Category: Crew On Two

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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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Moto2: Can Anyone Break Kalex in Argentina?

The second round of the Moto2 World Championship takes place this weekend in Argentina, three weeks on from Lorenzo Baldassarri’s win for Sito Pons’ Flexbox HP 40 squad.

Baldassarri’s win was one which came as a result of a staunch defensive performance in the face of strong late race pace from the returning Tom Luthi, who took second place on his debut for the Dynavolt Intact GP team. The win also means that Baldassarri comes to Argentina leading the World Championship for the first time in his career, and it will be interesting to see how he deals with that this weekend, at a track where he has never made the podium, a best result of fourth coming back in the 2017 edition of the race.

Thomas Lüthi riding for Dynavolt Intact GP. Image courtesy of Dynavolt Intact GP

For Luthi, the goal this weekend will be to prove that Qatar was not a fluke, not a one-off, and that his return to the intermediate class of grand prix motorcycle racing from a season of MotoGP in 2018 has come with a new impetus for the Swiss, who is once more in search of a second world title in 2019, and will know no doubt that a result to support the one of Qatar can be very important for his chances, though not vital. For example, last year’s Moto2 World Champion Francesco Bagnaia suffered his worst weekend of the season in Argentina, finishing only ninth. However, it is worth pointing out that in every year previous to that, the winner of the Argentinian round of the Moto2 World Championship had gone on to win the title.

Something else to keep in mind this weekend is that only Kalex have won intermediate class grands prix in Termas de Rio Hondo. However, several other chassis brands have landed podiums in Argentina since 2014: Suter, Speed Up and KTM have all taken rostrum positions at least once in intermediate class races at Termas. However, seeing past a Kalex whitewash of the podium is difficult, considering how they dominated Qatar.

In Qatar, every bike in the top ten was a Kalex, the first non-Kalex chassis being Fabio Di Giannantonio’s Speed Up frame in eleventh. Additionally, the weekend was a disaster for KTM, with Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) damaging his hand on Saturday, and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) suffering after the initial laps to finish twelfth – not the way he wanted his championship campaign to begin in a season in which he aims to win the title.

JorgeMartin, Qatar Moto2 2019. Image Courtesy of Gold and Goose /KTM

The saving grace for Binder in Losail was that his two main championship rivals, or the two thought to be his main championship rivals before the season got underway, had similarly disappointing races.

Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) managed only eighth place in Qatar, and Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) came home sixth after entering the weekend as the favourite for the win. For these two, and for Binder, Argentina represents a clean slate – three weeks on from disappointing races in Losail they will view this weekend as the true beginning of their respective championship challenges.

There were impressive rides in Qatar for Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) and Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) who finished fourth and fifth respectively. Like Luthi, they will be aiming this weekend to show that they can replicate those performances on a regular basis.

In fact, for Gardner, he will be aiming to go one step further this weekend, after he was narrowly beaten to the line in Qatar by Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) to what would have been his first podium in the World Championship.

The Marc VDS team is the second most successful Moto2 outfit in Termas, having enjoyed two wins there since 2014, with Tito Rabat (2014) and Franco Morbidelli (2017). Both riders went on to win the championship in their respective victorious years in Argentina, so look out for Xavi Vierge – who finished second in Argentina last season – and Alex Marquez this weekend.

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Moto3: Unpredictable Argentina Awaits for Round Two

The Moto3 World Championship arrives in Argentina this weekend for the second round of the 2019 season at Termas de Rio Hondo, three weeks on from the opening race of the year in Qatar.

That season opener was won by an unlikely name: Kaito Toba (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia). The Japanese rider became the first person from his country to win a race in the lightweight class since the inauguration of Moto3 in 2012. His win came from nowhere, having never previously scored a podium or even a top five in his World Championship career before this year, and that means it will be very interesting to see what the #27 rider can do this weekend, at a track which is as peculiar as Losail, albeit in a different way.

Termas has seen a variety of winners in the Moto3 category ever since it was added to the calendar in 2014. Such as Khairul Idham Pawi who won in 2016 with the Honda Team Asia, with which Toba will be trying to go back-to-back wins this weekend – and Marco Bezzecchi for PruestelGP last season, a win which propelled him towards a title challenge which went almost until the very end of the season.

Additionally, in 2014, Romano Fenati forced his way to the top step with a tough move on Jack Miller in the penultimate corner of the race, a win which makes Fenati – now riding for the Snipers Team – the only rider on this year’s Moto3 grid for the Argentinian round of the championship to have previously won at Termas. However, Fenati has not visited the podium in Argentina since that victory in 2014, something which the Italian will be keen to change this weekend, especially in wake of what he must view as a missed opportunity in Qatar three weeks ago, when he finished ninth.

Aron Canet, Moto3, Qatar 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose /KTM

Along with Fenati, there are two other riders who before Qatar were considered championship contenders: Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing). Unlike Fenati, both Canet and Dalla Porta managed to reach the podium in Losail, kicking off their championship campaigns in almost precisely the ways in which they would have wanted. However, for the pair of them, missing the victory at round one – even if to a rider they perhaps do not consider a direct threat for the championship – will see them with even greater hunger to take the top spot this weekend.

After a difficult weekend in Qatar resulting in retirement from the race, Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) will be hoping to show something closer to his full potential in Argentina after three weeks in which he will have been able to rest somewhat, and allow his injuries to heal.

Whilst Masia’s season is just beginning this weekend, being less limited by injury, the opposite can be said for Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), who finished sixth in Losail after spending the entire race fighting for the podium. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he suffered a series of injuries, including a lacerated spleen and broken rib. At the moment it is unclear for how long Arenas will be out of action, but in his absence, Arenas’ Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team teammate Raul Fernandez will be joined in the garage by Aleix Viu, who Fernandez knows well from their time spent racing together in the CEV. It will be Viu’s second Moto3 World Championship race this weekend in Argentina, after making his debut in 2017 at the Catalan Grand Prix.

Termas tends to throw up excitement and exceptional unpredictability, and to do so this weekend the rain is due to arrive on three out of the three days the riders will be on track. Bravery could well be the winning ingredient this weekend – the more the better.

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MotoGP: Marquez the Favourite for Round Two

The second round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship takes place this weekend in Argentina, at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

Termas has had a habit of throwing up controversy since it made its debut on the MotoGP calendar back in 2014 – it has seen Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez clash twice, with opposite results, in 2015 and 2018; Scott Redding blow a rear Michelin in 2016 which caused a pit stop in the middle of the race and Michelin to completely change their design philosophy for the rest of the 2016 season and Danilo Petrucci ride unpenalized into the side of Aleix Espargaro last season.

This year, though, the controversy began three weeks ago in Qatar at the opening round. Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) won from Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in another of their last lap scraps, again being decided in the final corner. Dovizioso had been using Ducati’s new aerodynamic device which attaches to the swing arm, claimed by Ducati to cool the tyre. Aprilia, KTM, Honda and Suzuki all protested the result to the Race Direction on Sunday night after the race, but it was thrown out. They then put it to the MotoGP court of appeal, which made their decision this week, a decision which ruled the Ducati to be legal, and the result to stand. With the result of the previous race being decided so close to this weekend’s round, it is sure to be a big talking point in the paddock, and it shouldn’t be long until the other factories have their own versions of Ducati’s swing arm device.

Andrea Dovizioso 1st, Marc Marquez 2nd and Cal Crutchlow third at the Qatar GP 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati

In fact, for Ducati this weekend promises to be an interesting one, regardless of appeals and protests by their rivals, as a Desmosedici has not visited parc ferme in Termas since Eugene Laverty took fourth place and top ‘independent’ for Aspar in 2016. Furthermore, Ducati haven’t had a podium in Argentina since 2015 with Dovizioso, although they should of course have had a double rostrum in 2016. The last two years have been particularly disappointing for the Italian marque in Argentina. In 2017, Dovizioso struggled for pace all weekend and in the end was taken out by Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia as the Spaniard was avoiding Danilo Petrucci and lost the front; and last year Dovizioso could manage only sixth place in the mixed conditions. Having started once more with a victory, Dovizioso will be keen to back it up with another strong result this weekend in South America.

This will be especially important for Dovizioso’s title ambitions, as Argentina is one of Marc Marquez’ strongest GPs. Of the five races run in Argentina since 2014, Marquez has won two, and taken four poles. His win count would be higher, but for his catalogue of errors last year which resulted in a thirty-second penalty and no points for the Spaniard. Marquez has always shown strongly, though, in Termas, and it is difficult to see past him this weekend, especially with rain expected.

Jorge Lorenzo at an uneventful Losail GP. Image courtesy of Hondanews.eu

Whilst Argentina has traditionally been strong for Marquez, the same cannot be said for his Repsol Honda Team teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, who has not found the podium in Argentina since 2014 and hasn’t scored a point there since 2015 when he finished fifth. Still suffering with his scaphoid and likely still feeling some effects from the injuries he picked up from his high side in Qatar FP3, this weekend could be another tough one for the Spaniard.

After Marquez, the most successful MotoGP rider in Termas de Rio Hondo is Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). The Italian took a dramatic win in 2015, and made the podium on two more occasions, in 2016 and 2017. Last year, however, was a disastrous race for the Italian, even before the contact with Marquez he lacked pace and was lapping in eighth place – the fact that Marquez took a ride through penalty in the beginning of the race and still caught Rossi with several laps to go says a lot about both Marquez’ and Rossi’s pace at the 2018 Argentinian GP. Losail was also a disappointment for Rossi. At a track where both he and Yamaha traditionally excel, he qualified fourteenth and finished fifth, leaving him suggesting that in reality nothing much has really changed in the factory Yamaha camp over the winter. Rossi is still without a podium since Sachsenring last season and, despite a disappointing opening round of the season and difficult ace in Termas last year, his record at the Argentinian track suggests this could be his best opportunity to return to the rostrum before the paddock heads back to Europe.

Valentino Rossi, at Qatar 2019. Hoping to regain form. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

With Maverick Vinales alongside Rossi in the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP garage, the factory Yamaha box is the only garage on the pit lane with two winners at Termas in the premier class. Vinales’ 2017 win feels like a long time ago, and whilst practice and qualifying in Losail three weeks ago implied that the Maverick of early 2017 was back, the race proved otherwise, as he slumped to seventh place after qualifying on pole.

Both Rossi and Vinales were hurt in Losail by the YZR-M1’s lack of top speed, and that is likely to hurt them again this weekend, with the long straight down to turn five. What Termas does not have that Losail did, though, is a long run to the (start/finish) line, and that could present an opportunity for the Yamaha riders.

Argentina was the scene of Alex Rins’ (Team Suzuki Ecstar) first MotoGP podium twelve months ago, and after a strong winter and impressive ride in Qatar where he took fourth place, the Spaniard will be after his first win in the premier class this time around.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) took a spectacular win in Termas last year, fighting in a four-way scrap with Miller, Rins and Johann Zarco for the duration of the race. It was Crutchlow’s third triumph in the premier class, and after a heroic podium in Qatar – after missing some feeling with the bike through preseason, a preseason hampered by the catastrophic ankle injury he sustained in Australia last October – the Briton will no doubt be after the rostrum once more this weekend, at the circuit which he took his first podium on Honda, when he stuffed Andrea Iannone back in 2015 in the final corner.

Featured image courtesy of Box Repsol.

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WorldSBK: Sixth Race Win for Dominant Bautista

The second full length race for the second round of the 2019 Superbike World Championship from the Buriram International Circuit in Thailand was, like the previous five races of the season, completely dominated by ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista.

The Spaniard made the holeshot, and held the lead throughout the first lap, and soon after he had broken Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who settled in for a cold war with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK). There was nothing anybody can do about Bautista, though, who strolled to his sixth consecutive victory, doubling his championship advantage compared to before the weekend.

Jonathan Rea, though, did what he needed to, in maintaining second place, not over-stretching either himself or the bike, and ultimately he is only one point more than a full-distance race win away from the World Championship lead. He has kept himself in the championship, and finally that was the maximum for the reigning champion and his Kawasaki team.

Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes finishing 2nd and 4rd in Race 2 at Thailand, 2019 WSBK. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

The weekend was a big success for Alex Lowes, and he topped that off with perhaps his best ride of the weekend, as he stayed with Rea for three quarters of the race, before he fell back at the end. A third podium was about as much as the Yamaha rider could have hoped for, and he was by far the best Yamaha rider this weekend.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) took fourth place for the third time this weekend. He had hoped to be able to fight for the podium with his teammate, but despite starting six places better off than in the first two races – going from fourth – he was unable to match Lowes’ pace. Instead, the Dutchman fought once more with Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) who finished fifth and sixth respectively.

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

Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) once again took seventh place, ahead – once again – of fellow rookie Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) who was eighth. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) disappointed once again on his semi-factory ZX-10RR as he battled with Jordi Torres’ privateer Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki for ninth place. Razgatlioglu came out on top in that duel, but it would not be the fight he had been hoping nor expecting to have.

Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) took eleventh place on the S1000RR, ahead of Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) in thirteenth and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team).

There were four non-starters, as Eugene Laverty’s GoEleven team were unable to get his bike prepared after his brake failure yesterday; Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) entered the pits after the warm-up lap; and Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) and Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) were both declared unfit after their crash in the Superpole race earlier in the day.

In the race, there were two retirements, as Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) retired with a drivetrain issue, and Chaz Davies’ ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati Panigale V4R expired after fighting with the Yamaha riders and Haslam’s Kawasaki in the final race of the weekend.

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WorldSBK: Bautista Wins Again in Red-Flagged Superpole Race

The Superpole for the 2019 Superbike World Championship race in Buriram was ended early, after six laps, due to a red flag for an incident between Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) and Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team).

However, the race started as normal, and like yesterday’s race, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) got a better launch than Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) but the power of the Panigale V4R allowed the Spaniard to draw back alongside the reigning World Champion. Nonetheless, Rea made the holeshot, only for Bautista to steam past him on the straight.

When they got to turn three, Bautista ran wide, and Rea cut underneath, only – again – for Bautista to power back by on the straight up to turn four. From there, surprisingly, Rea was unable to make an impression on Bautista, who stretched out a sizeable lead at the front and eventually won by two seconds, keeping his and the new Ducati’s 100% winning record in the championship.

After he was able to keep Bautista within range for over half the race yesterday, Rea would have been disappointed to have seen the #19 creep away after the second lap, but with the size of the straights in Buriram and the power advantage of the Ducati there is, really, only so much the four-times champion can do.

Alex Lowes – Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – 2019 WorldSBK. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha) tagged onto the back of the two leaders from the start, and pulled away from his Yamaha stablemates and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) behind. In the end it was a second podium, and a second third place, of the weekend and the season for the Englishman, and he will no doubt be out to make it three out of three rostrum appearances in Thailand in the final race of the weekend.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) was next over the line in fourth, after a battle with Leon Haslam (6th) which lasted the shortened race distance. Only two tenths behind Haslam was Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), who had a messy first couple of laps, making a few mistakes, but was looking good for a strong fightback before the red flag, and he finished 0.3 seconds ahead of his GRT Yamaha teammate, Sandro Cortese who was seventh.

Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finished eighth on the factory Ducati, ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) who made a good start but dropped back from there. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) rounded out the top ten, but just missed out on the front three rows for the final race of the weekend.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) finished eleventh, ahead of Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing), Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) who scored the first point of his WorldSBK career, and was the final rider classified.

Eugene Laverty’s (Team GoEleven) race was over before it even started, as his GoEleven team couldn’t get his bike repaired after his brake failure yesterday. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) retired at the end of the second lap, before Camier and Warokorn had their incident. Both were taken to hospital and both were declared unfit for the third and final race of the Thailand event.

Featured image courtesy of Ducati

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WorldSBK: Bautista Defeats Rea for Fourth Straight Win

The second round of the 2019 Superbike World Championship saw Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) claim his first ever Superpole in qualifying, as the Spaniard looked to continue his 100% winning record in the championship after taking the first ever WorldSBK ‘triple’ in Phillip Island.

Despite an average launch, the world championship leader was able to use the power of his Ducati Panigale V4R to make the holeshot, but he ran wide, and after starting second on the grid, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was able to cut underneath him and get a good enough exit from the first turn to allow him to lead through the kink of turn two and into turn three. The reigning World Champion ran wide in the turn three hairpin, but was able to square off the exit and beat Bautista to turn four at the end of the uphill drag, which was important for the Kawasaki rider, as he would now have the opportunity to pull away in the section of track in which he believed he was faster.

Álvaro Bautista ahead of Jonathan Rea. Round 2 of the 2019 WSBK Season. Image courtesy of Ducati

If anything, though, Bautista closed onto Rea’s rear wheel, and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) was able to close onto the back of the leading duo through the twisty stuff towards the end of the lap as well.

Rea and Bautista soon engaged in a strong fight for the lead, Bautista of course having the advantage on sheer straight line speed, but Rea was doing everything, to try to counter-act the horsepower of the Panigale, focusing a lot – it seemed – on corner exit to launch down the straight. In parc ferme afterwards, Bautista commented that he felt he was losing out on corner exit, so whatever Rea was doing in this area was working well.

Not only was Rea impressive on corner exit, but he was demonic on the brakes. It became a notable feature of Rea’s riding last year, with the rev limits introduced for the Kawasaki limiting their speed and acceleration. Rea had to make the time on the brakes as a result, and he found himself in the same situation this season, and there was not a single braking zone at the Buriram circuit in which Rea did not appear on the limit.

In the early stages of this battle, Bautista passed Rea on the straight between turns one and three, and knowing he was missing out on braking compared to the reigning World Champion, the Spaniard pushed a little further on the brakes. He lost the rear, ran slightly wide, and Rea cut back on the inside. There was contact, and Bautista completely lost the front. It was a lucky escape for the Spaniard to stay on the bike, and to lose only one position to Alex Lowes was similarly fortuitous.

It took Bautista though, only one lap to re-pass Lowes, and then a few laps to recover the one second gap to Rea.

The Ducati rider was showing scintillating pace in that period of the race, in that one lap taking almost half a second out of his rival. When he caught Rea, and passed him, it was not without a fight that Rea let him go. The Northern Irishman pushed beyond the limit for several laps, locking and folding the front numerous times before his front tyre had finally had enough.

When Rea finally decided to conserve his second place and twenty World Championship points, Bautista was able to open up a large gap, and was still lapping in the low 1’33s as late as lap eighteen, slowing to ’33.7 on the final two laps. In comparison, Rea had dropped to 1’34s since lap sixteen (his final lap was a 1’36, but he slowed on the exit of the final corner).

Despite Jonathan Rea’s best efforts, Alvaro Bautista still came away from his fourth ever WorldSBK race with his fourth ever WorldSBK win, extending his championship advantage over Rea to eighteen points.

Whilst he was beaten again, there are positives to take for the reigning World Champion. Primarily, Rea was able to stay with Bautista for ten laps and more. The Superpole race on Sunday morning is ten laps, and so Rea has a real hope of taking victory in the sprint.

Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes at the Thiland WSBK round One Race 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

Alex Lowes was finally able to take his first podium of the season, probably one round late than he would have hoped, but to finish as top Yamaha for the second time this season will be a boost to him. Especially as the R1s of himself, his Pata Yamaha WorldSBK teammate Michael van der Mark and GRT Yamaha WorldSBK’s Marco Melandri were all so closely matched in race one at Buriram.

It was Van der Mark’s R1 which crossed the line closest to Lowes, in fourth place, just 0.468 seconds behind his teammate. Whilst Melandri lost time to his stablemate in a battle with Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK’s Leon Haslam, the Italian struggling with the same straight-line stability problems which dogged him last year on the Ducati. It was a sixth place for Melandri, a tenth behind Haslam in fifth, who in the end was three seconds from the Pata Yamaha riders.

Seven seconds back  Melandri was his GRT Yamaha WorldSBK teammate and reigning Supersport World Champion Sandro Cortese, the rookie having another strong ride to seventh place, after beating Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) to the line on the final lap. Rinaldi’s ride should not go un-noted, going from sixteenth on the grid it was perhaps his strongest race of the season aboard his “Showa-sprung” Panigale V4R (in comparison to the Ohlins suspension of his factory stablemates).

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) came home in ninth place, struggling again with the lack of power of the S1000RR in the straights of the first two sectors.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) rounded out the top ten, after struggling for setup all weekend.

Eleventh place went to Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing), the Spaniard finishing two tenths ahead of fellow Kawasaki privateer rider Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racin VerdNatura) in twelfth. Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) was thirteenth, struggling – not unlike the BMW riders – with the lack of power in the CBR1000RR, but ahead nonetheless of BMW Motorrad WorldSBK’s Markus Reiterberger, and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) on the Panigale V4R after crashing mid-race and remounting.

Sixteenth place went to Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team), the Thai wildcard, and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) who was the final finisher in seventeenth.

There were two retirements: Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven) and Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team). Laverty’s was by far the more alarming retirement, as he lost his brakes at 125mph into the final corner. Fortunately, the Irishman was okay after his fourth career brake failure.

Alvaro Bautista winner of race one with Jonathan Rea (2nd) Alex Lowes(3rd). Image courtesy of Ducati

Perhaps the most telling part about of the 2019 WorldSBK season is the gaps. Alvaro Bautista and Ducati have been very impressive so far, but arguably the step Jonathan Rea has made this year to try to challenge them has been even greater. Last year saw the top ten split by eleven seconds,  yet Rea this year,  had six seconds back to Alex Lowes; after destroying his front tyre and sitting up on the final corner which cost him two seconds. There will probably be people who are at the moment questioning the ability of Jonathan Rea – after four straight world titles with arguably the best bike for all four of those seasons, he is now finding himself incapable of getting anywhere near Bautista for a full race distance. However, to see a more accurate reflection of Jonathan Rea’s ability on a motorcycle, it is more relevant to look at the gap behind him, not the one in front of him.

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