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  • Moto3: Debut Pole to Debut Win for Jaume Masia

    Moto3: Debut Pole to Debut Win for Jaume Masia

    The Argentinian Moto3 Grand Prix was typically maniacal, with the general order of the day being ‘pass or be passed’. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) took his debut win, from Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) and Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who completed the podium.

    The race took the form of a typical Moto3 race, a large group with many lead changes, riders not spending a great deal of consecutive time at the front, some arriving at the front before dropping back, others remaining in the very top positions for the majority of the race, and others able to make little progress with so many riders around.

    Jaume Masia, winner of the Moto3 race in Argentina 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

    It soon became clear, though, that Darryn Binder was out on the attack, making big, bold moves at every opportunity. He was slow on the straight, but had a few yards on is competitors on the brakes, an area where he is almost always at an advantage compared to his rivals.

    Also making his presence known in the front group was Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Racing) who, in his home Grand Prix, was prepared to accept nothing other than a win, which in the end cost him a podium.

    The final lap began with Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) in the lead, but by turn five he was out of contention, having been pushed wide by the melee going on around him. It was unfortunate for Dalla Porta. He did nothing wrong, but that’s Moto3.

    Whilst Dalla Porta was out of contention, Rodrigo had taken the lead, only for it to be snatched away from him in turn seven by Masia with a nice out-braking move. Masia had been pushed back in the pack earlier in the race but fought hard to arrive back in victory contention by the final lap.

    Once Masia had the lead, he just had to hang onto it. He out-braked everyone in the final corner, and there was the chequered flag, waiting for him, as he took his first career victory. Following the disappointment of a DNF in Qatar, the young Spaniard proved he is a force to be reckoned with, and will look to back this performance up in the coming rounds, and identify himself as a championship contender.

    Darryn Binder had looked slightly over-aggressive all weekend, but he harnessed that in the race to give himself second place. Once he arrived in the top positions, he didn’t leave them, something which is difficult to do in Moto3, but his prowess on the brakes meant it was difficult for anyone do to anything about him.

    Darryn Binder in the Moto3 race at Termas de Rio Hondo 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

    Since this race last year Tony Arbolino has been awaiting a podium. He was leading comfortably in Valencia last year before he crashed, and he led in Qatar, but finally the Italian has his first podium in Grand Prix racing, something which he will be hoping to build on in the coming races, especially in Jerez, a circuit in which he has gone well in the past.

    Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) started the race incredibly well, leading for periods and spending a lot of time in the front positions. He got forced back in the group mid-way through the race but fought back well to finish fourth, his best result since his podium in Motegi back in 2017.

    Missing direct access to Q2 yesterday put a dampener on Ayumu Sasaki’s (Petronas SRT) weekend, but fifth place in a chaotic race represents perhaps his best performance since he arrived on the GP scene in 2017. As with the podium finishers, this is a result which the Japanese will be hoping to build on.
    Gabriel Rodrigo entered turn thirteen on the final lap in second place but he exited it sixth, having spun the rear tyre on the exit, allowing four riders past. It was a shame for the home rider, who finally put together a good weekend in Termas at his sixth attempt.

    Despite leading into turn one on the final lap, Lorenzo Dalla Porta managed only seventh, ahead of Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) who made a good recovery after a difficult qualifying to finish in the top ten, ahead of Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) and round one victor Kaito Toba (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), who was sent out of the group for being caught up in an incident with John McPhee (Petronas SRT) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) which saw the Spaniard retire.

    Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) had a strong race, especially in the middle portion, but finished only eleventh in the end, ahead of Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) who spent most of the race at the front but disappointingly fell back at the end. Thirteenth went to Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), who was ahead of Celestini Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Raul Fernandez who completed the points finishers.

    Featured Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

  • Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes ‘very, very lucky’ at Bahrain Grand Prix

    Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes ‘very, very lucky’ at Bahrain Grand Prix

    Lewis Hamilton has admitted that Mercedes were ‘very, very lucky’ to claim a 1-2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc’s power unit issue putting a stop to what was otherwise a very dominant performance by the Monegasque.

    Hamilton had started the race in P3 but fought his way past Sebastian Vettel on lap 38 to claim P2. Then, with under fifteen laps to go, the other Ferrari of  Leclerc developed a power issue that cost him roughly 30mph in speed on the straights; in just two laps Hamilton had wiped out Leclerc’s nine-second lead and passed him with ease to take the 74th Grand Prix victory of his career.

    “It was very tricky out there today,” Hamilton said, “and I had to give it everything I had. We were very, very lucky to get this 1-2, Ferrari outperformed us all weekend.

    “Ultimately you want to have a real fight and want to pass someone because you’re quicker, so it feels a bit weird and you can’t quite believe your luck in these scenarios.”

    2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

    Hamilton praised Leclerc for his performance nonetheless and offered some words of consolation to him in the post-race cool down room. He is under no illusion about Mercedes’ pace relative to Ferrari, and is bracing himself for some tough races to come.

    “I have been in similar situations [to Leclerc] and I know how it feels, but Charles did a great job all weekend long and has a beautiful, bright future ahead of him,” he added.

    “We’ve only had two races; one where we were rapid and far ahead, one where Ferrari had the upper hand. It’s hard to say how the next races are going to pan out, but I anticipate that it will be a tough fight and that it will be a back and forth between the two teams.

    “We need to keep working hard to see where we went wrong this weekend and to see where we can improve the car. But as we saw today, reliability also plays an important role, so we need to keep working on all areas.

    “We’ll take the points we got today and move forward to China.”

     

    [Featured image – Steve Etherington]

  • Albon “very happy” to score first points in F1

    Albon “very happy” to score first points in F1

    Toro Rosso rookie Alex Albon said he was ‘very happy’ to pick up his first ever points in Formula 1, thanks to a ninth-place finish in what was a very dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix.

    He admitted that a certain amount of luck played into the result, having been promoted a couple of positions thanks to the retirements of both Renaults ahead of him.

    “That was a busy race – I felt like I was always fighting with someone at some point, there was always something to do!” Albon said. “I didn’t have the best start as I was a bit shy into the first corner, but after that, I put my head down and got on with it.

    “We had a good strategy and decent pace on the prime tyre. In the end, we got a bit lucky with the retirements, but I’ll take it!”

    Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

    He also spoke of the difficult nature of the race, highlighting a mix of the weather conditions and the roughness of the circuit on the Pirelli tyres.

    “It was so tricky with the wind out there and it made the car unpredictably, but we were quite strong in the race, it’s just a shame about the start. It was a challenge to overtake because when you get close to another car the tyres overheat and you get a bit stuck.

    “However, I enjoyed myself out there and it was good to get that experience. I’m very happy to pick up my first points in Formula 1 and I hope we can carry this pace into China.”

     

    [Featured image – Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool]

  • Bahrain Grand Prix: Ferrari reliability problem ‘unacceptable’

    Bahrain Grand Prix: Ferrari reliability problem ‘unacceptable’

    Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto has labelled the reliability issue that cost Charles Leclerc a victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix as ‘unacceptable’ and something that the team are investigating to prevent from happening again.

    Leclerc had dominated the Bahrain race weekend, finishing top of the timing sheets in FP1 and FP3 and claiming his first ever pole position in F1 on Saturday by almost three tenths.

    He slipped back to third at the start but recovered to retake the lead by lap five and dominated thereafter. That was, until he developed a power unit problem with just fifteen laps to go, one which cost him several seconds per lap. The two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas caught and passed him, but Leclerc was saved from losing any more positions by the safety car brought out to recover both Renaults. He came home third, his first podium in F1 but one tinged with disappointment.

    Speaking of the power unit issue, Mattia Binotto said, “It was a shame for Charles. He was in the lead for much of the race and showed that he was particularly comfortable here in Bahrain, also setting the race fastest lap.

    Ferrari Media

    “He deserved to win and it was only the reliability problem, which we must now investigate, which prevented him from doing so. That is something unacceptable from us and it shows how important it is to get every last detail right in order to win.”

    Leclerc added, “It’s part of motorsport, we know that. Sometimes it’s not your day to win and today wasn’t ours. In the final part of the race we had an issue with the power unit and I had to slow down.

    “It’s a shame because the race seemed to me to be under control. The team is disappointed and I am disappointed but there are a lot of positives to take home from this weekend.

    “These things happen in motorsport: we took the best out of it anyway. It’s my first podium even if I’m not enjoying it as much as I wanted. It’s life, it happens, we’ll come back stronger”.

     

    [Featured image – Ferrari Media]

  • Breaking News: Tesla to join the Formula E championship in 2021

    Tesla motors could be joining Formula E in 2021. Image via Wikipedia commons. cc2.0

    Tesla is set to join the ABB Formula E championship in 2021 as an independent manufacturer, ThePitCrewOnline has learnt.

    Tesla have always shied away from the fast-growing electric series, who has managed to court the likes of Mercedes, Audi and Porsche in recent years. However, it is believed that their participation has been spurred by the Electric GT series failing to come into fruition. The GT series, which was set to showcase the Tesla brand, has failed to find a buyer and has been postponed until further notice.

    There is little information at this stage as to who would compete in the two seats they would have available but as the premier electric car manufacturer, they will be a welcome addition to the Formula E family.

  • 2019 Bahrain GP Review: Drama in the Dust

    2019 Bahrain GP Review: Drama in the Dust

    The second race of the 2019 season took place under the bright lights of the Bahrain International circuit. Charles Leclerc started from pole position, making him the 99th driver to take pole in the 999th F1 Grand Prix, with Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen started behind him.

    The lights went out and both Vettel and Bottas got better starts than Leclerc, demoting the Monagasque to third with Hamilton in fourth after the first lap.

    Chaos broke out behind the leaders, with sparks flying around the cars of Stroll and Grosjean. The Frenchman would eventually retire from the race. At the back the Williams drivers had a heated fight, which was more for their honor than the points.

    Leclerc managed to pick up the speed after his horrible start and regained second place from Bottas. This overtake cost the Finn momentum, meaning that his teammate Hamilton could overtake him as well.

    Verstappen in P5 came under pressure from Sainz in the McLaren, a potential haul of points McLaren could definitely use. What they couldn’t use, however, was a touch with Verstappen which meant Sainz received major damage on his front right tyre. The incident was investigated by the stewards, but no action was taken.

    Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

    Up front, Ferrari told that both drivers were free to fight, and they took advantage of it. Leclerc closed the gap to Vettel quite easily, telling his team “I’m quicker guys!” On lap six he managed to overtake the German using DRS, retaking the lead.

    Gasly had to regain his respect after a disappointing qualifying, but struggled in a huge midfield fight with Norris, Magnussen, Albon and Kvyat. To make matters worse, his pit stop went horribly and cost him further precious seconds.

    On lap thirteen Kvyat spun due to a slight touch with Giovinazzi at turn eleven, losing places as a result. To add insult to injury, the Russian Toro Rosso driver later got a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane. That same lap, Bottas and Hulkenberg came into the pits.

    Race leader Leclerc made his pitstop on lap fourteen, opting for the mediums whilst Hamilton went for the soft tyres.

    Vettel lost his second place to Hamilton on fresher tyres, but the Brit’s strategy would mean he needed to make another pitstop to fulfill the rules of using two different compounds during a race.

    2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

    Some small mistakes from Hamilton meant that Vettel closed the gap, even though the German was on the harder tyre. Hamilton complained about oversteer and had to make another stop. On lap 23 Vettel overtook him, leading to some stressful board-radios from Hamilton.

    In the midfield a fun fight between Norris and Räikkönen for P7 took place, keeping each other under pressure.

    On lap 33, car number 33 came in for his second pitstop. Verstappen couldn’t be happy as his pitstop went awful, not the first pitstop that’d gone wrong at Red Bull today. Hamilton made his second pitstop two laps later, going for the mediums. He came back on track in front of Verstappen.

    Vettel then tried to cover the Mercedes, making his second pitstop, going to the mediums for a second time. He came back just in front of his rival. Immediately after that Leclerc made his second pitstop, and emerged with his lead intact.

    Last year’s championship rivals came very close to crashing, with Vettel edging Hamilton out by only a small margin. The German smelled blood and overtook Bottas, who then came into the pits with only a small margin to Verstappen.

    Ferrari Media

    Up front, a fight for second place between Hamilton and Vettel spelled drama: Hamilton overtook Vettel and the German spun round on his own, costing him a lot of time. He then lost his front wing, as the car was shaking a lot on the straight after turn ten. He had to make another pitstop, dropping down to ninth.

    On lap forty-six Leclerc caused a scare when he reported to his team that something was wrong with the engine. His pace dropped away very quickly, with Hamilton closing the gap from nine seconds to just five in three laps. With ten laps to go the Ferrari was really struggling, just managing to put 1:40s on the board compared to the 1:36s of Hamilton.

    Hamilton therefore easily managed to overtake him. Leclerc turned his attention to managing the gap to Bottas in P3. He still held the fastest lap, earning him an extra point, but that couldn’t make it up for the disappointment of losing out on his first win due to an engine problem. He was losing around 40 kph on the straights. Bottas closed the gap to him by five seconds a lap and later overtook him for P2.

    Further drama sparked with just three laps to go, as both the Renault cars cut out in the first sector. This brought out the safety car, saving Leclerc from losing third place to Verstappen. When it rains it pours: Sainz also retired from the race with just three laps to go.

    The race ended behind the safety car, meaning Hamilton won the race ahead of Bottas and a very disappointed Leclerc, who still took the extra point for fastest lap.

    Ferrari Media

    Some great sportsmanship was shown by Hamilton, sounding sorry for Leclerc and also trying to cheer him up after the race. Verstappen, Vettel, Norris, Räikkönen, Gasly, Albon and Perez completed the top ten.

    It was certainly a very dramatic race, and the season is just two races old. Next up is China – will Leclerc get his revenge there or will Mercedes take another win?

     

    [Featured image – Wolfgang Wilhelm]

  • F2 Bahrain: veterans reign in the desert

    TNicholas Latifi (CAN, DAMS), celebrates in Parc Ferme. 

    The first round of the Formula 2 season is already over after a weekend with a lots of on track action but not many surprises. Reliability issues from last year seem to have been solved, so there will be drivers’ talent and not their luck that will decide who earns success this year.

    It was a strong start to the weekend for Dams with Sergio Sette Câmara and Nicholas Latifi setting the pace comfortably ahead of Trident’s Ralph Boschung during free practice session. Even though, qualifying would go a bit different. Callum Ilott lost his car in turn seven and hit the barrier bringing out the red flag with 12 minutes into the session. Once the track was cleared, some of the front runners decided to go out immediately so as to avoid traffic.

    After an early second attempt, Latifi was leading the session ahead of Jack Aitken and Sette Câmara. It was looking good for them as nobody seemed to improve massively, but a very last minute lap from Luca Ghiotto, Louis Delétraz and Nyck De Vries placed them in the top three. The Italian, who crossed the line once the checkered flag had already fallen, took pole position in UNI Virtuosi debut and the first one of his three-year Formula 2 career.

    Dorian Boccolacci (FRA, CAMPOS RACING) and Giuliano Alesi (FRA, TRIDENT)

    The feature race on Saturday morning met all the expectations with some really nice battles and no race incidents. It was a great demonstration of how clean racing can be as good as a messy race with lots of safety cars. Sean Gelael was the only driver who retired and he did so due to a DRS issue which didn’t allow him to stop the car in turn one because the flap remained open.

    If we look at the race from the start, it was Louis Delétraz who led in the early stages after overtaking Ghiotto in the start. The Italian had reported clutch problems during the formation lap and as a consequence of them he lost some places in the getaway, although he would recover throughout the race with some good moves like the one on Matsushita after three corners side by side. Tyre struggles began quite early considering that everyone was on medium tyres. Delétraz lost the lead in favor of Latifi and others like De Vries decided to pit despite the fact that they should go on softs until the end. Once everyone had stopped the Dutch took the lead but it didn’t last long.

    Laps were counting down and tyre degradation made the early stoppers go down in the order, while the ones who had managed their tyres better established themselves on top. Latifi proved his experience winning the race comfortably ahead of Ghiotto and Sette Câmara, confirming Dams strong pace that had been already shown in practice. The surprise came at fourth as newcomer Anthoine Hubert got really close to a podium finish after starting from eleventh place. Even if he didn’t pull off any spectacular moves, the GP3 Series Champion kept very consistent pace through the whole race that rewarded him with 12 precious points.

    The rest of the points positions for Saturday’s race were filled as it follows: Delétraz, De Vries, Aitken, Schumacher, Matsushita and Zhou. At the back Tatiana Calderón was able to cross the line on thirteenth after being nineteenth in the grid which shows that Arden’s race pace is much better then their qualifying performance.

    31 Mar 2019 11:40

    Mick Schumacher (DEU, PREMA RACING) 

    On Sunday’s sprint race things weren’t much different. It was Mick Schumacher who started on pole after finishing eighth the day before and led the opening laps, but by lap four we already had Saturday’s top three setting the pace. Again tyre degradation played a key role and some decided to come in. Ghiotto pitted from the lead while both Dams cars stayed out on track. As the race went on, the drivers who had pitted started their comebacks through the field while the guys who didn’t change tyres were losing two or three seconds per lap. The one-stop strategy paid off for Ghiotto who was able to retake the lead with two laps two go, in the same way Charles Leclerc did in 2017.

    The other two guys standing on the podium were Sette Câmara in second place and Latifi in third. Both drove solid races but that wasn’t enough to stop Ghiotto on fresher tyres. Guanyu Zhou was the man who ended behind the top guns. UNI Virtuosi’s rookie had a remarkable race from tenth on the grid to end ahead of Formula 2 veteran Louis Delétraz. Mick Schumacher came on sixth holding De Vries and Jordan King for a double points finish in his Formula 2 debut. The son of the seven-times Formula One World Champion hasn’t probably met the expectations of many but he definitely showed some speed and delivered a drive without mistakes in the whole weekend.

    After all, it appears to be Dams and UNI Virtuosi the teams that have stronger cars and drivers. However, we should bear in mind that this was only the first round, so the rookies may still need some time to adapt to their new wagons and some veterans will probably do better in places where the weather isn’t that hot. Next round at Baku on 26-28 April will tell us if we are going to see more drivers in the mix or if it is all going to be about this weekend’s top three.

    images courtesy of F2 media

  • Moto2: Vierge Takes Second Termas Pole

    Qualifying for the Moto2 class for the second round of the World Championship in Argentina saw Xavi Vierge take pole position for Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS.

    First, though, the fourteen fastest riders from free practice were joined by the four fastest riders from Q1, who were: Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2), Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team).

    In contrast to the Moto3 session, which saw everyone waiting until the end to set their fast laps, the Moto2 Q2 was fairly regular, with everyone going out at the start, and lapping until the chequered flag.

    Vierge’s pole lap was set early on, in the opening minutes of the session, and came as a surprise considering both his and Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS teammate Alex Marquez’ lack of pace throughout the weekend. However, they clearly found something ahead of qualifying, and now the #97 will be hoping it continued to work in the race on Sunday.

    Marcel Schrötter 2nd for the 2019 Moto2 race, Termas, Argentina. Image courtesy of Dynavolt IntactGP

    Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt IntactGP) qualified second with a late lap to slot him into the middle of the front row. The German had spent most of the session in the first positions, but a late surge from several riders put that at risk, although the #23’s response was sufficient to have him at the head of the grid for the second time this season out of two.

    Qatar was a disappointment for Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), both in qualifying and in the race, but a lap late on – his final lap of the session, in fact – in Q2 saw him fire himself onto the front row of tomorrow’s grid in third place, a grid slot from which he will be aiming to fight for the podium.

    Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) looked good for a front row start for much of the session, but that late lap from Lowes bumped him to fourth place. The Spaniard made good progress after a difficult Friday, and will be joined on row two by race one runner-up Tom Luthi (Dynavolt IntactGP) and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder.

    Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) topped FP3 in the morning, and so was hotly tipped for a debut pole position, however he could manage only seventh place, and will be joined on row three tomorrow by the VR46 Rider Academy pair of Qatar winner Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) who will be hoping to make it further than turn one on his second attempt at a Moto2 race.

    Simone Corsi was a surprise in tenth after coming through Q1, whilst Jorge Navarro (Beta Speed Up) took eleventh place and Enea Bastianini will complete the fourth row on his second Moto2 start.

    Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) complained after Friday of struggling over one lap, and he will need to hope that his race pace is strong, coming from thirteenth on the grid. He will be joined on row five by Andrea Locatelli and Iker Lecuona (American Racing).

    Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) impressed on the NTS, out-qualifying reigning Moto3 World Champion Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to start tomorrow’s race sixteenth. Martin’s fellow Moto3 graduate and 2018 teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Speed Up) will complete the sixth row of the grid tomorrow, after being the slowest of the Q2 competitors.

  • Moto3: Masia Takes Debut GP Pole in Argentina

    Moto3: Masia Takes Debut GP Pole in Argentina

    The first qualifying session for the Argentinian Moto3 Grand Prix got underway in overcast conditions which characterised the weekend.

    From Q1, Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai), Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) and Jakub Kornfeil (PruestelGP) joined the top fourteen riders from the three free practice sessions for the Q2 pole position shootout.

    Disappointed to miss out on that Q2 shootout for Moto3 would have been Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46), in particular, but a crash late on prevented Oncu from securing his place whilst his rivals continued to improve and Foggia took a late trip through pit lane – presumably to shake competitors from his tail – which cost him a vital slipstream on the main straight as well as through turn six, which is flat out on a Moto3 bike.

    For the first five minutes of Q2, nobody left pit lane. When people did, they came straight back into the pits, not setting a time. The format of Moto3 qualifying may have changed but the games remain, and they are just as frustrating.

    As frustrating as it was, the lack of activity in the first ten minutes of Moto3 Q2 meant that the final five were quite spectacular, with several riders vying for pole position in their final three or four laps.

    It mostly came down to track position, and who was around. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) almost fell foul of this, after having the final sector of his third-last lap baulked by traffic, before which he had been looking good for pole. However, the Spaniard regrouped for the next lap and set provisional pole, which two minutes later became Masia’s first pole position in Moto3. After such a difficult preseason for the Spanish youngster, with injuries which were affecting him even in Qatar three weeks ago, this result will be important for his confidence, especially for Sunday’s race where a first podium in the World Championship appears a real possibility.

    Aron Canet in Moto3 qualifying at Termas de Rio Hondo 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

    Aron Canet took second place on the grid, in similar fashion to John McPhee (Petronas SRT) in Qatar who went through Q1 to qualify on the second row. Despite the speed of Masia in Q2, Canet remains a strong favourite for the win tomorrow, and will be looking to put an end to his dry run which stretches back to Silverstone 2017.

    Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) qualified on pole position last season in Termas, so it was not a surprise to see him round out the front row of the grid, and ensure some Honda presence at the very head of the field. Despite his good record from last year on Saturday, the Italian will not be hoping for a repeat of his Sunday performance of twelve months ago, as it then saw him mistakenly fit slick tyres, which ultimately cost him any chance of a good result.

    Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) will be content with his fourth place ahead of Sunday’s race, and will hope to be able to back up his round one podium from there. Joining the Italian on the second row are compatriots Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) and Andrea Migno.

    A fourth consecutive Italian lines up seventh, in the shape of VNE Snipers’ Romano Fenati, who had a typically average qualifying, joining round one victor Kaito Toba (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas SRT) on row three.

    Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) impressively rounded out the top ten in qualifying on his first visit to Termas, and will be joined on the fourth row by a disappointed John McPhee and Leopard Racing’s Marcos Ramirez.

    Home rider Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Racing), Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) and Ai Ogura (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) will make up fifth row, whilst row six will consist of Jakub Kornfeil, Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Vicente Perez who was the slowest of the Q2 runners in eighteenth.

     

    Featured Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

  • MotoGP: Marquez Storms to Argentina Pole

    MotoGP: Marquez Storms to Argentina Pole

    After looking strong throughout free practice, it was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who was the favourite to take pole position in Argentina ahead of the second round of the MotoGP World Championship, and so it was.

    The reigning World Champion and the nine others who advanced directly to Q2 from free practice were joined in the pole position shootout by Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

    Marquez led the field after the opening runs of Q2, and had Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) directly behind him. But it was in the second runs that the pace of Marquez’ competitors really ramped up.

    Whilst everyone was in pit lane, preparing their second and final runs, Marquez went out to make a second, middle, run. It didn’t go to plan. He ran too hot into turn one, lost the front on the bumps and had to abort the lap. Fortunately, his plan was to make three runs anyway, so he had time to come back to the pits for another tyre.

    He got back to pit lane just as everyone else was leaving for their second runs.

    The first laps of all Marquez’ competitors on their second runs were electric, everyone setting red sectors throughout the lap, lighting up the time screen. After the barrage was complete, Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) surprisingly emerged as the provisional pole sitter from Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

    Marc Marquez, Maverick Viñales and Andrea Dovizioso on the first row for the Termas de Río Hondo race 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

    However, on the first lap of his third run, Marquez reclaimed pole position by just over a tenth, ensuring he maintains his 100% pole position record at Termas in dry qualifying sessions. It is unlikely to end there for Marquez, though. His race pace seems a cut above everyone else, seemingly able to lap in the low to mid-1’39s with relative ease, whilst everyone else seems stranded in the mid to high-39s at best.

    This is with the possible exception of Cal Crutchlow, but with the Briton blowing his final qualifying lap and having to start now from eighth on the grid, the odds are stacked even higher against the LCR Honda rider.

    Maverick Vinales has been almost completely under the radar this weekend, finishing FP1 in eighteenth, and never really doing anything particularly spectacular – that is, until his lap to go provisional pole. He was unable to convert pole position to a good result in Qatar, so it will be interesting to see what he can do from the middle of the front row tomorrow, and whether he can fight for the podium.

    With Marquez seemingly out of reach for the rest of the field, it could be a battle for second, and Andrea Dovizioso will be all too keen to win that battle in his quest to limit the damage Marquez can do to him in the championship at this track. From third on the grid, Dovizioso has a good opportunity to make use of his Ducati’s ‘holeshot device’, and try to hold Marquez up as much as he can. Failing that, the Italian must try everything to maintain second place, and the front row is almost the best place to start that defence.

    Valentino Rossi 4th for the 2019 Termas de Río Hondo 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation

    After fourteenth place in qualifying for the season opener in Qatar, Valentino Rossi will probably be quite content with fourth on the grid. The Italian’s pace looks quite strong and could be in that podium fight, but the question – as always – will be about whether he can hold onto that rear tyre until the end.

    The middle of row two will be occupied by Jack Miller, who might be a little disappointed to miss the front row. However, he has been fast all weekend, and to start in the front two rows is certainly not a bad thing. Another potential podium contender, and another potential missile on the run to turn one with the GP19’s ‘holeshot device’.

    Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) ensures Miller sits in the middle of an Italian sandwich tomorrow. Tyre wear was the issue for the 2017 Moto2 World Champion in Qatar, so the second half of the race will be particularly interesting from Morbidelli’s point of view, as well as his tyre choice.

    Morbidelli’s Petronas Yamaha SRT teammate, Fabio Quartararo, will start seventh tomorrow for his second ever MotoGP. As in Qatar the Frenchman has been fast all weekend, and is another who might interfere in that podium scrap in the first half of the race, although the youngster has himself acknowledged that it will take a little longer until he has understood completely how to make a strong race pace for the full distance. Joining the #20 on the third row are the LCR pairing of Crutchlow and Nakagami.

    Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) has had a nightmare weekend in Argentina. A dreadful Friday was followed up by an improved performance in FP3 which saw him advance directly to Q2, but his frustration was visible in qualifying when he qualified only tenth on the factory Ducati. Alongside Petrucci are Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team), the #99 still trying to work out how to get the RC213V to work well for him.

    Jorge Lorenzo, in the garage at Termas de Río Hondo 2019. Image courtesy of Box Repsol

    The fastest rider to not make Q2 was Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who qualified thirteenth, and will be joined on row five by the impressive rookie Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing).

    Qualifying was a disaster for both Suzuki Ecstar riders, with Alex Rins qualifying only sixteenth and Joan Mir only nineteenth. Team manager Davide Brivio is confident in their race pace, but it is going to be a big task for the two Spanish riders to fight back from their lowly grid slots tomorrow.

    Between Rins and Mir are Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), the Frenchman in particular having looked much more comfortable on the KTM this weekend, although missing the ultimate lap time over one lap still, it seems.

    The two riders joining Mir on row seven are Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3), and alone at the back on row eight is Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who qualified twenty-second and last.

    Featured Image courtesy of Box Repsol