MotoGP arrives in Europe this weekend for a campaign that will open with the Spanish Grand Prix. A premier category that is currently leading Andrea Dovizioso thanks to his victory taken at the start of Qatar, then to his ability, then, to turn his back when things are not going well for Ducati. And Jerez should be a field where he will still have to be patient. In fact, his position as provisional general is a sort of trompe l'oeil. Because if we look at the overall result of the first three games and bring them back to last year's performances, we arrive at the result that the strength is firstly with Honda and Márquez...
This is an interesting study carried out GP One. We start from this observation: out of three races contested, two were won by Hondas. Argentina returned to Crutchlow and Austin to Márquez. But the same Márquez was much more valiant in Qatar than he was last year. The sign that the new RC213V has really progressed. Meanwhile, at Ducati the situation between 2017 and 2018 is more or less the same. And it is obviously a disappointment which gives rise to fears for the future of events.
The same approach shows that Yamaha is recovering. The gaps have narrowed and Austin's cursor can be considered a tell-tale. Besides Casa Particular in Viñales is third overall with only five points behind the leader. Jerez will be, for the brand in tune, the turning point. Either she is in the game and she will be for the rest of the season. Either this is not the case, and we can prepare ourselves for difficult times.
On the outsider side, finally, we must take into account the case of Suzuki who experiences redemption one year apart. The GSX-RR has been on two of the three podiums offered so far. Meanwhile, both Aprilia and KTM can make fun of each other. From one year to the next, these manufacturers have not improved their situation. Which even got worse...
MotoGP: Manufacturers' ranking after Austin (3/19)
1 Honda 20 25 25 70
2 Yamaha 16 20 20 56
3 Ducati 25 13 11 49
4 Suzuki 7 16 16 39
5 Aprilia 0 4 6 10
6 KTM 0 5 3 8
