MotoGP – Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team –

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MotoGP MotoGP 2017 grid update, team by team

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

The last handlebars available next year in MotoGP – that of a Ducati Aspar – go to Czech rider Karel Abraham, back in Grand Prix alongside Alvaro Bautista. The opportunity to take stock of the composition of each team and the motorcycles of the 23 riders entered in MotoGP 2017.

Aprilia Gresini (Sam Lowes and Aleix Espargaro)

Exit Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl, who give up their place in the official RS-GP to the British Sam Lowes – currently in Moto2 – and the experienced Aleix Espargaro. The Spaniard had a bad experience with the way Suzuki treated him mid-season, including not being warned about the recruitment of Andrea Iannone. Much work remains to be done to take the RS-GP to the forefront, even if the double Top 10 signed in Japan shows real progress at the end of the 2016 season..

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Ducati Aspar (Alvaro Baustista and Karel Abraham)

Still a lot of changes in Jorge Aspar Martinez’s team for 2017, with two new drivers. However, Alvaro Bautista is no stranger since he defended the colors of the Spanish team for a long time in the lower categories, resulting in solid performances in 250 cc (fourth in and, second in).. 

As for Karel Abraham, his return to MotoGP contracted in the wake of the leaves room for more questions … Having gone from Grands Prix to World Superbike at the end of 2015, will the Czech still have the necessary level to take the Ducati to the beyond the Top 15? The son of the wealthy owner of the Brno circuit (Czech Republic) thinks so and hopes to find a good feeling on a motorcycle with which he started in the premier class after having won his one and only .

"I’m really happy to be back in MotoGP. I started working on this goal as soon as I knew there was a possible opening," said Abraham, successor to Yonny Hernandez who is rebounding in Moto2. "I’m very happy to be back on a Ducati as well, which is the bike I love the most. I had my best season riding this bike" (14th in the standings in and, with two seventh places as best results, Editor’s note).

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Ducati Avintia (Herctor Barbera and Loris Baz)

No changes at Avintia: Hector Barbera and Baz are confirmed in their functions for 2017, however with different equipment. The consistent Spanish – currently 10th in the championship – will ride the 2016 version of the Ducati, the current factory bike of Dovizioso and Iannone. His French teammate, whose season has been marked by falls and injuries from Mugello, will be in command of a 2015 Desmosedici.

Not enough to sadden the Haut-Savoyard, already very relieved to have succeeded in renewing his contract despite results far from his expectations: "I think that there are not many teams who would have done it, who would have believed in me after these first nine really delicate races ", confessed mid-August" Baz-ooka "with gratitude.

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Ducati Pramac (Danilo Petrucci and Scott Redding)

There are also no changes to report in the third Ducati satellite structure: the British Scott Redding and the Italian Danilo Petrucci keep their handlebars at Pramac. Within the team, tension is mounting at the end of the season to know which of the two will inherit the more advanced Ducati promised to the more efficient team-mates. A situation that has become difficult to manage since their crash in Aragon, after which Redding had called Petrucci "an asshole without a brain" …

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Ducati Team (Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo)

The official Ducati team will be closely followed due to the arrival of a new top rider: Mallorcan Jorge Lorenzo, stripped of his MotoGP crown by Marc Marquez during the already memorable Japanese GP during which the official Yamaha and his teammate Rossi are at fault. The whole question now is whether the fluid driving of the three-time MotoGP world champion will match the Ducati, which is certainly very powerful and fast but physical … 

Lorenzo will team up with the Italian Andrea Dovizioso, renewed for a fifth season at Ducati thanks to the valuable information he passes on to the engineers in Bologna. His consistency and his attitude more calm than that of Iannone allowed him to be preferred to the boiling No. 29 when choosing between the two Andrea.

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Honda LCR (Cal Crutchlow)

After a difficult start to the season on the RC213V, Briton Cal Crutchlow gradually found his marks on the Honda, until he got his first MotoGP victory in the Czech Republic on his handlebars. This perseverance and his ability to enter the Top 5 regularly have earned him the renewal of Lucio Cecchinello’s confidence for 2017..

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Honda Marc VDS (Esteve Rabat and Jack Miller)

The Australian Jack Miller and the Spaniard Esteve Rabat will continue their young career in MotoGP in their current structure, despite results slightly below the expectations placed on them by Marc VDS (18th and 20th respectively in the provisional). There remains the sumptuous and unexpected victory of Miller in the Netherlands, which largely counterbalances his numerous forfeits caused by falls and then injuries.. 

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Honda Repsol (Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa)

The HRC team will undoubtedly be the team to beat in 2017, if only because its star driver Marc Marquez will carry the world crown! What is more, the official Honda team will have the advantage of stability since it renews its two current riders, Marquez and Pedrosa: no other factory structure will be able to say the same next year. A definite asset at a time when the introduction of unique software and Michelin tires are disrupting many habits.

Finally, if the RC213V clearly lacked development at the start of the 2016 season, its remarkable progress in the last part places it among the most competitive MotoGP on the grid. On his handlebars, Marc Marquez – the youngest triple world champion in the premier category – may be formidable next year. 

Regarding Dani Pedrosa, on the other hand, his disappointing season and his checkered results leave doubt as to the possibilities of seeing him again at the forefront … "Pedro" is still very fast: his victory in Misano proves it. But is he still sufficiently motivated after already ten seasons chasing the title alongside bulky teammates – Stoner then Marquez – at Honda Repsol ? 

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

KTM Factory Racing (Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith)

For its return to MotoGP – but this time as a full-fledged manufacturer – KTM has debauched the two representatives of Yamaha Tech3: the British Bradley Smith then the Spanish Pol Espargaro! The two riders get along quite well and are used to working together, which should favor the development of the new RC16 whose V4 engine takes place in a steel trellis frame that has become rare in MotoGP..

This motorcycle entirely designed in Austria is also distinguished by its "house" WP suspensions, when all the current range rolls in Olhins. Powerful and a priori well-born, this "Orange ball" positively expands the MotoGP field and marks a first step towards the arrival of new manufacturers in the premier class.

On his handlebars, the Finnish Mika Kallio performed well during the discovery test of the Red Bull Ring against all the other motorcycles on the field: his results during his wild card in the final in Valencia will be another interesting revealing of his potential.

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Suzuki Ecstar (Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins)

Andrea Iannone did not take long to bounce back from his ouster from the official Ducati team: the Italian immediately found refuge in the GSX-RR, alongside Spanish rookie Alex Rins. These two pilots have in common a certain speed and panache to spare !

Iannone’s experience on the Desmosedici should help Hamamatsu’s coat of arms continue the development of his bike in the right direction, which is now almost on par with the benchmarks of the field. It remains for Suzuki to know how to deal with two strong characters and the same Iannone’s propensity to often cross limits … 

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Yamaha Movistar Factory (Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales)

Renewed very early for the next two seasons in the official Yamaha team, Valentino Rossi has no worries about his future. On the other hand, the arrival of the very fast and young Maverick Viñales (21) risks spurring the 37-year-old transalpine star, who will also have to overcome the disappointment of having missed the boat in 2016 when a tenth title was technically within reach…

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

Yamaha Tech3 (Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger)

Zarco-corico! Johann Zarco will make his MotoGP debut with the Var team Tech3 on a high-performance private M1. A French pilot in a French structure, one could hardly dream of better for 2017! The 26-year-old from Cannes will team up with the young German Jonas Folger (23), who has silenced the bad tongues blaming him for the weakness of his level by winning the Czech Moto2 GP.

MotoGP - Motorcycle Grands Prix: update on the MotoGP 2017 grid, team by team -

MotoGP 2017 regulations: little booster shot

Remember that in 2017, the MotoGP regulations extend the system of concessions granted to manufacturers who are not taxed in the dry during 2013 to 2015. This scenario applies to Aprilia and KTM, which is necessarily concerned since his RC16 has not yet competed! The two European brands will therefore benefit from unlimited private tests with their titular pilots, a higher number of engines and the possibility of developing them during the season..

Suzuki is currently using these advantages to develop quickly its GSX-RR, particularly at the mechanical level thanks to nine engines available against seven for Ducati, Honda and Yamaha. But since Viñales’ victory at Silverstone and his two podiums at Le Mans and Japan, Suzuki has reached five points on the official scale of concessions (3 for his victory, 1 by third place): one more point and the coat of arms of Hamamatsu will immediately lose the ability to conduct unlimited testing and will be deprived of all its benefits for 2017.

Considering the talent of Rossi’s future teammate and the progress of the GSX-RR, it is only a matter of time before the Suzuki are on the same technical footing as the benchmarks of the field…. Update of 10/24/2016 : with the third place of Vinales, Suzuki as expected lost its advantages two races to the end of the 2016 season.

Finally, let us also point out that the use of fins is prohibited for the 2017 season, which does not fail to pester Ducati who is both the instigator and the main user. ! 

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