Category: Crew On Two

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Moto3: Masia wins Chaotic Clash in COTA

Jaume Masia has come out on top, winning in COTA, ahead of a seven-way battle that rumbled on for much of the race. He was joined on the podium by Dennis Foggia and Andrea Migno.

It was the experienced Moto3 riders who came out on top at the Grand Prix of the Americas today. The chaotic race saw seven riders battling for only three podium positions for most of the race. Eventually, it was Jaume Masia who came out on top, taking the lead on the final lap.

Masia hasn’t won a race since the first round of the 2021 season, making it an emotional return to the top step of the podium for the Spanish rider. Having spent last year in the shadow of his teammate and eventual 2021 Moto3 champion, Pedro Acosta, this win will provide him with some much-needed confidence.

On the podium were fellow Italian riders Dennis Foggia, in second, and pole-sitter Andrea Migno, in third.

As the race commenced, it was Deniz Oncu who took an early lead, passing Migno at the first corner. He took rookie Diogo Moreira with him as he leapt from his starting position of sixth up to second. Oncu and Moreira were then battling for the lead and came to be side-by-side on the long straight. As they crossed the line to start the second lap, Moreira swerves across in to Oncu’s path. Oncu was forced to back off and Moreira stole the lead.

Further back, Kaito Toba enjoyed a good start as he leapt up from eighth to fifth. However, Scott Ogden had a more difficult start as he was shuffled back to 17th, despite claiming his best qualifying result and starting the race in 12th.

Foggia and Masia also struggled and, by lap 4, they were quickly shuffled back to 10th and 11th despite starting second and fifth respectively.

On the same lap, Oncu took the lead back from Moreira. Shortly after, Xavier Artigas got the best of both of them and flew his way up in to the lead. Two laps later and Moreira was back in the lead of the race, only to be overtaken by Oncu shortly after.

At this point, a number of other riders joined the leading pack, stating their intentions for the win. Championship leader Sergio Garcia closed up to the leading three but then clashed with Daniel Holgado, who crashed in to him on the final corner. Both riders were able to rejoin the race but Garcia eventually retired on lap 13 and Holgado crashed again on the final lap of the race. Holgado will be disappointed with his race result today, as he makes his return from injury.

Lap 8 saw Ayumu Sasaki and Masia join the leading group, taking second and third respectively behind Oncu.

For much of the rest of the race, seven riders were battling at the front of the pack – these riders were Masia, Sasaki, Oncu, Moreira, Foggia, Artigas, and Migno.

As the grid started their final lap, Migno was leading ahead of Masia in second and Foggia in third. Moreira crashed at the first corner of the lap – he was trying to hard to make his way through the leading pack and showed his inexperience with a rookie error that ruined his hard work.

Due to a number of incidents around the circuit, yellow flags were hampering the progress of most riders and left it difficult to find a way past Migno. However, down the long straight, Masia made his move and took the lead. He went out wide and found himself on the rumble strips, giving some hope to Migno. However, as Migno tried to make his way around the outside of Masia at turn 19, giving it everything he had in an attempt to win, he ran wide and let Foggia through the inside to take second. Masia remained unbeatable out in front and crossed the line in first.

Just missing out on a podium finish was Sasaki in fourth, Oncu in fifth and Artigas in sixth.

Izan Guevara was deemed to have jumped the start and was given a double long lap penalty. As this wasn’t served quickly enough, the penalty then went up to three long laps. This should have ruined his race but he was able to climb back up the field and ended the day in seventh.

The top ten was rounded out by Carlos Tatay, Ricciardo Rossi and Tatsuki Suzuki in eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

Championship Standings

Thanks to Foggia’s second-place finish today, he has now jumped to the top of the championship standings. He leads Garcia, in second, by 16 points. Migno is in third ahead of Guevara in fourth. Oncu is sitting in fifth ahead of today’s winner, Masia, in sixth.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto2: Arbolino Takes Maiden Win at COTA

Tony Arbolino secures his first win in Moto2 as both Celestino Vietti and Aron Canet crash out of the lead. Ai Ogura takes second ahead of Jake Dixon who takes his maiden Moto2 podium.

Tony Arbolino laid down a cool, calm and collected performance to take his maiden win in Moto2, despite tricky weather conditions. He found himself in the lead of the race after two front runners, Celestino Vietti and Aron Canet, crash out in the early stages of the race, potentially caused by those windy conditions.

Ai Ogura came home in second, having made huge strides from his starting position of 11th. This is his second podium in as many races – the first time he has achieved this in Moto2. He was joined on the podium by British rider, Jake Dixon, who enjoyed his first podium in Grand Prix racing.

Pole sitter and home hero, Cameron Beaubier had a difficult day – he was shuffled back in the early stages of the race and, despite making up ground, crashed out in the dying moments of the race.

As it happened

As the lights went out, Beaubier had an initial good start but was quickly shuffled back to fourth. Vietti flew off to take first, just ahead of Canet in second and Arbolino in third. Dixon slipped down to seventh whilst Sam Lowes jumped up to eighth.

The early stages of the race were filled with drama as the riders got to grips with those challenging conditions. Six riders all ended up in the kitty litter at the end of the first lap. As the grid came to turn 12 on the first lap, Somkiat Chantra hit the rear wheel of Sam Lowes’ bike as he mistimed his breaking. This then created a domino effect as Zonta van der Goorbergh hit Gabriel Rodrigo and the pair collected Fermin Aldeguer. Augusto Fernandez was lucky to not fall along with this group, however he was shuffled down to 15th as a result of the drama.

Rookie Pedro Acosta then crashed out from fifth in a separate incidence on lap four – he hit the ground at turn three before sliding dangerously across the track. Whilst all riders walked away unscathed, Rodrigo and van der Goorbergh were taken to the medical centre for a precautionary check-up.

On lap three, Canet found a way around the outside of Vietti at turn six, before firmly shutting the door at turn seven. With Canet now in the lead, he was able to pull out a 0.4s gap in the space of one lap.

On lap five, Vietti then crashed out from second place as the bike fell from under him at turn six. This promoted Arbolino up to second and Dixon up to third. Ogura was in fourth with Marcel Schrotter in an impressive fifth, despite starting down in 13th.

At this point in the race, Dixon was lining up for a move on Arbolino. This battle gave Canet the opportunity to put 1.5s of free air between himself and the rest of the grid.

However, everything went south for Canet shortly after as the front tire folds underneath him at turn seven on lap eight. He was almost able to save it but sadly ended up in the kitty litter. This promotes Arbolino to first, Dixon to second and Ogura to third.

Despite an initial challenge from Dixon, Arbolino was able to pull out a comfortable lead which he held for the remainder of the race. As the checkered flag fell, he had a 4s lead over his nearest competitors.

On lap 12, Dixon lost out on second place to Ogura after going wide – it is suspected that he faced a false neutral as Ogura came at him from very far behind.

A few laps later, just behind Dixon, Schrotter goes wide which allowed Beaubier past and into fourth. However, he wouldn’t be able to hold on to this position as the checkered flag fell.

Further retirements came from Simone Corsi who crashed on lap two, Alessandro Zaccone who retired on lap three and Niccolo Antonelli who retired on lap 14.

Championship Standings

Despite a tricky weekend, Vietti remains at the top of the championship standings with 70 points, with Canet in second and Chantra in third. Today’s podium finisher, Ogura, is fourth in the title fight with Lowes and Arbolino close behind.

However, if Canet had been able to hang on to the lead of the race, he would have left America as the championship leader. It will certainly be a weekend of “what if’s” for the Spanish rider.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Round 1 WorldSBK Aragon, Spain, Race 2

The first Superpole race of the new season saw Bautista (aruba.it Ducati) exact revenge for getting pipped in race 1 and claim the win, followed by 2nd Rea (Kawasaki KRT), and 3rd Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha).

Alvaro Bautista & Michael Rinaldi – WorldSBK Aragon 10.04.2022 Picture courtesy of Aruba.it Racing

The track temperature was slightly higher for race 2, compared to race 1, with most of the riders again opting for the softer tyre option. Lights out, and its Rea with the hole shot into turn 1, pursued by the Ducati team mates of Bautista and Rinaldi (aruba.it Ducati, with Razgatlioglu closely behind in 4th. This group of 4 was already gaining an advantage on the rest of the field, pulling out a slight gap.

With 16 laps to go, the two aruba.it Ducatis were looking quick and Rea was going to have his hands full shortly in trying to keep them at bay. Positions were: 1st Rea, 2nd Bautista, 3rd Rinaldi, 4th, Razgatlioglu and 5th Lowes (Kawasaki KRT).

Next lap and with Rea feeling the pressure from the Ducatis behind, makes a mistake by running too hot into turn 1, allowing both Bautista and Rinaldi through. Rea now anxious to get back to the front, had to first deal with the immediate problem of getting past the reigning world champion in 3rd. Further back there was a four way battle for 7th between the Honda team mates of Lecuona (Honda HRC), Vierge, Loris Baz (Bonovo action BMW) and Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorlsSBK Team).

With 13 laps to go Rea manages to out break Toprak into turn 1 taking back 3rd. Meanwhile the two Ducatis at the front were looking quick, most notably Bautista who was pulling away. Would the Spaniard be able to claim his 2nd win of the day? Further back Redding (BMW Motorrad) was still having a miserable weekend, and now found himself dead last in 23rd place. Seemingly unable to get the BMW into corners. What is happening in that garage?

With 11 laps to go Rea had the head down and was desperate to regain contact with the Ducatis at the front, both of whom were having a cracking race. Behind Rea it was; 4th Razgatlioglu, 5th Lowes, 6th Baz, 7th Lecuona, 8th Vierge and 9th Gerloff.

Next lap and Rea had now closed the gap to 2nd place Rinaldi to 0.8s. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) was having an incredible race and had now moved all the way up to 6th. Meanwhile further back both Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team, and Laverty (Bonovo action BMW) were struggling, and found themselves in 14th and 15th respectively.

With 8 laps to go the increasing pressure on Rinaldi told, and he was forced into a mistake running wide into turn 1, allowing Rea to come past for an easy 2nd place. Rea was now running 0.3s a lap faster than Bautista at the front, but would he have enough laps left to catch the Spaniard?

Next lap and with Rea pushing as hard as he dared, he over shot turn 1, running wide and losing precious time. The gap to Bautista was now pushed out to 1.8s with more work left for Rea. Meanwhile Redding retired, giving up on a shockingly dreadful weekend.

With 6 laps to go it was Rinaldi in 3rd who now set the fastest lap of 1:51.377, although the race pace was faster yesterday, even although the track temperature was colder. Further back Gerloff in 10th, was all over the back of Vierge in 9th, and looking for the pass.

With 5 laps to go Razgatlioglu had found a bit of late race pace, and was closing in on 3rd place Rinaldi cutting the gap down to 0.3s. Could the Turkish rider claim a podium postion? Nozane had a nasty crash into turn 7, sending his Yamaha down the road in a shower of sparks. He was able to walk away, but his race was over.

WorldSBK Aragon 10.04.2022 Picture courtesy of Honda Racing Corporation

Next lap and Toprak set the new fastest lap of 1:51.177, quicker than both the riders ahead of him. Bautista looked to have the win sealed up and was comfortable in the lead, with Rea too far behind to cause any trouble. Second and 3rd were all still to play for however.

With 3 laps to go Razgatlioglu out brakes Rinaldi into turn 2, and takes 3rd. Meanwhile Rea was far enough ahead in 2nd to be comfortable, without having to look over his shoulder.

Last lap and Bautista crosses the line in 1st to take his 2nd win of the day, putting himself at the top of the championship in the process. Second Rea, 3rd Razgatlioglu, 4th Rinaldi, 5th Lowes, 6th Bassani, 7th Baz, 8th Vierge, 9th Gerloff, 10th Lecuona.

Result top 5:

  1. Bautista (aruba.it Ducati)
  2. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  3. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  4. Rinaldi (aruba.it Ducati)
  5. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT)

Championship top 3:

  1. Bautista 57 pts
  2. Rea 54
  3. Razgatlioglu 39

 

 

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Moto3: Migno Claims Pole for the Grand Prix of the Americas

Andrea Migno has claimed pole position for tomorrow’s race in COTA. He will be joined on the front row by fellow-Italian, Dennis Foggia, and Xavier Artigas. Our championship leader, Sergio Garcia, had to settle for 11th.

Today’s qualifying session was dominated by Italian riders, Dennis Foggia and Andrea Migno – the latter rider was able to come out on top as he set a time of 2:15.814 to secure pole position ahead of tomorrow’s race.

Foggia was bested by only 0.067s, forcing him to settle for second for tomorrow’s race start. The front row will be rounded out by Xavier Artigas, who made his way through Q1 before posting an impressive time that was just 0.242s off pole.

The early pace setter was Izan Guevara, who eventually settled for 10th, before Migno jumped to the top of the timing sheets. Despite not opting for fresh tires part way through the session, Foggia was next to top the timing sheets.

It wasn’t until the final flying lap when Migno was able to lay down his pole-clinching lap – a time which simply couldn’t be bested by Foggia or Artigas.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Deniz Oncu, on the KTM Tech3 machine, and Jaume Masia, on the KTM Ajo machine, took fourth and fifth respectively. Rookie Diogo Moreira claimed sixth, ahead of Daniel Holgado who is returning from injury. The top ten is rounded out by Kaito Toba, Ayumu Sasaki and Izan Guevara in eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

Three riders who made their way through from Q1 line up just outside the top 10 – Stefano Nepa, Scott Ogden, and Elia Bartolini took 11th, 12th and 13th respectively. This is Ogden’s best qualifying result in his rookie Moto3 year.

Our championship leader, Sergio Garcia, had a shocking day and was only able to claim 15th. He certainly seems to be off the pace after winning the last race in Argentina.

The grid will be in action at 2.30pm local time, and Crew on Two will have all the action for you.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto2: Beaubier Takes Maiden Pole at Home Circuit

Cameron Beaubier stuns home crowds to take his maiden pole position in Moto2. He will be joined on the front row by championship leader, Celestino Vietti in second and Aron Canet in third.

American track, American rider and American team – today’s qualifying ticked all the boxes for the fans in the grandstands. Cameron Beaubier is the first American rider to secure a pole position at home since 2010.

He will be joined on the front row for tomorrow’s race by Celestino Vietti who, despite leading the championship after a strong start to the season, was forced to make his way through Q1. It was Vietti who set the early pace in Q2 but was eventually forced to settle for second.

Aron Canet was able to take third, despite a late crash for the Spanish rider. He fell at turn 17 as the front end folded underneath him and left him in the kitty litter.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Canet wasn’t the only rider to crash as the riders seemed to fight with the COTA track – Augusto Fernandez crashed at turn 17 and, as a result, wasn’t able to set a lap time in Q2. Tony Arbolino crashed at turn 8 but was able to get back up, dust himself down, and set a time that was good enough for fourth. Similarly, Ai Ogura crashed at turn 11 whilst sitting in third. He was eventually shuffled down to 11th.

The various yellow flags caused by these crashes left a lot of riders needing to abandon their laps. However, no one was able to get close to Beaubier’s time of 2:08.751.

Albert Arenas and his GASGAS Aspar teammate, Jake Dixon, set the fifth and sixth fastest times respectively. Jorge Navarro, who has already been slapped with a long lap penalty for tomorrow’s race after crashing under yellow flags during FP3, will start tomorrow’s race in seventh.

Fermin Aldeguer has looked incredibly quick all weekend and set the eighth fastest time ahead of tomorrow’s race. The top ten was rounded out by Sam Lowes and rookie Pedro Acosta.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Round 1 WorldSBK Aragon, Spain, Race 1

Jonathan Rea winner of Race 1, Aragon 2022 WSBK. Image courtesy of @KRT_WorldSBK / Twitter

The first Superpole of the season saw Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) claim top spot with a time of 1:48.267 (an all time lap record), followed by Bautista (aruba.it Ducati), and Rea (Kawasaki KRT) in 2nd, and 3rd respectively.

Conditions for race 1 were dry, if not slightly on the cool side, with track temperatures struggling to reach 28 degrees. As a result most of the riders would opt for the softer SC X tyre.

Lights out and its Bautista who grabs the hole shot, although Toprak was having none of it and barges through, with Rea barrelling past both of them ultimately. The start of this season seems to be carrying off from where we left it last season, in terms of the all out action, white knuckle racing.

Onto lap 3 then, and Razgatlioglu takes over the lead out braking Rea into turn 1 after the straight. Rea strikes back immediately driving under the no.1 bike. The ZX-10RR looking to have received a much needed boost in power over the winter break.

With 16 laps to go, 4 riders had pulled out a gap to the rest of the field. It was; 1st Rea, 2nd Razgatlioglu, 3rd Bautista, and 4th Rinaldi (aruba.it Ducati). Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) was a further 1.2 behind in 5th, a solid ride from the ex-MotoGP rider. Futher back Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad) was all the way down in 19th, a nightmare for the 3rd placed rider in the championship last season. Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was also struggling after slipping back to 13th.

With 14 laps to go the group of 4 at the front was now cut to 3, as Rinaldi had slipped back to 1.1 behind Bautista in 3rd. Razgatlioglu had managed to retake the lead, and the leading 3 riders were having a ding-dong battle, with postions changing every lap.

Alvaro Bautista at Aragon 2022 WSBK. Image courtesy of Ducati

Next lap and both Rea, and Bautista out break Razgatlioglu down the straight into turn 1. The Spaniard was now at the front, with the Ducati looking to have kept all of the top end speed it had last season. Lowes (Kawasaki KRT) was now in 5th, and trying to bridge a gap of 2.3 to Rinaldi in 4th.

With 12 laps to go Rea dives up the inside of Bautista to retake the lead. The stability of the Kawasaki was already showing a massive improvement on where it was last season, and Rea was looking a lot more comfortable then he had last season. Lowes goes down, it wasn’t a high speed crash, but his race is over. The Honda team mates of Lecuona, and Vierge now find themselves in 5th, and 6th respectively, a very decent ride from both the ex-MotoGP, and Moto2 riders.

Next lap and its Bautista who repays the favour, diving up the inside of Rea  into turn 1. The Kawasaki had no answer to the shear top end speed of the Ducati, as was the case last season. The world champion was still in 3rd, and keeping in touch with the two at the front. Further back it was now Locatelli (Pata Yamaha) in 5th, followed by the Honda team mates behind in 6th, and 7th. Rea puts in a nice block pass to retake the lead, although Bautista was currently the fastest rider on track with a lap time of 1:50.207.

With 7 laps to go Redding had moved up to 15th, and was at least now in the points. Gerloff too, had also moved up places and was now in 11th. Other notable positions were the Bonovo action BMW team mates of Baz 9th, and Laverty 12th.

With 5 laps to go Rea had edged out a gap of 0.3 to Bautista. Toprak was now losing contact with the two ahead of him, possibly suffering from tyre wear issues. It would surely come down to either Rea, or Bautista for the race win.

With 3 laps to go Rea now had the bit between his teeth, and had extended his gap to Bautista to 0.5. The Spaniard had work to do if he was going to claim the first win of the season. Toprak was now 1.9 behind in 3rd, and out of contention. The Ducati had the advantage in terms of top end speed, but the ZX-10RR had the better turning of the two. This would surely come down to the wire, who had the better grip?

Last lap now and Bautista pulls the trigger, slip streaming Rea down the back straight, then pulling around to out break Rea. Jonny snaps right back, and drives the Kawasaki under the Ducati using the better turning of his bike to full effect, looking so smooth in the process, nice move. Bautista powers out the last corner, but its Rea who edges ahead to claim the first win of the new season. Bautista crosses just behind for 2nd, 3rd Razgatlioglu, 4th Rinaldi, 5th Locatelli, 6th Lecuona, 7th Vierge, 10th Laverty, 15th Redding.

What an action packed start to the new season.

Result top 5:

  1. Rea (Kawasaki KRT)
  2. Bautista (aruba.it Ducati)
  3. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha)
  4. Rinaldi (aruba.it Ducati)
  5. Locatelli (Pata Yamaha)

Championship top 3:

  1. Rea 25 pts
  2. Bautista 20
  3. Razgatlioglu 16
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One for the history books!

Qualifying:

After issues with freight delays, qualifying finally got underway at Argentina and it was a surprise front row finish.

Aleix Espargaro with the Aprilia took pole, the first ever in the Moto GP era with 1:37.688. Jorge Martin (Ducati) was second and Luca Marini (Ducati) took his second front row in Moto GP.

(Sad news once again for Marc Marquez as he couldn’t participate in this weeks race either. Wishing him a speedy recovery)!

Race:

With the energy buzzing and all eyes on Aprilia, could we finally witness history? Could Aleix Espargaro finally win his first race?

Lights out and Martin quickly took the lead ahead of A. Espargaro and Marini.

Honda rider, P. Espargaro powered past Marini, knowing he had to get to the front and fast, if he was going to be in for a shot of the podium. On the same lap Andrea Dovizioso retired his Yamaha and Aleix put in the fastest lap.

Lap 5 of 25 – current World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) was struggling in 13th position and his teammate (Franco Morbidelli) was having an even worse time in 19th. Franco later retired from the race with a mechanical failure.

Lap 6 – Johann Zarco (Ducati) crashed, turn 2 from 12th position, but his teammate was having a great time, setting a fastest lap from the lead.

Both Spanish riders were fighting hard for first place, each taking fastest lap away from each other. They managed to gap the third and fourth place men and break away with 1.749 seconds between them. Alex Rins (Suzuki) passed P. Espargaro to claim third, knowing this was his chance to get close to the leaders and try to also fight for the win.

Although starting off well, Marini had gone backwards and was fighting for 6th place alongside Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia).

With 14 laps to go A. Espargaro took another fastest lap, he clearly had more pace than Martin and continued to chase him down. But, ‘metronomic Martin’ just kept putting in the perfect laps, keeping Espargaro at bay.

Hunting Martin down. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

By lap 13 Bagnaia had gotten the better of Marini and took 7th place. Brad Binder (KTM) also seized the advantage and passed the Italian.

Meanwhile from 4th position, P. Espargaro fell in the gravel. A bad weekend for Honda just got worse.

Having gotten the better of Marini earlier in the race, Bagnaia made a small mistake which took him wide and forced him to re-join the race ahead of teammate Jack Miller, in 12th.

Back at the front and the Aprilia continued it’s hunt for the Ducati. Could he pass Martin for that elusive win? Could he make the dream a reality?

8 laps until the chequered flag and everyone was willing Espargaro on. He managed to finally make a move on Martin but couldn’t hold onto it and Martin took the advantage and went back in front. With the two Suzuki’s biding their time just behind.

The second attempt from Espargaro came with 6 laps to go, but once again the Ducati passed him back. Rins was now closer and looking ready to strike.

Third time lucky! With only 5 laps to go, Espargaro took attempt number three and this time made it stick. Almost immediately he created a small gap from Martin (0.249 seconds). Which then became 0.381 seconds. The pace was most definitely there.

The final pass. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

However, Martin was not going to give up without a fight and stayed with Aleix. Unlike Aleix, Jorge knows the sweet taste of victory and the rush of adrenaline, but was Aleix about to also know the elation?

All Espargaro had to do was ride the perfect few laps. Just hold on!

The pressure was rising and audiences had their hearts in their mouths whist biting their nails. Just willing Aleix to the finish line. With just two laps to go.

It felt like forever for the last lap. A. Espargaro still led from J. Martin and A. Rins. The gap between Espargaro and Martin was now too large to shrink. The dream was edging even closer!

And just like that, history was made! Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia won the Argentine Moto GP 2022 race. With only his 4th ever podium and Aprilia’s first ever Premier Class win. After all the years of hard-work. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t feel joy for both rider and the team. 200 (premier Moto GP starts) must have been Aleix’s lucky number. The longest wait in Moto GP history for a maiden win, had finally ended.

All press can wait. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Not only did he win the race and the hearts of many viewers, he also leads the championship:

Championship Standings:

1st

A. Espargaro

45 points

2nd

B. Binder

38 points

3rd

E. Bastianini

36 points

4th

A. Rins

36 points

Top Ten Race Finishers:

1st

A. Espargaro

2nd

J. Martin

3rd

A. Rins

4th

J. Mir

5th

F. Bagnaia

6th

B. Binder

7th

M. Vinales

8th

F. Quartararo

9th

M. Bezzecchi

10th

E. Bastianini

Overcome with emotion A. Espargaro said “… this is just a dream…”. No Aleix, this really happened and everyone was 100% behind you.

With nine different podium finishers in the first three races this year, Moto GP has never been so unpredictable. What will happen this weekend in Austin?

 

 

Featured image. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

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Moto2: Vietti Holds Off Chantra To Take Composed Win in Argentina

Celestino Vietti was able to hold off significant and consistent pressure from Somkiat Chantra to win in Argentina. He was joined on the podium by both Honda Team Asia riders, with Chantra in second and Ai Ogura in third.

Celestino Vietti was able to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings with a win in Argentina. The win didn’t come easily as he was forced to pass pole-sitter Fermine Aldeguer and hold off a race-long challenge from Somkiat Chantra.

Our record-breaking pole-sitter, Aldeguer endured a horrible crash as he fought with Vietti. He limped his way back to the garage, the devastation clear on his face.

Chantra was thrilled with second place as he led home a double podium for Honda Team Asia. This result comes straight after his win in Indonesia, showing just how much that result has built his confidence.

The biggest story was the battle for third, which rumbled on for most of the race. In the end, it was Ai Ogura who came out on top, ahead of Aron Canet, taking the final podium position.

As It Happened:

As the lights went out, Aldeguer enjoyed a strong start and kept his place at the front of the pack. Tony Arbolino also enjoyed a good start, jumping up from third to second.

Augusto Fernandez, starting in second, had a horrible start and was quickly swallowed by the chasing pack. As they entered turn one, he hit the back of Ogura and crashed out. At the same time, he sent Manuel Gonzalez wide and tumbling down the grid. Fernandez has now failed to win a race since 2019 and will be eager to break this streak soon.

Shortly after, on lap four, Vietti made a late move at turn one and stole the lead from Aldeguer. He quickly found his rhythm and controlled the pack from the front.

With 16 laps to go, Vietti went wide a turn 13 allowing Aldeguer to make his move. As Vietti came back on to the racing line, he came across the front of Aldeguer who was then a passenger as he tumbled in to the gravel. It was a nasty crash that saw him limping away from the track with his arm around a marshal. The stewards deemed the drama as a racing incident with no penalties for either rider.

With Aldeguer back in the garage, Chantra was promoted to second and Canet moved up to third. Chantra quickly caught up to the leader, sitting just 0.2s behind him and breathing down his neck.

With 13 laps left to race, Vietti goes wide again at turn 13, handing the lead to Chantra. However, the same thing happens on the following lap with Chantra the one going wide this time, handing the lead back to Vietti.

As a gap opens up between second and third place riders, Ogura takes that third place spot from Canet. Shortly after, on lap 15, Canet forces himself up the inside of Ogura, only to loose this place three laps later – their ongoing battle allows this gap to open up a little wider. Canet pushes hard but is unable to find a way through until the final lap of the race.

Further down the grid, Jake Dixon was chasing down Arbolino and the rest of the top five riders. Despite sitting two seconds down the road, he was setting some blistering lap times and quickly catching up to Arbolino. Dixon’s moment came on lap 21 as Arbolino seems to start struggling, heading fifth place to the Brit.

At this point in the race, Arbolino wasn’t the only rider to struggle – A number of others were also facing difficulties as Gabriel Rodrigo crashes at turn nine, followed by Jorge Navarro at turn two and Lorenzo Dalla Porta at turn five. This meant that yellow flags were being waved around the circuits, temporarily halting Canet’s attack on Ogura.

On the following lap, with just two laps remaining, Vietti threw down the gauntlet as he finds more lap time and extends the gap to Chantra. At this point, it looked like the win was pretty much in the bag for the championship leader barring any drama or mistakes.

In the dying moments of the race, Canet was still looking for a way past Ogura. On the final lap, he finally forced Ogura to make a mistake as he went wide at turn five. Canet goes on to make a similar error two corners later, however he is just able to stay ahead.

It wasn’t until the penultimate corner that Ogura was able to retake third and, as the checkered flag fell, Ogura flew down the final straight to cross the line 0.1s ahead of Canet.

Just 1.5s earlier, Vietti crossed the line to claim his second win in three races – so far this season, he has only lost five points.

Having fought hard, Dixon managed to keep Arbolino behind him as the pair crossed the line in fifth and sixth respectively. Moto3 champion, Pedro Acosta finished in seventh, enjoying a better race this weekend. The top ten was rounded out by Albert Arenas, Bo Bendsneyder and Sam Lowes.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto2: Amazing Aldeguer Becomes Youngest Moto2 Polesitter

Rookie Fermin Aldeguer has become the youngest polesitter in Moto2 history, setting a 1:43.306 ahead of tomorrow’s race. Augusto Fernandez lines up in second, ahead of Tony Arbolino.

With the rules changing next year, Moto2 riders will all be 17 years of age or older. That is what makes today’s broken record so significant – it won’t be broken. Fermin Aldeguer will retain the honours of the youngest Moto2 pole-sitter for many years to come.

Even more impressive than his age is Aldeguer’s lack of experience – having skipped Moto3 and coming straight in to Moto2, Aldeguer had to spend the practice sessions learning the track which he did was remarkable ease. He topped both practice sessions before going on to secure a truly awe-inspiring pole position.

Augusto Fernandez was merely 0.15s behind, taking second place for tomorrow’s race. Tony Arbolino set some blistering sector times in Q2 but was forced to settle for third for tomorrow’s race.

Qualifying 1

Zonta Van Den Goorbergh set the early pace as the session began, whilst Gabriel Rodrigo was over-riding and fighting with his bike. As it stood, Rodrigo was in fifth and missing out on a place in Q2.

Cameron Beaubier then snatched the top spot on the timing sheets, laying down a time of 1:44.132. As the session progressed, this time would prove unbeatable and he eased in to Q2.

Manuel Gonzalez slotted in to second shortly after, sitting just 0.024s behind Beaubier. As the session progressed, he wouldn’t be able to improve of this time and finished as second quickest.

As the checkered flag fell, most riders were able to improve their lap times. One exception was Marcel Schrotter who, before today, held the Moto2 lap record at this circuit. He snatched fourth place by the barest of margins, pushing Lorenzo Dalla Porta down to fifth and out of the Q2 progression places.

The session ended with Beaubier at the top of the timings, followed by Gonzalez, Van Den Goorbergh and Schrotter, who all progress to Q2.

Qualifying 2

Thanks to a lack of track time faced by all riders, after the weekend’s schedule was reshuffled, the session was busy early on. Sam Lowes was the first out on track on the ELF Marc VDS machine.

The first flying lap of the session was set by Bo Bendsneyder. Shortly after, Somkiat Chantra slotted in to second despite a heart-in-mouth moment as he almost lost the bike in the final corners. Chantra faced a nasty crash in practice and was lucky to not be injured. However, his confidence seems to be unshaken as he fought hard in Q2.

With eight minutes left on the clock, our championship leader, Celestino Vietti shot up to the top of the timing sheets, only to be shuffled down shortly after by Augusto Fernandez. Less than a minute later, there was another change at the top with Fermin Aldeguer taking the top spot. Further down the order, positions were changing every time someone crossed the line – everyone around the grid was improving their times as the session progressed.

With five minutes to go in the session, Aldeguer was still fastest but was fighting with a bike that was drifting and shaking beneath him. He failed to improve on this lap as the session drew to a close.

He wasn’t the only one to fail to improve on his time. Despite the excitement in the middle of the session with people jumping around the timing sheets, in the final seconds of the session no one was able to make significant improvements.

So as the checkered flag fell, it was Aldeguer who took the honours of pole position, with Fernandez and Arbolino rounding out the front row.

The second row of the grid sees the two GASGAS Aspar riders, with Albert Arenas taking fourth place ahead of Jake Dixon in fifth. They are joined by Vietti who ended the day in sixth.

The top ten are rounded out by Chantra, Ai Ogura, early pace-setter Bendsneyder and Q1-progressor Gonzalez.

Lowes seemed to be lacking pace this weekend and was forced to settle for 11th. Pedro Acosta also struggled this weekend and, after his final lap time was deleted, he had to settle for 17th.

The action kicks off at 5.20pm tomorrow, local time, and Crew On Two will have all the latest updates for you.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto3: Garcia Snatches Pole in the Dying Moments of Qualifying in Argentina

Sergio Garcia will start tomorrow’s Argentinian race from pole position. Ayumu Sasaki was just a tenth behind, claiming second, with Izan Guevara having to settle for third.

After a tumultuous start to the weekend which saw the schedule for the entire weekend reshuffled, Sergio Garcia was able to fend off the field and claim a stunning pole position.

As the checkered flag fell, the entire Q2 grid were on track for a final hot lap. It was Garcia on the GASGAS Aspar bike who came out on top, setting a time of 1:48.429 at the final attempt. Ayumu Sasaki was just 0.171s behind, claiming second place.

A further 0.195s behind him was Izan Guevara, who was the one to set the pace in both practice sessions. He had looked on track to secure pole but was over-riding on the final lap and had to control a twitching bike in the final corners, causing him to lose time at the worst possible moment.

Qualifying 1

As the session started, everyone remained in their garages for a good few minutes – it seemed no one wanted to make the first move, despite all facing a lack of track time during the reshuffled weekend.

At the halfway point of the session, only four riders had set a time and it was Mario Aji on the Honda Team Asia bike who sat at the top of the timing sheets. Despite crashing a few times in practice, British rider Scott Ogden kept his composure and was the next to set the fastest lap. He looked like a favourite to make it in to the Q2 session.

Ogden was then replaced by Ryusei Yamanaka, setting a time that was quicker by two tenths. He then improved again, with just over a minute left on the clock, setting a time of 1:49.822. This time wouldn’t be beaten for the rest of the session, despite everyone trying.

As the grid kept fighting for a place in Q2, Joshua Whatley crashed at turn two – it was his first crash of the weekend and, despite being unharmed, he was out for the rest of the session.

Riccardo Rossi set only one hot lap, crossing the line as the flag fell with a time good enough for a place in Q2, going third fastest overall. This pushed Ogden down and out of the top four, as he was forced to settle with fifth – the fastest loser spot.

The session ended with Yamanaka at the top of the timing sheets, with Stefano Nepa second, Rossi third and Joel Kelso fourth – all progressed to Q2.

Image Credit: MotoGP
Qualifying 2

Much like Q1, the gird took their time coming out on to the track, seeming to opt for a one-lap strategy.

Kaito Toba set the first fastest lap of the session but was soon bumped down by Kelso who set the fastest Moto3 lap of the weekend so far. It seemed he made good use of the extra track time he enjoyed during Q1.

It wasn’t until there were less than three minutes left on the clock that all riders came out on to the track, giving them time for just one flying lap. They were led out of the pitlane by Deniz Oncu who put himself in a position to avoid any mess or drama, but also forced himself to miss out on a slipstream. As a result, he ended the session in 16th.

As every rider fought it out for the honours of pole position, it was Garcia who came out on top, setting an impressive time of 1:48.429. This is only his second pole position as he enters his fourth year in Moto3.

Sasaki took the second fastest time of the day, just 0.171s behind Garcia. They are joined on the front row by Guevara was looked set for pole but struggled on his final lap.

Q1 pace-setter, Rossi, will start the race from a well-earned fourth with early Q2 pace-setter, Kelso, will start the race from an equally-impressive fifth.

Daniel Holgado had an uneventful session on his way to securing sixth. Behind him is Xavier Artigas in seven and Andrea Migno in ninth. The top ten is rounded out by Tatsuki Suzuki and Diogo Moreira.

Dennis Foggia has a very disappointing session, only able to claim 11th. Jaume Masia will also be disappointed with 12th.

The action kicks off at 4pm tomorrow, local time, and Crew On Two will have all the latest updates for you.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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