Tight gaps and unpredictable races: MotoGP has more than ten riders in with a chance of winning and the list of potential world championship contenders is long
MotoGP kicked off the new season last weekend. Before the start of the season, riders and pundits struggled to name concrete favourites. Many riders were of the opinion that more than ten pilots are capable of winning races. And the circle of potential World Championship contenders also includes more than five pilots.
Fans can look forward to exciting races, as clear predictions were difficult before the first Grand Prix of the year. And even after the first MotoGP race of the year, it is difficult to name a clear World Championship favourite. Ducati, KTM and Honda were on the podium in Qatar.
But Aprilia and Suzuki were also strong. Yamaha clearly fell short of expectations, but on tracks with shorter straights, world champion Fabio Quartararo should also be among the favourites. The same goes for Yamaha teammate Franco Morbidelli.
Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco was one of the riders who didn’t make a strong showing in Qatar. The former Moto2 champion struggled with a number of problems over the race weekend, which is something you can’t afford in today’s fiercely competitive MotoGP. The Frenchman was a long way from the podium finishes he achieved last year.
“The race weekends are going to be even more difficult because all the riders have a very high potential and can be very fast,” commented Zarco, referring to the qualifying result of World Championship co-favourite Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati): “‘Pecco’ did a great lap time in Q2 but only ended up in ninth position. “
In modern MotoGP, a few fractions of a second can cause you to slip out of the top 10 or top 15. Gone are the days when top riders could finish fifth or sixth on a bad weekend because half the field was clearly technically inferior.
“That’s the challenge of this new season and it’s getting tougher,” notes Johann Zarco, who has been riding in the premier class since the 2017 season. “It’s good for the show, but it’s very intense for the athletes,” said the veteran Frenchman.
