Category: Crew On Two

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Moto2 Australia Preview: First Championship Point for Bagnaia

The Australian Moto2 Grand Prix this weekend presents the first opportunity for Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) to become a World Champion.

The retrospective disqualification of Fabio Quartararo (Conveyors MB – Speed Up) in Japan last week handed the championship leader his eighth win of the season, and allowed him to increase his championship lead over Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to 37 points. So, with two rounds to go after this weekend, Bagnaia needs a fifty-point advantage over Oliveira (who has two wins this year, and therefore cannot surpass Bagnaia’s total) at the end of the Australian Moto2 race to clinch the title before Sepang next week. That means Bagnaia needs to out-score his Portuguese rival by 13 points this weekend, and the most straightforward way which that can happen is with Bagnaia winning and Oliveira finishing no higher than fifth.

So, it’s possible that Bagnaia can be crowned this weekend, if somewhat unlikely. Oliveira’s season has not been an outstanding one, in that he hasn’t won an incredible number of races or had an obvious advantage on the field, but he has been incredibly consistent. Of the fifteen races so far this season, Oliveira has been on the podium in ten of them. In a year when the Moto2 field is arguably as tight as it ever has been, if not tighter, to miss the podium on only five occasions is quite impressive.

The problem for Oliveira has been winning, and that problem has been largely a consequence of his poor qualifying. Again, of the sixteen qualifying sessions so far (one more QP than races this season because Silverstone was rained off) Oliveira has qualified in the top ten only eight times, and on the front three rows only seven times. Furthermore, Oliveira has only one front row in 2018, which came back in Austria where he was second to Bagnaia.

On the positive side for Oliveira, though, is the Phillip Island circuit itself. The Portuguese has two wins at the Australian track, coming in 2015 and 2017. His win in Phillip Island last season kicked off his end-of-season triple-win, as he won the final three races of the season in Australia, Malaysia and Valencia. The #44 rider is going to need a similar run of form in the final three races of 2018 if he is to stand a chance of overcoming Bagnaia.

In fact, it could be that Oliveira’s KTM Ajo teammate, Brad Binder, proves one of the Portuguese’s strongest challengers. This is for two reasons: Binder’s form in the last races, and his recent form at Phillip Island.

Since Aragon, where Binder won, he has been at least a match for Oliveira in each race; playing the role of the good teammate in Thailand, even if he could do nothing about the later-race pace of Bagnaia’s Sky Racing Team VR46 teammate, Luca Marini; before battling for the entirety of the Japanese Grand Prix with Oliveira last weekend, to the misery of Red Bull KTM Ajo team boss, Aki Ajo.

About his Australian Grand Prix form, Binder has taken two podiums in the last two years, including a win in 2016. No doubt Binder will be after the win this weekend, but crucially it could work well for Oliveira should the #44 be unable to fight for the victory.

Whereas the two Red Bull KTM Ajo riders were on the podium in Australia last season, Francesco Bagnaia could only manage twelfth, so the way the weekend pans out for the championship contenders and their teammates (Luca Marini was the 23rd and last finisher in Phillip Island last year) will be fascinating.

Similarly interesting will be the performance of Jesko Raffin (SAG Team), who was a surprise in fourth place last year at the Island, ahead of the likes of Xavi Vierge and Alex Marquez, both of whom will be looking for better results compared to Japan last time out where Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) missed the podium with fourth and Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) could only manage seventh.

Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) will also be after an improvement on his Japanese GP result, as he finished down in eleventh, but the reigning Moto3 World Champion will have good memories of the Australian Grand Prix, as he won the lightweight class race at Phillip Island in 2017.

And, of course, after his partly controversial and muchly discussed Japanese DSQ, Fabio Quartararo will be desperate to find himself on the podium this weekend. The smooth riding style of the Frenchman, and his sweeping lines, should suit the fast turns of Phillip Island, and he could too have his hand to play in the Bagnaia vs Oliveira championship battle.

Contrarily, Augusto Fernandez’ progression at the moment is seemingly relentless, and a sixth place in Japan last time out only went further to proving that, and that the decision of HP40 Pons to retain the Spaniard for next year was a good one.

But, with the 2018 Moto2 World Championship on the line for the first time this weekend, all eyes will be on the relative performances of Francesco Bagnaia and Miguel Oliveira.

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Australian GP Preview: Caution Thrown To The Wind As MotoGP Heads Down Under

The 2018 MotoGP Championship rumbles on this weekend to the spectacular Phillip Island circuit, just off the mainland of Australia.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) is now freed of the pressure to secure the championship, having secured the title last time out at Motegi. As such, the 25-year old has licence to throw all caution to the wind in pursuit of yet another victory. It has been another remarkable season in the career of the Spanish rider, who has become the youngest 7x world champion (and youngest 5x premier class champion). 

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) is looking to make it a second victory in three years at the circuit. The British rider has been in excellent form this year, piloting the factory-supported satellite Honda to fifth place in the championship – including victory in Argentina and podium finishes at Misano and Japan. Crutchlow is under no illusions that victory (or even a podium finish) will come easy, despite his strong record at this track. In the Thursday press conference he was reported saying as many as ten different riders all have a realistic chance to take the spoils on Sunday. 

Cal Crutchlow destroyed the field to win the 2016 Australian Grand Prix

The characteristics of the Phillip Island circuit may benefit the teams which are traditionally more stable handed through long, sweeping corners. As such, both Team Ecstar Suzuki and Movistar Yamaha have potentially much to gain. The latter will particularly be determined to produce a strong result, having struggled throughout the season. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) and Alex Rins (Suzuki) respectively will be expected to lead the charges for their teams again this weekend. Rossi will be desperate to not only break Yamaha’s duck for the season, and end the team’s winless drought which stretches back to Assen, 2017.

For Rins, there is now the feeling it is just a matter of time before the Catalan rider wins his first grand prix. The 22-year old has secured multiple podium finishes this season – his most recent being a hard fought 3rd place last time out in Japan. In addition, he has been a regular presence inside the top 5 since the summer break. Phillip Island presents him with perhaps the best chance of the season to claim victory, and become the first Suzuki rider to win a grand prix since Maverick Vinales at Silverstone in 2016.

Alvaro Bautista makes his bow as a factory Ducati rider, this weekend. The former 125cc world champion is standing in for the injured Jorge Lorenzo at Phillip Island, and could potentially be doing the same next weekend in Malaysia. Bautista has comprehensively outperformed the GP16 and GP17 Desmosedici machines, regularly finishing races inside the top 10. The promotion to the factory team is also a very public ‘thank you’ from Ducati Corse, before he moves to World Superbikes in 2019 for the Aruba.it Ducati squad on the new V4 Panigale.

Local rider Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati) will be hoping to give the partisan home crowd something to shout about this weekend. The Australian has, by his own admission, struggled for consistency on the year-old GP17 Desmosedici machine. His best result this season was a fourth place finish at the Argentinian Grand Prix, a round which also saw him secure his maiden pole position.  However, one need only cast their mind back to this time last year when, aboard the truly uncompetitive MarcVDS Honda, Miller took and held the lead of the race during the opening laps at the island. Now on a Ducati, there is every possibility of at least a podium finish should he keep the bike on the tarmac.

Finally, MotoGP welcomes back another Australian rider this weekend. Mike Jones is stepping in at the Angel Nieto Team, whilst Bautista is at the factory Ducati team. Jones is a familiar name to the paddock, having ridden for Avintia Ducati back in 2016 and scoring a championship point. A former Australian Superbike Champion, another chance to perform in front of his home crowds is a self-confessed dream come true for the affable 24-year old from Queensland.

MotoGP Qualifying and Race Schedule

Saturday: Qualifying 1 – 06:10-06.25

Sunday: Race – 05.00      

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WorldSBK Qatar Preview – More Records Beckon For Rea

The curtain falls on the 2018 Superbike World Championship under the floodlights of the Losail Circuit.

So here we are, after twelve rounds and seven months of globe trotting, the FIM Superbike World Championship reaches its final round this weekend at the Losail International Circuit, in Qatar.

It is the final time that the current race format will be used. From 2019 onwards World Superbikes will have three races each weekend, comprised of two ‘regular’ length races and one shorter ‘sprint’. The precise details – such as scheduling and points allocation for the sprint are yet to be confirmed. The general understanding is that the regular length races will remain in their current slots (one each at the end of Saturday and Sunday), whilst the sprint will begin Sunday’s race program.

As ever, all eyes will be on Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea.  Having completed another victory double last time out in Argentina, the reigning world champion has his sites set on breaking the outright points record for a single season. It should be worth noting that Rea currently holds the record, having finished the 2017 campaign with a total of 556.  To break his own record, Rea will need to score 37 points, which in simplest terms equates to a race win (25pts) and a fourth place finish (13pts).

There is also another record which the Northern Irishman could break this year – the number of race victories in a season. Another double this weekend will see Rea catch and surpass the current record of 17 wins in a season – set by Doug Polen, on a Ducati, way back in 1991. Should he do that, then only the record for number of world championships would remain on his hit-list.

Jonathan Rea is set to break all the records in WorldSBK history.

Across the other side of the KRT garage, and there is a real sense of the end of an era. Tom Sykes will ride for the team for the final time this weekend, bringing down the curtain on an eight-year relationship with the Japanese marque. Whilst this season has been difficult for the Yorkshireman, both rider and team can look back fondly over a period of considerable success, including 34 wins and 47 pole positions. Not to mention that Sykes claimed the first championship crown for the team back in 2013. Both he and the team will be hoping to go out on a high, with one final victory together.

The ‘end of an era’ feeling is magnified further in the Aruba.it Ducati garage. For the Ducati Corse supported team, they say farewell to both Marco Melandri and the V-twin engine Panigale R machine this weekend. Whilst there is an undeniable level of disappointment in the team, that the Panigale has failed to follow in the wheel tracks of its illustrious predecessors (every previous Ducati Superbike model has been ridden at least 1 championship title), it has been tempered by the testing results of the upcoming Panigale V4 machine – which is being introduced for 2019.

Nevertheless, much is on the line this weekend for Ducati’s number one rider, Chaz Davies. The Welshman has battled injury ever since the mid-season break, having broken his collarbone in a crash during training. The highly physical demands of the somewhat volatile Ducati, have ensured the injury has not healed. Despite this considerable setback, Davies is still fighting for second place in the championship. With the Losail circuit traditionally playing to the Panigale’s straight line strength, the Qatar round presents Davies with his best chance of securing a brace of strong results for the first time since back at Imola.

Michael Van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) is also gunning for second place in the championship and, sitting just 16 points behind Davies, knows it is a very realistic possibility. The Dutchman has had an outstanding campaign, and has fully lived up to his pre-season billing as the most exciting prospect of the series.  Two race wins and a further eight podium finishes this season, have put the 25-year old in pole position to secure that second place overall.

Will it be Chaz Davies (Left) or Michael Van der Mark (Right) who finishes as ‘Best of the Rest’ this season?

This week also sees the final outing for the Shaun Muir Racing team, in their current guise as Milwaukee Aprilia. After weeks of speculation, the team will switch from running Aprilia machinery, to the newly updated BMW S1000RR. The deal reportedly also includes significant factory support from the German manufacturer. As a result of this, it is all change as far as the riders are concerned. Sykes moves across from KRT, whilst Markus Reiterberger moves up from the – now defunct – European Superstock 1000 class having won the championship aboard a BMW.

The decision to hire two new riders for 2019 leaves the current incumbents (Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori) without a ride for next season. Both riders feel they should be at one of the factory supported teams. This is especially the case for Laverty who has taken two podium finishes and a pole position this season, on his way to scoring 145 points. At time of writing there is just one seat left available with such a team – Red Bull Honda.  Expect the pair to throw the kitchen sink and more this weekend, as they desperately try to secure that seat for themselves.

WorldSBK Schedule – All times BST

FRIDAY

Superpole 1 – 14.30-14.45

Superpole 2 – 14.55-15.10

WorldSBK Race 1 – 17.00

SATURDAY

WorldSBK Race 2 – 17.00

 

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The Moto2 Championship Battle Prepares for the Triple Header

A win in the inaugural Thai Moto2 Grand Prix allowed Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) to increase his World Championship advantage to 28 points, with four rounds left in the season.

However, considering the form of his main championship rival, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo), in the final three races of 2017 – of which he won all three – and that there are still 100 points up for grabs in 2018, there is still a lot to play for this year, as the championship heads into the far-eastern triple-header, with Motegi and the Japanese Grand Prix first up this weekend.

But it was Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who won last year in Japan. In fact, his 2017 Japanese Grand Prix triumph remains his most recent victory in the Moto2 World Championship. The Spaniard’s hopes of a top three finish pretty much vanished at Thailand when he crashed out of a good position, and one from which he could fight perhaps for the podium. He now lies thirty-one points behind Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who is currently third in the standings, so perhaps his sights are now set on the fourth place of Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40).

Marquez’s form of late would also make it a surprise to see him take the top step this weekend, despite his success at the Twin Ring in the past, starting in 2013 when he took his first GP win at the Japanese track.

Miguel Oliveira the winner of the Thailand Moto2 race 2018. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose /KTM

With that in mind, perhaps we should look at the two Red Bull KTMs of Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder, as well as the two Sky VR46 bikes of Pecco Bagnaia and Luca Marini to be fighting for the win this weekend.

Bagnaia’s Thai win was stunning. The general thought pre-race was that the two factory KTMs would escape in the second half of the race when the tyre wear arrived. But instead, it was the opposite, and Bagnaia – once he settled into a rhythm – checked out and contented himself whilst out front with the five points that he would be gaining on Oliveira. Hence, he was rather excited to learn that his teammate, Marini, had taken second behind him, to steal another four points from Oliveira.

Francesco Bagnaia and Luca Marini of the Sky VR46 team. Image courtesy of Hondaproracing

It was a welcome return to form for Marini, whose previous podium appearance back in Austria was starting to seem something of a while ago with some more difficult weekends in Misano and Aragon. However, the memories for Marini of Motegi are not fantastic, as he was the first retirement of the 2017 race.

Miguel Oliveira’s most recent memories of Japan are also not so fantastic, as he finished 7.5 seconds off the win last season in 7th place, and two seconds behind Bagnaia in 4th. However, Oliveira’s 2015 podium at the Japanese Grand Prix means he has one more rostrum finish in Motegi than his Italian rival, Bagnaia, whose best result in Japan was that fourth place twelve months ago.

Brad Binder looked at times as though he was faster than his championship-challenging teammate, Oliveira, in Thailand. However, he never broke rank, and allowed his Portuguese colleague to take the third place which could prove crucial in the championship in a few weeks’ time, and a similar ‘rear-gunner’ job by Binder could prove valuable for Oliveira in the remaining races of the season.

Other riders to watch out for this weekend include Lorenzo Baldassarri, who will be eager to bounce back after his disappointing crash off pole position in Buriram and Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) who took his first Grand Prix podium in Motegi last year.

Also, Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) is still after his first Moto2 win, and only has four rounds left to achieve that before he heads off to MotoGP next season with the Ecstar Suzuki squad. The Spaniard is also just two points behind his teammate, Marquez, in the standings, in the battle for the championship top five.

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BSB 2018 Ends With Cooper on Top

The final race of the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship got underway in horrendously wet conditions on Sunday afternoon, and it was Richard Cooper for the Buildbase Suzuki team who came out victorious, as Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) capped off his championship-winning BSB campaign with a sixth place.

Cooper started from the front row, and used that position – and his Suzuki’s strength off the line – to make the holeshot, from which position he disappeared at the front, making just one mistake which kept him awake, and allowed Tommy Bridewell (Moto Rapido Ducati) behind to close up. Cooper responded, though, and within a couple of laps he had re-established a healthy margin at the front.

Behind the diminutive Derbyshireman, there was a battle for second place between the aforementioned Bridewell, newly-crowned British Champion Leon Haslam, Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing), Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) and Jake Dixon (RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki).

The group stayed together for a number of laps, before a mistake by Haslam let Bridewell escape the group, and cost the WSBK-bound rider a couple of positions.

Eventually, the group spread out, and the 2018 BSB season finally went out with something of an anti-climax.

Cooper came away with what was an impressive victory in awful conditions, in what may turn out to be his final BSB race, whilst Tommy Bridewell was able to hang on behind to second place, and another podium for the Moto Rapido Ducati squad.

They were joined on the podium by Grand Prix-bound Jake Dixon, who made amends for his race two crash with a podium in his final race for Lee Hardy and the RAF Regular and Reserves outfit after he pulled away from Christian Iddon and his split collarbone who came home in an impressive, heroic fourth.

Josh Brookes ended his time with the McAMS Yamaha team with a top five (5th), with a late charge allowing him to climb up the order in the final stages, although he fell just over half a second short of Iddon’s fourth spot. It’s not been a stellar year for the 2015 champion, and he will be hoping his move to PBM for 2019 will prove more fruitful.

Conserving both his team’s 100% finishing record, and his special, one-off gold fairing was behind the sixth place of Leon Haslam, as the 2018 champion cruised to sixth place after a series of rear-end slides, including a pretty spectacular one through Clark Curve. Haslam now has three weeks off, before he jumps on the new Kawasaki for 2019 preseason testing for the factory Kawasaki WorldSBK team.

A personal best finish of the season came in the shape of seventh place for Gino Rea, which was a good way to end a tricky year for the class rookie.
After fighting for the podium positions in the early laps, Jason O’Halloran somewhat mysteriously slumped to a finishing position of eighth ahead of the Smith’s BMW pairing of Peter Hickman and Sylvain Barrier, who were 9th and 10th respectively.

Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) came home in eleventh, ahead of newcomer Danny Kent (Movuno.com Halsall Racing Suzuki) in 12th, Mason Law (Team WD40 Kawasaki) in 13th, Shaun Winfield (Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha) in 14th and Aaron Zanotti (Team 64 Kawasaki) who took the final point of the season in fifteenth, in his final career race.

Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) was the first crasher, as he high sided on the exit of Surtees, which was an unfortunate way to potentially end his BSB career. He was joined on the side lines by Joe Francis (Lloyd and Jones Bowker Motorrad BMW), Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki), James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha) in what could be his final BSB race, Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Racing Kawasaki), Glenn Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team), Josh Elliott (OMG Racing UK LTD Suzuki) and Andrew Irwin (Be Wiser Ducati Racing Team).

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War of Attrition as Weather Brings Havoc in Race 2

Leon Haslam marked his first race as British champion with his 15th win of the season, in treacherous conditions at Brands Hatch.

It’s almost become an expected part of British racing that the sun will not be shining but unfortunately with the rain brought many crashes. Only 14 riders finished Race 2 with 12 crashing out, including Danny Kent (Halsall Racing Suzuki), Jake Dixon (Kawasaki) and Andrew Irwin (BeWiser Ducati).

Not the end to the season that most riders would be hoping for but, it was a very good weekend for Haslam (JG-Speedfit Kawasaki) who won the Championship and secured his 15th race win in a contained manner. Only romping away with first position when the end was in sight – almost like he learned from Dixon’s mistake who’s race ended with only a quarter of the race left when he finally obtained the lead.

It was an unfortunate race for Dixon on a whole who started on pole but he fell down to third after Irwin took his chance and clinched first position. Then chaos ensued as riders started falling left, right and centre due to the wet weather conditions and the camber of the track.

It wasn’t long before Irwin wasn’t leading and neither was Dixon as the race ultimately became a race between Haslam and Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing) who fought long and hard for first position. When riding in the wet, being out front gives riders an advantage due to better visibility – no spray from the bike in front of them and a better view of the track means that they can judge their next move better. As the pair fought back and forth for this advantage, it was fishtailing that bothered O’Halloran.

It wasn’t to be for future Moto2 rider Dixon who would have hoped for a better finish to the season, but he would ultimately finish 70 points behind Haslam in the Championship in second place. His progression to Moto2 will be interesting to watch as he copes without having experience on the Moto3 machine before jumping aboard the Angel Nieto Team bike with a Triumph engine.

But after a stellar season, it was Haslam who clinched the Championship before he too departs from BSB to rejoin the Superbike World Championship with the Kawasaki Racing Team in 2019. And for 12 riders at Brands Hatch, it was not a race to remember, but with the weather conditions being what they were it’s not totally surprising that almost half the grid didn’t finish the race.

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Glenn Irwin Takes First Win Of The Season, As Haslam Seals Title.

Glenn Irwin on his way to his first win of the season for BeWiser Ducati. (Picture: Impact Images)

The first race of the Brands Hatch GP triple-header which concludes the 2018 Bennetts British Superbike Championship saw Glenn Irwin (BeWiser Ducati) take his first dry win in the championship, and his first of the season, and Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) claim his first British Superbike title.

A front group emerged almost immediately, with Glenn Irwin, pole setter Jake Dixon (RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki), Peter Hickman (Smith’s BMW), Tommy Bridewell (Moto Rapido Ducati), Richard Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki), Leon Haslam, Andrew Irwin (BeWiser Ducati) and Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) breaking away at the front. The lead pack was cut by two riders after a couple of laps, as Cooper and Bridewell fell almost simultaneously in Druids, Bridewell gesturing to imply issues with the track conditions.

The race continued, though, and the remaining six riders in the front group continued to fight over the lead and the podium spots.

Despite a good charge mid-race, Andrew Irwin started to struggle a bit towards the end, and after dropping back from his teammate and brother, Glenn Irwin, he was passed by Dixon, and then pressured by Mackenzie.

Dixon pushed on and tried to catch and pass Glenn Irwin on the lead PBM Ducati, but just ran out of time at the end, whilst Taz Mackenzie was able to find a way past the second Panigale of Andy Irwin.

Glenn Irwin’s win was sublime. A lights-to-flag masterclass, a ride akin to some of those of his former teammate, Shane Byrne. There was not one moment where he looked at risk on the bike, where he looked as if he was going to throw it all away. Knowing he was going to be leaving the BeWiser Ducati team at the end of this weekend, Irwin was always going to be after a win this weekend, to sign off in a good way. With a victory already, and with two races still to come on Sunday, who’s to say this will be the only one?

Second place for Jake Dixon left him disappointed. With his only realistic option for the championship coming into this weekend being to win all three races, that was Dixon’s sole aim, so to miss out in the first one was always going to be a source of frustration and sadness, and combined with the mathematically important sixth place of Leon Haslam, Jake’s reaction was understandable. But with the pressure now completely off, the GP-bound rider can go out tomorrow and ride completely freely.

Another podium for Mackenzie proved that he is definitely one to watch for next season, and even for tomorrow. After qualifying, he complained of being not totally comfortable with the Yamaha R1, and it was clear that the situation was very similar in the race, as he had several moments through the race where he lost the rear, notably out of Sheene Curve, and later on again on the exit of Graham Hill Bend. But nonetheless, his pace was strong when he could string a lap together, and some decent changes overnight could put him in a position to take his first Superbike win tomorrow.

Fourth place in the end went to Andrew Irwin, who matched his best result of the season so far. The #18 rider has been impressive all season, and the pace he has shown in a circuit which he has already been to on a superbike proves that he has a great potential with the one litre bikes. He doesn’t yet have a berth for next season, but he is certainly writing himself a good CV.

Peter Hickman held onto fifth place for Smith’s BMW, but it was the man behind him, Leon Haslam, who stole all the lime light today, as he took his first British Superbike Championship, after an entire career of missing out. Fourteen wins propelled Haslam to this title, and with him moving to the World Championship for 2019, this is precisely the way he wanted to sign out of this three-year stint in BSB. With the chains of the championship taken away tomorrow, Haslam should be right back at the front, battling for the win in both races.

Behind the new British Champion, Josh Brookes (McAMS Yamaha) took seventh place – a disappointment considering his double win at Brands back in July – ahead of James Ellison (Anvil Hire TAG Racing Yamaha), Danny Buchan (FS-3 Kawasaki) and Michael Laverty (Tyco BMW) who completed the top ten.

Eleventh spot went to Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki), ahead of Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki), Gino Rea (OMG Racing Suzuki), Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Racing Kawasaki) and Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki) who took the final point.

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The Championship is Over, But a Historic Weekend Awaits for WorldSBK

A fourth consecutive WorldSBK double brought Jonathan Rea his fourth consecutive world title two weeks ago in Magny-Cours.

A fortnight on and the paddock is heading to Argentina for the Superbike World Championship’s first visit to South America. A lot has been said about the San Juan track, with its construction times creating a reasonable amount of controversy within the WSBK community. However, upon arrival, the track seems to be in a good condition, with a layout that the riders are generally quite excited about, and (temporary) facilities which would appear to be adequate for the time being.

Despite the championship having been wrapped up by Rea in France, the Northern Irishman will surely be eager to take a fifth successive double this weekend, which would be a historic one in itself thanks to this being the first WSBK visit to Argentina.

Unfortunately, from a neutral perspective, Rea is likely to dominate this weekend in much the same way as he has dominated the last five, and likely the main battle will be over second place.

Chaz Davis 2nd at Magny Cours. Image Courtesy f Ducati Media

Chaz Davies and Michael van der Mark will be the main riders to watch here, as they are also the two main riders fighting for second in the championship standings. Of course, second place might seem irrelevant, and really it is, but there is no doubt that the riders will have a reasonable bonus in their contract for finishing second in the championship.

Furthermore, for van der Mark (and Yamaha), second in the championship would be a fantastic achievement in his second season aboard the M1, and would send him into 2019 in a good shape. Meanwhile, for Davies (and Ducati), to be beaten by the still relatively juvenile R1 would be particularly humbling, especially considering that the team are forced to retire the 1199 Panigale at the end of this season as the first Ducati superbike model to not win a World Championship, with the V4 Panigale coming for next season.

Currently, Davies and van der Mark are separated by 26 points in Davies’ favour, which may seem a lot, but at the same time, we all know that in motorcycle racing, anything can happen.

Thirty-six points further back of van der Mark is Tom Sykes, who is approaching the end of his time with Kawasaki and still in search of a ride for 2019. It looks like he is out of the running for even the top three in the championship, which would make 2018 his worst season – results-wise – since 2011. However, there are still two rounds to go for Sykes to add to his solitary victory of the season so far, and given his decent speed in France, he could have the opportunity this weekend.

A couple of riders who will be hoping for improved fortunes this weekend compared to the previous round are Eugene Laverty and Alex Lowes. The pair of them struggled in France two weeks ago, and Lowes also suffered a lot in Portimao. Thankfully for Lowes, he has a contract sorted for 2019, although that doesn’t even nearly mean that he will be content with his recent performances.

In comparison, Laverty is still yet to secure himself a berth for next season, so strong results are essential at the moment for advertising purposes as much as his own contentment.

The flowing nature of the Argentine circuit should suit both the R1 and the RSV4, so both Lowes and Laverty will be keen to take advantage of that in the two races this weekend.

There are also a few new faces this weekend, with Yonny Hernandez being replaced by Gabriele Ruiu at the Pedercini team. Ruiu will become the second-youngest rider in WorldSBK history this weekend, being 18 years, 5 months and 27 days old. Hernandez was actually the rider who replaced Ruiu in the Pedercini team for this season, after the Italian’s initial contract with the squad was thrown out due to his age (he wouldn’t have been able to race until Donington). If Ruiu scores points this weekend he will be the youngest rider to ever do so.

Florian Marino is also making his WorldSBK debut this weekend for the Triple M Honda team, who have parted ways with PJ Jacobsen. Marino has been riding the Pata Yamaha R1 in the European Superstock 1000 championship for the past two seasons, although this year he didn’t enjoy the factory support he had in 2017. With STK1000 now dead, Marino will be aiming to make a good impression this weekend, to try to grab one of the seats available for 2019.

Finally, 2018 European Superstock 1000 championship contender, Max Scheib, will be making his World Superbike debut this weekend, as well, as the Chilean replaces Jordi Torres, who is out at MV, who let the Spaniard go, allowing him to concentrate on his MotoGP duties, where he is replacing Tito Rabat. Schieb is definitely a spectacular rider, and certainly not concerned about the rear of the bike sliding, although having been riding an Aprilia in the STK1000 championship, he will have some adapting to do in the first sessions this weekend to acclimatise himself with the MV.

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Marquez vs Ducati: The Battle Continues in Buriram

After a few years of vying for a place on the MotoGP calendar, the Chang International Circuit in Thailand finally got its slot for the 2018 season, and this weekend the paddock will arrive in Buriram for the first ever Thai round of the MotoGP World Championship.

The Thailland GP infographics. Image courtesy of Michelin Motorsport.

The circuit is largely uninspiring, with a 90-degree right hander opening up the lap, to launch you down a long straight. At the end of said straight lies a (probably) second gear hairpin which is very wide on entry, making the line choice quite interesting. On the other side of the hairpin lies another long straight, which this time has a very fast (third or fourth gear) left-hander at the end. A short stretch follows, but merely acts as a braking zone for turn five, a slow left-hander, which leads into a slightly faster left-hander where the bikes will be spinning and using those Michelin rears, before flicking it right and down another short chute, and into another 90-degree corner, this time on the right side. Turn nine is a corner which seems like it could have some different approaches, because it leads straight into the medium-speed turn ten, which in turn feeds directly to turn eleven, a fast, fourth gear right hander which will be essential in the race because a good exit could allow a rider to set themselves up for a pass into the final corner – tight, bottom gear hairpin – whilst a poor exit could leave you vulnerable on the final lap.

Ultimately, the layout in Buriram is indicative of the way track design is going, because tracks are being built with the fans in mind, to create good overtaking opportunities in a small space which can be viewed almost in its entirety from the main grandstand.

Of course, MotoGP has already once been to Thailand, back in February for a preseason test, and whilst the layout on paper lends itself perfectly to the Ducatis, it was the Hondas which came out on top eight months ago.

Admittedly, much has changed in those eight months: Ducati has refined its GP18 and made it into what is now the best motorcycle on the grid, although that has not been enough to stop Marc Marquez romping away with this year’s championship.

Marc Marquez. Image courtesy of Honda Pro Racing

And the last round in Aragon was a big part of Marquez’ current championship challenge. For sure, he had the title all but wrapped up even as far back as the summer break, but to defeat the Ducatis for the first time since Sachsenring, and to do it in his own backyard, was something which you could sense was quite important for the reigning champion – he had to stop the building momentum in the Italian camp, and he shut it down fairly brutally, beating the Desmosedici GP18s (or, one of them) at their own game: tyre management.

The 2018 champion elect will also be fairly confident coming into the Thai round this weekend. He was ‘only’ third on the timesheets after the three days of testing back in February, but the only people ahead of him were Dani Pedrosa and Johann Zarco, who have both seen significant drops in form in the time since. There were also three Hondas in the top four in the test, with Cal Crutchlow 0.095 seconds slower than Marquez in fourth place. Meanwhile, the top Ducati was Jack Miller in sixth spot, and Andrea Dovizioso was 0.411 seconds off the pace in seventh. There are, then, reasons for Marquez to be hopeful about his chances this weekend – on paper.

However, a different sheet of paper, primarily the one with the track map on it, suggests otherwise.

The heavy acceleration zones, long straights and heavy braking zones play perfectly into the hands of Ducati, who have the best aero and electronics for anti-wheelie and traction, the most power, and the most braking stability of all the bikes out there.

Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso – Aragon GP. Image courtesy of Ducati Media

It is likely that only one of the two Bologna Bullets will be able to fight for the victory this weekend, as Jorge Lorenzo is suffering from the injuries he sustained in Aragon in his first corner high side. So the responsibility falls at the door of Desmo Dovi to bring the Italian marque back to the top step.
In reality, the track is split in two, the first half suiting the Ducati and the second suiting the Honda. The way the final corner is makes it the ideal place for a block pass, so come final lap time on Sunday, be ready for a Marquez divebomb if he’s anywhere within range of the #04.

What about the rest?

Well, it makes sense to start with Suzuki. They had a brilliant Aragon, and the words which came from the mouths of their riders afterwards suggested they know what to do to go from +2.6 to -2.6 at the end of the race. That is, they have to run less corner speed. The GSX-RR could suffer this weekend. The heat and humidity of Thailand will mean the bikes produce less power, which puts the more powerful machines at a bigger advantage compared to the lower-powered bikes. A such, the Suzuki will suffer in the first part of the lap, but on the contrary, its sweet-handling chassis should excel in the second half of the lap.

Alex Rins. Image courtesy of Suzuki Racing

Whilst the heat could be a problem for Suzuki, but it could be a disaster for Aprilia. They have been famed for their unreliability this season, so much so that their riders have struggled to contain themselves at times, and Scott Redding’s emotions even boiled over in Austria when he unleashed an almighty outburst to the press. But with Aleix Espargaro’s sixth-place finish in Aragon two weeks ago, they arrive in Buriram with some rare optimism.

The same cannot be said for Yamaha, however, who will roll out of the pits in Thailand on Friday morning knowing they shall likely be in for yet another difficult weekend. Whilst the long straights and hard accelerations should suit the Ducati well, the M1 will no doubt struggle a lot in these sections, scrabbling for traction which it simply doesn’t have. On the face of it, this weekend could perhaps be even worse than Aragon for the Iwata marque.

And that’s if it remains dry. We saw in Austria how the M1 can suffer in the wet, its acceleration deficit exaggerated by the lack of track grip, and MotoGP heads to Thailand in the rainy season. In fact, when you consider that, the weather could play a decisive role in this weekend’s Thai MotoGP, in that it could decide how much racing we actually see.

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Opinion: Will Jake Dixon Stick The Jump To Moto2?

Jake Dixon’s move to the Moto2 World Championship might have come as a shock to viewers as the British Superbikes (BSB) rider won’t be starting where the majority of MotoGP riders start their careers, in Moto3. His jump from BSB to Moto2 will leave him with little preparation in comparison to the rest of the grid, who will have experience with tracks, machinery and what the way of life is for a Moto2 rider. Whether he lands this jump will depend on quite a few factors as the odds weigh heavily against him.

On a positive note, he’ll be joining the Angel Nieto Team (formerly Aspar Racing Team) with a new bike powered by Triumph in 2019. However, they haven’t had a Moto2 ride since 2010, in the first ever Moto2 season when it switched from the 250cc two-stroke class. And even then, their only Rider’s Championships came in the 125cc class (four Championships between 2006 and 2011). So, for both rider and team, they’re both heading into new territory.

However, the most successful riders for the Angel Nieto Team are Karel Abraham (MotoGP) in 15thplace overall and Andrea Migno (Moto3) in 10thplace overall, so their track record is nothing to be sniffed at. His teammate for 2019 hasn’t been announced yet, but he will face competition from other Moto2 rookies such as Jorge Martin (Gresini Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (PrustelGP).

But this isn’t the first time a rider has made a significant jump from one ride to another, or skipped classes for that matter. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) rode in the Moto3 class for three seasons before leaping up to MotoGP in 2015, totally missing Moto2. Miller’s teammate Danilo Petrucci never even appeared on the Moto3 or Moto2 grids, going straight from Superstock 1000 to MotoGP in 2012. So, the change of pace is doable for a young rider like Dixon, after all it has been done before, but both of the Pramac Racing riders had teething problems and took time to adjust to new styles and tracks.

If Dixon is given that time to find his rhythm, then success could well be on the cards for the Englishman. He has made two Moto2 starts for Intact GP in 2017. Let’s also not forget that racing is in Dixon’s blood as his father, Darren Dixon, won the British TT F1 Superbike Championship in 1988 and was the World Sidecar Champion in 1995 and 1996.

Jake Dixon racing for the Dynavolt Intact GP Moto2 team at the British GP in 2018. (Image: Gold and Goose / LAT Images)

Dixon is currently 31 points behind the BSB Championship leader, Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki), and if he could clinch the title before his move to Moto2 the confidence would certainly help him along. But unfamiliar tracks and a new bike will hold him back in comparison to other riders who have studied these tracks for years and have only ridden Moto3 or Moto2 bikes, but you never know with the intermediary class.

It can be incredibly unpredictable at times. There have been multiple cases where talent has outweighed experience – Joan Mir (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) or Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) for example. It’ll take hard work and dedication, but nothing is impossible.

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