Gas! Here is the MotoGP 2021 guide: One by one of all the riders and motorcycles in the world championship

This begins! In just six days the traffic lights will go out at the Losail circuit and the 2021 MotoGP World Championship will begin, one of the most interesting championships that is remembered by everything that surrounds it. The first thing is that Marc Márquez is no longer the current champion and it is still not clear that he will run the first race.

The preseason showed us that Yamaha and Ducati are the most competitive bikes, each in their own style, but Suzuki are the reigning champions and Honda has the Márquez factor. Together with the progression of Aprilia, it only remains for KTM to dispel the doubts so that we have an exciting world championship ahead of us. These are all the protagonists.

suzuki

The defending champions have lost Davide Brivio and have been left with a somewhat strange triumvirate at the helm of the team. They have the responsibility to defend their crown with dignity, even knowing that due to budget they cannot be the favorites. But there are those who suspect that they have reserved a lot in the preseason.

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What we have seen in the tests has been somewhat strange, giving the feeling that they are fine but without shining too much, which suggests that Jack Miller's theory, which said that they were reserving, is serious. But it may also be that rivals' increased knowledge of Michelin tires partly mitigates Suzuki's strong point, race pace.

36. Joan Mir

The champion gave up wearing the number 1. Many decried Mir's title in 2020, explaining that it was a very strange year, without realizing that it was only the second season of the Balearic Islands in MotoGP. It is still in the process of growth, and without the pressure of having to achieve results: dreams are already fulfilled.

2021 is presented as a test of character for Mir. What kind of champion is he going to be, the one who reaches the elite or the one who also stays? The battle with Márquez is what everyone expects, but before that it is important that he keeps Álex Rins at bay, who will try to dethrone him as leader of Suzuki.

42. Alex Rins

Surely 2020 was Rins's great opportunity to be MotoGP world champion, but his injuries and bad head ended up ruling out a world championship that ended up in the hands of his partner. He has to temper himself in the decisive moments if he does not want to be definitively relegated to a role of second driver.

Nobody can argue that Rins is very fast, practically as fast as Mir, but his bad head has made him lose many points when he was fighting for victories. The injury didn't help last year either, so in 2021 he has a crucial season ahead of him to impose his peculiar driving style ahead of Mir. Suzuki's internal supremacy is at stake.

Petronas Yamaha

The Yamaha satellite team was runner-up in riders and teams in 2020, and with its hypertrophied budget, many believe that it is beginning to be a danger to the official Yamaha team itself. Iwata's bikes blew up during pre-season, which suggests that they will once again be a very competitive team.

They have lost Fabio Quartararo to incorporate Valentino Rossi, who will undoubtedly be a boost at the media level but it remains to be seen if he will also be one in sporting terms. In addition, with the contract that binds him to Yamaha about to expire, Petronas' season could be murky if the negotiation goes awry.

21. Franco Morbidelli

By full right, Morbidelli is the leader of the Petronas team and a serious contender for the 2021 title. He keeps the 2019 Yamaha, with which he already raced last year, a bet that we will see what results it gives him, but entry completely sets him apart from the other three riders of the brand in MotoGP.

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Ramón Forcada's technical wisdom was essential in 2020, especially for the second races, but those events are already gone this year, with the exception of Qatar. We will see if the experience acquired last season, and that runner-up finish, drive Morbidelli to go one step further, gain regularity and put Yamaha's internal stability in check.

46.Valentino Rossi

For the first time in the last two decades Valentino Rossi is going to be a satellite pilot. At 42 years old, that 'Il Dottore' continues to race in the motorcycle world championship is practically a miracle, and the preseason shows it with times: Rossi has clearly been the slowest Yamaha rider. In fact, he is the only one without a dominant beat.

In his favour, it must be said that he has been improving during the tests, and if we add that to his usual good starts to the season, it is quite likely that he will have striking results in the Losail double. From then on he will have to sweat, but the simple presence of Rossi is a gift for all the fans, and if he gets on a podium it will already be a party.

KTM

The great revelation of MotoGP 2020 was the great disappointment of the 2021 pre-season. In its first year without concessions it seems that KTM has lost some speed, so much so that it seemed the worst MotoGP bike in the tests. A worrying situation from which they must get out immediately, although they may have saved something.

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In Losail they lacked speed and rhythm, both for the official pilots and for the satellites and the testers. A jug of cold water before a season in which they were considered as candidates for the title. In any case, when the fire is real we will see how true KTM's problems are.

88. Miguel Oliveira

Without Pol Espargaró, at KTM there is a fairly homogeneous line-up of riders with promising youngsters from the house. Miguel Oliveira, with one more year of experience and two victories in MotoGP, seems to be the one called to lead the team in his new adventure as an official rider, after completing his first two years in Tech3 with brutal success.

The Portuguese, regular like few others, will also seek to beat Brad Binder in speed to make the official KTM team his home. The fight between the two pupils of the Austrian brand is expected to be an anthology, although if the bike is not as competitive as expected, it may be lackluster.

33. Brad Binder

The first KTM rider to win a MotoGP race heads into his second season in the premier class with a lot of things to fine-tune. In 2020 he showed a lot of pace in more than one race, not only in Brno, but he must leave behind the stupid mistakes that forced him to come back constantly.

Binder has always shown during his career a very fast learning process, which will surely help him in this crucial season. The internal leadership of KTM is at stake, and with Olivera he has already lost both in Moto3 and Moto2. Too many pending accounts, always going in tow. But now it is Oliveira who has arrived at Binder's team.

Ducati

The Ducati Desmosedici GP21 is a better bike than its predecessor. That is what can be extracted from the MotoGP preseason, and it is not a small thing considering the precedents. In Borgo Panigale they have squeezed the engine even more, so much so that Johann Zarco broke the unofficial MotoGP top speed record in Losail.

Gigi Dall'Igna has brought new aerodynamic devices that make the bike more docile, and the times come out more at one lap than at race pace. But in both areas it seems that it is enough to be in the fight for the titles: the big question is whether they have pilots trained for such an amendment.

43. Jack Miller

The Australian is Ducati's great hope. After six years as a satellite, Jack Miller has had the great opportunity to be an official rider in MotoGP. In the preseason he has been seen very fast in one lap, so much so that he has set the fastest time in all the Losail tests, even ahead of the Yamaha.

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With Miller the doubts always focus on his regularity. He is now in the official Ducati team, where winning today and finishing tenth tomorrow is not worth it. Fighting for a world championship is something else, so Miller needs to continue the good and regular streak that he already started in the last races of last year. He looks conscientious.

63. Pecco Bagnaia

The case of Bagnaia is the sea of ​​curious. In two years at Pramac he has barely stood out in a couple of races or three, but the shortage of riders at Ducati is such that this has helped him become an official. He has arrived, but since he does not start to provide results for the brand, it seems that he will not last long, seeing all the young talent that Ducati has signed.

In a few very rare moments in 2020 it seemed that Bagnaia had understood the new Michelin tires better than any other Ducati rider, but that was diluted quite a bit after being confirmed as an official, and some information suggests that he has picked up bad habits. In Ducati they need regularity and decent results from him, more than some punctual flash.

Pramac Ducati

As the official Ducati team has taken the two Pramac riders, they have had to find a completely new partner. With Johann Zarco and Jorge Martín, at Pramac they have the goal of finally achieving their first victory in MotoGP, something they brushed but failed to close in 2020.

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With two units of the fast Ducati Desmosedici GP21, a very promising season is planned for Pramac. Zarco is hopeful that victory will come, but Martín is also ambitious, he has landed on his feet in the category and already sets high demands on himself for 2021.

5.Johann Zarco

After suffering for KTM and a fleeting step for Honda, it seems that Johann Zarco has found his home in Ducati. Last year he saved the face of the brand on more than one occasion riding with Esponsorama, and that has allowed him to move up to Pramac, Ducati's satellite team, where he will ride an updated bike.

2021 is more important for Zarco than it seems. With Enea Bastianini signed by Ducati, it is unlikely that the Italian will still be at Esponsorama when he becomes the VR46. So if he does well, as it seems, Ducati will have to find an accommodation for him, and Zarco's gap will be the sweetest. The Frenchman plays his career in 2021.

89. Jorge Martin

No rush for the young Spanish talent. Jorge Martín is one of the bets for the future that Ducati has made, the strongest along with Bastianini, so we will have patience with him. During the preseason, Martín has gone very fast, taking giant steps in the adaptation process. So much so that he sets ambitious goals.

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Martín is the big favorite to be Rookie of the Year, mainly because the other rookies are Bastianini and Luca Marini, who ride an old Ducati, and Lorenzo Savadori, who nobody knows how long he will last. But, even so, Martín doubles the bet and is required to make a top five at some point. He does not even rule out getting on the podium.

yamaha

The big favorites for the Losail races. Many fans despise Yamaha's options, and after what was seen in 2020 it is not for less, but if we stick to the rhythms of the preseason they seem almost unbeatable. His only kryptonite is the same as always: a very poor top speed.

The Yamaha riders were last in the speed trap, around 13 km/h on average from Ducati speeds. If the Borgo Panigale bikes don't take off in the first few laps, Yamaha could once again be in a very frustrating situation: being faster and not being able to win.

12. Maverick Vinales

For the first time since he has been at Yamaha, Viñales will no longer have Valentino Rossi at his side. It's no small thing, because it seems that Iwata has placed a lot of responsibility on the Spanish rider when it comes to guiding the development of the bike. The 2021 season is very important for Viñales, and they have already given it an internal touch to tighten it.

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With competition from another youngster like Fabio Quartararo on the other side of the garage, Viñales has to impose himself not only as the Yamaha leader, but as a truly competitive one. Complaints and complaints, justified or not, about his bike will not help. Do a ride on Saturday, go out well and escape on Sunday. That is the only way, and he knows it. Enough of experiments, we must fight.

20. Fabio Quartararo

'El Diablo' is dressed in blue for a 2021 season in which his mind will have an important weight in what happens on the track. For much of last year it was thought that Quartararo would become an official in Yamaha being already world champion, but in the end he was not even close. He mentally fell apart in the final stretch, and the bike didn't help either.

Quartararo wants that to be just a punctual passage, but now the pressure is multiplied by two. Not only has he already punctured once, but now he will have the entire Yamaha factory behind him. Perhaps recovering the reference of Márquez, with whom he often fought in 2019, will be good for him to find the path.

Tech3 KTM

The satellite team of KTM has renewed until 2026 with MotoGP and will continue to be linked to the Austrian brand after the brilliant season they experienced in 2020. They lose Miguel Oliveira, but in return they win a veteran rider who will give a lot of knowledge to the brand, and to the team, like Danilo Petrucci.

The big problem for the Tech3 may be that if the problems of the KTM RC16 are confirmed they could return to the bottom of the standings, where they were in 2019. Hervé Poncharal will work to keep afloat an already classic squad on the grid that is packed of hits this season.

9. Danilo Petrucci

The only new face of KTM. The former Ducati rider will get on the beautiful Tech3 bike with the aim of getting as much data as possible for his brand. That is why he was one of the pilots who rode the most in the preseason. Petrucci is also life insurance for wet races, like Le Mans a few months ago.

Petrucci's move from Ducati official to KTM satellite seems to go further. He knows that it is very possible that this will be his last stage in MotoGP, but he is linked to a powerful brand in other fields with which he could pave the way for future goals. 'Petrux' always had a lot of attention for the Dakar.

27. Iker Lecuona

The mythical number of Casey Stoner will continue one more year on the grid thanks to Iker Lecuona. Rookies continue to arrive, but the Valencian remains the youngest rider in MotoGP, which will no longer be an excuse for him to start achieving some outstanding results. A step forward is expected in 2021.

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Lecuona showed that he is capable of going fast with the KTM since his debut in Valencia in 2019, but that is useless if the races are not finished and if there is no certain consistency. With a driver of questionable competitive hunger on the other side of the garage, 2021 could be a great opportunity for Lecuona to vindicate himself. But if he doesn't, danger. MotoGP does not forgive.

LCR Honda

The Honda satellite team was ahead of the official team last season, so it's time to talk about them and their particular structure, which is still split in two. On the one hand, with Castrol, Álex Márquez will be there, while on the other side, that of Idemitsu, will continue to drive Takaaki Nakagami, with a completely different livery from his teammate.

Thus, the LCR says goodbye to Cal Crutchlow, the driver who made him win races in previous seasons. After a tumultuous year, it seems that the Honda satellite team has been able to bring together two riders who go well with the Japanese bike, so the results should come out first time.

30. Takaaki Nakagami

2020 was a bittersweet year for Nakagami. On the one hand, he established himself as a MotoGP rider, and this is demonstrated by the fact that this year he will be riding the updated Honda RC213V. But neither can we forget that he was nervous at the moment of truth, which made him finish the season without the coveted first podium in MotoGP.

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That is a pending issue for 2021, because otherwise Nakagami seems fast and is quite constant when he is not under pressure. So much so that he was slow to drop from the battle for the title despite the fact that he did not get on any podium. Nakagami is going to be the ever-needed Japanese touch on the 2021 grid.

73. Alex Marquez

Álex Márquez's preseason has left many doubts. The two-time world champion suffered many falls, and in one of them he broke a toe. He will be able to race in Qatar, but we will see in what conditions. He has wanted to continue betting on the 2020 chassis that allowed him to ride the Honda as if it were a Yamaha, but the motorcycle he has is a black leg.

Last year he was much more toned in the second half of the season, with two podiums in a row that could have been something more. In a way, it marked the way for how Honda should sweeten his bike. Now it becomes a satellite, and the comparison with what Pol Espargaró does in the official team will always be present.

Repsol-Honda

What a season Honda has ahead. It seems that in 2020 they hit bottom and this year they will go up. The new Honda is more docile, less treacherous, which benefits one of HRC's great hopes for 2021: that Marc Márquez can return to 100% and recover his level without relapse.

In Honda they are candidates for the title because they have Márquez and because they have won more times than anyone else, but they also have another factor called Pol Espargaró. Another dream 'Dream Team' that has the unavoidable mission of returning Honda to the fight for the championship. Getting out of the penultimate position is taken for granted.

93. Marc Marquez

The eighth champion is the great unknown of MotoGP 2021. All the speculations that are made about this world championship must be taken with tweezers, since nobody knows how Márquez will return, probably not even himself. If the Marquez we meet is the same as the one who left, we have the clear favorite for the title.

The problem is that after nine months off, it's not easy to recover the tone, much less the rhythm. The risk of entering an injury spiral is always there considering Marquez's style. If all the lights are always on him when there is a MotoGP race, in 2021 it will be even more exaggerated.

44. Pol Espargaro

If Márquez is in Losail he will get all eyes, but if he is not it will be for Pol Espargaró. The new Honda rider faces his last chance to be world champion, or at least to win a MotoGP race. The adaptation seen in preseason invites optimism, but with some moderation.

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Espargaró has made solid and steady progress during the tests, but he is still a hair short of being with the best, where Márquez is supposed to be when he recovers 100%. Tome Pol's attitude in Marc's team is going to be very relevant this season. Alberto Puig has a lot at stake in the experiment.

Sponsorship Ducati

The Esponsorama team is, together with Tech3, the most serious candidate to return to the MotoGP red lantern. Firstly because its two riders are rookies, secondly because they will be using the old Ducati bikes and thirdly, and most importantly, because of the strange transition situation the team finds itself in.

Sponsorama, the only Spanish MotoGP team, will cease to be so next year. It is not official, but it is an open secret. Valentino Rossi will enter with all his capital to turn it into the VR46, and in fact we will already have a motorcycle wearing that livery in 2021, that of Luca Marini, the very brother. A strange year is coming with two structures.

23. Enea Bastianini

Although the two Esponsorama pilots are rookies, Enea Bastianini is clearly the one with the best chance of success. Not only because he is the current Moto2 world champion, but also because he has also shown a lot of speed during the preseason, practically at the same times as Jorge Martín, the other Ducati youngster.

It will be important for Bastianini not to lose concentration in 2021, because the team can become hostile to him at times. 'The Beast' is one of the few young Italians who has not passed through the Valentino Rossi Academy, so he will hardly continue in 2022, but the contract he has with Ducati ensures him a place if he does well.

10. Luca Marini

If Esponsorama is a candidate for the red lantern in the team classification, Marini is in the drivers' classification. Valentino Rossi's brother has not been fast at all in preseason, maintaining the dynamics of his last races in Moto2. And it is that he gives the feeling that he stayed in that fall at Le Mans.

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Marini has always shown himself to be a rider who grows slowly and learns little by little, so great results are not expected for 2021. The good thing is that the support of the VR46 ensures continuity in MotoGP for more seasons, so you will be able to take it easy your first year.

aprilia

They cannot continue to be the worst team in MotoGP. The new Aprilia RS-GP 2021 seemed very promising during the preseason, so much so that Aleix Espargaró dreams of getting on the podium in one of the races in Qatar. What is clear is that the bike has polished details and is now one of the top ten.

The problem, at least for now, may be in the second pilot. Lorenzo Savadori will start the season, but in mid-April Andrea Dovizioso is going to get on the bike, and then he will decide if he does it in the race as well. It would be a morale blow for a brand that does not have bad wicks, but is depressed.

41. Aleix Espargaro

One more year Aleix Espargaró appears as the great hope of Aprilia. The Catalan rider showed in the preseason that the new bike works very well, both at one lap and at race pace. He now has to translate it into the race, when everyone tightens until the last nut to find every thousandth.

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What is essential is that Espargaró leaves crashes behind, especially in a situation in which Aprilia practically only has him to receive data from the bike. He enters his last contract as a MotoGP rider as he himself said, and surely he wants to put at least one more podium in these two years as he ices on his career.

32. Lorenzo Savadori

Lorenzo Savadori is the other main Aprilia rider, at the moment... If Dovizioso says 'Yes' after the Jerez test, he will take his bike, but what is certain is that Savadori will ride the 2021 Aprilia RS-GP in Qatar's double. The preseason hasn't been promising at all, expecting points from Savadori right now is a pipe dream.

If we said that Marini was a candidate for the red lantern, the main rival is Savadori. In addition, the current champion of the Italian national team is injured in a shoulder, which has weighed him down. That said, if Aprilia finds something better, be it Dovizioso or not, it won't last long. And if he doesn't, there are no great expectations either.

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