The Champion wins his final Moto3™ race by 0.062 seconds and completes a sweep of the four Spanish events
Izan Guevara has shown why he is the Moto3™ World Champion by snatching victory in the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana from Deniz Öncü despite trailing the Turk into the final corner. Guevara led all the way until midway through the last lap of the season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, but then got the run off Turn 14 and powered his Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team entry to a triumph of just 0.062 seconds. Four from four on his home soil of Spain, then, for the man who wrapped up the title in Australia, while Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was visibly disappointed with himself at missing out. Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) clinched second in the Championship by finishing a lonely third on the day.
As you were at the start
Guevara had qualified on pole position and headed the field to the first corner, from fellow front row starters Öncü and Garcia. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) took up fourth and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) fifth, which was how they ran until the latter served a Long Lap Penalty for crashing under a yellow flag in Free Practice.
He dropped from the back of the lead group to seventh, just behind Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports), and just ahead of Leopard Racing teammates Tatsuki Suzuki and Dennis Foggia. It meant Garcia was in the box seat for runner-up in the World Championship, given his rivals for those honours were Sasaki, as the firm outsider in the scenario, and Foggia.
Battles everywhere
As Sasaki and Muñoz battled over fifth, and Foggia made his way back ahead of Suzuki, it was Guevara and Öncü continuing to gap Garcia and Ortola, their margin over third place growing beyond a full second on Lap 6 of 23. It was two seconds after three laps more, by which time both Foggia and Xavier Artigas (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) had overtaken Moreira for seventh and eighth, respectively.
Up the front, Guevara still could not shake Öncü, despite the Turk feeling the need to throw something away from his bike on Lap 10, but Garcia had finally put a second on Ortola on Lap 12, then two seconds on Lap 13, and four seconds on Lap 15. Meanwhile, the battle for fifth was being contested between at least eight riders, namely Sasaki, Muñoz, Artigas, Foggia, Moreira, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI), and John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) – and they were catching Ortola.
Öncü makes his move but Guevara prevails
In fact, Sasaki and Muñoz both passed Ortola at the start of Lap 18, and Artigas was the next to set his sights on the #48 machine – until he crashed while running seventh on Lap 18 at Turn 6. Artigas remounted, but was out of what had become a battle for fourth – which had been joined by then by Adrian Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP).
With one lap to go, Guevara and Öncü were six seconds ahead of the rest, but not much more than hundredths of a second apart from each other. The KTM pilot looked at the GASGAS machine in front of him and sent it down the inside at Turn 8, then just managed to complete the pass as they ran through Turn 9. However, Guevara was not done, getting a better exit off the final corner and passing Öncü for victory number seven of the season – a perfect way to sign off before he moves up to Moto2™ with Aspar in 2023.
Garcia got home in third and Foggia claimed fourth, after a final lap in which he, Ortola, and Muñoz swarmed over each other. However, it would be Sasaki taking the chequered flag in fifth, ahead of Fernandez, Muñoz in seventh, then Moreira – the rookie of the year – Yamanaka, Holgado, McPhee, and Ortola in 12th. Tatay finished 13th, with Suzuki and Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) rounding out the points-paying positions, while Artigas was classified 23rd.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) ended the session classified ninth on a 1:31.252 while Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) took 11th at just 0.018 seconds slower. Both ran throughout on used medium compound Michelin tyres, which are expected to be the choice for most on the rear in the 27-lapper which follows, giving us something of a read on race pace. Quartararo is, of course, facing the must-win scenario and will line up P4, a full row ahead of Bagnaia in P8. As far as those starting on the front row are concerned, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) ended the Warm Up in second, Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) in third, and pole-sitter Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) in 12th.
Dorna Sports is delighted to announce the Quirónprevención MotoGP™ Health Center, a new service coming to the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship paddock from 2023. Thanks to a new agreement with Quirónprevención, the paddock will count on world-leading physiotherapy and medical services as the new facility opens its doors in 2023.
Of course, it is one thing to lap quickly on one’s own, and something different altogether to do it when there is traffic around. But, if Quartararo can quickly make his way from P4 to the front of the field, he stands a decent chance of pulling away from those around him, based on the FP4 pace of the front row qualifiers. Pole-sitter Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) will be a concern considering he racked up multiple 1:31.1s but was not quite as consistent as Quartararo. Marc Marquez’s (Repsol Honda Team) fastest lap of FP4 was only a 1:31.431, while Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) often drifted into the mid- to high-1:31s. As for the others on the second row, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) only set a fastest lap of 1:31.541 in FP4 and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) got under a 1:31.4 just once.
1. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) has qualified on pole position for the ninth time in MotoGP™. It is his fifth pole this season, along with the Qatar, Americas, Australian, and Malaysian GPs, and the second successive time in Valencia. He will be aiming to win for the second time in the class along with Styria last year.
Martin had no improvement during his second run but still bagged pole, ahead of Marc Marquez and Miller, who kept his berth on the front row despite the tumble. Quartararo heads up Row 2, next to Q1 graduate Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and the pace-setter in that earlier qualifying session, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing). Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was classified seventh, ahead of Bagnaia, Zarco, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
Augusto Fernandez ticks a box but Ai Ogura will start just behind the Championship leader
Beta Tools Speed Up’s Alonso Lopez has taken his first Grand Prix pole position by topping Moto2™ Q2 at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana by just 0.001 seconds with a lap-record 1:34.314. For the first time this weekend at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Red Bull KTM Ajo did not go one-two but a P2 for Pedro Acosta and a P3 for World Championship leader Augusto Fernandez is a big tick for the latter, given his title rival Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) qualified fifth.
Three laps covered by a single thousandth of a second
Acosta was the pace-setter in both FP2 and FP3, and he started Q2 in the same fashion with a 1:34.972 on his opening flyer. Next time through, Lopez took over P1 with a 1:34.314 before Acosta fell just short of reclaiming top spot when he clocked a 1:34.315 – both under the All Time Lap Record. Incredibly, Lopez then went and set yet another 1:34.314, meaning he can boast two identical fastest laps of the session!
Meanwhile, after Ogura had closed in on Fernandez in FP3, he laid down the challenge by lapping quicker than the Spaniard in the early stages of Q2. The Championship-leading KTM Ajo pilot would ultimately earn third on the starting grid with a 1:34.481 but Ogura will start just one row behind after setting a 1:34.665 which was good enough for fifth. The title combatants are currently split by 9.5 points so, while the Japanese rider is the outsider, he is close enough to heap the pressure onto Fernandez in their bids for intermediate class glory.
How the rest of the top 10 looks
Between them on the timesheet is Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), who came from Q1 to take fourth on the grid with a 1:34.583. Sixth went to fellow Q1 graduate Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) and seventh to Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40), while Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up) dusted himself off from a crash at Turn 2 to move up to eighth thanks to a 1:34.771 on his final lap. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) topped Q1 before securing a P9 starting berth and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team) rounded out the top 10.
MotoGP™ is not the only class with a title still to be decided and the Moto2™ riders are back for their Sunday morning Warm Up at 09:20 (GMT +1), then the race itself gets underway at 12:20!
Moto2™ Q2 Top 10
1. Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) – 1:34.314 2. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.001 3. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.167 4. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.269 5. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.351 6. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.360 7. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) + 0.451 8. Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.457 9. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.459 10. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.552
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The FIM MotoGP™ Stewards have had a busy Saturday at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, handing out sanctions to riders in both the premier class and Moto3™ for incidents in Free Practice. Attracting their wrath were Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power).
The 2022 World Champion clinches his last pole position in the lightweight class
Izan Guevara has scored one last pole position in this, the final round of his World Championship-winning Moto3™ season, at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. He set a 1:38.479 late in Q2 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo and Sergio Garcia made it Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team riders first and third on the starting grid, with Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü set to line up between them. The result is a plus for Garcia’s hopes of clinching second in the riders’ standings given his rivals for that honour, Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing), were classified fifth and seventh respectively in the latter 15-minue stanza of the afternoon.
Guevara looking to sign off in style
Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) was the initial Q2 pace-setter on a 1:38.875, ahead of Free Practice fast man Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) on a 1:38.927 and Guevara on a 1:38.998. A late crash in FP3 saw Sasaki go into Q1 and while he escaped it with the fastest lap of that session, he was on the floor again on his first flyer of Q2 at Turn 14, and thus back into the pits without a time to his name.
Garcia was sixth-fastest when he made an early start to his second run. The Spaniard was immediately on a fast one before he was out of the seat at Turn 8, but then clocked a 1:38.654 to go provisional pole next time around, as most of the rest rolled out for their next flyers.
With less than a minute to go before the chequered flag was unfurled, Öncü went fastest on a 1:38.525 before Guevara took over top spot by a margin of just 0.046 seconds. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) was classified fourth on a 1:38.697, and will be looking for early track position in Sunday’s race given the Long Lap Penalty which he has to serve following a crash under yellow flags in FP1. Sasaki bounced back from his spills to claim fifth on the grid with a 1:38.761 – thanks, perhaps, to some advice from a certain Fabio Quartararo – with Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) joining them on Row 2.
How the rest of the grid looks
Row 3 of the grid is headed up by Foggia after ‘The Rocket’ went as fast as a 1:38.856, with his Leopard Racing teammate Suzuki to line up next to him and Yamanaka next to his fellow Japanese rider. John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) will start his final Moto3™ race from 10th on the grid, with Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) qualifying 11th. However, both Masia and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power), the latter of whom did not get out of Q1, will have to start from pitlane and serve a Long Lap Penalty as punishment for their physical altercation in FP3.
The Moto3™ field is back on-track for their Warm Up on Sunday at 09:00 (GMT +1), then it’s the final race of 2022 at 11:00!
