        Ducati suffered in Qatar, we saw it for ourselves. The Lusail GP was won by a red bike, yes, but it was one with a blue tinge, or rather the Desmosedici so ably ridden by Enea Bastianini, a 2021 machine supplied to the independent Gresini team. Factory riders Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller never reached the finish line, for one reason or another. Also present at the Lusail track was Michele Pirro, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer&rsquo;s test rider. He had this to say: &ldquo;Yes, it&rsquo;s true, we can&rsquo;t exactly say it went well, but bad luck also played a part". The Italian continues: "Jack was going strong, having qualified fourth not far behind Jorge Martin on pole. But unfortunately, Miller had a problem in the race and was forced to retire. His performance was nevertheless interesting. Bagnaia on the other hand was catching up, but crashed. Pecco&rsquo;s pace was in line with the quickest, but then he fell. That can happen when you&rsquo;re pushing to make up ground and score the kind of result you know is within reach&rdquo;. Ducati MotoGP, incessant development  Agreed, there was some bad luck involved. But Bagnaia&rsquo;s complaints have not gone unnoticed. Pirro explains what happened: &ldquo;Perhaps we&rsquo;re a little behind with the development, but we&rsquo;ve never stopped working on the Desmosedici". Michele knows this better than anyone, as he&rsquo;s directly involved in the MotoGP project: "There are a number of new parts, everything needs to be put together and in the right way. We&rsquo;re doing that. We tested many things during the Sepang and Mandalika tests, although there&rsquo;s still more to do. The 2022 package has greater potential than the previous one". The engine used by the Lenovo Factory team is a talking point: "It&rsquo;s definitely different&rdquo;, continues number 51, &ldquo;but not excessively so. The four-cylinder is an evolution of the unit used last year, so not too far from what we already knew". Ducati seeks redemption in Indonesia  Mandalika awaits, so will the (factory) Ducatis respond? Michele doesn&rsquo;t give too much away but remains optimistic: &ldquo;We should remember that the Qatar race was eleven seconds faster than those of 2021. The pace and level have increased once again. And we hadn&rsquo;t tested there. Tests make the difference&rdquo;. Could Lombok island remedy some of Ducati&rsquo;s troubles? "No troubles, we&rsquo;ll get there, and soon. We&rsquo;ve ridden at Mandalika, and have a good base on which to build. Ducati will be there and&hellip; let&rsquo;s not forget that a Desmosedici won in Qatar". Very true, although we would expect to see the factory bikes up front: "We&rsquo;ll get there soon, you&rsquo;ll see. Ducati is strong and the development work continues incessantly, as I&rsquo;ve said. Useful data was collected at Mandalika with the 2022 Desmosedici, so we start in the best circumstances". Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, can Pol usurp Marc as Honda frontrunner?       

Michele, test rider of reference in Borgo Panigale: "Bagnaia crashed, but was catching up, Miller was strong prior to the technical problem. The 2022 Desmosedici will soon soar, perhaps already at Mandalika"

MotoGP, Pirro: “Ducati was unlucky in Qatar”

        The Spanish DAZN team following this year&rsquo;s championship is not exactly short on former riders, with Alex Crivill&eacute; and Carlos Checa taking turns, in addition to new recruit Jorge Lorenzo. We spoke to Checa, a man who wrote an important page of Superbike history when he won the 2011 title with the team Althea Ducati, to see what he had to say about the season-opener in Qatar. The emotion of the Gresini win  We started with Ducati, and Enea Bastianini&rsquo;s extraordinary win: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so pleased in terms of what this means for the Gresini team and for Fausto&rsquo;s memory. Winning this race was a tribute to Fausto, a very emotional victory. But from a technical standpoint, it&rsquo;s strange not to see the factory bikes up front&rdquo;. As for the Desmosedici GP22, one thing seems clear: &ldquo;Something prevented the factory riders from giving it their all as they usually do. Qatar is unique, but their rivals have grown significantly. Ducati wasn&rsquo;t the most interesting bike at this first round. Although it continues to be one of the best bikes, as demonstrated by Bastianini&rdquo;. Surprise and disappointment at the Qatar GP  The first race brought surprises in terms of the levels of competition: &ldquo;Pol (Espargar&oacute;) was very strong, I don&rsquo;t know what happened to Marc Marquez, but it looks as if he&rsquo;s still struggling physically. Aleix Espargar&oacute; surprised me, running one of the best races I&rsquo;ve ever seen with the Aprilia. And both Bastianini and Brad Binder surprised me too, because they&rsquo;re very young and hadn&rsquo;t scored particular results in the past, especially with the KTM&rdquo;. A number of different bikes ran up front, prompting Carlos to comment: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a more balanced championship, so it will be tough to pick a title favourite, but it will be fun because the races will be unpredictable.&rdquo; Checa: "Aprilia? Let&rsquo;s see in the next races"  As for the technical level, Checa muses: &ldquo;The Suzuki has improved, and the Honda is probably the bike that&rsquo;s changed the most. Aprilia has also taken a small step forward, though both Aprilia and Aleix Espargar&oacute; always do well in Qatar, so we&rsquo;ll need to see in the next races&rdquo;. The only manufacturer that appeared in real difficulty was Yamaha: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the bike that&rsquo;s suffering the most. Particularly because the engine really counts in Qatar and it looks like they haven&rsquo;t found the power they wanted. I'm not sure they ever will in fact, because the engine is what it is, you can&rsquo;t change it&rdquo;. Expectations for Mandalika  The next round will play out at Mandalika, where MotoGP is competing for the first time after completing a test session at the track in February. Checa has this to say: &ldquo;During the test, the asphalt was dirty and in a poor state. This time they&rsquo;ll have new asphalt, so the test references will no longer count&rdquo;. But the manufacturers might be better prepared: &ldquo;After this first round, everyone will have drawn conclusions and made some changes, particularly those who failed to meet with expectation&rdquo;. But it&rsquo;s hard to make any predictions as yet: &ldquo;The track is very different. The engine counts for less perhaps, so maybe Yamaha will have a better chance. It will be a very different race and we hope that the track will be in a good condition for the event&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson A sour start for Pedro Acosta: &ldquo;Moto2 isn&rsquo;t Moto3&rdquo;       

The former rider considers the opening round, talking about the level of competition and the difficulties suffered by Yamaha &nbsp;

Checa exclusive: “Ducati wasn’t the most interesting bike in Qatar”

        Anyone who expected to see Pedro Acosta win on his debut Moto2 outing was sadly mistaken. The intermediate class rookie finished the Qatar GP in twelfth place, 26 seconds behind winner Celestino Vietti. Speed and flaws  A result that didn&rsquo;t reflect the expectations of many onlookers, the fruit of a weekend during which Pedro showed his speed (also seen at the Portimao and Jerez tests) but also committed a few too many mistakes&hellip;. He crashed twice during practice, once during a crucial moment of Q2, which left Spaniard in the gravel after an attempt to battle Vietti for pole position. A mistake that cost Acosta dearly, forcing him to start from tenth on the grid. The start of the race was the crucial moment for the Majorcan, who was forced to run wide at turn 1 due to confusion mid-field. As a result, Acosta found himself in last place, from where he found himself having to fight his way back up to the points zone. Qualifying is vital  &ldquo;When there are slower riders, it can be difficult to climb back up&rdquo;, Pedrito told the media after the race. &ldquo;These things happen - in Moto2, it&rsquo;s not like Moto3, where it&rsquo;s easier to gain ground. It was important to build experience, I finished the race and that was the goal&rdquo;. Acosta indirectly refers to the 2021 Doha round, when he won the race from pitlane. A feat that doesn&rsquo;t seem likely in Moto2, or not at Losail at least, a circuit at which Pedro has already learned his first lesson: &ldquo;Qualifying is of vital importance in this category&rdquo;. Considering the maturity of this rider, who&rsquo;s yet to turn 18, we&rsquo;re sure that he&rsquo;ll make good use of this experience at the very next Mandalika round (20 March). Translated by Heather Watson Rossi in the pink - Valentino and Francesca&rsquo;s daughter has arrived       

The team Ajo rider made some mistakes in Qatar, finishing outside of the top ten: "But it&rsquo;s all experience, what counts is that we finished the race" &nbsp;

A sour start for Pedro Acosta: “Moto2 isn’t Moto3”

        We don&rsquo;t know how the situation with the lowering device is going to develop, but it&rsquo;s only fair to speak to those involved. Gigi Dall'Igna is the technical reference at Ducati, in his role as engineer for the MotoGP project. He has this to say: "I would like to say more, but for now no decision has been made in this sense. But I will say that we&rsquo;ve done as we&rsquo;ve always done, or rather, remaining within the parameters of the technical regulation, which was written a while ago. A regulation that all manufacturers are aware of, let&rsquo;s be clear&rdquo;. Gigi draws attention to a move that, were it to become concrete, would meet with disapproval from Borgo Panigale: "Banning a solution developed by a manufacturer would be quite unsportsmanlike. While we&rsquo;ve spent time investing in researching this solution, others have spent time coming up with other solutions, which are not banned. And so it would be a double blow if you like. If it were to happen, it would be unsportsmanlike". Dall'Igna on the Ducati lowering device: not found on production bikes  Dall'Igna expands on the concept, focusing on the reasons for which the device could be banned: "The explanations for abolishing the lowering device are questionable. They talk about safety, but in terms of distraction, the device involves no extra button or knob in addition to what a rider already uses. The rider will do exactly the same things. So I see no reason.&rdquo; Gigi continues: "The other reason has to do with the fact the device is not found on production bikes. This is MotoGP. If we want to argue, then the pneumatic valve should be banned too, because it&rsquo;s not found on road bikes. If our competitors were to ban the pneumatic valve, I&rsquo;d be OK with that". Translated by Heather Watson Qatar GP, Marquez: &ldquo;Bet on me for the title, i'm ready to risk like before&rdquo;       

Ducati engineer Gigi: "We dedicated time and research to developing the part in line with the technical regulation. The device is not dangerous, the rider does the same things as before"

MotoGP, Dall'Igna: “Banning the lowering device would be unsportsmanlike”

        Now that the MotoGP tests have concluded and we await the opening race of the season, set to take place in Qatar in 28 March, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has talked about the vaccine situation in the world championship paddock. During their recent two week stint at Losail, some of the riders took the opportunity to have the vaccine, kindly provided by the Qatari government. These riders included Maverick Vinales, Valentino Rossi, Francesco Bagnaia and Pol Espargar&oacute;, and also Marc Marquez who flew to Doha to receive his dose. &ldquo;Thanks to the MotoGP family&rdquo;  &ldquo;The government of Qatar - says Carmelo Ezpeleta during an interview with MotoGP.com &ndash; where the vaccination programme is going very well, gave us the possibility to vaccinate the paddock and this is something incredible. The entire MotoGP family really appreciates it&rdquo;. The Moto3 and Moto2 riders will be arriving in Qatar this week, and then the 2021 MotoGP championship will get underway the following week, with rounds one and two taking place at the Losail circuit. Greater safety, less infection  Last season saw various riders as well as technicians come down with Covid-19, and so the possibility to have the vaccine means greater safety for everyone, also in light of the significant traveling the MotoGP circus undertakes during the year: &ldquo;Every individual will decide whether to have it or not - continues Ezpeleta &ndash; The majority of people have accepted and are very happy to have it, while some haven&rsquo;t been able to, for various reasons. We&rsquo;re pleased because these vaccinations allow us to increase safety and lower the risk of infection. Our riders are very popular, especially with younger generations. I think this is an important model for society. Thanks to Qatar, we can show the world how important it is that our heroes are vaccinated&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP: Marc Marquez is on track at Barcelona       

The Dorna CEO explains the opportunity the MotoGP paddock had to have the vaccine against Covid-19: &ldquo;These vaccinations allows us to increase safety&rdquo;

5 risultati per 'EN Qatar GP'

MotoGP, Pirro: “Ducati was unlucky in Qatar”

Checa exclusive: “Ducati wasn’t the most interesting bike in Qatar”

A sour start for Pedro Acosta: “Moto2 isn’t Moto3”

MotoGP, Dall'Igna: “Banning the lowering device would be unsportsmanlike”

MotoGP, Ezpeleta: “Vaccinated riders, a model for society”