The BT Sport team looked at some of the best races from that season, including Suzuka – a Rossi, Max Biaggi talking point – and Phillip Island, which saw Rossi claim his third World Championship. BT Sport also checked in with former 500cc rider Jeremy McWilliams, who won the 250cc race at Assen in 2001 before making the step back up to the premier class in 2002.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Petrucci is also honest when it comes to talking about his first year in official Ducati red. 2019 was a tale of two halves for the Mugello race winner, and Petrucci shares his thoughts on what happened after the summer break. “For sure I was not happy about last year. Because the difference between the first and second part was very, very high,” says Petrucci. “I was fighting for the top three in the first part and in the second part, I was top 10 but not really competitive. I tried to give an explanation to myself especially but there is nothing really important that I found. I mean, I haven’t a solution or a reason why in the second part of the championship I wasn’t really competitive.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
In MotoGP Virtual Race 4, it was Marquez vs Marquez for the first time ever, with Repsol Honda Team’s Alex Marquez coming out on top to become the first rider to taste victory in two Virtual MotoGP races. The Spaniard got the better of brother and team-mate Marc Marquez in a thrilling final lap fight at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with the pair joined on the podium by Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi, who profited from a last gasp crash for Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) to clinch a home rostrum.
Quartararo was on pole
Quartararo started from pole position for the third time in Virtual MotoGP thanks to his most dominant performance yet, ending qualifying nearly a second clear of Alex Marquez in second. The opening stages of the nine-lap scrap were typically chaotic, however: two of three previous victors, Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), crashed out after some possible contact with the returning Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Idemitsu Honda), Rossi crashed after some contact with Alex Marquez, and that allowed Quartararo to escape at the front, with both Marc and Alex Marquez unable to match the pace of the Frenchman. The younger of the Marquez brothers swooped through to second shortly after, however, with Marc admitting he’d rather try and secure a top-three finish then crash whilst chasing his brother…
Virtual GP Four gets underway
Quartararo came across the line to complete the third lap with an advantage of nearly four seconds, but that lead suddenly evaporated when the Frenchman tucked the front and suffered another virtual race crash – allowing Alex Marquez to move into the lead. The Frenchman quickly set about chasing down the Mugello winner, and within two laps he was glued to the rear wheel of the Honda…
The pair would touch on a handful of occasions as the ante was upped, but ultimately on lap seven the race was blown wide open. A touch from Quartararo caused Alex Marquez to go down before the Petronas Yamaha SRT machine then clipped the stricken Honda… leaving both on the floor.
That left Marc Marquez in clear air in the lead, much to his surprise and accompanied by a brilliantly evil laugh, and the race was on for the two men picking themselves up and chasing him down.
It would all come down to the final lap and the final sector in what was a thrilling finale, with all three split by nothing. As Alex Marquez closed in on his brother, Quartararo closed in on the pair of them and all three were pushing to the absolute limit before finally one went over it: Quartararo.
Quartararo pushed a little too hard
The Frenchman tucked the front once again and any chance of stealing a last-gasp win disappeared, with the two Repsol Hondas left to dice it out. The pair entered the final corner with Marc in front, but the eight-time World Champion ran slightly wide and his teammate needed no second invitation. Alex Marquez stuffed it up the inside and gassed it towards the line, getting there just ahead and taking his second virtual victory.
Marquez brothers fight all the way to the line
Rossi took full advantage of Quartararo’s untimely crash, taking the final podium place on home soil in style – and celebrating in style too as the ‘Doctor’ pulled out a real Misano trophy on the stream. Behind Quartararo, who remounted in fourth, Team Ecstar Suzuki’s Joan Mir took the final space inside the top five, ahead of Viñales and Bagnaia. Nakagami took eighth place, clear of Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Lorenzo Savadori, with Reale Avintia Racing’s Tito Rabat completing the top ten ahead of Ducati Team’s Michele Pirro.
Alex Marquez – P1
“I’m so happy with this win. It wasn’t easy as all race I was watching for Fabio behind, we crashed and then when Marc came at the end, I really had to push. I knew a little bit from playing with him in the past what he would try so I focused on the corner exit, I knew he’d be strong on the brakes. It has been great to put on another show for the fans and I think this was one of the best races yet. Thanks everyone for watching!”
Alex Marquez
Marc Marquez – P2
“Finally we finished on the podium! It was a really good race and the Misano circuit suited my virtual style a little more. I pushed very hard in the last laps to try and beat Alex but he was just able to get a small advantage. Congratulations to him, it was nice to battle on track. Now we’ll have a big party! First and second is a great result for us and the team.”
Valentino Rossi – P3
“I’m happy to have taken part in the Virtual MotoGP Misano race. I trained a little bit more and I think the new 2020 MotoGP game is very cool. I was fast enough this time and qualifying went well. I started from the middle of the second row, in between Maverick and Marc Marquez. The race was good. Unfortunately, I crashed on the first lap but then I managed to keep a good rhythm and move up the order. I came up to fourth place and I was not far from the front in the last three laps. Then Quartararo crashed and I managed to get on the podium. I’m very happy to take third because it was my virtual home race! I’m happy for the team and the fans too!”
Valentino Rossi played the long game and was there to pick up the pieces when others made mistakes late in the race
Source: MCNews.com.au
The laps ticked by with Ferrari still out front, despite Granado asking him to slow down to no avail, and, even though the World Cup winner crashed in the final sector on the final lap, he still cruised across the line four seconds ahead of the Brazilian. The final podium place in the end went to Casadei after he chased down and forced a mistake out of Medina on the final lap. Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) clinched fifth ahead of Torres and Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in sixth and seventh. The final finishers were Tulovic and Aegerter.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
In a hectic opening half a lap, The Doctor also crashed out after some contact with Alex Marquez through Turns 4 and 5. It allowed Quartararo to escape at the front, with both Marc and Alex Marquez unable to match the pace of the Frenchman. The younger of the Marquez brothers swooped through to second shortly after, with Marc admitting he’d rather try and secure a top-three finish then crash whilst chasing his brother.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
“Then I saw Fabio was so fast today, he was a second a lap quicker than everyone but when he made a mistake I thought ok maybe I can manage this. Then we crashed again, we both touched and crashed. Marc was in front and then, at last corner, I thought ‘ok, I will try to brake early and then try to attack in the acceleration’. His mentality was the opposite, try to attack at the brake point, just like in reality! I accelerated well and I won.”
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
“I’m very, very happy for this podium,” said the 41-year-old Italian. “Because it’s an important result at my home Grand Prix. I trained this week and feel much better on the 2020 game, so this is for me, the team and all of the fans. Unfortunately, I made a mistake on the first lap and I had a crash, so I was a bit behind. But in the end, in the last three laps, I started to see the front three guys and I tried to keep my good rhythm and, in the end, with Fabio’s mistake, I got the podium.”
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
By Eric Johnson
“I want to continue like this because I believe a lot in myself and this team,” said a declarative Alex Rins of the Team Suzuki Ecstar outfit for which he won two MotoGP races for in 2019. “The work the team is doing is awesome. They trusted me during the evolution of the bike at the end of 2017, and ever since we have been working very hard together. In Japan, the factory is doing a great job with always bringing little new updates. We did great in 2019, but now we need to look where 2020 is going.”
Alex Rins – Image AJRN
The two triumphant Grand Prix wins Rins speaks of were the Circuit of Americas Grand Prix on April 12, 2019 and the British Grand Prix on August 22, 2019, the double-header success signifying the first time Suzuki had done such a thing since Kenny Roberts Junior’s four wins during his 2000 500cc World Championship run.
Alex Rins celebrates victory – COTA 2019 – Image by AJRN
Yes, 2019 brought hope and optimism to the Hamamatsu, Japan-based company which has won premier class championships with Barry Sheene in 1976 and 1977, Marco Lucchinelli (1981), Franco Uncini (1982), Kevin Schwantz (1993) and the aforementioned Kenny Roberts Junior (2000). And so now a pandemic has sabotaged the 2020 season and the globetrotting MotoGP contingent must deal with many issues before being called back out to the racetracks of the world. Enter Suzuki mastermind Davide Brivio, a MotoGP paddock stalwart who formerly worked closely with Valentino Rossi in helping the racer manage his global business affairs, Brivio has played a significant role in Suzuki’s MotoGP renaissance.
“Winning a championship for Suzuki is our target,” declared Brivio from his current lockdown base. “Being a champion is something very difficult. We are aware of that. There are very strong competitors, strong riders, strong teams, but we are here to try and win. In the coming years, our approach is to fight for the world title. And no doubt Alex Rins can do this. We are here for this. Suzuki and me, we both believe we can achieve it and we are working hard and doing our best to get the title.”
Alex Rins during Qatar MotoGP Test in February, 2020
Alex Rins and the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR in-line-four have been something of a match made in heaven, the bike allowing for excellent handling and high speed changes of direction, ideal for Rins’ aggressive, yet smooth riding style.
Rins, like all the rest of us, has had plenty of time to think about riding, racing and even life in general while riding out the coronavirus clampdown, and we were able to find all of this out via a Zoom conference call on Friday. Dressed up in Suzuki blue and in good spirits, albeit a bit bored, Rins spoke to us about his current lot in life in Andorra where the Spaniard has been holding station.
Alex Rins training this week in Andorra
“Well, for me, I’ve had small holidays and have stayed close to home during this lockdown,” pointed out Rins. “I’ve been training at home and doing a little bit of indoor cycling and I’ve been doing some push-ups and stuff, but it is not easy to train at home because I don’t have the right materials and equipment here to work. Now, though, it is clear that we can see light at the end of the tunnel because for example today, we start to ride again with the motorbikes ere in Andorra, so I’m quite happy for this.”
Alex Rins in Andorra this week
At this point in the conversation, I mentioned to Alex that I had spoken with Fabio Quartararo a few days back and that the French MotoGP sensation was also down in Andorra where he was trying to get tuned-up for the day he gets called back to the global racing grid.
“Yes, yes, I have seen a lot of riders riding here in Andorra. As you say, Fabio, Maverick Vinales and the Espargaro brothers. There are a lot of people around. For example, today I went riding with Tito Rabat. That was nice to see once again your rivals at the track and also away from the track! That was good.”
Alex Rins during Qatar MotoGP Test in February, 2020
And of being bored and trying to burn time off the clock before someone, somewhere calls everyone back to Grand Prix racing sometime this summer? “As you know, when you are a rider, your entire life is racing,” offered Rins, visibly a bit flustered in wanting to get back to racing way of life. “I mean, the bike, the PlayStation, going to the workshop that I have… With my friends and coworkers, it’s like, ‘Hey, I go into the shop today and we’ll race, okay? I’ll be faster than you and get out of the way!’ We’re always racing. Not a bad thing. Yes, I’ve been racing on the Esports and PlayStation with MotoGP and I prefer the real one! I like to do that. I’ve also done some races in cars with Gran Turismo and we play these games. These are the kinds of things we’ve enjoyed at home during this period.”
Alex Rins – Qatar MotoGP Test 2020
2019 great year with Suzuki. Two wins. Coming off an awesome season. History! 2020!
“Yes, as you said, we come off of 2019 which was a very good season. This year I hope to go faster than last year and it looks like we will race again at the end of July. That is very good news for us because after a season that was quite good in 2019, I’m so excited to start racing again to feel the adrenaline and to race and to try and win.”
Alex Rins – Qatar MotoGP Test 2020
Having signed on to the dotted line with Suzuki to race as a rookie for the team in 2017, Rins has been the foundation of Suzuki’s rapid ascension in modern day MotoGP, the Suzuki Ecstar outfit working closely together to further fortify and bolster high performance and consistent podium finishes.
“For sure, we win the races together and we are all very close, and as you know, I just signed two more years with Suzuki,” explained Rins of 2020 and beyond. “All of us together as a team and with the bike, we are all together and we have the same mentality and that is to win. For sure I believe in them and they believe in me.
Alex Rins and Joan Mir
“I’m also now very excited to start back racing to show to the world that I’m more ready than ever to fight again,” continued Rins of just what’ll come next. “It’s not easy to win a race in MotoGP and I got two victories last year and that was a pleasure for me. When you arrive and you do something like that, you want to keep it and for sure I want to continue getting podiums and winning races. And something we want to focus on this year is to be more consistent and to finish all the races on the podium and to try and see where we are at come Valencia. We improved the bike a little bit and made it more consistent and it is more powerful down the straights for 2020 As you said, the 2019 season was so good and we are ready. Suzuki did a very good job and they believe in me and they want to start racing right now – and so do I!”
Alex Rins – Sepang MotoGP Test 2020
Source: MCNews.com.au
Later in the week Fox Sports delve into the careers of Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, before turning their attention to one of their own: Phillip Island. A rider and fan favourite, Fox Sports dives into some of the greatest races at the iconic venue, before they talk more about 2019 podium finisher Jack Miller and his career. On Sunday, the MotoGP™ Week finishes with a look back at some of the best races of the last decade.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
With 11 wins out of 16, 2001 was the springboard for The Doctor’s dominant 00s era as Rossi went on to win another four on the bounce after a stellar campaign. So what better way to spend your Sunday morning than with a bit of a 500cc nostalgia? Tune in to BT Sport 1HD at 10am BST on Sunday to catch four races and all the talking points from 2001.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here