On Track Off Road No. 195

into an early decision.
Perhaps Rossi will choose to
switch to the Petronas squad,
with full factory backing, on the
condition that his brother Luca
Marini is drafted in alongside
him. That would be no bad
choice: Marini has grown enormously
as a rider in the past
couple of years, winning three
races and becoming a regular
on the podium. The idea of a
Rossi family team to take on
the Márquez family team inside
Repsol Honda may well prove
irresistible to The Doctor.
In Bologna, Ducati is chomping
at the bit. Ducati Corse boss Gigi
Dall’Igna has always felt that the
main obstacle on his path to a
championship was the lack of a
top rider. And when he had one
in Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati CEO
Claudio Domenicali’s impatience
caused the Spaniard to leave.
Ducati will throw money at Fabio
Quartararo and Alex Rins, and
hope that some of it sticks. If it
doesn’t, they still have stalwart
Andrea Dovizioso, and a rapidly
maturing Jack Miller.
And Dall’Igna has promised to
bring more horsepower for 2020,
piqued that Honda matched him
for power last year.
Viñales’ residence at Yamaha
changes the prospects for
Dovizioso as well. At 34 this year,
he looked to be on the way out,
despite finishing second in the
championship for the past three
years. But Viñales’ renewing with
Yamaha could and should win
him a reprieve.
The biggest threat for Dovizioso,
and for the other thirty somethings
in the paddock, is the
wave of young riders ready to
engulf MotoGP. Jack Miller, 25,
is ready to step up to the factory
Ducati team from the Pramac
squad. Brad Binder, 25, and Iker
Lecuona, 20, are ready to make
an impact at KTM. Jorge Navarro,
24, Augusto Fernandez, 23,
and Fabio Di Giannantonio, 22,
are ready to step up from Moto2.
The kids are coming.
CREATED THANKS TO Moto3’S
NEWEST RACING TEAM
BY DAVID EMMETT