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Category: Circuits

  • Moto2: Dixon Takes Second Win of the Season

    Moto2: Dixon Takes Second Win of the Season

    Jake Dixon takes his second win of the season following a number of battles with second place finisher Aron Canet and championship leader Pedro Acosta. The podium was completed by the local racer, Albert Arenas. Acostaā€™s closest rival, Tony Arbolino, finished down the order in 17th place.

    Both Dixon and Ai Ogura made good starts when the lights went out, but it was the Brit who retained the lead into the first corner. Manuel Gonzalez improved to second place at turn two and immediately began looking to make a move on the race leader. Acosta gained one position on the first lap to sit in eighth place.

    Gonzalez was able to make a move on Dixon during the second lap, but the pair swapped back and forth and by the third lap Gonzalez, Dixon and third placed rider Canet began to break away from the main pack.

    A successful move for the lead was made by Gonzalez on the fifth lap into turn one. Dixon continued to drop down the order following a move from Canet on the Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team rider. Acosta continued his charge up the field and by lap 9 he was on the tail of Dixon.

    The lead changed hands on lap 10 when Canet made a move into the first corner on his fellow countryman and Acosta made the same move but on Dixon. The following lap, Acosta was able to take second place from Gonzalez but this fighting behind Canet allowed the Pons Wegow Los40 rider to start to extend his lead at the front of the field.

    Fermin Aldeguer was having a strong race in the chasing pack before he was given a long lap penalty on lap 12 for exceeding track limits. He took the penalty, but race control determined that he did not take it correctly, so he had to do it again. This dropped him down the order and took him out of contention for the higher points.

    Gonzalez began to struggle around lap thirteen and Dixon was able to take the inside line at turn one and get past him. The British rider was able to join Acosta and Canet to form a small breakaway from the fourth placed rider.

    It only took a few laps for Acosta to begin to shape up a move on Canet and the move was completed at turn 12 on lap 14. Canet immediately began looking to take the lead back and as Acosta had a wobble on lap fifteen, he hoped he could make a move.

    But Dixon was able to make the move on Canet down the start-finish straight on lap 16 and took the inside line into turn one. Canet immediately repaid the favour by making a block pass at turn three and retook the lead at turn thirteen.

    Acosta made the move on Canet on lap 17 to regain the lead and Dixon almost followed him through but was unable to. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider made a mistake following that overtake and dropped down the order to fifth place after being passed by Dixon, Canet, Arenas, and Gonzalez.

    The lead swapped hands once again with Dixon taking the lead at turn ten on lap 18. But the drama began slightly further down the field with Acosta having contact with Alonso Lopez and both went off the track, dropping them down to sixth and seventh respectively.

    Canet continued to look at making a move on Dixon into the final lap at turns one, three and twelve but could not do so allowing Dixon to come across the line in first place, taking his second win of the season.

    Arenas took his first podium of the season by finishing in third place. He was followed by Sergio Garcia, Gonzalez and Acosta who extended his championship lead. Ogura finished the race in seventh followed by Lopez who may be on the receiving end of a penalty due to cutting a corner when he rejoined the racetrack. Sam Lowes finished the race in ninth place with Celestino Vietti following just behind in tenth.

    Feature image credit: MotoGP on TNT Sports on X (https://twitter.com/motogpontnt/status/1698257387352678879/photo/1)

    CATALUNYA MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, BARCELONA – RACE RESULTS
    POS RIDER NAT TEAM BIKE TIME
    1 Jake Dixon GBR Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 36m 51.330s
    2 Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 36m 51.535s
    3 Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 36m 52.357s
    4 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 36m 53.588s
    5 Manuel Gonzalez SPA Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 36m 53.992s
    6 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 36m 54.994s
    7 Ai Ogura JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 36m 55.569s
    8 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 36m 55.644s
    9 Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 36m 55.937s
    10 Celestino Vietti ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 37m 0.059s
    11 Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 0.806s
    12 Barry Baltus BEL Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 37m 0.926s
    13 FermĆ­n Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 37m 1.151s
    14 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 37m 2.300s
    15 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 37m 2.513s
    16 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 2.645s
    17 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 8.189s
    18 Zonta Vd Goorbergh NED Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 37m 9.677s
    19 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 37m 16.867s
    20 Borja Gomez SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 37m 17.118s
    21 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 17.518s
    22 Mattia Rato ITA Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 37m 20.773s
    23 Rory Skinner GBR OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 26.538s
    24 Kohta Nozane JPN Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 37m 30.693s
    25 Izan Guevara SPA Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 37m 43.416s
    26 Yeray Ruiz SPA Forward Team (Forward) 37m 44.538s
    Ā  Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) DNF
    Ā  Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) DNF
    Ā  Senna Agius AUS Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) DNF
    Ā  Alberto Surra ITA Forward Team (Forward) DNF

     

  • Moto3: Alonso Takes Bonkers Barcelona Victory

    Moto3: Alonso Takes Bonkers Barcelona Victory

    With overcast skies, a tail wind on the start straight and swaying riders slipstreaming all over the place, the race in Barcelona was another Moto3 classic.Ā 

    In a race that quite literally had everything, it was GASGAS Aspar Team’s David Alonso who took a bonkers Moto3 victory today at the Barcelona circuit. Starting from 12th on the grid and winding his way through the pack, Alonso took his 2nd victory in the Moto3 class.

    Image Credit: GASGAS Aspar Team
    Image Credit: GASGAS Aspar Team
    AT IT HAPPENED

    Ivan Ortola started on pole position for the first time, alongside Deniz ƖncĆ¼ 2nd and Joel Kelso in 3rd completing the front row.

    ƖncĆ¼ made a perfect start leading the group out of turn 1 and taking the lead of the race. Jaume Masia tried to go around the outside of Kelso at turn 1, but had to settle for 4th as Kelso shut the door into turn 2. A poor start from Holgado as the championship leader dropped back to 14th in the opening stages of the first lap. Not the start Holgado would of dreamt of last night in the paddock.

    ƖncĆ¼ was keen to get going here and pull a gap to the rest of the field on the opening lap as Holgado dropped back to 15th place. As the field came round the final corner and onto the start straight to complete lap 1, the weaving pack all diced with each other into turn 1, with ƖncĆ¼ clinging onto the lead. Masia moved up into 2nd getting by pole sitter Ortola after dispatching Kelso in the stadium section a few corners back.

    As we’re used to seeing now in Moto3, Alonso is up 7 places and David Munoz up 6 places, both with great starts in the early stages of this Grand Prix. It makes you wonder why Alonso and Munoz even turn up for qualifying sometimes, as both riders are so good on a Sunday.

    The fastest lap of the race at the end of lap 2 was set by Holgado with a good recovery from 15th to 11th at the end of lap 2.

    Masia took the lead from ƖncĆ¼ at the start of lap 3 going up the inside into turn 1. Alonso was remarkably up to 3rd place on lap 3 going up the inside of Kelso. A fantastic start to the race from the teenage Colombian.

    A common theme developed here as the snaking pack of riders winding down the start straight had all of the slipstream they needed to cause havoc and pass each other at will into turn 1. The start straight wasn’t the only place for a pile of overtakes as turn 4 and 5 are favourite spots amongst the riders.

    Starting lap 5 now and over a quarter of the way through, Alonso hits the front of the field for the first time – The last of the late breakers going from 3rd to 1st into turn 1. Masia led over the line but pushed back to 4th place.

    Sector 2 lit up in yellow flags as Filippo Farioli crashed out at turn 4. Just over a quarter of the way through the race and Alonso led the pack completing lap 5 and held the lead fending off Masia into turn 1. We have a lead group of up to a dozen riders who are all still in the fight for victory.

    As Ortola dived up the inside of ƖncĆ¼ at turn 10 and back up to 3rd place, Holgado was sat in 5th place, a great comeback from the championship leader. From 5th to 1st for Holgado as slipstream drags the championship leader to the front of the pack into turn 1 at the start of lap 7.

    Side by side the Red Bull KTMs down into turn 1 onto lap 8. ƖncĆ¼ took the lead from Holgado. Kelso ran wide at turn 1 and fell all of the way back to 18th place. At this stage of the race, it was so close between all of the riders, it was anyone’s guess as to who would win this one.

    Swaying from side to side at the start of lap 9 down the start straight, ƖncĆ¼ started to put the hammer down setting his fastest lap of the race and managed to get a gap to Masia in 2nd of 0.334 tenths of second.

    At half race distance, we had a lead group from ƖncĆ¼ in 1st to Ayumu Sasaki in 9th. The riders all continued to dice with each other and battle for positions constantly. ƖncĆ¼ lead another lap of the race completing lap 10.

    Lap 11 and pole-sitter Ortola dropped back to 11th place, things going all wrong for the Angeluss MTA Team.

    With a short run to the finish line here at the Barcelona circuit, if you are leading the race coming out of the last corner you’re likely to take victory it seems. Unlike in Mugello when ƖncĆ¼ was pipped at the line thanks to the slipstream.

    Lap 13 and with 6 laps to go we had a lead group of 14 riders and any of the 14 had the chance of taking victory. Holgado in the lead of the race with ƖncĆ¼ on his back wheel and pounced to take the lead into turn 1. Masia 3rd with both Alonso and Munoz fighting with each other for 4th.

    3 laps to go and ƖncĆ¼ gets swallowed up by the pack dropping from the lead to 4th place. Masia now leading from Munoz and Alonso, 2nd and 3rd place. Contact between ƖncĆ¼ and Holgado as Holgado drops back to 5th.

    As we started lap 17,Ā  it was Masia from Munoz as they all came snaking down the start straight. 6 riders into turn 1 all gunning for the lead. Munoz briefly led but ran it too hot into turn 1. Holgado coming round the last corner on lap 16 in 6th now leads the Grand Prix coming out of turn 1. The leading 3 all replaced now out of turn 1 with Holgado leading, from Alonso 2nd and ƖncĆ¼ in 3rd. The top two riders of Holgado and Alonso both up 10 places in the race, Munoz in 4th up 15 places in the Grand Prix with 2 laps to go.

    Into the stadium section for the penultimate time the front 3 still Holgado leading from Alonso in 2nd and ƖncĆ¼ 3rd. All are desperate to hang onto their places as they fan out and brake as late as possible into turn 1 to start the last lap of the race.

    THE LAST LAP

    Masia went by ƖncĆ¼ into turn 1, quickly passed Alonso into turn 4 and then takes the lead of the race up the inside ofĀ  Holgado into turn 5.

    Into turn 7 and arguably the overtake of the race as Munoz took 2 into 1 getting by both KTM riders Holgado and ƖncĆ¼.

    Coming up to the all important final sector of the race now and Munoz was side by side with Alonso as they headed into turn 10. ƖncĆ¼ with a wild effort dive bombed up the inside of Masia to try and take the lead only to run too hot into the corner.

    Just as Munoz took the lead, championship leader Holgado went down. The KTM garage in sheer disbelief with only a few corners of the race to go. Unbelievable scenes in a bananas Barcelona Moto3 Grand Prix.

    Last couple of corners now and the drama wasn’t finished. Masia now trying to go up the inside of both Alonso and Munoz. Just as Masia made his move so did ƖncĆ¼. ƖncĆ¼ wiped out Munoz coming round the last corner resulting in a 6 second penalty for the Turkish teenager. Alonso crossed the line to take a crazy Catalunya victory.

    Next weekend we head to Italy in Misano, with Holgado looking to improve on the 5th place finish last season on Italian soil. With the championship lead halved to just 13 points this weekend. The Moto3 championship is heating up nicely for the rest of the season.

    Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

  • 2023 Italian GP Qualifying

    2023 Italian GP Qualifying

    Carlos Sainz has made the Tifosi’s dreams come true and secured pole position for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Celebrating on the track in front of the Ferrari fans the Spaniard who has been very quick all weekend put in one of the laps of his life to beat Max Verstappen by the smallest of margins.

    Q1 began with everyone on the Hard Pirelli compound as this qualifying session was being used for the new mandatory tyre allocation strategy trial of hards being used for Q1, mediums for Q2 Ā the softs for Q3.

    Max Verstappen’s first lap of qualifying was deleted for exceeding track limits, He immediately pitted, came back out and went quickest by 0.338 from team mate Sergio Perez. They were followed by Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin and then the Williams of Alex Albon.

    The track was getting quicker as the session went on meaning the final runs would be crucial.

    Ocon out after damage in Q1. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area

    As the final runs ended Albon moved up to P2 with Leclerc also up to P3. At the other end Zhou, Gasly, Ocon, Magnussen, and Stroll were all out of qualifying.

    Q2 started with both Ferrari drivers under investigation for not being under the new maximum time to get round for a lap to prevent everyone going slowly on their outlaws, This would be investigated after the session so the result of qualifying might be decided in the stewards room.

    Once again Verstappen was first on track and immediately went to the top of the time sheets, Shortly after that Sainz in the Ferrari sent the Tifosi wild and went quickest by 0.044, Behind them was Leclerc and Albon in the flying Williams.

    Surprisingly the Mercedes pair went out to the track later than everyone else, Even with the clear track they could only manage 6th and 12th.

    All 15 cars left the garages at the same time leaving the pitlane looking like the worlds most expensive car park.

    When the last runs finally began the Williams of Sargeant was at the front of the pack, he didn’t improve though and stayed 14th. Joining him in not making it trough were Tsunoda, Lawson, Hulkenberg and Bottas.

    Hamilton making his way into Q3. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area

    The top of the timesheet had a familiar look about it with Verstappen fastest with a 1.20.937 ahead of Leclerc, Sainz and Perez. Albon was next up continuing to impress in the Williams, Hamilton improved to 6th ahead of his team mate Russell. Completing the top 10 and making it to Q3 were Piastri, Alonso and Norris.

    Q3 brought the inevitable excitement with Verstappen dipping a wheel into the gravel on his first lap but still managing to make the top 3, At the front it was Sainz from Leclerc, then Verstappen and Russell, Behind them were Albon, Perez, Norris , Piastri Hamilton and then Alonso.

    The final runs of the session would be the ones to determine the grid for Sundays race.

    Charles Leclerc went first and moved to provisional pole, then came Verstappen who beat him but he was then beaten by Sainz in the Ferrari with a scintillating lap time of 1.20.294, the top three separated by just 0.067

    4th was George Russell, then came Perez, Albon, Piastri, Hamilton and Norris and Alonso closing out the top 10.

    Sainz gets a pole at the home of Ferrari. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area

    Almost immediately after the session was completed it was confirmed no further action was necessary for the Ferrari’s earlier transgression meaning Sainz had pole in a Ferrari at Monza.

    Can the Tifosi get their dream result tomorrow or will Max Verstappen continue his run and win a 10th successive race.

  • Moto3: Ortola Takes Pole in Barcelona

    Moto3: Ortola Takes Pole in Barcelona

    Ivan Ortola for the Angeluss MTA Team takes his first career pole position today in Moto3 at the Catalunya circuit. Ortola takes pole position right at the end of the session with Deniz ƖncĆ¼ in 2nd and Joel Kelso rounding off the front row in 3rd.

    AS IT HAPPENED

    Qualifying 1

    There were some big names in the first round of qualifying, including championship leader Daniel Holgado along with Xavi Artigas and Diogo Moreira. Holgado will be keen to make the top 4 to progress into Qualifying 2.

    Both CFMOTO Racing riders, Artigas and Kelso, were posting the quickest times early on in the session.

    The rest of the field were now coming across the line but it was still Holgado topping the timesheets with Moreira in 2nd, David Salvador in 3rd and David Munoz making up the top 4 heading to Q2.

    There was lots of gesturing and head shaking from riders in this Q1 session – they were clearly frustrated as every rider is keen to be bunched up, looking for any extra tenth of a second getting by finding a tow around this circuit. There was a common theme of just follow Holgado around the circuit emerging in Q1, with everyone hoping to be dragged into Q2.

    Moreira was the surprise rider to be knocked out at the end of the session, as he was beaten by Scott Ogden. Moreira thought he’d done enough to get through at the end of the session but that wasn’t the case. This weekend, Moreira is sporting an Ayrton Senna themed helmet but I don’t think this is a qualifying session Ayrton Senna would have written home about.

    Holgado eventually topped the session with Kelso, Taiyo Furusato and Ogden also progressing into Q2.

    Qualifying 2

    Into Q2 we go – Can Collin Veijer take back-to-back pole positions in Barcelona, with the Dutchman on a superb run of form lately? Veijer had set the fastest time in FP3 this morning.

    Holgado took the pace he found in Q1 quickly into Q2, setting the fastest time for the rest of the field to chase early in the session. Masia ran into traffic and had to bail on his first flying lap.

    Usual suspects of Ayumu Sasaki and ƖncĆ¼ topped the leader board as the session progressed, with 9 minutes remaining. ƖncĆ¼ with the quickest time set of 1:49.326, and on provisional pole.

    Sector 2 then lit up in yellow flags as Veijer suffered a high side crash on the exit of turn 5. Veijer seems ok though and was thankfully quickly back up onto the bike, as ƖncĆ¼ manages to avoid the crash.

    Masia then got his first flying lap in and took over at the top of the leader board. Masia was frustrated by the riders behind who were hounding him to get a tow.

    With 6 minutes left of the session, there was still time for a few flying laps and pole position was still very much up for grabs. The riders were now heading back to the pits to make any last minute adjustments before heading back out to fight to pole position.

    Less than 3 minutes were on the clock when all of the riders were heading out for their 2nd run. As the chequered flag fell, all of the riders on track just had one last shot at taking pole position. Championship leader Holgado leads the pack into turn 1.

    With fastest sectors lighting up for several riders, the pack made their way round on the final flying lap. Coming into sector 3 we had Holgado, Ortola, ƖncĆ¼ and Masia all on flying laps and chasing pole position.

    As the bunch came round the final two corners the lap times came thick and fast, with Ivan Ortola taking pole position from ƖncĆ¼ and Kelso also managing to get onto the front row by taking 3rd.

    It’s the third time in the last four Grand Prix we’ve seen maiden pole positions in Moto3. I’m sure ƖncĆ¼ will be looking for back-to-back victories when he starts on the front row tomorrow. Holgado also will be looking to make up as much ground as possible, starting from the middle of row 4 tomorrow. Can Masia bring himself back into the championship fight with a win? With the starting grid as it is for tomorrow, Moto3 is all set for another crazy Grand Prix.

    Image Credit: MotoGP

    Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

  • Moto2: Vietti Takes First Win of Season

    Moto2: Vietti Takes First Win of Season

    Celestino Vietti fought hard with Pedro Acosta to take his first win in Moto2 since the Catalan GP in 2022. Ai Ogura completed the podium with championship contender Tony Arbolino crossing the line in sixth place.

    The race started strongly for Ogura after making a fantastic start, but this was overshadowed by Jake Dixon who slotted himself into second place when the pack reached turn one. Dixon attempted to continue his rise up the field by looking to overtake Acosta but was unable to do so.

    Arbolino was able to make his way to fourth place and Vietti dropped to fifth place. On the second lap, Arbolino ran wide at the chicane and Vietti was able to get past him.

    At turn three on lap three, there was a crash between Sam Lowes and Darryn Binder which resulted in the South African rider being taken to the medical centre and being declared unfit due to fractured vertebrae.

    Acosta started to pull away from Dixon and Ogura at the front of the field, extending his lead to around one second and was setting consistent fastest laps with no pressure from the riders behind him.

    Both Alonso Lopez and Albert Arenas crashed on the fifth lap at turns two and three respectively. On the same lap, Ogura was able to get past Dixon to take second place.

    Acosta was able to increase his lead to Ogura and Dixon to almost two seconds due to the pair fighting each other over second place. Ogura made a mistake on lap seven to allow Dixon to get past him at turn three, but the Japanese rider was able to get back at him at the next corner. Vietti joined the fighting pair in the hunt to catch Acosta.

    Manuel Gonzalez crashed at the third corner on lap eight causing a yellow flag in that sector.

    With Dixon back in third place, Vietti started to look for places to overtake the Brit and was able to into turn one on the ninth lap with the Italian rider taking the inside line. Ogura started to reduce the gap to the leader Acosta, whilst the battle for third occurred behind him.

    Somkiat Chantra also caught up to the chasing group by lap ten. On the same lap, Joe Roberts crashed at turn three. The American rider retired on lap thirteen.

    Arenas had a second crash at turn six on lap eleven and Aron Canet also crashed on that lap but at turn nine.

    By lap thirteen, Vietti was on the back of Ogura and was looking to make a move past the IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia rider and was able to on the straight just before turn four. Ogura tried to make the move back on the Fanatic Racing rider over the start-finish straight but was unable to.

    The front tire on Acostaā€™s bike started to go away from him and he began making mistakes, allowing Vietti to catch up to him. The gap reduced from two seconds to just under half a second. This was not helped by Acosta receiving a track limits warning.

    Lap 18 was the lucky lap for Vietti as he was able to get past Acosta to take the lead at turn six. The Italian rider kept Acosta behind him, using the defensive line but Acosta was able to stay on his rear tyre. Vietti and Acosta began to break away from Ogura behind them, creating a three second gap.

    By lap 21, Acosta was really struggling with his front tyre and this resulted in a wobble at turn nine and this caused him to lose some time to the leader.

    Vietti crossed the line with a 1.5 second lead over Acosta who in turn had a 3.5s gap to Ogura. Dixon finished the race in fourth place with Chantra and Arbolino followed the Brit. Filip Salac had a good race ending it in seventh place, followed by Sergio Garcia, Fermin Aldeguer and Lukas Tulovic who rounded out the top ten.

    Feature Image Credit: Joel Cooper Photography LTD

    AUSTRIAN MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, RED BULL RING – RACE RESULTS
    POS RIDER NAT TEAM BIKE TIME
    1 Celestino Vietti ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 36m 25.093s
    2 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 36m 26.528s
    3 Ai Ogura JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 36m 30.282s
    4 Jake Dixon GBR Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 36m 31.238s
    5 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 36m 33.728s
    6 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 36m 39.147s
    7 Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 36m 39.585s
    8 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 36m 41.538s
    9 FermĆ­n Aldeguer SPA CAG SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 36m 42.271s
    10 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 37m 0.454s
    11 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 37m 2.948s
    12 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 37m 4.644s
    13 Izan Guevara SPA Autosolar GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 37m 5.306s
    14 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 5.503s
    15 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 37m 6.191s
    16 Borja Gomez SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 37m 8.539s
    17 Alberto Surra ITA Forward Team (Forward) 37m 10.111s
    18 Rory Skinner GBR OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 37m 12.715s
    19 Mattia Rato ITA Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 37m 14.954s
    20 Kohta Nozane JPN Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 37m 22.132s
    21 Alonso Lopez SPA CAG SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 37m 34.357s
    22 Zonta Vd Goorbergh NED Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 37m 35.607s
    Ā  Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) DNF
    Ā  Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) DNF
    Ā  Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) DNF
    Ā  Manuel Gonzalez SPA Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) DNF
    Ā  Darryn Binder RSA Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) DNF
    Ā  Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) DNF

     

     

     

  • MotoGP: Spectacular Bagnia Wins Sprint Again

    MotoGP: Spectacular Bagnia Wins Sprint Again

    Pecco Bagnaia wins the Austrian GP Sprint race by just over two seconds ahead of Brad Binder and Jorge Martin.

    After qualifying on pole position this morning, Bagnaia was able to have a great start from the best position on the grid. Alongside him was Maverick Vinales who struggled with the start and dropped down the order. From third place, Binder jumped up into second place and started chasing down the Italian rider.

    After the first corner, Jack Miller was also able to capitalise on the poor start from Vinales and improved to third place.

    As the riders came to take the first corner, Martin took the inside line and had contact with Fabio Quartararo who in turn touched Vinales. The Aprilia rider then had contact with Marco Bezzechi who had to retire on the next lap. Other riders that were involved in the incident were Miguel Olivera, Johan Zarco and Enea Bastianini.

    Following this incident, Quartararo dropped down to twentieth position and Vinales brought up the rear of the field.

    Binder continued to show his pace as he caught up to Bagnaia quickly and began to look for places on the track pass the Italian rider. Both Bagnaia and Binder began to break away from Miller in third place and by the end of the first lap, they had a one second lead over the Australian rider.

    Martin was handed a track limits warning during the second lap, one of those was likely to be from the lap one turn one incident.

    Nakagami crashed on the second lap and was unable to continue with the race.

    Bagnaia started setting fastest lap after fastest lap and started to move ahead of Binder, leaving him about a second behind the leader.

    Luca Marini caught up to Miller and started to see where the KTM rider was struggling around the circuit. As these two fought, Martin was able to catch the pair too.

    Marini was able to pass Miller on the start finish straight on lap 6 and Martin was also attempting to get past too however it would be made easy for the Pramac rider when Miller ran wide at turn three. On the next lap, Martin attacked Marini into the chicane, but they touched each other, causing the Italian rider to crash out. The incident was investigated, but no action was taken.

    On the ninth lap, Quartararo was given a long lap penalty for irresponsible riding. This incident occurred a few laps prior and was when he went to overtake Lorenzo Salvadori, the pair touched causing the Aprilia rider to crash out.

    Quartararo took the long lap penalty on the twelfth lap and dropped down the order and was unable to make much progress due to there only being two laps left.

    Zarco had to retire the bike on the penultimate lap after being involved in the first lap incident.

    Brad Binder chasing down Pecco Bagnaia at the 2023 Austrian GP Sprint race. Image courtesy of KTM/Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)

    Bagnaia took the chequered flag 2.056 seconds ahead of Binder who in turn was 5.045 seconds ahead of Jorge Martin. Alex Marquez took fourth place after overtaking Miller. Pol Espargaro led his brother Aleix over the line to take sixth and seventh place respectively.

    Vinales was able to improve to eighth place after being in last place at the end of the first lap. Franco Morbidelli and Marc Marquez rounded out the top ten

    Fabio Di Giannatonio, Joan Mir and Bastianini occupied the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth places. Raul Fernandez, Fabio Quartararo, Iker Lecuona and Augusto Fernandez completed the riders who finished the race.

    2023 AUSTRIAN MOTOGP, RED BULL RING – SPRINT RACE RESULTS
    POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF
    1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) 21m 1.844s
    2 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +2.056s
    3 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +5.045s
    4 Alex Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +8.252s
    5 Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) +11.365s
    6 Pol Espargaro SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) +11.816s
    7 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +11.960s
    8 Maverick ViƱales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +11.984s
    9 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +13.634s
    10 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +14.435s
    11 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +15.251s
    12 Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +16.740s
    13 Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) +18.825s
    14 Raul Fernandez SPA RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +19.536s
    15 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +22.321s
    16 Iker Lecuona SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +25.593s
    17 Augusto Fernandez SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* +25.789s
    Ā  Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP23) DNF
    Ā  Luca Marini ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
    Ā  Lorenzo Savadori ITA Aprilia Factory (RS-GP23) DNF
    Ā  Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF
    Ā  Marco Bezzecchi ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
    Ā  Miguel Oliveira POR RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) DNF

    Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

  • Moto3: Incredible Alonso at Silverstone!

    Moto3: Incredible Alonso at Silverstone!

    With overcast skies, cold conditions and a damp track, it could only be Silverstone for the British Grand Prix and what a grand prix it was! David Alonso with the ride of a lifetime starting at the back of the grid to take his first Grand Prix win in Moto3.

    Image Credit Courtesy of Aspar Team

    Race winner at the Dutch TT in Assen and main title rival to Daniel Holgado, Jaume Masia failed to convert his pole position finishing way down in 18th place. Holgado finished in 3rd place taking a championship lead of 22 points to the next round in Austria. Ayumu Sasaki finished 2nd for the Husqvarna team also moving up to second in the championship standings.

    AS IT HAPPENED

    A British rider on the front row of the British Grand Prix, and it started with heartbreak for Scott Ogden as the Vision Track Racing Team rider couldn’t get the bike going for the warm up lap. A front row start ruined and Ogden would have to start at the back of the grid.

    Masia got off to a great start only to be overtaken by Holgado into turn 1.Ā  A few corners in and Deniz ƖncĆ¼ was up from starting 9th to 1st battling with Holgado and Masia at the front of the Grand Prix. Now onto the Hangar Straight up towards Stowe corner, ƖncĆ¼ was side by side with Holgado as they come through the final corners to complete the lap 1. ƖncĆ¼ leading the way with Masia 2nd and Holgado in 3rd.

    GASGAS Aspar rider David Alonso at the end of lap 1 was up an incredible 16 places and David MuƱoz for BOE Motorsports up 12 places. Incredible starts for Alonso and MuƱoz.

    14 laps to go and Alonso goes by Artigas up to 11th, at the front its ever changing with ƖncĆ¼ making a mistake at Copse corner allowing Ortola and Sasaki to come through and join the party at the front. Alonso, didn’t stop there on lap 2 getting by Romano Fenati and quickly Joel Kelso up to 9th now for the Colombian teenager.

    Into lap 3 now, Diogo Moreira posts the fastest lap of the race so far, Masia leads from Sasaki in 2nd followed by Holgado and Ortola. Yellow flags in sector 1 waved as Masia crashed out of the lead going into The Loop, a nightmare for Leopard Racing and Masia after such a strong weekend starting on pole position.

    Still on lap 3 and the order is now Holgado leading with Moreira in 2nd who started 17th on the grid, followed by Tatsuki Suzuki in 3rd who started 10th and Alonso in 4th who started the race at the back of the grid.

    Lap 4 and Holgado now looking to capitalise on Masia no longer at the front trying to break from the group, but the rest of the pack have other ideas. Moreira, Alonso and Sasaki ever dicing and changing positions at every opportunity along the long winding Silverstone circuit.

    Lap 5 and ƖncĆ¼ is now back on the attack on Sasaki’s back wheel trying to take the lead hard on the breaks as they break into vale corner coming to the end of the lap. Holgado lead at the start of Lap 5 and ending it in 7th place. Any of the top 10 to 15 riders could possibly win this race with 10 laps to go. A classic Moto3 race unfolding here at Silverstone.

    Coming up to half way through now and Alonso leads, a potential superstar in the making, you would never of thought that this was his very first time racing at Silverstone.

    Collin Veijer posting fastest lap after lap now up to 8th after starting down in 15th. The leading group of 10 riders all fighting for the win. With constant dicing and changing of positions the race is shaping up a for a last lap battle to take victory.

    Lap 11 of 15 and Holgado leads with Ortola, Alonso, Sasaki and ƖncĆ¼ all dicing and swapping positions. Its been an incredible Silverstone Grand Prix so far and its impossible to call as to who is going to take victory. No rider able to pull a gap at the front and Silverstone offers so many different lines and overtaking opportunities.

    3 Laps to go now and yellow flags appear in sector 4, Matteo Bertelle and Suzuki crash out as Alonso is making his way back from 8th to 5th. Sasaki leading from ƖncĆ¼ and now Alonso up to 3rd place half way through lap number 3. To the end of lap 3 we go now and across the line Holgado pulls alongside and by Alonso into first along the Hamilton Straight. Sasaki now into turn 3 past Alonso as they go onto the Wellington Straight. This race is heading for a photo finish.

    Last lap now and championship leader Holgado leads with Alonso 2nd and ƖncĆ¼ 3rd. Sasaki and Ortola coming together battling for 4th place just behind the leading 3.

    Into Luffield Corner and the Colombian teenager Alonso goes up the inside of Holgado and takes the lead. Sasaki now goes by taking the lead into Maggotts and Becketts. Down into Stowe corner Alonso retakes the lead from Sasaki and hangs on to take the win. What a race. The GASGAS Aspar Team have found a superstar.

    The top 15 point scoring positions were covered by just 1.572 seconds at the end of the Grand Prix. One of the closest finishes in Grand Prix history. What a comeback race for Moto3 after the summer break.

    Image Credit: MotoGP

    Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

  • Hamilton takes record ninth pole for Hungarian Grand Prix

    Hamilton takes record ninth pole for Hungarian Grand Prix

    Lewis Hamilton has taken pole for tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix – his first since 2021 – setting a record for the most number of pole positions at one circuit by one driver. He lines up ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, with the trio separated by only +0.085.

    It was the first try-out of a new qualifying format, with drivers mandated to use only hard tyres in Q1, medium tyres in Q2 and soft tyres in Q3.

    2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, Friday – Steve Etherington

    McLaren locked out the second row, further delivering on their upgrades from the last round in Silverstone. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu had a strong showing in fifth, having topped Q1 earlier.

    Slightly further down in the top ten, Perez finally put an end to his run of Q1 eliminations and lines up P9 on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

    In his first qualifying session back in F1 – having been brought in as a replacement for Nyck de Vries at Alpha Tauri – Daniel Ricciardo ended up P13, with team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in P17.

    Although Mercedes have reason to celebrate with Hamilton’s pole, it was not an entirely great day for the team. George Russell complained about traffic on the build-up to his last Q1 lap and wasn’t able to improve, finding himself all the way down in P18.

  • Verstappen’s clean sweep in Austria amongst Track Limit Dramas.

    Verstappen’s clean sweep in Austria amongst Track Limit Dramas.

    Verstappen took a clean sweep in Austria with Leclerc in P2 and Perez making a great recovery drive to finish on the podium. But, late penalties meant the on-track finishing positions changed hours after the race.Ā 

    Less than 24 hours after an entertaining Sprint, F1 fans settled down to watch the Grand Prix with the grid set from Fridayā€™s qualifying session. Unlike Sprint Saturday, Sundayā€™s race was set to be dry with the Ferrariā€™s able to launch a double attack on Verstappen ahead, if they could catch him.

    Vertappen narrowly leading Leclerc into turn 4. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area.

    Lights out and Verstappen got a clean start with the Ferrariā€™s following behind. Both Mercedes had a better launch than Norris in front, and Hamilton went around the outside of the McLaren while a small tangle with Stroll behind meant Norris was compromised and had to give the place up to Hamilton.

    Further back in the pack many were trying to get three wide through turn 1 which didnā€™t end well for Tsunoda who picked up front wing damage. Having lost downforce he locked up into turn 4 but was able to make it back to the pits for a quick front wing change. However, a safety car was deployed at the end of lap 2 to recover the debris from the Alpha Tauri.

    On the restart everyone got away cleanly with very few dramas. The Alpha Tauriā€™s were getting very close together while Magnussen tried to go around the outside of turn 4 but managed to get back on track. Perez also gained a position on Ocon.

    Just nine laps in and this is where the track limits debacle began. Norris was reporting Hamilton using every inch possible and slightly more on each lap. This was due to a brake issue Hamilton was managing meaning he couldnā€™t slow the car properly, however he did manage to pick up a black and white flag by lap 13.

    While this was happening, Hamiltonā€™s teammate, Russell, was under pressure from Perez. It took a few laps of great defending from the Mercedes but he made a mistake into turn 3 and went wide, leaving the door open for the Mexican driver to take advantage of DRS and make his move which eventually stuck by turn 4.

    One lap later, a very slow Haas pulled to the side of the track. Hulkenburg lost power and had to retire the car. A Virtual Safety Car was deployed as they pulled the stricken vehicle to the escape road. However, it only took them two laps, and by lap 16 the green flag was shown.

    Confusion now rained over the grid with main making pitstops as this was the first stop window of the day. However, Ferrari and Aston Martin missed the initial VSC call so came in just as the green flag was shown. To make matters worse for Ferrari, their double stack didnā€™t work, Leclercā€™s stop was slow which compromised Sainz who came out in P6, losing 3 places.

    A four car battle on track. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area.

    Through the now interesting developments in the race, Tsunoda was the second driver to pick up a penalty for track limits. Meanwhile Ocon, Albon, Magnussen, Stoll and Gasly had an intense battle on lap 20. It was hard to keep up with everything going on.

    Despite most coming in for a change of tyres during the VSC, Verstappen chose to stay out and not come in until lap 25. He came out having lost two places behind the Ferrariā€™s now in P1 and P2. There was finally action for the lead however, this was not to last very long because within five laps Verstappen was back out in front.

    As the race began to settle again Norris in his upgraded McLaren was pressuring Hamilton at every turn. On lap 28 he made a great move around the outside of turn 4 to make it into P4. Some great racing between the brits.

    Sainz then became the third victim of the time penatlies fro track limits while Ocon was given one for an unsafe release during the stops. At this point four drivers had penalties but this was not the end.

    Gasly was added to the list on lap 38 with De Vries picking up a penalty for pushing Magnussen out wide around turns 5 and 6. While it may seem like there were a lot of penalties, at this point nearly half the grid had been shown the black and white flag, so some penalties were taking longer than normal to be given.

    To make matters worse for Tsunoda he was given a 10 second time penalty for not serving his original penalty correctly. This was added to his time at the end of the race.Ā 

    The action on track never stopped. Perez was making his way through the pack and came up against Sainz in P4 on lap 59. This led to a three-lap long battle between the drivers as Sainz attempted to hold off the faster car behind. After some great racing however, Perez learned to hang back slightly into turn 3 and gain DRS towards turn 4, eventually making the move stick.

    Perez finally overtakes Sainz.

    Sargent and Magnussen picked up time penalties for track limits while Verstappen picked up his 7th Grand Prix win of the year. However, the race was not over yet.

    Aston Martin lodge a protest of the results which was accepted and reviewed. The complaint was regarding the track limits violations which seemingly hadnā€™t all been through the stewards so more penalties were yet to be dished out.

    In total 83 lap times were deleted, resulting in the following penalties:

    Sainz – 10 seconds, Hamilton – 10 seconds, Gasly – 10 seconds, Albon – 10 seconds, Ocon – 30 seconds, Sargent – 10 seconds, De Vries – 15 seconds, Tsunoda – 5 seconds.

    It is fair to say the track limits issue tainted the race with results being decided hours after the chequered flag dropped. This will be a talking point at least for the next week as we head to the British Grand Prix next where track limits are not considered as much of an issue.

  • Leclerc takes pole for Azerbaijan sprint race despite last minute crash

    Leclerc takes pole for Azerbaijan sprint race despite last minute crash

    Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has taken pole position for today’s sprint race in Azerbaijan despite hitting the wall in the closing moments of the session.

    It was the first outing of the new sprint weekend format, with an extra qualifying session to determine the starting order of the sprint race. The twelve-minute long SQ1 and ten-minute long SQ2 required the drivers to use the medium tyres, while the final eight-minute SQ3 mandated the use of a new set of soft tyres.

    SQ1 ended with a bang when Logan Sargeant crashed at Turn 17, possibly distracted by the two slow Ferraris on the inside of the corner. With only 25 seconds left on the clock, the session wasn’t restarted.

    In SQ2, Oscar Piastri narrowly missed out on advancing to the next stage by only +0.0032. His team-mate Lando Norris did scrape through, despite not having a new set of soft tyres available to him and therefore not being able to take part in SQ3!

    Leclerc set the pace in the first runs of SQ3 and took provisional pole. On his second run, however, he hit the wall at Turn 5 and damaged his front wing. He was able to back out and continue round to the pits, but compromised his team-mate Sainz’s lap in the process.

    Both Verstappen and Perez improved on their times in the closing moments, but it wasn’t enough to usurp Leclerc. It’s the Monegasque driver’s second pole of the weekend.