Nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has dominated Valkenswaard’s third round of the 2019 MXGP World Championship in The Netherlands, boosting his points lead in the series classification.
The Italian ace pieced together a stellar 1-1 scorecard for top honours, comfortably defeating runner-up Clement Desalle (Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing) in the day’s overall points tally.
Former champion Tim Gajser (Honda HRC) was third overall, challenging Cairoli for victory in the final encounter, while the top five was rounded out by Jeremy van Horebeek (Honda SR Motoblouz) and Arminas Jasikonis (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing).
In the MX2 category, reigning world champion Jorge Prado returned from a shoulder injury that ruled him out of round two in exceptional fashion, dominating the day with a pair moto victories to earn the overall win.
Points leader Thomas Kjer Olsen (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) was second ahead of Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Jago Geerts, while Calvin Vlaanderen (Honda HRC) and Henri Jacobi (F&H Kawasaki) were fourth and fifth respectively.
Australian contenders Jed Beaton (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) and Mitch Evans (Team Honda 114 Motorsports) wound up 12th and 15th overall.
The Dutch grand prix also marked round on the Women’s Motocross World Championship, which saw Amandine Verstappen (Yamaha) emerge victorious over Nancy Van de Ven (Yamaha) and Larissa Papenmeier (MXFONTA Racing Yamaha). Aussies Meghan Rutledge (Kawasaki) and Tahlia O’Hare (KTM) were eighth and 13th overall respectively.
The MXGP World Championship now heads to Trentino in Italy this weekend for round four of the series.
Marc Marquez took the holeshot from pole as Dovizioso pounced for second, with Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) losing out from the middle of the front row and Rossi leap-frogging his teammate. Marquez immediately pulled the pin to make a gap, with Rossi then soon attacking Dovizioso but the Ducati rider was holding firm.
Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was next to go on the offensive as he dived past the ‘Doctor’ but the move didn’t stick, with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) getting past Viñales to tag onto the Australian. Chopping and changing, Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) was next to attack the number 12 Yamaha in the melee – before Miller took Rossi, and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) had a stab at getting past the number 46 too.
It was a breathless tussle over the first two laps but one rider was then forced out of it: Crutchlow was given a Ride Through for jumping the start. That took him out of the battle as Dovi, Miller and Rossi found Morbidelli back on their tail and Rossi pounced on Dovizioso just as Morbidelli pounced on Miller in tandem. Spectacular though it was, it was shortlived as both Yamahas then headed wide and the ensuing shuffle reset the battle. Dovizioso and Rossi followed by Morbidelli, Petrucci, Miller and Viñales was the freight train fighting it out for the podium.
As the laps ticked on the Dovizioso-Rossi battle lit up and started to pull away from those behind. Dovizioso blasted down the straights, Rossi made the most of the Yamaha’s forte in the corners…the two trading positions at times but able to stay ahead of the battle that now included Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) as he arrived on the scene from 16th on the grid.
As that raged on, the last lap was a relaxed one for Marquez at the front. The reigning Champion completed his stunning performance and took his first win of the year, but the battle for second stayed tense to the line.
Rossi lurked behind his prey for the first half of the lap, but at Turn 7 the ‘Doctor’ struck to perfection.
A block pass saw the Italian not only get past his compatriot but also create just enough of a gap to keep him ahead until the end; the result Rossi back on the podium for the first time since Sachsenring last season.
Dovizioso, meanwhile, although forced to settle for third, achieved his goal of getting on the podium at a track that usually proved tough for Ducati – and he’s only four points off Marquez in the Championship.
The fight for fourth saw Rins and Miller locked in battle and in the end it was the Australian who took the spoils, coming home in the same position as last year and as top Independent Team rider. Rins nevertheless took an incredible fifth after gaining 11 places, with Petrucci ultimately dropping into the clutches of Viñales and Morbidelli – and one last gasp of drama just around the corner for that trio.
Viñales attacked Petrucci, Petrucci held him off and the two Yamahas behind then came into contact, suddenly both on the floor and sliding out as the Ducati escaped for P6. That meant Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) got an even bigger reward for a quality race as the Japanese rider capitalised for seventh, with fast Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) taking P8 and coming home as top rookie. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) took ninth and homed in on his pre-race goal of the top eight.
The battle to complete the top ten was another stunner. It was Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who won it and took the spoils, but the Spaniard had to do some serious looking over his shoulder for another KTM: that of rookie Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3). The Portuguese rider has been notable in 2019 so far, but less than two tenths off Espargaro and two-tenths off the top ten made quite an impression as he scored points for the first time.
The recovering Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) took P12, ahead of Crutchlow, Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completing the points.
And that’s all she wrote in Argentina. Now it’s time for chapter three at COTA, traditionally Marquez territory. Can he rule the venue once again and increase his lead? Find out on the 14th April for the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas.
2019 MotoGP – Round Two – Argentina Race Results
Pos
Rider
Team
Time
1.
Marquez M.
Repsol Honda
41:43.688
2.
Rossi V.
Movistar Yamaha
+9.816
3.
Dovizioso A.
Ducati Team
+10.530
4.
Miller J.
Alma Pramac Racing
+12.140
5.
Rins A.
Team Suzuki Ecstar
+12.563
6.
Petrucci D.
Ducati Team
+13.750
7.
Nakagami T.
LCR Honda
+18.160
8.
Quartararo F.
Petronas Yamaha SRT
+20.403
9.
Espargaro A.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
+25.292
10.
Espargaro P.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
+25.679
11.
Oliveira M.
KTM Tech3 Racing
+25.855
12.
Lorenzo J.
Repsol Honda
+27.497
13.
Crutchlow C.
LCR Honda
+31.398
14.
Bagnaia F.
Alma Pramac Racing
+32.893
15.
Zarco J.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
+33.372
16.
Syahrin H.
KTM Tech3 Racing
+35.545
17.
Iannone A.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
+38.238
DNF
Vinales M.
Movistar Yamaha
DNF
DNF
Morbidelli F.
Petronas Yamaha SRT
DNF
DNF
Mir J.
Team Suzuki Ecstar
DNF
DNF
Abraham K.
Reale Avintia Racing
DNF
DNF
Rabat T.
Reale Avintia Racing
DNF
MotoGP Championship Points
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
1.
Marquez Marc
Repsol Honda Team
45
2.
Dovizioso Andrea
Ducati Team
41
3.
Rossi Valentino
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
31
4.
Rins Alex
Team Suzuki Ecstar
24
5.
Petrucci Danilo
Ducati Team
20
6.
Crutchlow Cal
LCR Honda
19
7.
Nakagami Takaaki
LCR Honda
16
8.
Miller Jack
Alma Pramac Racing
13
9.
Espargaro Aleix
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
13
10.
Espargaro Pol
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
10
11.
Vinales Maverick
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
9
12.
Quartararo Fabio
Petronas Yamaha SRT
8
13.
Mir Joan
Team Suzuki Ecstar
8
14.
Lorenzo Jorge
Repsol Honda Team
7
15.
Oliveira Miguel
KTM Tech3 Racing
5
16.
Morbidelli Franco
Petronas Yamaha SRT
5
17.
Iannone Andrea
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
2
18.
Bagnaia Francesco
Alma Pramac Racing
2
19.
Zarco Johann
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
2
20.
Syahrin Hafizh
KTM Tech3 Racing
0
21.
Abraham Karel
Reale Avintia Racing
0
22.
Rabat Tito
Reale Avintia Racing
0
23.
Smith Bradley
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
0
Moto2
Baldassarri blasts clear of spectacular tussle at Termas
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) made it two from two in 2019 as he took victory at Termas de Rio Hondo, playing the waiting game and timing his attack to pull the pin to perfection in the latter stages. His closest competition came from early leader Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) as the Australian rode to a superb first podium, with Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) coming home third and elbows out throughout the race.
The first drama hit on the Warm Up lap as polesitter Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) suffered a technical problem and was forced to miss the start, with that leaving Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) the furthest forward and the German capitalising to lead Lap 1. Gardner was soon to strike, however, and the tone was almost immediately set as Schrötter attacked back but was held off by the Aussie.
The front group of Gardner, Schrötter, Marquez and Baldassarri had initially pulled out almost two seconds on the chasing pack but the four didn’t keep it tidy to try and pull away – it was all-out war. Each attack would either see immediate retaliation or a calculated move soon after to serve the rider ahead some payback, and the scenes were spectacular ones as the squabble stayed just about perfectly within the lines of brutal but fair.
Gardner remained the man ahead for much of the first half before Schrötter lunged again with 12 to go, his attack repelled but the German able to fight back and keep the lead. Marquez remained third and Baldassarri lurked in fourth, the Italian remaining an observer as seemed to wait it out and choose his moment.
Meanwhile just behind, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was on the charge. Starting to make some gains on the first group, the South African closed it down to half a second – and the war ahead raged on, Marquez taking over in second to chase down Schrötter.
With nine laps to go, however, Gardner hit back again and took second, and not long after Baldassarri made his first real move. The Italian sliced past Marquez into third before Gardner took the lead again, and then there was a ‘Baldattack’ on Schrötter to leave the Italian in second. The Jaws music began and with four laps to go Baldassarri finally attacked for the lead and Gardner ended up a little wide, slotting back in just ahead of Marquez. In the lead, though, Baldassarri then pulled the pin as Gardner harried Schrötter, and the Aussie was able to get past but the gap to the leader would ultimately prove too big.
Baldassarri crossed the line in clear air to stamp some more authority on the early part of the Championship, but the celebration just behind him was even bigger as Gardner finally took that first podium. So close in Qatar, the Aussie moves up to second overall in the standings as he broke his rostrum duck, and Marquez managed to emerge from the melee for a valuable P3.
Just behind that, Binder was still on a charge but the South African overcooked it when attacking Schrötter, forcing the German well wide, and that let past both Iker Lecuona (American Team KTM) and Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46). Binder got back past Marini before heading wide again, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider then attacked the Italian again on the last lap – and overcooked it again. Contact with Marini sent the him wide as Binder crossed the line in fifth just behind Lecuona, but that wasn’t all she wrote. After the race, the South African was penalised for irresponsible riding and demoted a place. So it’s Schrötter who is classified fifth, ahead of Binder, with Marini forced to settle for seventh.
Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) took P8 in a solid day’s work, ahead of a top ride from Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), who was top rookie once again. Not by much though, as a stunning charge from Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) saw the Thai rookie take his second top ten finish – the first having come in his sole Moto3™ appearance at Buriram last season. Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team), Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team), Khairul Idham Pawi (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and NTS RW Racing GP duo Bo Bendsneyder and replacement rider Jesko Raffin completed the points.
Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) was a crasher as he tagged the back of Binder early on, as fellow veteran Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) made a mistake at the exact same corner at the exact same time and also went down. Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) suffered an issue with his arm and was unable to finish, having been on for the honour of top rookie after some impressive pace in Argentina.
Termas was another thriller but it’s advantage Baldassarri as we head for Austin. Can the Italian make it three from three? Find out on the 14th April!
2019 MotoGP – Round Two – Argentina Moto2 Race Results
Pos
Team
Team
Laps
1.
Baldassarri L.
Pons HP40
39:46.000
2.
Gardner R.
SAG Team
+1.244
3.
Marquez A.
Estrella Galicia Marc VDS
+1.817
4.
Lecuona I.
SWI
+2.704
5.
Binder B.
Red Bull KTM Ajo
+4.707
6.
Schrotter M.
Dynavolt Intact GP
+4.839
7.
Marini L.
Sky Racing Team VR46
+4.986
8.
Navarro J.
+Ego Speed Up
+7.459
9.
Bastianini E.
Italtrans Racing Team
+8.724
10.
Chantra S.
Idemitsu Honda Team Asia
+14.506
11.
Locatelli A.
Italtrans Racing Team
+16.145
12.
Nagashima T.
SAG Team
+16.450
13.
Pawi K. I.
Petronas Sprinta Racing
+16.613
14.
Bendsneyder B.
NTS RW Racing GP
+23.007
15.
Raffin J.
NTS RW Racing GP
+24.736
16.
Bezzecchi M.
Red Bull KTM Tech3
+25.381
17.
Dixon J.
Angel Nieto Team
+41.684
18.
Tulovic L.
Kiefer Racing
+45.545
19.
Oettl P.
Red Bull KTM Tech3
+45.811
20.
Aegerter D.
Forward Racing Team
+56.934
21.
Cardelus X.
Angel Nieto Team
+1:07.765
22.
Roberts J.
SWI
+1:18.707
23.
Pratama D. E.
Idemitsu Honda Team Asia
+4 l.
DNF
Corsi S.
Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2
DNF
DNF
Martin J.
Red Bull KTM Ajo
DNF
DNF
Bulega N.
Sky Racing Team VR46
DNF
DNF
Di Giannantonio F.
+Ego Speed Up
DNF
DNF
Lowes S.
Federal Oil Gresini
DNF
DNF
Luthi T.
Dynavolt Intact GP
DNF
DNF
Manzi S.
Forward Racing Team
DNF
DNS
Vierge X.
Estrella Galicia Marc VDS
DNS
DNS
Fernandez A.
Pons HP40
DNS
Moto2 Championship Points Standings
Pos
Rider
Team
Points
1
Baldassarri Lorenzo
Pons HP40
50
2
Gardner Remy
SAG Team
33
3
Schrotter Marcel
Dynavolt Intact GP
26
4
Marquez Alex
Estrella Galicia Marc VDS Team Moto2
25
5
Luthi Thomas
Dynavolt Intact GP
20
6
Marini Luca
Sky Racing Team VR46
17
7
Binder Brad
Red Bull KTM Ajo
15
8
Bastianini Enea
Italtrans Racing Team
14
9
Lecuona Iker
Swiss Innovative Investors
13
10
Fernandez Augusto
Pons HP40
11
11
Lowes Sam
Federal Oil Gresini Moto2
10
12
Navarro Jorge
+Ego Speed Up
8
13
Locatelli Andrea
Italtrans Racing Team
8
14
Vierge Xavi
Estrella Galicia Marc VDS Team Moto2
6
15
Chantra Somkiat
Idemitsu Honda Team Asia
6
16
Di Giannantonio Fabio
+Ego Speed Up
5
17
Nagashima Tetsuta
SAG Team
4
18
Pawi Khairul Idham
Petronas Sprinta Racing
3
19
Raffin Jesko
NTS RW Racing GP
3
20
Bendsneyder Bo
NTS RW Racing GP
2
21
Martin Jorge
Red Bull KTM Ajo
1
22
Bezzecchi Marco
Red Bull KTM Tech3
0
23
Dixon Jake
Angel Nieto Team
0
24
Aegerter Dominique
Forward Racing Team
0
25
Tulovic Lukas
Kiefer Racing
0
26
Oettl Philipp
Red Bull KTM Tech3
0
27
Corsi Simone
Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2
0
28
Manzi Stefano
Forward Racing Team
0
29
Cardelus Xavi
Angel Nieto Team
0
30
Roberts Joe
Swiss Innovative Investors
0
31
Pratama Dimas Ekky
Idemitsu Honda Team Asia
0
32
Bulega Nicolo
Sky Racing Team VR46
0
Moto3
Masia masters Argentina for maiden Moto3 win
Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) took a stunning first win from his first pole position in the Gran Premio Motul de la Republica Argentina, pitching it to perfection on the final lap to cross the line ahead of a stunning ride through the field for Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power), with Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers Team) completing the podium. It was the first visit to the rostrum for all three.
Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) took the holeshot from second on the grid as Masia slipped back a little from pole, with Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) initially challenging the two and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) getting feisty at the front of the group. Feisty was the word for much of the race and the first few laps were no different, with most of the field locked in a long freight train shuffling for position.
A duel for the lead between Canet and Antonelli early on looked like it could see the two men break away but it wasn’t to be, and with 17 laps to go Masia struck back to take the lead. With 15 to go it was home hero Gabriel Rodrigo’s (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) turn to do the same, but the action ramped up another notch as the group battled it out – and Binder began to make his presence felt as he moved up the order.
With 11 laps to go it was attrition more than pace that was slowly whittling down the riders in the front group. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) came together and they both went down, also pushing Qatar GP winner Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) wide and the Japanese rider left with a gap left to make up. Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) crashed out not long after too, but the freight train would soon gain back another carriage as rookie Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) was able to tag on – and Toba pushed and pushed to try and make it back onto the group.
As the last few laps appeared, the number 27 had made up the gap and was back in contention. With such a huge group all squabbling, it was clear by crunch time that it wasn’t only a battle for the lead but still a battle for points: more than 15 riders were still tagged together hammering around Termas de Rio Hondo.
Heading over the line to begin the last lap, Binder held on at the front but he had Dalla Porta for close company and it wasn’t long until the Italian muscled his way past. As they thundered down to Turn 5 Rodrigo struck to make his own move for the lead and Binder then attacked Dalla Porta in the shuffle behind; the Italian forced a little wide. That was when Masia decided to strike taking over at the front through Turns 7 and 8 and ultimately not needing to look back. Keeping his cool, the Spaniard crossed the line for his first Grand Prix win and his first visit to the podium with just enough breathing space to avoid an attack from the chasing pack.
That wasn’t true of Rodrigo. Binder muscled through on the inside and the Argentinean suffered a huge wobble, somehow staying on but his podium hopes evaporating. The South African was able to complete his own fairytale race and take that second place and his first podium though, gaining a stunning 18 places from his starting position in the process. Arbolino, meanwhile, avoided the drama and swept through to take third and convert his top pace in preseason into a podium.
Antonelli took fourth after a solid race, with Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) concluding a quality Sunday with a top five finish and his best ever result in fifth. Rodrigo recovered from the last lap drama to take sixth ahead of another forced into a recovery as Dalla Porta crossed the line in P7. Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) – arguably the author of the move of the race as he managed a three-in-one overtake for the lead at one point – took eighth, ahead of Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) and a top class fight back from Qatar GP winner and Championship leader Kaito Toba.
Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai), Canet and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) locked out 11th to 13th, with the final points taken by rookie duo Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team).
Somewhat surprisingly, it was Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) who was the first of the freight train to miss out on points, the former Argentina GP winner taking P16, with rookie Ogura just behind him. But that’s it from a high octane Termas de Rio Hondo, with Toba still with a slim points lead as we head to the Circuit of the Americas in two weeks.
2019 MotoGP – Round Two – Argentina Moto3 Race Results
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) obliterated the opposition on Sunday at Argentina’s second round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship to take victory by over nine seconds, the reigning world champion beating Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati).
Marquez got an unthreatened hole-shot after a blinder of a start with second place Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) getting bogged down, allowing Dovizioso, Rossi and Australia’s Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) to get by the Spaniard.
With Marquez holding position off the line, it was a case of head and hammer down for the number 93 as he bolted to a one second lead on lap one, with that gap increasing to 2.4s after lap two as it soon became a race for second.
That race for second was fierce though as Dovizioso, Rossi, Miller, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) scrapped it out. But it was soon rostrum challenge over the Crutchlow as Race Direction gave him a ride through penalty for jumping the start – no repeat win or podium for last season’s Argentina GP victor.
Back at the front and on lap eight Marquez’ lead was stretched to five seconds as six riders all had their sights set on second, with Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) and Vinales joining the fray. Rossi eventually got the better of Dovi on lap nine after running in hot at turn five on lap eight after overtaking his compatriot, but the Ducati rider locked himself onto Rossi’s M1 tailpipes as the Italians locked horns in Termas.
It was ‘The Doctor’ who held the P2 baton at the halfway point, eight seconds from Marquez, with Dovizioso, Morbidelli, Petrucci, Miller and Vinales in tandem, with Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins creeping up to the rear of Vinales after making up ground from P16 on the grid, firmly tagging himself onto the back of the podium hunt with 10 to go.
Vinales then ran wide at turn five as he dropped behind eight place’s Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). With nine to go, a Noah’s Ark formation appeared as second to seventh were two-by-two, roughly half a second between the pairings. Dovi and Rossi locked together, Morbidelli and Petrucci interchanging for fourth with Rins and Miller engaged in battle.
Morbidelli soon found himself down in seventh though, Rins and Miller getting the better of him. Meanwhile, Marquez’ gap had opened up to 12 seconds. The group had closed back up again but with five laps remaining, Dovi and Rossi were edging out an advantage over the chasing pack, with Petrucci, Rins and Miller squabbling for fourth place. Both Rins and Miller getting the better of Petrucci at turn five with three to go.
Heading into the last lap it was Dovi leading Rossi. Both were clear of fourth, but which step of the podium would they be standing on? Dovizioso was able to keep second as the Yamaha had no match for the Ducati grunt down the straight, but ‘The Doctor’ sliced his way through on his countryman at turn seven.
A long way up the road, Marquez cruised round to take his first win of the season in scintillating fashion. A Marquez masterclass in Termas, with Rossi earning his first podium since the 2018 German GP. Dovi came home third, achieving his pre-race aims of a podium finish to head to Austin four points behind Marquez in the Championship.
Just behind, there was drama for two Yamahas on the last lap. Morbidelli tagging the back of Vinales at turn seven, the duo going down and out of contention. This left Miller holding fourth to repeat his 2018 Argentina GP result, with Rins climbing 11 positions from his P16 starting slot to earn fifth place. Petrucci takes away a second consecutive sixth of the season.
Nakagami makes it two top 10s from two in 2019 to come home seventh, with first of the rookies Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) picking up his first points of the year with a solid P8. The Espargaro brothers completed the top 10, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix heading Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol by 0.3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) produced an incredibly impressive ride on his second premier class start to finish just 0.176s behind the factory KTM.
Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team), a recovering Crutchlow, Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completed the points in Argentina.
In Moto2, Flexbox HP 40’s Lorenzo Baldassarri continued his perfect start to year a calculated ride to claim victory. The Italian eventually took the chequered flag over a second clear of Australian Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team), who stood on the podium for the first time in his career.
The result comes almost 27 years on from dad Wayne’s last podium at the 1992 South African grand prix. American Racing KTM’s Iker Lecuona took fourth place ahead of Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP).
Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) won his first ever Moto3 race after taking a sensational victory in Argentina, the Spaniard holding off Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) and maiden podium position finisher Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) as the lightweight class treated us to yet another unbelievable race long scrap. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) locked out the top five.
The MotoGP World Championship now heads to Circuit of the Americas on 14 April for round three of the series.
One of the biggest hurdles in the coming revolution of the electric vehicle is finding enough charging stations so motorists can ride and drive beyond the city limits.
Taiwanese motorcycle and scooter manufacturer has a unique idea for private charging stations that can be owned by individuals.
Now they have launched a range of charging stations called NOODOE (pronounced “new dough”) which can be privately owned by individuals.
No, it’s not an April Fool’s Day prank.
The cloud-based systems could actually be a viable alternative to the inaction on the part of big business and governments to supply suitable infrastructure for the nascent electric vehicle industry.
Obviously business will be involved once EVs reach a significant proportion of traffic.
And surely governments and businesses will have final say over the placement of such infrastructure.
Electric vehicle infrastructure
In Australia, businesses and governments are working together to build charging EV infrastructure.
“When he (Rossi) overtook me I was really scared to crash because in that part of the track the grip was zero,” admitted the Ducati rider, who didn’t want to fight back too hard and risk losing a valuable 16 points. “I didn’t make a crazy move to lose 16 points on the last lap, it wasn’t a good idea.”
If you think Australian road rules and lane filtering rules vary substantially between states, how about the USA where the only two states with lane splitting have completely different rules!
California has now been joined by Utah which has recently legalised lane splitting, while several more states are considering lane-splitting rules.
Lane splitting
It’s called lane splitting in the USA and lane filtering in Australia.
While lane filtering is slow movement between lanes of traffic, lane splitting is usually performed at higher speeds as in California.
However, the new Utah rules are actually lane filtering as it is only permitted in stationary traffic on a road posted at no higher than 45mph (72km/h) and at a maximum speed of 15mph (24km/h).
That’s even more restrictive than Australia where traffic does not have to be stopped and the maximum speed is 30km/h.
The most liberal rules are in California where it is allowed when traffic is travelling under 30mph (48km/h) and riders must travel no faster than 10mph (16km/h) more than surrounding traffic.
Some are considering allowing riders to use the road shoulder only and not between lanes of traffic, while others have varied maximum speeds for riders and surrounding traffic.
In Texas, where you can ride without a helmet under certain conditions, they are considering making it mandatory when splitting lanes.
Is it any wonder riders become confused and inadvertently break some of these arcane rules when travelling from state to state?
So if someone tells you it is legal to lane filter or lane split in their state or country, find out the rules first or you could run foul of the law.
“It was Sachsenring last year which is a long, long time. Especially because last year in the last two races in Malaysia and in Valencia I was first and second but I made two mistakes so to finish the championship like this was really difficult to accept. So, also for this reason, this result is so important for me, for my team, for Yamaha because we arrive from a difficult period and I’m so happy,” said Rossi, who got the better of Mission Winnow Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso on the last lap at Turn 7 to secure P2 in Argentina.
“(It was a) great race, very intense battles there with Petrucci, Morbidelli and those guys,” continued the Aussie. “I enjoyed it a lot. But it cost me a little bit of time fighting with them. My strategy was always to save the tyres for the last laps and I did it quite well, I was able to pass Rins and Petrucci and Morbidelli, but it took too long to pass them. I needed too many laps. I was catching Dovi and Valentino but I wasn’t able to do it today but no I’m very happy, a big thank you to the team and it’s a big improvement from Qatar. Happy to get some points on the board and I’m looking forward to Austin.”
“(It was a) great race, very intense battles there with Petrucci, Morbidelli and those guys,” continued the Aussie. “I enjoyed it a lot. But it cost me a little bit of time fighting with them. My strategy was always to save the tyres for the last laps and I did it quite well, I was able to pass Rins and Petrucci and Morbidelli, but it took too long to pass them. I needed too many laps. I was catching Dovi and Valentino but I wasn’t able to do it today but no I’m very happy, a big thank you to the team and it’s a big improvement from Qatar. Happy to get some points on the board and I’m looking forward to Austin.”
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