Category: Crew On Two

It was a dreamy race weekend for Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) who started from pole position, won the race and clinched the Championship with one race to go. But it was commiserations for Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrustelGP) who saw his Championship chances slip away as he settled for second position in the title fight and fifth in the race.

Ultimately, this sealed his position in the Championship, as even if his closest rival Fabio di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) did win the final race of the season in Valencia, he would be one point shy of second place in the Championship. di Giannantonio managed to come back from 13^th in qualifying to finish just behind his compatriot, Bezzecchi.

There seemed to be a flash of nerves from Bezzecchi, who had to scores better than fifth if he wanted to keep his Championship hopes alive until the next race. However, he just didn’t seem able to pick off one extra rider before the finishing line. Martin though managed to run away with his lead as soon as he got to the final few laps, whether that was tyre conservation or nerves too, he seemed to handle it better than his rival.

However, things could have been very different had Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) not slid out of first place. Could the Spaniard have thrown a spanner in the works and forced the Championship fight onto Valencia? It just wasn’t his race.

It was a good weekend for Leopard Racing who got a double podium – Lorenzo Dalla Porta in second and Enea Bastianini in third. Very impressive for Dalla Porta who has had some solid results in the later half of the season, and Bastianini who would have been fighting for every point to catch up to di Giannantonio in the Championship. Their rivalry can continue though as they both move up to Moto2 in 2019, as well as Bezzecchi and Martin.

It was an Italian heavy top 10 with only four riders coming from different countries. But both of the SIC58 Squarda Corse riders (Italy’s Niccolò Antonelli and Japan’s Tatsuki Suzuki) managed to score tenth and ninth places respectively. This is of particular significance as the late MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli passed away after an accident at the 2011 Malaysian GP. The team, started by Paolo Simoncelli, haven’t had a joint top 10 effort this season, so for both bikes to make it over the finishing line like they did was a special moment for them.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case for home favourite Adam Norrodin (Petronas Sprinta Racing) who finished last after he crashed out at the Sepang International Circuit having had an impressive run to 12^th.

With the Championship done and dusted, Valencia will be an interesting race because all riders can relax and race for fun – could that mean that some new faces grace the last podium of the 2018 season? Or will Martin want to extend his record for pole positions achieved in a season?

As the 2018 season starts to come to an end, Moto3 rolls into town for the last of the fly-aways in Malaysia. With the Championship battle still well underway, the next race is vital to see if Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrustelGP) will close the narrow gap between himself and front runner, Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), or see if the Gresini rider will get one step closer to clinching the title.

But it’s not just down to those two, as Fabio di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) could creep into first place if he has two stellar runs and Bezzecchi’s unfortunate luck continues.

With all to play for it will be an interesting weekend, but rather predictably Martin will be starting from pole position after clinching his record breaking 11^thpole. Bezzecchi is right on his tail in 2^ndthough, so no one will be playing catch-up like in Phillip Island.

The Italian Tony Arbolino (Marinelli Snipers Team) and Scotland’s John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) round out the top four, with last weekend’s breakthrough talent Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) qualifying in an impressive 12^thplace. Could we see another top 10 finish, or even another podium? It would definitely spice up the Championship, if Martin and Bezzecchi weren’t enough.

Martin does have good form at the Sepang International Circuit, finishing 2^ndlast year, behind Moto2’s Joan Mir (formerly Leopard Racing) and in front of Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing). However, Bezzecchi finished in 19^th, and he’ll be looking to improve on that if he wants to stand any chance of pipping Martin to the title – and his good qualifying will help with that.

Qualifying didn’t show any particular bike benefiting from the two long straights that the Sepang International Circuit is know for, with a results almost splitting perfectly between the Honda and KTM bikes – but all year long the KTM has had incredible speed in a straight line. So, this particular feature might help Bezzecchi but only if his fortunes change.

All riders will be looking to get some last-minute points in to improve their chances when they all descend upon Valencia for the last race of the season, but after riding three weekends in a row, they’ll be feeling a little delicate, especially the guys who’ve suffered some nasty crashes. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai), Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Racing Team) and Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) will not be racing this weekend, but Bulega’s replacement could be the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of the Championship.

A difficult weekend in Australia – the most challenging of his 2018 season so far – meant that Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) had to wait to be crowned 2018 Moto2 World Champion. Fortunately for Pecco, he has another shot this weekend, and at the more conventional Sepang International Circuit, with its bipolar characteristics in comparison to Phillip Island, the Italian rider has the 2018 intermediate class title firmly in his sights ahead of this weekend.

As has been the case for a while now, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is the only rider who can stop Bagnaia from clinching the crown this weekend. To do so, the Portuguese must outscore Bagnaia by twelve points to ensure the championship fight goes down to the final round in Valencia. Of course there are many situations which could allow this to happen but the simple way to put this is to say that Oliveira has to win with Bagnaia finishing off the podium for the title to go down to the wire.

But, will Oliveira win? Given his recent form, you would say probably not. After his Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Brad Binder’s victory last time out in Australia, Oliveira now has less wins than the South African over the course of the season, and hasn’t won since Brno at the beginning of the second half of the season. If ever there was a time for Miguel to turn around his form, it would be now, but that doesn’t mean it is going to happen.

Of course it was Oliveira who won the Moto2 Malaysian Grand Prix last year, as Franco Morbidelli wrapped up the 2017 title. This victory was the second of his back-to-back-to-back wins to finish off the season, and Brad Binder is coming into this weekend with the possibility to make a repeat of his teammate’s results of last year. Binder is in fantastic form at the moment, and has at least had the matching of Oliveira since his win in Aragon. The race the South African put together in Phillip Island was stunning, and suitable given Kork Ballington’s recognition as a MotoGP Legend on the same weekend. However, should Oliveira’s pace be enough to fight for the top positions, there should be no doubt that Aki Ajo, Pit Beirer and the rest of the top KTM mob will be urging Binder to play the team game.

Another crash for Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) last time out meant that Binder almost has third place in the championship wrapped up, sitting forty-one points ahead of the Italian. Coupled with Joan Mir’s (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) second place in Oz and suddenly there is quite a big fight again for fourth in the championship, with only four points separating Baldassarri in fourth at the moment, and Mir’s Marc VDS teammate Alex Marquez in sixth.

It is Mir who has the Sepang form, too, after having taken the Moto3 victory in Malaysia last year. In comparison, both Marquez and Baldassarri crashed out last season. If form is anything to go by then Mir could have that fourth place all but wrapped by the time the chequered flag comes out on Sunday.

Augusto Fernandez (Pons HP40) had his best weekend as a Grand Prix rider last weekend in Phillip Island. The Spaniard was fast from the get-go in FP1 and missed the podium for all of 0.008 seconds to Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) who also saw a return to form. Remember, also, that this weekend will not be Fernandez’ first time in Sepang, as he rode the Speed Up last season, finishing just half a second behind his then teammate Simone Corsi.

Vierge also had a strong weekend in Malaysia last year, finishing eighth on the Tech 3. Vierge’s teammate, Marcel Schrotter, will be hoping for better luck this weekend, as he showed some stunning pace in the race, but had to use it all to come from last on the grid thanks to mechanical troubles on the line. It wasn’t such a good race for Schrotter last year, though, in Malaysia, as he finished second-last and nearly one minute off the win.

As well as Schrotter, Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) will be after a better weekend in Sepang than he experienced last season, when he crashed on the first lap. Not only will Marini want to make a good result for himself this weekend, but he will also want to be at the front to help Bagnaia, his teammate, in his quest for the title. Throughout this season it has been clear that Marini is very aware of his teammate’s situation, and has proved a strong number 2 for Bagnaia – just look at how happy Luca was to have taken four points from Oliveira in the final laps of the Thai Grand Prix a few weeks back.

That sort of assistance could prove vital this weekend, as Francesco Bagnaia looks to bank his second match point.

It was a breath taking race that saw more than half the grid eligible for a podium finish – but it was Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto Team), Fabio di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini) and Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) who relished in the moment and the champagne. Except for 17-year-old Vietti, who isn’t old enough to spray champagne, but then again, a podium on your second ever Moto3 race probably tastes sweeter than any bubbles ever could, and he raced hard for it.

For di Giannantonio it was a necessary podium. The Italian has been battered and bruised on just about every race weekend for the last 3 weeks, making this a much deserved second place finish. And the man of the moment, Arenas, took his second win of the season and this time around he truly earned it – whether you think his Le Mans victory was really di Giannantonio’s, or not.

This entire race was important for the Championship, two very important crashes happened, and a few near misses, have changed the course of this season. Firstly, Lorenzo Dalla Porta’s (Leopard Racing) crash meant that his team mate Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) could keep his fourth place in the Championship.

Then it was Gabriel Rodrigo’s (RBA BOE Racing Team) unfortunate collision with Championship contender Marco Bezzecchi that paved the way for Martin to extend his lead in the Championship beyond the one point that he started this weekend with. However, this wasn’t really the case, as there is only 12 points between the Italian and the Spaniard now, but it could have remained at just one point because luck seemed to be firmly on Martin’s side. He narrowly avoided two crashes/contact which could have seen both of their weekends reduced to null and avoid effectively.

However, it does beg the question – had di Giannantonio not had his Le Mans victory taken away from him, could he be leading the Championship right now? With 20 points between the Championship leaders, he definitely could have made life difficult for Martin and Bezzecchi after this week’s results.

The race itself saw real talent shining through from all riders as, the top 15 stayed particularly tight and positions were traded so often that the leader board couldn’t keep up with them. It was Tony Arbolino (Marinelli Snipers Team) and Denis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) though showed potential for a podium finish, that was before they took each other out whilst vying for the top spot behind Martin.

But ultimately due to a constantly changing lineups, whether to do with crashes or overtaking, you found yourself rooting for half the grid at least once. This race has left the Championship wide open for the top three riders still, but it might have invigorated the rest of the grid as the majority of them got a taste of leading a race. With only two races to go, who could clinch the title between Martin, Bezzecchi or di Giannantonio?

From the qualifying session from the Moto2 Australian Grand Prix, we learned that Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) would not be fighting for the victory on Sunday. In fact, Brad Binder, Oliveira’s teammate was the pre-race favourite, after qualifying on the second row in fifth place.

Contrasting starts for the two championship combatants saw the Bagnaia climb up into the top five in the early laps, whilst Oliveira languished just inside the points. The lead chopped and changed at the front in the early stages, and soon Bagnaia’s lack of pace became evident as he started to fall back through the pack, and towards Oliveira.

At the front it was a big scrap, with Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing) being joined in a group fight for the lead by Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP), Brad Binder, the two HP40 Pons machines of Lorenzo Baldassarri and Augusto Fernandez, Iker Lecuona (Swiss Innovative Investors), Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46), Remy Gardner (Tech 3 Racing) and Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS). Both Baldassarri and Marini had shown some impressive pace in the early laps after the start; after getting caught behind Bagnaia in the initial stages they both managed to clear their VR46 Riders Academy colleague and join the fight at the front.

However, by the time they had arrived in the lead battle, Pasini had hit the deck, crashing out at turn four, and continuing his record of having never scored an intermediate class point at Phillip Island.

Soon after, Lecuona went down as he was trying to pass Vierge in the Southern Loop. Lecuona got a decent run through Doohan’s and looked on the inside of Vierge at turn two, but didn’t get far enough alongside his compatriot, who wiped the KTM rider’s nose sending the pair of them wide and Lecuona onto the grass, losing control and falling.

The next rider to drop out of the leading group was Remy Gardner, who crashed at MG (turn ten) on lap thirteen. It was a shame for Gardner, who had enjoyed a good home Grand Prix weekend, and was certainly in the mix for a top result.

That left Baldassarri, Fernandez, Mir, Binder, Vierge and Marini to fight it out for the win – at least until Baldassarri went down at MG with three laps to go.

With Baldassarri down, Binder made his move, climbing from fifth on lap 22 to second a lap later, before taking the lead on the penultimate lap, a lead which he held going into the final tour.

A strong move from Vierge on Fernandez at the Honda Hairpin let the two leaders escape a little, which was enough to ensure that the win was decided in a duel. Marini was unable to take advantage of Vierge and Fernandez running on as he ran on himself in the same corner.

A strong final lap from Binder ensured that he had enough distance to Mir going into MG – the last real overtaking opportunity of the lap – so the Spaniard couldn’t make a move, and had to focus on getting a good run from the final corner to try to slipstream Binder to the line.

Binder should have been far gone, really, but a good run through the final two corners for Mir, and what looked like too much spin for Binder gave the rookie a chance, although the South African’s tow proved insufficient to pull Mir by, and the 2016 Moto3 World Champion took his third win of the season.

Not only did Binder gain from this the satisfaction of taking victory, but he also surpassed his championship-contending teammate’s win total for the season, and heavily strengthened his position in third in the standings, which was also assisted by Baldassarri’s late crash.

Second place for Mir means he has one less race to try to claim his first Moto2 win before he steps up to MotoGP next season with Suzuki. Certainly the Phillip Island circuit saw a return to form for the reigning Moto3 World Champion, and he needs to carry this into Sepang and Valencia if he is to take a win before 2018 is through.

Joining Binder and Mir on the podium was Xavi Vierge, who won out in the all-Spanish fight for the bottom step of the podium. It was Vierge’s second podium of the season, and first since his injury in Austria. Like Mir, he will be aiming to carry this forward into the final two rounds in search of his first Moto2 World Championship victory.

Augusto Fernandez enjoyed yet another impressive performance for HP40 Pons, and built on his encouraging Japanese GP weekend one week ago. He missed the podium by 0.008 seconds to Vierge.

Fifth place for Luca Marini was well deserved. After the race he complained of chatter towards the end, which he offered as an explanation to his final lap mistake at Honda. Another solid result for him means that he looks to be ending the season in a good way, which is positive for him as he looks to 2019 and what should be a championship challenge.

Dominique Aegerter finished sixth in what was his best race of the season, which came at the end of his best weekend of the season. It looks like the team are not going to be on the grid next year, so on the weekend which marked one year since the death of Stefan Kiefer, Aegerter’s result was timely to say the least.

Miguel Oliveira eventually came home in eleventh place, with his championship rival Francesco Bagnaia 1.1 seconds behind in twelfth. Ultimately, Bagnaia did what he had to do, and lost only one point to Oliveira. Bagnaia now has the opportunity to take the championship in Sepang, needing just eleven points to become the 2018 Moto2 World Champion.