Xavi Fores (Honda Racing) took pole position, his first in BSB. Knockhill is a peculiar circuit, so to take pole position there with wet conditions and a bike which is not considered among the best is quite impressive.
Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW Motorrad) qualified second but a late crash means his ability to start tomorrow’s race is uncertain. In any case, it is the best qualifying result for the 2019 S1000RR.
Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) would have been on pole position courtesy of his time in FP3 had qualifying been cancelled. As it was, the Essex rider was able to set the third-fastest time so will start from the front row in race one.
Tarran Mackenzie at BSB Knockhill 2019. Image courtesy of Impact Images/ McAMS Yamaha
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) qualified fourth ahead of what will be an important pair of races tomorrow. The #95 didn’t score in Brands Hatch thanks to his qualifying crash, so needs to score well tomorrow to get his championship back on track. Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) and Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW Motorrad) will join Mackenzie on the second row.
The rookie Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) qualified seventh in his first full-wet session on a Superbike. The 2015 British Supersport Champion will be joined by Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) and fellow rookie, the hydrophilic Ben Currie (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki), on the third row.
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing) was the top Ducati and heads up row four from Dan Linfoot (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) and the historically hydrophobic Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki); whilst row five sees Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) ahead of James Ellison (Smiths Racing) and four-time 2019 winner Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati).
Brookes’ teammate, Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) also had a difficult session as he learned the Pirelli wet tyres for the first time. The ex-MotoGP rider qualified sixteenth, and will be joined by Claudio Corti (Team WD-40) and Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing) who normally shows better than eighteenth in the wet – or any conditions for that matter.
Joe Francis (Lloyd & Jones Bowker Motorrad) qualified inside the top twenty for the second time in his rookie BSB campaign as he took the nineteenth fastest time on the 2018-spec S1000RR. The #40 will be joined on row seven by Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) and Matt Truelove (Raceways Yamaha).
David Allingham (EHA Yamaha), Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki) and Dean Hipwell (CDH Racing) make up row eight, whilst the remaining riders – Fraser Rogers (Gearlink Kawasaki), Sam Coventry (Team 64 Motorsports), Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Racing) and Shaun Winfield (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) – were all outside the 107% cut-off time.
The Moto2 World Championship qualifying for the 2019 Dutch TT got underway in the middle of the European heatwave.
The air was hot, the track was hot and so was Lorenzo Baldassarri’s pace at the beginning of Q1 for the Flexbox HP 40 squad, as he went to the top. At the top was where the Italian would stay, and he was joined in moving through to Q2 by Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up), Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46).
It was threatened until the final seconds but @GardnerRemy takes his FIRST EVER Grand Prix pole position! ???
In Q2 it was Remy Gardner (OMEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who continued his table-topping form from FP3 to take his first career front row and pole position, ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who has seen a return to form in Holland to start from the back of the front row.
The winner of the last three races, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) will start from the head of row two ahead of Sam Lowes and top rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up); whilst Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) will start from seventh ahead of Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team).
Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) completes the grid’s top ten and heads up row four from Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP); whilst Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) heads up row five ahead of Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who was strong in the first part of the lap but continually missed out in the second half.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) crashed in the beginning of Q2 and despite being able to get back out on track was unable to better his Q1 time and qualified just sixteenth. The Italian will be joined on the sixth row by Iker Lecuona (American Racing) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46).
Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) was the fastest rider to not make Q2 and will start from nineteenth ahead of Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech3).
Marco Bezzecchi KTM Moto2 TT Circuit Assen 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Jonas Folger (Petronas Sprinta Racing) will start from twenty-second, ahead of Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who is for the first time at a track he knows in 2019. Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) will start from twenty-fifth, ahead of Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) and Joe Roberts (American Racing) on the ninth row.
Row ten sees Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) ahead of Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) who received a back-of-the-grid penalty for causing Dimas Ekky’s practice two crash on Friday, which has taken the Indonesian out of the weekend.
The dry conditions of Friday remained on Saturday for the Moto3 World Championship, as the lightweight class riders qualified for the eighth round of the 2019 season.
Q1 saw Lorenzo Dalla porta (Leopard Racing) fire in a late lap to top the session, whilst his teammate, Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing), joined him in advancing to Q2 along with Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo).
In Q2, it was Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) who took his second pole position of the season, and the lap record with it. Two of the last three Moto3 races have been won from pole (John McPhee for Petronas Sprinta Racing in Le Mans and Tony Arbolino for VNE Snipers in Mugello) so there is a good chance for Antonelli to score his second win of the season tomorrow.
Kaito Toba was nearly able to give Honda Team Asia and their beautiful retro paint for this weekend pole position, but he missed his final lap. His first flying lap was enough for second place, though, so he will start from the middle of the front row tomorrow.
On the back of row one is Tony Arbolino, who was seventeenth until his final lap which put him third to ensure Toba is the Japanese meat in the Italian sandwich.
Row two is the inverse of row one, with Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) in fourth and Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) in sixth either side of fifth-placed Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46).
Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) has had a strong weekend but could only manage seventh on the grid ahead of the top two of the championship in reverse order, with Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) in eighth ahead of Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) in ninth.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) was fortunate to set a time at all with the state he got himself into in the final chicane on his first lap, but stayed on and his second run put him tenth ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) on row four.
Row five sees Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) ahead of Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) and Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race); whilst Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) is ahead of Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) and Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) on row six.
Alonso Lopez at Assen TT Moto3 2019. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
Row seven sees Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) and John McPhee ahead of Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46). Row eight is one of penalised riders, with Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Riders Mugen Race) ahead of Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) bumped six places from seventeenth due to his causing of a big crash in Montmelo, and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) bumped six places for colliding with Aron Canet in free practice.
Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) starts twenty-fifth ahead of Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) and Stefano Nepa who is replacing Vicente Perez at Reale Avintia Arizona 77 for the rest of the year. Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) heads up the last row, from wildcard Ryan van der Lagemaat (Qnuim Racing) and Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3).
Track temperatures approaching fifty degrees greeted the MotoGP riders when they went out for qualifying at Assen, the eighth round of the 2019 World Championship.
Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was fifth in free practice three, but had his lap cancelled for exceeding track limits. Nonetheless, it was expected that the factory Yamaha rider would move through to Q2, because he had looked quite good on hot-lap speed through the weekend. However, the Italian was not fast enough, and it was Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who went through with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took the lap record and the third pole position of his rookie year in MotoGP with a 1’32.017. He nearly broke the 1’32 barrier on his final flying lap but missed out in the final sector. He then set his airbag off celebrating his pole. The Frenchman has had outstanding pace this weekend, and if he can get away and do his rhythm from the start he has a great chance of his first MotoGP win.
Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) will line up second on the grid tomorrow after a superb lap from the Spaniard. If he makes a start he might be one of the only riders who can go with Quartararo.
Another rider to have a chance of going with Quartararo is Alex Rins, who went through qualifying one to qualify third. The TT Assen circuit suits the Suzuki and the Yamaha well, with the long flowing corners suiting the nimble, stable front ends on the YZR-M1 and the GSX-RR. Quartararo, Vinales and Rins made the most of this in this qualifying.
Whilst Assen works for Suzuki and Yamaha, it has not worked for Honda this year, with Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) out of the weekend after a big crash at turn seven on Friday. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL), too, have been suffering with the front end of the 2019 RC213V this weekend which has visibly missed stability. Marquez, even, was unable to continue his one-hundred per cent front row record for 2019, and he lines up fourth for the 2019 Dutch TT, although his front end save in turn one was perhaps the highlight of the session.
Is it possible to save a bike at 67 degrees lean angle?! ?
With Marquez on the second row are Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) who was the second-fastest Honda on the 2018 version.
Cal Crutchlow was seventh fastest in Q2, ahead of the top Ducati, Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) who was eighth. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) completes row three.
Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) heads up row four from Andrea Dovizoso (Mission Winnow Ducati) who seemed to go backwards on Saturday. Pol Espargaro was twelfth-fastest.
Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) lines up at the head of row five on Sunday, ahead of Valentino Rossi and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini); whilst Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) heads up row six from the two KTMs of Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who fell at De Strubben in the closing stages of Q1.
Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3) heads up the back row, from Andrea Iannone (Aprilia acing Team Gresini) who will be disappointed after a good weekend. Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) will start from last.
This weekend the British Superbike Championship heads to Scotland and Knockhill for round five of the 2019 season, with Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing) leading the general championship.
Despite holding the points lead, Bridewell is at a deficit to both Be Wiser Ducati riders, Josh Brookes and Scott Redding, in the podium points which will already hold a greater significance for these three riders at this stage of the season, such is the format of the championship. Since the podium points structure was changed to 5-3-1 (five for a win, three for second, one for third) a few years ago the importance of reaching the top step in the first part of the season has grown in importance, and it is something Bridewell is yet to do in 2019, nor has he achieved it in the BSB class in Knockhill.
Josh Brookes at BSB Brands Hatch 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati
In comparison, the Be Wiser duo have won each of the last seven races, with Brookes doubling in Oulton Park at round two, as well as last time out in Brands Hatch; whilst Scott Redding did the triple at Donington back in the end of May. It has been Bridewell’s consistency that has him at the top of the points, but the high peaks of the PBM riders have countered their troughs to allow them to be clear at the top of the podium points.
This weekend, with respect to the Ducati riders, will be an interesting one, as Knockhill is arguably the track at which the Panigale V4R is likely to have the least advantage compared to its rivals, such is the lack of time at full throttle at the Scottish track. That said, the anti-wheelie provided by the winglets will be of some help in the undulating front straight off the bottom-gear final corner. Furthermore, the Ducati’s advantage cannot be underestimated – not only has the V4R won the last seven races, it has taken fourteen of the last twenty-one podium positions and hasn’t been off the podium since race two in Silverstone. Even still, not only does Knockhill fail to play to Ducati’s biggest strength, but it has also never seen a victory by any of the Ducati riders expected to be fighting at the front this weekend, despite a plethora of podiums from Josh Brookes in Scotland throughout his BSB career.
Perhaps, then, this weekend could provide an opportunity for the non-Ducati riders to reclaim some ground. Particularly, Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) will be hoping to make the podium this weekend after his double-DNS last time out in Brands thanks to his qualifying crash and resulting concussion. In his home race, Mackenzie and his nimble Yamaha could have a strong chance to take it to the V4R and pick up their first win since Silverstone race two.
Additionally, Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing) will be hoping to arrive on the podium this weekend for the first time in 2019, as will the two Tyco BMW Motorrad riders, Christian Iddon and Keith Farmer. The three were quite well-matched in Brands Hatch, and the non-stop layout of Knockhill should suit the 2019 S1000RR and its sweet handling chassis well.
Tarran Mackenzie. Image courtesy of Impact Images Photography/McAMS Yamaha
In the absence of Mackenzie in Brands Hatch, it was Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) who was the ‘best of the rest’ behind the Ducati riders. Buchan went 3-3 last year in Knockhill, and will be looking to add to his two 2019 podiums achieved so far (3-3 in Oulton Park) this weekend, and to put Kawasaki on the top step for the first time in BSB this year.
MotoGP heads to the Netherlands this weekend and the Circuit van Drenthe for the 70th Dutch TT at Assen, round eight of the 2019 World Championship.
Normally, arriving in Assen means uncertainty over the weather, but 2019 seems as though it will be as 2018, with no threat of rain and warm conditions throughout the weekend in stark contrast to the snow-affected Saturday of the Dutch World Superbike round back in April.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) arrives in Assen as the championship leader, having won four of the seven races so far in 2019. The Honda rider’s points lead grew much healthier last time out in Barcelona, when two of his three proposed rivals for the title failed to finish whilst the #93 took a comfortable win. Indeed, the reigning World Champion also won in Assen twelve months ago, in what was one of the most thrilling races of recent times with a group of eight riders battling it out for the win almost from lights to flag. But it was Marquez who made the escape, and at a track at which Marquez has won five times in his Grand Prix career – including twice in the premier class, 2014 and 2018 – stopping him from doing the same this weekend will be a tough ask.
Valentino Rossi on the grid at the 2019 Barcelona MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has ten wins in Assen, the last one coming back in 2017. Indeed, that 2017 triumph remains his latest, and ending the two-year wait for victory will not be easy this weekend. Whilst Marquez will surely be contending for the win on Sunday, things are less obvious with The Doctor, who has struggled for consistency with his YZR-M1. Only two podiums have come Rossi’s way in 2019 so far, the most recent at round three in Texas and, whilst it looked as though he would be in the fight for the rostrum last time out in Barcelona, his retirement on the second lap meant it was impossible to tell.
However, if the Yamaha works well this weekend, expect not only Rossi to be fighting at the front, but also his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammate, Maverick Vinales, to be there as well. The Spaniard has only two wins in Assen, and they came back-to-back in 2011 and 2012 – the last ever 125cc Dutch TT and the first Moto3 World Championship race in the Netherlands. That said, in 2017 – when Rossi was victorious – Vinales had arguably the stronger pace, but a poor qualifying meant he was pushing hard to come through the field – too hard, and he crashed at the final chicane. Vinales’ poor qualifying has been a trait of his time at Yamaha, as have his poor starts. He finally made a good one in Barcelona, and looked to have the potential to fight for the podium in those early stages before his race was cut short, like Rossi’s, on the second lap.
Perhaps the biggest star of Catalunya was Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who took pole in qualifying and finished the race in second place. The Frenchman’s first podium came arguably six weeks later than it should have, considering his pace in Jerez, but it came at the right time. Quartararo was on the podium in Assen in his first race there, back in 2015 in the Moto3 class as well as last year in the Moto2 race. The #20’s silky-smooth riding style has gelled well with the Yamaha this season, and after taking his fist podium in Montmelo, the first trip to the premier class top step will be on Quartararo’s agenda this weekend.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) has only three podiums in Assen, but that includes one last year when he was second only to Marc Marquez, and stuffed Maverick Vinales in the Ramshoek on the final lap. Rins had podium pace but not the straight line speed to get there in Barcelona – Danilo Petrucci’s Mission Winnow Ducati proving an intense annoyance for the Spaniard – but with the lack of emphasis on straight line performance in Assen there is a chance for Rins to return to the rostrum, and perhaps even add to his win tally this weekend at a circuit which should suit the Suzuki as well as the Yamaha, and for all the same reasons.
Whilst the low top speeds and limited number of hard accelerations, combined with the long, fast, flowing corners of Assen suit the Yamaha and Suzuki, they in theory work hard against the Ducati. The last podium for Ducati in Assen was 2017, with Petrucci – then on the satellite Pramac machine. In comparison, though, their last win in Holland was back in 2008 with Casey Stoner, and Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) has only three premier class podiums in Assen – one on Honda, one on Yamaha, and his only Dutch TT Ducati rostrum came in the mixed conditions of 2014. Last year the Desmosedici’s superior acceleration kept it in the podium fight, as Dovizioso was able to respond to overtakes in the final chicane immediately into turn one. This could prove the bane of Yamaha this year, but for Honda and Suzuki perhaps not, such have been their horsepower gains since 2018.
The Moto3 World Championship heads to Assen this weekend, for the eighth round of the 2019 season following on from Marcos Ramirez’ (Leopard Racing) debut win two weeks ago in Montmelo.
Ramirez’ win was the fruit of his move back to Leopard Racing, with whom he fought for the 2016 CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship, and his first rostrum appearance since round one at Qatar. The result moved him up to eighth in the championship, fifty-four points off the top of the standings.
Marcos Ramirez winner of the Moto3 2019: Round Seven – Catalunya, Barcelona. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu
Somewhat closer to the summit of the World Championship is Ramirez’ Leopard Racing teammate, Lorenzo Dalla Porta, who has returned to form in the last three races and was unfortunate to drop out of the Catalan GP his teammate won due to bike problems early on in the race. This weekend, the Tuscan will be after his first rostrum on Dutch soil and to close his twenty-three-point deficit to Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) who is atop the standings.
Canet’s first appearance in Holland was astonishing. He was the fastest rider throughout the weekend, then riding the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda, and should have had pole position but for a crash in the first part of qualifying which meant he started at the back. In the race, he charged through the pack and looked, despite the poor starting position, like he could challenge for the win, but a crash in the final chicane ended his chances. Canet seems reformed this season, having finished every race inside the points, and all but one (Argentina, where he was twelfth) inside the top ten. Additionally, Canet has been on the podium in three of the seven races so far, including one win in Texas. Another extension of his championship advantage this weekend would start to set off the alarms for his rivals.
Celestino Vietti in the Catalunya Moto3 race 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose / KTM
Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) made a last corner, last lap move for the final rostrum spot in Barcelona. It was his third podium in Grands Prix and his second of the season. Like Canet, Vietti has finished outside the top ten only once in 2019, back in Argentina. Vietti’s consistency in his rookie season in the World Championship means he currently sits fourth in the standings, only twelve points behind Dalla Porta in second and thirty-five away from Canet. It will be interesting to see how the Italian fares on his first visit to Assen, known not only for being one of the fastest, most exciting circuits of the year, but also one of the most difficult to learn.
Third in the championship at the moment is Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse), despite his absence from the podium this year barring his win in Jerez. It is Antonelli’s seventh season in Moto3, so he certainly won’t have the problem facing Vietti for this weekend. Instead, Antonelli’s issue this weekend could be the one which has seemed to face him throughout the year, and that is his mid-race pace. The Italian has tended to slip back in the pack in the middle part of the races this year, falling to the fringes of the top ten and outside of it. In Barcelona a mistake forced him down the order, and after recovering to eighth place the #23 ran wide in turn seven, and he finished eleventh. Antonelli has had the pace this year, but seemingly not the race-craft.
Keep an eye out for Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) this weekend. The Spaniard has been quite inconsistent this season, at least since the arrival of the championship in Europe. Whereas race-craft has been one of the weak points for Antonelli this year, for Masia it has been a strong point, with Mugello being a prime example when he came from an almost invisible race to land himself a podium spot with an excellent out-braking manoeuvre and some fantastic bike-placement on the final lap.
Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), too, should be competitive this weekend after Celestino Vietti’s Catalan GP podium came at the expense of the Spaniard’s prospective third place, after he had led for much of the race.
Two weeks on from a third consecutive masterclass by Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), the Moto2 World Championship heads to Assen for round eight of the 2019 season.
His Catalan Grand Prix win gave Marquez the World Championship lead, one that he holds by seven points from Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP), although Marquez has two more victories than the Swiss. Marquez has only two podiums, though, in Assen, when he won dominantly in 2014 in the Moto3 class, and last year when Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) suffered a puncture in the closing stages of the race which cost him second place. However, his recent form means Marquez goes into this weekend as the favourite.
Alex Marquez, Moto2 race, Catalunya MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman and Marc VDS
In fact, Marquez is the only rider racing in the Moto2 class this weekend who was on the podium last year in the intermediate category. Tom Luthi, though, was second in 2017, although his previous Dutch TT podium before that was back in 2010. In all, Luthi has only three podiums across all classes in Assen, the first coming in the 250cc class back in 2008. His form this year has been good, with four podiums from the first seven races, the lowest finish being the sixth place in Le Mans and only one DNF, back in Argentina when he clipped the back wheel of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo). However, if Luthi wants to challenge Marquez for the title this year he needs to start beating him on track.
The same could be said for Lorenzo Baldassarri. The Italian was dominant in the first part of the season, unbeatable when he kept his backside off the asphalt. Since Le Mans, however, things have not gone so well for #7, with two crashes in the three races since then (in addition to the one in Texas when he collided with Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on the opening lap in turn ten) and a fourth in the other. As previously mentioned, it was a puncture which cost Baldassarri a podium last year, and it could have cost him the win, since he was closing down eventual winner Francesco Bagnaia in the final stages of the race. The Pons rider needs to return to the podium this weekend and, as Luthi, get the better of Marquez if he wants to continue to challenge for the title. Qualifying will be the key to this. When Baldassarri qualifies poorly he tends to crash, perhaps pushing too hard to try to make up for the time lost at the stat when mired in the pack. Start up front, however, and he has a chance.
Jorge Navarro and Fabio Di Giannantonio at the 2019 Moto 2 Barcelona race. Image courtesy of Speed Up Racing
Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) returned to the podium last time out in Barcelona with third place – his fourth rostrum visit of the season. Perhaps more was expected of the Spaniard and his Italian chassis, as Fabio Quartararo has won on it a year before. Similarly, Quartararo was second in Assen last year, so Navarro should be hopeful of a good weekend in the Netherlands, as should his teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up), who was second in Assen on his first visit back in 2016, although he crashed in 2017 and was only ninth last year. Di Gianntantonio had something of a breakthrough weekend in the Moto2 class last time out in Montmelo, despite his crash in the race, so could be running up at the front again this weekend.
Similarly, Di Giannantonio’s fellow Italian Moto2 rookies, Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) have had good rookie seasons so far, Bastianini exceptionally so with two top fives in the last two races and seven out of seven finishes in the top ten. Bulega, on the other hand, has shows some flashes of speed but has been unable to transform that into a race result as yet.
Featured image courtesy of Gareth Harford /Marc VDS
The rain of Saturday had disappeared on Sunday morning for the Superpole race at round seven of the 2019 Superbike World Championship in Misano, which proved to be one of the most dramatic races of the season.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) made the holeshot from pole position, and Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) made a good start from the middle of the front row. In third palce after turn one was Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) who had made good early progress from fifth on the grid.
Bautista was able to use the power of the Ducati to put himself in the position to pass Cortese into turn eight on the second lap, and he immediately closed the gap down to Rea out front. As they moved onto lap three, Bautista once more used the power of the Ducati, this time to storm straight past Rea before they arrived at the braking zone for turn one.
From then on, there was little, Rea could do about the Spaniard, who was able to pull away in the straights and seemed to have an advantage in the mid-corner and pulled away in a way which we have seen on many occasions this year. Bautista’s win was his fifteenth from eighteen WSBK races and his seventeenth top-three. Additionally, for Ducati it was their thirtieth WSBK win in Misano, the most of any manufacturer.
Rea, then, was resigned to second place once more. Initially, he was under pressure from Sandro Cortese who was able to go with Rea’s pace once he had settled into his rhythm. However, Cortese fell at the final corner on lap seven and threw away what looked to be a certain front row start for the second race.
Alex Lowes at Misano WSBK 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Cortese’s crash elevated Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) to third place and a provisional front row start, but this became second for Lowes when Rea crashed at Tramonto. The reigning World Champion looked to lose the rear slightly as he released the brake, and when he touched the throttle, he folded the front. It was a bizarre crash, as when the tyres gripped the bike rolled on top of Rea as he held onto the Kawasaki to try to limit the damage caused to the bike. Fortunately for the Northern Irishman, there was little damage at all, and he was able to resume quite quickly in sixth place, although with limited time to improve his position.
Rea’s crash solidified Lowes’ position on the front row for race two, whilst Rea himself was now headed for a second row start in the second race. It also promoted Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) to the front row, although an expiration for the S1000RR put an end to those hopes.
The retirement of Sykes allowed Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into third, and he was able to hold onto it after coming out on top in his race-long battle with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) who finished fourth.
Fifth place went to Rea, who was promoted from sixth when Sykes retired, whilst Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) finished ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team), wildcard Michele Pirro (BARNI Racing Team), Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Eugene Laverty’s replacement Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Goeleven) who rounded out the top ten.
Eleventh place went to Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha), Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK), Yuki Takahashi (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) and Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) who took the last point.
Dominic Schmitter (IXS Racing powered by YART) was sixteenth, ahead of Chaz Davies (ARBUA.IT Racing – Ducati) who crashed early on and finished seventeenth.
Samuele Cavalieri (Motocorsa Racing) was the first retirement on the first lap, before one of the heroes of Saturday’s wet race, Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) crashed on lap four. The only other retirements were the aforementioned Sandro Cortese and Tom Sykes.
The 2019 Moto3 World Championship had its seventh race of the season in Barcelona. Despite the race taking place before noon, the track temperature was exceptionally high.
Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) took the early lead with the holeshot from Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) and Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse), although Suzuki was down at turn ten on the first lap with contact with Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team).
Tony Arbolino leading the 2019 Moto3 race – Round Seven – Catalunya, Barcelona. Image courtesy of HondaNews.Eu
By the end of the first lap, it was Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) who was able to come to the front, ahead of Canet and Arbolino. By this point, there was already something of a breakaway group of eleven riders.
This was reduced to ten, however, when Dalla Porta’s Honda expired at the end of lap three. Dalla Porta’s bike let go on the exit of turn thirteen, and the pack behind was lucky to avoid the luckless Italian.
There was then a pileup in turn four, involving both Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team riders, Albert Arenas and Raul Fernandez, as well as Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP), Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) and Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0). This didn’t change the leading order too much, but it created some gaps in the field, with the front group now a distinctive thirteen, with Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) and Ryusei Yamanaka (Estrella Galicia 0,0) just off the back.
Tony Arbolino hit the front with eleven laps to go. He then gave up the lead immediately as he ran out wide in turn three. It was a strange moment, as he sat up in the middle of turn three, and cruised round the outside of it. It looked like a bike problem, but he was back in the race moments later, although behind his teammate, Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers). One lap later, though, Arbolino was out.
Gabriel Rodrigo at the Moto3 2019: Round Seven – Catalunya, Barcelona. Image courtesy of HondaNews.eu
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) and Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) had looked strong throughout the race, especially Rodrigo who started from pole position. However, they were both out at turn ten on the penultimate lap when they made contact.
Onto the final lap, it was all to play for, but Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) had the advantage. He crashed, though, at turn ten, and almost immediately after John McPhee (Petronas SRT) gave up his chance at the podium as he made an attempt to impersonate Randy Mamola, being high-sided by his Honda, but holding onto it. Toba was out, but McPhee’s incredible effort to stay on the bike earned him three points.
In the remaining four corners, no one was able to challenge Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) who inherited the lead after Toba’s crash. Aron Canet had a go a passing Ramirez into the final corner, but Ramirez’ entry speed was too much for the #44, who remained second. Ramirez’ first win comes at one of his home Grands Prix. Although an Andalusian, to take his first victory in Spain will be a special point in the #42’s career. It has not been a stunning season so far from Ramirez who re-joined the team with whom he fought for the 2016 CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship, but this could prove an important moment in his season, as he became the twelfth winner in as many races in the lightweight class.
Whilst Canet was unable to make the move into the final corner, he was able to finish second and extend his championship lead, taking profit from the misfortune of his rivals, Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) who crashed in an incident with Darryn Binder; Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Tony Arbolino, all of whom did not score.
Aron Canet KTM RC250 GP Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 2019 . Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Although the lead did not change in the final corner, Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) was able to pass Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) in turn fourteen. This gave Vietti his second podium of 2019 and the third of his career. Unfortunately for Lopez, it came at the cost of a home race rostrum for the #21. After having his podium in Jerez last season taken away thanks to a post-race penalty, Lopez’ emotional response in the garage after the race to losing third place in the 2019 Catalan GP was understandable. However, it was a strong ride from the Spaniard, who led for much of the race and had some strong pace – arguably the strongest of the field.
Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) was able to recover from thirtieth on the grid to finish fifth which equals his best result of the season of last time out in Mugello.
Ai Ogura made a bad start from the front row of the grid, but was able to recover and finished sixth, which is the best result in the World Championship for the rookie. Romano Fenati took seventh place, his best result of the season, ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT), wildcard Ryusei Yamanaka and Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) who came from twenty-second on the grid to round out the top ten.
Niccolo Antonelli spent much of the final portion of the race contesting the lead, but a mistake at turn one with three laps to go dropped the Italian down the order. He was recovering, and was inside the top ten halfway round the final lap, but at turn seven made a mistake which once again dropped him back. In the end, Antonelli took eleventh place, ahead of the wildcard Carlos Tatay (Fundacion Andreas Perez 77) who took his first GP points in twelfth; the aforementioned John McPhee; Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) who took his first points in the World Championship and Darryn Binder who got back on after his crash with Rodrigo for the final point in fifteenth.
Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) was unlucky, as he clipped the rear wheel of Ramirez in the closing the stages at turn ten. Ramirez had contact with another rider, and Masaki had nowhere to go when the Spaniard backed out of the throttle. Eventually, Masaki came back for sixteenth, ahead of Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3), Vicente Perez and Tatsuki Suzuki.
Such a crazy race had a number of retirements, the first being Dalla Porta. He was followed out by the riders involved in the turn four pileup: Arenas, Garcia, Fernandez, Oncu, Migno and Salac, although the latter three all got back on before retiring later on. Arbolino was the next to go, before Masia dropped out. Then it was Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) to fall, before Rodrigo’s incident with Binder took him out, and Toba’s final lap crash.
