More roadracing news, as winter disappears:
MotoGP
The biggest question this season is, “When will Marc Marquez return?”. We still don’t know the answer, but we know he won’t be back for the opening race weekend, or the race after that.
Apparently, although Marquez was deemed well enough for training aboard a motorcycle, his doctors and team feel he’s not ready for the March 28 race weekend in Qatar, or the April 4 weekend. There’s no indication he’ll be there for the race after that, either. It seems he already considers himself out of the title hunt this year, by what he’s saying.
Marquez is recovering from breaking his right upper arm mid-July 2020. His recovery has been filled with setbacks, and he appears to be suffering long-term results of other injuries. No doubt his team wants to make sure he’s 100 percent capable before letting him back on-track, as his career could be over with another problem in that right arm or shoulder.
Canadian Superbike
Ben Young says he’s in for 2021. The 2019 champion sat out the 2020 series, due to challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic. Jordan Szoke won last year’s Pro Superbike title, and now Young is returning to challenge this season.
His press release says “The extra time at home has afforded Young the opportunity to focus on his fitness and race mentality, and is super eager and ready to swing his leg over his 2021 BMW S1000RR.” So, he’s on a new bike, and staying in shape. Most of his 2019 team is back, too. The presser says Willie Vass, Scott Cartier, and Scott Young are all back, but due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Steve Weir can’t rejoin the team this year.
Sounds like we’re setting up for a decently interesting season, then. With Szoke and Young both on new bikes this year, expect a battle over bike development to shape up.
Ohvale Cup Canada
When the Super Sonic Road Racing School was on the 2020 show circuit, it was promoting the upcoming Canadian Mini Superbike Championship Series (MiniSBK), but also a new series based around made-in-Italy Ohvale minibikes.
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with that plan for 2020. We understand the Super Sonic team is working on its 2021 program, though, with recent confirmation the Ohvale series is back on for 2021. We’re still waiting on dates, but that’s good news for motorcyclists who want track time aboard a small, manageable bike.
