There is no rest for the Moto3 World Championship riders, as one week on from the Dutch TT the 2019 championship heads to the Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix, round nine of the year.
In Assen, Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) became the first person to repeat wins in thirteen races, as the Italian took his second victory in three GPs. At a circuit which should suit the Honda, although perhaps not with the firm way Arbolino has it set, the Italian has a chance to make it three wins in 2019, which could single him out as a clear championship favourite heading into the second half of the season.
Despite having more wins than any other rider, Arbolino is thirty-one points behind the championship leader, who remains Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) notwithstanding the Spaniard finishing only twelfth in the Netherlands. Canet finished fifth in Sachsenring last year, and crashed the year before after starting from pole position. The #44 has a mixed record in Germany, but could do with it swinging his way this weekend with his points lead down to just seven points.
Tony Arbolino winner of Moto3 2019: Round Eight – Assen, Netherlands. Image courtesy of HondaNews.eu
The rider sitting those seven points behind is the rider beaten in last lap fights by Arbolino in both of the #14’s wins: Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing). The #48 is without a win yet this season, although has been consistent in being there at the front. Only interference from other riders in the closing stages of races (Argentina, for example) or mechanical problems have prevented Dalla Porta from remaining in the top ten all season, but this is racing and anything can happen. Dalla Porta and his Leopard Racing team seem to be able to get his Honda working particularly well in a straight line. Whilst this might not be especially important in Sachsenring, the low power of Moto3 means that any minor gain can be an advantage come race time.
John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) is the only ride racing in the Moto3 class who was on the Moto3 podium in Sachsenring last year. Whilst Marcos Ramirez was able to make it a KTM 2-3-4 last year and on more favourable Leopard Racing Honda machinery this year, he could be a threat for the podium at the circuit where he took his first top three back in 2017. Similarly, Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) was sixth last year and was unfortunate in Assen to retire with bike issues after running a strong race fighting for the podium. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) is another rider who will be aiming to put a KTM on the podium, which would be the third time he were to do so in 2019 – a result which would be useful to the Italian rookie having dropped behind compatriot Arbolino in the points after Assen where he didn’t finish.
One week on from the Dutch TT, the Moto2 World Championship is in Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix, round nine of the 2019 season.
Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) arrives in Germany straight off the back of his first win in Grand Prix racing. The Spaniard finished fifteenth at Sachsenring last season, his first visit to the German track, which is a unique one on the calendar and therefore difficult to learn. With three podiums to his name so far in 2019, including that debut win last time out, Fernandez will be keen to fight in the top five once again this weekend.
Tom Luthi on the Assen 2019 Moto2 grid. Image courtesy of KF GLAENZEL/Dynavolt Intact GP
Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) has done what Tom Luthi does this year, and that is to be consistent. The Swiss has not finished outside the top six this season, with his worst result coming in Argentina when he clipped the back wheel of Brad Binder’s Red Bull KTM Ajo machine and crashed out of the race. However, if Luthi is to truly fight for the championship he needs to increase the frequency of his wins, as with one to his name so far this year he has two less than his closest rival Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS).
Marquez was on for another podium, and possibly win, in Assen last time out before he was the unfortunate victim of Lorenzo Baldassarri’s crash when the Flexbox HP 40 rider tried to pass him. There was no malice in the move from Baldassarri, who went to apologise to his rival after the race, but it dented both of their respective title challenges with Luthi claiming the lead thanks to his fourth place. Despite his brother’s unparalleled success in Germany – Marc having won nine times in the last nine years at Sachsenring – Alex Marquez has never stepped upon the podium at Sachsenring – the closest he has come so far to doing so was in 2014 when he finished fourth on his way to the Moto3 world title. Marquez’ best finish in Moto2 in Germany is a thirteenth place last year, when he was passed for twelfth by a recovering Francesco Bagnaia in the final corner, whilst he crashed out in 2016 and 2017 (with some physical consequence in the latter) and finished outside the points in 2015.
Alex Marquez, Dutch Moto2 race 2019. Image courtesy of Gareth Harford/Marc VDS
Lorenzo Baldassarri’s non-finish in Assen was not what the Italian needed as he aimed to get back on track after slipping to fourth in the championship in Barcelona following his unbroken topping of the points between Qatar and Italy. Baldassarri crashed out of last year’s German Grand Prix, and like Marquez he has never finished in the top three in Germany, with his best result coming in 2016 when he finished fifth. A strong finish this weekend will be crucial for the Italian to go into the summer break with a good mindset, which will be important for the second half of the season if he wants to re-engage in the championship fight.
Brad Binder took KTM’s first Moto2 podium of 2019 last time out in Assen, their first since Miguel Oliveira won in Valencia last year. Binder also won in Sachsenring last year, and after a positive weekend in Holland it will be important for the Austrian marque, and Binder, to confirm what seemed to be a significant step forward at round eight.
This weekend the MotoGP World Championship heads to Germany and the Sachsenring for round nine of the 2019 season and the last race before the ‘summer break’.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) is unbeaten in Sachsenring since 2009 when he was sixteenth in the 125cc race. Since 2010, he has taken pole position and won every race at the Sachsenring, and since 2013 each of those has come in the MotoGP class. It is a run of remarkable dominance for a rider and a bike which, theoretically, shouldn’t work at the German track.
Sachsenring is unique in that it contains a period of thirty consecutive seconds per lap with the rider on the left side of the tyre: no turning right, no period with the bike straight up-and-down, no period with the gas wide open for thirty seconds. Additionally, there are no long straights in Sachsenring, although a bike which is strong on corner exit is useful out of the final corner and up the steep hill out onto the start/finish straight. Furthermore, there is only one big stop, and hard braking, particularly hard trail braking, is Marquez’ biggest strength.
On paper, Yamaha and Suzuki should have the edge in Germany but, even before Marquez, Honda have won every race in Sachsenring since 2011, with Dani Pedrosa winning that year and 2012, with Marquez taking over from the following year. Yamaha’s last win in Germany came with Jorge Lorenzo in 2010, a year on from defeat to Valentino Rossi. Suzuki, on the other hand, haven’t won in Sachsenring since Kenny Roberts Jr. in 1999, before four-stroke Grand Prix bikes and probably before Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) knew what a Suzuki was.
Marc Marquez winner of the 2018 Sachsenring MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
Honda is fast in Sachsenring because their bike likes to slide, historically, and so have their riders – especially Marquez. Whilst Yamaha and, since 2015, Suzuki make their time in long corners by leaning on the edge of the tyre, the Honda makes its time in the same corners by rotating the bike with the throttle. This works in Sachsening because so much time is spent, all at once, on one side of the tyre, so to spend all of those thirty seconds ride on the very edge of the tyre can lead to it overheating more than by coming slightly off that edge, and using the power to turn. This is especially handy for Marquez, who spends his time away from the MotoGP paddock turning left and going sideways on a flat track.
Despite this, especially Yamaha will fancy their chances of taking it to Marquez this weekend. The #93 has won 50% of the races so far in 2019 (Argentina, Spain, France, Catalunya), three more than anyone else, making it hard to envisage the ‘King of the Ring’ being defeated this weekend, but Yamaha go to Germany in a good moment.
Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) won just one week ago in Assen with a dominating margin of almost five seconds over Marquez at a track where the seven times World Champion has won five times. Vinales has not won in Sachsenring before, but seems to be back to the kind of form and confidence that saw him win three of the opening five races in 2017, and if that translates here he could end Yamaha’s nine-year wait for a German win, whilst extending the run of Spanish winners in Germany to ten successive years.
Similarly, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) is in a strong moment of his career, with two podiums in the last two races. In fact, Quartararo has as many podiums this season as either of the factory M1 riders. Saturdays seem to be where Quartararo is particularly shining at the moment, though, as the Frenchman has taken two poles in succession and three this year. Perhaps Marquez is out of reach over thirty laps on Sunday, but Quartararo could end the Spaniard’s German pole record the day before.
It will be interesting to see what Suzuki do this weekend after Alex Rins’ crash out of the lead last week. The Spaniard had a good shot at winning before his hard front tyre let go at turn nine of the Dutch track. Now, in Germany and with Yamaha in a good moment, it will be important for Rins and for Suzuki to beat the M1s this weekend in the battle of the inline-fours.
Danilo Petrucci & Andrea Dovizioso at Assen 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati
Ducati face a difficult challenge this weekend, like in Assen where they missed the podium. Ducati have never won a dry Germany Grand Prix, with their only win coming in 2008 when Casey Stoner won after Dani Pedrosa crashed out of a mammoth lead at turn one on the Honda. Additionally, Ducati’s only podium in Germany in the 1000cc era (since 2012) came in 2016 in the flag-to-flag race when Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) finished third. Dovizioso’s last dry weather podium in Sachsenring came in 2012 when he was on the Tech 3 Yamaha, and Ducati’s last dry weather podium in Germany came in 2010 when Stoner beat Rossi to third place on the Italian’s return from a broken leg.
Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) led the Ducatis last year in fourth place on the satellite Pramac-run machine. This year, on the factory bike, it will be interesting to see whether the #9 can take it to the machines better suited to Sachsenring over race distance.
Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) is missing this weekend after his practice crash in Assen last week. The Spaniard is being replaced by HRC test rider Stefan Bradl who gets his first outing in Repsol colours.
The eighth round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship took place at the TT Assen, an ideal circuit for a motorcycle which turns well in the middle of the corner, which was demonstrated on Saturday by Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) taking pole position from fellow Yamaha M1 rider Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on the similarly characterised Suzuki GSX-RR.
It was Rins who made the holeshot. The Spaniard is used to necessitating strong launches thanks to his usual qualifying positions, which often have him off the front two rows. Such a launch this time saw him come out of the first corner in first place.
Maverick Vinales slotted into second, although it was Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who arrived at turn one first. The 2013 Moto3 World Champion got the better of the 2017 Moto3 World Champion on the exit and followed Rins for the first lap.
Joan Mir at the 2019 Assen TT Motogp Race. Image courtesy of Suzuki racing
However, Mir was able to reclaim second from Vinales soon after, and when Rins dropped the Suzuki at De Bult on lap three the rookie took the lead.
Mir’s problem about twenty seconds later was a simple one: he realised he was leading. The rookie ran wide at the Ramshoek and Fabio Quartararo came through to assume the lead.
It was no surprise to see Quartararo leading, such has been his pace this year, with a podium and three pole positions to his name already on the satellite YZR-M1, and it was even less of a surprise to see Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) follow the Frenchman through.
Vinales was not far behind his compatriot Marquez in taking up position behind Quartararo, and Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) looked as though he would be able to catch the Japanese bikes in front of him as well in the early phases.
Soon, though, it became clear that the win would be contested between Quartararo, Vinales and Marquez. Quartararo, like Mir, had a problem when he got to the front. However, it was a more pressing one than that of his fellow rookie with whom he was teammates in 2016. Quartararo had a stability problem, and in the Veenslang his bike developed a speed wobble lap on lap. The Frenchman had to roll the throttle completely to get his bike back under control, and that put Marquez behind in a difficult situation.
Eventually, the Spaniard got past Quartararo due to the wobble, but one minute later he had dropped behind both Quartararo and Vinales thanks to a mistake at turn one. With Quartararo out front from Vinales, the #12 had a chance to get to the front and try to pull away before Marquez had the opportunity to pass the Frenchman himself.
Once more, it was a speed wobble in the back straight which cost Quartararo to Vinales, who did as Marquez before him and swept around the outside of his Yamaha stablemate. Marquez wasn’t far behind his compatriot, as he scythed inside the satellite M1 of Quartararo at the Ramshoek, a place where the #93 has been exceptionally fast historically. On a Honda which had looked unsettled all weekend it was a particularly outstanding pass – more so than usual, perhaps.
Vinales and Marquez at the 2019 Assen TT MotoGP race. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
With ten laps to go the battle was on between Vinales and Marquez. It had taken two years of waiting but it had finally arrived, and it was Vinales who made the first mistake – and it was almost immediate as he ran wide and off the track in turn one, handing the lead back to Marquez.
Vinales, though, had been particularly fast through turn twelve, able to turn tighter than Marquez or Quartararo. It was an area where he was strong in the multi-bike scrap in 2018, as well, although this time he had the confidence to move Marquez out of the way, force him to close the throttle and move through at the fast kink of turn thirteen – the Hoge Heide.
Marquez would not get another chance to lead to reply to Vinales, who edged away and finally took a commanding win with a gap of almost five seconds over Marquez. The win had looked possible all weekend, and should have been the expectation of Yamaha coming into the weekend considering the characteristics of the track and how they match with the characteristics of their bike. Vinales, too, had been riding well all weekend and – despite a couple of mistakes – looked comfortable on the bike in the race. It was his first win since Australia 2018, and Yamaha’s too, at a track similarly suited to a bike which is strong on the edge of the tyre. The win was also an important one for Vinales, as it solidified his bettering of his teammate since the championship returned to Europe.
Second place for Marquez was an important one, similarly to the second place he secured in Assen back in 2016. Dovizioso was off the podium, down in fourth place, and having beaten the Italian in every race since Qatar – with the exception of Texas when he crashed – is surely now well on his way to world title number eight, especially with Sachsenring coming up next just one week after Assen.
Fabio Quartararo, Dutch MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
The speed wobbles suffered by Quartararo he put down to himself and a mistake in line choice down the back straight, something he corrected when Marquez and Vinales passed him and he could see his error. No doubt, though, that the lack of straight-line stability affected the pole sitter’s confidence and pace, even after his correction. He might have won, but either way two consecutive podiums for a rookie, and now just five points off the top Yamaha, is an impressive start to his life in the premier class.
Despite suffering in the middle of the race, Dovizioso was able to recover to fourth, re-passing Joan Mir and his teammate Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) to do so. Nonetheless, it was easy to understand Dovizioso’s resignation after the race as, in all likelihood, the championship has all but slipped away once again, and it is unlikely to get any better, mathematically next weekend.
Still in the grips of the European heatwave, Assen was already roasting by the time the Moto3 riders rolled out for the start of the eighth race of their 2019 World Championship.
Niccolo Antonelli and his Sic58 Squadra Corse teammate, Tatsuki Suzuki, led the way in the very early stages, whilst Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) and the two VNE Snipers bikes of Tony Arbolino and Romano Fenati also looked strong.
The group was, as was to be expected, encompassing of almost the entire field. Even after five laps, twenty-six riders could have been classed in the ‘front group’, and from there it was only retirements which split the group.
Eventually, Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) was gifted an advantage at the front thanks to action in the final chicane. Unfortunately for the Czech rider, his victory hopes were dashed by a long-lap penalty, a sanction which he was not the first to receive in the race after several riders found themselves taking the long route at Osserbroeken.
Kornfeil’s penalty left Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) out front from Tony Arbolino, whilst Kornfeil dropped back into third place and within reach of the group behind.
Dalla Porta had a reasonable gap to Arbolino, but with the tow and target of his compatriot, Arbolino was able to set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix on the penultimate tour, which set up an all-Italian last lap scrap for the win.
Arbolino tried to pass in turn seven, but that was a strong point for Dalla Porta.
Tony Arbolino winner of the Moto3 2019: Round Eight – Assen, Netherlands. Image courtesy of HondaNews.eu
The #14’s attempt forced him wide and cost him time, but by Mandeveen the leading two were together once more, and Arbolino was in the prime position to try to pass in the Ramshoek, which he did with complete finesse, running wide on the exit to protect the inside line at the chicane, forcing Dalla Porta to the outside. Dalla Porta had a better run through the chicane, but it was not enough to deny Arbolino, who became the first rider to win two races in 2019, and the first rider to repeat victory in thirteen Moto3 Grands Prix.
In taking his second win of the year, and beating Dalla Porta for the second time in a last lap fight, Arbolino confirmed his status as a championship challenger and, although he does not hold the points lead – partly thanks to his breakdown in Barcelona – perhaps he does have the biggest target on his back ahead of Sachsenring.
Dalla Porta will be disappointed to miss the victory when it was so close, but after a difficult weekend for the Italian he will be content to take points out of the championship lead of Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) who finished down in twelfth, meaning the gap is trimmed by sixteen points with one race before the summer break.
Jakub Kornfeil, Moto3 race, Dutch MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Kornfeil was able to break away from the group after his long lap penalty and secure his first podium of the season, which he deserved after a strong weekend at a track which is perhaps not best suited to the KTM which tends to struggle in the long corners.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) finished fourth, despite dropping as low as twentieth at times, whilst John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) rounded out the top five. Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) was sixth over the line, ahead of Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) and Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) who appeared to take the long lap penalty for no reason which dropped him back to the lower reaches of the top twenty before fighting back to eighth. Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) completed the top ten.
Romano Fenati looked very strong in the first half of the race but dropped back to eleventh in the end, ahead of the aforementioned Aron Canet who will need to bounce back in Sachsenring. Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) was in twenty-fifth when the front group contained twenty-six riders, but he stayed on the bike and came through to finish thirteenth for three points, ahead of Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) and Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0).
Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was another rider to receive a long lap penalty and finished sixteenth, ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) who had the mother of all rear-end saves early in the race. Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) finished 12.984 seconds off the win in eighteenth.
Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) remounted after a crash for nineteenth, ahead of Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) and Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) who was yet another rider to take the long lap loop. Wildcard Ryan van der Lagemaat (Qnuim Racing) was twenty-second ahead of Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) who was the final classified rider in twenty-third.
Surprisingly, it took until seven laps from the flag before there was a retirement, as Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) dropped out with mechanical problems and Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) crashed out.
Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) dropped out on the next lap and was involved in an incident where Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) clipped the back wheel of Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) in De Strubben. Vietti and Toba went down and Suzuki had nowhere to go, and neither did Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who was also caught up in the incident. Fernandez, Toba and Vietti all got back to the pits but were unable to continue.
Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) made his presence known, as usual, in the group, sending riders wide at almost every opportunity. He eventually crashed at De Strubben with four laps to go.
The eighth round of the 2019 Moto2 World Championship saw a strong battle at the front between as many as nine riders for almost the duration of the race. Eventually, it was Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) who came out on top for his first Grand Prix win.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took the early lead with the holeshot, and led from pole sitter Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team). Binder’s lead lasted for more than half the race, whilst the group battled behind. The South African had a quick bike and minimal corner speed. He was riding the KTM like a Ducati MotoGP bike, hitting the brakes late, stopping in the mid-corner and firing the bike out. It was a strategy that was crucial to his race, because his rivals had superior pace.
Brad Binder, Moto2 race, Dutch MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
This became clear when Binder was able to pull a gap of almost one second to the group behind thanks to their battling. However, with Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in second place Binder’s advantage was gone in one lap, and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) had come along with Augusto Fernandez, too.
Marquez was able, eventually, to pass Binder, and with four laps to go had a chance to break away. However, Baldassarri got past Binder, too, and closed down Marquez. Two laps from the flag, Baldassarri tried to make his move – one that both he and teammate Fernandez had pulled off several times before in the race – by cutting to the inside at Osserbroeken. This time, though, it did not work for Baldassarri, who folded the front and took Marquez with him. Six of the first seven races had been won by Baldassarri and Marquez, and now they were both out (also bringing to an end Marquez’ run of consecutive race wins stretching back to Le Mans in the middle of May).
That left Fernandez out front from Binder, who had almost no grip on the KTM. Of course, in the final two laps Binder would try to close down the Spaniard, but it was not possible.
Fernandez took his first ever GP win, in the same vein as Takaaki Nakagami three years ago. The #40 rider had looked aggressive all race long, if frustrated by the limiting pace of Binder out front. The Spaniard was nearly out at De Strubben just a few laps before Baldassarri cleaned out Marquez and handed him the win, when he lost the front in the middle of the corner after passing Binder in Osserbroeken. It was impressive enough that Fernandez should stay on the bike so to come away with twenty-five points is remarkable.
KTM finally took their first podium of 2019 thanks to a fantastic ride by Brad Binder. His second place is the result of a perfect strategic play, Dovizioso-esque, and some luck courtesy of Baldassarri. It will be interesting now to see whether this latest update from KTM is something that will work in other tracks, too, and if they are finally on the right direction back to the front of Moto2.
The carnage at the end of the race meant that Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46), who dropped in and out of the front group as the race went on, was able to come away with a rostrum. After Baldassarri and Marquez crashed, Marini had to hold of Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) who had been forced backwards when he was caught up in the crash of Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) at De Strubben when the Spaniard had his bar taken away by Fernandez. Vierge’s bike was in the middle of the track and, whilst Luthi hit it, he did not go down. Marini was successful in his defence and, despite another up-and-down weekend for the Italian he was able to take his second podium of the season.
Tom Luthi at the 2109 Moto2 race at Assen TT. Image courtesy of KF GLAENZEL/Dynavolt Intact GP
Luthi was unfortunate to be involved in the Vierge crash, although not as unfortunate as Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) who was unsighted behind Luthi and went down as a result after yet another strong ride for the rookie. However, with the no-score of Marquez Luthi’s fourth place takes him to the top of the championship ahead of Sachsenring.
Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) spent most of the race just off the back of the leading group, which in the end got him fifth place and his best result in the Moto2 World Championship simply by avoiding trouble. Similarly, Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) got promoted to sixth place with the absence of the leaders in the final laps. Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) was able to come from last on the grid (courtesy of a penalty for his hand in taking IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Dimas Ekky out of the weekend) to seventh – his equal best finish in Moto2 (the other coming in Silverstone 2017). Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) received a long lap penalty and finished in eighth, ahead of Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) and Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who scored his first points and first top ten in Moto2.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up) took an early trip through the gravel and finished eleventh, whilst Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) picked up his first Moto2 World Championship points in twelfth. Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) was another first-time World Championship points scorer in thirteenth, whilst Iker Lecuona (American Racing) finished fourteenth after a crash and Joe Roberts (American Racing) took the final point in fifteenth.
Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) was sixteenth, ahead of Jonas Folger (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who was the final finisher in eighteenth.
Bo Bendneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) had a home race to forget as he was taken out in an incident with Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) who also both retired. Remy Gardner seemed to have a gearbox issue and crashed out at the chicane, before Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) ended his run of top tens and joined Gardner in the final chicane gravel one lap after the Australian. Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) crashed out in an incident with Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) whilst the pair were running in the front group – Martin later retired when he lost the rear of the KTM into Osserbroeken. It was a shame for both Martin and Lowes, who were having their best respective rides of 2019. Enea Bastianini was taken out in the aforementioned crash of Xavi Vierge, before Alex Marquez was taken out by Baldassarri.
Continuing from part one the racing further down the pack the 2019 Assen TT Motogp race was just exciting.
In Assen, the Ducati bikes suffered because of a lack of grip in the heat. All three GP19 riders – Dovizioso, Petrucci and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) – commented that the heat of the afternoon affected the feeling of the bike a lot. When the Desmosedici has little rear grip it cannot make use of its biggest weapon – its engine – and without this it is too weak on a circuit like Assen where so much time is spent where it does not like to be, on the side of the tyre.
Franco Morbidelli, Dutch MotoGP 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Danilo Petrucci appeared to slumber in the final corner, and that allowed Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha MotoGP) to make a neat lunge on his inside at the final corner for fifth place, the Italian’s best result in MotoGP and a good response to Barcelona when he crashed twice, including that huge high side at turn thirteen on Saturday. Morbidelli was also very strong at the end of the race, and faster than Mir, Petrucci and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL) who were ahead of him. He passed all three between lap twenty-one and twenty-six, although he ran out of time to think about Dovizioso.
Danilo Petrucci took sixth place as a result of Morbidelli’s last corner move after battling with Dovizioso for most of the race whilst suffering the same grip issues as the #04.
Cal Crutchlow passed Joan Mir on lap twenty-five. He might have been able to go with Morbidelli, but had to go wide in turn one after the Italian had passed him to avoid the #21 which cost him 2.5 seconds to the satellite Yamaha. It had been a difficult weekend in entirety for Crutchlow, who was 1.2 seconds off pole (despite being sixth) and suffered with grip, like the Ducati riders, in the afternoon.
Joan Mir was eighth for his equal best result in MotoGP. The rookie’s short battle with the two factory Ducati was somewhat reminiscent of the battle between Bradley Smith – then on Tech3 Yamaha – and the two factory Ducati bikes, then of Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden, at the 2013 Dutch TT. Unlike Mir, Smith came out on top, but the Ducati was a much different machine then, Suzuki didn’t exist in MotoGP and Smith finished ninth, behind Aleix Espargaro on the Aspar CRT Aprilia, 33.751 seconds off the pace. In comparison, Mir’s eighth was 24.268 seconds off the win, fifteen seconds off the podium.
Jack Miller’s ninth place was his worst finishing position of the season, but also only his fifth finish from eight races. Miller’s style has often not suited the flowing tracks, and with Ducati this is emphasised. When you look at his best results of the season (third in Texas, fourth in Le Mans and fourth in Argentina) you see that they are ones with some hard braking and, in the case of Argentina, where the bike spins a lot. They are tracks where you can make lap time without using the edge of the tyre.
Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) took his first top ten with Aprilia, which was a welcome result after a difficult start to life in Noale, although the weekend was a strong one from The Maniac despite starting down in twentieth.
Pol Espargaro durring the 2019 MotoGP race at Assen TT, Netherlands. Image courtesy of Boerner T/KTM
Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was eleventh and once again the top KTM. The Spaniard said he would only ride if there was a chance of points such was the pain he was in to ride as a result of his Barcelona testing crash.
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was also in pain to ride after he was hit by Bradley Smith at Barcelona. The Catalan rode with a reported broken femur and a bone edema to twelfth place, ahead of Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3). Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) was in the top ten before rear tyre problems dropped him to fourteenth, ahead of Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) who completed the points.
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) finished sixteenth, whilst Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) remounted after a crash to finish one lap down in seventeenth.
After Alex Rins dropped the #42 Suzuki on lap three, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) ended yet another miserable weekend in the gravel to DNF a third consecutive race for the first time since 2011. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) was the unfortunate victim of Rossi’s crash, as the Italian was trying to pass Nakagami when he fell at turn eight. Nakagami was rag-dolled quite heavily. Rossi went to check he was okay whilst the Japanese was lying in the gravel trap next to the barrier, and after a trip to the medical centre the #30 was declared fit and will be okay to ride at Sachsenring.
Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the final retirement, when he pulled the KTM into pit lane ten laps from the flag.
Xavi Fores (Honda Racing) took pole position, his first in BSB. Knockhill is a peculiar circuit, so to take pole position there with wet conditions and a bike which is not considered among the best is quite impressive.
Keith Farmer (Tyco BMW Motorrad) qualified second but a late crash means his ability to start tomorrow’s race is uncertain. In any case, it is the best qualifying result for the 2019 S1000RR.
Danny Buchan (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) would have been on pole position courtesy of his time in FP3 had qualifying been cancelled. As it was, the Essex rider was able to set the third-fastest time so will start from the front row in race one.
Tarran Mackenzie at BSB Knockhill 2019. Image courtesy of Impact Images/ McAMS Yamaha
Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) qualified fourth ahead of what will be an important pair of races tomorrow. The #95 didn’t score in Brands Hatch thanks to his qualifying crash, so needs to score well tomorrow to get his championship back on track. Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) and Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW Motorrad) will join Mackenzie on the second row.
The rookie Luke Stapleford (Buildbase Suzuki) qualified seventh in his first full-wet session on a Superbike. The 2015 British Supersport Champion will be joined by Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) and fellow rookie, the hydrophilic Ben Currie (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki), on the third row.
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing) was the top Ducati and heads up row four from Dan Linfoot (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) and the historically hydrophobic Luke Mossey (OMG Racing Suzuki); whilst row five sees Bradley Ray (Buildbase Suzuki) ahead of James Ellison (Smiths Racing) and four-time 2019 winner Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati).
Brookes’ teammate, Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) also had a difficult session as he learned the Pirelli wet tyres for the first time. The ex-MotoGP rider qualified sixteenth, and will be joined by Claudio Corti (Team WD-40) and Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing) who normally shows better than eighteenth in the wet – or any conditions for that matter.
Joe Francis (Lloyd & Jones Bowker Motorrad) qualified inside the top twenty for the second time in his rookie BSB campaign as he took the nineteenth fastest time on the 2018-spec S1000RR. The #40 will be joined on row seven by Glenn Irwin (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) and Matt Truelove (Raceways Yamaha).
David Allingham (EHA Yamaha), Josh Elliott (OMG Racing Suzuki) and Dean Hipwell (CDH Racing) make up row eight, whilst the remaining riders – Fraser Rogers (Gearlink Kawasaki), Sam Coventry (Team 64 Motorsports), Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Racing) and Shaun Winfield (Santander Salt TAG Yamaha) – were all outside the 107% cut-off time.
The Moto2 World Championship qualifying for the 2019 Dutch TT got underway in the middle of the European heatwave.
The air was hot, the track was hot and so was Lorenzo Baldassarri’s pace at the beginning of Q1 for the Flexbox HP 40 squad, as he went to the top. At the top was where the Italian would stay, and he was joined in moving through to Q2 by Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up), Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46).
It was threatened until the final seconds but @GardnerRemy takes his FIRST EVER Grand Prix pole position! ???
In Q2 it was Remy Gardner (OMEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who continued his table-topping form from FP3 to take his first career front row and pole position, ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who has seen a return to form in Holland to start from the back of the front row.
The winner of the last three races, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) will start from the head of row two ahead of Sam Lowes and top rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up); whilst Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) will start from seventh ahead of Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team).
Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) completes the grid’s top ten and heads up row four from Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP); whilst Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) heads up row five ahead of Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) who was strong in the first part of the lap but continually missed out in the second half.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) crashed in the beginning of Q2 and despite being able to get back out on track was unable to better his Q1 time and qualified just sixteenth. The Italian will be joined on the sixth row by Iker Lecuona (American Racing) and Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46).
Dominique Aegerter (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) was the fastest rider to not make Q2 and will start from nineteenth ahead of Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech3).
Marco Bezzecchi KTM Moto2 TT Circuit Assen 2019. Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM
Jonas Folger (Petronas Sprinta Racing) will start from twenty-second, ahead of Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) who is for the first time at a track he knows in 2019. Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) will start from twenty-fifth, ahead of Lukas Tulovic (Kiefer Racing) and Joe Roberts (American Racing) on the ninth row.
Row ten sees Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) ahead of Xavi Cardelus (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward) who received a back-of-the-grid penalty for causing Dimas Ekky’s practice two crash on Friday, which has taken the Indonesian out of the weekend.
The dry conditions of Friday remained on Saturday for the Moto3 World Championship, as the lightweight class riders qualified for the eighth round of the 2019 season.
Q1 saw Lorenzo Dalla porta (Leopard Racing) fire in a late lap to top the session, whilst his teammate, Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing), joined him in advancing to Q2 along with Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo).
In Q2, it was Niccolo Antonelli (Sic58 Squadra Corse) who took his second pole position of the season, and the lap record with it. Two of the last three Moto3 races have been won from pole (John McPhee for Petronas Sprinta Racing in Le Mans and Tony Arbolino for VNE Snipers in Mugello) so there is a good chance for Antonelli to score his second win of the season tomorrow.
Kaito Toba was nearly able to give Honda Team Asia and their beautiful retro paint for this weekend pole position, but he missed his final lap. His first flying lap was enough for second place, though, so he will start from the middle of the front row tomorrow.
On the back of row one is Tony Arbolino, who was seventeenth until his final lap which put him third to ensure Toba is the Japanese meat in the Italian sandwich.
Row two is the inverse of row one, with Tatsuki Suzuki (Sic58 Squadra Corse) in fourth and Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) in sixth either side of fifth-placed Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46).
Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) has had a strong weekend but could only manage seventh on the grid ahead of the top two of the championship in reverse order, with Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) in eighth ahead of Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) in ninth.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) was fortunate to set a time at all with the state he got himself into in the final chicane on his first lap, but stayed on and his second run put him tenth ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) on row four.
Row five sees Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) ahead of Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) and Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race); whilst Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) is ahead of Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) and Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) on row six.
Alonso Lopez at Assen TT Moto3 2019. Image courtesy of Box Repsol
Row seven sees Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) and John McPhee ahead of Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46). Row eight is one of penalised riders, with Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Riders Mugen Race) ahead of Can Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) bumped six places from seventeenth due to his causing of a big crash in Montmelo, and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) bumped six places for colliding with Aron Canet in free practice.
Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) starts twenty-fifth ahead of Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) and Stefano Nepa who is replacing Vicente Perez at Reale Avintia Arizona 77 for the rest of the year. Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) heads up the last row, from wildcard Ryan van der Lagemaat (Qnuim Racing) and Riccardo Rossi (Kommerling Gresini Moto3).
