Tag: Qualifying

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Moto3: Alonso Takes Pole In Le Mans!

Image Credit: MotoGP

3rd pole position in a row for the Colombian sensation David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team)! Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) qualified in 2nd and after qualifying said he was ready to fight for victory tomorrow. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounded off the front row after a great qualifying session in 3rd.

20 laps on Sunday around this circuit and the top 2 in the championship are up for the fight. The Moto 3 heavyweights can’t wait to fight it out for victory tomorrow. 

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X
Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

The session got underway in glorious sunshine at Le Mans, and as the first set of times were posted, it was Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) leading the way from Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) 2nd, David Almansa (Rivacold Snipers Team) 3rd and Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) in 4th.

Nicola Carraro (MTA Team) shot to the top with 8mins left of the session. With the top 4 order ever changing in the Q1 session, it was shaping up for a last minute fight to get through to Q2.

Carraro went down in the Dunlop chicane and yellow flags a plenty in sector 1 as Carraro was in a hurry to get back up and running on his bike.

As everyone headed into the pits to catch their breath before their final runs, it was still Carraro at the top with Lunetta 2nd, Roulstone 3rd and Farioli sat in 4th.

Under 5mins left of the session and British rider Scott Ogden (MLav Racing) blasted his way to the top of the timings as Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) and Ogden pushed on as the rest of the field filtered back out of the pits. Only 2 tenths of a second separated the top 6 riders at this point.

Last chance for the riders as the chequered flag waved and Lunetta managed to sneak into 2nd as Suzuki also managed to knock out Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) at the end of the session. The top 4 heading through to Q2 were Roulstone, Lunetta, Ogden and Suzuki.

Qualifying 2

Roulstone fresh from Q1 lead the way early on at the top of the timings on provisional pole. As the rest of the field completed their first runs, it was Jose Antonio Rueda at the top with Alonso a tenth behind in 2nd and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) on the front row in 3rd.

Just under 8mins left of the session and Alonso took command and into provisional pole with Rueda 2nd and Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) up to 3rd. It was heating up to be a fantastic battle for pole position here at Le Mans.

Race winner last time out in Jerez, Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) went up to provisional pole as the rest of the riders were sat in the pits. Alonso just +0.001 behind Veijer with just over 4mins left of the session.

Every rider was now pushing to the limits as several riders all lit up sectors red with just 2mins left of the session. Championship leader Holgado marched up to provisional pole just ahead of Rueda 2nd and Alonso in 3rd at this stage. Just one more final flying lap attempt remained.

Colombia vs Spain and the top 2 in the championship, Alonso and Holgado were neck and neck in the final seconds of the session. Alonso snatched pole position away from Holgado with a stunning 1:40.114. Holgado just +0.011 seconds behind Alonso in 2nd. Alonso on pole, Holgado 2nd and Rueda rounding off the front row in 3rd for tomorrow’s race.

Holgado lead every lap last season at the French Grand Prix and will be hoping for the same tomorrow. 3 pole positions in a row for David Alonso! Can Alonso convert the pole position into a win tomorrow?

Top 10

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP
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Moto3: Back to Back Pole’s for Alonso!

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) has lead every session since Austin, Texas and this weekend has been no different. 9 sessions in a row at the top for Alonso and the rest of the Moto3 field must be wondering how to stop the Colombian whizz kid.

Alonso a class of his own, but a jubilant David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) managed to get up into 2nd and a front row start for the Spaniard in front of his home crowd. Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) pushed Alonso as hard as he could in that session and will start from 3rd tomorrow. 

Both Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 riders out in Q2 at the same corner, turn 5. Hopefully both will be fit enough to race tomorrow. Championship leader Daniel Holgado will be keen to salvage as much as possible from today’s qualifying with just 2 points separating himself and Alonso at the top of the championship.

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X
Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

On a drying track full of damp patches, the Moto3 riders headed out onto this Angel Nieto circuit thankfully in the sunshine.

Noah Dettwiler (CIP Green Power) set the benchmark time of 1:51.039 to kick us off in the session as the field were all on their first flying run’s. Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) were the surprise names in the session and went up into the top 4 as expected. Nicola Carraro (MTA Team) set the fastest time early on in the session of a 1:49.083, a great time and a tough one to beat for the rest of the session.

As the confidence grew the times tumbled and with 8mins to go in the session, all of the sectors across all of the riders were lighting up red. This session looked like it would be going to the wire.

Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) went down at turn 13 with just under 5mins left in the session. Carraro still lead the session with Bertelle 2nd, Fernandez 3rd and Leopard Racing teammate Angel Piqueras in 4th.

Into the final minute of the session and Carraro was flying, nearly half a second quicker heading into the 3rd sector of the lap. Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Piqueras both up on the fastest time set so far.

Farioli crossed the line and pushed Bertelle out of the top 4 and headed into Q2 to fight for pole position. The top 4 riders through to Q2 were Piqueras 1st, Carraro in 2nd, Farioli 3rd and Fernandez in 4th.

Qualifying 2

Only a few minutes into the session and championship leader Holgado went down at turn 5. A horrible highside for Holgado just a few minutes into the session. Holgado seemed ok but hobbled through the gravel clearly in a lot of pain. Not a great way to spend your 19th birthday.

As we are used to seeing now, Columbian whizz kid David Alonso. who has topped every session so far this weekend, set the provisional pole lap time as the first lot of flying laps came through.

Just under 7mins left of the session and Veijer is not giving up on pole without a fight. The Dutchman up to the top of the timings with a 1:46.234, just +0.197seconds ahead of Alonso in 2nd. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) currently sat in 3rd, but +0.794 tenths of a second back to Veijer at the top.

 

Jacob Roulstone in the exact same corner as his teammate at turn 5,  went down and out of qualifying. A disaster for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team today in Jerez.

3mins left of the session and Alonso stormed to the front. Alonso with a brilliant lap, smashed Veijer’s time with a 1:45.232. It seemed like Alonso and Veijer were in a class of their own with 3rd place Yamanaka +1.796 seconds back to Alonso’s provisional pole lap time.

The first man into the 1:45s today,  Alonso looked to cement his place on pole position with a 1:44.954.

David Munoz right at the end of the session was close but no cigar, just 2 tenths shy of the pole lap set by Alonso. Fantastic for Munoz and the first front row start for the Spaniard this season. Veijer rounded off the front row and will start from 3rd on the grid tomorrow.

Qualifying Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

 

 

 

 

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Moto3: First Pole for Alonso in Austin

Feature Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

After a brief break with the Argentinian race cancelled, everyone was raring to go here in Austin, Texas this weekend.

Championship leader and winner last time out in Portimão, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) continued his great run of form rounding off the front row of the grid qualifying in 3rd.

Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was close, had a lap cancelled and then had pole snatched away from him in Q2 this afternoon. Teenage Colombian wonderkid David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) took his first pole position in Moto3 and has looked unstoppable this weekend so far. 

With a front row of the top 3 title protagonists for 2024, it’s all set up to be a great battle in Texas tomorrow.

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X
Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Being in the leading group in the opening races of the season, we would certainly not of expected to see Riccardo Rossi (CIP Green Power) in this Q1 session.

David Almansa (Rivacold Snipers Team) went over the handle bars at turn 20, hopefully Almansa is ok after that as the first batch of flying lap times filtered through with just 8mins left of the session.

Leopard Racing’s Adrian Fernandez sat at the top of the timings after the first batch of flying laps were posted. The top 4 heading through to Q2 with 4mins of the session remaining were Fernandez, Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Aspar Team) and Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse).

Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets MSI) had a lap cancelled and only 2mins remained in Q1. Only one more attempt to salvage something from the session and progress to Q2 with a final flying lap.

The lap is 5.5km’s in distance and with a 15mins qualifying session and over 2mins per lap time, nobody in Moto3 can afford to make a mistake.

Yamanaka pulled up on the long straight as Roulstone lit up the sectors red at the half way point of the last flying lap. Both Rossi and Yamanaka had a day to forget not getting into the top 4 to progress to Q2,

The fastest and through to Q2 were Fernandez, Roulstone, Esteban and Lunetta

Qualifying 2

Could anyone stop the charging David Alonso in this Q2 session? Alonso has been flying this weekend and was on course in practice to set a new all time lap record but instead opted to cruise into the pits.

With long out laps completed, it was Rueda who got us started with flying laps with 12mins left of the session.

Rueda set the bench mark of a 2:15.063 and as the rest of the field filtered through Alonso moved back to the top a tenth of a second quicker than Rueda with a 2:14.907. Alonso on provisional pole after most of the field completed their first runs.

Holgado moved up to 5th with 8mins left of the session and teammate Roulstone went into 2nd. Superb from the young Australian rider.

Alonso on his next flying lap went quicker setting a new provisional pole lap time of 2:14.661. Roulstone and Rueda filled the rest of the front row with 4mins left of the session.

Rueda out of the pits and to the top of the timings with a new lap record but dipped his wheels into the green coming out of the last corner. Rueda would later have this lap cancelled with just 1 min left of the session.

Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) with the last sector of his career jumped onto pole as the chequered flagged waved. Rueda, Alonso and David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) though all on final flying laps lighting up the sectors red.

Rueda crossed the line but only had pole position for a few seconds as Alonso snatched it away to take pole position here in COTA.

Holgado managed to fight onto the front row just ahead of Veijer in 4th.

A first pole position for David Alonso in Moto3 and well deserved. Alonso will be hard to stop in tomorrow’s race.

Starting Grid

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP
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Moto3: Holgado Smashes Qatar Qualifying

Feature Image Credit: @PolarityPhoto on X

MotoGP is back! After the long winter break we are finally at the Lusail International Circuit for round 1 of the 2024 season.

New faces and stars are all ready to take on the 21 rounds of 2024, and it was a familiar face of Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) who delivered the first Moto3 pole position of the season.

An incredible lap time set by Holgado with a new all time lap record here in Doha. It’s all set for another epic Moto3 race tomorrow in Qatar!

Image Credit: @Tech3Racing on X
Image Credit: @Tech3Racing on X

AT IS HAPPENED 

Qualifying 1

Scott Ogden (Mlav Racing) lead the field out onto the circuit for the first 15 minute qualifying  session of the season.

As the first set of flying lap times were set, it was Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) on the Joan Mir inspired #36 to top the timings with a 2:03.892.

The first runs were complete with several riders back in the garages for some changes. It was Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) a few tenths clear of Piqueras at the front. The top 4 heading through to Q2 at this point were Farioli, Piqueras, Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia).

With the sun setting in Qatar and as newbie Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Aspar Team) was called back to the pits, it was still all to play for to get through to Q2.

With 1 minute left of the session, a Moto3 familiar sight of all riders dawdling on track, looking for someone to follow on their last flying lap attempts.

Farioli went by two riders but ran too deep in sector 3. Farioli lit up the sectors on his final flying lap attempt but failed to beat his quickest time.

That didn’t matter though as the top 4 order remained the same. Farioli quickest with Piqueras, Lunetta and Furusato all through into Q2.

Qualifying 2

The battle for pole position was on and the flood lights were switched on trackside.

As the swarm of riders crossed the line on their first flying laps,  it was a brief Honda 1-2 with Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Lunetta at the top of the timings. This was short lived as Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets MSI) smashed the provisional pole time set by over a second. What a lap from Ortola and a new all time lap record time set with a blistering 2:02.541. Could anyone beat this time set by Ortola with 9minutes left of the session?

With the first run at pole position completed, all of the riders headed into the pits and most would of been baffled by Ortola’s incredible lap time. At this stage in Q2, Ortola was on provisional pole with Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2nd and David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) 3rd rounding off the provisional front row of the grid.

Just under 4 minutes of the session remained as all of the riders headed back out onto the circuit to fight for pole position.

With only 2 minutes left of the session, Alonso’s team communicated with him to come into the pits to box. Alonso aware of the time left continued on in the session ignoring the call to the pits.

Daniel Holgado was up through sectors 1 & 2 half way around his last flying lap. Personal bests for David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) and Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) also on their last attempts at pole position. Holgado was still estimated P1 as he headed into the final corner.

Holgado crossed the line with an incredible lap of 2:02.276. After we thought nobody was stopping Ortola marching to pole position, Daniel Holgado set a new all time lap record and now has his 3rd pole position of his career.

Starting Grid

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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Moto3: Moreira Magic in Mandalika

Image Credit: MT Helmets - MSI

Round 15 and with 6 races remaining, Diogo Moreira was back to his best here in Indonesia. The Brazilian showed everyone what he’s capable of and why he’s heading to Moto2 next season. A first pole position of the season for Moreira.

Championship leader Jaume Masia qualified in 2nd and David Alonso made up the front row qualifying in 3rd. Masia’s rivals Daniel Holgado 7th and Ayumu Sasaki way down in 11th place. We’re all set for another fantastic Moto3 race tomorrow at the Mandalika Circuit.

Image Credit: MTHelmets-MSi

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

With all of the title contenders through to the Q2 session, it was Husqvarna’s Collin Veijer the stand out name taking part in the session. Xavi Artigas was the first rider out of the pits to get us started in the 15mins session.

As the first riders completed their first flying laps, it was Taiyo Furusato at the top of the timings with Mario Aji 2nd, Veijer 3rd and Adrian Fernandez in 4th.

Veijer lead with several minutes left of the session, with Furusato just behind, both riders over half a second clear of the rest of the field, with Aji 3rd and Yamanaka in 4th.

After a quick trip the pits we had just 2mins left of the session. Sector 1 was lit up in yellow flags as Nicola Fabio went down at turn 2. Fabio ok and the riders now only had 1 more attempt at getting into the top 4 for Q2.

Riccardo Rossi ran wide at turn 16 and ruined a great lap. Josh Whatley up to 4th was the only change to the top 4 going through to Q2, as Ryusei Yamanaka was unable to get his GASGAS into Q2.

 

End of the Q1 session and Furusato top with Veijer 2nd, Fernandez 3rd and Whatley in 4th.

Qualifying 2

After the battle in practice this morning between title rivals Masia and Holgado, we were all set for a great fight for pole position at the Mandalika circuit here in Indonesia.

With 10mins left of the session and the first set of flying laps completed. It was Moreira at the top with David Munoz second and Fernandez rounding off the front row currently in 3rd.

 

With the tyres now warmed up, the times were tumbling with an ever changing order at the front for tomorrow’s race. David Alonso currently in 2nd with Holgado moving up the order to 3rd in the timings. With Masia sat in the pits after his first run, we were yet to see any rapid time from the Spaniard. Deniz Öncü also yet to leave the pits and set a time with just 7mins left of the session.

5mins left of the session and title contender Holgado was currently sat in 3rd, Sasaki 4th and Masia was down in 11th. Masia at this point in the session had a lot of work to do.

Masia responded and up onto the front row. 2nd in the timings, just +0.223 tenths of a second back to the provisional pole time set by Moreira. Öncü was out of the pits and posted and a quick time up to 4th on his first attempt at pole position.

With 2mins left of the session, Scott Ogden had a painful highside crash coming out of turn 4. Sector 1 waved yellow flags with just a minute left of the session. Ogden was up and moving but will be in a lot of pain after that one.

Last laps now in the session and a key couple of minutes here in Indonesia.  Masia barged his way by the Brazilian Moreira and tried all he could to get pole position. Masia missed out on pole by just +0.040 tenths of a second.

With the rest of the field coming through and not improving, it was the first pole position of the season for MTHelmets – MSi team’s Moreira.

A great qualifying for Moreira. After the promotion to Moto2 next season, it seems to of definitely given Moreira the boost of confidence he needed.

Leopard Racing team’s Masia will be happy with that qualifying going from the front row of the grid in 2nd. David Alonso who is surely a clear contender for rookie of the year, rounded off the front row in 3rd.

In the 3 horse race for the championship this season, we have Masia starting 2nd, Holgado 7th and Ayumu Sasaki way down in 11th in tomorrow’s race. Masia will be keen to extend the championship lead at the top.

Starting Grid

Image Credit: MotoGP

Championship Standings

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Moto2: Chantra Storms to Pole in Japan!

Image Credit: MotoGP

Delight for IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia with a stunning 1-2 here at their home Grand Prix in Japan. Somkiat Chantra was on fire today in Motegi and so far this weekend has been fastest in every session in Moto2. Chantra took pole with teammate Ai Ogura 2nd, and Jake Dixon rounding off the front row in 3rd.

Disaster for Tony Arbolino today qualifying in 13th place. With championship rival Pedro Acosta heading up the second row tomorrow in 4th. Arbolino has it all to do in tomorrow’s race, to try and stop Acosta running away with the championship this year. 

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Jake Dixon lead the pack out of the pits onto the track for the Q1 session. Dixon a shock name in the session and had never failed so far this season to get into Q2.

As Dixon approached the end of his out lap, several riders were queuing ready to follow Dixon round the track. Dixon stating before the weekend that Motegi was one of his favourite tracks.

As the first bunch of riders posted their first flying lap times, Alonso Lopez set the benchmark for the rest of the field. Lopez having to serve a double long lap penalty this weekend after the carnage last weekend in India.

With 10mins left of the session, the top 4 currently heading into Q2 were Lopez, Bo Bensneyder, Zonta Van De Goorbergh and reigning Moto3 champion Izan Guevara.

Mattia Casadei lit up the yellow flags in sector 2, going down at turn 6. Casadei with his 3rd crash of the weekend. A tough weekend so far for the Kalex rider.

7mins of the session remained. Dixon and Binder lit up the sectors red and as they all crossed the line, Binder went quickest with a time of 1:50.294. Van De Goorbergh just +0.060 back to Binder and Dixon moved up into the top 4 in 3rd.

The riders back on the track now after a brief stop in the pits.  Lopez set a blistering lap time of 1:50.089 and moved to the top of the standings pushing Dixon down to 4th. Had Lopez set that time this morning, he’d of been 2nd quickest overall from the practice sessions.

Chequered flag out and the riders on current flying laps weren’t able to break into the top 4. The top 4 heading through to the Q2 session were Alonso, Binder, Van De Goorbergh and Dixon.

Qualifying 2

Both Beta Tools SpeedUp teammates Lopez and Fermin Aldeguer were the first to post times in the session, only to be blitzed moments later by Chantra posting a time just shy of the lap record of 1:49.977 seconds.

VD Goorbergh lit up the yellow flags in sector 1 just as Chantra broke the lap record with a time of 1:49.898. For 7 years Johann Zarco held the record, but finally broken today by Chantra and the provisional pole lap so far sat with the IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia rider.

Championship leader Pedro Acosta moved up into the 3rd after his first run, but only briefly as Dixon moved up to 2nd and Aron Canet into 4th. The front row with 6mins left in the session was Chantra, Dixon and Ogura.

Acosta and Dixon not giving up on pole went quicker with Dixon just +0.214seconds shy of Chantra’s provisional pole lap in 2nd, and Acosta in 3rd.

Tony Arbolino had a nightmare start to the session and with only a few minutes remaining was in 14th place. Arbolino’s teammate Sam Lowes was going better and up to 7th with a couple of minutes left in the session. Arbolino managed to finish 13th in the qualifying session. A disaster for Arbolino and will be looking to do all he can in the race tomorrow, to keep any championship hopes alive.

As the chequered flags waved, Ogura split Chantra and Dixon moving up to 2nd place to the delight of the team in the garage. A dream qualifying session for the IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia at their home race in Japan. Chantra quickest in every session so far this weekend! It will take a mighty effort from anyone to stop Chantra from taking the win tomorrow.

Qualifying Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP

Official Starting Grid

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Moto3: Incredible India Pole for Masia

Image Credit: Leopard Racing

Jaume Masia was on fire on the brand new rain soaked Buddh International Circuit. The Spaniard took his 4th pole position of the season and the Leopard Racing team rider was unstoppable today in qualifying.

The championship in Moto3 this year is as hot as the hottest Indian cuisine. Just 29 points cover the top 6 riders battling it out to be crowned champion this year. With championship leader Daniel Holgado and David Alonso starting on row 6 and with Öncü starting at the back of the grid tomorrow.  It’s all set for another crazy race in Moto3. 

Image Credit: Leopard Racing Team

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Both Öncü and Holgado were the surprise names in the Q1 session. After receiving a black flag in practice, Öncü regardless of where he qualified would have to serve a long lap penalty and start at the back of the grid in the race tomorrow.

As the riders came across the line and posted the first set of flying laps, Kaito Toba topped the timings with a with 2:00.225. With a time of 1:59 set in the practice sessions, it wouldn’t be long before that time was beaten at the top.

Öncü with 8mins left of the session came through to top the timings with Holgado quickly to follow, currently up to 2nd and into the top 4 heading through to Q2.

The first set of times completed for the riders and we had a top 4 heading into Q2 of Öncü, Holgado, Scott Ogden and Toba.

Pretty much all of the riders peeled off into the puts for a quick stop to make any changes needed for the final run of the session, Öncü opted to stay out on track with dark clouds rapidly approaching the circuit.

Staying out for Öncü paid off and he continued to improve his time at the top and set the benchmark time to beat with a blistering 1:59.070. The fastest lap of the weekend so far in Moto3 here in India. As the dark clouds descended onto the track, an angry Öncü was clearly unstoppable in Q1.

The riders came through for the final flying laps of the session and Tatsuki Suzuki was unable to set a valid lap in the qualifying session. Disaster for the Leopard Racing team rider. Öncü topped the session followed by Holgado 2nd, Ryusei Yamanaka 3rd and Ogden 4th.

A big shock was announced at the end of the session as Holgado’s lap time was cancelled by the stewards for exceeding the track limits. The championship leader will not be taking part in the Q2 session.

Just as the Q1 session ended, the heavens opened and the session was delayed due to the weather conditions.

Qualifying 2

With the standing water now cleared and track now free of rainfall, the riders headed out of the pits for the 15-minute fight for pole position. With the championship as tight as it is, this qualifying session was vital on a rain-soaked circuit in India.

As the riders now come through with the first attempts at pole position, Masia  topped the timings with Taiyo Furusato 2nd and Diogo Moreira 3rd. The time set of 2:14.515 was over 14 seconds slower than Öncü’s time set in Q1.

As the riders got a feel for the grip and confidence growing the lap times would continue to tumble and we were set for a last lap shootout.

Masia then improved to a 2:11.985 already a few seconds quicker on his next lap compared to the lap time set only a few minutes before.

With 6 minutes left of the session, Masia lit up the sectors red through the first two sectors. Furusato replaced Masia at the top only for a few seconds as Bertelle now went top of the timings. Masia took charge and back to the top of the pile +0.465 seconds quicker to Bertelle in 2nd.

With 4 minutes left of the session, Masia was getting quicker and quicker as through sector 2 was already -0.862 tenths up on his current provisional pole lap time.

As Scott Ogden went up to 2nd, Masia improved to a time of 2:10.033. With Öncü at the back of the grid regardless tomorrow, its clear the team have told Öncü to just come back in one piece with Öncü currently 10th in the session.

As Ayumu Sasaki came through up into 3rd, Yamanaka lit up the flags in sector 1 crashing out at turn 1. Yamanaka was okay and picked up his Aspar GASGAS bike from the gravel.

Last flying laps in Q2 and Masia was on fire. Already under half a second faster than his already provisional pole time. Bertelle came through up into 2nd as Masia took his 4th pole position of the year. 7 tenths clear of his nearest rival in Bertelle 2nd and Sasaki rounding off the front row in 3rd.

A fantastic qualifying session for Leopard Racing’s Masia and Masia will be gunning for victory tomorrow with title rivals Holgado and Öncü way down the order on the grid.

Official Starting Grid

Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto3: First Pole for Veijer in Austria!

Stunning sunshine here in the Styria Mountains today at the Spielberg circuit.  Collin Veijer took his first ever pole position in Moto3 for the Husqvarna team. The first Dutch pole position in any class since Jurgen van den Goorbergh way back in 1999. 

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1

As always the top four riders will be heading into Q2 to battle it out for pole position and in the early stages it was Matteo Bertelle and Ivan Ortola the top two as the riders posted their first run times. Ortola a surprise name in the Q1 session and will be hoping to get through here with 8 minutes remaining of the session.

After the riders made a quick stop in the pits for any last minute changes, they all made their way back out onto the circuit for the final 5 minutes of the session. Ortola seen hanging back in the pits watching on, who may feel like he’s done enough to get through to Q2.

The top four riders currently going through to Q2 with a few mins remaining of the session are Bertelle quickest followed by Ortola,  Diogo Moreira and Ryusei Yamanaka clinging on to 4th.

All riders now out on circuit on hot laps and Yamanaka comes through first going quickest with a 1:41.960. As the next swarm of Moto3 bikes come across the line, Taiyo Furusato manages to knock Moreira out of the top four posting the 3rd quickest time.

With yellow flags waving cancelling lap times including Moreira’s, the top four heading into Q2 are Yamanaka, Bertelle, Furusato and Ortola.

Q2

The session started and in no time at all we had yellow flags in sector 1 as veteran of Moto3 Romano Fenati stopped on route out of the pitlane.

Race winner last time out in Silverstone, David Alonso the first rider to post a time in the session of a 1:41.959. Deniz Öncü opting to come into the pits at the end of his first run instead of posting a time as the other riders had lap times cancelled due to the yellow flags in sector 1.

Championship leader Daniel Holgado a tenth quicker than Alonso now moving to the top of the time sheets with 8 minutes remaining of the session. The top guns yet to get going here, with Jaume Masia now up by two tenths coming through sector 3. As Alonso now gets a box call message from his team, we currently have a front row of Holgado, Alonso and Veijer. Ayumu Sasaki and Öncü still yet to post a flying lap time.

Riccardo Rossi and eventually Öncü posting quick times with Rossi up to 3rd and Öncü posting the fastest time of the session with a 1:41.591. Only 10 riders of the 18 have got a time on the board so far with only a few mins left of the session. We could be gearing up for a frantic dash to the line for pole position here in Austria.

Holgado now back to the top of the pile, as Masia now comes across the line up to 4th, losing time in sector 4 nearly going into the back of Stefano Nepa during his flying lap. Nepa could be heading to the stewards after this session to explain that one.

The last few seconds of the session remaining now and Veijer comes through up into pole position with a stunning lap. With no riders currently on track improving it looks like it will be the Dutchman set to take his first ever pole position in Moto3.

Another front row start for Holgado tomorrow, with championship rivals Öncü and Masia closely behind starting in 3rd and 4th. Öncü and Masia will be looking to reduce Holgado’s 22 point championship lead in tomorrow’s race.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Featured Image courtesy of IntactGP

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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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Extreme E: X44 Continue Qualifying Dominance

New season, same X44 for Sir Lewis Hamilton’s team as they finished top qualifiers yet again in Extreme E’s season two opener in Saudi Arabia.

Qualifying 1:

Heavy rain overnight meant we would have to wait to witness Extreme E’s new qualifying format, which would have seen two five-car races. However, due to the track conditions, the organisers decided a return to the previous season’s format of individual team runs was required.

Jutta Kleinschmidt for ABT Cupra got the first competitive session of the season under way, putting in a strong lap time for her teammate and debutant Nasser Al-Attiyah to build upon.

His first lap in anger was going well too, until he missed the finish line. Rather than accepting a five-second time penalty, however, Al-Attiyah turned around and made sure he went through the finishing gate. It’s estimated this cost him thirty five seconds.

Chip Ganassi and Andretti United were the next teams to set a time. The Ganassi team initially went fastest, but were just beaten out by Andretti United. After their runs, both teams received a five second time penalty for various switch zone infringements.

Last year’s championship contenders, X44 and RXR hit the track with incredible speed and after their laps the teams went into second and first respectively.

JBXE followed RXR and they pushed hard. Perhaps too hard, as during Molly Taylor’s lap something broke on the car. She struggled to the end of the lap and finished one minute behind RXR’s benchmark time of 9:03.604.

Acciona Sainz and Xite Energy were next onto the track, with both teams completing their runs within twenty seconds of the leader.

Veloce became the penultimate team to try and set a time in Qualifying 1. Lance Woolridge was very quick around his lap and handed over to Christine GZ just marginally down on RXR’s time. GZ flew round the track but pushed just a little too hard and rolled the car. Thankfully, GZ was able to limp away from the crash but the team would not finish their run.

Newcomers McLaren finished off the qualifying session as Emma Gilmour took to the wheel. A steady run from both her and Tanner saw them finish in a respectable seventh position.

RXR were fastest in Qualifying 1, gaining ten intermediate points, with X44 just behind in second and Andretti United in third.

Qualifying 1 Classification:

  1. RXR 9:03.604    10 Points
  2. X44 +6.911    9 Points
  3. Andretti United +11.091   8 Points
  4. Chip Ganassi +12.238   7 Points
  5. Xite Energy +13.799   6 Points
  6. Acciona Sainz +17.751   5 Points
  7. McLaren +23.375   4 Points
  8. ABT Cupra +46.781   3 Points
  9. JBXE +1:00.763    2 Points
  10. Veloce +1 Lap   1 Point

Qualifying 2:

Qualifying 2 saw Extreme E revert back to the intended qualifying format this season. The teams were divided into two heats (teams in even positions after Qualifying 1 in Heat 1, odd positions in Heat 2).

In Heat 1, X44, Chip Ganassi, Acciona Sainz, ABT Cupra, and Veloce were all due to race against each other for more intermediate points. Veloce, however, were not able to take part as they were not able to repair the car following GZ’s Qualifying 1 accident.

As the lights went green X44 got a good start and took the lead. After the first few markers they lined up X44, Acciona Sainz, ABT Cupra, and Chip Ganassi.

Towards the end of the first lap, ABT Cupra’s Nasser Al-Attiyah was chasing down Acciona Sainz’s Carlos Sainz. Al-Attiyah used all his experience to throw the car up Sainz’s inside but crucially missed a waypoint marker. In trying to get back on line, he cut across Sainz and both teams suffered damage. Sainz dropped to the back and ultimately wouldn’t leave the switch zone. ABT Cupra lost power steering.

Heat 1 in Qualifying 2 ended with X44 winning the race comfortably, ahead of Chip Ganassi and ABT Cupra, and took home ten more intermediate points.

Heat 1 Classification:

  1. X44 9:00.620   10 Points
  2. Chip Ganassi +19.580   8 Points
  3. ABT Cupra +3:13.972   6 Points
  4. Acciona Sainz +1 Lap   4 Points
  5. Veloce DNS   2 Points

Heat 2 saw the remaining five teams (RXR, Andretti United, Xite Energy, McLaren, and JBXE) all take to the track as they tried to get themselves into a semi-final.

Andretti United had the best start, propelling themselves into first position after the first few flags. Behind them, McLaren, RXR, Xite Energy, and JBXE followed in that order.

Tanner Foust in the McLaren was chasing Andretti United’s Timmy Hansen for much of the first lap, but was ultimately not able to overtake him before the switch. Further behind, RXR and Xite Energy jostled for third position.

Disaster struck for McLaren in the switch zone as a technical issue meant Emma Gilmour could not get the car started quickly. By the time she got moving, the Woking based team had dropped far to the back.

With Johan Kristofferson now behind the wheel, RXR hoped to claw back some time on the cars ahead. He managed to do just, providing us with a thrilling finish to pass Katie Munnings in the Andretti United just before the line. Sadly for the German team, they received a post-race seventeen-second time penalty for speeding in the switch zone, promoting Andretti United into first place.

Heat 2 Classification:

  1. Andretti United 9:10.693   10 Points
  2. Xite Energy +13.703   8 Points
  3. JBXE +15.371   6 Points
  4. RXR +16.079   4 Points
  5. McLaren +52.673   2 Points

With the intermediate points from Qualifying 1 and 2 added together and any tying teams separated by fastest Continental Traction Challenge time, X44 came out on top, leading Andretti United and Chip Ganassi.

The results of qualifying mean X44 will race against RXR and Xite Energy for two places in the final in Semi-Final 1, while  Andretti United, Chip Ganassi, and ABT Cupra will do battle in Semi-Final 2. This leaves Acciona Sainz, JBXE, McLaren, and Veloce to fight for the fifth and final place in the final in the Crazy Race.

Overall Qualifying Classification:

  1. X44 19 Points
  2. Andretti United 18 Points
  3. Chip Ganassi 15 Points
  4. Xite Energy 14 Points
  5. RXR 14 Points
  6. ABT Cupra 9 Points
  7. Acciona Sainz 9 Points
  8. JNXE 8 Points
  9. McLaren 6 Points
  10. Veloce 3 Points

With the first qualifying day of the new season completed, attention turns to tomorrow, as we look to another exciting day of action.

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