Izan Guevara made it back to back wins in Moto3, extending his championship lead to 45 points over teammate Sergio Garcia.
It was a rocky start to the weekend for Guevara as the conditions in Japan proved tricky. The Spaniard had never raced at Motegi and a huge crash during Sunday’s warmup had the Aspar mechanics working hard to repair his bike in time for the race.
Guevara lined up on row three after a mediocre qualifying session by his standards. Japanese rider Tatsuki Suzuki had secured pole position, he was joined on the front row by Visiontrack’s Scott Ogden and Garcia.
As the lights went out, Garcia got a great launch and immediately started challenging for the lead as chaos ensued behind him. Australian rider Joel Kelso had a big crash at turn nine collecting Josh Whatley in the process, before Carlos Tatay and Kaito Toba fell at the following corner.
Izan Guevara leading the pack at Moto3 Japan 2022. Image courtesy of GASGAS Motorcycles/Polarity Photo
It was an incredible start from Guevara who made short work of his peers, taking the lead at the beginning of lap two. Ayumu Sasaki and Dennis Foggia latched onto the back of the Spaniard, who immediately set about breaking away from the rest of the pack.
Sasaki and Guevara exchanged the lead back and forth while the riders behind struggled to stay upright. Kanta Hamada, Dani Holgado, Suzuki and Adrian Fernandez all fell from their bikes. Ogden was fighting in the points places before running wide at turn 9, dropping to the back of the field.
By lap eight the leading trio were joined by Jaume Masia who was the fastest man on track. Garcia meanwhile was beginning to lose ground on the leaders and was swallowed up by a second group, consisting of Diogo Moreira, John McPhee and David Muñoz.
With the leaders effectively riding in formation, a fierce battle was underway in the chasing group. Garcia jostled for position with Moreira, McPhee and Muñoz, while his championship rivals pulled away.
On lap 17 the situation at the front intensified. Masia moved up to second place, Foggia followed him past Sasaki who dropped to fourth as Guevara tried to make a break from the group. Masia, desperate to stay within striking distance of the leader, had a huge highside between turns 12 and 13.
With Masia out, Guevara was infallible in the closing laps. The Spaniard took the chequered flag for the fifth time this season and now has a firm grip on the Moto3 title. Foggia crossed the line in second, and Sasaki became the first Japanese rider with a home podium since 2009.
Garcia managed to salvage fourth place but with just four races left this season, it will take something special for him to win the championship.
Superpole saw the rookie, Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC), claim his maiden WorldSBK pole with an unbeaten lap of 1:40.766. The Kawasaki team mates of Lowes, and Rea, were in 2nd, and 3rd respectively.
Lights out for race 1, and it was Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), with an amazing start to get the hole shot, after only qualifying in 5th. The same couldn’t be said for Rea who got nudged out wide by Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati), and then almost got taken out by Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), the Italian himself also going wide. The Northern Irishman found himself down in 9th after that dust up. It was Toprak (Pata Yamaha) in 2nd, with Lowes trailing behind in 3rd. Drama also for Oettl (GoEleven Ducati) who went down, his race was over.
Next lap and positions were as follows; 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Lowes 4. Rinaldi 5. Lecuona 6. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) 7. Rea 8. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) 9. Locatelli 10. Redding (BMW Motorrad). Lecuona then got dropped a further place, after Bassani came through to take 5th, the pole man finding himself in 6th. Drama then for Bernardi (Barni Racing Team), who got taken out by Vd Mark (BMW Motorrad), and his race was over, Vd Mark stayed on track.
With 18 laps to go, Redding, who was not having a good start to his weekend crashed out, the BMW ploughed into the gravel, and his race was over. Bautista was already applying the pressure out in front, and was putting down some quick lap times. Lecuona had regained some composure after his bad start, and was now up to 4th, Bassani, and Rea were behind in 5th, and 6th respectively.
Next lap and Bautista was continuing his relentless pace, he set a new fastest lap of 1:41.926. Toprak was trying to stay in contact, with the gap now 0.4s to the Spaniard ahead. These leading two were already pulling away from Lowes behind in 3rd. Rea was still in 6th, and was desperate to make up positions, as he could see his title rivals disappearing down the track.
With 15 laps remaining, Lecuona moved through on Lowes to take 3rd. Bautista increased his gap over Toprak to 0.7s. Meanwhile further back, Rea who had been lining up Bassani, made his move into turn 10, trying to cut up the inside, however Bassani snapped straight back immediately and shut the door. Rea was growing increasingly frustrated to be so far back.
With 13 laps to go, Bautista now had a gap of just over 1s to Toprak, and showed no signs of letting up the ferocious pace. Meanwhile there was now a 4 way battle for 5th, between Bassani, Rea 6th, Locatelli 7th, and Gerloff 8th.
Next lap and Rea once again lined up Bassani, this time down the long straight, and into turn 1, the move stuck this time, and Bassani had no answer as Rea dived up the inside to take 5th. Rea was now behind his team mate, and had massive work to do in order to limit the points deficit to his title rivals.
With 11 laps remaining, Vd Mark, who had had an earlier altercation with Bernardi, was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue, and that was both factory BMW riders out now, a bad start to the weekend for them. Toprak was struggling to keep contact with Bautista, and the gap was out to 1.6s. Meanwhile further back Locatelli made a pass on Bassani into turn 6, cutting up the inside of his Italian compatriot. Bassani responded a few corners on into turn 9, and retook the position. Locatelli who was having an eventful race, then ran out wide for the second time, and managed to rejoin in 9th. It was; 6. Bassani 7. Gerloff 8. Rinaldi 9. Locatelli.
Next lap and Lowes had a gap of 0.5s to his team mate behind in 5th. Would we see team orders come into play? Meanwhile out in the lead Bautista now had a commanding 2.5s lead over Toprak, who seemed to be struggling with tyre grip. The Turk was 3.5s ahead of Lecuona in 3rd. Further back it was; 12. Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW), 13. Mahias (Puccetti Racing Kawasaki), and 15. Nozane (GRT Yamaha).
With 8 laps remaining, Rea was still trailing his team mate by 0.5s. Toprak continued to lose his advantage, and was now only 2.3s ahead of Lecuona in 3rd. Meanwhile further back, Gerloff pulled off an audacious move into turn 1, taking both Bassani, and Rinaldi, and cut through into 6th. Locatelli was still in 9th.
Michael Rinaldi – Barcellona WSBk 2022. Image courtesy of Ducati
With 7 laps to go, Rinaldi was finding extra pace on the Ducati, and barged through on Bassani into the last corner to take 7th. Meanwhile Lecuona continued to reel in Toprak, the gap closing all the time, the harder tyres were paying off for Lecuona. It didn’t appear to be team orders, but Rea did come through on Lowes to take 4th.
Next lap and Rea continued his late race charge to the front, out braking Lecuona into turn 1 to take over 3rd. Rea was now only 1.6s behind Toprak, and you wonder what could have been, had he not had the bad start. Meanwhile out in the lead, and with the hammer firmly down, Bautista was now leading by 5.9s, and that you felt would be enough to claim the win.
With 5 laps to go, Toprak continued to drop back like a stone, and was now only 1.1s ahead of Rea. The R1 had grip issues, and the rear was spinning up out of every corner now. There was now a 3 way battle for 4th between Lecuona, Lowes, and Gerloff. Meanwhile at the front Bautista increased his lead to 7.5s.
Next lap and again Gerloff pulled off another audacious move into turn 1, again taking two riders to move into 4th, this time its Lecuona, and Lowes. The Texan was having one of his best races of the season so far. Rea made an easy pass under Toprak into the long turn 4, to move into 2nd, with his lack of grip Toprak couldn’t respond.
With 3 laps to go Gerloff dived under Toprak, again into turn 1 to take 3rd. Meanwhile further back, Rinaldi continued to make up positions late in the race, this time moving up to 6th after getting through on Lecuona.
Next lap and Toprak continued to drop back, and Rinaldi was able to move through on him into turn 10. Positions were as follows; 4. Rinaldi 5. Toprak 6. Lecuona 7. Lowes 8. Bassani 9. Locatelli.
Alvaro Bautista winner of race one at Barcellona wsbk 2022. Image Courtesy of Ducati
Last lap and Bautista had extended his lead to an unassailable 10.5s. Gerloff had caught Rea, and was looking for a way past. Bautista crossed the line to take the win, Rea managed to hold off Gerloff to take 2nd, while Gerloff gets 3rd. Rinaldi 4th, Toprak 5th, Lecuona 6th, Lowes 7th, Bassani 8th, Locatelli 9th, and a respectable top 10 for Laverty.
A dominant victory for Bautista, who maybe had a point to make, after the spat between himself and Rea.
Aron Canet takes a brilliant pole position ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix in Montegi. Fermin Aldeguer will line up just behind him in 2nd with Jake Dixon in 3rd.
Aron Canet is the Master of Montegi today – he not only had to make his way through Q1 but also had to contend with red flags and poor weather conditions on his way to securing pole position. The Flexbox HP40 rider set a time of 2:04.939 in the late stages of the session but found himself at the top of the timing sheets for much of Q1 and Q2, showing his dominance on this track and in these changeable conditions.
Fermin Aldeguer was lucky to keep hold of 2nd place after his lap time was deleted due to a yellow flag infringement. A manual check after the session showed that there was, in fact, no infringement and Aldeguer was given back his lap time of 2:05.272.
Jake Dixon is known to love these wet conditions and has often enjoyed good results during previous rain-soaked sessions. That was true today as he spent much of Q2 towards the top of the timing sheets, eventually ending the session in a decent 3rd place.
Our two championship contenders faced a difficult day with Augusto Fernandez qualifying in 11th and Ai Ogura qualifying in 13th. Our winner from last time out, Pedro Acosta was stuck down in 18th, unable to find the pace on any of his 8 flying laps in Q2.
Image Credit: MotoGP
QUALIFYING 1
In this session, some of the big names included Canet, Sam Lowes, Marcel Schrotter and previous championship contender, Celestino Vietti. The rain fell on and off throughout the session, with poor visibility caused by both the spray and the dark conditions. Whilst getting used to these conditions, there were early moments for Lowes and Canet. Everyone started Q1 by tiptoeing around the track and avoiding the kerbs as much as possible.
The early leader in the session was Barry Baltus, the Dutch rider, who laid down his intentions with 10 minutes left on the clock. Canet soon joined him at the top and they were both swapping between first and second throughout the early stages of the session.
With just over 7 minutes left on the clock, Jeremy Alcoba went down at the outside of Turn 4, bringing out our first yellow flags.
Shortly after, Lowes leaped up to third, setting a time of 2:07.4, and pushing Vietti out of the top 4. However, shortly after, Lowes also went down at Turn 4 – a highside threw him over the front of the bike in a nasty looking accident. He will be frustrated with this incident on his return to Moto2 after recently dislocating his shoulder and working hard to get back on the grid.
The next rider to go down, with 3.5 minutes left in the session, was Niccolo Antonelli. He went down at Turn 11 as the bike slipped from under him, without having been able to set a timed lap in the session. He eventually rejoined the action and ended the session in 12th.
The resulting yellow flags seemed to hinder most of the grid with Baltus and Canet still at the top with 2 minutes to go. Vietti then leapfrogs Lowes for 4th, with a 2.07.1.
Despite Baltus improving on his own lap time, he is beaten shortly after by Canet who lays down a 2.05.5 – no one is able to improve on that time and this keeps Canet at the top for the rest of the session.
The checkered flag falls with Canet, Baltus, Schrotter and Vietti in the top four. On their final flying laps, Keminth Kubo propels himself up to 3rd, bringing Lorenzo Dalla Porta and home hero Taiga Hada with him. Schrotter had already met the checkered flag and was unable to fight back as this group shuffled him down to 6th.
Cameron Beaubier, the final rider to set a flying lap, sneakily steals the final Q2 position as he shuffles Dalla Porta, Haga and Schrotter down to 5th, 6th and 7th.
That meant that the session ended with Canet on top, thanks to a time of 2:05.543, just ahead of Baltus in 2nd, Kubo in 3rd and Beaubier in 4th, all of whom progress to Q2.
QUALIFYING 2
Thunder and lightning was in the air for our second qualifying session, causing issues for the timing systems and on-screen graphics. Given how hard the rain was falling, it was important for riders to get out on the track quickly and lay down a timed lap – conditions this unpredictable can lead to anything!
With just over 9 minutes remaining, the conditions became too tricky to contend with and the red flag was quickly brought out. Standing water on the track and heavy rain fall meant that the track simply wasn’t safe enough to finish the session.
At that point, Canet was leading the pack with a time of 2:07.503, which was miles away from his fastest time in Q1. Just behind him was Somkiat Chantra and Dixon.
The session restarts some hours later, but with much better conditions. However, with a shorter session to contend with, getting on to the pace early was going to be key. As the lights went green, everyone was quickly out on the track.
The first flying laps highlighted the improving conditions as every rider was able to improve on their previous lap times. Canet’s previous fastest lap was quickly beaten by Dixon, before Canet regained his place at the top of the timings with a 2:05.875. Slotting in just behind them was Aldguer in third.
With 3 minutes on the clock, the first yellow flag of the Q2 session was waved as Albert Arenas went down at the end of Sector 2. Shortly after, Alonso Lopez went down at Turn 11 to bring out yet another yellow flag. At that point, both riders were stuck in 15th and 8th respectively but you eventually end the session in 17th and 12th respectively.
With less than a minute to go, Aldeguer propels himself to the top of the timings sheet, as he sets a time of 2:05.272. However, Dixon and Canet are both on personal best laps. Dixon slots himself into third whilst Canet regains provisional pole, leaving Aldeguer in second.
With just 30 seconds left on the clock, the rain starts to fall once again. Navarro then crashes at Turn 4, bringing out a yellow flag in Sector 1. The worsening conditions and the yellow flag seem to hinder anyone from improving.
As the checkered flag falls, the only rider to improve is Tony Arbolino, who leaps from 12th up to 4th, as other improvers have their lap times deleted thanks to that yellow flag.
Aldeguer also has his lap time temporarily deleted – this was initially due to a yellow flag infringement but a manual review found this to be incorrect and he was allowed to keep hold of second place.
RXR are in with a chance of claiming their second Extreme E title this weekend as the off-road series heads to Chile for the penultimate round of the year.
RXR, who won the first Extreme E teams’ title last year, go into the weekend with a 32 point gap between them and closest rivals Chip Ganassi.
There are six other teams who are still mathematically able to win the title: Acciona Sainz, X44, Xite Energy, Andretti United, JBXE, and McLaren.
Credit: Extreme E
To win the title this weekend regardless of where their rivals finish, RXR need to finish the weekend on the top step of the podium – something they’ve done five out of the eight races in Extreme E’s history.
Here’s the minimum each team needs to stay in the title battle:
If RXR finish
Chip Ganassi Need
AccionaSainz Need
X44 Need
Xite EnergyNeed
AndrettiUnited Need
JBXE need
McLaren need
1st*
Out
Out
Out
Out
Out
Out
Out
1st
Out
Out
Out
Out
Out
Out
Out
2nd*
1st
Out
Out
Out
Out
Out
Out
2nd
1st or 3rd*
1st or 2nd*
1st or 2nd*
Out
Out
Out
Out
3rd*
1st
1st
1st
Out
Out
Out
Out
3rd
2nd or 4th*
2nd or 3rd*
1st or 3rd*
Out
Out
Out
Out
4th*
1st
1st
1st
Out
Out
Out
Out
4th
3rd or 5th*
3rd or 5th*
3rd or 4th*
1st*
1st*
Out
Out
5th*
2nd
2nd
1st
Out
Out
Out
Out
5th
4th or 6th*
3rd or 6th*
3rd or 5th*
1st*
1st*
Out
Out
6th*
3rd
2nd
2nd
Out
Out
Out
Out
6th
5th or 7th*
4th or 7th*
4th or 6th*
1st*
1st*
Out
Out
7th*
3rd
3rd
3rd
Out
Out
Out
Out
7th
6th or 8th*
5th or 8th*
5th or 7th*
1st
1st
1st*
Out
8th*
4th
4th
3rd
Out
Out
Out
Out
8th
7th or 10th*
6th or 9th*
6th or 8th*
1st or 2nd*
1st or 2nd*
1st*
1st*
9th*
5th
5th
6th
1st
1st
Out
Out
9th
8th or *
7th or *
7th or 10th*
1st or 3rd*
1st or 3rd*
1st*
1st*
10th*
6th
5th
5th
1st
1st
Out
Out
10th
8th or *
8th or *
7th or *
1st or 3rd*
1st or 3rd*
1st
1st*
DSQ
9th or *
8th or *
8th or *
2nd or 3rd*
2nd or 3rd*
1st
1st*
*Additional five points for fastest time through the Continental Traction Challenge
Legacy Programme:
In every location Extreme E visits a legacy programme is set up to help local communities who are impacted by climate change.
This weekend is no different, with the focus of the legacy programme for Chile being on tackling biodiversity loss.
Extreme E is set to work with National Santiago Zoo to prepare habitats and reintroduce the Loa Frog in Calama.
“Showdown – NOUN. A final confrontation intended to settle a dispute.” Oxford Dictionary. The dispute? Who will lift the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Crown?
Picture courtesy of Official BSB
This weekend Oulton Park in Cheshire plays host to the travelling Circus that is the British Superbike paddock. Despite the tents and food vendors and merchandise stalls, it’s not Clowns we are here to see, it’s Gladiators!
A motor racing venue for 2 and 4 wheels since the 50’s, the former parkland/come formal gardens were converted to the racing circuit we know and love (although it has changed a little over the years) it has been the home of many adored racing series over the year such as BSB, British Touring Cars, Formula 3 and Porsche Carrera Cup etc. Oulton Park is also a favorite venue for track day enthusiasts of many different disciplines and track day experience providers.
This weekend is the first round where all eyes are now on the championship rather than qualifying for a position in the Showdown. The podium credits have been applied and the final game of musical chairs has finished. Everyone is now fully aware of their overall position within the points standings table. There are 9 races left in the 2022 season and the overall standings have the top 8 riders separated by just 53 points. With 3 races per weekend over the next 3 rounds, there are 225 points available between Race 1 at Oulton Park and the final race of the season at Brands Hatch on the 16th of October. So as of this moment, it really is anyone’s guess who will lift the trophy at the end of the season and put their name on the plaque under the words ‘British Superbike Champion 2022’. A title held by racing greats such as Shane Byrne, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Neil Hodgson, Niall Mackenzie, John Reynolds and more. BSB is seen as the best domestic racing series in the world and winning the grand prize takes a tremendous feat of bravery and skill.
Coming into Oulton Park, the current series leader is Bradley Ray of Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha. Ray has had a stellar second half of the season and really piled the pressure on reigning champion, McAMS Yamaha’s Tarran Mackenzie. Team mate to Mackenzie is Jason O’Halloran who knows all too well the level of pressure any rider faces in the Showdown fight for the championship after slipping off his Yamaha in 2021 while occupying the top of the rider standings going into Oulton Park. Oulton Park in 2021 saw Jason O’Halloran’s title challenge take on water after 2 DNF’s which ultimately cost him the Championship.
It’s no secret that the three Yamaha riders are seen as the favorites to lift the trophy but as we have seen before, anything can happen in the Showdown. The first thing to consider is the great British weather. At the time of writing this it’s looking like the rain will hold off although it will be mild and overcast. As a keen motorcyclist myself, I can guarantee whatever the forecast says in late September, you can assume it’s wrong or just plain lying to you. You never know what the weather is going to do when moving into British Autumn.
The second thing to consider for the Showdown are the other riders on the grid. Although anyone from 9th onwards in the overall standings is not in contention for the championship, there are other things at stake for them. With the end of the season drawing close at an alarming rate, the rumors are starting to circulate. Silly season has started and there are already rumors flying around about who will be riding for who next year. There are riders looking to impress and therefore will not think twice about their position on track and how it would affect anyone else’s placement in the championship. It is a team sport, but it’s well known the only standings the race fans keep an eye on are the individual rider standings. All the riders are battling for a seat for the 2023 season, or to be seen as doing well from spectators in other paddocks around the world. Showdown rounds are usually where you end up with riders who are not racing for the championship taking wins, podiums and top 10 positions. These situations create an unknown for the riders in the Showdown… Imagine a tangle between a couple of riders and suddenly the gap in the standing shrink and we have a new championship leader? 5th place moves to 2nd etc. A situation we have literally just seen over in MotoGP where Pecco Bagnaia has battled to bring a 91-point deficit to Fabio Quartararo down to just 10 points, aided massively by the reigning MotoGP champions DNF at the recent Grand Prix of Aragon where Pecco finished 2nd and collected 20 points.
The pressure is on for sure for 2022 glory.
Bradley Ray – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
Bradley Ray – Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha. Brad’s plan is simply to go out and win. Hoping to keep his title rivals behind him, and on his recent run of form it’s not a bad plan whatsoever. Get your head down and win the championship by winning every race. It’s foolproof, providing he can pull it off.
Jason O’Halloran – Picture courtesy of Official BSB
Jason O’Halloran – McAMS Yamaha. The ever-pragmatic Australian’s plan is to relax into the racing and see what the next few rounds bring. A strong season again for the McAMS rider has seen him once again in a very strong position to challenge for championship glory. Consistency needs to be the key to O’Halloran’s Showdown battle plan. Almost approach the Showdown in a race-by-race situation rather than worrying where his rivals are. O’Halloran has had a dip in form over the last few rounds which has given Brad Ray the overall lead, and I fear Jason has to hit the ground running or no matter what he does, it will all be a little too far to reach.
Tarran Mackenzie – Picture Courtesy of Official BSB
Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha. Mackenzie has form at this point of the season after coming from behind in 2021 to dominate the Showdown and take his championship by the scruff of the neck. No doubt last year is something he aims to repeat after a dismal start to his 2022 season after suffering a broken ankle in a training crash. Tarran has great form at Oulton Park, Donington Park and Brands Hatch, although he was involved in a little skirmish with both Christian Iddon and Lee Jackson last year at Outlon, Tarran is still the man everyone is looking to now the Showdown has started.
Glenn Irwin – Picture Courtesy of Official BSB
Glenn Irwin – Honda Racing UK. Glenn has an outside chance of the championship although he will need a little bit of bad luck for his rivals, or a poor showing in terms of finishing positions in their races. The Honda doesn’t generally enjoy the Oulton Park circuit so much and Glenn also wasn’t able to finish all the races held at Oulton in 2021, but recent improvements to the bike and a boost of confidence for Irwin after a strong round at Snetterton (despite podiumgate) should give the popular Northern Irishman a spring in his step for the weekend. I’m sure deep-down Honda think the Yamaha’s will be too strong for them but I for one hope to see the Fireblade and Glenn return to the top step before the end of the year.
Lee Jackson – Image Courtessy of Oficiall BSB
Lee Jackson – Cheshire Mouldings FS3 Kawasaki. Jackson needs a return of the form that saw him claim his maiden win at Oulton Park earlier in the season. With Jackson having re-signed with the FS3 Kawasaki team for 2023, the pressure of next year is off. With Jackson free of the silly season pressure, it will hopefully lift a weight from his shoulders and allow him to attack the weekend with nothing but podiums in every race to try and pull off the underdog story of the year.
Kyle Ryde – Picture Courtesy of Official BSB
Kyle Ryde – Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha. Ryde is appearing in the Showdown this year for the first time. The popular Nottinghamshire rider will have no choice but to buckle in and see how it unfolds. If Ryde can return to the form from the start of 2022 which saw him take podium and race wins, there’s no reason he cannot promote himself into the top 3 positions in the standings overall. It’s fair to say Kyle has a big hill to climb to win the championship this year but nothing is impossible. Good luck to him I say and hopefully he can finish the season with a big smile on his face and plan for a new attack in 2023.
Rory Skinner – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
Rory Skinner – Cheshire Mouldings FS3 Kawasaki. Rory has had a standout season with multiple podium finishes and has done himself a grand service achieving a place inside the Showdown. Especially when you consider the grid he is racing against. He has well and truly put himself in the window for the rumoured move to Moto2 for 2023. A rumour which has gained traction since the announcement that Cameron Baubier will not ride for the American Racing Team in Moto2 for 2023 but return to home soil to race in Moto America. A move which would leave room in the team for Rory Skinner in his stead. Although nothing is yet announced, Skinner’s wild cards this year in the Moto2 paddock have come via the assistance of John Hopkins, former MotoGP and BSB rider, whom also has a lot of pull inside the American Racing team. Could Hopper be able to aid Rory’s step back up onto the world stage after falling through the crack in Red Bull Rookies? Skinner, like Ryde, will have to see how the next few races pan out and would be better concentrating on picking up a win, race by race rather than concerning himself with championship glory. A strong finish to the British Superbike season could well seal the deal / grease the wheels to his future.
Tommy Bridewell – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
Tommy Bridewell – Oxford Products Ducati. Bridewell has had a somewhat up and down season with only 5 visits to the podium so far in 2022. Tommy seems to be in a similar (albeit more successful boat) as rival Ducati riders Josh Brookes and Tom Sykes. It seems the Panigale hasn’t been able to replicate its expected run of form this year and the package has spent most of this season in the mid-pack. Bridewell has a mega battle on his hands now to be in with a shout of championship glory but after a strong end to the Showdown in 2021 saw the Oxford Products Ducati rider pip Jason O’Halloran to 2nd in the championship overall, I for one have no doubts Tommy Bridewell will make waves over the next few weekends, especially at Oulton Park.
Good luck to all the riders this weekend in every category. We are truly in for a great show.
Round 15 at Aragón had huge ramifications for the Moto3 title race. Now it’s Japan’s turn to offer more twists to the championship tale.
The wonderful Mobility Resort Motegi hosts round 16 of the 2022 season this weekend (24/25/26 September). It’s the first time MotoGP has been back to Japan since 2019, and marks the start of four flyaways in the next five weeks.
A lot has changed since the last visit to Motegi, most of the current Moto3 riders have never raced there, including championship leader Izan Guevara. After a sensational weekend in Aragón, the Spaniard has a 33 point advantage over his closest challenger, teammate Sergio Garcia.
Whilst Guevara’s lead looks insurmountable, Garcia does have a slight advantage having raced at Motegi in 2019, where he finished 5th. He wasn’t the only current Moto3 rider to finish that race in the top 10. Tatsuki Suzuki, John McPhee, Jaume Masia, and Andrea Migno also had strong finishes.
The 2019 event was a race to forget for Dennis Foggia. The Italian finished 23rd, almost 33 seconds behind the leader. He does still have a chance to take the Moto3 crown, albeit a slim one. Having shown flashes of excellence this season, the inconsistency of old has resurfaced, and the gap to Guevara now stands at 58 points with just five races remaining.
A rider desperate to impress his home crowd will be Max Racing’s Ayumu Sasaki. The 21-year-old has shown fantastic pace this season, and has established himself as one of the frontrunners in Moto3. Whilst it’s extremely unlikely he’ll win the championship at this stage, he is certainly worth keeping an eye on for the rest of the season.
Eighteen year-old Kanta Hamada is set to make his Grand Prix debut, replacing the the injured Alberto Surra for the Rivacold Snipers Team. The Japanese rider has previously competed in the Asia Talent Cup, and should be familiar with the circuit at Motegi.
There were doubts about whether or not the race would take place last week as Japan was hit by Typhoon Nanmadol. Millions were told to evacuate, but fortunately the storm has dissipated, and the Island has begun the recovery process.
Rain is forecast for the entire weekend, adding intrigue to what should be an exciting event. Fans in the UK will need to have their alarm clocks primed as the race is scheduled to start at 12:00pm local time (04:00am GMT).
Big news of the weekend is that Marc Marquez (Honda) is finally back, after his surgery which was a complete success this time around. He had some work to do to try and get through to Q2 but, yellow flags hampered him and he narrowly missed out going through to Q2, meaning he would start 13th on Sunday.
It was also a warm welcome back to British racer Cal Crutchlow, who will be racing for the rest of the season in Andrea Dovisiozo’s place at Yamaha.
Good news for Ducati though as it was a lock-out on the front-row for them. Francesco Bagnaia took pole with an all-time lap record – 1:46.69, from current teammate Jack Miller and next year’s teammate Enea Bastianini.
Pole! Courtesy of: Moto GP website
Race:
Sunshine was beaming and the anticipation was bubbling along nicely.
It was all action from lights out – Bagnaia remained in the lead from Miller and Bastianini. While Marquez had made an impressive start and was up into 6th place by turn 2, when suddenly championship leader Fabio Quartararo rode into the rear wheel of Marquez, propelling him from his Yamaha and flying him across the track, lucky not to get caught up in other riders behind him, he recovered on the side of the track. (A medical update later revealed that he had numerous burns to his chest – we wish him a speedy recovery). With this one sudden moment, the championship was flung wide-open!
Fabio’s crash. Courtesy of: Moto GP footage
A few moments later Marquez was checking his Honda as there was some of Fabio’s Yamaha lodged in the rear of it when Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) nudged him, sending Nakagami also into the line of on-coming bikes and then into the gravel. Quick reactions from the riders behind meant no further collisions were caused. (Medical updates later confirmed Nakagami is doing well but has visited the medical centre, we wish him a speedy recovery also).
Nakagami incident. Courtesy of: Moto GP BT Sport footage
The action wasn’t over yet though as Marquez’s bike started to smoke from the rear, the Yamaha parts that had gotten lodged in the bike must have damaged his rear wheel. He was forced to retire from his first race back in 2022.
Back at the front, Bastianini went backwards to 4th place, but he had also taken fastest lap.
Bagnaia led Miller, Brad Binder (KTM) and Bastianini onto lap 3 of 23. Bastianini wasn’t hanging around though and soon re-took 3rd from Binder. He knew he couldn’t let the factory Ducati’s get away.
Bagnaia leads the way. Courtesy of: Moto GP wesbite
The race pace settled down after the excitement of the opening laps as Bagnaia created a lead of 0.457 seconds ahead of his teammate with 18 laps to go.
Bastianini had plans to thwart Bagnaia’s lead though and soon had passed Miller to take 2nd. The gap between himself and his future teammate was 0.700 seconds, knowing he had to hunt him down – he got to work.
Miller’s race meanwhile, was going from bad to worse as Binder also passed him as did Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) moments after, putting him back to 5th place.
With 16 laps to go Bagnaia was still in control, leading Bastianini, Binder and Espargaro.
The gap between the two front Italians had decreased further to 0.412 seconds. Would Bastianini dare challenge Bagnaia for the lead? Ducati had announced prior to the race that their riders are “free to race” so what would he decide?
By lap 9 the gap between the pair had closed dramatically and Bastianini did indeed pass the Duke to take the lead. It was a short-loved lead though as he soon went wide, meaning Bagnaia could re-take the lead with ease. He then made a small mistake on the next corner, nearly letting Binder also take a place from him, fortunately he remained in second, but all his hard work had come undone. The gap between him and the leader was back to 0.786 seconds. He wasn’t going to be perturbed though.
Bastianini was on a mission, not letting the number 63 get away he started to claw the gap back. Meanwhile, behind him Binder was being hunted down by Espargaro.
By lap 16 of 23, gapping was appearing between the leading four riders: Bagania’s lead was 0.745 seconds ahead of Bastianini, who’s gap between him and Binder was 1.579 seconds, who’s gap between Binder and Espargaro was 0.405 seconds.
In 14th place – British Yamaha test-rider Cal Crutchlow was remaining in the points, currently higher than any place Dovi had managed to collect this year.
Cal Crutchlow. Courtesy of: Moto GP website
Back at the front the action was becoming tense. With only 6 laps until the chequered flag the gap between Bagnaia and “The Beast” had dropped and Bastianini was very close to the rear of Pecco.
With 4 laps till the end: Crutchlow passed Vinales to take 13th, Espargaro closed the gap between himself and Binder (to 0.193 seconds) and Bastianini started getting tempted to pass his future teammate.
Would he actually do it? Could he actually do it? There weren’t many laps left to make a decision.
The gap between the two Ducati’s was 0.193 seconds as Bastianini seemed to be testing a corner to pass Bagnaia on. Deciding against it, audiences had to hold their breath.
Espargaro though, decided enough is enough sitting behind Binder and passed him to take the last podium position.
The next lap Bastianini did another tempting move but again decided against it. Was he going to try a pass on Bagnaia?
Last lap:
Baganaia led Bastianini onto turn 1 –
turn 2 –
turn 3 –
turn 4 –
turn 5 and turn 6 but, turn 7 saw a surprise move from Bastianini which saw him re-take the lead at Aragon. Bagnaia had little response to it. The last corner/ the short start-finish straight was his last chance, but it was not to be.
Bastianini claimed his 4th victory for 2022, with Bagnaia extremely close behind.
Top ten finishers:
1st
E. Bastianini
2nd
F. Bagnaia
3rd
A. Espargaro
4th
B. Binder
5th
J. Miller
6th
J. Martin
7th
L. Marini
8th
J. Zarco
9th
A. Rins
10th
M. Bezzecchi
Surprising turn of events for round 15 sees the championship blow wide-open:
Top four championship standings:
1st
F. Quartararo
211 points
2nd
F. Bagnaia
201 points
3rd
A. Espargaro
194 points
4th
E. Bastianini
163 points
Now only 10 points between Fabio and Pecco and 17 points between Aleix and first place.
With a 1, 2 in the bag for this round, Ducati had more to celebrate as they became the 2022 Constructors World Champions!
Courtesy of: Ducati Course Twitter page
What could possibly happen next time in Motegi, Japan? Be sure to join in with the action on Sunday 25th September.
A dominant ride from Izan Guevara saw the Spaniard extend his championship lead to 33 points while his title rivals struggled at MotorLand Aragón.
Guevara was confident going into the weekend after taking the championship lead from his Aspar teammate Sergio Garcia in the last round at Misano. After wowing the paddock with an acrobatic handstand before securing a comfortable pole position on Saturday, the 18-year-old never looked back en route to his 4th win of the season.
Izan was joined on the front row by Ayumu Sasaki and Dani Holgado. The trio enjoyed good launches and immediately set about pulling away from the rest of the field. British youngster Josh Whatley was taken out at turn 1 in an incident involving Nicola Carraro and Lorenzo Fellon.
Following a disappointing qualifying session, Garcia was desperate to make up places from the 4th row on the grid. It was confirmed yesterday that the Spanish rider would be competing in Moto2 next season with Pons Racing, but he found himself caught in a scrap in the middle of the pack while the leaders pulled away.
After managing to get his championship challenge back on track with a win in Misano, Dennis Foggia struggled from the start at Aragón. The Leopard Honda rider couldn’t seem to find the pace he needed to challenge his rivals and quickly found himself outside the top 10.
The leading trio were in a different league to the rest, increasing the gap behind them by roughly half a second each lap. Deniz Öncü muscled his way up to 4th but despite his best efforts was unable to bridge the gap to the front group.
While the leaders pulled away, it was a typical Moto3 battle for the rest of the field. Sixteen year old rookie David Muñoz practically ran through KTM rider Adrian Fernandez, earning a long-lap penalty for his troubles.
With 3 laps to go Holgado began to drop off from the leading pair as the pace simply became too much for the young Spaniard. Sasaki was the only rider able to stick with the leader who was simply unassailable.
The result was never in question, as Guevara secured his fifth win in Moto3 and probably his best. Sasaki was an admiral runner-up and Holgado secured his first Grand Prix podium. It was a race to forget for Garcia and Foggia who finished in 13th and 14 respectively.
With his rivals struggling, Guevara’s 33 point championship lead makes him the clear favourite for the Moto3 crown, but with 5 rounds remaining, anything can happen.
The Misano Maestro reigned supreme in San Marino, but who will be crowned the King of Spain?
The spectacular MotorLand Aragón circuit, located in Alcañiz, Spain, will host the MotoGP circus for round 15 of the 2022 season this weekend (16/17/18 September).
All eyes will be on the Spanish duo of Izan Guevara and Sergio Garcia. The GASGAS Aspar riders have had some epic battles on track this season and with rumours of a promotion to Moto2 for whoever comes out on top, neither rider needs any more motivation.
Guevara heads to Aragón as the championship leader for the first time this season, having occupied second place in the standings for much of the 2022 campaign. He has capitalised on the misfortune of his title rivals in recent weeks, and is one of the most consistent riders on the grid this year.
On the contrary, Garcia has struggled since returning from the summer break. He was taken out at Silverstone by an over-eager Ayumu Sasaki, and was black-flagged from the Misano GP after a disastrous start to the race. The 19-year-old will be hoping to bounce back and restore his championship lead this weekend.
Elsewhere Dennis Foggia has enjoyed a return to form and is mounting a late charge to take the Moto3 crown. With 2 wins in the last 3 races, the Italian has found his feet after a disappointing start to the season. He’s now just 35 points behind Guevara in the standings. Himself and Leopard Honda teammate Tatsuki Suzuki have shown great pace since the summer break.
British fans will be pleased to learn that VisionTrack Racing Team youngsters Scott Ogden and Josh Whatley have solid records at MotorLand Aragón. Ogden has numerous point finishes in JuniorGP and the Red Bull Rookies Cup whilst Whatley had his best finish in the European Talent Cup at the circuit.
In a historic first for MotoGP, Angeluss MTA racing are entering an all-female team this weekend. María Herrera returns to the class as a wildcard entry and will be backed by a crew of exclusively female mechanics. The project aims to increase the presence of women in motorcycle racing.
The weather forecast for the weekend looks great. Warm temperatures are expected with clear skies on Friday and Saturday and some cloud cover anticipated on Sunday. The race is due to start at 11:00am local time (10:00am GMT).
Who do you think is going to be the 2022 British Superbike Champion?
The Showdown is finalised and now the nail biting starts. Round 8 of the BSB season was an important one for a small group of riders. Some hoping to secure their spot in the showdown, while others hoping to snatch a spot away from their competitors. In with a chance to enter the showdown were Danny Buchan, Peter Hickman and Leon Haslam and hoping to retain their place were Lee Jackson, Glenn Irwin, Tommy Bridewell, Tarran Mackenzie and Kyle Ryde.
BSB Snetterton 11.09.2022 Picture courtesy of Josh Brookes
As is always the case with British Superbikes, there is a trend for riders who have struggled in the earlier part of the season to start hitting the top 10 and Round 8 was no different. A surprise podium for Kyle Ryde after a poor showing in the last few rounds, joined by Christian Iddon in 4th, who has the skillset for this position but perhaps not the backup from him machinery. Leon Haslam fought back into the top 5 again in Race 1, as he seems to be getting the Vision Track Kawasaki dialed in albeit too little, too late. Also a surprise top 10 finish from Danny Kent and Takumi Takahashi in 11th. While regular top 10 finishers Peter Hickman, Glenn Irwin and somewhat regular top 10 finisher, Tom Sykes were in the mix too.
Danny Buchan needed to have a strong round to gain a position in the title Showdown but a lap 1 pileup seemingly caused by yet another Ryan Vickers DNF took him out along with Josh Owens, effectively ending his chance to secure a position in the top 8 positions. Tommy Bridewell was also left looking at the championship standings through gritted teeth after his Race 1 DNF when his Oxford Products Ducati Panigale stopped along the start finish straight causing his retirement from the race. Eurosport’s Steve Day and Jamie Whitham confirmed that Tommy had accidentally hit the kill switch on his bike and with the modern superbikes, it simply is not a case of flicking it back on. The bike needed to stop and reset the whole system, by which point Tommy was at the rear of the field.
Race 1. A dominant victory from Rich Energy OMG Racing’s Bradley Ray has seen him extend his lead in the championship, but more importantly his podium credits too. A very strong 2nd place from Tarran Mackenzie sees him gain a few more points in the chase for retaining his championship, especially with their championship rival Jason O’Halloran continuing a sudden avoidance of the podium positions after a poor Cadwell Park by finishing Race 1 at Snetterton down in 12th place. His position within the Showdown is secure, but with full podium credits going to rival Brad Ray, never has it been more important for the O’Show to turn in a championship winning performance. Congratulations to Kyle Ryde. Ryde ended his recent run of poor form with a 3rd place podium finish secured his place within the Showdown and no doubt gives the young rider a huge sigh of relief, and much needed boost of confidence.
Race 1 Results: – Brad Ray, Taz Mackenzie, Kyle Ryde, Christian Iddon, Leon Haslam, Lee Jackson, Tom Sykes, Peter Hickman, Glenn Irwin, Danny Kent, Takumi Takahashi, Jason O’Halloran, Josh Brookes, Tom Neave, Storm Stacey.
Race 2 started well for Ray, Mackenzie, Ryde and O’Halloran until a wheel-to-wheel collision between Andy Irwin and Jason O’Halloran caused Irwin to crash and dropped O’Halloran down the field to 6th place. Bradley Ray and Tarran Mackenzie continued to gap the field, with Bridewell chasing hard in 3rd. The laps counted down with a steady away race after an overtake from Mackenzie into the lead, with the battles continuing further down the field. Danny Buchan putting a harsh move on Lee Jackson when trying to pass up the inside at the right-hand hairpin, with contact from Buchan’s bike into Lee Jackson. Luckily Jackson was able to take the brunt of it and continue the race while Buchan moved on to attack Sykes on the MCE Ducati, which allowed Jackson to come through with him. Buchan moved on to attack McAMS Jason O’Halloran to further compound the Australian rider’s frustrations, also allowing Lee Jackson past. One lap to go and Bradley Ray has done his research behind Mackenzie. Closing right up on the rear wheel they entered the last lap Bradley Ray timed his slipstream to perfection, putting his move on Mackenzie in the chicane at the midpoint leaving no way back for Taz.
Race 2 victory cemented for Ray followed by Mackenzie, Bridewell, Glenn Irwin, Hickman, Ryde, Buchan, Jackson, O’Halloran, Sykes, Skinner, Brookes, Stacey, Neave, Mizuno.
Race 3. Started in much of the same way as Race 2. Not a slugfest, no wild moves. Plenty of tyre saving going on after Taz took the lead from Ray. Storm Stacey’s stricken Kawasaki brought out the safety car at the midpoint of the race. Upon resuming the race, when rounding the last corner, it seems Mackenzie had misjudged his distance to the safety car and closing speed, as by the time Tarran made his jump for rolling race restart, Mackenzie, Ray and Glenn Irwin overtook the safety car while it was still on the track, albeit just slowing down while entering the pit lane. Each rider was handed a 2 second time penalty which affected the finish positions of Race 3. Bradley Ray had enough of a gap to maintain 1st place. Glenn Irwin finished in 2nd on the track but was demoted to 4th after the penalty which put Peter Hickman in 2nd place and Tarran Mackenzie just managed to pickup 3rd on time after his penalty. A bit of a mess really and it took some time to explain to the riders what happened, but Stuart Higgs of British Superbike explained that the result stands and the rules must be applied. Tarran was later hit with 2 penalty points on his racing license as he lead the field into the early race restart.
BSB Snetterton 11.09.2022 Brad Ray Picture courtesy of Official BSB
The Showdown positions have been finalised, and the podium credits have been applied and this is how the championship now looks moving forward to Oulton Park in 2 weeks’ time.
1 – Brad Ray – 1061
2 – Jason O’Halloran – 1048
3 – Tarran Mackenzie – 1031
4 – Glenn Irwin – 1016
5 – Lee Jackson – 1014
6 – Kyle Ryde – 1013
7 – Rory Skinner – 1009
8 – Tommy Bridewell – 1008
Who do you think will win the 2022 British Superbike Championship?
Feature image courtesy of Oxford Products Moto Rapido BSB
Picture courtesy of Official BSB
Bradley Ray – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
Jason O’Hallora
Tarran Mackenzie – Picture Courtesy of Official BSB
Glenn Irwin – Picture Courtesy of Official BSB
Lee Jackson – Imag
Kyle Ryde – Picture Courtesy of Official BSB
Rory Skinner – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
Tommy Bridewell – Image Courtesy of Official BSB
