Top themes to watch for in MotoGP 2014

From political wrangling to red-faced climb-downs, and from Yamaha's tyre woes to Marc Marquez's injury-wrecked pre-season, MotoGP has suffered a winter of discontent.

Out of the ashes however, the shape of the sport's future has arisen. A new class structure has been implemented, with Ducati relinquishing its Factory status.

Honda's and Yamaha's stranglehold has been loosened. And all the major players enter the final year of their existing contracts.

AUTOSPORT analyses the major themes set to dominate the 2014 season.

DUCATI ROLLS THE DICE...

After three barren years, Ducati has taken a gamble and given up its full Factory status. Few moves have been as significant to the landscape of MotoGP.

As radical as the decision appears, it was a no-brainer for Ducati to make the switch. Four extra litres of fuel and softer tyres will be welcome advantages, but the real benefit - the impulse for the switch - is the ability to develop engines and continue testing throughout the season.

The implications are massive. As a Factory entry, Ducati would be subject to restricted testing and an engine freeze. Under its new guise it can pound round test tracks day after day, evaluating different engines, different chassis, and different ideas. In one neat move, Ducati has unlocked the potential to make massive strides.

There is a trade-off, of course, but Ducati has played its hand well. While it will have to use spec software, it's been working with Magneti Marelli to improve the system over the winter. As a result, the new software is not a million miles off the factory standard.

Ducati has gambled then, and it's impossible to fault the logic.

...WHILE ORGANISERS LOSE THE PLOT

Indeed, Ducati's switch makes so much sense that Honda and Yamaha were instantly incensed.

The move, they argued, went against the spirit of the Open class rules - ostensibly, to give a helping hand to less-affluent privateer outfits. But Ducati didn't find an obscure loophole: the ability for a Factory outfit to adopt the new regulations was deliberate. Promoter Dorna wanted such a move - and that is where the fun began.

Barely two weeks before the start of the season, under intense pressure from Honda and Yamaha, Dorna made a sudden climb-down and announced the introduction of a new category, Factory 2, into which Ducati would be placed. The move was designed to appease both parties. It resulted in farce.

Rather than healing the political wrangling, the new category left a multitude of unanswered questions. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta had wanted the changes ratified within a day; instead it took almost a fortnight. On the eve of the season - just two days before first practice - there was still no confirmation.

And yet from the ashes, the situation was saved. From embarrassed retreat, Dorna counter-attacked with the announcement that a control ECU will be made mandatory across all classes in 2016, a year ahead of schedule.

Honda and Yamaha came on board because they will be able to contribute to the spec software, one of the key sticking points previously. Ducati will still have unrestricted development, but will see other advantages diminish should it consistently break into the top three.

Resolution then, but only after fiasco.

END OF THE ROAD FOR ROSSI?

The comeback started so well. When 'The Doctor' used all his nous to beat feisty pretender Marquez to second on his Yamaha return in Qatar 12 months ago, it looked like all the doubts the painful Ducati years had created would be swiftly erased.

That relief proved premature. Assen win aside, it was a largely muted 2013 season for Rossi, after which it was hard to argue with any conviction that his best days weren't behind him. He may still be the greatest of all time, but he's no longer the present-day benchmark.

You couldn't accuse Rossi of lacking self-awareness, though. He'd warned fans pre-2013 that he had to prove to himself he was still on Lorenzo's level, and this winter he made it clear that his form in the first six races will influence how long he continues in MotoGP.

But if this is a farewell tour, Rossi doesn't want it to be a laidback parade. He made the hugely controversial decision to jettison career-long crew chief Jerry Burgess and starts the season with a reshaped team and new set-ups that he hopes will either allow him to bow out in style, or revitalise his career one more time.

WILL INJURY DERAIL MARQUEZ?

Marquez, it turns out, doesn't bounce better than the rest of us. A broken leg, suffered in a dirt-bike crash in February - which wasn't his fault - wrecked his pre-season and left lingering questions about his preparation and fitness ahead of the season opener.

While victory in the first round of his title defence might therefore be unlikely, he is still the obvious favourite for this year's championship.

That status was always likely given the swashbuckling mastery that carried him to a rookie crown last year, but there's more. Honda had the edge on Yamaha in 2013, and this year's regulation changes should play further into its hands. Marquez, before his injury, dominated the opening test at Sepang.

Throw in an added year of experience, the fact he now knows all the tracks, and the Spaniard looks all the more irresistible even if he won't start the year on peak form.

WHO GOES WHERE IN 2015

The MotoGP silly season pre-empted the season itself this year. All the leading riders are out of contract after 2014, and with the possibility of Rossi departing and the certainty of Suzuki arriving, a shake-up could beckon.

The key player is Lorenzo. A Yamaha man throughout his MotoGP life, he insists he wants to end his career there - but always adds the caveat that it has to keep giving him a competitive bike.

And what does he define as 'competitive'? Is second-best to Honda sufficient? Last year Lorenzo had to dig deeper than ever to come within four points of the title despite the M1 not being the benchmark, not to mention his injuries. And the signs from the early winter tests were not good for Yamaha either.

But what could lure Lorenzo away from Yamaha? Would he put his faith in Audi's ambitions for Ducati? He's already dismissed talk of a big-money deal... Or jump ship to arch-rival Honda? He had the chance in 2012 when Casey Stoner quit, but quickly re-signed for Yamaha instead - and that was before Marquez made himself at home in the orange camp. The teams' early-2014 form could have big repercussions on the rider market.

YAMAHA'S TYRE GRUMBLES

It hasn't been the happiest of pre-seasons for Yamaha and Lorenzo, with both struggling to adapt to this year's new regulations.

The reduced fuel capacity was Lorenzo's first complaint, as Yamaha's early solutions hurt both the feel and performance of the bike.

While that was remedied, a more serious concern emerged in the form of Bridgestone's new rubber. Lorenzo grew increasingly despondent and outspoken about its effect on Yamaha, with stiffer sidewalls reducing edge grip and therefore corner speed - traditionally Lorenzo's greatest weapon.

The bad news is that Lorenzo fears the new tyre gives Honda a decisive advantage. The good news? He dominated at Phillip Island - albeit in Marquez's absence - as Yamaha appeared to make strides. Bridgestone's intention to introduce a revised compound in time for Le Mans in May could also be a welcome boon.

THE NEXT GENERATION

As thrilling for MotoGP as Marquez's arrival was, it raised a few longer-term worries. If he was that good with zero top-class experience, was he going to be unstoppable for years to come?

However, his future opposition is already climbing the beanstalk in pursuit - although those concerned about a certain nation's MotoGP pre-eminence will frown at the fact they're mostly Spanish.

Last season was a vintage one in Moto3, with Maverick Vinales overcoming Alex Rins and Luis Salom in a three-way title fight that came down to the last corner of the last race.

Vinales and Salom now move up to Moto2 with the Pons team that ran Pol Espargaro to the 2013 crown.

They've shown well in testing, but it's a hard category for rookies to conquer first time out (though Marquez came close). Their opposition includes established Moto2 aces Tito Rabat, Tom Luthi, Mika Kallio and Nico Terol, plus 2012 Moto3 champion Sandro Cortese.

Rins stays in Moto3, where he would be overwhelming title favourite if it wasn't for the presence of Marquez's very highly rated younger brother Alex on the sister Monlau bike.

Briton Danny Kent is determined to upstage Repsol's young proteges. He has a point to prove as he steps back down from Moto2 to return to the category where he thrived in 2012, riding for old employer Ajo again.

Moto3 is also the setting for Rossi's first foray into team ownership with his Sky-backed VR46 project, run by ex-Ducati MotoGP team chief Vito Guareschi. VR46's lead rider Romano Fenati is Italy's big hope - and will want to show his team boss that it was poor equipment that has masked his form since his sensational win in his second ever top-level start two years ago.

2014 MotoGP entry list

#    Rider             Team        Bike        Class
4    Andrea Dovizioso  Ducati      Ducati      Factory*
5    Colin Edwards     Forward     FTR/Yamaha  Open
6    Stefan Bradl      LCR         Honda       Factory
7    Hiroshi Aoyama    Aspar       Honda       Open
8    Hector Barbera    Avintia     FTR         Open
9    Danilo Petrucci   Ioda        ART         Open
17   Karel Abraham     Cardion AB  Honda       Open
19   Alvaro Bautista   Gresini     Honda       Factory
23   Broc Parkes       Paul Bird   PBM/ART     Open
26   Dani Pedrosa      Honda       Honda       Factory
29   Andrea Iannone    Pramac      Ducati      Factory*
35   Cal Crutchlow     Ducati      Ducati      Factory*
38   Bradley Smith     Tech 3      Yamaha      Factory
41   Aleix Espargaro   Forward     FTR/Yamaha  Open
44   Pol Espargaro     Tech 3      Yamaha      Factory
45   Scott Redding     Gresini     Honda       Open
46   Valentino Rossi   Yamaha      Yamaha      Factory
63   Mike di Meglio    Avintia     FTR         Open
68   Yonny Hernandez   Pramac      Ducati      Factory*
69   Nicky Hayden      Aspar       Honda       Open
70   Michael Laverty   Paul Bird   PBM/ART     Open
93   Marc Marquez      Honda       Honda       Factory
99   Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha      Yamaha      Factory

* Factory with concessions

2014 MotoGP calendar:

23 March       Losail, Qatar
13 April       Austin, USA
27 April       Rio Hondo, Argentina
04 May         Jerez, Spain
18 May         Le Mans, France
01 June        Mugello, Italy
15 June        Barcelona, Catalunya
28 June        Assen, Netherlands
13 July        Sachsenring, Germany
10 August      Indianapolis, USA
17 August      Brno, Czech Republic
31 August      Silverstone, Great Britain
14 September   Misano, San Marino
28 September   Aragon, Spain
12 October     Sepang, Malaysia
19 October     Motegi, Japan
26 October     Phillip Island, Australia
09 November    Valencia, Spain

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