Tag: Francesco Bagnaia

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MotoGP: Pecco Takes the Win in Catalunya

Francesco Bagnaia wins the Catalan GP ahead of championship leader Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez. Yesterday’s birthday boy Pedro Acosta crashed out when fighting for the lead of the race.

All riders started the race on the medium tyres on the front and rear except for Acosta, M. Marquez and Jack Miller who made the decision to run a medium front tyre and a soft rear tyre. Rear tyre degradation was a large factor in races earlier in the day so the choice for a soft rear was an unexpected one.

Bagnaia had a great start from the front row, but Brad Binder also started well and was making moves around the outside of the track to gain some places. Alex Rins ran wide and accidentally took the long lap loop and fell to the rear of the field.

Acosta and Bagnaia started to break away from the rest of the field but further behind them, Martin made a huge lunge to get past Binder for third place to attempt to catch up with the leaders.

Miller ran deep at turn one on lap two and lost a spot to Raul Fernandez. Acosta kept close to the rear of Bagnaia and looked at making a move at turn ten but wasn’t able to make the move. Acosta continued to stay on the back of Bagnaia’s bike but struggled to find a way past on lap two.

On the third lap, Acosta made the move at turn ten but ran wide so that Bagnaia was able to cut back. At the same corner, Miller crashed.

Martin caught up the leading two riders and passed his countryman Acosta into turn 10 and on lap five, Binder also looked at making the same move on the rookie but was unable to do so. Martin made an impressive move to get past Bagnaia to lead the race.

On lap six, Augusto Fernandez crashed at turn ten.

Again, the front two started to break away from the rest of the field and Acosta set the fastest lap.

Aleix Espargaro, yesterday’s sprint winner, made his way past Binder on lap 11 across the start finish straight and R. Fernandez barged his way past the South African rider at turn one too.

After setting some fast laps, Acosta crashed out the race at turn 10. The champagne was on hold for the rookie rider as he looked to take his first win in MotoGP.

Marquez was able to pass Binder on lap twelve at turn seven as he continued his charge up the field after starting in fourteenth place.

Enea Bastianini received a long lap penalty for taking a short cut at turn two and then he received a double long lap penalty for not taking the initial penalty. He did not take the double long lap penalty and then received a 32 second penalty which was applied at the end of the race.

Martin continued to lead the race, but Bagnaia started to close the gap to the leader. The Italian rider made the move to take the lead on lap 19 at turn 5. Pecco slammed on the brakes to not allow Martin back through. The leading pair had over an eight second lead over the third-place rider Espargaro.

But Espargaro didn’t hold third position for much longer as M. Marquez made the move on him down the start finish straight on the following lap.

The final laps of the race were drama free which allowed Pecco to cross the line in first place ahead of fellow Ducati riders Martin and M. Marquez.  After yesterday’s heroics, Aleix Espargaro was only able to manage fourth place ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio. Raul Fernandez finished the race in sixth place ahead of Alex Marquez, Brad Binder, Fabio Quartararo and Miguel Olivera.

Feature Image Credit : Motorsport Images/Gold and Goose

2024 MotoGP Catalunya, Barcelona – Race Results
Pos Rider Nat Team Time/Diff
1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP24) 40m 11.726s
2 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP24) +1.740s
3 Marc Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP23) +10.491s
4 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) +10.543s
5 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA VR46 Ducati (GP23) +15.441s
6 Raul Fernandez SPA Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP23) +15.916s
7 Alex Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP23) +16.882s
8 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +18.578s
9 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +20.477s
10 Miguel Oliveira POR Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP24) +20.889s
11 Marco Bezzecchi ITA VR46 Ducati (GP23) +21.023s
12 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) +22.137s
13 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16) +31.967s
14 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +32.987s
15 Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +33.132s
16 Johann Zarco FRA LCR Honda (RC213V) +34.554s
17 Luca Marini ITA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +36.689s
18 Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP24) +50.615s
19 Stefan Bradl GER HRC Test Team (RC213V) +55.295s
20 Alex Rins SPA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +63.428s
  Franco Morbidelli ITA Pramac Ducati (GP24) DNF
  Augusto Fernandez SPA Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16) DNF
  Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) DNF

 

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MotoGP: Martin Takes Third Win in a Row

Jorge Martin took his fourth sprint race victory at the inaugural Indian GP at the Buddh International Circuit after a chaotic first lap. He was joined on the sprint race podium by Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez.

Martin got a brilliant start when the lights went out and immediately took the lead from pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian rider cut across in front of his teammate Luca Marini and they were both involved in a crash, where the front wheel of Marini and the rear wheel of Bezzecchi made contact.

Marini went down and was taken to the medical centre where he was declared unfit due to a collarbone fracture.

Pol Espargaro, Stefan Bradl and Raul Fernandez were also involved in a turn one incident and Fernandez was the only rider to continue.

Jack Miller also had a good start gaining eight positions on lap one after a poor qualifying session this morning. His KTM teammate, Brad Binder, also improved on his starting position on the first lap by making his way to fifth place.

Marquez got past his Repsol Honda teammate Joan Mir on the second lap and looked incredibly strong on the laps that followed. Unfortunately, Mir lost various places on the fourth lap and then crashed at turn three, ultimately retiring there.

Martin continued to extend his lead at the front of the field to 1.8s by the fifth lap, but there was a charger coming through the field and that was the pole sitter.

Bezzecchi was tenth on the fifth lap and continued to set fastest laps and pass riders who were in his way. And he wasn’t stopping at tenth place.

Johann Zarco had a wobble on lap six and crashed at turn three but was able to rejoin the circuit.

Binder was looking at making a move on Marquez for the final place on the podium. The South African rider was looking for an opportunity to get past Marquez at all the corners on the track.

The gap at the front was extended to two seconds on lap seven and barring any mistakes, it looked as though Martin was on track for another sprint race win.

Polesitter Bezzecchi was able to get past Miller for sixth place on the following lap at turn twelve and then Aleix Espargaro crashed at turn thirteen on the same lap, causing a yellow flag.

But Bezzecchi still wasn’t done with the overtakes as he got past Fabio Quartararo for fifth place on the final lap.

Jorge Martin crossed the finish line with a 1.389s lead from championship leader Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez rounded out the sprint podium. Binder finished just behind Marquez in fourth place and the charging Bezzecchi finished fifth. Quartararo had a positive Saturday in India, finishing in sixth place. The top ten was rounded out by Miller, Maverick Vinales, Raul Fernandez and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Feature Image Credit: @88jorgemartin on X (formerly Twitter)

2023 INDIAN MOTOGP, BUDDH INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT – SPRINT RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF
1 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP23) 19m 18.836s
2 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) +1.389s
3 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +2.405s
4 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +2.904s
5 Marco Bezzecchi ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) +3.266s
6 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +4.327s
7 Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) +7.172s
8 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +8.798s
9 Raul Fernandez SPA RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +10.530s
10 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +10.826s
11 Augusto Fernandez SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) +11.456s
12 Miguel Oliveira POR RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +15.415s
13 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +17.437s
14 Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) +23.714s
15 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +36.468s
  Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) DNF
  Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP23) DNF
  Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) DNF
  Luca Marini ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
  Pol Espargaro SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) DNF
  Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF

 

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MotoGP: Marvellous Martin takes Second Double

Jorge Martin does the double for the second time this season after winning both the Sprint and Main Race in the same weekend. He was joined on the podium by Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia who suffered a horrific crash last weekend in Barceona.

Martin got a great start from pole position and led from the front into the first corner. Bagnaia dropped down behind Bezzecchi off the start, but the factory Ducati rider was able to get past his compatriot around the outside of turn two.

The Italian pair kept close behind Martin during the first lap and Bagnaia had a look into the final corner of the first lap and second corner of the second lap but was unable to get past.

Brad Binder made his way past wildcard rider Dani Pedrosa on the second rider and the South African was also the fastest rider on the grid towards the start of the race and was even faster than the Ducati’s ahead of him on the track.

Bezzecchi was able to get past Bagnaia once again on lap six. The Mooney VR46 Ducati rider ran wide and was unable to keep the position.

The front four riders began to break away from Pedrosa and Bagnaia continued to trail the rear wheel of Martin, putting pressure on the Spaniard.

On lap 8, Binder crashed out of fourth place at turn fourteen, leaving the leading group being Martin, Bezzecchi and Bagnaia.

Two laps later, another KTM rider went out, this time Jack Miller after being involved in an incident with Michele Pirro. Fabio Di Giannantonio also got caught up in this incident but was able to continue following this.

Joan Mir crashed at turn four on lap 11 and Pol Espargaro crashed at turn one on lap 16. That crash was the Tech3 GASGAS riders fifth crash of the weekend.

By lap 17, Martin had begun to break away from the leading group and slowly extended his lead at the front. However, the Spaniard was given a track limits warning, meaning that if he exceeded them once more, he would need to take a long lap penalty. This would have dropped him out of the lead, so he made sure not to go over the white lines.

Marc Marquez had a relatively quiet race but on lap 17, he started using Maverick Vinales as a marker around the track, looking for a chance to try and overtake the Aprilia Racing rider.

Bagnaia was visibly struggling on the bike and on lap 19, Bezzechi passed him and Pedrosa gained 0.7s to him on the same lap. Pedrosa would have hoped to have found an opening to pass the Italian but was unable to.

Martin increased his gap to Bezzechi to 2.335s on lap 21 and this was the largest gap during the race because the Italian rider started setting faster lap times.

Miguel Olivera was able to pass M. Marquez at turn 8 on lap 22. On the same lap, Bagnaia ran wide at turn fourteen and Pedrosa closed the gap once more.

The battle for seventh place started well before lap 25 but M. Marquez had to block Raul Fernandez and Luca Marini continuously. Marini did get past on the final lap but at the end of the race, M. Marquez had regained seventh.

Jorge Martin stood on the top step of the podium for the second time of the season during the main race and closed the championship lead that third placed rider Francesco Bagnaia had over him. Third in the championship, Marco Bezzecchi also brought home a good haul of points for the Mooney VR46 Ducati team finishing the race in second.

Wildcard rider Pedrosa was the highest placed KTM rider in third followed by Vinales and Olivera, both on Aprilia’s. M. Marquez finished in seventh place followed by Raul Fernandez, Luca Marini, and Johann Zarco.

The final points positions were filled by Alex Marquez, Aleix Espargaro, Fabio Quartararo, Brad Binder and Franco Morbidelli.

Feature Image Credit: Jorge Martin (@88jorgemartin) on X (formerly Twitter)

2023 SAN MARINO MOTOGP, MISANO – RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF
1 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP23) 41m 33.421s
2 Marco Bezzecchi ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) +1.350s
3 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) +3.812s
4 Dani Pedrosa SPA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +4.481s
5 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +10.510s
6 Miguel Oliveira POR RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +12.274s
7 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +13.576s
8 Raul Fernandez SPA RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +14.091s
9 Luca Marini ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) +14.982s
10 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +15.484s
11 Alex Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +15.702s
12 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +15.878s
13 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +15.898s
14 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +23.778s
15 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +24.579s
16 Augusto Fernandez SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* +31.230s
17 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +32.537s
18 Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda (RC213V) +35.330s
19 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +43.601s
  Pol Espargaro SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) DNF
  Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) DNF
  Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) DNF
  Michele Pirro ITA Aruba.it Ducati (GP23) DNF

 

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MotoGP: Spectacular Bagnia Wins Sprint Again

Pecco Bagnaia wins the Austrian GP Sprint race by just over two seconds ahead of Brad Binder and Jorge Martin.

After qualifying on pole position this morning, Bagnaia was able to have a great start from the best position on the grid. Alongside him was Maverick Vinales who struggled with the start and dropped down the order. From third place, Binder jumped up into second place and started chasing down the Italian rider.

After the first corner, Jack Miller was also able to capitalise on the poor start from Vinales and improved to third place.

As the riders came to take the first corner, Martin took the inside line and had contact with Fabio Quartararo who in turn touched Vinales. The Aprilia rider then had contact with Marco Bezzechi who had to retire on the next lap. Other riders that were involved in the incident were Miguel Olivera, Johan Zarco and Enea Bastianini.

Following this incident, Quartararo dropped down to twentieth position and Vinales brought up the rear of the field.

Binder continued to show his pace as he caught up to Bagnaia quickly and began to look for places on the track pass the Italian rider. Both Bagnaia and Binder began to break away from Miller in third place and by the end of the first lap, they had a one second lead over the Australian rider.

Martin was handed a track limits warning during the second lap, one of those was likely to be from the lap one turn one incident.

Nakagami crashed on the second lap and was unable to continue with the race.

Bagnaia started setting fastest lap after fastest lap and started to move ahead of Binder, leaving him about a second behind the leader.

Luca Marini caught up to Miller and started to see where the KTM rider was struggling around the circuit. As these two fought, Martin was able to catch the pair too.

Marini was able to pass Miller on the start finish straight on lap 6 and Martin was also attempting to get past too however it would be made easy for the Pramac rider when Miller ran wide at turn three. On the next lap, Martin attacked Marini into the chicane, but they touched each other, causing the Italian rider to crash out. The incident was investigated, but no action was taken.

On the ninth lap, Quartararo was given a long lap penalty for irresponsible riding. This incident occurred a few laps prior and was when he went to overtake Lorenzo Salvadori, the pair touched causing the Aprilia rider to crash out.

Quartararo took the long lap penalty on the twelfth lap and dropped down the order and was unable to make much progress due to there only being two laps left.

Zarco had to retire the bike on the penultimate lap after being involved in the first lap incident.

Brad Binder chasing down Pecco Bagnaia at the 2023 Austrian GP Sprint race. Image courtesy of KTM/Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)

Bagnaia took the chequered flag 2.056 seconds ahead of Binder who in turn was 5.045 seconds ahead of Jorge Martin. Alex Marquez took fourth place after overtaking Miller. Pol Espargaro led his brother Aleix over the line to take sixth and seventh place respectively.

Vinales was able to improve to eighth place after being in last place at the end of the first lap. Franco Morbidelli and Marc Marquez rounded out the top ten

Fabio Di Giannatonio, Joan Mir and Bastianini occupied the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth places. Raul Fernandez, Fabio Quartararo, Iker Lecuona and Augusto Fernandez completed the riders who finished the race.

2023 AUSTRIAN MOTOGP, RED BULL RING – SPRINT RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF
1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) 21m 1.844s
2 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +2.056s
3 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +5.045s
4 Alex Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +8.252s
5 Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) +11.365s
6 Pol Espargaro SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) +11.816s
7 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +11.960s
8 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +11.984s
9 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +13.634s
10 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +14.435s
11 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +15.251s
12 Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +16.740s
13 Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) +18.825s
14 Raul Fernandez SPA RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +19.536s
15 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +22.321s
16 Iker Lecuona SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +25.593s
17 Augusto Fernandez SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* +25.789s
  Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP23) DNF
  Luca Marini ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
  Lorenzo Savadori ITA Aprilia Factory (RS-GP23) DNF
  Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF
  Marco Bezzecchi ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
  Miguel Oliveira POR RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) DNF

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

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MotoGP: Alex Marquez Claims Maiden Pole in Argentina

Alex Marquez battled his way through a rainy Q1 session, a crash and a burning bike to claim his maiden MotoGP pole at the Argentinian GP. He will be joined on the front row by Marco Bezzecchi and Pecco Bagnaia – it was the riders who made the brave move to use slicks tires on a drying track that came out on top.

Alex Marquez has made his way through all the barriers that Saturday could throw at him to secure himself pole position for the Sprint and Feature race at this weekend’s Argentinian GP. He came through a wet qualifying session, in which he crashed in the final minutes and then pulled off the track with a bike in flames, to lay down a stunning time of 1:43.881.

Just 0.172s behind him was last weekend’s podium sitter, Marco Bezzecchi on the Mooney VR46 machine. He has clearly capitalised on the momentum he found in the first race of the season.

Just behind them was reigning champion and championship leader, Pecco Bagnaia. He took his time warming up in the session but seemed to come alive during his final flying lap. He was also the first of a series of brave riders to try slick tires on the drying track.

It was a good day for Franco Morbidelli and Maverick Vinales who will line up on the grid in 4th and 5th respectively. Just behind them with be Johann Zarco in 6th, who many tipped for a pole position today, and Luca Marini in 7th. Rounding out the top 10 are Jorge Martin, Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo.

Image Credit: MotoGP
QUALIFYING 1

There were some big names in Qualifying 1 today – a session that saw rain falling for most of the 15 minutes. Those names included Fabio Quatararo, Jack Miller, Brad Binder and Alex Marquez. The first sessions started with a mistake from Quartararo as he went too deep in to turn 5 and ploughed into the kitty litter at quite some speed. Despite the mistake, Quartararo spent most of the session at the top of the timing sheets, having laid down a time of 1:47.397 with 9 minutes remaining on the clock.

Marquez then took over at the top with 3 and a half minutes remaining. With lots of other riders improving in the dying minutes of the session, including Fabio Di Giannantonio and Joan Mir, Quartararo’s progression to Q2 was looking uncertain. Miller took a riskier approach, only giving him one opportunity for a flying lap. That approach didn’t seem to work for the Aussie who was stuck in 5th, only to be demoted to 6th after Binder took 5th from him.

As the session ended, it was Alex Marquez and Quartararo in 1st and 2nd respectively and both were promoted to the Q2 session.

QUALIFYING 2

As Q2 started, the conditions were improving and the track was drying quickly. Despite that, the pack started on wet tires and all were quickly on the track to try and test out the conditions. As everyone completed their first flying laps, Johann Zarco was the first to take provisional pole, just ahead of the two Yamaha riders with Franco Morbidelli in 2nd and Quartararo in 3rd. Championship leader, Bagnaia, had a slow start to the session with his first flying lap leaving him in 8th.

With 6 minutes left on the clock, all the riders headed back to the pits with a few brave riders then opting that the track was ready slick tires. Of these riders was Bagnaia who was the first to explore the track conditions on slick tires – the bike kept twitching and wobbling underneath him and it looked like he had made the leap just a little too soon.

But the lap times started to tumble as the conditions improved and, as the chequered flag fell, it was those on slick tires who topped the timing sheets. Bravery paid off!

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati set to continue together in the 2023 & 2024 MotoGP Seasons

Ducati have announced that Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati Corse have reached an agreement that will see the Italian rider aboard the Ducati Lenovo Team’s factory Desmosedici GP bike for another two seasons. Here’s what they have to say:

Francesco Bagnaia. Picture courtesy of Ducati Lenovo Team

Born in Turin in 1997, “Pecco” Bagnaia made his MotoGP debut in 2019 with the Desmosedici GP of the Pramac Racing Team. He also contested the 2020 season with the same squad, achieving his first podium at the Grand Prix Lenovo of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera, where he finished second on the rostrum.Promoted to the official Ducati team last year, the Turin-born rider continued to shine after taking pole position and finishing third place in the opening GP of the 2021 season in Qatar and soon became one of the main title contenders. With nine podiums, four victories and six pole positions, Bagnaia ended 2021 in second place and is now looking forward to the new Championship, which will start on 6th March at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar.Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team)“Being a Ducati rider in MotoGP has always been my dream, and knowing that I can continue with the Ducati Lenovo Team for another two seasons makes me happy and proud. I have found a serene environment in the factory team: I feel very much in tune with my team and know that we can do great things together. Now I can only concentrate on doing well in this Championship. A big thank you to Claudio, Gigi, Paolo, Davide and all the Ducati Corse staff. I’ll try to repay their trust with my results on the track!”

Francesco Bagnaia and Luigi Dall’Igna. Picture courtesy of Ducati Lenovo Team

Luigi Dall’Igna (General Manager of Ducati Corse):“We are delighted to have Bagnaia with us for another two seasons. Since he arrived at Ducati in 2019, Pecco has shown great talent and the ability to interpret our Desmosedici GP very well, adapting to ride it in any condition. He did it, especially in the last season, during which he had significant growth and got to play for the World Title. The way he managed the races at Aragón, Misano, Portimão and Valencia, scoring four fantastic victories, is proof of his maturity as a rider. With these great qualities, we are sure that he has the potential to aim for the title with us”.

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Quartararo remains cautious, Bagnaia going for the win in Misano

Quartararo

The two championship rivals, Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia, have both gave differing opinions on how they will approach this weekend.

Heading into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Quartararo holds a 52-point lead in the Riders’ Standings.

With just two rounds remaining after this weekend, which means just 50 more points will be up for grabs, this is the first ‘match point’ the Frenchman has at claiming the title.

Fabio Quartararo, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

But the Yamaha rider has said his mindset has changed since his second place result last time out in Austin and will be smart about how he rides this weekend.

“Austin was really tough but rewarding,” he said in a Yamaha press release.

“That second place was great for the championship, especially because we only have three GPs left.

“For this final part of the competition my mindset has changed a little. The last time we were in Misano, I was racing for the win and not thinking about the championship at all.

“Of course I will still do my best as always to get the best result possible this weekend, because that’s what I enjoy most, but I will try to be smart about it.”

When the MotoGP paddock headed to Misano just over a month ago for Round 14, Quartararo was beaten to the line by championship rival Pecco Bagnaia.

The Italian rider will need to be on the same form this weekend if he is to have any chance of winning this year’s championship.

The aim of the VR|46 Academy is to produce a premier class champion. Francesco Bagnaia Credit: Ducati Corse

Bagnaia has said the objective is clear this weekend, to win the race and keep the fight going to Portimao.

“To be back racing at Misano after the stunning victory that I took here in front of my home crowd a month ago is definitely very exciting,” he said.

“That weekend everything was perfect, and the two days of post-race testing were very positive for us. Nevertheless, we have to stay focused: our rivals will come to this Grand Prix much better prepared, and the track conditions will be different, with lower track temperatures than a month ago.

“It will be essential to work well from the first sessions. The objective will be to fight for the win and keep the Championship open until the end.”

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Mugello Masterclass

Qualifying:

What a difference two weekends make! Not very far away from the LeMans track there wasn’t a rain cloud in sight this weekend at the Mugello circuit.

Mugello circuit. Courtesy of: Honda Racing Corporation website

During the qualifying session, the top 5 riders were so close, each within a shout of taking first place but it was Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) who took his fourth consecutive pole of the season from Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), Johann Zarco (Ducati), Aleix Espagaro (Aprilia) and Jack Miller (Ducati) in fifth place. Upon being interviewed Fabio said that it was “…the best lap I have ever done…”.

Meanwhile Marc Marquez (Honda), who was struggling, used the qualifying session as a tester and only managed to gain eleventh on the grid.

Race:

The magic of Mugello was subdued this weekend with a very sombre cloud, following on from the news of Moto 3 rider Jason Dupasquier, who sadly passed away from injuries sustained during the qualifying session on Saturday. Every rider and fan was saddened to hear of his passing and it was another reminder of just how dangerous this sport, that we love, can be.

A minutes silence was held in his honour prior to the race.

From the very start drama reigned, as the riders were finishing their warm-up lap and lining up on the grid Enea Bastianini (Ducati) ran into the back of Zarco, who was slowing down ready to get into position. After this freak accident, Bastianini was unhurt but was unable to start the race, with no start delay announced. Zarco had minor damage to the back of his Ducati and was able to continue.

Bastianini at the start of the race. Courtesy of: BT Sport – MotoGP

For the first time as well this year, Quartararo’s Yamaha had the holeshot device installed, which Ducati first demonstrated in 2019. It is designed to mechanically lower the rear of the bike to reduce wheelieing off the line and improve acceleration at the start of a race. It seemed to do the trick as Quartararo got a great start with 23 laps to go, however it was Bagnaia that took the lead, at his home Grand Prix, from Quartararo and Miguel Oliveira (KTM).

A. Espargaro, starting in fourth place had a terrible start and managed to drop down five places.

Lap two saw the weekend go from bad to worse for Marc Marquez as he crashed out on turn three, after trying to overtake Brad Binder (KTM), causing Brad’s airbag to deploy which meant he had to race the next couple of laps with it inflated. It also caused Franko Morbidelli (Yamaha) to have to take evasive action to miss Marquez’s Honda, seeing him travel into the gravel, luckily both he and Binder were able to carry on racing.

Moments later on turn nine, Bagnaia, one of the home heroes, also crashed from the lead, after touching the white line at the edge of the track. (The white lines are notorious for being painted slippery edges that can cause riders to slip out of a race). This mistake granted Fabio the lead.

First place wasn’t Quartararo’s for long as the Ducati power of Zarco quickly took the lead on the straight and gained him the fastest lap.

A mini battle broke out between the two Frenchmen and soon on lap three El Diablo regained first.

Quartararo leading the way. Courtesy of: MotoGP

They weren’t the only pair vying for positions though as Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) and Michele Pirro (Ducati) fought for 9th place and the two Suzuki’s (Joan Mir and Alex Rins) tussled for 5th.

The Suzuki riders were also hot-on-the-heels, and gaining on last weekend’s winner, Miller – who had managed to make-up one place since the start in 4th.

The battle at the front fought on between the Yamaha and the Ducati, neither one of the racers wanting to give in. All too quickly though Quartararo managed to gain a slight lead on lap 4, which was just enough for Zarco not to be able to fight back.

Gapping started to appear on lap 5, with Quartararo and Zarco in the first group, Oliveira on his own and Miller, Rins and Mir in a battling group.

With the first rule of Motorsport – beat your teammate – ringing in their ears, the reigning World Champion – Mir and his teammate Rins continued to fight for fifth and sixth. With Miller holding and defending his position but a small mistake which took him slightly wide, on the last corner of lap 8, saw Rins go past. The straight was the Ducati’s time to shine and regained the place back with ease. Rins was still hanging on though and passed Miller again, later on the same lap Mir went through on Miller and Binder followed, leaving Jack back in 7th.

Courtesy of: suzuki-motogp.com/press

All the excitement happening behind him – Quartararo extended his lead – 1.792 seconds from Zarco then became 2.201 seconds by lap 10. Arm pump no longer an issue for the young Frenchman and the pressure he admitted he felt last year now in the past, he began to show just how metronomic his laps could be.

Oliveira had condensed the gap between himself and Zarco and had managed to pass him on lap 16. A 4.128 second gap between him and Quartararo however seemed more of an impossible catch. The Ducati power wasn’t enough and the KTM soon pulled away. Leaving Zarco in the clutches of Mir, who soon was able to pass him too.

It was quickly Rins’s turn to go past Zarco with 6 laps to go, taking fourth place. However, whilst trail-breaking into a corner on worn tyres, Rins had his fourth DNF in a row and crashed out, letting Zarco re-gain the position.

On lap 21, it was unfortunately, Honda’s top rider – Nakagami’s turn to also crash out of the race.

But, it was Fabio Quartararo who took the chequered flag for the third time this year and he dedicated his win to the young Dupasquier.

There was controversy with who was second and third on the podium though. Oliveira crossed the line in second and Mir in third. But, Oliveira was given a penalty and had to give a place away for exceeding track limits meaning Mir got second. Minutes later, it became apparent that Mir had the exact same penalty. The decision was made to let them both keep their original results.

Top 10 race results:

First

Quartararo

Second

Oliveira

Third

Mir

Fourth

Zarco

Fifth

Binder

Sixth

Miller

Seventh

A. Espargaro

Eigth

Vinales

Ninth

Petrucci

Tenth

Rossi

It is worth noting that this is Valentino Rossi’s (Yamaha) first top 10 finish in 2021.

Top 5 championship standings:

First

Quartararo

105 points

Second

Zarco

81 points

Third

Bagnaia

79 points

Fourth

Miller

74 points

Fifth

Mir

65 points

Who will be victorious next round in Spain? We haven’t got long to find out.

 

 

 

Thoughts and prayers go out to Jason Dupasquier’s family and friends.

Taken too young – too soon.

Ride on Ja50n Dupasquier.

2001 – 2021 Courtesy of: MotoGP

 

 

(Featured image: Courtesy of MotoGP)

 

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MotoGP Valencia Test, Part 2: Suzuki, KTM and Aprilia

It might feel like the 2018 season has just come to an end, but the 2019 season is well underway at the Valencia tests for Suzuki, KTM, Tech 3 KTM and Aprilia.

Suzuki’s main weakness in 2018 was straight line speed, so they had a new engine for Valencia. It has a lot of power, but currently the Ecstar squad are looking for new electronic solutions to harness those extra horses, and as of right now they are faster on the old engine. Only Alex Rins tried the new motor, as Joan Mir looked to get himself better acquainted with the GSX-RR. The 2018 Moto2 rookie of the year had ridden one day with Suzuki after the Japanese Grand Prix back in October, but still had a lot of work to do to acclimatise himself to MotoGP. He did fairly well, ending the test less than one second off the top time.

 

Alex Rins and new Suzuki teammate Joan Mir. Photo curtesy of Suzuki Racing.

 

Johann Zarco got off to a tough start with KTM. He pinpointed corner entry as a weak point on the first day, and didn’t find the improvements he expected on Wednesday, ending 1.7 seconds off the top. On the other hand, Pol Espargaro had a decent test, which he ended 0.871 seconds off front runner Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha). He had a revised version of KTM’s Yamaha-style aero fairing, as well as some new electronic solutions and no doubt a raft of different chassis’ and engine specs to try. Like Yamaha, KTM suffered with tyre wear last year, hence the electronics focus.

The Tech 3 KTM riders did not have such a great time. Miguel Oliveira highlighted braking as something he needed to work on, as he adapts to the carbon disks of MotoGP. His teammate, Hafizh Syahrin, also made some progress on Wednesday, but feels he needs more time to understand the RC16. Of course, both Syahrin and Oliveira have the additional difficulty of their team changing manufacturer.

Aprilia seemed to have a mixed test. Aleix Espargaro was quite fast, if somewhat indifferent about a new chassis from Noale. In comparison, Andrea Iannone was pleasantly surprised by his first contact with Aprilia. He was running 2017 bikes because it is from last year’s machine that the 2019 bike will derive. There were two crashes for Iannone on the second day, which he put down to him finding the limit with a new bike. Bradley Smith also got his first contact with the Aprilia, using a 2017 and a 2018 machine. He wasn’t too far from Iannone’s time which, considering his job title of test rider, should perhaps worry Aprilia a little.

As previously mentioned, Joan Mir had a brilliant debut on the Suzuki but arguably Francesco Bagnaia’s first appearance on the Pramac Ducati was even more impressive. He ended his first real MotoGP test just 0.6 seconds from the top. Braking is Bagnaia’s main focus at the moment, which is a common thing with new MotoGP riders. His competitors will hope he can’t find too much time there. Fellow rookie Fabio Quartararo also made some big improvements on Wednesday, to end just over one second from Vinales and in front of Iannone on the Aprilia.

 

Fabio Quartararo at the Valencia MotoGP tests, November 2018. Photo curtesy of SIC Racing Team.

 

Franco Morbidelli also had a stunning test; to be four tenths ahead of Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) on his first day with Yamaha was really quite impressive. The young Italian was especially complimentary about the smoothness of the M1, and commented on how easy it was to ride in comparison to the 2017 Honda RC213V he rode during his 2018 season.

Although, the undisputed hero of the Valencia test was Tito Rabat. He rode his Reale Avintia Ducati to 15th on the second day, 1.1 seconds off Vinales, and completed 59 laps. The first day of the test was nothing more than exploratory for Rabat, as he looked to see if it was even possible to ride in his current condition. On Wednesday he made some more progress, but realistically it won’t be until Sepang that he will really start focusing on the setting of his GP18. The MotoGP paddock now heads south to Jerez, where they will have the final chance to define their direction before the winter break.

 

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