MotoGP preview: Rd2, Argentina

The 2019 MotoGP season resumes this weekend (March 29-31) with round two of the championship in Argentina.

Following the closest race in MotoGP history at the opening Qatar round three weeks ago – the top 15 riders were separated by 15 seconds – teams arrived at the Termas de Rio Honda circuit on Thursday amid the ongoing fallout of Ducati’s controversial swingarm winglet.

The device has been green-lit for the remainder of the season after a verdict from the sport’s Court of Appeal. It means that Andrea Dovizioso’s Qatar win stands, and he and fellow Ducati riders Danilo Petrucci and Aussie Jack Miller will be free to continue using the device in Argentina.

Despite the distractions, Ducati’s lead rider, Andrea Dovizioso is keen to maintain his championship lead this weekend.

“Well I expect to be more competitive this year than last year, because last year I struggled a lot,” he said. “Argentina is a strange race, we have to see the conditions tomorrow because normally it is difficult to work during the practice with the conditions, the tyres, with the lines, it was difficult to setup… Honda are also really competitive here, also Yamaha will be competitive.”

Ducati’s swingarm winglet drew protests from four rivalling teams in the wake of the Qatar Grand Prix. Each argued the device afforded Ducati an unfair aerodynamic advantage which contravened the rules (because it is not integrated into the body work). Ducati said it was present merely to cool the rear tyre.

The courtroom stoush took a backseat for Marc Marquez during Thursday’s press conference. Instead, the five-time world champion’s concerns rested firmly with the unpredictable Argentinian weather.

“Here in Argentina, normally it suits my riding style well, but we’ll see throughout the weekend what the conditions are like and all of these things,” he said. “You never know in these conditions, but I feel ready in every condition. I will try to be ready in every condition.

“This is our mentality; if it’s raining, we put in wet tyres, if it’s dry put on the slicks and then try to find the best way to be there fighting for the podium.”

No man knows the intricacies of the Argentinian weather better than Australian Jack Miller. Last year, the Alma Pramac Ducati rider found himself in a strange position whereby his machine was on pole and every other rider was ordered to start from the “back” of the grid – some four rows behind Miller – after making a last-minute switch to slick rubber.

Miller went on to finish fourth in that race, eventually conceding an early lead to Cal Crutchlow following a mistake with only a handful of laps remaining.

Crutchlow, who finished a defiant third in a return from injury in the opening Qatar race, has high hopes of repeating last year’s Argentinian success _ the third victory of his MotoGP career.

“It was a great weekend in Qatar,” the LCR Honda rider said. “It felt great going home from Qatar but I felt like the two weekends off was too long. To come back to Argentina – a race I won last year – I’m excited to try and do a good job for my team and battle for this weekend.”

Over at Yamaha, Valentino Rossi is quietly confident of success at Argentina. The 40-year-old salvaged fifth place in Qatar with a vintage performance that followed disappointing qualifying and practice sessions throughout the weekend. His team-mate, Maverick Vinales, will also be eager to improve his form after failing to build on a pole position in Qatar, eventually finishing seventh.

This weekend will be another important confidence-building exercise for the likes of Jorge Lorenzo, who continues a slow recovery from injury aboard his Repsol Honda, but also for a new guard of rookies. Keep an eye out for the likes of Fabio Quartararo, Joan Mir, Miguel Oliveira and Pecco Bagnaia as they continue their transition to the main game.

Meanwhile in Moto2, Australia’s Remy Gardner will be eager to continue his strong start to the season in Argentina. The 21-year-old finished a career-best fourth in Qatar, an achievement that bodes well for his season aboard the new Triumph engine.

“In the end, we came away from Qatar with 13 points, my best ever GP finish and the confidence that we can run at the front,” Gardner said. “I lost some grip in the closing laps and we need to find a bit more speed, but we will get there.”

The challenging Termas de Rio Honda circuit is 4.8km in length, with five left-hand and nine right-hand corners. Race distance for MotoGP is 25 laps, or 120km.

Network 10 will broadcast the Argentinian Grand Prix from 4.30am AEST Monday, April 1, while the Fox Sports coverage begins at 11:40pm AEST on Sunday, March 31 with the Moto3 warm-up.