Tag: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Zarco Finally Takes Maiden Victory at Phillip Island

Everyone loves MotoGP at Phillip Island but, today, no one loves it more than Johann Zarco. The Australian track has given us some historic races over the years and today was no exception.

After 258 races in MotoGP, Johann Zarco has won his maiden race. It was a stunning performance from the Frenchman as he fought his way back from a poor start and calculated the final laps to perfection.

However, it wasn’t all joy in the Prima Pramac garage as their championship contender, Jorge Martin, lost a comfortable lead on the final lap. He dropped back from 1st to 5th as his gamble of running on soft tires failed to pay off. He spent 20 of the 27 laps with a 3+ second lead but wasn’t able to hold off the chasing pack.

As Martin’s championship hopes faded, Pecco Bagnaia came up in 2nd place. He remained within the chasing pack for most of the race and made a stunning move with only a few corners remaining. He will certainly be celebrating extending his championship lead when it looked to likely that this wouldn’t be the case.

The final podium place was taken by Fabio DiGiannantonio who is fighting for a place on the MotoGP grid next year. This maiden podium couldn’t have come at a better time and his aggressive, confident riding through the race, will have undoubtedly helped his cause.

The race was packed with drama from start to finish, with big moves and plenty of overtakes happening up and down the grid. It is certainly a race that will be talked about for years to come but its effect on the final championship result are yet to be known.

Image Credit: MotoGP
AS IT HAPPENED

Jorge Martin and Brad Binder, starting from 1st and 2nd respectively, flew off the line and quickly put clean air between them and the rest of the field. Despite Binder pulling up alongside Martin, it was the Prima Pramac machine that was quicker and able to keep the lead. Pecco Bagnaia then slotted himself in to 3rd. Jack Miller, the home hero, had a great start going from 8th on the grid to 4th.

It was a tricky start for Marc Marquez who slipped back from 7th to 10th, as well as Johann Zarco who dropped from 5th to 8th.

Martin was quick to pull a gap out between himself and Binder. Meanwhile, in to turn 11, Miller made a move up the inside of Bagnaia to take 3rd away from the championship leader. However, on the following lap, Miller goes wide and drops back to 6th. This allowed Fabio DiGiannantonio and Marquez to gain positions.

All this battling allows Binder to pull a 1.2 second gap over Bagnaia in 3rd. Martin was then a further 0.5s down the road.

In to turn 2 on lap 3, DiGiannantonio makes an aggressive move to steal 3rd place from Bagnaia. Further back on the same lap, Marquez goes wide thanks to pressure from Zarco. This lets through Zarco, who is now up to 5th and Miller, who is up to 6th. Marquez remains close behind Miller but isn’t able to get back past.

With drama unfolding up and down the field, the leading trio of Martin, Binder and DiGiannantonio are all enjoying comfortable gaps. Behind them is where the drama is unfolding. It seems like Bagnaia is riding slower than others and that sees him backing up the pack somewhat.

The battles between 4th and 10th are hotting up and, on lap 6, there are moves happening up and down the field. Zarco makes his way past Marquez for 5th, Aleix Espargaro takes 7th from Miller and Marco Bezzecchi takes 9th away from Alex Marquez. Zarco continues battling with Marc Marquez throughout the lap, with the pair jostling back and forth. Eventually, it is Zarco who comes out on top and instantly sets his sights on Bagnaia in 4th.

A few laps later and there seemed to be spots of rain falling across the track. It isn’t heavy enough to affect the riders but it was certainly visible on their visors. By this point, Martin was now leading by 2.4 seconds.

On lap 11, Joan Mir crashed out of 15th place. Going in to turn 4, he bumped in to Luca Marini and ended up in the gravel. The incident was reviewed by the stewards deemed that no further action was necessary.

The following lap and the battle behind the leading pack continues. Espargaro gets past Marquez for 7th and, a few corners later, Miller makes a similar move. This pushes Marquez back down to 8th.

On lap 13, turn 4 takes another victim as Augusto Fernandez slides out of contention.

Bagnaia, by lap 15, is the fastest rider on the field and catching up to DiGiannantonio. However, with Zarco breathing down his neck, the reigning champion is forced to turn his attention to defending and that allows DiGiannantonio to pull a 1 second lead over his rivals.

With rubber flying off everyone’s tires – even the medium tires – Martin’s lap times were dropping significantly. However, he had been able to maintain a steady gap. Just behind, and despite being close on his tail for a few laps, it wasn’t until lap 19 when DiGiannantonio was able to get past Binder for 2nd. Their battle allows Bagnaia to close the gap and he is now hot on the tail of Binder.

With DiGiannantonio now in second, he gets his head down and starts to chase down Martin in the lead. He quickly brings down the gap from 3.4 seconds to 2.8, and brings Binder (in 3rd), Bagnaia (in 4th) and Zarco (in 5th) along with him.

On the following lap, the gap is cut by a further 0.3 seconds and DiGiannantonio has even managed to pull out a 0.5 second lead over Binder.

On lap 22, Zarco takes 4th place away from Bagnaia – he came up alongside the Italian on the start-finish straight and had shut the door on him but turn 1. At the same time, Martin reacts to the mounting threat behind him and stabilises the gap – DiGiannantonio is now no longer closing in on him.

The following lap, Binder is able to pull up alongside DiGiannantonio and regain 2nd place. It’s Binder who now significantly closes the gap at the front and, within 2 laps, this is reduced to less than 1.2 seconds.

On lap 26, Zarco is able to get past Binder for 2nd place. The attack forces him slightly wide and as the pack bunches up, Binder ends up dropping from 2nd to 5th. Now, the chasing pack are just 0.4 seconds behind Martin.

On the final lap of the race, we have an exciting 5-way battle for the win with Martin in 1st, Zarco 2nd, Bagnaia 3rd and DiGiannantonio 4th. But Zarco is able to pull away from Bagnaia, leaving him vulnerable to DiGiannantonio who makes his move up to 3rd. Zarco then makes a move for the lead, which he times to perfection. He brings Bagnaia with him who makes a stunning move for 2nd place. The chaos lasts for a few final corners, in which Martin drops from 1st to 3rd.

As the checkered flag falls, it’s Zarco who claims the victory, ahead of Bagnaia in 2nd and DiGiannantonio in 3rd. Just behind them, on the final straight, Martin loses 4th place to Binder. Bezzecchi is the “best of the rest” in 6th, whilst Miller snatches 7th place away from Espargaro on the line.

FULL RESULTS
1 Johann Zarco Prima Pramac
2 Pecco Bagnaia Ducati
3 Fabio DiGiannantonio Gresini
4 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM
5 Jorge Martin Prima Prama
6 Marco Bezzecchi Mooney VR46
7 Jack Miller Red Bull KTM
8 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia
9 Alex Marquez Gresini
10 Enea Bastianini Ducati
11 Maverick Vinales Aprilia
12 Luca Marini Mooney VR46
13 Miguel Oliveira CryptoDATA RNF
14 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha
15 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda
16 Raul Fernandez CryptoDATA RNF
17 Franco Morbidelli Yamaha
18 Pol Espgararo GASGAS Tech3
19 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda

DNFs = Augusto Fernandez (GASGASG Tech 3), Joan Mir (Repsol Honda)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1st Pecco Bagnaia 366 points
2nd Jorge Martin 339 points
3rd Marco Bezzecchi 293 points
4th Brad Binder 224 points
5th Johann Zarco 187 points

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Delhi Delight for Bezzecchi

Image Credit: MotoGP

In the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, Marco Bezzecchi was simply too good at the Buddh International circuit. Bezzecchi finished the race over 8 seconds clear of Jorge Martin in 2nd and Fabio Quartararo in 3rd place. 

Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia crashed out losing a lot of points in the championship race. We head to Japan next weekend with Pecco only 13 points clear of title rival Jorge Martin.

AS IT HAPPENED

Martin got off to a great start and moved up to first into turn 1, with Pecco up into 2nd ahead of Bezzecchi in 3rd. Only a few corners later, Martin went wide into turn 4 and Pecco got through to take the lead of the race.

Binder was up 4 places into 8th mid way through lap 1. A great start for the KTM rider but Aprilia man Viñales was down 10 places at the end of lap 1 due running wide into turn 1 at the start of the race.

Martin dropped back further into 3rd with Bezzecchi blasting by as Martin opened the door running wide. At the end of lap 1 Bezzecchi went by Pecco and took the lead of the race for the first time at the start of lap 2.

All of the riders with a soft rear tyre had to be careful to not burn the tyre out so early on in the race. Bezzecchi set the fastest lap with Pecco 2nd and Martin 3rd. Martin resisting the pressure from Marc Marquez behind and had a lot of work to do to catch Pecco and Bezzecchi ahead.

KTMs Jack Miller had a disastrous start to the race running way down in 20th place in the early stages.

Martin was desperate to get by Pecco cleanly and get after Bezzecchi as Bezzecchi was 1.237 seconds clear as they come to the end of lap 4.

Martin with the slip steam along the back straight got ahead of Pecco into turn 4. Martin now with 2.159 seconds to make up to catch Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi continued his blistering run of form this weekend and looked to pull even further away at the front.

Yellow flags waved in sector 1 as Marc Marquez crashed out at turn 1. Out from 4th place, but able to re-join and recover into the top 10. A superb performance all around this weekend from both Marquez and Joan Mir.

A third of the way through now and Bezzecchi leads 3 seconds clear of the fight for 2nd place behind. Martin was just ahead of Pecco in 3rd. Fabio in 4th place matched the pace of those in front but a second behind the fighting pair in front.  Pecco swarming all over the back of Martin on lap number 8 of 21.

Lap 9 and Bezzecchi is 3.492 seconds clear of Martin in 2nd and Pecco on Martin’s back wheel in 3rd. Fabio and Joan Mir both looked comfortable in 4th and 5th place. Both Fabio and Mir having the best races for some time so far this afternoon in Delhi.

With 11 laps to go and as Marc Marquez went by his old teammate GASGAS rider Pol Espargaro, Bezzecchi is running away with it here in India. Technical problems for Aleix Espargaro saw the Aprilia rider out of the race and with Viñales down in 10th, it was a torrid weekend for the factory Aprilia team.

Coming into the final third of the race and Pecco with so much more inside grip went by Martin into turns 8 and 9 and made it look easy.  Pecco looked to pull away now from Martin with 8 laps to go.

Sector 2 and yellow flags a plenty as Pecco Bagnaia crashed out of the grand prix! Jorge Martin was now just 13 points behind in the championship if Martin manages to hold onto 2nd place. Fabio moved up to 3rd place and was set for a podium for Yamaha.

4 laps to go and as Martin zipped his leathers back up, Bezzecchi was miles ahead in the lead, 6.814 seconds clear of Martin in 2nd. Fabio 3rd and with Mir running wide opened the door for Binder to move up into 4th place.

With a few laps left the top 3 places looked sown up. Yamaha and Honda must be delighted with all of their riders sat in the top 10.

THE LAST LAP 

Onto the last lap and VR46 superstar Marco Bezzecchi was miles ahead of the rest. Bezzecchi started the lap 6.576 seconds clear of Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin in 2nd and in 3rd place to start the lap was 2021 world champion, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.

Martin went into turn 4 and ran wide letting Fabio go by. Martin only to come back round the outside of Fabio at turns 5 into 6. A crazy overtake from The Martinator to get back up into 2nd. Fabio not giving up on 2nd tried to get up the inside of Martin in the following corners.

As Bezzecchi was celebrating cruising along the start straight, Jorge Martin clung on to take 2nd place and crossed the line with Fabio finishing in 3rd.

With 7 races left in the championship and with Pecco dropping the ball into the gravel. Martin is just 13 points now behind Pecco in the championship as we head to Motegi in Japan next weekend.

Race Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP

Championship Standings

Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Bezzecchi Takes First Ever Pole In India

Marco Bezzecchi takes the first ever MotoGP Pole Position at the Buddh International Circuit, and his third of the season, with the top ten riders being within one second of each other. He is joined by Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia on the front row for both the Sprint and Main Races.

The main shock in the paddock was to see both factory KTM riders, Jack Miller and Brad Binder, having to go through the first round of qualifying. However, neither of these two riders were able to progress through.

Track conditions continued to improve during qualifying one with the best lap time constantly swapping between riders as they passed the finish line. After the second set of fast laps, Binder was at the top of the timesheets, followed by Raul Fernandez.

Binder was replaced by Alex Marquez in the promotion places just before the Spaniard crashed at turn six. A. Marquez went to the medical centre and was sent to hospital for further checks. He has been declared unfit due to fractured ribs.

Fernandez and A. Marquez were the riders who made it through to Q2.

As soon as qualifying two started, all the fit riders headed out to get a feel of the track once more. The first set of runs were completed quickly, and Martin sat firmly at the top of the pile. The time he set was not faster than R. Fernandez’s time in Q1.

Five minutes into the session, Marc Marquez crashed at turn three and was down in the middle of the track. Bagnaia had to take avoiding action to ensure that he did not hit the Spaniard or his Repsol Honda.

Bezzecchi continued to lap at a rapid pace, but he was once again displaced by Martin at the head of the field.

Marquez made it back to the pits and was able to head back out for the final four minutes of the session with the rest of the riders. Joan Mir set a quick lap time on his Repsol Honda, placing him in fourth place before other riders knocked him down the order.

Bezzecchi set his fastest time, a 1:43.947, which gave him the all-time track record at the circuit.

Bagnaia had a few wobbles on his final lap, but still improved, allowing him to join Bezzechi and Martin on the all Ducati front row.

Luca Marini heads up the second row and is joined by the two Repsol Honda riders, Mir and M. Marquez.

Johann Zarco leads the third row and is joined by fellow countryman Fabio Quartararo and Spaniard Maverick Vinales. Vinales’ teammate Aleix Espargaro rounded out the top ten.

Feature Image Credit: @VR46RacingTeam on X (formerly Twitter) (https://twitter.com/VR46RacingTeam/status/1705232774561780087/photo/1)

INDIAN MOTOGP, BUDDH INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT – FULL QUALIFYING RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF
1 Marco Bezzecchi ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) 1:43.947s
2 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +0.043s
3 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) +0.256s
4 Luca Marini ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) +0.268s
5 Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.507s
6 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.522s
7 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +0.568s
8 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.777s
9 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +0.794s
10 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +0.803s
11 Raul Fernandez SPA RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +1.247s
12 Alex Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP22) No Time
13 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Ducati (GP22) 1:44.529s
14 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) 1:44.651s
15 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) 1:44.735s
16 Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) 1:45.030s
17 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1:45.037s
18 Augusto Fernandez SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) 1:45.066s
19 Miguel Oliveira POR RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) 1:45.375s
20 Pol Espargaro SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) 1:45.452s
21 Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda (RC213V) 1:45.517s
22 Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) 1:46.147s

 

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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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Moto3: Misano Masterclass from Alonso!

Image Credit: MotoGP

Glorious sunshine today in San Marino and yet another glorious Moto3 race to match. Rookie teenager David Alonso took his 3rd victory in 4 Grand Prix’s here in Misano.

The Colombian wonderkid Alonso clearly a title contender now and after a thrilling last lap, saw Alonso snatch the win from Leopard Racing’s Jaume Masia and KTMs Deniz Öncü to victory. 

Image Credit: Aspar Team

Image Credit: Aspar Team

AS IT HAPPENED

A great start from Ayumu Sasaki and took the lead into turn 1, but it was short lived as pole sitter Masia got by Sasaki on the brakes into turn 4. Front row starters Sasaki and Kaito Toba swapped places in the early parts of the opening lap only for Toba to go from 2nd to 5th on lap 1 as Diogo Moreira and David Alonso blasted by.

It was the first front row start since 2019 for Kaito Toba, 51 races. Long overdue from the Japanese Squadra Corse rider.

 

Masia was keen to get on with it in the early stages of the race and quickly pulled a gap to over a second to the chasing pack behind. The more the group fought and diced with other, the better it was for Masia in the opening stages. Masia just able to concentrate on his own race and mind his own business at the front.

Coming to the end of lap 3, Öncü was now at the head of the pack and had a gap to Masia of 1.229 seconds to chase down. The group started to realise that the more they fought the better it was for Masia, so allowed Öncü to chase Masia down.

Patience is rare in Moto3 and as Moreira set the fastest lap of the race, was up on the back wheel of Öncü and trying to get by. Both Öncü and Moreira gradually starting to reel Masia in.

Meanwhile, Sasaki was being hounded by the young wonderkids Munoz and Alonso, but championship leader Daniel Holgado was 10th. Holgado seemingly not making much progress at the start of lap 6. A long way still to go in the San Marino Grand Prix but Holgado needed to get a move on soon.

Lap 6 and Öncü was clearly dialled in now. Fastest lap of the race and Öncü  halved the gap to Masia in front on the opening two sectors of the lap. Masia only had a 0.280 seconds gap to Öncü in 2nd. Öncü was close enough on the final corner to try and go for the lead into turn 1 at the start of lap 7.

A quarter of the race gone now and we had Masia leading with Öncü on his back wheel and just behind those two was Moreira. A lead group of 3 fighting it out for the win in the sunshine in Misano.

 

Masia’s pace slowing brought the pack back together. At this point it looking more and more likely we will have a big group of riders soon all fighting for the win. Öncü gets it wrong dropping him back to the group with Sasaki and Alonso and Munoz in 3rd. Öncü with it all to do again to catch the leaders.

Halfway through the race and after Masia’s early getaway we now have a lead group of 7 lead by Masia all interchanging positions especially at turn 4 which is a favourite spot for overtakes.

Onto lap 11 now and coming out of turn 10 Masia makes a mistake and opens the door for the rest to come through. Öncü and Munoz don’t need a second invitation and pounce on Masia with Öncü now taking over the lead of the race with Munoz 2nd and Masia in 3rd.

Through the fastest section of the track turns 11, 12 and 13, Masia chases down and gets by Munoz. A great overtake and Masia was eager to get back in the lead.

With 8 laps to go Öncü was leading as Masia set the fastest lap of the race in 2nd, with Munoz 3rd. Holgado looked like his championship lead of 13pts was going to shrink in Misano as Holgado was currently in 11th place.

7 laps left and the pace was heating up with Alonso setting the fastest lap of the race just as Öncü received a track limits warning mid way through the lap. Öncü lead from Masia 2nd, Alonso 3rd and Munoz 4th. This quartet of riders all still had a great opportunity to take the victory. Öncü now with his track limits warning had to be inch perfect for the remainder of the race.

Munoz at the end of lap 15 on the last corner made a great move up the inside of Masia. Munoz now hunted down Öncü and we know after Öncü wiped out Munoz last weekend in Barcelona. Munoz would be looking for revenge in the final few laps to take the victory away from Öncü.

Masia hadn’t given up though and through his favourite fast section of turns 11, 12 and 13 gets by Munoz and up into 2nd.

With only a couple of laps left now in the race, Öncü lead with Masia close behind in 2nd. Alonso and Munoz needed to get up to the leaders if they still wanted to win the race.

Öncü on the penultimate lap of the race resisted the pressure from Masia and Alonso as we headed into the last lap it could of been any of the top 3 to take the win. Munoz after a scare earlier settled for 4th.

THE LAST LAP 

Öncü lead into turn 1 as Alonso set the fastest lap of the race.  Alonso got by into 2nd place with only 6corners left of this San Marino Grand Prix.

Onto the final few corners of the race, Masia went up the inside of Alonso just as Alonso ran wide. Masia then dove up the inside of Öncü. 3 of them side by side through turn 14. Masia managed to block Öncü to take a position but opened the door for Alonso to swoop into the lead and hold on to take the win in Misano. What a last lap and what a win for the Colombian wonderkid David Alonso. The 3rd victory in the last 4 races for Alonso and took this win by just +0.036 seconds to Masia in 2nd. Öncü taking 3rd.

With Daniel Holgado finishing way down in 16th place, its set the championship alight. Only 21pts now separate the top 5 riders in the championship. With a brief break next week before we then set off to India. Sasaki, Masia, Öncü and now Alonso will all be thinking they can overtake Holgado and take championship glory.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Race Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Martin Misano Masterclass

Image Credit: MotoGP

Jorge Martin was on fire today in Misano. Not only setting a new all time lap record around this Misano circuit but annihilating the field in a fantastic qualifying session. A session that sent a clear message to title rivals Pecco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi that The Martinator is doing all he can in the fight for the world championship this season.

The top 3 title rivals all on the front row for the Tissot Sprint race and main Grand Prix tomorrow. Both Pecco and Bezzecchi are still suffering from injuries this weekend. Can Martin now take advantage of this and win both races this weekend?

 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Last weekends winner in Catalunya, Aleix Espargaro was a surprise name in Q1 and was keen to get going. KTMs Jack Miller after a shocking practice session was also in Q1 with a lot of work to do.

Both factory Yamaha’s Quartararo and Morbidelli swapped places at the top of the timings early on in the session and just as Pol Espargaro on the GASGAS split them at the top of the timings, Pol’s left front tucked underneath him and crashed out at turn 2. Pol ok though and sprinted back to the pits for the spare bike.

10mins left of the session and the riders come through setting their next set of flying laps. Miguel Oliveira now at the top with Fabio 2nd. Aleix still yet to set a fast time on the factory Aprilia.

The riders headed back into the pits to make some last minute adjustments and got some fresh boots on for the remaining few mins of the session. Aleix and Miller still with a lot of work to do here and under a lot of pressure to get through to Q2.

With 2mins remaining we had a 2nd crash of the session for Pol Espargaro at turn 13, Miguel top of the timings and a stunning lap from Stefan Bradl pushes himself up to 2nd.

Aleix Espargaro plucks a time out of nowhere and puts himself fastest. Zarco unable to get through but had one last lap to get to get a time crossing the line with a few seconds left in the session

Fabio on the factory Yamaha just missed out on a Q2 place, with Miguel topping the timings at the end of the session. Both Aprilia’s 1-2 in Q1 with Oliveira and Espargaro going through to Q2.

Jack Miller will be starting way down in 18th place for the Tissot Sprint and the main race tomorrow. A disastrous weekend here for Miller in Misano so far.

Qualifying 2

As the riders head out for Q2 its VR46s Bezzecchi leading the way to start the first flying lap of the session.

As the lap times started to come through in the early stages of the Q2 session, KTMs Brad Binder sat atop the timings with Martin 2nd, followed closely by this weekends wildcard and legend Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa showing everyone that class is permanent.

The next set of flying laps come through and after setting the all time lap record yesterday, Bezzecchi now sits on provisional pole with Martin moving to 2nd. Both pushing as hard as they can to take pole position here in for the San Marino Grand Prix.

Reigning world champion Pecco Bagnaia, after round the clock physio and treatment from last weekend’s horrific crash, moves up to 4th. Pecco used every ounce of grit and determination, with a dash of adrenaline, to drag himself through this weekend’s qualifying session.

Martin now back to the top with a 1:30.832 setting a new all time lap record beating the time set by Bezzecchi yesterday in practice.

Riders headed back to the pits for the last minute changes for the last 6mins of the session. Pecco was the first out of the pits, leading the pack onto the track to battle for pole position.

The riders then come through setting the times and Jorge Martin smashes his all time lap record now with provisional pole time set at 1:30.390. Pedrosa clearly a Misano specialist, put himself onto the front row briefly, but in the end topped by championship protagonists Bezzecchi and Pecco as they come through taking to 2nd and 3rd. Pecco at one point had everyone watching in disbelief as at one point he was on target during his last flying lap to take pole position.

An incredible qualifying session here in Misano. One of the best pole position laps we have witnessed for some time. A masterclass in Misano from the The Martinator Martin!

Starting Grid 

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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MotoGP: The Martinator Sprints to victory in Misano

Jorge Martin continued his great form from this morning with a dominant win in this afternoon’s Tissot Sprint race. Championship rival Marco Bezzecchi finished 2nd and reigning world champ Pecco Bagnaia finished in 3rd.

Both Bezzecchi and Pecco carrying injuries into this weekend from last weekend in Barcelona, both using all of the painkillers and adrenaline they could get a hold of to get through the sprint race today. Heroic performances from both riders.

Pecco fended off legend Dani Pedrosa and late charging Brad Binder at the end of the sprint, both KTM riders tried all they could to get by Pecco in the closing laps of the race. With his title rivals not at 100%, can Martin capitalise on this and win the main grand prix tomorrow? When Martin is in this kind of form, its hard to imagine any rider being able to stop The Martinator. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Martin got off the line and off to a great start leading into turn 1. Pecco close in behind Martin through turns 2 and 3 with a gap already to Bezzecchi 3rd who was leading the rest of the group behind.

Pedrosa managing to get up the inside of Maverick Viñales into4th with Pol Espargaro up 6 places on the opening lap. A great start given the KTM GASGAS rider crashed twice this morning.

 

Onto the second lap the stand out overtake of the race happened as Binder went up the inside of both Luca Marini and Aleix Espargaro in one corner, up into 6th place. Binder was determined to catch those in front before its too late. The lead group of 4 already pulling away from the rest of the field now forming a gap at the front. Martin leading from Bezzecchi now up to 2nd pulling away from Pecco and Pedrosa 3rd and 4th.

 

Over the next few laps, the VR46 star Bezzecchi tried all he could to catch Martin ahead, losing it at one point at turn 16, gifting half a second back to Martin who controlled the race at the front throughout.

Binder eager to carry on the charge to the front was in a great battle for 5th place with Viñales and Marini. Eventually Binder coming out on top and keen to press on to catch the wildcard Pedrosa and Pecco battling for 3rd ahead of him.

Aleix Espargaro at this point was unable to keep pace with the battle in front eventually settling in 8th place. Aleix will be hoping for better tomorrow given he won the race last time out in Catalunya.

Moving into the final stages of the Tissot Sprint and Martin maintained his gap to Bezzecchi controlling the race from the front. Pedrosa was closing up behind the injured Pecco , ever keen to try and get onto the podium with only a few laps to go.

Just as Pedrosa was closing onto the back wheel of Pecco, Pecco responded putting his personal best lap time of the race so far. An incredible performance here with the pain he must be suffering after the horrific crash last weekend in Barcelona. Its nothing short of a miracle that Pecco is here competing this weekend.

Lap 11 of 13 now and as Pecco runs wide Pedrosa is right up behind Pecco with 2 laps to go. The first two places were sown up at this point, as Martin was over a second ahead of Bezzecchi in 2nd. Almost every rider in the field was on the brink of a long lap penalty, as Binder closed in on the Pedrosa and Pecco battle for 3rd.

Last lap now and the KTMs of Pedrosa and Binder are right up behind Pecco as Pecco is still resisting this charge hanging onto 3rd.

Into turns 11, 12 and 13 the factory Ducati just glides through with ease as Pecco creates just enough of a gap to keep 3rd place.

Jorge Martin takes the chequered flag and wins the Tissot Sprint with a commanding and faultless performance. VR46 star man Bezzecchi takes a well deserved 2nd and a superb performance given the pain Bezzecchi must be in with the carrying hand injury.

Race Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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Moto2: Dixon Takes First Pole of the Season

Jake Dixon takes his first pole of the season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from Aron Canet and Ai Ogura. Championship leader Pedro Acosta was only able to manage ninth place for tomorrow’s grid and his closest challenger in Tony Arbolino was unable to get himself out of the first qualifying session.

The first qualifying session was uneventful with Somkiat Chantra, Sergio Garcia, Filip Salac and Barry Baltus occupying the top four positions for at the end of the session. The early pace setter in this session was Bo Bendsneyder but dropped down to fifth, meaning he will start tomorrow’s race from 19th.

Arbolino was unable to set a time fast enough to progress due to the bike looking unstable on his last lap, meaning he needed to come into the pits and bail out of the lap.

The four riders who came up through Q1 set the initial pace at the start of the second qualifying session with Salac topping the times after the first runs. Following the second set of fast laps Ogura had set the fastest time followed by Albert Arenas and rookie Sergio Garcia.

With over half the session to go, Joe Roberts and Alonso Lopez had not set a representative lap time.

Acosta and Dixon circulated around the track together towards the end of the session, offering each other a tow on alternating fast laps. With the Brit following the Spaniard, Dixon set the fastest time during the qualifying session, a 1:43.983. After swapping places, Acosta was being led around by Dixon, but the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider exceeded track limits, meaning that his lap was deleted.

Canet was also riding around the circuit with a partner, Manuel Gonzalez. This pair helped each other to achieve second and fourth place respectively. On the other hand, Ogura spent most of his time on the track alone but was still able to achieve third place.

That quick time from Arenas set earlier in the session was the quickest time he was able to achieve, and this was good enough to place him in fifth place on tomorrow’s grid.

The highest-placed non-Kalex rider was Fermin Aldeguer in sixth place, followed by his teammate Lopez. Garcia was the highest qualifying rookie in eighth place, being the only rookie to make it through to the second round of qualifying,

Due to having a fast time deleted due to track limits, Acosta only starts in ninth place on the grid tomorrow. Baltus rounds out the top ten on the grid tomorrow.

Sam Lowes was unable to set a lap time fast enough to break into the top ten and is joined by Chantra on the fourth row of the grid. The fifth row of the grid contains Salac, Roberts and Celestino Vietti, who struggled to set fast times around the Spanish circuit.

Tomorrow’s race is shaping up to be an exciting 21 laps with Acosta having to work his way through the field to continue extending his championship lead.

Feature Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X (https://twitter.com/AsparTeam)

2023 CATALUNYA MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, BARCELONA – QUALIFYING RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM BIKE TIME
1 Jake Dixon GBR Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 1m 44.089s
2 Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 1m 44.184s
3 Ai Ogura JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 1m 44.214s
4 Manuel Gonzalez SPA Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 1m 44.215s
5 Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 1m 44.270s
6 Fermín Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 1m 44.276s
7 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 1m 44.344s
8 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 1m 44.374s
9 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 1m 44.374s
10 Barry Baltus BEL Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 1m 44.419s
11 Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 44.458s
12 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 1m 44.470s
13 Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 1m 44.490s
14 Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 44.682s
15 Celestino Vietti ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 1m 44.838s
16 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 1m 44.906s
17 Zonta Vd Goorbergh NED Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 1m 44.983s
18 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 1m 45.202s
19 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 44.930s
20 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 45.021s
21 Senna Agius AUS Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 1m 45.104s
22 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 1m 45.220s
23 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 45.248s
24 Borja Gomez SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 1m 45.314s
25 Rory Skinner GBR OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 1m 45.607s
26 Mattia Rato ITA Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 45.784s
27 Alberto Surra ITA Forward Team (Forward) 1m 45.905s
28 Izan Guevara SPA Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 1m 45.950s
29 Kohta Nozane JPN Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 1m 45.983s
30 Yeray Ruiz SPA Forward Team (Forward) 1m 46.321s

 

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Moto3: Ortola Takes Pole in Barcelona

Image Credit: Joel Cooper Photography LTD

Ivan Ortola for the Angeluss MTA Team takes his first career pole position today in Moto3 at the Catalunya circuit. Ortola takes pole position right at the end of the session with Deniz Öncü in 2nd and Joel Kelso rounding off the front row in 3rd.

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

There were some big names in the first round of qualifying, including championship leader Daniel Holgado along with Xavi Artigas and Diogo Moreira. Holgado will be keen to make the top 4 to progress into Qualifying 2.

Both CFMOTO Racing riders, Artigas and Kelso, were posting the quickest times early on in the session.

The rest of the field were now coming across the line but it was still Holgado topping the timesheets with Moreira in 2nd, David Salvador in 3rd and David Munoz making up the top 4 heading to Q2.

There was lots of gesturing and head shaking from riders in this Q1 session – they were clearly frustrated as every rider is keen to be bunched up, looking for any extra tenth of a second getting by finding a tow around this circuit. There was a common theme of just follow Holgado around the circuit emerging in Q1, with everyone hoping to be dragged into Q2.

Moreira was the surprise rider to be knocked out at the end of the session, as he was beaten by Scott Ogden. Moreira thought he’d done enough to get through at the end of the session but that wasn’t the case. This weekend, Moreira is sporting an Ayrton Senna themed helmet but I don’t think this is a qualifying session Ayrton Senna would have written home about.

Holgado eventually topped the session with Kelso, Taiyo Furusato and Ogden also progressing into Q2.

Qualifying 2

Into Q2 we go – Can Collin Veijer take back-to-back pole positions in Barcelona, with the Dutchman on a superb run of form lately? Veijer had set the fastest time in FP3 this morning.

Holgado took the pace he found in Q1 quickly into Q2, setting the fastest time for the rest of the field to chase early in the session. Masia ran into traffic and had to bail on his first flying lap.

Usual suspects of Ayumu Sasaki and Öncü topped the leader board as the session progressed, with 9 minutes remaining. Öncü with the quickest time set of 1:49.326, and on provisional pole.

Sector 2 then lit up in yellow flags as Veijer suffered a high side crash on the exit of turn 5. Veijer seems ok though and was thankfully quickly back up onto the bike, as Öncü manages to avoid the crash.

Masia then got his first flying lap in and took over at the top of the leader board. Masia was frustrated by the riders behind who were hounding him to get a tow.

With 6 minutes left of the session, there was still time for a few flying laps and pole position was still very much up for grabs. The riders were now heading back to the pits to make any last minute adjustments before heading back out to fight to pole position.

Less than 3 minutes were on the clock when all of the riders were heading out for their 2nd run. As the chequered flag fell, all of the riders on track just had one last shot at taking pole position. Championship leader Holgado leads the pack into turn 1.

With fastest sectors lighting up for several riders, the pack made their way round on the final flying lap. Coming into sector 3 we had Holgado, Ortola, Öncü and Masia all on flying laps and chasing pole position.

As the bunch came round the final two corners the lap times came thick and fast, with Ivan Ortola taking pole position from Öncü and Kelso also managing to get onto the front row by taking 3rd.

It’s the third time in the last four Grand Prix we’ve seen maiden pole positions in Moto3. I’m sure Öncü will be looking for back-to-back victories when he starts on the front row tomorrow. Holgado also will be looking to make up as much ground as possible, starting from the middle of row 4 tomorrow. Can Masia bring himself back into the championship fight with a win? With the starting grid as it is for tomorrow, Moto3 is all set for another crazy Grand Prix.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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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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