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13th May 2023

Moto2 Qualifying: Lowes Sets a Lap Record Around Le Mans

After leading the way yesterday, Sam Lowes set the fastest-ever lap around the Le Mans circuit on a Moto2 bike on his way to claiming pole position. He will be joined on the front row of the grid tomorrow by Alonso Lopez and Tony Arbolino.

As expected in Q1, no rider was certain to make it through to the second round of qualifying, but Jeremy Alcoba, Dennis Foggia and Fermin Aldeguer hoped they could secure a top-four position in Q1 to get them onto the front six rows of the grid. Few riders were able to test out the track with slick tyres this morning due to the track conditions.

Lukas Tulovic set the early pace with a 1.36.539 and this remained the top time until the final moments of the session when Fermin Aldeguer went 0.1s faster around the Le Mans circuit. Along with the Speed Up Racing and Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP riders, Barry Baltus and Bo Bendsneyder made it through the second round of qualifying.

In the second part of qualifying, Filip Salac and Celestino Vietti were topping the time sheets early on with a 1:36.135 and 1:36.178 respectively. Pedro Acosta struggled with the bike towards the start of the session, slotting into sixth place just over two-tenths off the pace set by Salac.

With just under eight minutes to go, Bendsneyder went down in the fourth sector. This cancelled the laps of multiple riders but also allowed them to regroup and plan their attacks for the rest of the session.

Arbolino, Jake Dixon and Lowes were following each other on the track with five and a half minutes to go, setting fastest sector after fastest sector. The tow provided by the two riders in front of Lowes, allowed the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team rider to set the fastest lap around the circuit on a Moto2 bike with a 1:35.791.

Tulovic and Dixon went down at the same time at turns nine and seven respectively causing yellow flags in sectors two, three and four with just over two minutes left on the clock. Luckily, these flags were cleared quickly.

With five seconds left, Lopez crossed the line to go second fastest with a 1:36.036. He was about to start his final flying lap before Aron Canet crashed and caused a red flag. The red flag was due to Canet’s bike being in the middle of the track.

Following the red flag, the session did not restart as there were only a few seconds left on the clock. This means that, for the second race in a row, Lowes will start with no other rider in front of him. Championship leader Acosta starts the race from the middle of the second row with Salac ahead of him and Vietti behind.

2023 FRENCH MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, LE MANS – QUALIFYING RESULTS
POS	RIDER	NAT	TEAM	BIKE	TIME
1	Sam Lowes	GBR	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	(Kalex)	1m 35.791s
2	Alonso Lopez	SPA	Lightech SpeedUp	(Boscoscuro)	1m 36.036s
3	Tony Arbolino	ITA	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	(Kalex)	1m 36.053s
4	Filip Salac	CZE	QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2	(Kalex)	1m 36.135s
5	Pedro Acosta	SPA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	(Kalex)	1m 36.169s
6	Celestino Vietti	ITA	Fantic Racing	(Kalex)	1m 36.178s
7	Somkiat Chantra	THA	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	(Kalex)	1m 36.180s
8	Jake Dixon	GBR	Inde GASGAS Aspar M2	(Kalex)	1m 36.225s
9	Manuel Gonzalez	SPA	Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46	(Kalex)	1m 36.354s
10	Barry Baltus	BEL	Fieten Olie Racing GP	(Kalex)	1m 36.437s
11	Fermín Aldeguer	SPA	Lightech SpeedUp	(Boscoscuro)	1m 36.474s
12	Albert Arenas	SPA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	(Kalex)	1m 36.537s
13	Aron Canet	SPA	Pons Wegow Los40	(Kalex)	1m 36.686s
14	Bo Bendsneyder	NED	Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team	(Kalex)	1m 36.726s
15	Lukas Tulovic	GER	Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP	(Kalex)	1m 36.794s
16	Ai Ogura	JPN	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	(Kalex)	1m 36.998s
17	Joe Roberts	USA	Italtrans Racing Team	(Kalex)	1m 37.005s
18	Sergio Garcia	SPA	Pons Wegow Los40	(Kalex)	1m 37.060s
19	Sean Dylan Kelly	USA	American Racing	(Kalex)	1m 36.726s
20	Jeremy Alcoba	SPA	QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2	(Kalex)	1m 36.836s
21	Marcos Ramirez	SPA	Forward Team	(Forward)	1m 36.959s
22	Zonta Vd Goorbergh	NED	Fieten Olie Racing GP	(Kalex)	1m 36.966s
23	Dennis Foggia	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	(Kalex)	1m 37.123s
24	Senna Agius	AUS	Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP	(Kalex)	1m 37.134s
25	Lorenzo Dalla Porta	ITA	Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team	(Kalex)	1m 37.426s
26	Rory Skinner	GBR	American Racing	(Kalex)	1m 37.642s
27	Borja Gomez	SPA	Fantic Racing	(Kalex)	1m 37.827s
28	Izan Guevara	SPA	Inde GASGAS Aspar M2	(Kalex)	1m 37.879s
29	Alex Escrig	SPA	Forward Team	(Forward)	1m 38.500s

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

7th May 2023

Round 4 WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain, Race 2

The earlier Superpole race saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) claim yet another win, and make it 2/3 wins across the weekend so far. Could anyone break this Ducati dominance?

WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain, Round 4, Race 2. Picture courtesy of Honda Racing Corporation.

During the sighting lap rain began to fall, playing on the minds of the riders. Although it wasn’t enough to be declared a wet race.

Lights out then for race 2, and once again you guessed correct, it was Bautista with the holeshot into turn 1. Toprak (Pata Prometeon Yamaha WorldSBK) was in no mood to witness the Ducatis clear off into the distance again, and quickly launched an attack on both of them, getting through on Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati), before passing Bautista into turn 5 to briefly take the lead. It was now the factory Ducatis 2nd and 3rd, with Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) in 4th, and Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha WorldSBK) in 5th.

Next lap of the 20 lap race, and Bautista blasted past Toprak down the long straight and back into the lead. The Yamaha R1 had no answer to the power of the Ducati V4. Next was Rinaldi to pass Toprak and retake 2nd. Positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Lowes 4. Toprak 5. Locatelli 6. Vierge (Honda HRC) 7. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) 8. Lecuona (Honda HRC) 9. Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 10. Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati). Drama for a deflated Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) yet again, who crashed out of the race alongside Malaysian rider Syahrin (Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team). Both their races were over.

Next lap and Alex Lowes, who had an impressive start to the race made a great pass on Rinaldi to take 2nd. Meanwhile Kawasaki team mate Jonny Rea, who had only started in 10th after a DNF in the Superpole race, moved through on Vierge to take 6th. The light rain had cleared off, and the race was perfectly dry.

With 17 laps remaining Bautista had a gap of 0.3s to Lowes in 2nd. Rinaldi was in 3rd. Swiss rider Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was up to 10th after getting through on Bassani, who had opted for a harder SC0 front tyre which did not seem to be paying off. Further back Scott Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) was also struggling and was down in 13th.

Next lap and Rinaldi blasted past Lowes down the straight to retake 2nd. Both Lowes and Rinaldi were having much better rides compared to race 1. Meanwhile Bautista extended his lead to 1.2s. Further back Rea was looking to catch the leaders, and was sizing up Locatelli ahead of him for a pass.

With 14 laps to go Toprak out braked Lowes into turn 1 to move into 3rd. Both of the Ducatis were now clearing off into the distance, with Bautista holding a gap of 1.5s to his team mate. Positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Toprak 4. Lowes 5. Locatelli 6. Rea 7. Vierge 8. Lecuona 9. Gerloff 10. Aegerter.

With 12 laps remaining Bautista had now extended his lead to 2.3s. Rinaldi held a gap of 2.5s to Toprak in 3rd. Meanwhile Isaac Vinales (Team Perdercini) retires due to a mechanical issue. BSB current champion, Brad Ray (MotoxRacing Yamaha), was in 17th.

At half race distance there was a 4 way battle for 8th between Lecuona 8th, Aegerter 9th, Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) 10th, and Gerloff 11th. Meanwhile at the front Bautista had extended his lead to 3.9s, while Rinaldi had a gap of 3.5s. Lowes held a gap of 1.0s to Locatelli in 5th.

With 7 laps remaining, Bautista was once again clear into the distance, out in front with an unassailable lead. Rea finally made his move on Locatelli to move into 5th. The day got worse for Scott Redding, as he was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue. Locatelli hadn’t given up his place lying down, and the young Italian was trying to put pressure back on Rea.

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Toprak 4. Lowes 5. Rea 6. Locatelli 7. Vierge 8. Lecuona 9. Aegerter 10. Gerloff.

With 4 laps left Bautista now had a commanding lead of 6.7s, while Rinaldi in 2nd had a gap of 3.2s.

Penultimate lap and Aegerter was all over the back of Vierge, and looking for a pass into 7th place. Further back Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was in a disappointing 13th, after a good race 1 yesterday.

Last lap and it was Vierge who got through on Locatelli into 6th. Meanwhile Bautista crossed the line to make it 3/3 wins across the weekend, as well as his second clean sweep of wins in Catalunya. Toprak pipped Rinaldi to the line to take 2nd, driving up the inside of the last corner with much better traction, Rinaldi had lost massive time on the last lap, and his tyres were cooked. The race finished: 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Rinaldi 4. Lowes 5. Rea 6. Vierge 7. Locatelli 8. Aegerter 9. Lecuona 10. Gerloff.

Result top 5:

Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
Razgatlioglu (Pata Prometeon Yamaha WorldSBK)
Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)

Championship top 3:

Bautista – 236 pts
Razgatlioglu – 167
Locatelli – 133

6th May 2023

Formula E Monaco EPrix-Cassidy Leads The Championship After Victory in Monaco

Qualifying

Qualifying was first up and Group A saw Nato, Fenestraz, Ticktum and Evans all through to the duels. The DS Penske duo of Vandoorne and Vergne both lost their lap times due to a technical infraction which dropped them to the back of the grid.

Gunther, Hughes, Mortara and Sette Camara all went through to the final from Group B. Fenestraz appeared victorious over Dan Ticktum for the first session of quarter finals, Nato beat Evans in the second quarter final, Hughes beat Mortara and Sette Camara beat Gunther in the 3rd and 4th quarter finals respectfully. However, Sette Camara got his best lap time deleted so Gunther took his place in the duel. Before their duel however, it was a nissan quarter final with Nato vs Fenestraz and Fenestraz won that battle. Hughes took victory over Gunther in the second semi final so it was Hughes against Fenestraz for the battle for pole.

It was a tight battle which saw Fenestraz snatch the position from Hughes after Hughes made an error. Fenestraz, however, used more power than he was meant to and got the pole snatched away!

Race:
The 29 lap race started by Hughes leading the race with Cassidy trying to make a lot of places up. Cassidy went up to P7 by the end of lap 1. Jake Hughes held the lead from the two Nissans and from Ticktum and Gunther in P5. Dennis managed to get Cassidy on lap 2. Rowland who started P13 is up to P7. By lap 3 rowland managed to make up to P6. A yellow flag then came out on lap 3 due to lotterer and retiring. Rowland took his first attack mode on lap 3. Evans and Gunther were battling on the final sector of lap 3 which Gunther managed to win. Nick Cassidy made a big move on lap 5 to make up 2 places at once. Cassidy made HUGE moves to go up to P2 after Hughes took attack mode! Hughes went down to P4 just ahead of Ticktum. Evans managed to make his way up to P5 after a lunge in the hairpin. Cassidy and Nato took their attack mode together which allowed Ticktum to make his way up to P1. ahead of Evans and Fenestraz. Fenestraz and Cassidy attack their way up the hull after turn 1 and Fenestraz manages to keep the position over the New Zealander.

An image from the ABB FIA Formula E Monaco EPrix. Credit to Formula E.

Lap 13 saw Cassidy lead the race from Evans and Fenestraz who are 2nd and 3rd. Lap 14 saw a titanic battle between Evans and Dennis coming out of the tunnel to battle for position. Gunther had a big moment in the swimming pool section of the track on lap 15but he managed to keep it goether. Evans took the lead of the race at the start of lap 16 . While ths was going on, Vergne and Vandoorne managed to make their way up to P13 and P14 after starting at the back of the grid. Bird and Nato collided after the tunnel and Da Costa suffered a puncture and fell to the back of the grid. Both Maseratis took attack mode on lap 17 and fell to P7 and P8 with Gunther leading the way. Cassidy managed to get the lead of the race on lap 18. Dennis tried to get ahead of Evans into the hairpin but he didn’t manage to make it stick. Hughes and Ricktum Kept switching positions on lap 18 too with Ticktum taking the position. Fenestraz tried to get Dennis into the hairpin but didn’t manage to get him. Ticktum tried to squeeze Vergne into the wall down into the hairpin but Vergne managed to make it out. Mortara appeared to lose his front wing. Ticktum had an issue after he collided with another driver. Nato had to slow down and Gunther stopped on track which resulted on a safety car on lap 22/29.

The safety car came in on lap 25 and Cassidy and Evans went battling for the win with Dennis not far behind. Bird went for attack mode but he managed to miss it! There was no added laps to the race. Muller collided with Bird on lap 28 which resulted in Muller stopping on lap and the safety car being deployed which ended this race. Nick Cassidy won the Monaco EPrix and takes the lead of the championship. Mitch Evans finished P2 and Jake Dennis finished P3. The front row finished P4 and P5 with Fenestraz finishing ahead of Hughes. Ticktum managed to hold onto P6 with Vergne going from p22 to P7. Buemi finished P8 with Vandoorne finishing P9 and Evan’s teammate Sam Bird collecting the final point position. Sam Bird later received a penalty so Pascal Wehrlein picked up P10.

The concludes Formula E for 1 month where we head to Jakara for a double header!

6th May 2023

Round 4 WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain, Race 1

Early May here in Barcelona, and already the temperatures were scorching, nearing 30 degrees Celsius air temperature, and 50 degrees on track.

WorldSBK Catalunya, Spain Round 4. Picture courtesy of WorldSBK

With news earlier in the week that reigning champion, Alvaro Bautista would be extending his contact with Aruba Ducati for at least another season, it all meant there would be no easing off of the gas. His rivals would need to step up the game if they had eyes on his world championship crown, or indeed stopping him in Catalunya this weekend.

Lights out then for Race 1, and it was Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by his team mate Rinaldi behind in 2nd. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 3rd, Toprak (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 4th, and Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) in 5th.

Next lap and with Toprak mounting pressure on his team mate Locatelli, he did eventually make the move into turn 3, moving into 4th. Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had been penalised grid positions for irresponsible riding and had to start from 16th, although he had made a great start and was now up to 11th. Drama for Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing Movisio) who went down into turn 4, and his race was over. At the front Bautista had a gap of 0.5s to Rinaldi behind in 2nd.

Next lap and positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rinaldi 3. Rea 4. Toprak 5. Locatelli 6. Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 7. Aegerter 8. Vierge (Honda HRC) 9. Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) 10. Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).

Then, with 17 laps remaining, the race is red flagged due to a crash by Eric Granado (Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team) into turn 12. He was conscious as they stretchered him off the track and taken to the medical centre. The race would be restarted with 17 laps still remaining.

Lights out then for the second time, and once again it was Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Rinaldi 2nd, Bassani 3rd, Rea 4th, Locatelli 5th, and Toprak in 6th. Drama then for Redding as he seemed to slam into the back of Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) into turn 10, both riders plunged into the gravel with bits of fairing everywhere, and their respective races were over. Meanwhile at the front, things were getting spicy between fellow Italians, Rinaldi and Bassani in the battle for 2nd, with Rea behind in 4th.

Next lap and Rinaldi barged up the inside of Bassani after the latter had briefly taken 2nd to retake the position, gloves were definitely off at this stage. As the ‘red mist’ descended, Bassani then stuffed it up the inside of Rinaldi into turn 10, although he caught the back of the Ducati in the process sending a helpless Rinaldi flying off into the gravel. Rinaldi was not at all happy, giving a sarcastic ’round of applause’ to his fellow countryman after that incident. Positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Bassani 3. Rea 4. Toprak 5. Locatelli 6. Aegerter 7. Lowes 8. Vierge 9. Lecuona 10. Gardner.

With 14 laps left Bautista put in the new fastest lap, a 1:41.747, and held a gap of 1.8s to Bassani.

Next lap and Bautista extended his lead to 2.3s. Meanwhile further behind Toprak was right on the back of Rea, and you sensed a pass was coming. The Kawasaki had previously struggled in very hot conditions. Meanwhile Bassani was given a long lap penalty for his contact with Rinaldi, which he immediately took and rejoined in 5th.

With 12 laps to go Bautista had now extended his lead to 4.1s to Rea who was now in 2nd, with Toprak behind in 3rd who had a gap of 1.2s to his team mate behind in 4th, Locatelli. Meanwhile further back it was, Aegerter 6th, Lowes 7th, Vierge 8th, Gardner 9th, Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) 10th, and Brad Ray (MotoxRacing Yamaha) 15th.

With just over half race distance covered, Bassani got back through on Locatelli into turn 10 to take 4th. Meanwhile further back there was a battle for 7th between Lecuona and Lowes. Further back again and there was a 3 way battle for 9th between Vierge 9th, Gardner 10th, and Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 11th. The young Aussie, Gardner, then got through on Vierge to take 9th.

With 7 laps to go, Vinales crashed out into turn 10 his race was over. Meanwhile at the front and clear out in the lead, Bautista had now ramped his lead up to 8.6s, and looked comfortable, and was nearly out of sight of the chasers behind. Toprak was still right on the back of Rea, although the Kawasaki was looking much better in the hot conditions, and Rea was holding his own. Disappointment then for Lowes who went down into the downhill turn 7 losing the front end, he had been looking good up until that point. Toprak held a gap of 1.9s to Bassani behind in 4th.

With only 5 laps remaining Bautista now extended his lead to 9.5s and was making it look easy. Rea continued to hold off Toprak and held a gap of 0.3s.

Next lap and Locatelli retook 4th, getting through on Bassani. Bassani paying for his earlier fight with Rinaldi no doubt, as he was struggling with grip. Bassani was 5th, Aegerter 6th, Lecuona 7th, Vierge 8th, Gardner 9th, Gerloff 10th, with British rider Brad Ray in 14th.

With 3 laps to go, Aegerter was having a great race for a rookie, and took 5th getting through on Bassani, with a nice clean move up the inside of the Ducati. Meanwhile out of sight in the lead, Bautista was entering turn 1, as Rea and Toprak were entering the final corner onto the straight, such was his sizeable lead of 11s. Further back Petrucci was battling Gardner for 10th.

Last lap and Toprak eventually made his move on Rea down the straight and into turn 1, out braking the Kawasaki and getting his bike stopped as only Toprak can do, Rea had no answer and dropped into 3rd.

Taking his first win of the weekend, and making an ominous statement with the dominance of it, Bautista crossed the line in 1st, followed by Toprak in 2nd, Rea 3rd, Locatelli 4th, Aegerter 5th, Lecuona 6th, Bassani 7th, Vierge 8th, Gerloff 9th, Petrucci 10th.

Result top 5:

Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
Razgatlioglu (Pata Prometeon Yamaha WorldSBK)
Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha WorldSBK)
Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorlsSBK)

Championship top 3:

Bautista – 199 pts
Razgatlioglu – 138
Locatelli – 117

1st May 20232nd May 2023

Formula 2-Bearman Tops All Sessions On The Streets of Baku

Ollie Bearman Sprint and Feature race winner at Baku 2023. Image courtesy of Ferrari

The Ferrari Junior Driver had his best weekend in Formula 2 yet with the 17 year old finishing every single session across round 4 of the FIA Formula 2 World Championship around the streets of Baku.

Bearman first of all topped the one and only Free Practice Session of the weekend with a 1:54.063. Hadjar and Maini followed behind in second and third respectfully. Qualifying was very tight with the 17 year old setting a lap time just 0.012 ahead of Red Bull Junior Enzo Fittipaldi.

Sprint Race:

The sprint race got underway in Baku with the ART of Victor Martins immediatel cutting across the Red Bull Junior of Zane Maloney. The reverse pole sitter Richard Verschoor nearly lost the rear end, tapped the wall and got both front and rear damage. Maloney lead from Hauger and Martins in P3. The Boy from Barbados Maloney got a puncture and went from 1st to last on lap 1 of the sprint. Boschung tapped the wall by the castle section and had to retire which brought out the safety car. We went 2 laps under the SC and when the safety car was brought in, Hauger lead the way from Martins and daruvala. Bearman managed to make a chagre up to P4 by lap 11 out of 21.

The PHM of Roy Nissany then crashed on lap 14 which brought out a safety car and saw the pack bunch up again. The drivers spent 5 laps under the safety car and from then, a 3 lap shootout for the win resulted in a huge crash into turn 1. Hauger and Martins locked up and went into the wall, Daruvala hit Martins due to him also locking up and Leclerc and Pourchaire tapped the wall and the engine stalled. Vesti and Martins were then battling for the lead which saw Bearman take the lead just before the safety car was deployed and the race was then over due to the amount of cleanup required. Bearman took home his first victory of his F2 career ahead of Vesti and Crawford finishing the top 3. Maini, Fittipaldi, Correa and Novalak finished off the top 7. Hadjar did finish P8 but got a penalty post race so Stanek got the final points position.

The Formula 2 2023 Baku Sprint Podium with a Prema 1-2 and Crawford in P3. Image Credit: Prema Racing Photos and Videos

Feature Race:

The feature race saw a very clean getaway from everyone and a clean first lap from everyone. Pourchaire got up to P2 on Lap 2 after overtaking Fittipaldi but he wasn’t finished there. Pourchaire got past bearman on lap 3 for the lead of the race and both Premas of Vesti and Bearman were attacking Fittipaldi and Pourchaire respectfully. Bearman wasn’t finished as he got up to P1 on lap 4 with the assist of the DRS system. Hauger and Crawford went wheel to wheel with Hauger getting the advantage. the top 2 pitted on lap 9 due to yellow flags and Bearman managed to hold the lead ahead of Pourchaire.

Brad Benevides stopped on an escape road after a touch with the barriers and brought out a VSC as he was recovered. Daruvala ried to get past Maloney on lap 14 but ended up getting a 10s time penalty for rejoining unsafely. Fittipaldi was challenging Pourchaire on lap 24 for P2 and he eventually got the moce done in turn 3. Bearman crossed the line to take the feature race victory in Baku and make it a perfect weekend. Fittipaldi finished P2 and Pourchaire in P3. Martins was P4 but got disqualified due to a technical infringement. This pushed Vest, Maini, Hauger, Hadjer, Verschoor, Crawford and Leclerc up to P4-P10 respectfully after Daruvala’s penalty pushed him down to P13, originally P14.

30th April 2023

Azerbaijan GP: Sergio Perez takes yet another street circuit win

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Race winner Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates after the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202304300912 // Usage for editorial use only //

Sergio Perez took yet another street circuit win in Baku on Sunday afternoon after an excellent drive to beat his world champion teammate. A timely safety car ensured that Perez took the lead in the early stages of the race and the Mexican driver did not have to look back for the rest of the race.

Charles Leclerc started the race on pole after setting the fastest lap on Friday qualifying in the new format that kicked off this weekend. The pace of the Ferrari was simply no match for the Redbulls as both Verstappen and Perez picked off Leclerc one after the other once DRS was activated at the beginning of lap 3. The fight for victory from here on was largely between the Redbulls as they left the rest of the pack behind very swiftly.

Verstappen was just ahead of Perez around lap 8 when Nick De Vries crashed, bringing about a Safety Car. The Redbull pitwall called in Verstappen ahead of Perez while there was no safety car yet but the safety car was called in moments after Verstappen completed his pitstop and Perez gained full advantage of this. Verstappen was relegated to P3 in the aftermath and spent the rest of the race catching up to his teammate.

Ferrari had a decent outing with Leclerc getting his first podium of the season, albeit not after huge pressure from Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, who was chasing Leclerc until the finish line. Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari had to fend off Lewis Hamilton to scramble to a P5 finish.

For Mercedes, it was yet another weekend of being too far away from the top while struggling to be in the battle for the 2nd best team on the grid. Hamilton tried his best after an untimely pitstop before the safety car and ended up P6 while his teammate George Russell spent the large part of the race behind Lance Stroll in the Aston martin. Although, a late pitstop at the end meant that the Englishman had the point in the bag for the fastest lap.

McLaren’s upgrades meant that Norris was in the running for the points throughout the race and the English driver finished P9 while his teammate just missed out after finishing at P11. It was a fantastic effort from the Australian despite battling illness throughout the weekend to achieve a high finish, especially after losing around 3kg in weight as informed by Mark Webber.

It was a mixed day for Alpha Tauri after Yuki Tsunoda finished in the last of the points position while his teammate Nick DeVries crashed out in the opening stages of the race. Alfa Romeo had both the cars finish out of the top 10 with Bottas at P12 and Zhou at P15, with Bottas being involved in a first lap incident and pitting three times during the course of the race.

Hulkenberg in the Haas and Ocon in the Alpine went on a bold strategy as they started the race from the pitlane. The drivers put on a set of hard tyres and drove almost until the end of the race and only pitted at the end to avoid disqualification. It was not without an incident of course when during Ocon’s pitstop on the last lap of the race, the pit lane was swarming with photographers and mechanics. The safety protocols were grossly thrown out of the window and a massive disaster was narrowly avoided and thankfully no one was hurt. Hulkenberg finished P17 while his teammate Magnussen in the other Haas finished P13. Ocon finished P15 after the whole fiasco while his teammate Gasly in the other Alpine finished P14.

The Williams of Alexander Albon finished P12 while his teammate Sargeant finished P16. They will be hoping for a change of fortunes come the Miami GP which is going to be the second one in the triple header we have going on.

Sergio Perez yet again proved that he is the king of the streets as he fended off an in form world champion teammate to take win and close the gap to 6 points to him. The Mexican driver will be fancying his chances again next Sunday as it is another street circuit with a marina in Miami.

29th April 2023

2023 Azerbaijan Sprint Race

Sergio Perez is posing for a picture in Milton Keynes on February 24th, 2021 // Markus Berger / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202110180128 // Usage for editorial use only //

Sergio Perez has won the first sprint race of the season, winning by almost four and a half seconds from Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen completed the podium in the second RedBull. It was a dominant performance from the Mexican who overtook pole sitter Leclerc as soon as the DRS was activated and never looked back from then on.

The action started straight from lights out with Max Verstappen and George Russell battering for the first four corners with the young Brit coming out on top.

At the front it was Leclerc leading from Perez, At the end of lap one Tsunoda lost his right rear tyre after a brush with the wall causing a Virtual Safety Car. The Alpha Tauri driver seemed to just understeer straight into the wall. After 2 laps of VSC a full safety car was needed to clear the debris. Strangely the team sent Tsunoda back out with the right rear suspension broken and left him to crab round for a whole lap before retiring the car.

At the restart both Mercedes drivers lost positions falling to 4th and 7th. Verstappen getting back ahead of Russell and Alonso moving un front of Lewis Hamilton.

Leclerc again lead away from Perez and Verstappen.

At the start of lap 8 Perez used the DRS to cruise past Leclerc and take the lead. Behind them Verstappen was stalking the pair with Russell, Sainz and Hamilton all falling back from the leaders.

Further back in the field Oscar Piastri overtook his team mate Lando Norris to move up to P10. McLaren had fitted Norris with soft tyres, a gamble that didn’t seem to work with Norris struggling at just over half distance and having to pit, In a sprint race that’s a disaster.

With 5 laps left Charles Leclerc was wringing the neck of his Ferrari and making a fight of the sprint race, getting back within DRS range of the lead RedBull. As soon as he did this Perez suddenly upped his pace and increased his lead to 2 seconds with just 3 laps remaining.

The rest of the field looked fairly settled as usually happens in the sprint races.

In fact the last 3 laps went by with very little action. Perez took the chequered flag after 17 laps of the Sprint Race. Leclerc was second with Max Verstappen third. Behind them was Russell who after his first lap battle had a quiet race, then came Sainz, Alonso, Hamilton, Stroll, Albon and Piastri finishing off the top ten.

The Grand Prix takes place tomorrow and hopefully will bring the usual Baku style craziness.

23rd April 2023

Round 3 WorldSBK, Assen, Race 2

The earlier Superpole race saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) claim his 2nd win of the weekend, and the question on everyone’s mind was, who could stop him claiming his 3rd win.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a crash on the sighting lap, and that meant he would have to start at the back of the grid for race 2, instead of 4th.

Round 2, World Superbikes, Assen. Picture courtesy of WSBK.

Lights out then for race 2, and it was Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Toprak (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 2nd, Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 3rd, Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 4th, Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 5th, Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 6th, and Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 7th.

Next lap and drama for both Brad Ray (Motoxracing Yamaha) who crashed out, and then local rider, Vd Mark (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who had a massive high side into the chicane and landed with a gruesome looking injury to his leg. He got stretchered off into an ambulance, with later news confirming he had broken his leg. Vierge (Honda HRC) was next to crash, this time into turn 1. Neither Honda or BMW were having a good weekend, and it was now made a lot worse.

Next lap and Toprak made a move on Bautista, before Alvaro snapped straight back, also allowing Rea to come through into 2nd in the process.

With 18 laps of 21 remaining positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rea 3. Toprak 4. Bassani 5. Locatelli 6. Aegerter 7. Redding 8. Lecuona. Meanwhile Rea, late on the brakes, dived into turn 9 briefly taking over the lead, before Bautista could unleash all of the Ducati power down the back straight to retake the lead. Toprak then repaid the favour to Rea and came through back into 2nd.

With 16 laps to go, and having to push so hard to make any ground on the leading Bautista, Rea lost the front end into turn 9 trail braking into the corner. The Kawasaki flew into the gravel, and a disconsolate Rea trudged back to the safety barriers, his race over.

Next lap and Toprak put in a new fastest lap a 1:34.304 to keep the pressure firmly on Bautista. The positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Bassani 4. Locatelli 5. Aegerter 6. Redding 7. Lecuona 8. Gardner (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) 9. Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) 10. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati).

Next lap and Remy Gardner got through on Lecuona to take 7th, the Aussie had only started from 14th on the grid. Further ahead Locatelli got past Bassani to take 3rd. At the front Bautista held a gap of 0.9s to Toprak behind, and then put in a new fastest lap a 1:34.1 to respond to the pressure from the Yamaha.

With 12 laps to go Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) went down into turn 15, he had only just recovered from a fractured ankle. Meanwhile Bautista was upping the tempo and now held a gap of 1.8s to Toprak. Lowes had made a massive recovery after having started at the back of the grid, and was now up to 10th, with Rinaldi behind in 11th.

With just over half race distance covered, Bassani had fought back to Locatelli and was looking for the pass into 3rd. Meanwhile the poor weekend for Honda continued as Lecuona crashed into turn 4, he briefly rejoined before retiring into the pits. After all the crashes there were now only 19 riders left.

With 8 laps to go former Moto2 rider Gardner was having a great race, and was now all over the back of Redding.

Next lap and Bautista was firmly in line to take Ducati’s 400th WorldSBK win. Behind it was Toprak in 2nd, Locatelli 3rd, and Bassani in 4th.

With 3 laps to go Aegerter, like his team mate, was also having great late race pace, and was catching Bassani ahead in 4th, with the gap cut down to 0.7s. Meanwhile further back Lowes was up into 9th, Rinaldi 10th, and Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 12th.

Last lap and Bautista made no mistake to claim his 3rd win of the weekend, also his 40th career win, and Ducati’s 400th win. Toprak 2nd, Locatelli 3rd, Aegerter 4th, Bassani 5th, Gardner 6th, Redding 7th, Petrucci 8th, Lowes 9th, and Rinaldi 10th.

Result top 5:

Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
Bassani (Motocorsa Racing)
Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK)

Championship top 3:

Bautista – 174 pts
Razgatlioglu – 118
Locatelli – 104

23rd April 2023

Round 3 WorldSBK, Assen, Race 1

After the long break from round 2 in Indonesia, fans were eagerly anticipating another action packed weekend of racing ahead of the Assen round.

Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team. Race 1 Assen 2023. Picture courtesy of WSBK

Superpole saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) initially claim top spot, but he was subsequently penalised after a dangerous incident between himself and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in the pit lane exit. Pole position was then handed to Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) with a time of 1:33.5, followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in 3rd.

Conditions were dry and mild for race 1, and most of the grid went for the soft SCX rear tyre.

Lights out then for race 1 and it was Rea with the hole shot into turn, 1 followed by Toprak and Bautista in 2nd and 3rd respectively, Lowes 4th, with Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) behind in 5th. Lowes started aggressively from the off, and was soon attacking Bautista into the chicane, which he did taking 3rd. Alvaro responded however, and snapped straight back into turn 1 to retake the position.

Next lap of the 21 lap race and positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Bautista 4. Lowes 5. Redding 6. Locatelli.

His disastrous season continued, it was another mechanical issue for former champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and his race was over. Meanwhile at the front, the leading 3 were pulling out a gap to the group behind of 4 riders, which included Lowes 4th, Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 5th, Bassani (Motocorsa Racing Ducati) 6th, and Locatelli 7th. Meanwhile further back current BSB champion, and rookie Bradley Ray (Motoxracing Yamaha) was in 15th and on track to score his first ever point in WorldSBK.

With 17 of 21 laps remaining, Bautista moved through on Toprak into the chicane to take 2nd. Meanwhile further back drama for Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) who crashed out, but was subsequently able to rejoin at the back of the field. It was Gardner 8th, Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 9th and Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) in 10th.

With 15 laps to go, Rea held a gap of 0.2s to Bautista behind in 2nd. Further back it was Bassani 6th, and Bradley Ray was in 14th. Toprak held a gap of 2.5s to Lowes behind in 4th.

Next lap and Scott Redding got through on Lowes to move up into 4th. Next up was the turn of Bassani to pass Lowes, Lowes had now dropped from 4th to 6th in a few corners.

Race 1 Assen 2023. Picture courtesy of WSBK

With 13 laps to go Bautista got by on Rea into the fast turn 7 to take over the lead for the first time. Rea now in 2nd, with Toprak in 3rd. The gap to Redding in 4th was now 3.0s. Unfortunately for Bradley Ray he had now dropped down to 18th. Meanwhile making the most of the clear track ahead of him, Bautista set the new fastest lap a 1:34.830.

With 11 laps remaining, a mistake for Redding saw him run wide into turn 1, and allowed a grateful Bassani to come through into 4th. Scott was now in 5th. Toprak now held a gap of 4.5s to Bassani in 4th, while Locatelli held a gap of 4.9s to Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 8th.

With just over half race distance covered, Rea wasn’t giving up his fight for the win, and was putting pressure on Bautista. Rea held a gap of 1.1s to Toprak.

With 8 laps to go, Bautista had extended his lead to 0.3s and was slowly edging away from the grasp of 6 x world champion Rea. Toprak too was losing contact with both the riders ahead of him. Meanwhile behind the 4 way battle for 4th was still red hot between, Bassani, Redding, Lowes and Locatelli.

Next lap and Locatelli who had been eyeing up a pass on Lowes, made it into turn 5, cutting up the inside of the Kawasaki to take 6th. Further back it was team mates Domi Aegerter and Remy Gardner in 8th, and 9th respectively, Petrucci 10th, Vierge (Honda HRC) 11th, Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) 12th, and Brad Ray in 18th.

With 5 laps remaining, reigning champion Alvaro Bautista, had put the hammer down and had extended his lead to 1.6s over Rea. Rea had done all he could to stay with Alvaro but it wasn’t enough, and he held a gap of 2.5s to Toprak who was in a lonely 3rd ahead of Bassani by 5.4s. Lowes 7th held a gap of 2.7s to Aegerter in 8th. Lowes then burst through on Redding to move into 6th, with Locatelli ahead of him in 5th.

Next lap and there was a 4 way battle for 12th between Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 13th, Oettl (Team GoEleven), 14th and Rinaldi 15th. Meanwhile current SSP champion Aegerter, got past Redding to take 7th, and was showing great late race pace.

Penultimate lap and Locatelli was all over the back of fellow countryman Bassani and looking for the pass.

Last lap and Bautista took the win followed by Rea in 2nd, Toprak in 3rd. Meanwhile Locatelli mugged Bassani into turn 5 as he had done with Lowes, and took 4th, Bassani 5th, Aegerter 6th, Lowes 7th, Gardner 8th, Petrucci 9th, Redding 10th.

Alvaro Bautista, Ducati Racing. Race 1 Assen 2023. Picture courtesy of WSBK

Result top 5:

Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati)
Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
Bassani (Motocorsa Racing)

Championship top 3:

Bautista – 137 pts
Razgatlioglu – 91
Locatelli – 83

18th April 2023

Moto2: Acosta Takes the Win In Exciting Race

Celestino Vietti was not able to convert pole position to a win as Pedro Acosta battled alongside Tony Arbolino for almost the whole duration of the race to come out on top.

Pedro Acosta – Moto 2 picture courtesy of MotoGP

Following Jake Dixon’s crash on the warm-up lap, 28 riders started the 16 lap pursuit to the finish.

Acosta had a blistering start, taking over the race lead but had to defend from Alonso Lopez into the second and third corners but Lopez was able to take over the lead. Acosta was able to get past Lopez at the back of the circuit.

Arbolino started the race in eighth position but was able to get past Lopez at the final corner to cross the start-finish line in second place at the end of the first lap.

Joe Roberts was another rider who really enjoyed the first lap, gaining six positions on the first tour of the circuit.

Aron Canet joined in the battle for the top four in lap two, fighting with Arbolino throughout the entire lap.

At turn 12 on the third lap, Acosta accidentally put the bike into neutral rather than first gear and went wide, losing three places in the process. However, he was able to gain one of these places back at turn one on the following lap, overtaking Canet.

Albert Arenas went onto the paint on the back straight and Lorenzo Dalla Porta crashed at turn 18, also on the fourth lap.

During the fifth lap, Arbolino was able to pass Lopez and make it stick before they, and Acosta, began to break away from the chasing pack. Acosta gained the lead back on the brakes into turn one on lap six. The chasing group slowly began to catch up to the front three, bringing the gap down to 0.4 seconds.

Lopez continued to drop down the field to sixth by the end of lap seven. Barry Baltus was riding in fifth place, setting fastest laps at the same time.

However, Baltus crashed the following lap at turn nine, after rising through the field from twelfth on the grid. Lap eight was also not good for Lopez, as he went wide at turn 12, dropping to seventh.

Arbolino and Acosta continued to drive away from the rest of the field with a margin of 2.427 seconds into lap 10.

Marcos Ramirez and Sergio Garcia both retired on lap ten.

Acosta continued to look for a move on Arbolino for laps eleven, twelve and thirteen, even if he was a little wabble on lap twelve. Bo Bendsneyder was able to capitalise on the chasing pack fighting between each other on lap thirteen to pass Lopez for seventh.

Arbolino ran wide at turn one on lap fourteen and Acosta was able to get past but Arbolino kept close to the young Spaniard. Acosta rode deep into turn twelve and the Italian was able to get through, retaking the lead.

Arbolino rode defensive for the entire of lap fifteen, even with the pressure being applied from behind from Acosta but went into the final lap with the lead of the race. Fermín Aldeguer, Jeremy Arcoba and Canet were all fighting for third place.

As always, the final lap of the race was a delight to watch. Once again, Acosta tried the move into turn one but Arbolino had placed his bike in the ideal spot to defend. Into turn 12, Acosta was able to make the move on Arbolino, immediately moving to defend the lead of the race. Arbolino started to line up to make a move into the final corner but was unable to beat Acosta to the line.

The battle for the final podium position was hectic as Bensneyder rose from sixth at the start of lap sixteen to third across the line, beating Alcoba and Filip Salac through a drag race. Aldeguer finished in sixth, ahead of early leader Lopez. Caner, Vietti and Manuel Gonzalez rounded out the top ten.

2023 AMERICAS MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, AUSTIN – RACE RESULTS
POS	RIDER	NAT	TEAM	BIKE	TIME
1	Pedro Acosta	SPA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	(Kalex)	34m 42.879s
2	Tony Arbolino	ITA	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	(Kalex)	34m 43.025s
3	Bo Bendsneyder	NED	Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team	(Kalex)	34m 48.730s
4	Jeremy Alcoba	SPA	QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2	(Kalex)	34m 48.928s
5	Filip Salac	CZE	QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2	(Kalex)	34m 50.341s
6	Fermín Aldeguer	SPA	Beta Tools SpeedUp	(Boscoscuro)	34m 50.547s
7	Alonso Lopez	SPA	Beta Tools SpeedUp	(Boscoscuro)	34m 50.594s
8	Aron Canet	SPA	Pons Wegow Los40	(Kalex)	34m 50.957s
9	Celestino Vietti	ITA	Fantic Racing	(Kalex)	34m 53.993s
10	Manuel Gonzalez	SPA	Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46	(Kalex)	34m 55.440s
11	Somkiat Chantra	THA	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	(Kalex)	34m 56.486s
12	Albert Arenas	SPA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	(Kalex)	34m 56.880s
13	Sam Lowes	GBR	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	(Kalex)	35m 2.933s
14	Dennis Foggia	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	(Kalex)	35m 5.869s
15	Ai Ogura	JPN	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	(Kalex)	35m 11.699s
16	Joe Roberts	USA	Italtrans Racing Team	(Kalex)	35m 14.772s
17	Zonta Vd Goorbergh	NED	Fieten Olie Racing GP	(Kalex)	35m 17.613s
18	Sean Dylan Kelly	USA	American Racing	(Kalex)	35m 17.813s
19	Rory Skinner	GBR	American Racing	(Kalex)	35m 25.419s
20	Borja Gomez	SPA	Fantic Racing	(Kalex)	35m 32.852s
21	Izan Guevara	SPA	Asterius GASGAS Aspar M2	(Kalex)	35m 34.349s
22	David Sanchis	SPA	Forward Team	(Forward)	35m 48.103s
23	Soichiro Minamimoto	JPN	Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46	(Kalex)	36m 27.326s
	Sergio Garcia	SPA	Pons Wegow Los40	(Kalex)	DNF
	Marcos Ramirez	SPA	Forward Team	(Forward)	DNF
	Barry Baltus	BEL	Fieten Olie Racing GP	(Kalex)	DNF
	Lorenzo Dalla Porta	ITA	Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team	(Kalex)	DNF
	Lukas Tulovic	GER	Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP	(Kalex)	DNF
	Jake Dixon	GBR	Asterius GASGAS Aspar M2	(Kalex)	DNS