In Austria, the qualifying session for the eleventh round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship took place on a particularly warm Red Bull Ring.
In Q1, it was Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) who topped the session from Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), with the two moving through to Q2.
Q2 saw another demolition of the field from Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). Since the middle of last year when Ducati started to beat him with horsepower and acceleration, Marquez’ mission has been to defeat the Bologna bikes. Not only has Marquez strolled away with this year’s championship, but he has also defeated Ducati in two of their best circuits: Le Mans and Brno; and beaten Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) in Mugello.
Marc Marquez Pole-sitter for the 2019 Red Bull Ring MotoGP. Image courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol
Austria is pure Ducati territory – or it has been – the gains made in engine power for this year by Honda have levelled that particular playing field and in Q2 Marquez was able to take advantage and make pole position by 0.434 seconds, a colossal margin by any standard in a regular, dry qualifying session. To beat the Ducati by 0.488 seconds over one lap when the Desmosedici has been so dominant in Austria is quite incredible. To take the record for premier class pole positions (fifty-nine now for Marquez) away from Mick Doohan at the same time is simply brilliant (coincidental) timing on the part of Marquez. He will be tough to beat in the race.
Yamaha had looked stronger than expected all weekend, and three of their four bikes were in Q2. Fabio Quartararo’s last lap on the Petronas Yamaha SRT satellite M1 was enough for second on the grid, in front of Dovizioso who will be demoralised with a distant third on the factory Desmosedici.
Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) made his first run on a medium rear tyre, and was quite fast. He was able to improve on his second run and held a position on the front row for a while. Quartararo ended the Spaniard’s hopes of starting from third, but a fourth-place start gives Vinales an opportunity tomorrow. Like Quartararo, though, he will face the problem of faster motorcycles, which around a circuit like Austria are almost impossible to defend against.
One such faster motorcycle is that of Francesco Bagnaia who made a career-best qualifying with fifth place on the GP18 Ducati, ahead of fellow satellite rider Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU), also making a career-best qualifying in sixth on last year’s RC213V.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) will start seventh after an anonymous session for the Spaniard. A distracted Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) will start from eighth, alongside Rins, and will be hoping to put in a performance that convinces Ducati to let him stay in favour of Jorge Lorenzo in the satellite Ducati outfit. Cal Crutchlow completes the third row in ninth, his best lap coming on the medium tyre in his second run.
Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) made the same decision as his teammate, Vinales, to start Q2 with a medium rear. Again, he was quite fast, but with the soft in the second run he was not able to improve enough, and could only manage tenth after Nakagami’s late lap. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team), who crashed late on in Q2, will line up alongside Rossi on row three.
Q1 was a tough battle. Whilst it was Bagnaia and Crutchlow who moved through to the second session, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) all had realistic shots at making it through. In the end, Oliveira, Morbidelli and Rabat missed out, qualifying thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth respectively.
Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) went from the highs of KTM’s first front row in Brno one week ago to sixteenth place at their home race in Spielberg. Joining the double Moto2 World Champion on the sixth row will be Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) and Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini). The second Aprilia Racing Team Gresini machine of Aleix Espargaro will head up the last row, from Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Jorge Lorenzo’s replacement at the Repsol Honda Team, Stefan Bradl, who had bike problems at the beginning of his second run.
Featured Image courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol
This weekend the Moto3 World Championship arrives in Austria for the eleventh round of the 2019 season in Spielberg.
Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) arrives in Spielberg after winning in Brno one week ago and reclaiming the championship lead which he now holds over Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) by three points after the Italian finished second in the Czech Republic. Canet has never finished on the podium in Austria, with a best finish of fifth coming in 2017. Canet will have to deal once again with the KTM’s speed deficit to the Honda this weekend, as well, which should be more pronounced at the Red Bull Ring thanks to the amount of time spent at full throttle on a Moto3 bike. On the other side, though, one of the KTM’s strongest points is its braking stability, which will be especially important in Austria with several big stops, at turns one, three and four.
One of Lorenzo Dalla Porta’s strengths is that he is fast in the straight lines, and this will be especially advantageous for the Italian this weekend at a track where he finished fifth last season. The areas where Dalla Porta will be strong this weekend, Canet should be weaker, and vice versa. This should make for an interesting race and, with this being Moto3, the two championship combatants will not be alone on the track on Sunday.
Joining the two on the podium last weekend was Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who was joined by Canet on the list of multiple Moto3 winners in 2019, which consists of only the #14 and the #44. Mostly, since Arbolino’s win in Mugello, his form has been strong and, with the exception of Sachsenring, the Italian has been fighting for the podium in each of the last five or six rounds and will hope to continue that into this weekend.
Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) was also in the podium battle in Brno, although he missed out to to Arbolino and Dalla Porta on the final lap. Masia’s debut in the World Championship was in Austria back in 2017, when he impressed with a ninth place. Masia has not won since Argentina and not stood on the podium since Mugello, has been waiting a while for a trip to the rostrum – winning on a KTM in Austria would perhaps make that wait seem more worthwhile.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) is not racing this weekend after his broken pelvis and collarbone in Brno. The Argentine will be replaced by CEV rider Jeremy Alcoba, running the #52.
This weekend, just one week on from the Czech Grand Prix, the MotoGP World Championship heads to Austria for round eleven of the 2019 season.
The Red Bull Ring (or A1 Ring, Osterreichring if you are otherwise affiliated) has traditionally been known as a ‘Ducati track’ since the Austrian Grand Prix returned to the motorcycle grand prix racing calendar in 2016. The Bologna bikes have won each of the three races held in Spielberg since its return, and with three different riders: Andrea Iannone in 2016, Andrea Dovizioso in 2017 and Joge Lorenzo in 2018. To continue their unbeaten run in the Alps this year, though, will be more difficult than ever before courtesy of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).
The first year of the Red Bull Ring saw Marquez and Honda struggle with a lack of acceleration in the RC213V thanks to its aggressive motor and the simplicity of the unified electronics software that were new for that year. Since Honda moved to a ‘big bang’ configuration in their MotoGP prototype, though, Marquez has challenged Ducati until the last corner, despite missing power compared to the Ducati in both 2017 and 2018. This year, Marquez has that power he was previously missing, and that could be the final piece to see him on his way to a first win in the Austrian Grand Prix – the only race Marquez is yet to win on the MotoGP calendar.
Andrea Dovizioso at Brno 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati
The forecast, then, looks bleak for Ducati. Having just been defeated convincingly at Brno, a track at which they were expected to be able to challenge Marquez, they are potentially staring at a first defeat in Austria, a circuit almost designed with the Desmosedici in mind, with its emphasis on straight-line performance and the track’s quantity of substantial straights and acceleration zones. For Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) to become the first multiple winner at the Red Bull Ring in its current guise, or for Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) or Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) to become the fourth winner in as many years, this Sunday is going to take a particularly strong weekend.
Marquez is the only rider to have gotten within three seconds of the winning Ducati over the line, with Jorge Lorenzo’s gap to Andrea Iannone in 2016 being 3.389 seconds when the Spaniard was third for Yamaha. The Iwata manufacturer have not had a podium in Austria since, with a best result of fifth place coming in 2017 courtesy of Johann Zarco. Last year, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the top YZR-M1 in sixth place after qualifying in fourteenth before the public apology of Yamaha to its riders on Saturday. In fact, Rossi’s average speed in the race last year was 0.4kph slower than in 2016, whereas Lorenzo was 0.4kph faster in 2018 than Iannone in 2016, and Marc Marquez was 1.3kph faster than himself in 2016. Part of Rossi’s loss of speed can be explained by his poor qualifying in 2018, but nonetheless this shows Yamaha’s relative lack of progress in the last three or four years.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) took his first finish since Barcelona in Brno, but still the Spaniard is without a podium since Jerez in May. To achieve a top three this weekend with the GSX-RR would be tough, since it has a similar problem with horsepower as the Yamaha, demonstrated especially well in Mugello. Realistically, Suzuki will be hard-pressed to make the rostrum this weekend – a top five and in front of the Yamahas would be a strong result for the GSX-RR.
This is an important race for KTM, since it is their home GP and the race track is owned by their title sponsors. The RC16 should work well in Austria, and has made significant results in the past at the Red Bull Ring in the hands of Mika Kallio in 2017 when the Finn was tenth and less than twenty seconds from the leader at the line.
Joan Mi (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) are both out of action this weekend. For Lorenzo, the issue is still the injuries from the crash in practice in Assen, while for Mir the problems are more recent, after he had a large crash in Brno at the Monday test where he reportedly found the barrier on the outside. Lorenzo will be replaced once more by Stefan Bradl this weekend, whilst there will not be a second Suzuki on track in Austria.
Featured Image courtesy of Jaime Olivares/Box Repsol
The Moto2 World Championship arrives in Austria weekend for round eleven of the 2019 World Championship from the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) comes into this round with a thirty-three-point championship lead, and colossal momentum after taking his fifth win in six races last week in Brno. Beating him this weekend will not be easy, even though the Spaniard is without a podium in Austria, such has been his dominance since Le Mans. It seems that Marquez’ understanding of the Dunlop tyres with the Triumph-powered Moto2 bikes is superior to his rivals.
That said, impressive performances from Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up) and Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) last weekend, where they were able to match Marquez’ pace throughout the race, in the case of Di Giannantonio, and especially in the closing stages, proved that Marquez is reachable. Beatable, however, is unclear, but every weekend presents a different challenge and new opportunity for Marquez’ rivals.
While Brno was a good race for Alex Marquez, for his strongest championship rival, Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) it was a disaster. The Swiss crashed out early on, giving Marquez an advantage he doesn’t need. Thirty-three points might not seem like a huge amount, but when Marquez has the pace advantage he has week after week, and keeps churning out wins, it might not be long before this world title slips out of reach of Luthi.
KTM almost won their home race last year in the hands of Miguel Oliveira, before the Portuguese was passed in the final corner by Francesco Bagnaia. Things have been more complicated for KTM this year, but an all-knew chassis – a complete redesign from KTM – for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was an apparent step in the right direction for the Austrian marque in Brno, despite the South African ending his race in the gravel. There were two podiums for Binder – who has been the standout rider on the KTM this season – before the summer break in Assen and Sachsenring, so there will be some hope in the orange camp that they can return to the rostrum in their home race despite the difficulties this season.
Jorge Navarro (Speed Up) had one of his best results of 2018 in Austria, finishing fifth on the Gresini Kalex twelve months ago. Navarro has been one of the standout riders in the intermediate class in 2019 aboard the Speed Up, and his usually strong race pace and tyre management can be a particularly strong point in Austria where traction is so important.
After missing the last three races courtesy of Stefano Manzi’s (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) error in practice at Assen, Dimas Ekky (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) is out once again this weekend. The Indonesian will be replaced by Teppei Nagoe, who replaced Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) earlier in the year.
Featured Image courtesy of Gareth Harford/ MarcVDS
After a morning of cloudless skies, the track temperature was up to 34C by the time the Moto2 riders were set to start their Czech Grand Prix in Brno, the tenth race of the season, which Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) dominated for his fifth win of the season.
Starting from pole, Marquez made a good launch, but it was not good enough to beat Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) to the holeshot. It did not take long for Marquez to reclaim the advantage, though, as he moved through for the lead at turn three.
Over the course of the next few laps, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up) established himself as Marquez’ closest challenger and, for most of the race, the Italian was the only rider who could get near the #73’s lap times. There were two seconds between Di Giannantonio and Marquez, but together they escaped from the pack, and ensured their cold war was not interfered with for the entire race.
Fabio Di Giannantonio chasing Alex Marquez, Czech Moto2, 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman/MarcVDS
The battle for the final podium spot was more visual, as Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) fought with the two SKY Racing Team VR46 bikes of Luca Marini and Nicolo Bulega, before Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) showed up on the scene as well.
Marini was eventually able to pass Schrotter with eleven laps to go, and then was able to extend a small gap. Unfortunately for the Italian, Jorge Navarro was not too delayed in passing Schrotter himself, and after doing so immediately applied the pressure to Marini.
It took a couple of laps, but Navarro was finally able to move through on Marini to take third place on lap thirteen. The Spaniard was able to stretch Marini and establish an advantage for himself, although the pressure would finally be coming from somewhere else.
Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) had been moving through the field throughout the race and was able to pass Marini with three laps to go. The gap to Navarro was up to almost one second by this point, so the task ahead of the #33 was tough, and he entered the final lap with a half-second deficit to Navarro. It was a gap which Bastianini was able to overturn by turn six, and the Italian made his move on Navarro at turn ten – just about able to pull the bike down to a late apex. From there, Bastianini was able to make an advantage for himself through turns eleven and twelve, so Navarro was unable to respond before the finish line.
Out front, though, despite the best efforts of Di Giannantonio, Marquez was untouchable once again, taking his fifth win of the season. Since Le Mans, when he has finished, no one has beaten Marquez, as his understanding of the Jerez-spec Dunlop tyre has been superior to his competitors. A crash early on for Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) means that Marquez leaves Brno with a thirty-three-point advantage at the top of the standings.
Di Giannantonio, Alex Marquez, Bastianini, Moto2 race, Czech MotGP 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman/MarcVDS
The debut Moto2 podiums for rookies Di Giannantonio and Bastianini were richly deserved. They had opposite races, with Di Giannantonio chasing lap times in his cold war with Marquez, whilst Bastianini was chasing a new target almost every lap in his fight back through the pack from the sixth row. Di Giannantonio in this race has been the only rider who has been able to match Marquez’ race pace for the whole distance since the Spaniard’s first win in France, whilst Bastianini in Brno has been the only Kalex rider to manage the tyre as well as Marquez since the same point – an impressive outing for the young Italians.
Bastianini’s last lap move relegated Navarro to fourth place, which will be a disappointment with his teammate on the rostrum. Behind Navarro, Marini completed the top five, no doubt helped this weekend by three weeks off for his shoulder to repair after a tough Sachsenring. Marcel Schrotter dropped back in the final part of the race and finished sixth ahead of liberated rookie Nicolo Bulega; whilst Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) finished eighth in front of Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who went from seventeenth to ninth. Iker Lecuona (American Racing) was the top KTM in tenth.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) was unable to capitalise on his front row start, finishing down in eleventh ahead of the two KTM rookies, Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) was fourteenth, whilst Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) took the final point on his first visit to Brno.
Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) was down in sixteenth, ahead of Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP), Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), Jonas Folger (Petronas Sprinta Racing) in late on for Khairul Idham Pawi who was unfit after Friday, and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) who completed the top twenty.
Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) was twenty-first ahead of Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP), Philipp Oettl (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who remounted after a crash on the first lap, and Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who was the final classified rider in twenty-fifth.
Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) and Tom Luthi were the first to retire on lap three, before Mattia Pasini crashed out of his first ride for Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 on the same lap as Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) dropped out. The final retirement was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), five laps from the flag – not the way KTM would have hoped the first race for their new chassis would end.
The sun was out for the Moto3 race in Brno, round ten of the 2019 World Championship, as Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) took his second win of the season and reclaimed the championship lead.
Before the start, Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) stalled his bike on the grid and missed the warm up lap. He had to start from pole position instead of third.
The front row would lose its second contender at the start, as John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) engaged the pit limiter instead of the launch button. He got away well but didn’t accelerate past the pit speed of 60kph, and was lucky to only be collected by one rider, although wildcard Yuki Kunii (Asia Talent Team) will doubtless see that differently.
It was Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who made the holeshot from pole. He was joined at the front for much of the first half of the race by teammate Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) who spent much of that period riding the outside line to maintain the lead from the group behind which was for most of the race seventeen-strong.
That group was broken up when the two Estrella Galicia 0,0 bikes collided, taking both Sergio Garcia and Alonso Lopez out of the race, and slimming the front group to ten riders.
Before this crash, three riders had been making significant progress: Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing), Niccolo Antonelli and Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power). The all benefitted from the strong effect of the slipstream throughout a lap of Brno, and were able to fight their respective ways up the order to all, at some point, at least have a look at leading the race.
Particularly Antonelli’s ride was impressive, coming from pit lane to fight for the podium and the win, setting several fastest laps along the way and not looking at risk to do any of it. Similarly, and perhaps uncharacteristically, Darryn Binder did not look to be risking much in his overtakes, although some of them were slightly late.
As the race approached its final part, the efforts of these three riders perhaps began to show, as other riders seemed to grow stronger in the closing laps, possibly as a consequence of Antonelli, Dalla Porta and Binder using more tyre to arrive in the fight at all. In comparison, their competitors were in the fight from the beginning, so did not have to apply any unnecessary stress to put themselves in a particular position.
Tony Arblino and Aron Canet. Moto3 2019: Round Ten – Brno, Czech Republic. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu
Lorenzo Dalla Porta, nonetheless, led onto the final lap, but both Tony Arblino and Aron Canet – both of whom had sat quietly in the top five for the whole race – went through at turn three. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) – similar to Arbolino and Canet in his anonymity throughout the race – passed Dalla Porta in turn five.
A mistake from Arbolino on the exit of turn nine allowed Canet to cut underneath and take the lead, whilst Dalla Porta used the slipstream to put him in the position to out-brake Masia into turn ten. Another dive from Dalla Porta in turn twelve allowed Canet to escape a little before the run up the hill. The #44 was clear into the final corner, and Dalla Porta was not close enough to slipstream him to the line.
Canet’s victory was a superb one, in which he showed just how much moving away from the Monlau setup for this year has helped him. So many times we have seen Canet sit in the group and do very little but maintain his distance to the front until the final stages this year, and in this race he perfected that strategy to take his second win of the season and reclaim the championship lead.
Dalla Porta’s second place was therefore important for the Italian, who now sits three points behind Canet as the World Championship heads to KTM’s home track in Austria. Despite a poor qualifying where he was only seventeenth, the #48 proved he has the race craft, the mentality and the intelligence to recover from that situation, and in this case that means that he remains in touch in the World Championship chase between himself and Canet.
Tony Arbolino looked strong throughout the race, but there was little he could do about Dalla Porta’s late lunge in turn twelve which cost him the chance to challenge Canet in the final two corners. Nonetheless, it was a good response from Arbolino to his difficult race in Sachsenring where he finished only fifteenth.
Jaume Masia, Moto3 race, Czech Moto2 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Jaume Masia was unable to put KTM on the podium in Brno, but his race was a good one, similar in some respects to the one he made in Mugello. He was invisible for most of the race, but was able to challenge strongly for the podium at the end, unfortunately missing out by two tenths.
After starting from pit lane, Niccolo Antonelli should be quite happy with fifth place, but when he had the opportunity entering the final lap to fight for the win it is perhaps difficult to see what he actually achieved. An attempted pass from Antonelli into the first corner dropped him to fifth place on the final lap, and unfortunately for the Italian he was unable to recover from that.
Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) had a strong ride to sixth place. Brno is a track that Ogura knows, having ridden a wildcard ride there in 2018, so a good result was to be expected – to walk away with ‘top rookie’ is nonetheless impressive and shows his potential.
Seventh place went to Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) who was also in the front group for almost the entirety of the race, but was unable to launch himself into the fight for the podium. He was ahead of Romano Fenati over the line, finishing eighth after dropping out of the lead fight at about half-distance.
Ninth place went to home rider Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP), whilst Darryn Binder eventually rounded out the top ten.
Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) took eleventh place ahead of Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who made a strong start but was unable to keep the front pace for the full distance. Thirteenth place went to Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) who fought inside the top ten in the early stages, but fell back in the second half. Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took fourteenth, whilst Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) took the final point in fifteenth.
Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) started one place behind teammate Dalla Porta, but was unable to get near the Italian’s pace and was unable to follow him through the pack, finishing sixteenth in the end. Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) was seventeenth, ahead of wildcard Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team) who crashed early on – his third crash in as many races.
Filip Salac, Moto3, Czech MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy Gold and Goose/KTM
After Yuki Kunii hit John McPhee, both riders were out. Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) joined them when he had contact with another rider in the first corner and crashed out of his home GP. Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) both finished their respective races with seventeen laps to go, before Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) dropped out as well. Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) crashed twice before he called it a day; then Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) high sided on the exit of turn seven, moments before Garcia and Lopez came together at turn nine. Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) was the final retirement with two laps to go.
In the moments after the Moto2 race in Brno, rain started to fall. This meant that as the riders lines up on the grid for the MotoGP race, the surface beneath them was wet, which wouldn’t have been a problem if the rest of the track was the same.
Between turn two and turn fourteen, the track was completely dry, but between turn fourteen and turn one the track was wet. This meant that riders would have to choose slick tyres, but starting on a wet track and heading into a wet turn one presented obvious safety risks that even Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), perhaps the most relaxed rider on the MotoGP grid when it comes to non-ideal conditions, acknowledged. Those problems included twenty-three bikes arriving at turn one with no grip and no temperature, and all of them leaving the grid with no traction control with slick tyres on a wet surface, such are the limitations of the control Magneti Marelli ECU.
As such, the decision was taken to delay the start of the race. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was one of the riders most clearly expressing his desire for this decision, for which he received some criticism. Ultimately, if Jack Miller thinks it is unsafe, it is probably unsafe.
The Start of the 2019 Brno MotoGP race. Image courtesy of @JaimeOLIVARES/ Box Repsol
The race finally got underway thirty-five minutes late. One of the hopes among fans was that dry conditions would prevent Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) from repeating his Saturday performance when he took pole position by 2.524 seconds with slick tyres on a wet track, where the dry line was maybe two-tyre-widths-wide at its widest and non-existent at its frequent narrowest. Nonetheless, Marquez made the holeshot.
One of the issues with the conditions at the race start was the inconsistency in grip across the track, with the left side of the grid – where the front of each row was – was dry, compared to the middle which was partly wet and the right side which was mostly wet. This meant that while the likes of Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Valentino Rossi were able to make clean starts from dry grid slots, the likes of Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) from KTM’s first MotoGP front row or Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) from the back of the third row struggled more for grip off the line.
With Miller alongside Marquez on the grid, and the Spaniard making the holeshot, the ‘holeshot device’ on the Ducati was made to look relatively useless. But it was the performance off the line of Andrea Dovizioso which showed its potential, as the Italian was steaming up to Marquez as they approached turn one, but did not have the over-speed to pass the championship leader.
Behind Dovizioso were Jack Miller and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), with these three and Marquez pulling clear of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in the opening stages.
Andrea Dovizioso during the 2019 Brno MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Tino Martino/Ducati
It is normal to see Dovizioso lead. He likes to control the pace at the front of the race, to look after his tyres so he can fight at the end. Perhaps the fact that the Italian was consistently 0.3-0.5 seconds behind Marquez put the writing on the wall. There was no challenge to Marquez’ leadership in the first half of the race and, as the tyres started to drop further in the second half, Marquez’ pace maintained, whereas for the three behind him it started to drop.
Lights-to-flag race wins were a rarity for Marquez before 2019, but they seem to be his preferred method now, perhaps as a result of the slightly weaker front end on the 2019 RC213V, or perhaps a simple realisation on the part of the pilot: that he doesn’t need to fight, he can just run away. Running away is a much more simple way of winning races, although difficult to do in the current age of MotoGP, where the bikes are so close and the operating windows for the tyres are so narrow. But Marquez and Honda have found a way this year to effect this, and it has been devastating. Winning in Brno (Marquez’ fiftieth premier class triumph), considered a Ducati track previously, might be the final nail in the 2019 MotoGP World Championship coffin – or, if you’re Marquez, the beginning of the engraving process on you’re sixth premier class plate.
Marc Marquez, winner of the 2019 Brno MotoGP. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
Behind Marquez, Dovizioso was able to pull away from Alex Rins who, for a couple of laps, was beginning to look half-threatening to Dovizioso. But Rins’ tyres went away and Dovizioso escaped to a relatively depressing second place, which leaves him sixty-three points behind Marquez ahead of Austria next weekend.
When Rins’ tyres dropped, Jack Miller took advantage, and took third place. Rins had a look over his shoulder and confirmed that his only focus was Miller with no pressure from Cal Crutchlow (LC Honda CASTROL) behind. Although he had the focus, Rins did not have the grip, and so Miller was able to claim his second podium of the season after he was also third in Texas back in April.
Miller is known as a strong wet weather rider, and one who is strong in mixed conditions, or when the tyre doesn’t match the surface. It is perhaps then no surprise that Miller was the only rider to even get remotely close to challenging Marquez in qualifying, just let down by the timing of his switch to slicks. However, it should be noted that Miller’s two podiums this year have come in the dry, and also that they came on weekends where grip was limited.
It is slightly paradoxical that the most aggressive riders, like Marquez and Miller, should be so strong in low-grip, compared to a gentle, smooth rider like Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) or Dovizioso. But, their comfort with the bike sliding is their advantage when all the bike wants to do is slide.
Alex Rins was resigned to fourth place at the end, showing Suzuki still need to find something to protect the tyre in low-grip conditions. Importantly, though, it was Rins’ first finish since Barcelona, an important weight off his shoulders after four weeks dwelling on two consecutive crashes from podium positions.
Cal Crutchlow came through well at the start, making multiple positions. After he passed Valentino Rossi for fifth, it was a straightforward race for the Briton – faster than those behind but not fast enough to catch those in front. His 6.007-second gap to Marquez highlights further how well the Spaniard is riding.
Although recently Brno has been considered a Ducati track, it is also a track which suits well the characteristics of Yamaha, with the long, sweeping corners allowing them to use their bikes advantage: mid-corner speed.
However, on Sunday the top Yamaha was Valentino Rossi in sixth place, three seconds behind Crutchlow in fifth, 5.5 seconds off the podium and 9.083 seconds behind Marquez. The positive for Rossi is that he was the top Yamaha rider, so it is arguable that there was little more he could have gotten from the M1. The Italian will need to repeat this, though, to truly respond to those calling for him to make way in the factory Yamaha team.
Fabio Quartararo, Czech MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) passed Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) just before Rossi was passed by Crutchlow. The Frenchman, though, was unable to catch Rossi in the time he had left, and ended up three seconds behind the Italian in seventh, almost two seconds ahead of Petrucci in eighth.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) finished ninth, which is probably not going to enhance his case for a factory bike in 2020, whilst Maverick Vinales’ race was ruined by his wet grid slot and the Yamaha’s lack of power making it difficult to overtake on a track like Brno – the Spaniard finished tenth.
Pol Espargaro went backwards after a good start and finished eleventh ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) who will have been content to finish. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) returned to his form of the opening races of the season to be the second KTM across the line, almost eight seconds clear of Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) finished fifteenth in what is hopefully his penultimate replacement ride for Jorge Lorenzo.
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) took sixteenth place ahead of Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who beat teammate Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) to seventeenth by three tenths. Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) could only manage nineteenth in his home race, whilst Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was twentieth and last on his wildcard appearance.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) crashed out on lap one with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) when the Italian had contact with Zarco. Morbidelli went down and Mir had no chance to avoid the #21 Yamaha. Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) was the only other retirement.
Featured Image courtesy of Jesus Robledo Blanco/Box Repsol
Rain before the Moto3 qualifying session in Brno meant the track was wet for the MotoGP riders as they went out for qualifying, but a halt in the rainfall meant the track was drying throughout both sessions.
In Q1, the track started out with already a dry line forming, and throughout the session the times scrolled downwards. Johann Zarco and Pol Espargaro moved through the Q2 for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. It was the first time Zarco had participated in Q2 for the Austrian marque, and the first time this season two RC16s has featured in the pole positions shootout.
In Q2 the track dried sufficiently for several riders to try slick tyres with time for four laps. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who made the most of the slicks. Despite rain in the final sector on his final lap, he was able to take pole by 2.524 seconds in a display of outstanding riding talent and technique. It would have been quite easy for Marquez to decide that, with a fifty-eight-point lead in the championship, it was not worth the risk to push for pole position, a risk that could have taken him out of this weekend’s Czech Grand Prix and the Austrian GP next weekend, if not more. But take the risk he did and he was rewarded justly for it.
Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was a few seconds behind Marquez on the track, which was just far enough to mean that when he arrived in the final corner on his final lap, there was too much water for his slick tyre, and down he went. Nonetheless, his first lap on slicks was fast enough for second on the grid.
Johann Zarco made the most of his first Q2 appearance of 2019 to put his factory KTM on the back of the front row, the best qualifying position in KTM’s short MotoGP history. After the difficult season Zarco has had, and the war of words between Zarco and KTM away from the track this season, this result is precisely what was needed for both sides to repair their relationship.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was one of only four riders to stay on wets after most had switched to slicks, one of the others being Zarco. It paid off for the Italian, who was able to improve in the final few minutes to, initially, go third. Miller’s second-place lap dropped Dovizioso to row two, but with Ducati’s holeshot device there should be a good chance for Dovizioso to try and control the race as he likes to tomorrow.
Another of the riders to stick with wets was Pol Espargaro who qualified fifth, whilst Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was unable to improve on dry tyres and wound up sixth.
Valentino Rossi in 2019 Brno MotoGP Qualifying. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Valentino Rossi’s final lap on the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1 put him seventh, which was a significant improvement for the Italian after his first run left him only eleventh. This was Rossi’s best qualifying since Le Mans when he was fifth. The Italian will be joined by compatriot Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammate, Maverick Vinales, on row three tomorrow.
Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) qualified tenth after he wasn’t able to make his slicks work. The Frenchman will be joined on row four by Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT).
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) was the fastest rider to not make Q2, and will be joined by Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Suzuki wildcard Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on row five.
Row six sees Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) line up alongside Jorge Lorenzo’s replacement at the Repsol Honda Team, Stefan Bradl, and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), whilst Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) heads up row seven from home favourite Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3).
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) will start from twenty-second, whilst Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will complete the grid in twenty-third.
Featured Image courtesy of Jesus Robledo Blanco/Box Repsol
Rain between MotoGP qualifying and Moto2 qualifying meant the track was once more wet for the intermediate class sessions in Brno for round ten of the 2019 World Championship.
In Q1, it was Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who took the top spot, moving through to Q2 along with Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP), Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3).
Alex Marquez, Moto2, Czech MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman/Marc VDS
Having just seen his brother annihilate the MotoGP field with slick tyres on a drying track, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) replicated that performance as he took pole position at the end of Moto2 Q2 with slicks on a drying track. It was a stunning lap from Marquez, who had over two seconds to his nearest rival, Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), who will line up second tomorrow having not run wet tyres in the first part of Q2. Joining Marquez and Lowes on the front row is Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) who will be hoping for a return to form in the first race after the summer break.
Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) has looked strong all weekend, and was able to translate his practice promise into a strong qualifying performance as he went fourth-fastest, ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up) and an impressive Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) who, like Bulega, took his best qualifying in Moto2.
Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) qualified seventh ahead of Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Jake Dixon who, too, took his best qualifying position in the Moto2 World Championship.
Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) completes the top ten of the grid and heads up row four, ahead of Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) and Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP), who will be up against it tomorrow to take it to championship leader and pole sitter Marquez from twelfth.
Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) was fast on the wet tyre, but switched to slicks too late to be able to set a lap time, he will start from the front of the fifth row ahead of Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team).
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) could only put the brand new KTM chassis in sixteenth, and will start from the sixth row alongside Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) and Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team).
Jorge Martin, Czech Moto2, 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
The fastest rider to not make Q2 was Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who will head up row seven from a bitterly disappointed Joe Roberts (American Racing), a crash costing the American a Q2 appearance. Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) completes row seven.
Row eight sees Somkiet Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) ahead of Iker Lecuona (American Racing) and Mattia Pasini (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2); whilst Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) heads up row nine from Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward).
Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) goes tomorrow from the front of row ten in twenty-eighth, ahead of Jonas Folger (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward); whilst Philipp Oettl (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) will be alone one the last row.
Dimas Ekky (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) did not take part in qualifying, having been declared unfit after FP1, still suffering the after-effects of his collision with Stefano Manzi in Assen.
Qualifying for the Moto3 World Championship in Brno began in wet conditions, as rain prior to the session soaked the track.
Q1 saw Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) top the session from Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race), Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) despite a late crash for the Turk. These would be the four riders to move through to Q2.
The rain got heavier throughout Q2, but just before its intensity peaked for the session, Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) was able to put himself clear of the pack by eight tenths. Although this gap was soon reduced, no one was able to beat the Italian’s 2’18.020 lap time which gained the #14 pole position for the Czech Grand Prix.
Tony Arbolino Pole setter for the Brno Moto3 2019 race. Image courtesy of Honda Pro Racing
A late lap from John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) in the height of the rain’s intensity was enough to put the Scotsman second on the grid, whilst Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was a few seconds behind McPhee on track and, despite having to pass Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) in the penultimate corner, was able to qualify third-fastest.
Starting from the front row is always important, but especially in Brno it can be useful to take a good grid position to avoid the inevitable melee in turn three on the opening lap.
The front of the second row will be occupied tomorrow by Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), and the Japanese will be joined on row two by Raul Fernandez who crashed late on in Q2, and Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) who will be buoyed overnight by the start-line advantage he has over his main championship rival, Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing).
Row three sees Makar Yurchenko start from his career-best qualifying position of seventh, with Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) and Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) joining him on the third row.
Alonso Lopez completes the top ten and heads up row four, ahead of fellow Honda riders, Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers), who was on the podium in Brno back in 2017 in the wet, and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia).
Can Oncu was able to get out for Q2 despite his crash at the end of Q1 and qualified thirteenth ahead of Filip Salac and Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) who join the Turk on row five.
Can Oncu, Czech Moto3 qualifying 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Row six sees Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) ahead of the two Leopard Racing bikes of Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Marcos Ramirez, in seventeenth and eighteenth respectively. Dalla Porta had a bike problem – possibly a symptom of a gear-change issue from FP3 in the morning – at the beginning of the session and had limited track time as a result. The slipstream is strong in Brno thanks to the quantity of straights, despite their short length, and Dalla Porta will need to make the most of this tomorrow if he is to reach Canet who is starting eleven positions ahead.
Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) crashed in Q1 and was the first of the riders to be eliminated from the first session. He will be joined on row seven by last year’s pole sitter Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) and Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power).
Row eight sees Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) – confirmed to be leaving the VR46 organisation at the end of 2019 – in front of wildcard Yuki Kunii (Asia Talent Team) and Sachsenring pole sitter Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing).
Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) heads up row nine ahead of Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and wildcard Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo); whilst Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) heads up the last row from Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power), who crashed in Q1, and Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77).
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) did not take part in qualifying after a free practice 2 crash on Friday afternoon which left him with a broken pelvis and collarbone, and out of at least the Czech and Austrian rounds of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship.
