Photo: motogp.com
Repsol Honda team boss Livio Suppo believes that the 2015 MotoGP season is going to be an incredible one, as Yamaha’s 4 victories in the last 6 races of 2014 is most likely a good measure of the ascending trend the house of Iwata is on. Suppo also says that it was obvious to everybody at Honda that the two Yamaha riders, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were getting better and better by each race and seemed to be increasingly comfortable with their bikes, so wishful thinking for 2015 being like 2014 is out of the question for HRC.
Even more, Suppo tells autosport that Honda has no real expectation that Marc Marquez will be able to dominate the 2015 championship with the same authority he did in the previous season. Even though things seemed very easy, with 10 wins in a row and 13 victories from a total of 18 rounds, the level of competitiveness was extremely high, Suppo adds.
Honda feels extremely lucky to have found such a talented rider on a short notice and being able to fill Casey Stoner’s shoes and break so many MotoGP records while at it. Not only has Marquez proven a worthy successor for Stoner, but he also claimed two World Titles in as many seasons, being at the heart of a very efficient man-machine-team combo which only got better in the second year.
Still, HRC is keen on trying to replicate as much of the unbelievable success they had in 2014: "What we need to do is maintain the momentum, because you can't afford to let up. When you've got someone as strong as Marc is at the moment, you've got to hit the ground running at the very first test, at the very first grand prix,” Suppo says.
The GP15 will debut in the official tests at Sepang, months after Honda and Yamaha have had their first outing with the 2015 bikes, but Ducati believes the result will show up later in the season. As the entire bike is new, Bologna hopes to have as many things as possible ready for Sepang, as a rushed debut was of no use.
Early February brings MotoGP action to Sepang, followed by another round of testing at the end of the same month. Has Ducati managed to bring the GP15 close to the frontrunners? February will tell.
Honda feels extremely lucky to have found such a talented rider on a short notice and being able to fill Casey Stoner’s shoes and break so many MotoGP records while at it. Not only has Marquez proven a worthy successor for Stoner, but he also claimed two World Titles in as many seasons, being at the heart of a very efficient man-machine-team combo which only got better in the second year.
Still, HRC is keen on trying to replicate as much of the unbelievable success they had in 2014: "What we need to do is maintain the momentum, because you can't afford to let up. When you've got someone as strong as Marc is at the moment, you've got to hit the ground running at the very first test, at the very first grand prix,” Suppo says.
Ducati believes they can get back to winning later in 2015
Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati’s Sporting Director and MotoGP Project Director is expecting to see the Borgo Panigale machines stepping back into the winners’ club later in 2015. He admits that the GP15 Desmosedici is a bit late, but Bologna knew this would happen. We told you last autumn that Gigi Dall’Igna preferred to debut the 2015 bike later and have as many things ready in one shot, than having it testing at Valencia and trying to fix the rest later before Sepang.The GP15 will debut in the official tests at Sepang, months after Honda and Yamaha have had their first outing with the 2015 bikes, but Ducati believes the result will show up later in the season. As the entire bike is new, Bologna hopes to have as many things as possible ready for Sepang, as a rushed debut was of no use.
Only factory riders get the GP15
Ciabatti said that so far only the works riders, the two Andreas will get to ride the GP15. Dovizioso and Iannone will ride the 2015 machine, while the satellite Pramac team will get a GP14.2 for Yonny Hernandez and a GP14 for Danilo Petrucci. The new customer team, Avintia, will also be using GP14 iron in 2015.Early February brings MotoGP action to Sepang, followed by another round of testing at the end of the same month. Has Ducati managed to bring the GP15 close to the frontrunners? February will tell.
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