Category: Circuits

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Moto3: Pole for Masia in Misano

Image Credit: MotoGP

Jaume Masia stormed to pole position today in Misano, increasing pressure on championship leader Daniel Holgado, with the championship lead halved to just 13 points after last weekend in Catalunya.

Ayumu Sasaki managed to rescue his qualifying and starts alongside Masia on the front row in 2nd. The Husqvarna rider crashed at the start of the Q2 session. Kaito Toba had the qualifying session of his season, as the Squadra Corse rider qualified in 3rd completing the front row of the grid.

With main title contenders Masia, Sasaki and Deniz Öncü all starting in front of Holgado. Everything is in place for another crazy Moto3 classic on Sunday.

Image Credit: Leopard Racing

Image Credit: Leopard Racing

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Championship leader Daniel Holgado was in the Q1 session after being unable to string a good lap time together so far this weekend.

David Munoz lit up sector 2 and crashed out at the start of the session. Munoz went up the inside of Ogden and into a high side crash. Fortunately Munoz seemed ok and we know Munoz doesn’t mind racing from the back. In the race on a Sunday, you can guarantee to see Munoz fighting his way through the pack.

Early leaders in the Q1 session were Holgado top with Matteo Bertelle 2nd, Xavi Artigas 3rd and David Salvador in 4th.

Riccardo Rossi breaking into the top 4 just before everyone headed back into the pits for new tyres for the remainder of the session.

Holgado keen to get on with it and now on track putting in the work to get through to Q2. Holgado going over half a second clear to the rest of the field on his second go at getting through to Q2. A time of 1:42.467 to top the session, a fantastic time set from Holgado.

Munoz back on his spare bike at the end of the session managed to scrape 4th and get into Q2. Heroic from Munoz getting into Q2, after toppling over only moments before.

Qualifying 2

After being quickest this morning KTM rider Deniz Öncü will be gunning for pole in this Q2 session.

Ayumu Sasaki crashed out in sector 4 on his out lap. A disastrous start for Sasaki to this session. Sasaki ok in the crash but this was the last thing Sasaki need with the fight for the championship heating up at the minute.

Toba the first to cross the line and set the first flying lap of the session. Quickly topped by Munoz and then followed by Masia. Masia quickest in both of the Friday practice sessions, only just to be topped by Öncü in this mornings session.

10mins remaining of the session and the next set of flying laps are coming through. Masia tops the session followed by Munoz and Holgado currently locking out the front row.

Öncü now with red sectors in 2 and 3 and comes through to set the quickest time of the session only to be pipped straight away by Diogo Moreira. Moreira clearly on a high and full of confidence after his deal this week promoting him to Moto2 for next season.

As both GASGAS Aspar team riders Ryusei Yamanaka and David Alonso head back into the pits, Masia comes across the line but unable to knock Moreira off the top spot. Moreira sitting at the top a tenth clear to Masia in 2nd with Öncü 3rd. Holgado dropped down to 6th at this stage with 6mins remaining of the qualifying session.

Sasaki back out onto the track now and with the spare bike, managed to get up to 6th place on his first flying lap. Sasaki determined to recover as much as possible after crashing only a few mins earlier in the session.

The last flying laps now Toba out of nowhere topped Moreira at the top. Sasaki then quickest but only for a few moments as Masia come by and blown Sasaki’s time away by over 2 tenths of a second.  The rest of the swarm of riders still come through but didn’t look like the rest of the field will be challenging for pole position.

Pole position for Masia for the San Marino Grand Prix. Exactly what Masia would of dreamt of last night as the championship battle is heating up in Moto3.

Classification 

Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Martin Misano Masterclass

Image Credit: MotoGP

Jorge Martin was on fire today in Misano. Not only setting a new all time lap record around this Misano circuit but annihilating the field in a fantastic qualifying session. A session that sent a clear message to title rivals Pecco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi that The Martinator is doing all he can in the fight for the world championship this season.

The top 3 title rivals all on the front row for the Tissot Sprint race and main Grand Prix tomorrow. Both Pecco and Bezzecchi are still suffering from injuries this weekend. Can Martin now take advantage of this and win both races this weekend?

 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Last weekends winner in Catalunya, Aleix Espargaro was a surprise name in Q1 and was keen to get going. KTMs Jack Miller after a shocking practice session was also in Q1 with a lot of work to do.

Both factory Yamaha’s Quartararo and Morbidelli swapped places at the top of the timings early on in the session and just as Pol Espargaro on the GASGAS split them at the top of the timings, Pol’s left front tucked underneath him and crashed out at turn 2. Pol ok though and sprinted back to the pits for the spare bike.

10mins left of the session and the riders come through setting their next set of flying laps. Miguel Oliveira now at the top with Fabio 2nd. Aleix still yet to set a fast time on the factory Aprilia.

The riders headed back into the pits to make some last minute adjustments and got some fresh boots on for the remaining few mins of the session. Aleix and Miller still with a lot of work to do here and under a lot of pressure to get through to Q2.

With 2mins remaining we had a 2nd crash of the session for Pol Espargaro at turn 13, Miguel top of the timings and a stunning lap from Stefan Bradl pushes himself up to 2nd.

Aleix Espargaro plucks a time out of nowhere and puts himself fastest. Zarco unable to get through but had one last lap to get to get a time crossing the line with a few seconds left in the session

Fabio on the factory Yamaha just missed out on a Q2 place, with Miguel topping the timings at the end of the session. Both Aprilia’s 1-2 in Q1 with Oliveira and Espargaro going through to Q2.

Jack Miller will be starting way down in 18th place for the Tissot Sprint and the main race tomorrow. A disastrous weekend here for Miller in Misano so far.

Qualifying 2

As the riders head out for Q2 its VR46s Bezzecchi leading the way to start the first flying lap of the session.

As the lap times started to come through in the early stages of the Q2 session, KTMs Brad Binder sat atop the timings with Martin 2nd, followed closely by this weekends wildcard and legend Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa showing everyone that class is permanent.

The next set of flying laps come through and after setting the all time lap record yesterday, Bezzecchi now sits on provisional pole with Martin moving to 2nd. Both pushing as hard as they can to take pole position here in for the San Marino Grand Prix.

Reigning world champion Pecco Bagnaia, after round the clock physio and treatment from last weekend’s horrific crash, moves up to 4th. Pecco used every ounce of grit and determination, with a dash of adrenaline, to drag himself through this weekend’s qualifying session.

Martin now back to the top with a 1:30.832 setting a new all time lap record beating the time set by Bezzecchi yesterday in practice.

Riders headed back to the pits for the last minute changes for the last 6mins of the session. Pecco was the first out of the pits, leading the pack onto the track to battle for pole position.

The riders then come through setting the times and Jorge Martin smashes his all time lap record now with provisional pole time set at 1:30.390. Pedrosa clearly a Misano specialist, put himself onto the front row briefly, but in the end topped by championship protagonists Bezzecchi and Pecco as they come through taking to 2nd and 3rd. Pecco at one point had everyone watching in disbelief as at one point he was on target during his last flying lap to take pole position.

An incredible qualifying session here in Misano. One of the best pole position laps we have witnessed for some time. A masterclass in Misano from the The Martinator Martin!

Starting Grid 

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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MotoGP: The Martinator Sprints to victory in Misano

Jorge Martin continued his great form from this morning with a dominant win in this afternoon’s Tissot Sprint race. Championship rival Marco Bezzecchi finished 2nd and reigning world champ Pecco Bagnaia finished in 3rd.

Both Bezzecchi and Pecco carrying injuries into this weekend from last weekend in Barcelona, both using all of the painkillers and adrenaline they could get a hold of to get through the sprint race today. Heroic performances from both riders.

Pecco fended off legend Dani Pedrosa and late charging Brad Binder at the end of the sprint, both KTM riders tried all they could to get by Pecco in the closing laps of the race. With his title rivals not at 100%, can Martin capitalise on this and win the main grand prix tomorrow? When Martin is in this kind of form, its hard to imagine any rider being able to stop The Martinator. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Martin got off the line and off to a great start leading into turn 1. Pecco close in behind Martin through turns 2 and 3 with a gap already to Bezzecchi 3rd who was leading the rest of the group behind.

Pedrosa managing to get up the inside of Maverick Viñales into4th with Pol Espargaro up 6 places on the opening lap. A great start given the KTM GASGAS rider crashed twice this morning.

 

Onto the second lap the stand out overtake of the race happened as Binder went up the inside of both Luca Marini and Aleix Espargaro in one corner, up into 6th place. Binder was determined to catch those in front before its too late. The lead group of 4 already pulling away from the rest of the field now forming a gap at the front. Martin leading from Bezzecchi now up to 2nd pulling away from Pecco and Pedrosa 3rd and 4th.

 

Over the next few laps, the VR46 star Bezzecchi tried all he could to catch Martin ahead, losing it at one point at turn 16, gifting half a second back to Martin who controlled the race at the front throughout.

Binder eager to carry on the charge to the front was in a great battle for 5th place with Viñales and Marini. Eventually Binder coming out on top and keen to press on to catch the wildcard Pedrosa and Pecco battling for 3rd ahead of him.

Aleix Espargaro at this point was unable to keep pace with the battle in front eventually settling in 8th place. Aleix will be hoping for better tomorrow given he won the race last time out in Catalunya.

Moving into the final stages of the Tissot Sprint and Martin maintained his gap to Bezzecchi controlling the race from the front. Pedrosa was closing up behind the injured Pecco , ever keen to try and get onto the podium with only a few laps to go.

Just as Pedrosa was closing onto the back wheel of Pecco, Pecco responded putting his personal best lap time of the race so far. An incredible performance here with the pain he must be suffering after the horrific crash last weekend in Barcelona. Its nothing short of a miracle that Pecco is here competing this weekend.

Lap 11 of 13 now and as Pecco runs wide Pedrosa is right up behind Pecco with 2 laps to go. The first two places were sown up at this point, as Martin was over a second ahead of Bezzecchi in 2nd. Almost every rider in the field was on the brink of a long lap penalty, as Binder closed in on the Pedrosa and Pecco battle for 3rd.

Last lap now and the KTMs of Pedrosa and Binder are right up behind Pecco as Pecco is still resisting this charge hanging onto 3rd.

Into turns 11, 12 and 13 the factory Ducati just glides through with ease as Pecco creates just enough of a gap to keep 3rd place.

Jorge Martin takes the chequered flag and wins the Tissot Sprint with a commanding and faultless performance. VR46 star man Bezzecchi takes a well deserved 2nd and a superb performance given the pain Bezzecchi must be in with the carrying hand injury.

Race Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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Verstappen Breaking Records at the Italian GP

Max Verstappen takes the win at the Italian Grand Prix, which means he has taken the record for 10 consecutive wins in a season. It wasn’t plain sailing for him and his teammate, but they came home with a 1-2, while Sainz rounded out the podium after starting on pole. 

The camera showed the stricken Alpha Tauri of Tsunoda as the front row began to line up on the grid after the formation lap. Unfortunately for him and the team, there was an immediate engine failure, which left the car in gear and therefore led to a second formation lap.

However, an aborted start meant that confusion ensued as the cars were parked on the grid with engines off while the teams were waiting at the gate to be let back onto the grid. The red flag was never brought out, but there was a delay of a few minutes before the engineers could be let onto the grid.

Despite this, after a 23-minute delay, we could get going with another formation lap.

The eventual race start. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area

Lights out, and Sainz got off to a great start by cutting off Verstappen into turn one and holding on to the lead. Just behind them, Leclerc had tried to dive up the inside of Verstappen, but the door closed, and the attempt left room for Russell to put pressure on the Ferrari. Russell couldn’t make a move stick.

Both McLarens had a good start, with Piastri making up a place on Albon into turn one as the Williams driver got boxed in. Although the Willams in a straight line is very slippery, just one lap later, Albon was back up into P6.

It didn’t take long for Verstappen to become a hunter with Sainz the hunted. Leclerc couldn’t keep up with the leading pair as the Red Bull pushed the Ferrari all the way. Verstappen was always within the DRS zone and tried to make a move around the outside of turn one on lap six, but it didn’t pay off with Sainz defending well.

Slightly further back, on lap eight, Verstappen’s teammate was mounting a charge on the Mercedes of Russell as he tried a move that didn’t pay off. He built up pressure until lap 14 when Perez tried a move around the outside, outbraked himself, and went straight on which meant he had to give back the place he gained. Two laps later though, the Mexican took the inside line into turn one and this time the move stuck.

Sainz locked up before losing the lead to Verstappen. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

Meanwhile, the Dutch Red Bull driver was closer to Sainz by a couple of tenths heading into the main straight. He tried around the outside of the Ferrari, and even though the move didn’t work, Sainz locked up, which meant Verstappen had better traction coming out of the corner. On lap 15, the inevitable happened into the chicane as the Red Bull had more speed than the Ferrari.

With the world champion unleashed, he gained a 1.5-second lead within one lap. The race began to settle as the pit stops started.

Struggling with tyres after locking up, Sainz was the first of the Ferrari drivers to come in. One lap later, the team pitted Leclerc; however, it was tight between the teammates, and they nearly touched as Leclerc came out of the pit lane. The Monegasque ended up staying behind his teammate, with Perez coming out behind them after his stop.

A similar story was unfolding with the two McLaren’s on lap 24. Norris was the first to pit, with Piastri changing his tyres the lap after. However, Piastri was on the inside of Norris into turn one as he came out from his stop, but unlike the Ferraris, the McLarens made contact. Luckily for both drivers, they were able to carry on, and the stewards decided to take no further action.

Hamilton was the last driver to stop, as he started on the hard tyres so he could go for a longer stint. Coming out from his stop, it didn’t take too long before his new mediums warmed up and he began to gain places on those now on hard tyres. He started with Alonso into turn one on lap 29.

The Mercedes wasn’t the only one on a charge. Norris had been chasing down Albon for several laps, when on lap 38, Norris made a move around the outside but went off the track and gained an advantage. He managed to give the place back and unfortunately for the Brit, this is where he would stay.

A few laps later, Hamilton could smell the chance to make a move on Piastri but couldn’t make it stick. Towards the end of the lap, Hamilton was within the DRS zone of the McLaren and looked for a move on the inside but opted for the switch back, getting better traction out of the corner. Hamilton was mostly in font heading towards the chicane but, crucially, not completely past. 

As Hamilton moved towards the racing line, his back wheel made contact with the front of Piastri’s car, damaging the McLaren’s front wing. Both drivers were able to carry on, but Piastri did need to pit for a new front wing, and Hamilton got a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.

While this was happening, Perez had gained a place on Leclerc to put him on the podium and was chasing down P2. It wasn’t long before Perez was within the DRS zone of Sainz, and he used that to his advantage on lap 46, where he made it past Sainz.

This meant the final five laps were all about which Ferrari would be in P3. The radio call came saying, ‘Still race, but no risk’, However, the teammates knew what was at stake. Leclerc kept the pressure on right until the final lap, where he had a huge lockup and nearly took out both cars, Luckily, he avoided an accident, and Sainz finished in P3 with Leclerc in P4.

However, no one had an answer for Verstappen’s performance, as he crossed the line with a substantial lead over his teammate. A new record was broken, and the speed of the Red Bulls continues to be unmatched.

Next up is Singapore, which Verstappen has never won. Is that an omen or another record to extend?

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Moto2: Dixon Takes Second Win of the Season

Jake Dixon takes his second win of the season following a number of battles with second place finisher Aron Canet and championship leader Pedro Acosta. The podium was completed by the local racer, Albert Arenas. Acosta’s closest rival, Tony Arbolino, finished down the order in 17th place.

Both Dixon and Ai Ogura made good starts when the lights went out, but it was the Brit who retained the lead into the first corner. Manuel Gonzalez improved to second place at turn two and immediately began looking to make a move on the race leader. Acosta gained one position on the first lap to sit in eighth place.

Gonzalez was able to make a move on Dixon during the second lap, but the pair swapped back and forth and by the third lap Gonzalez, Dixon and third placed rider Canet began to break away from the main pack.

A successful move for the lead was made by Gonzalez on the fifth lap into turn one. Dixon continued to drop down the order following a move from Canet on the Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team rider. Acosta continued his charge up the field and by lap 9 he was on the tail of Dixon.

The lead changed hands on lap 10 when Canet made a move into the first corner on his fellow countryman and Acosta made the same move but on Dixon. The following lap, Acosta was able to take second place from Gonzalez but this fighting behind Canet allowed the Pons Wegow Los40 rider to start to extend his lead at the front of the field.

Fermin Aldeguer was having a strong race in the chasing pack before he was given a long lap penalty on lap 12 for exceeding track limits. He took the penalty, but race control determined that he did not take it correctly, so he had to do it again. This dropped him down the order and took him out of contention for the higher points.

Gonzalez began to struggle around lap thirteen and Dixon was able to take the inside line at turn one and get past him. The British rider was able to join Acosta and Canet to form a small breakaway from the fourth placed rider.

It only took a few laps for Acosta to begin to shape up a move on Canet and the move was completed at turn 12 on lap 14. Canet immediately began looking to take the lead back and as Acosta had a wobble on lap fifteen, he hoped he could make a move.

But Dixon was able to make the move on Canet down the start-finish straight on lap 16 and took the inside line into turn one. Canet immediately repaid the favour by making a block pass at turn three and retook the lead at turn thirteen.

Acosta made the move on Canet on lap 17 to regain the lead and Dixon almost followed him through but was unable to. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider made a mistake following that overtake and dropped down the order to fifth place after being passed by Dixon, Canet, Arenas, and Gonzalez.

The lead swapped hands once again with Dixon taking the lead at turn ten on lap 18. But the drama began slightly further down the field with Acosta having contact with Alonso Lopez and both went off the track, dropping them down to sixth and seventh respectively.

Canet continued to look at making a move on Dixon into the final lap at turns one, three and twelve but could not do so allowing Dixon to come across the line in first place, taking his second win of the season.

Arenas took his first podium of the season by finishing in third place. He was followed by Sergio Garcia, Gonzalez and Acosta who extended his championship lead. Ogura finished the race in seventh followed by Lopez who may be on the receiving end of a penalty due to cutting a corner when he rejoined the racetrack. Sam Lowes finished the race in ninth place with Celestino Vietti following just behind in tenth.

Feature image credit: MotoGP on TNT Sports on X (https://twitter.com/motogpontnt/status/1698257387352678879/photo/1)

CATALUNYA MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, BARCELONA – RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM BIKE TIME
1 Jake Dixon GBR Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 36m 51.330s
2 Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 36m 51.535s
3 Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 36m 52.357s
4 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 36m 53.588s
5 Manuel Gonzalez SPA Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 36m 53.992s
6 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 36m 54.994s
7 Ai Ogura JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 36m 55.569s
8 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 36m 55.644s
9 Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 36m 55.937s
10 Celestino Vietti ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 37m 0.059s
11 Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 0.806s
12 Barry Baltus BEL Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 37m 0.926s
13 Fermín Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 37m 1.151s
14 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 37m 2.300s
15 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 37m 2.513s
16 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 2.645s
17 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 8.189s
18 Zonta Vd Goorbergh NED Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 37m 9.677s
19 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 37m 16.867s
20 Borja Gomez SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 37m 17.118s
21 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 17.518s
22 Mattia Rato ITA Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 37m 20.773s
23 Rory Skinner GBR OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 26.538s
24 Kohta Nozane JPN Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 37m 30.693s
25 Izan Guevara SPA Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 37m 43.416s
26 Yeray Ruiz SPA Forward Team (Forward) 37m 44.538s
  Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) DNF
  Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) DNF
  Senna Agius AUS Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) DNF
  Alberto Surra ITA Forward Team (Forward) DNF

 

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Moto3: Alonso Takes Bonkers Barcelona Victory

Image Credit: PolarityPhoto (MotoGP photographer)

With overcast skies, a tail wind on the start straight and swaying riders slipstreaming all over the place, the race in Barcelona was another Moto3 classic. 

In a race that quite literally had everything, it was GASGAS Aspar Team’s David Alonso who took a bonkers Moto3 victory today at the Barcelona circuit. Starting from 12th on the grid and winding his way through the pack, Alonso took his 2nd victory in the Moto3 class.

Image Credit: GASGAS Aspar Team
Image Credit: GASGAS Aspar Team
AT IT HAPPENED

Ivan Ortola started on pole position for the first time, alongside Deniz Öncü 2nd and Joel Kelso in 3rd completing the front row.

Öncü made a perfect start leading the group out of turn 1 and taking the lead of the race. Jaume Masia tried to go around the outside of Kelso at turn 1, but had to settle for 4th as Kelso shut the door into turn 2. A poor start from Holgado as the championship leader dropped back to 14th in the opening stages of the first lap. Not the start Holgado would of dreamt of last night in the paddock.

Öncü was keen to get going here and pull a gap to the rest of the field on the opening lap as Holgado dropped back to 15th place. As the field came round the final corner and onto the start straight to complete lap 1, the weaving pack all diced with each other into turn 1, with Öncü clinging onto the lead. Masia moved up into 2nd getting by pole sitter Ortola after dispatching Kelso in the stadium section a few corners back.

As we’re used to seeing now in Moto3, Alonso is up 7 places and David Munoz up 6 places, both with great starts in the early stages of this Grand Prix. It makes you wonder why Alonso and Munoz even turn up for qualifying sometimes, as both riders are so good on a Sunday.

The fastest lap of the race at the end of lap 2 was set by Holgado with a good recovery from 15th to 11th at the end of lap 2.

Masia took the lead from Öncü at the start of lap 3 going up the inside into turn 1. Alonso was remarkably up to 3rd place on lap 3 going up the inside of Kelso. A fantastic start to the race from the teenage Colombian.

A common theme developed here as the snaking pack of riders winding down the start straight had all of the slipstream they needed to cause havoc and pass each other at will into turn 1. The start straight wasn’t the only place for a pile of overtakes as turn 4 and 5 are favourite spots amongst the riders.

Starting lap 5 now and over a quarter of the way through, Alonso hits the front of the field for the first time – The last of the late breakers going from 3rd to 1st into turn 1. Masia led over the line but pushed back to 4th place.

Sector 2 lit up in yellow flags as Filippo Farioli crashed out at turn 4. Just over a quarter of the way through the race and Alonso led the pack completing lap 5 and held the lead fending off Masia into turn 1. We have a lead group of up to a dozen riders who are all still in the fight for victory.

As Ortola dived up the inside of Öncü at turn 10 and back up to 3rd place, Holgado was sat in 5th place, a great comeback from the championship leader. From 5th to 1st for Holgado as slipstream drags the championship leader to the front of the pack into turn 1 at the start of lap 7.

Side by side the Red Bull KTMs down into turn 1 onto lap 8. Öncü took the lead from Holgado. Kelso ran wide at turn 1 and fell all of the way back to 18th place. At this stage of the race, it was so close between all of the riders, it was anyone’s guess as to who would win this one.

Swaying from side to side at the start of lap 9 down the start straight, Öncü started to put the hammer down setting his fastest lap of the race and managed to get a gap to Masia in 2nd of 0.334 tenths of second.

At half race distance, we had a lead group from Öncü in 1st to Ayumu Sasaki in 9th. The riders all continued to dice with each other and battle for positions constantly. Öncü lead another lap of the race completing lap 10.

Lap 11 and pole-sitter Ortola dropped back to 11th place, things going all wrong for the Angeluss MTA Team.

With a short run to the finish line here at the Barcelona circuit, if you are leading the race coming out of the last corner you’re likely to take victory it seems. Unlike in Mugello when Öncü was pipped at the line thanks to the slipstream.

Lap 13 and with 6 laps to go we had a lead group of 14 riders and any of the 14 had the chance of taking victory. Holgado in the lead of the race with Öncü on his back wheel and pounced to take the lead into turn 1. Masia 3rd with both Alonso and Munoz fighting with each other for 4th.

3 laps to go and Öncü gets swallowed up by the pack dropping from the lead to 4th place. Masia now leading from Munoz and Alonso, 2nd and 3rd place. Contact between Öncü and Holgado as Holgado drops back to 5th.

As we started lap 17,  it was Masia from Munoz as they all came snaking down the start straight. 6 riders into turn 1 all gunning for the lead. Munoz briefly led but ran it too hot into turn 1. Holgado coming round the last corner on lap 16 in 6th now leads the Grand Prix coming out of turn 1. The leading 3 all replaced now out of turn 1 with Holgado leading, from Alonso 2nd and Öncü in 3rd. The top two riders of Holgado and Alonso both up 10 places in the race, Munoz in 4th up 15 places in the Grand Prix with 2 laps to go.

Into the stadium section for the penultimate time the front 3 still Holgado leading from Alonso in 2nd and Öncü 3rd. All are desperate to hang onto their places as they fan out and brake as late as possible into turn 1 to start the last lap of the race.

THE LAST LAP

Masia went by Öncü into turn 1, quickly passed Alonso into turn 4 and then takes the lead of the race up the inside of  Holgado into turn 5.

Into turn 7 and arguably the overtake of the race as Munoz took 2 into 1 getting by both KTM riders Holgado and Öncü.

Coming up to the all important final sector of the race now and Munoz was side by side with Alonso as they headed into turn 10. Öncü with a wild effort dive bombed up the inside of Masia to try and take the lead only to run too hot into the corner.

Just as Munoz took the lead, championship leader Holgado went down. The KTM garage in sheer disbelief with only a few corners of the race to go. Unbelievable scenes in a bananas Barcelona Moto3 Grand Prix.

Last couple of corners now and the drama wasn’t finished. Masia now trying to go up the inside of both Alonso and Munoz. Just as Masia made his move so did Öncü. Öncü wiped out Munoz coming round the last corner resulting in a 6 second penalty for the Turkish teenager. Alonso crossed the line to take a crazy Catalunya victory.

Next weekend we head to Italy in Misano, with Holgado looking to improve on the 5th place finish last season on Italian soil. With the championship lead halved to just 13 points this weekend. The Moto3 championship is heating up nicely for the rest of the season.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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2023 Italian GP Qualifying

Carlos Sainz has made the Tifosi’s dreams come true and secured pole position for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Celebrating on the track in front of the Ferrari fans the Spaniard who has been very quick all weekend put in one of the laps of his life to beat Max Verstappen by the smallest of margins.

Q1 began with everyone on the Hard Pirelli compound as this qualifying session was being used for the new mandatory tyre allocation strategy trial of hards being used for Q1, mediums for Q2  the softs for Q3.

Max Verstappen’s first lap of qualifying was deleted for exceeding track limits, He immediately pitted, came back out and went quickest by 0.338 from team mate Sergio Perez. They were followed by Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin and then the Williams of Alex Albon.

The track was getting quicker as the session went on meaning the final runs would be crucial.

Ocon out after damage in Q1. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area

As the final runs ended Albon moved up to P2 with Leclerc also up to P3. At the other end Zhou, Gasly, Ocon, Magnussen, and Stroll were all out of qualifying.

Q2 started with both Ferrari drivers under investigation for not being under the new maximum time to get round for a lap to prevent everyone going slowly on their outlaws, This would be investigated after the session so the result of qualifying might be decided in the stewards room.

Once again Verstappen was first on track and immediately went to the top of the time sheets, Shortly after that Sainz in the Ferrari sent the Tifosi wild and went quickest by 0.044, Behind them was Leclerc and Albon in the flying Williams.

Surprisingly the Mercedes pair went out to the track later than everyone else, Even with the clear track they could only manage 6th and 12th.

All 15 cars left the garages at the same time leaving the pitlane looking like the worlds most expensive car park.

When the last runs finally began the Williams of Sargeant was at the front of the pack, he didn’t improve though and stayed 14th. Joining him in not making it trough were Tsunoda, Lawson, Hulkenberg and Bottas.

Hamilton making his way into Q3. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area

The top of the timesheet had a familiar look about it with Verstappen fastest with a 1.20.937 ahead of Leclerc, Sainz and Perez. Albon was next up continuing to impress in the Williams, Hamilton improved to 6th ahead of his team mate Russell. Completing the top 10 and making it to Q3 were Piastri, Alonso and Norris.

Q3 brought the inevitable excitement with Verstappen dipping a wheel into the gravel on his first lap but still managing to make the top 3, At the front it was Sainz from Leclerc, then Verstappen and Russell, Behind them were Albon, Perez, Norris , Piastri Hamilton and then Alonso.

The final runs of the session would be the ones to determine the grid for Sundays race.

Charles Leclerc went first and moved to provisional pole, then came Verstappen who beat him but he was then beaten by Sainz in the Ferrari with a scintillating lap time of 1.20.294, the top three separated by just 0.067

4th was George Russell, then came Perez, Albon, Piastri, Hamilton and Norris and Alonso closing out the top 10.

Sainz gets a pole at the home of Ferrari. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area

Almost immediately after the session was completed it was confirmed no further action was necessary for the Ferrari’s earlier transgression meaning Sainz had pole in a Ferrari at Monza.

Can the Tifosi get their dream result tomorrow or will Max Verstappen continue his run and win a 10th successive race.

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Moto3: Ortola Takes Pole in Barcelona

Image Credit: Joel Cooper Photography LTD

Ivan Ortola for the Angeluss MTA Team takes his first career pole position today in Moto3 at the Catalunya circuit. Ortola takes pole position right at the end of the session with Deniz Öncü in 2nd and Joel Kelso rounding off the front row in 3rd.

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

There were some big names in the first round of qualifying, including championship leader Daniel Holgado along with Xavi Artigas and Diogo Moreira. Holgado will be keen to make the top 4 to progress into Qualifying 2.

Both CFMOTO Racing riders, Artigas and Kelso, were posting the quickest times early on in the session.

The rest of the field were now coming across the line but it was still Holgado topping the timesheets with Moreira in 2nd, David Salvador in 3rd and David Munoz making up the top 4 heading to Q2.

There was lots of gesturing and head shaking from riders in this Q1 session – they were clearly frustrated as every rider is keen to be bunched up, looking for any extra tenth of a second getting by finding a tow around this circuit. There was a common theme of just follow Holgado around the circuit emerging in Q1, with everyone hoping to be dragged into Q2.

Moreira was the surprise rider to be knocked out at the end of the session, as he was beaten by Scott Ogden. Moreira thought he’d done enough to get through at the end of the session but that wasn’t the case. This weekend, Moreira is sporting an Ayrton Senna themed helmet but I don’t think this is a qualifying session Ayrton Senna would have written home about.

Holgado eventually topped the session with Kelso, Taiyo Furusato and Ogden also progressing into Q2.

Qualifying 2

Into Q2 we go – Can Collin Veijer take back-to-back pole positions in Barcelona, with the Dutchman on a superb run of form lately? Veijer had set the fastest time in FP3 this morning.

Holgado took the pace he found in Q1 quickly into Q2, setting the fastest time for the rest of the field to chase early in the session. Masia ran into traffic and had to bail on his first flying lap.

Usual suspects of Ayumu Sasaki and Öncü topped the leader board as the session progressed, with 9 minutes remaining. Öncü with the quickest time set of 1:49.326, and on provisional pole.

Sector 2 then lit up in yellow flags as Veijer suffered a high side crash on the exit of turn 5. Veijer seems ok though and was thankfully quickly back up onto the bike, as Öncü manages to avoid the crash.

Masia then got his first flying lap in and took over at the top of the leader board. Masia was frustrated by the riders behind who were hounding him to get a tow.

With 6 minutes left of the session, there was still time for a few flying laps and pole position was still very much up for grabs. The riders were now heading back to the pits to make any last minute adjustments before heading back out to fight to pole position.

Less than 3 minutes were on the clock when all of the riders were heading out for their 2nd run. As the chequered flag fell, all of the riders on track just had one last shot at taking pole position. Championship leader Holgado leads the pack into turn 1.

With fastest sectors lighting up for several riders, the pack made their way round on the final flying lap. Coming into sector 3 we had Holgado, Ortola, Öncü and Masia all on flying laps and chasing pole position.

As the bunch came round the final two corners the lap times came thick and fast, with Ivan Ortola taking pole position from Öncü and Kelso also managing to get onto the front row by taking 3rd.

It’s the third time in the last four Grand Prix we’ve seen maiden pole positions in Moto3. I’m sure Öncü will be looking for back-to-back victories when he starts on the front row tomorrow. Holgado also will be looking to make up as much ground as possible, starting from the middle of row 4 tomorrow. Can Masia bring himself back into the championship fight with a win? With the starting grid as it is for tomorrow, Moto3 is all set for another crazy Grand Prix.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto2: Vietti Takes First Win of Season

Celestino Vietti fought hard with Pedro Acosta to take his first win in Moto2 since the Catalan GP in 2022. Ai Ogura completed the podium with championship contender Tony Arbolino crossing the line in sixth place.

The race started strongly for Ogura after making a fantastic start, but this was overshadowed by Jake Dixon who slotted himself into second place when the pack reached turn one. Dixon attempted to continue his rise up the field by looking to overtake Acosta but was unable to do so.

Arbolino was able to make his way to fourth place and Vietti dropped to fifth place. On the second lap, Arbolino ran wide at the chicane and Vietti was able to get past him.

At turn three on lap three, there was a crash between Sam Lowes and Darryn Binder which resulted in the South African rider being taken to the medical centre and being declared unfit due to fractured vertebrae.

Acosta started to pull away from Dixon and Ogura at the front of the field, extending his lead to around one second and was setting consistent fastest laps with no pressure from the riders behind him.

Both Alonso Lopez and Albert Arenas crashed on the fifth lap at turns two and three respectively. On the same lap, Ogura was able to get past Dixon to take second place.

Acosta was able to increase his lead to Ogura and Dixon to almost two seconds due to the pair fighting each other over second place. Ogura made a mistake on lap seven to allow Dixon to get past him at turn three, but the Japanese rider was able to get back at him at the next corner. Vietti joined the fighting pair in the hunt to catch Acosta.

Manuel Gonzalez crashed at the third corner on lap eight causing a yellow flag in that sector.

With Dixon back in third place, Vietti started to look for places to overtake the Brit and was able to into turn one on the ninth lap with the Italian rider taking the inside line. Ogura started to reduce the gap to the leader Acosta, whilst the battle for third occurred behind him.

Somkiat Chantra also caught up to the chasing group by lap ten. On the same lap, Joe Roberts crashed at turn three. The American rider retired on lap thirteen.

Arenas had a second crash at turn six on lap eleven and Aron Canet also crashed on that lap but at turn nine.

By lap thirteen, Vietti was on the back of Ogura and was looking to make a move past the IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia rider and was able to on the straight just before turn four. Ogura tried to make the move back on the Fanatic Racing rider over the start-finish straight but was unable to.

The front tire on Acosta’s bike started to go away from him and he began making mistakes, allowing Vietti to catch up to him. The gap reduced from two seconds to just under half a second. This was not helped by Acosta receiving a track limits warning.

Lap 18 was the lucky lap for Vietti as he was able to get past Acosta to take the lead at turn six. The Italian rider kept Acosta behind him, using the defensive line but Acosta was able to stay on his rear tyre. Vietti and Acosta began to break away from Ogura behind them, creating a three second gap.

By lap 21, Acosta was really struggling with his front tyre and this resulted in a wobble at turn nine and this caused him to lose some time to the leader.

Vietti crossed the line with a 1.5 second lead over Acosta who in turn had a 3.5s gap to Ogura. Dixon finished the race in fourth place with Chantra and Arbolino followed the Brit. Filip Salac had a good race ending it in seventh place, followed by Sergio Garcia, Fermin Aldeguer and Lukas Tulovic who rounded out the top ten.

Feature Image Credit: Joel Cooper Photography LTD

AUSTRIAN MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, RED BULL RING – RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM BIKE TIME
1 Celestino Vietti ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 36m 25.093s
2 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 36m 26.528s
3 Ai Ogura JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 36m 30.282s
4 Jake Dixon GBR Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 36m 31.238s
5 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 36m 33.728s
6 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 36m 39.147s
7 Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 36m 39.585s
8 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 36m 41.538s
9 Fermín Aldeguer SPA CAG SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 36m 42.271s
10 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 37m 0.454s
11 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 2.948s
12 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 37m 4.644s
13 Izan Guevara SPA Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 37m 5.306s
14 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 5.503s
15 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 37m 6.191s
16 Borja Gomez SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 37m 8.539s
17 Alberto Surra ITA Forward Team (Forward) 37m 10.111s
18 Rory Skinner GBR OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 12.715s
19 Mattia Rato ITA Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 37m 14.954s
20 Kohta Nozane JPN Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 37m 22.132s
21 Alonso Lopez SPA CAG SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 37m 34.357s
22 Zonta Vd Goorbergh NED Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 37m 35.607s
  Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) DNF
  Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) DNF
  Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) DNF
  Manuel Gonzalez SPA Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) DNF
  Darryn Binder RSA Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) DNF
  Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) DNF

 

 

 

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MotoGP: Spectacular Bagnia Wins Sprint Again

Pecco Bagnaia wins the Austrian GP Sprint race by just over two seconds ahead of Brad Binder and Jorge Martin.

After qualifying on pole position this morning, Bagnaia was able to have a great start from the best position on the grid. Alongside him was Maverick Vinales who struggled with the start and dropped down the order. From third place, Binder jumped up into second place and started chasing down the Italian rider.

After the first corner, Jack Miller was also able to capitalise on the poor start from Vinales and improved to third place.

As the riders came to take the first corner, Martin took the inside line and had contact with Fabio Quartararo who in turn touched Vinales. The Aprilia rider then had contact with Marco Bezzechi who had to retire on the next lap. Other riders that were involved in the incident were Miguel Olivera, Johan Zarco and Enea Bastianini.

Following this incident, Quartararo dropped down to twentieth position and Vinales brought up the rear of the field.

Binder continued to show his pace as he caught up to Bagnaia quickly and began to look for places on the track pass the Italian rider. Both Bagnaia and Binder began to break away from Miller in third place and by the end of the first lap, they had a one second lead over the Australian rider.

Martin was handed a track limits warning during the second lap, one of those was likely to be from the lap one turn one incident.

Nakagami crashed on the second lap and was unable to continue with the race.

Bagnaia started setting fastest lap after fastest lap and started to move ahead of Binder, leaving him about a second behind the leader.

Luca Marini caught up to Miller and started to see where the KTM rider was struggling around the circuit. As these two fought, Martin was able to catch the pair too.

Marini was able to pass Miller on the start finish straight on lap 6 and Martin was also attempting to get past too however it would be made easy for the Pramac rider when Miller ran wide at turn three. On the next lap, Martin attacked Marini into the chicane, but they touched each other, causing the Italian rider to crash out. The incident was investigated, but no action was taken.

On the ninth lap, Quartararo was given a long lap penalty for irresponsible riding. This incident occurred a few laps prior and was when he went to overtake Lorenzo Salvadori, the pair touched causing the Aprilia rider to crash out.

Quartararo took the long lap penalty on the twelfth lap and dropped down the order and was unable to make much progress due to there only being two laps left.

Zarco had to retire the bike on the penultimate lap after being involved in the first lap incident.

Brad Binder chasing down Pecco Bagnaia at the 2023 Austrian GP Sprint race. Image courtesy of KTM/Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)

Bagnaia took the chequered flag 2.056 seconds ahead of Binder who in turn was 5.045 seconds ahead of Jorge Martin. Alex Marquez took fourth place after overtaking Miller. Pol Espargaro led his brother Aleix over the line to take sixth and seventh place respectively.

Vinales was able to improve to eighth place after being in last place at the end of the first lap. Franco Morbidelli and Marc Marquez rounded out the top ten

Fabio Di Giannatonio, Joan Mir and Bastianini occupied the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth places. Raul Fernandez, Fabio Quartararo, Iker Lecuona and Augusto Fernandez completed the riders who finished the race.

2023 AUSTRIAN MOTOGP, RED BULL RING – SPRINT RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF
1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) 21m 1.844s
2 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +2.056s
3 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +5.045s
4 Alex Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +8.252s
5 Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) +11.365s
6 Pol Espargaro SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) +11.816s
7 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +11.960s
8 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +11.984s
9 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +13.634s
10 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +14.435s
11 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +15.251s
12 Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +16.740s
13 Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) +18.825s
14 Raul Fernandez SPA RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +19.536s
15 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +22.321s
16 Iker Lecuona SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +25.593s
17 Augusto Fernandez SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* +25.789s
  Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP23) DNF
  Luca Marini ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
  Lorenzo Savadori ITA Aprilia Factory (RS-GP23) DNF
  Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF
  Marco Bezzecchi ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
  Miguel Oliveira POR RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) DNF

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

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