Hashtag: Ayumu Sasaki

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Moto3: Öncü wins Sachsenring Stunner

Deniz Öncü takes his first career win in style today in Germany. He waited until the final moment of the race to pounce on Ayumu Sasaki as both riders were in a league of their own today at Sachsenring. 

After a long time coming for Deniz Öncü, he has finally taken his first win with victory today at the GermanGP. Can we see a challenge for the title now for the rest of the season? Daniel Holgado took the final podium place today, extending his championship lead to 41 points before heading into Assen next weekend.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Collin Veijer flew off the line, going from 4th to 1st down into turn 1 in an interchanging first lap.  There was a brief 1-2 for the Husqvarna riders until Öncü passed both in one move. Öncü is always with creative overtakes. Sasaki was then back into 1st ahead of Öncü, and with Veijer dropping back into 4th, normal order resumed at the front. It was a great battle to start us off in the blazing sunshine.

David Alonso on the 1st lap went from 14th to 7th with an amazing start from the Sunday man. On lap 2, Holgado gets by Ivan Ortola just as Veijer goes down and out after a great start for the Dutchman. Holgado was posting the fastest lap times and was now up into 3rd place.

Midway through lap 3 and the top 6 in the championship were the top 6 in the race. They were led by Sasaki and with clear air at the front. He managed to push over half a second clear of Öncü, in 2nd, by the end of the lap.

Out of turn 13, as we begin lap 5 with Ortola now dicing with Öncü, the battle for 2nd place is only helping Sasaki keep his lead and build momentum. He is now pulling away from the chasing pack behind.

A third of the way through the race now and we have Sasaki leading to Öncü by 1.433 seconds. There was a trio of Öncü, Holgado and Ortola, and then a gap of 3.224 seconds to Masia in 5th. Öncü, with 16 laps to go, was trying to pull away from Holgado and Ortola, to catch Sasaki before it was too late.

Öncü determined to catch Sasaki now, reducing the gap by half a second on lap 9. A great lap for Öncü and Sasaki will want to respond. Öncü quicker again on lap 10 but only slightly with Sasaki maintaining that 1 second gap.

At the halfway mark the fight is on for the win. Öncü was likely still reeling from last weekend’s heartache in Mugello, but is now catching Sasaki and is just half a second behind. Öncü and Sasaki are clearly in a league of their own today, with a gap of 3.635 seconds to Holgado and Ortola in 3rd and 4th place respectively.

On lap 15 Öncü was seen whacking his leg, clearly struggling with some sort of injury, possibly cramp. Öncü was now multi-tasking and massaging a leg at the same time as keeping pace with Sasaki as they cross the line. Sasaki was only a few tenths of a second clear of the Turkish wonderkid, Öncü.  The front two are now 7.766 seconds clear of the rest of the field, with Holgado holding station in 3rd place ahead of Ortola in 4th.

With 7 podiums and 6 pole positions for Öncü, can we finally see a first career win for Öncü as we head into the final third of the race? Sasaki is without a win since Austria last year and both riders are desperate to get the victory here at Sachsenring.

Attacking up the hill in the short run to the line, Öncü was along the straight and still waiting to pounce. He was sitting patiently on the back wheel of Sasaki. Further back on the lap, Holgado was doing a great defensive job holding off Ortola for 3rd as their battle continued.

3 laps to go and a battle for 5th place has 8 riders gunning for it with David Alonso currently heading that group of riders.

Lap 22 of 23, we have Sasaki and Öncü battling for first with a gap to Holgado and Ortola behind of 11.955 seconds, who in turn are battling for 3rd. Ortola to the melee for 5th place behind with a gap of 4.750 seconds.

3.6 km left now, with one final lap remaining – everyone was wondering if Öncü can get ahead of Sasaki. Sasaki was leading out of turn 1 and Öncü nearly ran into Sasaki into turn 3.  It’s neck and neck with two more corners to go. Through turn 11, down the hill into turn 12, Öncü is on the wheel of Sasaki into turn 13 and makes the move on Sasaki.  A divebomb up the inside of Sasaki is what it takes to secure his first career win.

What a win for Deniz Öncü and what a fight for victory, leaving it until the last corner of the last lap to get the job done. It’s been a long time coming the first win for Öncü and I’m sure the joy of victory has healed that cramping leg pain.

Daniel Holgado rounded off the podium places, in 3rd, and extends his championship lead to a mighty 41 points ahead of Jaume Masia 2nd. Can Öncü, Sasaki, Masia and Ortola keep chipping away at Holgado’s lead next weekend in Assen?

Race Result
Image Credit: MotoGP
Moto3 Championship Standings After Round 7 
Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto3: Sasaki Shatters Sachsenring for Pole

Ayumu Sasaki pole setter for the moto3 2023 Saschenring race. image courtesy of IntactGP

Ayumu Sasaki takes pole position here in Germany shattering the lap record. Not just shattering the lap record,  but demolishing the rest of the field in the process. A clear +1.092 seconds ahead to championship rival Deniz Öncü in second.

Ayumu Sasaki Pole Setter for the 2023 Moto3 Sachsenring GP. Image courtesy of Intactgp

 

QUALIFYING 1

Taiyo Furusato was the first of the riders to post a quick time setting the benchmark for the session. Filippo Farioli shortly followed Furusato, topping the timesheets in the sunshine here at the Sachsenring.

The Q1 session then came to a halt with yellow flags quickly turning to red in sector 2 with Scott Ogden’s highside at turn 3. A nasty fall for the British rider and good to see Ogden walking away from the incident. However, clearly in pain holding his left leg.

As the session restarted and with five minutes left of the session, it was Honda Team Asia leading the way with Furusato and Mario Aji at the top of the leader board heading for Q2.  David Salvador crashing at turn 1 forced the yellow flags just as David Muñoz posted the fasted time. Another highside crash in the session, Salvador shaken but walked away from the incident ok.

A tightly contested Q1 in Moto3 and with a few minutes remaining, only a few tenths of a second separated the top 4 places.

Muñoz topped the session ahead of Xavier Artigas, Furusato and Farioli the top 4 making it through to the Q2 session.

QUALIFYING 2

With the grandstands packed as we headed into Q2, could any of the riders get ahead of Daniel Holgado in qualifying and take the fight to him in the championship. A key Q2 session here in Germany.

Sasaki set the benchmark time in the first run at pole position, with an impressive time of 1:25.963 seconds, 6 tenths clear of Öncü in second. The usual suspects of Ivan Ortola, Jaume Masia and Moreira rounding off the top 5 with Holgado in 6th.

Six minutes left of the session and all of the riders made their way out of the pits for their final go at pole position, could any of them get near Sasaki’s time? After a big crash yesterday in practice, Öncü clearly is a rider to never give up, was up on Sasaki half way through his lap only to fall short in sectors 3 and 4. Öncü cementing his second place reducing the gap to Sasaki. Now just +0.259 tenths of a second separating 1st and 2nd place.

With less than a minute to go in the session, a Moto3 snaking train of riders crossed the line to go for a final flying lap. Yamanaka overtaken by Holgado, the championship leader impatient chasing Sasaki’s time crossing the line only to improve to 5th place.

Holgado’s 5th place would only last a few seconds as just about every Moto3 rider crossed the finish line together in a flurry of changes in positions on the grid. Every rider in turn 1 glancing up at the screen to see where they would start in tomorrows race.

Next to cross the line and cross the line in some style was Sasaki. A lap time of 1:25.130 and new all time lap record for the #71 bike. The lap time was that quick from Sasaki that it was only 6 hundredths of a second away from getting into Q2 in Moto2! Incredible from the Husqvarna rider, a clear +1.092 seconds ahead of Öncü in 2nd place.  Öncü and Ortola rounding off the front row with Holgado starting 7th in tomorrow’s race.

Image credit: MotoGP 

Feature Image Credit: intactgp

 

 

 

 

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Moto3: Masia wins Chaotic Clash in COTA

Jaume Masia has come out on top, winning in COTA, ahead of a seven-way battle that rumbled on for much of the race. He was joined on the podium by Dennis Foggia and Andrea Migno.

It was the experienced Moto3 riders who came out on top at the Grand Prix of the Americas today. The chaotic race saw seven riders battling for only three podium positions for most of the race. Eventually, it was Jaume Masia who came out on top, taking the lead on the final lap.

Masia hasn’t won a race since the first round of the 2021 season, making it an emotional return to the top step of the podium for the Spanish rider. Having spent last year in the shadow of his teammate and eventual 2021 Moto3 champion, Pedro Acosta, this win will provide him with some much-needed confidence.

On the podium were fellow Italian riders Dennis Foggia, in second, and pole-sitter Andrea Migno, in third.

As the race commenced, it was Deniz Oncu who took an early lead, passing Migno at the first corner. He took rookie Diogo Moreira with him as he leapt from his starting position of sixth up to second. Oncu and Moreira were then battling for the lead and came to be side-by-side on the long straight. As they crossed the line to start the second lap, Moreira swerves across in to Oncu’s path. Oncu was forced to back off and Moreira stole the lead.

Further back, Kaito Toba enjoyed a good start as he leapt up from eighth to fifth. However, Scott Ogden had a more difficult start as he was shuffled back to 17th, despite claiming his best qualifying result and starting the race in 12th.

Foggia and Masia also struggled and, by lap 4, they were quickly shuffled back to 10th and 11th despite starting second and fifth respectively.

On the same lap, Oncu took the lead back from Moreira. Shortly after, Xavier Artigas got the best of both of them and flew his way up in to the lead. Two laps later and Moreira was back in the lead of the race, only to be overtaken by Oncu shortly after.

At this point, a number of other riders joined the leading pack, stating their intentions for the win. Championship leader Sergio Garcia closed up to the leading three but then clashed with Daniel Holgado, who crashed in to him on the final corner. Both riders were able to rejoin the race but Garcia eventually retired on lap 13 and Holgado crashed again on the final lap of the race. Holgado will be disappointed with his race result today, as he makes his return from injury.

Lap 8 saw Ayumu Sasaki and Masia join the leading group, taking second and third respectively behind Oncu.

For much of the rest of the race, seven riders were battling at the front of the pack – these riders were Masia, Sasaki, Oncu, Moreira, Foggia, Artigas, and Migno.

As the grid started their final lap, Migno was leading ahead of Masia in second and Foggia in third. Moreira crashed at the first corner of the lap – he was trying to hard to make his way through the leading pack and showed his inexperience with a rookie error that ruined his hard work.

Due to a number of incidents around the circuit, yellow flags were hampering the progress of most riders and left it difficult to find a way past Migno. However, down the long straight, Masia made his move and took the lead. He went out wide and found himself on the rumble strips, giving some hope to Migno. However, as Migno tried to make his way around the outside of Masia at turn 19, giving it everything he had in an attempt to win, he ran wide and let Foggia through the inside to take second. Masia remained unbeatable out in front and crossed the line in first.

Just missing out on a podium finish was Sasaki in fourth, Oncu in fifth and Artigas in sixth.

Izan Guevara was deemed to have jumped the start and was given a double long lap penalty. As this wasn’t served quickly enough, the penalty then went up to three long laps. This should have ruined his race but he was able to climb back up the field and ended the day in seventh.

The top ten was rounded out by Carlos Tatay, Ricciardo Rossi and Tatsuki Suzuki in eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

Championship Standings

Thanks to Foggia’s second-place finish today, he has now jumped to the top of the championship standings. He leads Garcia, in second, by 16 points. Migno is in third ahead of Guevara in fourth. Oncu is sitting in fifth ahead of today’s winner, Masia, in sixth.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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