The FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup has resumed after its summer break and Eric Granado has secured a much-needed first pole position of the season at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. The LCR E-Team rider is second in the standings, with just two rounds left to try and overtake Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™), and the 1:41.390 which he set in Q2 at the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg gives him the best possible chance of doing so. Joining Granado on the front row will be Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) and Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™), while Aegerter is set to get away from fifth position in both of this weekend’s races.

After a mixed morning of weather in Spielberg, sunny conditions greeted the MotoE™ field for qualifying on Friday afternoon. Granado kicked off Q2 with a 1:42.024 which was quickest at that point, and consolidated provisional pole with a 1:41.390 next time through. Casadei set a 1:41.530 on his second flyer to be second-fastest, but neither of those two could relax.

Ferrari was continuing to improve and gradually got his time down to a 1:41.569 with a handful of minutes remaining in the decisive stanza, to be third when the chequered flag came out. A host of riders then set quick sectors in a final bid for pole position, but there would be no further changes to the front row.

Row 2, on the other hand, was firmly still in play. Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) had only got himself out of Q1 with a very late effort to top that session, and did something similar at the end of Q2 when he vaulted himself from eighth to fourth with a 1:41.596. It was also a significant lap in the context of the title race, considering it pushed World Cup leader Aegerter back to fifth position, the Swiss rider having gone as good as a 1:41.642. Joining them on the second row of the grid will be Niccolo Canepa, who rode his WithU GRT RNF MotoE™ Team entry to a 1:42.029.

Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) was second-quickest out of Q1 and would ultimately claim seventh on the starting grid, ahead of Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team), Alex Escrig (Tech3 E-Racing), and Hector Garzo (Tech3 E-Racing). Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) was a surprise omission from the top 10 having missed the cut by 0.059 seconds in Q1 and will line up on the middle of Row 4, between Garzo and Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE™). Bradley Smith (WithU GRT RNF MotoE™ Team) qualified 16th while Alessio Finello (Felo Gresini MotoE™) has been declared unfit after suffering a fractured metatarsal on his right foot when he crashed in FP1, meaning he will take no further part in the weekend.

With the top four in the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup standings all qualifying in the top five in Austria, the stage is set for another battle royale in the electric class. Catch Race 1 Race 1 on Saturday afternoon from 16:25 (GMT +2)!

MotoE™ Q2 Results:
1. Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) – 1:41.390
2. Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) + 0.140
3. Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) + 0.179
4. Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) + 0.206
5. Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) + 0.252
6. Niccolo Canepa (WithU GRT RNF MotoE™ Team) + 0.639
7. Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) + 0.696
8. Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) + 0.717
9. Alex Escrig (Tech3 E-Racing) + 0.768
10. Hector Garzo (Tech3 E-Racing) + 2.802

It’s an Idemitsu Honda Team Asia 1-2 heading into qualifying day at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as Somkiat Chantra beat teammate Ai Ogura by 0.055s in FP2 to top the Moto2™ timesheets on Day 1. World Championship leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was 0.311s off the pace in third.

On his sixth flying lap of FP2, Ogura bettered Jake Dixon’s (Zinia GASGAS Aspar Team) FP1 time by 0.059s as Chantra and Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up) improved their Friday morning efforts inside the top five as the sun shone at the Red Bull Ring.

Chantra, with nine minutes to go, then climbed up to P1 to make it a Honda Team Asia 1-2. And on his next flying lap, the Thai star went 0.588s quicker than Ogura as plenty of improvements were being made across the board. Fernandez cut that advantage down to 0.323s before Ogura was just 0.055s off his teammate’s effort with four minutes left, with fourth place Dixon yet to improve on his 1:35.000 in FP1. But in the end, no one would be able to beat Chantra’s time.

Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) grabbed P4 in the closing stages to sit behind the leading trio, both the Italian and fifth place Lopez demoted Dixon down to P6. Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) is seventh ahead of FP3 and it joined in the top 10 by Fermin Aldeguer (CAG Speed Up), Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2™) and Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40).

Tune into Moto2™ FP3 at 10:55 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday morning. 

Top 10:
1. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) – 1:34.353
2. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.055
3. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.311
4. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.354
5. Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up) + 0.545
6. Jake Dixon (Zinia GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.647
7. Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) + 0.669
8. Fermin Aldeguer (CAG Speed Up) + 0.734
9. Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2) + 0.745
10. Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40) + 0.795

It’s Ducati domination so far at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) spearheads a 1-2-3 for the Bologna brand in FP2, as the Frenchman beats Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) by less than half a tenth. 

On an arid surface after a mixed condition FP1, the majority of the field improved their FP1 times from the get-go as a busy opening to the second Free Practice session of the weekend played out, with the threat of rain and automatic Q2 places on the minds of the teams. Bagnaia climbed to the top of the table and was shadowed by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) before Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) then went fastest. The times were going to continue to drop though.

With 20 minutes to go, Quartararo was the pacesetter from Rins and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), with the top 10 covered by less than half a second. The clouds were drawing in and with 10 minutes left on the clock, there was a big rush in pitlane to head out on fresh soft rubber as light rain began to fall. And that spelt bad news for second in the title race Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), as the Spaniard sat outside the top 10 in P11, so it was potentially crucial for Espargaro to get into the provisional automatic Q2 places.

Espargaro’s first effort placed him in P6 while Martin and Zarco shot up to P1 and P2, with Miller improving but staying P3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed unhurt between the penultimate and final corner, as Martin, Miller and Zarco exchanged P1 in quick succession.

Ducatis then locked out the top six with four minutes to go as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) climbed up the table, but Bastianini’s lap time was then chalked off. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) were then well inside the top 10 before Quartararo went from P11 to P4. Bastianini found time again to pounce into the top 10, which pushed Aleix Espargaro out – how costly could that prove to be?

World Championship leader Quartararo is the only non-Ducati rider sitting inside the top eight in fourth place, he’s followed on the timesheets by title rival Bagnaia, who in turn has VR46 Academy stablemates Marini and Bezzecchi for company in P6 and P7 respectively. Bastianini sits P8 ahead of FP3 on Saturday morning, the Italian edged out Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) and Brad Binder inside the all-important top 10.

With rain potentially affecting FP3, all eyes will turn to the skies on Saturday morning to see if there will be any chance of being able to improve on Friday’s efforts. Tune into MotoGP™ FP3 at 09:55 local time (GMT+2) to see what unfolds. 

Top 10:
1. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) – 1:29.837
2. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.024
3. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.029
4. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.040
5. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.160
6. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.193
7. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.229
8. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.229
9. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.276
10. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.291

Leopard Racing’s Dennis Foggia has emerged with the fastest lap after Moto3’s first dry-weather session at the new-look Red Bull Ring – Spielberg. The Italian set a 1:41.774 with the chequered flag out on FP2 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich to secure first position in what could prove a crucial session in terms of the make-up of Q1 and Q2 on Saturday afternoon. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) finished second with a lap time set just before he was involved in a crash with Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) while John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) took third. Both AutoSolar GASGAS Aspar Team riders, Izan Guevara and Sergio Garcia, made it into the top 14, which could be particularly important given the threat of rain when FP3 unfolds on the following morning.

With the track having dried out after a wet FP1, it was no surprise that every rider immediately went quicker than their personal-best time from the morning session. Initially, the name at the top changed with every passing lap, before Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) consolidated first position with a 1:42.165 just before the quarter-hour mark, a time which held up until the final five minutes.

By then, Daniel Holgado had not long gone quicker but his 1:41.989 would not stand due to a breach of track limits, meaning Red Bull KTM Ajo team-mate Jaume Masia had the honours of breaking Sasaki’s hold on top spot when he punched out a 1:41.959. Almost as soon as he had done so, Öncü clocked a 1:41.816, but he was on the floor moments later again in an incident with Fellon, who lost the front of his Honda at Turn 1. Stewards reviewed the incident but opted to take no action, while both riders were okay.

With everyone trying to secure a provisional berth in Q2, there was a flurry of red and orange sectors as the chequered flag came out. Foggia elevated himself from fifth to first with a 1:41.774 and Leopard Racing team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki subsequently set a 1:42.035. Suzuki would be classified fourth all-told given Öncü’s earlier lap time and a very late effort from McPhee, who clocked a 1:41.823 as he got a double tow across the finish line.

Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) claimed fifth on a 1:42.080, ahead of Sasaki on a 1:42.085, then Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team), Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Masia, and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports), the latter of whom had light contact with Öncü exiting Turn 2b in the early stages of the session. Guevara took 12th on a 1:42.193 and Garcia 13th on a 1:42.251, as they continue to battle each other for World Championship supremacy, while FP1 pace-setter Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) was classified 16th.

Will there be another shake-up to the order, or will the Moto3™ field have to brave the rain in FP3? Find out on Saturday from 09:00 (GMT +2).

Moto3™ Top 10 on Friday
1. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) – 1:41.774
2. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.042
3. John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) + 0.049
4. Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) + 0.261
5. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) + 0.306
6. Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) + 0.311
7. Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) + 0.311
8. Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.342
9. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.342
10. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) + 0.374