Category: Crew On Two

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Moto3: Canet Ends Win Drought in Texas

The Moto3 races in the Circuit of the Americas are often different from the rest. The circuit is so long, technical and demanding of both rider and bike that usually over race distance a few riders will be able to distance themselves from the rest of the field.

Raul Fernandez, Moto3 race, Grand Prix of the Americas 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

From pole position, Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) failed to make the holeshot, as that honour went to reigning Junior World Champion Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team). However, it was not long before the Italian was back by his Spanish rival, and trying to pull away.

Unfortunately for Antonelli, though, the slipstream in the early laps was enough to keep the pack together, and he couldn’t get away. Instead, a typical Moto3 group fight broke out, with Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) handing out the big blows, which was not to everyone’s liking.

When Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) hit the front, he started to pull away. He achieved a gap of around one second, which was set on after by Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team). Suzuki had endured a tough start to the weekend; his flight was delayed, so he only arrived at the circuit on Friday morning on four hours’ sleep. When he eventually crashed, just after Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) had taken second place away from Canet, Suzuki was clearly upset, and understandably so.

That gave Migno the lead, and brought Canet closer to him – the Spaniard keen to not allow his rival any time to breathe. By this point the pair had worked themselves a gap to the duelling Hondas of Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), who also had a gap behind to a group of five riders which included Jaume Masia (Bester Capita Dubai), Niccolo Antonelli, Raul Fernandez and Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46).

By the penultimate lap, Masia had closed on the two Hondas ahead, bringing the rest of his ten-wheeler with him, whilst at the same time Rodrigo and Lopez had caught Canet and Migno. This prompted Canet to make his move in turn one with two laps to go. Canet was able to fashion a small gap for himself through the first sector which meant that no one was close enough to pass him down the long back straight. Instead, it was Rodrigo who slid through on Migno for second.

Aron Canet ahead of Gabriel Rodrigo in the Moto3 Grand prix of Americas 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose.

Canet, at the start of the final lap, once more created that gap between himself and his pursuers which put him almost out of range on the straight. However, a strong performance from Migno on the brakes in turn eleven saw him pass Rodrigo and close to within strong slipstream range of Canet, and the Italian was through before the braking zone.

In fact, it was this which cost Migno the race. Canet was then able to switch back to the inside, and force Migno out wide, reclaiming the lead and costing the Italian time in the process, which had the #16 defending from Rodrigo in turn thirteen. Migno’s defence forced Rodrigo wide, which allowed Masia through, and the Spaniard then passed his Bester Capital Dubai teammate, Migno, in the next corner. It was not a great move, though, by the Argentina winner, and it created an unrecoverable gap to Canet, letting the #44 off the hook for his first win of the season, his first with the Max Racing Team and KTM.

It was a smart race from Canet, pushing when he needed to, but allowing others to lead the way when he was not under pressure. It was the opposite performance to the one he produced in 2017, when he dominated the weekend but crashed in the restarted race, this time he was not only fast, but also calm, and most importantly he was intelligent.

The win also moved Canet into the joint lead of the championship, sharing it with Jaume Masia, the Spanish pair each having forty-five points.

Masia’s race was a fantastic comeback. At one point he was down in sixteenth place, seemingly out of contention. However, before long he was up in the top ten, and then closing down the podium fight, which became the leading fight almost as he arrived at it. Having been taken out of the opening race of the season, winning round two and then finishing a close second at the third round are results which have identified the young Spaniard as a championship contender.

Jaume Masia in the Moto3 Grand prix of Americas 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose.

Andrea Migno ensured it was Bester Capital Dubai who occupied both lower spots on the podium, despite his best attempts to throw it away in the final corner. It was Migno’s best race since his win in Mugello back in 2017, and perhaps even better. He led the race seemingly with ease, setting a fast pace that he was comfortable with. Perhaps the move away from the VR46 squad has been just what Migno needed to re-ignite his career.

Only 0.027 seconds back of Migno was Gabriel Rodrigo, who just missed out on his first podium for Gresini, finishing fourth, less than a tenth ahead of pole sitter Niccolo Antonelli. Antonelli made a good comeback after falling back in the middle of the race to finish fifth. Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who, like Masia, was way back in the pack at the beginning, but fought through, and arrived in the group with the eventual runner-up that brought him into the fight for the win, the Italian finally coming home in sixth.

Seventh place and top rookie went to Raul Fernandez, who had perhaps his most impressive performance in grand prix racing, as he stayed in the top ten for pretty much the whole race, and in the end was in the battle for the win.

Despite looking good for a podium three laps from the flag, the hard fighting that arrived in the final two laps saw Alonso Lopez shuffled back to eighth, ahead of another impressive rookie in the shape of Celestino Vietti who came home in ninth.

Tenth place went to Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) who cut through the pack with his teammate, Vietti, but couldn’t hold the #13’s pace. Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) finished eleventh, ahead of Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing), Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing), John McPhee (Petronas SRT) and Darryn Binder who ended up rounding out the points.

Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) finished sixteenth, ahead of Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77), Makar Yurchenko (CIP Green Power), Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) and Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) who was the twenty-first and final finisher.

There were a whole host of retirements, the first of which was Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) was the championship leader coming into this race but a crash in turn eighteen leaves him fourteen points down on Masia and Canet at the top now. Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) and Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) were the next to go down, Kornfeil getting caught up in Fenati crashing in turn eighteen – the Italian crashed as he passed the Czech, leaving him nowhere to go. Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) was the next to retire, before the aforementioned Tatsuki Suzuki; then it was Aleix Viu (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and finally Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) retired two laps from the flag.

Featured image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

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WorldSBK: Bautista on Top Again, van der Mark Beats Rea for Second

The second race of the 2019 Superbike World Championship’s fourth round at Assen saw Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) take his eleventh win in as many races in the series, with Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) joining him on the podium.

The grid in race two was as race one, with Alvaro Bautista on pole. The Spaniard made the holeshot again, but by turn five he was back to second.
This was because Jonathan Rea had made an incredible start. From eighth on the grid, he was third by turn one, and soon past van der Mark as well. With championship leader Bautista directly in front of him, Rea wasted no time in getting past.

Knowing he needs to take a lot of points out of the Spaniard to make his championship hopes more realistic, Rea then slowed the pace to get more people involved. Despite the conditions being better than in the morning, the early race pace was nearly one second slower than in race one, and that kept the pack glued together.

Álvaro Bautista ahead of Jonathan Rea. Image courtesy of Ducati

Bautista was trying to attack Rea, but van der Mark was hounding him from behind. Eventually, the Spaniard was able to pass the reigning champion in turn eight. It was expected that Rea would fight straight back, but any attempt he might make was thwarted as Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) slid through on Rea in turn nine. This cost Rea his rhythm, and soon he was back behind van der Mark and almost Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) as well.

It took a lap for Rea to respond and fight back, and by the time he had recovered second position, Bautista was one second clear. Rea pushed hard to try and close the gap, pushing on the absolute limit as he traded the fastest lap of the race with Bautista for five or six tours.

However, Bautista was able to eek out the gap, and soon he was out of reach, a couple of seconds up the road.

Rea then sat back, ready to soak up another second place, but from almost two seconds back, the home rider closed on the reigning champion and passed him with three laps to go. Rea fought back, though, despite clearly missing grip on the right side of the tyre, and he tried to pass the Dutchman in turn ten on the final lap. There was some small contact but both riders stayed on.

They were far enough clear of Lowes behind to not lose any further positions, and after Bautista had claimed his eleventh straight win – matching Rea’s run of eleven straight wins at the end of 2018 – van der Mark and Rea crossed the line for the final time separated by just 0.018 seconds.

For van der Mark, this second place was important, as not only was it another podium at home, but also he became the first rider other than Bautista to beat Rea since Alex Lowes won race two at Brno last season when Rea crashed.
For Rea’s championship, the third place is quite negative, because he is now fifty-three points behind Bautista in the championship. However, there is no doubt the reigning champion enjoyed the battle at the end with van der Mark.

Alex Lowes was able to stick with his teammates pace for a portion of the race, but towards the end he dropped back and ended up in a quite lonely fourth, five seconds behind Rea, and three seconds ahead of Chaz Davies who came home in fifth after a much better ride for the Welshman in the second outing.

Markus Retierberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) took his second sixth place of the day, finishing just under two seconds behind Davies. However, the German had a big battle at the end of the race with his factory BMW teammate, Tom Sykes, who he beat over the line by 0.014 seconds.

Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was in the fight with Alex Lowes and Chaz Davies for much of the race, but fell back dramatically towards the end, perhaps struggling with similar tyre issues to those of his teammate, and finished eighth, ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) who was top ‘independent’, half a second ahead of fellow ‘independent’ Kawasaki rider Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing).

Sandro Cortese. 2019 Assen WSBK. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Four seconds back of Torres was Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) in eleventh, ahead of Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team), Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven), Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) who completed the points.
Sixteenth once again went to Leandro Mercado’s replacement at Orelac Racing VerdNatura, Hector Barbera, and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) was the final finisher in seventeenth.

This weekend was the one where Bautista would be tested, and the one where he was most likely to be beaten. He has come away with his 100% winning record in WorldSBK still intact, and relatively comfortably as well. Imola is next up, the home of Ducati, and the first circuit on the calendar which Bautista has not raced at in the past. If he gets out of Imola still unbeaten it will be difficult to see what the others can do about the top step this season.

Featured image courtesy of Ducati

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WorldSBK: Bautista Takes Record Tenth Straight Win in Assen Race One

After snow on Saturday, the first race of the WorldSBK weekend in Assen, the fourth round of the 2019 series, was postponed to Sunday and the Superpole race cancelled.

Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) started from pole position after getting lucky with the timing of a red flag in Superpole on Saturday morning. It was not a great launch from the #19, but the drive and power of the Ducati got him to turn one first, ahead of Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) who got past Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK).

Reiterberger and van der Mark were initially able to go with Bautista. However, a mistake for van der Mark in the final chicane early in the race dropped him off the back of the leading pair. Reiterberger, though – much to everyone’s surprise – stuck with Bautista for several laps. It was not until Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) got by the German that his pace started to fall away.

Alvaro Bautista at Assen WSBK 2019. Image courtesy of Dcuati

From this point, the race was on. There was just over one second between Bautista and Rea – who had started from row three after catching the bad side of the red flag which benefited Bautista in Superpole – and with fourteen laps remaining there was time for the World Champion to close down the championship leader.

However, Bautista pulled away. It was gradual, tenth by tenth, but the Spaniard slowly extended the gap out to over two seconds and, despite Rea’s harder rear tyre, the gap over the line was over three seconds.

No one had ever won the first ten races of a Superbike World Championship season, and considering the struggles Bautista looked to be facing on Friday, it was unexpected that that would change this year. However, in the end he made it look almost as effortless as most of his previous nine, and that emphasised his current dominance of the series.

Ten wins for Bautista is played by ten second places for Jonathan Rea. The four-times champion is now forty-four points behind Bautista in the championship, and seeing the gap extend at a track which he has been so successful on in the past, and which does not allow the Ducati to use its biggest advantage all that much, must be somewhat demoralising for the Northern Irishman. Arguably, Rea could have gone with Bautista had he started from the front row, alongside his rival. Unfortunately, we will not get to understand that in race two, as the grid positions are again decided from Superpole, so once more Rea will go from eighth while Bautista starts from pole.

Michael van der Mark and Alex Lows Pata at Assen 2019 WSBK. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Third place went to Michael van der Mark, who recovered from his moment early on, on the exit of the chicane to take his first podium of the year, in front of his home fans. The mistake definitely compromised van der Mark’s race, his pace suffered in the laps immediately afterwards. However, finally he made the best result possible, although he will hope to be able to challenge Rea in the second outing.

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) spent the whole race fighting with Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), a fight which he eventually won, while Haslam came home in fifth.

After a brilliant start, Reiterberger finished sixth, his first top ten of 2019. His pace dropped off a lot once the rear tyre started to wear, and this meant he struggled to hold the line. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic ride from the German, and one that he will hope will set the tone for the races to come.

A poor start for Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) ruined his chances. He was out of the top ten by the end of the first sector, and his recovery brought him back to only seventh, after fighting with Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK). The Welshman was able to break away at the end of the race, but he would have hoped for better.

Of the battle behind, it was Torres who came out on top, taking the top ‘independent’ prize for the first time this season. It seems the Spaniard’s performance in Aragon one week ago was not a flash in the pan.

It was somewhat miraculous that Razgatlioglu was able to ride, after his big crash at the Ramshoek in Superpole, so a top ten will have pleased the Turk, despite being beaten to the line for eighth by Torres.

Tom Sykes dropped back at the end of the race, ending up a second and a half away from the eighth-place battle, but rounded out the top ten nonetheless.

Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) had a desperately lonely ride to eleventh, finishing ten seconds behind Sykes and six ahead of twelfth placed Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK).

Sandro Cortese GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK – 2019 WorldSBK – R3 Aragon. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Melandri spent much of the race fighting with his GRT Yamaha WorldSBK teammate, Sandro Cortese, although the German ended up thirteenth and six seconds back of the Italian.

Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven) suffered in the cold conditions of warm up, and the situation didn’t seem to improve in the first race of the day as he finished fourteenth, only two tenths ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) who completed the points finishers.

Leandro Mercado’s replacement at Orelac Racing VerdNatura, Hector Barbera, was the final finisher in sixteenth.

Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) were the only retirements.

Featured image courtesy of Ducati

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Moto3: Antonelli on Pole in Torrential Texas

Electric storms throughout the morning which brought persistent, heavy rain as well as the threat of lightning ensured that the free practice three session for Moto3 was cancelled. This meant that when the riders went out for qualifying just after noon, it was their first experience of the Circuit of the Americas in wet conditions.

The first session was of course Q1, from which Argentina podium finisher Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power), Argentina winner Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai), reigning Junior World Champion Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and regular podium contender Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) advanced to Q2 for the pole position shootout.

Having had an extra fifteen minutes of wet weather experience compared to the complete lack of such experience of the fourteen riders they would join in Q2, Q1’s top four were well-placed to take advantage and make a charge for pole position.

Darryn Binder, Moto3. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

This was especially the case for Darryn Binder, who had at times been two or three seconds faster than his competitors in Q1, and ended up half a second clear of the field in the first session.

However, it was finally Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) who took pole position, his first of the season and, in fact, his first since his debut with Paolo Simoncelli’s team back in the opening round of the 2018 season in Qatar. Taking pole by half a second on his penultimate lap of the session, it was an impressive performance by Antonelli, and one he will hope to repeat in the race.

Second fastest was Raul Fernandez, the fastest of those promoted from Q1. This is Fernandez’ debut pole, and he showed his emotion at that quite clearly after he crossed the line. Perhaps this was also because his final lap was not a simple one, as he encountered some traffic in the final sector – Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) and Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) being the obstacles in the Spaniard’s way.

Two weeks on from missing out on a home GP podium in the final corner, Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) took third place, seven tenths from Antonelli’s pole time.

Jaume Masia set a fast lap late on in the session to take fourth and head up the second row of tomorrow’s grid, with Darryn Binder and Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) – who crashed mid-way through the session – joining him on row two.

Tatsuki Suzuki – teammate to the pole sitter – made the seventh fastest time, and will line up with John McPhee (Petronas SRT) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) on row three tomorrow.

The two Leopard Racing Hondas of Marcos Ramirez and Lorenzo Dalla Porta – who crashed late on – are joined by two-time COTA winner Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) on row four; whilst the Italian duo of Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) and Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) are joined on row five by Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP); and Ayumu Sasaki, Tony Arbolino and Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) will line up on row six.

Can Oncu, MotoGP, Grand Prix of the Americas 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman/KTM

Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) was the fastest of those not to progress through Q1 and will start nineteenth tomorrow, with Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) making it an all-rookie affair on row seven tomorrow; whilst row eight will see Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) line up ahead of Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) and round one winner Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia).

Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) will line up for the first time in a Grand Prix tomorrow, starting twenty-fifth, with Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) and Albert Arenas’ replacement Aleix Viu (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) ensuring that row nine is as row seven – consisting entirely of rookies.

The final row on tomorrow’s grid will be two-thirds full, with Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) ahead of Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) who crashed very early on in Q1, and was taken to the medical centre.

 

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Moto2: Second 2019 Pole for Schrotter in Texas

The cancellation of the FP3 sessions for all classes in Austin on Saturday meant that for the Moto2 riders, the day was spent waiting all day for their qualifying session, which came after the other two GP classes.

A wet pit lane at Cota. Image courtesy of Dynavolt Intact GP

Despite the lashings of rain all day, Q1 got underway in dry conditions, and Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) joined Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in advancing to Q2 to join the fastest fourteen riders from Friday.

Binder immediately put his extra track time from Q1 compared to those riders directly through to Q2 to good use, as he led the early part of the session, although the fastest riders from day one in Texas built their rhythm, and eventually overhauled the South African’s top time.

It was Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) who took pole position, his second of the season after securing first on the grid back in Qatar. The German was dominant on Friday, and continued that into qualifying. Whilst it took him a while to find the confidence in the wind, and after a day of sitting around and waiting, once he found his rhythm he was always going to be difficult to better.

Alex Marquez, Moto2, Grand Prix of the Americas 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman/MarcVDS

That said, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) got close, and was just 0.058 seconds away from Schrotter’s pole time by the end of the session. Last year’s pole sitter will be hoping he can better translate that qualifying speed into a good race pace than what he managed last year, when he finished second, two seconds shy of the winner Francesco Bagnaia.

Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completes the front row for the Moto2 Grand Prix of the Americas. The British rider has a good history at the Texan track, but has been somewhat under the radar this weekend. After a crash in Argentina, a solid points haul will be important in the race for Lowes.

Fourth place went to Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP). He was following Schrotter on the German’s pole lap, and was making a time which could have been good enough for the front row, but a mistake in sector three cost him seven tenths, and any chance of the first row. However, fourth place is not a disaster for the Swiss, who will look to return to the podium after a crash in Argentina.

Brad Binder ended Q2 in fifth, a good result for the KTM rider on a weekend where the Austrian marque seems to be struggling quite significantly in the intermediate class.

Speed Up won the 2015 Moto2 Grand Prix of the Americas with Sam Lowes, and a sixth place for Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools – Speed Up) puts him in a good position to fight at the front in the race four years on. The Spaniard has yet to make a serious impression on the Italian frame this season, something he will hope to change in the race.

Before Friday, Mattia Pasini (Flexbox HP 40) had never ridden a Triumph-powered Moto2 bike. However, he has been fast all weekend in his replacement ride for the injured Augusto Fernandez, and qualified in an impressive seventh place.

Jorge Martin, Moto2, Grand Prix of the Americas 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Reigning Moto3 World Champion Jorge Martin had a pretty dreadful Friday. The Spaniard spent much of his time on day one in Texas outside of the top twenty. However, after advancing through Q1, the Spaniard was able to put a good performance together in Q2 to qualify in the middle of row three, just under half a second behind Pasini, and a third of a tenth ahead of Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) who lines up on the back of row three in ninth.

Luca Marini was quite strong on one lap speed on Friday, ending both sessions in fourth, but qualifying did not go to plan for the Italian, who will start from the head of the fourth row in tenth, ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) and Marco Bezzecchi, who had his best qualifying in Moto2.

Row five sees Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools – Speed Up) line up ahead of Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) and championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40). The Italian has a poor record in Austin, with a best finish of only tenth. However, after looking reasonably competitive on Friday he would have hoped for a better result in qualifying, but as it is he will need a good start and some good luck to make it through turn one cleanly.

Bo Bendsneyder enjoyed his best Moto2 qualifying of the season in sixteenth, ahead of Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team), who has been competitive all weekend, but ruined his qualifying with a nasty crash on the exit of turn nine, and will line up back in eighteenth.

The fastest rider to not make Q2 was Iker Lecuona (American Racing), who will line up nineteenth, ahead of a disappointing Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in twentieth and Jesko Raffin (NTS RW Racing GP) in twenty-first.

Joe Roberts (American Racing) will start his home GP from twenty-second, ahead of Khairul Idham Pawi (Petronas SRT) and Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) on row eight.

Philipp Oettl (Red Bull KTM Tech3) will start the race from the head of row nine, alongside Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) and Stefano Manzi’s replacement Gabriele Ruiu (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward); whilst the injured Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) complete the grid.

Neither Dimas Ekky (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) nor Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) set a time, with Ekky cashing out at the beginning of Q1, and Dixon being ruled out after his nasty Friday practice crash due to concussion.

Featured image courtesy of Dynavolt Intact GP

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MotoGP: Marquez Continues COTA Reign

The lack of FP3 sessions made FP4 a crucial session for the MotoGP riders ahead of qualifying on Saturday in Texas for round three of the 2019 season.

Electrical storms had brought rain and the threat of lightning to the Circuit of the Americas, but by the mid-point of FP4, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was out on slick tyres. At one point he had five seconds on the field. That gap came down to two seconds by the end of free practice, but going into qualifying he was the outstanding favourite.

Before he and the other Q2 contestants were out on track, though, there was Q1, from which Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) and Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) advanced to Q2, after a late charge from the pair of them which was almost completely unexpected.

Andrea Dovizioso during Cota qualifying. Motogp 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

This was a disaster for Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati). After making a mistake with the front tyre yesterday in FP2 (the Italian chose the medium front tyre instead of the soft), Dovizioso made another tyre-related error in Q1, deciding to run only one rear tyre for the session. The track improved a lot, though, and in the end it was his teammate, Petrucci, who bumped him out by less than a tenth of a second, much to the disappointment of Davide Tardozzi.

Mostly, Q2 went as expected. Marquez took pole position, although it was clearly not comfortable for the Spaniard. Two tenths was his advantage over Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in a surprising second place, but Marquez’ Honda made it difficult for the seven times World Champion, weaving in the straight, which according to Marquez was due to the wind. It was clearly quite violent – his foot came off the foot peg and Marquez himself admitted to rolling the throttle, which is obviously not something the #93 makes a habit of. Nonetheless, his 100% record of setting the fastest time in qualifying at Texas goes on.

Valentino Rossi during qualifying at the Grand prix of the Americas, Cota. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Rossi’s performance was impressive. In FP4 he was quite strong in the mixed conditions he has tended to struggle with in the past, and in Q2 he was able to latch onto Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) for his first properly hot lap (the first attempt by Rossi was ruined by running wide on the exit of turn nine, which put him off line in turn ten and off the track on the exit), and he marginally improved on that time on his second run. Rossi’s worry on Friday was his race pace, but without the chance to try anything new today with the cancellation of FP3 and the mixed conditions of FP4, the warm up will be important for the Italian to try some changes.

Equally impressive was Cal Crutchlow who qualified third. The Briton has been strong all weekend and has a real chance of the podium tomorrow, so a front row start is important. Also, for Crutchlow, who is without a front row since Assen last year, a clear view of the first corner will be a welcome sight after the disappointment of Argentina.

Jack Miller (Lamborghini Pramac Racing) has had a bit of a special weekend, one similar to that we see from Marc Marquez. When the Honda doesn’t work, Marc makes it work, and that is precisely what Miller has done this weekend with the Ducati. Miller was the only GP19 to make it through to Q2 direct from free practice (the only other Ducati was his Pramac teammate, Pecco Bagnaia), and even when Petrucci joined him in Q2 after advancing from Q1, Miller beat his teammate of 2018 by just under three tenths, which in 2019 MotoGP terms is a significant margin. One of the Australian’s biggest strengths is his ability to grit his teeth and push on regardless of what the bike is saying to him. Considering the pace of his stablemates this weekend, the feedback the Desmosedici is giving him is presumably not so ideal, but the #43 is able to ride around that and make it do what he wants anyway. Whether Miller can do that for forty minutes tomorrow remains to be seen, but a top three is potentially on the cards.

Pol Espargaro, MotoGP, qualifying at Grand Prix of the Americas 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Despite Miller’s ignorance of his bike’s apparent problems, it is Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who was the star ride of Saturday in the Lone Star State. The Spaniard put the KTM fifth on the grid, KTM’s best MotoGP qualifying, with a lap which was undoubtedly seemed like, twenty evaded crashes knitted together for a time which was only three tenths away from the front row. For Espargaro to put KTM only six tenths away from Marc Marquez on a circuit where he is yet to be beaten is an incredible achievement. To make a similar result tomorrow is unrealistic, but there is no doubt that Pol will make the most of the opportunity he has to compare his RC16 with the front running bikes in the beginning of the race tomorrow and, whatever happens, today has made the weekend for the KTM MotoGP squad.

Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the rider Espargaro used as a marker for his fifth-placed time. Vinales himself qualified sixth, at the back of the second row. The Spaniard was fast all of yesterday, and was actually the fastest of everyone coming into qualifying, so might be disappointed with a second row start for tomorrow. Either way, the important part for Vinales is the start and the first laps, because he needs to be strong at the start so he can use his strong late race pace.

It was a better qualifying for Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) compared to two weeks ago, improving nine places on his Argentinian grid slot with seventh place. The Spaniard has been quite quiet this weekend, not making anything spectacular, but he should be there in the race fighting for the podium.

Joining Rins on the third row of the grid are Petrucci and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), the rookie impressing again on the satellite Yamaha, out-qualifying teammate Franco Morbidelli by three tenths.

Jorge Lorenzo running down the pit lane at Cota, during Q2. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

After a good run in Q1, Jorge Lorenzo’s Q2 session was compromised at the end of his first flying lap when he suffered the same problem of a chain coming off his RC213V as Marquez suffered in FP4 back in Argentina. Lorenzo parked the #99 RC213V up at the end of pit lane (mimicking Marquez in 2015) and ran back to the Repsol Honda box for his spare bike, but could only manage eleventh from there.

Last in Q2 was Francesco Bagnaia, who crashed both his GP18 Ducatis, and ended the session frustrated and two seconds off the pace having only clocked one semi-representative lap time.

As previously mentioned, Andrea Dovizioso failed to make it out of Q1, and the second-placed rider in the World Championship will start tomorrow’s race from a lowly thirteenth. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU LCR Honda) will join the Italian on row five tomorrow.

Row six sees Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) in sixteenth ahead of teammate Andrea Iannone and the impressive Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who once again out-qualified Johann Zarco (19th) on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16.

Joining Zarco on row seven tomorrow will be Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3), whilst Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) will line up alone on the back row.

Featured Image courtesy of Box Repsol

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Moto3: Front-Runners Look for Consistency at Technical Round Three

It has been two weeks since the Argentinian round of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship, the second round of the series, and now the paddock heads to Texas for the Grand Prix of the Americas.

After the first two rounds of the season it is Kaito Toba (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) who leads the championship on an incredibly low thirty-one points. Despite winning the opening round in Qatar, Argentina did not go quite so well for the Japanese – he was caught up in the incident with John McPhee (Petronas SRT) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and dropped out of the leading group, so coming away with a tenth place was quite positive for the #27. The Circuit of the Americas, however, has not been a happy hunting ground for Toba in the past, and indeed he has not managed to finish a race in Austin in either of his two attempts.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) has had a similar start to the season as Toba. The Italian finished second to Toba in Qatar, but was forced wide in turn five on the final lap in Argentina, finishing only seventh. Like Toba, Dalla Porta does not boast a fantastic record in COTA, and has never scored a point in Texas – something he will need to change this weekend after a low-scoring Argentina.

The third placed rider in Qatar, Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), also had a poor showing in Termas two weeks ago, finishing in a lowly twelfth. Now lying sixth in the championship, Canet needs a result in Texas to recover some ground in the standings. Fortunately for the Spaniard, COTA has proven to be a strong circuit for him in the past, as he dominated the 2017 Grand Prix of the Americas before a crash in the restarted race cost him what would have been his maiden win.

With all of the problems for Qatar’s podium finishers in Argentina, Jaume Masia’s (Bester Capital Dubai) victory was enough to see him rocket to third in the standings despite not scoring in Losail. Like Toba and Dalla Porta, Masia has never scored a point in Texas, finishing only twenty-sixth in his debut at the track last year.

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

Joining Masia on the podium in Argentina were Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) and Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers). It was Binder’s second podium, and the first in the career of Arbolino, and both will be hoping to continue in that sort of form this weekend, on what is the most technically demanding track on the calendar.

There is only one rider in the Moto3 field who has won at Texas: Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers). The Italian won in 2016, in what was KTM’s third and latest win at the track, and then again in 2017, as he benefitted from Canet’s fall. Fenati needs a result, too. After looking very strong in preseason, the Italian has amassed just seven points from the first two races, after going 9-16 in rounds one and two.

Featured image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

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Moto2: COTA Awaits for Round Three

After two straight wins for Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40), the Moto2 World Championship heads back to the Americas for round three of the 2019 season, at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

Unfortunately for Baldassarri, COTA has been one of his worst tracks in Moto2. He crashed in his first Moto2 outing at the Austin circuit in 2014; finished twenty-sixth and second-last in 2015; in 2016 he was second-last and twenty-third; he crashed again in 2017; and last year he took his best result in Texas, with a tenth place. This weekend could prove to be a big damage limitation job for the championship leader, but his form in the first two races would suggest he is up to that task.

Alex Marquez, Moto2, Argenttine MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of David Goldman/MarcVDS

Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) has a last name with mixed connotations. Of course, there are benefits to being the younger brother of a seven-times motorcycle Grand Prix World Champion, but the name also brings with it a lot of expectation and pressure, the justification of which is subjective. Arguably, the Marquez name brings the most pressure in Texas, where older brother Marc has never been beaten, and won his first MotoGP race back in 2013. Alex Marquez looked the nailed on winner ahead of last year’s race, before tyre woes in the latter stages saw him finish second to eventual series winner, Francesco Bagnaia. Marquez currently sits sixth in the championship, twenty-five points behind double-winner Baldassarri, after going 7-3 in the first two rounds of the season. With Baldassarri seeming destined to struggle this weekend, the Grand Prix of the Americas could be the chance Marquez needs to announce himself as a championship contender.

However, it will not just be Marquez who will be looking to break Baldassarri’s 100% record this weekend.

Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) has been one of the surprise packages of 2019 so far, just missing out on his debut podium in Qatar, before finally achieving it last time out in Argentina. He looked to be able to win in Termas, but when Baldassarri made his move on the Aussie, he was forced wide, and after that the Italian was able to extend the gap. Such a strong start to the season makes Gardner an outside championship contender at this stage, and he will look to confirm that this weekend.

Contrarily, almost, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) – who were probably the three outstanding championship favourites coming into this season – will be looking to establish themselves in this, the third round of the championship.

Brad Binder was given a one-place penalty in Argentina for irresponsible riding. The penalty was probably fair, as many of the moves Binder put on his rivals, especially in the closing stages of the race, were past the limit. The penalty meant he finished sixth which, combined with a difficult Qatar, means the South African lies seventh in the championship, thirty-six points off Baldassarri.

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

Sam Lowes had an even more disappointing time in Argentina, crashing out early on. He now sits eleventh and forty points off Baldassarri in the championship. Fortunately for Lowes, he has good memories of Texas, as it is where he took, in fine style, his first Grand Prix win back in 2015 on the Speed Up, a result he will be hoping to match this weekend as he looks to recover points to the championship leaders.

Luca Marini lies just ahead of Binder in the championship, by three points. The Italian has been recovering from a shoulder surgery from last year in the first part of this year. Whether the fitness of the Italian will be improved this weekend is unsure, but the physicality of COTA means that it will be important for Marini to be in a good condition for this weekend, if he is to make a good result.

What is for certain is that Marini’s Sky Racing Team VR46 teammate, Nicolo Bulega, will not be in COTA at all, due to his physical condition. Bulega pulled out of the Argentina race because of arm pump, and surgery this week will see him miss round three of the series, in the hopes of being close to full fitness in Jerez at the beginning of May.

Bulega is not the only Moto2 rider absent this weekend, as Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) is out after his monster crash in free practice two weeks ago. The Spaniard will be replaced for the American round of the World Championship by Mattia Pasini.

Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

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MotoGP: Another Battle for Second Looms in Austin

The Circuit of the Americas awaits the MotoGP field this weekend, two weeks on from Marc Marquez’ (Repsol Honda Team) dominance of the Argentinian round of the series.

For round three, the result will likely be little different. Marquez is unbeaten in COTA, and indeed on American soil since 2010. This weekend could see the seven-times champion more dominant than ever, at his best track with the best motor Honda has produced since 2014 in the premier class, and no one seemingly in a position to challenge him.

Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) of course shares machinery with Marquez, since they both operate out of the same garage. However, the condition of Lorenzo’s scaphoid has potential to restrict his potential this weekend, as the plethora of hard braking points at COTA mean a lot of stress is put through the arms and indeed the wrists of the rider. Any weakness in this area can be exaggerated in Texas, and the direction changes of the first sector exacerbate this even further. In addition to this, Lorenzo’s record in Austin includes only two podiums, the most recent coming back in 2016.

That 2016 race showed a contrast in fortunes for Lorenzo compared to the two riders who two weeks ago fought for second place pretty much from lights to flag. Three years ago, neither Andrea Dovizioso nor Valentino Rossi finished the race, with Dovizioso being collected by Dani Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda and Rossi crashing out early in the race at turn two, after burning his clutch out on the start.

Valentino Rossi, hoping to continue his in form 2019 performance at Cota. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

However, both Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) have decent records in Texas, with two podiums each – Rossi’s coming in 2015 and 2017, and Dovizioso’s coming in 2014 and 2015.

Yamaha have had good results in the last few years in Texas. In fact, apart from 2014, a Yamaha has finished on the podium each year, with Lorenzo (2013, 2016) and Maverick Vinales (2018) adding to Rossi’s aforementioned Texan rostrum appearances. There will be three critical points for Yamaha, this year, in theory, at least. Firstly, it will be important for them to manage the front tyre well, which they failed to do in 2014. Secondly, Yamaha will need to accelerate off the corners well and find perfect traction, as their lack of power will be highlighted on COTA’s series of long straights and hard accelerations. Thirdly, Yamaha will need to find a setup that allows their riders to be strong on the brakes, as the time they lose on the straight will have to be made up getting off it.

The Ducati has struggled in recent years at COTA, Dovizioso languishing in sixth in 2017, and fifth last year. However, the improvements made by Ducati over the winter have the #04 in line for a better result this year.

Andrea Dovizioso. Image courtesy of Ducati

Critically, the Ducati no longer seems dependent on grip for it to be fast. Termas is a famously slippery, dirty track, with a narrow line, and yet Dovizioso was able to fight for second place for the whole race.

This will be important in COTA, because once more the track has been shaved, like last year, and the condition of the track is questionable, with bumps, holes and cracks still noticeable on the surface. Fortunately, with IndyCar having a race a couple of weeks ago, there shouldn’t be the huge roosts we saw last year, as the Dallara-built single-seaters should have cleaned any rubbish left over from the shaving that was lingering between the stones.

Several other riders could be in contention for the podium in Texas this year, including Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), whose then-teammate Andrea Iannone took third place last year on the GSX-RR. Between last year’s victory Marquez and third placed Iannone was Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who should have also finished second in 2017, but crashed early on, and won his first Moto2 race at COTA in 2014. Additionally, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) – who had the pace for a clear second place in Argentina – could be well placed to take his second rostrum of the year this weekend.

Featured image of Marc Marquez courtesy of Box Repsol

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WorldSBK: Can Bautista be Toppled in Assen?

One week on from the third of the 2019 season in Aragon, the Superbike World Championship heads to Holland, and the legendary TT Assen, for round four – part two of the only back-to-back races of this season.

For the fourth time in 2019, it is Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) who is the man to beat this weekend, having won all nine races – by a fair distance – so far this year. Since Aragon, the Panigale V4R has had 250 revs trimmed off its 16,000 rpm limit, which is unlikely to make much difference. However, what might allow Bautista’s rivals to challenge him this weekend is the layout of the Assen circuit, with no notably long straights meaning peak power is not necessarily so high on the essentials list for the Dutch track.

Alvaro Bautista, Winner of Race One, Jonathan Rea Second, and Chaz Davis Third. Image courtesy of Ducati

Instead, a blend of high-speed agility and stability are important in Assen, both of which are demanded by the third and fourth sectors which are both characterised by high-speed corners and direction changes. Fortunately for Bautista, it is clear he is not only fast in a straight line, but he is also fast in the corners, as was demonstrated by his ability to escape from his rivals in Aragon before they arrived at the long back straight at the end of the lap.

However, Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) record in Assen means it is expected that Bautista’s greatest challenge yet will come this weekend. Rea is the most victorious rider in Assen, with thirteen wins which stretch back to 2010. In fact, Rea has won at least one race at Assen in every year since 2010, with the exception of 2013, and until race two last year the Northern Irishman had been undefeated at Assen aboard the Kawasaki. To beat Bautista is nonetheless going to be a tough task this weekend for the four-times World Champion, but if it is to happen anywhere, it is going to be Assen.

Indeed, the race that was not won by Rea last year saw his then-teammate Tom Sykes take the victory, meaning the now-BMW Motorrad WorldSBK rider is the latest WSBK winner in Holland. Additonally, Sykes was extremely close to doubling in Assen in 2013, coming up short to Eugene Laverty – then on the factory Aprilia – in a run to the line in the second race, after dominating the first outing. Perhaps more importantly, though, Assen is arguably the circuit which would most suit this year’s under-powered, brand new BMW S1000RR. Sykes has stressed on many occasions how impressive the chassis on the German bike is, and it could be that the Dutch asphalt, with its chassis-centric layout, could lead Sykes and BMW to their first podium together.

The Dutch win that Eugene Laverty, now riding for Team GoEleven Ducati, wrestled from Sykes in 2013, is his only WorldSBK win at Assen. The #50 has only one other WSBK podium in Holland, coming in 2012. Laverty and his GoEleven team seemed to make a step forward in Aragon last weekend, and they will be hoping to continue that into this weekend, on a track which should not suit their motorcycle as well.

In the same sort of situation is Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati). The Welshman made a good step in Aragon, a track where he has always been successful. Despite a series of mistakes, proving his lack of comfortability with the Panigale V4R, Davies was able to stand on the podium in both of the full-length races last weekend. Davies has five podiums in Assen in the top class of production motorcycle racing, and even challenged Rea for the win in race two back in 2016, before his bike expired. Whilst Assen is not a track where Davies has been as strong in the past as Aragon, the #7 has a decent history in Holland, and will be hoping to back up the progress he made last weekend, this.

Alex Lowes – Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – R3 Aragon. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Yamaha did not so much make progress in Aragon as confirm the progress of previous rounds, as Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) was able to match the pace of Rea – the benchmark for Yamaha – for almost the entirety of both full-length races. Clearly, though, the YZF-R1 needs to improve in tyre consumption, as Lowes fell back towards the end of both full-distance outings last week. Assen has always been a strong circuit for Lowes. He was strong there back in 2013 in his title-winning BSB year, despite some controversies, and also scored his maiden WorldSBK podium at the Dutch track back in 2014.

However, it is Lowes’ Pata Yamaha WorldSBK teammate, Michael van der Mark, who will be the main attraction this weekend in Assen. Like Lowes, van der Mark scored his first WorldSBK podium in Assen, in 2015, when he finished third in both races, and has added three further podiums since then – one coming in 2016, and two others last year. Van der Mark will no doubt be out to win this weekend, although – as for everyone else – with the form of Bautista, it is hard to see another victor.

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

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