Category: Crew On Two

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WorldSBK: Bautista Dominates Again for Ninth Win

The final race of the weekend for the Superbike World Championship followed in the same vein as its two predecessors: a dominant winner, with a brilliant fight behind for second place.

Surprisingly, Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was able to make the holeshot in race three of the weekend, despite Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) starting alongside him on the front row of the grid. Both of them got good launches, but some wheelie for Rea meant it was Bautista who got to turn one first, and as per the standard of the season, by the end of the first lap the Spaniard was out of reach.

Alvaro Bautista wins Race 2 at Aragon Round 3 of the 2019 WSBK championship. Image courtesy of Ducati

Behind, a battle formed Rea, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati). Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) was also there in the beginning, although in the end he dropped back, and his place was taken in the train by Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).

The four of Rea, Lowes, Davies and Haslam eventually worked themselves a gap to those behind, initially led by an impressive Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) and then by Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven) who was unable to close the gap down, which was a surprise after his strong performance on Saturday. Maybe the #50 benefited from the broken winglet.

Chaz Davis with another podium at Aragon 2019 WSBK. Image courtesy of Ducati

Between them, the quartet fighting for the final two spots on the rostrum had a fantastic fight. Throughout, though, there was a fair assumption to be made that it was Rea who had the advantage. Davies is still not comfortable with the new V4R, evidenced by his plethora of errors in every race this weekend, despite his good performances and results, and this was mentioned by Rea in parc ferme. In addition, Alex Lowes had been struggling for tyre consumption all weekend and a group battle with three other riders is not conducive to gentle riding that conserves the tyres. Finally, Leon Haslam was still suffering with his wounded ankle.

In that sense, it should be no surprise that it was Rea who came away with his ninth second place from nine races in 2019. However, considering the Northern Irishman had a less-than-perfect weekend, and struggled somewhat for setup, a third runners-up spot out of three is a good return for the four-times World Champion.

Third place in the end went to Chaz Davies, who might have had a better chance at second place had he not run wide in turn one on the final lap, allowing Rea through. That mistake was one of many throughout the weekend which prove there is still a lot of work for the Welshman to do with the new Ducati before he is comfortable with it. So, in that way, to end the weekend with two podiums and three top fours is a good positive for #7.

That left Leon Haslam just off the podium in fourth. Not only the result, but also his competitiveness throughout the race was something of a salvation for his weekend which was blighted by injury, a poor qualifying and a bad start in race one.

Alex Lowes came home in fifth place, again running out of tyre in the closing stages. However, the Englishman proved this weekend that Thailand was not a fluke, and that the Yamaha genuinely has the potential to compete with Rea and Kawasaki on a regular basis this season, which is a good sign for the Iwata marque.

Eugene Laverty came home in sixth place for the top ‘independent’ spot, one second ahead of the massively impressive Jordi Torres in seventh. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) paid for the poor grid position he received for the final race of the weekend courtesy of being caught up in Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s (BARNI Racing Team) crash at turn one in the Superpole race, and finished eighth, ahead of the aforementioned Rinaldi and Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) who completed the top ten.

Marco Melandri at Aragon 2019 WSBK race 2. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) ended his torrid weekend with an eleventh, ahead of Tom Sykes who plummeted down the order after a good opening to the race. Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) finished in thirteenth, ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) and Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) who was the final points scorer and final finisher in fifteenth.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was the first retirement eleven laps from the flag, and was joined on the side-lines only by Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) three laps later.

Featured image courtesy of Ducati

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WorldSBK: Bautista Dominant Again for Eighth Win

The Superpole race in Aragon for the third round of the 2019 Superbike World Championship saw Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) take his eighth win of the season, but the battle behind for second was, as in race one on Saturday, hard-fought.

Bautista, once again, made the holeshot, this time leading from Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) who jumped Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) in the first corners of the race.

Chaz Davis at Aragon, WSBK 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) also made good starts, although Rea was quite lucky to make it out of turn one after he was clipped by Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) which took the Italian down, and caught Michael van der Mark’s Pata Yamaha as well.

After a lap, Bautista was gone, but soon after the battle for second was heating up. Lowes soon passed Cortese for second, and the German was soon shuffled further back by Rea and Davies, and then Sykes and Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven) came through as well.

Lowes, Rea and Davies soon established themselves as the three riders who would be fighting for the final two spots on the front row for the final race of the weekend.

Rea managed to pass Lowes with a few laps to go, but was unable to break away from the Yamaha rider, and Lowes came back past a few laps later.

Alex Lowes at Aragon WSBK 2019. Image Courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

With two laps to go, Rea almost ran into the back of Lowes’ Yamaha in turn one, and had to run wide. In fact, it was quite impressive from Rea to be able to keep the bike on the track, and not lose a position to Davies who was not so far behind. The reigning champion then closed in on Lowes by three tenths in the third sector, and made his pass on the main straight.

Although Lowes was able to stick with Rea throughout the last lap. He was unable to get the run out of turn fifteen, that he needed to be able to position himself to pass Rea in the final corner, and had to settle for third.

Another second was important for Rea, too, in respect to his championship. Of course, he is going to have to beat Bautista on track at some point if he is to win his fifth consecutive championship, but to keep the damage to a minimum is, for the moment, all he can do.

Chaz Davies came home in fourth, ahead of Tom Sykes who took his second top five of the weekend, in front of Eugene Laverty in sixth and the injured Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in seventh.

Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) was eighth, only 1.7 seconds behind his Kawasaki stablemate, Haslam, and the same distance ahead of Cortese in ninth, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was tenth and missed out on the front three rows for the second full-length race.

Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) was caught up in the Rinaldi incident at turn one and finished eleventh, ahead of Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team), Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team), Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) and Michael van der Mark who got back on his YZF-R1 after he went down in turn one.

Aside from Rinaldi, the luckless Markus Reiterberger was the only retirement, a mechanical problem putting him out of the race at half distance.

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WorldSBK: Dominant Bautista avoids battle behind to score seventh straight win

Race one of the third round of the 2019 Superbike World Championship saw a continuation of some of the trends we have seen throughout the season so far, with Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) taking the win, but behind him was a battle, the likes of which we haven’t seen in WorldSBK for a long time.

Bautista made the holeshot, and he didn’t look back. Despite being challenged by Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) in the middle of the first lap, the Spaniard was able to hold the S1000RR off until he was able to use the Panigale V4R’s superior power to squeeze out an advantage. Once he had space behind him, no one stood a chance of breaking Bautista’s 100% winning record at the start of his World Superbike career, as the 2006 125cc World Champion stormed to his seventh victory on the spin.

Alvaro Bautista, leading 2019 WSBK Race One at Aragon. Image courtesy of Ducati

Behind, though, there was soon a large battle emerging, with the likes of Sykes and fellow front row starter Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) being joined in the podium fight by the two Pata Yamaha WorldSBK riders, Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark, as well as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who was recovering from his worst ever grid position with the factory Kawasaki squad, Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven).

The battle was fierce from lights to flag, with several riders, notably Lowes, Rea and Davies, taking stints at the front of the group, but no one was able to break away.

Alvaro Bautista, Winner of 2019 WSBK Aragon Race One, Jonathan Rea Second, and Chaz Davis Third. Image courtesy of Ducati

However, it took only a few laps for Tom Sykes, who had challenged for the lead on the opening tour, to get shuffled to the back of the group, and become detached off the back, such was his straight line speed deficit on the brand new BMW. Sandro Cortese suffered a similar fate. Whilst both riders were able to stay pretty much in touch with the group, they could not do anything about making progress once they had been expelled from it.

There was one moment where it seemed Rea would be able to break the pack. The Northern Irishman passed Chaz Davies in turn four and sent the Welshman a little wide. A gap grew slightly from there, but when Alex Lowes passed Davies on the next lap in turn seven he was able to close down Rea and pass him on the entry to the reverse corkscrew, which sent Rea slightly deep and allowed Davies, van der Mark and Laverty behind to all close back in.
From there, the group became an eight-wheeler, as van der Mark dropped off the back. He eventually dropped behind Sykes too, so it seems the Dutchman ran out of rear tyre.

That left Rea with Davies, Lowes and Laverty in the fight for the podium. The speed of the Panigale V4Rs of Davies and Laverty put them at a theoretical advantage if it came down to a last lap scrap, which seemed very likely.

When it came down to it, Lowes had dropped off the back of the two Ducatis in front, who were also slightly detached from Rea in second. It looked like it would be essentially Davies versus Laverty for the final podium position, and in the fight to become the first rider other than Bautista to get on the WorldSBK podium with the Panigale V4R.

In the end, the battle was ended prematurely. Laverty ran into turn fourteen slightly too fast, clipped Davies, shed what looked to be a knee slider and hit the deck. It was an unfortunate end to what had been a fantastic race from Laverty, who had been competitive all weekend.

The crash gifted Davies third. He was too far away from Rea to do anything about the reigning World Champion who continued his 100% second place record for 2019, and kept up the perfect damage limitation job his season has morphed into so far this year.

There was not too much to be excited about for Rea. Whilst he no doubt enjoyed the battle. But dropping another five points to Bautista at a track where he might have hoped to be more competitive and perhaps able to challenge the Spaniard,  will have been something of a disappointment. However, it was a brilliant comeback from a difficult qualifying for the Northern Irishman, who will have to do it all again tomorrow in the ten-lap Superpole race.

Chaz Davis on his way to Third place in 2019 WSBK Race One at Aragon. Image courtesy of Matteo Cavadini/Ducati

The podium was an important one for Davies, as it showed he has made some good progress with the V4R. Of course, having the horsepower advantage the new Ducati gives him was helpful in achieving this result, but at the same time it is not correct to say that Rea was able to steam away from Davies in the corners. The Welshman has a way to go with the Ducati before he can say he has extracted the maximum from the bike, but clearly he is working in a good direction towards that.

Fourth place in the end went to Alex Lowes, who had a solid race but for a couple of mistakes, for example running off track at turn sixteen mid-race. The Englishman will be hoping for a stronger podium challenge at the end of the race tomorrow, but considering his speed in the first part of the race, the Superpole race could present a good opportunity for the 2013 BSB champion.

Tom Sykes came home in P5, once again in need of some more horses from his BMW. It was clear, though, that the new S1000RR is a sweet-handling machine.

After dropping back at the end, Michael van der Mark finished sixth, just under one second clear of GRT Yamaha’s Sandro Cortese.

Sandro Cortese at Aragon WSBK 2019 Race one. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) recovered from a back-row start to finish eighth, and second Kawasaki ahead of Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team (WorldSBK) who is having a dreadful weekend to this point and will be hoping for a turnaround tomorrow. The reigning BSB champion started from row four, like his teammate Rea, but went backwards and was all but last at the end of the first lap, which ruined his race.

Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) rounded out the top ten on his privately-run Kawasaki.

Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) was eleventh, ahead of Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) who arrived in Aragon hoping to solve his straight-line head-shaking problem, but seems to have encountered more significant issues on the YZF-R1. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) took thirteenth, ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) and Eugene Laverty who got back on after his last lap crash to take the final point.

Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) was the first retirement, and his race was over on the grid, on lap one, as he collided with Jonathan Rea off the line. Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) both also retired on lap one.

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

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WorldSBK: Aragon Awaits for European Return

Two weeks on from another dominant performance by Alvaro Bautista and his ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati the Superbike World Championship heads to Aragon for the first European round of the 2019 season.

Six wins from six races mean Alvaro Bautista is clear at the top of the championship by twenty-six points over reigning champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). The Spaniard has no doubt benefited from the power of the new Panigale V4R in the first two rounds of his WorldSBK career, and that advantage in straight line performance is likely to be a distinct advantage at MotorLand this weekend, with its long back straight and high-speed pit straight. It should not be underestimated, though, the way in which Bautista has found speed in the corners with the new Ducati. The V4R in the hands of Bautista is not simply pulling away on the straights and then losing a handful of time in the twisty sections, but Bautista is able to make similar times to Rea and the #1 Kawasaki in tighter sections, and this could be crucial at Aragon.

The most recent addition to Spain’s armada of world championship-level circuits is famed for its long straight at the end of the lap, but the series of corners which come before that are undoubtedly more important to lap time. Braking stability – both in a straight line and on angle – as well as mid-corner speed, acceleration and agility in direction changes are all important at MotorLand.  It provides one of the most demanding layouts in short-circuit motorcycling.

Chas Davis at WSBK Aragon in 2018. Image courtesy of Ducati

The rider who has met those demands most regularly over the past few years has been Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati). He took his first win in Aragon back in 2013 race one on the BMW, and backed it up in the second race by securing the double. The Welshman also secured the double in 2016, as well as taking the race two wins in 2015, 2017 and 2018. It has not been a perfect start to life with the Panigale V4R, but a positive step for Sunday’s second full-length race in Thailand three weeks ago was clear before a mechanical problem ended his chances. At a track he gets on with so well, this weekend could be the one he needs to discover some more feeling with the new bike, and some confidence to go with it.

A confident, V4R-mounted Chaz Davies could be the last thing Jonathan Rea needs. The Northern Irishman has yet to defeat the new Ducati in the hands of championship leader Bautista, but has made the perfect damage limitation job so far in 2019: where Bautista has scored six wins, Rea has scored six second places. Quite simply, considering the obvious gap in machinery at the first two rounds, Rea could not have done more to this point in the season. However, if Davies finds pace this weekend and the Panigale is as fast in Aragon as it has been at Phillip Island and Buriram, three more seconds for Rea could become three thirds. However, to become a four-times World Champion, you cannot go into a weekend thinking that second place is the best option. Rea will only have a mind for the victory in MotorLand, although perhaps it will come down to more than the determination of the rider.

Aside from Bautista, perhaps the standout rider in WorldSBK in Thailand was Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK), taking three third places behind Bautista and Rea. Back in 2016, Aragon was the site of the latest-model R1’s first front row. Despite that, the bike has never achieved a podium in MotorLand, and neither has Lowes, two things the Brit will be aiming to change this weekend after such a positive second round in Thailand.

This weekend could go one of two ways for BMW. Their bikes suffers a lot in the straights but is fantastic in the corners. The way their weekend goes depends one whether they can make up for what they lose in the drag from turn fifteen to sixteen in the corners, or whether that near-kilometre-long run will see them overwhelmed by their more powerful competitors. As well as their sweet-handling chassis, Tom Sykes’ (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) record at the Spanish track is on the German manufacturer’s side. The Briton has scored seven podium finishes at Aragon, including two wins back in 2014.

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

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MotoGP: Marquez Strolls to Third Termas Triumph

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) entered the race for the 2019 MotoGP Argentinian Grand Prix as the clear favourite. The race saw him claim his third win in Termas, as well as the championship lead.

Marquez’ race was a strange one for him. He led from lights to flag, making the holeshot and did not see another rider before the chequered flag. By the end of lap one the Spaniard was already one second clear, and his advantage extended as far as twelve seconds, eventually winning by 9.8 seconds after slowing down to celebrate as he crossed the finish line. The reigning champion’s pace was stunning, and almost every lap was faster than the best lap time of any of his competitors.

Marc Marquez, leading the race from the start. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

That rule, however, excepted Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) whose race was over before it began, as he received a ride through penalty for a jump start. The validity of the penalty is arguable, to say the least, but looking retrospectively at Crutchlow’s pace it is impossible to debate that the trip through pit lane cost the Briton his second podium of the season.

Instead, the podium battle was fought between Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati), Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) and eventually Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar).

Initially, it was Dovizioso in second from Miller, the two Ducati riders able to use the power of the Desmosedici to repel any attacks from the more nimble Yamahas of Rossi, Vinales and Morbidelli.

Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi. Image courtesy of Ducati

Eventually, however, Rossi broke through Miller, and set about Dovizioso, who ultimately proved a tougher task for The Doctor.

Behind, Morbidelli was engaging in strongly contested battles with both Miller and Petrucci, which lasted for most of the second half of the race.
Maverick Vinales no doubt would have been involved in these fights from the outset, too, but a mistake in the middle of the race in turn five cost him a couple of seconds and a position to Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU). Vinales recovered the position from Nakagami, but only got back to Miller, Morbidelli and Petrucci by the time Alex Rins had arrived, and Dovizioso had escaped to have a private battle with Rossi for the final two podium spots.

That battle went down to the wire. Rossi passed Dovizioso a couple of times in turn thirteen, but the GP19 simply powered back by on the pit straight. The nine-times World Champion thought he would have a better pace than Dovizioso, however when he realised this was not the case, he let the #04 take point and chose to study his rival.

Vaelntino Rossi secures a 2nd place at the MotoGP race at Argentina 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

It always looked as though Rossi would make his final push for P2 in turn thirteen, he seemed to be sizing up Dovizioso into there on every lap, but the factory Ducati man was covering the line well on the entry. In the end, it was at turn seven that Rossi made his move on the final lap, with a neat out-braking manoeuvre on the inside of his compatriot. The move took away Dovizioso’s line sufficiently that he was unable to respond, as well, and Rossi was able to make a gap to the Desmosedici big enough to prevent an attack from his fellow Italian.

Second place for Rossi marked his first podium since Sachsenring last year, the factory Yamaha team’s first since Vinales’ win in Phillip Island, and Yamaha’s first podium as a factory since Johann Zarco finished second on the Tech3 Yamaha in Malaysia last season.

For the championship, Rossi’s defeat of Dovizioso was important too, as it meant that Marquez now leads the championship out-right by four points from Dovizioso. However, the #04 was content with the podium, as in the past couple of seasons the Ducati had not enjoyed Termas, and with Marquez being so strong in Argentina the damage limitation was somewhat successful for the Italian. Of course, with Texas next up on the calendar, damage limitation is a mindset Dovizioso will have to maintain.

The battle for fourth ended up being extremely closely fought, in the end by Jack Miller and Alex Rins, with the Australian coming out on top. Miller had looked to be riding quite aggressively throughout the race, but he still managed to save a lot of tyre for the end. It had initially looked like Rins would be able to break away in fourth and chase after the squabbling Italians ahead, but Miller fought back on the penultimate lap, and held Rins at bay for the closing two tours.

Alex Rins had looked strong on the race pace all weekend. In the two sessions where riders work exclusively on race pace: FP4 and warm up, Rins had featured towards the top of the times. His qualifying made things difficult, but from mid-race onwards it was clear he had the chance to fight for the podium. The move from Miller with two to go ended his hopes of that, but sixteenth to fifth is a stunning fight back from the Spaniard.

Andrea Dovizioso and Maverick Vinales in the background at the 2019 Argentinian Motogp race. Image courtesy of Ducati

Sixth place went to Danilo Petrucci. He came under fire on the final lap from Maverick Vinales, but the Spaniard crashed with Franco Morbidelli on the final lap. Morbidelli seemed to be taking a normal line, but Vinales seemed to stop the bike on the apex to try and square off Petrucci, and the Petronas Yamaha rider piled straight into the back of the Spaniard. There was no anger from Vinales, however. In fact, the Spaniard checked on his Yamaha stablemate to see if he was okay. Furthermore, as trivial and ridiculous as it sounds, the public declaration on Instagram by Vinales that it was a ‘racing incident’ shows how the Spaniard viewed the crash which ended his race.

For Petrucci, though, the race represented a strong turnaround. Sixth might not seem so spectacular for a factory Ducati rider, especially when he was the last of the GP19s to cross the line, but after a poor weekend and disastrous qualifying he showed good resolve to fight for a top five and end up with a top six. In Qatar, the #9 rider had a great weekend and a poor race, but in Argentina he reversed that, somewhat. For the next races he needs to find the middle ground.

The double retirement of Vinales and Morbidelli promoted Nakagami to seventh, a position he deserved after what had been a stellar weekend for the Japanese, on in which he had been very strong and looked like a completely different rider on the RC213V.

Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) may not have had the stand out weekend he had in Qatar, but he took his first MotoGP points and first premier class top ten with eighth spot, and finished five seconds ahead of the duelling Espargaro brothers who finished ninth and tenth, Aleix (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) ahead of Pol (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by just under four tenths over the line.

Eleventh place went to Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who also scored his first MotoGP points, and came home as second KTM, only two tenths behind factory rider Pol Espargaro. An incredibly impressive result for the rookie.

Jorge Lorenzo on his Box Repsol honda at the 2019 Termas de Rio Hondo MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

1.6 seconds behind rookie Miguel Oliveira was Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) who finished twelfth after having a problem on the start which dropped him to twenty-first. A couple more laps and Lorenzo would have been thirteenth, as Cal Crutchlow crossed the line only four seconds back of Lorenzo after the Brit’s ride through.

In fourteenth, it was Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), who also scored his first MotoGP points after a pretty quiet weekend for the reigning Moto2 World Champion. Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took the final point in fifteenth.

Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3) had a much better weekend aboard the RC16 this weekend, and came home sixteenth, only two seconds behind Zarco, and just under three seconds ahead of Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who had a nightmare weekend, finishing seventeenth and last of the finishers.

There were five retirements: the Reale Avintia Racing pairing of Karel Abraham and Tito Rabat went down within a lap of each other, whilst Joan Mir retired the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR in the pit lane with four laps to go, before Morbidelli and Vinales crashed out on the final lap.

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Moto2: Baldassarri goes Back-to-Back in Argentina

The 2019 Argentinian Moto2 Grand Prix saw Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) take his second win of the season with a controlled ride, but comparative chaos amongst the other riders.

In that sense, the race started as it was to go on, with Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) having a big lunge up the inside of turn one, only to run wide and drop back to sixth.

That meant that it was Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt IntactGP) who took the early lead, essentially from pole position since Xavi Vierge’s Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex expired on the warm up lap, meaning the pole setter was unable to start the race.

Marcel Schrotter leading the Moto2 race, Termas, Argentina 2019. Image courtesy of Dynavolt IntactGP

Along with Schrotter, Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team), Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) and Lorenzo Baldassarri formed a group of four which detached itself slightly from the chasing pack.

This, however, changed when Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) caught onto the back of the four and brought Iker Lecuona (American Racing) with him.

Before Binder was able to bridge the gap, however, he was hit from behind by Tom Luthi (Dynavolt IntactGP) which caused the Swiss to crash, and moments later Sam Lowes followed him down in sympathy.

Upon Binder’s arrival on the back of the front group, Lorenzo Baldassarri decided it was time to go. This would prove to be a smart decision, as Binder’s passes from this point in the race left a lot to be desired.

Whilst one of his earlier passes within the front group, made on Alex Marquez in turn thirteen, was a well-calculated affair, the ones which followed almost invariably involved contact on the apex, and running his rival wide, unnecessarily. This came to a head on the final lap, after he had punted Schrotter wide in turn two on the previous lap, and now hit Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) on the apex of turn seven. He then sat up Schrotter again (the German had passed both Marini and Binder when Binder made his move in turn seven) in turn thirteen to take fifth place.

Whilst this was going on, Lorenzo Baldassarri had taken the lead from Remy Gardner, forcing the Australian wide in turn five as he moved over slightly in the braking zone whilst he tried to tough it out round the outside. The move gave Baldassarri the lead and a one second advantage to second place which, at the time, was occupied by Alex Marquez.

This changed at the end of the lap when Gardner came back through on Marquez and then on after Baldassarri. However, it was to no avail, as the Italian’s pace was simply superior, and allowed the #7 to take his second win from two races. With the crash for Luthi, the Italian saw his championship advantage stretch to seventeen points.

Remy Gardner inherited second place in the championship courtesy of taking second place in Argentina to back up his fourth in Qatar. The win was available for Gardner, but Baldassarri’s forceful move prevented that. However, the Australian rode well, making several fantastic passes, as well as looking at home in the front group. His time will come, and for now a first World Championship podium should sit well with the Australian who was so upset with having missed out in Qatar.

Alex Marquez, Termas de Rio Hondo Moto2 race 2019. Image courtesy of Gareth Harford/MarcVDS

Third place in the end went to Alex Marquez, a prediction he will have likely laughed off had you told him that on Friday, which was something of a disaster for both him and his teammate, Vierge. Unlike in the past, in this race Marquez fought back after being shuffled back in the pack, and whilst he didn’t have the pace of Baldassarri or Gardner in front, he maximised his points score from what was looking like a difficult weekend. With a view to the championship, this has been a good result for Marquez, and one he will look to build on in Texas before his home race in Jerez.

Iker Lecuona took a career-best result of fourth place from Termas, and finished as top KTM thanks to Binder’s antics, which saw him finish fifth and two seconds behind Lecuona.

Sixth place went to Schrotter, although he had the pace to fight for the podium, and Luca Marini ended up seventh after his battle with Binder in the final lap.

Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) took eighth place, ahead of top rookie Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) who took that honour for the second round in succession, despite a difficult weekend. Perhaps the surprise of the day, though, was Bastianini’s fellow rookie, Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), who took the first top ten of his Moto2 and Grand Prix career in just his second World Championship race.

Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) took eleventh, ahead of Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team), Khairul Idham Pawi (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Jesko Raffin who was the final points scorer.

Featured image courtesy of David Goldman/MarcVDS

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Moto3: Debut Pole to Debut Win for Jaume Masia

The Argentinian Moto3 Grand Prix was typically maniacal, with the general order of the day being ‘pass or be passed’. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) took his debut win, from Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) and Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who completed the podium.

The race took the form of a typical Moto3 race, a large group with many lead changes, riders not spending a great deal of consecutive time at the front, some arriving at the front before dropping back, others remaining in the very top positions for the majority of the race, and others able to make little progress with so many riders around.

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

It soon became clear, though, that Darryn Binder was out on the attack, making big, bold moves at every opportunity. He was slow on the straight, but had a few yards on is competitors on the brakes, an area where he is almost always at an advantage compared to his rivals.

Also making his presence known in the front group was Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Racing) who, in his home Grand Prix, was prepared to accept nothing other than a win, which in the end cost him a podium.

The final lap began with Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) in the lead, but by turn five he was out of contention, having been pushed wide by the melee going on around him. It was unfortunate for Dalla Porta. He did nothing wrong, but that’s Moto3.

Whilst Dalla Porta was out of contention, Rodrigo had taken the lead, only for it to be snatched away from him in turn seven by Masia with a nice out-braking move. Masia had been pushed back in the pack earlier in the race but fought hard to arrive back in victory contention by the final lap.

Once Masia had the lead, he just had to hang onto it. He out-braked everyone in the final corner, and there was the chequered flag, waiting for him, as he took his first career victory. Following the disappointment of a DNF in Qatar, the young Spaniard proved he is a force to be reckoned with, and will look to back this performance up in the coming rounds, and identify himself as a championship contender.

Darryn Binder had looked slightly over-aggressive all weekend, but he harnessed that in the race to give himself second place. Once he arrived in the top positions, he didn’t leave them, something which is difficult to do in Moto3, but his prowess on the brakes meant it was difficult for anyone do to anything about him.

Darryn Binder in the Moto3 race at Termas de Rio Hondo 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Since this race last year Tony Arbolino has been awaiting a podium. He was leading comfortably in Valencia last year before he crashed, and he led in Qatar, but finally the Italian has his first podium in Grand Prix racing, something which he will be hoping to build on in the coming races, especially in Jerez, a circuit in which he has gone well in the past.

Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) started the race incredibly well, leading for periods and spending a lot of time in the front positions. He got forced back in the group mid-way through the race but fought back well to finish fourth, his best result since his podium in Motegi back in 2017.

Missing direct access to Q2 yesterday put a dampener on Ayumu Sasaki’s (Petronas SRT) weekend, but fifth place in a chaotic race represents perhaps his best performance since he arrived on the GP scene in 2017. As with the podium finishers, this is a result which the Japanese will be hoping to build on.
Gabriel Rodrigo entered turn thirteen on the final lap in second place but he exited it sixth, having spun the rear tyre on the exit, allowing four riders past. It was a shame for the home rider, who finally put together a good weekend in Termas at his sixth attempt.

Despite leading into turn one on the final lap, Lorenzo Dalla Porta managed only seventh, ahead of Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) who made a good recovery after a difficult qualifying to finish in the top ten, ahead of Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) and round one victor Kaito Toba (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), who was sent out of the group for being caught up in an incident with John McPhee (Petronas SRT) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) which saw the Spaniard retire.

Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) had a strong race, especially in the middle portion, but finished only eleventh in the end, ahead of Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) who spent most of the race at the front but disappointingly fell back at the end. Thirteenth went to Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), who was ahead of Celestini Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Raul Fernandez who completed the points finishers.

Featured Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

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Moto2: Vierge Takes Second Termas Pole

Qualifying for the Moto2 class for the second round of the World Championship in Argentina saw Xavi Vierge take pole position for Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS.

First, though, the fourteen fastest riders from free practice were joined by the four fastest riders from Q1, who were: Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2), Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team).

In contrast to the Moto3 session, which saw everyone waiting until the end to set their fast laps, the Moto2 Q2 was fairly regular, with everyone going out at the start, and lapping until the chequered flag.

Vierge’s pole lap was set early on, in the opening minutes of the session, and came as a surprise considering both his and Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS teammate Alex Marquez’ lack of pace throughout the weekend. However, they clearly found something ahead of qualifying, and now the #97 will be hoping it continued to work in the race on Sunday.

Marcel Schrötter 2nd for the 2019 Moto2 race, Termas, Argentina. Image courtesy of Dynavolt IntactGP

Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt IntactGP) qualified second with a late lap to slot him into the middle of the front row. The German had spent most of the session in the first positions, but a late surge from several riders put that at risk, although the #23’s response was sufficient to have him at the head of the grid for the second time this season out of two.

Qatar was a disappointment for Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), both in qualifying and in the race, but a lap late on – his final lap of the session, in fact – in Q2 saw him fire himself onto the front row of tomorrow’s grid in third place, a grid slot from which he will be aiming to fight for the podium.

Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) looked good for a front row start for much of the session, but that late lap from Lowes bumped him to fourth place. The Spaniard made good progress after a difficult Friday, and will be joined on row two by race one runner-up Tom Luthi (Dynavolt IntactGP) and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder.

Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) topped FP3 in the morning, and so was hotly tipped for a debut pole position, however he could manage only seventh place, and will be joined on row three tomorrow by the VR46 Rider Academy pair of Qatar winner Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) who will be hoping to make it further than turn one on his second attempt at a Moto2 race.

Simone Corsi was a surprise in tenth after coming through Q1, whilst Jorge Navarro (Beta Speed Up) took eleventh place and Enea Bastianini will complete the fourth row on his second Moto2 start.

Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) complained after Friday of struggling over one lap, and he will need to hope that his race pace is strong, coming from thirteenth on the grid. He will be joined on row five by Andrea Locatelli and Iker Lecuona (American Racing).

Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) impressed on the NTS, out-qualifying reigning Moto3 World Champion Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to start tomorrow’s race sixteenth. Martin’s fellow Moto3 graduate and 2018 teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Speed Up) will complete the sixth row of the grid tomorrow, after being the slowest of the Q2 competitors.

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Moto3: Masia Takes Debut GP Pole in Argentina

The first qualifying session for the Argentinian Moto3 Grand Prix got underway in overcast conditions which characterised the weekend.

From Q1, Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai), Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) and Jakub Kornfeil (PruestelGP) joined the top fourteen riders from the three free practice sessions for the Q2 pole position shootout.

Disappointed to miss out on that Q2 shootout for Moto3 would have been Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46), in particular, but a crash late on prevented Oncu from securing his place whilst his rivals continued to improve and Foggia took a late trip through pit lane – presumably to shake competitors from his tail – which cost him a vital slipstream on the main straight as well as through turn six, which is flat out on a Moto3 bike.

For the first five minutes of Q2, nobody left pit lane. When people did, they came straight back into the pits, not setting a time. The format of Moto3 qualifying may have changed but the games remain, and they are just as frustrating.

As frustrating as it was, the lack of activity in the first ten minutes of Moto3 Q2 meant that the final five were quite spectacular, with several riders vying for pole position in their final three or four laps.

It mostly came down to track position, and who was around. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) almost fell foul of this, after having the final sector of his third-last lap baulked by traffic, before which he had been looking good for pole. However, the Spaniard regrouped for the next lap and set provisional pole, which two minutes later became Masia’s first pole position in Moto3. After such a difficult preseason for the Spanish youngster, with injuries which were affecting him even in Qatar three weeks ago, this result will be important for his confidence, especially for Sunday’s race where a first podium in the World Championship appears a real possibility.

Aron Canet in Moto3 qualifying at Termas de Rio Hondo 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

Aron Canet took second place on the grid, in similar fashion to John McPhee (Petronas SRT) in Qatar who went through Q1 to qualify on the second row. Despite the speed of Masia in Q2, Canet remains a strong favourite for the win tomorrow, and will be looking to put an end to his dry run which stretches back to Silverstone 2017.

Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) qualified on pole position last season in Termas, so it was not a surprise to see him round out the front row of the grid, and ensure some Honda presence at the very head of the field. Despite his good record from last year on Saturday, the Italian will not be hoping for a repeat of his Sunday performance of twelve months ago, as it then saw him mistakenly fit slick tyres, which ultimately cost him any chance of a good result.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) will be content with his fourth place ahead of Sunday’s race, and will hope to be able to back up his round one podium from there. Joining the Italian on the second row are compatriots Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) and Andrea Migno.

A fourth consecutive Italian lines up seventh, in the shape of VNE Snipers’ Romano Fenati, who had a typically average qualifying, joining round one victor Kaito Toba (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) on row three.

Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) impressively rounded out the top ten in qualifying on his first visit to Termas, and will be joined on the fourth row by a disappointed John McPhee and Leopard Racing’s Marcos Ramirez.

Home rider Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Racing), Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) and Ai Ogura (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) will make up fifth row, whilst row six will consist of Jakub Kornfeil, Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Vicente Perez who was the slowest of the Q2 runners in eighteenth.

 

Featured Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

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MotoGP: Marquez Storms to Argentina Pole

After looking strong throughout free practice, it was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who was the favourite to take pole position in Argentina ahead of the second round of the MotoGP World Championship, and so it was.

The reigning World Champion and the nine others who advanced directly to Q2 from free practice were joined in the pole position shootout by Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

Marquez led the field after the opening runs of Q2, and had Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) directly behind him. But it was in the second runs that the pace of Marquez’ competitors really ramped up.

Whilst everyone was in pit lane, preparing their second and final runs, Marquez went out to make a second, middle, run. It didn’t go to plan. He ran too hot into turn one, lost the front on the bumps and had to abort the lap. Fortunately, his plan was to make three runs anyway, so he had time to come back to the pits for another tyre.

He got back to pit lane just as everyone else was leaving for their second runs.

The first laps of all Marquez’ competitors on their second runs were electric, everyone setting red sectors throughout the lap, lighting up the time screen. After the barrage was complete, Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) surprisingly emerged as the provisional pole sitter from Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

Marc Marquez, Maverick Viñales and Andrea Dovizioso on the first row for the Termas de Río Hondo race 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

However, on the first lap of his third run, Marquez reclaimed pole position by just over a tenth, ensuring he maintains his 100% pole position record at Termas in dry qualifying sessions. It is unlikely to end there for Marquez, though. His race pace seems a cut above everyone else, seemingly able to lap in the low to mid-1’39s with relative ease, whilst everyone else seems stranded in the mid to high-39s at best.

This is with the possible exception of Cal Crutchlow, but with the Briton blowing his final qualifying lap and having to start now from eighth on the grid, the odds are stacked even higher against the LCR Honda rider.

Maverick Vinales has been almost completely under the radar this weekend, finishing FP1 in eighteenth, and never really doing anything particularly spectacular – that is, until his lap to go provisional pole. He was unable to convert pole position to a good result in Qatar, so it will be interesting to see what he can do from the middle of the front row tomorrow, and whether he can fight for the podium.

With Marquez seemingly out of reach for the rest of the field, it could be a battle for second, and Andrea Dovizioso will be all too keen to win that battle in his quest to limit the damage Marquez can do to him in the championship at this track. From third on the grid, Dovizioso has a good opportunity to make use of his Ducati’s ‘holeshot device’, and try to hold Marquez up as much as he can. Failing that, the Italian must try everything to maintain second place, and the front row is almost the best place to start that defence.

Valentino Rossi 4th for the 2019 Termas de Río Hondo 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

After fourteenth place in qualifying for the season opener in Qatar, Valentino Rossi will probably be quite content with fourth on the grid. The Italian’s pace looks quite strong and could be in that podium fight, but the question – as always – will be about whether he can hold onto that rear tyre until the end.

The middle of row two will be occupied by Jack Miller, who might be a little disappointed to miss the front row. However, he has been fast all weekend, and to start in the front two rows is certainly not a bad thing. Another potential podium contender, and another potential missile on the run to turn one with the GP19’s ‘holeshot device’.

Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) ensures Miller sits in the middle of an Italian sandwich tomorrow. Tyre wear was the issue for the 2017 Moto2 World Champion in Qatar, so the second half of the race will be particularly interesting from Morbidelli’s point of view, as well as his tyre choice.

Morbidelli’s Petronas Yamaha SRT teammate, Fabio Quartararo, will start seventh tomorrow for his second ever MotoGP. As in Qatar the Frenchman has been fast all weekend, and is another who might interfere in that podium scrap in the first half of the race, although the youngster has himself acknowledged that it will take a little longer until he has understood completely how to make a strong race pace for the full distance. Joining the #20 on the third row are the LCR pairing of Crutchlow and Nakagami.

Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) has had a nightmare weekend in Argentina. A dreadful Friday was followed up by an improved performance in FP3 which saw him advance directly to Q2, but his frustration was visible in qualifying when he qualified only tenth on the factory Ducati. Alongside Petrucci are Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team), the #99 still trying to work out how to get the RC213V to work well for him.

Jorge Lorenzo, in the garage at Termas de Río Hondo 2019. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

The fastest rider to not make Q2 was Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who qualified thirteenth, and will be joined on row five by the impressive rookie Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing).

Qualifying was a disaster for both Suzuki Ecstar riders, with Alex Rins qualifying only sixteenth and Joan Mir only nineteenth. Team manager Davide Brivio is confident in their race pace, but it is going to be a big task for the two Spanish riders to fight back from their lowly grid slots tomorrow.

Between Rins and Mir are Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), the Frenchman in particular having looked much more comfortable on the KTM this weekend, although missing the ultimate lap time over one lap still, it seems.

The two riders joining Mir on row seven are Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3), and alone at the back on row eight is Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who qualified twenty-second and last.

Featured Image courtesy of Box Repsol

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