Lowes was again aggressive, into Turn 4 this time, a lap later as he lunged past Bezzecchi but he couldn’t get the bike stopped, ran wide and allowed the afro-haired Italian back through. However, with the leading trio continuing to stretch their advantage, the Briton would then get the job done moments later to take fourth place away from the Italian. The fastest lap of the race went the way of the former MotoGP™ rider as he started to find his rhythm and began to close in on the three men ahead of him. It didn’t take long for the six-wheeler at the front to become an eight-wheeler, as Lowes caught and then passed Navarro in one foul swoop for third.
With two to go, Foggia was looking very strong at the front. Masia had dropped to fifth after Binder made a move stick on the Spaniard at Turn 4 before Masia got his Honda crossed up into the Turn 4 braking zone. Masia just about kept it on the asphalt but that was his podium hopes gone. Foggia led over the line on the last lap and, crucially, led into Turn 1. The first passing opportunity had been and gone for second place Binder, but opportunity knocked at Turn 5 for the KTM rider and Binder was up the inside of Foggia. A clean, slick move from Binder saw him take the lead as Foggia lost two places in one corner, Arbolino slicing up the inside of his compatriot to chase Binder. Turn 10 then reared its head – who was last of the late brakers? We’ve seen drama there in recent times, but Binder was solid and held P1. Then, unless Arbolino could channel his inner Valentino Rossi, the race was pretty much done. Binder was fast through the final sector and Arbolino thought about a final corner move, but there was no way through. Binder strolled across the line to take a memorable first Grand Prix victory on the circuit he picked up his first Grand Prix points on. Brilliant Binder proved unbeatable in Barcelona.
Quartararo’s crash occurred as the Frenchman saved a front-end moment as he tipped it into Turn 4. The 21-year-old ran into the gravel and eventually had to lay the bike down, but Quartararo was ok and won’t be fazed ahead of a vital Barcelona showdown. Polesitter Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) claimed P4 in Warm Up, 0.334 off his teammate’s pace, with the injured Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) completing the top five.
Drama unfolded for Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) on Sunday morning, his machine burst into flames as the Spaniard headed into Turn 10 in the latter stages of Warm Up, a scary incident that thankfully saw Fernandez escape injury. Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto3) was fourth with Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) fifth, the German crashing unhurt at Turn 10.
Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) topped Moto3™ Warm Up at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya with a 1:49.715 – just 0.001 ahead of Championship leader Albert Arenas (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3). Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) completed the top three on Sunday morning, the Argentinian just 0.044 off top spot.
The Yamalube YART Yamaha Team have taken victory in the first-ever Estoril 12-Hour after a sublime performance from Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccoló Canepa. The Wojcik Racing Team and Moto AIN team made it a triple celebration for Yamaha on the Estoril podium, with Wojcik finishing third overall and Moto AIN taking the FIM Superstock World Cup race win and 2019/2020 title.
The premier FIM Endurance World Championship crown though went to the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. SERT won the 2019-2020 Endurance World Championship and are now 16-time title victors with riders Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon recorded 416 laps of the Estoril Circuit aboard their GSX-R1000 to cross the finish line in fourth position and claim the season victory by 18 points over runners-up YART.
At the Estporil 12-Hour YART Yamaha and F.C.C. TSR Honda France battled it out until the last minute of an action-packed race. After a 12-hour thriller, YART Yamaha won the day thanks to riders Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa, with a less-than-25-second lead over F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio. Their win is equally a victory for Bridgestone, supplier to these two highly competitive teams.
The YART Yamaha squad got their championship-deciding race underway in the hands of Marvin Fritz. The German had a tough start, suffering from a small technical issue, dropping to the back of the field as the pack battled their way into turn one.
The former IDM Superbike champion kept a calm head, quickly making his way through the field, he found himself lying in seventh at the end of the first five minutes. Fritz continued to work his way towards the front, setting an early fastest lap as the track temperature began to rise.
As he found his rhythm, Fritz was just out of podium reach after making his way up to fourth. He wasted no time getting past the F.C.C TSR Honda, swooping around the outside at the final corner, finishing the move into turn one, he began to chase after the race leader.
After an impressive first stint, Fritz handed the YART R1 over to Karel Hanika, who instantly began to pile the pressure on the BMW team. However, his opening stint was made a little easier, taking the lead of the race after the BMW Motorrad team crashed out of contention.
Controlling the pace, YART continued to dominate proceedings. Hanika was deep into his second stint when he suffered a small technical issue with his right footrest. Unalarmed, he kept a calm head, alerting the team before pulling in to make the quick repair. With just over four hours on the clock, Niccoló Canepa took over from the Czech rider.
As the race approached its half-way mark, YART held a lead of just one second over the F.C.C TSR Honda, with a battle that was set to go down to the wire.
As the track temperature continued to rise to 43 degrees, Hanika had a steady start to his next stint, building temperature into his Bridgestone tyres. With just under six hours remaining, there was no room for error in the second-longest race of the season. The Czech rider was quick to settle into his next stint, shadowing the F.C.C TSR Honda team and eventually took the lead back at turn six after losing it briefly on his out lap.
Josh Hook
“We had a good bike throughout the race and we had the pace to win the race. It was definitely hard during the back-to-back stints towards the end. There are definitely some things we have to improve on in the pit lane, because I think this cost us a good chance of winning this race. But we have to be happy with the result, we finished second, our lap times were good and even if it’s not a win it’s a good result. When your bike is amazing, it doesn’t matter where you are. The team has made an amazing job in here and I want to say a big thank you to the team and everybody who was involved. I am already looking forward to next year.”
With two-thirds race distance approaching, the pressure was back on YART after their lead was closed down once again. With Fritz back on board, the German held on to the lead at the eight-hour mark, collecting ten further championship points, adding to the five they took for pole position.
There were more celebrations at the eight-hour mark as the Moto AIN DAFY squad confirmed their FIM Endurance World Cup title thanks to the efforts of Roby Rolfo, Robin Mulhauser and Hugo Clere.
Back at the front, Hanika ran into further issues, experiencing another problem with his right footrest. Both YART and Hanika were quick to fix the problem and continued to lap comfortably in the low 1:40’s as the sun began to set on the Estoril track.
With two hours remaining, YART Yamaha found themselves in a battle for the lead once again, with two different strategies for the leading two teams. However, YART used their experience to time their final pit stop to perfection, with Fritz pitting for a splash and dash nine minutes before the end of the race, securing the victory by 24.5 seconds.
Unfortunately for the team, despite a clean sweep, it wasn’t enough to take the world championship, finishing the ultra-competitive 2019/2020 EWC season in second overall, 18 points adrift of eventual winners, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.
The Wojcik Yamaha Team had a strong race, running inside the top five throughout the 12-hours to take an overall third place, joining YART on the podium. Meanwhile, Moto AIN rode to an impressive eighth place, taking the World Cup race win and the 2019/2020 crown.
Another strong result saw Yamaha crowned manufacturers champions, picking up 237 points across the 2019/2020 FIM Endurance World Championship season.
Mandy Kainz: Team Manager, Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Team
“On paper, it looked clear; I don’t think we’ve ever dominated like this before. From free practice to night practice, qualifying and warm-up, we were dominating the field, but it wasn’t an easy race. It was a mixed race, with some bad luck and some luck on our side, it shows once again how unpredictable Endurance is. But in the end, we did what we wanted to do, we took maximum points, and came close to winning the championship. We once again showed the potential of the team, the new R1 and the Bridgestone tyres. The team did an amazing job; we were on top in every session; everything was perfect. It was a hard battle with Honda, but in the end, we came out on top!”
VRD Igol Pierret Experiences were 5th at the finish after a 12-hour battle with the factory teams. In the saddle of the Yamaha 333, Florian Alt, Florian Marino and Nico Terol finished ahead of Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar and BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. The Kawasaki team lost out on a podium due to a broken chain. After leading at the start of the race, the factory BMW team powered back up through the field to 7th place overall following a crash.
The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team had spent over an hour at the head of the field, before things took a turn for the worse. Hickman skidded and crashed in a left-hander. He was able to continue, but the relatively minor crash caused such severe damage to the bike that it required a long stop for repairs. That saw the #37 bike drop back to 19th place, eight laps behind the leaders. As the race progressed, the trio of Reiterberger, Foray and Hickman set about gradually working their way back through the field. After 12 hours, the #37 crossed the finish line in seventh place.
The 2019/20 season, which started one year ago at Le Castellet, had been reduced to four races as a result of the coronavirus. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team claimed its first podium against the top-class world championship field with third place at the opening round. The next podium came in the second race in mid-December at Sepang (MAS), courtesy of another third place. After a break, the season resumed at Le Mans (FRA) at the end of August. Shortly before the finish, the team crashed out whilst running fifth. Seventh place at the finale in Estoril means the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team ends its debut season in sixth place overall.
Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director
“It is obviously disappointing at first, when you suffer such a set-back whilst leading the race. We had our sights set on a top finish and saw that we had the potential to achieve that. However, these things happen in racing. Neither the team nor the riders buried their heads in the sand after that incident. Instead, they battled and gave it their all right through to the finish. Although we did not get the result we were after at the finale, you have to look at the big picture. It was our first season in FIM EWC, with its very strong field, and we had little preparation time before our first outing at the Bol d’Or one year ago. We have twice finished on the podium in this season’s four races, and were extremely competitive at the other two events. In addition, we were able to prove the reliability of our RR at the Le Mans 24-hour race as well as at the 12-hour race at Estoril, even if we lost strong positions there due to riding mistakes. That is overall not a bad record for us as ‘rookies’. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and the BMW S 1000 RR have established themselves among the best in the world at the first attempt. I would like to say a big thank you to Werner Daemen, Steven Casaer and the entire team for the hard and highly-professional work they have put in this season. We achieved a very high standard in our first year, which gives us an outstanding basis for our second season in FIM EWC. Congratulations to our tyre partner Dunlop who won the title with SERT. We will start a new attempt to fight for the title in the coming season.”
Two high profile-teams were forced to retire due to crashes: ERC Endurance (Ducati) dropped out in the very first hour while Bolliger Team Switzerland (Kawasaki) retired in the fourth hour. National Motos dropped out of the rankings a little over 6 hours into the race following an engine issue. The privateer Honda fielded by the eponymous Paris dealership had been running a fine race in the Top 15 with only two riders, Stéphane Egea and Guillaume Antiga.
Hanspeter Bolliger was awarded the Anthony Delhalle EWC Spirit Trophy to honour his 38-year passion for endurance racing and the final race of his career at Estoril.
2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Round Seven – GEICO Motorcycle WW Ranch National, Florida September 26, 2020
Images Jeff Kardas
The seventh round of the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship made its way to northeastern Florida on the weekend for the annual GEICO Motorcycle WW Ranch National. With hot and humid weather at WW Ranch Motocross Park, the world’s best riders faced one of the most physically challenging rounds of the season.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne emerged victorious by sweeping both motos in the 450 Class, taking a class-leading fourth victory of the season and extending his championship lead to 29-points over Adam Cianciarulo. Musquin maintains his third position in the standings, just a single point behind Cianciarulo.
In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis swept both motos to take the overall win for the second consecutive week, extending his points lead over Jeremy Martin to 13-points.
Jett Lawrence went 2-5 for fourth overall, just missing out on the overall podium but strengthening his seventh place in the 250 Championship standings with 200-points to his name.
Hunter Lawrence started well with a sixth in the opening Moto but failed to finish the second bout after encountering a mechanical gremlin.
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship continues next weekend on Saturday, October 3 for the penultimate round of the 2020 season in Lakewood, Colorado.
Video Highlights
450MX Moto 1
As the gate dropped on the opening 450 Class Moto, Osborne grabbed the Motosport.com Holeshot, closely followed by Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo and Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton.
The premier class rookie duo of Cianciarulo and Sexton quickly sprinted around Osborne on the opening lap, shuffling the championship point leader to third. Following a hard crash in the final qualifying session, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin started just behind the leaders in fourth.
While Cianciarulo and Sexton paced one another at the head of the field, Osborne trailed by just over three seconds, keeping the leaders within sight. At the halfway point of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto, Sexton saw an opening and struck by pulling alongside Cianciarulo and taking second. Cianciarulo instantly retaliated with a move of his own to reclaim the lead.
Entering the final stages of the moto, Osborne inched his way closer to the lead duo and used his aggressive riding style to pass Sexton around the outside of a corner. Just one lap later Osborne dove to the inside of his closest championship rival Cianciarulo and took control of the race lead.
Osborne’s late race charge helped him secure his fifth moto win of the season by 2.7 seconds over Cianciarulo. Musquin took advantage of a late race mistake by Sexton to complete the podium in third, followed by Sexton in fourth.
450MX Moto 1 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Laps/Interval
1
Zachary Osborne
HQV FC450 RE
16 Laps
2
Adam Cianciarulo
KAW KX450
+02.733
3
Marvin Musquin
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+14.333
4
Chase Sexton
HON CRF450R WE
+19.188
5
Justin Barcia
YAM YZ 450F
+22.263
6
Eli Tomac
KAW KX450
+40.597
7
Blake Baggett
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+48.758
8
Joseph Savatgy
SUZ RMZ 450
+1:03.459
9
Fredrik Noren
SUZ RMZ 450
+1:21.711
10
Christian Craig
HON CRF450R
+1:27.313
11
Justin Bogle
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+2:00.818
12
Isaac Teasdale
SUZ RMZ 450
+2:11.164
13
Max Anstie
SUZ RMZ 450
+2:16.874
14
Justin Rodbell
KAW KX 450F
15 Laps
15
Kyle Chisholm
YAM YZ 450F
+29.684
16
Tyler Bowers
KAW KX450
+37.410
17
Alex Ray
KAW KX450
+46.322
18
McClellan Hile
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+50.440
19
Bryce Backaus
YAM YZ 450F
+1:10.787
20
Tristan Lane
KTM 450 SX-F
+1:30.248
21
Jared Lesher
KTM 450 SX-F
+1:35.361
22
Matthew Hubert
KAW KX450
+1:37.238
23
Christopher Prebula
KTM 450 SX-F
+2:14.502
24
Vann Martin
KTM 450 SX-F
+2:23.439
25
Tristan Lewis
YAM YZ 450F
14 Laps
26
Adam Enticknap
SUZ RMZ 450
+1:17.896
27
Scott Meshey
HQV FC450 RE
+1:20.278
28
Nicolas Rolando
KTM 450 SX-F
+1:31.986
29
Joshua Berchem
KTM 450 SX-F
+1:37.277
30
Jerry Lorenz III
YAM YZ 450F
+1:49.156
31
Nick Fratz-Orr
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+2:46.853
32
Bryton Carroll
YAM YZ 450F
+3:20.771
33
Nathen LaPorte
HON CRF450R
13 Laps
34
Carter Stephenson
YAM YZ 450F
10 Laps
35
Richard Taylor
YAM YZ 450F
9 Laps
36
Ben LaMay
KTM 450 SX-F
7 Laps
37
Jeffrey Walker
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+12.858
38
Carson Tickle
HON CRF450R
5 Laps
39
Benny Bloss
HQV FC450
3 Laps
40
Jake Masterpool
HQV FC450
+24.431
450MX Moto 2
The final 450 Class moto of the afternoon saw Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia launch out of the gate to grab the Motosport.com Holeshot, followed by Musquin and Cianciarulo. Exiting the first turn, Cianciarulo grabbed a handful of throttle to blitz his way around Musquin and Barcia to take the race lead. Prior to the completion of the opening lap, Barcia would lose the front end entering a corner, allowing Anstie to take over third, just ahead of Osborne in fourth.
Cianciarulo continued his strong early moto form out front, while Musquin looked to keep the Kawasaki rider in his sight in second. A mistake by Anstie allowed Osborne to sneak by and into third. With just under 20-minutes to go, Musquin saw an opportunity to make the pass for the lead, which saw the two riders collide entering a corner and Cianciarulo hitting the ground. Musquin was able to stay up and take the lead, while Osborne and Sexton moved into second and third. Cianciarulo would remount in seventh.
Osborne made an attack on the Frenchman Musquin and took over the race lead at the halfway point of the moto. Shortly after, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac latched onto the rear fender of Sexton to pass him for third. Tomac continued his charge forward, working his way up to and around Musquin for second.
Entering the final lap, Osborne and Tomac were wheel-to-wheel in the battle for the moto win. Osborne fended off the multi-time reigning champion to take his sixth moto win of the season. Tomac crossed the checkered flag to finish second, followed by Musquin in third.
450MX Moto 2 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Laps/Interval
1
Zachary Osborne
HQV FC450 RE
16 Laps
2
Eli Tomac
KAW KX450
+04.201
3
Marvin Musquin
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+23.839
4
Max Anstie
SUZ RMZ 450
+29.490
5
Chase Sexton
HON CRF450R WE
+37.275
6
Blake Baggett
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+49.082
7
Adam Cianciarulo
KAW KX450
+1:10.201
8
Fredrik Noren
SUZ RMZ 450
+1:19.318
9
Joseph Savatgy
SUZ RMZ 450
+1:24.249
10
Christian Craig
HON CRF450R
+1:33.139
11
Jake Masterpool
HQV FC450
+2:11.411
12
Kyle Chisholm
YAM YZ 450F
15 Laps
13
Justin Barcia
YAM YZ 450F
+01.612
14
Isaac Teasdale
SUZ RMZ 450
+09.289
15
Justin Bogle
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+35.423
16
Tyler Bowers
KAW KX450
+39.649
17
Tristan Lane
KTM 450 SX-F
+41.688
18
Alex Ray
KAW KX450
+45.985
19
Justin Rodbell
KAW KX 450F
+52.703
20
Matthew Hubert
KAW KX450
+55.548
21
Jared Lesher
KTM 450 SX-F
+1:17.841
22
McClellan Hile
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+1:26.179
23
Carson Tickle
HON CRF450R
+1:35.195
24
Bryce Backaus
YAM YZ 450F
+1:57.211
25
Vann Martin
KTM 450 SX-F
+2:33.092
26
Cory Carsten
SUZ RMZ 450
14 Laps
27
Nicolas Rolando
KTM 450 SX-F
+04.721
28
Nick Fratz-Orr
KTM 450 SX-F FE
+1:02.905
29
Adam Enticknap
SUZ RMZ 450
+1:05.948
30
Joshua Berchem
KTM 450 SX-F
+1:45.940
31
Brandon Pederson
HQV FC450 FE
+2:07.653
32
Christopher Prebula
KTM 450 SX-F
13 Laps
33
Carter Stephenson
YAM YZ 450F
12 Laps
34
Ben LaMay
KTM 450 SX-F
8 Laps
35
Nathen LaPorte
HON CRF450R
7 Laps
36
Jerry Lorenz III
YAM YZ 450F
5 Laps
37
Bryton Carroll
YAM YZ 450F
+1:36.693
38
Scott Meshey
HQV FC450 RE
3 Laps
39
Benny Bloss
HQV FC450
2 Laps
40
Richard Taylor
YAM YZ 450F
DNF
450MX Overall
Osborne went 1-1 for the second time this season, capturing his fourth overall victory of the season in the premier class. Musquin’s consistency rewarded him with second overall (3-3), edging out Tomac who made his return to the podium in third (6-2).
Zach Osborne
“It’s an unreal feeling to get back on top” explained Osborne. “A week ago we were faced with some adversity, but we responded with two moto wins today. This is what makes all of the hard work and tough times we face during the week worth it. I had to fight for that second moto win, Eli was on it, but we dug deep and managed to get the job done.”
The overall win helped Osborne extend his championship lead to 29-points over Cianciarulo who finished fourth overall (2-7). Musquin maintains his third position in the standings, just a single point behind Cianciarulo.
Marvin Musquin
“I came into this race not very well, physically, from my crash in Millville last weekend and then I had another crash in the second practice, so I went out there in not-so-great of shape but I gave my best and I’m happy with how I rode and my consistency. It’s a bummer that I lost 10 points on Zach in the championship but he was stronger than me today. I did what I could, so I’m happy to still be up on the podium.”
450MX Overall
Pos
Rider
M1
M2
Points
1
Zachary Osborne
1
1
50
2
Marvin Musquin
3
3
40
3
Eli Tomac
6
2
37
4
Adam Cianciarulo
2
7
36
5
Chase Sexton
4
5
34
6
Blake Baggett
7
6
29
7
Max Anstie
13
4
26
8
Fredrik Noren
9
8
25
9
Joseph Savatgy
8
9
25
10
Justin Barcia
5
13
24
11
Christian Craig
10
10
22
12
Isaac Teasdale
12
14
16
13
Justin Bogle
11
15
16
14
Kyle Chisholm
15
12
15
15
Jake Masterpool
40
11
10
16
Tyler Bowers
16
16
10
17
Justin Rodbell
14
19
9
18
Alex Ray
17
18
7
19
Tristan Lane
20
17
5
20
McClellan Hile
18
22
3
21
Bryce Backaus
19
24
2
22
Matthew Hubert
22
20
1
23
Jared Lesher
21
21
0
24
Vann Martin
24
25
0
25
Nicolas Rolando
28
27
0
26
Adam Enticknap
26
29
0
27
Christopher Prebula
23
32
0
28
Nick Fratz-Orr
31
28
0
29
Joshua Berchem
29
30
0
30
Carson Tickle
38
23
0
31
Scott Meshey
27
38
0
32
Jerry Lorenz III
30
36
0
33
Carter Stephenson
34
33
0
34
Nathen LaPorte
33
35
0
35
Bryton Carroll
32
37
0
36
Ben LaMay
36
34
0
37
Richard Taylor
35
40
0
38
Benny Bloss
39
39
0
39
Tristan Lewis
25
0
40
Cory Carsten
26
0
41
Brandon Pederson
31
0
42
Jeffrey Walker
37
0
450MX Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Zachary Osborne
285
2
Adam Cianciarulo
256
3
Marvin Musquin
255
4
Eli Tomac
233
5
Blake Baggett
219
6
Justin Barcia
218
7
Chase Sexton
207
8
Christian Craig
163
9
Joseph Savatgy
147
10
Max Anstie
139
11
Broc Tickle
134
12
Fredrik Noren
107
13
Dean Wilson
97
14
Justin Bogle
72
15
Jake Masterpool
63
16
Henry Miller
59
17
Jason Anderson
58
18
Justin Rodbell
58
19
Benny Bloss
47
20
Coty Schock
31
21
Cooper Webb
29
22
Tyler Bowers
23
23
John Short
21
24
Ben LaMay
21
25
Isaac Teasdale
19
26
Grant Harlan
18
27
Jeremy Smith
18
28
Justin Hoeft
17
29
Kyle Chisholm
15
30
Luke Renzland
11
31
Matthew Hubert
10
32
Chase Felong
8
33
Alex Ray
7
34
Tristan Lane
5
35
Felix Lopez
5
36
Robbie Wageman
4
37
Jeffrey Walker
4
38
McClellan Hile
3
39
Cory Carsten
3
40
Jared Lesher
3
41
Bryce Backaus
2
250MX Moto 1
The first 250 Class moto saw Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Shane McElrath emerge with the Motosport.com Holeshot, just edging out his teammate Dylan Ferrandis and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ hampshire. The opening lap saw Hampshire quickly go to work to steal second from Ferrandis, while Ferrandis’ championship rival Jeremy Martin started in fourth on his GEICO Honda.
As McElrath led the 40-rider field around the sandy circuit, Ferrandis managed to regroup and close the gap on Hampshire, reclaiming the second position. Just moments later, Ferrandis would continue his push towards the front as he overtook his teammate McElrath to become the new race leader.
The podium battle behind Ferrandis began to heat up as GEICO Honda’s rookie Jett Lawrence found his way by both Hampshire and McElrath to move into second.
With Ferrandis dropping the hammer and looking to breakaway from Lawrence out front, Hampshire put in another charge that allowed him to muscle his way by McElrath for third. With five minutes remaining, the final podium positions tightened up as Lawrence, Hampshire, and Jeremy Martin were separated by just seconds. A huge mistake by Hampshire saw him eject from his motorcycle off of one of the large infield jumps, moving Jeremy Martin into third.
Ferrandis would go on to take a dominating fifth moto win of the season by 9.6 seconds over Lawrence who earned a career-best second. Jeremy Martin crossed the finish line a distant third.
250MX Moto 1 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Laps/Interval
1
Dylan Ferrandis
YAM YZ 250F
16 Laps
2
Jett Lawrence
HON CRF250R
+09.655
3
Jeremy Martin
HON CRF250R
+21.486
4
Justin Cooper
YAM YZ 250F
+30.898
5
Alex Martin
SUZ RMZ 250
+37.359
6
Hunter Lawrence
HON CRF250R
+41.083
7
Shane McElrath
YAM YZ 250F
+44.221
8
Jo Shimoda
HON CRF250R
+1:00.325
9
Cameron Mcadoo
KAW KX 250
+1:12.527
10
Carson Mumford
HON CRF250R
+1:14.966
11
Mitchell Harrison
KAW KX 250
+1:19.400
12
Jarrett Frye
YAM YZ 250F
+1:27.097
13
Brandon Hartranft
KTM 250 SX-F FE
+1:36.295
14
Hardy Munoz
HQV FC250
+1:41.303
15
Nick Gaines
YAM YZ 250F
+1:55.578
16
Joseph Crown
YAM YZ 250F
+2:03.052
17
Jalek Swoll
HQV FC250
+2:07.172
18
Derek Kelley
HQV FC250
+2:07.903
19
Mason Gonzales
YAM YZ 250F
15 Laps
20
Jerry Robin
HQV FC250
+52.972
21
Kevin Moranz
KTM 250 SX-F
+56.026
22
Mathias Jorgensen
KAW KX 250
+57.541
23
Austin Root
HQV FC250
+1:05.074
24
Colton Eigenmann
SUZ RMZ 250
+1:06.246
25
Curren Thurman
KTM 250 SX-F
+1:12.052
26
Jesse Flock
HQV FC250
+1:30.282
27
Joshua Varize
KTM 250 SX-F
+1:55.081
28
Ezra Hastings
HQV FC250
+2:00.185
29
Maxwell Sanford
YAM YZ 250F
+2:26.755
30
Jake Pinhancos
KTM 250 SX-F
+2:43.562
31
Gared Steinke
KAW KX 250
+2:43.562
32
Brett Greenley
YAM YZ 250F
14 Laps
33
Lane Shaw
KTM 250 SX-F
+14.605
34
Matthew Klann
HON CRF250R
+1:05.405
35
RJ Hampshire
HQV FC250
13 Laps
36
Kyle Greeson
KTM 250 SX-F
11 Laps
37
Derek Drake
KTM 250 SX-F FE
10 Laps
38
Conner Burger
KTM 250 SX-F
+2:13.018
39
Gage Schehr
HQV FC250
4 Laps
40
Gabe Gutierres
KTM 250 SX-F
3 Laps
250MX Moto 2
As the gate dropped for 250 Class Moto 2 it was Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper who emerged with the Motosport.com Holeshot ahead of JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Racing’s Alex Martin and Ferrandis. The red plate holder Ferrandis quickly went to the front to lead the opening lap over Cooper, and McElrath. Jeremy Martin started the moto in seventh.
Like we’ve seen many times this season, Ferrandis used the clear track to his advantage by putting in fast laps to open a comfortable lead over his fellow competitors.
Behind Ferrandis, Star Racing Yamaha teammates Cooper and McElrath remained steady in second and third. With just under 10-minutes remaining in the moto, Jeremy Martin engaged in a battle with McElrath for the final podium spot.
Ferrandis remained unchallenged en route to his six moto win of the season by 15.3 seconds. Cooper held on to take a season-best second, while Jeremy Martin made a pass on McElrath in the final laps to finish third.
250MX Moto 2 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Laps/Interval
1
Dylan Ferrandis
YAM YZ 250F
16 Laps
2
Justin Cooper
YAM YZ 250F
+15.304
3
Jeremy Martin
HON CRF250R
+23.706
4
Shane McElrath
YAM YZ 250F
+29.004
5
Jett Lawrence
HON CRF250R
+37.013
6
RJ Hampshire
HQV FC250
+40.888
7
Alex Martin
SUZ RMZ 250
+59.176
8
Cameron Mcadoo
KAW KX 250
+1:23.120
9
Brandon Hartranft
KTM 250 SX-F FE
+1:27.457
10
Jo Shimoda
HON CRF250R
+1:27.925
11
Carson Mumford
HON CRF250R
+2:04.883
12
Jarrett Frye
YAM YZ 250F
+2:15.554
13
Nick Gaines
YAM YZ 250F
+2:19.882
14
Kevin Moranz
KTM 250 SX-F
+2:24.692
15
Joseph Crown
YAM YZ 250F
15 Laps
16
Mitchell Harrison
KAW KX 250
+04.765
17
Jerry Robin
HQV FC250
+07.224
18
Hardy Munoz
HQV FC250
+13.923
19
Curren Thurman
KTM 250 SX-F
+41.068
20
Jesse Flock
HQV FC250
+42.498
21
Colton Eigenmann
SUZ RMZ 250
+50.288
22
Ezra Hastings
HQV FC250
+1:00.193
23
Derek Kelley
HQV FC250
+2:06.176
24
Maxwell Sanford
YAM YZ 250F
+2:33.265
25
Lane Shaw
KTM 250 SX-F
+2:45.694
26
Kyle Greeson
KTM 250 SX-F
14 Laps
27
Austin Root
HQV FC250
+11.352
28
Brett Greenley
YAM YZ 250F
+39.795
29
Jake Pinhancos
KTM 250 SX-F
+44.709
30
Matthew Klann
HON CRF250R
+59.439
31
Joshua Varize
KTM 250 SX-F
+1:07.071
32
Jordan Jarvis
KAW KX 250
+1:11.685
33
Michael Lacore
KTM 250 SX-F
13 Laps
34
Austin Cozadd
YAM YZ 250F
+26.226
35
Hayden Hefner
YAM YZ 250F
+1:35.861
36
Gared Steinke
KAW KX 250
9 Laps
37
Mathias Jorgensen
KAW KX 250
6 Laps
38
Gage Schehr
HQV FC250
4 Laps
39
Hunter Lawrence
HON CRF250R
3 Laps
40
Chad Stonier
YAM YZ 250F
2 Laps
250MX Overall
For the third time this season, Ferrandis swept both motos (1-1) for the overall victory. Cooper landed on the overall podium for the first time this season in second (4-2), edging out Jeremy Martin in third (3-3).
“It’s a great feeling to get another win,” said Ferrandis. “Every race and moto is really important. To go 1-1 today is huge and it’s great to show how strong I am when the conditions are tough. My starts were much better overall, so it’s quite a nice feeling to have it pay off with a good overall result. There are two races left and it’s going to be important to keep this momentum rolling for the championship.”
The win helped Ferrandis extend his championship point lead to 13-points over Jeremy Martin. Jeremy’s brother, Alex Martin, finished sixth overall (5-7) on the day and moved to third in the standings.
Our lap came to us thanks to the hard work in FP4, bike felt better and I’m excited to go racing and most importantly avoid tear off’s 🤣 Will try and get a good start and avoid getting T-Bone steaked at Turn 10 and we should be ok!
Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) can add a maiden pole position to his tally in 2020 as the Italian proved the only man able to dip into the 1:38s in qualifying at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, only a tenth shy of the lap record. He was two tenths clear of teammate Fabio Quartararo, who starts second, with Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) taking third as the number 46 gets a front row start for his 350th premier class race. Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), meanwhile, starts P17…
In Q1 Dovizioso was one of the main names fighting to make it through, but all did not go to plan for the Italian. Ultimately it was Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) who was quickest, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) snatching second right at the end in some late heartbreak for Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). Rins now lines up in P13, and Dovizioso down in P17.
It was a Yamaha stranglehold at the beginning of Q2 as Morbidelli set the first banker, with Rossi then taking over at the top before his teammate Maverick Viñales hit back. Quartararo, meanwhile, ran wide as he got his YZR-M1 all sorts of crossed up at the tricky Turn 10 – just as his team-mate Morbidelli slammed in the fastest lap of the weekend to go provisional pole again with a 1:39.110.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) then also got it wrong at Turn 10 but unlike Quartararo, Oliveira was down – thankfully unhurt. Next to get the hammer down were two Ducatis – Miller and Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing), and Miller only had one set of fresh soft tyres available after coming through Q1. The Aussie made it count though, slotting into second just 0.115 off Morbidelli.
As the final runs dawned, Quartararo then found himself rumbling out of pitlane with five minutes to go having not set a lap time after his earlier Turn 10 moment. The Frenchman and last year’s poleman was P12, but that was soon going to change as four Yamahas lit up the timing screens. Halfway around the lap, Quartararo was 0.132 under Morbidelli’s time, although the number 21 was going even quicker. Over the line though it was Quartararo who improved this time around to a 1:39.008, with Morbidelli unable to – and nor did Viñales. Rossi, however, did, with the ‘Doctor’ leaping up from P7 to P3 to make it a provisional Yamaha front row lockout.
On the next lap, Morbidelli was flying yet again. The San Marino GP winner was 0.082 under Quartararo’s time at Sector 3, but could he hold it through Sector 4? He could. Ultimately, Morbidelli did more than hold his advantage and the final sector was a stunner as he shot to the top, over two tenths clear. Quartararo went in search of a final lap charge but it didn’t materialise for the MotoGP sophomore, and no one had an answer for Morbidelli.
That makes it a first premier class pole position for the recent first time winner, with Quartararo set to launch from P2 and ahead of all his closest challengers in the overall standings. Rossi makes it a Yamaha 1-2-3 for the second time in three races and takes his first front row of the season… as well as sounding pretty confident for Sunday.
Miller did an impressive job to qualify P4 as the leading Ducati rider, beating Viñales by just over a tenth as the number 12 lost out on making it another Yamaha 1-2-3-4. To the right of Viñales is Zarco, his final lap moving him up to just 0.007 slower than Viñales’ effort to give the Frenchman his best grid slot since his Czech GP pole.
Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) spearheads Row 3 ahead of Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), with both riders also looking like strong contenders in the race – and Mir having already taken a podium from P11 on the grid last weekend. Ducati Team’s Danilo Petrucci joins the Spaniards on the third row for his second consecutive P9 start.
Rookie and Brno winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completes the top 10, ahead of Nakagami and Oliveira after the earlier crash for the Portuguese rider.
Dovizioso leads by one point as it stands and he’s down in 17th, so it seems like Sunday is a prime opportunity for Quartararo, Viñales and Mir to strike back. The Catalan GP promises to be another phenomenal MotoGP race, and a pivotal one at that.
Tune in and don’t forget, the premier class get underway an hour later than normal this weekend, so it’s 2300 AEST tonight.
2020 MotoGP Misano Qualifying Quotes
Franco Morbidelli – P1
“It was great to be first today; to see that I was the fastest is a really good feeling. It’s always difficult to beat Fabio on a hot lap, so I’m very happy about qualifying today. I was feeling great on the bike and I felt that I could push a lot, on both tyres as well. Now it’s a matter of trying to refine everything for tomorrow and we will try to make a good start. We have a good pace, but there are many riders with a similar pace to us. It will be important to try to improve a little bit more for tomorrow, but I’m sure it is going to be a good race. I also want to congratulate Valentino on one more year in MotoGP and tell him that he is moving to a great team. It will be nice to have him as a team-mate.”
Fabio Quartararo – P2
“I’m really happy to be on the front row again in Barcelona. I think it will be really important to make a good start tomorrow. I’m feeling confident on the bike. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow, but our pace looks great and I think the only problem we have is which tyre to choose. It’s a difficult decision, but I’m happy with the job that the team has done. We will see what it is like tomorrow and then make our decision. I’m sure everyone is in the same position, so let’s see what we can do. Regarding the official announcement of the agreement of Valentino and the team, I’m really happy for him, for the team, and also for me because I like having him on track. “
Valentino Rossi – P3
“It‘s a great result to be on the front row. Today is a special day, because I signed the contract for next year, I‘m very happy. We worked well from yesterday, and today in FP4 I had good pace, also with the used tyre. So, I knew I could do a good lap, but it‘s not always easy. At the end, I was able to push at the limit, riding well without making any mistakes. I‘m very happy to be on the front row, because this is very important for the race. But the most important thing is that the bike is competitive. All the Yamaha riders have a good pace, so we need to make a good start, do everything right from the beginning, and then we‘ll see. I am competitive and strong. I can be fast for all the race. But MotoGP is always difficult, and things can change fast from one day to the other. To beat the others you have to arrive at the chequered flag earlier than them – that‘s the target.”
Jack Miller – P4
“I’am quite happy with the set up that we have tried during FP4, I definitively had a better feeling. Today’s weather conditions were acceptable and the wind was not as strong as yesterday, which helped. We have to be very careful due to the lack of grip. I hope to have a good race tomorrow.”
Maverick Vinales – P5
“The start is always crucial and fifth position is difficult, but it‘s not a really bad result considering we struggled a lot with the tyres this afternoon. Tomorrow we‘ll try to make another step forward. I think maybe we can find something really good for tomorrow. On rhythm we are good, we are very consistent and that is the most important. Tomorrow I‘ll go crazy on the first lap to move up to second or third, and then we‘ll see. What we understand is that we have a good pace in the last ten or twelve laps, which is important because this track is very demanding on the rear tyre. We will see tomorrow, but we are confident for the race.”
Johann Zarco – P6
“Starting from the second row is a very good thing for tomorrow’s race. Since yesterday, we are taking steps forward, we have improved our feeling with the bike and our race pace. Also yesterday we have improved our feelings with the used tire to be able to make a good end of the race and try to fight for the podium.”
Pol Espargaro – P7
“A so-so day. I’m happy because the lap-time was not bad but having seen our pace in FP4 with a used tire maybe I was expecting a bit more. My feeling in qualifying was not too bad but we didn’t get that extra grip in other places when we put a fresh tire on the bike. Anyway, P7 is OK and the straight is long here so let’s see if we can get some positions back at the start, make a good rhythm and see what will happen.”
Joan Mir – P8
“My target was the second row, and I came close to it. I’m still trying to improve my qualifying performances, but it takes time and I’m working on it. I’m happy with eighth but I struggled to make one quick lap today so that cost me a higher place, but my race pace is there. I will give everything tomorrow to have a strong race, it’s going to be very competitive I think!”
Danilo Petrucci – P9
“This morning, we have finalised our work following the direction identified yesterday afternoon. After getting direct access to Q2, I managed to complete another good lap in qualifying: we are all very close, so I am satisfied with the third row. It won’t be an easy race tomorrow: it will be difficult to make the right tyre choice and manage them for all the duration of the Grand Prix, especially given the track conditions and the low temperatures to which we are not used. However, I remain confident, and I want to thank the team for all the work they have done.”
Brad Binder – P10
“It was tough. I wanted to push and try to do a good job but I wasn’t comfortable with the front end. When I wanted to push into the left-handers I just kept washing the front tire. It was really difficult: I felt like I was riding around with one hand in my pocket because it was such hard work. We’ll sit down and make a plan for tomorrow.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P11
“In FP3, at the end of the session, we tried to improve the lap time, but unluckily I had a crash at turn two which was due to a cold tyre as the temperature wasn’t high enough and I lost the front. I’m sorry to the team as we lost the opportunity to stay in the top 10 and we went into Q1 qualifying. Q1 was good and the lap time was quite good, we were able to make our best lap time of the weekend and go into Q2 which was really positive for the team and myself. But in Q2 we had only one new tyre because we came from Q1 and everyone else had two. So P11, I’m a little bit disappointed, but we had a crash this morning and the situation was not the best, but we finally made it through to Q2. P11 is not too bad, but the biggest thing for tomorrow is tyre management as this track is so difficult and this track is so long. But we had good pace in FP4 which is a good sign, so we’ll try our best and hopefully we can get a good position in the race.”
Miguel Oliveira – P12
“It was a tough Qualifying. This morning we finished with a very good feeling. This afternoon, the conditions changed a bit and I was not so comfortable riding the medium front. I crashed on my fastest lap in Qualifying and lost a bit of feeling, which means I couldn’t do any better than this morning. We hope to do a clever race and arrive as close to the top as we can.”
Alex Rins – P13
“I just needed one more flying lap in Q1 and I’m sure I could’ve made it into final qualifying, I was so close! But anyway, I feel good with my race pace so I think I can get a nice result. I will fight tomorrow and try to put passes in on those around me to get the best position I can.”
Pecco Bagnaia – P14
“I will start from 14th place and I’m not happy about it. During the Q1 I messed up because I wasn’t fast in T4 otherwise I would have been in Q2. It will be a difficult race, I think that the pace will be slower and the most important thing will be the tires retaining, no one expected that the conditions would be like these. I have to do a good start and to recover positions since the first laps. I’m confident for tomorrow because I know to have a good race pace and I can take an advantage thanks to the engine of Ducati.”
Aleix Espargaro – P15
“Definitely a not an easy day. Today, I gave it all once again to get into the top 10. We are competitive, but we are still lacking a few tenths to battle with the best. Grip is still extremely low. If you push too hard, you end up falling like I did. The crash left me in pain. I’ll need to use my head in the race tomorrow. There are a lot of very fast riders who are behind me on the grid. I think the best strategy is to stay calm in the early laps and try to conserve the tyre as much as possible.”
Cal Crutchlow – P16
“Today I felt quite positive with the bike, I was able to push in a good way. Overall I still have some problems and pain in my arm, so we’re trying to manage that as best as possible. I was disappointed I wasn’t able to go through to Q2 because I think I should have been able to, but I got held up in my lap. Also the same thing happened on my qualifying lap (in FP3) as a rider pulled in front of me in the last sector and wasted my lap and also my next lap as they made a mistake in turn one and pulled back in front of me again! But this is the situation, I qualified 16th today but I’m quite positive about our race pace tomorrow and think we can have a good race and improve our position.”
Andrea Dovizioso – P17
“Unfortunately I am still struggling to understand how to brake properly, and obviously this complicates everything, especially in qualifying. As I am not feeling comfortable when braking, I can’t be as fast as I want and try to make the most of the tyres. It’s a shame because our pace for the race is not bad, but the position from which we will start tomorrow will definitely affect our performance.”
Alex Marquez – P18
“Today was a difficult situation, I wasn’t able to improve my time a lot as yesterday I did a 40.4 and today only a 40.1. We weren’t able to make a big step between days, so we are a little bit further behind. Tomorrow we have Warm Up to try something, especially on the electronics side to try and improve the rear grip. Managing the tyres will be important tomorrow, we saw in FP4 there is some variety with how fast riders are. Still the grip around the circuit isn’t high, so we need to try and find a solution.”
Iker Lecuona – P19
“It’s difficult to say a lot about today. In FP4, I tried to improve my feeling with the bike, we didn’t change anything and I was just trying. In Qualifying I managed to improve my lap time. Finally, it was not bad, but not good enough. Tomorrow is a new day and the most important of the week anyway.”
Stefan Bradl – P20
“We had quite an average day today, the crash in FP4 which was a bit unlucky. Our first run in FP4 was quite good and I was happy with the pace. We wanted to try some changes to the setup, but the fall upset our plans again. I was expecting a bit more from today but I’m happy overall because our pace in FP4 is looking good. I’m hoping to make up some positions early and focus on my own race, this circuit is always tricky – especially with these cooler conditions.”
Bradley Smith – P21
“This morning, things started on the right foot. I had a good feeling and a promising pace. We changed the settings for FP4 but it didn’t work. I crashed with the first bike, so I had to use the version with different engine specs in qualifying. We’ll try to get this morning’s sensations back in warmup. In the race, tyre wear will be a determining factor. As for us, our only choice is to push hard straight away and then we’ll just have to deal with the lack of grip.”
Tito Rabat – P22
“In the morning we did a very good practice, but in the afternoon I don’t know very well what happened since I tried to improve my time but I was not able to. It is the first time that I cannot improve my time in the afternoon session. It is true that in qualifying I was very strong and I almost fell at Turn 10. With my eyes set on tomorrow and we hope to continue improving.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“It was another very positive qualifying day for Yamaha, securing its second lock-out of the season. We are very pleased for Valentino to see him back on the front row, which is well deserved. Both he and the team have been working really hard, and third place on the grid is a nice achievement on such an important day for Vale. It‘s a shame that Maverick wasn‘t able to produce the lap times he had in mind, especially after the really good pace he showed in FP4. His goal was to be on the first row, but we know he has the rhythm to join the fight at the front. Before tomorrow’s Warm Up, the team will try to further improve the area of the bike that didn’t give him the right confidence. We will put in 100% effort to make sure we are ready for the fight, especially as this is a Monster Energy sponsored event. We want to see our riders celebrate on the podium at the end of it.”
Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager
“Today was positive in terms of our riders’ race pace, and they are both happy with their GSX-RRs. Everyone struggled a bit today due to the lower temperatures, but we have a competitive pace anyway. Joan qualified on the third row which is an improvement compared to last week, and Alex only missed Q2 by a very small amount. I’m sure both riders can have a good race tomorrow, we’re looking forward to it.”
MotoGP Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Q
Time/Gap
1
Franco MORBIDELLI
YAMAHA
Q2
1m38.798
2
Fabio QUARTARARO
YAMAHA
Q2
+0.210
3
Valentino ROSSI
YAMAHA
Q2
+0.331
4
Jack MILLER
DUCATI
Q2
+0.427
5
Maverick VIÑALES
YAMAHA
Q2
+0.573
6
Johann ZARCO
DUCATI
Q2
+0.580
7
Pol ESPARGARO
KTM
Q2
+0.697
8
Joan MIR
SUZUKI
Q2
+0.830
9
Danilo PETRUCCI
DUCATI
Q2
+0.843
10
Brad BINDER
KTM
Q2
+0.861
11
Takaaki NAKAGAMI
HONDA
Q2
+0.915
12
Miguel OLIVEIRA
KTM
Q2
+1.390
13
Alex RINS
SUZUKI
Q1
(*) 0.352
14
Francesco BAGNAIA
DUCATI
Q1
(*) 0.378
15
Aleix ESPARGARO
APRILIA
Q1
(*) 0.574
16
Cal CRUTCHLOW
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.589
17
Andrea DOVIZIOSO
DUCATI
Q1
(*) 0.710
18
Alex MARQUEZ
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.765
19
Iker LECUONA
KTM
Q1
(*) 1.091
20
Stefan BRADL
HONDA
Q1
(*) 1.322
21
Bradley SMITH
APRILIA
Q1
(*) 1.439
22
Tito RABAT
DUCATI
Q1
(*) 1.614
Moto2 Qualifying Report
Another week, another lap record! Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) has done it again in the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, putting in a 1:43.355 to set pole position and a new lap record at the track. He’s joined on the front row by Q1 graduate Jorge Navarro (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) and podium finisher last time out Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS). Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), who’s only five points off Marini in the standings, starts down in tenth.
In Q1, it was Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) who went top, followed by Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing), Navarro and Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) as they headed through – leaving one surprise in their wake in the form of Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto2), who missed out and starts P19 after also crashing on Saturday morning, rider ok.
Marini was quickest from the get go in Q2, with teammate Marco Bezzecchi going second in the early stages before Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Lowes leapfrogged him to sit as Marini’s closest challengers. That soon changed, however, as Marini went quicker again and Bezzecchi following suit to take back second. Q1 graduate Dixon then moved up into third as Marini went even quicker, setting the fastest ever Moto2™ lap around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. His 1:43.355 moved him well clear of the competition, and as it turned out it would secure him pole.
Dixon was then setting red sectors and the British rider pipped Bezzecchi to P2, but the Brit was still 0.349 off Marini’s time. Another Q1 graduate in the form of Navarro then shot up into provisional second, cutting the gap to Marini down to a tenth and a half. Navarro’s team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) and Lowes then interchanged P3 lap times to push Dixon down to P5, with Di Giannantonio forced to settle for P4.
That was pretty much that at the top. Marini was untouchable, with Navaaro in second and Lowes taking third from ‘Diggia’, leaving Dixon down in fifth. The Brit nevertheless claims his best-ever Moto2™ qualifying result for the second weekend in a row though – going one better than Misano. Bezzecchi will start on the second row alongside ‘Diggia’ and Dixon, the Italian forced to settle for sixth.
Joe Roberts spearheads Row 3 in P7 after coming through Q1, taking his first Saturday top 10 since his Czech GP pole position. After finishing second in FP3, rookie Marcos Ramirez makes it two Tennor American Racing machines on the third row as he took his best qualifying of 2020 to sit in P8. Xavi Vierge completes the third row.
Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) completed the top 10 in Q2, but after crashing under yellow flags on Friday, the Australian faces a six-place grid penalty. What does that mean? It means Bastianini will move up a position into the top 10 on the grid – and every little helps for the Italian who faces a tough task to mix it with Marini on Sunday afternoon.
Luca Marini
“I felt very good from the beginning of the weekend, it wasn’t easy and I didn’t expect it because it’s a very different situation to Misano, but the bike is still working well. So I don’t have so much rear grip but for everyone it’s the same so that’s great. I tried to manage the rear in practice because I want to understand how it will be in the race. In the quali I focused on being precise, and with a good lap and all sectors together. I think I did my job, and I’m very happy to start from pole because it will be important tomorrow, but I think Speed Up and Sam are strong here so it won’t be an easy race, but for today I’m happy and for the work I’ve done with my crew.”
Moto2 Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Motorcycle
Q
Time/Gap
1
Luca MARINI
KALEX
Q2
1’43.355
2
Jorge NAVARRO
SPEED UP
Q2
0.181
3
Sam LOWES
KALEX
Q2
0.282
4
Fabio DI GIANNANTONI ITA
SPEED UP
Q2
0.297
5
Jake DIXON
KALEX
Q2
0.349
6
Marco BEZZECCHI
KALEX
Q2
0.359
7
Joe ROBERTS
KALEX
Q2
0.386
8
Marcos RAMIREZ
KALEX
Q2
0.508
9
Xavi VIERGE
KALEX
Q2
0.516
10
Remy GARDNER
KALEX
Q2
0.519
11
Enea BASTIANINI
KALEX
Q2
0.553
12
Thomas LUTHI
KALEX
Q2
0.561
13
Augusto FERNANDEZ
KALEX
Q2
0.601
14
Jorge MARTIN
KALEX
Q2
0.691
15
Marcel SCHROTTER
KALEX
Q2
0.888
16
Nicolò BULEGA
KALEX
Q2
0.994
17
Edgar PONS
KALEX
Q2
1.055
18
Tetsuta NAGASHIMA
KALEX
Q2
1.079
19
Aron CANET
SPEED UP
Q1
(*) 0.518
20
Stefano MANZI
MV AGUSTA
Q1
(*) 0.612
21
Simone CORSI
MV AGUSTA
Q1
(*) 0.769
22
Hector GARZO
KALEX
Q1
(*) 0.831
23
Lorenzo DALLA PORTA ITA
KALEX
Q1
(*) 0.860
24
Lorenzo BALDASSARRI ITA
KALEX
Q1
(*) 0.899
25
Hafizh SYAHRIN
SPEED UP
Q1
(*) 1.048
26
Somkiat CHANTRA
KALEX
Q1
(*) 1.064
27
Kasma DANIEL
KALEX
Q1
(*) 1.443
28
Bo BENDSNEYDER
NTS
Q1
(*) 1.519
29
Andi Farid IZDIHAR
KALEX
Q1
(*) 1.728
30
Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI
NTS
Q1
(*) 2.084
Moto3
Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) has taken his first pole position of 2020 at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, the Italian slamming in a new lap record 1:47.762 to pull an incredible sixth tenths clear of Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3). And it’s the exact same 0.618 gap to both, with Fernandez and Rodrigo setting identical laps but the former’s second fastest effort ensuring he starts second.
In Q1 there was already plenty to talk about as Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) stole the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Incredibly, Championship leader Albert Arenas (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3), closest challenger Ogura and third overall John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) all found themselves in the session, and it was mission accomplished for Arenas and McPhee as they moved through behind Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Q1’s fastest man Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team). But Ogura? The Japanese rider suffered his worst qualifying of the season by a whopping nine places, so he’ll be facing a serious mountain on Sunday from P24 on the grid.
Once Q2 was underway, Fernandez set the first benchmark of the session with a 1:48.611 to lead Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) and Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in the early stages, but Arenas was next on the attack and into provisional P2 on his first flying lap. Arbolino then went top by just 0.045, moving the goalposts ahead of a frantic final couple of laps for the field.
On his second run, Fernandez reclaimed provisional pole by 0.186, but the standings were soon to get a shake up. Seven riders were lighting up the timing screens as the 18-rider field chased pole, but the fastest of them all was Arbolino. Over three tenths under Fernandez’ lap time halfway around the lap, the Italian was nearly four tenths under by the third split. Making no mistakes through the final sector and keeping it together across the line, Arbolino’s time was astonishing. Pole secured, lap record obliterated and over six tenths clear.
There was last minute drama for Fernandez too as the Spaniard tumbled out at the final corner, but rider ok and ready to line up second. Rodrigo takes the outside of the front row after setting his best time late on, and although it’s identical to Fernandez’ best, the Argentine’s second fastest time was slower so he takes P3.
Arenas will be stoked to be heading Row 2 in fourth, the highest-placed of the current title-challenging trio. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) played the risky strategy of not setting a lap time until the final minute, but it paid off as the Spaniard claimed P5 in Q2. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completes the second row in sixth, the Italian 0.8 shy of Arbolino’s pace but only just over two tenths away from P2.
Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team) spearheads the third row in seventh as the Czech rider took his best Saturday afternoon result of the season, joined by Toba and Binder on Row 3. The Japanese rider improved on his final flying lap to get the better of the South African, who was unable to beat his second lap set early on.
Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) rounds out the top 10 in Moto3 Q2, joined on Row 4 by Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) and McPhee. That’s now three races in a row that McPhee has failed to qualify inside the top 10, although he did still win one of them… and Sunday is very much another day.
Tony Arbolino
“It was an incredible lap, I think from the first run I saw I was first and went in the box and saw the data. It wasn’t a perfect lap, I said ‘ok, we can do better’ but I didn’t expect to do that lap. We put the bike the same as last year and we’re faster in QP and a bit more difficult in the race, but it was an incredible lap with 0.6 to second and we did an incredible job. We didn’t stop working every day so I think we deserve it! But tomorrow we need to get a lot of points because we’re not so close to first in the Championship so we have a lot of work to do tomorrow!”
Moto3 Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Motorcycle
Q
Time/Gap
1
Tony ARBOLINO
HONDA
Q2
1m47.762
2
Raul FERNANDEZ
KTM
Q2
+0.618
3
Gabriel RODRIGO
HONDA
Q2
+0.618
4
Albert ARENAS
KTM
Q2
+0.628
5
Jaume MASIA
HONDA
Q2
+0.728
6
Niccolò ANTONELLI
HONDA
Q2
+0.832
7
Filip SALAC
HONDA
Q2
+0.942
8
Kaito TOBA
KTM
Q2
+0.967
9
Darryn BINDER
KTM
Q2
+1.026
10
Sergio GARCIA
HONDA
Q2
+1.062
11
Andrea MIGNO
KTM
Q2
+1.111
12
John MCPHEE
HONDA
Q2
+1.113
13
Dennis FOGGIA
HONDA
Q2
+1.176
14
Jeremy ALCOBA
HONDA
Q2
+1.207
15
Romano FENATI
HUSQVARNA
Q2
+1.323
16
Alonso LOPEZ
HUSQVARNA
Q2
+1.464
17
Celestino VIETTI
KTM
Q2
+1.494
18
Ayumu SASAKI
KTM
Q2
+1.616
19
Jose Julian GARCIA
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.436
20
Riccardo ROSSI
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.452
21
Carlos TATAY
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.526
22
Deniz ÖNCÜ
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.728
23
Jason DUPASQUIER
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.829
24
Ai OGURA
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.888
25
Stefano NEPA
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.925
26
Ryusei YAMANAKA
HONDA
Q1
(*) 1.066
27
Khairul Idham PAWI
HONDA
Q1
(*) 1.318
28
Davide PIZZOLI
KTM
Q1
(*) 1.394
29
Yuki KUNII
HONDA
Q1
(*) 1.543
30
Maximilian KOFLER
KTM
Q1
(*) 2.104
31
Barry BALTUS
KTM
FP3
0.819
2020 MotoGP Calendar
Rnd
Date
Circuit
1
08 March (Moto2/Moto3)
Losail International Circuit
2
19 July
Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
3
26 July
Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
4
09 August
Automotodrom Brno
5
16 August
Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
6
23 August
Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
7
13 September
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
8
20 September
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
9
27 September
Barcelona – Catalunya
10
11 October
Le Mans
11
18 October
MotorLand Aragón
12
25 October
MotorLand Aragón
13
08 November
Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
14
15 November
Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
15
22 November
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Schedule
Luca Marini grabs pole and a lap record in Moto2 – Gardner starts from 16th.
Image: Supplied
Franco Morbidelli and the Petronas Yamaha SRT team have led a Yamaha dominated front row at the Gran Premio de Catalunya in Barcelona while the championship leader, Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, will start from P17. Morbidelli took his maiden premier class pole position ahead of teammate Fabio Quartararo with future teammate and current Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider, Valentino Rossi completing the front row.
Morbidelli was upbeat about the race, saying, “It’s always difficult to beat Fabio on a hot lap, so I’m very happy about qualifying today. I was feeling great on the bike and I felt that I could push a lot, on both tyres as well.” He went on to comment about Rossi becoming his teammate for next season, adding, “I also want to congratulate Valentino on one more year in MotoGP and tell him that he is moving to a great team. It will be nice to have him as a team-mate.”
Australian Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) made the most of Q1, setting the fastest time in that session before going on to qualify fourth ahead of Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Johan Zarco (Esponsorama Racing).
Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) heads up the third row and looks to have strong race pace, as does Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who lines up beside him. The third row is completed by the Ducati Team’s Danilo Petrucci, the fastest of the factory Ducati’s on the grid.
The second Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine of Brad Binder lines up at the head of row four, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Indemitsu) the second rider to make it through from Q1.
Dovizioso has the most to lose from this race starting from P17, the championship leader having trouble under brakes and not able to run at the front.
Image: Supplied
In Moto2 it was Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) back on pole position with a new lap record of 1m 43.355s, saying afterwards he expects a strong challenge from Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS). “I’m very happy to start from pole because it will be important tomorrow, but I think Speed Up and Sam are strong here so it won’t be an easy race.”
Jorge Navarro (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) broke the Kalex stranglehold for one lap pace to take second, with Misano podium finisher Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) completing the front row. Crucially, Marini’s teammate Marco Bezzechi (Sky Racing Team VR46) starts back in sixth while Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) is starting from tenth.
Australian Remy Gardner (OneXOX TKKR SAG Team) qualified in tenth but will cop a six spot penalty after his crash in practice under yellow flags was penalised.
Moto3 featured another lap record for pole as Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) put in a 1m 47.762s lap for top spot. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) completed the front row and remarkably had identical lap times. The second fastest lap of Fernandez means that he took second spot.