Category: Crew On Two

Dynavolt Intact GP rider Jonas Folger has taken an incredible win in torrential conditions at the Automotodrom Brno, taking his first win in more than a year. Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) and Sam Lowes (Gresini Racing Moto2) completed the podium in P2 and P3 respectively, both taking a chunk out of championship leader Johann Zarco’s (Ajo Motorsport) lead as the title defender crossed the line in only eleventh place.

Folger took the lead by sweeping round the outside into Turn 1, and the German was simply unstoppable for the rest of the race. With one small wobble the only drama for the German, he managed the gap to perfection to cross the line for his first win in 2016 ahead of his graduation to MotoGP™ next season.

Alex Rins had a stunning turnaround in the wet on race day, as the Spaniard took a solid P2 after having struggled so much more in the dry in Brno. The ride to the podium cut the gap to title leader Zarco by 15 points, keeping the championship in the balance in the second half of the season.

Sam Lowes also benefitted from the wet in Brno, as the Brit impressed with a calm ride to complete the podium. With Zarco having such a difficult day at the office, Lowes was able to capitalize along with Rins to keep his title hopes alive.

There was drama on the final lap as Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) collided, with Cortese unable to collect his top 5 finish after an impressive ride through the field and Pasini crossing the line in fourth.

Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) had a fantastic ride into P5, as the Spaniard converted his front row start into a top five finish. Marquez, who slotted through Turn 1 impressively on the inside, fought with the front before choosing a solid finish at the flag, calm under pressure as he rebuilds his confidence with another top result. Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) made good on his nickname of “the Fish” to finish in P6, ahead of Leopard Racing’s Danny Kent in P7 after both moved up the order in the wet, after an impressive morning warm up.

Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) crossed the line in P8 after taking less risks than those that saw him crash out of contention in the wet German GP, with the second Leopard Racing machine of Miguel Oliveira crossing the line in ninth.

The man in tenth place was Anthony West (Montaze Broz Racing Team), who took his 3-year old Suter chassis from last place on the grid into the top ten – as a wildcard – in one of the most stunning displays of the day.

now head to the UK for the next Round, with Silverstone ready to fire up the engines on the 4th September.Moto2

Thank you to Dunlop Motorsport and Forward Racing for the images.

An eventful Sunday for Octo Pramac Yakhnich, a potential win went during the Czech Grand Prix after a difficult week end.

Scott Redding challenges for the lead with Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso in the Ducati leading trio and remains glued to the Austrian Grand Prix winner until lap 15 when the front tyre betrays him. Petrux, forced to start from the 16th position, manages to be consistent, catching position after position until the double overtaking on the last lap which earned him a valuable seventh.

Scott starts well from the 13th position and laps very fast. On lap 2, setting the fastest time, he is already third. Two laps later another best-lap let him overtake Dovizioso. Halfway through the race he is still trying to catch Iannone, then an abnormal consumption of the front tyre, perhaps due to the soft compound that has held up in a less than ideal condition as the track started to dry up. This forced him to slow down to get to the finish line. For Scott, only one point at the finish sounds like a joke.

Petrux also got off to a good start. Between the first and second lap, he easily passes Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo to place himself firmly between the seventh and ninth. Even when three laps to go Baz and Laverty were able to overcome him, exploiting the hard rubber, Danilo remained focused and on the last lap he managed to pass Vinales and Iannone (who experienced the same problem of Scott) for a precious seventh.

Scott Redding: Front tyre cost me a race win

I was very happy with my race. I made a good start and was going well. I felt a great feeling and I was in control. The set up of the bike was perfect. I felt that the front tire was starting not to be performing but it was a normal thing, and I would even settle for Top 6. I was also able to recover some tenths to the front group. But suddenly the uncommon degradation of the front tyre cost me the race win. It’s a shame.

Danilo Petrucci: Tyre choice was decisive

I can not say to be particularly satisfied even if P7 is a good result. It has been a strange race. We had a good pace in the warm-up and we have made many changes. The tyre choice was decisive. Maybe we could have a chance with the hard front but we have goals and I wanted to do the race on my target that is the Top 10. In the end I managed to reach the seventh and is not bad. I would like to thank the team and all the people who are close to me.

The weather had a strong impact on race Sunday at Brno. The heavy rainfall in the morning stopped a few minutes before the MotoGP start, forcing the riders to start in rain configuration, but with the possibility of a bike change during the race. There actually was an improvement in conditions, but the track maintained characteristics to allow the riders, albeit with some difficulty, to finish the race with rain tyres.

After the warm-up, the sensations in the Aprilia camp were good, as Alvaro Bautista’s eleventh best time and Stefan Bradl’s good pace demonstrated. With the track drying out and intermediate conditions, however, the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders were unable to find the right feeling. This was a situation that, with a first-season bike like the RS-GP, is to be expected when conditions are particularly unpredictable.

In any case, Stefan Bradl was back in the points at the chequered flag, thanks to his 14th place finish, whereas Alvaro Bautista (who also made a pit stop to change bikes, going back out with intermediate tyres), had to settle for sixteenth place.

Alvaro Bautista: I kept feeling like I was losing the front

“The track conditions were really tricky today. This morning during warmup in the wet, the feeling was not bad, but in the race I struggled a lot, especially in braking. I always had the feeling I was losing the front, so I wasn’t able to push, whereas coming out of corners I was losing a lot more than my rivals were. Nine laps from the end I made a pit stop to change bikes, but even with the intermediate tyres we were unable to improve our position. Now we need to leave this race behind us and focus on improving the RS-GP, getting back to our level in the next round at Silverstone”.

Stefan Bradl: Our electronics setting didn’t work

“Today we did not make any mistakes at the start and we finished the race, so we were not lacking in concentration. In any case, I am not satisfied with the way things went. In the first laps I had a good pace, managing to stay with the group, but then, when the asphalt began to dry out, our electronics setting did not work as well as it could have. The traction control limited me very much coming out of corners. It was a feeling I had in the warm-up as well and we made some changes to try and improve it, but evidently it wasn’t enough”.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi brilliantly turned the Grand Prix Ceské Republiky around today, claiming an incredible second place on the podium after making a perfect tyre decision. Jorge Lorenzo secured seventeenth position after being forced to switch machines twice due to a problem with the front tyre on his first bike.

Wet conditions made for uncertainty regarding the tyre decision at the start of today’s race at the Automotodrom Brno. Rossi had a cautious start as he launched his Yamaha from sixth on the grid and dropped back to twelfth position, before picking up the pace. The Italian overtook his teammate for eleventh place but was then passed by Dani Pedrosa.

After waiting seven laps for his harder spec tyre to get up to temperature, The Doctor knew it was time to put the hammer down. He had to let Cal Crutchlow go in front and followed him to Pedrosa, Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, who he passed with 14 laps to go. A lap later Rossi gained a position as Andrea Dovizioso suffered a technical problem. The Italian kept following Crutchlow and continued to work his way past Danilo Petrucci and Maverick Viñales, as Aleix Espagaró retired from the race, and then set his sights on Marc Marquez in fifth place, overtaking him with seven laps to go.

Riding as the fastest man on track the nine times World Champion passed Hector Barbera a lap later and had the crowds cheering as he wrestled second place from Andrea Iannone. Rossi then quickly took off, creating a distance between himself and the Italian, but soon realised that the margin between him and the now leading Crutchlow had grown too large to close in the last four laps. The Doctor decided to settle for second place, finishing 7.298s from first and taking twenty points for the championship.

Lorenzo was on the same tyre combination as his teammate and took a while at the start to get heat into his tyres. From second on the grid he fell back to sixteenth place before being able to push hard. The Mallorcan made a charge in the second half to the race as his tyres started to produce more grip. What followed next was a flurry of overtaking manoeuvers as he fought his way to tenth place.

Lorenzo kept riding aggressively, but was forced to come in to the pit box with seven laps to go after losing much of the central tread from the front tyre. The unforeseen sudden pit stop forced him to change to his second bike which was fitted with slick tyres for a potential normal bike change in the flag to flag conditions. The track was still far too wet for slick tyres so he returned to the pit box a lap later to switch back to his first bike which had since been reequipped with a new front tyre. This then allowed him to finish the race in a disappointing and distant seventeenth place.

Rossi’s second place moves him up to second position in the world standings with 144 points, 53 points behind the leader, with teammate Lorenzo six points behind him in third place.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP now head to Silverstone in the UK for the British Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.

Valentino Rossi: I was desperate

2nd / +7.298 / 22 laps, Championship: 2nd / 144 points

“At the beginning I was desperate because I thought we made a mistake, but lap by lap the hard rear became better and it was a very long race, you have to stay concentrated not to make a mistake. I started from p12, so it was a great race and I’m happy with these 20 points, also because I’m second in the championship and I think today we did a good job and we made the right choice.”

Jorge Lorenzo: I was very unlucky today

17th / +1 lap / 22 laps, Championship: 3rd / 138 points

“It’s a big pity because I was doing a great race, only I had some difficulties stopping the bike at the beginning when there was a little bit more water and especially with the hard tyre on the exit I didn’t have grip. I needed to be very careful and that is why I was quite far from the top. Little by little, as the track dried, the rear became better and I started to gain confidence, so seven laps before the end the front tyre tore up so I had to change bike twice and finished the race on the first bike in seventeenth. Rossi was unlucky in Mugello and I was very unlucky today, a lot of bad luck this season. We have to work, so this doesn’t happen more often, because we see it happen sometimes in the dry and today in the wet and we have to try not to have more tyre mishaps in the future.”

Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaro persevered against the challenging conditions at the Czech Grand Prix to finish in 13th after what was a tricky race for the 25-year-old. The Spaniard kicked off his round 11 campaign from 12th on the grid and immediately ran with the factory MotoGP bikes at the front of the field. He slipped to 8th on the third lap but pushed onwards as he aimed to stay with the leading group. As the track began to dry Espargaro was shuffled back, despite his best efforts, and by lap fifteen he was running in 13th. Eventually, he met the chequered flag in this position to close what was a tough weekend. Today’s result sees the 2013 Moto2 title winner move up to 7th and as the top independent rider in the 2016 World Championship standings and he now intends to produce a strong result at the next round after tomorrow’s test in Brno.

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith endured a disappointing end to the event after unfortunately suffering with a technical issue which caused him to retire from the Grand Prix. The Briton leapt forward from the middle of the fourth row of the grid and quickly set about moving through the pack as he completed the opening lap in 9th. He was pushed back one position a short time later, but remained focused and did his best to preserve his tyres for the second part of the race. However, at the midway point, the 25-year-old had to pit due to a technical issue with eight laps left to run. Nevertheless, Smith fully aims to bounce back in front of his home fans at the British Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.

Pol Espargaro: I hope Silverstone is dry

13th / +43.202 / 22 laps, Championship: 7th / 81 points

“This morning in the warm-up I struggled quite a lot in the wet but to be honest, we managed to improve the bike significantly for the race. Therefore, I was able to pass many riders at the beginning of the GP as I felt really comfortable. However, when the track started to dry, I began to face some difficulties because I lacked grip and traction, but I tried to keep my pace without making any mistakes so that I could take home as many points as possible. I believe that today we weren’t able to use the electronics to their best potential, plus I think the hard rear tyre would have been a better choice, especially at the end of the race. Yet, I rode this compound for two laps and I didn’t feel 100% happy with it, so we went for the option that we used in the warm up. Now I really hope that we’ll have a dry race in Silverstone because with no rain, we are usually strong and we will be able to show our true potential.”

Bradley Smith: Another DNF for a technical issue

DNC / 22 laps, Championship: 15th / 42 points

“Of course, it’s disappointing to have another DNF for a technical issue, especially as my race was running positively up until that point. The opening lap went quite well, and I was able to make up a few positions plus, I felt quite comfortable on the bike. When the track started to dry, I could increase my pace and push harder so that I could go with the guys close to me. Still, at the same time, I was looking after my tyres because I was certain that tyre management would be crucial at the end of the race. Yet, unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to prove that as I had to pit in. The riders who I was close to before I pitted, ended up finishing in 5th and 6th so this is where I would have seen myself at the end of the race and that definitely would have been a good result ahead of my home GP. Considering that it was one of the weekends where we were closer to the front from the word go, it’s a big shame, but also due to it being the second time I’ve had to retire because of a technical issue in 2016, which is just bad luck. However, with the test tomorrow, we will go over a few things which will boost my confidence for my home Grand Prix at Silverstone, which is up next.”

Team Classic Suzuki has announced that Grand Prix racer Danny Webb will join the team for this year’s Classic TT on the Isle of Man, with the 25-year-old standing in for the injured Lee Johnston and racing the team’s second XR69, alongside team-mate and winner of last year’s F1 race, Michael Dunlop.

Webb, a relative newcomer to the Isle of Man, only made his debut at the TT races in 2014, and has already lapped the Mountain Course at over 123mph. Having competed in Grand Prix and the British Championship, the team is optimistic the talented youngster can bolster its bid for the podium.

Danny Webb said ahead of this year’s event: “I’m really looking forward to riding the XR69. I’ve never ridden anything like it before, so it’s going to be an experience. I met Steve (Wheatman) at the event last year so we knew each other, and I got the call last week to see if I wanted to ride for him, which I was more than happy to say yes to. It’s going to be unlike anything I’ve ridden around the Isle of Man, but it’s going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait to get started and hopefully we can get a good result.”

Despite again being the ones to beat around the 37.73 mile course this year, the team – which is sponsored by Suzuki GB’s Vintage Parts Programme for 2016 – is looking to secure another win in the race it has won twice in the last three years with Michael Dunlop, having made progress in the development and set-up of its XR69 package.

Team Owner, Steve Wheatman, said: “We have enjoyed a lot of success in recent years at the Classic TT with the XR69 Suzuki and Michael Dunlop, with two wins in three years. This year we’re also delighted to have Danny Webb on board the second bike, and believe we have two riders who can put us on the podium. Michael’s proven himself around the Isle of Man so many times, and he’s done it on our bike, winning the Superbike race last year. Danny’s a late addition to the team, but I’m sure he will settle in quickly, and we know he has the potential to achieve good results. The pressure’s on a little bit, and there’s a target on our backs, but we’re confident we can have a good practice, and fight for the win in race.”

The Classic TT Superbike race is scheduled to get underway on Monday August 29th at 14:00hrs.

Today, I witnessed a nice little bit of history. In fact, we all did. Cal Crutchlow stormed to his first Grand Prix victory in the most peculiar circumstances I think I have ever seen for a premier class race. He saw off Valentino Rossi who finished a miraculous second and Marc Marquez, who defied the odds to come home with the bronze medal.

In a race of two halves (quite literally), the Ducati riders of Andrea Dovizioso, Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding took off at the front, building up a comfortable margin over Marc Marquez, Hector Barbera, Pol Espargaro, Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro. The two Factory Movistar Yamahas were down in 12th and 13th after lap one. I said at the time that it’s a total disaster and that Vale and Jorge need to come in to change.

Also joining the two Yamaha’s down there were Loris Baz, Eugene Laverty, Yonny Hernandez, the two Aprilias, Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith. However, the latter few started to move up whilst Valentino and Jorge stayed put.

Soon though, it became apparent that the softer tyres that had been favoured by the majority of the field weren’t going to last the 22 laps and soon, the Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso run off track at turn one, slamming his hands on the tank as he came back on. The issue was that the front tyre had completely shredded. Dovi headed back to pitlane and after a head to head with a team member, reluctantly jumped on a bike with intermediate tyres on.

Iannone and Redding then did battle, but it was Avintia Ducati’s Hector Barbera that was now on their tail.

Meanwhile, down in 9th, Cal Crutchlow set the fastest lap, with him and Rossi making great progress, albeit around 1.5 seconds apart.

The next revelation was Bradley Smith, who also had front tyre issues as he waltzed around the track. He came in, and switched to his second bike which was fitted with dry tyres. He quickly returned to the garage and swapped back to inters.

Jorge Lorenzo was languishing way down in 16th but he just set his fastest lap of the race. Strangely, the defending champion pitted to change tyres as he believed the hard front and rear combination wasn’t working. His team was furious, and sent him back out with a disillusioned Jorge clearly frustrated. He came in again not long after, refusing to go back out. It really was a shambles, just like it was for 2017 and 2018 teammate Andrea Dovizioso.

Out on track and the hard tyres were coming good as Crutchlow and Rossi closed in on the leading quartet. Soon, it became clear that Iannone was struggling, and as Cal picked his way past the likes of Barbera, Marquez and Redding, Rossi was now right in the hunt.

Cal took the lead from Iannone and never looked back, with Rossi scything his way through the pack. It proved impossible to catch Cal as he had the perfect set up on his bike, whilst Valentino opted for a soft front end. Iannone dropped back to eighth place, with Marquez completing the podium.

Newly contracted Loris Baz equalled his best result of his MotoGP career with a sensational 4th place, beating teammate Hector Barbera who finished 5th. Eugene Laverty rocketed through into 6th place, almost catching Barbera on the line. Danilo Petrucci finished 7th ahead of Iannone, with Maverick Vinales and Tito Rabat completing the top 10.

Yonny Hernandez came home 11th ahead of the last Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. Pol Espargaro, Bradl and Scott Redding rounded out the point-scorers, after Scott’s tyres also decided to give up towards the latter stages. Bautista was 16th ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, who was the final finisher. I think it would be fair to say that Lorenzo has lost the plot when it comes to wet weather.

Without doubt one of the most upside down races in MotoGP history, where patience and precision would prevail over desperation and initial pace. Great Britain, back on top for the first time since Barry Sheene at Anderstorp, Sweden, 1981. A truly remarkable day which will be celebrated long into the night by the team, family and friends of Cal Crutchlow, not to mention his fans!

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