Tag: Moto3

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Moto3: Öncü wins Sachsenring Stunner

Deniz Öncü takes his first career win in style today in Germany. He waited until the final moment of the race to pounce on Ayumu Sasaki as both riders were in a league of their own today at Sachsenring. 

After a long time coming for Deniz Öncü, he has finally taken his first win with victory today at the GermanGP. Can we see a challenge for the title now for the rest of the season? Daniel Holgado took the final podium place today, extending his championship lead to 41 points before heading into Assen next weekend.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Collin Veijer flew off the line, going from 4th to 1st down into turn 1 in an interchanging first lap.  There was a brief 1-2 for the Husqvarna riders until Öncü passed both in one move. Öncü is always with creative overtakes. Sasaki was then back into 1st ahead of Öncü, and with Veijer dropping back into 4th, normal order resumed at the front. It was a great battle to start us off in the blazing sunshine.

David Alonso on the 1st lap went from 14th to 7th with an amazing start from the Sunday man. On lap 2, Holgado gets by Ivan Ortola just as Veijer goes down and out after a great start for the Dutchman. Holgado was posting the fastest lap times and was now up into 3rd place.

Midway through lap 3 and the top 6 in the championship were the top 6 in the race. They were led by Sasaki and with clear air at the front. He managed to push over half a second clear of Öncü, in 2nd, by the end of the lap.

Out of turn 13, as we begin lap 5 with Ortola now dicing with Öncü, the battle for 2nd place is only helping Sasaki keep his lead and build momentum. He is now pulling away from the chasing pack behind.

A third of the way through the race now and we have Sasaki leading to Öncü by 1.433 seconds. There was a trio of Öncü, Holgado and Ortola, and then a gap of 3.224 seconds to Masia in 5th. Öncü, with 16 laps to go, was trying to pull away from Holgado and Ortola, to catch Sasaki before it was too late.

Öncü determined to catch Sasaki now, reducing the gap by half a second on lap 9. A great lap for Öncü and Sasaki will want to respond. Öncü quicker again on lap 10 but only slightly with Sasaki maintaining that 1 second gap.

At the halfway mark the fight is on for the win. Öncü was likely still reeling from last weekend’s heartache in Mugello, but is now catching Sasaki and is just half a second behind. Öncü and Sasaki are clearly in a league of their own today, with a gap of 3.635 seconds to Holgado and Ortola in 3rd and 4th place respectively.

On lap 15 Öncü was seen whacking his leg, clearly struggling with some sort of injury, possibly cramp. Öncü was now multi-tasking and massaging a leg at the same time as keeping pace with Sasaki as they cross the line. Sasaki was only a few tenths of a second clear of the Turkish wonderkid, Öncü.  The front two are now 7.766 seconds clear of the rest of the field, with Holgado holding station in 3rd place ahead of Ortola in 4th.

With 7 podiums and 6 pole positions for Öncü, can we finally see a first career win for Öncü as we head into the final third of the race? Sasaki is without a win since Austria last year and both riders are desperate to get the victory here at Sachsenring.

Attacking up the hill in the short run to the line, Öncü was along the straight and still waiting to pounce. He was sitting patiently on the back wheel of Sasaki. Further back on the lap, Holgado was doing a great defensive job holding off Ortola for 3rd as their battle continued.

3 laps to go and a battle for 5th place has 8 riders gunning for it with David Alonso currently heading that group of riders.

Lap 22 of 23, we have Sasaki and Öncü battling for first with a gap to Holgado and Ortola behind of 11.955 seconds, who in turn are battling for 3rd. Ortola to the melee for 5th place behind with a gap of 4.750 seconds.

3.6 km left now, with one final lap remaining – everyone was wondering if Öncü can get ahead of Sasaki. Sasaki was leading out of turn 1 and Öncü nearly ran into Sasaki into turn 3.  It’s neck and neck with two more corners to go. Through turn 11, down the hill into turn 12, Öncü is on the wheel of Sasaki into turn 13 and makes the move on Sasaki.  A divebomb up the inside of Sasaki is what it takes to secure his first career win.

What a win for Deniz Öncü and what a fight for victory, leaving it until the last corner of the last lap to get the job done. It’s been a long time coming the first win for Öncü and I’m sure the joy of victory has healed that cramping leg pain.

Daniel Holgado rounded off the podium places, in 3rd, and extends his championship lead to a mighty 41 points ahead of Jaume Masia 2nd. Can Öncü, Sasaki, Masia and Ortola keep chipping away at Holgado’s lead next weekend in Assen?

Race Result
Image Credit: MotoGP
Moto3 Championship Standings After Round 7 
Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto3: Sasaki Shatters Sachsenring for Pole

Ayumu Sasaki pole setter for the moto3 2023 Saschenring race. image courtesy of IntactGP

Ayumu Sasaki takes pole position here in Germany shattering the lap record. Not just shattering the lap record,  but demolishing the rest of the field in the process. A clear +1.092 seconds ahead to championship rival Deniz Öncü in second.

Ayumu Sasaki Pole Setter for the 2023 Moto3 Sachsenring GP. Image courtesy of Intactgp

 

QUALIFYING 1

Taiyo Furusato was the first of the riders to post a quick time setting the benchmark for the session. Filippo Farioli shortly followed Furusato, topping the timesheets in the sunshine here at the Sachsenring.

The Q1 session then came to a halt with yellow flags quickly turning to red in sector 2 with Scott Ogden’s highside at turn 3. A nasty fall for the British rider and good to see Ogden walking away from the incident. However, clearly in pain holding his left leg.

As the session restarted and with five minutes left of the session, it was Honda Team Asia leading the way with Furusato and Mario Aji at the top of the leader board heading for Q2.  David Salvador crashing at turn 1 forced the yellow flags just as David Muñoz posted the fasted time. Another highside crash in the session, Salvador shaken but walked away from the incident ok.

A tightly contested Q1 in Moto3 and with a few minutes remaining, only a few tenths of a second separated the top 4 places.

Muñoz topped the session ahead of Xavier Artigas, Furusato and Farioli the top 4 making it through to the Q2 session.

QUALIFYING 2

With the grandstands packed as we headed into Q2, could any of the riders get ahead of Daniel Holgado in qualifying and take the fight to him in the championship. A key Q2 session here in Germany.

Sasaki set the benchmark time in the first run at pole position, with an impressive time of 1:25.963 seconds, 6 tenths clear of Öncü in second. The usual suspects of Ivan Ortola, Jaume Masia and Moreira rounding off the top 5 with Holgado in 6th.

Six minutes left of the session and all of the riders made their way out of the pits for their final go at pole position, could any of them get near Sasaki’s time? After a big crash yesterday in practice, Öncü clearly is a rider to never give up, was up on Sasaki half way through his lap only to fall short in sectors 3 and 4. Öncü cementing his second place reducing the gap to Sasaki. Now just +0.259 tenths of a second separating 1st and 2nd place.

With less than a minute to go in the session, a Moto3 snaking train of riders crossed the line to go for a final flying lap. Yamanaka overtaken by Holgado, the championship leader impatient chasing Sasaki’s time crossing the line only to improve to 5th place.

Holgado’s 5th place would only last a few seconds as just about every Moto3 rider crossed the finish line together in a flurry of changes in positions on the grid. Every rider in turn 1 glancing up at the screen to see where they would start in tomorrows race.

Next to cross the line and cross the line in some style was Sasaki. A lap time of 1:25.130 and new all time lap record for the #71 bike. The lap time was that quick from Sasaki that it was only 6 hundredths of a second away from getting into Q2 in Moto2! Incredible from the Husqvarna rider, a clear +1.092 seconds ahead of Öncü in 2nd place.  Öncü and Ortola rounding off the front row with Holgado starting 7th in tomorrow’s race.

Image credit: MotoGP 

Feature Image Credit: intactgp

 

 

 

 

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Moto3: Close and frantic in Mugello as Holgado snatches victory

On a glorious day in the Tuscan hillside, Daniel Holgado stamped his authority on the Moto3 championship with a slipstreamed snatching victory in Mugello. Holgado now heads to the Sachsenring next weekend with a 35 point lead in the championship. With no victory from pole position so far this season, an ongoing curse causing major heartache for our Turkish teenage wonderkid, Deniz Öncü. Losing a race in the last few metres can’t be easy to take, and I’m sure Öncü will be gunning for revenge next weekend in Germany.

Image Credit: Leopard Racing 

AS IT HAPPENED

With no threat of rain and the track temperature at 36°, we all know that Moto3 at Mugello produces a blistering slipstreaming battle at the front and this race was no exception.

Before we got going, Romano Fenati stalled at the start having to start in the pit lane watching the rest of the pack blast down to San Donato (turn 1) with Holgado moving up to 2nd. Pushing hard on lap 1, Öncü managed to create a  bit of a gap in his favoured sector 3, only to be swallowed up, caught and past on the straight by Holgado and Ayumu Sasaki closing out the first lap of the race.

Approaching the end of lap 3 and into lap 4,  a snaking slipstreaming train of Moto3 riders dicing into turn 1 was becoming common practice for the race. A leading group of 8 riders now lead by Öncü onto lap 4, and it was anyone’s guess at this point as to who would come out on top.

Each time Öncü tried to break free from the pack, the group of riders behind had other ideas, especially Sasaki in the early stages of the race. Sasaki clearly comfortable sitting in second place and dicing with Holgado, Öncü and Jaume Masia at every opportunity. Could any rider break free and build a lead?


As the laps ticked by it was becoming clear that whoever was leading this race after the last turn of the last lap, it was going to be difficult to win the race.  A special mention to Öncü and the overtake around the outside of Masia at the start lap 6 into San Donato it was definitely my favourite overtake of the race.

 

As we move past half distance, we had a tightly bunched up group of 5 riders continuing to dice and swap places at every opportunity. With 7 laps left to go any of the 5 riders could take victory in the Tuscan hillside. Öncü, Sasaki, Masia, Holgado and David Alonso all showing what they’re made of as the Italian crowd looked on with awe as to who would come out on top.

Snaking along the straight with 3 laps to go, it was clear that this was shaping up to be a last lap thriller of a finish and we weren’t disappointed. Even as the leading pack all received conduct warnings, it wasn’t going to stop any of them in pursuit of victory in Mugello.

Now heading into the last lap of the race, Sasaki was 3 bike lengths ahead heading down into San Donato and leading the race coming out of turn  1. Out of turn 2 and into turn 3, Holgado didn’t wait any longer to make a move and take the lead of the race. Holgado holding station for now in the next few corners until Öncü made a move in his beloved Arrabbiatta 2 (Turn 9). Now with only 5 corners left, Öncü clearly desperately clinging on to first as we headed into the final few corners. As the group wound round the last corner to take the straight for the final time and with only a few metres to go for Öncü,  the slipstream blasted Holgado by Öncü taking the chequered flag and first win away from Öncü, gifting Holgado’s 3rd win of the season. A cruel and thrilling finish to an action packed Moto3 race in Mugello.

As we move on to Germany this week in the second race of our triple header of back to back races, will Öncü manage to finally get his maiden victory? Will anyone manage to put a dint in Holgado’s championship lead?

Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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Moto3: Öncü Takes Mugello Pole

With dark clouds lurking in the skies over the circuit in the Tuscan hillside, we headed into the Moto3 qualifying session here in Mugello unsure if the sunshine would hold out for the riders. After nothing short of perfection so far this weekend, could anyone put a stop to Red Bull KTM rider Deniz Öncü taking pole position?

With the longest straight on the MotoGP calendar, as always it’s a battle of the slip stream in Moto3. In Q1, we saw Ryusei Yamanaka dragging Joel Kelso along to post the fastest time. Kelso, with a fantastic lap of 1:57.282, returned to the pits confident of his Q2 slot which was later proved to be right.

As all of the riders took to the track for a final run at getting into Q2, and with only 5 seconds left of the session, Jose Antonio Rueda moved up into 2nd in the timings only to be quickly booted out of the top 4 by a swarm of riders crossing the finish line. Taiyo Furusato, Stefano Nepa, Vicente Perez and Kelso ended Q1 as your top 4 riders. 

As we headed into Q2 the battle for pole was on. Deniz Öncü has been outstanding so far this weekend and quickest in every session. Sat in the pits, the riders all picked who to follow out onto the circuit to get the best slip stream possible.

In the early stages of Q2, Daniel Holgado and Öncü were dicing with each other during their first runs, nearly coming together at one point and resulting in Öncü diving into the pits to wait for a better spot to go back out.

With 8 minutes of the session left and all of the riders were now posting flying laps. It was Kelso who set the fastest lap with Diogo Moreira, Ayumu Sasaki  and Jaume Masia rounding up the top 4. All riders headed back to the pits after their first attempts at pole, only to leave Öncü and Sasaki still pushing on track.

With the track empty and taking full advantage, Öncü quickly posted the fastest time of 1:56.135, nearly half a second clear of Kelso in 2nd. As the riders now made their way back out of the pits for the second attempt, they had a mountain to climb to claim pole position here in Mugello. Coming to the end of their out laps and half the pack blasting down the long straight into turn 1 , could anyone challenge Öncü’s time with only a minute remaining in the session?

Despite having provisional pole, Öncü wasn’t slowing down for anyone, again going faster and posting a 1:56.020 chasing that elusive 1:55 lap time. As the swarm of riders crossed the line on their next flying laps it was Kelso hanging onto 2nd with Sasaki in 3rd and Moreira 4th.

A brilliant qualifying for Kelso but an even better performance from Öncü who showed total dominance and ended the session half a second quicker than anyone else. Sasaki, true to form, ended up on the front row of the grid, his fifth front row start of the season. Rounding off the front row for the race tomorrow is championship leader Holgado promoted to 3rd on the grid after the penalties.

Top 10:

1. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:56.020
2. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) + 0.591
3. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) +0.780
4. Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) +0.844
5. Ricardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) +0.983
6. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) +1.077
7. Andrea Migno (CIP Green Power) +1.323
8. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) +1.338
9. Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team) +1.454
10. David Alonso (GASGAS Aspar Team) +1.498 

 

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Holgado holds off Sasaki’s pressure to take Moto3 victory in France

Daniel Holgado took victory in the Moto3 French Grand Prix with a well-executed ride and handed Tech3 Racing their first ever victory on home soil.

With that, the Spaniard increased his lead in the championship to 21 points and added a second victory to his tally for 2023.

Ayumu Sasaki put in a very strong qualifying performance to start from pole position, with Diogo Moreira and Holgado completing the front row.

But Sasaki couldn’t hold onto his lead at the start, quickly losing out to Holgado who made a nice move down the inside at the first braking zone of the Le Mans track.

The Japanese rider tried to conjure up a reaction as the first lap went on but couldn’t make anything stick for the time being.

Credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull

Meanwhile behind the top two it was Deniz Oncu who settled into third as he got the better of Moreira on the opening lap.

Moreira then lost another position on lap seven as Ivan Ortola moved his way into fourth with a nice move at Turn 3.

The battle at the front then stabilised for the following few laps as the riders settled into the race.

But it all began to unfold at the halfway point however, as Moreira crashed out at Turn 12 – the Brazilian had continued to drop back as the race progressed and was in seventh at the time of the incident.

Sasaki then pulled the pin and made his move back into the lead with a pass on Holgado along the pit straight, but Holgado quickly responded at Turn 3 to hang on to first place.

Elsewhere Jaume Masia moved up into third with six laps to go after taking advantage of Oncu running slightly wide at Turn 8.

The Spaniard then attacked Sasaki for second place and the pair were engaged in a back-and-forth battle – which allowed Holgado to sit comfortably out in front as those behind him jostled for position.

Sasaki was able to retake second at Turn 3 with three laps remaining, and quickly tried to shake off Masia in an attempt to chase down the leader ahead.

But ultimately it was to no avail – despite closing the gap to just 0.150 seconds Sasaki had to settle for second as Holgado took victory after a very strong race to hold off the pressure.

Speaking after the race, Holgado said it was a good ending to an event where he’d showed strong pace throughout the three days.

“The feeling is amazing. I am so happy because this Grand Prix was very important for my team as it was their home race, and winning it for them is just incredible,” he said.

“I was fast all weekend, and today we were just really strong and confident. What a weekend, thank you to my team.”

Masia ended the race in third but had to fight for it as Ortola piled on the pressure in the final two laps.

Oncu went from being third to ending up sixth in the final few laps of the race, finishing behind Ryusei Yamanaka.

Credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull

Xavier Artigas finished in seventh, with David Alonso and Jose Rueda some distance behind in eighth and ninth.

Stefano Nepa managed to get the better of Joel Kelso, Kaito Toba and Tatsuki Suzuki in what was a close fought battle for 10th.

David Salvador and Collin Veijer rounded out the points finishers.

Among the other fallers, Syarifuddin Azman was the first victim to crash in the race on the third lap at Turn 12 – a disappointing end to what was a strong weekend for the Malaysian where he qualified 10th.

Andrea Migno also fell at Turn 12 a few laps later and was shortly followed by Scott Ogden at Turn 7, as well as Taiyo Furusato who fell on the last lap at Turn 9.

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Guevara crowned Moto3 champion with victory in Australia

Izan Guevara has been crowned Moto3 World Champion after taking victory on the Australian Grand Prix!

After a tough outing in Thailand two weeks ago, Guevara came to Phillip Island hoping to get back on the podium, with the chance to wrap up the title early well within his grasp.

Qualifying for the Spaniard ended with a seventh-place result, meaning there was work to do on Sunday to get to the front.

The race began with damp areas present around the track, but not enough to force the riders on to the wet tyre, with slicks being the choice for all.

Guevara quickly made his intent clear from the start: to get to the front. As the lights went out it was Garcia who took the lead early on ahead of Diogo Moreira and pole-sitter Ayumu Sasaki.

Sasaki made a move for the lead on the third lap as Garcia dropped to third behind Ivan Ortola who had made a good start to find himself in second during the early stages.

Meanwhile the champion in waiting was still on the move, quickly getting up to second on lap four with an impressive move past both Moreira and Garcia, with his eyes firmly set on the lead.

By the eighth lap an exciting battle for first emerged between Garcia, who had taken first a few laps prior, and Guevara.

This battle went on for the rest of the race, with Sasaki and Deniz Öncü joining the fight.

The race went right down until the final lap, with the four riders separated by almost nothing!

Guevara had the pace to find a couple of tenths over his rivals, and crossed the line as winner ahead of Öncü, Garcia and Sasaki, crowning him champion!

With that, Guevara can now breathe a sigh of relief as he heads to the final two rounds of the year with the title already wrapped up.

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Foggia wins in Thailand with faultless performance

Dennis Foggia took a dominant win on the Thai GP making it his third in the past six races, leaving a glimmer of hope that his fight for the championship is still on.

While his championship rivals struggled in qualifying, with Izan Guevara 11th and Sergio Garcia further down in 20th, Foggia lined up on Sunday’s grid with clear track ahead on pole position.

The start couldn’t have gone any better for the Italian, holding his lead and having a clean getaway as Stefano Nepa moved his way up to second after a good start from fourth.

Meanwhile there was drama almost straight away as the first lap came to a close, when championship contender Garcia found himself on the ground after a collision with Adrian Fernandez.

There was a couple of other crashes as the race unfolded, Kaito Toba and John McPhee fell down in separate incidents which brought both of their races to an early close.

Back at the front it was still Foggia out in first as a group of six riders formed in the lead pack. This number slowly began to fall as Jaume Masia, Diogo Moreira and David Muñoz dropped back down the field.

Garcia’s day continued to get worse as he went a lap down at the beginning of lap 12, there was nothing he could do as he let rival Foggia by when the blue flags waved.

Garcia eventually retired to the pits shortly after the halfway point in the race, with the opportunity to score any points well and truly gone.

Credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool

There was little standing in Foggia’s way as the race went on, leading quite comfortably throughout the entire race bar one slight mistake at the end of lap 13 which allowed Ayumu Sasaki into the lead, albeit very briefly as the Italian quickly moved back ahead two corners later.

With a few laps to go and with Foggia pulling away, Sasaki and Riccardo Rossi battled it out for second place which went on right until the final corner on the last lap as Rossi made a last effort move up the inside on his Japanese rival, but had to settle for third after running wide.

But out front there was no stopping Foggia, his win putting on stamp on what was a strong performance at Buriram, winning the race by over 1.5s from second placed Sasaki.

A tense fight for fourth place ended with Nepa taking the position at the line, ahead of championship leader Guevara who took a good haul of points despite a tough weekend.

Three rounds remain and there’s 49 points separating the top two in the championship, but anything can happen as Moto3 heads to Australia in less than two weeks’ time.

Image credit: Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool

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Moto3: Austrian GP Preview

The second half of the 2022 Moto3 season began in style with a thrilling British Grand Prix barely a fortnight ago. Now that the dust has settled, our attention turns to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for Round 13 of the championship this coming weekend (19/20/21 August).

Moto3 Sergio Garcia Picture courtesy of Aspar Team

The GASGAS Aspar duo of Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara were unstoppable during the first half of the season, they sit first and second in the championship standings respectively, despite both crashing out in the latter stages at Silverstone. The chequered flag was taken by title rival Dennis Foggia, who masterfully guided his Leopard Racing Honda to victory, capitalising on the Spanish riders misfortune. The Italian is now just 42 points behind Garcia in the race for the Moto3 crown.

Perhaps the biggest talking point ahead of the Austrian GP is the new chicane which has been installed to reduce speeds on the approach to turn 3. The alteration was prompted after an incident in the 2020 MotoGP race, where Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco came together at high speed, nearly collecting the Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales in the process.

The revised layout has divided opinions, with some riders suggesting that the new chicane itself is dangerous. How the racing will be affected remains to be seen, but the hope of course is that the changes will lead to more overtaking as well as improved safety.

Moto3 Izan Guevara Picture courtesy of Aspar Team

As is often the case in this class, there are a number of contenders for victory. Last year’s podium finishers will all be in the hunt this weekend. 2021’s race was won by the aforementioned Garcia, with 3 wins already this season, he is probably the favourite. Turkish rider Deniz Öncü is still searching for his maiden Moto3 win, he was last year’s runner up and has the added motivation of Austria being both KTM and Red Bull’s home race. Foggia, who was third, has shown steady improvements in his results of late, though he knows as well as anyone that more victories will be required if he is to win the championship.

British fan’s hopes will once again rest upon the shoulders of Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max rider, John McPhee. The Scotsman rode well at Silverstone and almost led at one stage, though a chaotic final lap saw him shuffled back to 7th place. Visiontrack Racing Team’s Scott Ogden made progress through the field after a poor showing in qualifying, finishing 12th. He and teammate Josh Whatley will be hoping for better fortunes this weekend.

Moto3 Dennis Foggia Picture courtesy of Le0pard Racing

Weather was an infamous factor at the Red Bull Ring in 2021, and the forecast suggests it will be again this year. Thunderstorms are predicted for Friday, with showers anticipated on both Saturday and Sunday. The race is scheduled to start at 11:00am local time (10:00am GMT).

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Moto3: Masia wins Chaotic Clash in COTA

Jaume Masia has come out on top, winning in COTA, ahead of a seven-way battle that rumbled on for much of the race. He was joined on the podium by Dennis Foggia and Andrea Migno.

It was the experienced Moto3 riders who came out on top at the Grand Prix of the Americas today. The chaotic race saw seven riders battling for only three podium positions for most of the race. Eventually, it was Jaume Masia who came out on top, taking the lead on the final lap.

Masia hasn’t won a race since the first round of the 2021 season, making it an emotional return to the top step of the podium for the Spanish rider. Having spent last year in the shadow of his teammate and eventual 2021 Moto3 champion, Pedro Acosta, this win will provide him with some much-needed confidence.

On the podium were fellow Italian riders Dennis Foggia, in second, and pole-sitter Andrea Migno, in third.

As the race commenced, it was Deniz Oncu who took an early lead, passing Migno at the first corner. He took rookie Diogo Moreira with him as he leapt from his starting position of sixth up to second. Oncu and Moreira were then battling for the lead and came to be side-by-side on the long straight. As they crossed the line to start the second lap, Moreira swerves across in to Oncu’s path. Oncu was forced to back off and Moreira stole the lead.

Further back, Kaito Toba enjoyed a good start as he leapt up from eighth to fifth. However, Scott Ogden had a more difficult start as he was shuffled back to 17th, despite claiming his best qualifying result and starting the race in 12th.

Foggia and Masia also struggled and, by lap 4, they were quickly shuffled back to 10th and 11th despite starting second and fifth respectively.

On the same lap, Oncu took the lead back from Moreira. Shortly after, Xavier Artigas got the best of both of them and flew his way up in to the lead. Two laps later and Moreira was back in the lead of the race, only to be overtaken by Oncu shortly after.

At this point, a number of other riders joined the leading pack, stating their intentions for the win. Championship leader Sergio Garcia closed up to the leading three but then clashed with Daniel Holgado, who crashed in to him on the final corner. Both riders were able to rejoin the race but Garcia eventually retired on lap 13 and Holgado crashed again on the final lap of the race. Holgado will be disappointed with his race result today, as he makes his return from injury.

Lap 8 saw Ayumu Sasaki and Masia join the leading group, taking second and third respectively behind Oncu.

For much of the rest of the race, seven riders were battling at the front of the pack – these riders were Masia, Sasaki, Oncu, Moreira, Foggia, Artigas, and Migno.

As the grid started their final lap, Migno was leading ahead of Masia in second and Foggia in third. Moreira crashed at the first corner of the lap – he was trying to hard to make his way through the leading pack and showed his inexperience with a rookie error that ruined his hard work.

Due to a number of incidents around the circuit, yellow flags were hampering the progress of most riders and left it difficult to find a way past Migno. However, down the long straight, Masia made his move and took the lead. He went out wide and found himself on the rumble strips, giving some hope to Migno. However, as Migno tried to make his way around the outside of Masia at turn 19, giving it everything he had in an attempt to win, he ran wide and let Foggia through the inside to take second. Masia remained unbeatable out in front and crossed the line in first.

Just missing out on a podium finish was Sasaki in fourth, Oncu in fifth and Artigas in sixth.

Izan Guevara was deemed to have jumped the start and was given a double long lap penalty. As this wasn’t served quickly enough, the penalty then went up to three long laps. This should have ruined his race but he was able to climb back up the field and ended the day in seventh.

The top ten was rounded out by Carlos Tatay, Ricciardo Rossi and Tatsuki Suzuki in eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

Championship Standings

Thanks to Foggia’s second-place finish today, he has now jumped to the top of the championship standings. He leads Garcia, in second, by 16 points. Migno is in third ahead of Guevara in fourth. Oncu is sitting in fifth ahead of today’s winner, Masia, in sixth.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto3: Migno Claims Pole for the Grand Prix of the Americas

Andrea Migno has claimed pole position for tomorrow’s race in COTA. He will be joined on the front row by fellow-Italian, Dennis Foggia, and Xavier Artigas. Our championship leader, Sergio Garcia, had to settle for 11th.

Today’s qualifying session was dominated by Italian riders, Dennis Foggia and Andrea Migno – the latter rider was able to come out on top as he set a time of 2:15.814 to secure pole position ahead of tomorrow’s race.

Foggia was bested by only 0.067s, forcing him to settle for second for tomorrow’s race start. The front row will be rounded out by Xavier Artigas, who made his way through Q1 before posting an impressive time that was just 0.242s off pole.

The early pace setter was Izan Guevara, who eventually settled for 10th, before Migno jumped to the top of the timing sheets. Despite not opting for fresh tires part way through the session, Foggia was next to top the timing sheets.

It wasn’t until the final flying lap when Migno was able to lay down his pole-clinching lap – a time which simply couldn’t be bested by Foggia or Artigas.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Deniz Oncu, on the KTM Tech3 machine, and Jaume Masia, on the KTM Ajo machine, took fourth and fifth respectively. Rookie Diogo Moreira claimed sixth, ahead of Daniel Holgado who is returning from injury. The top ten is rounded out by Kaito Toba, Ayumu Sasaki and Izan Guevara in eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

Three riders who made their way through from Q1 line up just outside the top 10 – Stefano Nepa, Scott Ogden, and Elia Bartolini took 11th, 12th and 13th respectively. This is Ogden’s best qualifying result in his rookie Moto3 year.

Our championship leader, Sergio Garcia, had a shocking day and was only able to claim 15th. He certainly seems to be off the pace after winning the last race in Argentina.

The grid will be in action at 2.30pm local time, and Crew on Two will have all the action for you.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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