MotoGP Qatar Qualifying Report: Zarco Storms To Pole

Johann Zarco broke the lap record under the lights to shock the field and claim the first pole position of the 2018 season.

The qualifying format has remained the same in MotoGP for 2018 – after the first three practice sessions the riders with the ten best times given an automatic bye into the second qualifying session. The remaining fourteen riders must contest the first session, with only the top two progressing.

Aboard a 2017 satellite Yamaha machine, Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3) shocked the MotoGP world this afternoon with a stunning performance at the Losail circuit. The Frenchman came from nowhere in the dying seconds of qualifying, setting the fastest times across all four sectors and taking pole with a time of 1”53.680. It was a brilliant ride which, considering the preseason troubles Yamaha have faced this winter, could not provide a greater morale boost for the Japanese manufacturer.

Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha) was the big name who failed to make the practice top 10. It has been a difficult weekend so far for the Spanish rider, with the factory rider struggling to find any competitive setup for his bike. Vinales was forced to ride to the very limit in the first qualifying session, in order to ensure he at least guaranteed a start from the fourth row of the grid tomorrow.

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati), was one of the stand out performers under the lights. The Australian rider left it late in the Q1 to stamp his authority with a time of 1:54.634, to progress into the pole position shoot out. Miller has been quietly adjusting to life aboard the Desmosedici GP17 machine, and a starting position of P10 on his debut outing for the team is a solid return. Pramac will be content with the display from both their riders today. Miller’s teammate, Danilo Petrucci, had been looking strong throughout practice and duly backed that up this afternoon. The Italian produced a best lap time of 1:53.887 to secure P3, and a place on the front row tomorrow.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) have given everyone at HRC some confidence for tomorrow. The reigning world champion will start tomorrow from the middle of the front row, and first of the riders on full factory machinery. Crutchlow will head up the second row, from P4, following a brilliant final lap on wearing tyres to pip the Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso by 0.002 seconds.

Dovizioso (P5) might well be rueing a missed opportunity today. The 2017 championship runner up has held a monopoly at the top of the timesheets throughout practice. However a mistake on his opening run, and traffic on his final lap cost him a place on the front row. The consolation for the Ducati man is that there are no points handing out for qualifying, and tomorrow the Italian has the chance to reassert his dominance in the race.

KTM struggled throughout Friday practice, and today was sadly no exception for either team. The latter will have been left extremely frustrated today after it looked like both riders, Bradley Smith (P20) and Pol Espargaro (P22), suffered technical failures during Q1 and were unable to progress. The Austrian factory team will no doubt be hoping for a trouble free race on Sunday.

Qualifying Results: Top 10

1: Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3) – 1’53.680

2: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) – +0.202

3: Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Ducati) – +0.005

4: Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol)

5: Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team)

6: Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar)

7: Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda)

8: Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)

9: Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team)

10: Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati)

Moto2 Qatar Preview: All Set for the Duel in the Dusk

The intermediate class has garnered a reputation over the past few seasons as the hardest category to succeed in. How appropriate then should the new race schedule see the Moto2 field commence battle in the most challenging conditions of the weekend.

The race at the Losail International Circuit is set to begin at 1720 local time on Sunday, with sunset due at 1744. As such, we can expect a dramatic loss of track temperature during the closing stages of the grand prix, and ever changing levels of visibility with the setting sun before the floodlights take over.

The 2018 season looks set to begin with a plethora of riders all with realistic ambitions and expectations of being crowned world champion.

After a solid maiden campaign with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team last year, Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira arrives at Qatar in the eyes of many as the favourite for the championship.  Having finished 2017 with a hat trick of victories at the final three rounds both he and the team have steadily made progress throughout the winter, with the focus been on gleaning an ideal race setup. This has been backed up by his teammate, the 2016 Moto3 world champion Brad Binder. The South African endured a troublesome campaign last year, owing much of this to an unfortunate series of injuries. However, following a full winter testing program he looks ready to join his teammate as a front running contender this season.

Francesco Bagnaia (Sky VR|46 Racing Team) stole the headlines during the winter, not just for his out right pace in testing. The Italian announced last month that he will be moving up into MotoGP from 2019. The move will see the 21 year-old become the second man from Valentino Rossi’s academy (after 2017 Moto2 Champion, Franco Morbidelli) to make it into the premier class. How we dearly wants to arrive there as a world champion, already.  Bagnaia is joined this season by compatriot Luca Marini, who moves across from the Forward Racing Team. Marini endured a difficult two years at his former team, and will be looking to make 2018 somewhat of a breakthrough season for him. Yet to feature on the podium in Moto2, the 20 year-old from Urbino needs to hit the ground running if he is not to be overshadowed by his teammate.

With Franco Morbidelli having moved up to MotoGP during the winter, Alex Marquez will be expected to deliver the title for the EG 0,0 Marc-VDS team. Inconsistency plagued the young Spaniard’s title ambitions in 2017, but the word from the team is that he has made a considerable effort this winter to curb his tendency to ride beyond the limit of the bike’s capabilities. There is no doubt he is extremely talented and is rightly considered a genuine front runner for this season. Despite a slow start to his Moto2 career, the 21 year-old has made significant improvements in his three years in the class. A strong winter has left both he and his team confident that the world championship could be theirs for the taking in 2018. Marquez is joined by rookie Joan Mir this season. The current Moto3 world champion signed a 4-year contract with the MarcVDS outfit late last season, leading many to speculate that he has his future sorted all the way into MotoGP. There is no denying he is an extremely talented rider, but will take time to adjust to the physical demands of the 600cc prototype, having moved up from the 250cc machines used in the junior class. Perhaps not a championship contender for this year, but definitely one to watch as the season progresses.

Sam Lowes returns to the intermediate category after a tough debut season in MotoGP with Aprilia. The British rider joins the Swiss Innovative Investors team for the 2018 season. Winning the championship with the team being the clear intention. The Lincolnshireman has looked strong throughout the winter testing, looking comfortable on the bike and setting headline lap times from the start. There is undeniable pressure on his shoulders. It is fair to say he did not get a fair opportunity last year in the premier class, and desperately wants to return. To do that, race wins and a strong challenge for the championship can be the only objectives he is striving towards this season.

Lowes is not the only British rider who faces pressure this season. Danny Kent (Beta Tools Speed-Up Racing) returns for a third stint in Moto2. For many reasons, Kent’s grand prix career has not managed to kick on properly, following winning the Moto3 crown in 2015. A third new team in as many seasons perhaps already puts the 24 year-old at a relative disadvantage to most of his competitors, as he has to adapt to a new machine. Kent still has the self belief that he can and will succeed. A good start this weekend in Qatar might provide the launch pad for his best season yet in the intermediate class.

Finally, it would be wrong to ignore Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team). The veteran Italian racer broke his duck last season with a breathtaking victory at his home grand prix in Mugello. A regular contender for podiums last season, and never outside of the top 5 in winter testing, makes it impossible to ignore that Pasini has as good a chance as the likes of Oliveria, Bagnaia and Marquez of becoming world champion in 2018. Especially impressive when one considers he is riding a customised Kalex machine with left-hand braking, to compensate for an old MX injury which has left the Italian unable to use a conventional right-hand braking system.

The Moto2 QatarGP race begins at 1420 GMT on Sunday, March 18th. 

Moto3 Qatar Preview: Ready to Rumble in 2018

Moto3 explodes back into life this weekend at the season’s opening round at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. For the first time since Moto3 was introduced, in 2012, Sunday’s race will be held in the mid-afternoon under the hot desert sun. The racing will remain unpredictable and extremely hard fought, as twenty eight very young, very talented riders desperately try to make a name for themselves on the grand prix stage.

One thing is guaranteed though in the junior class this season – we will have a brand new world champion come the season finale in Valencia. Last year’s runaway series winner, Joan Mir, has moved up to the Moto2 category for 2018 leaving the door wide open for a new superstar to take his place.

Enea Bastianini takes Mir’s seat at the Leopard Racing team, after a difficult season aboard the Estrella Galicia 0,0 machine. Despite being only 20 years old, the Italian is considered as a veteran of the Moto3 class having made his debut at this venue back in 2014. There is also the feeling in the paddock that Bastianini is under considerable pressure coming into this season, riding for a third team in as many years. He will be hoping that the move to the team which has claimed two world championships (2015 – Danny Kent, 2017 – Joan Mir) will be able to give him the tools to fight for a his maiden title. His times throughout preseason testing with his new team have been very promising indeed.

Following their impressive 2017 campaigns, Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini) have perhaps rightly been declared the preseason favourites. The latter earned himself the reputation as being a ‘man of steel’ last year, having ridden through the pain barrier during the second half of the season after an horrific crash during Friday practice at the Sachsenring left him with a broken leg and a badly damaged shoulder. Despite this, the young rider from Madrid defied all physical expectations to finish the season with multiple podiums to his name, including his maiden victory at the season finale in Valencia.

Canet was the undisputed ‘best of the rest’ to Mir last year, with the 18-year old from Corbera taking 3 wins across the season, racking up a total of 199 points to finish third overall in the championship. Just like his compatriot, Martin, he remains with the same team for 2018. With a year of data and understanding his machine behind him, he will be very eager to cement his reputation as a world champion in waiting.

British hopes once again fall exclusively on the shoulders of John McPhee. The 23-year old has moved to the CIP-Green Power team for 2018, having been at the British Talent Team last season. The Scotsman will be looking to back up his performances from 2017, having secured a career best finish of seventh place in the overall standings. With his new team running KTM machinery, McPhee has the power to be able to fight towards the front of the field consistently. McPhee is joined at CIP by one of the rookies for this season. Kazakhstani rider, Makar Yuchenko. The 19-year old makes the move up from the Repsol CEV junior world championship following a run of impressive performances in the second half of last season.

Speaking of rookies, Yuchenko is joined by three other young prospects from the cadet categories organised by Dorna. Kazuki Masaki (RBA BOE Skull Rider) and Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) both make the transition this year from the Red Bull Rookies Cup series, the former arriving as reigning champion. All three will be measured directly against the fourth and final rookie in the series, CEV junior World Champion, Dennis Foggia (Sky VR|46). The young Italian already has some Moto3 world championship experience, having competed as a wildcard on three occasions in 2017.

Foggia’s arrival at the Sky VR|46 team puts immediate pressure on his experienced teammate, Nicolo Bulega. In 2015, Bulega arrived in the Moto3 class heralded as the next big thing from Italy. So much was the hype surrounding the young Italian that he very nearly ran the famous 46 plate. However for various reasons, a serious championship challenge from Bulega has not yet emerged. 2018 therefore could be titled the ‘make or break’ season for the 19-year old. Once again, he is on KTM powered machinery and with three seasons behind him, the time for Bulega to make his mark on the competition is now.

With so many riders having so much to prove already, before any of the bikes have been ridden with anger, 2018 promises to be truly spectacular and gripping viewing.

The Moto3 Qatar Grand Prix race starts 1300GMT on Sunday, March 18th.

The Only Night Race of the Year: MotoGP Qatar- Part One

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Qatar. The most unique race of the season, for a few reasons. Obviously, it is a night race, and the only one on the MotoGP calendar and, whether you like it or not, it certainly makes the opening race of the season stand out from the rest. The Qatari round of the World Championship is also distinct from the other races because of the amount of fans that turn up – because they don’t, for the most part. Now with a view to the track, we can see that the Losail International Circuit achieves that difficult blend of fast, medium speed, and slow sections that, in this case, sum to a track that reaches an agreeable compromise between great racing and also a circuit which the riders tend to enjoy.

Even still, it is easy to forget that Qatar is a relatively long-standing fixture on the calendar; making its debut back in 2004. Of course, back then it was run in the heat of the day, but 2007 saw the final daytime race at Losail (and Casey Stoner’s first victory in the top class), as in 2008 all three classes began the season under floodlights. That brought the next feature of Qatar which, for better or worse, makes it distinct from the other races, and that is the infamous ‘dew point’. This meant that for many years the weekend started on Thursday, so that teams and riders could complete all the required sessions before the dew set in. For 2018, though, the first round of the season is back to a standard weekend format, taking place over three days. They have achieved this by moving everything earlier: Moto3 will start at 4pm Qatar time, so in the daytime, and the Moto2 race will make history by being the first motorcycle Grand Prix to take start under the sun and end under artificial lighting.

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Since 2014, every race in Qatar has been stellar. That year, Valentino Rossi fought a Marc Marquez recovering from a six-week-old broken leg for victory until the final lap, with the Spaniard coming out on top. One year later, The Doctor took on Andrea Dovizioso in a similar battle, but with the nine-times World Champion reigning supreme on this occasion as the podium was completed by Andrea Iannone for an all-Italian podium. 2016 was a different affair: the first race with Michelin tyres since Valencia 2008 saw Jorge Lorenzo streak away in the final laps,

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leaving Dovi and Marquez to squabble over second with the #04 Ducati coming out on top on this occasion. Finally, last year saw Valentino Rossi recover from a terrible weekend and preseason to salvage a podium with third place, but a couple of seconds shy of the lead battle featuring Dovizioso (yet again) and Maverick Vinales – the Spaniard making good on his preseason promise to take his first victory for Yamaha on debut, the first rider to do so since Rossi in 2004.

But what will this year hold? While last year’s Grand Prix of Qatar saw Vinales claim victory, the star of the show was of course Johann Zarco on the Tech 3 Yamaha. He crashed after six laps, but set the fastest lap time of the race, and led until he fell – all on his MotoGP debut. In 2018, using a chassis which took Jorge Lorenzo to the title back in 2015 (on Bridgestones), the Frenchman looks at the moment as though he is Yamaha’s most realistic shot at the title – and they won’t give him more support! But seriously, a disastrous preseason for the factory Yamaha team which saw them solve almost none of their 2017 issues has highlighted Zarco as their best bet. The double Moto2 World Champion was fast in all three circuits which hosted preseason testing (Sepang, Buriram, Losail) and was the only rider who could hold a candle to the three factory Hondas and the factory Ducati of Dovizioso throughout. Of course, Zarco’s first six laps of the 2016 race was not the first time Qatar had shown itself to be kind to a rookie on a Yamaha – Jorge Lorenzo took pole position in 2008 on his debut, with a lap record that still stands today (although Zarco was within one tenth of that time by the end of the test), and the same day James Toseland qualified second on his MotoGP debut to sit in the middle of a Yamaha front row lockout – something which is almost impossible to imagine at the moment.

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The factory Yamaha squad had a mixed bag in preseason, but for the most part it was something of a disaster. In 2017 the M1 had chronic wheelspin, caused by a mixture of its subpar relationship with the Michelin tyres, at least those used since Mugello, and the Iwata-based engineers’ relatively poor understanding of the Magnetti Marelli electronics. These were the issues Yamaha set out to resolve for 2018, but thus far its efforts have seemed ineffective at best, with Vinales saying the new bike is worse than last year, whilst Rossi stated that the Movistar Yamaha team are merely at the same level as last season. The pair had a more positive final day of preseason, with Rossi setting a good lap time at the end of the day to enter the season as the second fastest rider, and with a pace which, on paper, would have him on the top step. In comparison, Vinales had a more difficult day as a whole, but found a better feeling in the final forty minutes, but even still it was not enough for Maverick to feel he was in a better position to last season. To flick back to Rossi, it is worth pointing out that, whilst the pace of his long run was quite positive, he only did half a race distance. After that point, Rossi admits he doesn’t really know what will happen, and he is concerned about the wear of both the front and the rear tyre. His situation seems better than that of his teammate, though, although that was common last season – when things didn’t work so well with the Yamaha last season, it was usually Rossi who would come out on top of the two. Whatever the case, it is quite clear that Yamaha have a lot of work to do if they are to challenge for the title this season. On top of that the inconsistency of the M1 which it has retained from last season means that whilst the final day of the test ten days ago proved positive for the Iwata factory’s official pair, it could all be completely different for them come the race weekend.

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The Only Night Race of the Year: MotoGP Qatar- Part Two

For the second part of this preview for the MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar, we will look at Honda, who enjoyed a fantastic preseason, the contrast in Ducati, Aprilia’s promise, Suzuki’s resurgence and the continued rise of KTM.

The same cannot be said for Honda, who had an almost perfect preseason. Apart from a few, somewhat expected, crashes from Marc Marquez, and a few

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from Dani Pedrosa (including two in one day in Qatar), the nine days of preseason testing were pretty much dream-like for HRC. Reigning World Champion Marquez was as fast as ever, especially in Sepang and Buriram, and his pace was backed up by Repsol teammate Pedrosa, who was fastest at the end of the Thailand test, and the third factory Honda of LCR’s Cal Crutchlow. Furthermore, rookie Takaaki Nakagami and Franco Morbidelli both had extremely impressive preseasons, particularly the Japanese. And Tom Luthi looked good too, especially considering he missed the Valencia test and a chunk of the winter thanks to the injury which cost him the Moto2 championship he sustained on Saturday at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Tom Luthi
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All this points to the increased rideability of the 2018 RC213V compared to its predecessors, and this makes the prospect of beating Marquez to this year’s championship all the more daunting for his rivals. However, even the Honda had a bit of a struggle in Qatar, as has been traditional since 2015, with Marquez claiming the Losail International Circuit to be one of the more challenging for HRC. This is positive for the competition, as it shows there will be weak points through the season for everyone – Yamaha struggled in Thailand (at least, more than at the other circuits), Ducati too (at least in comparison to Sepang and Qatar), and Honda had a more difficult time in Losail.

With this in mind, it is perhaps time to say something which was the case last season from Mugello onwards – the Ducati is the best bike, or, at least the best all-rounder, especially with Andrea Dovizioso twisting the throttle. The Italian is without doubt in the best phase of his career, and it is worth remembering that last season his championship challenge only started in Mugello – this year it will begin in Qatar. Dovizioso is without doubt the biggest and most likely challenger to the crown of Marquez, and is probably the favourite for the win in Qatar, considering previous form as well as his pace in testing. In addition, it is hard to find a rider in the world who is happier with their life on and off track at the moment than Dovi, and that should make for a pretty lethal combination.

Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/ Ducati).
copyright: GEPA pictures/ Christian Walgram via redbull content pool

In contrast, Jorge Lorenzo’s preseason went from a lap record in Sepang to a plethora of unanswered questions in Qatar, via technical issues in Thailand. By no means is Lorenzo in the kind of hole he inhabited at the beginning of last season, but equally he is not completely comfortable with the GP18, particularly over a race distance. Still, the Spaniard remains sure that the GP18 is a step forward from last year, and that it is a matter of dialling the setup to his style to allow his to fight for victories.

The situation is slightly critical for Lorenzo, because of Danilo Petrucci’s form. The Italian came into 2018 knowing that in order to win he needed to adjust his style to better conserve the tyre, and so far in preseason it looks like he is doing that to some success. Petrucci is one of three satellite team riders who have a real chance of majorly upsetting the factories this season, along with Crutchlow and Zarco. His form in the second half of last season was stellar, and a continuation of that into this year will put him in the frame for victories. The reason this is a little bit alarming for Jorge is that it is Danilo who is trying to claim his seat in the factory Ducati squad. Although, it must be said that Ducati seem quite keen to retain their current line-up for 2019.

Of course, if Petrucci’s efforts to take the second Ducati for next season are in vein, the destination for the Italian will likely be Aprilia. The Noale manufacturer have a new engine arriving for this race, and the hope is that it will rectify to a large extent the RSGP’s biggest current flaw: acceleration. Both Aleix Espargaro and Scott Redding have been full of praise for the Aprilia’s chassis, but the complaints are the same as last season – that the bike does not have enough power low down, and is sluggish on corner exit. Last year, though, the Aprilia shone in Qatar, with spectacular tyre life, as Espargaro finished in sixth place just a few tenths behind Dani Pedrosa on the factory Honda. A repeat this season would be a welcome beginning for Aprilia, especially so soon after the death of Ivano Beggio, the man who gave the like of Rossi and Max Biaggi their chances, and also Ralf Waldmann, who won his last race – the incredible 250cc Grand Prix at Donington in 2000 – aboard an Aprilia.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the preseason, in a good way, has been the speed of Suzuki. They arrived in Thailand with a new fairing, and since then both Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone have had a good speed. Also, Iannone’s speed at last year’s Qatar round, before he crashed at least, was extremely good, and he qualified second on the grid (with debatable legitimacy). Whilst this could be a good sign for this year’s race, there are concerns from the riders, especially Iannone, about the GSX-RR’s race pace. They have four free practice sessions to sort out their problems, and if they can, they could be in the fight for the top positions this weekend.

Pol Espargaro
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Finally, KTM. Their preseason was interrupted by Pol Espargaro’s crash in Sepang which caused him to miss all of the Thailand test and the first day of the Qatar test. Even still, they managed to test a bunch of new parts, particularly with the chassis, and rectify the corner entry issues that arose in Sepang. Their signing of Tech 3 as a satellite team for 2019 puts them in a secure position with respect to the future, and so the factory can firmly focus on the development of the RC16 for this season, and continuing their progress towards the front. Remember Qatar last year? KTM were over thirty seconds off the win. Going into this season’s race in Losail, it would be surprising if they were further away than ten seconds, and it would not be a surprise to see at least one of the Austrian bikes was inside the top ten.

2018 is set to be an incredible season of MotoGP, and it all gets underway this weekend in Qatar – and it should be a thriller. Oh, and it might rain.

KTM and Tech3 Confirm New Partnership

Today, Tech3 Racing owner, Herve Poncharal, confirmed that his independent team will enter a partnership with the KTM Factory Racing Team from next season.

Speaking to MotoGP.com’s ‘After the Flag‘ show, following the conclusion to the test in Qatar, Poncharal revealed the details about the new partnership:

HP: “We have a three-year deal, in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Each year, in ‘19 we’ll have ‘19 spec, there will be four bikes on the grid with the same spec – the factory team and the Tech 3 operation. It will be the same in ‘20 and same in ‘21, which is something you always look for and always want…We always tried to be the ‘official’ junior team [for Yamaha] but it was never really the case, but it will be the case where we are going. The manufacturer is involved in Moto2™ and Moto3™, there will be a clear path. Young riders from the first day in the championship will go through Moto3™ and Moto2™, then to MotoGP™ with the junior team – and then, if they’re good enough, they will eventually move to the factory team. This is being part of the family and you know what family means to me. Even though the bike could be under the performance of what we have now, there is room for improvement, development, sharing ideas of how to make the package better – and at least to be part of that project and have people listening to us, trying to grow all together.”

The new manufacturer in question is KTM. For an independent team such as Tech3, a working partnership with full support from a factory outfit is the holy grail in grand prix racing. Not least because it alleviates a considerable amount of financial pressure from the team. Without factory support, any development parts or ‘upgrades’ for the bikes have to be researched and funded by the independent team – at considerable cost. This has been the case throughout Tech3’s association with Yamaha, barring a brief period in late 2010 when the factory offered support to Ben Spies. Under the new deal with KTM, all research and development costs are left with the manufacturer. Additionally, Tech3 have entered this new partnership with the promise that at least one of their riders will be given a factory contract.

This deal also secures the immediate future of Johann Zarco. The Frenchman has been tipped by many to become MotoGP world champion sooner rather than later. Without factory support, it is almost impossible to achieve. Tech3 could not hope to hold onto him without this newly signed deal. As Poncharal stated when he first announced the split with Yamaha: “I have been presented with an offer too good to turn down.”

Announcing the new deal today, Pit Berier (KTM Motorsport Director) made this statement:

PB –  “We are very happy to join forces with Tech3 in MotoGP from 2019. The team has many years of experience and achieved a lot of great results in this championship. Their professional structure will make us even stronger. Having four KTM RC16 on the grid is also another big step for us, both for the development of our MotoGP bike and expanding KTM’s structure in the paddock. From the Red Bull Rookies Cup up to MotoGP there is a clear path to the top. We are looking forward to start a great cooperation and I’m thankful towards Hervé Poncharal for the future trust in KTM.”

The new deal will greatly benefit both parties. KTM might be the newest manufacturer on the grid – having made their full debut at Qatar in 2017 – but they have serious ambitions to become championship contenders in the near future. Acquiring a highly experienced satellite team such as Tech3 can only benefit the Austrian team, especially given that this deal means they will have four factory-spec machines competing from 2019 onwards. In terms of the development war, which can affect the championship almost as much as the riders, having four identical machines in operation provides KTM to close the gap to their rivals far quicker than before due to more data being continuously collected. Four bikes also greatly increases the chance of finishing higher in the manufacturers’ championship – which determines how much prize money each outfit receives.

Qatar Test Report: Honda And Ducati Turn Up The Heat

Preseason testing was concluded this week at the Losail International Circuit, Qatar. From the previous two tests in Malaysia and Thailand we knew that the expected protagonists for 2018 – Honda, Ducati and Yamaha – were all strong over a single lap and low fuel runs. This week, all attention was focused on fine tuning performance over high fuel run, race simulations. With so much activity going on across the competition, here’s a breakdown of the performances from each manufacturer.

HONDA

Marc Marquez (Respol Honda): Best Lap Time – 1″54.591

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda): Best Lap Time – 1″54.774

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol): Best Lap Time – 1″54.457

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu): Best Lap Time – 1″55.539

Franco Morbidelli (MarcVDS Honda): Best Lap Time – 1″56.074

Thomas Luthi (MarcVDS Honda): Best Lap Time – 1″56.295

In the immediate aftermath of February’s test at the Chang International circuit in Thailand, Marc Marquez declared that the RC213V needed to improve the engine performance under acceleration – or risk losing significant ground to the factory Ducati machines. After three days’ testing under the lights, a positively beaming world champion suggests that the team have duly delivered. Although never setting the outright fastest time at any point this week, the real evidence of progress lay in the metronomic consistency in Marquez’ race simulation runs on Friday afternoon. The reigning world champion turned in a longest run consisting of 17 laps with averaging lap times around the 1’55.4-6 mark. Whilst a handful of riders did record the occasional faster lap during their race simulations, nobody has the relentless consistency of Marquez. A clear signal of intent from the Spaniard, and an ominous warning shot to the rest of the competition.

There was an equally impressive display on show this week from LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow. The British rider was one of a select group who took to the track during the middle of the day. Officially just to help clear the racing line of dust and sand that had been blown in from the desert, but he wasn’t averse to setting a serious benchmark time either for the rest of the class. Following the conclusion of the test, Crutchlow jested that the Honda now has too much power and were having to “try and tame” the engine through the corners. His team mate, rookie Takaaki Nakagami continued to adapt and improve to life on board a MotoGP bike. Although he was never going to feature with the more experienced HRC trio at the top of the standings, the Japanese rider has been rightly praised for his work ethic. His team manager, Lucio Cecchinello, keen to emphasise that the data the Moto2 graduate has collected for the team (and the wider HRC operation) has been invaluable.        

DUCATI

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”54.331

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”54.692

Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”54.659

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”54.749

Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”55.347

Karel Abraham (Angel Nieto Team Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”55.300

Tito Rabat (Avintia Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”55.465

Xavier Simeon (Avintia Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”55.943

Hot on the heels of the race pace of Honda, and narrowly leading over a single lap, Ducati once again had a solid test.

Andrea Dovizioso will have every reason, going into the first round, to expect he can go one better than last year and be the 2018 MotoGP world champion. Of course, so will his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard has looked much more like his old self this winter (aside from a difficult test in Thailand), being consistently closer to his teammate – both in outright lap times and average long runs. Both riders have expressed their satisfaction with the bike and the efforts the team have made. Dovizioso going further by declaring that: “We’re a title contender from the beginning, for sure”.

The Desmosedici GP18 looks to be the rarest of Ducati creations – it does not seem to have any particular weakness. It is still a missile in a straight line, highlighted this week by the 1 kilometre long main straight at the Losail circuit. In past seasons, the clear weakness of the machine has been unresponsive handling through long, medium speed corners and an often volatile throttle pick up upon acceleration. By all accounts, the latter has been completely resolved. There is still some work to do regarding the cornering performance of the Ducati, which explains why the team sent their riders out on more fairing comparison tests – one bike would be in ‘standard’ fairing mode, whilst the other would be equipped with the latest version of the ‘wing fairing’. Dovizioso openly prefers the standard fairing at most venues, Lorenzo prefers the aerodynamic wings. Both ran almost identical race simulation pace on the final day of testing. Over a single lap, Dovizioso’s best time of the week suggests that they might be the team to beat during qualifying. Race pace simulations suggest that they are on average around 0.2 seconds adrift of the Honda riders.      

The development of the Ducati has undoubtedly been helped by incorporating the satellite team (Alma Pramac) into the factory effort. With both riders, Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller working under Ducati Corse contracts (rather than just Pramac Ducati) the Italian manufacturer’s pool for data gathering has doubled. Both Petrucci and Miller are also on GP18 machinery this year, and have consistently backed up the factory riders’ times across the board in testing. Nowhere was that more in evidence than in Qatar this week during the race simulations. All four GP18 bikes consistently lapped around the 3.34 mile circuit, averaging lap times between 1”55.5-1”55.8.    

YAMAHA

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha): Best Lap – 1″54.276

Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha): Best Lap – 1″54.471

Johann Zarco (Tech3 Yamaha): Best Lap – 1″54.029

Hafiz Syahrin (Tech3 Yamaha): Best Lap – 1″55.273

In complete contrast to the fortunes of Honda and Ducati, Yamaha – specifically the factory Movistar Yamaha team – appear to have endured a torrid three days in the desert. Over a stint on low fuel, the YZF-M1 looks like it potentially has the beating of all of its rivals. This has been demonstrated throughout the winter with Maverick Vinales romping away with headline times at Malaysia, and Johann Zarco reaping a similar result in Qatar this week. The Frenchman’s best time was comfortably quicker than what anyone else managed all week.

This at least should give Yamaha some hope in their 2018 bike as the potential of the machine is clearly visible under low fuel loads. A clear move by the the manufacturer to ensure their bikes are capable of starting from the front row more regularly this year. In fairness, it was a problem which needed addressing. Grand Prix victories are hard enough to achieve when qualifying at the front – next to impossible when having to start from the third row. However, there is now a serious concern that their endeavours to improve the bike over a single lap has cost them dearly over a race distance.

Handling appears to be a problem, with particular emphasis on a lack of stability at the front end. In the official review show ‘After The Flag’ which is produced by MotoGP each night following the sessions, Vinales’ interviews regularly bemoaned a ‘lack of grip and feel’ upon the bike’s entry into corners. Not being able to feel how the front tyre is behaving forces the rider to guess the grip level he will have through the corner – essentially he has to push blindly and trust the bike won’t fold beneath him. At the very least it seriously hinders a rider’s ability to deliver to true lap time. Rossi tried – his longest stint of the test being 11 laps, but lap times fluctuated considerably between 1″55.9 and 1″56.6 across the stint. Maverick Vinales did not attempt a race simulation on Friday. His longest run consisting of only 7 laps.  

SUZUKI

Andrea Iannone: Best lap time – 1″54.586

Alex Rins: Best lap time – 1″54.650

One team who will be undoubtedly pleased with how testing went in Qatar – and indeed throughout the winter – will be Suzuki.

Iannone has been fast throughout the week, regularly visiting the top of the time sheets and exploring the ample run areas at turn 1. The latter can be explained by the team testing out different brake settings on Thursday. Friday was spent chasing the headline lap times, as both riders completed numerous short runs between 3 and 5 laps at a time. Iannone set his best time of Friday’s session, ensuring he finished the day with the fastest time of the field.

Rins was not far off his team-mate on low fuel pace. However he came into his own on the final day, setting his best time in the early afternoon before embarking on two lengthy race simulations. As expected, the Suzuki bike is looking to be a little way behind the performance of Honda and Ducati.  At best, Rins’ average pace hovered around the 1″55.8 marker. Nevertheless it was consistent and, crucially, Rins did not drop the bike in any of the numerous gravel traps. No time lost repairing the bike, maximum time spent gathering precious data for the engineers. Compared to where they were this time last year, Suzuki can head into the 2018 season confident of being competitive from the start.

KTM

Bradley Smith (KTM Factory Racing Team): Best Lap Time – 1”55.179

Pol Espargaro (KTM Factory Racing Team): Best Lap Time – 1”55.489

Mika Kallio (KTM Factory Test Team): Best Lap Time – 1”57.218

The newest manufacturer in MotoGP have continued to defy all expectations, and continue developing their machine at a pace which more than matches several of their rivals. In Qatar this progress was once again very much in evidence.

Bradley Smith shouldered the majority of the workload for the Austrian factory team this week after Pol Espargaro was forced to sit out Friday’s session due to injuries sustained earlier in the winter. The British rider completed 160 laps (534.4 miles) over the three days for the team. With such a heavy workload however, any plans for qualifying simulations were promptly consigned to oblivion – especially after Espargaro’s withdrawal and bad weather scuppering the first half of Friday. The revised program saw Smith concentrate solely on race setup and completing numerous long fuel runs, whilst test rider Mika Kallio was called up to experiment with various new settings on Friday.  

As such, the raw pace potential of the KTM was never truly revealed. However, the improvement of the bike – and the sheer consistency of Smith’s riding – was clear. Even though they did not trouble the headline pace setters, the fact that the team ended the test only 1 second behind the fastest time – and within a few tenths on projected race pace – indicates just how competitive this team have become in such a short space of time.

APRILIA

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Team Gresini): Best Lap Time – 1”55.232

Scott Redding (Aprilia Team Gresini): Best Lap Time – 1”55.595

Quietly going about their business, the Aprilia Gresini team turned in an impressive 373 laps across the test’s three day duration. That equates to a staggering 1245.82 miles of data collected for the Italian outfit. If nothing else we know for certain that the 2018 Aprilia machine is far more reliable than its predecessors, with both riders having completed multiple race simulations this week. With the new found confidence in reliability, the team could focus their attention on other performance improvements. A lack of power through low gear corners is one such problem which the team spent much time working on this week.

Although the fastest laps of both riders pale when compared to the other factory teams, it is worth remembering that Aprilia operate on a fraction of the budgets their rivals have at their disposal. As such, the development rate of the RS-GP will always struggle against the RC213V or the M1. A fact which was not lost on either of Aprilia’s riders this week. As Scott Redding summed up: “We are constantly working on several fronts because we are developing the new bike. We could have been a few tenths faster on our time attack but, to be honest, I think that we have other priorities at the moment.”    

The 2018 FIM MotoGP World Championship begins with the Grand Prix of Qatar, March 16th-18th.

Champion Commits to Honda

The reigning MotoGP world champion, Marc Marquez, today signed an extension to his contract with the Repsol Honda factory team. The new deal commences as of today and expires at the end of the 2020 season. It also silences the growing rumours that the 25-year old was eyeing a move across to KTM for next season.

Marquez’ decision to extend his stay with the team should not come as a surprise to anyone. After all, Repsol have supported him throughout his Grand Prix career ever since he made his debut in the old 125cc class at Portugal in 2008. All of Marquez’ six world championship titles – 125cc (2010), Moto2 (2012, MotoGP (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) – have been with the support of the same sponsor. In a sport sometimes known for the egotistical tendencies of many of its leading stars, Marquez’ decision to stay demonstrates a refreshing sense of loyalty. That trait was very much in evidence during his statement when the extension was announced:

MM: “I’m proud to race a member of the Honda family, and I appreciate how Honda always do their best to provide me with everything I need. I would also like to thank everyone who has given me such warm support over the years. The first two official tests went well and, with my contract renewed, I can concentrate on racing in the new season. I will continue to enjoy racing, share my joy with everybody, and do my best to achieve our shared goals.” 

There may well come a day when Marquez feels his relationship with Honda has gone as far as it can, and seek a new challenge with another team. Valentino Rossi moved from Yamaha to Ducati in 2011 to attempt to become the first rider to win three premier class titles with three different manufacturers. Jorge Lorenzo switched in 2017 to try and win the championship with a second team and mould them around him. Marquez has the effort of HRC concentrated on him, much in the same way that Rossi had with Yamaha between 2004-2010.

There is no doubt that Marquez is a superstar of the sport – and indeed the whole racing world – but the careers of top class motorcycle racers tend to be much shorter than for other sports. A fact which cannot be ignored when it comes to a contract negotiation.

There is no doubt that Marquez has the potential to win more world championships. Perhaps he may even go on to pass Rossi’s total of 9 titles. To do that, one cannot afford to waste years on noncompetitive machinery. KTM, despite their brilliant debut season are still very much a developing team. Suzuki, whilst capable of consistently finishing inside the top 10 places, lack the budget of Honda or Yamaha. This is a crucial factor when the championship becomes as much a race to develop the bike, as it is a race on track. Ducati have the resources to compete with Honda and Yamaha but, as Lorenzo is proving, requires a rider to completely rework their riding style to control the bike.

As such, for the immediate future, Marquez sees Honda as the team that has the best chance of helping him achieve more world championships.

Ultimately, everything else is an after thought.

As long as both rider and team continue to achieve those “shared goals”, why should they look to part ways any time soon?

WSBK Australia: Race 2 – Melandri Doubles Up in Australia

After a strange race one in Phillip Island, where tyre problems were aplenty, the second race of the first round of the 2018 Superbike World Championship was to have a mandatory pit stop, like the Grand Prix in 2013. Each rider was required to stop on either lap ten, eleven, or twelve. Despite this, with Jonathan Rea starting off the front row in second place, with all his main rivals, race one winner Marco Melandri, teammate Tom Sykes and the other factory Ducati of Chaz Davies, back on row three, it seemed almost inevitable that Rea would be victorious. Especially considering he Northern Irishman has never failed to win a race in a Phillip Island meeting since he joined Kawasaki back in 2015.

Sure enough, Rea made the holeshot. He was followed into turn by Xavi Fores, and Eugene Laverty moved into third. But when they arrived at Honda hairpin, Laverty made a huge lunge up the inside of both Fores and Rea to take the early lead, and demonstrate the front confidence he now has in the Aprilia.
Meanwhile, Leon Camier had been passed by Chaz Davies at Stoner’s for fourth. Other than Davies, who started seventh after his third place yesterday, the third row made pretty average starts, with Sykes and race one winner Melandri languishing early on. By the end of lap one, Laverty had an advantage of almost one second, and looked to be checking out, but the battle behind was fierce.

Entering lap two and Camier made a monumental dive up the inside of Fores and Rea for second place, and managed to keep the position despite running wide on the exit. At the same time, Alex Lowes dropped from sixth to tenth, behind Toprak Razgatlioglu, whilst teammate Michel van der Mark was sixth.

On lap three, Laverty high sided on the exit of Siberia, but remounted, albeit at the back of the pack. That left Chaz Davies in the lead, whilst the position swapping remained relentless behind. And by this time, Melandri had started to move through the pack, and by lap four he had made it up to fourth, just behind Rea, until Davies ran wide at Honda, sucking in Fores as he went, and leaving Rea to take the lead.

The position changes of the early laps was indicative of the rest of the race, and incredibly, Laverty was the only casualty from the top ten in the first part of the race.

But by lap five, Davies had gotten himself a few laps at the front and started to stretch the pack a little, and there became a distinct group of nine at the head of the race, with Chaz at its helm, and Alex Lowes at the tail end.

Come lap six and attention began to turn to the mandatory stops which would commence in just five laps time. There was a crash for Jake Gagne on the Red Bull Honda at Honda Hairpin, but he remounted in sixteenth.

As the first riders entered the pits at the end of lap ten, the order of the leading group of, now, eight was: Fores, Davies, Rea, van der Mark, Melandri, Camier, Sykes and Lowes. Those from the front group who stopped on lap ten were: Fores, Rea and van der Mark. These riders would have been hoping that, by stopping early, they could have gotten some clean air, and put in one or two fast laps to hopefully come out in front, and perhaps with a reasonable gap, to the rest of the pack. Added to that was the idea that the undercut (F1 term, meaning the pilot who comes in first has fresh tyres and can make time on those who stay out on worn rubber) would be quite strong due to the high tyre wear at Phillip Island, especially this weekend.

The other five of the top eight pitted on lap eleven. It would have been useful to see the order and the melee as the lap-eleven-stoppers re-joined in the midst of those who had stopped the lap earlier (and this was almost a perfect merge, as the undercut had almost no effect; it did not seem to matter at all whether you stopped on lap ten or lap eleven), but at this moment the director had an absolute nightmare, and decided to show thirty seconds of PJ Jacobsen on the Triple M Honda circulating on his own, as he waited until lap twelve to stop and was thus leading for a lap. When the directory finally got his act together, about a lap too late, the top eight went: Davies from Melandri, Fores, Lowes, Sykes, Rea, van der Mark and Camier. Crucially, though, all the leaders were together after the stops.

Unfortunately, Chaz Davies joined Eugene Laverty in the “crashed out of the lead” club, as he lost the front at MG on lap twelve, leading Fores as the leader of the group of seven at the head of the field.

Fortunately, though, the quality of the racing action did not diminish at all after the pit stops, and the passing continued to be relentless. However, there had become a gap between Sykes in third and van der Mark in fourth. However, after Melandri passed the Dutchman, he dragged both the Yamahas and the Red Bull Honda of Camier back up to the front three, and set himself about Sykes.

With six to go, Melandri used his impressive acceleration, which he carried over from his race one win on Saturday, to pass Sykes at the end of the straight. “The Grinner” nearly ran into the back of the Italian, and ran on a fair way. At the same time, and for a while still to come, Xavi Fores was continuing to look consistent at the front, making no mistakes, and being quick with it. In comparison, van der Mark was beginning to run into tyre woes, and dropped to seventh, as Camier moved to fifth ahead of the other Yamaha of Lowes.
Whilst this was going on, Sykes was coming back to the leading three, and by the beginning of lap twenty, he was back with them, just as the reigning World Champion hit the front. Fores then ran wide at Honda hairpin, allowing Melandri through, and seconds later Lowes eased aside Camier to take fifth.
On lap twenty, it became clear that Melandri was extremely strong in the final sector, as he negated the gap Rea had built up over the previous lap in just the final two corners and the pit straight.

The penultimate lap arrived, and when it concluded, Melandri slipstreamed past Rea to lead over the line, but the Northern Irishman fought back brutally, and with immediacy, at turn one with an outrageous inside dive. The factory Ducati of Melandri then seemed somewhat under pressure from the satellite Panigale of Fores. After the order of the top three remained the same through Honda Hairpin, it seemed that Melandri would be able to slipstream Rea to the line as he did the lap before, but only if Fores failed to pass him at MG Corner. Fortunately for the Italian, Fores was unable to make a pass at MG, and so the number 33 was free to tow the 2017 World Champion to the line to take his first double since Jerez 2014, and he did so by the gaping chasm of 0.021 seconds.

The victory was Melandri’s first at Phillip Island since 2006 in MotoGP – the flag-to-flag affair that left the 2002 250cc Grand Prix World Champion spinning and waving on the exit of the final corner to take victory. On this occasion, Melandri’s Panigale was speed-wobbling all the way down the Gardner Straight, as it had done on many other occasions not only in race two, but in race one as well. This instability was something Melandri had to battle almost every lap down into turn one, and it was for this reason that he understood his only chance to win was to slipstream Rea out of the final corner.

In 2017, Melandri claimed one win in the entire season. So far in 2018, he has already claimed two. Things might have been different if Davies or Laverty had not crashed, or if Rea was not ill, or if Marco hadn’t pushed Sykes wide when he passed him at turn one. However, all of those things did happen, and Melandri rode incredibly, and showed some stellar race craft for the second time this weekend, and ultimately his win was absolutely well deserved, as is his championship lead.

Speaking of championship leads, this is the first time Jonathan Rea has not held the lead of the Superbike World Championship since Qatar 2014, when Sylvain Guintoli clinched the title from Tom Sykes. Still, despite a tyre issue in race one that had him considering retirement (from the race), and a bout of flu, the reigning World Champion heads to Buriram for round two lying third in the championship, only nineteen points off the top spot, and in the knowledge that Kawasaki has not been defeated so far in Thailand.

As for Xavi Fores, he put in a superb performance for third, and might have won had things worked out a little differently. But, as it is, he took third place, and in fabulous style, barely making a mistake in the entire race, and having enough confidence to fight with the likes of the factory Kawasakis and Ducatis. In one way, Fores is like World Superbike’s Johann Zarco – he’s the independent team rider who can beat the factory guys. And, of course, it goes without saying that Fores is leading the Independent championship at the moment.

Tom Sykes took home fourth place. As with Fores, had things gone differently, the Englishman could have found himself one or two places higher. But with things as they are, he goes to Thailand in a few weeks lying second in the championship and looking as comfortable on the Kawasaki as he has done since 2014. In this form, Sykes can challenge for the title, no doubt about it.

The top five was rounded out by the first of the Yamahas: Alex Lowes, who won out in the scrap with his teammate and Leon Camier. Whilst being only a couple of seconds off the win is not so bad, it is possible to say that the Yamaha guys will be leaving Australia slightly disappointed, as it was thought the new technical regulations would favour them the most. As it is, Lowes is worse-off points-wise now than he was at this stage last year. With that being said, Phillip Island can be a misleading track – the high speed nature means that big groups almost always form, and it is possible that some teams and riders can be flattered by this. Of course, that is combined, in this case, with the pit stop, which essentially meant that tyre conservation was irrelevant, and the race was basically two sprint races, and last year one of the strengths of the Yamaha was the way it saved the rear tyre. With this in mind, perhaps we will see both Lowes and van der Mark fighting for the podium at the end of the races in Thailand.

It was a positive race for Leon Camier, as the Brit split the R1s to take sixth. Hopefully for the Red Bull Honda squad, this positive start can be a sign of things to come in 2018, as they look to bounce back from a 2017 which was dreadful at best when it came to on-track performance.

Eugene Laverty looked strong early on. He took the lead at turn four on the opening lap and from there he stretched his lead to 1.5 seconds over the next two laps. He looked comfortable, and that is what made his crash something of a shock. In race one the Irishman finished ninth thanks to front tyre wear issues, and his crash was early enough in race two to mean that we never got a chance to see if he had rectified those problems. What can be said though, is that the 2013 runner-up looked supremely confident on the RSV4 in those early laps, and that has to be a positive sign for the coming races. On the whole, though, Phillip Island has been something of a disappointing round for the Milwaukee Aprilia team, who also lost Lorenzo Savadori from the weekend after a Superpole crash which cost him the chance to race. As such, they only amassed eight points from the weekend. On the positive side, it is difficult to see how it can be much worse in Buriram.

All in all, the opening round of the 2018 Superbike World Championship was stellar, in terms of the racing action, and is hopefully an indicator for the rest if the season. We have understood that Marco Melandri might be able to fight for the championship, and the same can probably be said for Tom Sykes. For the rules, we must wait for some more rounds to pass before we make a judgement, but the first signs are positive.

In one month, the paddock arrives in Thailand, and thee we will get a better understanding of what might await in the 2018 Superbike World Championship.

WSBK Australia: Race 1 – Melandri Draws First Blood

Marco Melandri turned back the clock on Saturday, leaving the field in his wake at the Phillip Island Circuit.

A colder than expected track temperature, along with regular gusts of wind rolling in from the Bass strait, ensured that maintaining a smooth rhythm was nigh on impossible for the riders.

The Italian produced a brilliant tactical performance. Content enough to sit behind his rivals in the first half of the race and managing his machine to contend with the testing track conditions, enabling him to produce an irresistible charge in the closing laps whilst the others floundered. The icing on the cake being a perfectly executed block pass through the high speed Doohan corner and under heavy braking into the Southern loop, on Tom Sykes during the penultimate lap.

A new season, with a raft of new regulations, filled riders and spectators with optimism that the new season would be more competitive than the last. The bright green KRT machine of Sykes on pole threatened to suggest otherwise.

The Yorkshireman made a brilliant start as the lights went out, hooking up the start and pulling a relatively healthy lead out to the rest of the field in the opening laps. A solid practice day on Friday had been backed up by a stunning performance in Qualifying on Saturday morning. The warning signs for the rest could not have been more ominous.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) led the chase behind, with the triple world champion in no mood to go down without a fight. Following in hot pursuit as always, were the two factory Aruba.it Ducati bikes of Melandri and Chaz Davies. The trio would dice with each other throughout the 22 laps, gradually closing the lead to Sykes.

The cold temperatures additionally brought another problem for the teams – tyre wear.

It was a case of what might have been for Rea as late in the race he was forced to drop back and out of contention of the podium battle. He would eventually finish behind Spanish rider Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Ducati) in fifth place. After the race, a quick look at his rear tyre explained the problem. The slick rubber had been worn almost through to the carcass. However, Rea’s problems were not as evident with the remaining podium contenders as the factory Ducati rider (Davies) and the privateer machine of Fores engaged in a gripping battle, with both riders exchanging places at almost every corner. Davies emerging with the bragging rights after shutting out his rival at the bottom of the infamous Lukey Heights corner.

Behind the top five there was action to be found in abundance. The two Pata-Yamaha team-mates, Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark, were locked in thrilling race long duel. Although in the closing stages, the latter rider was forced to drop behind and conserve what little rubber was still attached to his rear tyre, eventually finishing in P9. In contrast, Lowes managed to hold on to sixth place suffering noticeably less tyre wear than most of the competition. His smooth riding style, which has helped him to back-to-back Suzuka 8 hour wins a clear factor.

The the Red Bull Honda team, the opening race on Saturday confirmed that the team has made an incredible amount of progress since 2017. Leon Camier finished an eventful race in seventh place – and 21 seconds behind the winning time of Melandri. The veteran British rider found himself locked in a brilliant scrap early in the race with Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia), Loris Baz (Gulf Althea BMW), Leandro Mercado (Oretac Racing Kawasaki) and Jordi Torres (MV Agusta). The latter unfortunately crashing out with only 3 laps left in the race, but both he and his team can take considerable encouragement with the pace and reliability shown across the weekend.

It was a solid day for Laverty, however. The Irishman had been the bolt from the blue earlier in the day, by qualifying on the front row of the grid in second place. Whilst it was inevitable that the Aprilia dropped back during the race, the former MotoGP rider did not surrender any places without a fight. Whilst the TV cameras may have been more interested in the battle for the podium, the dicing between Laverty, Lowes and Camier were not for the faint hearted. The raw pace is there to make Laverty competitive this season, of that there is no doubt.

But the day undoubtedly belonged to Marco Melandri. The Ducati man had looked competitive since the first practice session on Friday morning. A front row start and stunning charge ensured he could not be denied the first blood of the 2018 season. Additionally, this win puts the Italian on 21 victories in the World Superbike class – equal to that of his illustrious compatirot: multiple Grand Prix race winner and double Superbike World Champion, Max Biaggi.

WSBK Race Result – Top 10:

1: Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Ducati) 33’40.354

2: Tom Sykes (KRT) + 1.180

3: Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Ducati) + 9.265

4: Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Ducati)

5: Jonathan Rea (KRT)

6: Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha)

7: Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda)

8: Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia)

9: Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha)

10: Leandro Mercado (Oretac Racing Kawasaki)

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