It was lucky race win number seven for Pedro Acosta in Mandalika as he stood on the top step once again. He was joined by polesitter Aron Canet and Fermin Aldeguer on the podium. Tony Arbolino, who is second in the championship, finished this race in sixth place.
Acosta got a brilliant start from the head of the second row and was up to second place before the first corner. At turn one, he was able to get past Canet and take the lead of the race.
Towards the back of the pack, there was an incident involving Alonso Lopez and Alberto Surrra. The Spanish rider was able to rejoin the pack but was unable to make up any places.
Canet and Acosta continued to trade the lead until the middle of the second lap when the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was able to settle into the lead and started to increase the gap to the rest of the field.
Manuel Gonzalez was sat in behind the battling front pair with the harder tyres strapped to his Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 bike. He knew that his tyres would improve towards the end of the race and with the riders in front of him battling for the lead, he was hoping they would continue to lose grip on their softer option tyres.
Further down the field, Arbolino had made his way into fourth place and set the fastest lap on the second lap.
Also on the second lap, Filip Salac and Ai Ogura made contact and this meant that Salac went down at turn 17. Ogura was given a long-lap penalty because of this.
Aldeguer continued his rise up the field by getting past Somkiat Chantra for fifth place on lap three, then two laps later squeezed past Gonzalez for fourth.
Jeremy Alcoba received a double-long lap penalty for irresponsible riding.
On lap seven, Japanese rider Kohta Nozane crashed at turn 16.
Aldeguer and Gonzalez got past Arbolino for third place on lap six but on the following lap, the Italian rider was able to make up one spot before running wide. This allowed Gonzalez to make his way back through.
Zonta van der Goorbergh crashed out of eleventh place on lap ten at turn sixteen and was unable to rejoin.
Arbolino and Dixon had a good battle during the fourteenth lap trading fifth place until Dixon ran wide at turn sixteen and rejoined just in front of Chantra.
By lap 16 Acosta had brought out his lead to two seconds ahead of Canet.
On the penultimate lap, Arbolino made a mistake, and this allowed Dixon to get past him.
Over the finish line it was Acosta, Canet and Aldeguer who stood on the podium. Dixon passed Gonzalez at the final corner for fourth place. Arbolino crossed the line ahead of Chantra, Sergio Garcia, Joe Roberts and Sam Lowes rounded out the top ten.
Feature Image Credit: Pedro Acosta (@37_pedroacosta) on X
INDONESIAN MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, MANDALIKA – RACE RESULTS
A chaotic race in Indonesia has seen Pecco Bagnaia reclaim the championship lead that he lost after yesterday’s sprint race. Jorge Martin, his nearest rival, made a painful error which saw him crash out of the lead. With just 5 races left, this season is far from over!
It was both a costly error from Jorge Martin and a calculated ride from Pecco Bagnaia that has firmly placed today’s Indonesian GP in the history books. Having lost the championship lead for a day, Bagnaia was able to quickly reverse this as he sailed to a phenomenal victory. He made his way from 13th on the grid to win what might be the greatest race of his career.
Meanwhile, it was an undoubtedly difficult day for Martin. Having enjoyed all the momentum and accolades over the last few races, he crashed out of the lead at a crucial point in the season. The costly error came despite him sitting comfortably at the front of the field for the first 20 laps.
Image Credit: MotoGP
Bagnaia was joined on the podium by Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo who both enjoyed strong weekends but were frustrated to not finish higher after a close final few laps.
There was chaos up and down the field for most of the race, as we start our first of two triple-header weekends to round out the 2023 season.
AS IT HAPPENED
As the lights went out, Jorge Martin flew off the line and leapt from 6th to 1st before entering the first corner. It was a slower start for both Aprilia riders, as well as Luca Marini, who all slipped back down the field. This allowed both Brad Binder and Fabio Quartararo to make up some places on the first lap. However, Maverick Vinales was able to recover and slot in to 2nd.
There was chaos up and down the field across the opening laps of the race. This started with Aleix Espargaro going wide at turn 1. This let Pecco Bagnaia through but as Espargaro returned to the racing line, he nearly collected Marc Marquez.
Enea Bastianini also went wide, causing him to go off the track. He failed to rejoin in the correct way and was later given a long lap penalty as a result.
On lap 3, Binder gets out of shape at turn 10 and clatters in to the side of Marini, knocking him in to the gravel. Binder was just carrying too much speed in to the corner and wasn’t able to make it round. Like Bastianini, he also received a long lap penalty for this later on in the race.
On the same lap, Pol Espgargaro crashes at turn 15 and Franco Morbidelli heads in to the pits to retire.
Pecco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro then find themselves breezing past Quartararo to take 3rd and 4th respectively. Meanwhile the leading pair of Martin and Vinales were now 1.8 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
As Binder takes his long lap penalty on lap 6, he drops from 5th to 10th. Espargaro, in 4th, is all over the back of Bagnaia, in 3rd, and forcing the Italian to ride defensively.
On lap 8, Marc Marquez is quickly overtaken by Jack Miller, Marco Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, shuffling him back from 7th to 10th. A few corners later, he then crashes at turn 13. It has been a difficult weekend for the Spaniard who is undoubtedly counting down to his move to Gresini for 2024.
This then sparks a 4-way battle for 6th place, with Miguel Oliveira, Miller, Bezzecchi, and Binder in 6th to 9th respectively. Miller is the first to make a move on the final corner of lap 9, followed by Bezzecchi on the first corner of lap 10.
On the following lap, Binder attempts to then make a move on Oliveira but bumps in to the side of him, knocks off his wings, and then sends them both wide. They are both able to rejoin but lose places at a crucial point in the race. Binder will receive his second long lap penalty of the race for this harsh move.
On lap 12, Augusto Fernandez crashes, followed by Joan Mir on the following lap.
Moments later, our race leader then crashes at turn 11. The bike slides out from under him and he is left looking down at his Prima Pramac machine in utter disbelief.
Image Credit: MotoGP
This promotes Vinales to 1st, with a 1.2 second gap to Bagnaia in 2nd. Quartararo, after recently making a move on Espargaro, is now promoted to 3rd.
On lap 16, Johann Zarco also crashes, again at turn 11. This leaves just 14 riders out on the track.
Meanwhile, at the front, Quartararo is closing in on Bagnaia who, in turn, is closing in on Vinales. We thought the chaos had calmed down but these three had other ideas.
At this point in the race, it is clear to see who opted for soft tires and who played it safe with the hard tires. Those on softs begin dropping back down the field as their tires struggle with the heat and soaring temperatures.
After closing the gap significantly over 4 laps, it was on lap 20 when Bagnaia was finally able to take control at the front of the race. He breezed past Vinales to take 1st place away from him.
For the final 7 laps of the race, the leading trio kept the pressure on each other. So much so that, by the final lap, there was barely a hair’s width between them. However, neither Vinales or Quartararo could make a move and they were forced to settle for 2nd and 3rd respectively.
FULL RESULTS
1st
Pecco Bagnaia
Ducati
2nd
Maverick Vinales
Aprilia
3rd
Fabio Quartararo
Yamaha
4th
Fabio Gi Giannantonio
Gresini
5th
Marco Bezzecchi
Mooney VR46
6th
Brad Binder
Red Bull KTM
7th
Jack Miller
Red Bull KTM
8th
Enea Bastianini
Ducati
9th
Alex Rins
LCR Honda
10th
Aleix Espargaro
Aprilia
11th
Takaaki Nakagami
LCR Honda
12th
Miguel Oliveira
CryptoDATA RNF
13th
Raul Fernandez
CryptoDATA RNF
14th
Franco Morbidelli
Yamaha
DNF = Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac), Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac), Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Tech 3), Joan Mir (Repsol Honda), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Luca Marini (Mooney VR46), Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Tech3).
Round 15 and with 6 races remaining, Diogo Moreira was back to his best here in Indonesia. The Brazilian showed everyone what he’s capable of and why he’s heading to Moto2 next season. A first pole position of the season for Moreira.
Championship leader Jaume Masia qualified in 2nd and David Alonso made up the front row qualifying in 3rd. Masia’s rivals Daniel Holgado 7th and Ayumu Sasaki way down in 11th place. We’re all set for another fantastic Moto3 race tomorrow at the Mandalika Circuit.
Image Credit: MTHelmets-MSi
AS IT HAPPENED
Qualifying 1
With all of the title contenders through to the Q2 session, it was Husqvarna’s Collin Veijer the stand out name taking part in the session. Xavi Artigas was the first rider out of the pits to get us started in the 15mins session.
As the first riders completed their first flying laps, it was Taiyo Furusato at the top of the timings with Mario Aji 2nd, Veijer 3rd and Adrian Fernandez in 4th.
Veijer lead with several minutes left of the session, with Furusato just behind, both riders over half a second clear of the rest of the field, with Aji 3rd and Yamanaka in 4th.
After a quick trip the pits we had just 2mins left of the session. Sector 1 was lit up in yellow flags as Nicola Fabio went down at turn 2. Fabio ok and the riders now only had 1 more attempt at getting into the top 4 for Q2.
Riccardo Rossi ran wide at turn 16 and ruined a great lap. Josh Whatley up to 4th was the only change to the top 4 going through to Q2, as Ryusei Yamanaka was unable to get his GASGAS into Q2.
End of the Q1 session and Furusato top with Veijer 2nd, Fernandez 3rd and Whatley in 4th.
Qualifying 2
After the battle in practice this morning between title rivals Masia and Holgado, we were all set for a great fight for pole position at the Mandalika circuit here in Indonesia.
With 10mins left of the session and the first set of flying laps completed. It was Moreira at the top with David Munoz second and Fernandez rounding off the front row currently in 3rd.
With the tyres now warmed up, the times were tumbling with an ever changing order at the front for tomorrow’s race. David Alonso currently in 2nd with Holgado moving up the order to 3rd in the timings. With Masia sat in the pits after his first run, we were yet to see any rapid time from the Spaniard. Deniz Öncü also yet to leave the pits and set a time with just 7mins left of the session.
5mins left of the session and title contender Holgado was currently sat in 3rd, Sasaki 4th and Masia was down in 11th. Masia at this point in the session had a lot of work to do.
Masia responded and up onto the front row. 2nd in the timings, just +0.223 tenths of a second back to the provisional pole time set by Moreira. Öncü was out of the pits and posted and a quick time up to 4th on his first attempt at pole position.
With 2mins left of the session, Scott Ogden had a painful highside crash coming out of turn 4. Sector 1 waved yellow flags with just a minute left of the session. Ogden was up and moving but will be in a lot of pain after that one.
Last laps now in the session and a key couple of minutes here in Indonesia. Masia barged his way by the Brazilian Moreira and tried all he could to get pole position. Masia missed out on pole by just +0.040 tenths of a second.
With the rest of the field coming through and not improving, it was the first pole position of the season for MTHelmets – MSi team’s Moreira.
A great qualifying for Moreira. After the promotion to Moto2 next season, it seems to of definitely given Moreira the boost of confidence he needed.
Leopard Racing team’s Masia will be happy with that qualifying going from the front row of the grid in 2nd. David Alonso who is surely a clear contender for rookie of the year, rounded off the front row in 3rd.
In the 3 horse race for the championship this season, we have Masia starting 2nd, Holgado 7th and Ayumu Sasaki way down in 11th in tomorrow’s race. Masia will be keen to extend the championship lead at the top.
Aron Canet starts from pole position in tomorrow’s Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika, for his second pole position of the year. The Spanish rider is joined by his countryman Manuel Gonzales and Czechia’s Filip Salac on the front row.
Third third-placed man in the championship, Jake Dixon, had to go through the first qualifying session after not setting fast enough time in the combined practice times. He set the fastest time in the first part of the session, a 1:34.406, and this was fast enough for him to feel comfortable enough to come into the pits before the end of the session.
And he was right to do so as that time was enough for him to finish the session in first place. He was joined in Q2 by Alonso Lopez, Jeremy Alcoba, and Bo Bendsneyder.
The green light went out for Q2 a few minutes later and all the riders left their pit boxes to get a feel of the circuit once more.
Following the first timed runs, Gonzalez was at the top of the timesheets with a 1:34.282, from Somkitat Chantra who was fresh off a win in Japan, and Canet. The Pons Wegow Los40 rider then took over the top spot with a 1:34.155 at the halfway point.
No rider was able to beat this time set by Canet, even though many riders were finding time in sectors towards the end of the session, they could not string them together.
Championship leader Pedro Acosta starts in fourth place, ahead of Fermin Aldeguer and Chantra who join him on row two. Dixon heads up row three ahead of Sam Lowes and Zonta van der Goorbergh. The rider in second place in the championship, Tony Arbolino, starts tomorrow’s race in tenth place.
Feature image credit: SoloMoto.es
2023 INDONESIAN MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, MANDALIKA – QUALIFYING RESULTS
For the first time this season, Pecco Bagnaia is no longer leading the championship standings. After winning today’s Sprint Race, Jorge Martin now leads the title race by 7 points! He was joined on the podium by both VR46 riders, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi.
We have reached a crucial point in the season now – Indonesia is the first venue for the final 6 races of the season and marks the countdown to the end of the year. We have two triple-headers now, which can make or break a rider’s championship hopes.
Today’s Sprint Race was won by the rider who is currently riding high on momentum, and the points haul has given him the top spot in the championship standings. This is the first time in 2023 that Pecco Bagnaia has not topped the standings.
Jorge Martin showed his prowess today as he fought his way through from 6th on the grid to be leading the race by lap 5.
Joining him on the podium were both VR46 riders who have both had recent surgery on their collar bones, making their double podium even more impressive. Luca Marini, who started on pole, came home 2nd with Marco Bezzecchi less than a second behind him.
Image Credit: MotoGP
Maverick Vinales led the race in the early stages but eventually slipped back and ended the race in 4th. He looked to be struggling on his Aprilia machine, with the front of the bike not where he would want it to be. This saw him going wide in a number of corners and that’s what saw him ultimately miss out on a podium.
Fabio Quartararo came home in an promising 5th place, just ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio. This was the best race result of the season for the Gresini rider who is, at the moment, without a ride for the 2024 season.
The two Ducati riders were next to see the checkered flag, with Enea Bastianini in 7th, returning from his crash in Catalunya and Pecco Bagnaia in 8th, unable to make any significant moves in the race. Rounding out the points-finishing position, in 9th, was Jack Miller and his Red Bull KTM machine.
AS IT HAPPENED
As the lights went out it was Luca Marini, our pole sitter, who flew off the line and led the field off the grid. At turn 1, Maverick Vinales made an aggressive move up the inside of the leader to take over at the front.
It was a bad start for his teammate Aleix Espargaro, who quickly dropped from 3rd to 6th. This promoted Fabio Quartararo up to 3rd but it was clear he was lacking pace and that held up the rest of the field behind him. With clear air ahead of him, Vinales and Marini were able to break away from the pack.
On turn 11 of the first lap, Marc Marquez found himself in the kitty litter as the rear end let go and the bike just slid out from underneath him.
Jorge Martin quickly made his way past Quartararo and in to 3rd, with a move at turn 10 on lap 2. He quickly got his head down and began chasing down the leading pair.
A few corners later, whilst making a move up the inside of Brad Binder for 5th place, Espargaro’s bike slid out from underneath him and he took Binder down with him. The incident was under investigation for a short while, before the Stewards quickly decided there was no penalty necessary.
Image Credit: MotoGP
These two DNFs promoted Pecco Bagnaia up to 9th and in to the points. Meanwhile, Martin, his championship rival was setting fastest laps and getting ever closer to the leading two riders.
On lap 5, Martin was finally able to make a move past Marini and took over in 2nd place.
At the halfway point, Vinales continued to lead the race and was 0.8 seconds ahead of the rest. Martin was in 2nd, with Marini and Marco Bezzeccho in 3rd and 4th.
By lap 9, the gap at the front was down to 0.2s and that allowed Martin to throw his bike down the inside of Vinales to snatch the lead with a very risky and aggressive move.
Vinales seemed to be facing a few issues in the closing stages of the race and was going wide in multiple corners as the front of the bike seemed to get away from him. This left him vulnerable to the two VR46 riders.
Exactly one lap after he lost the lead to Martin, Vinales then lost 2nd place to Marini. The move was an exact mirror image on Martin’s move, with Marini throwing it up the inside at turn 10.
Across the line to start lap 11 and Bezzcchi was now dicing with Vinales as the Aprilia rider continued to slip backwards. However, it wasn’t until turn 10 of the final lap when he was able to get past and take the final podium position spot.
FULL RESULTS
1st
Jorge Martin
Prima Pramac
2nd
Luca Marini
Mooney VR46
3rd
Marco Bezzecchi
Mooney VR46
4th
Maverick Vinales
Aprilia
5th
Fabio Quartararo
Yamaha
6th
Fabio Di Giannantonio
Gresini
7th
Enea Bastianini
Ducati
8th
Pecco Bagnaia
Ducati
9th
Jack Miller
Red Bull KTM
10th
Miguel Oliveira
CryptoDATA RNF
11th
Takaaki Nakagami
LCR Honda
12th
Johann Zarco
Prima Pramac
13th
Augusto Fernandez
GASGAS Tech3
14th
Raul Fernandez
CryptoDATA RNF
15th
Franco Morbidelli
Yamaha
16th
Joan Mir
Repsol Honda
17th
Pol Espargaro
GASGAS Tech3
18th
Alex Rins
LCR Honda
19th
Brad Binder
Red Bull KTM
DNF = Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda).
World Rallycross made a welcome return/ to South Africa and stepped outside of Europe for the first time since Covid-19 lockdowns.
Image Credit; Red Bull Content Pool
RX faced lengthy down-time after the devastating fire at Lydden Hill earlier this year, claimed the Lancias driven by Sébastien Loeb and Special One Racing team owner, Guerlain Chicherit. As a result the teams are still not racing with the top tier RX1e cars, with the Killarney International Raceway seeing the Rx2e cars take on the challenge of a double-header weekend.
The buzz in the paddock coming into the weekend centered around “equal machinery” with all teams running the same equal machinery. This however did not unsettle Kristoffersson who sat down with us ahead of the race.
He said that “one thing you will learn in motorsport is to be prepared for the unexpected things to happen” He said that he was motivated to finish off the season in the best possible way.
Niclas Grönholm went into the weekend, 27 points behind Kristoffersson. Grönholm won the race in 2019, when the championship last visited Cape Town, however it was bittersweet, given that he had dominated that season and was on track to be champion, had it not been for appendicitis which ruled him out of a few races.
Grönholm told us that it “still feels bad” and “that season I felt most prepared… that year every possibility was there” (to win the title). He was happy returning to racing and challenging the World Champion. The weekend did not go as well as the Finn would have liked after some close contract saw damage to his CE Dealer car on both Day 1 and 2.
The story of this weekend, however, was Timo Scheider.
He is a fan of the city of Cape Town, having visited a few times. Speaking to us on Friday, he said that the equal machinery presented an opportunity for all teams, however was cautious about his chances given that he is the only driver in the field that had not driven these Rx2e cars.
Scheider said that it would take time to understand the car and set up and said that it was a “tough weekend” ahead being a double-header; “Of course in rallycross anything can happen… we used to call it the MMA of car racing”, but the rewards are great. His word proved prophetic. Day 1 Kristoffersson did not have it all his way though, losing out on Superpole for the first time ever, on Day 1. Kevin Hansen drove to stunning Superpole, relegating his fellow Swede to 2nd.
The World Champion, however, swiftly recovered to win his 39th championship round in the final, timing his first lap pass to perfection, pushing Kevin down to second place. For the younger Hansen, it was sufficient to move him into second in the championship.
Scheider, racing in these cars for the first time, put his extensive driving knowledge on display with a brilliant third place for his Münnich Racing team in a city that is close to his heart.
Grönholm’s teammate, Klara Andersson had a tough day at the office, suffering a puncture in her semi-final which ultimately cost her a place in the final and relegated her to 7th overall. Speaking to us on Friday, Andersson was looking forward to Cape Town. Regarded as a pioneer, being the first woman to podium in Rallycross, she said that the car responds logically and she feels comfortable going into the weekend.
Image Credit: (World Rallycross South Africa / Chris Hitchcock)
Day 2
The second day of action proceeded in calmer conditions as the sun baked the circuit. Scheider continued his form with two heat wins.
Scheider took his form into the semi-final pushing the championship leader into second. Andersson recovered from her Saturday problems and found some form on Sunday and a spot into the final.
Ole Christian Veiby, Kristoffersson’s teammate, had a Sunday to forget, with accident damage costing him a spotting the final and his run of bad luck this season, continued.
Veiby along with Rene Münnich both didn’t reach the final,leaving both CE Dealer drivers, both Hansen’s, Scheider and Kristoffersson to fight it out.
In the end Scheider did what no one else has been able to do in a long time – beat Johan Kristoffersson in a final.
A stunning launch from pole saw him relegate the Swede to third, with a little help from Kevin Hansen who fought hard with Kristoffersson. The German driver took his 1st victory in Rallycross in absolute style, an impressive feat, especially given that it was his first time in these cars.
His smile after the race had enough mega-watts to solve the power challenges faced in South Africa and the popular driver delivered what could be the quote of the season so far: “With equal machinery, things are changing”.
Image Credit: Cape Town Rallycross/ Chris Hitchcock
The final day then with 54km’s over four stages. Could Ott and Martin hold on to take victory and how would the battle for the podium between Teemu, Thierry and Elfyn go?
Just like Saturday, Alberto Heller would open the road for the three stages. That is because the power stage start list is always changed and sees the WRC2 crews head in first before the top crews start.
First up was SS13 Las Pataguas 1 – 13.20 km and Thierry was fastest from Teemu and Elfyn. Thierry reduced the gap to his teammate and also increased the gap over Elfyn. However, Teemu was certainly driving brilliantly, holding a 9.1 second lead over Thierry. In WRC2 Gus was fastest from Emil and Yohan. The Brit remained in second place behind Oliver with Sami holding third place.
Into SS14 El Poñen 1 – 13.86 km and Thierry was fastest again from Teemu and Ott. The gap between the two Hyundai teammates fell again to 6.7 seconds. Ott remained firmly in charge with a 51.6 second lead. Elfyn was doing what he could to reduce the gap to the podium, but with the better road position the two Hyundai crews had meant they were both pulling away from the Welshman. In WRC2, Oliver was fastest from Sami and Gus and the young Swede remained firmly in charge of the category.
After the service break the rerun of SS15 Las Pataguas 2 – 13.20 km saw Thierry fastest from Elfyn and Takamoto. Unfortunately, Teemu and Markko crashed out of the stage after hitting a tree root on the edge of the road. This impact broke his suspension and steering on the front right causing the car to exit off the road on the left side. A big shame for the Finnish crew after a superb drive. In WRC2 Nikolay was fastest from Gus and Oliver who continued to hold a 22.8 second lead.
The final stage then, SS16 El Poñen 2[Power Stage] – 13.86 km and Kalle took the stage win from Elfyn who had set the benchmark. Thierry was third, Ott fourth and Takamoto fifth. It was a brilliant and well-deserved victory for Ott and Martin in their M-Sport Ford Puma, their 19th victory as well moving them into the WRC legends level. In WRC2, Oliver and Elliott took victory in their final points scoring rally of the year winning from Gus and Sami.
Let’s check out the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.
Final Overall Classification – Rally Chile
1
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
3:06:38.1
2
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+42.1
3
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+1:06.9
4
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+2:11.0
5
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+4:41.5
6
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Škoda Fabia RS
+8:18.5
7
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Škoda Fabia RS
+8:44.3
8
S. Pajari
E. Mälkönen
Škoda Fabia RS
+9:20.6
9
Y. Rossel
A. Dunand
Citroën C3
+9:53.9
10
N. Gryazin
K. Aleksandrov
Škoda Fabia RS
+10:08.2
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“It’s definitely to have a positive outcome, since a long, long altogether and almost a perfect weekend. It was very different what we had to do, not too much about pure performance, a lot about the management to get through the loops, it was a bit different challenge.”
Alberto Heller
“It was amazing, a really nice event for Chile, all the people in the stages, it was fantastic. To drive one of these cars is an amazing experience. Saturday and Sunday I opened the road, so more learning for me. I enjoyed and reached all more goals. My target was to return the car in the same shape. I hope to return and drive some more events next year.”
Grégoire Munster
“If you take everything into account, the pacenotes, the tyre delamination, the small off from my side, then today the brakes it was not easy. Perhaps change the car number for the Central Europe, but in general happened, happened for a reason. Good learning from our side, all the issues we had we managed to solve, that’s the main goal. One of the biggest things I leant was opening the road, then all the power has to transform to traction is so difficult, so demanding for the tyres. Coming from WRC2 the first thing is the hybrid to get to know and when to use it, how much you can apply and not to lose too much time with the traction. Then there is the aero you can use it in the short corner, but you may not have the grip, it depends if the tyre will accept this.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“It has been a tough weekend for us. Unfortunately, we had two cars out, and I feel sorry for both of them – especially Teemu, who was having a great event. We all know how cruel rallying can be, and we saw it at the previous event in Greece. We had a job to do this weekend, and we did our best despite our issues. We kept fighting and tried to keep our position and progress to second, and now we’ve scored good points. It’s a shame the manufacturers’ championship is over, but it is nice to be back on the podium in second place. We’re happy with that.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 11, Rally Chile, 29 September-01 October 2023 Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 3 of WRC Rally Chile 2023 Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Teemu Suninen
“I would like to say a big thank you to the team. It was a great rally and a nice battle with Thierry, but unfortunately our hard work came to an end because of a very small mistake. I was just a few centimetres too tight with my line and hit a tree stump, which was game over. Thankfully we are unhurt. I’m very sorry to the entire team that we were unable to bring home the podium for them this weekend. We hope to be able to put that right in a few weeks at Central European Rally.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“Overall, the weekend was perhaps not what we hoped for, and I think there was potential for more. We didn’t quite get it all right this time around even though we had some good speed at times. But I think we can be relatively happy with our end result of a podium. The best news is that the team has clinched the manufacturers’ title. It’s an honour to be a part of the team and it’s great to reward everybody for all their hard work. In the drivers’ championship we probably needed to close a bit more on Kalle this weekend than we did, but at least the fight is still alive.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It feels good to have helped the team secure the manufacturers’ title. To confirm it here in Chile with two rounds to go is a great achievement and it feels really nice. This was not the easiest weekend for us, as we were a bit handicapped with the starting position on Friday and didn’t make the best decisions on Saturday. Today it was still tricky with quite a lot of road cleaning even on the second pass. But we had a good plan to save the tyres and push hard on the Power Stage. The quick time came, showing we had the speed, and it was good to get those points.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It has been a very demanding weekend, but I want to say a big congratulations to everyone in the team for winning the manufacturers’ title. There are so many people doing such great work during the season: a huge thanks to all of them because we are always happy to drive such a strong and fast car. The stages here in Chile this weekend were, nice but very difficult. I felt quite good on Friday afternoon but then on Saturday we were struggling a lot with the aggressive surface. It wasn’t easy but we got an idea of how to improve for the future, so it was good experience.”
WRC2 Winner
Oliver Solberg
“What a rally, from the moment we met thousands and thousands of fans at the ceremonial start on Thursday night right up until the end of the last stage, this has been such a special event. A big thank you to Toksport who have been so great to work with this year. These guys have worked so hard to give us the best car and I am so grateful.
“The roads here are just fantastic and to win here is a great result – the perfect result to close out our WRC2 campaign. Of course, it would have been good to take the title, but I can’t be too sad with the way our year has gone.
“More than anything, I wanted to show our speed this year and I think we’ve done that. We’ve won stages and rallies and me and Elliott can be proud for what we’ve done.”
Rally Chile was different. Reflecting on his South American debut, Oliver said he needed a different strategy on the gravel roads sitting just inland from the Pacific.
“When we could see how abrasive the roads were, we knew we had to be clever for this one,” he said.
“We took a different strategy. Through yesterday (Saturday) we were trying to be careful and to really look after the tyres. I wasn’t sliding the car so much, braking more progressive and just thinking all of the time to keep the car as straight as possible.
“I wanted to be in a good place for the final stage of the day – we knew this one was the most tricky for the tyres. It was so hard at times, when you get to the end of stage and you can see the seconds are going in the wrong direction, but I made a plan and I stuck to it.”
“The plan worked. I was quite happy for that. Like I said, when you were watching the other guys taking time, it was frustrating – but the priority was to save the tyres and play a longer game. We did that.
“This is a good way to end the year: a WRC2 win, and another top-six finish overall on a WRC round. That’s nice. Very nice.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 11
1
K. Rovanperä
217
2
E. Evans
186
3
T. Neuville
155
4
O. Tänak
146
5
S. Ogier
99
6
E. Lappi
98
7
T. Katsuta
77
8
D. Sordo
63
9
T. Suninen
34
2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 11
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
466
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
360
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
247
Summary
Well, what a great return to the top step for the 2019 world champions. Ott and Martin made a great result of these demanding stages in Chile. They completely deserved this result, and it is refreshing to see another team take victory as well. Speaks volumes for the effort of the entire M-Sport team.
Elsewhere it was good to see Elfyn and Scott finish ahead of their rivals for this year’s championship. They still have a good chance to take it, but we shall have to wait and see who prevails in the final two rounds.
Let’s wait and see how things pan out. The next round is the Central European Rally over the final weekend of October from the 26th to 29th.
The earlier Superpole race saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) claim his 2nd win of the weekend, followed by Pata Yamaha Prometeon team mates of Toprak Razgatlioglu, and Andrea Locatelli in 2nd, and 3rd respectively.
Would Bautista be able to make it 3 wins from 3?
WorldSBK Portimao 01.10.2023 Picture courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team
Lights out for race 2, and Toprak aggressive as always from the off took the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Bautista, and Gardner (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) who cut up the inside of Locatelli to take 3rd. Meanwhile further back, drama for Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC), who went off line, taking both Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), and Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) off track along with him. All three riders however were able to rejoin.
Next lap of the 20 lap race, and Bautista attacked Toprak into turn 1, however he eased off the throttle and didn’t make the move stick. Positions were as follows: 1. Toprak 2. Bautista 3. Gardner 4. Locatelli 5. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) 6. Lecuona (Honda HRC) 7. Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 8. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 9. Vd Mark (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 10. Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing).
With 18 laps left, Rinaldi was looking quick and stuffed his Ducati up the inside of an unsuspecting Gardner to take 3rd. Locatelli 4th, and Gardner dropped down to 5th.
As was the case in the earlier Superpole race, both Bautista, and Toprak had pulled away from the rest of the field, the others unable to match the blistering pace being set at the front. Rinaldi in 3rd was 1.6s behind his team mate.
With 16 laps remaining, Bautista was rehearsing his overtake on Toprak, getting ahead down the straight, before easing off into turn 1. Meanwhile further back it was 7. Gardner 8. Bassani 9. Petrucci 10. Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
Next lap and Bautista made the move he rehearsed the previous few laps count. He eased into the lead down the straight and took the position into turn 1. Toprak however was having none of it, and stuffed his R1 under the Ducati into turn 5, rear sliding out as he retook the lead.
Meanwhile Garrett Gerloff put in the new fastest lap with a 1:40.829. Further back Rea was up to 14th, but was subsequently given a long lap penalty for dangerous riding. Rinaldi then put in the new fastest lap with a 1:40.738.
With 13 laps to go, it was the turn of Bautista to put in the new fastest lap with a 1:40.4, and extended his lead to 0.3s in the process. Meanwhile Rinaldi had a gap of 1.7s to Toprak.
Approaching the half way point of the race, and Toprak struck, slamming his R1 up the inside of Bautista’s Ducati into turn 13 with a perfect block pass. However, Bautista responded by blasting past the R1 down the straiight. As has been the story all season, the Yamaha had no answer to the outright speed of the Ducati. Toprak, late on the brakes into turn 1, somehow retook the lead. A real battle was unfolding.
Rinaldi in 3rd was struggling to match the pace at the front, and was losing contact, with the gap extended to 1.9s.
Just at the half way point of the race, and drama for the Aussie, Gardner who had a mechanical, and was forced to retire. Positions at the half way stage were as follows; 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Rinaldi 4. Locatelli 5. Gerloff 6. Lecuona 7. Petrucci 8. Aegerter 9. Oettl 10. Bassani.
With 9 laps remaining, Toprak was back in front, the lead now swapping virtually every lap. The gap between them was only 0.2s, this would no doubt go down to the wire.
With 7 laps to go, Bautista again blasted past Toprak down the straight and back into the lead. Meanwhile further back, Rea was up to 13th, and Redding 14th. At the front Toprak cut under Bautista into turn 13, before Bautista retook the lead into turn 1 the next lap, however he ran wide and Toprak retook the lead. This was breathtaking racing!
With only 5 laps left, Gerloff was having another superb race, and was all over the back of Locatelli and looking for the pass. With the constant swapping of positions ahead of him, Rinaldi had managed to claw back ground, and was closing in. Toprak held a lead of 0.2s in front.
Next lap, and Bautista again retook the lead down the straight and into turn 1. Then into turn 13, a favourite for Toprak, he jammed it up the the inside of Bautista with a neat pass to retake the lead.
With 3 laps remaining, Bautista was back in front, powering down the straight and into the lead into turn 1. Toprak was in no mood to settle for 2nd and, stuffed it up the inside of Bautista into turn 5. The move caught the Spaniard out, and his bike jerked violently as he sat it upright briefly. This race was still anyone’s to call. Meanwhile further back Rea was up to 11th.
Down to the penultimate lap, and Bautista again took the lead down the long straight, however as he had done before, he went wide, and Toprak went through the gap he left. This was edge of your seat racing, incredible stuff from two champions giving it absolutely everything.
Last lap, and as they had been for the past 20 laps, they were both still locked together in a bitter dog fight. Bautista took the lead again down the straight, before Toprak dived up the inside, nearly losing the front end in the process. Approaching the last few sets of corners, and Toprak was ahead, ringing the neck out of his R1, then onto the long right hander, Toprak still ahead, Bautista got the drive out of the last corner and powered past Toprak and across the line to take the win. Sensational racing, Toprak however was furious, and smashed his screen repeatedly. He had given everything, and yet it wasn’t enough to beat the flawless pairing of Bautista, and the Ducati.
WorldSBK Portimao 01.10.2023 Picture courtesy of WorldSBK
Somkiat Chantra won the Japanese Grand Prix from local rider and teammate Ai Ogura. Pedro Acosta extended his championship lead by finishing in third place. His closest championship rival, Tony Arbolino, finished down the order in eleventh place.
Alonso Lopez had a double long lap penalty to serve during the race due to irresponsible riding in the Indian GP.
Chantra had a good start from pole position as did Jake Dixon, but it was the Thai rider who was leading into the first corner. Aron Canet sent Acosta out wide through turn one and further down the field Fermin Aldeguer ran wide. The Beta Tools SpeedUp rider had to sit up and went through part of the long lap loop.
Even with the knowledge of the long lap penalties, Lopez improved from sixth place to the final step of the podium through the first set of corners. Sam Lowes also had a successful first lap improving to fifth.
Lopez and Ogura got past Dixon and continued to catch up to Chantra who started to break away from the rest of the field. Acosta also started to make placed up following his poor start.
On lap three, Ogura passed Lopez for second place, but the Spanish rider still had both of his long lap penalties to take so would not be staying in the top three for much longer. Chantra continued to extend his lead out at the front to 1.6s.
Acosta got past Dixon on the following lap at turn two after looking for a way past the Brit for over half a lap.
Lopez took his long lap loops on laps five and six and those dropped him down the order and he would need to make multiple moves to finish the race on the podium.
Filip Salac ran wide on the seventh lap, and this allowed Lowes to get past him, but the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team crashed at turn 14 on the same lap. Joe Roberts also went wide on lap seven but kept himself on the bike.
Aldeguer ran wide on lap nine and one of the local riders, Kohta Nozane, crashed on the same lap at turn ten. On the following lap, Sergio Garcia crashed at turn three.
Ogura slowly started cutting into the lead that his teammate had made in the first laps but was unable to catch up to the Thai rider who crossed the line to take his first win of the season. Acosta rounded out the podium and extended his championship lead to 50 points with six rounds to go.
Dixon finished in fourth place ahead of Salac and Manuel Gonzalez. Marcos Ramirez crossed the line in seventh place, followed by Canet and Zonta van der Goorbergh. Darryn Binder rounded out the top ten.
Acosta’s closest championship rival Arbolino began dropping down the order towards the end of the race due to losing grip in his front tyre meaning he could only cross the line in eleventh place.
Leopard Racing’s Jaume Masia conquered Motegi today in Japan. Masia in full command at the front, as his title rivals all squabbled behind gifting Masia the win.
All change in the Moto3 championship as Masia now sits at the top. Championship rival’s Ayumu Sasaki finished 2nd after snatching it on the line from Daniel Holgado finishing in 3rd. Deniz Öncü pushed it too far and into the gravel after battling at the front for so long.
Image Credit: Leopard Racing
AS IT HAPPENED
Stefano Nepa and Öncü had a great start off the line, Nepa from row 2 and up to 3rd after turn 1. Holgado up to 2nd with Öncü leading the way at the front of the race. Öncü was keen to pull away at the front and into turn 5 was followed by Holgado and Nepa with a slight gap to the rest of the pack lead by Masia.
Alonso pushed Ortola but unable to get by as they come down the hill into sector 4 to complete the first lap. Diogo Moreira was up 5 places at the end of lap 1 but front row starter Matteo Bertelle was down 7 places. Bertelle later retiring out of the race after 7 laps. Not the race the Rivacold Snipers Team rider would of dreamt of last night.
Onto lap 2 and Masia quickly caught and went by Nepa. Home favourite Sasaki followed Masia going by Nepa into turn 7. Öncü and Holgado lead at the front with a 0.374 gap to Masia in 3rd. Masia swapped fastest lap times with Öncü, as Masia was keen to catch the leaders with Sasaki for company.
In the early stages of the race a lead group quartet developed. Masia and Sasaki caught up to Holgado and race leader Öncü. Into the 90 degree corner Sasaki missed a half hearted attempt to get by Holgado as they completed the first third of the race.
The lead group of 4 pulled away from the rest with a gap of 1.046 seconds to Nepa leading the rest of the field in 5th. Sasaki into sector 3 got by Holgado as they went through the tunnel and onto the last two corners to complete the lap. Öncü lead the group of 4 with Sasaki 2nd, Holgado 3rd and Masia in 4th.
Lap 6 and Masia went by Holgado and Sasaki midway through the lap. Out of turn 10 and onto the straight, Masia broke as late as he could to keep 2nd and hunt down Öncü to start lap 7.
Masia into turn 1 took the lead of the race for the first time. Sasaki into turn 3 went up the inside of Öncü. Öncü went backwards as Masia looked to escape at the front. Holgado almost come together with Öncü at turn 7. Into turn 11 and with the slipstream Sasaki was unable to get by Masia through turns 11, 12 and 13.
10 laps to go and the lead quarter lead by Masia are still over 1 second ahead of the group behind lead by Nepa. Holgado swarmed all over the back of Öncü but was unable to get by. Sasaki sat on the back wheel of Masia as they crossed the line as we approached the second half of the race.
Nepa and Ortola closed the gap slightly to the lead group at the front, as Masia seemed to be managing the pace. Öncü into turn 7 on the fastest place on the track blasted by Sasaki. Sasaki and Öncü swapped places as Sasaki went by Öncü only a few corners later. A fantastic battle for the win with the front 4 riders forever dicing for the lead.
8 laps to go and Masia lead with Sasaki 2nd, Öncü 3rd and Holgado 4th. A gap of 1.129 seconds to teammates Nepa and Ortola behind. Sector 1 lit up with yellow flags as the first retirement of the race Xavi Artigas went down at turn 1.
Sasaki, Öncü and Holgado diced and swapped places. Öncü down and out of the race into turn 10. Öncü pushed too hard and out in sector 3. Disaster for any championship hopes for Öncü and looked to of handed Masia a lead and win of this race with all of the fighting on lap 11.
Masia pulled a 1.117seconds gap to the fighting Holgado and Sasaki behind and now in full control of the race at this point.
Holgado and Sasaki almost come together in turn 1 with 6 laps to go. As the battle for 6th continued lead by Moreira, Masia was 1.209 seconds clear at the front of Sasaki 2nd and Holgado 3rd.
Tatsuki Suzuki down at turn 1 with 4 laps to go. Sasaki tried to catch Masia and pulled back over 3 tenths of a second to the leader up ahead. Sasaki and Holgado squashed any fighting now and both gunning to catch Masia at the front.
Masia lead with 3 laps to go. Sasaki and Holgado still 0.875 seconds behind. Still the ever changing places of 4th and 5th between teammates Ortola 4th Nepa 5th. The Angellus MTA teammates although on their own for the race, have had a great battle with each other in Motegi.
2 laps to go and Masia responds to the charge from Sasaki and Holgado behind. Masia in full command here and headed to the top of the world championship standings. Nepa now lead Ortola as the two Angellus MTA teammates have over 3 seconds gap to the rest of the field, lead by Moreira down in 6th.
THE LAST LAP
Alonso barged his way by Toba into 8th. Moreira still lead the group with Munoz all over the back of him at the start of the last lap.
In an attempt to salvage as many points as possible, Holgado went up the inside of Sasaki into sector 3 at turn 11.
Masia crossed the line to take a back-to-back victory. As Masia won the drama wasn’t finished there as Sasaki snatched 2nd from Holgado on the finish line. A mistake from victory corner from Holgado allowed Sasaki to take 2nd on the line away from Holgado. Through the final corner Holgado nearly lost it and Sasaki pounced to take 2nd place.
The 9th career win for Leopard Racing’s Masia and arguably his most important. Masia now leading the championship in Moto3 and heads to Mandalika in a couple of weeks time the main man to beat. What a win for Masia!
