This weekend, just one week on from the Czech Grand Prix, the MotoGP World Championship heads to Austria for round eleven of the 2019 season.
The Red Bull Ring (or A1 Ring, Osterreichring if you are otherwise affiliated) has traditionally been known as a ‘Ducati track’ since the Austrian Grand Prix returned to the motorcycle grand prix racing calendar in 2016. The Bologna bikes have won each of the three races held in Spielberg since its return, and with three different riders: Andrea Iannone in 2016, Andrea Dovizioso in 2017 and Joge Lorenzo in 2018. To continue their unbeaten run in the Alps this year, though, will be more difficult than ever before courtesy of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).
The first year of the Red Bull Ring saw Marquez and Honda struggle with a lack of acceleration in the RC213V thanks to its aggressive motor and the simplicity of the unified electronics software that were new for that year. Since Honda moved to a ‘big bang’ configuration in their MotoGP prototype, though, Marquez has challenged Ducati until the last corner, despite missing power compared to the Ducati in both 2017 and 2018. This year, Marquez has that power he was previously missing, and that could be the final piece to see him on his way to a first win in the Austrian Grand Prix – the only race Marquez is yet to win on the MotoGP calendar.
Andrea Dovizioso at Brno 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati
The forecast, then, looks bleak for Ducati. Having just been defeated convincingly at Brno, a track at which they were expected to be able to challenge Marquez, they are potentially staring at a first defeat in Austria, a circuit almost designed with the Desmosedici in mind, with its emphasis on straight-line performance and the track’s quantity of substantial straights and acceleration zones. For Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) to become the first multiple winner at the Red Bull Ring in its current guise, or for Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) or Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) to become the fourth winner in as many years, this Sunday is going to take a particularly strong weekend.
Marquez is the only rider to have gotten within three seconds of the winning Ducati over the line, with Jorge Lorenzo’s gap to Andrea Iannone in 2016 being 3.389 seconds when the Spaniard was third for Yamaha. The Iwata manufacturer have not had a podium in Austria since, with a best result of fifth place coming in 2017 courtesy of Johann Zarco. Last year, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the top YZR-M1 in sixth place after qualifying in fourteenth before the public apology of Yamaha to its riders on Saturday. In fact, Rossi’s average speed in the race last year was 0.4kph slower than in 2016, whereas Lorenzo was 0.4kph faster in 2018 than Iannone in 2016, and Marc Marquez was 1.3kph faster than himself in 2016. Part of Rossi’s loss of speed can be explained by his poor qualifying in 2018, but nonetheless this shows Yamaha’s relative lack of progress in the last three or four years.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) took his first finish since Barcelona in Brno, but still the Spaniard is without a podium since Jerez in May. To achieve a top three this weekend with the GSX-RR would be tough, since it has a similar problem with horsepower as the Yamaha, demonstrated especially well in Mugello. Realistically, Suzuki will be hard-pressed to make the rostrum this weekend – a top five and in front of the Yamahas would be a strong result for the GSX-RR.
This is an important race for KTM, since it is their home GP and the race track is owned by their title sponsors. The RC16 should work well in Austria, and has made significant results in the past at the Red Bull Ring in the hands of Mika Kallio in 2017 when the Finn was tenth and less than twenty seconds from the leader at the line.
Joan Mi (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) are both out of action this weekend. For Lorenzo, the issue is still the injuries from the crash in practice in Assen, while for Mir the problems are more recent, after he had a large crash in Brno at the Monday test where he reportedly found the barrier on the outside. Lorenzo will be replaced once more by Stefan Bradl this weekend, whilst there will not be a second Suzuki on track in Austria.
Featured Image courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol
In the moments after the Moto2 race in Brno, rain started to fall. This meant that as the riders lines up on the grid for the MotoGP race, the surface beneath them was wet, which wouldn’t have been a problem if the rest of the track was the same.
Between turn two and turn fourteen, the track was completely dry, but between turn fourteen and turn one the track was wet. This meant that riders would have to choose slick tyres, but starting on a wet track and heading into a wet turn one presented obvious safety risks that even Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), perhaps the most relaxed rider on the MotoGP grid when it comes to non-ideal conditions, acknowledged. Those problems included twenty-three bikes arriving at turn one with no grip and no temperature, and all of them leaving the grid with no traction control with slick tyres on a wet surface, such are the limitations of the control Magneti Marelli ECU.
As such, the decision was taken to delay the start of the race. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was one of the riders most clearly expressing his desire for this decision, for which he received some criticism. Ultimately, if Jack Miller thinks it is unsafe, it is probably unsafe.
The Start of the 2019 Brno MotoGP race. Image courtesy of @JaimeOLIVARES/ Box Repsol
The race finally got underway thirty-five minutes late. One of the hopes among fans was that dry conditions would prevent Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) from repeating his Saturday performance when he took pole position by 2.524 seconds with slick tyres on a wet track, where the dry line was maybe two-tyre-widths-wide at its widest and non-existent at its frequent narrowest. Nonetheless, Marquez made the holeshot.
One of the issues with the conditions at the race start was the inconsistency in grip across the track, with the left side of the grid – where the front of each row was – was dry, compared to the middle which was partly wet and the right side which was mostly wet. This meant that while the likes of Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Valentino Rossi were able to make clean starts from dry grid slots, the likes of Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) from KTM’s first MotoGP front row or Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) from the back of the third row struggled more for grip off the line.
With Miller alongside Marquez on the grid, and the Spaniard making the holeshot, the ‘holeshot device’ on the Ducati was made to look relatively useless. But it was the performance off the line of Andrea Dovizioso which showed its potential, as the Italian was steaming up to Marquez as they approached turn one, but did not have the over-speed to pass the championship leader.
Behind Dovizioso were Jack Miller and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), with these three and Marquez pulling clear of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in the opening stages.
Andrea Dovizioso during the 2019 Brno MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Tino Martino/Ducati
It is normal to see Dovizioso lead. He likes to control the pace at the front of the race, to look after his tyres so he can fight at the end. Perhaps the fact that the Italian was consistently 0.3-0.5 seconds behind Marquez put the writing on the wall. There was no challenge to Marquez’ leadership in the first half of the race and, as the tyres started to drop further in the second half, Marquez’ pace maintained, whereas for the three behind him it started to drop.
Lights-to-flag race wins were a rarity for Marquez before 2019, but they seem to be his preferred method now, perhaps as a result of the slightly weaker front end on the 2019 RC213V, or perhaps a simple realisation on the part of the pilot: that he doesn’t need to fight, he can just run away. Running away is a much more simple way of winning races, although difficult to do in the current age of MotoGP, where the bikes are so close and the operating windows for the tyres are so narrow. But Marquez and Honda have found a way this year to effect this, and it has been devastating. Winning in Brno (Marquez’ fiftieth premier class triumph), considered a Ducati track previously, might be the final nail in the 2019 MotoGP World Championship coffin – or, if you’re Marquez, the beginning of the engraving process on you’re sixth premier class plate.
Marc Marquez, winner of the 2019 Brno MotoGP. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
Behind Marquez, Dovizioso was able to pull away from Alex Rins who, for a couple of laps, was beginning to look half-threatening to Dovizioso. But Rins’ tyres went away and Dovizioso escaped to a relatively depressing second place, which leaves him sixty-three points behind Marquez ahead of Austria next weekend.
When Rins’ tyres dropped, Jack Miller took advantage, and took third place. Rins had a look over his shoulder and confirmed that his only focus was Miller with no pressure from Cal Crutchlow (LC Honda CASTROL) behind. Although he had the focus, Rins did not have the grip, and so Miller was able to claim his second podium of the season after he was also third in Texas back in April.
Miller is known as a strong wet weather rider, and one who is strong in mixed conditions, or when the tyre doesn’t match the surface. It is perhaps then no surprise that Miller was the only rider to even get remotely close to challenging Marquez in qualifying, just let down by the timing of his switch to slicks. However, it should be noted that Miller’s two podiums this year have come in the dry, and also that they came on weekends where grip was limited.
It is slightly paradoxical that the most aggressive riders, like Marquez and Miller, should be so strong in low-grip, compared to a gentle, smooth rider like Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) or Dovizioso. But, their comfort with the bike sliding is their advantage when all the bike wants to do is slide.
Alex Rins was resigned to fourth place at the end, showing Suzuki still need to find something to protect the tyre in low-grip conditions. Importantly, though, it was Rins’ first finish since Barcelona, an important weight off his shoulders after four weeks dwelling on two consecutive crashes from podium positions.
Cal Crutchlow came through well at the start, making multiple positions. After he passed Valentino Rossi for fifth, it was a straightforward race for the Briton – faster than those behind but not fast enough to catch those in front. His 6.007-second gap to Marquez highlights further how well the Spaniard is riding.
Although recently Brno has been considered a Ducati track, it is also a track which suits well the characteristics of Yamaha, with the long, sweeping corners allowing them to use their bikes advantage: mid-corner speed.
However, on Sunday the top Yamaha was Valentino Rossi in sixth place, three seconds behind Crutchlow in fifth, 5.5 seconds off the podium and 9.083 seconds behind Marquez. The positive for Rossi is that he was the top Yamaha rider, so it is arguable that there was little more he could have gotten from the M1. The Italian will need to repeat this, though, to truly respond to those calling for him to make way in the factory Yamaha team.
Fabio Quartararo, Czech MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) passed Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) just before Rossi was passed by Crutchlow. The Frenchman, though, was unable to catch Rossi in the time he had left, and ended up three seconds behind the Italian in seventh, almost two seconds ahead of Petrucci in eighth.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) finished ninth, which is probably not going to enhance his case for a factory bike in 2020, whilst Maverick Vinales’ race was ruined by his wet grid slot and the Yamaha’s lack of power making it difficult to overtake on a track like Brno – the Spaniard finished tenth.
Pol Espargaro went backwards after a good start and finished eleventh ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) who will have been content to finish. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) returned to his form of the opening races of the season to be the second KTM across the line, almost eight seconds clear of Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) finished fifteenth in what is hopefully his penultimate replacement ride for Jorge Lorenzo.
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) took sixteenth place ahead of Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who beat teammate Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) to seventeenth by three tenths. Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) could only manage nineteenth in his home race, whilst Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was twentieth and last on his wildcard appearance.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) crashed out on lap one with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) when the Italian had contact with Zarco. Morbidelli went down and Mir had no chance to avoid the #21 Yamaha. Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) was the only other retirement.
Featured Image courtesy of Jesus Robledo Blanco/Box Repsol
Rain before the Moto3 qualifying session in Brno meant the track was wet for the MotoGP riders as they went out for qualifying, but a halt in the rainfall meant the track was drying throughout both sessions.
In Q1, the track started out with already a dry line forming, and throughout the session the times scrolled downwards. Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro moved through the Q2 for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. It was the first time Zarco had participated in Q2 for the Austrian marque, and the first time this season two RC16s has featured in the pole positions shootout.
In Q2 the track dried sufficiently for several riders to try slick tyres with time for four laps. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who made the most of the slicks. Despite rain in the final sector on his final lap, he was able to take pole by 2.524 seconds in a display of outstanding riding talent and technique. It would have been quite easy for Marquez to decide that, with a fifty-eight-point lead in the championship, it was not worth the risk to push for pole position, a risk that could have taken him out of this weekend’s Czech Grand Prix and the Austrian GP next weekend, if not more. But take the risk he did and he was rewarded justly for it.
Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was a few seconds behind Marquez on the track, which was just far enough to mean that when he arrived in the final corner on his final lap, there was too much water for his slick tyre, and down he went. Nonetheless, his first lap on slicks was fast enough for second on the grid.
Johann Zarco made the most of his first Q2 appearance of 2019 to put his factory KTM on the back of the front row, the best qualifying position in KTM’s short MotoGP history. After the difficult season Zarco has had, and the war of words between Zarco and KTM away from the track this season, this result is precisely what was needed for both sides to repair their relationship.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was one of only four riders to stay on wets after most had switched to slicks, one of the others being Zarco. It paid off for the Italian, who was able to improve in the final few minutes to, initially, go third. Miller’s second-place lap dropped Dovizioso to row two, but with Ducati’s holeshot device there should be a good chance for Dovizioso to try and control the race as he likes to tomorrow.
Another of the riders to stick with wets was Pol Espargaro who qualified fifth, whilst Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was unable to improve on dry tyres and wound up sixth.
Valentino Rossi in 2019 Brno MotoGP Qualifying. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Valentino Rossi’s final lap on the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1 put him seventh, which was a significant improvement for the Italian after his first run left him only eleventh. This was Rossi’s best qualifying since Le Mans when he was fifth. The Italian will be joined by compatriot Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammate, Maverick Vinales, on row three tomorrow.
Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) qualified tenth after he wasn’t able to make his slicks work. The Frenchman will be joined on row four by Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT).
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) was the fastest rider to not make Q2, and will be joined by Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Suzuki wildcard Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on row five.
Row six sees Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) line up alongside Jorge Lorenzo’s replacement at the Repsol Honda Team, Stefan Bradl, and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), whilst Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) heads up row seven from home favourite Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3).
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) will start from twenty-second, whilst Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will complete the grid in twenty-third.
Featured Image courtesy of Jesus Robledo Blanco/Box Repsol
Qualifying for the Moto3 World Championship in Brno began in wet conditions, as rain prior to the session soaked the track.
Q1 saw Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) top the session from Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race), Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) despite a late crash for the Turk. These would be the four riders to move through to Q2.
The rain got heavier throughout Q2, but just before its intensity peaked for the session, Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) was able to put himself clear of the pack by eight tenths. Although this gap was soon reduced, no one was able to beat the Italian’s 2’18.020 lap time which gained the #14 pole position for the Czech Grand Prix.
Tony Arbolino Pole setter for the Brno Moto3 2019 race. Image courtesy of Honda Pro Racing
A late lap from John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) in the height of the rain’s intensity was enough to put the Scotsman second on the grid, whilst Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was a few seconds behind McPhee on track and, despite having to pass Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) in the penultimate corner, was able to qualify third-fastest.
Starting from the front row is always important, but especially in Brno it can be useful to take a good grid position to avoid the inevitable melee in turn three on the opening lap.
The front of the second row will be occupied tomorrow by Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), and the Japanese will be joined on row two by Raul Fernandez who crashed late on in Q2, and Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) who will be buoyed overnight by the start-line advantage he has over his main championship rival, Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing).
Row three sees Makar Yurchenko start from his career-best qualifying position of seventh, with Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) and Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) joining him on the third row.
Alonso Lopez completes the top ten and heads up row four, ahead of fellow Honda riders, Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers), who was on the podium in Brno back in 2017 in the wet, and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia).
Can Oncu was able to get out for Q2 despite his crash at the end of Q1 and qualified thirteenth ahead of Filip Salac and Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) who join the Turk on row five.
Can Oncu, Czech Moto3 qualifying 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Row six sees Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) ahead of the two Leopard Racing bikes of Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Marcos Ramirez, in seventeenth and eighteenth respectively. Dalla Porta had a bike problem – possibly a symptom of a gear-change issue from FP3 in the morning – at the beginning of the session and had limited track time as a result. The slipstream is strong in Brno thanks to the quantity of straights, despite their short length, and Dalla Porta will need to make the most of this tomorrow if he is to reach Canet who is starting eleven positions ahead.
Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) crashed in Q1 and was the first of the riders to be eliminated from the first session. He will be joined on row seven by last year’s pole sitter Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) and Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power).
Row eight sees Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) – confirmed to be leaving the VR46 organisation at the end of 2019 – in front of wildcard Yuki Kunii (Asia Talent Team) and Sachsenring pole sitter Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing).
Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) heads up row nine ahead of Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and wildcard Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo); whilst Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) heads up the last row from Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power), who crashed in Q1, and Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77).
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) did not take part in qualifying after a free practice 2 crash on Friday afternoon which left him with a broken pelvis and collarbone, and out of at least the Czech and Austrian rounds of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship.
The 2019 MotoGP World Championship returns to action this weekend after the summer break with the Czech Grand Prix, round ten of the season.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) comes into this round as the clear championship leader – fifty-eight points clear of Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) – and the favourite for this weekend. Still, Marquez is the only rider in 2019 to have won more than one race in the MotoGP class, with five wins to his name in the first half of the season. Additionally, in his history in the premier class, Marquez has only missed the podium in Brno once, back in 2014. In 2013, his first year at Brno on a MotoGP bike, Marquez won; 2015 saw him take second place between the two factory Yamaha riders; in 2016 he was third and the top-placed rider with the soft-option rear wet tyre; in 2017 he completely out-smarted the rest and won by almost twenty seconds in the flag-to-flag conditions; and last year he was out-raced by Andrea Dovizioso who made the most of the power advantage of the Ducati. This year, Ducati do not have that same power advantage over Honda, and that could be enough for the reigning World Champion to pull clear on Sunday afternoon.
With Ducati still suffering with mid-corner speed, they are relying on their power, and Dovizioso’s race-craft to win this weekend. The #04’s tactics have won him several races over the last few years, including last year in Brno. However, the aforementioned power gains of Honda this year could make things more complicated for the Italian this year. Previously, Dovizioso would sit at the front, knowing that people can’t pass him in the middle of the corner, and that he is better on the brakes, better on acceleration and better on top speed. Compared to Marquez, at least, the latter two points are no longer as valid as they were before.
Maverick Vinales and the Yamaha Team. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
The characteristics of Brno have historically leant themselves to ‘corner-speed bikes’ quite well. Whilst Honda have been successful in Brno with four-strokes – with Rossi, Gibernau , Pedrosa, Stoner, Crutchlow, and Marquez – Yamaha have also found success there with their almost opposite design philosophy. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) won for Yamaha in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009. In addition to his Honda wins in 2001 and 2003, Rossi is the most successful rider in Brno in the premier class with six wins. In total, Rossi has eight wins in Brno, and of course his first win in the World Championship came at the Czech track in 1996. After a difficult period for the Italian before the summer break, Rossi is in need of a strong result in Brno, where he has not been on the podium since 2016.
Perhaps Yamaha’s best options for this weekend lie in Rossi’s Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammate, Maverick Vinales, and Petronas Yamaha SRT’s star rookie Fabio Quartararo. Vinales is riding the crest of a wave at the moment. He has not ridden the M1 as well as he is now since his first races with Yamaha in 2017 and will fancy himself for the podium this weekend at a track which should suit the M1, although the Spaniard has not been on the Czech GP podium in the MotoGP class – his last rostrum in Brno coming in 2013 when he was second in the Moto3 race.
Quartararo, on the other hand, arrives in Brno after his first crash in a MotoGP race in Sachsenring. Brno shares characteristics with Assen and Catalunya, where Quartararo was strong and took consecutive podiums. On the other hand, Brno shares characteristics with Mugello, where the Frenchman was tenth. What you can say, though, is that Brno is less reliant on top speed than Mugello, which sees the highest speeds of the year. With that in mind, the flowing nature of Brno should prove fruitful for the #20.
Alex Rins. Image courtesy of Suzuki Racing
What works for Yamaha generally works for Suzuki, and sometimes even better. For example, when Marquez crashed in Texas this year, it worked well for Yamaha, as Valentino Rossi inherited the lead, but it worked better for Suzuki because Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) had better pace. Similarly, the meandering undulations of Mugello work well for Yamaha, but this year they worked better for Suzuki who have more power in the GSX-RR than the YZR-M1.
One of the key features of Brno is ‘Horsepower Hill’, previously known as ‘Honda Hill’ – a tag which may return this year for the run between turns twelve and thirteen. This is the part of the track that will not work for the weak-motored M1, but with slightly more power in the GSX-RR Suzuki could make advantage of this area. For sure, they will be at a disadvantage here to Ducati and Honda, but their potential advantage in the rest of the track could cancel this out. Alex Rins has a good chance to win this weekend, which would edge Suzuki back ahead of Yamaha in their private battle for the title of ‘best MotoGP inline-four’.
Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) will be missing once again following his crash in Assen. Stefan Bradl continues to be his replacement, who is fresh from a podium finish at the Suzuka 8 Hour on the factory Honda.
The ninth round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship took place in Germany at the Sachsenring, where Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took his tenth consecutive win at the German track.
Marquez made a relatively bad start from his tenth-straight Sachsenring pole and was out-dragged towards turn one by fellow front-row starters Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), but the #93 out-brakes the Yamaha riders around the outside on the entry to the first turn.
Maverick Vinales at the 2019 MotoGP German race. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Vinales, in turn, forced out Quartararo in turn one, as Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) took third. Before the end of the first lap, though, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) took third away from Miller, although the Ducati rider came back in turn one.
A crash for Quartararo broke the pack up on lap two. The Frenchman was unhurt but it allowed a gap to appear between Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) in fifth and Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) in sixth.
On lap three, Marquez started to move the pace on, and Mille started to struggle. Rins had already passed him back for third, and before the end of the lap Crutchlow was through for fourth. Miller’s lack of pace had brought Danilo Petrucci back towards him and Crutchlow, and the second Mission Winnow Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso was there, too, as well as Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in tenth.
At turn twelve on lap four, Alex Rins got past Maverick Vinales for second place as Marquez’s advantage grew to six tenths. Marquez’ strategy was to use the first two laps to warm his front tyre, and then push to open a gap. It was a strategy which worked – Rins was able to go faster than Vinales, but not fast enough to close Marquez.
With twenty-four laps to go, Marquez’ advantage was over one second, and with twenty-two to go it was approaching 1.5 seconds over Rins, who in turn had over one second back to Vinales, whilst Crutchlow was pressuring the #12.
When Marquez’ gap reached three seconds, he backed the pace off to conserve the tyre which had been a concern over the weekend for the whole field, such were the temperatures and the particular demands of the especially anti-clockwise Sachsenring.
Marc Marquez celebrating his win at the 2019 Sachsengring MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
Marquez’ lead was extended further on lap twelve when Alex Rins crashed at turn eleven out of second place. If his win wasn’t assured already, it was now. Marquez continued out front for eleven relatively comfortable laps, and took his tenth-straight Sachsenring win. Additionally, it was his fifth win of the season, and his championship advantage opened up to fifty-eight points ahead of the summer break – a healthy margin with ten races to go and a useful buffer with strong tracks for Ducati coming up on the calendar.
Maverick Vinales spent most of the race with Cal Crutchlow no more than two tenths behind him. Originally, this was for third place but Rins’ crash made that into the second-place battle. Towards the end, the gap between the Spaniard and the Briton increased and Vinales took second place 4.587 seconds behind Marquez, and over three seconds clear of Crutchlow as he took his third podium of the season a week on from his dominant win in Assen.
Crutchlow was unsure whether he would be able to race on Sunday such was the pain he was in after his bicycle accident between Assen and Sachsenring in which he broke the top of his tibia. To turn from that on Sunday to a third place and his second podium of the season in Sachsenring is impressive from the Briton who has struggled for front feeling with the 2019 Honda. Finishing the first half of the season the way he started it is a good way to go into the summer break for the #35.
Fourth place went to Danilo Petrucci who came out on top in a big battle between himself, Dovizioso, Miller and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). Petrucci knew that Sachsenring was not a favourable track for Ducati, but he enjoyed the track himself – with a new Ducati contract for 2020 under his belt he had no problems taking points away from Dovizioso who he now trails by only six points in the championship.
Andrea Dovizioso & Danilo Petrucci at the 2019 German MotoGP. Image courtesy of Ducati
Dovizioso himself was able to turn a difficult weekend and a thirteenth-place grid slot into a fifth place, although this was not enough to lift his mood as he saw the 2019 world title slip even further away.
Jack Miller took sixth place. To be fighting with the factory GP19s is all Miller could have hoped for in Sachsenring, and he had them both well in sight at the flag. Joan Mir was seventh after a strong ride in which he almost certainly learned a great deal about how to fight in a MotoGP race and how to conserve a tyre.
Valentino Rossi was in the fight with Mir and the GP19s until the closing stages of the race, when his medium rear tyre – which most riders commented was harder than the hard compound – started to give up. The summer break has come at the right time for Rossi, who needs to reset for the second half of the season having missed the podium since Texas and not been in the top five since Le Mans.
Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) suffered similar late-race pace to Rossi and finished ninth. Perhaps it is useful to consider in this moment that Morbidelli has been open about modelling his own riding style on Rossi’s. Considering the comparable results of the two in recent races, perhaps it can be judged that – at least for this year’s edition of the YZR-M1 – this decision by Morbidelli has not been the best one.
Stefan Bradl, in place of Jorge Lorenzo at the Repsol Honda Team, was able to finish tenth, giving the factory Honda team their first double-top ten since Malaysia 2018 when Marquez won and Dani Pedrosa was fifth.
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) finished eleventh, ahead of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), the heavily and increasingly injured Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) and Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) who completed the points.
Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) was sixteenth, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) whose clearance to race was a questionable one after being admitted to hospital and admitting himself to headaches after a practice crash on Friday. The Italian had a big run-on in turn one early in the race, which compromised his result. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) crashed early on, and was the final classified rider in seventeenth.
After Fabio Quartararo crashed out on lap two, Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) also crashed out a lap later. There was not another retirement until Rins dropped out on lap nineteen. After Rins fell, only Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) dropped out, as he crashed with two laps to go after a strong ride in which he was fighting for the top ten.
This weekend the MotoGP World Championship heads to Germany and the Sachsenring for round nine of the 2019 season and the last race before the ‘summer break’.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) is unbeaten in Sachsenring since 2009 when he was sixteenth in the 125cc race. Since 2010, he has taken pole position and won every race at the Sachsenring, and since 2013 each of those has come in the MotoGP class. It is a run of remarkable dominance for a rider and a bike which, theoretically, shouldn’t work at the German track.
Sachsenring is unique in that it contains a period of thirty consecutive seconds per lap with the rider on the left side of the tyre: no turning right, no period with the bike straight up-and-down, no period with the gas wide open for thirty seconds. Additionally, there are no long straights in Sachsenring, although a bike which is strong on corner exit is useful out of the final corner and up the steep hill out onto the start/finish straight. Furthermore, there is only one big stop, and hard braking, particularly hard trail braking, is Marquez’ biggest strength.
On paper, Yamaha and Suzuki should have the edge in Germany but, even before Marquez, Honda have won every race in Sachsenring since 2011, with Dani Pedrosa winning that year and 2012, with Marquez taking over from the following year. Yamaha’s last win in Germany came with Jorge Lorenzo in 2010, a year on from defeat to Valentino Rossi. Suzuki, on the other hand, haven’t won in Sachsenring since Kenny Roberts Jr. in 1999, before four-stroke Grand Prix bikes and probably before Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) knew what a Suzuki was.
Marc Marquez winner of the 2018 Sachsenring MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
Honda is fast in Sachsenring because their bike likes to slide, historically, and so have their riders – especially Marquez. Whilst Yamaha and, since 2015, Suzuki make their time in long corners by leaning on the edge of the tyre, the Honda makes its time in the same corners by rotating the bike with the throttle. This works in Sachsening because so much time is spent, all at once, on one side of the tyre, so to spend all of those thirty seconds ride on the very edge of the tyre can lead to it overheating more than by coming slightly off that edge, and using the power to turn. This is especially handy for Marquez, who spends his time away from the MotoGP paddock turning left and going sideways on a flat track.
Despite this, especially Yamaha will fancy their chances of taking it to Marquez this weekend. The #93 has won 50% of the races so far in 2019 (Argentina, Spain, France, Catalunya), three more than anyone else, making it hard to envisage the ‘King of the Ring’ being defeated this weekend, but Yamaha go to Germany in a good moment.
Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) won just one week ago in Assen with a dominating margin of almost five seconds over Marquez at a track where the seven times World Champion has won five times. Vinales has not won in Sachsenring before, but seems to be back to the kind of form and confidence that saw him win three of the opening five races in 2017, and if that translates here he could end Yamaha’s nine-year wait for a German win, whilst extending the run of Spanish winners in Germany to ten successive years.
Similarly, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) is in a strong moment of his career, with two podiums in the last two races. In fact, Quartararo has as many podiums this season as either of the factory M1 riders. Saturdays seem to be where Quartararo is particularly shining at the moment, though, as the Frenchman has taken two poles in succession and three this year. Perhaps Marquez is out of reach over thirty laps on Sunday, but Quartararo could end the Spaniard’s German pole record the day before.
It will be interesting to see what Suzuki do this weekend after Alex Rins’ crash out of the lead last week. The Spaniard had a good shot at winning before his hard front tyre let go at turn nine of the Dutch track. Now, in Germany and with Yamaha in a good moment, it will be important for Rins and for Suzuki to beat the M1s this weekend in the battle of the inline-fours.
Danilo Petrucci & Andrea Dovizioso at Assen 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati
Ducati face a difficult challenge this weekend, like in Assen where they missed the podium. Ducati have never won a dry Germany Grand Prix, with their only win coming in 2008 when Casey Stoner won after Dani Pedrosa crashed out of a mammoth lead at turn one on the Honda. Additionally, Ducati’s only podium in Germany in the 1000cc era (since 2012) came in 2016 in the flag-to-flag race when Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) finished third. Dovizioso’s last dry weather podium in Sachsenring came in 2012 when he was on the Tech 3 Yamaha, and Ducati’s last dry weather podium in Germany came in 2010 when Stoner beat Rossi to third place on the Italian’s return from a broken leg.
Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) led the Ducatis last year in fourth place on the satellite Pramac-run machine. This year, on the factory bike, it will be interesting to see whether the #9 can take it to the machines better suited to Sachsenring over race distance.
Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) is missing this weekend after his practice crash in Assen last week. The Spaniard is being replaced by HRC test rider Stefan Bradl who gets his first outing in Repsol colours.
The eighth round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship took place at the TT Assen, an ideal circuit for a motorcycle which turns well in the middle of the corner, which was demonstrated on Saturday by Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) taking pole position from fellow Yamaha M1 rider Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on the similarly characterised Suzuki GSX-RR.
It was Rins who made the holeshot. The Spaniard is used to necessitating strong launches thanks to his usual qualifying positions, which often have him off the front two rows. Such a launch this time saw him come out of the first corner in first place.
Maverick Vinales slotted into second, although it was Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who arrived at turn one first. The 2013 Moto3 World Champion got the better of the 2017 Moto3 World Champion on the exit and followed Rins for the first lap.
Joan Mir at the 2019 Assen TT Motogp Race. Image courtesy of Suzuki racing
However, Mir was able to reclaim second from Vinales soon after, and when Rins dropped the Suzuki at De Bult on lap three the rookie took the lead.
Mir’s problem about twenty seconds later was a simple one: he realised he was leading. The rookie ran wide at the Ramshoek and Fabio Quartararo came through to assume the lead.
It was no surprise to see Quartararo leading, such has been his pace this year, with a podium and three pole positions to his name already on the satellite YZR-M1, and it was even less of a surprise to see Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) follow the Frenchman through.
Vinales was not far behind his compatriot Marquez in taking up position behind Quartararo, and Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) looked as though he would be able to catch the Japanese bikes in front of him as well in the early phases.
Soon, though, it became clear that the win would be contested between Quartararo, Vinales and Marquez. Quartararo, like Mir, had a problem when he got to the front. However, it was a more pressing one than that of his fellow rookie with whom he was teammates in 2016. Quartararo had a stability problem, and in the Veenslang his bike developed a speed wobble lap on lap. The Frenchman had to roll the throttle completely to get his bike back under control, and that put Marquez behind in a difficult situation.
Eventually, the Spaniard got past Quartararo due to the wobble, but one minute later he had dropped behind both Quartararo and Vinales thanks to a mistake at turn one. With Quartararo out front from Vinales, the #12 had a chance to get to the front and try to pull away before Marquez had the opportunity to pass the Frenchman himself.
Once more, it was a speed wobble in the back straight which cost Quartararo to Vinales, who did as Marquez before him and swept around the outside of his Yamaha stablemate. Marquez wasn’t far behind his compatriot, as he scythed inside the satellite M1 of Quartararo at the Ramshoek, a place where the #93 has been exceptionally fast historically. On a Honda which had looked unsettled all weekend it was a particularly outstanding pass – more so than usual, perhaps.
Vinales and Marquez at the 2019 Assen TT MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
With ten laps to go the battle was on between Vinales and Marquez. It had taken two years of waiting but it had finally arrived, and it was Vinales who made the first mistake – and it was almost immediate as he ran wide and off the track in turn one, handing the lead back to Marquez.
Vinales, though, had been particularly fast through turn twelve, able to turn tighter than Marquez or Quartararo. It was an area where he was strong in the multi-bike scrap in 2018, as well, although this time he had the confidence to move Marquez out of the way, force him to close the throttle and move through at the fast kink of turn thirteen – the Hoge Heide.
Marquez would not get another chance to lead to reply to Vinales, who edged away and finally took a commanding win with a gap of almost five seconds over Marquez. The win had looked possible all weekend, and should have been the expectation of Yamaha coming into the weekend considering the characteristics of the track and how they match with the characteristics of their bike. Vinales, too, had been riding well all weekend and – despite a couple of mistakes – looked comfortable on the bike in the race. It was his first win since Australia 2018, and Yamaha’s too, at a track similarly suited to a bike which is strong on the edge of the tyre. The win was also an important one for Vinales, as it solidified his bettering of his teammate since the championship returned to Europe.
Second place for Marquez was an important one, similarly to the second place he secured in Assen back in 2016. Dovizioso was off the podium, down in fourth place, and having beaten the Italian in every race since Qatar – with the exception of Texas when he crashed – is surely now well on his way to world title number eight, especially with Sachsenring coming up next just one week after Assen.
Fabio Quartararo, Dutch MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
The speed wobbles suffered by Quartararo he put down to himself and a mistake in line choice down the back straight, something he corrected when Marquez and Vinales passed him and he could see his error. No doubt, though, that the lack of straight-line stability affected the pole sitter’s confidence and pace, even after his correction. He might have won, but either way two consecutive podiums for a rookie, and now just five points off the top Yamaha, is an impressive start to his life in the premier class.
Despite suffering in the middle of the race, Dovizioso was able to recover to fourth, re-passing Joan Mir and his teammate Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) to do so. Nonetheless, it was easy to understand Dovizioso’s resignation after the race as, in all likelihood, the championship has all but slipped away once again, and it is unlikely to get any better, mathematically next weekend.
Continuing from part one the racing further down the pack the 2019 Assen TT Motogp race was just exciting.
In Assen, the Ducati bikes suffered because of a lack of grip in the heat. All three GP19 riders – Dovizioso, Petrucci and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) – commented that the heat of the afternoon affected the feeling of the bike a lot. When the Desmosedici has little rear grip it cannot make use of its biggest weapon – its engine – and without this it is too weak on a circuit like Assen where so much time is spent where it does not like to be, on the side of the tyre.
Franco Morbidelli, Dutch MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Danilo Petrucci appeared to slumber in the final corner, and that allowed Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha MotoGP) to make a neat lunge on his inside at the final corner for fifth place, the Italian’s best result in MotoGP and a good response to Barcelona when he crashed twice, including that huge high side at turn thirteen on Saturday. Morbidelli was also very strong at the end of the race, and faster than Mir, Petrucci and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) who were ahead of him. He passed all three between lap twenty-one and twenty-six, although he ran out of time to think about Dovizioso.
Danilo Petrucci took sixth place as a result of Morbidelli’s last corner move after battling with Dovizioso for most of the race whilst suffering the same grip issues as the #04.
Cal Crutchlow passed Joan Mir on lap twenty-five. He might have been able to go with Morbidelli, but had to go wide in turn one after the Italian had passed him to avoid the #21 which cost him 2.5 seconds to the satellite Yamaha. It had been a difficult weekend in entirety for Crutchlow, who was 1.2 seconds off pole (despite being sixth) and suffered with grip, like the Ducati riders, in the afternoon.
Joan Mir was eighth for his equal best result in MotoGP. The rookie’s short battle with the two factory Ducati was somewhat reminiscent of the battle between Bradley Smith – then on Tech3 Yamaha – and the two factory Ducati bikes, then of Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden, at the 2013 Dutch TT. Unlike Mir, Smith came out on top, but the Ducati was a much different machine then, Suzuki didn’t exist in MotoGP and Smith finished ninth, behind Aleix Espargaro on the Aspar CRT Aprilia, 33.751 seconds off the pace. In comparison, Mir’s eighth was 24.268 seconds off the win, fifteen seconds off the podium.
Jack Miller’s ninth place was his worst finishing position of the season, but also only his fifth finish from eight races. Miller’s style has often not suited the flowing tracks, and with Ducati this is emphasised. When you look at his best results of the season (third in Texas, fourth in Le Mans and fourth in Argentina) you see that they are ones with some hard braking and, in the case of Argentina, where the bike spins a lot. They are tracks where you can make lap time without using the edge of the tyre.
Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) took his first top ten with Aprilia, which was a welcome result after a difficult start to life in Noale, although the weekend was a strong one from The Maniac despite starting down in twentieth.
Pol Espargaro durring the 2019 MotoGP race at Assen TT, Netherlands. Image courtesy of Boerner T/KTM
Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was eleventh and once again the top KTM. The Spaniard said he would only ride if there was a chance of points such was the pain he was in to ride as a result of his Barcelona testing crash.
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was also in pain to ride after he was hit by Bradley Smith at Barcelona. The Catalan rode with a reported broken femur and a bone edema to twelfth place, ahead of Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3). Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) was in the top ten before rear tyre problems dropped him to fourteenth, ahead of Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) who completed the points.
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) finished sixteenth, whilst Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) remounted after a crash to finish one lap down in seventeenth.
After Alex Rins dropped the #42 Suzuki on lap three, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) ended yet another miserable weekend in the gravel to DNF a third consecutive race for the first time since 2011. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) was the unfortunate victim of Rossi’s crash, as the Italian was trying to pass Nakagami when he fell at turn eight. Nakagami was rag-dolled quite heavily. Rossi went to check he was okay whilst the Japanese was lying in the gravel trap next to the barrier, and after a trip to the medical centre the #30 was declared fit and will be okay to ride at Sachsenring.
Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the final retirement, when he pulled the KTM into pit lane ten laps from the flag.
Track temperatures approaching fifty degrees greeted the MotoGP riders when they went out for qualifying at Assen, the eighth round of the 2019 World Championship.
Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was fifth in free practice three, but had his lap cancelled for exceeding track limits. Nonetheless, it was expected that the factory Yamaha rider would move through to Q2, because he had looked quite good on hot-lap speed through the weekend. However, the Italian was not fast enough, and it was Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who went through with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took the lap record and the third pole position of his rookie year in MotoGP with a 1’32.017. He nearly broke the 1’32 barrier on his final flying lap but missed out in the final sector. He then set his airbag off celebrating his pole. The Frenchman has had outstanding pace this weekend, and if he can get away and do his rhythm from the start he has a great chance of his first MotoGP win.
Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) will line up second on the grid tomorrow after a superb lap from the Spaniard. If he makes a start he might be one of the only riders who can go with Quartararo.
Another rider to have a chance of going with Quartararo is Alex Rins, who went through qualifying one to qualify third. The TT Assen circuit suits the Suzuki and the Yamaha well, with the long flowing corners suiting the nimble, stable front ends on the YZR-M1 and the GSX-RR. Quartararo, Vinales and Rins made the most of this in this qualifying.
Whilst Assen works for Suzuki and Yamaha, it has not worked for Honda this year, with Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) out of the weekend after a big crash at turn seven on Friday. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL), too, have been suffering with the front end of the 2019 RC213V this weekend which has visibly missed stability. Marquez, even, was unable to continue his one-hundred per cent front row record for 2019, and he lines up fourth for the 2019 Dutch TT, although his front end save in turn one was perhaps the highlight of the session.
Is it possible to save a bike at 67 degrees lean angle?! ?
With Marquez on the second row are Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) who was the second-fastest Honda on the 2018 version.
Cal Crutchlow was seventh fastest in Q2, ahead of the top Ducati, Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) who was eighth. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) completes row three.
Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) heads up row four from Andrea Dovizoso (Mission Winnow Ducati) who seemed to go backwards on Saturday. Pol Espargaro was twelfth-fastest.
Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) lines up at the head of row five on Sunday, ahead of Valentino Rossi and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini); whilst Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) heads up row six from the two KTMs of Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who fell at De Strubben in the closing stages of Q1.
Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3) heads up the back row, from Andrea Iannone (Aprilia acing Team Gresini) who will be disappointed after a good weekend. Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) will start from last.
