Aussie Miller predicts 'toughest MotoGP year ever' … but he's ...

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MotoGP opens a marathon season on Sunday in Qatar with champion Fabio Quartararo trying to hold off Francesco Bagnaia on the faster Ducati, ... HOMEMOTORSPORTMOTO-GPAussieMillerpredicts‘toughestMotoGPyearever’…buthe’sridingthe‘fastestbikesever’WatcheveryMotoGPraceLIVEonKayo|00:56AFPfromAfpMarch1st,20225:13pmMotoGPopensamarathonseasononSundayinQatarwithchampionFabioQuartararotryingtoholdoffFrancescoBagnaiaonthefasterDucati,whilebothglancebackanxiouslyatMarcMarquez.Marquezhasmadeitclearheischasingamanwhohasleftthecircuit.ValentinoRossiretiredattheendoflastseasonafterracingintheelitecategorysince2000,twoyearsbeforeMotoGPwascreated.TheItalianwonseventop-classworldtitles.Atafewdayspasthis29thbirthday,Marquezhassix.“Mygoalistofightforthetitle,”MarquezsaidattheHondateampresentation,butheaddedthatthecompetitionwouldbetough.“Fabiowaschampion,andhedeservestobebecausehewasthemostconsistent,butPeccoBagnaiaendedtheyearbeingthefastestwiththeDucati.”WatcheveryPractice,Qualifying&Raceofthe2022MotoGPWorldChampionshipLive&Ad-BreakFreeDuringRacingonKayo.NewtoKayo?Try14-daysfreenow>Bagnaia’steammatewiththeDucatifactoryteamisAustralianJackMiller,whoisreadyforagruellingseasonahead.Hesaid:“Asalways,whenwestarttheseason–especiallyinafactoryteam–theobjectiveistotrytowintheWorldChampionship.ButIhavealotoftoughopponents.ItwillprobablybethetoughestyeareverinMotoGP.Ihopeitwillbeagoodyearforusandthatwewillbeabletofightuntiltheend.”JackMillerofAustraliacelebratesatLeManslastseason.Source:GettyImagesMarquezreturnedlastseasonaftercrashingafewlapsintothe2020campaign.Formuchoflastseason,hestruggledandhesatoutthelasttworaceswithdoublevision.Withonegoodarm,hestillwonthreeraces,allattrackswithanemphasisonleft-turningcorners,whichtheSpaniardpreferredevenbeforesmashinghisrightarm.“Todayeverythinglooksgood,thevisionisperfect,thearmisbettertoo,”hesaidinFebruary.Worryinglyforhisrivals,therevampedHondaseemstobequicker.Thesecondfactoryrider,PolEspargaro,setthebesttimeatpre-seasontestinginIndonesiaandthendeclared:“I’veneverbeensofast.”ThatmightnotbeanentirelyagoodthingforMarquez.Inpreviousseasons,theHondabikeshavebeensetuptosuithisriskyandaggressiveridingstyle.Quartararo,a22-year-oldFrenchman,hasalsomadeahabitofwinningwithbikesonwhichothersstruggle.Lastseasonhecollected278pointswhiletheotherthreemenwhoracedfactoryYamahasovertheseasoncollectedjust31.Afterwinningfiveoflastseason’sfirst12races,QuartararostruggledtokeepupwiththeacceleratingDucatisasItalianBagnaiawonfourofthelastsix.MotoGPFrenchWorldChampionFabioQuartararoposesduringaphotosessioninParisonFebruary17,2022.(PhotobyJULIENDEROSA/AFP)Source:AFPAttesting,theFrenchmancomplainedtothemotorbikemediathatYamahahasbeenunabletodeliveragreatertopspeed.“Lastyearwewereanaverage9kph(slower),todayweareat9kph.Sowedidn’tmakeanystepsforward,”hesaid.“Ifyouhavenopower,youadaptyourself,likeIdidinthepast.So,ifweneedtoadaptwe’regoingtoadapt.”YetwhileQuartararohasalowertopspeedthantheBolognaBullets,testingsuggestedhestillcompensateswiththebestaveragespeedoveralap.WhileYamaha,KTMandHondawillallhaveonesatelliteteamthisseason,Ducatihasthree.“WhenyouknowthattherewillbeeightDucatis,eightofthefastestbikesever,itwillbedifficult,”saidQuartararo.MarcMarquezcelebrateswinningtheMotoGPofGermanyatSachsenringCircuit.Source:GettyImagesWatcheveryPractice,Qualifying&Raceofthe2022MotoGPWorldChampionshipLive&Ad-BreakFreeDuringRacingonKayo.NewtoKayo?Try14-daysfreenow>Itisgoingtobealongseason.After14racesin2020,allinEurope,and18lastyearinasecondCovid-curtailedseason,thereare21ontheschedule.Thatisupfromthe19ineachofthetwoseasonsbeforethepandemic.Finlandmakesitsbelatedreturnaftera40-yeargap.Indonesia,whichhostedtworacesinthe1990s,isalsoadded.Australia,Argentina,Japan,ThailandandMalaysia,allcancelledineachofthelasttwoseasons,arescheduledtoruninaseasonthatstretchestoNovember6.RACESCHEDULEMarch6:Qatar(Losail)March20:Indonesia(Mandalika)April3:Argentina(TermasdeRioHondo)April10:GrandPrixoftheAmericas(CircuitOfTheAmericas)April24:Portugal(Algarve)May1:Spain(Jerez)May15:France(LeMans)May29:Italy(Mugello)June5:Catalonia(Barcelona)June19:Germany(Sachsenring)June26:Netherlands(Assen)July10:Finland(KymiRing)August7:GreatBritain(Silverstone)August21:Austria(Spielberg)September4:SanMarino(Misano)September18:Aragon(Alcaniz)September25:Japan(Motegi)October2:Thailand(ChangInternationalCircuit)October16:Australia(PhillipIsland)October23:Malaysia(Sepang)November6:Valencia(RicardoTormo)SPORTSAFLNRLFOOTBALLCRICKETMOTORSPORTRUGBYNFLBASKETBALLTENNISGOLFPOLICYPRIVACYPOLICYRELEVANTADSOPT-OUTFOXSPORTSDIGITALSUBSCRIPTIONTERMSFAQ'SANDCONTACTUSCOOKIESPOLICYDATAUSAGEPOLICYTERMSANDCONDITIONSACCESSIBILITYSITEMAPRSSFEEDSSTAYCONNECTEDONSOCIALMEDIAFOXSPORTSAUSTRALIA2021©

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