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  • Moto3: Rodrigo Takes Barcelona Pole

    The qualifying session for the seventh round of the 2019 Moto3 World Championship took place in Montmelo in perfect conditions.

    In Q1, it was Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) who topped the session to move through to Q2 after a crash in FP3 limited his chances to qualify for the pole position shootout directly. Joining Suzuki in advancing from Q1 were Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai), Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and the returning Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia).

    The action in Q2 started early on, as a crash by the wildcard Carlos Tatay (Fundacion Andreas Perez 77) caught out Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) who was out wide in T3 and had nowhere to go when Tatay lost the front.

    There was a big lull in the middle of the session, before the entire eighteen-rider field headed back out for the final two minutes or so.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/ByvM0KqCMYZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    Despite missing the flag by one second or so on his final run, Gabriel Rodrigo’s first lap in Q2 was fast enough for the Argentinian to take his first pole position for the Kommerling Gresini Moto3 squad. As a rider who lives in Barcelona and has for some time, pole for the Catalan GP will be a special one for Rodrigo, who will be hoping to take his first Moto3 win, and become the twelfth different winner in as many races in the lightweight class.

    Ai Ogura resumed his form from before his injury in Le Mans, when he crashed out of the front group on the opening lap of the French Grand Prix. Second place for the Japanese represents his best World Championship qualifying result, beating his Le Mans grid slot by one place.

    Mugello pole sitter and winner, Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) completes the front row for the 2019 Catalan Moto3 Grand Prix, after his final lap was beaten by Ogura moments after it was set. If Arbolino were to win tomorrow it would be the first time there has been a back-to-back winner in Moto3 since Jorge Martin won Assen and Sachsenring in succession almost one year ago.

    Tatsuki Suzuki was able to come from Q1 to qualify fourth, which was an important result for the Sic58 Squadra Corse team with the poor session of Antonelli. Championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) will start from the middle of the second row, whilst Albert Arenas completes row two.

    Both Estrella Galicia 0,0 riders have looked strong during the weekend, and their tactic of sending both riders out together has mostly worked. However, Alonso Lopez could only manage seventh fastest in Q2. The Spaniard will be joined by Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) who was caught up in Antonelli’s second incident of the session at turn five which limited the #48 to ninth on the grid.

    John McPhee (Petronas SRT) had a better qualifying this time compared to Mugello, with tenth place. Andrea Migno and Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) will join him on row four; whilst the second Estrella Galicia 0,0 rider, Sergio Garcia, will head up row five from Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) and Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who won a Junior World Championship race in Barcelona last year.

    Dennis Foggia, Moto3, Catalunya MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

    Row six will see Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) in front of the two riders with no time: Antonelli and Tatay.

    Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) was the fastest of the riders to not make Q2, and heads up row seven from Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and wildcard Ryusei Yamanaka (Estrella Galicia 0,0) who was blocked, somewhat, by Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) in the final corner on his final lap, for which Foggia could well see a penalty coming his way.

    Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) disappointed, and will start a lowly twenty-second, ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) and, provisionally, the aforementioned Foggia.

    Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) was taken out by Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) on his final lap, and could only manage twenty-fifth, ahead of, ironically, Kornfeil and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) on the ninth row; whilst Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) starts ahead of Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) and Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) on row ten. Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) will line up at the back of the grid in thirty-first.

  • BSB: Redding Beats Brookes to Brands Hatch Pole

    BSB: Redding Beats Brookes to Brands Hatch Pole

    Qualifying for the fourth round of the 2019 British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch saw the riders met with almost ideal conditions on track.

    Scott Redding took pole position by 0.007 seconds from Be Wiser Ducati teammate, Josh Brookes. The Ducati pairing have been the fastest riders all weekend, and quite well-matched. The battle between them in Sunday’s races should be an interesting one, as the winners of the last five races try to take the momentum away from Brands Hatch.

    Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) will join the two Be Wiser Ducati’s on the front row after a strong session for the Aussie. In fact, the weekend as a whole has been a good one for O’Halloran who seems to have rediscovered some of the feeling and form that he has missed in the two rounds since Silverstone. He might be the only rider capable of taking the fight to the two Be Wiser Ducati riders tomorrow.

    Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing) will hope to be there as well, and put himself in a good position to do so, as he will start from the front of the second row in fourth place. Dan Linfoot (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) and Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW Motorrad) will join Bridewell on the second row.

    Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing) came to Brands Hatch fresh from the TT,  in  good form, and qualified seventh. Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) showed his best of the year with an eighth place qualifying, ahead of Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha). Mackenzie crashed at Clearways on his first flying lap in Q3, and so did not set a time. The #95 was knocked unconscious in the crash, and so will be unable to line up tomorrow. Therefore, Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) will line up in ninth for race one.

    In turn, Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki) is promoted to the head of row four, and will be joined by Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW Motorrad) and Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing).

    Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) will start thirteenth ahead of Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) who crashed in Q1 and prohibited his progress from Q2. Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki) will start from the back of the fifth row in fifteenth.

    David Allingham (EHA Yamaha) will start sixteenth, and will be joined on row six by James Ellison (Smiths Racing) and Xavi Fores (Honda Racing); whilst Claudio Corti (Team WD-40) is joined on row seven by Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Ducati) and Matt Truelove (Raceways Yamaha); and Hector Barbera (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) is in front of Joe Francis (Lloyd & Jones Bowker Motorrad) and Shaun Winfield (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) on row eight. Finally, the final row sees Sam Coventry (Team 64 Motorsports) ahead of Dean Hipwell (CDH Racing).

    Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

  • Le Mans 24: Midnight report

    Le Mans 24: Midnight report

    LMP1:

    As expected, Toyota hold the lead of the LMP1 field at midnight. Mike Conway kept the #7 TS050 in front at the start, leading from pole position during the first two hours before handing over to Kamui Kobayashi.

    The two Toyotas briefly traded places later in the evening as a series of safety car periods brought the cars nose-to-tail. Kazuki Nakajima, taking over the #8 Toyota from Fernando Alonso, passed José María López in the #7 to take the lead. Lopez retook the lead shortly after only to surrender it with a trip through the gravel, but by hour 9 the two cars had swapped once again and the #7—with Conway back the wheel—resumed the lead.

    Third place was long held by the #3 Rebellion which, in the hands of Gustavo Menezes, moved up from fourth on the grid and held off advances by Vitaly Petrov in the #11 SMP. However this came to an end later in the evening, when Thomas Laurent put the #3 in the wall and dropped two laps behind the two SMPs, with Egor Orudzhev’s #17 now the Russian team’s lead car.

    There was trouble throughout the first ten hours for the remaining privateers. Bruno Senna picked up a puncture for the #1 Rebellion in the first hour and dropped to last in class, while the #4 ByKolles made eight difficult pitstops in the by hour 3. Later in the afternoon the #10 DragonSpeed entered the garage and has remained there since.

    Joao Filipe, Adrenal Media / FIA WEC Media

    LMP2:

    Signatech Alpine took an early lead as Nicholas Lapierre moved the #36 up from third to first off the line. But impressive pace from Jean-Éric Vergne and Dutch rookie Job van Uitert in the #26 G-Drive soon put the #36 under pressure, and Van Uitert took the class lead during his second stint.

    The remaining class podium position changed hands several times during the first ten hours of the race. Initially Matthieu Vaxiviere held third in the #28 TDS Racing, but a strong opening stint from Giedo van der Garde took the position for the #29 Racing Team Nederland.

    However, at hour 3 Nyck de Vries picked up a puncture during his stint in the #29. Anthony Davidson’s #31 DragonSpeed was briefly promoted to third, but was dropped down to fourth by the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing.

    Joao Filipe, Adrenal Media / FIA WEC Media

    GTE:

    Corvette took first blood in the Pro class with Antonio Garcia moving the #63 up from third to first. But over the course of the afternoon the Porsches hauled in the Corvette and the #92 took the lead with Kevin Estre at the wheel.

    In the Am class, Matteo Cairoli in the #88 Dempsey-Proton Porsche converted pole into an early lead. But this was lost when he handed over to Satoshi Hoshino, who spun the #88 on the Mulsanne Straight and handed the lead to Giancarlo Fisichella in the #54 Spirit of Race Ferrari.

    Hoshino would be involved in another, much heavier incident later in the evening as he collided with Marcel Fassler’s #64 Corvette, making the first official retirement of the race.

  • BSB: Can Ducati be Beaten at Brands?

    After the usual break for the Isle of Man TT, the British Superbike Championship is back in action this weekend, three weeks on from a historic round at Donington Park.

    Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) became the fiftieth rider to win a BSB race in the first outing at Donignton three weeks ago, and backed up that debut win with two more on Sunday to take the triple. Redding was able to make winning a BSB race look fairly straightforward in Donington, however that is expected to change this weekend in Brands Hatch, where Redding has never raced. It will be interesting to see how the #45 fares at a track where the whole field, essentially, have infinitely more track knowledge than him. This will be a new experience for Redding, since in Oulton Park he at least had the benefit of eighteen laps at the test day in the run up to the race weekend to learn where he was going.

    Scott Redding at Donnington park. Image courtesy of Ducati

    On the other side of the Be Wiser Ducati garage is the double winner from twelve months ago, Josh Brookes. That double came on the McAMS Yamaha in 2018, and with the Panigale V4R that Brookes is piloting this year having won the last five BSB races – with Brookes doubling up in Oulton Park before Redding’s Donignton treble – and with Brookes’ record in Brands, where he is second only to Shane Byrne for total wins, it is hard to see past the Aussie to at least take an overall this weekend.

    However, the McAMS Yamaha riders, Tarran Mackenzie and Jason O’Halloran, should be able to take the fight to Brookes and the V4R with the YZF-R1 which suits the fast, flowing nature of Brands Hatch quite well. Both McAMS Yamaha riders have arguably disappointed since round one at Silverstone, where they were quite dominant, with only one podium between them since then, courtesy of Mackenzie in the third race at Donington. Perhaps it is important to remember that 2019 is just Mackenzie’s second season in BSB, and the first year for O’Halloran in BSB outside of Honda. Either way, the expectation will be there for the two riders this weekend, one in which they will both be expecting top results.

    Tommy Bridewell at Donnington Park.Image courtesy of Ducati

    Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing) has enjoyed a fantastic start to the BSB year, and that earned him a place on the WSBK grid for the previous two rounds at Imola and Jerez in place of the injured Eugene Laverty at Team Goeleven. With Laverty expected to be back on the World Championship grid from the next round in Misano, Bridewell can now return his entire focus to BSB, a championship which is distinctly within the possibilities of the #46 – one that he can win. However, Bridewell is yet to win in 2019, and that monkey must be removed from his back quickly if he is to seriously contend for the title.

    In addition to Redding’s success in Donington, the triple podium of Xavi Fores (Honda Racing) and the impressive performances of Hector Barbera (replacing Ben Currie at Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) meant it was a weekend for the international riders three weeks ago. With Currie out injured, Barbera is back this weekend for his first taste of Brands Hatch, whilst Fores – fresh from the announcement of his participation with the HARC-PRO Honda squad at the Suzuka 8 Hours in July – returns to Brands Hatch for the first time this decade in search of more top threes.

    Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing) has had a slow start to the BSB year, scoring just forty-one points in the opening three rounds. However, despite missing out on the Senior TT on the Isle of Man, it was quite a successful week for Hickman, so it will be interesting to see if he can bring that form to the short circuit.

  • Formula E announces season six attack mode changes

    Formula E announces season six attack mode changes

    Formula E has revealed changes to its attack mode procedure as well as other alterations to its sporting regulations for season six.

    Alongside revealing their 2019–20 calendar at the FIA World Motorsport Council in Paris, Formula E also announced that from next season drivers will no longer be able to arm attack mode under Full Course Yellow or safety car conditions. This means that drivers will be forced to drive off the racing line to activate the higher power mode and thus retain the risk of losing positions.

    However, it was also announced that attack mode power would increase from 225kW to 235kW.

    LAT Images / FIA Formula E Media

    The revisions to Formula E’s sporting regulations for season six also made reference to issues that have arisen this season, following the series’ switch to timed races. From season six, a temporary suspension to the race—such as a red flag—will see the countdown clock stopped, so that the full amount of time is run overall.

    Furthermore, during FCY and safety car periods, a set amount of energy will be deducted from each car for the duration of the caution period, with 1kW being lost each minute until the race is restarted. Formula E said this rule has been agreed to make energy management more of an element in affected races, with the intention of “more varied strategies and close racing to the finish line that fans have grown accustomed to seeing”.

    There will also be an extra point on offer in season six, awarded to the fastest driver in the qualifying group stages before super pole.

    Finally, Formula E has increased the cycle of its new Gen2 car to include season eight in 2021–22. The championship said this extended four-season cycle will include updates to the car “including increase of power, improvements to the battery and an evolution of the design and bodywork.”

    LAT Images / FIA Formula E Media
  • Formula E confirms Seoul and London in season six calendar

    Formula E confirms Seoul and London in season six calendar

    Formula E has revealed its calendar for the 2019–20 championship, with new events added in Seoul and London.

    Season six of the all-electric championship will once again start in Saudi Arabia’s Ad Diriyah, albeit with a double header on the earlier dates of November 22 and 23. Afterwards are a trio of flyaway races in the new year in Santiago, Mexico City and Hong Kong before the European leg begins in April with Rome and Paris.

    The new Seoul ePrix breaks up the European races on May 3, with Berlin following four weeks later. June’s New York ePrix is once again the penultimate round of the season and is reduced to a single race.

    On July 25 and 26 London returns as the season finale for the first time since 2016, with a new indoor/ outdoor circuit at the ExCeL in Canning Town replacing the former Battersea Park track.

    Sam Bloxham, LAT Images / FIA Formula E Media

    Formula E co-founder and deputy CEO Alberto Longo said: “Next season promises to be the most exciting and eagerly-anticipated in the short history of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.

    “Looking at the list of cities and capitals backing Formula E and the electric movement, it’s the longest and most comprehensive calendar to date. We have three rounds remaining this season and a title fight that’s wide open, but I already can’t wait to get started again in Ad Diriyah in November.”

    The season six calendar also includes two ‘to be confirmed’ slots. The first, on December 14 2019, has traditionally been occupied by Marrakesh. The second, on March 21 2020, follows Hong Kong and is also listed as taking place in China, and is expected to be confirmed later as the Sanya ePrix.

    Bern is also absent from the new calendar. However, Formula E is said to be assessing suitable venues to return to Switzerland in season seven, with Zurich and Geneva joining Bern as potential hosts.

    Dom Romney, LAT Images / FIA Formula E Media

  • Moto2: Can Baldassarri Respond to Marquez Pressure in Barcelona?

    The Moto2 World Championship heads to Barcelona this weekend for the seventh round of the 2019 series, two weeks on from an Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) win in Italy.

    Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS boys Alex and Xavi Vierge at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Image courtesy of Marc VDS

    That win for Marquez last time out confirmed him as a championship contender. Coming off the back of his first win since Motegi 2017 two weeks earlier in Le Mans, Marquez was unstoppable in Mugello, where he completely dominated the race and won by nearly two seconds. Montmelo is something of a home round for Marquez, and he has a good history there, winning in 2014 by a comfortable margin in the Moto3 class on his way to the title, and standing on the top step again three years later in the Moto2 class. A third win in three races this weekend would certainly start the alarm bells in the ears of the other Moto2 championship hopefuls.

    One such championship hopeful is Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40). The Italian had a complicated home race, finishing fifteenth in qualifying ahead of the race. From that fifteenth grid slot, Baldassarri fought through, and finished fourth, which was a damage limitation job which was sufficient for him to maintain his championship lead. However, if Baldassarri wants to maintain that points advantage this weekend he needs to take the fight to Marquez on track, since the Spaniard seems to be the #7’s main threat for the title.

    It would be unjust to discount Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) at this stage, though. Aside from Marquez and Baldassarri, Luthi is the only rider to have won a race this year, his coming in Texas. Additionally, the Swiss has the same number of podiums as both Marquez and Baldassarri and sits just four points behind the championship lead. However, Luthi has never won in Montmelo, and has only four podiums at the Catalan GP.

    Tom Luthi at Barcelona-Catalunya. Image courtesy of KF GLAENZEL /Dynavolt Intact GP

    Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) had a strong race in Mugello, and was fast all weekend, finishing second in the end ahead of Luthi. It was a strong turnaround from the Italian after a dismal pair of races in Spain and France, and a subpar opening to the season for the winner of last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix. It will be interesting to see if Marini can continue that performance into this weekend in Barcelona.

    Jorge Navarro (Speed Up) finished off the podium for the first time since Argentina in Mugello, where he came home seventh. Speed Up won in Barcelona last year with Fabio Quartararo, so Navarro, who won in Montmelo in 2016 in the Moto3 category, will be hoping to bring the Italian chassis back to the top step twelve months later.

    Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Rcing Team) returns this weekend to the circuit which often brings a step up in his performance. In 2014, Barcelona was the site of his first GP podium, where he won the Catalan GP last year in the lightweight class. Additionally, La Bestia took to the podium in 2015 and 2016, and will hope to have a similar performance this weekend, after his strong weekend at home in Mugello, where he finished sixth behind Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) who, himself, will be after a strong result in his second home round of the season, after finishing third in the Spanish Grand Prix just over one month ago.

    Jonas Folger is back in action this weekend. The former Grand Prix winner is replacing Mattia Pasini, who was replacing Khairul Idham Pawi at the Petronas SRT team. Pasini broke his collarbone in training, so Folger is in at Petronas and will be keen to make an impression in his first GP since Aragon 2017 in the MotoGP class this weekend in Barcelona.

  • Moto3: The Championship Remains Open Ahead of Round 7

    Two weeks on from the Italian Grand Prix, the Moto3 World Championship heads to Montmelo for round seven of the 2019 season.

    In Italy it was Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who emerged victorious for the first time in his career, defeating Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) in a drag to the line by 0.029 seconds. Arbolino’s first win had been coming for a while, so now it will be interesting to see how the Italian reacts this weekend, whether he follows similar patterns to the past where he has been quite inconsistent, or whether his win will give him more belief that he can go out and win again. Additionally, it is not too late for a title challenge from Arbolino, who is only thirty-two points behind championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team).

    Aron Canet, at the Italian Moto3 2019 race. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

    Of course, it is a home round for Canet, although strictly speaking he is a Valencian. Mugello gave a disappointing result for Canet, as he finished seventh and, although he maintained his championship advantage, the #44 will be looking to return to the rostrum this weekend, especially with circuits on the horizon which may not suit his KTM as well as his rivals Hondas.

    Perhaps the strongest rider of all in Mugello was Lorenzo Dalla Porta. Arbolino won but Dalla Porta’s pace in the twisty part of the lap was very strong. The Italian has quite a smooth riding style, you can see visibly that he does not bully the bike into doing what he wants it to, and perhaps that is a sign of how comfortable he is with his NSF250R. In Barcelona he will be looking for his third consecutive podium, and his first win of the season to try and overhaul the three-point deficit he currently suffers to Canet in the championship.

    Although Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) finished only eighth in Mugello, he was also only 0.595 seconds off the win. In fact, Suzuki looked like the only rider who could get near Dalla Porta’s pace in the corners of Mugello. Last year’s Catalan Grand Prix was a tale of two halves for the Japanese rider, having broken away with Jorge Martin in a front pairing at the start, he was left by himself when Martin just a few laps into the race at turn nine. He was then swamped by the group, but managed to stay standing when others around him fell, and finished fifth in the end. Suzuki was on the podium in the last Spanish round at Jerez, so will be hoping to double up on his Spanish trophies this weekend.

    Like Suzuki, Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) has only been on the podium once this year, and that was also in Jerez when he won. Since that win, Antonelli crashed in France and was fourth in Mugello after being penalised in qualifying. Despite that, the championship is still well within reach for Antonelli, who is only twelve points behind Canet.

    Jaume Masia, third place at the Moto3 race, Italian MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

    Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) returned to the podium in Mugello after missing it since Texas. After two disappointing results in Spain and France, Masia’s Italian rostrum was enough to fire him back into championship contention, as he now sits eighteen points behind Canet in the standings. However, it will be important for the #5 to once again take to the podium in Barcelona this weekend to confirm that Jerez and Le Mans were blips.

    Finally, after missing the Italian GP, Ai Ogura is back this weekend for Honda Team Asia following successful surgery for the Japanese rider after his accident on the opening lap of the race in Le Mans.

  • MotoGP: Can Petrucci Match Dovizioso & Lorenzo?

    MotoGP: Can Petrucci Match Dovizioso & Lorenzo?

    Two weeks on from a magnificent race in Mugello at the Italian Grand Prix, the MotoGP World Championship heads to Barcelona for round seven of the 2019 season.

    This weekend will be an important one for MotoGP, as it marks the seventieth anniversary of the motorcycle world championship, the first of course taking place on the Isle of Man back in 1949. Much has changed since day one, of course. The Ducati Desmosedici GP19 that Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducat) rode to victory in Mugello two weeks ago almost unrecognisable in comparison to the Norton which won the 1949 Senior TT in the hands of Harold Daniell, and the story is the same when it comes to the tracks, the people involved, the culture of world championship motorcycle racing and politics involved. MotoGP is now a sport for complete professionals. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has said on many occasions how the sport of today misses some of the “romance” of that of his early career in the 1990s and 2000s. You would suspect that Daniell’s reaction to 1996, the year of Rossi’s World Championship debut, would be quite similar.

    But, whilst MotoGP in its current form may be missing “romance”, it is certainly not missing entertainment or excitement. Mugello was a prime example of that, with four riders and three different bikes separated by only half a second over the line. Petrucci’s winning margin over Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was just 0.043 seconds for his first ever MotoGP victory, and that is the MotoGP we see today: closer, more competitive than ever before.

    Fresh from continuing Ducati’s reign in Mugello, which stretches now for three years, Petrucci arrives In Barcelona looking to continue a trend of the last two years, which has seen Ducati pilots take victory in Mugello, and then Barcelona, back-to-back, first with Andrea Dovizioso in 2017 and then with Jorge Lorenzo in 2018. Perhaps it seems less likely for Petrucci to continue this, especially considering his declarations in Mugello where he stated that from now on his primary focus is to help his teammate, Dovizioso, win the World Championship. However, it remains to be seen how Petrucci reacts to winning his first race, whether it will trigger him to continue winning, and to go on to win a lot more races as we have seen with other riders in the past – Dovizioso himself being a prime example.

    Losing points to Marquez in Mugello was a disappointment for Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) who will have seen the Italian round of the series as a chance to claim points back on the Spaniard. Instead, the #04 arrives in Montmelo in the knowledge that he must win, or at least beat Marquez, if he is to keep his championship hopes alive. The gap at the moment is twelve points, which may not seem like much, but with Assen and Sachsnering on the horizon, taking points in Spain this weekend will be vital for Dovizioso.

    Marc Marquez at Montmelo,2019. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

    Strangely, Marquez has only won in Barcelona once in the premier class, back in 2014 when his then teammate Dani Pedrosa ran into the back of him in what was turn eleven, costing himself the win despite arguably being faster at the end of the race than the #93. Despite his low frequency of top step visits in Montmelo, Marquez has missed the podium only once in MotoGP at the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya, and that came in his troubled 2015 season, when he was pushing over the limit to try and go with Jorge Lorenzo on the Yamaha M1, who eventually won. Marquez has finished second in each of the three Catalan Grands Prix since then, to Valentino Rossi in 2016, to Dovizioso in 2017 and to Lorenzo last year. The reigning champion is, though, on great form, and will be a strong favourite going into this weekend.

    The fourth rider in the group at Mugello was Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who had yet another strong comeback from a poor qualifying. What Mugello exposed was Suzuki’s continuing lack of top speed. Fortunately for Suzuki, whilst they miss top end they have a bike which can punch off corners well from low speed, which is what Yamaha miss. Rins was able to use this to stay with the group, although had he managed to establish a gap of half a second or more, he could have gotten away such was his speed in the corners. The straight in Montmelo could also prove a problem for the GSX-RR this weekend, but in his home race Rins could be the only rider with a strong shot at challenging Marquez – but he needs to qualify well.

    Valentino Rossi has won ten times in Montmelo, the most recent of those being that 2016 triumph over Marquez. The last two years have been contrasting for the Italian, though, with Barcelona proving one of Yamaha’s weakest tracks in 2017 when he finished only eighth, although it was a return to the Catalan podium last year as he finished third behind Marquez and Lorenzo. After a disastrous home round in Mugello, and with questions being asked about his commitment to his Yamaha contract in the current, disappointing, moment in the Iwata marque’s history, Rossi will be eager to put the voices considering a close retirement for The Doctor on hold this weekend, especially with Assen next up on the calendar, which could prove his last opportunity to win in 2019.

    Valentino Rossi at Montmelo 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing

    For Rossi’s teammate at Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Maverick Vinales, Mugello was little better. Vinales came home as top Yamaha in Italy, but that meant only sixth place. In fact, Mugello was a catastrophe for Yamaha. At a track where they had been on the podium for fifteen consecutive years, the top Yamaha was almost seven seconds from the rostrum. Anyway, like Rossi, Vinales will be aiming for redemption this weekend, at his home race.

    It should be noted that Barcelona is the circuit at which, twelve months ago, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took his first GP victory. One year one, he could be Yamaha’s best bet of a win in Barcelona and is looking in fine form, having nearly taken pole in Mugello before finishing tenth in the race as top rookie.

    Finally, the grid will have twenty-four bikes this weekend, as Suzuki test rider Sylvain Guintoli and Aprilia test rider Bradley Smith will be in action for their respective factories.

  • Ferrari considering “right of review” to challenge Vettel penalty

    Ferrari considering “right of review” to challenge Vettel penalty

    Ferrari are considering using the FIA’s right of review process to challenge Sebastian Vettel’s Canadian Grand Prix penalty, rather than a submitting a formal appeal.

    The FIA’s International Sporting Code allows competitors to call for a post-race review of decisions, providing there is new evidence that wasn’t available to the stewards at the time.

    The time period for making a review case is 14 days after final classification, which means has Ferrari has until Sunday 23 June to gather and present their new evidence to the  FIA.

    Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

    Ferrari had previously said they would contest Vettel’s five-second time penalty through the FIA’s International Court of Appeals. However, as the court’s own rules state than in-race sanctions cannot be appealed, it’s understood the team is preparing an alternative challenge.

    Speaking to Motorsport.com, a Ferrari spokesperson said: “We are still working on [the appeal] and we are collecting more evidence.”