News 21 Sep 2020

Vinales holds steady for victory during Misano mayhem

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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Viñales persevered through the mayhem of Misano to record a gritty victory in the Gran Premio dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini, the second race of the MotoGP double header held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

The victory propels the Spaniard to equal second in the championship standings with 83 points, just one point shy of leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) took another podium in second place after starting from P11, with that result making him the other rider also on 83 points. Completing the podium was Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who managed to turn around the fortunes of the Austrian manufacturer for week two – albeit with some help with attrition from the rest of the field.

When the lights went out it was Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) who took the hole shot, but his lead was short lived, moving back in the field until an unusual incident where a visor tear off blocked his air filter. This caused a lack of power to his Ducati and he had no choice but to retire from the race.

Out front, Viñales took the initiative, only to be overtaken by Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) on lap five. Bagnaia set a strong pace out front and looked to be on track for his maiden MotoGP victory, even though Viñales was slowly bridging the gap.
Bagnaia lost the front end with five laps remaining, blowing his chances of an almost certain victory.
“I managed the tyres for the last laps because I know that Maverick is very fast in the last part of the race. At the corner six I crashed and I didn’t know why. We studied the data and we saw that I didn’t do anything wrong, the lines were the same and the inclination too,” Bagnaia commented after the race.

Behind them, last weeks winner Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was working his way through the field as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) tucked the front and collided with the Italian, with Morbidelli dead last but still able to continue.

Whilst Viñales was pushing at the front,  teammate Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the next one down, crashing out of his 250th Grand Prix with Yamaha. Rossi remounted but eventually retired from the race.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was another one to crash out of contention, all the while Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was edging his way forward. After the demise of Bagnaia, Viñales had a solid lead back to Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). The fight for the podium was the focus, with Quartararo was showing a wheel to Espargaro but not able to find a way past, even incurring a warning for exceeding track limits. When Mir appeared within range, he struck first, cutting underneath Quartararo and making the move stick. Next he showed Quartararo how to dispatch of Espargaro at turn three, with El Diablo using the lesson to also get by Espargaro.

The final twist would come with one lap remaining as Quartararo was handed a Long Lap Penalty for exceeding track limits. He was well clear of Espargaro but didn’t take the penalty, meaning an extra seconds was added to his overall time, forfeiting the podium finish to Espargaro.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was a little further back, not able to take advantage of the Frenchman’s misfortune, and finished fifth. Three seconds behind him was Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Indemitsu), who was once again the best placed Honda in sixth. Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was just behind, taking his best result in the premier class so far and beating out the current championship leader, Andrea Dovizioso.

Morbidelli recovered from his early collision to finish ninth with the second factory Ducati of Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) routing out the top ten.

Ultimately, the weekend had somehow gone the way of Viñales, who becomes the sixth rider so far to win a race in the premier class during 2020.

Image: Supplied

Italtrans Racing Team’s Enea Bastianini has cut Luca Marini’s (Sky Racing Team VR46) title lead down to just five points after taking victory in the rain affected Moto2 race. Bastianini, who was leading before the rain stoppage, started well in the ten lap dash but Marini had the hole shot. The pair ran wide at turn four allowing Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Xavi Vierge through. Marini was back to fifth but Bastianini had retaken the lead by the end of the first lap. By two laps to go it was seven tenths separating Bastianini and Sky Racing Team VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was close behind, but Bastianini held his nerve and that’s the way they finished over the line. Marini took fourth, holding onto the championship lead with Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) in fifth.

Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) took victory in the Moto3 race from Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) by a slim margin of 0,036s. It was the first victory for Husqvarna and Fenati now becomes the most successful Moto3 rider, with a higher win count than Joan Mir. “The final lap was really crazy, in the last part of the track I thought immediately on the last lap that I didn’t know where they’d overtake me, it was a bit scary,” explained Fenati. “But the feeling with the bike was really good, we were really strong on braking, I’m really happy and now it’s important to be consistent and to always be strong.”
Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) completed and now moves to within two points of Albert Arenas’ (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3) championship lead.

In race two of the MotoE World Cup, Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) and the Italian has now won four of the five races in th category held at the venue.  The podium was filled by Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40). Just 15 points covers Ferrari, Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP), Torres and Casadei heading into the final round at Le Mans. Australian Josh Hook (Octo Pramac MotoE) crashed out of seventh, staying with the leading group with only two laps left to run.

Detailed results

News 20 Sep 2020

Vinales doubles up for pole and lap record at Misano part two

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Maverick Viñales and the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team have done it again, stealing pole position and a new lap record at the Gran Premio dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini – part two of the Misano MotoGP double header.

It was the third pole position of the season and three in a row at Misano for Viñales, who said he could feel the improvement from last weekend. “I struggled a lot on Friday and in FP3 especially in the first laps, but I was trying to work on race setup,” he commented. “I worked hard on race conditions and I hope it pays off tomorrow.”

Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) came within 0.076s of the factory Yamaha after having to fight his way into Q2 through Q1, with Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) taking third for the second week running.

Viñales slotted into top spot at the start of Q2, with Pecco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) close behind. Bagnaia eventually went faster  and held provisional pole until Viñales once again broke the record, with Bagnaia having one last shot only to be penalised for exceeding track limits. Had it of been legal, that lap would have beaten Viñales for pole. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) improved this week to fourth, up from eleventh the week before. Bagnaia ultimately took fifth, one spot ahead of Brad Binder on the second KTM Factory machine.

Heading row three is Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) with last weeks winner Franco Morbidelli just behind him. Danillo Petrucci (Ducati Team) was the first of the factory Ducati machines, ahead of teammate Andrea Dovizioso who had also had to battle through Q1. Both Suzuki’s are out of the top ten with Joan Mir in 11th and Alex Rins back in 18th.

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In Moto2 it was last weeks race winner and ultimate pole sitter Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) who got the job done again, clinching pole and also setting a new lap record of 1m35.271s in the process. His teammate Marco Bezzecchi was 0.036s behind with Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) rounding out the front row. Last weeks top qualifier Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), this week without penalty, will head the second row. Australian Remy Gardner (OneXOX TKKR SAG Team) is sitting out this race as he is recovering from surgery on his broken thumb, sustained in Sunday morning warm up last weekend.

In Moto3 Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Raul Fernandez clinched his third pole position of the seaso, stealing the top spot with just 30 seconds remaining from local Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team). Italian Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) put in a late charge to complete the front row.

In MotoE World Cup action, Dominque Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) survived a last lap battle to take the victory in race one from Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) and Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE), with all three covered by a tenth at the flag. Ferrari had crossed the line second, but was demoted one position to P3 for exceeding track limits on the final lap.

Australian Josh Hook (Octo Pramac MotoE) finished a credible eighth while frontrunner Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing), having made his way past Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) crashed out, taking out Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) with him at the tight turn four right-hander. With race one results determining the grid for race two, both will be starting from the back of the grid for tomorrow.

Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK rider Jonathan Rea has won the opening race of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to extend his championship lead to 41 points.

Starting from pole position and full of confidence from going quickest in the morning Tissot Superpole session, Rea took the lead as the lights went out, building a gap on the rest of the field. “It was super-good to win here. I had a lot of motivation in this race. It is my team’s home race and Ana Carrasco could not be here in the WorldSSP300 class, so this win was for her – and also for my Grandfather, as it is the 27th anniversary of his death today,” explained an elated Rea. “I was using this to give me power in the race, to never rest and never give up. I am super-happy for my team and me, because, literally, our workshops are located just behind the main grandstand. It is a happy day and I just wish the fans and families could be here to celebrate with us. We also have a lot of information for tomorrow, and I am looking forward to that one because in the last lap today the front was moving quite a lot. In this temperature at this grip level we just need a little bit more for tomorrow.”

Importantly for the championship, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished in second place with teammate Chaz Davies completed the podium. Both were made to work hard starting from seventh and eleventh respectively, with Redding taking advantage of an ambitious move between Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team) and teammate Michael van der Mark at turn one. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven) and Redding battled in the early stages of the race but they were unable to catch Rea, who eventually won by 2.6s. Redding now holds second in the championship, saying, “During the race, the feeling with the bike was pretty good compared to what happened in qualifying. I got off to a good start and this allowed me to stay in the front group right away. In the first laps, I fought with Rinaldi who had the soft tyre and I lost some contact with Rea. I tried to recover but it was not possible. It was still a good race, a good result also for the team. Unfortunately, Jonny arrived in front of me but I still want to congratulate him for the race he did.”

Chaz Davies battled his way through the field to finish in third, ahead of van der Mark in fourth. After qualifying in third, Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) finished in fifth place with Razgatlioglu in sixth after the incident with Van Der Mark at turn one.

After earlier battling with Redding, Rinaldi finished in seventh after being passed by Davies, van der Mark and Bautista in the final laps. He finished ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)  with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) completing the top ten. Wildcard Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) battled his way through the field after not setting a time in qualifying, moving up from 21st to finish 12th.

In World Supersport Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) has become the first race winner from WorldSSP300 and also the youngest ever rider to win in World Supersport after taking out a red flagged race one due to a massive thunderstorm. As the rain pelted down, riders entered the pits but Verdoïa did not stop. He was the leader at the timing point the results were taken from and with more than two thirds race distance completed, full points were awarded. “It was incredible but I said keep calm, try to finish and maybe next lap there will be a Red Flag,” explained Verdoïa. “So, I continued, and I thought maybe I was in top ten but at the end it is a first place, I cannot believe it. It’s incredible.”

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Kyle Smith (GMT94 Yamaha) completed the podium while Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) finished in fourth after leading in dry conditions.

The track was still drying for the World Supersport 300 race but that didn’t stop Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) from claiming a dominant maiden victory by more than six seconds after starting from pole. In second was Frenchman Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) with 2017 champion Marc Garcia (2R Racing) in third.
Australian duo Tom Bramich (Carl Cox-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) and Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGo Team) both failed to advance from the Last Chance Race. With the top six making the main race, Bramich came home in a close seventh while Edwards failed to finish.

Detailed results

News 19 Sep 2020

Razgatlioglu fastest at Catalunya WorldSBK on Friday

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Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team rider Toprak Razgatlioglu ended day one fastest at a rain affected Acerbis Catalunya Round for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, with Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea the quickest in the wet afternoon session.

After placing tenth position in the wet session Razgatlioglu admitted he was becoming more comfortable, saying, “Maybe 10th position is not ‘good’, but I feel like I am riding better in these conditions! We are happy with today, everything is working really well in the team and I am enjoying my R1 very much here in Barcelona – maybe too much after FP1, as I made a big ‘stoppie’ for fun but Race Control were not so impressed, so I had to say sorry to them!”

Yamaha were able to capture the top three spots on the order courtesy of Pata Yamaha teammate Michael Van Der Mark and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team).

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) was close behind in fourth and confident in the feedback he was getting from the Fireblade. “This afternoon I used the rain tyres for only the second time,” Bautista commented. At first the feedback on the wet track wasn’t great, but we made some changes to improve my feeling and pace during that session and to be honest, by the end, I was feeling quite confident also in the wet.”

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) completed the top five and was also fastest in the afternoon wet session.  Aragon race winner Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GoEleven) finished sixth with Rea’s teammate Alex Lowes putting the second factory Kawasaki in the top ten. Tom Sykes BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished in eighth with Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) left with some work to do as Loris Baz (Team Kate Racing Yamaha) rounded out the top ten.

MotoGP exile Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing), who is currently also competing in the German IDM Championship, finished 15th after starting well early.

Image: Supplied.

World Supersport competitors were greeted with a dry morning track and damp in the afternoon, with Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) topping the combined timesheets after setting his fastest lap in the morning session.

Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) went second and also topped the second practice session ahead of Mahias. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was third in the standings after the two practice sessions.

Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) finished in fourth place overall and can mathematically clinch the title this weekend.
South African rider Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) finished in fifth place while Corentin Perolari (GMT94) completed the top six.

World Supersport 300 was also disrupted by rain in the afternoon with Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) topping the times after going fastest in the morning session in dry conditions. Group B riders were the first to venture on track this morning but riders from Group A made up the first three positions in the combined standings, with Ieraci leading Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki Motoport) and Championship leader Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki Motoport).

Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) was in fourth place overall for the day, almost matching both Meuffels and Buis on pace during the session and finished as the lead Group B rider for the day. Tom Bramich (Carl Cox – RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) posted a time of 1m 58.193s  and finished 19th in Group A, spending the morning learning the track layout. Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGo Team) was 17th in Group B with a time of 1m 58.423s.

Detailed results

News 19 Sep 2020

Binder puts KTM back in the mix at Misano Part 2

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Brad Binder has led a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing resurgence to top Friday practice at the second leg of the Misano MotoGP double header after finishing outside the top ten in last weeks race.

In second place and only a tiny 0.002s behind was Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Indemitsu), with both riders capturing a reversal of fortunes from the previous week. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) started strongly in third, where he is looking to recapture the championship lead after crashing out last weekend for the first time since the Phillip Island round last year.
“I was able to make a bit of a long-run, about 16 laps, all in the 1min 32 seconds and that was really positive,” the Fenchman commented. “Our pace feels good. We have modified the settings a little bit since last week, and I feel a bit better on the bike.”

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the first of the factory Yamaha’s in fourth while Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completed a positive day for the orange team, where both struggled to make inroads on the top ten just one week ago. The top five all set their fastest time in the afternoon session and are covered by a hairs width 0.071s.

Last weeks winner Franky Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) finished in sixth followed by another podium finisher from last weekend, Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) put a third KTM in the top ten while Danillo Petrucci (Ducati Team) was the fastest of a string of Ducati’s in ninth place. Johan Zarco (Esponsorama Racing), also on a Ducati, rounded out the top ten.

This leaves a lot of work to be done in FP3 for some of the big names including championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), who was marginally quicker than Pecco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing). Australian Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was further back in 16th, one place behind Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Miller was confident for the race, saying, “Today the plan was to find the best solution for Sunday, we worked very well. I think we are in the right way and tomorrow we will try to do the time to make Q2.”

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In Moto2, San Marino GP winner Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) continued his run of form, setting a new lap record of 1min 35.956s of the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto2), who qualified back in 21st last weekend, put his Speed Up machine in second place by less than a tenth with Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) completing the top three. Australian Remy Gardner (OneXOX TKKR SAG Team) will not be racing following surgery on his thumb that was required after an accident in Sunday warmup last week. Gardner had qualified on pole for lasts weeks race and has recently announced his signing with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team.

Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing), who last week finished seventh, has set a new all-time lap record on Friday in Moto3, with a lap of  1m 41.663s. This puts him just under three tenths ahead of Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) with Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) completing the top three.

Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) was another able to reverse his fortunes from last weeks race, topping the timesheet in MotoE and setting a new lap record of 1min 42.910s. Misano local Alex de Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE) was just behind with three-time Misano winner Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) third overall. Australian Josh Hook (Onto Pramac MotoE) sits in 15th spot.

Detailed results