Category: Crew On Two

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Moto3: Supreme Canet Cruises to Aragon Win as Dalla Porta, Arbolino Struggle

The fourteenth round of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship took place in MotorLand Aragon, as differing fortunes befell the championship contenders, changing the complexion of the points battle ahead of the season’s trip to Asia.

It was the pole sitter, Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) who led the early stages. The Spaniard had a clear pace advantage throughout the lap, but the slipstream in the back straight was enough to keep the pack attached to him, so he couldn’t escape.

Aron Canet, race start, Aragon Moto3 race 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

This was temporary, though, as fighting between those behind Canet allowed the #44 to break away, and by half race distance he had three seconds on the field.

It was, therefore, a race for second in the final part, and that was a fight contested between eight riders. As the race drew on it became clear who the main contenders for the podium would be: Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) and Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) all looking strong.

As they moved onto the final lap, there was a breakaway trio of Ogura, Foggia and Lopez, although fighting between Foggia and Ogura, as well as a strong first half of the lap for McPhee, allowed the group to close up again halfway round the lap.

Dennis Foggia, Moto3 race, Aragon MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

It was Foggia who entered the back straight first, handing the slipstream to those behind. Although it seemed a strange decision for Foggia to decide to lead when he had the option to trail Ogura onto the back straight, it made sense because Ogura’s speed through the middle part of the lap was strong, so hanging on to get the tow would be difficult. Therefore, Foggia’s best hope of second place was to lead, but the slipstream was enough to bring Ogura alongside into turn sixteen, and the Japanese was able to out-brake the Italian and hold the line on the inside, allowing no option of response for Foggia.

Alonso Lopez, having missed out on a home GP podium in Jerez last year due to track limits violations and another in Barcelona this year when Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) passed him in the final corner, was desperate to make the rostrum. He was very late on the brakes into the final corner, but he nearly hit Foggia, and had to correct his line to avoid the #7, which took him out of the battle.

On the inside of all of this was John McPhee, who had lost his left knee slider earlier in the race which was especially compromising in Aragon, since MotorLand is very much anti-clockwise. Missing the knee slider compromised McPhee’s feel in the left handers, so to even be in the podium fight was impressive. Lopez running wide to avoid Foggia granted McPhee fourth place, but he was unable to do anything about either Foggia or Ogura, and so had to settle for the wooden spoon.

Aron Canet crossed the line 4.581 seconds ahead of this battle, which critically did not include either Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) or Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers), the two riders with whom Canet is fighting for the championship. This meant that the victory brought Canet to within two points of the championship lead, a polarisation of the previous week when he was forced to retire in Misano with mechanical problems. There is no better way Canet could wish to enter the Asian tour of the World Championship.

For Ogura and Foggia, the podium represented two different things. For Ogura, the first top three on a Sunday in the World Championship, his first piece of silverware from a Grand Prix, and the result of a fantastic rookie season in which he has fought in the front group many times. On the contrary, for Foggia, the podium represents a return to form, the realisation of his potential in a season which has been quite difficult and where he has played second-best to his rookie teammate, Vietti, on many occasions.

John McPhee’s ride to fourth was quite special considering the limitations he faced in the numerous and dominating left handers in MotorLand, and with Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) crashing out and Niccolo Antonelli (SIC 58 Squadra Corse) sitting this round out due to injury, it was enough for the #17 to climb to fourth in the championship.

Fifth place went to Lopez, who missed the podium this time by less than two tenths. It is becoming quite difficult to continue to watch him come so close to home GP podiums, only to miss out by the smallest of margins. Fortunately for the #21, he is Spanish, so still has one more chance at a home rostrum this year when he arrives in Valencia for the final round.

Sixth place went to last week’s winner, Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC 58 Squadra Corse), ahead of a resurgent Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), the rookie having a superb ride from twenty-ninth to seventh. In eighth was Albert Arenas (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team), ahead of Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) and Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers), the Italian making the same tyre gamble as Ogura – choosing the hard rear compound – but unable to make the same use of it as the Japanese rookie, instead completing the top ten.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta crossed the line tenth, but a track limits violation on the final lap – for the second time in seven days – cost him one position, meaning the Italian is classified eleventh at the end of a difficult race and tough weekend for the championship leader, who at least retains some advantage ahead of Thailand in two weeks.

Carlos Taty, Moto3, Aragon MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Wildcard and front row starter Carlos Tatay (Fundacion Andreas Perez 77) could not convert his starting position, and finished twelfth – nonetheless a milestone weekend for the Spaniard, one week on from clinching the Red Bull Rookies crown. Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) finished thirteenth ahead of Celestino Vietti, who has suffered this weekend with pain after his involvement in the crash in Misano took Niccolo Antonelli out of action this weekend, and Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) who took the final point after starting from the head of the front row.

Andrea Migno (WWR) finished sixteenth, ahead of Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power), Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP), wildcard Gerard Riu Male (Baiko Racing Team) and Romano Fenati’s replacement at VNE Snipers, Julian Jose Garcia, who completed the top twenty on his Grand Prix debut.

Raul Fernandez (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team) was twenty-first in a disappointing race for the reigning Moto3 Junior World Champion. Behind him were Niccolo Antonelli’s replacement at SIC 58 Squadra Corse, Davide Pizzoli; Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77); Can Oncu’s replacement at Red Bull KTM Ajo, Deniz Oncu; Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race), Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3), the injured Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) and Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) who was the final classified rider in twenty-eighth.

There were only two retirements in the Moto3 race in Aragon: Jaume Masia (WWR) and Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing).

Featured image courtesy of Gold and goose/KTM

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MotoGP: Aragon Dominance Brings Title Within Reach for Marquez

The fourteenth round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship took place at MotorLand Aragon, as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) dominated proceedings to record an eighth victory of the season.

It was a lights-to-flag beat-down of the opposition by Marquez, winning in the end by 4.836 seconds after slowing over the line to celebrate his latest triumph – the seventy-seventh of his career in just his two-hundredth start. Other important and alarming numbers from Marquez include his points advantage in the championship, which now stands at ninety-eight, meaning the Spaniard can wrap up his eighth world title at the next race in Thailand.

This victory, and the style in which it came, was predictable from FP1, when the World Championship leader led the session by 1.6 seconds over Maverick Vinales, who was the only rider within two seconds of Marquez. This year it has been easy to say that Marquez’ life has been made simpler, by a Honda which is as fast as the Ducati in a straight line, and faster than all the other bikes, meaning he does not have to push so far over the limit as in the past when the RC213V was relatively slow. However, the gap to the second Honda, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL), at the flag on Sunday was 10.390 seconds. In a period in MotoGP where the entire field can be within 1.5 seconds of each other over one lap, and a top fifteen within twenty seconds or less, the amount of time Marquez put into his opposition in MotorLand was nothing short of astounding, and for his rivals it was another demoralising exhibition of talent from the twenty-six-year-old.

Behind Marquez there was a good fight, the Aragon GP being almost reminiscent of the World Superbike rounds of early-2019 when Alvaro Bautista was capable of clearing off by fifteen seconds or more. Surprisingly, it was Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) who led the fight for second early on, before being overhauled by Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) after the Spaniard had passed and dropped Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT).

Maverick Viñales at the 2019 Aragon Motogp Race. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

After Vinales passed Miller he decided to chase Marquez. This would prove to be a mistake from the #12, as he stressed his tyres excessively, leaving him defenceless at the end when both Miller and Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso arrived with superior grip and superior power. It is easy to pick this hole in Vinales’ plan, but he was almost cornered into it. Vinales’ M1 is significantly slower in the straights than the Ducatis of Miller and Dovizioso, so he could not afford to sit behind Miller and wait for the final lap, or towards the end of the race, because Miller would have been able to fight back with the straight line speed and braking stability of the Desmosedici. Nor could Vinales pass Miller and then sit half a second ahead of him to protect his tyres, since that too would have left him vulnerable to an attack he would have been unequipped to repel. Therefore, trying to escape was Vinales’ only option in view of making the podium and yet it was the strategy which cost him the trophy. This highlights the necessity for Yamaha to continue to work to give its riders a more competitive package for next season, one which is not so vulnerable in the straights in particular.

Whilst it was a difficult race for Vinales and Yamaha to miss the podium on a track they were proving to be – surprisingly – quite competitive at, for Ducati a double podium was almost a miracle. Misano had been a disaster for Ducati and, apart from Miller’s lap to put him on the second row on Saturday in Aragon, it was looking as though it could be another tough race for the Bologna bikes. Dovizioso’s pace, though, was good, and the Italian made a decent start and made good progress from the fourth row to arrive in third place with ten laps to go, whilst Miller had a brilliant beginning to the race and looked after his tyres well. Both of them were able to take advantage of the grip-less Vinales in the end, and bring Ducati its first double podium since Brno, where the podium was identical to the one in Aragon.

Fabio Quartararo, Aragon MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

Three seconds behind the battle for the podium, Fabio Quartararo was the second Yamaha over the line in fifth, fifteen seconds ahead of the next Yamaha, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), in eighth. Cal Crutchlow was sixth, ten seconds off the win but after a much better weekend than Misano. Perhaps the biggest surprise of Aragon was Aprilia, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) starting from fifth and finishing seventh, although the RSGP always seems to work well in MotorLand. Behind Espargaro were Rossi, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) who completed the top ten.

It should have been much more for Rins, who had podium potential, but taking out Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) on the opening lap in turn twelve dropped the #42 to nineteenth and a subsequent long-lap penalty further compromised his race, leaving him ninth.

Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) finished where he started – eleventh – after fighting with Nakagami, Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team, twelfth) and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3, thirteenth) for most of the race. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was last for six laps after a mistake on lap four cost him seven seconds. The Spaniard recovered to fourteenth, finishing ahead of compatriot Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) who completed the points.

Sixteenth place went to Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) after another difficult weekend for the Italian who was ahead of Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – the lone factory RC16 rider finishing seventeenth on his first replacement ride for Johann Zarco due to Pol Espargaro’s withdrawal from the race following his FP4 crash on Saturday. Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) was eighteenth ahead of wildcard Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) who was disappointed in twentieth. Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) was the only rider behind Lorenzo, the Malaysian being the final classified finisher in twenty-first.

Featured Image courtesy of Jamie Olivers/Box Repsol

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Moto3: Canet Demolishes the Field for Aragon Pole

Despite rain overnight and damp morning sessions on Saturday in MotorLand Aragon, the qualifying sessions for the fourteenth round of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship took place in dry conditions.

In Q1 it was Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) who topped the session with his final lap courtesy of a tow gained by some good track position. Joining Foggia in advancing to Q2 were championship combatant Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), wildcard and new Red Bull Rookies Champion Carlos Tatay (Andreas Perez Fundacion 77) and Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) who improved dramatically for qualifying having ended free practice twenty-seventh-fastest.

In Q2, it was a fantastic lap from Aron Canet on his first run to win him pole position. The Spaniard was able to find a good tow for the back straight, but more impressive was his first sector, and the move he put on Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) in turn nine – it was this which allowed him to take pole by a mammoth 0.701 seconds and put himself in prime position to close his twenty-two-point deficit to Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) in the championship.

Joining Canet on the front row will be Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) and Carlos Tatay, who both got some good track position for their final laps, bringing them both from outside the top ten to start second and third, respectively.

Row two is fronted by Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) in his best Saturday performance since his pole position in Brno last season. Joining the Czech rider on the second row are Celestino Vietti and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), the Spaniard using the tow of Dalla Porta to perfection to line up sixth tomorrow.

Tony Arbolino will start tomorrow’s race from seventh as he looks to continue his forward momentum in the championship. The Italian will be joined by the same people he was alongside on last weekend’s Misano podium, as Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC 58 Squadra Corse) qualified eighth, ahead of ninth-placed John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), who missed the flag for his final lap.

Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) will round out tomorrow’s top ten on the grid, heading up row four, where he will be joined by Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) and championship leader Lorenzo Dalla Porta who was simply not fast enough to challenge for the top positions and has a lot of work to do tomorrow to limit the damage that can be inflicted by both polesitter Canet and Arbolino in the championship.

Albert Arenas (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team) will start from the front of row five in thirteenth, and will be joined by Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) and Jaume Masia (WWR); whilst Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) heads up row six from Andrea Migno (WWR) and Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) who was last in his first Q2 appearance.

There was no change in condition for Q2, which theoretically handed an advantage to the riders who came through Q1, since it was the only dry session of the day to that point for the lightweight class riders.

The fifth rider in Q1 and therefore the fastest to miss out on Q2 was Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77), who will start from nineteenth alongside Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) and Raul Fernandez (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team) on row seven; whilst row eight sees Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) start from twenty-second ahead of Niccolo Antonelli’s replacement at SIC 58 Squadra Corse, Davide Pizzoli, and wildcard Gerard Riu Male (Baiko Racing Team).

The ninth row consists of Romano Fenati’s replacement at VNE Snipers, Julian Jose Garcia, ahead of Deniz Oncu, who is replacing his brother, Can, in the Red Bull KTM Ajo team, and Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power). Finally, row ten sees Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) ahead of Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and the injured Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power).

Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) pulled out of the Aragon GP weekend due to pain in his shoulder on Friday, a result of his crash in Misano last weekend.

Featured Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

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Moto2: Marquez Takes Pole, Fernandez Posed to Fight in Aragon

Qualifying for the Moto2 World Championship riders in Aragon for round fourteen of the 2019 season took place in good conditions as Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) took pole position.

In Q1, Fabio Di Giannantonio (+Ego Speed Up) topped the session to move through to Q2 along with Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team), Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia).

In Q2, it was Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who took pole position ahead of his main championship rival, Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40), by over one tenth of a second. The two main championship rivals will be joined tomorrow on the front row by the aggressive Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), last year’s winner of this race, which sets up tomorrow’s race to be entertaining in the battle for the lead.

Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) heads up the second row from Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) who seems to have rediscovered some form this weekend. The final spot on the second row will be taken by Jorge Navarro (+Ego Speed Up); whilst row three sees Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) ahead of Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) and Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2).

Iker Lecuona (American Racing) completes the qualifying top ten and heads up row four, being joined by Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) and Misano runner-up Fabio Di Giannantonio. On row five, Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) starts ahead of Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Andrea Locatelli; whilst Marco Bezzecchi is with Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) and Somkiat Chantra on row six.

Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) was the fastest rider to not make Q2, and will start tomorrow’s race from nineteenth, alongside Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) on row seven.

The eighth row consists of Marcel Schrotter’s replacement at Dynavolt Intact GP, Jesko Raffin, in twentieth, ahead of Joe Roberts (American Racing) and Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusts Idealavoro Forward); while row nine sees Jake Dixon (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team) ahead of Simone Corsi (NTS RW Racing GP) and Philipp Oettl (Red Bull KTM Tech 3); and the tenth row has Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) in front of Xavi Cardelus (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team) and Gerry Salim (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) who is replacing Dimas Ekky this weekend. The back row has only one rider, with Gabriele Ruiu (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) who this weekend is in place of Mattia Pasini.

Featured Image courtesy of David Goldman/Marc VDS

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MotoGP: Marquez Continues Aragon Domination with Pole Position

After a damp FP3 on Saturday morning which saw limited running from most riders, qualifying in Aragon for the fourteenth round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship took place in perfect conditions.

The first session saw a surprise, as Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) prevented Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) from advancing to Q2 using the tow of Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who topped the first session.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was 1.6 seconds faster than everyone in Friday morning’s FP1 session and, although the championship leader had not been close to the 1’46.8 that gave him that advantage since FP1, pole position was almost guaranteed. Once more, Marquez was unable to match his 46.8 from Friday morning, but his 1’47.009 was enough for pole position by 0.327 seconds over Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT).

Fabio Quartararo, Aragon MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Motor Europe

Marquez’ pace is superior for Sunday’s race, but it looks like the battle for second place will be between Quartararo and Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who line up alongside the #93 on the front row.

Jack miller (Pramac Racing) produced a surprise by putting his independent Ducati in fourth place in a track where the Desmosedici has not been entirely comfortable this weekend. There is another surprise in the middle of the second row, where Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will start from tomorrow after a brilliant lap following Marquez at the end of Q2. The last spot on the second row went to Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who seems to be staring down the barrel of a fourth-consecutive fourth place finish tomorrow.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) starts from the front of the third row, highlighting the strength of Marquez on the same bike, who was 1.313 seconds quicker than the #35. Franco Morbidelli and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) will join the Briton on row three.

Crutchlow’s late lap to go seventh pushed Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) off the third row, and the Italian will start back in tenth which could limit his chances. Andrea Iannone was unable to make much of his Q2 appearance and will start eleventh courtesy of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) missing qualifying due to a crash in FP4 which could also see him miss tomorrow’s race, which he would start from twelfth.

Thirteenth place went to Alex Rins, the Spaniard being the fastest rider to miss out on the pole position shoot-out. There is a lot of work now for Rins to do tomorrow, but his pace is strong and he can still make a good result if his start is good. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) qualified fourteenth, whilst Danilo Petrucci’s struggles aboard the Ducati Team Desmosedici GP19 continued, the Italian finishing only fifth in Q1 to qualify fifteenth overall.

Sixteenth place went to Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) who is having another tough weekend aboard the satellite Desmosedici. Joining the reigning Moto2 World Champion on the sixth row are fellow rookie Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and 2014 Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing).

Mika Kallio’s replacement of Johann Zarco at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for the rest of the season came as a shock earlier in the week, but the Finn has had a decent weekend in Spain on his return to racing after the injury he sustained in Germany last year. Kallio will start nineteenth, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) on the seventh row, Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) will head up a two-man back row from Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team) who is wildcarding this weekend for the first time since Barcelona.

Featured Image courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol

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MotoGP: The Quartararo Effect

Rivalries have been a key part of sport since the beginning. Rivalry inspires competitors to achieve more than their perceived capabilities. This is true for all sport but especially for motorcycle racing, where pushing beyond the limit can have significant consequences.

Throughout the history of grand prix motorcycle racing, rivalries have played a large role in its narrative, whether between factories or riders: from Hailwood and Agostini to Rainey and Schwantz, to the MotoGP era and Rossi’s on-track feuds with Biaggi, Gibernau, Stoner and more – rivalries have taken on an important role in the story of motorcycle racing, to transform it from a cold engineering pursuit of the fastest way to cover a Grand Prix distance to a heated conflict where lap time is the warhead and the motorcycle is the ICBM.

In Misano, we saw the birth of a new rivalry, one which was hard to envisage all of sixteen months ago. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has dominated MotoGP since he arrived in the premier class in 2013, and his strength continues to grow. The outlook of the future of MotoGP begins to look increasingly bleak when fans are faced with the prospect of one of the most divisive figures in racing cruising to world titles at will until he decides to go and do something else.

Marc Marquez winner of the 2019 Misano GP. Image Courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol

In the Superbike World Championship, Jonathan Rea has dominated the last four championships and is now the greatest rider in the history of production-derived motorcycle racing. Similar to the case in MotoGP with Marquez, it was difficult to see an end to the domination of Rea, such was his strength, but this season Alvaro Bautista arrived and has won fourteen races. For the first part of the season, Bautista was not only unbeaten, but completely unrivalled, winning races by over ten seconds as if it were nothing. The middle of the championship did not go to plan for Bautista and now the championship fight is all but over. However, the Spaniard showed that Rea is beatable, and identified himself as the anti-Rea.

This year, we may have finally identified the anti-Marquez, the rider who can challenge the (currently) seven-times World Champion in the future and prevent a monotonous domination of the sport by its most exciting rider. Fabio Quartararo has been enjoying a stellar rookie season aboard the Petronas Yamaha SRT YZR-M1, with several podiums and pole positions, out-classing not only his more experienced teammate Franco Morbidelli but also the factory Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, on numerous occasions.

The San Marinese MotoGP was no different, with Quartararo finishing as top Yamaha, having led most of the race and fought with Marc Marquez at the end of the race. Although Marquez came out on top of the duel with an outrageous display of braking performance into turn eight and tactically clever defensive riding into turn fourteen, Quartararo finally took the leap of fighting for a race win. The Frenchman was unable to topple Marquez on this occasion, but with Quartararo there is the certainty that he will be there to fight with the #93 on many more occasions across the next ten years or more.

Andrea Dovizioso at Misano 2019 MotoGP. Image courtesy of Ducati

This presents a dilemma for Yamaha. Ducati want to win the World Championship and despite their best wishes and those of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), it looks perhaps unlikely that the #04 can challenge Marquez over the course of a season and come out on top. Therefore, Ducati might want to sign a new rider for 2021, one who they believe can win them their second MotoGP championship. Fabio Quartararo might be one of the riders they want to sign, but so might Maverick Vinales. If Ducati are considering one of these two riders they will likely try to lock down Quartararo before Vinales, meaning Yamaha need to act quickly to secure the services of Quartararo from 2021 – something they want to do because they, too, want to win the MotoGP World Championship – quelle surprise!

The problem for Yamaha comes with irony strapped to the side like fuel in a 1960s F1 car, just waiting to blow up and cut their legs off. The problem is Valentino Rossi, who wants six or seven races at the beginning of 2020 to decide if he wants to stay in MotoGP for another year or two. Forty-year-old Rossi has not had a good year in 2019, and hasn’t had a podium since round three where an uncharacteristic error cost him the win in Texas. The Italian is undoubtedly capable of fighting at the front of MotoGP with the correct machinery, but the correct machinery is evidently not the one that Yamaha are currently providing him, whereas it evidently is for Quartararo and Vinales. If Yamaha want to secure their potential future star, Quartararo, they need Rossi to make a decision on his future by Jerez, or tell him his services are unrequired for 2021.

If Quartararo were to hold out for Yamaha – a very plausible scenario considering his comfort with the M1 – Ducati could sign Vinales, who must surely be beginning to believe that his success is more likely to be found away from Iwata. During the period of Vinales swapping deep blue for red, Rossi could quite conceivably decide that it is time to go and do something else, leaving two vacant seats in Yamaha, with only one available to be filled by Quartararo, of course.

Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi, together at the 2019 San Marino MotoGP Race. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

It would make sense for Franco Morbidelli to take the second factory Yamaha seat, but Morbidelli has the same setup and riding style issues as Rossi, and even then there would be a duo of vacant seats in the Petronas squad.

Fabio Quartararo’s performance in Misano was superb, both for him and for Yamaha. But now, the factory must face some difficult decisions which have the potential significantly impact its future, perhaps for the better but maybe for the worse.

Featured image courtesy of Yamaha racing

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Moto3: Suzuki Takes Emotional First GP Win in Chaotic San Marino Race

Emotions ran high on Sunday when Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC 58 Squadra Corse) won his first Moto3 Grand Prix at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

The day before, Suzuki had taken his first ever World Championship pole position, which he converted to a holeshot on Sunday. Although Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) led the opening lap, only three of the following twenty-two laps were not led by Suzuki, those outliers being led by Jaume Masia (WWR).

Tatsuki Suzuki leading the pack at Round Thirteen – Misano, San Marino. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu

It was a hectic race, with many crashes and splits in the pack. Groups were severed and reconnected, and there was much fighting in both the leading group and the chasing pack, leading to a fragmented race with, thanks to the incredibly low grip of the Misano track, a significantly reduced field.

There were only sixteen finishers – only Deniz Oncu, filling in for brother Can Oncu at Red Bull KTM Ajo, finished but didn’t score points after he was forced off track early on in the race at turn ten. Four riders went down on the first lap: Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) had contact with Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) in turn one. Toba crashed and took Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) with him. Later in the opening tour, Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) crashed on the entry to turn eight after contact with another rider, and on the exit of the same corner Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) high-sided and was fortunate to not be hit by other riders.

Two laps later Garcia’s Estrella Galicia 0,0 teammate, Alonso Lopez, crashed out, then Niccolo Antonelli (SIC 58 Squadra Corse) high-sided on the exit of turn five leaving Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) nowhere to go, and five corners later Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) crashed out, after making up several places on the first lap, and broke his collarbone in the process. Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) also crashed out on lap three, two laps before mechanical troubles forced Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) to retire, which was important for the championship. The attrition rate of the first half of the race was monumental, but the final rider to go down before the halfway point was Darryn Binder who crashed out with fifteen laps to go. Only wildcard Meikon Kawakami (Fundacion Andreas Perez 77), Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) and Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) went down in the second half.

The crash which took out Ogura was an important one, taking place on the final lap. Andrea Migno (WWR) was looking inside the Japanese in turn eight, but adjusted to avoid Tony Arbolino in front and crashed, taking Ogura with him. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was able to capitalise on this and move up to third, which he turned into second place at turn twelve, and almost to the lead in turn fourteen but for some excellent defensive riding by Suzuki into the Carro hairpin.

It was a fabulously emotional win for Suzuki and the SIC 58 Squadra Corse, who have backed Suzuki for a while, since the circuit bares the name of the inspiration of the team, Marco Simoncelli. Tatsuki Suzuki finally achieved his goal of taking Paolo to the podium and he did it in perhaps the most perfect place.

The positions gained by McPhee in the final lap brought him his third podium of the season and almost his second win of 2019, whilst for Tony Abolino, third place brought important points for the championship.

Jaume Masia, Moto3 race, San Marino MotoGP 2019 Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Jaume Masia put some hard moves in throughout the race and was rewarded with fourth place, although the Spaniard is still without a podium since the Italian Grand Prix in May. Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) inherited fifth place as a result of the last lap carnage in turn eight, leading the chasing pack home ahead of Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) who was sixth on his debut, and Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) in seventh.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) exceeded track limits one to many times and dropped from fourth to eighth as a result of a three-second time penalty added after the race, which helped Aron Canet significantly as his mechanical retirement prevented him from scoring. Despite Canet’s misfortune in Silverstone and Misano, the gap at the top of the championship is still less than one race win in the favour of Dalla Porta, who is twenty-two points ahead of the #44, whilst Arbolino’s consistency is bringing him into play, just thirty-points adrift now.

Rounding out the top ten in Misano were Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) in ninth and Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) in tenth.

Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) was eleventh ahead of Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) and Migno who remounted for thirteenth after his last-lap fall. Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) was fourteenth for his first World Championship points in his home race; whilst Elia Bartolini (SKY Junior Team VR46) took the final point on his Grand Prix debut.

Featured Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu

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MotoGP: Vinales Takes Misano Pole From Espargaro, KTM

Cloudless skies meant high temperatures on the Rimini Riviera, and for the MotoGP riders that meant grip at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli was at a premium as they qualified for the thirteenth round of the 2019 World Championship.

Q1 saw four or five riders all battling for the top two positions to advance to Q2, but in the end it was Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who topped the session from Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), the pair moving through to the pole position shootout.

Maverick Vinales celebrating his Pole for the San Marino GP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl

The Q2 session was very tight, with four riders fighting for pole position: Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). The Yamaha riders had been dominating the weekend, but Marquez had been fast, and remained in touch throughout free practice, although the Honda was proving difficult to manage – especially in the high speed right-handers in sector three.

Marquez was keen to ensure that no one was in his tow, as was Quartararo on his second run. Vinales and Marquez both did three runs, although Marquez’ middle run did not see a flying lap, as he boxed before he started one. This meant both riders were out of sync with most of the rest of the field. Vinales managed to find himself some free space in the final lap, whilst Quartararo was trying to shake Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marquez was behind Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

After slowing on the first flying lap of his final run to try to escape the attentions of Pol Espargaro, Quartararo ran wide on the exit of turn eleven, and lost his lap as a result. Espargaro had remained in the Frenchman’s slipstream, though, and put the KTM on provisional pole position.

At the same time, Vinales in free air and Marquez behind Rossi were both on fast laps that would have displaced Espargaro. Vinales was able to finish his lap cleanly, and took provisional pole from Espargaro by almost three tenths with a stunning lap, making the most of the Yamaha’s strong front end and comfort in the middle of the corner in the second half of the lap.

Things proved more complicated for Marquez, who caught an off-the-pace Rossi early in the lap. The speed of the Honda put Marquez in the position to pass Rossi into turn eleven, but the Spaniard ran off the track and onto the green. The move from the #93 did not impress Rossi, who block-passed the World Championship leader in turn fourteen. There was no contact, but the temperature of their rivalry increased once more, and tomorrow could provide some interesting exchanges between the two.

Valentino Rossi durring Qualifying at the 2019 San Marino GP. Image courtesy of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl

With both Rossi and Marquez ruining each other’s final lap – although Rossi’s wasn’t especially fast in any case – meant pole position was handed to Vinales, his second in Misano in the last three years. The #12’s race pace looks strong, but he will need to start well, as dropping behind the powerful KTM of Espargaro could leave him vulnerable to those behind.

KTM’s best qualifying performance in their MotoGP history was nearly pole position, but nonetheless a second place in a dry qualifying was an impressive performance from Pol Espargaro, especially on a track where Yamaha have been so dominant this weekend.

Fabio Quartararo perhaps should have had pole position, but he was too concerned with those around him. It was a mistake from the Frenchman to not focus on himself, but not one that he is alone in making – even in this session most of the riders were cruising at some point to find themselves some track position. The qualifying was not a disaster, anyway, for the #20, as he will still line up on the front row, and on the inside for turn one which means he can avoid the pinch in turn two.

Franco Morbidelli was close to the front row but didn’t quite have the pace in the second half of the lap compared to his Yamaha stablemates. Fourth place for Morbidelli, though, gives him a good chance tomorrow.

It is rare to see Marc Marquez off the front row, but for just the second time this season it is what we will see tomorrow. His pace is theoretically enough to go with the Yamaha riders, but the effort he has to put in to achieve that is significantly more, it seems. There could be some interesting fights between him and Rossi, all of a stone’s throw from Tavullia, but it is likely that the pair won’t meet each other on track, and that it is the other M1 pilots who Marquez has to worry himself with.

Andrea Dovizioso at Misano 2019. Image courtesy of ducati

A sixth place start for Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was a surprise, but it was achieved on his final lap of Q2. All Ducati riders have struggled this weekend, so for Dovizioso to salvage a second row start is something he will be disappointingly pleased with.

Missing out on the second row may well have cost Valentino Rossi a shot at the podium, and with a KTM and a Ducati in front of him there could be yet another frustrating afternoon in a home GP for The Doctor. A weekend that started out quite promisingly seems to be falling away from the Italian, who will start alongside Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who should be expected to make progress from ninth and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on his return to racing.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) will start tenth ahead of Johann Zarco, who qualified eighth but will start eleventh thanks to his grid penalty from Silverstone, and wildcard rider Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) who, aside from Dovizioso, has been the only Ducati with any real promise this weekend.

The fastest rider to miss out on Q2 was Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), although he was close with his penultimate lap to moving through to the second session. The Italian will start his home race from thirteenth ahead of a struggling Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) and a frustrated Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who join the reigning Moto2 World Champion on the fifth row.

Row five sees Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) line up ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team). The Ducati stablemates line up sixteenth and seventeenth respectively, ahead of the still-injured Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) on row six, which highlights Ducati’s struggles in Misano this weekend, despite winning the San Marinese round last year.

On row seven, the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 duo of Miguel Oliveira and Hafizh Syahrin qualified ahead of Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing); Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) was the slowest rider in Q1 despite a strong weekend for the Spaniard, and will start twenty-second, ahead of only Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who had to go to the medical centre after a FP4 crash and missed Q1 as a result.

Featured Image courtesy of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl

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Moto2: Di Giannantonio Scores Maiden Intermediate Pole

By the time the Moto2 riders got out on track for their thirteenth qualifying of the 2019 World Championship, the surface in Misano was positively cooked, and conditions were therefore difficult – making the most of the MotoGP rubber early on would be key to a good starting position.

Q1 saw Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) top the session with his final flying lap from compatriot Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Iker Lecuona (American Racing) and Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), all of whom moved through with Marini to Q2.

Fabio Di Giannantonio pole setter for the 2019 San Marino GP Moto2 Race. Image courtesy of +EGO SPEED UP

The Q2 session saw Fabio Di Giannantonio (+Ego Speed Up) score his first Moto2 World Championship pole position in his second home race of the season – although, the #21 is a Roman. Di Giannantonio’s rookie season in the intermediate class has been a strong one, and this pole position is one which he has earned throughout the year. Lining up alongside the Italian will be championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), with whom Di Giannantonio fought a cold war in Brno, and Silverstone winner Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) who recovered well from a crash in FP3 and set himself up well to go back-to-back for the first time in his career in tomorrow’s race.

The ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team duo of Remy Gardner and Tetsuta Nagashima head up the second row, and are joined Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS); while Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) heads up row three from Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) on the Briton’s birthday and Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) who had by far his best qualifying performance of the season with ninth place.

The top ten is rounded out by the returning Enea Bastianini, as he lines up at the front of row four ahead of Italtrans Racing Team teammate Andrea Locatelli and fellow compatriot Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) who ensures that the fourth row is an all-Italian affair. Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) qualified thirteenth ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) and Jorge Navarro (+Ego Speed Up) who will be disappointed to see his teammate on pole from the vantage point of fifteenth.

Jorge Martin KTM Moto2 Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

The Red Bull KTM Ajo pairing of Brad Binder and Jorge Martin head up row six from Iker Lecuona, meaning KTM have a sixth-row lockout.

Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) was the fastest rider to miss out on Q2, qualifying nineteenth. The Thai rider will be joined on the seventh row by the MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward pairing of Stefano Manzi and Dominique Aegerter who were twentieth and twenty-first respectively.

Row eight will see Simone Corsi (NTS RW Racing GP) from twenty-second as he replaces Steven Odendaal on the NTS, something he will continue to do for the remainder of the season. Corsi will be joined by NTS RW Racing GP teammate Bo Bendsneyder and Joe Roberts (American Racing) on the eighth row, whilst Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) heads up row nine from Philipp Oettl (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing). On the back row, Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) will start ahead of the two replacement riders, Adam Norrodin (in place of Khairul Idham Pawi at Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Andi Izdihar (in place of Dimas Ekky at IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia).

Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) suffered a broken clavicle in practice, and will miss the remainder of the weekend as a result, and most likely next weekend’s Aragon GP as well.

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Moto3: Suzuki Hands SIC 58 Home GP Pole

In Misano, the conditions were almost perfect for the Moto3 riders as they headed out on track to qualify for the thirteenth round of the 2019 World Championship.

In Q1, Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) was the big name to have to try to get himself into the top four and advance to Q2 after the second-placed rider in the championship missed out in the final stages of FP3 on Saturday morning. It proved to be a successful session for Canet, who went through to Q2 in second place behind Niccolo Antonelli (SIC 58 Squadra Corse), with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC 58 Squadra Corse) and Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) joining Canet in the second session.

Q2 saw advancements from Suzuki and Canet, the Japanese rider taking pole position for Paolo Simoncelli’s outfit on the circuit named after his late son, whilst Canet rescued what could have been another dreadful qualifying with his final lap to go second and give himself a strong chance to erode some of the points advantage of championship leader Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) tomorrow.

Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) had a quite anonymous session, but took third place for his second home race of the season. He went from pole position to win at Mugello earlier in the year, and has given himself a good chance to do the 2019 Italian double with a front row starting position for tomorrow.

Jaume Masia (WMR) is newly unsponsored for this weekend, as is teammate Andrea Migno (WMR), but it did not slow the Spaniard down, qualifying fourth ahead of Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Niccolo Antonelli (SIC 58 Squadra Corse) who will start fifth and sixth respectively for their home race.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta crashed at the end of his first run in Q2, and the Leopard Racing squad had too much work to do on his Honda by the time it got back to the garage that the 2018 Misano Moto3 winner forfeited his second Q2 run. His first run had him in fifth place, and fortunately for the championship leader there were few improvements in the second half of the session, meaning he will start from seventh tomorrow, with Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) – who topped both Friday sessions – and Leopard Racing teammate Marcos Ramirez joining the #48 on the third row.

Andrea Migno has had a reasonable weekend, and had a reasonable qualifying, starting from tenth, with Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) and Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) joining him on row four.

It was thirteenth place for Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46), the only VR46 rider to not live in the Rimini area, something which cost reportedly him his spot in the VR46 Riders Academy. The #7 will be joined by John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) – who crashed on his final lap in turn four – and Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) on the fifth row; whilst row six is comprised entirely of riders who failed to set a valid lap time in Q2, with Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) having both of his fast laps cancelled for track limits and both Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) and Romano Fenati crashing on their first runs and missing the rest of Q2 as a result, Masaki going down quite hard in the process.

The fastest rider to miss out on Q2 was Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing), who probably had the pace to make the second session, but poor track position for his final lap meant he had too much traffic, and missed out to Fenati despite the Italian’s Q1 being compromised by a crash on his first lap. The Italian duo of Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) and Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) will join Sasaki on the seventh row.

Alonso Lopez at the 2019 Misano qualifying session. Image courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol

Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) will head up row eight and will be joined by Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia), who was fast on Friday morning before a pair of crashes on the first day compromised his weekend, and Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who qualified twenty-fourth in place of brother, Can, who hurt himself on Friday and was declared unfit.

Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) has been unable to match the performance of his time-topping teammate, Arenas, throughout the weekend, and qualified down in twenty-fifth place, ahead of Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) who will join the #25 on row nine.

It was a tough qualifying session for CIP Green Power, with Darryn Binder qualifying one place ahead of teammate Tom Booth-Amos, the pair occupying the front two positions of the tenth row, whilst wildcard rider Meikon Kawakami (Fundacion Andreas Perez 77) qualified thirtieth for his first Grand Prix appearance. Fellow GP debutant, VR46-backed Italian Elia Bartolini (Sky Junior Team VR46) qualified last, in thirty-first.

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