IndyCar isn't the only series starting its 2019 season this weekend with MotoGP kicking off its season from Qatar. A handful of riders have switched to new teams while others have stayed put.
The season starts from Qatar with the Argentina round two weeks later on March 31st. The lone MotoGP stop in the United States will be on April 14th, Palm Sunday. Jerez is the first European round of the season and that race will be on May 5th with the French Grand Prix from Le Mans two weeks later. Italy will host the final race of spring on June 2nd with the series returning for Spain for the first round of summer on June 16th from Barcelona.
The Dutch TT will be on June 30th with the German Grand Prix being the final race before the summer break on July 7th.
Brno is the first race back from break on August 4th and a week later the series will be in Austria. The British Grand Prix closes the month of August on Sunday the 25th. The third back-to-back of the season will be on September 15th and September 22nd with the rounds at Misano and Aragón.
While the Northern Hemisphere begins autumn, MotoGP heads to the Southern Hemisphere for the Thailand round on October 6th. Two weeks after that the series begins its three-week Asia-Pacific stretch with Japan kicking it off from October 20th with Australia following on October 27th and Malaysia hosting the penultimate round on November 3rd. Valencia hosts the season finale on November 17th.
Teams:
Repsol Honda Team
Marc Márquez: #93 Honda RC213V
What did he do in 2018: He won the MotoGP world championship with nine victories and 321 points, his fifth championship in the series and his seventh world championship overall.
What to expect in 2019: Márquez is starting the season a bit banged up coming off surgery. He will not be 100% at the season opener in Qatar but the expectation is he will be fully fit come Argentina. He was on top at the Sepang test and if he can do that while healing, what can he do when he has a clean bill of health? He is going to be fighting for the championship. He is always in it and he wins five to nine races a year. But this year will be tough. Ducati hasn't fallen off and Yamaha appears to be stronger.
Jorge Lorenzo: #99 Honda RC213V
What did he do in 2018: Ninth in MotoGP championship with 134 points after he won three races but missed three rounds due to injury.
What to expect in 2019: Compared to when he moved to Ducati, Lorenzo is much closer to the top heading into his first season with Honda. Last year, Lorenzo kind of proved he still had it after a dismal few years. This seems to be a different guy heading into 2019. I think it will be tough for him to beat Márquez but he will not be languishing behind. He has what it takes to win races but I don't see him in the title fight but he should finish in the top five.
Misson Winnow Ducati Team
Andrea Dovizioso: #04 Ducati Desmosedici GP19
What did he do in 2018: Second in the MotoGP championship with 245 points after winning four races.
What to expect in 2019: Dovizioso will be up there again. The bike was quick during testing and I don't see him falling off. He is going to win a handful of races and if Márquez picks up another knock, it could open the door for Dovizioso to take the title. If anything, he will have stiffer competition from his new teammate and that could poise a problem for a championship push.
Danilo Petrucci: #9 Ducati Desmosedici GP19
What did he do in 2018: Eighth in the MotoGP championship with 144 points with his best finish being second at the French Grand Prix.
What to expect in 2019: I think he will win one race. The bike might be geared to Dovizioso but Petrucci was competitive in testing and keeping up with his teammate. He has never finished better than eighth in the championship and I think he blasts that out of the water.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Maverick Viñales: #12 Yamaha YZR-M1
What did he do in 2018: Fourth in the MotoGP championship with 193 points with a victory at the Australian Grand Prix.
What to expect in 2019: The results got better toward the end of the season for Viñales and testing looks promising. Yamaha had a strong test at Sepang and Viñales was one of the best over longer runs and that carried over to the Qatar test. If this can translate over to the first race of the season, Viñales could find himself taking control of the championship early. He will be in the top five of the championship and I think he will be the top Yamaha rider.
Valentino Rossi: #46 Yamaha YZR-M1
What did he do in 2018: Third in the MotoGP championship with 198 points but his best finish was second at the German Grand Prix.
What to expect in 2019: Rossi is now a man, as he turned 40 in February. Last year was such an odd year. It was far from his best season in MotoGP and he was still third in the championship without being spectacular. Can he keep up with his teammate? I think it will be tough. Rossi was toward the front in testing and he was close to a battered Márquez. Rossi will get a few good results but I do not think he has it to compete for 19 races and be in the title fight.
Team Suzuki Ecstar
Joan Mir: #36 Suzuki GSX-RR
What did he do in 2018: Sixth in the Moto2 championship with 155 points and two runner-up finishes.
What to expect in 2019: Mir is moving up after one year in Moto2 after he won the Moto3 title in dominating fashion in 2017. I think this is a bit of rush. I am not sure he is there yet to compete with the big boys. He might break into the top ten of the championship but he could fall a few places short.
Álex Rins: #42 Suzuki GSX-RR
What did he do in 2018: Fifth in the MotoGP championship with 169 points with three runner-up finishes.
What to expect in 2019: Rins was strong at Sepang and Qatar over testing but the one concern is the bike had great short run pace and fell back in the long run. He may end up winning a race or two but if the Suzuki doesn't have the legs for a full race then I think Rins will be drop a few places back in the championship because Lorenzo is on a better bike and Petrucci is on a better bike.
Alma Pramac Racing
Jack Miller: #43 Ducati Desmosedici GP19
What did he do in 2018: 13th in the MotoGP championship with 91 points with his best finish being fourth from pole position at Argentina and fourth at the French Grand Prix.
What to expect in 2019: Speaking of riders rushed in from Moto3, like Mir, Miller was once that rider and the Australian now enters his fifth MotoGP season. He has had spurts of speed but he has always been on customer bikes. This could be his best season but it will not set the world on fire.
Francesco Bagnaia: #63 Ducati Desmosedici GP19
What did he do in 2018: Moto2 world champion with 306 points with eight victories.
What to expect in 2019: This man has been pegged to be the best rookie but I think he and Mir are closer than most think. While Mir might be out of his element but he has a solid bike and if he can get a handle on it he will get decent recents. Bagnaia is on a customer bike and for all his talent the equipment underneath may be lacking those final few tenths to separating the front to the middle of the field. He will be on the fence when it comes to top ten in the championship.
Red Bull KTM Tech 3
Hafizh Syahrin: #55 KTM RC16
What did he do in 2018: 16th in the MotoGP championship with 46 points and his best finish was ninth at Argentina.
What to expect in 2019: Syahrin was toward the bottom for most of testing and I am not sure he is going to match his 2018 results. The best thing for him would be just to get laps and keep developing the KTM.
Miguel Oliveira: #88 KTM RC16
What did he do in 2018: Second in the Moto2 championship with 297 points and three victories.
What to expect in 2019: Oliveira had a healthy margin over his teammate in testing but he is still on the outside when it comes to points paying positions. I think he will score points but those days may be few and far in-between.
LCR Honda Idemitsu/Castrol
Takaaki Nakagami: #30 Honda RC213V
What did he do in 2018: 20th in the MotoGP championship with 33 points with his best finish being sixth at Valencia.
What to expect in 2019: Nakagami was a bit of a surprise in testing. He was frequently in the top ten whether it be at Sepang or Qatar. I think he could triple his points total from 2018 this year and in doing so he could challenge his teammate for top LCR Honda rider.
Cal Crutchlow: #35 Honda RC213V
What did he do in 2018: Seventh in the MotoGP championship with 148 points with a victory at Argentina but he missed the final three races due to injury.
What to expect in 2019: Crutchlow is coming off a great year that would have been better had he not missed the final three rounds. It seemed like he was set to finish fifth in the championship. Unfortunately, I think the Brit takes a step back this year. He will be in that fight for the top ten of the championship but I think he will get over that line.
Petronas Yamaha SRT
Fabio Quartararo: #20 Yamaha YZR-M1
What did he do in 2018: Tenth in the Moto2 championship with 138 points with a victory at Barcelona.
What to expect in 2019: This team was kind of all over the place in testing. They were in the middle third at Sepang but were in the top ten for most of Qatar and Quartararo was second to Viñales on day three. He is a rookie and I think he is going to fall into an interesting battle with Mir and Bagnaia for top newcomer. That battle is going to take place somewhere between eighth and 13th in the championship.
Franco Morbidelli: #21 Yamaha YZR-M1
What did he do in 2018: 15th in the MotoGP championship with 50 points and his best finish was eighth at Australia and he missed two races due to injury.
What to expect in 2019: The sophomore is going to improve from his rookie season but I think he is going to be pretty close to his teammate. It would not surprise me if after Valencia Petronas Yamaha SRT had the closest two teammates in terms of points. I think on his day he could challenge for the top five and I think Quartararo could be in a similar position.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Johann Zarco: #5 KTM RC16
What did he do in 2018: Sixth in the MotoGP championship with 158 points with two runner-up finishes at Argentina and Jerez. He won two pole positions.
What to expect in 2019: It will be a long season but I think Zarco will find some speed and improve his results but I think he takes a big slide from his 2018 results.
Pol Espargaró: #44 KTM RC16
What did he do in 2018: 14th in the MotoGP championship with 51 points with his best finish being third at Valencia.
What to expect in 2019: If there is one KTM rider to be encourage about it is Pol Espargaró. He was the rider to find speed in the bike at the Qatar test. I don't know how far it will take him. I don't think that bike is good enough to regularly finish in the top ten despite his testing results and I think Zarco will get a hang of it. It wouldn't surprise me if Esparagaró finished 14th in the championship on 51 points for a second consecutive season.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
Andrea Iannone: #29 Aprilia RS-GP
What did he do in 2018: Tenth in the MotoGP championship with 133 points with his best finish being second at Australia.
What to expect in 2019: Iannone is going to take a step back from his 2018 results. The bike doesn't have the speed to match what he did but it should get a handful of points finishes. The concern with Iannone though is will he be there at the end of the race to get points? If he stays on the bike he may have a respectable season.
Bradley Smith: #38 Aprilia RS-GP
What did he do in 2018: 18th in the MotoGP championship with 38 points with his best finish being eighth at Valencia.
What to expect in 2019: Smith is a wild card for the Qatar round. Maybe he gets a few more outings as the season goes along.
Aleix Espargaró: #41 Aprilia RS-GP
What did he do in 2018: 17th in the MotoGP championship with 44 points and his best finish was sixth at Aragón.
What to expect in 2019: While his brother was carrying the KTM flag, Aleix Espargaró was doing his best for Aprilia and he ended the Sepang test in a respectable seventh. I think he will outscore Iannone but this bike is just outside the top ten. Most of his finishes will be between 11th and 15th but he will be in position to slide up to eighth or ninth in some races.
Reale Avintia Racing
Karel Abraham: #17 Ducati Desmosedici GP18
What did he do in 2018: 23rd in the MotoGP championship with 12 points with his best finish being 11th at Australia.
What to expect in 2019: Not much. He is going to finish behind his teammate and he may get match his points total from 2018.
Tito Rabat: #53 Ducati Desmosedici GP18
What did he do in 2018: 19th in the MotoGP championship with 35 points with his best finish being seventh at Argentina but he missed the final seven races due to injury.
What to expect in 2019: Rabat should handily outscore his teammate. He is going to score points but I am not sure how many. I think he could have a few races where is comfortably in the top ten but I also think there will be races where he will be fighting just to get 15th. He scored 35 points in 11 races last year. That is just over three points a race. I think he will average under that this year.
Márquez topped the first Friday of the season and he was nearly a half-second faster than Viñales. Miller was third with Petrucci and Quartararo rounding out the top five. Dovizioso was sixth ahead of fellow Italian Morbidelli. Rins, Aleix Espargaró, Mir and Lorenzo were the next four on the combined practice times. The LCR riders Nakagami and Crutchlow were 12th and 13th ahead of Bagnaia, Rabat and Rossi. Pol Espargaró lead the KTM bikes in 17th ahead of Zarco directly behind him. Iannone, Oliveira, Abraham, Syahrin and Smith rounded out the field.
Qualifying from Qatar will be at noon ET tomorrow with the Qatar Grand Prix scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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