2019 MotoGP preview: Rd1, Qatar

Another exciting year of MotoGP action begins at this weekend’s season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar from March 8-10, as Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez once again prepares to defend his world title.

Plenty of new names join the 2019 grid, with Joan Mir and Francesco Bagnaia – the 2017 Moto3 and 2018 Moto2 world champions respectively – and Miguel Oliveira all earning well-deserved promotions to the premier class.

Jack Miller remains with the Pramac Racing crew in 2019, the Australian now partnering reigning Moto2 world champion Bagnaia.

Miller’s former teammate Danilo Petrucci takes up Jorge Lorenzo’s spot at Ducati, as Lorenzo forms a new powerhouse line-up at Repsol Honda alongside five-time world champion Marquez.

A fierce battle will continue at the sharp end of the field, with Ducati and Honda expected to battle it out for top honours from the first race of the season at Losail.

Honda in particular will be aiming to start its campaign on a positive note, having not won the traditional season-opening race since 2014.

Meanwhile, Yamaha will work especially harder towards a stronger 2019 following a below-par 2018 campaign.

Maverick Vinales’ victory at the 2018 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was the team’s only win last year. It was also the first time Valentino Rossi endured a winless year since his 2012 season with Ducati.

Lap times were immensely tight throughout pre-season testing in Spain, Malaysia and Qatar, with Honda, Ducati and Yamaha each trading blows at the top of the timesheets.

The trio has been separated by no less than a handful of tenths for the majority of testing, setting up a thrilling year in 2019.

MORE: Vinales finishes pre-season on a high

Meanwhile, Miller will continue to eye off more points-paying finishes as he enters his fifth MotoGP season.

The 24-year-old runs with a 2019-built Ducati bike mirroring the same specifications as the factory Ducati team.

“I’m really happy with how the bike, the leather suit, and the whole package came together,” Miller said. “I’m excited, there’s a lot of anticipation heading into Qatar. It’s a big year for me being on the factory bike, it looks fast, I just hope it can ride fast.

“There’s a big difference between the GP17 to the GP19, the step is very big. Some of the areas we lacked on the GP17 I feel they’ve really pulled together, and it’s improved an incredible amount on the GP19.

"I’m looking forward to starting and feeling it out on a race situation.”

Miller’s fellow Aussie Remy Gardner has shown promising signs at his new Kalex-backed SAG Team in the Moto2 class.

The 21-year-old had a pleasing end to his pre-season, going third fastest overall as the Moto2 class enters a new era with a Triumph-supplied in-line triple engine.

MORE: Triumph hands over 2019 Moto2 engines

“We made a lot of [last-minute] changes throughout the weekend and improved our settings a lot,” Gardner said. “We [also completed] a race simulation and [showed] very good pace constantly under the Moto2 lap record. I am feeling very confident for next weekend.

“I am extremely happy with my team, thank you to all the mechanics and my crew chief, I am really looking forward to next weekend.”

The 2019 season welcomes the introduction of a new penalty, the Long Lap Penalty, at selected circuits throughout the year.

The new rule requires penalised riders to pass through a marked area at a safe point around the track that is some seconds slower than the normal racing line.

Phillip Island’s 2019 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix takes place from October 25-27.