MotoGP™ flair for Austria’s new race series

The Road to MotoGP™ is becoming a reality: Austria’s junior motorcycle racers will get the unique chance to fight for victory in the unique setting of the Motorcycle World Championship. At the first of two MotoGP™ events at the Red Bull Ring this summer, the Austrian Junior Cup will host two championship races. The races will be held in conjunction with the Northern Talent Cup, which, like the AJC, will be run exclusively on the KTM RC4R. However, the Austrian series will be classified separately.

Source: MotoGP.comRead Full Article Here

Ferrandis & Jett Lawrence win Pro MX opener at Fox Raceway

2021 Pro Motocross Championship
Round 1 – Fox Raceway National

Images by Jeff Kardas


Sunny California saw the 2021 Pro Motocross Championship kick off with the first of the 12 rounds, the Fox Raceway I National, showcasing a historic depth of talent across both classes of competition, where Dylan Ferrandis prevailed with a surprise win in his first 450 Class start and Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence confirmed his position as a title contender with his second 250 Class victory.


450 Moto 1

The opening 450 class moto of the 2021 championship saw newly crowned AMA Supercross Champion Cooper Webb emerge with the MotoSport.com Holeshot aboard his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine ahead of Ferrandis and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo.

Cooper Webb
Cooper Webb

These three quickly jockeyed for position, during which Cianciarulo clawed his way past both riders to go from third to first before the completion of the opening lap. He sprinted out to a multi-second lead over Webb, while Ferrandis and Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen battled for third.

Cianciarulo continued to build on his advantage and soon enjoyed a lead approaching the double digits just 10 minutes into the moto as Webb and Ferrandis asserted themselves into second and third. With firm control of the race, Cianciarulo saw it all go away in an instant when he crashed on one of the track’s downhills.

Adam Cianciarulo

He was able to remount, but lost multiple positions and reentered in fourth. That handed the lead to Webb, but not for long as Ferrandis seized the opportunity and took control of the top spot in his first 450 Class moto. Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton assumed third, just ahead of Cianciarulo.

Ferrandis edged out to a lead of just over three seconds past the halfway point of the moto, as Webb fell into the clutches of Sexton. The Honda rider, and defending race winner at Fox Raceway, made the pass for second and looked to close in on the Frenchman out front.

As the moto wound down all eyes turned to GASGAS Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia, who was on a tear and charged up the running order. Barcia picked off Roczen, Aaron Plessinger, Cianciarulo, and Webb en route to podium position in third.

Justin Barcia

The run to the checkered flag was a thrilling one as Sexton’s persistence brought him to within striking distance of Ferrandis on the last lap. As they exited the final corner Sexton’s outside line gave him an edge in momentum that allowed him to get alongside Ferrandis off the final jump.

They crossed the finish line side by side, with the edge to Ferrandis, who secured the moto win on his first attempt in the premier class, just .099 ahead of Sexton. Barcia finished an impressive third, while Plessinger and Webb completed the top five.

450 Moto 2

The deciding 450 Class moto kicked off with a Yamaha at the head of the pack as Plessinger earned the MotoSport.com Holeshot, followed by Roczen, Webb, and Cianciarulo. Known as one of the best starters in the sport, Roczen went on the offense and made the pass for the lead on Plessinger, as Cianciarulo moved up to third.

Behind the leaders Ferrandis started from a spot deep in the top 10, while Sexton found himself on the ground in the first turn and started last in the 40-rider field.

450 Start

Roczen sprinted out to an early multi-second advantage, his first laps led in Pro Motocross since 2019, while Plessinger gave chase. Cianciarulo lost ground to the lead duo but settled solidly into third, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne, the defending 450 Class Champion, gave chase from fourth.

As the moto wore on the battle for the overall win turned compelling as Roczen, Plessinger, and Ferrandis sat in a three-way tie early on. With the lead pair well over 10 seconds ahead of the field, the focus shifted to Ferrandis’ ability to continue to move forward, which he did in pursuit of another impressive ride by Barcia. Both riders passed Osborne and Cianciarulo, which moved Barcia into third and Ferrandis into fourth.

Just past the halfway point of the moto Plessinger started to put the pressure on Roczen for the lead. The German successfully withstood Plessinger’s move and forced the Yamaha rider into a mistake, which put some distance between the top two.

Ken Roczen

Behind them, Ferrandis was able to get a firmer grasp on his lead in the overall classification with a pass on Barcia that moved the Frenchman into third. Roczen was able to build on his advantage as the moto wore on and carried on to capture his first moto win since the Unadilla National in August of 2019 by 11.8 seconds over Plessinger, with Ferrandis in third.

With his 1-3 moto finishes Ferrandis, last season’s 250 Class Champion, became the first rider since Ryan Villopoto in 2009 to win in his full time 450 Class debut in Pro Motocross. The Frenchman also gave Yamaha its first premier class win since the final round of the 2018 season.

Dylan Ferrandis topped the overall podium from Roczen and Plessinger

In his anticipated return to the championship, Roczen earned the second-moto tiebreaker to finish in the runner-up spot (6-1), while Plessinger captured his first podium result in third (4-2).

Dylan Ferrandis – P1

“It was a way different Pala race than last year, but it was a really good day for me. I didn’t wake up this morning thinking that I would win the overall. It’s an amazing result as a rookie in the 450 class to win the first moto and the overall. I’m also really happy to get that first 450 win for the Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team. I’m really hard on these guys, and I make them work many hours during the race and the whole week, so this one is really for them. The hard work has definitely paid off. I want to say a big thanks to all of the people around me. It’s an amazing feeling and a day that I will remember.”

Dylan Ferrandis

Ken Roczen – P2

“I think everybody probably struggled a little bit in practice, it was really deep and wet and we really only were using three feet of the track. It was a little tough, but we got it back together for the second practice and put ourselves in a good position for the first gate pick. I had a decent start on the first one, but I tangled a little bit with a few riders in the front and was in a good position in the beginning to make some moves so that’s what I did. Riding a track like that I wasn’t too comfortable and haven’t raced MX in a while so I rode tight and wasn’t going anywhere either. But very late in the race I could put a move on Adam in the last corner and started going forward just a little bit. In the second moto I grabbed a great start and we just laid it down, with some great lines. The track is really gnarly, so I just rode as hard as I could as long as I could and not make any mistakes. The two lap board came out and I was surprised but I brought it home.”

Aaron Plessinger – P3

“It was a great day for me overall. I felt good coming into this weekend and felt like I could do some damage, and I did. I think my last outdoor moto was at the Ironman back in 2019, so to come out here and finish third after a tough two years, it’s pretty amazing. I want to thank the whole team. They do an amazing job. I love my bike right now, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m just going to come into Colorado with the same outlook and try to do It again!”

Aaron Plessinger and Dylan Ferrandis celebrate

Ferrandis has established a five-point lead in the 450 Class standings over both Roczen and Plessinger, who sit tied for second.

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will continue next weekend with its second round of the 2021 season.


Source: MCNews.com.au

Riders comment on the tragedy and triumphs of the Italian GP

2021 MotoGP Round Six Mugello


Mugello MotoGP
Fabio Quartararo – P1

“In short, there was a lot of emotion today. It was an amazing day for us, but it was so difficult to stay focused. Honestly, I don‘t know how I was able to keep up this pace because every lap you do, you are thinking about Jason Dupasquier. It‘s not an easy thing to do, and I think that all the riders rode for him. My thoughts are with his family. My strategy today was to see which position we would get with the use of the holeshot device. I am super happy with it. I was in second place at the first corner. I remember 2019, when I started from second here and I think I was eighth or ninth in the first corner. So, it was amazing to arrive at the first corner in fourth gear and in second position today. I was riding easily behind Francesco Bagnaia, and when I saw him crash, I wanted to try to ride five laps at my maximum. But then Johann Zarco overtook me. So I said, ’I need to do aggressive moves‘. First of all to make him lose time and also to open up a gap. I thought, ’if I can hold on to first going into the first corner, it‘s good‘, and that‘s what happened. So, I‘m really happy about my race.”

Fabio Quartararo the victor and now leads Zarco by 24-points in the MotoGP World Championship
Miguel Oliveira – P2

“It was a good race and a strong weekend. We saw we had one of the best race paces out there. I was not strong enough to push at the beginning with the tires but then I got in my rhythm, I managed to get to 2nd and then could keep Joan Mir behind me, which was not easy. I would have liked to have made this podium in different circumstances. We can be happy but not completely, and our thoughts are with Jason’s family right now.”

Miguel Oliveira
Joan Mir – P3

“It was very difficult to put the helmet on today, a really hard day at the office. What happened to Jason was incredibly sad – we are all humans and part of a paddock family, so of course we feel all these emotions. It’s been the saddest podium of my career, and also for Fabio and Miguel I’m sure. I send my warmest wishes to Jason’s family and team and dedicate this podium to them. My crew did great job this weekend, the bike improved every day and I gave my absolute all, so I’m pleased to repay them with this 3rd place. I would also like to dedicate this result to our team member, Elvio, who was badly injured in an accident last year but was finally able to join us here in Mugello. Now it’s time to rest a bit and get prepared for Montmelo.”

Joan Mir
Johann Zarco – P4

“We gave it our all. Today’s race wasn’t an easy one, there were many emotions on this difficult day. I am happy by the way I was able to conclude the race. After the crash I had before today’s start, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to race, but in the end it all went well.”

Johann Zarco trying to hold off Oliveira
Brad Binder – P5

“I’m happy with 5th today, even if I did want more but I had a crazy race. I almost tucked the front on the Sighting Lap, so I was trying to work out the conditions and why I felt different. I didn’t have a perfect start and then I was cautious on the first three laps. Marc [Marquez] rode into me and my airbag fired which meant I couldn’t move for almost a lap! After that I could finally get into a rhythm and chase the group in front of me although I didn’t quite have the pace to get through it. Anyway, I’m pleased with another top five and we’ll try to keep this momentum for the next races.”

Brad Binder tussling with Oliveira and Morbidelli
Jack Miller – P6

“That was better than it usually is for me at Mugello, so to come out of here with some decent points and stay in fourth in the championship is a good result. As you probably heard about 100 times this weekend, Mugello isn’t a place where I’ve had much success over the years so to finish sixth, get 10 points, stay where I was in the standings and move on to Barcelona next week, I’ll take that. But it was a sad Sunday for all of us, the sort of day when the results don’t seem important at all. 

“We had the incident in Moto3 qualifying with Jason Dupasquier, and we were all hoping for the best for him as we left the track on Saturday night. Sadly we found out that he had passed on Sunday before the start of the Moto2 race, and we all raced with a heavy heart.  

“What we’ve experienced today is a tragedy, there’s no doubt about it. A young life has been lost and someone’s son, someone’s brother, has been taken away far too early. My heartfelt condolences go out to Jason’s family, because for a mother and father to see that happen, it’s just terrible. I know some of the riders didn’t want to race and were critical afterwards of the decision to race, and while I don’t want to say too much, I feel Jason was a racer at heart and I’m sure he would have wanted the race to go on. 

Before the MotoGP race at Mugello, the grid observed a minute of silence in memory of Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier.

“Saturday night, when we were all hoping and praying for good news, I was at a function and the TVs kept showing replays of the accident. I actually unplugged all of them because we didn’t need to see that, seeing replay after replay is just wrong and to me that’s unacceptable. We all know motorcycle racing is dangerous, we’re all aware of that and we try not to think about the worst that can happen, but for me that was too much. Completely unnecessary and in really poor taste.

Jack Miller on the grid

“In the race, I struggled with the wind and I felt I was forcing things a little bit at the beginning, and I needed to take a lap or two to slow down and gather myself to see what I could do. I dropped a couple of spots and probably lost too much time at the beginning and my pace picked up the longer it went, but the guys in front were just a bit too quick for me today. To be honest, my main goal was leaving here with some points, and while that sounds like a strange thing to say when you’ve won the previous two races, I was actually quite content with sixth because I felt on the limit a few times and had a couple of moments. I wanted to see the chequered flag at Mugello for once, so job done. 

“Mugello is a place that I love, all us riders do, and we all missed being here last year. It hadn’t loved me much back because my results before this year had been pretty bad, let’s be honest. Both years we ran the yellow livery with Ducati I was in the front group, but managed to dump it. It’s a track you love to ride at on a MotoGP bike but one where I’ve done some silly mistakes before, so it’s not a case of me not being fast enough, let’s say. So, like Le Mans … I had some unsettled business coming there and I was able to right the ship, so the aim for Mugello was the same thing. 

“The big news that happened between here and France of course was me being confirmed at the team for next year, it’s been a pretty phenomenal few weeks really. It feels unreal to get the contract signed and not have to worry about that for another eight months or so, and I now get to focus now on what I enjoy most. It’s a real honour for me to ride for this team and wear these colours, and the support I received from the team these last few months, the faith they’ve shown in me, has been unreal. So I hope to repay them for that with some more wins, and then we’ll see where we end up in the championship.”

Jack Miller
Aleix Espargaro – P7

“We continue to be in the leading group and this is undoubtedly a good sign for me and for Aprilia. However, I feel like I could have achieved more today. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the same, outstanding sensations that I had during practice on the RS-GP. I was missing something in acceleration. We still haven’t been able to explain it, but we were less incisive compared with yesterday. Still, finishing so close to the podium here as well is a result to be proud of. Another positive note is that the arm reacted better than expected.”

Aleix Espargaro chasing Jack Miller and Brad Binder
Maverick Vinales – P8

“Well, actually I didn’t have enough feeling with the front. I struggled a lot. Somehow, I was so good during FP1, but at that time I was riding with the soft front. So we need to check what makes such a big difference in the front feeling between compounds for us. We need to find out why I struggled with the medium front tyre this entire weekend. I couldn’t turn and couldn’t make a big improvement in my lap times. Basically, during this race I struggled a lot. It wasn’t a good weekend for us unfortunately, and overall today was a sad day. It was very emotional to stand on the starting grid before the race for the one-minute silence in remembrance of Jason Dupasquier. I send my condolences to his family and friends as well as his team.”

Vinales 13th place on the grid left him with plenty of work to do
Danilo Petrucci – P9

“First of all, it was a really difficult race today: not on the sporting side but on the human one. It was quite a long race but we have been fighting a lot. I just found a good rhythm at the end and I could make a good pace and also overtake some other guys. We started so far back on the grid, so the first laps were really difficult to manage with a lot of riders. Apart from that, I lose quite a lot of time on the straight with my size. The other riders always pass me there but I think we found something interesting on the bike. Miguel and Brad made a big step and we have to do the same.”

Valentino Rossi – P10

“My condolences go to the family of Jason Dupasquier, his team and also his friends. When these things happen it is difficult to find the will to race, because you question what is the point of racing? But unfortunately you also ask what is the sense in not racing? You cannot change what happened. It was very difficult to put the helmet on and concentrate on the race today.

“I lost a bit of time in the first corner because of contact, but after that my pace was decent. I was able to recover, do some overtakes and I could stay inside the top-ten. It is not fantastic, but we have taken some points today.”

Petrucci, Lecuona, Pol Espargaro and Valentino Rossi
Iker Lecuona – P11

“I’m quite happy about today because finally I could fight for the top 10. I could improve my feeling with the bike. I was fighting a lot with Danilo, my teammate. On the last laps he was quicker than me and I couldn’t follow. But I had a great fight with Valentino. Finally, I lost out on the top 10 by just 0.006 seconds to him. I think I learned a lot overall during this weekend. I just want to say thanks to my team, because they push me a lot and believe in me. I want to dedicate this race to Jason, his family and friends.”

Pol Espargaro – P12

“Today our results are not the focus, the most important thing is thinking of Jason and his family. Today we all had him in our hearts and minds when we raced. My race was difficult today, the start was ok and I was behind Taka. Then something happened with the wing and I lost it, which made it very complicated. I was losing a lot of aerodynamics, changing direction was very hard and the bike was not behaving. This happened on lap four or five so it was difficult. We will keep working in Barcelona.”

Michele Pirro – P13

“A shame, I was having a good race. I had overtaken many riders and my pace was good. I made a mistake with three laps to go and in this category you cannot afford to make any errors. Regardless, I want to thank the team for the help and support they gave this weekend.”

Álex Márquez – P14

“It was a difficult day here. The warm-up was very positive and we were able to make some steps and look forward as we had quite good pace. But in the race, we decided to go with a front hard tyre and maybe it wasn’t the right decision as I was losing a little bit too much on the left side. It was a difficult weekend, but I think we made some good steps during the warm-up and the three days. We need to analyse some more and come back stronger. Anyway, today the main thing was that we raced for Jason, many times racing can be like this. I think for all of us the race was of secondary importance today.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P15

“If I look at the pace I was able to maintain, I’m a bit disappointed in myself, because the top 10 was not that far off. I lost a lot of time in the battle with Alex Marquez, whereas, when I could set my own pace, I was able to get close to the group ahead of me. In any case, I am looking at the overall improvement, which is consistent, even on a track like this one where I am obviously penalised by my build. I must say that the RS-GP confirmed that it works well here at Mugello too.”

Franco Morbidelli – P16

“Today was very difficult to concentrate and be focused for the race because of the very sad news that we received before the race. Our sport can be like this sometimes; unfortunately it is a dangerous sport and things like this can happen. I’m really sorry for what happened, but it’s important to absorb this hard hit and go forward with the same energy as always. My condolences go to all of Jason Dupasquier’s loved ones.

“Regarding the race, another rider crashed in front of me on the second lap and I had to avoid both him and his bike. I had to try not to crash myself as well, which I managed, but it cost me a lot of time and I was unable to stay with the pack. Anyway, I didn’t have the speed that I would have wanted today and overall it just wasn’t the best of days, for many reasons. I’m now looking forward to forgetting this weekend and to face another race in Barcelona next week.”

Luca Marini – P17

“It was a very tough race and we fought hard. We have to work to close the gap. I had a similar problem in Qatar: I couldn’t feel the rear tire and I couldn’t make it work properly. I was losing on corner entry, I was always sideways and I was also losing acceleration. This weekend was something strange that I had never experienced before. The difference with the front was big and we have to understand what happened because we haven’t made any major changes to the bike since Friday.”

Francesco Bagnaia – DNF

“First of all, I want to apologise to the whole team. I made a mistake, and it’s a pity because we’ve worked hard all weekend and had the potential to fight for the win. Unfortunately, after the news of Jason Dupasquier’s passing, I couldn’t keep my concentration. Now we have to move on and start focusing on the next race, which will take place next week in Barcelona”.

Francesco Bagnaia was the early race leader
Marc Marquez – DNF

“It has been a very hard weekend for MotoGP, we have lost a young talent, a young rider inside the paddock. This situation is very hard for everyone, and we wish everyone close to Jason all the best. Unfortunately we finished the race much earlier than we were expecting and it was really not a good situation because I need laps on the bike. I had contact with Brad Binder, it was a racing incident, and this happens many times here at this track. I thought that Binder was further back and in the change of direction, we touched, it as my mistake. Luckily no one else fell. Now we prepare for Catalunya after this difficult weekend for the MotoGP family.”

Marc Marquez was ultimately unrewarded once again after working hard all weekend
Alex Rins – DNF

“It’s difficult to say what happened today, because I was riding well behind Joan and holding strong positions and making passes. During the race I felt pretty good with the bike, but not quite the same feeling as during practices. I was struggling a bit with the front of the bike, and we need to analyse what happened because I can’t figure it out. It’s four DNFs for me in a row now, and that’s not normal, so we need to find out what’s going on, causing me to lose the front and crash out. Luckily I’m fine physically, but obviously I am feeling very disappointed. This weekend has been very tough for everybody, and my thoughts are with Jason Dupasquier’s family and friends. Now we need some time to refocus before Barcelona next weekend.”

Alex Rins has been on course for a top five
Takaaki Nakagami – DNF

“Today we are all very sad that Jason passed away. It’s a really difficult moment for everyone in the paddock. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and his team, we are all very sorry. For us it was difficult to focus on the race in such a sad moment, it’s a really sad day for all of motorcycling. But we have to try and look to the future now and the next race at Montmelo.”

Enea Bastianini

“Unfortunately, it was a very tough Sunday, starting from the loss of Dupasquier. On the formation lap, coming out of the last corner, I touched with Zarco and I couldn’t do anything to avoid the crash. I tried to get to the pit as fast as possible to take the second bike, but on the first lap I crashed. We’ll try to make up for it in Barcelona and I’ll try to prepare as much as possible because in any case we were fast and competitive.”


Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“Fabio did an amazing job today. He was feeling quite emotional after the one-minute silence, but he still managed to do a good job, staying fully concentrated. Honestly, coming here we didn‘t expect that we were going to win the race in Mugello – which is usually territory more suited to our rivals – and especially with such a comfortable margin. But Fabio and his crew worked really cleverly this weekend on fixing the mapping and trying to save as much tyre as possible, and the rest was all Fabio. Though the team tried some setting tweaks this morning, we weren‘t able to make Maverick 100% comfortable with the front of his bike during the race. Starting from 13th is difficult for us anyway, but he did a good job to just steadily pick up places where he could and take 8th place in the end. Overall we are pleased because our team got its fourth win of the season, but the tragic passing of Jason Dupasquier casts a shadow over this day. All Yamaha staff‘s and the team members‘ thoughts are with his family, friends, loved ones, and the PrüstelGP team.”

Shinichi Sahara  Suzuki Project Leader and Team Director

“It’s been an up and down day; of course we’re very pleased with Joan’s efforts and his podium finish because he didn’t have an ideal grid position but he was able to make a good start and show great pace. Alex also had strong pace with the race tyres, and we were really aiming for a double podium today, which seemed possible, but unfortunately another crash for Alex meant it didn’t happen. Luckily he is fine. We won’t give up and we’ll continue to work towards better consistency.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“This weekend has been very tough, but we are happy to get back on the podium. I want to thank and congratulate Joan for this great result, and also the team for all their efforts. It was such a pity for Alex today, he had podium pace and plenty of potential but unfortunately he crashed again. We will continue pushing to get both riders on the podium, and we move now directly to Barcelona where we will work hard and hope for a nice finish for Joan and Alex.”

Mike Leitner – Red Bull KTM Race Manager

“A good result for the complete MotoGP KTM line-up here with three bikes in the top nine and all four in the top eleven. Miguel’s podium was outstanding but also Brad’s performance in 5th. We knew it would be a long, hard race and you had to stay focused on this track. They both find the right mix between attacking and defense. Credit also to the Tech3 boys for coming back like they did. We are satisfied with the race performances of course but it has also been a sad and difficult weekend. I hope we can keep racing competitively and in a safe way.”

Razlan Razali – Petronas SRT Team Principal

“It has been a difficult weekend for the whole of the MotoGP fraternity, with the loss of young rider Jason Dupasquier. It’s hard for all of us to have this loss in the paddock, but this is our sport and it’s dangerous. Everyone is grieving with this loss. It was a very good top-ten for Valentino in today’s MotoGP race, however it is a shame that Franco’s GP unfolded the way it did..

Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“Great team result here in Mugello for the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing Team. We worked really hard during the whole weekend. We knew it’s not going to be easy, but we worked mainly on the race setting in order to keep a strong race pace. I think that has helped us a lot to get the result we achieved here today.”

“Both, Danilo and Iker took the hard front option, which for sure was a plus for the last part of the race due to quite high track temperature. They had an ok start, but they put their head down with a really strong pace and they managed to pass quite a few guys. Of course, they also benefited of guys crashing in front, but we were doing really interesting lap times.”

“To finish in the top 10 with Danilo here in Mugello is something we would have signed before the race, for sure and the same thing applies for the 11th position of Iker. That shows also in the Championship, that we are there, we are not too far and we should keep the positive attitude and fighting spirit. This is the way to go. We’ve done six races and we are in the mix and there will be more things to come from KTM, I believe. We need to be stronger from Friday morning in order to definitely have a better grid position.”

“I’m really happy for Danilo to have a top 10 at home, which was very important for him. We are also happy with Iker, because he has been fighting with Danilo the whole race long and on the last lap he had an interesting scrap with Valentino and Valentino just passed him by six thousands on the line, whereas Iker exited ahead of him there. Clearly, there were a lot of things Iker learned today, so we are happy. We’d like to thank KTM for their support, we’d like to congratulate them for their first podium of 2021 and hopefully it’s not going to be the last. We have an important appointment next week in Catalunya.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager

“The first thing that I must say is that we are all very saddened by the tragic news of the passing of Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier, and our thoughts and condolences go out to his family, close friends and members of his team.

“In terms of our tyres, we were very happy with their performance throughout the whole weekend. The riders tested all the options in our Mugello allocation at some time during the various practice sessions during the weekend, and the feedback was very positive.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and in the results, so the fact that the all-time lap record, the race lap record, the circuit top speed record and the race time record were all broken this weekend shows that the allocation worked exactly as we expected. I’m also pleased to see that all teams were on the pace during the weekend – with four different constructors in the top five places in the race – which highlights the versatility, in addition to the grip, feel and consistency that our 2021 range of tyres offers.”

MotoGP Results / Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

Jonathan Rea dominates Sunday races at Estoril

2021 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Two – Estoril – Sunday


Jonathan Rea was unstoppable on Sunday at Estoril, winning the Tissot Superpole Race and then going on to give Kawasaki a brilliant double win with victory in Race Two to confirm his place at the top of the championship standings. Also on the podium in Race 2 were Chaz Davies and Toprak Razgatlioglu.

In WorldSSP, Dominique Aegerter had an outstanding race, taking home his first win of the season ahead of Luca Bernardi, who achieved an important result, finishing second, and Philipp Oettl rounding out the podium.

Superpole Race

Jonathan Rea came away with victory after the ten-lap Superpole Race on Sunday. Scott Redding, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael Ruben Rinaldi provided plenty of competition, but Rea’s choice to run SC0 tyres paid dividends.

Jonathan Rea chases down Scott Redding

Rea came out of Turn 1 with the lead of the race but soon found himself shuffled down to third by Redding and Razgatlioglu; Toprak Razgatlioglu moved from third to first in one move at Turn 1, although he did have to fight to keep the lead from Redding.

Redding found himself moving down the order again when he made a mistake at Turn 6, allowing both Rea and Garrett Gerloff through although Redding responded on Gerloff just a few laps later. Meanwhile, heading into Turn 1, Rea was able to make the move on Razgatlioglu to re-take the lead of the race and claim his first victory in Estoril. Razgatlioglu was unable to respond and came home in second place, ahead of Gerloff.

Jonas Folger

Rinaldi was unable to capitalise on his strong start to claim a podium with the factory Ducati outfit, coming home in fifth place after fending off the challenge from Alex Lowes  by just 0.040s to complete the second row for Race Two alongside Gerloff and Rinaldi.

The third row will feature two BMW machines with Tom Sykes coming home in seventh place ahead of his former team-mate, Eugene Laverty in eighth. Chaz Davies fought through from 15th to finish ninth in the Tissot Superpole Race.

Leon Haslam

Alvaro Bautista finished in tenth place, just six-tenths away from Davies, while Andrea Locatelli was only four tenths away from the Spanish rider. Tito Rabat was unable to convert his top-ten start into a top-ten finish as he came home in 12th place, while Michael van der Mark was only half-a-second back from Rabat in 13th place.

Race Two

The final race of the Gaerne Estoril Round was full of drama, excitement and tension as Jonathan Rea claimed his second victory of the weekend after rival Scott Redding crashed out from second place.

Sunday’s Race 2 Start

The race started with Toprak Razgatlioglu being given a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start, while Redding was able to get the leap on the rest of the field on the run into Turn 1, while reigning Champion Jonathan Rea lost ground when Michael Ruben Rinaldi forced the British rider wide at Turn 4.

It enabled Rinaldi to move into second place, behind team-mate Redding, and the young Italian had a look at his teammate into Turn 1, he backed out of the move. It meant he lost time to American Garrett Gerloff before the American lost control of his Yamaha YZF R1 at Turn 6 and made contact with the Italian; forcing both to retire from the race on the second lap.

Scott Redding and Ruben Rinaldi

With Razgatlioglu’s penalties served, it enabled Rea to close in on Redding as the 21-lap race reached the halfway stage with the duo racing on different tyres; Rea once again on the SC0 and Redding attempting to complete the race on the SCX tyre as he did on Saturday when he claimed victory in Race 1.

On lap 14, Rea tried to make his first move at Turn 1 but, despite the advantage of the slipstream, Redding held on. Rea got briefly ahead at Turn 1 before Redding used the cut back move to stay ahead. Redding then ran wide at Turn 3, allowing Rea to get back ahead, before Redding lost the front of his Ducati Panigale V4 R at Turn 4, forcing the British rider to tumble down the order.

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Redding’s crash allowed Chaz Davies to close in on long-term rival Rea in the closing stages of the race although Rea was able to hold on to claim his second victory of the Estoril Round and fourth of 2021, with Davies on the rostrum for the first time in 2021. Razgatlioglu recovered from his double Long Lap Penalty to claim his third podium of the weekend.

Alex Lowes came home in fourth place in Race 2 as his strong start of the season continued, finishing 1.6 seconds clear of Andrea Locatelli in fifth; the Italian picking up his best result in WorldSBK so far in his debut season.

Alex Lowes

Michael van der Mark claimed sixth place on his BMW; three of the four BMW M 1000 RR bikes finished inside the top ten. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) battled through from 18th on the grid again to claim seventh place, ahead of Tom Sykes.

Michael van der Mark

Eugene Laverty was ninth with his second top ten finish of the weekend and the third BMW rider in the top ten. 2014 Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat claimed his second top ten finish of the weekend with tenth while Axel Bassani equaled his best finish of the 2021 season with 11th.

Team HRC’s Leon Haslam came home in 12th place on his Honda machine, finishing just ahead of Kohta Nozane.

Leon Haslam

Redding finished the race in 14th place at the line, but was given a six-second penalty, the equivalent of two Long Lap Penalties, for a jump start in Race 2, meaning he was classified in 16th place behind Lucas Mahias and Isaac Viñales. Christophe Ponsson and Loris Cresson completed the race of classification with 17 and 18th.

Apart from Gerloff and Rinaldi from their Lap 2 crash, there was only one more retirement from the race with Jonas Folger retiring in the early stages of the race with a technical issue with his BMW M 1000 RR. Samuele Cavalieri retired on lap 17 of the 21-lap race.

Jonathan Rea – P1

“It’s a really difficult track. We just need to look at where we were last year and where the other Kawasakis have been. I can’t credit my team enough. Every decision we’ve made this weekend has been the right one, in a positive way, because on Friday we were really struggling. Struggling to make the rhythm, struggling to make the pace but if you said this on Friday, I would’ve snapped your hand off! Super happy. Of course, I was riding with Jason on my mind in the last few laps of the race because motorsport can be so beautiful but so tough as well. Still, sending lots of strength to his family, his team and all his friends.”

Jonathan Rea

Chaz Davies – P2

“That was a hard-fought podium, especially because we had an awful Saturday yesterday with everything that happened. We’ve kept plugging away, we worked really hard last night, we tried to pull some more info out of the data and tried to put together a better package this morning. I want to say a huge thank you to the GoEleven guys because they’ve been grafting really hard all winter and here, we are, second round and on the podium. Obviously, very happy to be there and I think today, these results are almost irrelevant with the tragedy that’s happened at Mugello, so my thoughts go out to Jason Dupasquier and his family.”

Chaz Davies

Toprak Razgatlioglu – P3

“For me, it was a very strange day because it was the first time I had a jump start – I am surprised because I have never made this mistake, and also never felt so disappointed like this after the race. Maybe I could have been fighting for the win, maybe possible to win… I don’t know! But I had to take the double long lap penalty, I tried my best and got on the podium now in all three races. I am also sorry for my team who worked so hard this weekend, but we take good points for the championship and we will see for the next race. Misano will be the first time for me on the Yamaha, but I am feeling very strong and we had two days testing there already so we will see if we can fight again for the win.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Andrea Locatelli – P5

“I am very happy with this weekend, because in the end we have a really good result. Yesterday the first race was not easy, I made some mistakes during the first laps, I lost positions and the opportunity to have a better result – but, today we made a big improvement and with this I’m really happy. I now take some confidence with the bike and it’s just the second weekend. We are closer to the front, we are faster and we just need to try and learn a little bit more and also to try to take even more confidence with the set-up of my R1. We did a really good job overall, working really well with the team and I am very happy for this. We took P5 in Race 2 and this is a big result for me in just the second weekend!”

Andrea Locatelli

Michael van der Mark – P6

“This morning’s warm-up was really good: at least I felt good – I was consistent. Also for the Superpole Race I felt really good, but in warm-up we had changed the bike a little bit. That was good, but as soon as the temperatures went up I struggled a little bit. So the Superpole Race was not that ideal and we even lost two places on the grid. But anyway, in race two the temperatures were much higher than yesterday so we gambled to go for the ‘SC X’ tyre, which was the right choice. The start was a bit messy – I had a good start but in all three races I was a bit unlucky and could not improve my position in the first corner. But at the end I was able to go at quite a consistent pace. I had the chance to follow many riders and I think our bike has made a huge improvement, especially over a race distance and when it comes to conserving the tyre. We just need to find a little bit more drive out of the corners and that should be our next big step to improve on the bike.”

Michael van der Mark ahead of Chaz Davies

Alvaro Bautista – P7

“Another hard-fought race because I had to start eighteenth again, after just missing out on securing a better grid position with my tenth-place finish in the sprint race. In the end, the afternoon’s race was trickier than yesterday’s, as the temperature was different and the track was more slippery. I took many risks with the front and was very close to the limit. Our pace was not bad though and I think that was worth a top-five finish. But starting from the back and lapping with similar pace to the frontrunners, it was tough to close the gap. A pity really, because when they cancelled my qualifying lap, they basically eliminated any chance for me to fight for better positions. The positive is that we were able to rebuild confidence with the bike after a difficult start to the weekend and I can head into the next round with good feeling again. Now we must take another step forward”.

Alvaro Bautista

Tom Sykes – P8

“The bike was much better today than yesterday. We made a small change and really felt a big improvement on the bike. And again, just struggling, such a shame when fighting for track position. For whatever reason, at the moment we lose track positions to some other riders. The BMW M 1000 RR is certainly strong in some sectors of the track and we are just getting an understanding why. Unfortunately, I got stuck behind some other riders and that gave us an issue today with the braking system. Once I got a clear track, I picked up a lot more speed and found a much better rhythm. Obviously I am not happy with the result but, considering where we were yesterday, it’s a big, big improvement. We definitely learnt a lot on this Sunday afternoon in Estoril and now we need to keep improving.”

Tom Sykes

Eugene Laverty – P9

“It has been a bitter-sweet day, because my speed is there and, honestly, this year the BMW M 1000 RR is such a huge step forward. The Aragón race weekend was my first proper ride on this new bike, so I am still understanding how to get the most from it. This weekend, wow, the bike was fantastic, and in the final race I felt so good to fight with these guys in the first laps and to get up into third position. But in this heat I had to take care of the brakes, so I had to let the other riders’ go and ride in clear air to cool the brakes. Now we will be 100 per cent ready in Misano. These first two rounds have more been like a test, and from Misano on we will start the season properly.”

Leon Haslam – P12

“It’s been a tough weekend all in all. We’ve struggled to make headway with the issues we had at Aragón unfortunately. We had slightly better feeling in the last race but I didn’t get the start I wanted and so although I passed a few riders I couldn’t do better than twelfth. We’ve worked hard here though and I’m confident that we understand the direction we need to take as we move on to Misano. Hopefully we can make a more positive start to the race weekend there.”

Scott Redding – DNF

“I am very sorry for the team. I was having a good race, the strategy we had studied was perfect and things were going well. Maybe the feeling with the front tire was not the best but without a doubt, I made a mistake. It’s a pity because I felt I could have had a good race and fight until the end for the victory.”

Michael Rinaldi – DNF

“It’s a real shame. This weekend we worked very hard with the team and the feeling with the bike has been growing steadily. I felt very good today, I had a great start and the feeling was very positive. Unfortunately, I was hit by another rider who, considering the level of this competition, made a serious mistake. Anyway, we have to focus on Misano now, with the aim of keep working in this direction.”

World Superbike Results / Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

Full wrap from Mugello MotoGP | All classes

2021 MotoGP Round Six Mugello


Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo claimed a commanding and emotional victory at the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, extending his Championship lead to 24 points. A minute of silence was held on the grid in memory of Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier, and Quartararo dedicated his victory to the Swiss rider.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and reigning World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) completed the Mugello podium as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crashed out on Lap 2.

2021 Mugello MotoGP Podium
1 Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – 41:16.344
2 Miguel Oliveira – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM – +2.592
3 Joan Mir – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki – +3.000

Mugello MotoGP Race Report

Quartararo’s new front start device worked well off the line as the polesitter managed to keep Bagnaia at bay until the braking zone, when the Italian dived up the inside to lead. Pecco then led the way as the riders settled into the race, but the Ducati rider then tucked the front at Turn 9 on Lap 2. Quartararo was handed the lead, but he wasn’t able to escape quickly as compatriot Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) duelled the Yamaha.

Mugello MotoGP

Eventually, Quartararo broke the slipstream heading onto Lap 5 after making good progress on the twisty part of the circuit, and from there, the Yamaha was able to edge clear of Zarco in second place. By Lap 11 Quartararo’s lead was up to 2.7s and comfortably lapping in the 1:47s, the Yamaha rider was in a league of his own at Mugello and took a third win of the season by 2.5s.

Miguel Oliveira chasing Johann Zarco

After battling with Quartararo in the early laps, Zarco was forced to focus on keeping Oliveira behind him thereafter. The two Team Suzuki Ecstar riders – Mir and Alex Rins – had trouble making passes stick on Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) too just behind, Ducati power enabling the Australian to overtake Mir and Rins on the straight. Eventually though, the Suzukis got through and both got into the podium fight.

Oliveira, Miller, Rins, Mir

With eight laps remaining, Oliveira moved past Zarco for the first time at Turn 11 to take P2. Exactly the same manoeuvre was produced by Mir a lap later as the reigning World Champion picked up P3, and he crucially also held Zarco at bay into Turn 1. Rins then pounced with six laps to go as Zarco was shuffled back to P5, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Miller and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) close behind.

Alex Rins goes down

With five to go, Rins then crashed out at the final corner from fourth place, a fourth DNF in a row for the Spaniard. Oliveira was able to just fend off Mir, although it was close and initially track limits came into play – but both had exceeded them every-so-slightly. Zarco missed out by just under a second in fourth, although he latter does move up to P2 in the standings though, 24 points behind Quartararo.

Brad Binder, Jack Miller, Aleix Espargaro

Binder gave KTM a double top five at the Italian GP and claims his equal best finish of the season despite never having raced in the premier class at Mugello before, and Miller came home P6. Aleix Espargaro impressed again to pick up a P7, with Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) taking the chequered flag in P8 after his difficult qualifying in P13.

Vinales 13th place on the grid left him with plenty of work to do and the Spaniard eventually finished eighth

2019 Mugello winner Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) was ninth to earn his second top 10 in a row, with Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completing the top 10 on home soil.

Petrucci, Lecuona, Pol Espargaro and Valentino Rossi

Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing), Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), Michele Pirro (Pramac Racing), Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) were the final points scorers.

Marc Marquez was ultimately unrewarded once again after working hard all weekend

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) crashed at Turn 3 on Lap 2 unhurt, but forced Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) into the gravel, the Italian rejoining down the order. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) also crashed out of the race late on at Turn 13. Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) crashed on the way to the grid after hitting the rear of Zarco’s bike.

Fabio Quartararo the victor and now leads Zarco by 24-points in the MotoGP World Championship

MotoGP Results / Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

They are never easy but race two was fun, to be honest. I had a proper moment with Rinaldi in T4 and could have been down and th…

They are never easy but race two was fun, to be honest. I had a proper moment with Rinaldi in T4 and could have been down and then Laverty came through with good pace. I thought I was in trouble because the majority of the grid had the SCX tyre, and I opted for the SC0. I really believed in it, to be honest. But after those three or four laps I wasn’t convinced. But, once I got a bit of clear track I could see that Toprak and Chaz were not going away, and I just tried to keep the gap. Then all of a sudden Toprak got a long lap penalty and that is like a free pass for track position. He is hard to pass. Scott was in a really solid rhythm but I was catching him in sectors two, three and four, but I was struggling a little bit in sector one. Step-by-step I got there. I was pretty happy to be able to stay there in the slipstream. I could feel Scott trying to pass in Turn Four and then I saw on my pitboard that he was out. Unfortunate for him but it gave me a bit of breathing space and let me concentrate on my race. Staying in the mid-1’37 lap times was pretty tough out there today because the track temperature was super-high. Kudos to Pirelli because obviously the SC0 tyre is working in quite a wide range, and also kudos to my crew because they made amazing decisions all weekend. To have one podium and two wins means it has been an incredible weekend
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📸 @geebeeimages
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@krt_worldsbk @alpinestars @araieu @monsterenergy @showaperformance @oakleymotorsports @insidebikes #team65


Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook

That went heaps better than expected! 3-1-1 . 📸 @geebeeimages . @krt_worldsbk @alpinestars @araieu @monsterenergy @showaperfor…

That went heaps better than expected! 3-1-1
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📸 @geebeeimages
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@krt_worldsbk @alpinestars @araieu @monsterenergy @showaperformance @oakleymotorsports @insidebikes #team65


Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook

Quartararo claims emotional Italian GP victory

With five to go, Rins then crashed out at the final corner from fourth place – the fourth DNF in a row for the Spaniard. Oliveira was able to fend off Mir, but after exceeding track limits by millimetres on the final lap at Turn 5, the Portuguese rider was demoted one position. Mir was initially promoted to P2 before it was deemed he too exceeded track limits, which saw the results stay as they were: Oliveira P2, Mir P3. Zarco missed out by just under a second in fourth, the latter does move up to P2 in the standings though, 24 points behind Quartararo.

Source: MotoGP.comRead Full Article Here

David Muñoz takes win and points lead in Race 2

The Spaniard was victorious on Sunday afternoon with David Alonso and Ivan Ortola earning Mugello podiums

David Muñoz snatched the race win and the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup points lead with a slipstream lunge in the final metres at Mugello. Previous points leader and fellow Spaniard Daniel Holgado had a handy advantage out of the last corner but the 16-year-old was swamped right before the line and crossed it 4th

6 KTM 250 Rs seemed to occupy just a couple of square metres as they flashed across the line with Colombian 15-year-old David Alonso 2nd ahead of Spanish 16-year-old Ivan Ortola. Pole man Marcos Uriarte chased by Matteo Bertelle, who had looked a likely winner as he led on the penultimate lap, were 5th and 6th.

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup: Race 2 in Mugello

The results show that just 0.173 seconds covered the top 6. It had been a 17 KTM pack at the front until Race 1 winner Taiyo Furusato had a big moment halfway round the last lap and split the group. He recovered to finish 14th and it was Dutch 16-year-old Collin Veijer who led that group home in 7th, small consolation for having been a strong front runner again as he was in Race 1.

David Muñoz magic when it mattered

Long on talent but very short on words, the 15-year-old as usual almost looked a touch surprised to be interviewed as the victor in the winners enclosure. “It’s been an incredible weekend for me, 2nd position yesterday and victory today, so amazing, I have no words.

“It’s good to be leading the championship but I must just focus on the next races and think about that, it’s the only way to do it.”

Alonso back on the podium

“It was a positive weekend because it is a new track for me and little by little I got the confidence and found the good lines to do a good performance.”

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup: Race 1 in Mugello

“This was a crazy race so I think that 2nd position is really good also because in the last races I wasn’t on the podium. So now we are back here again and this is so great for my confidence. I enjoyed this race a lot and now I am looking forward to Germany, another new track to enjoy.”

Ortola at the front again

“It was a very hard weekend, in the first practice on Friday it was very difficult because it was my first time at this track and it’s a difficult track. But finally in the Qualifying I found a good feeling with the bike and I could take second position on the grid.

“The first race was very difficult because of the weather conditions, I made only the 10th position but it was a very very strong, very hard race. This race was very hard psychologically because you can be in the first position coming into the straight but at the end of the straight 10th or 11th.

“So I’m very happy because we made this podium, it is very important for the championship and I want to dedicate this race to Jason.”

Every practice session, qualifying battle and race, exclusive interviews, historic races and so much more fantastic content: this is VideoPass!

Source: MotoGP.comRead Full Article Here