Category: Crew On Two

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MotoGP: Magnificent Mugello

The MotoGP World Championship heads to the rolling hills of Tuscany this weekend, and the Mugello circuit for the Italian Grand Prix – round six of the 2019 season.

Mugello is a special event for the crowd. Usually baked in glorious sunshine, the Italians avoid sleep, and attach amplifying devices to their motors to ensure the spectators are unable to hear the 300hp MotoGP machines as they head down to San Donato.

That in itself is a unique moment of the season: storming out of Bucine in third gear, cutting over the pit lane, the bike goes light over the crest at 170mph. Once the front wheel is settled, the rider has to direct the machine, at over 200mph, at the edge of the grass lining the track on the side of the pit wall, to cut the chevrons which separate the track from the pit lane exit. At this point the track rises, and is turning right; as it crests once more, it starts to move left again. The rider has to wrestle the bike at 220mph to keep the front wheel communicating with the floor, and turning the bike back to the left to prepare the entry to turn one at San Donato. Additionally, atop the crest the asphalt is quite bumpy, and the aerodynamic effect going on at the top of the crest means that the bikes often get out of shape. This is what caught out Michele Pirro last year on the factory Ducati, as his brake pads were knocked back, so when he grabbed the front brake at over 200mph, he had nothing, so he kept grabbing until eventually something happened- too much, in fact, as he was launched skywards, and landed hard. Pirro missed the rest of the weekend, but was thankfully back at the track on Sunday to watch Jorge Lorenzo take his first victory in red.

From the terror of San Donato, the track is equally beautiful for the remaining fourteen corners; long, rolling bends flowing up and down two sides of a valley – the beauty of Mugello is undeniable.

Marc Marquez winner of the 2018 MotoGP La Mans race. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

For some, however, it is more beautiful than for others. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), for example, has crashed out of three of his six MotoGP races in Mugello, and has only one win – in 2014 – and a single podium – in 2016 in that classic last lap battle with Jorge Lorenzo to whom he finished second. Although, there is a strange beauty for Marquez in going to Italy – one which his teammate for 2019 at Repsol Honda, Jorge Lorenzo, has relished in the past, having scored six premier class wins there, including the aforementioned triumph on the Desmosedici last year. This strange beauty is of course to be in the house of their deepest rival: Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). This year promises to be a trickier task for Lorenzo, who has missed feeling with his Honda RC213V all season. However, after being written off before the Italian Grand Prix twelve months ago, Lorenzo will be quietly optimistic of a positive weekend in Tuscany. Marquez, on the other hand, was showing good speed in the race last season, before a crash at Scarperia cost him any points, and will be hoping that the agility of the Honda will marry well with its more powerful motor for 2019, to power him to his second Italian Grand Prix victory.

Whilst there is almost an anti-beauty in Mugello for Marquez and Lorenzo, the feeling for the Italian riders at their home Grand Prix is never anything but special. Loud crowds make their presence known from dawn on Thursday, and do not let their noise dissipate until they depart on Monday – ‘Al Mugello non si dorme’.

Especially, the Italian Grand Prix is a special one for the aforementioned home favourite, Valentino Rossi. It is hard to go to Mugello without recounting Rossi’s golden years in Tuscany, where he was unbeaten between 2002 and 2008, winning on both Honda and Yamaha; but also his heartache of recent years, be it the expiration of his M1’s motor in 2016 which cost him a strong shot at the win, or his motocross accident in 2017 a week before practice began which ended his victory hopes before the weekend had even begun. This year, there is little promise of a return to the form of the early 2000s, as the Yamaha’s speed deficit to its rivals has simply become too much, which cost The Doctor against the Ducati trio in front of him in Le Mans, and with Mugello’s front stretch being the fastest of the year, it is unlikely that those issues will cease to plague him this weekend. However, the Yamaha is working well in the corners, so if Rossi can get to the front, he may have the possibility forge himself an advantage.

Andrea Dovizioso & Danilo Petrucci at Le Mans 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

Doing that, though, will be challenging when there are three – at least – Ducatis, as well as the Hondas of Marquez and – possibly – Lorenzo lining up for their shot at Italian glory. Particularly for Ducati, this weekend is an important one. They would have expected to challenge Marquez in Le Mans, but instead the World Champion disappeared. At home, Ducati have won the last two years, first with Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) in 2017, and second with Lorenzo last season. Additionally, they have Michele Pirro with them once again, on the ‘lab’ bike – the person who tells you the spec of that motorcycle will have eaten their final meal – as well as Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) who took his first podium for the factory team in Le Mans last time out, and took his first dry weather MotoGP podium for Pramac in Mugello two years ago. Finally, there is Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) who is, firstly, after Petrucci’s seat for 2019 and, secondly, after his second rostrum of the season, and first MotoGP win since Assen 2016. It could be a big weekend for the Bologna Bullets, and they simply must beat Marquez and Honda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx2Ff7Y3_G0

Suzuki also face an important weekend, and one in which they must overcome their qualifying difficulties which limited Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to tenth in Le Mans after starting only nineteenth and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to only one place better in qualifying, before he crashed on the warm up lap and finished a lap down in the race.

Other riders to keep an eye on this weekend include Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who finished second in 2015 before the Ducati could turn; Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who is in the middle of a stunning rookie season and should have had two podiums by now; Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who was fast in Mugello last season despite being on the disagreeable satellite Honda; and the KTM riders off the back of Pol Espargaro’s (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) impressive sixth place in France two weeks ago.

Featured image courtesy of Box Repsol

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Mackenzie: “We just need to keep the momentum going”

Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) enjoyed a return to the podium in Saturday’s race one at Donington Park, for the third round of the 2019 British Superbike Championship, and established a championship lead going into the second BSB race of the weekend on Sunday. Alex Whitworth spoke to him on Sunday morning after the warm up session for the Superbike riders about the 2019 season so far for the #95, his step from rookie to championship contender and his adaptation to a 1000cc motorcycle.

Tarran Mackenzie. Image courtesy of Impact Images Photography/McAMS Yamaha

AW: Tarran, you returned to the podium yesterday after missing it both times in Oulton Park. Are you happy with how the race went?

TM: “Yeah, really good. Struggled a lot at Oulton Park so to come back here at my home track and get second, after leading it for a long time as well, was good. So I’m happy.”

AW: Even on the short back straight here, the Ducati has an advantage, they were coming past you a lot. That must be frustrating?

TM: “Yeah, it’s quite demoralising really, because […] you can try your best [for a lap in front] and then they pass you back down the back straight, it’s quite annoying, really. It is the way it is, though, and they are beatable, so I need to try to be a bit smoother in the first part of the lap.”

AW: You had a strong rookie year, finishing tenth in the championship, and taking some podiums towards the end of the season. You’re in your second year, now, and fighting for the championship, so what has changed for you to make that step?

TM: “Probably just a bit more experience, really, because last year I was, as you say, just a rookie. These bikes are quite hard to ride, so just getting used to it, really. [I’m with] the same team, same bike, everything is the same, so just a bit of continuity, and it’s all coming together nicely.”

AW: So, you’re leading the championship. Is 2019, then, going better than expected, or are you about where you thought you would be?

TM: “[It’s going] Better than I thought, really. I wanted to just try and be in the top six each race and, apart from Oulton [Park] race one, I’ve pretty much done that. So, to be leading the championship now, with a bit of a gap to second is good as well, so, going a lot better than expected. We just need to keep the momentum going.”

AW: You took your first win in Silverstone. Was it important to get that out of the way early?

TM: “Yeah, I wanted to win a race, that was the big goal, really, so to do that […] in the second race, that’s sort of the monkey off my back, really, so we just need to keep going for the rest of the year now, and try to stay on the podium.”

Tarran Mackenzie during the 2019 Donington Park BSB event. Image courtesy of Impact Images Photography/McAMS Yamaha

AW: You’re one of the smaller riders, so was that a particular problem when you came to Superbike?

TM: “Yeah, being vertically challenged- like at Oulton Park, when it’s hard work to rider, it’s hard – if you’re a bigger rider it makes it easier. So, yeah, it does get tough at times, but it sort of plays into my advantage at some tracks.”

AW: The Yamaha is known for being a ‘corner speed’ bike, and with you coming from some years on 600s and before that on 125/Moto3, does the R1 suit you well?

TM: “Yeah, definitely, yeah. From Moto2, as well, it was a very similar style. A lot of people have to change their riding style for a Superbike, whereas I didn’t really have to do that, which was nice for me. Some tracks it works well, some tracks it doesn’t – [Donington] is one of them [where it works well], so try to use that as an advantage. Tracks like Brands [Hatch, up next on the calendar], Silverstone, Donington, Assen, just try to use it as an advantage.”

Mackenzie finished fifth in BSB race two at Donington on Sunday, and fourth in the second race. In comparison, Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) won both races, in addition to his win in Saturday’s race, to take him to the top of the championship. Tommy Bridewell also found the podium in both of Sunday’s races, which took him ahead of Mackenzie in the championship by one point, meaning the #95 is now third in the championship and seven points off the top, with a five-podium point deficit to Redding.

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MotoGP: Dominant Marquez Secures Third 2019 Win

Despite several expectations of rain on Sunday, the weather proved fair for the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship in Le Mans.

The drama started before the race, as both Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) crashed at turn three on the warm up lap. Mir got back into the race, but Abraham was black flagged for leaving pit lane after the leader had completed the first lap.

That leader was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who made the holeshot from pole position, despite some challenge from Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team). The Italian had another shot at the lead at the beginning of lap two, when he slid up the inside of Marquez at turn three. However, Petrucci ran wide and Marquez was able to reclaim the lead around the outside of turn four. The Spaniard then began to pull away, and Petrucci became more concerned with events behind him.

Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was starting to put pressure on Petrucci’s second place, and eventually got past his Ducati stablemate. The Australian pushed hard after that to catch Marquez, a task in which he was successful, as he was in passing Marquez for the lead. Miller held the lead for only two laps, though, after which point Marquez had decided he had had enough, repassed the #43 and was not challenged again for the remainder of the race.

In the middle of the race, the three Ducatis of Miller, Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) distanced themselves from those behind, and set about a three-way fight for second place. Petrucci had re-joined Dovizioso and Miller after having previously dropped to sixth place behind Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who he re-passed when the Yamaha rider’s pace started to slow in the middle of the race. When he got back to his two Ducati stablemates, Miller had been passed by Dovizioso when the Italian took advantage of a mistake at Museum by the Australian.

Valentino Rossi at the 2019 Le Mans MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

By the end of the race, Petrucci too had passed Miller, and Rossi was closing in from behind on the trio. Miller didn’t have the grip to challenge his factory rivals, having used the edge grip earlier in the race to catch and pass Marquez, so that left Petrucci to try to make a pass stick on Dovizioso which, as he demonstrated, is not easy. In fact, Petrucci found this impossible at Le Mans and, despite several attempts from the #9 to pass in Museum, Dovizioso came out on top.

It was a positive result for Dovizioso, and a return to the podium after missing it in the last two races, but he still lost out to Marquez by almost two seconds. The next three races will be important for Dovizioso to take points from Marquez, who dominated not only Sunday’s French Grand Prix, but also the majority of the season up to this point. For there to be a real title challenge, Dovizioso must have his eight-point deficit overturned by German Grand Prix.

To do that will not be easy, mostly because of Marquez. The Spaniard has been fantastic this year, and has been the only rider to get the maximum out of the 2019 Honda on each weekend. In fact, in the last two races, Marquez has not only far out-performed the adapting Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) but also Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL). Next up is Mugello, which is typically good for Dovizioso and Ducati but bad for Marquez and Honda. However, whereas in the past the Ducati would make its time in the corners but lose in the straights to everything else, in 2019 the Honda has an answer for the Desmosedici in the straight line, and can out-perform it in the corners.

Danilo Petrucci at the 2019 MotoGP race at Le Mans, France. Image courtesy of Ducati

Danilo Petrucci came home in third place for his first podium with the factory Ducati team after his move from Pramac over the winter. It was an important result for Petrucci, who started the season with three sixths and a fifth, and was starting to look under threat for the 2020 Ducati seat alongside Dovizioso from Jack Miller, who finished fourth in Le Mans as top ‘independent’, and became the first person to overtake Marc Marquez in a race since the final corner at Qatar.

Valentino Rossi did not have an answer for the Ducatis, despite coming on strong in the end of the race once again, proving Yamaha’s gains when it comes to tyre wear. Mostly, Rossi’s problem was horsepower, as he simply lacked the motor put himself in a position to fight the Desmosedici GP19s in front of him. Unfortunately for Rossi, and his fellow Yamaha riders, there will of course be no new Yamaha powerplant until 2020, such are the regulations.

Pol Espargaro and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team enjoyed their best-ever dry race finish, as Espargaro crossed the line 5.9 seconds from Marquez in sixth place. There is the possibility to argue that part of this result was down to the Austrian marque testing a couple of weeks before the GP, combined with the wet weather on Saturday which limited the setup time of their opposition. However, Espargaro was fast all weekend, showing good speed in both the dry and the wet, so it was important for KTM that he translated that into the race. Now they have to do it again.

Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) started the race well, and was in the top positions. However, the Italian soon started to fall back, and ended the race in seventh. In fact, Morbidelli was just 1.3 seconds ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) over the line, after the Frenchman made an average start from his average qualifying position of twelfth, and had an average first ten laps as he was stuck in traffic. The Yamaha being the Yamaha, it was not easy for the Frenchman to make passes, but once he had clear track he was showing pace good enough to at least have him in the fight with Marquez, potentially. If you can’t qualify well, it is difficult to expect to win, but that is an acceptable lesson for a rookie to be learning in just his fifth MotoGP.

Cal Crutchlow, as previously mentioned, was unable to match the pace of his Honda stablemate Marquez in France. Instead, he finished ninth, nearly ten seconds behind the Spaniard – a contrast to the form the Brit showed in the first three races of the season.

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) at 2019 Le Mans MotoGP Race. Image courtesy of Suzuki

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) completed the top ten in France, after a disappointing race which did not turn out to be the comeback he had hoped for.

Jorge Lorenzo had probably his best race with the Repsol Honda Team to date, despite finishing eleventh and extending his run without a top ten finish which stretches back to Austria last year. The result is not everything, though, in the case of Lorenzo, who was able to start the race strongly and fight inside the top ten.

There were fourteen seconds behind Lorenzo to Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) which perhaps shows the amount of ground Aprilia still need to make up with their RSGP, and it is not made any easier to take by the good result of KTM. Espargaro, though, was in front of the other three KTMs of Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in thirteenth, Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in fourteenth for his first points of the season and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in fifteenth for the final point.

Joan Mir was the final classified finisher in sixteenth, although a lap down after his warm up lap crash.

Along with Karel Abraham, there were several riders whose races ended early, Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) who retired early on, before Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) fetched both himself and Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) off in turn twelve; Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) retired and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda MotoGP) crashed out with nine laps to go.

Featured image courtesy of Box Repsol

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BSB: Donington National Awaits at Round Three

It’s another Bank Holiday and another round of the British Superbike Championship this weekend, as the series heads to Donington for round three of the 2019 season.

Josh Broke Be Wiser Ducati at Oulton Park BSB 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) got his championship back on track in Oulton Park three weeks ago, after a non-scoring round one at Silverstone for the Aussie. Two wins for Brookes and the PBM Ducati Panigale V4R, in which he led from lights to flag on both occasions, slingshot the #25 rider straight into the championship top six, just fourteen points off the championship lead and with the highest podium points score of any rider as we approach the third round.

Arguably, Donington should suit the Ducati even better than Oulton Park, being a wider, track with less hard braking zones. Certainly, that would make for low hopes for the opposition, as it was not just Brookes in Oulton Park who was faster than the rest, but also Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing) who was able to go pretty much right with Brookes in both races at round two and goes to round three as the joint-championship-leader. The #46 has since been to Imola at the World Superbike race to replace Eugene Laverty for the GoEleven squad, and performed quite impressively. It will be interesting to see this weekend if anything Bridewell learned on the WorldSBK-spec Panigale can be translatable this weekend. Similarly, the WorldSBK Ducati riders will be watching this weekend somewhat keenly to see how the bike performs at Donington, even though this weekend the BSB riders will go right at the end of the back straight and cut out the Melbourne Loop.

The anticipation of Ducati performances will also extend to Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) who is searching for his first BSB win this weekend at – almost – the circuit where he took his first Grand Prix win back in 2008 in the 125cc class.

Away from Ducati, perhaps it will be once more the McAMS Yamaha pairing of Jason O’Halloran and the rider joint with Bridewell at the top of the standings, Tarran Mackenzie. O’Halloran’s season has not gone to plan so far, having scored just twenty-two points from the first four races thanks to events (mostly) out of his control in Silverstone, and then missing some pace in the second race in Oulton Park.

Whilst O’Halloran missed pace in the second race in Oulton Park, Mackenzie missed pace in all the weekend, apart from the second race when he finished fifth to retain his championship lead on countback. Both Mackenzie and O’Halloran will be looking for podium returns this weekend, at the place where the current model YZF-R1 scored its first podium back in 2015 with Josh Brookes – and this weekend they will be missing out the part of the track which in theory should suit the Yamaha the least.

Whilst the Melbourne Loop section of Donington Park will be not so sorely missed by the Yamaha and possibly Ducati riders, it probably will be missed by the Kawasaki riders. The ZX-10RR has always been impressive in hard braking zones, and the hardest of the braking zones at Donington where at the Melbourne Loop section.  Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing) will nonetheless be hoping to continue his impressive form from Oulton Park – where he scored two third places – into this weekend and close his nine-point deficit to the championship leaders.

Buchan is not the only Kawasaki rider facing an important weekend – Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) is also at an important point. The start of his BSB career with Kawasaki has not gone to plan, and Oulton Park saw the #2 in what seemed almost like desperation. Nothing seemed to work for him three weeks ago, but he had an impressive time at the Northwest 200 last week with a couple of podiums, so it will be interesting to see this weekend if changes which worked on the roads will also work in BSB.

On the other side of the Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki garage there is some change, as the injured Ben Currie is replaced by Hector Barbera, who will be running the #80, who won his first Grand Prix at Donington in 2003 by six tenths from Andrea Dovizioso. Certainly, for a non-British rider, Donington is a fairly comfortable introduction to British Championship racing.

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

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Moto2: Marquez Ends Win Drought in Le Mans

The fifth round of the 2019 Moto2 World Championship took place in Le Mans, avoiding the rain that had been forecast for Sunday, but under heavy clouds.

Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up) started from pole, but it was Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) who made the holeshot. The lead for Luthi was unrepresentative, though. Poor pace in the dry on Friday was a foreshadowing of what was to come for the four-times French Grand Prix winner, and he soon dropped back.

From there, it was Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who took the initiative, and started to squeeze out a gap from those behind.

As the race went on, and Marquez’ advantage edged out towards one second, Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) headed to the front, and once he had arrived in second was closing down the Spaniard. The Italian had the gap down to four tenths with fifteen laps to go, but crashed at the final corner and his chances were done.

This let Marquez off the hook, somewhat. Adding to this let off for Marquez was a mistake from Jorge Navarro a few laps later. Navarro had inherited second from Corsi when the Italian fell, and was starting to make an impression on Marquez’ lead before a mistake dropped him back into the clutches of Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40), who was able to pass a few laps later when Navarro made another mistake at Garage Vert.

This would then become the biggest battle of the closing stages of the race, as the two Spaniards each tried their hardest to hand the other second place, with Fernandez running wide in Musee, before Navarro ran wide in Garage Vert once more. Eventually, Navarro was able to string a few corners together and create himself an advantage on the final lap ahead of Fernandez.

However, Marquez was imperious out front, as he took his and Spain’s first win in the intermediate class of Grand Prix racing since Motegi 2017, twenty-five races ago. It was a cool and controlled race from Marquez, with no mistakes – something we did not see from the Spaniard in 2018. He will hope this is a sign of things to come, and the start of his championship challenge.

Alex Marquez, Moto2 race, French MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman;/Marc VDS

Jorge Navarro’s second place was not his maximum. He had the pace to challenge Marquez, but a series of mistakes, including a repeat of the poor start that cost him the win in Jerez, meant he was unable to make the push for victory. However, it was another impressive ride from the #9, and that first Moto2 win seems to be coming closer.

The same could be said for Augusto Fernandez, who finished third behind Navarro for the second race in succession, although a strong fight through the pack this time for the #40 rider showed a different race to that which he had in Spain. Like Navarro, Fernandez is improving every weekend, and surely his first World Championship victory is not far away.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took delivery of a new KTM frame for this weekend, and it seems to have been a step in the right direction for the South African, who finished fourth after overcoming Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in the final laps, whilst Vierge came home in fifth.

Sixth place went to Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP). Starting from the front row, to end in sixth seems like a bad race, but on Friday his pace did not seem capable of even that, so these ten points can be important ones for his championship.

Marcel Schrotter at the 2019 Le Mans Moto2 race. Image courtesy of KF GLAENZEL/ Dynavolt Intact GP

Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) took seventh, and top rookie with it, finishing ahead of the injured Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP), Iker Lecuona (American Racing) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46), who was running in seventh before a mistake at turn one saw him riding through the gravel at turn three in the closing stages, but managed to hold on to close out the top ten.

Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) finished eleventh, ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Lightech Speed Up), Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46), Joe Roberts (American Racing) and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) who completed the points.

Like the preceding Moto3 race, there were many retirements, with Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) being the first to fall at turn three on the opening lap. He was followed by championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) – who holds onto his points lead – with the Italian continuing his ‘win or bin’ record of 2019, and his pointless record in France. When Baldassarri fell, he took compatriot Mattia Pasini (Petronas SRT) with him. Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) were the next to go, before Corsi fell. Then Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) retired the #64 NTS, just before Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) crashed the #4 bike. Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) then crashed out of sixth, before Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and Dimas Ekky (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) crashed out. Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) was the final retirement, on the last lap, as he ran out of fuel.

Featured image courtesy of David Goldman;/Marc VDS

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WorldSBK: Rea Fends off Davies for Imola Superpole Win

Despite Alvaro Bautista’s (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) dominance throughout the first four rounds of the season, it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who went into Sunday’s Superpole race in Imola for the fifth round of the 2019 Superbike World Championship as the favourite for the race win thanks to his demolition of the field in Saturday’s first race.

Although storms were forecast for Sunday, and eventually led to the cancellation of the second full-length outing for the WorldSBK riders, the Superpole race took place in the dry, albeit under a veil of cloud.

With the grid being the same as for race one, it was Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) who started from pole, and as in race one it was the Welshman who took the holeshot and led into the Variante Tamburello for the first time. Unlike race one, however, Rea was unable to pass Davies into the Variante Villeneuve.

However, when Davies missed the apex of the second part of the Variante Villeneuve, Rea sensed an opportunity in Tosa, so threw his Kawasaki inside Davies’ Ducati, but ran wide and the #7 was able to keep the lead as they made their way towards Piratella.

Rea was able to get to the front before the end of the first lap, though, when Davies ran wide at the final chicane. In fact, Davies was fortunate to keep his Panigale V4R on the track, and even more fortunate to only drop to third, behind both Rea and his teammate Bautista. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was also close behind, but unable to take advantage of the 2011 Supersport World Champion’s mistake.

Not that Rea was in need of an opportunity to have a lap to himself at the front, but he now had it, and with Bautista between himself and Davies, there was a good chance for the Northern Irishman to extend his advantage at the front.

Bautista did not lose too much time on the second lap, though, although Rea still extended his advantage by just over a tenth. But the early signs were good for Bautista, it looked as though he could perhaps go with the reigning World Champion.

However, by the end of lap four, Rea’s advantage had grown to over one second, and with six laps to go it seemed that Rea had his first ever Superpole race win in the bag.

Davis and Bautista at Imola WSBK 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

As the race approached half distance, and as Rea’s advantage was slowly creeping out, the battle behind the four times World Champion was intensifying between the two factory Ducatis of Bautista and Davies. A mistake from Bautista in the first Rivazza allowed Davies to cut down the Spaniard’s inside and whilst the #19 tried to cut back on the exit of the second Rivazza, Davies had him covered off.

With four laps to go, Davies now had a clear run at Jonathan Rea out front. Bautista was now haemorrhaging time to his teammate, perhaps experiencing difficulties with his SCX rear tyre.

At the same time as Bautista was dropping back, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was suffering with rear grip, too. Like Bautista, he had chosen the SCX rear tyre, and been strong at the start whilst fighting with the two Pata Yamaha WorldSBK bikes of Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark, as well as Leon Haslam in the battle for fourth. After mid-distance, though, with van der Mark having cleared off up the street, Razgatlioglu was now fighting with Lowes and Haslam for fifth, with no edge grip nor drive grip. Clearly, although there was a new SCX rear tyre for the Imola weekend, it was still not what the riders needed for the ten laps of the Superpole race.

Meanwhile, back at the front, Davies and Rea were trading lap records as the Welshman tried to close the gap to the front, and Rea did his best to keep him at bay.

With nine tenths between the two as they went onto the penultimate lap, it looked like Rea had the race win locked up, and this was confirmed as they went onto the final lap with 1.8 seconds covering the top two combatants.

In the end it was a second race win of the weekend and a second of the season for Rea, who took more points out of Bautista, cutting the championship lead of the Spaniard to forty-three points. In all it was as close to a perfect race as Rea could get. He was perhaps fortunate that Davies made the mistake at the end of lap one, because without a doubt the Welshman had the pace to go with Rea, but ultimately the four-times champion did enough, and he will be hoping that the strong performance at Imola will be the start of his fight back in the title race against Bautista.

Whilst the mistake of Davies was a blessing for Rea, it was the source of disappointment for Davies himself, who undoubtedly lost his best shot at a win this season as he ran wide in the Variante Bassa at the end of lap one. Nonetheless, the #7 showed good speed throughout the weekend and, like Rea, will hope that this is a sign of things to come for the next races.

For the first time this season, Bautista was beaten by his teammate. However, his worst finish of the season came perhaps in the best possible race, because the points in a Superpole race are much less than those of the full-length races. Furthermore, it is possible to argue that Bautista could have been closer to the front two with a different tyre choice, because he was clearly suffering with the rear grip in the second half of the race. The Spaniard was lucky, overall, in Imola, mostly for the fact that a wet race was avoided, but also for the fact that his teammate retired in race one. It was certainly about as good a damage limitation job as the #19 could have hoped for.

Michael van der Mark at Imola WSBK 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

Fourth place went to Michael van der Mark. The Dutchman would have been happy to have the race he did in the Superpole race, because in the second half he was completely alone on the track. Far behind him were Alex Lowes and Leon Haslam, who were fifth and sixth, respectively. Especially for Lowes, this result was impressive, considering his delicate physical condition in the weekend.

Razgatlioglu’s tyre choice limited the Turk to seventh place, which he just held on to from Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) by 0.280 seconds. It was a dramatic race for Sykes. He had to start from pit lane, which meant that his chances were restricted before the race began, but the Englishman had a brilliant start to the race, and was strong fighting through the pack to finish eighth, although after having a strong chance of a podium on Saturday the #66 would have been disappointed to come away from Imola with just two points.

Just a couple of tenths behind Sykes was Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) who returned to the top ten after missing out in the first race, whilst Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) rounded out the top ten for the second time in the weekend.

Twelfth place on Saturday for Tommy Bridewell – replacing Eugene Laverty at Team GoEleven – was impressive, and equally so was the joint-BSB-points-leader’s eleventh place in the Superpole race; with the #46 beating wildcard Lorenzo Zanetti (Motocorsa Racing); series regular and reigning Supersport World Champion Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK); Leandro Mercado’s replacement at Orelac Racing VerdNatura Hector Barbera; and BARNI Racing’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi who completed the points.

Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) had a dreadful Superpole race, and finished seventeenth, behind Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team), whilst Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) was the final finisher in eighteenth.

There were no retirements from the race, but as in race one, Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) was absent from the grid after his crash in Superpole.

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Moto3: McPhee Wins as Canet Stretches Points Lead

Rain was forecast for Sunday, but the Moto3 World Championship race at Le Mans took place before it arrived, instead enjoying dry, if overcast, conditions for the fifth round of the 2019 series.

John McPhee (Petronas SRT) started from pole but it was Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who took the holeshot, although Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) took the lead at turn six on the opening lap.

The pack was split on lap one, as Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) high-sided on the exit of turn ten. His bike came back onto the track, but somehow the entire field managed to avoid it.

That left four riders out front, although they were soon joined by three more to make it a seven-way scrap. It was Suzuki, McPhee, Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3), Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) and Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) who were fighting for the lead, and it stayed this way for the majority of the race.

Aron Canet, during the 2019 Le Mans Moto3 race. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

The change came in the closing stages, when Suzuki crashed in turn three, and collected Arbolino. This split the group, and allowed McPhee and Dalla Porta a break at the front, although it was not long before Migno arrived back with the two leaders. In fact, on the penultimate lap, the group expanded to its largest, with twelve riders now fighting for the win.

However, onto the final lap, it was clear that the win would be contested between four riders: McPhee, Dalla Porta, Canet and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) who had benefitted from his compatriot’s crash a few laps previous.

Canet and Toba were taken out of contention on the final lap in turn eleven, when the Spaniard nearly crashed, and nearly took Toba with him, when he passed the #27 for third place. It was a move that Toba was clearly unhappy with after the race, and it was certainly on the limit from Canet, but it was fair enough on the last lap.

That left Dalla Porta and McPhee to fight for the win with three corners to go, but Dalla Porta was unable to out-brake the Scot into the final complex, and so McPhee emerged the winner.

John McPhee at the 2019 Le Mans Moto3 race. Image courtesy of PETRONAS SRT

McPhee’s triumph was the second of his career, and the first victory for a pole sitter at Le Mans in the lightweight class since Maverick Vinales bested Nico Terol in 2011. It was a classy race from McPhee, not getting involved in too much in the first part of the race, but when the race moved towards the closing stages, he was always able to put himself in the right place.

Dalla Porta finally returned to the podium after a trio of disappointing results since his rostrum in Qatar. Perhaps this result will see the start of a retaliation in the championship from the Tuscan, whose return to form has arrived just in time for his home Grand Prix in a couple of weeks.

Rounding out the podium was Canet. Unpopular with at least one of his rivals post-race, but the Spaniard’s third podium of the season came at an important moment, as the results of some of his rivals have allowed him to significantly extend his championship advantage. It was also an important result for the Max Racing Team, as Pietro Biaggi, Max’s father, died earlier in the weekend.

Gabriel Rodrigo took fourth place, having taken advantage of Canet’s move on Toba. Andrea Migno did the same, to finish fifth, whilst Toba dropped from third to sixth in the final sector of the lap. A poor qualifying and anonymous race led to a seventh place for Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46), who is beginning to make a habit of finding the top ten on Sundays. Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) took eighth place after a decent weekend for the Japanese, ahead of Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) and Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who completed the top ten.

Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) finished eleventh, ahead of Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai), who incurred a 2.2 second penalty for cutting turn four and finished twelfth.

Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) was the first rider home outside of the front group, finishing thirteenth, ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) and Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) who scored the first point of his Grand Prix career with fifteenth.

A plethora of retirements befell the Moto3 race: Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Ai Ogura were both down on lap one. Then, Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) ended a miserable weekend in the gravel trap of turn three, before Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) also crashed out. Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) spent his race riding around on his own, unable to catch the front group, and crashed on his own at turn three with fifteen laps to go.

Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) was slow throughout the race until he retired two laps after Ramirez, possibly suffering with the after-effects of his Saturday crash. The big news for the championship was Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) crashing, as he missed only one point compared to Aron Canet coming into this weekend. Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) was the next to go, before Arbolino fell at the hand of Suzuki. Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) joined his teammate in retirement with five to go at turn seven, whilst Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) crashed out at turn nine on the same lap, five tours from the end of the 2019 French Moto3 Grand Prix.

Featured Image courtesy of PETRONAS SRT

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Moto3: Q1 to Pole for McPhee in Le Mans

The dry weather of Friday was replaced by rain in Le Mans come Saturday morning for the fifth round of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship.

By the end of the FP3 session in the morning, the track had begun to dry, and almost the entirety of Moto3’s Q1 session was run on slick tyres. A late lap from John McPhee (Petronas SRT) took him through to Q2 as the fastest rider in Q1. The Scot was joined by Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing), Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) and Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0).

John McPhee, Moto3, French MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of SIC Racing Team/Petronas SRT

It was expected that, because of the sketchy conditions, those riders who advanced through Q1 would have an advantage over the other fourteen Q2 runners in the second session.

This proved to be the case for John McPhee, who took pole position with his penultimate lap of the session. It will be important for McPhee – who has mostly disappointed in the opening four races of the season – to turn this good Saturday result into a good position in the race.

The Scot will be joined on the front row by Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers), who has been fast all weekend, and the rookie Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia).
Fresh from his first World Championship podium two weeks ago in Spain, Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) took fourth on the grid for the French Moto3 Grand Prix, with Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) and Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) joining him on the second row.

The Spanish Grand Prix winner, Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) crashed for the second time this weekend at turn three which limited the Italian to seventh.

Eighth fastest in Q2 was Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), but a penalty for irresponsible riding in FP2 will see the Spaniard start twentieth. Instead, Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) will start from the middle of row three. This should have put Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) in ninth, but the Spanish rookie also took a twelve-place penalty and will start twenty-second. Because of this, Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) who will start from the back of the third row.

Makar Yurchenko will start Sunday’s race from tenth, with Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) and championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) who completes row four.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) crashed at turn three on his final flying lap in Q2, and will start thirteenth, ahead of Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) who also crashed in Q2; whilst Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46), Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Filip Salac (Redox Pruestel GP) comprise row six.

Spanish GP podium finisher Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) could only manage nineteenth on the grid, and will start alongside the penalised Fernandez, and Jakub Kornfeil (Redox Pruestel GP) who will be hoping for fewer motocross memes after this year’s French Moto3 Grand Prix.

Can Oncu, Moto3, French MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

The penalised Garcia will have former joint championship leader Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) and Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) alongside him on row eight; whilst behind on row nine will be Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77), Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) and Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) was the slowest qualifier, but will start second-last as his teammate Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) was also penalised twelve positions, which puts him last on Sunday’s grid.

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Moto2: Navarro Takes Wet Le Mans Pole

Qualifying for the fifth round of the 2019 Moto2 World Championship got underway in difficult conditions, with light rain presenting the intermediate class riders with their first competitive session in the wet of the season.

Jorge Navarro at Le Mans Moto2 2019. Image courtesy of Speed Up Racing

In Q1, it was the second-placed rider in the championship, Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) who topped the session to move through to Q2. The Swiss was joined by returnee Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) and Spanish GP runner-up Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up).

The experience of the track conditions benefitted Navarro, especially, who took pole position for the second Grand Prix in succession. It was Navarro’s start which let him down in Jerez, and cost him the win, so it will be interesting to see if he has rectified that issue for this weekend.

Tom Luthi also made the most of his Q1 experience, to qualify second. After a difficult Friday, this is important for the Swiss, who lies second in the championship. Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) lines up tomorrow at the back of the front row, as he goes in search of his first win of the season.

After impressing with a fourth place finish when replacing Augusto Fernandez at the Flexbox HP 40 team in Austin on the Kalex, Mattia Pasini was unable to repeat the same form for the Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team in Jerez when replacing Jake Dixon on the KTM. However, now back on the Kalex, for the Petronas SRT squad, the Italian is back on the pace, and qualified fourth. Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) join Pasini on the second row.

Championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) struggled mostly in the wet on qualifying day at Le Mans, in FP3 and qualifying, but he managed to put together a lap in Q2 to take seventh on the grid.

The new KTM chassis has seemed to be a positive step this weekend for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), although perhaps he was missing some experience with the bike in the wet as he qualified only eighth, ahead of Lukas Tulovic who, after advancing from Q1, took his best qualifying in the World Championship.

Brad Binder, French Moto2 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Tenth on the grid will be the injured Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP), ahead of Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who will start eleventh on his GP return thanks to some impressive speed in the wet. The injured Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) will complete the fourth row.

Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) heads up row five, ahead of Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46); whilst row six is comprised of Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2).

Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) continues his devolution since the championship’s return to Europe, and was the first Q1 rider to be eliminated, qualifying nineteenth. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Lightech Speed Up) and Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) complete the seventh row; whilst Iker Lecuona (American Racing), Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) make up row eight.

Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) starts from the head of row nine, ahead of Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), who was expected to move through to Q2 before a crash limited his chances. Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech3) completes row nine; whilst Dimas Ekky (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), Joe Roberts (American Racing) and Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) comprise the tenth row.

Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) and Philipp Oettl (Red Bull KTM Tech3) start from the back row in thirty-first and thirty-second respectively.

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MotoGP: Marquez on Le Mans Pole Despite Crash

Whilst Friday was dry and FP3 on Saturday morning was distinctly wet for the MotoGP riders at the fifth round of the 2019 series in Le Mans, the qualifying session was run in dreadful conditions, with neither compound of wet tyre, nor any of the slick tyres, offering the perfect solution to the track conditions.

Surprisingly, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) made a gamble at the start of Q1 by going for slicks straight away, whilst everyone else went for wets. Whilst the Italian’s first laps were slow, he built temperature in his tyres, which brought confidence, and he managed to get himself through to Q2.

When everyone else went to slicks, they couldn’t build the temperature, nor the confidence, and so quickly went back to wets, which also failed to provide the grip they needed. That meant that it was Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who joined Rossi in advancing to Q2, after the satellite Yamaha riders was the fastest of the wet tyre runners in the first part of the session.

The conditions worsened for Q2. However, the difference was barely noticeable. This convinced all the Yamaha riders apart from Morbidelli to go out on slicks at the start of the session. This turned out to be a mistake and as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was setting his pole time, the Rossi, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) were busy swapping bikes.

Marc Marquez post MotoGP qualification at Le Mans 2019. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

The pole for Marquez came at a minor cost. The lap after he set pole, started well as he set the fastest sector one time of the session, but just a second later the Spaniard was on the floor. He didn’t come back to the pits, though, and continued circulating on his crashed bike, whilst getting nowhere near his fastest time to that point. It was a strange session, especially for Marquez, but his time in Q2 gave him his fifty-fifth pole position, which brings him level with Rossi on all-time premier class poles, and three behind Mick Doohan.

Second to Marquez was Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team), who also set his time early on. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) did the same to qualify third, although like Marquez his session was tainted by a crash, this time for Miller at turn three. With two Ducatis equipped with the holeshot device starting on the front row tomorrow, alongside Marquez, getting to turn three first could be a challenge for the reigning World Champion.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) did important work for their respective championship bids in Q2, qualifying fourth and fifth, respectively, and thus giving them a decent shot at a good result tomorrow. Morbidelli will make row two an all-Italian affair.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) was another who suffered a crash, but still qualified seventh, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who completes row three.

Fabio Quartararo was visibly disappointed with qualifying tenth for his home GP, but not as disappointed as Maverick Vinales was to qualify eleventh after seeming to be the only rider who can challenge Marquez in Le Mans for much of the weekend. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completes the fourth row.

Johann Zarco at Le Mans MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Marcin Kin/KTM

Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) was the fastest of the Q1 riders to miss out on Q2, and he will head up the fifth row, from home favourite Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL).
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) will start from sixteenth, ahead of Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). It was the first time this season that Mir has out-qualified his teammate, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), as the #42 – who lies just one point off the championship lead – qualified just nineteenth, and will be joined on the seventh row by Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3). Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was the twenty-second and final qualifier.

Featured image courtesy of Box Repsol

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