After a 2-week break, the MotoGP men are back as we head to the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto.

Last season, Jerez hosted two rounds back-to-back, and was the first race after the series abruptly came to a halt due to the pandemic. Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo took both wins, with Maverick Viñales taking both P2s. With Quartararo making the upgrade to the Factory team this season, the Frenchman seems to be on perfect form heading into this year’s Spanish GP, after taking the last two consecutive wins.

However, the men in blue aren’t the only ones to watch. The Ducatis are yet to finish off of the rostrum, with Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia taking podium places in Portugal and Qatar’s opening round, and both Pramac Racing riders taking podiums in the Grand Prix of Doha. The only man in red yet to take a podium is Jack Miller, but the Aussie had proved to be a threat time and time again this season, so it seems to be only a matter of time.

Another threat to the Yamahas is the Suzuki ECSTAR pair. Between both Joan Mir and Alex Rins, the duo have achieved a Top 4 result in every race in 2021, with Mir taking 3^rd last time out. Despite Rins crashing out in Portugal, it wasn’t before challenging at the front for most of the race. With both riders demonstrating strong pace and enough tenacity to fight at the front, the pair surely aren’t ones to overlook this time around.

Jerez will be the second race of the season for Marc Marquez, after his return to the championship 2 weeks ago. The Repsol Honda Team rider stormed through the Portuguese weekend, and survived the turmoil of the race to take an admirable 7^th place.

Jorge Martin remains out of action this weekend, after sustaining injuries in his Portuguese crash. The Pramac outfit has been awarded to Tito Rabat in his place. The 2014 Moto2 Champion has competed on a Ducati in the last three MotoGP seasons, but is yet to ride on board of the Pramac machine.

With the competition remaining as cutthroat as ever, can Quartararo make it a hattrick, or will someone beat him to the finish line?

MotoGP’s Free Practice 1 will begin tomorrow at 09:55am Local Time (GMT +2).

Feature Image: Yamaha Racing