With the 2016 World Champion decided, all the teams and riders now look forward to finish the season at their best and to start working ahead for the next year. Meanwhile, all the riders and respective teams have signed their contracts and are geared up for the upcoming season. We bring you the complete coverage of the riders racing for the 2017 World Championship through various Factory and Satellite teams. All the Factory teams have their riders signed up with a 2 year contract that will reflect till the end of 2018. Other Satellite teams have provided their riders with a one year contract, while Monster Yamaha Tech3 is offering an optional 1 year contract extension for their riders until 2018.
Factory Teams:
Repsol Honda:
The Repsol Honda duo of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa remain as teammates for yet another season and will jointly aid the development of the Honda RC213V. This would be their 5th year together, since the arrival of Marquez at Repsol Honda in 2013.
Movistar Yamaha:
With Jorge Lorenzo set to leave for Ducati Corse, a young sensation from Ecstar Suzuki- Maverick Viñales has been roped in alongside the veteran Valentino Rossi. Acquisition of Viñales has been one of the great decisions made by Yamaha, as it will be good for their FUTURE once Valentino Rossi bids a Goodbye to the sport (Though we'd love to see him at least 4 or 5 seasons more).
Ducati Corse:
The 2015 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo has signed up for Ducati, seeking a new challenge. Ducati accepted the proposal with open arms, as a result Andrea Iannone has lost his ride. Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso will be seen in Red leathers as teammates for the next couple of years.
Ecstar Suzuki:
The factory Suzuki team gets all new riders for 2017. Andrea Iannone arrives from Ducati alongside 2016 Moto2 title contender Alex Rins. With good development on the mechanical front during the winter, we can expect good results in future from the new teammates.
KTM:
KTM has finally arrived to MotoGP and 2017 would be their Rookie year in the Premier class alongside Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, riding the KTM RC16. The bike is said to feature an all new one of it's kind V4 engine developed in-house by KTM. The riders would get into business quickly, as they have already worked together as teammates at Monster Yamaha Tech 3.
Aprilia Gresini:
Aprilia gets a new set of riders for 2017 with Aleix Espargaro and Sam Lowes roped in to ride their Aprilia RS-GP. Coming up from Ecstar Suzuki -Aleix will head the development for Aprilia, whereas Lowes will have his rookie year on the litre class GP machine.
Satellite Teams:
LCR Honda:
Cal Crutchlow remains with LCR Honda for yet another season. Already having a factory spec bike and winning a race in 2016, it would be interesting to see where Cal is headed in the 2017 Championship.
Monster Yamaha Tech3:
The junior Yamaha team has two new riders, both roped in from Moto2 class. The 2015 Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger are set to team up to ride the Yamaha YZR M1. It's going to be interesting to see how Zarco fairs on a GP machine, having seen his tricks on the Moto2 bike.
Marc VDS Honda:
There is no change in the Marc VDS team, as they have decided to continue with the same riders. 2016 Dutch GP winner Jack Miller and Tito Rabat will continue as teammates for the following season as well.
Avintia Ducati:
Avintia Ducati has decided to retain both of its current riders for the next season. Hector Barbera and Loriz Baz remain as teammates, yet will be riding slightly different machines. Barbera will be awarded with a Desmocedici GP16 machine whereas Baz will ride a GP15.
Pramac Ducati:
Pramac Ducati also has retained its riders Scott Redding and Danilo Petrucci. Both the riders are given a Bounty to be won. The rider who gets most points at the end of the 2016 season gets a Factory GP17 machine, while the other rider will ride a GP16.
Aspar Ducati:
Aspar Ducati has two new names to its team as Alvaro Bautisto comes in from Aprilia, along with the Czech rider Karel Abraham. The 2016 Aspar rider Yonny Hernandez leaves to Moto2, failing to get a ride in MotoGP.
Here is the Provisional Calendar for the 2017 World Championship. Stay tuned to BikesIndia for further updates on MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb
Factory Teams:
Repsol Honda:
The Repsol Honda duo of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa remain as teammates for yet another season and will jointly aid the development of the Honda RC213V. This would be their 5th year together, since the arrival of Marquez at Repsol Honda in 2013.
*** Dani and Marc during 2013 Pre-Season
Movistar Yamaha:
With Jorge Lorenzo set to leave for Ducati Corse, a young sensation from Ecstar Suzuki- Maverick Viñales has been roped in alongside the veteran Valentino Rossi. Acquisition of Viñales has been one of the great decisions made by Yamaha, as it will be good for their FUTURE once Valentino Rossi bids a Goodbye to the sport (Though we'd love to see him at least 4 or 5 seasons more).
*** The new Factory Yamaha duo for 2017
Ducati Corse:
The 2015 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo has signed up for Ducati, seeking a new challenge. Ducati accepted the proposal with open arms, as a result Andrea Iannone has lost his ride. Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso will be seen in Red leathers as teammates for the next couple of years.
Ecstar Suzuki:The factory Suzuki team gets all new riders for 2017. Andrea Iannone arrives from Ducati alongside 2016 Moto2 title contender Alex Rins. With good development on the mechanical front during the winter, we can expect good results in future from the new teammates.
KTM: KTM has finally arrived to MotoGP and 2017 would be their Rookie year in the Premier class alongside Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, riding the KTM RC16. The bike is said to feature an all new one of it's kind V4 engine developed in-house by KTM. The riders would get into business quickly, as they have already worked together as teammates at Monster Yamaha Tech 3.
*** The all new KTM RC16 MotoGP Machine
Aprilia Gresini:
Aprilia gets a new set of riders for 2017 with Aleix Espargaro and Sam Lowes roped in to ride their Aprilia RS-GP. Coming up from Ecstar Suzuki -Aleix will head the development for Aprilia, whereas Lowes will have his rookie year on the litre class GP machine.
Satellite Teams:
LCR Honda:
Cal Crutchlow remains with LCR Honda for yet another season. Already having a factory spec bike and winning a race in 2016, it would be interesting to see where Cal is headed in the 2017 Championship.
Monster Yamaha Tech3:
The junior Yamaha team has two new riders, both roped in from Moto2 class. The 2015 Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger are set to team up to ride the Yamaha YZR M1. It's going to be interesting to see how Zarco fairs on a GP machine, having seen his tricks on the Moto2 bike.
Marc VDS Honda:
There is no change in the Marc VDS team, as they have decided to continue with the same riders. 2016 Dutch GP winner Jack Miller and Tito Rabat will continue as teammates for the following season as well.
Avintia Ducati:
Avintia Ducati has decided to retain both of its current riders for the next season. Hector Barbera and Loriz Baz remain as teammates, yet will be riding slightly different machines. Barbera will be awarded with a Desmocedici GP16 machine whereas Baz will ride a GP15.
Pramac Ducati:
Pramac Ducati also has retained its riders Scott Redding and Danilo Petrucci. Both the riders are given a Bounty to be won. The rider who gets most points at the end of the 2016 season gets a Factory GP17 machine, while the other rider will ride a GP16.
Aspar Ducati:
Aspar Ducati has two new names to its team as Alvaro Bautisto comes in from Aprilia, along with the Czech rider Karel Abraham. The 2016 Aspar rider Yonny Hernandez leaves to Moto2, failing to get a ride in MotoGP.
Here is the Provisional Calendar for the 2017 World Championship. Stay tuned to BikesIndia for further updates on MotoGP World Championship.By: Aravind Rb