2019 MotoGP

Phillip Island Saturday Report

The morning…

The anticipated rain had come during the night on Friday but a stiff wind had dried the track out by the time competitors took to the circuit on Saturday morning. 

The forecast was still very uninspiring and the sky somewhat foreboding, but the precipitation stayed in check long enough for Moto3 and Moto2 to all enjoy dry FP3 sessions, and it looked like the premier MotoGP category might enjoy the same luck.

Tony Arbolino topped Moto3 proceedings on Saturday morning but windy conditions prevented riders from improving on their Friday times, thus Arbolino still missed out on automatic promotion through to Q2.

Fabio Di Giannantonio was quickest in Moto2 FP3 but again few riders managed to improve on their Friday markers due to the blustery conditions. The Italian was one of only five riders that managed to improve on their Friday time.  Remy Gardner was one of those to improve, third in the session but still only 16th on combined times. 

When FP3 for MotoGP got underway Alex Rins went down almost immediately. It was a soft crash but the Spaniard was unable to re-start his Suzuki.  Eventually he pushed the bike far enough for team members to then help him back to the pits.

The time lost for Rins though was off-set after a problem of a different kind caused a slight delay to proceedings only minutes after they had got started. 

One of the Pramac Ducati crew lost hold of Jack Miller’s pit-board in the stiff wind, easily done today I would imagine, and the large pit board was laying in the middle of the main straight!  Officials jumped the fence when safe and retrieved the pit board.

Four-minutes later pit-lane opened again as small rain showers started to shed their contents around the circuit. It was hardly enough to wet the circuit, and blew over quickly, but the wind was brutal and far from consistent. Thus there was little to be gained in the conditions, most MotoGP riders chose to keep their powder dry for most of the session.

It was not until the dying minutes of the FP3 session that the track got a little busy. No rider though managed to improve their times due to the windy conditions. Marquez topped the session but Vinales continued to hold sway at the top of the combined timesheets. 

The afternoon….

While Moto3 riders got to enjoy a mainly dry qualifying session rain started sprinkling around the Phillip Island lay-out ahead of the Q2 session for Moto2 and the wind was gusting across the circuit with violence. 

Marcos Ramirez took pole in Moto3 ahead of Aron Canet and Albert Arenas. Scotsman John McPhee will start tomorrow from the front of the second row. 

Sam Lowes and Remy Gardner were quick enough in the Moto2 Q1 session to promote themselves through to Q2. The opening minutes of the Q2 session were dry but with five minutes remaining the rain started falling which ruined the chances of a late charge from many riders, the most frustrated of which was Remy Gardner who will start from 15th on the grid tomorrow. Jorge Navarro will start from pole ahead of Binder and Marini while Fabio Di Giannantonio will head the second row. 

The rain had stopped again by the time MotoGP FP4 got underway.

Pit lane opened for MotoGP FP4 at 1445 and the entire 22 rider field were quick out of the blocks to get some important laps in on what was a dry track, but strong gusty winds were still making conditions quite treacherous. FP4 does not count towards the combined times that decide the Q2 qualifiers thus is generally used to chase race set-up of prepare for the Q sessions that follow immediately after.

Miguel Oliveira fell foul of the conditions and was blown wide at the end of the straight and drifted off onto the grass at over 300 km/h. The KTM machine and Miguel did a few tumbles but miraculously the melee was not as monstrous as it might have been. He was taken to the medical centre where he was cleared of any significant injuries, although he was somewhat battered and bruised.

Fabio Quartararo’s big tumble yesterday was badly affecting the young Frenchman. A shortage of track time yesterday costing him dearly, and also his badly bruised ankle, along with other ailments, causing him problems. He was also being frustrated by the wind.

With just under 13-minutes remaining the session was red flagged as pit board numbers had blown on to the circuit which added to the risk level in the conditions. Hitting the picks with some foreign matter under your front wheel is not going to make for a pleasant ride.   

A special meeting of the safety commission and the MotoGP riders was then called to discuss the risks now being placed on the riders. It had already been a more bruising than normal event and with the wind was predicted to only get stronger as the afternoon continued thus discussions needed to be had and decisions needed to be made concerning this afternoon’s qualifying sessions.

The decision was handed down that no further track action would take place today.  Further meetings where then held to decide a revised schedule for tomorrow. The Sunday forecast far from perfect, but decidedly better than had been predicted for today.

Eventually organisers announced that they would assess conditions in the morning and then decide whether to run qualifying sessions ahead of the race on Sunday, or whether the grid will be based on the combined practice times. That of course would put Maverick Vinales on pole with Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso joining him on the front row. Full combined practice results can be found below. 

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP

In a stark contrast to this morning the sun was shining brightly across the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit when pit-lane opened for FP2 at 1505 on Friday afternoon.

Vinales had pretty much dominated FP1, while Jack Miller and Marc Marquez were also always close to the top of the time-sheets throughout the wet morning session.

Vinales had looked very comfortable on the wet track, his YZR-M1 slithering around underneath him as he put in plenty of 1m39s before underlining his wet pace with a 1m38.957s to hold off late charges from Miller and Marquez. This trio clearly had the best pace in the wet. Rossi in P4 was just under a second off his team-mate.

The big news from FP1 though was Fabio Quartararo’s crash. The young Frenchman was stretchered to the medical centre where pain-killers were administered that ruled him out of participating in FP2.  He was cleared of any broken bones but extensive bruising to his ankle was causing him great discomfort. He had been seventh in the morning session.

In the dry this afternoon half the field were into the 1m31s by lap three. Marquez then dropped in a 1m30.332s on his fourth lap, despite a massive wiggle coming on to the main straight.  Vinales was right behind him on 1m30.467s while Crutchlow, Miller and Petrucci were also now in the 1m30s.

Maverick Vinales was the first to dip into the 1m29s, a 1m29.916s on his ninth lap showcasing that wet or dry he is up to fighting for victory this weekend.

Danilo Petrucci was the second rider to drop under the 1m30s barrier, and then did it again on the next lap to better Vinales and go P1. 

That didn’t last long though as Marquez blasted across the line to a 1m29.718, only to then go quicker again at the first split before getting caught up in traffic at turn four, ruining that lap. Next time around though he bettered it to 1m29.621s.

Vinales then turned up the wick to a 1m29.195s with 20-minutes still remaining.

Jack Miller kept his powder dry until ten-minutes were left, the Aussie then shooting up to second place ahead of Marquez, a 1m29.609s to the Pramac Ducati man.

With five-minutes left on the clock riders were largely heading out of pit-lane on fresh rubber for a last charge time attack to ensure their spot in Q2 tomorrow, should Saturday turn out as wet as expected.

Petrucci jumped up the order to P2, a 1m29.327s pushing Miller back to P3. Miller retaliated, but not quite by enough, despite the Australian improving his time Petrucci remained P2 with two-minutes remaining.

Pol Espargaro then crashed while trying to improve on his best of 1m30.859s, his afternoon was done.

Maverick Vinales then smashed them with a 1m28.824s.

Marquez was on a flyer, under at the first split, then elbows out to pass his team-mate which might have cost him a little time and ruined his shot at P1. The two Repsol Honda men remonstrating with each other as they prepared for their practice start.

In the dying seconds Dovizioso shot to P2 on 1m29.320s, and Crutchlow promoted himself to P3 on 1m29.325s, pushing Petrucci back to P4 and Miller P5.

Marquez ended the session in P6 ahead of Valentino Rossi, Alex Rins and Franco Morbidelli while Aleix Espargaro rounded out the top ten.

Vinales on top, by half-a-second no less!

With Saturday’s weather forecast looking ugly, it is likely that today’s times will decide who and who does not automatically go through to Q2 tomorrow.

Straight after FP2 riders then participated in a 20-minute test session for Michelin, who were using the opportunity to evaluate some 2020 specification rubber. 

Marquez topped the tyre test session and pulled off another one of his ridiculous saves after losing the front. 70-degrees of lean was registering as he had the bike on his knee and elbow all the way until it almost came to a complete stop, without touching the ground. Marquez then rolled across the grass, waving to the ground as they watched on and picked their jaws up off the ground, then simply carried on to reel off more 1m29s… 

Then to add more comedy to the show a wallaby hopped across the circuit in front of a couple of MotoGP riders… Phillip Island really does have it all  🙂 

Source: MCNews.com.au

Phillip Island Day One Midday Report

It was a hot spring day that greeted competitors and team as they set-up for the weekend proceedings, but this morning it was overcast with intermittent drizzle.

Moto3 FP1

When the Moto3 riders went out at 0900 the track was very wet indeed. One of the first to fall victim to the conditions was local wild-card entrant Yanni Shaw. He was up uninjured but failed to register a time in the session. His fellow Double Six Motorsport wild-card and team-mate for the weekend Rogan Chandler managed seven laps with a best of 2m01.257s. 

Tony Arbolino topped Moto3 FP1 from fellow Honda rider rider Lorenzo Dalla Porta. Romano Fenati made it a Honda 1-2-3, Arbolino’s morning wet benchmark a 1m48.024s.

Moto2 FP1

Conditions were similar when Moto2 hit the track at 0940 and Remy Gardner quickly established himself as the man to beat.

The pace hotted up in the second half of the session and the young Australian was overhauled by Bulega, Bezzecchi, Chantra and Binder pushing him back to fifth with 20-minutes remaining in the 40-minute opening practice session.

Chantra then added his name to the long list of fallers in the treacherous conditions, immediately followed by Brit Jake Dixon. 

With three-minutes remaining in the session Gardner had slipped outside the top ten. The 21-year-old was then put in a last ditch effort to improve his standing before suffering a hefty fall at Hayshed. It was a big tumble, the front end ripping out of his machine, but the young Aussie, seemingly, escaped any major injuries.

Surviving the carnage to claim top spot for the morning was Jorge Martin, a 1m45.832 on his 16th and final lap of the session good enough to demote Bulega to P2.

MotoGP FP1

Jack Miller was quick out of the blocks when FP1 got underway and held sway at the top of the time-sheets for the opening ten-minutes of the session before Marc Marquez went quicker on lap six.

It was somewhat of a strange sight seeing Johann Zarco’s #5 on the front of an LCR Honda blasting around the circuit. The Frenchman was already looking quite comfortable.

Maverick Vinales then bested them both when he became the third man to lap under the 1m40s barrier. 1m39s on what was still a very wet track throwing up spray is hard to get your head around.

Vinales slithered a few of those 1m39s in, dropping another tenth here and there the 24-year-old Spaniard was putting on an exciting show. It is amazing to think Vinales is still that young, he already seems like somewhat of a MotoGP veteran. Halfway through the session he became the first to drop in a 1m38s, lowering the benchmark further.

While Vinales put in plenty of laps, most of MotoGP’s heavy hitters had been in their pit-box watching the show on their monitors. Marquez then went out as Vinales came in. 15 minutes later and Marquez had still not bested Vinales’ time.  Late in the session though Jack Miller improved and pushed the World Champion back to P3.

Valentino Rossi was on the improve though, up to fourth place.

Vinales went out with a few minutes remaining in the session and was immediately under his time through the first series of splits, only to be spoiled by traffic in the final section and failed to improve.

Nonetheless the Spaniard’s earlier benchmark proved good enough to hold sway and claim FP1 honours from Miller with Marquez third. Danilo Petrucci was P5 ahead of Franco Morbidelli.

Fabio Quartararo was seventh on the timesheets before throwing it away at turn six. The young Frenchman looked hurt and was carried away on a stretcher and sent to the medical centre.

Pol Espargaro took P8 ahead of fellow KTM rider Miguel Oliveira and the #4 Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso rounded out the top ten, and thus the last provisional automatic entry to Q2 on Saturday afternoon. That could be crucial depending on what the weather does this afternoon, as by the forecast, Saturday could be very wet indeed…

2019 MotoGP Championship Standings

2019 Australian GP Schedule (AEDT)

Source: MCNews.com.au

This will be the 31st Australian Grand Prix, which has been held every year since the first visit in 1989.

The first two Australian Grands Prix were held at Phillip Island before MotoGP visited the Eastern Creek circuit for six successive years, returning to Phillip Island in 1997, which has been its home since. This is the 25th time that the Grand Prix has taken place at Phillip Island.

A total of 72 Grand Prix races for solo motorcycles have been held at Phillip Island since 1989 as follows: MotoGP —17, 500cc –7, Moto2 —9, 250cc –15, Moto3 —7 and 125cc –17.

Since the introduction of the MotoGP class in 2002, Honda have had eight Grand Prix wins in the class at Phillip Island including three victories in 2015 with Marc Marquez, 2016 with Cal Crutchlow and and 2017 with Marquez once again.

Ducati have had four MotoGP wins at Phillip Island, all of them with Casey Stoner from 2007 to 2010.

Andrea Iannone’s third place finish back in 2015 and Andrea Dovizioso’s third place finish last year are the only podium finishes for Ducati at Phillip Island since Stoner’s win in 2010.

Yamaha have won the MotoGP race at Phillip Island on five occasions, three with Valentino Rossi, one with Jorge Lorenzo and one with Maverick Viñales, which was last year. In addition, both Yamaha Factory riders finished on the podium in 2017 in Australia, with Valentino Rossi in second followed by Maverick Viñales. Johann Zarco crossed the line in fourth making it to three Yamaha riders within the top five.

All three podium finishers in the MotoGP race at Phillip Island in 2014 were Yamaha riders, the last all-Yamaha podium in the class so far.

Suzuki have had three podium finishes at Phillip Island in the premier class. 2006 when Chris Vermeulen finished second, 2016 when Maverick Viñales finished third and last year when Andrea Iannone finished second.

The best result for an Aprilia rider in the MotoGP class at Phillip Island is a ninth-place finish with Aleix Espargaro last year. Jeremy McWilliams qualified on pole position in the premier class at Phillip Island in 2000, which is the last pole position for Aprilia to date in the class.

In 2017, Pol Espargaro crossed the line in ninth place at Phillip Island, which is the best result for KTM at this track in the premier class of Grand Prix racing. Espargaro qualified in sixth position, which was the best qualifying result for KTM in the class at the time, a record beaten subsequently at the Americas GP before both Espargaro and then-KTM rider Johann Zarco took front row starts this season.

Valentino Rossi is the rider with most GP wins at Phillip Island with eight (5 x MotoGP, 1 x 500cc, 2 x 250cc) followed by Casey Stoner with six, all in the MotoGP class from 2007 to 2012.

Three other riders have had three GP victories at Phillip Island: Marco Melandri (1 x MotoGP, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc), Jorge Lorenzo (1 x MotoGP, 2 x 250cc) and Marc Marquez (2 x MotoGP, 1x 125cc).

Home riders have taken 10 GP wins at Phillip Island: Casey Stoner (MotoGP from 2007 to 2012), Wayne Gardner (500cc in 1989 and 1990), Mick Doohan (500cc/1998) and Jack Miller (Moto3/2014).

The last Australian rider to finish on the podium at Phillip Island in any of the three classes is Jack Miller who won the Moto3 race in 2014.

Marc Marquez has qualified on pole position for the last five years at Phillip Island, equalling Casey Stoner who did it between 2008 and 2012 at this track.

The nine Moto2 races that have taken place at Phillip Island have been won by seven different riders: Alex De Angelis (2010 and 2011), Pol Espargaro (2012 and 2013), Maverick Viñales (2014), Alex Rins (2015), Tom Lüthi (2016), Miguel Oliveira (2017) and Brad Binder (2018). 

The seven Moto3 races that have taken place at Phillip Island have been won by six different riders: Sandro Cortese (2012), Álex Rins (2013), Jack Miller (2014), Miguel Oliveira (2015), Brad Binder (2016), Joan Mir (2017) and Albert Arenas (2018).

The 14th place finisher in the Moto3 race in Phillip Island last year, John McPhee, crossed the line just 0.989 seconds behind race winner Albert Arenas; this is the closest top 14 of all-time in the lightweight class of Grand Prix racing beating the record set in 2017 at the Italian GP (1.524s).

Source: MCNews.com.au