MotoGP Gossip: Lorenzo lined up for Catalunya MotoGP wildcard

- After Yamaha left the door open for Jorge Lorenzo to make wildcard MotoGP appearances in 2020, his home round at Circuit de Catalunya has been targeted for his racing return. Lorenzo has made his Yamaha comeback as test rider at the Sepang shakedown following his retirement from racing after splitting with Repsol Honda at the end of 2019. (La Gazzetta dello Sport)

- Marc Marquez believes Lorenzo’s early pace on his Yamaha return shows the M1 is an easier bike to handle compared to the Honda. Lorenzo’s fastest lap on his first day back for Yamaha at Sepang was a 2m 00.506s, only fractionally slower than his 2019 Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying time of 2m 00.478s set for Repsol Honda. (GPOne.com)

- Meanwhile Marquez is finalising his new Repsol Honda deal with negotiations still ongoing according to team manager Alberto Puig. (Corsedimoto.com)

- Suzuki looks set to retain both Alex Rins and Joan Mir on long-term contracts, having warned off interest from Ducati for Rins. Speculation points towards Suzuki making the rider deals official at its team launch in Sepang on February 6. (AS.com)

- Aleix Espargaro gives a glowing review of the new Aprilia RS-GP following its significant overhaul for 2020. Key to the Noale factory’s development has been its new 90-degree V4 engine which follows the theory used by Honda and Ducati. (Instagram)

After the shakedown and 25laps w the RSGP2020, the only thing I can say is: WOW!!!!! Thanks @ApriliaOfficial for the hard job of this last 6 months! Will be a fun year! pic.twitter.com/n4TFLCizyU

— Aleix Espargaró (@AleixEspargaro) February 4, 2020