Category: Crew On Two

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.

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.

Featured Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

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 (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.

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.

Featured Image courtesy of KF GLAENZEL/Intact GP

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.

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.

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.

Featured image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM

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.

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.

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.

Featured Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM