Category: Crew On Two

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MotoGP: Marquez Back On Top at Home in Jerez

Whilst Saturday in Jerez saw the MotoGP riders circulate under clouds, and Sunday morning’s warm up the same, the Andalusian sun was out for the race, and had been cooking the track up since the beginning of the Moto3 race.

Perhaps this is the reason for the subdued pace at the start of the race. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) made the holeshot, and led from Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) at the start. Having been the fastest on pace all weekend, it might have been expected that Marquez would pull away, running the high-1’37s he had been capable of through the weekend. However, Marquez’ first laps were in the mid-1’38s – in fact, the second lap was his slowest of the race.

Marc Marquez, gaining the holeshot at the start of the Jerez GP. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

There seemed to be chance for Morbidelli, who was very close to Marquez in several places, and looked poised to pass him for the lead. However, once Marquez had settled into his rhythm and the pace dropped to low-1’38s and high-1’37s, the gap began to grow. Once Morbidelli had lost touch of Marquez, his rhythm seemed to drop.

Petronas Yamaha SRT teammate, Fabio Quartararo, was soon by Morbidelli. There was already a two second gap to Marquez, but the Frenchman was able to pull clear of his more experienced teammate, who was now under pressure from Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) after the Spaniard had got past Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) a lap or two later than he would have hoped.

It took Rins another lap or two to line up Morbidelli, and as he passed the Italian for third, Quartararo retired simultaneously. It was quite heart-breaking to see the Frenchman put out of contention after such a fantastic weekend, a stunning pole and with such a clear shot at a first-ever MotoGP podium. But a gearbox or gear lever problem forced him out, and Rins inherited his secod place.

Quartararo’s retirement meant that when Rins passed Morbidelli, the Italian retained a provisional podium position, but it was not long before Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was able to pass him in the straight from turn five to turn six. The speed with which Vinales was able to dispatch Morbidelli indicated the satellite Yamaha rider’s tyre woes. They were on equal machinery but Vinales took only half of the 0.3-mile long straight to pass his stablemate.

Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci at the Jerez GP 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

Dovizioso was next to pass Morbidelli, and then Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati). The two factory Ducati riders would then engage Maverick Vinales in the battle for the final podium spot.

In the meantime, Morbidelli fell back to Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) behind, who were also coming under pressure from Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who had made almost no progress from the first lap when he was tenth. Quartararo’s retirement had promoted Rossi to ninth, but in the mid-race he appeared to have no answer for the riders ahead of him.

But, as Morbidelli fell behind Crutchlow and then Miller, Rossi arrived, and made quick work of the three of them. It was too late for the Italian to do anything about the factory Ducatis and, anyway, he lacked the pace late in the race.

By now, Alex Rins had given up any hope of closing on the dominant Marquez, and was starting to slip closer to Vinales, who was pushing on to try to keep Dovizioso at bay, whilst Petrucci had been dropped by the pair of them.
In the end, there was no change. Marquez picked up his second successive Jerez victory, his third in the premier class, and received the championship lead with it.

Alex Rins, on the other hand, moved up to second in the championship, one point adrift of Marquez with a solid second place. Once more, it was Rins’ qualifying which prevented him from taking the race win. It seems to be a Suzuki issue more than a Rins issue when it comes to qualifying, since Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) is rarely strong in time attacks either, but in any case it is an issue that Rins and Suzuki need to remedy if they are to achieve the results necessary to challenge for the championship.

Maverick Vinales on the Jerez GP podium. Image courtesy Yamaha Corporation

Maverick Vinales had never achieved a premier class podium in Jerez before this weekend. He arrived at Yamaha at the wrong moment for that, and the Suzuki always struggled in the heat whilst he was a GSX-RR pilot. However, his third place is proof of the progress Yamaha has made over the winter, and that should give him, the team, his teammate and the factory confidence going forward – they are in the right direction.

Vinales’ resolve in the final lap – which was his fastest of the race – of course meant Dovizioso missed the podium, and is still without a podium in a premier class race at Jerez. Nonetheless, the Italian goes to one of Ducati’s strongest tracks in two weeks’ time at Le Mans only three points off Marquez’ championship lead.

Danilo Petrucci took fifth place, his best finish of the season after a trio of sixths to open his factory Ducati career. Like Dovizioso, Petrucci had seemed to have the potential to fight with Marquez in the race, certainly to have a good shot at the podium. However, another poor qualifying limited his chances, and he struggled for pace at the end of the race.

Valentino Rossi at the 2019 Jerez GP. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Valentino Rossi salvaged a sixth place out of what was quite a bad weekend. If it was cloudy he may have had more, but it was not and he suffered in the mid-race. Like Petrucci, his potential was limited by a poor qualifying position, but ultimately The Doctor lacked pace in Jerez, and will need better in the next races if he is to do as people suggested after Austin, and fight for the championship.

Despite being passed by Crutchlow earlier in the race, Morbidelli was able to re-pass the Briton towards the end. Seventh was perhaps not the result the Italian was hoping for after a stunning qualifying, but it is possible to say that he got sucked in by Marquez. He saw seven world titles in front of him, and who can blame him for wanting to have a go at that? Perhaps it was that which killed his tyres and his late race pace, but either way there is no doubt Morbidelli would have learned a lot in this race.

Cal Crutchlow picked a medium rear tyre. He was in front of Morbidelli when Valentino Rossi went past them, but was nearly two seconds behind at the flag, and only a couple of tenths clear of teammate Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU). Crutchlow admitted in the weekend that he was suffering with his foot after the first three races, and for mobility in his injured ankle. His FP4 crash was unlikely to help his physical condition, but after pole position last year the Brit will have been disappointed with his performance this weekend.

Stefan Bradl (Team HRC) had the prettiest bike on the grid, and rounded out the top ten with it, quite impressively.

Five seconds and two places – Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was in between – behind Bradl was Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) who was unexpectedly slow. He dropped to fifteenth in the early stages, and made little progress from there, which was a complete surprise after his strong pace in the weekend, ending the race twelfth.

Pol Espargaro at the 2019 Jerez GP. Image courtesy of Philip Platzer/KTM

Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) assumed his normal position as top KTM in thirteenth place, six seconds ahead of teammate Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who turned his disastrous weekend into two points. Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) took the final point in fifteenth.

Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) was eight seconds behind teammate Rabat, and nearly five seconds in front of Aprilia test rider Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team). A couple of tenths further back of Smith was Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who had his most difficult weekend of MotoGP so far, but still nine seconds ahead of Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who was last of the nineteen finishers.

Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) crashed at turn two, before Quartararo joined him in retirement. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) had spent the majority of the race staring at the backside of Valentino Rossi, but ended it on the floor at turn thirteen. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was down at turn thirteen, too – Aleix Espargaro ran wide whilst passing the Aussie, Miller cut back underneath him but folded the front, and Espargaro was lucky to stay on – Miller less so.

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Moto3: Dalla Porta Fights Back with Jerez Pole

Qualifying for the fourth round of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship in Jerez took place under clouded skies, which characterised the running on Saturday.

Q1 saw the Bester Capital Dubai KTMs joint championship leader Jaume Masia and teammate Andrea Migno make a last-ditch attempt to get themselves through to Q2, and it paid off. The teammates qualified through in third and fourth places, respectively, whilst Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) was the fastest of the Q1 runners, and Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) survived late fast laps from several riders to advance to Q2 in fourth place.

Q2 took place in similarly overcast conditions. The early pace was set by the Sky Racing Team VR46 pairing of Vietti and Dennis Foggia who sandwiched fellow VR46 Academy rider, Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) on the provisional front row.

It was not until the final moments of the session that Vietti’s time was bettered, as Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) went to the top. The Italian was not displaced for the remainder of the session, and took his first pole of 2019 – the perfect way to signal his intent after a poor couple of results in the Americas.

Tatsuki Suzuki managed to go from Q1 to the front row as he put the #24 Sic58 Squadra Corse Honda in second place, ahead of fellow Q1 competitor, Vietti, who ended up third, unable to beat his early pace. Whilst he missed out on pole, Vietti did claim the first front row of his World Championship career.

Niccolo Antonelli ended the session fourth, and will be joined on the second row of the grid tomorrow by Dennis Foggia and Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3).

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

Joint championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) was limited to seventh place thanks to mechanical problems on his final run. The Spaniard will be joined by compatriot and Andalusian local Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing), and the returning Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), who took his first CEV win at Jerez back in 2015, on the third row.

Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) heads up row four tomorrow in tenth, with Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) and Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) completing the fourth row; whilst Andrea Migno, John McPhee (Petronas SRT) and Jaume Masia make up row five.

Stefano Nepa (Fundacion Andres Perez 77), who is wildcarding this weekend, will head up the sixth row, and will be joined on it by Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) who was the slowest rider in Q2.

Jaume Masia, Jerez 2019. Image courtesy of Chippy Wood/KTM

Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers), who, like Arenas, scored his first CEV win in Jerez, will start tomorrow’s race in nineteenth after being the fastest rider in Q1 to not qualify for Q2. The Italian will be joined on row seven by Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0).

Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) was only fast enough for twenty-second on the grid, and will be joined on the eighth row by Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and former championship leader Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia).

Row nine will consist of Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power), Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3); whilst Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP), Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) and Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) will make up row ten.

There will be only one rider on row eleven tomorrow, the wildcard Meikon Kawakami (Fundacion Andres Perez 77).

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Moto2: Navarro Takes First Intermediate Pole

Moto2 qualifying for the fourth round of the 2019 World Championship got underway in cooler conditions than might have been expected, as clouds lay above the track.

Q1 saw Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM) top the session from Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), with those four riders advancing to Q2.

Brad Binder used the extra track time he had courtesy of his Q1 participation to his advantage to lead early on. However, after a couple of laps it was Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who went to the top. The Spaniard, though, was then replaced by a compatriot, Jorge Navarro (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) who was not bested before the end of the session, and took his first Moto2 pole.

Jorge Navarro at Jerez Moto2 2019 Qualification. Image courtesy of Speedup Factory

Alex Marquez and the returning Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) will join Navarro on the front row tomorrow in an all-Spanish affair at the front of the Moto2 grid. The Spanish crowd will no doubt be hoping for minimal change at the front of the Moto2 race.

However, there are plenty of riders starting further behind who would like to upset that, including Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who qualified fourth for Sunday’s race, and is still in search of his first grand prix victory.

Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) impressed with his best Moto2 qualifying to date, as he made a strong return from arm pump surgery, which kept him out of the Americas round of the series three weeks ago.

Bulega’s fellow VR46 Academy rider, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) completes the second row. The championship leader has not had an easy weekend, with two breakdowns in FP1, followed by a crash, and then another crash in FP2. A further fall on Saturday left the Italian even further on the back foot, but using teammate Fernandez as a marker he was able to lift himself onto the second row of the grid.

Fabio Di Giannantonio (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) looked at one point as though he was on for a front row start on his final lap. The time went away from him in the final sector, but the Italian was nonetheless able to secure seventh on the grid. Austin winner, Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP), and Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) will join last year’s Moto3 runner-up on the third row of the grid.

Despite topping the early stages of the session, Brad Binder was only able to qualify tenth has KTM’s Moto2 woes continue. Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Xavi Vierge will join Binder on row four for Sunday’s race.

Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) could only manage the thirteenth-fastest time in Q2, and will start alongside Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) – whose Q2 was interrupted by a stop at the end of his first lap, from which he did not re-emerge until well into the final ten minutes – and Andrea Locatelli on the fifth row of the grid.

Iker Lecuona, Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) and Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) were the slowest of the Q2 runners, and will start tomorrow’s race from the sixth row.

Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) was the fastest of the riders to not make Q2, and will start the Spanish Grand Prix from nineteenth, with Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) joining him on the seventh row.

Marco Bezzecchi, Moto2 qualification at Jerez 2019

Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) will start directly behind his teammate, Manzi, as the Swiss heads up row eight. Jake Dixon’s replacement at the Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team, Mattia Pasini, along with Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech3) will complete the eighth row.

Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) makes his first appearance of the season this weekend having been replaced by Jesko Raffin for the first three races of the year. The South African rider will start the race from the head of the ninth row, in twenty-fifth. Joe Roberts (American Racing KTM) and Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) complete row nine.

Dimas Ekky (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) will start twenty-eighth, with Philipp Oettl (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) – who is clearly still in pain after his crash in Texas three weeks ago – joining the Indonesian on the back row of the grid.

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MotoGP: Star Rookie Quartararo Seals First MotoGP Pole

The overcast skies of FP3, which were expected to disappear in the afternoon, remained for MotoGP qualifying at the fourth round of the World Championship in Jerez.

The action started early, in Q1. Both factory Yamaha riders had failed to go directly to Q2 from the combined free practice times, and so had to battle it out in Q1. As has become quite ordinary, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was unable to advance to Q2. Spinning the rear tyre on his final lap cost him three tenths in the second sector, and he dropped three more in sector three. This meant that Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) joined Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who went faster in Q1 than he had been all weekend, in advancing from Q1 to Q2.

The real surprise, though, came in Q2, when Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took pole position in just his fourth MotoGP, and the same for the team. In taking pole, Quartararo became the first rookie pole-sitter since Johann Zarco on the satellite Yamaha at Motegi 2017, and the youngest rider to set pole in MotoGP history, taking the record from Marc Marquez who took his first pole at Austin 2013. The Frenchman has had a fantastic start to his premier class career, but even still such a result was completely unexpected. He now has the chance to fight for his first MotoGP podium on Sunday. The same can be said for Quartararo’s Petronas Yamaha SRT teammate, Franco Morbidelli, who completed a quite perfect day for the new team by making it a 1-2 for them on the grid for tomorrow.

Marc Marquez “congratulating” Fabio Quartararo on his first MotoGP pole, and taking Marc’s “youngest MotoGP pole-sitter”. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was the favourite for pole coming into this session. The Spaniard did three runs, but the first one was the fastest, when he seemed to be held up by Repsol Honda teammate Jorge Lorenzo in the final corner. He was attacking his last lap in Q2 until turn seven, when he lost the front. That was the moment that gave Quartararo pole. Despite missing the front of the grid, Marquez will still be the strong favourite to take the race win.

However, Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) will have something to say about that. The Italian has shown good pace in a variety of conditions through the weekend, and has put himself in a good position to try and attack tomorrow. From fourth on the grid, his ‘holeshot device’ could be quite useful tomorrow afternoon.

Joining Dovizioso on row two tomorrow will be Maverick Vinales, who perhaps benefited from the cloud coverage but nonetheless made a better qualification than he perhaps thought possible yesterday, and 2018 Jerez pole sitter, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL).

Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) went three tenths slower than his FP3 time – which at the time was an all-time circuit record – before crashing after the chequered flag, and will start from seventh tomorrow. Takaaki

Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) will join the factory Ducati rider on the third row. Both Petrucci and Rins will have aspirations of the podium tomorrow, so their opening laps will be important.

Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) qualified tenth for Sunday’s race, ahead of Jerez master Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) and fellow rookie Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who was the slowest rider in Q2 and will start from twelfth tomorrow.

Valentino Rossi was the fastest rider not to make Q2, and so will have to come back from thirteenth tomorrow. If his championship contention – about which so many have spoken since Austin – is serious, the first laps tomorrow will be critical for the Italian, who starts from outside the front four rows for the second time this season. Team HRC’s wildcard, Stefan Bradl, and Pramac Racing’s Jack Miller, who crashed at the end of Q1, will join Rossi on row five.

Pol Espargaro and Franco Morbidelli at Jerez 2019. Image courtesy of Philip Platzer/KTM

The Espargaro brothers fill the front two thirds of the sixth row, with Aleix (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) ahead of Pol (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), whilst the latter’s teammate will start from eighteenth.

Bradley Smith, wildcarding for Aprilia Racing Team, rode despite being hurt form a nasty crash in FP2. He will start nineteenth, ahead of the Reale Avintia Racing duo of Tito Rabat and Karel Abraham who complete the seventh row.

The Red Bull KTM Tech3 pairing of Miguel Oliveira and Hafizh Syahrin were the two slowest riders in Q1 and will start from twenty-second and twenty-third tomorrow. Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will start from last, depending on his fitness after an FP4 crash saw him taken to hospital. The Italian had a scan which revealed no broken bones.

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BSB: Oulton Park Gears Up for Round Two

Following the dramatic season opener at Silverstone two weeks ago, British Superbikes is back this bank holiday weekend at Oulton Park for round two of the 2019 series.

As is usual with the May Day bank holiday round at the Cheshire track, on-track action begins on Saturday with the races taking place on bank holiday Monday.

An official test at Oulton Park has punctuated the gap between rounds one and two, and it was the luckless Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) who dominated last Thursday’s running. Brookes has had some good success at Oulton Park in the past, and will be hoping that the positive signs from the test last week will continue into the weekend and to race day as the Australian looks to make up ground on the championship leaders following on from his non-scoring round in Silverstone, where mechanical problems ended his chances in both races.

Scott Redding on the Silverstone 2019 BSB podium. Image courtesy of Ducati

Brookes’ teammate Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) expressed his adoration for Oulton Park after the test on social media. He was not especially high on the time sheets, but made some strong progress from the first session to the second. Intermittent rain meant that almost all of the afternoon running was somewhat unrepresentative, and most riders – including Redding – did not even bother to venture out in the final session of the day. Having had a week to digest his first experience of a more typical British track, Redding will need to a strong Friday if he is to fight at the front and add to the single podium credit he picked up in the first race at Silverstone.

Silverstone was full of surprises but perhaps none bigger than Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki) who – retrospectively – took his first career British Superbike win in the first race of the season, and followed that up with a second place in race two. Despite this, there is still little pressure on Elliott, since he is still so inexperienced in the Superbike class, and is in a team which is still in only its second season of BSB. Nonetheless, Elliott will be aiming for more of the same this weekend, as he looks to firm up his position in the championship – it might not be the expectation, but the Showdown is where they all want to be.

Josh Elliott and OMG Racing Suzuki Team. Image courtesy of Suzuki Racing

Crossing the line ahead of Elliott in both races two weeks ago was Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha), although a penalty applied after the race took the race one victory from him. Race two, though, saw no such controversy as the first outing, and Mackenzie picked up his first BSB win in just the second race of his second season in Britain’s premier class of motorcycle racing. Oulton Park was a difficult circuit for Mackenzie last year, but he was quite fast in the test, and will be aiming once more for the top three to build his tally of podium credits.

Silverstone was a positive weekend for the McAMS Yamaha team as a whole, not just for the #95 side of the garage. A collision between Mackenzie and his teammate, Jason O’Halloran, cost the team a 1-2 in the first race, and in fact cost them the win, and a mechanical problem early on in the second race for the Australian meant the #22 went away from the first weekend of the season in the same position as Brookes: pointless. However, O’Halloran was the fastest rider all weekend and, after a decent showing in the test, will be keen to turn that pace into results this weekend.

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Moto2: Baldassarri Leads the Charge to Europe

As the Moto2 World Championship arrives in Jerez for the first European round of the 2019 season, it is Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) who leads the title race.

Baldassarri was last year’s dominant victor of the Spanish Grand Prix, taking pole, the fastest lap and the race win. It was a stunning weekend for Baldassarri in Andalusia in 2018, much like the first two rounds of this season, Qatar and Argentina, which he won. Going into Texas, Baldassarri was unbeaten, but a poor qualifying left him in the middle of the pack at the start of the race, and a mistake from Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was enough to bring the #7 into the back wheel of the Spaniard, which ended the championship leader’s race. Baldassarri was able to maintain his championship lead ahead of the first European round, and will be keen to re-assert himself as the main challenger for the title this year at a round he was so convincing at twelve months ago.

Jorge Martin at the 2019 Moto2 Cota grid. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

In Baldassarri’s absence from the front, the Texan victory was taken by Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP), who was dominant in his return to the top step – somewhere he hadn’t been since Brno 2017. Luthi was strong in Texas and will be hoping for more of the same here, to continue his strong start to the championship, which has him third in the championship, only five points from Baldassarri.

Between Luthi and Baldassarri, second in the championship belongs at the moment to the man who should have won in Texas: Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP). The German was by far the fastest all weekend, at times having half a second on the field. But, once again, Schrotter was unable to put this into the race, and he was not as strong as his teammate. Nonetheless, as the European season gets underway there are only three points separating Schrotter from the top of the standings.

Aside from Baldassarri perhaps the most disappointed rider from COTA was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) after a mechanical problem ended his race in the early stages. It was unfortunate for the South African, who is still without a podium in 2019. Chatter is still the major problem facing KTM at the moment with their Moto2 frame, and solving that, and solving it soon, will be the key to Binder’s title hopes.

A strong winter tests in Jerez means that Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) is in contention for the top places ahead of this weekend. Like the Qatar preseason tests, Lowes was strong in Andalusia, and will hope to repeat the achievement he managed in 2016, when he dominated the Spanish Grand Prix for Fausto Gresini’s Moto2 outfit in what was one of the strongest and most impressive performances of Lowes’ grand prix career.

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

Like Binder, though, Lowes is without a podium in 2019, and so is the third of the preseason championship favourites: Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46). Marini has spent the fly away races managing a shoulder which was still not fully recovered from surgery over the winter in Texas. Another three weeks will have helped heal the shoulder further for the #10, and he will be looking to do what he looked capable of in COTA before some gearbox issues, and take his first rostrum of the season.

One place ahead of Marini in the championship is Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who has had a fairly average start to the season. A fall last year at turn two for Marquez ended his victory hopes, hopes that he fulfilled in 2017, a result that will be important to replicate for the Spaniard if he is to identify himself as a serious championship contender.

Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) took his first podium in Argentina, with a second place, but was unable to back that up in Texas. In part, this was down to a crash at turn ten in qualifying which left him towards the back of the grid at the race start. However, a perhaps bigger part of this poor result in America was down to Baldassarri’s crash with Martin, as Gardner had to go wide to avoid the bike of Baldassarri, costing him time which is unaffordable in the intermediate class of grand prix motorcycle racing. Gardner should be back this weekend, fighting for the victory – and at only twelve points deficit to Baldassarri the Australian is still well within championship contention.

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Moto3: Masia, Canet Lead the Charge to Jerez

‘Inconsistent’ is an adjective which could be used to describe the first three races of almost every rider in the 2019 Moto3 World Championship. Although several riders have been fast in the early stages of this season, not one of them has made the podium in all three GPs of 2019.

So, despite not finishing the first race (through no fault of his own) Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) is the joint-leader of the championship, on forty-five points, going into the first European race of the season: the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. The speed at which the championship will now approach the halfway point, at the close of the German Grand Prix in just over two months’ time, means that consistency for the next six races is potentially the most crucial ingredient in building a championship challenge.

Jaume Masia, winner of the Moto3 race in Argentina 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

In Moto3, where the races are so unpredictable, hard-fought and contain so many riders and motorcycles in the battle for the lead, it is often only one rider who can identify themselves as a championship challenger. Last year, that should have been Jorge Martin, such was his speed, but his inconsistency allowed the championship to be close, with Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio remaining in touch. Perhaps the best example of the early European season being a critical point of the World Championship is 2015, when Danny Kent took so many victories, with such conviction, and made it seem impossible that anyone could challenge him in the second half of the season. Despite his awful form in the second half of the year, and Miguel Oliveira’s strong push towards the title that took the fight to the final round in Valencia, Kent’s success in motorcycle grand prix racing’s European heartlands meant he was able to clinch the crown.

It is Masia who seems closest at the moment to becoming 2019’s Danny Kent, although he will no doubt hope to avoid the drop off after the summer break. In Qatar, the Spaniard was not at full fitness, an injury sustained after setting the fastest time of the Moto3 Jerez test in the winter still holding him back. Then, he was involved in an accident not of his making. The form shown by Masia in the two following rounds, in Argentina and the United States, are perhaps more representative of his potential. A poor qualifying and a difficult start in America limited his possibilities, but nonetheless the KTM rider came through to finish second, two weeks on from picking up his first grand prix win in Argentina.

Aron Canet. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

The rider who beat Masia to the flag in Austin was also the rider with whom the #5 shares the championship lead: Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team). A disappointing Argentinian round punctuated two top threes in Qatar and America for the #44, and returning to the site of his first grand prix win back in 2017, Canet will have high ambitions for this weekend in Jerez, where he will look to pull clear at the top of the championship.

The two aforementioned Spaniards are the clear standouts in the pack this season so far, as far as the championship is concerned. However, Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) will be aiming to identify himself as a genuine championship contender as the series returns to Europe. A podium in Qatar, where he was second behind Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia), was followed up by a seventh in Argentina and a thirteenth in America. The Argentinian result was largely due to Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power), who has not endeared himself to his competitors so far this season, and on this occasion put a move on Dalla Porta which sent him wide at turn five at the end of the straight. The Texan result, however, is not so easily explained, although the Italian’s history at the Circuit of the Americas is poor. Nonetheless, it will be a priority for the Italian to return to the podium this weekend and to close the gap on the two Spaniards who have jumped ahead of him in the standings since Qatar.

Returning to the championship this weekend, at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, is the Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team rider, Albert Arenas, who is fit again after a nasty cycling accident which saw Aleix Viu stand in for him at the two Americas races. Two times a winner last year, Arenas is without a podium on home soil since he arrived in the World Championship, something he will be looking to change on Sunday.

Featured Image courtesy of Chippy Wood/KTM

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MotoGP: Jerez, Round One of the European War

This weekend, the MotoGP World Championship heads to Jerez, for the first European round of the 2019 season, and the beginning of the ‘ground war’.

The European slog from now until round nine in Sachsenring in July is one of the most important sequences in the entire calendar. Back in 2015, for example, Jorge Lorenzo – then riding for the factory Yamaha squad – took four consecutive wins from Jerez to Barcelona. A further podium in Assen to propel him into contention as then-teammate Valentino Rossi’s main championship rival, despite a below-par opening trio of fly away races for the Spaniard. Of course, Lorenzo went on to win the championship, as is often the way with the victors of the early-season tour through Europe’s classics: Jerez, Le Mans, Mugello, Montmelo, Assen and Sachsenring.

Lorenzo, now riding for the Repsol Honda Team, will have a tough ask to repeat his 2015 feat of victory in Jerez. In fact, his 2015 triumph, on route to his most recent World Championship, is also his most recent success in the Spanish Grand Prix, although he added podiums in 2016 and 2017 when he took his first podium in the red of Ducati. However, as it is at the moment, the improved fitness of Lorenzo (the Spaniard is likely sitting in his best physical condition since the entry to turn one in Aragon on the first lap last September) may not be enough to bring him into the frame for the victory. He is still missing some comfortability with the RC213V, although his recent run of bad luck must come to and end at some point, and Jerez may just be that place.

Jorge Lorenzo with his RC213V at Cota 2019. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

Of course, perhaps the biggest hurdle standing between Jorge Lorenzo and victory this weekend is the #93 Repsol Honda Team RC213V of reigning World Champion and two-time premier class Spanish Grand Prix winner, including the 2018 edition, Marc Marquez. The seven-times World Champion has been the fastest rider this year in two of the three races: Argentina and Texas. This is expected, as they are two of the Spaniard’s strongest circuits. However, it is almost impossible to ignore the similarities between Marquez’ form coming into this race this year and that of this time last year. With forty-five points and a no-score to his name to this point in 2019, Marquez has almost a complete copy of his form of the opening three races in 2018, although his no-score this year came in Texas, not Argentina. That Texan DNF, though, could be a source of further strength for Marquez, as he looks to bounce back from defeat at a track in which he had previously been invincible. Jerez is a different situation for Marquez, with ‘only’ two premier class wins (2014, 2018), although the #93 has only once finished lower than second at the Grand Prix of his home nation in the MotoGP class, when Valentino Rossi headed a factory Yamaha 1-2 from Jorge Lorenzo in 2016.

A podium of that order in 2019 would be completely unexpected. Marquez has looked incredibly strong so far this season, whilst Lorenzo has struggled to adapt to the Honda and has been hampered by injuries and mechanical faults; and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has benefitted from a Yamaha that is improved, but still lacking in horsepower and, crucially, unproven in Jerez.

The Andalusian asphalt has proven tricky to master for the YZR-M1 and its pilots since Rossi’s 2016 victory. Poor traction in low-grip conditions has characterised the performance of the M1 in the past two seasons, but changes over the winter have been well received by Rossi, and there is an air of optimism surrounding Yamaha for this weekend, and a new surface in Jerez could also be of some assistance. However, it will not be proven until Friday whether the 2019 M1 will be able to be competitive at the Spanish Grand Prix, and whether or not Valentino Rossi will be able to fight for the victory.

Maverick Viñales on the 2019 Cota MotoGP Grid. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

The issues of Rossi’s Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammate, Maverick Vinales, remain the same as ever. Problems in the opening five laps of the race have prevented Vinales from capitalising on his strong late race pace since the middle of 2017 and that has not changed for this year. This came to a head in America, when Vinales jumped the start. He interpreted his penalty to mean a ‘long lap’, but in fact he had a ride through. The criticism Vinales has received as a result of his not knowing the rules is justified, and the reaction of Yamaha to see one of its factory riders being so unprepared must have been quite emphatic. No doubt it will not be a mistake Vinales will make again, but if he is to take this weekend his first premier class podium in the Spanish Grand Prix he will have to find a solution to his early race problems.

It was not only Vinales who jumped the start in COTA, Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) went early, too. Mir claimed a podium or top five was possible. This is arguably an exaggeration, but nonetheless when his teammate is winning the 2017 Moto3 World Champion would not have wanted to ruin his race before it began, and end it outside of the points.

Of course, the teammate doing the winning for the factory Team Suzuki Ecstar was Alex Rins, who took his first victory in the premier class and Suzuki’s first GP win since Vinales won in Silverstone 2016. Having never won a race in Jerez, and with a best result of third (Moto3 2013, Moto2 2016), Rins is perhaps an unlikely candidate to beat Marquez this weekend. However, the characteristics of the Suzuki should match well with those of the long, hanging corners of Jerez, where much time is spent on the side of the tyre and corner speed counts for so much. After all, the most successful riders in Jerez have been Lorenzo, Rossi and Dani Pedrosa – corner speed riders.

That should, in theory, rule Ducati out this weekend. However, Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) was able to fight for the podium last season and, whilst his race was ended in a collision with Lorenzo and Pedrosa at what was Dry Sack and what is now, without any irony at all, Dani Pedrosa Corner. The fight then was between Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa for second place, although this year, there seems the possibility that the fight could be for the win, and it could contain many more riders, such as: 2018 pole sitter Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL), Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and perhaps even Dovizioso’s Mission Winnow Ducati teammate Danilo Petrucci.

Featured Image courtesy of Box Repsol

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BSB: Mackenzie takes first BSB win… and keeps it

A few hours on from being handed his first win in British Superbike courtesy of a Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) penalty, Josh Elliott (OMG Suzuki) lined up on the front row as he eyed a dream double.

He did not make the start he would have wanted, though, and his poor launch ensured it was Mackenzie who made the holeshot.

However, running wide at Brooklands meant Mackenzie lost out to Dan Linfoot (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) who took the lead, and led the first lap.

Throughout the opening stages of the race, the front group was quite large, despite retirements from Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) who suffered a mechanical problem and Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) who fell after contact with Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing).

By lap nine, though, there was a distinctive front four of Josh Elliott, Dan Linfoot, Danny Buchan (FS-3 Kawasaki) and Tarran Mackenzie.

Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes. Image courtesy of Ducati

Another quartet behind was led by Andrew Irwin, from Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki), Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing) and Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati), with the #18 Fireblade bringing the trio behind up to the front group.

This charge was halted, though, for the Northern Irishman when on lap twelve he was handed a long lap penalty for the previous incident with Redding.

Irwin took the penalty at his first opportunity, on lap thirteen, and the following lap Mackenzie passed Elliott for the lead. Elliott’s pace to that point had not been so electric, and with the trio behind of Bridewell, Mossey and Brookes closing in Mackenzie was seemingly intent on keeping the fight for the win to as few contenders as possible.

The pace dropped when Mackenzie hit the front. Elliott and Buchan were able to go with him, but Linfoot dropped off the back of the leading three, and into the clutches of Bridewell who went past on the Wellington straight on lap eighteen.

On lap twenty, as Mackenzie and Elliott were beginning to stretch away from Buchan behind, Josh Brookes brought the safety car out as his Ducati expired for the third time in the weekend. There was plenty of oil pouring from the Australian’s V4R, and the retirement meant that Brookes left Silverstone with zero points.

The safety car worked to bunch the field up, so on lap twenty-five of what was now a thirty-three-lap race there was all to play for.

Mackenzie held the lead on the restart, although Elliott piled the pressure on through Woodcote and Copse.

Once again, though, it was Mackenzie and Elliott with a small gap behind to Buchan, who in turn had a small lead over Bridewell behind. By the end of lap twenty-seven, Bridewell had caught Buchan, who in turn had caught Elliott, and so there was an eight-wheeled fight for the win.

As the final lap started, though, the clear battle was for second. Mackenzie had worked a bit of a gap for himself out front, and Bridewell had dropped off a little in fourth place. Buchan was close, though, to Elliott in second, but was unable to make a move before the line.

It was Mackenzie who arrived at the flag first, for his first BSB win, and this time he kept it. With Elliott finishing second, the two winners from Silverstone leave round one joint on points at the top of the championship.

Whilst Mackenzie was somewhat expected to fight for wins this season, perhaps not so many believed he would achieve his first victory in the first round. In comparison, few probably thought that Josh Elliott would take a podium this season, but he as come away from the first round with a win and a second. For the pair of them, there are many positives to take from this first weekend of the season.

A similar situation exists for Danny Buchan, who was the only Kawasaki rider to make the top ten in the second race, and one of only two ZX-10RR pilots to finish inside the top ten across both races. It was a Saturday night turnaround which proved pivotal for Buchan’s weekend, after a difficult Saturday with a poor qualifying. A step in warm up allowed him to make a good race in the first outing – despite running on in Brooklands early on – and to set a good lap time allowing him to start further up the grid for the second race, which in turn enabled him to claim his first podium since Knockhill last summer.

Luke Stapleford. Image courtesy of Suzuki racing

Fourth place went to Tommy Bridewell who was the top Ducati, ahead of Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) who once more impressed on his first weekend as a full-time BSB rider. Two top tens – including one top five – from the first weekend of the season is a strong return for the 2015 British Supersport Champion.

Sixth place went to Luke Mossey, meaning it was three Suzukis in the top six, making the GSX-R 1000 the most populous bike in the top six in race two.

Andrew Irwin recovered from his long lap penalty just before half distance to take seventh place, a couple of tenths clear of his rookie teammate Xavi Fores (Honda Racing) in eighth; whilst Dan Linfoot and Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) completed the top ten for the second race of the season.

Glenn Irwin ended a difficult debut weekend for Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki with an eleventh place, ahead of Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW Motorrad), Ben Currie (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki), Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing) and Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki) who completed the points in his second career BSB race.

Claudio Corti (Team WD-40) and Fraser Rogers (Gearlink Kawasaki) were the first two retirements, both out on lap one. The aforementioned retirement of Jason O’Halloran came a couple of laps later, and a lap before Scott Redding was out. Conor Cummins (Milenco by Padgetts Motorcycles) was the next to go on lap ten, before Shaun Winfield (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) on lap sixteen. Both Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Racing) and Josh Brookes retired on lap twenty, and James Ellison (Smiths Racing) was the final retirement a lap later.

Featured Image courtesy of Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool

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BSB: Mackenzie Penalty Hands Elliott and OMG Racing First BSB Win

After much anticipation ahead of this season, the 2019 British Superbike season got underway under steaming sunshine in Silverstone.

Starting from pole, Tarran Mackenzie had to see his McAMS Yamaha teammate, Jason O’Halloran, take the holeshot. This would set the tone for the rest of the race as far as the battle for the win was concerned.

Behind, Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) maintained the third place with which he started the race, ahead of Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki).

There was a gap appearing behind Elliott back to fifth-placed Dan Linfoot (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha).

Then the safety car came out after an incident which could have been much worse than it was in reality. Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) collided with Dean Harrison’s Silicone Engineering Kawasaki after the TT winner crashed in Becketts. Both riders and their bikes were lying in the middle of the track, but fortunately for both of them, and everyone else, both the bikes and the riders were avoided. Ben Currie (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) also went down at the same moment, but in a separate incident.
This safety car saw the pack bunched back up after the initial laps, but the same pattern arose once the race went green again.

2019 British Superbike Championship,
Ben Currie, Image courtesy of Tim Keeton/Impact Images/Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki

Both McAMS Yamahas once again took off out front, gapping Scott Redding behind quite comfortably. Josh Elliott had soon tired of the view of the Panigale V4R’s bizarre tailpipe, and made his move on Redding before ten laps were up on the change of direction from Copse to Maggots.

Elliott then caught the McAMS Yamahas, who had yet to engage each other. Once on the back of Mackenzie, Elliott looked a few times at passing the 2016 British Supersport Champion in the same place as he passed Redding, but the #95 was strong enough to hold the 2015 National Superstock 1000 Champion at bay, even when he started to drop off his teammate in the mid-race.

In response, Mackenzie made a push in the final third of the race, and started to make a gap to Elliott behind whilst simultaneously closing in on O’Halloran.

Despite being within range of the Australian for a few laps, Mackenzie did not launch an attack until Brooklands on the final lap. Mackenzie dived to the inside, and blocked his teammate’s line, forcing O’Halloran a little wide and compromising the #22’s line into Luffield. O’Halloran ran a little wide in the mid-corner, and Mackenzie emulated Jorge Lorenzo in 2013 when he was up against Marc Marquez in the MotoGP. The #95 cut to the inside, and jammed his R1 on the kerb. He had turned too tight, and had to sit up slightly to avoid touching the kerb and taking both himself and his teammate out of the race. O’Halloran didn’t budge, and the contact between the two riders sent O’Halloran – who had led the race in its entirety – tumbling.

The Australian was enraged. He had dominated the race, after dominating the weekend and preseason, yet still had victory snatched from him on his McAMS Yamaha debut by none other than his teammate.

Certainly, the competitive relationship between Mackenzie and his teammate could have gotten off to a better start, but as far as Tarran is concerned he did what was necessary to win. He had one opportunity in the race to pass his teammate for the victory, and he took it. The outcome was harsh on O’Halloran, who had ridden a fantastic race, and it was unfair on the team, who had done enough to deserve a 1-2. However, Mackenzie should not be condemned – his move was one of the rider he was at the time: one in search of his first BSB win.

O’Halloran’s retirement meant that Josh Elliott, who had dropped a way off the back of the two R1s out front in the last ten laps, took his first BSB podium in his first attempt with OMG Suzuki, who also enjoyed their first BSB top three.

Certainly, whilst the main talking point of the race was what happened between the two McAMS teammates, the most impressive performance was no doubt that of Elliott. A post-race penalty for Mackenze then promoted Elliott to first, giving both him and OMG their first win in the premier class of British motorcycle racing. The win also meant that OMG Racing Suzuki took the lead in both the teams’ championship and the riders’ standings.

The expectations will now be high for Elliott, perhaps unfairly, but nonetheless it will be interesting to see how he will react.

That demoted Mackenzie to second. He will undoubtedly be out for redemption in race two.

Scott Redding benefited from O’Halloran’s fall to claim a podium on his BSB debut. Whilst third was his result, his real position was fourth, and he will be keen to improve on that for the second race.

Luke Mossey rounded out the top four in what turned out to be a stunning race for the OMG Racing Suzuki squad, and one that would have far surpassed all their pre-race expectations. Mossey was able to break away from the battle for sixth behind in the middle of the race, and was closing on Redding ahead by the end.

That battle for sixth became a battle for the top five after O’Halloran’s fall, and it was Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing) who came out on top in that fight ahead of Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) who impressed with sixth on his debut aboard the Fireblade.

Also impressing was Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) who took seventh on his full-time debut in BSB, and came home ahead of yet another impresser, this time in the shape of WD40 Racing’s Claudio Corti who was eighth.
Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing) ran wide in Brooklands in the early laps, but recovered to ninth by the end to be the top Kawasaki at the flag, ahead of BSB debutant Xavi Fores (Honda Racing) who rounded out the top ten.

Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW Motorrad) seemed to retire at one point in the race as his name dropped down the timing column, but in the end he was the top BMW in eleventh, ahead of impressive rookie Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki) in twelfth, Dan Linfoot in thirteenth, Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing) and Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW Motorrad) who rounded out the points in fifteenth.

As well as the initial wave of retirements in the initial stages of the race, James Ellison (Smiths Racing), Shaun Winfield (Santander Salt TAG Racing) and Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) all retired.

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