grand Prix weekend and didn’t race again in 2020.
This blew the Championship battle wide open and gave many riders the chance to have a successful year in the series.
In the end, it was Joan Mir who came out on top winning his first MotoGP title, ahead of Italian Franco Morbidelli and Mir’s Team Suzuki ECSTAR teammate Alex Rins.
In the rider market, there has been a lot of movement this winter, but the moves that stand out most for many are those at Yamaha, the Repsol Honda Team and the all-change at Ducati.
Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi ends his 15-year partnership with the Factory Yamaha Team and joins the Petronas Sepang Racing Team, which is Yamaha’s ‘satellite’ team. ‘The Doctor’ lines up alongside 2020 runner-up and graduate of his VR46 Riders Academy Franco Morbidelli.
Heading the other way is the 21-year-old Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who has impressed many in his first two seasons, accumulating three wins and is one of the few riders who could compete toe-to-toe with the dominant Marc Marquez.
In the Honda camp, the fierce Pol Espargaro, who is still without a premier class victory, makes the switch from the Red Bull Factory KTM Team and partners eight-time World Champion Marquez in the Repsol Honda Team, which is Honda’s Factory outfit.
It’s all change at Ducati where the impressive Pramac duo of 2020, Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia, have been promoted to Ducati’s Factory Team. Bagnaia, 24, is entering his third season and achieved his maiden podium at the San Marino Grand Prix in September.
Alongside the Italian is the fearless Aussie Jack Miller. The 26-year-old will line up on the MotoGP grid for the 100th time at the first round of the Championship in Qatar after he controversially made the jump from Moto3 to MotoGP in 2015.
Miller has so far claimed ten podiums as well as one victory in his career to date, which came at the 2016 Dutch Grand Prix in challenging conditions.
One of the biggest talking points for MotoGP fans throughout this pre-season is will Marc Marquez’s injury troubles hinder his chances of equalising Valentino Rossi’s World Championship tally?
Whilst 2020 was an incredibly exciting season mostly due to the absence of Marquez, the 28-year-old certainly offers an excitement factor of his own. On numerous occasions in recent years, the Spaniard has defied physics whilst clinging onto his Repsol Honda machine for dear life after another one of his incredible saves, leaving MotoGP fans worldwide on the edge of their seats.
Due to the Spaniard missing all of the 2020 season due to injury implications, after he crashed in Jerez, we saw nine race winners and 13 riders appearing on the podium throughout the 14 race season.
We have seen Marquez come back stronger from injuries in the past. At the end of the 2018 season, the eight-time World Champion underwent a shoulder operation, which was to treat an injury aggravated when he crashed out of the soggy Valencian GP as he tumbled through the gravel trap.
He made a full recovery in time for the opening round of the 2019 season, where he started yet another dominant campaign and winning the title with three races to spare – a feat the Spaniard will be hoping to replicate this year.
Honda announced that Marquez will not race in this weekend’s season opener, despite participating in two private tests last week, and would most likely miss the second round which is also being held at the Losail Circuit in Qatar.
The Spaniard will be desperate to make a belated start to his title charge at the Portuguese Grand Prix in mid-April, however, it’s still incredibly close to call.
Another hot debate this winter has been about Valentino Rossi’s move to the Petronas Sepang Racing Team. Over the course of the pre-season testing, the Italian has looked comfortable aboard his new Yamaha YZR-M1, which has seen the return of his beaming smile.
The 42-year-old had struggled to find consistent front-running pace towards the end of the 2010s when riding for the Factory Yamaha Team and has not appeared on the top step of the podium since the Dutch Grand Prix at the historic Assen Circuit in 2017.
This year is a good chance of winning his elusive 10th World title. As the new generation of talented riders is coming through, the competition at the front of the grid is becoming closer and closer.
Prediction for the Season
In 2021, despite his one-year absence, injury woes and his likely absence in the opening rounds Marc Marquez will likely claim his ninth World Title, closely followed by Sepang Racing Team’s Franco Morbidelli and 2020 Champion Joan Mir, but with MotoGP being so unpredictable anything can happen this year.
The Repsol Honda has been a fiercely competitive bike throughout its 26 years in the sport and the most recent bikes have been tailored to Marquez’s unique and aggressive riding style.
As for how soon he wins the title, depends on how quickly the Spaniard can get up to speed as well as keeping himself on two wheels and not aggravating or re-sustaining his injuries, as one crash could mean curtains to his title chances this year.
If he can string together some good consistent results upon his return from injury and make up his lost ground, there is no reason why he can’t win the 2021 title – a tale that will go down in MotoGP history.
This season’s MotoGP Rookie of the Year battle will be an interesting one to keep an eye on. The 2021 Rookie of the Year will be Italian rider Enea Bastanini who is racing for the Esponsorama Ducati Team alongside his compatriot and VR46 Academy graduate, Luca Marini.
If Bastianini can adjust to the MotoGP machinery, which he has shown through his impressive pre-season testing results, he will score regular points finishes and will be competing in and around the midfield battles.
A surprise package to look out for this year will be South African rider and 2020 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Brad Binder who is racing for the KTM Factory Racing Team once again this season. The 24-year-old won his first race in his third start in the series at the Czech Republic Grand Prix at the fast, flowing Brno Circuit last year.
There is no doubt that we are in store for yet another fantastic season, which in recent years has been a thrilling series to follow. The 2021 grid is incredibly strong and will be immensely competitive at both ends of the pack and promises to be an electrifying spectacle for all.
