Tag: MotoGP

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Moto3: Misano Masterclass from Alonso!

Image Credit: MotoGP

Glorious sunshine today in San Marino and yet another glorious Moto3 race to match. Rookie teenager David Alonso took his 3rd victory in 4 Grand Prix’s here in Misano.

The Colombian wonderkid Alonso clearly a title contender now and after a thrilling last lap, saw Alonso snatch the win from Leopard Racing’s Jaume Masia and KTMs Deniz Öncü to victory. 

Image Credit: Aspar Team

Image Credit: Aspar Team

AS IT HAPPENED

A great start from Ayumu Sasaki and took the lead into turn 1, but it was short lived as pole sitter Masia got by Sasaki on the brakes into turn 4. Front row starters Sasaki and Kaito Toba swapped places in the early parts of the opening lap only for Toba to go from 2nd to 5th on lap 1 as Diogo Moreira and David Alonso blasted by.

It was the first front row start since 2019 for Kaito Toba, 51 races. Long overdue from the Japanese Squadra Corse rider.

 

Masia was keen to get on with it in the early stages of the race and quickly pulled a gap to over a second to the chasing pack behind. The more the group fought and diced with other, the better it was for Masia in the opening stages. Masia just able to concentrate on his own race and mind his own business at the front.

Coming to the end of lap 3, Öncü was now at the head of the pack and had a gap to Masia of 1.229 seconds to chase down. The group started to realise that the more they fought the better it was for Masia, so allowed Öncü to chase Masia down.

Patience is rare in Moto3 and as Moreira set the fastest lap of the race, was up on the back wheel of Öncü and trying to get by. Both Öncü and Moreira gradually starting to reel Masia in.

Meanwhile, Sasaki was being hounded by the young wonderkids Munoz and Alonso, but championship leader Daniel Holgado was 10th. Holgado seemingly not making much progress at the start of lap 6. A long way still to go in the San Marino Grand Prix but Holgado needed to get a move on soon.

Lap 6 and Öncü was clearly dialled in now. Fastest lap of the race and Öncü  halved the gap to Masia in front on the opening two sectors of the lap. Masia only had a 0.280 seconds gap to Öncü in 2nd. Öncü was close enough on the final corner to try and go for the lead into turn 1 at the start of lap 7.

A quarter of the race gone now and we had Masia leading with Öncü on his back wheel and just behind those two was Moreira. A lead group of 3 fighting it out for the win in the sunshine in Misano.

 

Masia’s pace slowing brought the pack back together. At this point it looking more and more likely we will have a big group of riders soon all fighting for the win. Öncü gets it wrong dropping him back to the group with Sasaki and Alonso and Munoz in 3rd. Öncü with it all to do again to catch the leaders.

Halfway through the race and after Masia’s early getaway we now have a lead group of 7 lead by Masia all interchanging positions especially at turn 4 which is a favourite spot for overtakes.

Onto lap 11 now and coming out of turn 10 Masia makes a mistake and opens the door for the rest to come through. Öncü and Munoz don’t need a second invitation and pounce on Masia with Öncü now taking over the lead of the race with Munoz 2nd and Masia in 3rd.

Through the fastest section of the track turns 11, 12 and 13, Masia chases down and gets by Munoz. A great overtake and Masia was eager to get back in the lead.

With 8 laps to go Öncü was leading as Masia set the fastest lap of the race in 2nd, with Munoz 3rd. Holgado looked like his championship lead of 13pts was going to shrink in Misano as Holgado was currently in 11th place.

7 laps left and the pace was heating up with Alonso setting the fastest lap of the race just as Öncü received a track limits warning mid way through the lap. Öncü lead from Masia 2nd, Alonso 3rd and Munoz 4th. This quartet of riders all still had a great opportunity to take the victory. Öncü now with his track limits warning had to be inch perfect for the remainder of the race.

Munoz at the end of lap 15 on the last corner made a great move up the inside of Masia. Munoz now hunted down Öncü and we know after Öncü wiped out Munoz last weekend in Barcelona. Munoz would be looking for revenge in the final few laps to take the victory away from Öncü.

Masia hadn’t given up though and through his favourite fast section of turns 11, 12 and 13 gets by Munoz and up into 2nd.

With only a couple of laps left now in the race, Öncü lead with Masia close behind in 2nd. Alonso and Munoz needed to get up to the leaders if they still wanted to win the race.

Öncü on the penultimate lap of the race resisted the pressure from Masia and Alonso as we headed into the last lap it could of been any of the top 3 to take the win. Munoz after a scare earlier settled for 4th.

THE LAST LAP 

Öncü lead into turn 1 as Alonso set the fastest lap of the race.  Alonso got by into 2nd place with only 6corners left of this San Marino Grand Prix.

Onto the final few corners of the race, Masia went up the inside of Alonso just as Alonso ran wide. Masia then dove up the inside of Öncü. 3 of them side by side through turn 14. Masia managed to block Öncü to take a position but opened the door for Alonso to swoop into the lead and hold on to take the win in Misano. What a last lap and what a win for the Colombian wonderkid David Alonso. The 3rd victory in the last 4 races for Alonso and took this win by just +0.036 seconds to Masia in 2nd. Öncü taking 3rd.

With Daniel Holgado finishing way down in 16th place, its set the championship alight. Only 21pts now separate the top 5 riders in the championship. With a brief break next week before we then set off to India. Sasaki, Masia, Öncü and now Alonso will all be thinking they can overtake Holgado and take championship glory.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Race Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Martin Misano Masterclass

Image Credit: MotoGP

Jorge Martin was on fire today in Misano. Not only setting a new all time lap record around this Misano circuit but annihilating the field in a fantastic qualifying session. A session that sent a clear message to title rivals Pecco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi that The Martinator is doing all he can in the fight for the world championship this season.

The top 3 title rivals all on the front row for the Tissot Sprint race and main Grand Prix tomorrow. Both Pecco and Bezzecchi are still suffering from injuries this weekend. Can Martin now take advantage of this and win both races this weekend?

 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Last weekends winner in Catalunya, Aleix Espargaro was a surprise name in Q1 and was keen to get going. KTMs Jack Miller after a shocking practice session was also in Q1 with a lot of work to do.

Both factory Yamaha’s Quartararo and Morbidelli swapped places at the top of the timings early on in the session and just as Pol Espargaro on the GASGAS split them at the top of the timings, Pol’s left front tucked underneath him and crashed out at turn 2. Pol ok though and sprinted back to the pits for the spare bike.

10mins left of the session and the riders come through setting their next set of flying laps. Miguel Oliveira now at the top with Fabio 2nd. Aleix still yet to set a fast time on the factory Aprilia.

The riders headed back into the pits to make some last minute adjustments and got some fresh boots on for the remaining few mins of the session. Aleix and Miller still with a lot of work to do here and under a lot of pressure to get through to Q2.

With 2mins remaining we had a 2nd crash of the session for Pol Espargaro at turn 13, Miguel top of the timings and a stunning lap from Stefan Bradl pushes himself up to 2nd.

Aleix Espargaro plucks a time out of nowhere and puts himself fastest. Zarco unable to get through but had one last lap to get to get a time crossing the line with a few seconds left in the session

Fabio on the factory Yamaha just missed out on a Q2 place, with Miguel topping the timings at the end of the session. Both Aprilia’s 1-2 in Q1 with Oliveira and Espargaro going through to Q2.

Jack Miller will be starting way down in 18th place for the Tissot Sprint and the main race tomorrow. A disastrous weekend here for Miller in Misano so far.

Qualifying 2

As the riders head out for Q2 its VR46s Bezzecchi leading the way to start the first flying lap of the session.

As the lap times started to come through in the early stages of the Q2 session, KTMs Brad Binder sat atop the timings with Martin 2nd, followed closely by this weekends wildcard and legend Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa showing everyone that class is permanent.

The next set of flying laps come through and after setting the all time lap record yesterday, Bezzecchi now sits on provisional pole with Martin moving to 2nd. Both pushing as hard as they can to take pole position here in for the San Marino Grand Prix.

Reigning world champion Pecco Bagnaia, after round the clock physio and treatment from last weekend’s horrific crash, moves up to 4th. Pecco used every ounce of grit and determination, with a dash of adrenaline, to drag himself through this weekend’s qualifying session.

Martin now back to the top with a 1:30.832 setting a new all time lap record beating the time set by Bezzecchi yesterday in practice.

Riders headed back to the pits for the last minute changes for the last 6mins of the session. Pecco was the first out of the pits, leading the pack onto the track to battle for pole position.

The riders then come through setting the times and Jorge Martin smashes his all time lap record now with provisional pole time set at 1:30.390. Pedrosa clearly a Misano specialist, put himself onto the front row briefly, but in the end topped by championship protagonists Bezzecchi and Pecco as they come through taking to 2nd and 3rd. Pecco at one point had everyone watching in disbelief as at one point he was on target during his last flying lap to take pole position.

An incredible qualifying session here in Misano. One of the best pole position laps we have witnessed for some time. A masterclass in Misano from the The Martinator Martin!

Starting Grid 

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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MotoGP: The Martinator Sprints to victory in Misano

Jorge Martin continued his great form from this morning with a dominant win in this afternoon’s Tissot Sprint race. Championship rival Marco Bezzecchi finished 2nd and reigning world champ Pecco Bagnaia finished in 3rd.

Both Bezzecchi and Pecco carrying injuries into this weekend from last weekend in Barcelona, both using all of the painkillers and adrenaline they could get a hold of to get through the sprint race today. Heroic performances from both riders.

Pecco fended off legend Dani Pedrosa and late charging Brad Binder at the end of the sprint, both KTM riders tried all they could to get by Pecco in the closing laps of the race. With his title rivals not at 100%, can Martin capitalise on this and win the main grand prix tomorrow? When Martin is in this kind of form, its hard to imagine any rider being able to stop The Martinator. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Martin got off the line and off to a great start leading into turn 1. Pecco close in behind Martin through turns 2 and 3 with a gap already to Bezzecchi 3rd who was leading the rest of the group behind.

Pedrosa managing to get up the inside of Maverick Viñales into4th with Pol Espargaro up 6 places on the opening lap. A great start given the KTM GASGAS rider crashed twice this morning.

 

Onto the second lap the stand out overtake of the race happened as Binder went up the inside of both Luca Marini and Aleix Espargaro in one corner, up into 6th place. Binder was determined to catch those in front before its too late. The lead group of 4 already pulling away from the rest of the field now forming a gap at the front. Martin leading from Bezzecchi now up to 2nd pulling away from Pecco and Pedrosa 3rd and 4th.

 

Over the next few laps, the VR46 star Bezzecchi tried all he could to catch Martin ahead, losing it at one point at turn 16, gifting half a second back to Martin who controlled the race at the front throughout.

Binder eager to carry on the charge to the front was in a great battle for 5th place with Viñales and Marini. Eventually Binder coming out on top and keen to press on to catch the wildcard Pedrosa and Pecco battling for 3rd ahead of him.

Aleix Espargaro at this point was unable to keep pace with the battle in front eventually settling in 8th place. Aleix will be hoping for better tomorrow given he won the race last time out in Catalunya.

Moving into the final stages of the Tissot Sprint and Martin maintained his gap to Bezzecchi controlling the race from the front. Pedrosa was closing up behind the injured Pecco , ever keen to try and get onto the podium with only a few laps to go.

Just as Pedrosa was closing onto the back wheel of Pecco, Pecco responded putting his personal best lap time of the race so far. An incredible performance here with the pain he must be suffering after the horrific crash last weekend in Barcelona. Its nothing short of a miracle that Pecco is here competing this weekend.

Lap 11 of 13 now and as Pecco runs wide Pedrosa is right up behind Pecco with 2 laps to go. The first two places were sown up at this point, as Martin was over a second ahead of Bezzecchi in 2nd. Almost every rider in the field was on the brink of a long lap penalty, as Binder closed in on the Pedrosa and Pecco battle for 3rd.

Last lap now and the KTMs of Pedrosa and Binder are right up behind Pecco as Pecco is still resisting this charge hanging onto 3rd.

Into turns 11, 12 and 13 the factory Ducati just glides through with ease as Pecco creates just enough of a gap to keep 3rd place.

Jorge Martin takes the chequered flag and wins the Tissot Sprint with a commanding and faultless performance. VR46 star man Bezzecchi takes a well deserved 2nd and a superb performance given the pain Bezzecchi must be in with the carrying hand injury.

Race Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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Moto2: Dixon Takes First Pole of the Season

Jake Dixon takes his first pole of the season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from Aron Canet and Ai Ogura. Championship leader Pedro Acosta was only able to manage ninth place for tomorrow’s grid and his closest challenger in Tony Arbolino was unable to get himself out of the first qualifying session.

The first qualifying session was uneventful with Somkiat Chantra, Sergio Garcia, Filip Salac and Barry Baltus occupying the top four positions for at the end of the session. The early pace setter in this session was Bo Bendsneyder but dropped down to fifth, meaning he will start tomorrow’s race from 19th.

Arbolino was unable to set a time fast enough to progress due to the bike looking unstable on his last lap, meaning he needed to come into the pits and bail out of the lap.

The four riders who came up through Q1 set the initial pace at the start of the second qualifying session with Salac topping the times after the first runs. Following the second set of fast laps Ogura had set the fastest time followed by Albert Arenas and rookie Sergio Garcia.

With over half the session to go, Joe Roberts and Alonso Lopez had not set a representative lap time.

Acosta and Dixon circulated around the track together towards the end of the session, offering each other a tow on alternating fast laps. With the Brit following the Spaniard, Dixon set the fastest time during the qualifying session, a 1:43.983. After swapping places, Acosta was being led around by Dixon, but the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider exceeded track limits, meaning that his lap was deleted.

Canet was also riding around the circuit with a partner, Manuel Gonzalez. This pair helped each other to achieve second and fourth place respectively. On the other hand, Ogura spent most of his time on the track alone but was still able to achieve third place.

That quick time from Arenas set earlier in the session was the quickest time he was able to achieve, and this was good enough to place him in fifth place on tomorrow’s grid.

The highest-placed non-Kalex rider was Fermin Aldeguer in sixth place, followed by his teammate Lopez. Garcia was the highest qualifying rookie in eighth place, being the only rookie to make it through to the second round of qualifying,

Due to having a fast time deleted due to track limits, Acosta only starts in ninth place on the grid tomorrow. Baltus rounds out the top ten on the grid tomorrow.

Sam Lowes was unable to set a lap time fast enough to break into the top ten and is joined by Chantra on the fourth row of the grid. The fifth row of the grid contains Salac, Roberts and Celestino Vietti, who struggled to set fast times around the Spanish circuit.

Tomorrow’s race is shaping up to be an exciting 21 laps with Acosta having to work his way through the field to continue extending his championship lead.

Feature Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X (https://twitter.com/AsparTeam)

2023 CATALUNYA MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, BARCELONA – QUALIFYING RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM BIKE TIME
1 Jake Dixon GBR Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 1m 44.089s
2 Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 1m 44.184s
3 Ai Ogura JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 1m 44.214s
4 Manuel Gonzalez SPA Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 1m 44.215s
5 Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 1m 44.270s
6 Fermín Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 1m 44.276s
7 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 1m 44.344s
8 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 1m 44.374s
9 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 1m 44.374s
10 Barry Baltus BEL Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 1m 44.419s
11 Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 44.458s
12 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 1m 44.470s
13 Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 1m 44.490s
14 Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 44.682s
15 Celestino Vietti ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 1m 44.838s
16 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 1m 44.906s
17 Zonta Vd Goorbergh NED Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 1m 44.983s
18 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 1m 45.202s
19 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 44.930s
20 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 45.021s
21 Senna Agius AUS Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 1m 45.104s
22 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 1m 45.220s
23 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 45.248s
24 Borja Gomez SPA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 1m 45.314s
25 Rory Skinner GBR OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 1m 45.607s
26 Mattia Rato ITA Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 45.784s
27 Alberto Surra ITA Forward Team (Forward) 1m 45.905s
28 Izan Guevara SPA Asterius GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 1m 45.950s
29 Kohta Nozane JPN Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 1m 45.983s
30 Yeray Ruiz SPA Forward Team (Forward) 1m 46.321s

 

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Moto3: Ortola Takes Pole in Barcelona

Image Credit: Joel Cooper Photography LTD

Ivan Ortola for the Angeluss MTA Team takes his first career pole position today in Moto3 at the Catalunya circuit. Ortola takes pole position right at the end of the session with Deniz Öncü in 2nd and Joel Kelso rounding off the front row in 3rd.

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

There were some big names in the first round of qualifying, including championship leader Daniel Holgado along with Xavi Artigas and Diogo Moreira. Holgado will be keen to make the top 4 to progress into Qualifying 2.

Both CFMOTO Racing riders, Artigas and Kelso, were posting the quickest times early on in the session.

The rest of the field were now coming across the line but it was still Holgado topping the timesheets with Moreira in 2nd, David Salvador in 3rd and David Munoz making up the top 4 heading to Q2.

There was lots of gesturing and head shaking from riders in this Q1 session – they were clearly frustrated as every rider is keen to be bunched up, looking for any extra tenth of a second getting by finding a tow around this circuit. There was a common theme of just follow Holgado around the circuit emerging in Q1, with everyone hoping to be dragged into Q2.

Moreira was the surprise rider to be knocked out at the end of the session, as he was beaten by Scott Ogden. Moreira thought he’d done enough to get through at the end of the session but that wasn’t the case. This weekend, Moreira is sporting an Ayrton Senna themed helmet but I don’t think this is a qualifying session Ayrton Senna would have written home about.

Holgado eventually topped the session with Kelso, Taiyo Furusato and Ogden also progressing into Q2.

Qualifying 2

Into Q2 we go – Can Collin Veijer take back-to-back pole positions in Barcelona, with the Dutchman on a superb run of form lately? Veijer had set the fastest time in FP3 this morning.

Holgado took the pace he found in Q1 quickly into Q2, setting the fastest time for the rest of the field to chase early in the session. Masia ran into traffic and had to bail on his first flying lap.

Usual suspects of Ayumu Sasaki and Öncü topped the leader board as the session progressed, with 9 minutes remaining. Öncü with the quickest time set of 1:49.326, and on provisional pole.

Sector 2 then lit up in yellow flags as Veijer suffered a high side crash on the exit of turn 5. Veijer seems ok though and was thankfully quickly back up onto the bike, as Öncü manages to avoid the crash.

Masia then got his first flying lap in and took over at the top of the leader board. Masia was frustrated by the riders behind who were hounding him to get a tow.

With 6 minutes left of the session, there was still time for a few flying laps and pole position was still very much up for grabs. The riders were now heading back to the pits to make any last minute adjustments before heading back out to fight to pole position.

Less than 3 minutes were on the clock when all of the riders were heading out for their 2nd run. As the chequered flag fell, all of the riders on track just had one last shot at taking pole position. Championship leader Holgado leads the pack into turn 1.

With fastest sectors lighting up for several riders, the pack made their way round on the final flying lap. Coming into sector 3 we had Holgado, Ortola, Öncü and Masia all on flying laps and chasing pole position.

As the bunch came round the final two corners the lap times came thick and fast, with Ivan Ortola taking pole position from Öncü and Kelso also managing to get onto the front row by taking 3rd.

It’s the third time in the last four Grand Prix we’ve seen maiden pole positions in Moto3. I’m sure Öncü will be looking for back-to-back victories when he starts on the front row tomorrow. Holgado also will be looking to make up as much ground as possible, starting from the middle of row 4 tomorrow. Can Masia bring himself back into the championship fight with a win? With the starting grid as it is for tomorrow, Moto3 is all set for another crazy Grand Prix.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Spectacular Bagnia Wins Sprint Again

Pecco Bagnaia wins the Austrian GP Sprint race by just over two seconds ahead of Brad Binder and Jorge Martin.

After qualifying on pole position this morning, Bagnaia was able to have a great start from the best position on the grid. Alongside him was Maverick Vinales who struggled with the start and dropped down the order. From third place, Binder jumped up into second place and started chasing down the Italian rider.

After the first corner, Jack Miller was also able to capitalise on the poor start from Vinales and improved to third place.

As the riders came to take the first corner, Martin took the inside line and had contact with Fabio Quartararo who in turn touched Vinales. The Aprilia rider then had contact with Marco Bezzechi who had to retire on the next lap. Other riders that were involved in the incident were Miguel Olivera, Johan Zarco and Enea Bastianini.

Following this incident, Quartararo dropped down to twentieth position and Vinales brought up the rear of the field.

Binder continued to show his pace as he caught up to Bagnaia quickly and began to look for places on the track pass the Italian rider. Both Bagnaia and Binder began to break away from Miller in third place and by the end of the first lap, they had a one second lead over the Australian rider.

Martin was handed a track limits warning during the second lap, one of those was likely to be from the lap one turn one incident.

Nakagami crashed on the second lap and was unable to continue with the race.

Bagnaia started setting fastest lap after fastest lap and started to move ahead of Binder, leaving him about a second behind the leader.

Luca Marini caught up to Miller and started to see where the KTM rider was struggling around the circuit. As these two fought, Martin was able to catch the pair too.

Marini was able to pass Miller on the start finish straight on lap 6 and Martin was also attempting to get past too however it would be made easy for the Pramac rider when Miller ran wide at turn three. On the next lap, Martin attacked Marini into the chicane, but they touched each other, causing the Italian rider to crash out. The incident was investigated, but no action was taken.

On the ninth lap, Quartararo was given a long lap penalty for irresponsible riding. This incident occurred a few laps prior and was when he went to overtake Lorenzo Salvadori, the pair touched causing the Aprilia rider to crash out.

Quartararo took the long lap penalty on the twelfth lap and dropped down the order and was unable to make much progress due to there only being two laps left.

Zarco had to retire the bike on the penultimate lap after being involved in the first lap incident.

Brad Binder chasing down Pecco Bagnaia at the 2023 Austrian GP Sprint race. Image courtesy of KTM/Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)

Bagnaia took the chequered flag 2.056 seconds ahead of Binder who in turn was 5.045 seconds ahead of Jorge Martin. Alex Marquez took fourth place after overtaking Miller. Pol Espargaro led his brother Aleix over the line to take sixth and seventh place respectively.

Vinales was able to improve to eighth place after being in last place at the end of the first lap. Franco Morbidelli and Marc Marquez rounded out the top ten

Fabio Di Giannatonio, Joan Mir and Bastianini occupied the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth places. Raul Fernandez, Fabio Quartararo, Iker Lecuona and Augusto Fernandez completed the riders who finished the race.

2023 AUSTRIAN MOTOGP, RED BULL RING – SPRINT RACE RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF
1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) 21m 1.844s
2 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +2.056s
3 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP23) +5.045s
4 Alex Marquez SPA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +8.252s
5 Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM (RC16) +11.365s
6 Pol Espargaro SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16) +11.816s
7 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +11.960s
8 Maverick Viñales SPA Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23) +11.984s
9 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +13.634s
10 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +14.435s
11 Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Ducati (GP22) +15.251s
12 Joan Mir SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +16.740s
13 Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati Lenovo (GP23) +18.825s
14 Raul Fernandez SPA RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) +19.536s
15 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +22.321s
16 Iker Lecuona SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +25.593s
17 Augusto Fernandez SPA Tech3 GASGAS (RC16)* +25.789s
  Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP23) DNF
  Luca Marini ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
  Lorenzo Savadori ITA Aprilia Factory (RS-GP23) DNF
  Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF
  Marco Bezzecchi ITA Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) DNF
  Miguel Oliveira POR RNF Aprilia (RS-GP22) DNF

Featured Image courtesy of Ducati

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MotoGP: Martin Sprints to Sachsenring Glory

Jorge Martin was on another level in a superb sprint race victory here at the Sachsenring. Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller rounding off the top three in 2nd and 3rd as the Martinator marched on in his 2023 title challenge.

The crowd were witness to a fantastic battle in the early stages between the front 3 riders and a great fight for 4th place which was taken, in the end, by Luca Marini.  More disappointment for both Yamaha and Aprilia with only Aleix Espargaro managing to finish in the top 10.

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Jack Miller, after a great start, lead into turn 1 on the first lap only for Pecco Bagnaia to come back past Miller into turn 2.

At the end of lap 1,  Bagnaia ran too hot into turn 1 as Miller moved back past into 1st and created a bit of a gap at the front. Jorge Martin  wasup 3 places in the race by the start of lap 2.

As the front three were battling, it was Brad Binder setting the fastest lap of the race at the end of lap 2 with Marc Marquez running wide. Marquez is constantly on the limit with his Honda this weekend, which has resulted in a lot of crashes so far. Halfway through lap 3, Bagnaia made his way back to the front down the hill of turn 11, back past Miller, only for the lead to quickly switch back to Miller down into turn 1 at the start of lap 4. A fantastic battle between last year’s teammates.

The overtake and key moment of the race has to go to the Martinator, Jorge Martin, as he blasted up the inside of both Bagnaia and Miller into the lead. An outstanding move from Martin!

On lap 6, Martin set the fastest lap of the sprint whilst building a gap to Bagnaia in the chasing group of 4 behind. Martin was pushing the gap above 1 second for the first time and trying to stretch out a lead at the front. Martin posted fastest lap after fastest lap and was on another level here at the Sachsenring.

It was a story of Ducati vs KTM in the top 5 with Yamaha nowhere, down in 14th and 15th. Aprilia were also outside of the top ten. With 9 laps to go in the sprint race, Martin is now 1.327s ahead of Bagnaia in second and despite Bagnaia doing his best lap of the race, he’s still unable to respond to the blistering pace of Martin out at the front.

Starting lap 10 of 15, Martin was well ahead now with a gap of 1.696s to Bagnaia in 2nd. Bagnaia was also half a second clear of Miller in 3rd.

Coming into the final phase of the sprint race, the top 3 seemed to have the positions locked in. The battle for 4th intensified with Binder battling with Marini. Binder was unable to outbreak the VR46 team rider into turn 1 as the battle for 4th place continued with 4 laps to go.

At the start of lap 14 and Binder was trying all he can to get by Marin, again into turn 1, however he was unable to make the move stick. Marini was holding station in 4th and showing superb defensive skills and was shutting the door whenever he could on Binder.

On the last lap of the sprint, Zarco managed to barge his way by Binder to take 5th but this then forced an investigation by the stewards. In the end, Marini managed to hold off everyone to take a great 4th place.

Martin crossed the line +2.468s clear of Bagnaia in 2nd and is now just 21 points shy of Bagnaia’s lead in the championship. Martin is mounting a serious challenge to our reigning champion and proved to be just too quick today for Bagnaia and Miller. Miller said, post race, that there is still more to come from the KTM rider and we’re all set for a great race tomorrow.

How it finished
Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Bagnaia takes pole in Sachsenring

Pecco Bagnaia reigns supreme at the Sachsenring with his 15th career pole position in MotoGP.  Back-to-back pole positions for the world champion as the incredible run of form continued here in Germany. 

A Sachsenring stunner here and a qualifying session full of drama. After a sea of yellow flags and laps cancelled, it was the Bologna bullet holding out at the end of Q2 to take pole position. 

Image Credit: Ducati Corse

QUALIFYING 1

Nicknamed the SachsenKING, Marc Marquez lead the pack of riders into Q1 on an ever changing track and set the benchmark time for the rest of the riders to chase posting the fastest time early on in the session.

With eight minutes left of the session, Marquez headed back out on the medium rain tyres to see if the track was ready for slicks, only to end up sprinting back to the pits for the spare bike, after the first of what turned into many falls throughout qualifying session for Marquez.

With time ticking away and riders in the pits looking on, they all had a tough call to make on what tyres to head back out on for the rest of Q1. After advice from his KTM teammate Jack Miller, Brad Binder was the first to gamble and head out onto the track on slick tyres.

With 30 seconds remaining of Q1, only two riders had the slick tyres on and this proved to be the right call with Binder and Marquez moving into Q2.

QUALIFYING 2

The battle for pole was on and with the sunshine now beating down onto the circuit, all of the riders headed out onto the track with slick tyres.

With ten minutes of the session remaining, Marquez was on course to posting the fastest time only to go over the handlebars coming out of turn 13. Marquez yet again seen sprinting back to the pits determined to get back out in Q2.

With Luca Marini now crossing the line going quickest, we then saw teammate Marco Bezzecchi crash out at turn 13. A copy cat like crash to the one we saw only moments earlier with Marquez.  With yellow flags now waving in sector 4 and with Bezzecchi now sprinting back to the pits, we were set for a hectic battle for pole in the second half of the session.

With just two minutes left to go in Q2, Johann Zarco goes quickest only to be topped a few seconds later by Miller. Fastest lap times just kept coming as we were shaping up for a thrilling finish to Q2.

Then just as all of the sectors lit up in yellow flags, Marini posted the quickest time only to be fractionally topped by Bagnaia, which would turn out to be pole position with a lap time of 1’21.4090 seconds. Just 0.078th of a second quicker to Marini in second place.

With Zarco going down and another fall from Marquez forcing the yellow flags, it caused a bunch of riders lap times to be cancelled and in doing so kept Bagnaia on top to take pole position.

Starting grid for the 2023 Saschenring MotoGP race. Image courtesy of MotoGP

 

Feature Image Credit:  courtesy of Ducati

 

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Moto3: Close and frantic in Mugello as Holgado snatches victory

On a glorious day in the Tuscan hillside, Daniel Holgado stamped his authority on the Moto3 championship with a slipstreamed snatching victory in Mugello. Holgado now heads to the Sachsenring next weekend with a 35 point lead in the championship. With no victory from pole position so far this season, an ongoing curse causing major heartache for our Turkish teenage wonderkid, Deniz Öncü. Losing a race in the last few metres can’t be easy to take, and I’m sure Öncü will be gunning for revenge next weekend in Germany.

Image Credit: Leopard Racing 

AS IT HAPPENED

With no threat of rain and the track temperature at 36°, we all know that Moto3 at Mugello produces a blistering slipstreaming battle at the front and this race was no exception.

Before we got going, Romano Fenati stalled at the start having to start in the pit lane watching the rest of the pack blast down to San Donato (turn 1) with Holgado moving up to 2nd. Pushing hard on lap 1, Öncü managed to create a  bit of a gap in his favoured sector 3, only to be swallowed up, caught and past on the straight by Holgado and Ayumu Sasaki closing out the first lap of the race.

Approaching the end of lap 3 and into lap 4,  a snaking slipstreaming train of Moto3 riders dicing into turn 1 was becoming common practice for the race. A leading group of 8 riders now lead by Öncü onto lap 4, and it was anyone’s guess at this point as to who would come out on top.

Each time Öncü tried to break free from the pack, the group of riders behind had other ideas, especially Sasaki in the early stages of the race. Sasaki clearly comfortable sitting in second place and dicing with Holgado, Öncü and Jaume Masia at every opportunity. Could any rider break free and build a lead?


As the laps ticked by it was becoming clear that whoever was leading this race after the last turn of the last lap, it was going to be difficult to win the race.  A special mention to Öncü and the overtake around the outside of Masia at the start lap 6 into San Donato it was definitely my favourite overtake of the race.

 

As we move past half distance, we had a tightly bunched up group of 5 riders continuing to dice and swap places at every opportunity. With 7 laps left to go any of the 5 riders could take victory in the Tuscan hillside. Öncü, Sasaki, Masia, Holgado and David Alonso all showing what they’re made of as the Italian crowd looked on with awe as to who would come out on top.

Snaking along the straight with 3 laps to go, it was clear that this was shaping up to be a last lap thriller of a finish and we weren’t disappointed. Even as the leading pack all received conduct warnings, it wasn’t going to stop any of them in pursuit of victory in Mugello.

Now heading into the last lap of the race, Sasaki was 3 bike lengths ahead heading down into San Donato and leading the race coming out of turn  1. Out of turn 2 and into turn 3, Holgado didn’t wait any longer to make a move and take the lead of the race. Holgado holding station for now in the next few corners until Öncü made a move in his beloved Arrabbiatta 2 (Turn 9). Now with only 5 corners left, Öncü clearly desperately clinging on to first as we headed into the final few corners. As the group wound round the last corner to take the straight for the final time and with only a few metres to go for Öncü,  the slipstream blasted Holgado by Öncü taking the chequered flag and first win away from Öncü, gifting Holgado’s 3rd win of the season. A cruel and thrilling finish to an action packed Moto3 race in Mugello.

As we move on to Germany this week in the second race of our triple header of back to back races, will Öncü manage to finally get his maiden victory? Will anyone manage to put a dint in Holgado’s championship lead?

Image Credit: MotoGP

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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Moto3: Öncü Takes Mugello Pole

With dark clouds lurking in the skies over the circuit in the Tuscan hillside, we headed into the Moto3 qualifying session here in Mugello unsure if the sunshine would hold out for the riders. After nothing short of perfection so far this weekend, could anyone put a stop to Red Bull KTM rider Deniz Öncü taking pole position?

With the longest straight on the MotoGP calendar, as always it’s a battle of the slip stream in Moto3. In Q1, we saw Ryusei Yamanaka dragging Joel Kelso along to post the fastest time. Kelso, with a fantastic lap of 1:57.282, returned to the pits confident of his Q2 slot which was later proved to be right.

As all of the riders took to the track for a final run at getting into Q2, and with only 5 seconds left of the session, Jose Antonio Rueda moved up into 2nd in the timings only to be quickly booted out of the top 4 by a swarm of riders crossing the finish line. Taiyo Furusato, Stefano Nepa, Vicente Perez and Kelso ended Q1 as your top 4 riders. 

As we headed into Q2 the battle for pole was on. Deniz Öncü has been outstanding so far this weekend and quickest in every session. Sat in the pits, the riders all picked who to follow out onto the circuit to get the best slip stream possible.

In the early stages of Q2, Daniel Holgado and Öncü were dicing with each other during their first runs, nearly coming together at one point and resulting in Öncü diving into the pits to wait for a better spot to go back out.

With 8 minutes of the session left and all of the riders were now posting flying laps. It was Kelso who set the fastest lap with Diogo Moreira, Ayumu Sasaki  and Jaume Masia rounding up the top 4. All riders headed back to the pits after their first attempts at pole, only to leave Öncü and Sasaki still pushing on track.

With the track empty and taking full advantage, Öncü quickly posted the fastest time of 1:56.135, nearly half a second clear of Kelso in 2nd. As the riders now made their way back out of the pits for the second attempt, they had a mountain to climb to claim pole position here in Mugello. Coming to the end of their out laps and half the pack blasting down the long straight into turn 1 , could anyone challenge Öncü’s time with only a minute remaining in the session?

Despite having provisional pole, Öncü wasn’t slowing down for anyone, again going faster and posting a 1:56.020 chasing that elusive 1:55 lap time. As the swarm of riders crossed the line on their next flying laps it was Kelso hanging onto 2nd with Sasaki in 3rd and Moreira 4th.

A brilliant qualifying for Kelso but an even better performance from Öncü who showed total dominance and ended the session half a second quicker than anyone else. Sasaki, true to form, ended up on the front row of the grid, his fifth front row start of the season. Rounding off the front row for the race tomorrow is championship leader Holgado promoted to 3rd on the grid after the penalties.

Top 10:

1. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:56.020
2. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) + 0.591
3. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) +0.780
4. Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) +0.844
5. Ricardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) +0.983
6. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) +1.077
7. Andrea Migno (CIP Green Power) +1.323
8. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) +1.338
9. Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team) +1.454
10. David Alonso (GASGAS Aspar Team) +1.498 

 

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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