2019 British Superbike Championship Round Seven – Thruxton
Images by Dave Yeomans
Thruxton saw an exciting weekend of racing conclude on Sunday, with Andrew Irwin claiming the opening Bennetts British Superbike race win of the weekend – his first win in the series – ahead of Scott Redding and Josh Brookes.
In Race 2 however, it was Josh Brookes who maintained his momentum at the high-speed Hampshire circuit to claim the victory for Be Wiser Ducati, regulating Irwin to second-place, while Peter Hickman completed the podium, with Aussie Jason O’Halloran just tenths of a second behind in fourth.
Josh Brookes – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
This marked O’Halloran’s second fourth place of the weekend in a solid result. Fellow Aussie Ben Currie was a DNF in Race 1, and came home in 20th in Race 2.
Taylor Mackenzie claimed the Superstock 1000 race win from Lee Jackson and Billy McConnell, with Richard Cooper launching into the lead from the start but finishing in fourth.
Kyle Ryde – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
The Supersport class meanwhile saw Kyle Ryde take a narrow win in the second race of the weekend from Jack Kennedy with a tenth of a second between them, with Mason Law a distant third.
Bennetts British Superbike Race 1
At the start of Race 1 Peter Hickman launched off the front row to hit the front of the pack ahead of Andrew Irwin and Jason O’Halloran, but the Honda Racing rider hit the front of the field at the end of the opening lap.
Peter Hickman – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
His rival instantly hit back to retake the position on the next lap, but Andrew Irwin was back on the attack and he was back in the lead as the pack streamed across the line to start the third lap. O’Halloran though was in fourth place, but he put a move on Christian Iddon and then as the freight train of riders headed into Club on lap four, the Australian had been able to claim the lead for McAMS Yamaha.
As O’Halloran led, the pack had shuffled again and Iddon was then into second place ahead of Andrew Irwin, Hickman, Tommy Bridewell, Scott Redding, Danny Buchan and Josh Brookes on lap six.
A lap later and Andrew Irwin and Hickman were inseparable, but Redding was also on the move and he was into fifth on the leading Be Wiser Ducati. Meanwhile O’Halloran was holding off the chasing pack, but the lead group of nine riders were all in contention.
Jason O’Halloran – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
On lap ten Hickman moved back into the lead with Iddon then following him through on the brakes as the BMWs held first and second ahead of O’Halloran and Andrew Irwin. O’Halloran was ready to fight back, he made a move at Club a lap later and was back into second place.
The Smiths Racing BMW rider was trying to make a break from the pack, but his rivals could match his pace, while Iddon was dropping back and the Be Wiser Ducati pairing of Redding and Brookes were into fourth and fifth respectively with six laps remaining.
On lap 14 Andrew Irwin then went for a move to take the lead, pushing Hickman pack into second and into the clutches of Redding, O’Halloran and Brookes. Championship leader Redding made his move, lunging ahead of Hickman to move second with O’Halloran still pushing for his first podium of the season.
Andrew Irwin – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
O’Halloran was back into second a lap later before hitting the front of the field on lap 16 as the final strategies were coming into play over the final five laps of the race. The McAMS Yamaha rider was then holding off the pack that had again changed with Andrew Irwin back in second ahead of Brookes and Redding.
With two laps remaining Andrew Irwin had scythed his way back to the front of the pack with O’Halloran then back in second with Brookes and Redding fighting for third, however the 2015 champion was hungry for a top three finish and he was up to second, but on the final lap Redding was ahead of his teammate again.
On the final run into Club Redding looked to try and make a move on Andrew Irwin for the lead as equally Brookes was looking to move ahead of his teammate, however the Honda rider had the edge to cross the line ahead of the Be Wiser Ducati pairing.
Andrew Irwin topped the Race 1 podium from Scott Redding and Josh Brookes – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
O’Halloran just missed out on his first podium finish of the season ahead of Hickman and Buchan, who had worked his way through the pack into sixth. Xavi Forés had another strong performance to hold on to sixth place in the standings ahead of Tommy Bridewell and Luke Mossey. Ryan Vickers was back inside the top ten in his rookie season for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team.
Bennetts British Superbike Race 2
The second race had started with a battle for the lead between O’Halloran and Brookes with Hickman and race one winner Andrew Irwin in the mix, but on lap nine the race was red flagged as light rain began to fall.
Jason O’Halloran – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
When the race restarted, Hickman had the jump off the line to lead on the opening lap from Brookes, Andrew Irwin and Bridewell. On the second lap Brookes was coming under fire from a determined Honda Racing rider, but Dan Linfoot was also on the move and he was up into third ahead of Hickman.
However a crash for Glenn Irwin at the Club chicane caused another red flag when the stricken Tyco BMW was in the middle of the track and leaking fluid. The Racesafe marshals worked to clear the scene before the race was restarted again with an eight-lap sprint to the chequered flag.
On the final restart Brookes wasn’t taking any prisoners and he fired himself into the lead and then went to make a break, eventually crossing the line 4.276s ahead of the chasing pack to claim his fifth victory of the season for Be Wiser Ducati.
Josh Brookes – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
The battle for second ensued behind with Andrew Irwin and Hickman banging fairings in their quest to break into the top six in the standings. The pair were trading blows with Bridewell, Hickman, Iddon, O’Halloran and Redding also all in the mix.
However, a mistake on lap three saw Redding run on at Club and having not completed the re-join into the race correctly, he was issued a long lap penalty. The Be Wiser Ducati rider had three laps to complete the long lap as the race laps counted down, however he failed to do so, and despite crossing the line in a podium position, he was given the ride through equivalent penalty of 15 seconds. That dropped him down to 22nd and outside of the points.
Andrew Irwin – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
Andrew Irwin meanwhile had his strongest weekend of his career claiming a second place in race two, ahead of Hickman who was third to take the first podium finish for the new BMW S1000 RR.
O’Halloran had completed his best performance of the season to finish in fourth place for McAMS Yamaha, holding off Bridewell in the closing stages.
Josh Brookes topped the Race 2 podium from Irwin and Bridewell – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
Iddon equalled his best race result of the season in sixth place ahead of Xavi Forés, who just dropped outside of the top six in the points ahead of Cadwell Park. Buchan maintained his position inside the top six with an eighth place ahead of Luke Mossey and Linfoot who completed the top ten.
Andrew Irwin – 1-2
“Thruxton has probably been the best weekend of my life, it’s one that you never think will happen! I’ve had so much fun riding this weekend. We did loads of homework on Friday and Saturday and the Fireblade has been so good in all sessions, the boys did an awesome job! It is such an amazing feeling to win! I think I passed Jason going into the last lap or something like that and I felt like I had some tyre left. The pace was funny it went up and down a lot with whoever went to the lead. I just wanted to put a strong lap together on the last lap. It is a dream come true, it’s been a tough road to get here, the best road and I’ve learnt a lot along the way. Whenever I won a Supersport race, I only won one but my team-mate helped me along the way so this feels like my first proper win that I’ve ever got so I’m delighted and I can’t thank Honda enough for all their hard work.”
Andrew Irwin – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
Josh Brookes – 3-1
“Tyre conservation is on your mind all weekend here at Thruxton so with the second race going from 20 laps to 13 laps and then down to eight laps, I could ride exactly how I wanted to and just went full speed as the tyre was always going to last eight laps.I just got my head down and went for it and whilst it may not have been as close as the first race, I enjoyed it a lot more. The field is so level now, every race is tough but Pirelli have done a great job with the tyres and they’re a little bit easier to manage around here now and although I still wanted more from myself, I was happy with the first race podium.I got pushed around a bit too much on track and needed to find a little bit more confidence, so the second race win has given me exactly what I needed and it’s great to be back on the top step.”
Josh Brookes – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
Jason O’Halloran – 4-4
“It was good to get some solid finishes. I am a little bit disappointed not to be on the podium as I felt we had really good pace in both races. We’ll take fourth today, the boys have done a good job. I’ve said it the last couple of rounds, if we get a full weekend without any issues in practice and qualifying and we’ll be back up the sharp end and that’s what we’ve done this weekend. Everybody has done a great job and it feels nice to have some momentum and build through the first two days of the weekend. I had a crash at Snetterton and to be honest I’ve had a bit of an issue with my left shoulder, so I have to thank my physio and the physio team at the track. We’ve got a couple of weeks off before Cadwell, so I’ll try and get a bit fitter and see if we can carry this momentum to Cadwell.”
Jason O’Halloran – 2019 British Superbike Championship Round 10, Thruxton
Xavi Forés – 7-7
“To be honest I feel frustrated this weekend, I had good pace to be on the podium, but starting towards the back of the grid was hard to manage. The first few laps here are crazy and I had to adapt quite a bit to be strong in the first part of the race. The second race I did the third fastest lap, which means I am always improving lap-by-lap. Coming home with two seventh place finishes is good for me, especially at this kind of track where I have not ridden before and it’s not easy for me to defend my position. I feel if we can improve our qualification for the next races we will be so much more competitive. Good job from all the team, we had a great weekend and especially with Andrew’s win and podium, I feel we now have a really good package with the Fireblade.”
It was a historic weekend at the Grand Prix České republiky, with Marc Marquez once again making his mark, taking pole and then the holeshot despite a dramatic downpour which delayed the start. Marquez then went on to claim his 50th premiere win, with Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso runner up, and Australian Jack Miller on the final podium position as the top Independent.
Marc Marquez and team celebrate – 2019 MotoGP Round 10, Brno
Brno MotoGP Race Report
After a rain shower, a delay and the Quick Start Procedure, it was Marquez who shot off the line first to immediately take the lead, with Dovizioso slicing up into second as Johann Zarco and Miller found themselves struggling a little more with grip.
Marc Marquez – 2019 MotoGP Round 10, Brno
Initially, it became a four rider fight with Marquez, Dovizioso, Alex Rins and Miller creating a gap over just over a second back to Pol Espargaro, who had Valentino Rossi for close company. As the laps ticked by the leading quartet were line astern as 0.8 covered them, and with limited dry track time throughout the weekend, the riders were wary of not jumping the gun too early.
Meanwhile, Rossi eventually got the better of Espargaro’s KTM, with Cal Crutchlow quickly dispatching the latter to tuck in behind ‘The Doctor’. But by this time, the gap to the leaders was over four seconds. Would Marquez turn the wick up even further? The signs were there and with 10 to go, fourth place Miller had dropped 1.5 off the race leader, with Marquez’ lead over second-placed Dovi creeping up over the half-second mark.
Valentino Rossi – 2019 MotoGP Round 10, Brno
Then, with nine to go, Marquez was making his move. The gap increased to nearly a second but at Turn 10, the number 93 had a warning shot on the front. It didn’t seem to faze the seven-time Champion though, as from then on, no one could keep the Honda man’s pace.
That meant it boiled down to a race for second and third between Dovi, Rins and Miller with five laps remaining. Would there be a late twist in the tale for P2? Rins closed Dovi down slightly but soon, it was the Suzuki under attack instead. Miller smelt blood and the Australian set his sights onto the back of Rins’ GSX-RR.
Andrea Dovizioso – 2019 MotoGP Round 10, Brno
With two laps left, he went for it at Turn 1 but the blue machine fought back up the inside. No matter, Miller got the job done a few seconds later at Turn 5 and with Rins clearly struggling with his tyres, the Spaniard gave up the ghost.
Up the road, meanwhile, Marquez was out of sight as he took victory number six of the year. 63 points is now his advantage heading to Austria, over Dovizioso, who returned to the podium for the first time since Mugello just behind him.
Behind Rins’ fourth, Crutchlow wasn’t far off the podium hunt, with the British rider finishing 1.2 off him in P5. Rossi took a pretty lonely sixth place to claim his best result since Le Mans; the nine-time World Champion the leading Yamaha in the Czech Republic as he finished three seconds ahead of rookie Fabio Quartararo.
Cal Crutchlow – 2019 MotoGP Round 10, Brno
Danilo Petrucci’s run of top six finishes in 2019 came to an end with a P8 in Brno, the Italian ahead of ninth place Takaaki Nakagami. After a bad start, Maverick Viñales recovered from 15th to 10th on a difficult day for one of the riders who looked like a serious contender before the weather shuffled the pack.
Pol Espargaro took 11th ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, with his fellow rookie Miguel Oliveira taking P13 and just ahead of Zarco. Jorge Lorenzo’s replacement, Stefan Bradl, completed the points.
Hafizh Syahrin crashed at Turn 10 on Lap 7 – rider ok, and a crash took down Franco Morbidelli and Joan Mir fter a close encounter with Zarco on Lap 1.
marc Marquez tops the podium from Andrea Dovizioso and Jack Miller at Brno- 2019 MotoGP Round 10, Brno
That’s it from Brno, and another masterclass from Marquez sees the number 93 enter the record books once more with his 50th premier class win. The riders will be aiming to stop it become number 51 in Austria, with the action kicking off at the Red Bull Ring in under a weeks’ time. But first, a Brno test on Monday!
Marc Marquez – P1
“I was really concentrating from the beginning because there were some wet patches still at Turn 1, but I decided to start and keep my rhythm because the Yamaha riders were behind and they were very fast in Warm Up. I saw Dovi was behind me and I just kept pushing and pushing. Around 10 laps to go is when I had a warning, it’s when I started to push more and when I tried to open the gap! I’m really happy, it was a crazy weekend but the Repsol Honda Team were really focused and precise, and that helps me achieve the victory.”
Marc Marquez – 2019 MotoGP Round 10, Brno
Andrea Dovizioso – P2
“I’m happy with my second place today and the fact that we were fast all through the weekend, even though unfortunately it wasn’t enough to win the race. I opted for a different rear tyre to Marquez and at the start I pushed hard to stay close to him, but when he began to brake harder I didn’t have any margin to push harder at the front. Pity, but we weren’t that far away from him, so we have to continue to believe in ourselves: I’m still positive because tomorrow there will be an important test day here at Brno, with a lot of new material to try out.”
Andrea Dovizioso – 2019 MotoGP Round 10, Brno
Jack Miller – P3
“I am very satisfied with this result and I thank the team because this weekend we have done an extraordinary job. When Rins overtook me I stayed calm and this allowed me to manage the tyre and then attack him in the final. The delayed start? Turn 1 would have been very dangerous. It was the right decision and it’s nice to see how much Dorna cares about our safety.”
Wonthaggi had been the only real major blip in Todd Waters’ scorecard so far this year as the DPH Husqvarna man elsewhere racked up nine wins and 13 podiums to take a 23-point lead over Luke Clout into today’s Coolum championship finale.
Luke Clout #4
It was Luke Clout though that took the early lead as Waters got mixed up with Kirk Gibbs in turn one.
Luke Clout
Todd Waters eventually got away from Gibbs to pass Dylan Long, and then made short shrift of Brett Metcalfe to move through to second place. Waters then jumped through to the lead early on lap two and cleared out.
Kirk Gibbs crashed out a few laps into the race. That would have serious repercussions for third place in the championship.
Kirk Gibbs goes down
Hayden Mellross suffered a small crash at Moree but fell awkwardly, tearing his ACL and meniscus in his knee, and also fracturing the neck of his fibula. Despite those major injuries Mellross had been riding through the pain to try and secure at least third place in the championship. The 23-year-old had led the championship a few rounds ago and had started this weekend’s Coolum double-header Mellross was only 14-points behind Waters. After finishing eighth on Saturday he had slipped to third place in the series but still had 41-points over Kirk Gibbs. That would mean that Mellross might be able to sit out the final moto this afternoon with that third place in the championship secured.
Brett Metcalfe managed to hold Dylan Long at bay all the way to the flag to secure second place in the opening moto for Penrite Honda.
Dylan Long
Todd Waters though the clear victor and now had one hand on the Thor MX1 Championship trophy.
Thor MX1 Moto One Results
Todd Waters – Husqvarna
Brett Metcalfe – Honda +5.464s
Dylan Long – Kawasaki +25.081s
Luke Clout – Yamaha +40.520s
Jesse Dobson – Husqvarna +60.668s
Caleb Ward – KTM +61.796s
Connor Tierney – Yamaha +96.487s
Richie Evans – Yamaha +106.941s
Justin Rodbell – Suzuki +120.900s
Charlie Creech – Husqvarna +1 lap
Thor MX1 Moto Two
With third place in the championship wrapped up Hayden Mellross did sit out this final moto of the 2019 Thor MX1 Championship season. Todd Waters started this moto with a handy advantage over Luke Clout but if a disaster befall the DPH Husqvarna man then the #4 Yamaha will be ready to pounce and steal the main prize from underneath him at this final juncture.
Dylan Long was credited with the holeshot but it only took a few turns before Todd Waters blasted his way through to the lead and clear air. Championship challenger Luke Clout was languishing down in ninth place in the early stages of the race.
Caleb Ward looked eager to finish the season on a high with a strong start in this moto to be riding strong in third ahead of Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe. Ward quickly started to look to challenge Long for second place but the Empire Kawasaki man responded to the challenge and stretched away again from Ward.
Luke Clout and Jesse Dobson were tussling over fourth place on track but Clout eventually managed to stretch away from Dobson in the last few laps of the race.
Caleb Ward mounted a late charge to try and get back on terms with Dylan Long to take the battle for second place up to the Kawasaki rider but Long held on that for second place.
Todd Waters the clear winner of the race, the day, the round, and the new Thor MX1 Australian Champion! Incredibly the first MX1 Championship for Todd Waters on Australian soil, and he plans to stay here and defend it in 2020, where it looks as though he is likely to go head-to-head with previous dominator of this championship, Dean Ferris…
MX1 Moto Two Results
Todd Waters – Husqvarna
Dylan Long – Kawasaki +4.694s
Caleb Ward – KTM +5.395s
Luke Clout – Yamaha +23.893s
Jesse Dobson – Husqvarna +28.356s
Brett Metcalfe – Honda +53.568s
Kirk Gibbs – Yamaha +71.444s
Connor Tierney – Yamaha +87.834s
Justin Rodbell – Suzuki +124.753s
Richie Evans – Yamaha +1 lap
MX1 Round Ten Results
Todd Waters 70
Dylan Long 62
Brett Metcalfe 57
Luke Clout 56
Caleb Ward 55
Jesse Dobson 52
Connor Tierney 47
Justin Rodbell 44
Richie Evans 44
Charlie Creech 41
2019 MX1 Championship Final Points
Todd Waters 568
Luke Clout 530
Hayden Mellross 462
Kirk Gibbs 435
Brett Metcalfe 432
Justin Rodbell 373
Richie Evans 372
Jesse Dobson 360
Dylan Long 325
Jayden Rykers 300
MX2
The two men fighting it out for the MX2 championship also went hammer and tong for the win in the opening moto, with Kyle Webster taking the battle up to defending champion Wilson Todd in the dark sand of Coolum.
Pirelli MX2 – Wilson Todd scores the holeshot
Wilson Todd though showed his class and speed to hold off the thrusts and parries of Webster to cross the line first in the opening bout of the back-to-back morning motos.Jay Wilson clinched third ahead of Nathan Crawford and Bailey Malkiewicz.
MX2 Moto One Results
Wilson Todd – Husqvarna
Kyle Webster – Honda
Jay Wilson – Yamaha
Nathan Crawford – Yamaha
Bailey Malkiewicz – Husqvarna
MX2 Moto Two
Wilson Todd scored the holeshot and again it was Kyle Webster that quickly forced his way through to the field to try and chase down Todd.
It was not to be though as the hunter became the hunted as Nathan Crawford closed in on and then passed Webster to move up to second place. Second was not going to be good enough for Crawford though as he then blasted past Wilson Todd to take the lead and pull away.
Jay Wilson then came into place as the race moved into its second half, the #6 Yamaha pushed Webster back to fourth and started closing on Wilson Todd to try and challenge for second.
Nathan Crawford the clear victor though in this stanza.
Todd responded to Jay Wilson’s challenge by upping his speed to hold on to that second place, and with it scores the major points from the back-to-back format by taking the overall win on combined results.
MX2 Moto Two Results
Nathan Crawford – Yamaha
Wilson Todd – Husqvarna +4.084s
Jay Wilson – Yamaha +11.132s
Kyle Webster – Honda +15.657s
Aaron Tanti – Yamaha +16.383s
Joel Evans – Husqvarna +62.596s
Ricky Latimer – Yamaha +65.488s
Jai Constantinou – Honda +65.989s
Morgan Fogarty – KTM +69.646s
Lochie Latimer – Yamaha +77.679s
Combined MX2 Moto One/Two Results
Wilson Todd
Kyle Webster
Jay Wilson
Nathan Crawford
Aaron Tanti
Morgan Fogarty
Bailey Malkiewicz
Joel Evans
Ricky Latimer
Jai Constantinou
MX2 Moto Three
Wilson Todd again scored the holeshot on the DPH Husqvarna as Jay Wilson, Kyle Webster and Nathan Crawford gave chase.
Kyle Webster needed to do something special in this one, then hope for some sort of disaster to strike Todd in order for him to have a chance at the title. The Penrite Honda man threw down the gauntlet to Todd on lap three, closing in on, and then passing Todd for the race lead.
Jay Wilson was the next rider to catch and pass Wilson Todd. The defending champion playing it safe and smart to just bring home the handful of points he requires to take that #1 plate once again. Todd has lost a championship in a final moto once before, he did not want to suffer that disappointment again.
Webster went on to take a clear victory to finish his season on a high, but it is Wilson Todd that finishes the season on the ultimate high by successfully wrapping up his second MX2 Championship in a row.
MX2 Moto Three Results
Kyle Webster – Honda
Jay Wilson – Yamaha +4.724s
Wilson Todd – Husqvarna +17.068s
Nathan Crawford – Yamaha +22.442s
Aaron Tanti – Yamaha +27.273s
Morgan Fogarty – KTM +38.462s
Bailey Malkiewicz – Husqvarna +49.302s
Cooper Pozniak – KTM +57.409s
Ricky Latimer – Yamaha +60.763s
Jai Constantinou – Honda +65.231s
MX2 Round Ten Results
Wilson Todd 65
Kyle Webster 63
Jay Wilson 62
Nathan Crawford 60
Aaron Tanti 52
Morgan Fogarty 49
Bailey Malkiewicz 47
Joel Evans 45
Ricky Latimer 43
Jai Constantinou 43
2019 MX2 Championship Final Points
Wilson Todd 562
Kyle Webster 536
Jay Wilson 523
Nathan Crawford 492
Aaron Tanti 460
Dylan Wills 394
Bailey Malkiewicz 387
Ricky Latimer 360
Cooper Pozniak 345
Morgan Fogarty 327
MXD
Liam Walsh took the holeshot thanks to some serious two-stroke power blasting him through the dark sand of Coolum and into turn one ahead of Regan Duffy and Rhys Budd.
Motul MXD
Regan Duffy quickly worked his way through to the lead though and then sprinted away from his pursuers.
Regan Duffy
Max Purvis then again started his march through the field as he did on Saturday, the Kiwi teenager dispensed with Jai Walker, Rhys Budd and then Liam Walsh to move up to second place.
Max Purvis
On Saturday the outright pace of Purvis was unparalleled, but today Regan Duffy had both himself and the Raceline KTM dialed in and looked untouchable.
The Western Australian teenager backed things off in the final laps to give Purvis a sniff, but almost backed it off a little too much on the final lap which saw the Kiwi get within striking distance, but Duffy held on to take the victory.
Regan Duffy
MXD Moto One Results
Regan Duffy – KTM
Max Purvis – Yamaha +1.144s
Jai Walker – KTM +43.355s
Noah Ferguson – KTM +43.722s
Liam Walsh – KTM +61.045s
Rhys Budd – Honda +72.536s
Tye Jones – Husqvarna +92.993s
Brodie Ellis – Yamaha +102.786s
Mackenzie O’Bree – Yamaha +117.273s
Ethan Ashmore – Husqvarna +132.874s
MXD Moto Two
Liam Walsh again used that big two-stroke power to score the holeshot but Regan Duffy made short work of him once into the corners and was quickly through to the front.
Purvis started a little better this time around and was quickly up to third and engaged in battle with Walsh over second position. Liam Walsh was not a push-over for Purvis this time around, going bar-to-bar with the young Kiwi phenom but eventually had to relent as Purvis stepped things up further to clear out. By the time Purvis was clear in second though Regan Duffy was leading by ten-seconds…
Regan Duffy not only maintained that advantage over Purvis, he increased it to more than 19-seconds at the flag to win the 2019 Motul MXD Championship in fine style.
Securing the win on the final day of racing in Romania, Manuel Lettenbichler claimed his debut victory in WESS. He was joined on the podium by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Alfredo Gomez (ESP) and Graham Jarvis (GB).
Manuel Lettenbichler
Holding the provisional lead at the end of the penultimate day, Lettenbichler was determined to claim the top step of the podium on the final day of racing. With a slender one-minute and seven-second lead over Gomez, the German pushed hard from the off and following the early climbs maintained his position at the front.
Red Bull Romaniacs
Gomez appeared to struggle to find his rhythm early on, dropping back behind a charging Jonny Walker (GB). The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider was on top form and provisionally led on corrected time entering the service point.
But with heavy rain greeting riders, the already challenging trails proved slippery and unpredictable. Gomez found his rhythm in the rain and brought the fight back to Lettenbichler. The duo swapped and changed position with each passing section.
Manuel Lettenbichler
Lettenbichler entered the Gusterita finishing arena first and worked hard to complete the remaining climbs as quickly as possible. Anxiously waiting for Gomez to arrive, the KTM rider kept one eye on the clock and one on his rival as the seconds ticked by.
Nathan Watson
The nerves soon turned to joy and with Lettenbichler declared the winner, the celebrations could begin. For Gomez it was a case of close, but not close enough. Despite giving his best effort on arguably the toughest day of this year’s race it was not to be and he had to settle for the runner-up result. Putting hopes of another victory in this year’s championship on hold, Jarvis ended his week on the third step of the podium.
Alfredo Gomez
Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER)
“I’m over the moon right now, I really can’t believe it. This race is really something special and to win here feels amazing. The event is so long and so hard and anything can happen, so I’m so pumped to take the win. It’s been an incredible five days and so gnarly, especially with all the rain we’ve had. Some of the uphills that would have been tricky anyway have become near impossible today. It’s 10 years since my dad won Red Bull Romaniacs so it’s great to be able to match his achievement – the Lettenbichlers are definitely going to celebrate tonight!”
Ten years after his father Andreas took victory at Romaniacs, Manuel Lettenbichler won the 2019 edition of the famous event
Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP)
“It’s been an amazing race, I’m so happy to get on the podium. The first day didn’t go so well for me but then on the second day I had a better feeling on the bike and was able to take the win. The last two days also went well and it was great to have such a close fight with Mani and Graham. Obviously I’m disappointed not to have taken the win but it still feels great to come second after such a long and demanding race. Thank you to everyone who helped me over the event – my team and all the fans – I’ll come back even stronger next year.”
Alfredo Gomez
Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB)
“It was definitely the hardest day today – it was so slippery on the hills after the rain and there was a lot of pushing. I’m happy just to get to the finish today – I was going well up to the service point then I had a crash and lost my GPS. After that I just tried to tag onto the other riders so I knew where to go. I did get lost a couple of times, so I’m really happy to get third. Overall the event has gone well, it’s been one of the closest and I’m happy that I was still in contention right up to the end.”
Graham Jarvis
With the top three proving themselves the main contenders, Blazusiak was a definite improver as the week wore on. Hampered by his technical issue on day one, a strong ride on the final two days brought him back up the leaderboard for fourth. A really strong ride from Walker for third on Off Road Day Four, saw him complete the top five in the final classification.
Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak
“Considering what happened on day one, I’m happy with how things went. On the second day, I knew I had lost a lot of time so just kept to a solid pace to avoid making any mistakes. After that things went well and I was able to push. I was hoping for a podium, but unfortunately, I simply lost too much time early on. Still, to place fourth in what is my first ever finish at Romaniacs is not bad at all. This race is tough and especially like today when it’s raining it really pushes you to the limit. Experience and set up is also really important so I’ll take what I’ve learned and come back stronger next year.”
Taddy Blazusiak
Jonny Walker
“Obviously it’s not been the best Romaniacs for me, it would have been nice to get on top of the podium again, but I have to take some positives from the race. I started off strong but was struggling on a lot of the hills and that was tiring me out too much, especially as my wrist is still a concern. I kept going though and then for the last day we made some big changes to the bike and suspension and it seemed to work really well – I led the final day for a good while. I’m pleased with how things ended up and feel I’ve finally turned things around now for the WESS championship. Really looking forward to my home race at Hawkstone Park now.”
Jonny Walker
Behind the top five, drama struck Sherco Factory Racing’s Mario Roman. Holding fourth overall, the Spaniard had a bad day at the office in seventh. Despite a strong three days previous, he slipped to seventh overall. His loss was Billy Bolt’s gain, with the British rider moving up to sixth overall.
Mario Roman
Signing off on an impressive week, JD Gunnex KTM Racing privateer David Cyprian (CZ) placed ninth in the rain to end round five eighth overall. TTR Officine Rigamonti’s Pol Tarres (ESP) and Josep Garcia (KTM-ESP) completed the top 10 in ninth and tenth respectively.
Josep Garcia
Anthony Solar was the first Australian home in the Gold Class at Red Bull Romaniacs. With a Silver top 10 finish on his first trip in 2017, he returned to the event this year to go for Gold against the best Extreme riders in the World. He completed the event in 23rd outright.
These three Aussies ran the same course as hard enduro legends like Grahama Jarvis (pictured).
Countrymen Chris Perry and Adam Giles also took on the Gold Class challenge and while Perry made it to the last day he had to join Giles in the list of non-finishers. Still, massive respect to these guys for taking on Romaniacs in the premier category. Chris Perry spoke to Wildwood promoter Steven Braszell after the event.
Chris Perry
“Couldn’t make it through the race track today, I was just too worn out and then with all the rain the track was just impossible. I’m totally fucked now but I’m definitely training and coming back next year! Some of these gold sections we done are just so far ridiculous I can’t explain it!”
Silver
In the Silver class a final day win for Britain’s Sam Winterburn couldn’t deny Spain’s Josu Artola the top step of the podium. Opting to play safe and settle for second was enough to see the Spaniard win the Silver category outright. Spain’s Alberto Aramburu placed third overall in Silver.
The final climb at Red Bull Romaniacs
Josu Artola (Husqvarna – ESP) – Silver Class Winner
“I’m so pleased to win the Silver Class. I won the first three days and it would have been great to have posted the fastest time today, but I decided it would be better to take it steady to make sure I got the victory. The hills were so slippery and at Red Bull Romaniacs anything can happen, so I just followed today’s winner to the finish. It feels great to win here at one of the toughest races – I’m so happy.”
Shane Moss was the first Aussie home in the Silver category, finishing 18th while Adam Poole was 24th and Tim Gibson 39th.
Bronze
Romania’s Radu Sardarescu grabbed the final day’s win, but shadowing him home for second saw Poland’s Marcin Welglarz claim the overall Bronze class victory. In the final classification he was joined on the podium by Eric Slominski (USA) and Jean Michel Vigand (FRA).
Poland’s Marcin Welglarz claimed victory in the Bronze category
Brent Brady was the first Australian home in Bronze with a highly creditable sixth place. Countrymen Cameron Brice scored 22nd, Christian Barrett 33rd, Jason Beaton 49th, Raymond Borg 51st, Robert Kingston 73rd and Nicholas Kirk 74th.
Iron
History was made in the Iron class with Anna Schmolzl becoming the first woman to ever win a category in Red Bull Romaniacs. The German was a model of consistency this week never faltering outside the top three, earning her a commanding 20-minute margin of victory over Danny Melvin (USA) and Mexico’s Eduardo Martinez.
Anna Schmolzl became the first woman to ever win a category in Red Bull Romaniacs when she took out the Iron Class
First Aussie home in Iron was Aaron Mcfadzen in 35th. Dominic Dercole was 48th, Brenden Murphy 63rd and Joshua Devine 64th.
Congratulations and respect to all the Australian riders that had a go, finishing or not.
So near but yet so far for some…
The World Enduro Super Series continues with round six at Hawkstone Park Cross-Country, UK on September 21-22.
Manuel Lettenbichler now leads Gomez and Jarvis in WESS Championship points standings
2019 Red Bull Romaniacs Day Four Results
Gold Class
Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 5:37:59
Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 5:39:16
Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 5:43:27
Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 5:46:11
Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 5:53:39
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 6:54:00
Nathan Watson (KTM – GB) 6:55:41
Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 7:05:03
David Cyprian (KTM – CZ) 7:17:24
Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 7:24:43…
Silver Class
Sam Winterburn (GB) 4:57:55
Josu Artola (ESP) 5:02:00
Alberto Aramburu (ESP) 5:06:13
Emanuel Gyenes (ROU) 5:14:09…
Bronze Class
Radu Sardarescu (ROU) 4:33:18
Marcin Welglarz (POL) 4:35:26
Eric Slominski (USA) 4:35:43
Marius Muntean (ROU) 4:37:38
Mark Galbraith (NZL) 4:49:25…
Iron Class
Tom Simpson (GB) 4:11:57
Danny Melvin (USA) 4:17:54
Anna Schmolzl (GER) 4:26:32
Eduardo Martinez (MEX) 4:25:01…
2019 Red Bull Romaniacs Final Overall Classificiation
Gold Class
Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 20:39:51
Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 20:42:15
Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 20:52:12
Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 21:25:36
Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 21:30:40
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 23:16:34
Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 23:36:25
David Cyprian (KTM – CZ) 23:48:33
Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 24:42:30
Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 25:08:26…
Silver Class
Josu Artola (ESP) 18:57:20
Sam Winterburn (GB) 19:39:55
Alberto Aramburu (ESP) 20:18:14
Emanuel Gyenes (ROU) 20:31:54
Dustin McCarthy (USA) 20:35:35…
Bronze Class
Marcin Weglarz (POL) 17:43:32
Eric Slominski (USA) 17:53:43
Jean Michel Vigand (FRA) 18:03:04
Radu Sardarescu (ROU) 18:17:13
Brent Brady (AUS) 18:45:04…
Iron Class
Anna Schmolzl (GER) 16:09:43
Danny Melvin (USA) 16:31:13
Eduardo Martinez (MEX) 16:35:17
Tom Simpson (GB) 16:48:18
Agostino Crema (ITA) 17:11:07…
WESS Championship Standings (After round 5)
Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 3570 pts
Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 3460 pts
Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 3164
Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 2940 pts
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 2725 pts
Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 2700 pts
Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 2615 pts
Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 2590 pts
Nathan Watson (KTM – GB) 2091 pts
Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 1965 pts…
WORLD ENDURO SUPER SERIES 2019 SCHEDULE
Round 1: Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 10-12 Round 2: Trèfle Lozérien AMV (France) May 17-19 Round 3: Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (Austria) May 30-June 2 Round 4: Hixpania Hard Enduro (Spain) June 21-23 Round 5: Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 30-August 3 Round 6: Hawkstone Park Cross Country (United Kingdom) September 21-22 Round 7: BR2 Enduro Solsona (Spain) October 5-6 Round 8: GetzenRodeo (Germany) November 2
2019 British Superbike Championship Round Seven – Thruxton – Saturday
Scott Redding claimed his third pole position of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship season with a last lap dash in the final two minutes of the final Datatag Qualifying session as he snatched the top spot from Tommy Bridewell at Thruxton.
The final stage of Qualifying was extended to 12 minutes when light rain began to fall, but with it stopping and starting during the crucial final stage, the battle for pole went down to the wire with the fastest rider changing eight times before the chequered flag.
Initially Christian Iddon had tried to set an early lap time and he went to the top of the timing screens for Tyco BMW ahead of Bridewell, but a few minutes later Andrew Irwin had surged to the top, however just 60 seconds later his brother Glenn claimed the leading position.
Redding had been tentative initially when the session got underway but then with six minutes on the clock he fired the Be Wiser Ducati to the top of the times, but he didn’t maintain it to the finish as Bridewell then posted his fastest lap of the session to put the Oxford Racing Ducati ahead of the opposition.
However Redding was ready to go for another time attack in the fight for pole position and he launched ahead with less than two minutes on the clock to bag the top time in Datatag Qualifying ahead of Bridewell.
Scott Redding – P1
“I am so happy to be on pole here. These guys [Bridewell and Hickman] sound like they had a strategy going on in that session listening to what they just said! I haven’t got time for strategies this weekend, with zero laps around here before I just need to try and learn everything I can at every moment. I’m making mistakes, but I’m pushing on the limit. Then it started raining and basically the guys in the team said to me this track is super grippy in the rain so you should be alright, so I took that on the shoulder and I took the chance. I saw some of the boys putting hands up and I saw Tommy going out on his used tyre; seeing all these things I just thought to myself I’m going to do my own thing. I was going to go in the pits but then I saw Irwin go in, but I decided to just go and take a chance. I stuck it into Church, it was raining a bit, and I had both wheels sliding but I just thought to myself “hold it for one more lap. To come away with the pole was something I didn’t real expect today, but for sure something that I wanted. I have been working on race distance as I hear a lot of talk about saving the tyres and I was in a rhythm and I think that helped. I am happy and now I am looking forward to some good races tomorrow!”
Peter Hickman had been moving back up the order in the closing stages after a positive start and he was able to seal his second front row qualifying performance of the season.
Peter Hickman
Josh Brookes will head the second row; the Be Wiser Ducati rider decided to hold out in the opening stages of the session but he was able to move into fourth, pushing the racing brothers Andrew and Glenn into fifth and sixth respectively.
Ryan Vickers had his strongest qualifying performance of his rookie season in seventh place ahead of Jason O’Halloran and Iddon who completed the riders in Q3 for Tyco BMW.
Tommy Bridewell
However it was disappointment for Tarran Mackenzie who crashed out in the opening stage of Datatag Qualifying, sustaining a left wrist fracture, the same injury sustained by Joe Francis, which both riders now unfit ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
Thruxton BSB Qualifying Results
Scott Redding (Be Wiser Ducati) 1m:14.803s
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Racing Ducati) +0.059s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.502s
Josh Brookes (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.668s
Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.733s
Glenn Irwin (Tyco BMW) +0.774s
Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) +0.940s
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +1.101s
Christian Iddon (Tyco BMW) +1.139s
Supersport
Kyle Ryde took the first Dickies British Supersport GP2 win on track at Thruxton, slipping past Supersport class winner Jack Kennedy at the final corner. Launching off the line was the Integro Yamaha of Brad Jones but by the time they crossed the line for the first time series leader Kennedy had found a way through as had Ryde.
Remaining in a tense game of follow the leader for much of the race, title challenger Alastair Seeley had moved up to fourth by lap six before the Safety Car was deployed just one lap later. Pitting back in at the start of the tenth lap, it was a three lap battle for the win.
Coming down to the final corner on the final lap, Ryde was able to slice his way through Kennedy to take the victory on track and secure the GP2 machine. Kennedy finished top Supersport machine whilst Jones was able to hold off a late challenge from Seeley to take second.
Pole positions come and go, lap records are broken, and the paddock inevitably marches on. But every now and then, someone creates a moment that instantly gets inked into the history books, and that’s exactly what Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) did to take pole position in the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky.
Slicks in mixed conditions are a recipe for gravel or glory and Marquez rode a bucking bronco to inch perfect precision to produce one of the most stunning qualifying performances in history, annihilating his rivals by over two and a half seconds.
Marc Marquez – Brno 2019
This is the 58th pole position for Marc Marquez on what is his 118th start in the premier class (49.1%), equalling the record of 58 premier class poles held by Mick Doohan. In addition, this is his 86th pole position of his Grand Prix career (43.8%).
If Marc Marquez wins the race at Brno, he will become the fourth rider to reach the milestone of 50 premier class wins along with Valentino Rossi (89 wins), Giacomo Agostini (68) and Mick Doohan (54).
Marc Marquez – P1
“At the start I believed in the slick tyres with how the conditions were changing. In the end when the rain came back and the track got wetter it was difficult! Maybe in hindsight I took a little too much risk, but in the end we finished in a good way and I am happy. Tomorrow it looks like it will be a sunny day, so a normal race. With the conditions we have had, it is hard to know where everyone is but the target is the podium.”
Marc Marquez – Brno 2019
Joining Marquez on the front row are Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), who also took the gamble on slicks, and Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who took the first front row for the Austrian factory and his first this season.
Jack Miller
Jack Miller is both the highest-placed Ducati and Independent Team rider. This is Miller’s best qualifying result since Misano last year, when he also qualified in second place.
2019 Brno MotoGP Qualifying results: 1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) 2’02.753 2 – Jack Miller* (ITA – Ducati) +2.524 3 – Johann Zarco (FRA – KTM) +2.598
Jack Miller – P2
“It was a very exciting qualifying. The decision to get back on track with slicks, after the first run in wet conditions, was risky but paid off. I tried to push as hard as I could to close the gap with Marquez but it started raining again on the last lap. I am still very happy with this result. We are doing a great job this weekend.”
Jack Miller
More milestones for the KTM MotoGP project with Zarco’s front row start. Red Bull KTM capitalised on the changing weather conditions (the Free Practice sessions and Q1 chrono were mostly wet) to stop the RC16 in Parc Ferme and on the front row for the first time thanks to Johann Zarco’s increased competitiveness. The Frenchman was able to excel in the damp and took 1st place in Q1 and set a rapid lap early in the short Q2 blast to capture P3 for the grid.
Johann Zarco
Johann Zarco – P3
“This feels pretty good because I have been going through a tough time. I’m still struggling but the wet makes a reset for everyone. In the afternoon I found a good way and great confidence: I could [really] feel the bike and the tyres. The strategy to go with slick tyres at the end was complicated and didn’t feel it. [To use] Rain tyres were a bit too hard for Pole Position but I had good lap from earlier in the session. Anyway, this brings a good feeling for the team. I needed this, and shows I still have this fighting spirit that is necessary for this level.”
Johann Zarco and Team KTM
Qualifying Report
In Q1, it was also KTM’s time to shine as Zarco reigned ahead of teammate Pol Espargaro, with the two split by just 0.020 and both moving through to contest what looked like a very challenging Q2. And that it turned out to be, with Zarco again the man in the spotlight as the Frenchman took provisional pole with ten minutes remaining, ahead of Espargaro, and a dry line starting to appear on the track.
Johann Zarco
The drama came first from a fight between Marquez and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), with the two getting a little too close for comfort on track before rolling into pitlane in tandem and exchanging a few words. And that’s when the reigning Champion switched to slicks, heading back out with seven minutes left on the clock, as the rain began to return.
Marc Marquez – Brno 2019
Meanwhile, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) had gone the opposite way, and it looked like Marquez could have made a serious mistake as the Ducati man shot up into second to split the KTMs…and the rain started to fall. But then the red sectors started to appear.
First it was a few tenths, and by the end of the lap it was over a second. At parts of the track it was pouring with rain but the number 93 kept on keeping on, eking out the advantage with utter commitment to the cause and taking over on top.
Miller was also seeing red and moved up to second behind Marquez not long after, and that was surely all she wrote? Not so as both men began another flying lap. For Miller, sadly, it came to an early end as the Australian crashed out. But he’d done enough to keep his impressive second place and once again proved a master of rolling the dice, with everything now left to one man and his slicks: Marquez. Could he improve? He didn’t need to, but the reigning Champion was on a mission.
Marc Marquez – Brno 2019
Four tenths in sector 1 became nearly a second in sector 2, before the third sector saw the timing screens light up with a gap of almost a second and a half. The final sector was where the rain was still coming down though; all that stood between Marquez and pole number 58. That, too, was conquered, with Marquez’ final effort pulling him two and a half seconds clear of the field and a second and a half ahead of his previous best. Mission accomplished, history made.
Jack Miller
So he heads Miller and Zarco as the Frenchman earns KTM’s first MotoGP front row start and his best qualifying result since taking pole in Malaysia last year, with Dovizioso putting himself in a solid position for the race in fourth.
Andrea Dovizioso – P4
“After my first run in Q2 I was sure we could have made a further improvement on our time and on my second run, with the hardest rain tyre available, I thought I could lap in 2’05 but I wasn’t sure if that would be enough. In the end I managed to do a good lap and even though I’m not on the front row, it’s OK in any case because today, with the track conditions we encountered, it was very easy to make a mistake; the most important thing was to start as close to the front as possible and we did that. I’m happy above all because in the dry yesterday we were quite fast and tomorrow it looks like there will be good weather for the race. Obviously Marquez is ahead of us, and he’s always very strong, but also Rins and Viñales will be competitive tomorrow. We’ll have to see their choice of tyres and in any case we will have to do a good warm-up to arrive at the race with a good feeling.”
Bagnaia, Rins, Mir
Pol Espargaro lines up in fifth for the second time this season, with Rins ultimately set to launch from sixth.
Pol Espargaro – P5
“A great day for everyone: the team, me and also Johann for the front row and we were all pleased to go through Q1 and to end up where we are in complicated conditions. After yesterday we knew it would involve some risk – especially with the track so wet and then drying – to get through to Q2. Johann has been working all year and I’m happy for him because he’s a good guy. It’s great we both made the Q2 and then those incredible results. Tomorrow will be interesting. It will be a fun race for us.”
Pol Espargaro
Alex Rins – P6
“This sixth place on the grid is positive, I feel that my pace can be good in the dry or the wet, so I’m ready to enjoy tomorrow’s race. The Q2 session was difficult because tyre choice was crucial, it wasn’t a clear decision between the wet and the slick. In the end I tried the gamble of slicks and it didn’t work out because the conditions were half and half, but I’m not really disappointed because my position and pace are good anyway.”
Alex Rins
Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) slammed in a late personal best time on the wet tyres to spearhead the third row of the grid in Brno, ‘The Doctor’ leads Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) and Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who are in eighth and ninth respectively.
Valentino Rossi – P7
“It was a very difficult day, especially for the qualifying. We always had half-and-half conditions and we wanted to try to use the slicks at the beginning, but the conditions weren’t good enough. Before my second run I saw a lot of people go out on slicks, but for me it was too wet. There was not enough time to put on slicks for us. These conditions are always difficult for us, we struggle very much, so starting from the third row is not so bad. I hope for a dry race tomorrow and also for a dry Warm Up, because we have a lot of things to try, especially to make the right tyre choice.”
Valentino Rossi
Danilo Petrucci – P8
“It was a very complicated qualifying session because the track conditions were difficult to interpret. The track was wet and then it gradually got drier, but towards the end of the session it started to rain again and unfortunately I wasn’t able to be quick when I went out on slick tyres. In any case, even though our aim is always to start from the first two rows, row 3 is not bad at all and tomorrow I hope to get a good start and then play my cards in the race, which looks like being dry.”
Maverick Viñales – P9
“The slicks didn‘t work for us. I tried to go out on them, because I spotted the opportunity, but ultimately I think it was a bad decision. We should have followed our plan to go out on the medium wet tyre at the end, I think our position would have been much better, but it is what it is. You have to take the positives. It‘s been a great weekend, I‘m riding fast on the wet and dry, so we need to keep this positivity going for tomorrow. I start from P9, but normally I‘m starting good now and I‘m doing good first laps, so I need to keep going. These mixed conditions were very difficult for us. With more water on the track it was better and I was faster. I’m really confident for tomorrow, because I felt great on the soft tyre in the dry conditions on the Friday, so I think that can be a good choice for us. I don‘t know about the others, but it works really well for our bike. I think tomorrow‘s Warm Up will be very important to decide everything, but anyway the feeling is there, I‘m in good shape, so I think I can do well.”
Maverick Viñales
Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completed the Q2 runners.
Fabio Quartararo – P10
“Practice went really well and we finished in the top ten in really hard conditions. Qualifying was really tricky, and the problem with still being a rookie is that the tricky days are the ones where I learn the most. It was the first time I’ve ridden in conditions like this, so I gained a lot of experience. The main lesson is that maybe I should have pushed more on the first lap, because after that it was really difficult to be fast. But let’s see now what happens tomorrow and whether it is dry or wet for the race.”
Fabio Quartararo
Cal Crutchlow – P11
“Qualifying in 11th is not great for the race tomorrow, honestly speaking I think our pace is a little bit faster than that, we’re probably in the top six. I just made a mistake in Q2 that I didn’t take the slicks early enough, I came in a lap later but Marc (Marquez) and Jack (Miller) did an incredible job so I don’t know if I’d have been able to challenge them even if I’d had the slicks on. So overall it wasn’t a great qualifying session for us, but I tried my best and we’ll have to see what we can do in the race. We tried a different set-up in the wet in FP4 which felt a bit better and I think that will work in the dry as well, so we look forward to tomorrow.”
Cal Crutchlow
Franco Morbidelli – P12
“We had very mixed conditions in qualifying and we struggled a little bit with the tyre choice. Unfortunately, we made the wrong one. I went with slicks but at the end of my out lap it started raining and there wasn’t enough time to go back in and change them. I didn’t make a flying lap, but 12th position isn’t so bad because we were fast in wet conditions even if it didn’t work out in qualifying. We had good sensations on Friday morning in the dry from the bike too, and now it’s just a case of waiting and seeing what weather conditions come tomorrow.”
Valentino Rossi
The Czech Adrenaline Factory certainly lived up its name on Saturday, as Marquez swept away records and rain for premier class pole 58. But Sunday should be dry, and that’s a whole new ball game… Both Rossi and Dovizioso have been hugely successful at this circuit, will they step up to the plate tomorrow and challenge for the win…?
Valentino Rossi
MotoGP Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Q
Time/Gap
1
Marc Marquez
Q2
2m02.753
2
Jack Miller
Q2
+2.524
3
Johann Zarco
Q2
+2.598
4
Andrea Dovizioso
Q2
+2.837
5
Pol Espargaro
Q2
+2.957
6
Alex Rins
Q2
+3.419
7
Valentino Rossi
Q2
+3.480
8
Danilo Petrucci
Q2
+3.704
9
Maverick Viñales
Q2
+3.873
10
Fabio Quartararo
Q2
+3.895
11
Cal Crutchlow
Q2
+4.370
12
Franco Morbidelli
Q2
+6.651
13
Takaaki Nakagami
Q1
+ 0.232
14
Francesco Bagnaia
Q1
+0.253
15
Sylvain Guintoli
Q1
+ 0.518
16
Miguel Oliveira
Q1
+0.730
17
Stefan Bradl
Q1
+ 0.941
18
Aleix Espargaro
Q1
+ 1.251
19
Joan Mir
Q1
+1.521
20
Karel Abraham
Q1
+ 1.865
21
Hafizh Syahrin
Q1
+2.122
22
Tito Rabat
Q1
+ 2.282
23
Andrea Iannone
Q1
+ 2.890
Moto2
Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) is on pole for the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky, but there’s much more to the headline than that. The number 73 timed it to perfection on a difficult, mixed track to take two seconds out his closest challenger, Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), and pick up where he left off in Germany. Lowes starts second after a nevertheless impressive session, with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) completing the front row in third…four seconds adrift.
Alex Marquez
Earlier there was plenty of drama in Q1, with Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) moving up to lead Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) and Brit Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) in third, with another impressive performer in fourth as Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) joined them to move through. Some first timers, some wet weather specialists…and everything to play for in Q2.
The rain was easing off in the second session and times tumbled. After the first five minutes, the top four were the Q1 graduates, with Marco Bezzecchi leading the way, but there was plenty more to come.
Baldassarri took the leap to dry tyres, swiftly followed by Marquez. Then Bo Bendsneyder took a light tumble at Turn 1, rider remounting, as Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Sam Lowes started to attack. But it was Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up) who took over at the top at that stage, with Friday’s fastest impressing in the very different conditions, and it was clear that whoever set their flying lap last would be making some serious gains as it continued drying out.
It came down to Marquez vs Lowes, with each sector making it increasingly clear that the number 73 was about to absolutely obliterate the opposition. And that he did, although it was also true of Lowes with everyone else.
A late lap from Lorenzo Baldassarri secured him third on the grid and a front row for the first time with Qatar, although the deficit was sizeable it proved enough. Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) blasted in a lap right at the end to head up row two, turning the tables on compatriot rookie Giannantonio to just pip him on Saturday, with Marco Bezzecchi in sixth making it an all-Italian second row as he took his best Moto2™ grid position since joining the class.
2019 Brno Moto2 Qualifying results: 1 – Alex Marquez (SPA – Kalex) 2’06.787 2 – Sam Lowes (GBR – Kalex) +2.018 3 – Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA – Kalex) +3.979
Marcel Schrötter was seventh as he aims for back-to-back podiums, with Bo Bendsneyder in eighth ahead of fellow top performer Jake Dixon. Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) completed the top ten.
So where’s Championship challenger Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP)? Down in P12 despite his previous wet weather win at Brno. He’ll be looking to move forward on Sunday, as will Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in 14th, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 16th and returnee Mattia Pasini (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 down in 24th….
Marquez seems on an unstoppable roll of late. But race day is set to dawn dry, and the number 73 had serious company before the conditions changed. Can he do it again?
Moto2 Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Q
Time/Gap
1
Alex Marquez
Q2
2m06.787
2
Sam Lowes
Q2
+2.018
3
Lorenzo Baldassarri
Q2
+3.979
4
Nicolo Bulega
Q2
+4.590
5
Fabio Di Giannantoni
Q2
+5.266
6
Marco Bezzecchi
Q2
+5.486
7
Marcel Schrotter
Q2
+5.637
8
Bo Bendsneyder
Q2
+6.053
9
Jake Dixon
Q2
+6.334
10
Augusto Fernandez
Q2
+6.644
11
Jorge Navarro
Q2
+6.669
12
Thomas Luthi
Q2
+6.696
13
Luca Marini
Q2
+6.803
14
Xavi Vierge
Q2
+6.964
15
Remy Gardner
Q2
+7.139
16
Brad Binder
Q2
+7.390
17
Tetsuta Nagashima
Q2
+8.150
18
Enea Bastianini
Q2
+8.182
19
Jorge Martin
Q1
+0.811
20
Joe Roberts
Q1
+1.265
21
Andrea Locatelli
Q1
+2.089
22
Somkiat Chantra
Q1
+2.092
23
Iker Lecuona
Q1
+2.142
24
Mattia Pasini
Q1
+2.153
25
Steven Odendaal
Q1
+2.371
26
Lukas Tulovic
Q1
+2.483
27
Stefano Manzi
Q1
+3.046
28
Xavi Cardelus
Q1
+3.330
29
Jonas Folger
Q1
+4.194
30
Dominique Aegerter
Q1
+4.734
31
Philipp Oettl
Q1
+6.608
32
Dimas Ekky Pratama
FP1
+3.420
Moto3
Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) celebrated his birthday in style at the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky, taking pole position by an impressive four tenths in the wet. He’s perfectly set up for race day after also having been fast on Friday in the dry, and he’ll be joined on the front row by 2016 Brno winner John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and 2015 winner Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse).
Tony Arbolino
But before all that was decided in Q2, after the heavens opened on Saturday morning, Q1 was high risk and there was plenty of drama: Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) tumbled at Turn 13, Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) suffered a highside at Turn 3, although he remounted, and Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was teetering on the edge of the top four when he crashed out. The Turk held onto his fourth place, however, joining Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), Makar Yurchenko, (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) in going through to Q2.
As Q2 began, conditions were wet wet wet and remained so, with McPhee leading for much of the session. Fernandez was also looking strong, but Arbolino changed the benchmark with two minutes to go and was the first rider in the 2’18s. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) then shot into second place in the closing stages, but was pipped right at the end by McPhee. Antonelli then did the same to his teammate, dropping Suzuki down to fourth.
2019 Brno MotoGP Qualifying results: 1 – Tony Arbolino (ITA – Honda) 2’18.020 2 – John McPhee (GBR – Honda) +0.400 3 – Niccolo Antonelli (ITA – Honda) +0.802
Alongside the Japanese rider is Fernandez despite a crash at Turn 3 for the Spaniard, with Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) completing the second row in sixth place as the Championship contender put himself in a solid position for Sunday. Makar Yurchenko took a career-best qualifying position with seventh, ahead of Spanish rider Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai). Japanese rookie Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) locked out the third row.
Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) completed the top ten, ahead of veteran Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers), Qatar winner Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) and youngest ever Grand Prix winner Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Home hero Filip Salac (Redox Prüstel GP) was just behind them, putting in a solid performance for P14.
So who’s missing from the front? Championship leader Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) had a tough qualifying, and the Italian faces a fight back through the field from P17 – qualifying just ahead of teammate Marcos Ramirez, another usual frontrunner.
The Thor MX1 title is on the line this weekend and the two prime combatants in this penultimate battle in what is a ten round war, are DPH Husqvarna’s Todd Waters and CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Luke Clout, the gap between the two a slender two championship points heading in to today’s round nine.
MX1 competitors ready themselves at Coolum this morning
Hayden Mellross was also not completely out of the title game, the 23-year-old still in with a chance and only 14-points behind Waters before the gates dropped to commence racing today at Coolum. The Raceline KTM rider had a small crash at Moree but fell awkwardly, tearing his ACL and meniscus in his knee, and also fracturing the neck of his fibula. Mellross still salvaged enough points at Moree to stay in with a chance of championship victory, but it is fair to say that disasters would have to befall Waters and Clout for the injured Mellross to take the #1 plate this weekend.
Todd Waters
Championship leader Todd Waters was quickest in the MX1 Raceline Superpole session to head Jesse Dobson and Luke Clout as the three fastest qualifiers as the double-header finale of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals got underway at Coolum this morning.
Jesse Dobson
When the opening MX1 Moto got underway at 1145 on Saturday it only took a couple of turns for Todd Waters to hit the front and start pulling away.
2019 MX Nationals Round Nine Coolum – MX1
His prime championship rival Luke Clout was in seventh place at the end of lap one, while Mellross was running tenth.
Dylan Long was in second place ahead of Kirk Gibbs, while Richie Evans was in fourth and Lawson Bopping fifth as they started lap three.
Lawson Bopping and Hayden Mellross
A couple of laps later Gibbs got the better of Long to move up to second place while Luke Clout progressed to fourth place, but up front Todd Waters looked untouchable.
And that was how they were ranked at the flag as the opening moto of the two back-to-back conclude. Waters the winner from Gibbs and Long, while Clout was fourth and left eager to make amends in the second stanza.
MX1 Moto One Results
Todd Waters – Husqvarna
Kirk Gibbs – Yamaha +6.443s
Dylan Long – Kawasaki +15.058s
Luke Clout – Yamaha +20.044s
Richie Evans – Yamaha +24.971s
Connor Tierney – Yamaha +25.077s
Caleb Ward – KTM +29.996s
Brett Metcalfe – Honda +31.161s
Zak Small – Husqvarna +42.402s
Hayden Mellross – KTM +52.014s
MX1 Moto Two
Todd Waters scored the holeshot once again but this time around Luke Clout had got a much better launch and quickly worked his way around Richie Evans to move up to second place and then put his head down to try and chase Waters.
Coolum MX Nationals
Waters though had the speed in the sand to clinch the win from Clout while Caleb Ward surprised Kirk Gibbs late in the race and challenged for third place, but Gibbs was able to respond to the challenge and took the flag in third place.
Todd Waters taking the 35-points from the combined result of those opening two motos while Kirk Gibbs took second and Luke Clout was third.
MX1 Moto Two Results
Todd Waters – Husqvarna
Luke Clout – Yamaha +6.269s
Kirk Gibbs – Yamaha +13.938s
Caleb Ward – KTM +16.164s
Richie Evans – Yamaha +21.906s
Brett Metcalfe – Honda +23.029s
Dylan Long – Kawasaki +23.342s
Connor Tierney – Yamaha +37.509s
Zak Small – Husqvarna +48.685s
Justin Rodbell – Suzuki +55.474s
MX1 Moto One/Two Combined Results
Todd Waters
Kirk Gibbs
Luke Clout
Dylan Long
Caleb Ward
Richie Evans
Brett Metcalfe
Connor Tierney
Zak Small
Charlie Creech
MX1 Moto Three
Todd Waters looked pretty much unbeatable in the pair of back-to-back motos earlier in the day and the DPH Husqvarna man was again out to assert his authority when the gates dropped for the final moto of this ninth round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals.
Luke Clout was riding aggressively to quickly sweep his way past Richie Evans to progress through to second place, but then a costly mistake saw the championship challenger go down. He rejoined the race 14-seconds down in 14th place, but still had 29-minutes to claw his way back towards the front…
Kirk Gibbs moved up to second place and then Brett Metcalfe followed through to take third place and push Richie Evans back to fourth. Dylan Long was fifth, Connor Tierney sixth and Jesse Dobson sixth with 22-minutes remaning.
Kirk Gibbs
Unfortunately Clout’s championship challenge took another hit when another mistake lost him all the ground he had made up and then some. A third of the way through the moto Clout was in 16th place, 45-seconds behind race leader Todd Waters.
Kirk Gibbs closed in on Todd Waters but the DPH Husqvarna man responded to the challenge and pulled away again from the #5 CDR Yamaha.
The battle for third place was on in earnest with Dylan Long getting the better of Brett Metcalfe with ten-minutes remaining. Once past though Long pulled away from Metty to score a podium.
Todd Waters went on to take another clear victory and thus a perfect points haul from this penultimate round of the championship. The ultimate finale will play out here again at Coolum tomorrow in this double-header weekend that makes up rounds nine and ten of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals.
Kirk Gibbs took second place in the moto despite a small tumble on the penultimate lap and also took second overall for the round.
MX1 Moto Three Results
Todd Waters – Husqvarna
Kirk Gibbs – Yamaha +24.898s
Dylan Long – Kawasaki +44.334s
Brett Metcalfe – Honda +61.813s
Caleb Ward – KTM +74.235s
Jesse Dobson – Husqvarna +92.696s
Hayden Mellross – KTM +100.712s
Connor Tierney – Yamaha +103.940s
Josh Adams – 107.936s
Luke Clout – 116.230s
Thor MX1 Round Nine Results
Todd Waters 70
Kirk Gibbs 64
Dylan Long 58
Brett Metcalfe 52
Caleb Ward 52
Luke Clout 51
Connor Tierney 46
Hayden Mellross 44
Richie Evans 44
Charlie Creech 41
MX1 Championship Points
Todd Waters 495
Luke Clout 472
Hayden Mellross 452
Kirk Gibbs 411
Brett Metcalfe 375
Justin Rodbell 329
Richie Evans 328
Jesse Dobson 308
Jayden Rykers 300
Dylan Long 262
Pirelli MX2
Coolum MX Nationals MX2
DPH Husqvarna’s Wilson Todd took an 18-point lead into this penultimate round of the 2019 Pirelli MX2 Championship and extended that lead further in the opening moto today at Coolum.
Kyle Webster leads Wilson Todd at Coolum
Kyle Webster was strong early on and looked on course to reduce Todd’s championship lead but as the race progressed Webster was overhauled first by Todd, before later in the moto Nathan Crawford then relegated the Honda man further down to third.
Wilson Todd being chased by Nathan Crawford
Serco Yamaha’s Nathan Crawford chased Todd hard but the defending champion responded to the challenge and managed his buffer before an exciting final lap that almost saw an upset.
An incredible final lap charge from Kyle Webster saw him overhaul Crawford for second place and the #199 was right on the tail of Todd at the chequered flag but the #1 Husqvarna managed to hold on for victory.
Despite the late charge up to second Webster seemed disappoined to have lost his flow in the middle of the race that saw his potential victory chances spoiled. Webster had recorded the fastest lap of the race, and they don’t call Western Australian’s Sandgropers for nothing, but Todd had the consistency and the package to hold him at bay.
MX2 Moto One Results
Wilson Todd – Husqvarna
Kyle Webster – Honda +0.760s
Nathan Crawford – Yamaha +2.575s
Jay Wilson – Yamaha +30.981s
Aaron Tanti – Yamaha +45.799s
2019 MX Nationals Round Nine Coolum
MX2 Moto Two Report
Bailey Malkiewicz took the holeshot in the second moto from Kyle Webster with Riley Ward and Morgan Fogarty the top four as the race got underway. Wilson Todd had a rough first lap, leaving the track at one point and half-way around the opening lap the defending champion was down in eighth place, but by lap two he was up to fourth, and was soon hounding Fogarty for third.
Bailey Malkiewicz was looking strong and with a good chance of taking the win, but a big tumble in the deep sand cost him dearly, and he watched on distraught as Wilson Todd and Kyle Webster swept past him and disappeared into the distance.
Wilson Todd managed to pull away from Kyle Webster as the race progressed and Jay Wilson moved up to third place ahead of Nathan Crawford who had pushed Morgan Fogarty back to fifth.
Kyle Webster saved his best for last to throw down the gauntlet to Wilson Todd on the final laps but the defending champion responded to the challenge to again stretch his buffer and went on to take his second win of the day and extend his championship lead over second placed Kyle Webster while Jay Wilson rounded out the podium ahed of Nathan Crawford.
MX2 Moto Two Results
Wilson Todd – Husqvarna
Kyle Webster – Honda +5.558s
Jay Wilson – Yamaha +9.742s
Nathan Crawford – Yamaha +13.701
Aaron Tanti – Yamaha +23.408s
Dylan Wills – KTM +27.847
Morgan Fogarty – KTM +27.865s
Ricky Latimer – Yamaha +53.745s
Riley Ward – KTM +55.088s
Joel Evans – Husqvarna +58.117s
MX2 Round Nine Results
Wilson Todd 70
Kyle Webster 64
Jay Wilson 58
Nathan Crawford 58
Aaron Tanti 52
Ricky Latimer 48
Jai Constantinou 42
Dylan Wills 41
Bailey Malkiewicz 41
Lochie Latimer 40
MX2 Championship Points
Wilson Todd 497
Kyle Webster 473
Jay Wilson 461
Nathan Crawford 432
Aaron Tanti 408
Dylan Wills 377
Bailey Malkiewicz 341
Ricky Latimer 317
Cooper Pozniak 312
Joel Evans 283
Motul MXD
Raceline KTM’s Regan Duffy took a 34-point lead over Max Purvis in to this penultimate round of the 2019 Motul MXD Championships.
Darwin’s Liam Walsh scored the holeshot on the 250 two-stroke in the opening moto while Rhys Budd was also away well. Championship leader Duffy was caught somewhat napping when the gate fell quicker than he had expected, and was outside the top ten as the 27 rider field hit turn one.
Championship challenger Max Purvis fell shortly after the start but by the end of that first lap the Kiwi youngster had battled back through the pack and was up to 12th place.
Noah Ferguson overhauled Liam Walsh for the race lead on lap two but Regan Duffy started really blasting through the dark sand of Coolum and had started to challenge Ferguson for the lead before going down on lap three. Duffy was up quickly but not before he had been passed by Jayce Cosford, Jai Walker, Max Purvis and Rhys Budd.
Max Purvis was absolutely flying as he made up all that ground he lost on the opening lap, putting in fastest lap after fastest lap. He was up to fourth position on lap four, and was showing enough speed to propel himself on the podium, with six laps to run he looked fast enough to pull that eight-seconds back on Ferguson. I had hardly finished typing that paragraph before Purvis had dispensed with Cosford and Walker and looked as though he would walk his way into the lead, but then another mistake saw the Kiwi teenager lose time and positions once again.
It only took a lap for Purvis to work his way back up to second place, that seventh lap was four-seconds faster than any other rider in the field on that particular lap. The gap to race leader Ferguson was now 5.5-seconds with two laps to run.
With one lap remaining the gap was down to 1.45-seconds, but that was gone in the matter of a few turns as the young Kiwi sucked the stickers of Ferguson’s KTM as he blew past with ease in a display of sensational speed.
But then another mistake by Purvis on the final lap saw him go off the circuit, allowing Ferguson back to the lead! The two negotiated lapped traffic through the final turns but it was Purvis who took the chequered flag first. Purvis had passed every rider in the race, leaving the track a couple of times, and also falling off once, but still managed to take the win…
Regan Duffy rounded out the podium and saw his championship lead trimmed by five-points.
MXD Race One Results
Max Purvis – Yamaha
Noah Ferguson – KTM +1.183s
Regan Duffy – KTM +1.827s
Jai Walker – KTM +14.416s
Jayce Cosford – Yamaha +22.50s
Motul MXD Race Two
Tye Jones scored the holeshot in the second MXD bout but Rhys Budd was quickly through to the lead while Noah Ferguson then pushed Jones further back to third. Max Purvis was fourth ahead of Jayce Cosford, Liam Walsh and Oliver Marchand while Regan Duffy was eighth.
A very loose looking Max Purvis then pulled an amazing double act by taking Budd and Ferguson in one foul swoop to take the race lead.
Max Purvis made less mistakes this time around, the Kiwi youngster just stood on the pegs as his Yamaha went every which way and loose beneath him, but he just kept it pinned and pointed in the right way to leave the field in his wake.
Even the WA sand experience of Regan Duffy was not enough to constrain the young New Zealander. Duffy had to settle for second place while Noah Ferguson took third. Rhys Budd just missed out on a podium.
As of the upcoming 2019/20 season, which gets underway on 21st/22nd September with the Bol d’Or in Le Castellet (FRA), a BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team will contest the FIM EWC with the new RR. The commitment is in collaboration with the Team MRP of Team Manager Werner Daemen (BEL). The riders will be announced at a later date.
“The FIM Endurance World Championship is an attractive platform for us for many reasons,” said Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad. “Endurance races like the Bol d’Or or Le Mans are real tests of stamina for both man and machine during which we can showcase the performance of our BMW S 1000 RR on the international stage. The FIM EWC is becoming increasingly popular around the world and gives us the opportunity to be present also in the Asian markets. That’s why it is a logical step for us to expand our works commitment with the new RR, which is already making waves in the FIM Superbike World Championship this season. I’m looking forward to gripping endurance races with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team.”
Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad with Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director.
“As part of our customer racing programme, we have had a presence in the FIM EWC for several years and we are looking forward to taking the next step with the new BMW S 1000 RR and having a works involvement there now,” added BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers. “Werner Daemen’s MRP team is a competent partner with a wealth of racing experience, who is also already very familiar with the new RR. We’re also excited to have Dunlop on board and part of this project as tyre partner. Dunlop will also provide strong support with their expertise. The objective is clear: The first season in this top-level world championship will be a year of learning in which we want to become more and more competitive step by step. In the longer term our aim is to be up there among the leading pack and battling for the title.”
“We’re really looking forward to this fantastic new project and being able to enter the Endurance World Championship with the support of BMW Motorrad Motorsport and a works team,” said Werner Daemen. “I believe that we have the necessary experience and we are eagerly awaiting the 2019/20 season. I would like to thank BMW Motorrad Motorsport for their continuous confidence in our work. I was an active rider in the Endurance World Championship myself and recorded a few successes, for example, second place in the 24-hour race in Francorchamps in 2000. I hope to be celebrating similar successes with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team sometime in the near future.”
BMW S 1000 RR
In preparation for the start of the season, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is currently developing an endurance version based on the RR Superbike used in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK).
FIM Endurance World Championship 2019/20
21st/22nd September 2019: Bol d’Or (24-hour race) – Le Castellet (FRA)
14th December 2019: 8 Hours of Sepang – Sepang (MAS)
18th/19th April 2020: 24 Heures Moto – Le Mans (FRA)
6th June 2020: 8 Hours Oschersleben – Oschersleben (GER)
With the fight for victory at round five of the World Enduro Super Series proving hotly contested,Germany’s Manuel Lettenbichler took the win on Off Road Day Three over Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak (POL) and Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing duo Graham Jarvis (GB) and Alfredo Gomez (ESP).
The fourth day of racing in the world’s toughest Hard Enduro Rallye saw competitors from 50 nations face another long and demanding day in the saddle. An early start for all took riders over one and a half hours from the host city Sibiu, before a 142-kilometre course weaved its way back.
At the head of the field it was Gomez who led the competitors away with Jarvis and Lettenbichler in tow. Sixth on Off Road Day Two, Blazusiak favoured the terrain more today and was quickly up to speed with the leading trio of Gomez, Lettenbichler and Jarvis, with Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) right behind him.
Graham Jarvis
For the majority of the day, the riders chopped and changed position. Gomez held the lead in the closing stages with Blazusiak, Jarvis and Lettenbichler closely positioned waiting for an opportunity. That came on the day’s final climb when Gomez came unstuck. Lettenbichler was quick to pounce and took the lead to charge ahead and win the day.
Manuel Lettenbichler
Manuel Lettenbichler
“My day started really well, I passed Graham at the beginning and then caught Alfredo and the two of us rode together for most of the day. There was some pretty difficult stuff today, but I didn’t struggle with the uphills as much as the last two days so I’m pretty happy. Toward the end of the day Alfredo really opened it up on one of the faster sections – full motocross style. I thought to myself there’s no way I can push like that so I let him go. Luckily, I caught him again right before the last uphill and managed to get past him, so that was a really good feeling. I’m the overall leader now so hopefully I can keep that momentum until the finish tomorrow.”
Manuel Lettenbichler
Gomez crossed the finish line in second, but on corrected time it was Blazusiak who edged out Jarvis to the runner-up spot, shuffling Gomez back to fourth.
Alfredo Gomez
Taddy Blazusiak
“The day went good today, Billy and I set off really hard and soon caught up to Graham. I passed Jonny and Mario along the way and pretty much kept my position till the finish. I lost a little bit of time toward the end, but I’m stoked with second. It’s a shame I lost so much time on the first day, but we’ll take a look at the overall now and if we’re in with a chance I’ll push hard again tomorrow. The level of riding is so close this year so when you lose a little time it’s so hard to get it back. Either way I’ll be trying my best tomorrow on the final day.”
Taddy Blazusiak and Graham Jarvis
A strong ride from Bolt saw him end his day in fifth, with Sherco Factory Racing’s Mario Roman (ESP) having a difficult day for sixth.
Jonny Walker
Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) and David Cyprian (KTM – CZ) were seventh and eighth respectively, while Classic Enduro specialists Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) and Nathan Watson (KTM – GB) completed the top 10.
Jonny Walker
With Manuel Lettenbichler becoming the third race leader in as many days, the German holds a one-minute and nine-second advantage entering the final day of competition. Gomez sits behind him in second, but with Jarvis only a further three minutes adrift, it’s still all very much to play for.
Australian Anthony Solar is currently 22nd overall in the Gold category ahead of countrymen Chris Perry (28th) and Adam Giles (33). Perry had a massive time penalty on Friday for failing to make check points while Giles did not make the start.
Spain’s Josu Artola continued his domination of the Silver class by claiming his third victory of the week. Artola has proved the rider to beat, despite the best efforts from his closest competitors. Now finding his form in this year’s race, Sam Winterburn (GB) once again placed second to Artola to maintain his position of second in the race. With a fourth-place result, Josef Westgarth (GB) completes the overall top three.
Sam Winterburn – Silver Class
“I’m feeling great to be honest. I had a bit of a bad morning today but was able to regroup this afternoon and pull a bit of time back. The Silver tracks have been really enjoyable in general. I did the Gold class a couple of years ago and it was too tough for me, so I dropped down for this year. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still really tough and there’s some fast boys riding, but overall it’s all going good. Going into the final day tomorrow my plan is just to try to stay on two wheels and bring it home – I’m looking forward to it.”
Shane Moss is the leading Australian in the Silver category and is currently 17th in the class ahead of countrymen Adam Poole (23rd), Tim Gibson (39th), Sam Preece (56th) and Shane Bowden (96th). Preece had time penalties on Friday while Bowden did not start.
In Bronze, Off Road Day Three marked a win for USA’s Eric Slominski over Poland’s Marcin Welglarz and Romania’s Radu Sardarescu. With another top-three ride to his credit, Welgalrz holds a three-minute lead over France’s Jean Michel Vigand.
Australia’s Brent Brady has moved up to fourth overall in the Bronze category ahead of countrymen Cameron Bice (20th), Christian Barrett (42nd), Jason Beaton (52nd), Raymond Borg (55th), Robert Kingston (66th), Nicholas Kirk (74th), Dwayne Affleck (93rd), Paul Mapperson (98th), Craig Robers (106th), Brendon Cousins (146th), John Cockings (166th) and Brett Summers (186th). Summers did not start day three.
The Iron class sees Germany’s Anna Schmolzl extend her lead in the race. While Britain’s Tom Simpson won the day, another consistent and soild ride from Schmolzl moves her 16 minutes clear of her nearest competitor Eduardo Martinez of Mexico. If Schmolzl can go on to win, she will become the first female rider in the history of Red Bull Romaniacs to do so.
Anna Schmolzl – Iron Class
“It’s been such a good week for me so far and I had a great day today. It was the hardest day for me today because it’s quite slippery after the rain and there was a lot of debris on the tracks. I haven’t won a day yet but I’m leading the overall and hopefully I can bring it to the finish tomorrow. It would mean so much to me to win the Iron class, especially as this will be the last race for me before I have to have surgery on my knee in three weeks’ time. After that I will be off the bike for maybe half a year.”
Anna Schmolzl
Aaron Mcfadzen is faring best out of the Australian entrants in the Iron category and is now 32nd overall ahead of countrymen Domenic Dercole (43rd), Aaron Panozza (45th), Brenden Murphy (64th), Joshua Devine (65th), Andrew Donnelly (95th), and Christopher Withers (96th). Both Donnelly and Withers did not start day three.
Round five of the World Enduro Super Series at Red Bull Romaniacs, concludes Saturday, August 3. Watch the final day of racing live on Red Bull TV.
2019 Red Bull Romaniacs Off Road Day Three Results
Gold Class
Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 6:13:00
Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 6:01:17
Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 6:06:16
Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 6:07:22
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 6:07:43
Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 6:14:54
Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 6:22:33
David Cyprian (KTM – CZ) 6:37:36
Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 6:44:16
Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 7:02:52…
Silver Class
Josu Artola (ESP) 5:52:04
Sam Winterburn (GB) 6:10:41
Charles Feyrit (FRA) 6:13:56
Josef Westgarth (GB) 6:15:02
James Jackson (GB) 6:17:08
Dustin McCarthy (USA) 6:19:53
Fabien Poirot (FRA) 6:21:53
Marc Wulf (GER) 6:23:08
Tyler Kinkade (USA) 6:28:56
Emmanuel Genes (ROU) 6:33:24…
Bronze Class
Eric Slominski (USA) 5:23:49
Marcin Welglarz (POL) 5:25:52
Radu Sardarescu (ROU) 5:27:57
Jordi Roca (ESP) 5:28:18
Brent Brady (AUS) 5:29:29…
Iron Class
Tom Simpson (GB) 4:36:55
Anna Schmolzl (GER) 4:38:26
Eduardo Martinez (MEX) 4:38:57
Danny Melvin (USA) 4:42:00
Oz Nehoray (ISR) 4:44:58…
2019 Red Bull Romaniacs Overall Classificiation after Day Three
With rain forecast for Saturday morning, Friday took on even more importance than normal in terms of Q2 entry; the top ten on the combined timesheets potentially already decided if the weather changes. In terms of times, Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the first major improver in FP2, soon 0.590 clear of the field in the afternoon, with his fortunes soaring early in the session as bad luck hit the other side of the Yamaha garage.
Five-time premier class Brno winner and team-mate Valentino Rossi had to nurse his M1 back to the pits with just over 20 minutes of FP2 to go after a mechanical issue and at that stage, the likes of ‘The Doctor’, Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team), 2016 Czech GP winner Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and even Quartararo were languishing outside the top 10.
That would all change in the last 10 minutes, however. Soft tyres came out to play and Marquez stuck his Repsol Honda top of the pile, with the likes of Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Miller also improving just before the reigning World Champion went quickest. Then, enter Quartararo. The rookie sensation was 18th in FP1, and somehow then suddenly seared around Brno 1.7 seconds quicker to move up from P17 to take over at the top in FP2. ‘El Diablo’ is back in business and very close to fully fit after his arm pump surgery and then shoulder dislocation.
Fabio Quartararo – P1
“I’m close to 100% and not having many problems with my arm. I don’t have any pain at all with it, and felt good in both sessions. We struggled a little bit with the tyres today as we’ve been working with all three compounds, so the plan for tomorrow is to concentrate on one option for the race. It looks like the soft has a big step from the other two, and I think we need to analyse our data to see if we can use it in the race. But first, my goal for tomorrow is to be on the front two rows of the grid as we know that Brno can be a difficult track to overtake on.”
Fabio Quartararo
The Frenchman heads Marquez by mere hundredths then, ahead of the two Ducatis of Miller and FP1’s fastest man Dovizioso, with earlier FP2 leader Viñales pushed down to fifth overall.
Marc Marquez – P2
“It was important to start well after the summer break and the bike was feeling good today, allowing us to try a mix of tyres, settings and some chassis options. We concentrated on the setup more than the one lap speed until the last run because tomorrow it looks like there is a big chance of rain. Tonight we will look at everything to better understand the positives and negatives to choose our best option for tomorrow. We are happy, happy with how the day went and we will see what tomorrow brings but we are in a good place.”
Marc Marquez
Jack Miller – P3
“It was a very positive day and it was nice to find the feeling right away after two races on circuits that were not easy for us. We were fast both on the race pace and on the time attack and the tyres also worked very well despite the circuit conditions are not the best.”
Jack Miller
Andrea Dovizioso – P4
“Here at Brno you need the bike to be pretty strong under braking if you want to go fast, and it seems that the hard front tyre is a bit more stable than the others. It was a bit of a strange session, because the possibility of rain tomorrow forced everyone into trying as many things as possible, both with the tyres and everything else. We have to study the pace of our rivals well: all things considered, mine is good and in line with the quickest guys out on the track. But we know that in the race the rear tyre suffers a big drop and so you can’t really understand certain details well in the practice sessions: in any case I did a pretty good lap with the soft tyre, and I only used one. Let’s hope we can work well in the dry tomorrow, because otherwise we’ll all start the race with some doubts. Today I tried the new fairing, but we weren’t able to make a real comparison because we also had to test a lot of other things, but in any case the overall feeling is good.”
Andrea Dovizioso
Maverick Viñales – P5
“Honestly, I‘m really happy about today, because we worked hard for the race. So, if it rains tomorrow we have the work done, and I think we did it in a good way. The race pace is really good and I felt quite good with the bike. I set my lap time a little earlier than the rest, which can be a little bit tricky, but I needed to do it so I could concentrate on working on the race. In the last part of the practice we worked on the race distance and it felt good, the bike was working well. The tyre degradation is difficult for everyone, the tyres drop so much, so we need to understand which spec drops the least over 20 laps. It‘s difficult, but we will see what we can do.”
Maverick Viñales
Rins, another who’d already bothered the top earlier in the session, ends Friday in sixth, with Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Franco Morbidelli jumping up one place from his P8 in FP1 to take P7 in FP2.
Alex Rins – P6
“My feeling is nice. During the summer break I relaxed my mind but trained my body, and I can already feel the benefits of that. Today’s result of 6th is pretty good, and I felt that my rhythm was strong. I tried the new fairing with the new aero design and my initial feeling is that it’s much better, we still need to gather more information, but I can feel the difference on anti-wheelie already. The track is quite bumpy this year, which makes it difficult for everyone, but I feel that my bike copes well with the bumps.”
Alex Rins
Franco Morbidelli – P7
“Today FP2 was like FP3, thanks to the rain forecast for tomorrow and it was very important to secure the Q2 time today. We managed to get into P7 which I’m very happy with, and of course we have to improve tomorrow as always but so far so good for us. Fabio is fast and all four Yamahas are in the top ten, so it seems like the bike is behaving well here. Of course, we know we’re still struggling a little bit with top speed but all of us have made a strong start to the weekend.”
Franco Morbidelli
Crutchlow, Rossi and Petrucci also all put in late personal best laps to earn top 10 positions, something that could prove crucial. Crutchlow was eighth overall – a big improvement from the Brit, who managed 15th in the morning – with Rossi recovering from his mechanical issue to place ninth, one better than his FP1 effort. Petrucci climbed three places to complete that potentially crucial top ten.
Cal Crutchlow – P8
“I felt better with the soft tyre obviously and I was able to go faster with that. Normally my style suits the hard rear tyre, but not today. We have no real understanding of why, the lap time was just really slow and I didn’t feel great on the bike anyway even though we tried two different settings. We’ll look forward to tomorrow, hopefully it will rain as we’re already in the top 10, but we need to improve. I don’t feel as good as I felt at Sachsenring, but it’s a different style of circuit. I’m optimistic and hopefully we can be towards that top five podium battle on Sunday, but we’ve got a long way to go after today.”
Cal Crutchlow
Valentino Rossi – P9
“I had a problem with the engine of the first bike, it was a bit old. We don’t know what happened, but anyway it was broken. The forecast for tomorrow is not fantastic, so it’s important to stay in the top-10. We are ninth, so we can await tomorrow’s weather, and if it’s wet, we are already in Q2. If not, we also need to push tomorrow morning. Anyway, the pace and the lap time are not so bad. It was quite good for the first day.”
Valentino Rossi
Danilo Petrucci – P10
“It wasn’t very easy to start off with the hard tyre today, because this year there doesn’t seem to be much grip at Brno, and above all there is a lot of tyre wear so in the race you have to manage it well. For the moment I’m not able to be very quick, because I’m struggling a bit to stop the bike, but there’s certainly margin to improve: both Andrea and Jack went quicker than me so now we’ll have to improve. We understand the direction to take so let’s hope the weather will be good tomorrow. I think we’ll use the new fairing again tomorrow, because this morning it helped me and I’m happy with the feeling it gave me.”
Danilo Petrucci
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was the man to just miss out as he ends the day in 11th, just ahead of Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). The Japanese rider is close to being back to fully fit on the bike and put in a solid showing despite a crash in FP2, rider ok. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) also crashed, rider ok.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), meanwhile, impressed once again. The Portuguese rookie was fourth in FP1 and ends Day 1 in 13th overall, as well as being top KTM. Another impressive FP1 performer was Suzuki test rider Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar), who ended the first session in fifth. He was P17 overall.
Finally, another headline from Day 1 was some of the updates on show ahead of the post-race test on Monday. Marquez tried two chassis at Sachsenring and – despite liking the new one – opted to race the old one. But the carbon reinforced chassis could be used for the first time in race trim at Brno. Meanwhile at Ducati, Dovizioso and Petrucci sported updated aerodynamic fairings, and Alex Rins had a new aero fairing on his Suzuki on Friday, too. Jack Miller said he had some updates but didn’t specify what, and the Aussie says he’s expecting new aero in Austria…
Alex Rins’ Suzuki sported a new aero package
The likes of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will be casting nervous eyes to the skies on Saturday, with the Spaniard down in P22 after Day 1 and looking for much more. Will it stay dry or is it a trip to Q1 for those who missed out? The top ten after FP3 will go through to Q2, and that final chance to move up the timesheets.
MotoGP Day One Combined Times
Pos
Rider
Times
1
F.Quartararo
1m55.802
2
M.Marquez
1m55.825
3
J.Miller
1m56.071
4
A.Dovizioso
1m56.071
5
M.Viñales
1m56.084
6
A.Rins
1m56.225
7
F.Morbidelli
1m56.419
8
C.Crutchlow
1m56.443
9
V.Rossi
1m56.527
10
D.Petrucci
1m56.593
11
J.Mir
1m56.620
12
T.Nakagami
1m56.662
13
M.Oliveira
1m56.732
14
S.Bradl
1m56.876
15
A.Espargaro
1m56.958
16
T.Rabat
1m57.057
17
S.Guintoli
1m57.098
18
A.Iannone
1m57.256
19
H.Syahrin
1m57.484
20
J.Zarco
1m57.496
21
K.Abraham
1m57.562
22
P.Espargaro
1m57.792
23
F.Bagnaia
1m57.893
Moto2
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Beta Tools Speed Up) was quickest on Day 1 at the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky, although the number 21 only 0.035 ahead of Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) by the end of play. The two rookies impressed to take to the top at the track that saw ‘Diggia’ take his first Grand Prix win in Moto3™ last season, with another impressive performance completing the top three but this from veteran Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team). The Japanese rider was fastest in FP1 and ended the day within 0.063 of the top.
Fabio Di Giannantonio
The sky looked fairly threatening as the day went on, but nevertheless the vast majority improved their laptimes, not least Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP), as the German moved up from P22 to lead for the majority of the session before ultimately ending the day in fourth overall. It was by the tiniest of margins, however, with Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) just 0.001 in arrears as he completed the top five.
Brno 2017 winner Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) ended Friday in sixth, just 0.016 further back, with the man marginally ahead of him in the Championship, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), this time marginally behind him. After a tougher morning session, the number 73 took seventh, 0.061 off…and just 0.010 ahead of Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up). The trend continued for Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) as the Brit ended Friday in ninth by just 0.005.
Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) completes the top ten and beat Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder to the honour, with new Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 rider Mattia Pasini down in P12 with his FP1 time. The Italian suffered a sizeable crash in FP2. Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) was 13th, with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) completing the fastest 14 and the provisional graduates to Q2. Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) was the first to lose out and the Australian will be keen to see the rain hold off in that all-important FP3 session on Saturday morning.
Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) crashed twice in FP2, and in other news, Dimas Ekky Pratama (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) will sit out the rest of the weekend as he continues to recover from his crash at Assen.
Khairul Idham Pawi will also miss the remainder of the weekend. The Malaysian made his return to the intermediate class on Friday in Brno after several months on the sidelines, but will ultimately not ride in the Czech GP. Jonas Folger will step into the Petronas Sprinta Racing squad as his replacement once again.
Moto2 Day One Combined Times
Pos
Rider
Times
1
F.Di Giannantonio
2m01.695
2
N.Bulega
2m01.730
3
T.Nagashima
2m01.758
4
M.Schrotter
2m01.885
5
A.Fernandez
2m01.886
6
T.Luthi
2m1.902
7
A.Marquez
2m01.963
8
J.Navarro
2m01.973
9
S.Lowes
2m01.978
10
L.Marini
2m02.102
11
B.Binder
2m02.113
12
M.Pasini
2m02.257
13
E.Bastianini
2m02.262
14
L.Baldassarri
2m02.293
15
R.Gardner
2m02.370
16
A.Locatelli
2m02.535
17
B.Bendsneyder
2m02.535
18
X.Vierge
2m02.546
19
J.Dixon
2m02.724
20
I.Lecuona
2m02.731
21
S.Chantra
2m02.797
22
J.Martin
2m02.834
23
D.Aegerter
2m02.849
24
M.Bezzecchi
2m02.899
25
J.Roberts
2m03.115
26
S.Manzi
2m03.224
27
L.Tulovic
2m03.414
28
S.Odendaal
2m03.451
29
P.Oettl
2m04.333
30
K.Pawi
2m04.497
31
D.Ekky Pratama
2m05.500
32
X.Cardelus
2m05.591
Moto3
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) went fastest on Friday in the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky, with the Argentine rider two tenths clear by the end of a cloudy first day of action at the classic track. That was, however, before a crash in the last few seconds of FP2 as he highsided out, breaking his collarbone and pelvis and ruling himself out of the remainder of the weekend. Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completed the top three, with 16 riders ending the day within a second on the combined timesheets.
Gabriel Rodrigo
Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) topped FP1 ahead of Rodrigo, but it was game on on Friday afternoon to get into the provisional Q2 graduation zone as bad weather seems to be on the horizon for Saturday and FP3. In the end though some of the fastest in FP1 remained threats on the combined timesheets, with Masia retaining fifth overall, slotting in behind a top three chased by Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46). The ever-impressive Italian rookie gained over twenty places from his FP1 slot.
Championship contenders Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) and Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) were next up, with the two rivals taking P6 and P7 respectively…split by just 0.030 as they prepare for another crucial battle on Sunday. Dalla Porta was also involved in an incident with Vietti at Turn 3 in FP2, both riders ok.
Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse), currently third in the Championship, was eighth quickest on Friday, with the Italian ending the day just under a tenth and a half off Canet. He headed up an incredibly close squabble, with compatriot Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) 0.003 back, Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) another 0.008 off and John McPhee (Petronas Yamaha SRT) within only 0.014 of Spaniard Ramirez ahead of him. The Scot’s best lap was from FP1.
That was also true of the man just behind him, rookie Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia), and the man behind him, Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai), in P13. Home hero Filip Salač (Redox PrüstelGP) took P14 and is the last man currently in the provisional graduation zone for Q2, with Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) the first to lose out.
Crashers on Day 1 included Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Kazuki Masaki (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race), Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power), Albert Arenas (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0).
