The Briton bravely rode yesterday and, despite barely any pre-season testing, was just over a second adrift of Joe Roberts’ (American Racing Team) new outright lap record. However, after further consultation on Saturday morning, the decision was taken to sit out the remainder of the opening round of the Moto2™ World Championship.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
In a session that saw only a handful of riders improve on their Friday pace, ten to be precise, Canet claimed top spot thanks to his 1:59.019, jumping from 14th to 5th on the combined Free Practice timesheets. Second fastest in FP3 was Beta Tools Speed Up’s Fabio Di Giannantonio who, despite only improving by two-tenths, leapt up the standings from 17th to 6th and, more importantly, secured himself a place in Q2.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
If you’ve been out and about enjoying your weekend and managed to avoid any Free Practice, qualifying or race spoilers, The MotoGP™ Roku app has you covered for when you want to go online and catch up. The Roku TV app allows you to set up an automatic spoiler free setting, which – when you open the app – will give nothing away in terms of results and information you want to avoid.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Thanks to his 2:04.577 in FP2 at the QNB Grand Prix of Qatar, Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) leads the Moto3™ field heading into qualifying. No improvements were made to trouble the top 14 riders so it’s as you were at the end of Friday’s running, meaning Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) and Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) complete the Free Practice combined top three.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
After some impressive form in preseason testing at Losail International Circuit, Joe Roberts (American Racing) came out swinging on Day 1 of the QNB Grand Prix of Qatar and smashed the lap record in FP2 to end Friday on top. The American was nearly two-and-a-half-tenths clear of his closest competition, Marco Bezzecchi, with Luca Marini in third as Sky Racing Team VR46 riders completed the top three.
Joe Roberts (American Racing)
Free Practice 1 in the sun began with Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) topping the timesheets, but the Swiss veteran had a tricky start to FP2 after crashing at Turn 14 while on a session best lap – rider ok. There were no such troubles for Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) though as the Japanese rider, who finished P11 in FP1, shot to the top of the times with the fastest lap of the weekend, and he remained near the top by the end of play too.
Marco Bezzecchi
In the early stages, plenty of riders were beating their FP1 times, and by the end all those down to Lüthi in 11th overall had gone faster. The Swiss rider also suffered a second crash and headed for the Medical Centre – rider fit.
By the end of the shuffle it was Roberts who moved up from having taken fifth in FP1, the American blasting the lap record and Bezzecchi then moving up to second on his final lap. Marini took third, less than a tenth off his teammate, with Nagashima pushed down to P4.
Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) had a better afternoon to finish P5 overall, the Spaniard having crashed in FP1, and FP2 crasher Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) slipped to P6 after his tumble ended his session early. Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) had a great FP2 to finish P7 overall on Day 1, the Dutchman moving up from P18 in FP1 and putting in one of NTS’ best sessions to date.
Bo Bendsneyder
Now into his second year of Moto2, Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) ended the day in P8 despite a crash, edging out compatriot and fellow sophomore Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2). Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who was second in FP1, slipped to tenth despite marginally improving his laptime – but he did clock the fastest ever Moto2 speed at Losail: 296.7km/h.
Lüthi was P11, ahead of the Qatar Test’s fastest man: Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up), who crashed on Day 1 too. Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) was next fastest, ahead of Aron Canet (Aspar Team), with the Spaniard the fastest rookie once again – and currently the last man who would move through to Q2.
Lorenzo Baldassarri
Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) suffered a spectacular highside on the exit of Turn 1 in FP2, the Australian heading to the medical centre for a checkup, and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) was another high profile crasher on Friday.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | J.Roberts | KALEX | 1m58.421 |
| 2 | M.Bezzecchi | KALEX | +0.248 |
| 3 | L.Marini | KALEX | +0.338 |
| 4 | T.Nagashima | KALEX | +0.5 |
| 5 | X.Vierge | KALEX | +0.638 |
| 6 | A.Fernandez | KALEX | +0.653 |
| 7 | B.Bendsneyd | NTS | +0.668 |
| 8 | E.Bastianini | KALEX | +0.693 |
| 9 | N.Bulega | KALEX | +0.715 |
| 10 | J.Martin | KALEX | +0.727 |
| 11 | T.Luthi | KALEX | +0.747 |
| 12 | J.Navarro | SPEED UP | +0.768 |
| 13 | M.Schrotter | KALEX | +0.777 |
| 14 | A.Canet | SPEED UP | +0.794 |
| 15 | L.Baldassarri | KALEX | +0.816 |
| 16 | R.Gardner | KALEX | +0.856 |
| 17 | F.Di Giannanto | SPEED UP | +0.863 |
| 18 | S.Chantra | KALEX | +0.869 |
| 19 | E.Pons | KALEX | +1.065 |
| 20 | S.Lowes | KALEX | +1.14 |
| 21 | J.Dixon | KALEX | +1.22 |
| 22 | M.Ramirez | KALEX | +1.288 |
| 23 | S.Corsi | MV AGUSTA | +1.418 |
| 24 | H.Garzo | KALEX | +1.599 |
| 25 | S.Manzi | MV AGUSTA | +1.705 |
| 26 | J.Raffin | NTS | +1.76 |
| 27 | H.Syahrin | SPEED UP | +1.807 |
| 28 | L.Dalla Porta | KALEX | +2.383 |
| 29 | A.Izdihar | KALEX | +2.661 |
| 30 | K.Kasmaudin | KALEX | +4.465 |
The wait is over and Moto3 are officially back in action at the QNB Grand Prix of Qatar, with Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) the man opening his 2020 account on top. The pace was pretty hot on Day 1 as the Spaniard ended Friday just 0.019 shy of Aron Canet’s lap record at Losail International Circuit, with Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) in second but a tenth back. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), our most recent race winner until the grid have a chance to try and change the fact on Sunday, completed the top three after also having gone fastest in FP1.
Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
Friday saw sun blaze throughout the day and a little less wind than had plagued the venue at times during the recent test, and it was largely a drama-free affair with most of the field improving their laptimes in a duskier FP2. The timesheets promise plenty from the race, however, with the speed already there on Day 1 as Fernandez homed in on that lap record – and only a tenth and a half separating the top three. In addition, the previous top speed in Moto3 fell by the wayside as Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) upped it from 240.3km/h to 245.4.
Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power)
Fourth went the way of Honda Team Asia’s Ai Ogura, who was second fastest in testing in Qatar, as he moved up the timesheets on his final attempt and got ahead of compatriot Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – last year’s race winner. He was the last man in the 2:04s, with Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) putting in a 2’05.227 for sixth.
Sergio Garcia
Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) was seventh and improved a whopping 1.7 seconds from his FP1 time, with Masia in P8 and over a second quicker in FP2 than his previous best. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) was only 0.016 back from the Spaniard as he leapt up the timesheets and put his Husqvarna in ninth on the manufacturer’s return to the class, with Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) completing the top ten – a familiar sight so far – as fastest rookie. The Turkish rider was only 0.007 off Fenati, too.
Deniz Öncü
John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was close too as the Scot took P11, with Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) slotting into 12th. Rookies Yuki Kunii (Honda Team Asia) and Carlos Tatay (Reale Avintia Racing) provisionally claimed the final Q2 spots in 13th and 14th place, but anything can change again in FP3…
Migno and Albert Arenas (Aspar Team) were both crashers in FP1, but nobody slipped off during the second session of the day for the lightweight class.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | R.Fernandez | KTM | 2:04.577 |
| 2 | D.Binder | KTM | +0.121 |
| 3 | S.Garcia | HONDA | +0.146 |
| 4 | A.Ogura | HONDA | +0.345 |
| 5 | K.Toba | KTM | +0.411 |
| 6 | T.Arbolino | HONDA | +0.650 |
| 7 | A.Migno | KTM | +0.710 |
| 8 | J.Masia | HONDA | +0.755 |
| 9 | R.Fenati | HUSQVARNA | +0.771 |
| 10 | D.Öncü | KTM | +0.778 |
| 11 | J.Mcphee | HONDA | +0.806 |
| 12 | C.Vietti | KTM | +0.925 |
| 13 | Y.Kunii | HONDA | +1.010 |
| 14 | C.Tatay | KTM | +1.021 |
| 15 | T.Suzuki | HONDA | +1.029 |
| 16 | S.Nepa | KTM | +1.035 |
| 17 | G.Rodrigo | HONDA | +1.045 |
| 18 | A.Arenas | KTM | +1.091 |
| 19 | F.Salac | HONDA | +1.188 |
| 20 | J.Alcoba | HONDA | +1.202 |
| 21 | A.Lopez | HUSQVARNA | +1.218 |
| 22 | D.Foggia | HONDA | +1.285 |
| 23 | R.Rossi | KTM | +1.337 |
| 24 | R.Yamanaka | HONDA | +1.509 |
| 25 | K.Pawi | HONDA | +1.540 |
| 26 | A.Sasaki | KTM | +1.693 |
| 27 | D.Pizzoli | KTM | +1.718 |
| 28 | M.Kofler | KTM | +2.404 |
| 29 | J.Dupasquier | KTM | +2.586 |
| 30 | D.Geiger | KTM | +3.136 |
| 31 | J.Garcia | HONDA | +3.725 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
Bezzecchi was also upbeat after Friday: “It was really good. This morning, the feeling was immediately good and compared to the test I felt a bit better. I was just happy to start this new adventure, so my mindset was positive. I worked in FP2 with Luca and it meant we pushed the limit a little bit more and thanks to a fast last sector I’m second. So, yeah, a good first day but we must stay focused. We used the test to prepare for the race at one time and now we race a different one, so the feeling is a little different. It’s strange but it’s nice to be riding at night, I enjoy it a lot.”
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
In Moto2™, Martin clocked 296.7km/h down the main straight before hitting the brakes into Turn 1, which beats Xavi Vierge’s 2019 294.4km/h effort on the EG 0,0 Marc VDS Triumph machine. In the lightweight class, Masia powered his Honda to 245.5km/h on Friday to knock Bo Bendsneyder’s 240.3km/h in 2016 off this particular perch.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
On the exit of seven, cornering ability is tested to the maximum as the switches from right to left and right again carry gamers into turn 10, another heavy braking area. Then it’s all about throttle control as gamers accelerate through turn 11 with the bike leant over. Turns 12, 13 and 14 are over in a flash and require complete corner stability.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Having finished P4 in FP1, Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40) then took over the P1 baton with around 25 minutes remaining. However, the Spaniard then suffered a crash at Turn 5 which ended his session early – rider ok. There was plenty of movement on the times to come as Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) climbed to P3, with Marini then going P1 as he and Bezzecchi continued to work together under the floodlights, just as they did in the opening session. But the Italian stranglehold wouldn’t last long as there was an American express turning up the wick. Roberts was setting the timing screens alight and the number 16 went P1 with a new lap record in FP2, beating Marini by over three tenths. It was a phenomenal day for Roberts having picked up P5 in FP1, and the same can be said for SKY Racing Team VR46. On the last lap, Bezzecchi would leapfrog ahead of Marini for P2 on the timesheets as the riders in P7 and P8 in FP1 claimed P2 and P3 in FP2.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
All but four of the Moto3™ contenders improved on their FP1 lap, including Friday morning’s second-fastest rider Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), as the sun began to set in the Doha desert, as FP1’s pacesetter Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) slipped back to third quickest. Separating the two talented Spanish teenagers in the top three was South African Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power), who ended just over a tenth away from Fernandez’s 2:04.577.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here