By Dan Moakes
April 9 2012

It’s all-change in motorcycle Grand Prix racing for 2012, not least in the premier MotoGP class, where the rules have been updated. But would Honda rider Casey Stoner still be the pace setter on the new RC213V, or would his rivals provide a serious challenge to the champion?

The FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix series began in 1949, with five different competition categories: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc and 125cc solos, and also the Sidecars. From 1962 a 50cc solo class was added to the programme, and all six championships continued to run until the end of 1982. For 1983 the 350s were dropped, and in 1984 the 50s were replaced with an 80cc championship, which itself was completely dropped after six seasons. That left the three solo classes of 500cc, 250cc and 125cc from 1990, with the Sidecars dropped from the Grand Prix schedule after 1996.

Two-stroke Grand Prix technology held sway until 2002, when the 990cc racing prototype four-stroke MotoGP category superseded the 500s. By that time, most of the 250cc national championships were on the way out, and in most countries there was already no longer a 500cc category - the top of the tree in domestic championship racing was now the production-based Superbike category. Inevitably, the 250s would not last much longer in the world championship, and in 2010 they were replaced by the Moto2 category, using production-based 600cc Honda four-stroke engines in a variety of new chassis.

Safety worries relating to the speed of the big 990 machines had meant that for 2007 the MotoGP championship was downsized to new 800cc prototypes, and all the time with the numbers on the grid dwindling. Meanwhile, the one remaining constant GP category dating back to 1949 was the 125 series, with this class also continuing to exist as part of the European championship, and in the national series for some countries. But it couldn’t last, and for 2012 the 125s are replaced by Moto3, which spells the end for two-stroke racing machinery in the Grands Prix. Technical developments along those lines were apparently of little use, as road bikes have gone the four-stroke route, and the resulting proliferation of Superbike racing has proved popular.

For this season’s MotoGP World Championship there have also been technical regulation changes. After five years of the 800s, the latest prototypes now have a 1000cc upper limit. Not only that, but in an attempt to get more bikes on the grid, a cheaper Claiming Rule Team option allows for the use of 1000cc production Superbike engines to be utilised in purpose-built chassis; this will see Aprilia, BMW, Honda and Kawasaki power units married to a range of ART, FTR, Ioda and Suter frames, following the Moto2 pattern. A few teams have therefore stepped up to the premier class.

The rider line-up sees little change amongst the leading teams. Yamaha retain Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies; Ducati retain Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden; and Honda retain Casey Stoner (running number 1 as the reigning champion) and Dani Pedrosa. Their third man, Andrea Dovizioso, was dropped by the Repsol team after three years and moves to one of the leading customer teams, Tech 3 Yamaha. There he takes over from Colin Edwards, who joins the CRT ranks with Forward Racing (on a Suter-BMW). Tech 3 retain Cal Crutchlow to partner Dovizioso.

Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Ducati) also remains within the same set-up as last year, but other continuing MotoGP teams have opted for new blood. Héctor Barberá remains a Ducati rider, but swaps from the Aspar team to the one-bike Pramac team. Following the withdrawal of Suzuki (see separate story), Álvaro Bautistá takes over in the San Carlo-backed Gresini Honda team, where Marco Simoncelli was the lead rider until his untimely death towards the end of last season. Bautistá’s partner will be one of the CRT runners, with Gresini team rider Michele Pirro (25) promoted from the Moto2 class for his first taste of MotoGP, riding number 51.

The Aspar team has also switched to the CRT category within MotoGP, bringing in Randy de Puniet from Pramac and recalling Aleix Espargaró to the premier class. They run the ART (Aprilia) machine. LCR Honda will run the Moto2 champion, Stefan Bradl (22), who will race with number 6. Elsewhere, new teams at this level all go down the CRT route, with James Ellison returning to the championship on an ART with the former Superbike team of Paul Bird; and Iván Silva doing the same thing with Avintia Racing. His FTR-Kawasaki partner will be Moto2 graduate Yonny Hernández (23), running number 68. The Speed Master ART team will run former two-stroke contender Mattia Pasini (26), with number 54, after Anthony West failed to secure sufficient funds; and GP newcomer Danilo Petrucci (21) arrives from Superstock racing on the number 9 Ioda-Aprilia for the Ioda team.

The ninth running of the Qatar Grand Prix, in the desert surroundings at Losail, and the fifth running of the floodlit night race, saw the season kick-start with the Honda and Yamaha works riders looking to have the best pace on their new machinery. In qualifying, Stoner’s position as pre-season leader translated into second position ‘only’, with Lorenzo getting the best from his Yamaha to take pole position. It was his 19th pole in the senior class, which took him ahead of former multiple champion Eddie Lawson.

Yamaha and Honda machinery filled the first four places, with Lorenzo’s Factory partner Spies in fourth despite being one of those to suffer a crash during the session. However, it was Yamaha customer rider Crutchlow, with his Monster-backed bike, who completed the front row of the grid in third, his best starting position in GP racing to date. Stoner’s Repsol team-mate Pedrosa could manage only a disappointing seventh, behind the leading works Ducati of Hayden (fifth) and Crutchlow’s Tech 3 team-mate Dovizioso (sixth).

More customer bikes filled the next four places, with Barberá eighth, from leading rookie Bradl, then Abraham and Bautistá. All of which put nine-time GP world champion Valentino Rossi back in twelfth, last of the prototype MotoGP runners; the Italian still not having found a competitive solution for his partnership with Ducati. The CRT bikes were led by Edwards in P13, from de Puniet, Espargaró, Hernández, Pirro, Pasini, Petrucci, Silva and Ellison.

For the race, everyone went the same route with the Bridgestone tyres except for Bautistá, who chose the softer rears for his Honda. The start saw a typical fast getaway from diminutive Pedrosa, powering into the leading battle from his third row grid position. Lorenzo led his compatriot into the right-handed turn one, followed by Stoner, then Spies and Dovizioso. Crutchlow lost a few places, but was quick to pass Hayden for sixth, with Bradl and Bautistá next in line.

Spies was in for a disappointing race on the second works Yamaha, and he would lose out successively in the early stages to the leased Yamahas of Dovizioso and Crutchlow, before also being relegated by Bradl, who was already past Hayden. Ninth man Bautistá headed the Ducatis of Rossi and the squabbling Barberá and Abraham, and then it was Hernández, Espargaró, Edwards, de Puniet, Pasini, Petrucci, Silva, Pirro and Ellison. But soon enough it was clear that it would be a three-way tussle for the race victory, between the multiple winners from 2011.

Lorenzo had the smallest advantage over Pedrosa and Stoner, until the two Honda men changed places. Casey used the slipstream along the lengthy main start-finish straight to launch his pass on the inside for turn one, the Australian then mounting his attack on the leading Yamaha. This time he was able to accelerate past on the inside lane over the finish line, going on to set a new fastest lap and build a reasonably comfortable margin. Leaving the two Spaniards to battle for second, Stoner was almost two-seconds clear by half-distance, and looking on course for his sixth win at Losail.

Meanwhile, the Tech 3 duo were established in a clear battle for fourth, with Dovizioso heading Crutchlow, this pair out of range for sixth man Bradl. Cal stayed right on the tail of his experienced team-mate for many laps, and meanwhile the German new boy had got away from the contest between Bautistá, Hayden and Spies, the order of this trio reversed from earlier on. From eleventh, Abraham retired to the pits with a front brake problem, with a technical issue also about to spell the end for Pirro. Petrucci joined them later on.

Stoner’s lead over Lorenzo and Pedrosa was slightly reduced as he had to save a rear slide with the Honda, but he responded to Lorenzo’s challenge and kept the lead at 1.9s. With five laps left to run this was at 1.5s, but then it began to look like Casey was in trouble. With Dani pushing Jorge, their gap to the leader dipped to under a second on the 18th lap of 22. Pedrosa passed Lorenzo on the inside for turn one, with the Yamaha man fighting back as they closed on Stoner. With three laps to go, Lorenzo took over in the lead as he overtook Stoner on the inside at the final right-handed turn sixteen.

It seemed that Stoner was having tyre trouble, but he would explain that his issue was with arm pump, and that he was struggling to grip the bars. Lorenzo was able to pull away by over half a second on lap 20, before Pedrosa passed his team-mate with an out-braking move on the inside for turn one. Jorge’s lead over Dani was 0.9s going into the last lap, and that was how they finished: Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Stoner. An 18th premier class win for the Yamaha team leader put him level with former champion Wayne Gardner, and it was Lorenzo’s fourth win at the track, although his first in this class. Stoner’s result was his 60th podium in MotoGP. Despite his problem, he was satisfied that his Honda had demonstrated race-winning pace.

The race for fourth had remained close to the end, but Crutchlow had got past Dovizioso with a few laps to go and stayed in front, matching his best GP result. Bradl had run strongly in sixth, but his more experienced pursuers had been able to close the gap. Barberá had caught up to Hayden and Bautistá, and it became a four-man contest for P6. Héctor passed Álvaro for eighth, then both Spaniards got in front of Nicky. Before long, all three had pushed Stefan to the back of the group, but then Barberá gave up sixth when he ran wide and allowed Hayden through. His attempt to reverse the situation again saw him brake deep on the inside at turn one but head into the run-off area, rejoining ninth. Hayden was therefore sixth, from Bautistá, Bradl and Barberá.

Rossi had been in tenth in the early stages, but running off the track at one point lost him places to Ducati customer rivals Barberá and Abraham. After Abraham’s exit the next target for Rossi had been Spies, who had continued to drift back through the field. The Ducati moved ahead, and by the finish was not too far behind Barberá, but still Rossi was the third and final Ducati finisher. Spies was the final pure MotoGP runner home in P11, with the CRT men headed by Edwards, who had gained back a couple of places, from de Puniet, Hernández and Espargaró. Silva was in P16, which equalled his best result in earlier GP outings, ahead of Pasini and Ellison, who had at one point run on at turn one.

The signs were good for the factory-run new 1000cc Honda and Yamaha bikes, with the championship contenders at this stage looking likely to be a familiar group of Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa, even if the Australian had not enjoyed a trouble-free run on the day. Spies has also said that the new larger machines suit his style, bearing in mind his pedigree as a 28-time winner in the AMA Superbike series (with Suzuki), and 14 times in World Superbikes (with Yamaha). He could easily prove to be another contender, assuming his problematic ride in Qatar was a one-off. However, Rossi’s leadership of the Ducati project is still a way off getting the bike fully competitive, and they will hope for some radical progress. But on this evidence there is certainly going to be racing down the field in the CRT class this year. The next round is in Spain.

Standings after one race: Lorenzo 25; Pedrosa 20; Stoner 16; Crutchlow 13; Dovizioso 11; Hayden 10; Bautistá 9; Bradl 8; Barberá 7; Rossi 6 ·· CRT leader: Edwards.
Yamaha 25; Honda 20; Ducati 10; Suter-BMW 4; ART 3; FTR-Kawasaki 2.