MotoGP preview: Argentina

Can anyone get past Marc Marquez, who has been in spectacular form in the first two races of the season? And that also holds for Aussie Jack Miller in Moto3...

Reigning world champion Marc Marquez heads into this weekend’s Argentine Grand Prix as the red-hot favourite to continue his winning form in the MotoGP ranks as the Road Racing World Championship returns to the South American county for the first time since 1999.

While for every rider the 4.8km Termas de Rio Hondo circuit will be a new challenge, Marquez (Repsol Honda) showed last year in Austin that he is one of the fastest to adapt to new layouts and conditions. And with the pace he has been showing so far, many will see him as the clear favourite – especially with his ability to make the hard Bridgestone rear tyre as tyre issues have plagued the regular front runners.

Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa is arguably an exception to that, having also ridden a brilliant race in Austin last time out – but with the commonly used medium rear compound.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo will be doing all he can to put the disastrous start to season behind him – first crashing out of Qatar on the first lap, and then jumping the start in Austin before finishing 10th. As much as bike set-up, the Mallorcan will be aiming to regain the mental strength that has stood him in good stead over the years.

Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi has shown that he can still keep up with the front-runners, though struggled with a fast-degrading front tyre in Austin. If he can overcome these issues, Rossi could once again be a podium contender. His previous employer, Ducati, had a great race in Austin, taking its first dry podium in over a year with Andrea Dovizioso keeping his nerve to guide home the Desmosedici GP14. His teammate Cal Crutchlow on the other hand will sit the event out after fracturing the little finger in Austin, and his place will be taken by the team’s test rider, Italian Michele Pirro.

The satellite bikes have been putting on a great show for the riders since the start of the season. Pramac Team’s Andrea Iannone in particular will be one to watch, as he had his Ducati in a podium position for a significant stretch last time out before suffering the same front tyre issue as Rossi. Monster Yamaha Tech3 duo Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro both demonstrated a willingness to go fairing to fairing with the likes of LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, which is great news for MotoGP, though might leave their team managers with a few more grey hairs.

GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, alongside Bradl, tested at the Argentinian track last year, and both are likely to have an advantage in the first free practices.

The “Open” class bikes on the grid will have their work cut out trying to hunt down NGM Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro, who is looking ever more comfortable on his Yamaha-powered machine. The likes of his teammate Colin Edwards, GO&FUN’s Scott Redding, Drive M7 Aspar duo Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama, as well as Pramac’s Yonny Hernandez are showing improvements with every session and should have the possibility to challenge.

The other riders to line up under the “Open” regulations are PBM’s Michael Laverty and Broc Parkes, Iodaracing’s Danilo Petrucci, Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham, as well as Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera and Mike di Meglio.

Following Bridgestone’s tyre test there last year with Bautista, Bradl and Crutchlow, the tyre manufacturer has opted to bring a symmetric rear, with both the fronts and rears set to be of the harder compounds to cope with the tyre-punishing track.

In Moto3, Aussie Jack Miller will be striving to make it three wins in a row, on the back of his stunning victories in Qatar and Texas. Having joined the successful Red Bull KTM Ajo for 2014, Miller has demonstrated the full potential many knew he had, taking maximum points from the opening two rounds and enjoying himself along the way.

Miller will be joined by countryman Arthur Sissis (Mahindra) in Moto3, while Anthony West (QMMF Speed Up) showed strong form in Austin in the Moto2 race, while will give him confidence heading into Argentina.

West is now an elder statesman of GP racing, and alongside Valentino Rossi are the only riders in the current paddock to have competed at the last Argentine event in 1999. Rossi and West were third and eighth respectively in the 250cc class, the 125cc event was won by Marco Melandri, and Kenny Roberts Jnr (Suzuki) defeated Yamaha pair Max Biaggi and Norick Abe in the 500cc race – which featured Aussies Garry McCoy, Mark Willis and Steve Martin.

And Marquez? He was six years old at the time…

MotoGP preview: Argentina

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