Tag: Ducati

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WorldSBK: Locatelli takes maiden win amid double Bulega retirement

Andrea Locatelli inherited a first WorldSBK victory in Assen after the frighteningly fast Nicolo Bulega suffered mechanical problems in both the Tissot Superpole and Race 2 to leave the championship leader pointless on Sunday at the Pirelli Dutch Round.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE

Rain was falling as expected on Sunday morning at the TT Circuit Assen, with the warmup and Tissot Superpole being a wet affair for the WorldSBK riders.  With the qualifying session on Saturday also setting the grid for the Superpole race, Sam Lowes had a second shot at converting his maiden pole position while Razgatiloglu and Axel Bassani were not affected by any grid penalties unlike in Race 1 yesterday.

As the sun started to break through the clouds by the 11am race start time, Bulega once again shot from second into the race lead ahead of Lowes as he had done in the first race on the previous day.  Lowes fell to ninth by running wide at turn 1 in the tricky conditions, which left Razgatlioglu to chase Bulega for the race lead.

Andrea Iannone did well at the start to jump into third, a place that he eventually lost to his fellow Andrea – Locatelli – who had taken an impressive second place the day before.  Things only got worse for Iannone, who ran wide then later crashed his satellite Go Eleven Ducati bike.

Razgatlioglu made a move on Bulega for the lead at turn 5 on the 2nd lap.  The gap between the top two in the race and the championship ballooned to almost one second by the end of the lap as the BMW rider best adapted to the tricky conditions.

Lowes began to recover from his off at the start and made it back to the podium by the end of the 10-lap affair.  The marcVDS Ducati rider had to try twice on the same lap to get past Alvaro Bautista’s factory bike, and then easily inherited second when Bulega ran wide at turn 1.

As it transpired, Bulega had an issue with his Ducati Panigale V4R that dropped him out of contention.  The results from the top nine in the Tissot Superpole Race determine the starting grid for Race 2, from which the championship leader would have to start from 10th place.

With Razgatlioglu, Lowes and Bautista coming home on the podium, home hero Michael van der Mark tried valiantly to take P4 from Locatelli but came up short.  Scott Redding had a respectable ride to 6th after passing Remy Gardner in the closing stages.

Yari Montella and Tarran McKenzie also did well in the wet to start race 2 from row 3.  With Bulega mired on row 4 and Razgatlioglu taking a chunk of points from his rival with his 12 points for the win, it set up a fascinating final race in the afternoon.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS

Image Credit: WorldSBK

 

RACE 2

With Bulega stuck in 10th place for the start of the 21-lap Sunday afternoon race, his rivals ahead knew that there was a real chance to capitalise on the championship leader coming from so far back.  Razgatlioglu and his BMW team opted to use hard tyres to give himself more grip for the end of the race when the inevitable pace of Bulega would come to haunt him, or at least that was the thinking…

The hard tyres simply never worked for Razgatlioglu as Bulega predictably deployed his superior pace to methodically work his way towards the front of the grid. Once again Sam Lowes had a difficult start from the front row, while Bautista passed Razgatlioglu for the initial lead.

The race developed into a train of the top 7 bikes by about ¼ distance, with Bulega at the back of the pack having risen calmly from 10th.  Locatelli had swooped past Razgatlioglu on the 2nd lap, while Remy Gardner had a thrilling start to run as high as 2nd himself.

As Locatelli and Gardner fought tooth and nail for P2, Razgatlioglu continued to fall down the order.  After Locatelli had finally dealt with Gardner to cement 2nd on lap 7, the Yamaha rider had enough pace to reel in Bautista for the race lead.

Once Locatelli had passed Bautista, Bulega was ready to seize on his teammate and then overtook Locatelli for the lead at the halfway point.  That was the last anyone saw of Bulega until it all went wrong for the second time in one day.

While Bulega stretched his lead the race settled down with Locatelli, Bautista, Gardner, Lowes, Bassani and Razgatlioglu the order.  Then Bulega tragically retired once again with just 2 laps to go after such a stunning ride in Assen that went unrewarded.

Locatelli was left to inherit his first victory in the Superbike World Championship after a record 154 winless attempts.  Meanwhile, a frustrated Razgatlioglu lost a further two spots at the end to Alex Lowes and Iker Lecuona to fall to eighth in a race where he could have taken up to 25 points out of the championship leader.

RACE 2 RESULTS

Image Credit: WorldSBK

Feature Image Credit: Ducati

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WorldSBK: Bulega dominates as chaos reigns behind in Assen Race 1

Nicolo Bulega rode off into the distance in Assen to take a dominant victory in the first race of the weekend.  There was a tragic result for shock  first-time polesitter Sam Lowes while Toprak Razgatlioglu was only fourth despite running as high as second.

Ahead of Race 1 in the Netherlands, 3-place grid penalties were dished out to Razgatlioglu and Axel Bassani.  With his main championship rival demoted to sixth, Bulega knew that if he could ace the start and build a big enough gap out front he would be unchallenged for the win… and this is exactly what transpired.

The pressure that Bulega put onto his rivals by seizing the lead at the start is what may have led to so much chaos behind him.  At the end of the first lap, polesitter Lowes had fallen behind Andrea Locatelli.

There were faster riders stuck in the middle of the top 10 – notably Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista.  Razagatlioglu was busy fending off a charging Bassani on the first lap but by lap 2 he began to move forward from his grid spot of 6th.

By the end of lap 2, the reigning World Champion passed Bautista then moved past Petrucci on the next tour.  This left the factory Ducati of Bautista to engage in a thrilling battle with the satellite bike of Petrucci for fifth.

Once Bautista eventually dealt with the defiant Barni Ducati rider, he seized upon Razgatlioglu’s inability to pass Lowes for third to scythe through on his old rival for fourth.  However, Razgatlioglu got back past them both as they began lap 6 in a brilliant piece of racecraft , then in his haste to make amends Bautista made a clumsy move halfway round the same lap to knock himself and Lowes out of the race.

The crash meant Bautista has eliminated himself from Race 1 at both of the last two rounds and trails his teammate Bulega by almost 80 points after just 7 of 36 races this year.  As for Lowes, his maiden WSBK pole for MarcVDS would perhaps have been rewarded with a podium finish but it was sadly not to be.

While Bulega disappeared into the distance with fastest lap and pace that was sometimes as much as half a second better than Locatelli and the others behind, the focus switched to the battle for second.  Razgatlioglu reeled in his old Yamaha teammate with 13 laps still to go, but instead of eating into Bulega’s near 5 second lead he was unable to keep Locatelli out of striking distance.

As the factory BMW and Yamaha riders duelled for second, Petrucci began to reel them in, while Razgatlioglu’s teammate and home hero Michael van der Mark was fifth. Yari Montella, Bahattin Sofuoglu, Alex Lowes (who rejoined) and Andrea Iannone all crashed out in that order to promote Garrett Gerloff and the Honda duo to 6th, 7th and 8th and all began to catch the second factory BMW rider.

Locatelli moved Razgatlioglu up and out of the way through the hairpin on lap 12 before Petrucci also took the BMW rider two laps later with a great move through the fast chicane at the end of the back straight.  Despite Razgatlioglu getting back past the Italian at turn 1 on the next lap, Petrucci sealed the deal with three laps to go to take the final spot on the podium.

Behind the top four, all hell broke loose in the battle for fifth as van der Mark’s pace disappeared as the race wore on and Lecuona asserted himself as the best of the rest.  As van der Mark and Gerloff fell down the order, the Honda’s battled Bassani, Dominque Aegerter and Remy Gardner as the race reached its climax.

Bassani made it two crashes for the Bimota Kawasaki team with a self-inflicted crash on the final lap, while Lecuona held off his teammate for fifth in a strong result for Honda.  With rain possibly on its way for tomorrow’s Tissot Superpole and Race 2, Lowes, Bautista and Razgatlioglu in particular will all be hoping they can take the fight to Bulega in better circumstances in the remainder of the Pirelli Dutch Round.

Race 1 Results

Image Credit: WorldSBK

Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

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WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu responds to Bulega challenge with treble in Portimao

Toprak Razgatlioglu added victories in the Tissot Superpole and Race 2 in Portimao to become the 2nd rider this season to secure a treble of victories in one round.  However, much like in Race 1 Nicolo Bulega ran him incredibly close after the Turkish rider didn’t do himself any favours with his race starts.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE

As with Race 1 on Saturday, Bulega got the hole shot into turn 1, powering ahead of Razgatlioglu who this time slipped to 3rd.   Danilo Petrucci spent exactly one lap ahead of Razgatlioglu, passing him at the first corner on lap 1 and losing the position at the same spot on lap 2.

On lap 5, Bulega lost the lead to Razgatlioglu at turn 3 in a move that the Turkish rider had visibly been setting up for some time.  Just after the lead changed hands, just outside the top three Bulega’s teammate Alvaro Bautista passed Andrea Locatelli for fourth.

As the 10-lap race entered its second half Bulega tried his best to keep pace with Razgatlioglu as Bautista hunted down Petrucci for 3rd.  The factory Ducati rider passed the satellite one with 2 laps to go, after which there was no time for the two-time World Champion to catch the leaders.

At least Bautista was able to demonstrate the pace that he could not show on Saturday after contact with Scott Redding in Race 1.  Another rider on the back foot from the previous day – Alex Lowes – did a great job to scythe through from the back of the field but could not make it into the top 10 within 10 laps, thus leaving him unable to change his grid position for Race 2.

Meanwhile, behind Locatelli in fifth the other BMW of Michael van der Mark was able to despatch the Honda pair of Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge towards the end.  Despite this, the Japanese manufacturer was enjoying a decent turn of pace, with its recent switch of suspension supplier possibly helping with their upturn in form.

Up front, the only time Bulega looked genuinely threatening against Razgatlioglu in the second half of the race was right at the very end.  Coming through turn 14 and the long turn 15 onto the start-finish straight Bulega rapidly closed on Razgatlioglu but had to change from the outside to the inside as they approached the chequered flag.

The positioning of his BMW on the final blast to the line have secured Razgatlioglu his first Tissot Superpole Race victory of the year by just 0.055 seconds.  Much like Race 1, it was clear that Bulega was capable of taking the fight to Razgatlioglu on the circuit that is notorious for being a favourite of the Turk, and hopes were high for another close tussle in Race 2.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS

Image Credit: WorldSBK

RACE 2

This time around, Razgatlioglu only lost one position from pole by turn 1.  Bulega led from his BMW rival and Aruba.it Racing teammate Bautista.

Locatelli held off Razgatlioglu’s teammate van der Mark for fourth while an entertaining battle for positions six through nine kicked off between Andrea Iannone, Remy Gardner and the Honda duo.  However, this action was thwarted after Iannone received a double long-lap penalty for jumping the start, with the Italian taking the first of these on lap 5.

Shortly after Vierge crashed out, as did Tito Rabat further down the order.  Up front, Bulega continued to lead from Razgatlioglu and they began to put as much as 0.7 seconds a lap between themselves and Bautista who simply had to settle for third best.

The laptimes of the top two as the race edged towards halfway were as quick as the pole position laps from last year, which illustrates both how dominant the two were around the Algarve International Circuit and how much the speed of their respective superbikes increases year-on-year.  Inevitably, as the race reached halfway Razgatlioglu began to close in on his Bulega as he sought to take the treble in Portimao but with 11 laps to go his charge was halted.

Jason O’Halloran (in for the injured Jonathan Rea) went down at turn 1 and was seemingly OK after the impact.  However, his Pata Maxus Yamaha careered into the air fence on the outside of the run-off area and the race was halted with a red flag.

This created opportunities for a couple of riders, most notably Scott Redding and Alex Lowes.  Just before the red flag Redding had trundled into the pits with a technical problem but just made it back onto the grid before the restart after the issue with his MGM Bonovo Ducati was solved, while Lowes finally started a race from a better position this weekend having made his way to 13th by the time of the stoppage.

The WorldSBK stewards announced a quick-restart procedure after the air-fence was inspected and repaired after not too long of a delay, but there was pandemonium at the Team Pata Go Eleven pits.

Iannone had not served his second long-lap penalty, which can be taken with six laps of the punishment being awarded.  His team tried to argue for their rider’s sake and Iannone avoided disqualification the regulations demanded he serve a double ride-through penalty for failing to observe the double long-lap.

Four penalties for jumping the start put paid to Iannone’s race and his gesticulations as he came through the pits shortly after his passing his main independent rival Petrucci clearly demonstrated his frustration with the decision.  After barely accelerating after coming out of the pits, the Italian rider eventually came back in and retired in a slightly selfish move considering that he could have collected some data for his engineers in clear air over the remaining few laps, but his anger got the better of him.

The remaining laps of the restarted race essentially represented a full points-paying event but constrained to the length of a Superpole race.  Razgatlioglu – for the fourth time this weekend – lost out to Bulega on the run to turn 1 and also slipped behind a fast-starting Locatelli who powered through from fourth on the grid.

Naturally Razgatlioglu made short work of Locatelli who – like Petrucci at the first start – stayed ahead of the BMW for precisely one lap.  By the following lap, Razgatlioglu made a sensational move on Bulega into turn 1, forcing his rival to sit up as he went through the apex of the corner as the BMW bulldozed him off his line.

At the same time, Locatelli fell back to fourth after Bautista passed him and quickly resettled into his own comfortable gap between the top two and the Yamaha behind.  There was a brief moment in the following lap where Bulega returned the favour on Razgatlioglu and allowed Bautista to close up, but the two-time WorldSBK title winner had no real answer for his teammate or the reigning champion’s race pace.

Razgatlioglu was back through on lap 15 of 20, after which the lead changed four times over the next three laps.  Further down the order, Tarran MacKenzie and Remy Gardner both crashed out while Axel Bassani engaged in a thrilling battle with Danilo Petrucci for 6th place – the latter securing the position right on the finish line on the final lap.

The fight between the top two remained on a knife-edge until the very end although Razgatlioglu just held on to take his first triple victory of the season after Bulega did so at the 1st round in Phillip Island.  The Ducati rider still holds a comfortable championship lea thanks to three wins and three second places from six races across the first two rounds of 2025 as WorldSBK next heads to Assen in the Netherlands in two weeks’ time.

Razgatlioglu may have felt like World Superbikes had become the ‘Ducati Cup’ after the drubbing he suffered in Australia, but his performance in Portugal reignited his and everyone else’s hope that this will be a tight contest between the BMW rider and the two Aruba Ducati’s this season.  However, Bulega might feel that he lost the battle but is winning the war, given how close he could run his rival on a track that has always been a particularly strong venue for Razgatlioglu.

RACE 2 RESULTS

Image Credit: WorldSBK

Feature Image Credit: BMW

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WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu restarts title defence in Portugal after disastrous Australian opener

After a frustrating start to the defence of his Superbike World Championship title in Phillip Island five weeks ago, Toprak Razgatlioglu broke the lap record in Portimao to secure pole position before scoring a narrow victory over his main rival Nicolo Bulega in race 1.  Although there were not quite as many changes of positions as Razgatlioglu has experienced with Alvaro Bautista in the past, the lead changed hands several times between the BMW and his Ducati nemesis before the Turkish rider crossed the line just 0.067 seconds in front.

Things got off to a bad start for Razgatlioglu as he fell to fifth by the first corner.  A few seconds later, two of his Ducati-powered rivals crashed out as Bautista and Scott Redding came to blows as the field bunched up through turns 3 and 4, with Remy Gardner involved as well but surviving the contact.

There were six teams being represented in the top eight positions after the first lap.  Bulega broke free at the front of the Ducati-dominated pack with Andrea Locatelli in an impressive second for Yamaha and Razgtlioglu on his BMW the only riders from different marques in the front eight.

Razgatlioglu is notoriously strong around the Algarve International Circuit and the Turkish rider began to plot his way back through to the front.  His first victim was Danilo Petrucci who he swooped over the crest to pass around the outside in a sensational move before dispatching Sam Lowes and Locatelli by around one-quarter race distance.

It was not long before the reigning World Champion reeled in Bulega and the two began a 15-lap battle for the win that never looked certain until it was over.   A common theme across the position changes for the lead would be Razgatlioglu leading into turn 14 before Bulega deployed his slightly superior Ducati power through the long turn 15 to blast ahead by turn one on the following lap.

The fight was fairer this time around for Razgatlioglu compared to when he was riding for the slower Yamaha against Bautista’s Ducati before his switch to BMW, with their 2023 battles around the Portimao track living long in the memory of all those blessed to witness it.  However, Razgatlioglu still had to push as hard as he could to defeat a defiant Bulega in the sweltering Portugese Saturday afternoon sunshine.

The Ducati held a 2mph advantage on the BMW and it was at the end of the long straight on lap seven that Bulega first took his lead straight back from Razgatioglu, before Toprak finally cemented the lead for a while after an agressive move at turn 12 on lap 9.

Bulega was back in front briefly with a late move at the end of the start-finish straight on lap 10 but Razgatlioglu was back in front as the circuit tightened into turn 3 and the Ducati ran wide.  However, Bulega made a move stick into turn one once again on lap 14.

This lead for Bulega lasted three laps before Razgatlioglu then finally got the better of the Ducati into turn one.  Then came one last successful retaliation from Bulega with two laps to go before his Turkish rival once again got him back quickly and held onto win by 0.067 across the line at the end of a thrilling 20 laps.

There were just 17 riders who took the chequered flag.  Both of the Lowes brothers crashed out while running strongly with Sam eliminating himself from the top five not long after being moved aside by a charging Razgatlioglu and Alex sliding out of ninth place after a stellar recovery from the back of the grid (after an incident in qualifying) that came to nought.

The TV footage seldom focused on the action further down the grid as the top two stretched their lead on the rest of the pack despite passing and re-passing each other.  Locatelli was thrilled to take his and Yamaha’s first podium of the year – some eight seconds behind the two leaders and just one in front of top independent rider Petrucci.

Seven seconds behind Petrucci in fourth just five seconds then covered the rest of the top ten, with Gardner’s Yamaha being usurped on the run to the finish line by three of his rivals to end up in tenth.  There should be more action to look forward to in tomorrow’s pair of races starting with the 10-lap Superpole, but Bulega will need to pray the BMW on pole messes up the start once again if he is to stand any chance of defeating the rejuvenated Razgatlioglu.

Results from Race 1:
Image Credit: SBK

 

Feature Image Credit: SBK

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MotoGP: Marc Marquez Wins in Argentina for his Second Clean Sweep 

The brothers, who are still best friends, put on a brilliant show for the passionate MotoGP fans in Argentina, who could be heard cheering on their heroes every single lap of the race. They came home for their second 1-2 in a row, on a historic day for MotoGP in Spain.

Marc Marquez has equalled the legendary Angel Neito with his 90th win today. It was a stunning victory as he took his second clean sweep in as many races – he took pole, the sprint win and the race win for a perfect weekend in Argentina. 

Despite the result, it wasn’t quite as easy as he would have liked. His brother, Alex Marquez, led most of the race as he fought hard for his first ever MotoGP win. Alex took the advantage when his brother made an uncharacteristic mistake on lap 4, turn 1, and looked set to take the victory. 

Behind him, Marc was evidently pushing the bike to the limit as he wobbled and bounced each time he tried to make a move. The biggest moment happened on lap 15, at turn 11, when the rear of the Ducati bike stepped out and Marc very nearly went down. He then made a failed attempt for the lead on lap 18. He came from so far back that he was forced to go wide at turn 5, letting off the break to avoid contact. 

Eventually, with 4 laps of the race remaining, Marc got past at turn 4, making it stick into turn 5 and quickly pulling out a 1+ second lead. That didn’t stop the brothers from celebrating in parc ferme, with both singing and dancing with their Ducati and Gresini crews. 

Completing the podium today was Franco Morbidelli on the VR46 machine. He was able to steal this position away from Pecco Bagnaia early in the race and used the soft tyre to his advantage. He reported feeling unwell on Saturday but there was no sign of illness today. 

Morbidelli celebrated so much during the cool down lap that he wasn’t able to get the bike started again and had to be pushed into parc ferme by the track marshalls. Once there, he treated us all to some dance moves as he celebrated his first podium since 2021. 

Whilst he didn’t end on the podium today, it was a brilliant day for rookie rider Ai Ogura. There was a huge battle from 5th to 10th today, with riders jostling for position throughout the race. Shining through all this was Ogura who made brilliant moves to end the day in a solid 8th place.

It was a difficult day for Pecco Bagnaia who wasn’t able to capitalise on some of the early moves he made through the field. He started in 4th but had a great start and was quickly fighting with Alex Marquez for 2nd place. Once down in 4th, he then came under pressure from Johan Zarco on the Honda, but was able to just about hold off the frenchman. 

Speaking after the race, Davide Tardozzi, Ducati team manager, told the media that Bagnaia was suffering with a “small problem on the bike which didn’t give him the right feeling on the left corner[s]”. The Italian rider was clearly disappointed and dejected when he returned to his garage after the race. 

It was an even worse day for the other VR46 rider. Whilst Morbidelli was enjoying a podium, his teammate Marco Bezzecchi went down at turn 1 on lap 1. He let off the throttle to avoid contact with Mordibelli but ended up clipping the back of Fabio Quartararo’s machine. Bezzecchi went down into the kitty litter and Quartararo dropped down to the back of the grid. It was a horrible start for the Yamaha rider after starting the race in a fantastic 7th. 

There was another crash, this time for Enea Bastianini, who’s 2025 season is going from bad to worse. He is already struggling to get comfortable on his new KTM machine but, after contact with Raul Fernandez, he crashed on lap 2. He was able to rejoin the field but could only get as high as 18th today.

RACE RESULT

Image Credit: MotoGP

CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT 

With back to back 1-2 results in the first two sprint and feature races of the 2025 season, the Marquez brothers are still leading the championship fight. Despite his tricky day, Pecco Bagnaia can take comfort that he is still well within this championship fight, sitting in 3rd and just 15 points behind Alex. 

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Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Marc Marquez Wins Thailand Sprint Race

The first race of the 2025 season may not have been the most exciting or dramatic race but it’s the day all us MotoGP fans have been waiting 4 months for. 

He’s the rider everyone has been talking about during the pre-season. He, without a doubt, has the most pressure on him for 2025 as he is many people’s favourite for the championship. Marc Marquez has used that pressure to his advantage to take a dominant Sprint race win in Thailand.

Image Credit: MotoGP

He started the race on pole, led every lap and faced no real competition from any riders behind him. A dream start to his season and first blood in his battle with new team mate Pecco Bagnaia!

Just behind him was his brother, Alex Marquez, as they enjoy their first ever 1-2 race result. After a brilliant pre-season showing and strong qualifying result, Alex was able to bring his Gresini machine home in 2nd place. 

The final podium spot was taken by Pecco Bagnaia, who was visibly quiet during the celebrations. He enjoyed a short battle with Alex Marquez in the opening corners of the race but was unable to improve on 3rd. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Missing out on a podium spot by just less than 1 second was Ai Ogura. The rookie had a phenomenal race, staying with Bagnaia and, at some points, even close in on him and looking hungry for a podium. 

It was a difficult day for Jack Miller, who crashed out of 6th midway through the race, after a brilliant qualifying performance. The KTM Tech3 riders, Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini, who won this race 12 months ago, also struggled and ended the day in 14th and 18th respectively. 

As It Happened

As the lights went out and the race started, both factory Ducati bikes flew off the line. Bagnaia looked ready to take 2nd place but Alex Marquez gave him a good battle and was able to retain 2nd place. Both settled in behind Marc Marqeuz who quickly put clean air between himself and the rest of the grid. 

It was a good start for Ogura who took 4th place away from Jack Miller, who was shuffled down to 6th. 

It was a terrible start for Marco Bezzecchi, who’s bike bounced off the line and left him swallowed by the grid and stuck down in 18th. 

On lap 2, both KTM riders were catching up to Fabio Quartararo, in 7th. Pedro Acosta went wide and had to bail off the racing line. The following lap, Acosta got past his team mate Brad Binder at the inside of turn 4. 

He was then chasing down Quartararo for another few laps until, on lap 7, Acosta was finally able to get ahead. Acosta put the Yamaha rider under so much pressure that he forced him to make mistakes, which he then took full advantage of. 

One lap earlier, Jack Miller crashed out from 6th place, meaning Acosta was now up to 6th. 

By now, Marc Marquez has a comfortable 1.2 second lead ahead of Alex Marquez who, in turn, was 1.3 seconds ahead of Bagnaia. 

As things quietened down for the front half of the grid, there was a huge battle from 10th onwards. Johann Zarco, Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Fermin Aldeguer and Marco Bezzecchi were battling hard.

At turn 5, lap 11, Di Giannantonio went wide and was looking down at his bike. He bailed off the racing line and eventually retired the bike with a mechanical issue, taking him out of the battle. 

Top Ten

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MotoGP: Marc Marquez Claims First Pole of 2025 in Thailand

MotoGP is back and the grid are in Buriram, Thailand, for the first race of the season. The three riders who appeared to be the “ones to beat” during pre-season testing have claimed the front row after qualifying today. 

Marc Marquez has started his factory Ducati career in the best way possible, taking pole position today. He kept his coll despite the rising temperatures, topping the timing sheets at the start of the session and remaining there throughout.

It was an odd Q2 session with two crashes in the final few minutes – the result yellow flags ruined all three fo Marc Marquez’s final runs but that didn’t matter. With others unable to improve on their times, he stayed safely at the top of the timings.

He lines up alongside his brother, Alex, giving us a Marquez 1-2 on the starting grid for the first time! Alex Marquez is clearly enjoying riding his new Gresini, setting a time  just 0.146s behind Marc. 

Just 0.027s behind Alex is Pecco Bagnaia, who had to come through Qualifying 1 to take 3rd place today. Bagnaia is forced to run in Q1 after a series of bad luck in free practice. He was impeded by Franco Morbidelli who was cruising at half speed on the racing line and then hit with a yellow flag that was shown by the stewards by mistake. They apologised to Bagnaia but weren’t able to reinstate his flying lap time. 

Impressively, Jack Miller and Ai Ogura will line up 4th and 5th. Miller has told media in the lead up to this weekend that he is really enjoying his new Prima Pramac machine and is jelling well with the Yamaha engine. Ogura, the 2024 Moto2 champion, is already showing his speed for his first ever MotoGP race weekend. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Qualifying 1:

As the first flying laps were completed, Baganaia went straight to the top, where he stayed for the rest of the session. DiGiannantonio was the first to take the second progression spot, but was bested by Jack Miller. 

As riders came out for their second run, Bagnaia made the bold decision to stay in the garage, presumably to save tires for the Sprint race later today. 

With two minutes of the session left, it started to look like Baganaia had made a mistake as everyone began setting flying first sector times. As Bagnaia took his helmet off, Miguel Oliveira popped up into 2nd place and the Ducati team began looking very nervous. 

The checkered flag fell and Jack Miller set a stonking lap, just 0.006s behind Bagnaia. He crossed the line and celebrated by slapping the tank of his bike and treating the fans to a a wheelie down the straight. 

Other riders were unable to improve and this left Bagnaia and Miller as the advancing pair. 

Qualifying 2:

In this second session, with track temperatures now up to a blistering 50°C, Pecco Bagnaia was the first to hit the top of the timing sheets, with a 1:29.259. However, given times we saw in free practice, he would need to improve if he wanted a front row spot. As if to prove this point, he was quickly bestest by both Marquez brothers. Alex was the first to take provisional pole, only to be shuffled down by his older brother, Marc, who set a 1:28.782.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, rookie Ai Ogura set a very impressive 1:29.134 to take provisional 3rd. His Trackhouse Aprilia is sporting a new, very classic, Gulf livery this weekend. 

As the riders start their second runs, Miller was following Bagnaia and using him as a marker. He set an identical sector 1 time to Marc Marquez and eventually ended up leaping from 12th to 4th – a phenomenal result for the improving Yamaha. 

Marc Marquez made a mistake on his next run, going wide at turn 8. This leaves him need to start over but, as he does so, Marco Bezzecchi goes down at turn 3 and the resulting yellow flag sees Marquez bail out of another fast run. The front of Bezzecchi’s Aprilia folds under him as he enters turn 3, forcing him to settle for 9th.

With just 1 and a half minutes left of the session, exactly the same thing happens again. This time, Joan Mir goes down on the exit of turn 3, while trying to force his HRC Honda back on to the racing line. Another yellow flag catches Marc Marquez and, this time, also his brother Alex. 

With tyres now losing performance, neither Marquez brother can improve their times on their last flying lap. In fact, the only riders to improve at Fabio Quartararo, going up to 10th, and Pedro Acosta, going up to 7th. 

Results: 

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Jorge Martin is the 2024 World Champion

It may have been the most boring race of the season, but #TheRematch has delivered an emotional, stressful and ultimately hugely enjoyable final weekend of the 2024 MotoGP season.

For the first time in MotoGP’s history, a satellite rider has won the championship. Jorge Martin only needed a 9th place finish today to seal the title but he took a comfortable podium to round out his season in style.

He started 4th on the grid, kept his nose clean at the start and spent the rest of the race in 3rd. Whilst there were battles further behind him, Martin had a lonely race and only needed to keep the bike upright to take the championship. He crossed the line in tears and quickly retreated to the celebration area where he appeared in his new Martinator leathers.

It was a difficult day for peerless Pecco Bagnaia. There was nothing more the Italian could have done this weekend – he took pole and a sprint win on Saturday before leading every single lap of the feature race today. Ultimately, it was mistakes earlier in the season that left him stuck with 2nd in the championship.

Despite the close title race, it was Marc Marquez who was Bagnaia’s closest rival today. He has had a very difficult weekend and has himself said that he was struggling with the track surface and challenges that the Barcelona circuit throws up. But he was able to stay close on the tail of his future team mate, and was typically within 1 second of Bagnaia for the entire race today.

Image Credit: MotoGP on X

Behind the podium finishers, there was a hot battle for “best of the race” in today’s race. Firstly, we had Alex Marquez and Aleix Espargaro battling hard for 4th place. It was Marquez who came out on top, rounding out a fantastic weekend of blistering form for him.

Just behind them was another battle between Brad Binder, Franco Morbidelli and Pedro Acosta. As Acosta dropped back towards the end of the race, Marco Bezzecchi was also drawn into the battle. After plenty of dicing and lots of on-track fun, this group finished the day with Binder in 6th, Enea Bastianini in 7th and Morbidelli in 8th. Bezzecchi and Acosta then rounded out the top 10, in 9th and 10th respectively.

It was a tricky day for Bastianini – he started the day in battle with Aleix Espargaro for 4th, but drifted back as the race progressed.
Espargaro is an incredibly close friend of Jorge Martin and he spent his last MotoGP race clearly acting as his ally out on track today. Firstly, he was fending off Bastianini and then Alex Marquez.

Our only non-finishing rider today was Joan Mir who ended the day in the same way he has most races this weekend – in the gravel. He will be eager to put 2024 behind him and start fresh when testing kicks off later this week.

TOP TEN
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025

Believe it or not, the paddock is already making plans for the 2025 season – we will give Jorge Martin some time to celebrate his title but testing begins bright and early on Tuesday morning.

This will be our first time to see riders on their new machines. Martin will take his #1 plate to Aprilia, Marc Marquez will be on the factory Ducati and our new rookies, Ai Ogura, Fermin Aldeguer and Somkiat Chantra, will also be on their new premier class machines.

Crew On Two will have all the updates for you so stay tuned.

See you in 2025!

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP on X

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MotoGP: Bagnaia Wins Barcelona Sprint – #TheRematch Goes To Sunday! 

Pecco Bagnaia has mastered the tricky conditions in Barcelona today, taking a brilliant sprint race win to keep his championship hopes alive. He was joined on the podium by his teammate, Enea Bastianini, and championship leader, Jorge Martin. 

MotoGP has called this weekend the “rematch” weekend and it’s certainly shaping up to a dramatic end to a dramatic season. Coming into this weekend, Jorge Martin was leading the championship by 24 points – comfortable, but by no means done and dusted for the Spaniard. That meant that Martin just needed to win today’s sprint race in order to seal the title. 

However, it was his closest rival who took the victory today. Pecco Bagnaia took a dominant and convincing win, with no one able to come close to him at all in the race. He was totally at one with his machine all day today, taking pole position and then leading for most of the race. 

Image Credit: MotoGP on X

His Ducati teammate, Enea Bastianini, came home in 2nd. He had an amazing start, leaping from 8th to 1st in just one corner. He then had an 8-lap long battle with Martin for 2nd place, before drifting back in the pack during the middle of the race. In typical Bastianini fashion, he came back strong in the latter stages of the race and enjoyed another nail-biting battle with Martin before finally taking 2nd. The Ducati team were elated with a 1-2 finish today. 

Martin has been struggling all weekend, complaining about rear grip and a lack of confidence in the front of the bike. He was therefore thrilled to take 3rd place, despite not being able to win the title today.

Aleix Espargaro, on his final weekend as a MotoGP rider, finished in 4th. He enjoyed a brilliant qualifying session earlier today, stating that this track is his “favourite”, which saw him start on the front row of the grid. 

Alex Marquez finished in 5th – a brilliant result for him after a weekend of equally brilliant form. The top ten was then rounded out by Franco Morbidelli, Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Brad Binder and Fabio Quartararo in 6th to 10th respectively. 

There was just one retirement in the race today – our only rookie, Pedro Acosta, made contact with Marc Marquez on lap 1 which saw the front fairing of his GASGAS Tech3 bike ripped off. He sadly wasn’t able to continue on his “naked” bike and soon retired to the pits. 

Top 10
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
Championship Standings
Image Credit: MotoGP on X

 

Feature Image Credit: Pecco Bagnaia on X

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MotoGP: Bagnaia Takes The Double In Japan

Pecco Bagnaia has added to Saturday’s sprint race victory with a second win on Sunday. He was joined on the podium by championship leader, Jorge Martin, and his future 2025 teammate, Marc Marquez. 

In the history of MotoGP, only 4 riders have won more than 8 races in a single season. Today, Pecco Bagnia became the 5th rider to join that list. He took a dominant win, heading into the lead on lap 1 and not looking back from there. 

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Italian though – he faced pressure in the late stages of the race from Jorge Martin who surged his way up through the grid and eventually ended the day in 2nd. 

Rounding out the podium places was Marc Marquez, who mostly enjoyed a quiet race once he had made his way up to 3rd.

Image Credit: MotoGP on X

As the race started, we had Pedro Acosta on pole for the first time in his MotoGP career. He was quickly bested by Bagnaia who had the better line in to the first corner and was able to take the lead away from the rookie. 

The first lap was full of drama, which included a scuffle between Maverick Vinales, Franco Morbidelli and Jorge Martin, in which Vinales was forced to sit up and let off the throttle to avoid an incident. Towards the end of lap 1, Enea Bastianini made a late move on Brad Binder to take 3rd – however, this move forced both riders off the ideal racing line. Martin saw the door open in front of him and makes a brilliant move up the inside of the turn 10 hairpin. This move sees him get pasta both Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini, jumping from 6th to 4th. Binder is the biggest winner in the battle, and is able to retain 3rd.

One corner later, the drama continues as Jack Miller makes a similar move with a similar outcome. He forces his KTM machine up the inside of turn 11 and overtakes Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini to take 5th place. Even more impressive is that Miller started the race in 14th and made up 9 places in just one lap. 

Again, one corner later, we have our first crash of the race as Joan Mir and Alex Marquez go down at turns 12 and 13. In a very odd crash, Maquez’s bike got caught in Mir’s rear wheel. Despite staying upright, dragging the extra Gresini machine behind him eventually sends Mir down and the pair retired from the race. After the race, Marquez was deemed to blame for the incident and was handed a long lap penalty ready for the next race in Australia. 

Lap 4 saw our second crash of the race as polesitter Acosta went down at turn 14. It appears that he took too much kerb on the inside of the corner before the bike just slid out from under her on the exit of the corner. 

At the same time as Acosta’s early exit from the race, Martin continued to fight his way up through the field. He had now made his way past Binder and was in to 2nd place, with only title rival Bagnaia ahead. 

One lap later, Binder lost another place. This time, it was Marquez who made his way through to take 3rd place.

It was a difficult race for Vinales – after starting on the front row, he was quickly swallowed by a first lap incident and kept heading backwards from there. Whilst battling with his teammate, Aleix Espargaro, for 10th place, he crashed out on lap 12.

Just as the race seemed to be calming down, the rain began to fall. On lap 10, the white flag was flown which indicated that the riders could now head to the pits and swap their bikes if they wished. None chose to do so and the rain appeared to be light enough for them to contend with on dry tires.

After a hot battle that lasted a number of laps, Bastianini was finally able to find a way past Binder. The pair had been dicing and overtaking each other before Bastianini made a move that stuck to claim 4th. 

Binder was then in the clutches of Morbidelli, in 6th, who is enjoying a recent up turn in form. The battle would continue for the rest of the race, with Morbidelli eventually coming out on top. 

The race then settled down again and gaps grew between the riders. By lap 16, Bagnaia had a 1.5 second lead over Martin, who himself was a comfortable 4.4 seconds ahead of Marquez. Bastanini was the fastest rider on the track and catching Marquez quickly – he had reduced the gap down to 0.8 seconds and was desperate to find a way past.

Whilst Martin did attempt a late-race surge for the lead, he wasn’t able to get the gap to smaller than 0.7 seconds and, eventually, crossed the link 1.1 seconds behind Bagnaia.

For his last home race, Takaaki Nakagami was thrilled to bring home points as he crossed the line in 13th. He was welcomed back into the garage with an enormous cheer from his team.

RACE RESULTS
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Image Credit: MotoGP on X

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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