Category: Crew On Two

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British Superbikes Snetterton – Round 7

The second most important round of the year? The final round before the Showdown positions are confirmed.

With 3 races to go until the top 8 contenders for the British Superbike Championship are promoted into the Showdown, their points reset to 1000 and their podium credits applied, Snetterton is one of the most important rounds of the year. People are saying that the pressure is now off for Bradley Ray, Jason O’Halloran and Rory Skinner, who have already mathematically secured a place in the Showdown, but those people are wrong. The pressure is relentless now. Podium credits are King.

At the point of writing this piece, there are only 2 podium credits between O’Halloran and Ray should the showdown start now. O’Halloran is on 48 while Brad Ray is on 46, with Tarran Mackenzie back on 24 podium credits. After a poor round at Cadwell Park, O’Halloran has lost his advantage to Ray significantly while also losing the lead in the current overall standings. However, under the British Superbike format and rules, maintaining the lead is not the priority as the points total will be reset after the Snetterton round. All the riders in the top 8 of the standings will enter The Showdown. Their points total will be reset to 1000 points and their podium credit will them be applied (e.g. O’Halloran would be on 1048 and Ray on 1046).

Podium credits are accrued over the whole season and applied at the start of the Showdown phase. Five for the win, 3 for a 2nd place and 1 credit for a 3rd. This is exactly what the format is designed for. It creates a winner takes all situation and if O’Halloran and Ray continue to share the wins into the final round, it would create a next goal wins scenario where whomever wins the final race would take the championship gold and glory.

Rory Skinner isn’t under as much pressure as the likes of O’Halloran and Ray due to the fact he has 9 podium credits and without being defeatist, I don’t think anyone expects him to challenge for the 2022 championship. Skinner is effectively the grey man that will want to perform at his best for himself and his team in the hopes of finishing as high up as possible but Skinner becomes a victim of the scoring system where he could potentially move from 3rd overall to 7th or 8th due to his lack of time spraying the champagne this year.

The riders who haven’t quite done enough to secure their spot in The Showdown, but are currently inhabiting the remaining places available are: –

Lee Jackson – Cheshire Mouldings FS3 Kawasaki

Glenn Irwin – Honda Racing UK

Tommy Bridewell – Oxford Products Racing Ducati

Tarran Mackenzie – McAMS Yamaha

Kyle Ryde – Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha.

There are also 3 riders capable of securing a spot in The Showdown at the expense of one of the riders named above: –

Danny Buchan – Synetiq BMW only 14 points from the Showdown.

Peter Hickman – FHO BMW only 34 points from the Showdown.

Leon Haslam – VisionTrack Kawasaki only 35 points from the Showdown.

There are 75 points up for grabs at Snetterton. It is a very important round for these riders too. Riders like Jackson, Irwin, Bridewell, Mackenzie and Ryde are vying to keep their place within the showdown while Buchan, Hickman and Haslam are trying to swipe their spots away from them. Couple this with a recent dip in form for Kyle Ryde, and a poor Cadwell Park round for reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie, those final spots are looking like they’re up for grabs.

As it stands, Tarran Mackenzie has good form at Snetterton landing himself on the podium in all 3 races during 2021, taking 2 wins and a 2nd place. O’Halloran took two 3rd place finishes and a race win. It goes without saying the McAMS boys are expected to be running at the front during the Snetterton round and with Bradley Ray’s recent form, he should be right in the mix too.

The Norfork circuit, not far from the Southwest coast nr Norwich is another one of Motorsport Vision’s venues, owned by Jonathan Palmer’s company who also own Cadwell Park, Brands Hatch and Oulton Park. Snetterton is another airfield circuit, originally RAF Snetterton Heath opened in 1943 and closed in 1948 after World War 2 when it was handed back to the local landowners. Soon after in the 1950’s it became a venue for two and four wheeled racing and has changed layout somewhat over the years to its current one, with the addition of the infield section in 2011 to make up the Snetterton 100 track, 200 and the 300 track formats. The Snetterton 300 layout used by British Superbikes is 2.969miles long and is the second longest racing circuit in the country. To this day it continues to host all manner of racing events, including British Superbikes and British Touring Cars.

Who will take the bull by the horns this weekend?

We will soon see!

Picture courtesy of Official BSB

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All in a days work for Pecco!

Qualifying:

Rainy, damp conditions greeted the riders for their qualifying sessions on Saturday.

But, it was Ducati-man Jack Miller who took full advantage and secured pole, followed by Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi, making an all Ducati front-row. Second and third place were local-boys, hoping to shine bright at home.

The top two riders in the championship – Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) both qualified on the 3rd row.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) received a 3 place grid penalty which resulted in him starting in 5th, following on from slowing down on the racing line, after he assumed the chequered flag had been waved to end the session.

Race:

A wonderful tribute to the late Fausto Gresini would be done during the race, in the form of the Gresini Racing bikes having their livery changed to remember the 1987 125cc World Championship winning Garell bike that Gresini used. Whatever their outcome for the race, this was a wonderful surprise.

The livery! Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

The rain/ damp conditions had passed ready for Sunday with partly cloudy weather, the track temperature though had risen significantly to 43 degrees, come race time. Would this prove to be an issue?

It was finally lights out for the Moto GP race: Miller got a great start, as did Bagnaia. Miller led Bastianini and Bagnaia into the first corner. But behind it was  disaster for; Johann Zarco (Ducati), Michele Pirro (Ducati) and Pol Espargaro (Honda), who all toppled out together. Hopefully, none were injured in the collision.

Crashing out. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

After the news this week, that Bastianini had been confirmed he was to be Bagnaia’s teammate next year, there didn’t seem to be any future team orders between the pair. Bastianini soon passed Bagnaia to take 2nd place. But on the second lap Miller unexpectedly fell from first (turn 4), leaving ‘The Beast’ to lead the race.

Bastianini led Marini (VR46) and Bagnaia (Marini had also managed to pass Bagnaia to take 2nd). While one VR46 rider fortunes were in his favour, teammate Bezzecchi’s fortunes were not – crashing out also on lap 2.

The new race leader also almost toppled from first moments later, but managed to recover.

The excitement was far from over though. Lap 3 saw Bagnaia and Vinales both pass Marini, pushing him back to 4th, another yellow flag waved but this time for both Frankie Morbidelli (Yamaha) and Fabio DiGiannantonio (Ducati), Bagnaia passed Bastianini for the lead and ‘Top Gun’ passed ‘The Beast’ for 2nd.

Bagnaia led Vinales, Bastianini and Marini with Quartararo and Espargaro close behind.

Bagnaia took fastest lap (lap 5) but had mounting pressure in the form of Vinales, who was looking menacing behind.

In 5th place on lap 7, Espargaro made a small error, which Quartararo needed no invitation and passed him to gain another place. Meanwhile in 3rd Bastianini was pushing hard and took fastest lap (1:32.560 seconds).

Now in 5th spot, could Quartararo close the gap on the front 4 riders, their gap had increased to 0.826 seconds, with 21 laps still to go? He knew he had to try. Next lap he took fastest lap. Could he be in for a shout of a podium finish?

Fastest lap soon went to Bagnaia, but was beaten seconds later by 6th place rider Espargaro. Fighting for the championship, alongside Fabio, could Aleix catch him to reduce the points between them? He certainly kept the momentum going – with 16 laps till the end, he secured another fastest lap.

Track limits warnings were coming thick and fast: Vinales was the first to receive one, then Martin then Quartararo. But, Vinales didn’t seem perturbed by his warning and soon took 2 fastest laps in a row, all the while, eyeing up a pass on Bagnaia.

With 12 laps to go, Bastianini went slightly wide, letting Marini take 3rd, but Bastianini wasn’t having any of it and re-took the position straight back. The gap between number 23 and 12 was 0.615 seconds. Could Bastianini manage to catch up and if so fight for the win?

Setting fastest lap with only 10 laps to go he had managed to claw the gap down between himself and Maverick to 0.471 seconds. With Vinales still trying to get the perfect spot to pass Bagnaia for the lead. But, he had waited too long to make his move and 2 laps later Bastianini attacked and took 2nd place on turn one. Bagnaia now led Bastianini, Vinales and Marini.

Following closely. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

The next track-limits warning went to Bastianini with 6 laps till the end.

But, more drama was about to unfold going onto the last lap:

Bastianini was all over the back of Bagnaia. Would he make a last lap lunge? Surely not – this would be his teammate next year and a championship contender this year. None of this was on his mind though as he went to make a move but had to abort it, in fear of crashing into Bagnaia, which in turn created a small gap between the pair. The gap was severely shrunk down on the start-finish line though making it a picture-finish. Bagnaia had the edge and claimed the victory (with only 0.034 seconds between them) and in the process made history: Being the first-time Ducati have won 4 races in a row!

Super close end. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

A great ride from Vinales saw him finish on the last spot of the podium.

Top 10 race finishers:

1st

F. Bagnaia

2nd

E. Bastianini

3rd

M. Vinales

4th

L. Marini

5th

F. Quartararo

6th

A. Espargaro

7th

A. Rins

8th

B. Binder

9th

J. Martin

10th

A. Marquez

Top 4 Championship Standings:

1st

F. Quartararo

211 points

2nd

F. Bagnaia

181 points

3rd

A. Espargaro

178 points

4th

E. Bastianini

138 points

As seen above, there are some changes to the championship table.

The race was brilliant and had everyone on the edge of their seats. BUT, we can’t end there.

For the last 21 years there has been a consistent rider, one who we have had the pleasure to watch come through the ranks: winning the 125 championship, coming close to winning the 250 championship and coming runner-up many times in the Moto GP class.

Ever a gentleman off track but with the heart of a lion on track, he gave us many exciting battles and has raced against many big names in the sport. He won his first-ever race at Misano and decided to end his Moto GP career his way, at the very same track. He has won many fans over the years and the paddock will not be the same without him.

Thank you for the memories Andrea Dovizioso and Ciao! We wish you all the best wherever your future takes you.

Feel the love Dovi. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

 

 

Featured image: Courtesy of: Moto GP website. 

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Moto3: Misano Maestro Strikes Again

dennis foggia misano san marino gp

Dennis Foggia celebrated his promotion to Moto2 in style with a confident win at the San Marino Grand Prix, retaining his crown as the King of Misano.

Buoyed by the announcement that he will be moving up to the intermediate class with Italtrans next season, the Leopard Honda rider carved his way through the field from the third row of the grid and never looked back.

It was a typically eventful start to the race, with Deniz Öncü getting a great launch from pole position. Izan Guevara was hot on the leaders tail with a flying start from row 2, but it didn’t take long for the drama to unfold.

After a dominant win in the previous race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, Japanese rider Ayumu Sasaki was clattered from behind by Nicola Carraro, effectively ending his already slim chance of a title challenge. Elsewhere championship leader Sergio Garcia was forced wide causing him to lose ground on the leaders.

Guevara cemented his good start by snatching the lead from Öncü on lap 2, and quickly set about establishing a gap between himself and the rest of the field.

Desperate to recover from his lap 1 incident, Garcia was the fastest man on track before a 4th lap tangle with Öncü forced him to run wide again, losing more ground in the process. The nightmare continued for the Aspar man, who crashed at turn 4 on the following lap. He was able to continue, but any hope of a points finish was gone.

At the front of the race, Guevara’s lead was diminishing with Foggia, Dani Holgado and Jaume Masiá closing the gap behind him. After reeling in the Spaniard, Foggia made his move to take the lead on lap 10.

After a visit to the pits, Garcia was a lap down, yet continued to battle with the riders in midfield. After slowing down Britain’s John McPhee, the GASGAS rider was shown the black flag, ending a miserable day.

With his teammate out of the race, Guevara had a great chance to boost his title hopes. On lap 17 he briefly took the lead, but Foggia struck back allowing Masiá to snatch 2nd place from the new championship leader.

As the race neared it’s conclusion, Guevara made numerous attempts to take the lead but was unable to get the better of Foggia. He was now under pressure from Masiá and Öncü, who had caught leading trio.

On the final lap of the race Öncü lunged from 4th to 2nd, with himself, Masiá and Guevara all exchanging places. Foggia took advantage of the melee behind him, and hit his marks confidently to take his second victory of the season. Masiá finished 2nd with Guevara 3rd.

Foggia becomes the first rider to win three races at the same track in Moto3, and is just 35 points off the championship lead. It was a weekend to forget for Garcia, he is now 11 points behind teammate Guevara, who tops the championship standings with 204 points.

Feature Image: MotoGP

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Moto3: San Marino GP Preview

Moto3 fans were treated to an Austrian masterclass from Ayumu Sasaki at the Red Bull Ring. With the championship battle edging towards it’s climax, can the Japanese sensation muscle his way into title contention?

The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in the Italian province of Rimini will host round 14 of the 2022 Moto3 season this weekend (02/03/04 September).

After winning both races in Misano last year, Leopard Honda’s Dennis Foggia heads into the weekend buoyed by the fanatical backing of the Italian supporters. The 21-year-old lost ground on his title rivals in Austria, and will be hoping to bounce back after a disappointing 12th place finish.

The duel between Spanish teammates Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara for the Moto3 crown continues. Top 10 finishes from the GASGAS duo put even more ground between themselves and the rest of the field, with Foggia their closest threat now 49 points off the championship lead.

With just 5 points separating Garcia and Guevara, it’s hard to picture anyone else winning the championship, but after a dominant ride in the Styrian mountains, Sasaki has given himself a chance, albeit a slim one, to mount a late charge for the title.

Sasaki’s Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max teammate John McPhee will once again carry the hopes of British fans. A blunder in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring meant he started towards the back of the grid, but the Scotsman rallied to finish 9th after a strong ride through the field.

Elsewhere, Turkish rider Deniz Öncü has been in good form since returning from the summer break. The Red Bull KTM rider is still searching for his first win in Moto3. There’s no question that he has the pace to compete at the business end of the field, with 4 podium trophies in the class, the 19-year-old will be desperate to get onto the top step.

Whatever happens, the Italian crowds are in for a treat this weekend, though they’ll need to bring their waterproofs. The forecast for the weekend looks ominous, with showers anticipated on Saturday and thunderstorms expected on Sunday. The race is due to start at 11:00am local time (10:00am GMT).

Feature Image: MotoGP

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Cadwell Park – Round 7 Bennetts British Superbikes 2022

Well, that wasn’t what we were expecting, was it? I for one am a little shocked at the somewhat disappointing round for the insanely dominant McAMS Yamaha team. I expected a Yamaha 1, 2, 3 in every race with Bradley Ray in 3rd but it just goes to show that Cadwell is the Monaco of BSB.

Qualifying is everything and with round 7 trailing the Superpole method (just one flying lap to set your time) it goes to show how your weekend can go to s**t before the lights even go out for Race 1. Seems the season has fallen apart for a few names this weekend too. So where do we start?

BSB Cadwell Park 28.08.2022 O’Halloran and Mackenzie Picture courtesy of McAMS Yamaha

I said on a podcast recently that I thought Bradley Ray wouldn’t be able to turn up the pressure on Yamaha counterparts Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie. I (WRONGLY) claimed that Jason and Taz would turn the amplifier up to 11 where Brad would be at 10 due to the pressure of having never fought for a BSB title. How wrong was I? Where Jason and Tarran seemed to let the races slip away from them for one reason and another, Brad Ray was there to pickup a win and a couple of second place finishes to seriously stick it to rival Jason O’Halloran. Even going as far as to swap the positions in the championship standings. Bradley has moved from second in the standings to 1st overall. Ray now also sits on 46 podium credits v O’Halloran on 48 credits meaning not only has Ray taken the lead in the overall points in the build-up to the Showdown, but he has also closed the podium credits to 2 points. Meaning if the Showdown started tomorrow, O’Halloran would be in 1st place on 1048 points to Ray in 2nd place on 1046 points.

It couldn’t be closer if it was engineered. It makes me very nervous for O’Halloran as he also saw his season slip away in 2021 in the Showdown rounds. Fingers crossed this is not a repeat of that. The positive for O’Show to take is Tarran Mackenzie also seemed to have a somewhat disappointing round buy his own high standards. Were it not for Ray’s dominant performance, we would have said Cadwell Park clearly isn’t a Yamaha circuit this year, as surprising as that sounds due to it being a circuit rewarding of the best handling bikes.

Race 1 started with contact between Danny Buchan on his Synetiq BMW and MCE Ducati’s Tom Sykes. Both riders starting further up the grid than they are used to this year and a move by Buchan in the hairpin at the penultimate corner saw him line up for the inside of Sykes, only for Tom to tip in and close the door to Danny meaning a rear wheel to front wheel collision sent both riders on to the grad re-joining much further down the field. However, a lifeline was thrown to both riders in the form of a serious collision on the mountain section involving Dan Jones and Lee Jackson’s stricken FS3 Kawasaki motorcycle. Dan crested the mountain, unsighted to the Kawasaki ZX10 and ultimately collided with the bike. The race was red flagged, Dan was transported to hospital by Air Ambulance. Luckily for Dan a bruised lung, some internal bleeding and a broken collar bone were the worst of it. He considers himself lucky to be alive after a big one.

The race was re-started with everyone in their original positions, barring the riders that were unable to make the restarted race. Ray, Rory Skinner and Danny Buchan were able to lead off from the front of the grid. Cadwell Park doesn’t create the same racing spectacle as we saw, for example at the previous round at Thruxton. Cadwell is a very tricky place to overtake and it can be a bit of a procession. Hence my earlier remark as to it being the Monaco of BSB.

Rory Skinner was able to pull off a strong aggressive move under Ray at Chris curve, a long right-hand corner leading into a right / left flip flop chicane called the Gooseneck. Ray was able to take the position back and tick off the laps down to a race win and a very impressive 2nd place podium finish by Rory by just under a second with Danny Buchan rescuing a podium from the jaws of a top 10 finish that would have been prior to the red flag earlier. The biggest surprise of Race 1 was the lack of pace shown by the reigning British Champion, Tarran Mackenzie. Although not a great weekend for him, he remained positive while bemoaning a lack of rear grip but saying he just needs to look to the next round at Snetterton.

Race 1 Podium: – Bradley Ray, Rory Skinner, Danny Buchan. O’Halloran finished 4th with Mackenzie in 11th.

 

Race 2 on Sunday was slightly different in terms of a great start off the grid saw Buchan lead off with Bradley Ray and Tommy Bridewell chasing. Such was the lead the front three were able to clear, they were the only riders to make it to lap 16 when the race was red flagged due to a DNF for ‘King of the Mountain’ Josh Brookes when he slipped off his MCE Ducati over the mountain section leaving his V4 Panigale in the middle of the track. Race Direction were quick out with the red flags to ensure we didn’t have a repeat of the Dan Jones crash, and fair play to Josh Brookes, he was up on his feet straight to the bike to do his best to remove it from the racing line.

BSB Cadwell Park 28.08.2022 Leon Haslam Lee Hardy Racing Vision Track Kawasaki

Race 2 was somewhat rejuvenating for riders such as Leon Haslam on his Vision Track Kawasaki and Andy Irwin on his Synetiq BMW. In desperate need of some form, Haslam, Buchan, Hickman and Irwin were able to bring their bikes inside the top 10 to a better run of results finishing in front of both 7th and 8th place current holders in the overall championship standings, Tarran Mackenzie and Kyle Ryde. Based on Thruxton and Cadwell Park, suddenly it doesn’t look such a shoe in for Mackenzie to be in the showdown and if I were Kyle Ryde, I would be very nervous indeed. It could be that if Taz and Kyle have a bad weekend at Snetterton, any of Buchan, Hickman or Haslam could find themselves in the Showdown at their expense.

Race 2 Podium: – Danny Buchan, Bradley Ray, Tommy Bridewell. O’Halloran finished 8th with Mackenzie in 11th again.

 

Race 3 was quite simply a belter. Not so much in terms of the win. The front running riders were showing so little signs of being able to put a move on each other that most of the TV time went to covering the fight for 4th downwards. Stars of the show? Leon Haslam and Rory Skinner. They must have swapped positions 10 times. Skinner kept slinging it up the inside of Haslam at Chris Curve, which had quickly become his signature move while Leon kept out-dragging Rory down the Park Straight into Park Corner for Rory to turn a tighter line and cut back in front. It must have been frustrating for both riders to keep putting the manners on the other, only to have them chomping back again at the first opportunity with Haslam ultimately taking the honors again for 4th place over Skinner in 5th. Another strong finish by Peter Hickman and Andy Irwin bringing up the tail end of the top 10 with O’Halloran in 9th and Mackenzie in 10th.

Race 3 Podium: – Buchan, Ray, Bridwell.

BSB Cadwell Park 28.08.2022 Rory Skinner Cheshire Mouldings FS-3 Racing

MCE Ducati had another poor weekend with Sykes not finishing Race 1, 10th in Race 2 and 18th in Race 3 while Brookes finished 10th in Race 1, crashed in Race 2 and finished 11th in Race 3.

Neither of Paul Bird’s bikes are in the Showdown this year for the first time since it’s incorporation. A tough season for the Cumbrian team but rumours are circling around whether Paul Bird will continue to run a team with his interests lying elsewhere with his son racing cars and other family members taking up other competitive sports outside of motorcycles. Paul said himself recently on a podcast he cannot do this forever. Only time will tell on this one as Paul Bird has made no secret of the fact he expect his riders to win races and compete for the British Superbike title and there’s no doubt he will be disappointed with how 2022 has gone.

Other riders / teams/ thoughts of note at Cadwell…

A disappointing weekend for Lee Jackson of FS3 Kawasaki after a DNF in Race 1, which meant a poor race qualifying position for race 2 battling back to 13th place, and a 10 second time penalty in race 3 for jumping the start meaning he finished the race in 12th place. Not what Lee needed however due to his strong season so far, he has only lost out to his team mate in the standings and now finds himself in 4th place overall behind Skinner, but we are now at the point where the podium points are more important than ever and finishes outside the top 10 are not going to help this underdog story come to the publishing table.

Crowe Performance BMW’s Chrissy Rouse had 2 crashes in the races and a 21st place finish over the weekend. A tough round for the popular Northeast rider on his privateer bike. Fingers crossed for a strong Snetterton round in 2 weeks.

Buildbase Suzuki’s Christian Iddon picked up a time penalty after wiping out MCE Ducati rider Tom Sykes on the run downhill into the Mansfield corner with a late move for the inside. Christian tried to pick the bike up and get out of the move but unfortunately it collected Tom Sykes causing the Ducati DNF while Christian was able to re-join after quite the excursion on to the grass which looked more like a hare and hounds scramble than a BSB race. These things happen in racing and Cadwell Park is a very difficult circuit to pass on, so any move can end up in such a position when riding on the limit. Luckily for Christian he has a reputation for being one of the safest riders on the grid. Tom didn’t have much to say on the incident and the weekend in general, barring a disappointing result after a positive Superpole session, he’s looking forward to Snetterton.

Shout out to Ryan Vickers of FHO BMW for 3 points finishes. Just what the doctor ordered for re-building confidence after quite the run of race DNF’s. Hopefully Ryan can build on this positivity now and continue this on to Snetterton and beyond.

Special mention to Tito Rabat too. Seems he took one look at Cadwell Park and said ‘no thank you’. I wish I wasn’t correct in my assessment of Tito being another big name to turn up at BSB and do nothing. Thruxton and Cadwell was never going to be the way to do it though. I feel very vindicated in my opinions before the Thruxton round. Shame to see him go though. The ever smiling, popular Spaniard could have brought a lot of publicity to the series on foreign soil. I wonder if he was smiling after doing a lap of the circuit or whether he had turned green?

Finally… Where has Kyle Ryde gone? Can someone please send out a search party? After such a strong start to the year, Ryde’s confidence has taken such a knock which seemed to start at Brands but really kicked in at Thruxton. Ryde has never ridden a Superbike at Cadwell Park and, in fairness, he was only 1 second a lap from the leader’s pace but in superbike racing that is a country mile. Kyle needs a strong round at Snetterton or I fear he will find himself demoted from the showdown positions and that would be a great shame.

So there we have it. Not the most exiting of rounds in terms of the actual racing, but certainly an impressive venue on the calendar and one that has turned the championship on its head in terms of the results. Remember we hand out the points for the finishing positions, not the show or excitement created.

Snetterton in 2 weeks time. The final round before the Showdown positions are locked in. Who will step up to the claim those final positions in the race for 2022’s crown?

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

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The Jewel in the Crown of British Superbikes Cadwell Park – Round 6 of the 2022 season

Set in the picturesque countryside of Louth in Lincolnshire, Cadwell Park has been a venue for engine powered motor racing for nearly 100 years. Mansfield Wilkinson purchased the land for the purpose of hosting ‘rough shooting’ events back in 1934. Rough shooting being use of dogs to hunt game from within the fields and hedgerows, flushing them out to be shot but Wilkinson was convinced by son Charles to allow the use of the grounds for Motorcycle Racing instead.

BSB Jason O’Halloran Picture courtesy of McAMS Yamaha

Starting off as non-tarmac, gravel roads winding around the grounds of the old park house, the track was extended over the years and eventually tarmacked. Four wheeled racing was introduced in the late 1950’s and it never looked back. 1996 saw the inaugural British Superbikes race at the venue and it has hosted every year since except for 2020, the shortened “Covid” season. In 2004 Cadwell Park was purchased by current owners Motorsport Vision who, to this day, are still looking at ways the thin, twisty, compact circuit can be improved for the fans and made safe for riders alike with the purchasing of surrounding plots of lands to extend run-off areas and adding in footbridges over the circuit to improve foot traffic around the circuit.

When you read about the circuit’s history, some of the corner names make sense. Mansfield corner. Charlie’s Corner and Chris’ Curve are all named after family members from the Wilkinsons. Barn corner was literally that, where the old Barn once stood. To some, it’s very interesting. To others, Cadwell Park means only one thing. The famous Mountain section. The current 2.175m layout of the circuit has remained there or thereabouts the same since the early 1960’s after modifications to the run in to the mountain were made to slow down the approach for safety reasons. The circuit winds its way through the hillside with sharp climbs, steep descents and works its way through the sections of trees and it can be a very tricky track to ride, especially in damp or wet conditions.

Cadwell Park doesn’t lend itself to a particular bike or rider. No one has enjoyed regular success at the circuit. In the last decade, race wins have gone to Josh Brookes, Peter Hickman, Jason O’Halloran, Danny Buchan, Tommy Hill, Alex Lowes, Tommy Bridewell, Shane Byrne, Leon Haslam, James Ellison and from those riders only Brookes, Haslam and Hickman have won races in multiple years.

A very technical race circuit where riders look for flow. BSB riders say when you try and ride Cadwell ‘Hard’ the lap-time goes further away from you. This is a track where you need the motorcycle flowing with you, from corner to corner as when the bike is fighting against you or the rider doesn’t feel the bike is working for you, it can be a long weekend producing poor results and with Cadwell Park being the penultimate round before riders are inducted into the Showdown, it is a very important round for the top half of the standings. Not a race circuit where out and out speed is important, this is a place where the handling and stability of the bike will be the priority. Currently Jason O’Halloran and Bradley Ray are confirmed in the showdown and perhaps Cadwell will settle the remaining places before moving on to the next round at Snetterton in a few weeks.

The podium results of the weekend last year (2021) were: –

Race 1 – Hickman, O’Halloran, Bridewell.

Race 2 – Hickman, O’Halloran, Bridewell.

Race 3 – O’Halloran, Hickman, Bridewell.

This year adding a re-guvinated Tarran Mackenzie on his McAMS Yamaha R1, Bradley Ray on the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaga, Lee Jackson Cheshire Moulding FS3 Kawasaki, Rory Skinner FS3 Kawasaki into the mix could more than spice things up for the coming bank holiday weekend. Could we see a resurgence of the “King of the Mountain” and jump fan favourite Josh Brookes, who loves to put on a show for the crowds at the famous mountain section, or will we see form in the hands of 2022 Silverstone winner Glenn Irwin?

Returning to the venue for his first race in over a decade, MCE Ducati’s Tom Sykes will hopefully continue his forward progress seen from Thruxton and join the fight for results. Cadwell can throw some serious curve balls into the mix so I wouldn’t rule Leon Haslam out either as a quick look leads me to think he has the most race wins at the circuit in the last 10 years. With the weather forecast showing a more moderate 17-20° than recent rounds, grip and conditions should be perfect for some exciting racing this weekend. While some riders have their eye on Showdown positions, other riders will be starting to turn their attention 2023 and looking at who is going where and what bikes will be available. With only 5 rounds to go until we crown the 2022 British Superbike championship, things are hotting up and battle lines are being drawn.

Good luck to all the riders and teams attending this year.

Thanks for reading.

Have a goodun’…

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Ducati Dominance continues!

Austrian GP news: 

The big news of the weekend was that the Austrian track had been changed. Turn 2 had now been split into two sections, a “flip-flop chicane”, now being re-named turns 2a and 2b. It caught some riders out over the weekend but, in the end would hopefully create some interesting overtaking opportunities.

Qualifying:

Cloudy conditions greeted the riders on Saturday, but they remained undeterred.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) looked to be confident, taking an early provisional pole in Q2. Jack Miller (Ducati) was also on fine form and soon took the pole spot. The championship leader, Fabio Quartararo on the other hand seemed to be struggling getting to grips with his Yamaha.

The Ducati’s though were dominant at the Red Bull Ring as Enea Bastianini took his first Moto GP pole, with a flying lap time: 1:28.772, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Miller – an all Ducati front-row.

Happy with his pole – Bastianini celebrates. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Race:

The weather remained cloudy for Race Day, leaving many fans to wonder if it would indeed rain as the bikes lined up on the grid, ready for lights out:

Undulating track and foreboding clouds at Austria. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Bagnaia got a great start, leading Bastianini and Miller into the first corner and through the new chicane for the first time.

However, turn 4 saw Joan Mir (Suzuki) take an early tumble from the race. Seen holding his ankle in the gravel, (it was later confirmed that he had had medical checks and that he had broken his ankle. We wish him a speedy recovery).

Mir crashes lap 4. Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page.

On lap 4, Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) had managed to pass Quartararo for 5th place and the four front Ducati’s started to gain a lead ahead, with Jorge Martin in 4th taking the first fastest lap of the race, (1:30.364). Another pass came from Miller to take 2nd place from Bastianini, but ‘The Beast’ was having none of it and passed him right back.

By lap 5, A. Espargaro had taken fastest lap (1:29.979), while his teammate had been given a track limits warning and if that wasn’t bad enough, Maverick also got passed by 2 riders on the same lap (lap6), forcing him back to 8th place.

Back at the front, the four Ducati’s suddenly got broken up by the Yamaha of ‘El Diablo’, taking 4th spot from Bastianini. Seconds later, Bastianini appeared to have a technical fault and pulled out of the race. On the same lap it was Remy Gardener’s (KTM) turn to bow-out early as he crashed out – turn 4.

Bagnaia then led Miller, Martin and Quartararo onto lap 7.

With 22 laps to go Miller passed his teammate to briefly take the lead, but Bagnaia out-braked him, re-claiming his lead.

Fastest lap was soon taken by Martin – lap 9. Could he get close enough to the factory Dukes, with only a 1.023 second gap between them, to fight for the win? Further down the field Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) took to the gravel, finishing his race early.

Martin indeed managed to eat into the leading gap and soon got it down to 0.311 seconds. By lap 12 he was right on the back of Miller. Which Ducati would be dominant?

With 16 laps until the end, another track warning got issued, this time to Quartararo. Behind him Luca Marini (VR46) took 6th place from A. Espargaro and behind them Darryn Binder crashed out.

The next lap, Martin clipped the gravel forcing him to take evasive action and he took to the run-off section of the track, Fabio passed to take 4th place, but Martin also needed to make sure he wouldn’t incur a penalty so also gave back a second, but quick-thinking meant he also managed to keep his new position – 5th.

Two laps later and bad luck continued to keep hold of Vinales who got passed not just by Johann Zarco (Ducati) but also Suzuki-man Alex Rins.

10 laps to go – The front 3 riders had all managed to create gaps between each-other. Bagnaia still led Miller by 0.896 seconds. Quartararo continued to hunt down Miller with 0.515 seconds between them. A few places behind them Espargaro put up a great fight from the Italian – Marini, but in the end Marini passed him again on lap 21, this attempt the pass stuck.

Things were heating up, with only 4 laps until the finish line, a surprise move came from the Yamaha in 3rd – Quartararo passed Miller on the new turn 2b, to take 2nd place, leaving Miller in the clutches of Martin, who quickly seized the opportunity and passed Miller to take 3rd spot. Miller fought back though to re-take 3rd. Meanwhile, another yellow flag waved, this time for Yamaha rider Frankie Morbidelli, who crashed out turn 2.

Due to the on-going battles behind him, Bagnaia managed to extend his lead further to 1.554 seconds from the Championship leader.

Then it was Martin’s turn to receive a track-limits warning 2 laps later, as a result of his tussle with Miller.

Last lap – the clouds above still seemed dull and grey but the rain had stayed away.

Rain stayed away. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Turn one saw Martin try to overtake Miller once more, but this time resulted in him seeing the gravel instead. He managed to get back into the race and still finished in the top 10. This error meant that Miller could now finish comfortably on the podium.

Podium hopes fall from beneath him. Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page.

Bagnaia managed to remain in complete control of the entire race and passed the finish line to take his 3rd consecutive race win in a row ahead of Quartararo and Miller. Behind them in 4th was an elated Marini.

Celebrates with team. Courtesy of: Bagnaia’s official Twitter page.

Top 10 race finishers:

1st

F. Bagnaia

2nd

F. Quartararo

3rd

J. Miller

4th

L. Marini

5th

J. Zarco

6th

A. Espargaro

7th

B. Binder

8th

A. Rins

9th

M. Bezzechi

10th

J. Martin

Top four championship:

1st

F. Quartararo

200 points

2nd

A. Espargaro

168 points

3rd

F. Bagnaia

156 points

4th

J. Zarco

125 points

The racing was super exciting and had fans on the edge of their seats through-out.

Can Ducati continue their streak into the next round at Misano on 4th September? Or would Someone else step onto the top spot? 

 

 

Featured image – Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page 

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Moto3: Sasaki Dominates The Austrian GP

Moto3 Austria 2022 Ayumu Sasaki

Not even two long-lap penalties could stop Ayumu Sasaki from storming through the field en route to a dominant win in at the Red Bull Ring, his second victory in Moto3.

The Japanese rider had shown great pace all weekend, but having been handed a double long-lap penalty from the previous round at Silverstone, few expected a win from the Husqvarna man.

Sasaki capitalised on his front-row grid position and settled straight into an early tussle with fellow Japanese rider Tatsuki Suzuki and Deniz Öncü for the lead of the race. He briefly held P1 before serving his penalties, which caused him to drop down to 21st position.

As is often the case in Moto3, the lead changed hands numerous times, with multiple riders taking advantage of the tow along the start/finish straight. A bold move from David Muñoz on lap 5 saw him fly from 4th to 1st at turn 1. The leading group surged towards the new chicane, where Öncü was forced wide, causing him to drop to 9th.

The Team Aspar duo of Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara were making progress through the pack and joined the leading group with Guevara taking the lead from Suzuki at the start of lap 6.

As predicted before the race, gaps started to appear throughout the field. Several riders set personal fastest laps to try and stay with the leaders, but none were faster than Sasaki who was carving his way towards the front.

By lap 10, he had caught up to the leading group and forced his way past Garcia, who received a track limits warning for his troubles. Nobody was able to match Sasaki’s pace, and he continued to pick off the riders ahead of him with ease.

As Guevara led the pack into lap 13, Sasaki was all-over the GASGAS riders exhaust, hurrying him through the chicane and sliding into first place at turn 3. Suzuki followed his countryman past Guevara to put his Leopard Honda into 2nd.

Sasaki looked in complete control in the lead of the race, Suzuki was keeping him honest, but was unable to get close enough to make a passing attempt as the laps continued to tick past.

On lap 17 Jaume Masiá crashed in turn 3, the Spanish rider had struggled all weekend but was able to re-join the race. Elsewhere the Aspar riders were racing each other very aggressively, with Garcia passing Guevara and forcing him wide at turn 10 in the process.

In the closing stages, Suzuki had to contend with a hard charging Öncü and was unable to attack Sasaki who rode flawlessly to take the chequered flag. Suzuki held onto 2nd with Muñoz beating Öncü to the final step on the podium.

Garcia finished 5th, increasing the gap in the championship standings over his teammate Guevara to 5 points. It was a day to forget for fellow championship rival Denis Foggia who finished 12th, the Italian is now 49 points off the championship lead. Sasaki’s win puts him 55 points behind Garcia in the standings.

Feature Image: MotoGP

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Moto2: Flawless Ogura leads home a Honda Team Asia 1-2 in Austria

Ai Ogura has won the Austrian GP, despite a last-lap attempt from his team mate Somkiat Chantra. Chantra had to settle for 2nd whilst Dixon took 3rd in the final moments of the race. Ogura now leads the championship, just 1 point ahead of Augusto Fernandez.

Ai Ogura has turned his pole position into a stunning win at the Red Bull Ring. He took the lead early in the race and never looked back. Just behind him was his Honda Team Asia team mate, Somkiat Chantra, who had to settle for second despite a last-lap attempt for the win. With just a few corners to go, Chantra made his move round the outside and was ahead of Ogura until the Japanese rider got the cut back at the final corner.

Jake Dixon was able to capitalise on the drama and action around him, keeping his nose clean throughout the race and coming home in third. Much like Chantra, he made a final lap lunge on Pedro Acosta. Unlike Chantra, he was able to make this stick to take 3rd in the final moments of the race.

Acosta, who is returning from an injury sustained before the summer break, had a positive day despite missing the chance to visit the podium. He was the fastest man on the track in the early stages of the race, setting numerous fastest laps as he enjoyed a race-long battle with Dixon.

Just behind him were the ever-battling group of Augusto Fernandez, Aron Canet and Alonso Lopez who eventually finished in 5th, 6th and 7th respectively. Lopez will be frustrated with his final position today, after leading the race in the first few laps as well as enjoying a battle for the podium with Ogura and Vietti. His biggest mistake came on Lap 9 when he was sitting in third and trying to keep Vietti behind. He overcooked it, went wide and gave away the place to the Italian rider. A few laps later, whilst battling with Fernandez and Canet, he then dropped from 4th to 8th in the space of a few corners.

Meanwhile, Celestino Vietti had a terrible day and retired a few laps after he crashed. With 9 laps to go and sitting in 3rd, he was looking to make a move on Chantra for 2nd when he pushed too hard and the bike slipped out from underneath him. He rejoined at the back of the pack but retired shortly after.

Further non-finishers included Tony Arbolino and Lorenzo Dalla Porta who have a very scary crash at Turn 3 – the two riders tangled together as they misjudged each other’s braking points, leaving them and their bikes in the middle of the track as the grid had to carefully made their way through. Thankfully, the fast work of the marshal meant we didn’t need a red flag but Arbolino and Dalla Porta were unable to rejoin the grid. This wasn’t the way Arbolino would have wanted to finish his 100th race!

Aldeguer had a similarly scary crash – on Lap 12 he fell at the entry to the newly designed Turn 2a/2b chicane and almost slid into the path of the racing pack.

Alessandro Zaccone was the first crash of the race – an enormous high-side at the reworked Turn 2 chicane ruined his bike and he was stretchered off the track by the medical team. Sean Dylan Kelly, Kemith Kubo, Manuel Gonzalez and Filip Salac also failed to finish the race.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Image Credit: MotoGP

After his flawless win, Ogura now leads the championship by a single point over Fernandez, who will have been disappointed with 5th today. After retiring from the race and scoring no points, Vietti has slipped back even further. He is still third in the standings but is now 26 points behind Fernandez.

Feature Image: MotoGP

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Moto2: Ogura Takes Pole For Austrian GP

Ai Ogura has taken pole ahead of tomorrow’s race at the Red Bull Ring. He will be joined on the front row by Alonso Lopez and Augusto Fernandez.

Japanese rider, Ai Ogura, will start tomorrow’s Austrian GP from pole position after setting a stunning qualifying lap time of 1:33.933. Just 0.048 seconds behind him was Alonso Lopez taking 2nd place. Championship leader, Augusto Fernandez, will line up 3rd for tomorrow’s race.

The top five were covered by less than 0.2 seconds with Jake Dixon in 4th and Somkiat Chantra in 5th.

After being declared fit to race on Thursday, the returning Pedro Acosta made it to Q2 and took an impressive 6th for tomorrow’s race. Just behind him was Celestino Vietti who will be looking to make significant improvements after his recent poor performance.

Marcel Schrotter was forced to make his way through Q2 but eventually took 8th ahead of Albert Arenas and Lorenzo Dalla Porta who took 9th and 10th respectively.

After topping the time sheets in Q1, Cameron Beaubier took 11th in Q2. Fermin Aldeguer was also a Q1 progressor and, despite sitting at the top of the timing sheets in the early stages, took 12th as the session ended.

Aron Canet struggled during the session. With 3 minutes left on the clock and provisionally sitting in 11th, he crashed out of the session and was eventually shuffled back to 17th.

Tony Arbolino, who starts his 100th race this weekend, will line up in a slightly disappointing 15th. He lines up just ahead of the final Q1 progressor, Bo Bendsneyder in 16th.

Jeremy Alcoba and Joe Roberts were achingly close to a place in Q2 thanks to their final flying laps in Q1. However, they are forced to line up 19th and 20th respectively for tomorrow’s race.

All the race action will be available on Crew On Two so stay tuned for all the details!

Feature Image: MotoGP

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