The Moto2 qualifying session for the sixth round of the 2019 World Championship at Mugello, the Italian Grand Prix, got underway under the Tuscan sun and the riders who were unable to qualify for Q2 in free practice tried to advance through Q1.
The four riders who made it to Q2 from Q1 were: Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS); Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo); championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46).
In Q2, it was Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) who took pole position, one which he will be hoping to convert to his first GP win tomorrow. Schrotter took pole position from Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) who held P1 for much of the session, but ended up second behind his German teammate, whilst Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) completes the front row fresh off the back of his win in Le Mans.
Nicolo Bulega had his best performance since moving to Moto2, as the rookie qualified fourth, ahead of Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) and Sky Racing Team VR46 teammate Luca Marini, who seems to have recovered some form this weekend after a difficult couple of races in Spain and France.
Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) heads up row three tomorrow, from Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40); while Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) completes the top ten and is joined on row four by Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Jorge Martin, who out-qualified his Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate, Brad Binder, for the first time this season.
Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) is joined on row five by Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up) and championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) to ensure the fifth row is an all-Italian affair; whilst Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) heads up row six and is joined by Xavi Vierge and a mysteriously slow Mattia Pasini (Petronas SRT), to ensure the #97 is the Spanish meat in the Italian sandwich on the sixth row.
Brad Binder was the fastest of those to not make Q2, and he starts nineteenth tomorrow ahead of Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) on row seven.
Row eight sees Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) ahead of Iker Lecuona (American Racing) and Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing); whilst the ninth row has the Red Bull KTM Tech3 pairing of Marco Bezzecchi (25th) and Philipp Oettl (27th) sandwiching Joe Roberts (American Racing).
Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) heads up row ten, from Dimas Ekky (IDEMITU Honda Team Asia) and Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team); while Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) was faster than only Somkiat Chantra’s replacement at IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia, the GP newcomer and JSB1000 regular for the HARC-PRO Honda squad Teppei Nagoe who completes the grid.
The MotoGP qualifying session for the sixth round of the 2019 World Championship at Mugello, the Italian Grand Prix, got underway in near-perfect conditions, with the sun having baked the track all day.
In Q1, it was Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) and wildcard Michele Pirro (Mission Winnow Ducati) who advanced to the Q2 pole position shootout, taking the edge off the disappointment of the majority of the crowd, whose chosen favourite Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) could manage only eighth in Q1, meaning he will start his home race from eighteenth.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) spent most of his second Q2 run negotiating track position with Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati). Eventually, for his final lap, Marquez achieved the perfect distance from the back of the #04, got some tow down the straight to start the lap, a perfect marker ahead of him through the lap, and a strong tow down the straight to finish the lap as well. He took pole with a stunning 1’45.519, taking seven tenths from Rossi’s lap record from last year. This pole also moves him one clear of Rossi in the all-time premier class poles list.
Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) impressed once more, as he became the first rider to break the 1’46 barrier in Mugello on a MotoGP bike. He did three laps in the 1’45s, but the power deficit of his Yamaha compared to the Honda of Marquez cost him pole position.
Danilo Petrucci at Mugello 2019 . Image courtesy of Ducati
Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) identified himself as the biggest hope for the Italian crowd on Sunday as he qualified third, living up to the expectations that had been amassing over the course of what has been a difficult, but strong weekend for the #9.
Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) had a place on the front row until Marquez fired his pole lap in, but will start from a strong fourth place, meaning that once more both Petronas SRT Yamahas have out-qualified both factory M1s. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) join the Italian on row two.
Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) heads up row three, from Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and the struggling Andrea Dovizioso; whilst Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) impressively put the 2018 Honda in tenth place, ahead of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Michele Pirro.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) once again left himself with a tough job for Sunday as he qualified thirteenth, ahead of Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini); whilst Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) heads up row six from the struggling multiple World Champions, Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) and Valentino Rossi. Row seven consists of Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – who might have improved on his final lap before a crash at Corentaio ended his chances – Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3). Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) complete the grid.
The rolling hills of Tuscany await the Moto2 World Championship this weekend for round six of the 2019 series, currently led by Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40).
Although he leads the series, it has been far from plain sailing for Baldassarri so far in 2019, with three wins but also two crashes – including one at the previous round of the championship in France – leaving him with a seven-point lead coming into his home Grand Prix this weekend. Baldassarri’s history in Mugello is quite good, however, with his second place last year adding to his second place of 2016 to mean that he has two podiums at home so far in his career. If he finishes this weekend, statistically he is likely to win.
Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) At Le Mans 2019. Image courtesy of KF GLAENZEL/ Intact GP
Second in the championship is still Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) in spite of his difficult round in Le Mans where he struggled for pace all weekend and finished sixth. Fortunately for the Swiss, he seemed to pick a good race to drop his pace, as his rivals either crashes or had similarly poor results, such as his injured Dynavolt Intact GP teammate Marcel Schrotter who could only manage eighth; Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who crashed, and Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) who also fell. Nonetheless, Luthi needs a return to form this weekend, especially if Baldassarri is to please his home crowd.
The two aforementioned fallers in Le Mans are also in need of strong results in Mugello, Lowes more than Gardner, who simply needs to bounce back from a poor weekend. Lowes’ opening to the season has been disappointing – despite dominating testing, the Briton has failed to make the podium thus far in 2019, but with a good record in the past at Mugello there is a good opportunity for the #22 to turn his season around this weekend.
Whilst not being Italian himself, Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) does ride for an Italian team, and a chassis which historically has worked well in Mugello, with Andrea Iannone way back in the early days of Moto2, and slightly more recently with Sam Lowes, who was on pole with the bike in 2015.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had a new KTM chassis in Le Mans, and it took him to his best result of 2019 so far with fourth place, which he will hope to build on in Mugello, where Miguel Oliveira won in 2018 for the Austrian marque.
Brad Binder, Spanish MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), like Binder, had his best result of 2019 two weeks ago in France, as he won for the first time since Motegi 2017. The cash of Baldassarri and the poor result of Luthi also meant that Marquez’ win brought him into championship contention, as he now enters round six in Mugello just fourteen points adrift of the points lead.
Baldassarri is not the only hope for the Italian crowd this weekend. Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) had a strong run in Le Mans, and was looking strong to pass Marquez for the lead just before he crashed; whilst Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46), along with Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up), have been impressing in their rookie respective rookie seasons in the Moto2 class.
Finally, Mattia Pasini is once more replacing Khairul Idham Pawi at the Petronas SRT team, and the 2017 winner will be hoping to return to the podium this weekend after getting caught up in Baldassarri’s crash back in Le Mans.
This weekend the 2019 Moto3 World Championship heads to Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix, round six of the season.
Approaching this race, Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) leads the standings after picking up his third podium of the season last time out in Le Mans, much to the displeasure of Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) who was the victim of Canet’s last-minute dive for the rostrum in France. Being the team’s home race, the pressure will be on for Canet to deliver in Mugello, a track at which he has failed to score a rostrum finish.
Aron Canet. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Second and third in the championship, respectively, are Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) – four points back from Canet – and Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) – seven points adrift of the Spaniard. Both are entering their home round, but especially for Dalla Porta, this weekend is a special one, as not only is he Italian but he is also a Tuscan. For all the Italians, the Italian Grand Prix weekend is a special one, but perhaps the specific geography of the GP makes it particularly important for the #48, who is without a rostrum in Mugello. That could change this weekend, though, with Dalla Porta’s laid back, smooth riding style theoretically suiting Mugello quite well.
Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) led the championship heading to Jerez for round four of the series, but one month later the Spaniard is without a top ten since returning to Europe and finds himself in need of a strong swing in the form this weekend as he enters it a full race win behind his compatriot, Canet. However, in 2018 – his sole appearance in Mugello – Masia crashed, so any points the Spaniard scores this weekend will be his first in the Italian Grand Prix.
John McPhee (Petronas SRT) comes to Mugello off the back of a win from pole, his first dry weather triumph in Grand Prix racing, at Le Mans two weeks ago. Since then, McPhee has expressed his desire to seek a move to Moto2 for the 2020 season, and to avoid an eighth full season in the lightweight class. Last year, a post-race test in Mugello was a minor turning point in McPhee’s season; contrarily this year McPhee will simply be hoping to pick up where he left off in France – on top.
Celestino Vietti, Moto3 race, Spanish MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
The success of the Scot will be of little interest to the Italian crowd, though, who will no doubt be looking out primarily for their home heroes, such as Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) who is by twenty points the leader of the rookie of the year battle; Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who will be after his first victory in Grand Prix racing this weekend; and Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) who will be looking to add to his 2014 Italian Grand Prix victory in the 2019 edition.
The MotoGP World Championship heads to the rolling hills of Tuscany this weekend, and the Mugello circuit for the Italian Grand Prix – round six of the 2019 season.
Mugello is a special event for the crowd. Usually baked in glorious sunshine, the Italians avoid sleep, and attach amplifying devices to their motors to ensure the spectators are unable to hear the 300hp MotoGP machines as they head down to San Donato.
That in itself is a unique moment of the season: storming out of Bucine in third gear, cutting over the pit lane, the bike goes light over the crest at 170mph. Once the front wheel is settled, the rider has to direct the machine, at over 200mph, at the edge of the grass lining the track on the side of the pit wall, to cut the chevrons which separate the track from the pit lane exit. At this point the track rises, and is turning right; as it crests once more, it starts to move left again. The rider has to wrestle the bike at 220mph to keep the front wheel communicating with the floor, and turning the bike back to the left to prepare the entry to turn one at San Donato. Additionally, atop the crest the asphalt is quite bumpy, and the aerodynamic effect going on at the top of the crest means that the bikes often get out of shape. This is what caught out Michele Pirro last year on the factory Ducati, as his brake pads were knocked back, so when he grabbed the front brake at over 200mph, he had nothing, so he kept grabbing until eventually something happened- too much, in fact, as he was launched skywards, and landed hard. Pirro missed the rest of the weekend, but was thankfully back at the track on Sunday to watch Jorge Lorenzo take his first victory in red.
From the terror of San Donato, the track is equally beautiful for the remaining fourteen corners; long, rolling bends flowing up and down two sides of a valley – the beauty of Mugello is undeniable.
Marc Marquez winner of the 2018 MotoGP La Mans race. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
For some, however, it is more beautiful than for others. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), for example, has crashed out of three of his six MotoGP races in Mugello, and has only one win – in 2014 – and a single podium – in 2016 in that classic last lap battle with Jorge Lorenzo to whom he finished second. Although, there is a strange beauty for Marquez in going to Italy – one which his teammate for 2019 at Repsol Honda, Jorge Lorenzo, has relished in the past, having scored six premier class wins there, including the aforementioned triumph on the Desmosedici last year. This strange beauty is of course to be in the house of their deepest rival: Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). This year promises to be a trickier task for Lorenzo, who has missed feeling with his Honda RC213V all season. However, after being written off before the Italian Grand Prix twelve months ago, Lorenzo will be quietly optimistic of a positive weekend in Tuscany. Marquez, on the other hand, was showing good speed in the race last season, before a crash at Scarperia cost him any points, and will be hoping that the agility of the Honda will marry well with its more powerful motor for 2019, to power him to his second Italian Grand Prix victory.
Whilst there is almost an anti-beauty in Mugello for Marquez and Lorenzo, the feeling for the Italian riders at their home Grand Prix is never anything but special. Loud crowds make their presence known from dawn on Thursday, and do not let their noise dissipate until they depart on Monday – ‘Al Mugello non si dorme’.
Especially, the Italian Grand Prix is a special one for the aforementioned home favourite, Valentino Rossi. It is hard to go to Mugello without recounting Rossi’s golden years in Tuscany, where he was unbeaten between 2002 and 2008, winning on both Honda and Yamaha; but also his heartache of recent years, be it the expiration of his M1’s motor in 2016 which cost him a strong shot at the win, or his motocross accident in 2017 a week before practice began which ended his victory hopes before the weekend had even begun. This year, there is little promise of a return to the form of the early 2000s, as the Yamaha’s speed deficit to its rivals has simply become too much, which cost The Doctor against the Ducati trio in front of him in Le Mans, and with Mugello’s front stretch being the fastest of the year, it is unlikely that those issues will cease to plague him this weekend. However, the Yamaha is working well in the corners, so if Rossi can get to the front, he may have the possibility forge himself an advantage.
Andrea Dovizioso & Danilo Petrucci at Le Mans 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati
Doing that, though, will be challenging when there are three – at least – Ducatis, as well as the Hondas of Marquez and – possibly – Lorenzo lining up for their shot at Italian glory. Particularly for Ducati, this weekend is an important one. They would have expected to challenge Marquez in Le Mans, but instead the World Champion disappeared. At home, Ducati have won the last two years, first with Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) in 2017, and second with Lorenzo last season. Additionally, they have Michele Pirro with them once again, on the ‘lab’ bike – the person who tells you the spec of that motorcycle will have eaten their final meal – as well as Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) who took his first podium for the factory team in Le Mans last time out, and took his first dry weather MotoGP podium for Pramac in Mugello two years ago. Finally, there is Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) who is, firstly, after Petrucci’s seat for 2019 and, secondly, after his second rostrum of the season, and first MotoGP win since Assen 2016. It could be a big weekend for the Bologna Bullets, and they simply must beat Marquez and Honda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx2Ff7Y3_G0
Suzuki also face an important weekend, and one in which they must overcome their qualifying difficulties which limited Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to tenth in Le Mans after starting only nineteenth and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to only one place better in qualifying, before he crashed on the warm up lap and finished a lap down in the race.
Other riders to keep an eye on this weekend include Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who finished second in 2015 before the Ducati could turn; Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who is in the middle of a stunning rookie season and should have had two podiums by now; Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who was fast in Mugello last season despite being on the disagreeable satellite Honda; and the KTM riders off the back of Pol Espargaro’s (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) impressive sixth place in France two weeks ago.
Fresh from the Indy 500, the IndyCar paddock heads to Detroit for the only doubleheader of the season, known as the ‘Dual in Detroit’. Some drivers are coming off the high of the 500 while others are looking to make amends after a poor performance at the Brickyard. Detroit always promises action with its tight, bumpy nature punishing mistakes very heavily.
Simon Pagenaud will be coming into Detroit on the highest of highs after winning his first Indy 500 from pole to top off an amazing Month of May. The Frenchman has won both of the last two races, however, since the Detroit doubleheader came into the series in 2012, Indy 500 champion has never won either of the races. Pagenaud will be looking to break that curse, though it’s not really something you’d put money on given the amount of media work he’s had to do in the last week and the fact that he hasn’t won around Detroit since 2013, but you never know…
Simon Pagenaud with his dog Norman in New York City during his victory tour after winning the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar
One driver very much looking to make amends for the 500 is Alexander Rossi. He may have finished second last race but, as he said in his interview after, that’s probably one of the worst places to finish at the Brickyard because of how close you are to victory. At the Indy 500, second really is the first of the losers! Despite never winning at Detroit, his best finish came last year with a third place in Race 1, Rossi always manages to be a factor in the races here, whether that be in a good way or a bad!
Last year, Scott Dixon and Ryan Hunter-Reay shared the honours, after Graham Rahal dominated both races the year before. For Hunter-Reay, his win here last year ended a drought that stretched back to Pocono 2015; this year, he comes into the weekend with a winless streak of only six races, having won the last race of 2018. Dixon has actually got a longer winless streak at eleven, meaning he sits in fifth in the championship, 47 points off leader Pagenaud.
Ryan Hunter-Reay takes a cool dip in the James Scott Memorial Fountain at Belle Isle Park as the winner of Race 2 of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Credit: Joe Skibinski/IndyCar
The championship is still young with the two races at Detroit marking races seven and eight. Currently, Indy 500 winner Pagenaud leads the championship, one point ahead of teammate Josef Newgarden with Rossi 22 points off the lead in third. Takuma Sato has rather snuck into the top five, equal with Dixon, 47 points adrift. The standings become slightly more spread out after that with Santino Ferrucci as top rookie in tenth, following his stellar performance at the 500.
Detroit is a return to the street courses after the first oval of the season, but, being a doubleheader, the format is slightly different to normal. The two races are run independently of one another with each having its own two-group qualifying to decide the order. There’s no top twelve group or Fast Six, just the two groups based on practice times. All this means a driver can fail to finish Race 1 but then go onto start well in Race 2, as they don’t decide each other’s grids.
This time it’s a mere 22-car affair, after the 36 strong entry list for the 500. Max Chilton and Patricio O’Ward are back in the field after failing to qualify last time out while Ed Jones switches back to the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing entry after the boss himself ran it at the 500. Other than that, it’s all the regulars in the pack, with Jack Harvey and Ben Hanley not around again until Road America.
Practice gets underway today with the first of the qualifying sessions and Race 1 taking place on Saturday, followed by a very similar schedule on Sunday. The timings for the weekend are as follows:
May 31
Practice 1 – 10:55am (ET) / 3:55pm (BST)
Practice 2 – 2:50pm / 7:50pm
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) enjoyed a return to the podium in Saturday’s race one at Donington Park, for the third round of the 2019 British Superbike Championship, and established a championship lead going into the second BSB race of the weekend on Sunday. Alex Whitworth spoke to him on Sunday morning after the warm up session for the Superbike riders about the 2019 season so far for the #95, his step from rookie to championship contender and his adaptation to a 1000cc motorcycle.
Tarran Mackenzie. Image courtesy of Impact Images Photography/McAMS Yamaha
AW: Tarran, you returned to the podium yesterday after missing it both times in Oulton Park. Are you happy with how the race went?
TM: “Yeah, really good. Struggled a lot at Oulton Park so to come back here at my home track and get second, after leading it for a long time as well, was good. So I’m happy.”
AW: Even on the short back straight here, the Ducati has an advantage, they were coming past you a lot. That must be frustrating?
TM: “Yeah, it’s quite demoralising really, because […] you can try your best [for a lap in front] and then they pass you back down the back straight, it’s quite annoying, really. It is the way it is, though, and they are beatable, so I need to try to be a bit smoother in the first part of the lap.”
AW: You had a strong rookie year, finishing tenth in the championship, and taking some podiums towards the end of the season. You’re in your second year, now, and fighting for the championship, so what has changed for you to make that step?
TM: “Probably just a bit more experience, really, because last year I was, as you say, just a rookie. These bikes are quite hard to ride, so just getting used to it, really. [I’m with] the same team, same bike, everything is the same, so just a bit of continuity, and it’s all coming together nicely.”
AW: So, you’re leading the championship. Is 2019, then, going better than expected, or are you about where you thought you would be?
TM: “[It’s going] Better than I thought, really. I wanted to just try and be in the top six each race and, apart from Oulton [Park] race one, I’ve pretty much done that. So, to be leading the championship now, with a bit of a gap to second is good as well, so, going a lot better than expected. We just need to keep the momentum going.”
AW: You took your first win in Silverstone. Was it important to get that out of the way early?
TM: “Yeah, I wanted to win a race, that was the big goal, really, so to do that […] in the second race, that’s sort of the monkey off my back, really, so we just need to keep going for the rest of the year now, and try to stay on the podium.”
Tarran Mackenzie during the 2019 Donington Park BSB event. Image courtesy of Impact Images Photography/McAMS Yamaha
AW: You’re one of the smaller riders, so was that a particular problem when you came to Superbike?
TM: “Yeah, being vertically challenged- like at Oulton Park, when it’s hard work to rider, it’s hard – if you’re a bigger rider it makes it easier. So, yeah, it does get tough at times, but it sort of plays into my advantage at some tracks.”
AW: The Yamaha is known for being a ‘corner speed’ bike, and with you coming from some years on 600s and before that on 125/Moto3, does the R1 suit you well?
TM: “Yeah, definitely, yeah. From Moto2, as well, it was a very similar style. A lot of people have to change their riding style for a Superbike, whereas I didn’t really have to do that, which was nice for me. Some tracks it works well, some tracks it doesn’t – [Donington] is one of them [where it works well], so try to use that as an advantage. Tracks like Brands [Hatch, up next on the calendar], Silverstone, Donington, Assen, just try to use it as an advantage.”
Mackenzie finished fifth in BSB race two at Donington on Sunday, and fourth in the second race. In comparison, Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) won both races, in addition to his win in Saturday’s race, to take him to the top of the championship. Tommy Bridewell also found the podium in both of Sunday’s races, which took him ahead of Mackenzie in the championship by one point, meaning the #95 is now third in the championship and seven points off the top, with a five-podium point deficit to Redding.
Lucas di Grassi gave Audi the bragging rights over rivals BMW and HWA by claiming his second win of the season at the team’s home race. Although it was not a mirror of last year’s dominant display with Daniel Abt and di Grassi’s 1-2, the latter swept past polesitter Sebastien Buemi and remained untroubled throughout the race to move up to second in the championship, with Buemi and current reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne claiming the remaining podium positions.
Qualifying was again crucial with group one again struggling to stay in the coveted superpole spots as the track conditions improved. Di Grassi was the quickest man in the first group whilst Andre Lotterer was hampered by the Brazilian Audi driver mistiming his lap, leaving his hopes of superpole increasingly slim. Robin Frijns also suffered with a problem with his Virgin car, coupled with a five-place penalty from the previous race to leave him dead last. HWA on the other hand, enjoyed an excellent qualifying session with Stoffel Vandoorne and Gary Paffett making their way into the top six superpole shootout. Alex Lynn also impressed to take his first appearance in superpole, but it was Nissan’s Buemi who took the spoils in the initial stages, beating out Vandoorne for the provisional top spot.
Photo by Malcolm Griffiths / FE Media
Di Grassi was the first man out on track in superpole and set the initial pace, slotting himself into P1, a position he would continue to occupy as Paffett, Lynn and Alexander Sims failed to topple the Brazilian’s time. However, it was fierce rival Buemi who continued Nissan’s impressive qualifying record to break the deadlock by four-tenths of a second. With again Vandoorne again showcased his impressive qualifying form by disposing of the Audi driver by three-tenths of a second, another excellent result for the Japanese outfit. It fell to Vandoorne and HWA to prevent the fourth Nissan pole of the season and net the coveted top spot for themselves at their home race, but Vandoorne could not match Buemi’s time, trailing the Swiss driver by three-tenths of a second. Buemi took his second pole position of the season with Vandoorne and di Grassi rounding out the top three.
Buemi managed to hold the lead in the opening stages of the race, as Vandoorne was disposed of by di Grassi for P2. Six laps later, di Grassi performed the same manoeuvre heading into turn six to snatch the lead away from the leading Nissan. It was a position that di Grassi upheld for the remainder of the race, relatively untroubled by his racing rival and spurred on by the contingent of Schaeffler and Audi fans in the grandstands. Lotterer made ground in the opening stages, fighting his way up through the order after a poor qualifying, whilst his teammate Vergne followed suit, a podium very much on his mind, carving through the field from P9. BMW’s Antonio Felix da Costa was equally spurred on to claim his second win of the season as after starting from P8, he had managed to force his way through the field to pressure Buemi for P2. Buemi conceded the spot, only to activate his attack mode and claim the position back from the BMW, leaving da Costa in P3.
Photo by Sam Bloxham / LAT Images
As the time ticked down, Vergne began to pressure da Costa for the final podium position, with Abt and Vandoorne battling behind. Vergne eventually got the job done into turn 10, snatching P3 away as Lynn’s Jaguar forced the racing to neutralise when his car stopped on the start-finish straight with what appeared to be a hydraulics issue. It was a shame for the Jaguar driver who had been running in the points when his car stopped, bringing out the full course yellow. Another driver to be hit with bad luck was Lotterer who after storming up the standings, was forced to retire his Techeetah due to an overheating battery issue, ending his home race moments before the end.
Buemi held off a hungry Vergne in the closing stages of the race to keep hold of P2, his first podium since last season’s Marrakesh ePrix, whilst di Grassi held firm under pressure and sailed to victory, sealing a home win for Audi for the second consecutive year. The win also catapulted the Brazilian up the standings, but it was not enough to disturb current championship leader Vergne whose P3 finish allowed him to extend his lead at the top of the standings.
Formula E will return for the inaugural Bern ePrix on May 23rd.
Despite several expectations of rain on Sunday, the weather proved fair for the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship in Le Mans.
The drama started before the race, as both Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) crashed at turn three on the warm up lap. Mir got back into the race, but Abraham was black flagged for leaving pit lane after the leader had completed the first lap.
That leader was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who made the holeshot from pole position, despite some challenge from Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team). The Italian had another shot at the lead at the beginning of lap two, when he slid up the inside of Marquez at turn three. However, Petrucci ran wide and Marquez was able to reclaim the lead around the outside of turn four. The Spaniard then began to pull away, and Petrucci became more concerned with events behind him.
Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was starting to put pressure on Petrucci’s second place, and eventually got past his Ducati stablemate. The Australian pushed hard after that to catch Marquez, a task in which he was successful, as he was in passing Marquez for the lead. Miller held the lead for only two laps, though, after which point Marquez had decided he had had enough, repassed the #43 and was not challenged again for the remainder of the race.
In the middle of the race, the three Ducatis of Miller, Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) distanced themselves from those behind, and set about a three-way fight for second place. Petrucci had re-joined Dovizioso and Miller after having previously dropped to sixth place behind Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who he re-passed when the Yamaha rider’s pace started to slow in the middle of the race. When he got back to his two Ducati stablemates, Miller had been passed by Dovizioso when the Italian took advantage of a mistake at Museum by the Australian.
Valentino Rossi at the 2019 Le Mans MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
By the end of the race, Petrucci too had passed Miller, and Rossi was closing in from behind on the trio. Miller didn’t have the grip to challenge his factory rivals, having used the edge grip earlier in the race to catch and pass Marquez, so that left Petrucci to try to make a pass stick on Dovizioso which, as he demonstrated, is not easy. In fact, Petrucci found this impossible at Le Mans and, despite several attempts from the #9 to pass in Museum, Dovizioso came out on top.
It was a positive result for Dovizioso, and a return to the podium after missing it in the last two races, but he still lost out to Marquez by almost two seconds. The next three races will be important for Dovizioso to take points from Marquez, who dominated not only Sunday’s French Grand Prix, but also the majority of the season up to this point. For there to be a real title challenge, Dovizioso must have his eight-point deficit overturned by German Grand Prix.
To do that will not be easy, mostly because of Marquez. The Spaniard has been fantastic this year, and has been the only rider to get the maximum out of the 2019 Honda on each weekend. In fact, in the last two races, Marquez has not only far out-performed the adapting Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) but also Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL). Next up is Mugello, which is typically good for Dovizioso and Ducati but bad for Marquez and Honda. However, whereas in the past the Ducati would make its time in the corners but lose in the straights to everything else, in 2019 the Honda has an answer for the Desmosedici in the straight line, and can out-perform it in the corners.
Danilo Petrucci at the 2019 MotoGP race at Le Mans, France. Image courtesy of Ducati
Danilo Petrucci came home in third place for his first podium with the factory Ducati team after his move from Pramac over the winter. It was an important result for Petrucci, who started the season with three sixths and a fifth, and was starting to look under threat for the 2020 Ducati seat alongside Dovizioso from Jack Miller, who finished fourth in Le Mans as top ‘independent’, and became the first person to overtake Marc Marquez in a race since the final corner at Qatar.
Valentino Rossi did not have an answer for the Ducatis, despite coming on strong in the end of the race once again, proving Yamaha’s gains when it comes to tyre wear. Mostly, Rossi’s problem was horsepower, as he simply lacked the motor put himself in a position to fight the Desmosedici GP19s in front of him. Unfortunately for Rossi, and his fellow Yamaha riders, there will of course be no new Yamaha powerplant until 2020, such are the regulations.
Pol Espargaro and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team enjoyed their best-ever dry race finish, as Espargaro crossed the line 5.9 seconds from Marquez in sixth place. There is the possibility to argue that part of this result was down to the Austrian marque testing a couple of weeks before the GP, combined with the wet weather on Saturday which limited the setup time of their opposition. However, Espargaro was fast all weekend, showing good speed in both the dry and the wet, so it was important for KTM that he translated that into the race. Now they have to do it again.
Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) started the race well, and was in the top positions. However, the Italian soon started to fall back, and ended the race in seventh. In fact, Morbidelli was just 1.3 seconds ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) over the line, after the Frenchman made an average start from his average qualifying position of twelfth, and had an average first ten laps as he was stuck in traffic. The Yamaha being the Yamaha, it was not easy for the Frenchman to make passes, but once he had clear track he was showing pace good enough to at least have him in the fight with Marquez, potentially. If you can’t qualify well, it is difficult to expect to win, but that is an acceptable lesson for a rookie to be learning in just his fifth MotoGP.
Cal Crutchlow, as previously mentioned, was unable to match the pace of his Honda stablemate Marquez in France. Instead, he finished ninth, nearly ten seconds behind the Spaniard – a contrast to the form the Brit showed in the first three races of the season.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) at 2019 Le Mans MotoGP Race. Image courtesy of Suzuki
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) completed the top ten in France, after a disappointing race which did not turn out to be the comeback he had hoped for.
Jorge Lorenzo had probably his best race with the Repsol Honda Team to date, despite finishing eleventh and extending his run without a top ten finish which stretches back to Austria last year. The result is not everything, though, in the case of Lorenzo, who was able to start the race strongly and fight inside the top ten.
There were fourteen seconds behind Lorenzo to Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) which perhaps shows the amount of ground Aprilia still need to make up with their RSGP, and it is not made any easier to take by the good result of KTM. Espargaro, though, was in front of the other three KTMs of Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in thirteenth, Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in fourteenth for his first points of the season and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in fifteenth for the final point.
Joan Mir was the final classified finisher in sixteenth, although a lap down after his warm up lap crash.
Along with Karel Abraham, there were several riders whose races ended early, Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) who retired early on, before Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) fetched both himself and Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) off in turn twelve; Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) retired and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda MotoGP) crashed out with nine laps to go.
Simon Pagenaud stunned the field to win his first Indy 500, having already taken pole for the race and the Indianapolis GP win. He becomes the first driver to ever do that sweep of May, after Will Power came close last year. Pagenaud held off 2016 Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi in a thrilling duel during the last ten laps.
The Frenchman started from pole and dominated the race in a way that we are just not used to seeing at the Indy 500. He led 116 laps, nearly 100 more than anyone else, though it was not all plain sailing. All the Chevrolets were struggling with fuel mileage and none more so than Pagenaud, who had the added disadvantage of being out front in clean air with no one to work with.
If it wasn’t for the fourth and final caution which turned into a red flag, the end of the race could’ve been a very different story fuel-wise. If and buts aside, Pagenaud ran a near faultless race to win his first Indy 500 and Penske’s 18th, writing himself into the history books and taking the championship lead with it. Perhaps his only mistake of the day was stopping his car on the yard of bricks after the race, rather than the more traditional Victory Circle… but he didn’t seem to mind!
Simon Pagenaud celebrates victory with partner Hayley and dog Norman. Credit: Doug Mathews/IndyCar
Chasing Pagenaud all the way to the flag was Rossi, who was going after his second 500 win. Early on in the race the #27 had a small problem with the fuel in his pit stop but it only cost him a second or two, so no one thought much of it at the time. However, when it came to the penultimate stops, that problem became something more major with Rossi losing a significant amount of time, making him a very angry driver.
Once the race was restarted after the third caution, Rossi was on a mission passing whoever he liked, wherever he liked and soon caught up to the leaders. He pushed Pagenaud very hard in the final laps with the leading driver always heavily defending the inside line but, despite Rossi’s best efforts, Pagenaud squeezed pass on Lap 199 and held onto the lead for long enough to cross the line victorious. He was visibly disappointed by the result saying, “nothing else matters here but winning, today will suck for a while.”.
Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi. Credit: Tim Holle/IndyCar
In amongst all that drama, the third-place finisher was nearly forgotten, but 2017 Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato gave the other two a run for their money in the final laps, only dropping back slightly at the very end. The #30 briefly led at two points during the race, though never really had the pace of fellow Honda-runner Rossi. Still, a more than respectable result moves him up to fourth in the championship.
Sebastien Bourdais was one driver who had been comfortably within the lead group until his race came, quite literally, crashing down on Lap 176 when he came together with Graham Rahal and caused the biggest wreck of the day. In taking each other out, the pair created a secondary wreck where drivers behind crashed while reacting to what was going on ahead. Felix Rosenqvist and Zach Veach’s races were ended while Charlie Kimball, Sage Karam and Scott Dixon all managed to carry on.
Graham Rahal’s car is towed away after the wreck. Credit: Walt Kuhn/IndyCar
There were some remarkable near misses to come out of that wreck with rookie Ferrucci coming off best. The #19 dived onto the grass to avoid his teammate Bourdais and the others in the wreck and, where many drivers would’ve backed off, Ferrucci floored it and gained a handful of places. He eventually finished as top rookie in seventh-place, two places better than Robert Wickens managed in his debut Indy 500 last year.
Hinchcliffe also avoided disaster in that Lap 176 wreck, though that wasn’t the only time he avoided something that could’ve been a whole lot worse. After missing out on the race last year, Hinchcliffe’s nightmare nearly repeated itself again this year however, he scrapped into the race by qualifying 32nd. From there, he could only go forwards, threading the needle through that wreck and finishing in a very respectable 11th place.
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate Marcus Ericsson was less fortunate. He had been running as best rookie until he lost control on pit entry on Lap 138, causing a caution and putting himself two laps down. This year was always going to be a learning experience for the ex-F1 driver, and he proved just that.
That rounds out what was an action-packed Indy 500 with more going on than could ever possibly be mentioning all at once! IndyCar are back in action in just a few days for the Duel in Detroit double-header so watch out for that.
