The second of the EG 0,0 Marc VDS riders, Sam Lowes, then crashed out too in a nasty incident at Turn 3. The Brit got it horribly wrong on the brakes and wiped out the innocent Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Jorge Navarro (EG0+ Speed Up) without any warning. Lowes rejoined but was handed a black flag for his error, however, his race came to an end with a second crash instead of pulling out of the race due to his disqualification.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
From pole, Rodrigo picked up an important P4 in Styria, his best result of the season. There was no double Red Bull Ring victory for Arenas, however the Spaniard collected crucial points in the Championship. His lead now sits at 25 over Ogura, that gap cut by three points, with McPhee falling to 39 back. Binder crossed the line in sixth to claim two P6s at the Red Bull Ring, as Suzuki finished just 0.038 behind the South African in seventh – the Japanese rider loses P4 in the Championship, he now sits sixth as Vietti and Arbolino leapfrog the SIC58 rider.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
A slightly overcast Red Bull Ring greeted the MotoGP™ riders but after heavy overnight rain, thankfully Warm Up for all three classes was dry. Dovizioso looked in fine form to lead the way, but the Italian has work to do to defend Ducati’s 100% win record in Styria. Dovi will go for victory from eighth on the grid, with Mir and Nakagami both eying maiden MotoGP™ victories from the front row at 14:00 (GMT+2).
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Rainy conditions defined the second of back-to-back visits to Loretta Lynn’s Ranch to open the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, resulting in a wild afternoon of racing at the MotoSport.com Loretta Lynn’s 2 National. Riders were presented with incredibly challenging track conditions, and as a result the action from the second round of the season was unpredictable across both classes. In the end it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne who prevailed with his second straight 450 Class victory, while GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin made his long awaited return to the top step of the podium in the 250 Class.
The 450 Class was greeted with a muddy track and sunny skies for its first moto. As the field stormed out the start gate it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia who captured the MotoSport.com Holeshot and sprinted out to a comfortable lead early on. Behind him, JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Fredrik Noren settled into second, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Broc Tickle in third.
Barcia, one of the most savvy riders in the mud, continued to pull away from the field, soon establishing an insurmountable margin of more than 20 seconds within a matter of a few laps. Behind him the battle for position jockeyed between several riders. Noren crashed and lost several positions, leaving Tickle to battle Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac and the Team Honda HRC duo of Chase Sexton and Christian Craig. A determined Tomac was able to sustain his forward progress and eventually made the pass on Tickle for second. Several laps later Tickle lost his hold of third to Craig.
As Barcia continued to ride in a class of his own out front, things behind them got interesting in the closing moments of the moto. Craig encountered misfortune and dropped out of podium contention, which appeared to all but ensure a runner-up finish for Tomac. However, the reigning series champion’s bike lost pace in the closing laps and caused him to lose several positions before eventually coming to a stop on the final lap. Barcia took the win by 48 seconds over his teammate Tickle, who brought home a second-place finish, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo made a late charge to finish third. Noren followed in fourth, while Osborne rounded out the top five. Tomac ended up with a ninth-place finish.
The best track and weather conditions of the day highlighted the final 450 Class moto. When the gate dropped it was the Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports Suzuki of Max Anstie who charged to the MotoSport.com Holeshot ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin. The Frenchman was able to get by the Brit for the lead, but Anstie responded to reclaim the top spot. Behind them, Tomac made contact with his teammate, Cianciarulo, and went down in the first turn, which forced him to start at the rear of the field. In his search for the overall win, Barcia began the moto in sixth, but later crashed and dropped deep in the running order.
The lead duo was able to build a gap over the rest of the field, with Anstie enjoying a multi-second advantage on Musquin. Cianciarulo gave chase from third, and positioned himself with an opportunity to claim the overall in doing so. As the race wore on, the intrigue of the moto ramped up as Osborne started to make a move to the front. The point leader was able to close in on Cianciarulo for third and make an aggressive pass for the position. From there, Osborne continued his charge and tracked down Musquin for second. After making the pass on the KTM rider, Osborne had Anstie within sight and dropped the hammer in pursuit of the lead. Anstie responded initially, but when a lapped rider crashed in front of him and briefly halted his momentum it opened the door for Osborne to get by and seize control of the moto.
As things changed dramatically at the front of the field, the same could be said for both Barcia and Tomac as well. Both riders encountered misfortune and were ultimately unable to finish the moto, ending their days on a sour note.
Despite some occasional smoke coming from the exhaust pipe of his Husqvarna, Osborne never wavered and was able to hold off a charge from Musquin on the final lap to take the moto win by 2.2 seconds to cap off one of the wildest days of his career. Anstie capitalized on his stellar start to bring home a first career moto podium in third.
Osborne’s win moved him to the top of the overall classification (5-1) for his second straight victory. Cianciarulo earned his first career 450 Class podium finish in second (3-5), while Musquin’s late push helped him round out the overall podium in third (8-2). After winning the first moto Barcia finished seventh overall (1-32), while Tomac carded the worst finish of his career in 16th (9-24).
“Man, what a day. To be the points leader and miss a practice like we did earlier in the day, it’s just crazy,” said Osborne, who needed to join the slower qualifying group after his bike failed to start in his scheduled session. “I couldn’t have done this without my team today. I know it’s cliche, but they did everything they could to keep me and my teammates out there with a shot to make things happen. I wasn’t necessarily looking to win, but stacking points was on my radar today. I had to fight hard and battle back to finish fifth in that first moto, and then we were able to come away with a win in moto two. I’m so grateful to be up here.”
Osborne extended his lead atop the 450 Class standings to 19 points over Musquin, who moved into second. Barcia now sits third, 29 points out of the lead, while Tomac dropped to seventh and sits 40 points behind Osborne.
“I’m pumped to be back on the podium for the second race, it’s been a while. The conditions were tough, so it was my goal to be up front battling and I was able to do that in the second moto. I would have liked to be more consistent in both motos but that’s racing, everybody was having issues and crashing. Also, you have to save the bike and my bike was running well today, I had no issues.”
| Pos | Rider | Motos | Bike | |
| 1 | Zach Osborne | 5 – 1 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 2 | Adam Cianciarulo | 3 – 5 | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 3 | Marvin Musquin | 8 – 2 | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 4 | Broc Tickle | 2 – 9 | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 5 | Max Anstie | 15 – 3 | Suzuki Rm-z250 | |
| 6 | Christian Craig | 10 – 6 | Honda CRF450R | |
| 7 | Justin Barcia | 1 – 32 | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 8 | Blake Baggett | 14 – 8 | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 9 | Jason Anderson | 27 – 4 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 10 | Justin Rodbell | 12 – 12 | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 11 | Fredrik Noren | 4 – 35 | Suzuki RM-Z450 | |
| 12 | Henry Miller | 11 – 15 | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 13 | Chase Sexton | 6 – 20 | Honda CRF450R | |
| 14 | Joey Savatgy | 34 – 7 | Suzuki Rm-z250 | |
| 15 | Jake Masterpool | 7 – 38 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 16 | Eli Tomac | 9 – 24 | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 17 | Justin Bogle | 22 – 10 | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 18 | Dean Wilson | 20 – 11 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 19 | Chase Felong | 37 – 13 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 20 | Coty Schock | 13 – 25 | Honda CRF450R | |
| 21 | Tyler Bowers | 23 – 14 | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 22 | Justin Hoeft | 17 – 18 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 23 | Jeremy Smith | 29 – 16 | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 24 | Matthew Hubert | 16 – 21 | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 25 | Jeffrey Walker | 35 – 17 | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 26 | Cory Carsten | 18 – 22 | Suzuki RM-Z450 | |
| 27 | Jared Lesher | 28 – 19 | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 28 | Luke Renzland | 19 – 39 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 29 | Adam Enticknap | 24 – 28 | Suzuki RM-Z450 | |
| 30 | Christopher Prebula | 31 – 23 | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 31 | Tristan Lewis | 26 – 29 | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 32 | Alex Ray | 32 – 26 | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 33 | Benny Bloss | 21 – 37 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 34 | Carson Tickle | 33 – 31 | Honda CRF450R | |
| 35 | Dalton Dyer | 36 – 30 | Kawasaki KX450 | |
| 36 | Tristan Lane | 38 – 33 | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 37 | Brandon Scharer | 39 – 36 | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 38 | Tj Albright | 40 – 40 | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 39 | Ben LaMay | 25 – DNS | KTM 450 SX-F | |
| 40 | Robbie Wageman | DNS – 27 | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 41 | Scott Meshey | 30 – DNS | Husqvarna FC 450 | |
| 42 | Carter Stephenson | DNS – 34 | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Zach Osborne | 88 |
| 2 | Marvin Musquin | 69 |
| 3 | Justin Barcia | 59 |
| 4 | Jason Anderson | 58 |
| 5 | Blake Baggett | 51 |
| 6 | Adam Cianciarulo | 51 |
| 7 | Eli Tomac | 48 |
| 8 | Broc Tickle | 48 |
| 9 | Max Anstie | 47 |
| 10 | Chase Sexton | 44 |
| 11 | Christian Craig | 40 |
| 12 | Joey Savatgy | 36 |
| 13 | Dean Wilson | 32 |
| 14 | Cooper Webb | 29 |
| 15 | Henry Miller | 21 |
| 16 | Jake Masterpool | 19 |
| 17 | Fredrik Noren | 18 |
| 18 | Justin Rodbell | 18 |
| 19 | Justin Bogle | 15 |
| 20 | Coty Schock | 14 |
| 21 | Jeremy Smith | 13 |
| 22 | Benny Bloss | 11 |
| 23 | Luke Renzland | 11 |
| 24 | Matthew Hubert | 9 |
| 25 | Tyler Bowers | 9 |
| 26 | Chase Felong | 8 |
| 27 | Justin Hoeft | 7 |
| 28 | Jeffrey Walker | 4 |
| 29 | Cory Carsten | 3 |
| 30 | Ben LaMay | 2 |
| 31 | Jared Lesher | 2 |
A storm cell brought a surge of rain to the track just prior to the start of the first 250 Class moto, so riders took off at the drop of the gate unsure of what conditions they’d be facing. As the field rounded through the first two corners it was Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Shane McElrath who emerged with the MotoSport.com Holeshot just ahead of JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Alex Martin. The Suzuki rider was able to make the pass for the lead, but he hit a soft spot on the track shortly thereafter and went down. That allowed McElrath to reassume the lead, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire in second and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo in third.
After a near crash McElrath stalled his Yamaha while leading, which allowed McAdoo to take over the top spot with Hampshire in tow. Jeremy Martin then moved up to third, while Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis, the class point leader, slotted into fourth. Out front, Hampshire was able to take advantage of a wide line by McAdoo to move into the lead. Behind them, Ferrandis and Martin battled for third, with Ferrandis taking the spot.
The Frenchman continued his charge forward and was able to track down McAdoo to make the pass for second. He then set his sights on Hampshire for the lead, with the Husqvarna rider hindered after being forced to remove his goggles. As the race wore on, the track became more challenging and it ultimately forced Ferrandis to tip over. Soon after, the point leader got rid of his goggles and came into the pits for a new pair. With the clean goggles Ferrandis was able to put on a charge to catch Hampshire, and got within a few bike lengths of the lead with just two laps to go. However, Hampshire dug deep and withstood the challenge to take his first moto win of the season over Ferrandis by nearly 10 seconds. Martin followed in third, with McAdoo fourth and GEICO Honda rookie Carson Mumford in fifth.
Light rainfall greeted the 250 Class field for Moto 2 as well and when the gate dropped it was once again McElrath and Alex Martin racing to the MotoSport.com Holeshot, with McElrath sweeping the day’s accolades. Unfortunately for McElrath, his time out front was short lived as he bobbled in a corner and handed the lead to Martin, with his brother Jeremy following in second as McElrath dropped to third.
With such difficult track conditions the field quickly spread out, which allowed Alex Martin to establish a comfortable lead over his brother. From there the attention shifted towards the battle for the overall classification, as Ferrandis was mired outside the top 10 and Hampshire outside the top 20 to begin the moto. While the Martin brothers strengthened their hold of the top two positions on the track, McAdoo made the move around McElrath for third. Further back, both Ferrandis and Hampshire were putting on a charge through the running order, with both riders eventually finding their way into the top 10 after the halfway point of the moto.
While Alex Martin appeared to have the moto fully in hand, smoke and steam began to come out of Jeremy’s Honda, which forced the former champion into conservation mode. The same could be said for Ferrandis and Hampshire, who each experienced similar issues with their own motorcycles. Ferrandis was able to battle all the way up to fourth in the waning laps, while Hampshire got up to seventh before his bike stopped running.
Alex Martin stayed out of trouble and carried on to capture his first moto win for Joe Gibbs Racing by more than a minute, while Jeremy made it a Martin Brothers 1-2 in second. McElrath edged out Ferrandis for third.
The late drama weighed heavily on the battle for the overall win, with Jeremy Martin’s runner-up finish enough to put him atop the overall classification (3-2), a mere two points ahead of Ferrandis (2-4). Alex Martin’s moto win vaulted him to third overall (7-1), while opening moto winner Hampshire ended up sixth overall (1-18).
“Honestly, the track was gnarly. It rained again on the start line and I thought, ‘Oh boy here we go.’ Fortunately, it held off and I got a good start,” said Jeremy Martin, who captured his first win since the 2018 season when he suffered a major back injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2019 racing season. “The track was in good shape and we were able to make passes around people, which helped. That was a nail biter . My GEICO Honda was smoking, but thankfully the engine is bulletproof. I did all I could to save it and I’m just so relieved it made it . I didn’t expect to get my first win so soon, but we’re definitely going to celebrate.”
Ferrandis’ podium effort helped him retain his hold of the point lead, where he currently has a six-point advantage over Martin. Alex Martin moved into third, 19 points out of the lead.
After both qualifying in the top ten the Lawrence brothers ended up having a weekend to forget. Problems saw Hunter Lawrence finish in 40th two laps down in the opening moto and did not start the second bout. Younger brother Jett fared a little better but had his own dramas in the muddy conditions, carding 30-31 finishes. That means of course that neither added to their championship points tally.
| Pos | Rider | Motos | Bike |
| 1 | Jeremy Martin | 3 – 2 | Honda CRF250R |
| 2 | Dylan Ferrandis | 2 – 4 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 3 | Alex Martin | 7 – 1 | Suzuki Rm-z250 |
| 4 | Cameron McAdoo | 4 – 5 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 5 | Shane McElrath | 8 – 3 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 6 | R.J. Hampshire | 1 – 18 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 7 | Mitchell Harrison | 6 – 10 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 8 | Stilez Robertson | 12 – 7 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 9 | Lance Kobusch | 16 – 8 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 10 | Carson Mumford | 5 – 20 | Honda CRF250R |
| 11 | Justin Cooper | 20 – 6 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 12 | Derek Drake | 19 – 9 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 13 | Ezra Hastings | 15 – 13 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 14 | Hardy Munoz | 17 – 12 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 15 | Nick Gaines | 11 – 19 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 16 | Pierce Brown | 9 – 34 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 17 | Gared Steinke | 10 – 29 | Kawasaki KX250 |
| 18 | Mason Gonzalez | 21 – 11 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 19 | Austin Root | 13 – 32 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 20 | Joey Crown | 37 – 14 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 21 | Brandon Hartranft | 14 – 33 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 22 | Zack Williams | DNS – 15 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 23 | Joshua Varize | 35 – 16 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 24 | Maxwell Sanford | 24 – 17 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 25 | Jo Shimoda | 18 – 40 | Honda CRF250R |
| 26 | Chase Lorenz | 25 – 21 | Honda CRF250R |
| 27 | Lane Shaw | 23 – 23 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 28 | Vincent Luhovey | 22 – 30 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 29 | Jake Pinhancos | 26 – 27 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 30 | Kyle Greeson | 28 – 26 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 31 | Brice Klippel | 34 – 25 | Honda CRF250R |
| 32 | Gerhard Matamoros | 39 – 22 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 33 | Hayden Hefner | 33 – 28 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 34 | Jett Lawrence | 30 – 31 | Honda CRF250R |
| 35 | Derek Kelley | 29 – 36 | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 36 | Colton Eigenmann | 31 – 37 | Suzuki Rm-z250 |
| 37 | Chad Saultz | 38 – 35 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 38 | Christopher Williams | DNS – 24 | Suzuki Rm-z250 |
| 39 | Jerry Robin | 27 – DNS | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 40 | Gage Schehr | 32 – DNS | Husqvarna FC 250 |
| 41 | Brock Papi | 36 – DNS | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 42 | Blake Ashley | DNS – 38 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 43 | Michael Lacore | DNS – 39 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 44 | Hunter Lawrence | 40 – DNS | Honda CRF250R |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Dylan Ferrandis | 90 |
| 2 | Jeremy Martin | 84 |
| 3 | Alex Martin | 71 |
| 4 | R.J. Hampshire | 70 |
| 5 | Shane McElrath | 69 |
| 6 | Cameron McAdoo | 61 |
| 7 | Justin Cooper | 40 |
| 8 | Mitchell Harrison | 38 |
| 9 | Mason Gonzalez | 32 |
| 10 | Carson Mumford | 32 |
| 11 | Derek Drake | 30 |
| 12 | Jett Lawrence | 29 |
| 13 | Nick Gaines | 28 |
| 14 | Pierce Brown | 27 |
| 15 | Stilez Robertson | 27 |
| 16 | Brandon Hartranft | 23 |
| 17 | Lance Kobusch | 18 |
| 18 | Ezra Hastings | 14 |
| 19 | Jo Shimoda | 13 |
| 20 | Hardy Munoz | 13 |
| 21 | Gared Steinke | 11 |
| 22 | Austin Root | 9 |
| 23 | Hunter Lawrence | 7 |
| 24 | Darian Sanayei | 7 |
| 25 | Joey Crown | 7 |
| 26 | Jordan Bailey | 6 |
| 27 | Zack Williams | 6 |
| 28 | Dilan Schwartz | 5 |
| 29 | Jerry Robin | 5 |
| 30 | Joshua Varize | 5 |
| 31 | Maxwell Sanford | 4 |
| 32 | Mathias Jorgensen | 3 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
Moto2™ BMW M Grand Prix of Styria polesitter Aron Canet (Openbank Aspar Team) topped the 20-minute Warm Up session with a 1:28.666, seeing the Spaniard beat second place Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) by 0.195. Augusto Fernandez made it two EG 0,0 Marc VDS bikes in the top three ahead of the race.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s Ayumu Sasaki finished top of the pile in Moto3™ Warm Up at the BMW M Grand Prix of Styria after setting a 1:36.253 on Sunday morning. Front row starter Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finished 0.028 off the Japanese rider, with Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) just over a tenth back in third.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Images Dave Yeomans
Danny Buchan claimed his first Bennetts British Superbike Championship pole position of the season at Snetterton on Saturday afternoon, storming to the top of the times in Datatag Qualifying to put the Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki fastest by 0.067s.
At the start of Datatag Qualifying the initial pace had been set by Bradley Ray and the SYNETIQ BMW rider continued to push during the session as he bid for his first front row start with the team.
However in the final four minutes of the session, Buchan had pulled the pin and he was the only rider to dip into the 1m:47s lap times to give him the edge in the closing stages. Ray had been narrowly adrift and he was holding second place, just ahead of Josh Brookes who moved third on his final lap.
Kyle Ryde was on a charge again though on the Buildbase Suzuki and he leapt up the order from outside the top five into second place. That pushed Ray into third and Brookes off the front row for the opening race at Snetterton.
Glenn Irwin has a ten-point advantage at the top of the championship standings and he will start fifth on the grid for round four of the season, pipping Lee Jackson who completes row two.
Christian Iddon heads row three on the grid on the second of the VisionTrack Ducatis, with Andrew Irwin qualifying eighth fastest, however he will start the first race at Snetterton from the back of the grid following his accumulation of penalty points at Donington Park.
Ryan Vickers and Jason O’Halloran completed the top ten with the top 13 riders in Datatag Qualifying covered by less than a second.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Danny BUCHAN | Kawasaki | 1m47.953 |
| 2 | Kyle RYDE | Suzuki | +0.067 |
| 3 | Bradley RAY | BMW | +0.196 |
| 4 | Josh BROOKES | Ducati | +0.199 |
| 5 | Glenn IRWIN | Honda | +0.210 |
| 6 | Lee JACKSON | Kawasaki | +0.363 |
| 7 | Christian IDDON | Ducati | +0.409 |
| 8 | Andrew IRWIN | Honda | +0.463 |
| 9 | Ryan VICKERS | Kawasaki | +0.492 |
| 10 | Jason O’HALLORAN | Yamaha | +0.533 |
| 11 | Tarran MACKENZIE | Yamaha | +0.750 |
| 12 | Tommy BRIDEWELL | Ducati | +0.851 |
| 13 | Gino REA | Suzuki | +0.980 |
| 14 | Peter HICKMAN | BMW | +1.141 |
| 15 | Luke MOSSEY | BMW | +1.202 |
| 16 | Joe FRANCIS | BMW | +1.351 |
| 17 | Héctor BARBERÁ | BMW | +1.528 |
| 18 | Alex OLSEN | BMW | +2.103 |
| 19 | Tom WARD | Kawasaki | +2.143 |
| 20 | Jack KENNEDY | Yamaha | +2.272 |
| 21 | Taylor MACKENZIE | BMW | +2.510 |
| 22 | Josh OWENS | Kawasaki | +2.937 |
| 23 | Graeme IRWIN | Kawasaki | +3.511 |
| 24 | Storm STACEY | Kawasaki | +4.022 |
| 25 | Bjorn ESTMENT | BMW | +4.534 |
| 26 | Brian McCORMACK | BMW | +6.138 |
VisionTrack Ducati’s Christian Iddon claimed his first victory in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Snetterton this afternoon, becoming the third different race winner of 2020 following a dramatic opening race in Norfolk.
Josh Brookes got off to a flying start with the pack instantly on the attack and Danny Buchan had grabbed the lead as the pack hit Wilson for the first time with Iddon in second. However, a crash on the opening lap for Andrew Irwin, and his stricken Honda Racing Fireblade in the middle of the track at Agostini, caused the deployment of the BMW Safety Car.
The pack lined up with Buchan, Iddon, Brookes, and Jason O’Halloran the leading contenders; but when the race went green on lap four, Buchan crashed his Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki out of the lead at Palmer, putting him out of contention.
Iddon then had the lead and he had begun to edge out an advantage, but as the race continued the chasing pack had reeled him back in and Bradley Ray was soon into second for the SYNETIQ BMW team ahead of Brookes and Tommy Bridewell.
The battle for the podium places went down to the wire and Iddon had the margin he needed to claim his first win, but behind the pack had shuffled again and Brookes and Bridewell had managed to get back ahead of Ray.
Brookes was able to hold off an equally determined Bridewell to the chequered flag as they completed a Ducati podium top three, but Glenn Irwin was in the fight too. The Honda Racing rider was also able to make a last lap move on Ray to claim fourth place to maintain his championship lead ahead of rounds four and five tomorrow.
Lee Jackson was sixth on the remaining Massingberd-Mundy Kawasaki with the McAMS Yamaha team locking out the next two places in seventh and eighth with Ryan Vickers in ninth.
Buildbase Suzuki’s Kyle Ryde completed the top ten after an impressive performance of carving through the field during the race, following a problem on the opening lap, which put him at the very end of the train of riders behind the BMW Safety Car before the race resumed.
“The race was an interesting one! From the very first lap I had a problem with the gearbox and I hit neutral going in to the second corner. Thankfully, because there was a bit of everything going on, it gave me a bit of an escape route and I had to be very careful in to the first gear corners, of which there are three on the track for me here. We had the Safety Car and the minute that we got going Danny lost the front immediately and that put me in the lead. I kind of thought to myself, ‘well here we are’ and I just tried to keep it consistent. Josh came through and I thought I wanted to continue to lead. He came through with a couple of laps to go and I had done all the donkey work and I didn’t want someone else to reap the benefits so I tried to get him straight back, which I did make stick. I actually won the race twice; I had the emotion twice because I misread the pit board so I came out the last corner with two laps to go, thinking it was the last lap and I was all excited thinking that no one had managed to pass me and then had to do it all over again! It was a horrible last two laps rather than just a horrible last lap, thinking about all the things that we had been through to get to this point, so a big thank you to the team. I don’t think we have dropped on the setting that any of us are really looking for but to be able to win the race without feeling absolutely awesome on the bike is amazing. A big thanks to everyone who has supported me for a very long period, hopefully this is a bit of a repayment.”
“I’ve got to be happy with second place and finishing on the podium again as that’s really important with the shortened championship, but I felt a little bit off and am missing a little something. I can’t attack in the race like I’d like, and I’ve got to look at all possibilities as to why that is, so it was a hard-fought race. There was lots of passing going on, but I didn’t feel I was riding as aggressively as I know I can so there’s mixed emotions with second and a bit of work to do.”
“It’s been a good day for the whole VisionTrack Ducati team and PBM. Our first 1-2 of the season gets us nicely back on track and gives us something to work with going into tomorrow’s races. Congratulations to Christian on his first BSB win, we are really proud that he was able to do that with the PBM team.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Christian IDDON | Ducati | 26m36.902 |
| 2 | Josh BROOKES | Ducati | +1.303 |
| 3 | Tommy BRIDEWELL | Ducati | +1.345 |
| 4 | Glenn IRWIN | Honda | +1.470 |
| 5 | Bradley RAY | BMW | +2.228 |
| 6 | Lee JACKSON | Kawasaki | +2.451 |
| 7 | Tarran MACKENZIE | Yamaha | +6.961 |
| 8 | Jason O’HALLORAN | Yamaha | +7.093 |
| 9 | Ryan VICKERS | Kawasaki | +7.182 |
| 10 | Kyle RYDE | Suzuki | +9.339 |
| 11 | Gino REA | Suzuk | +10.341 |
| 12 | Luke MOSSEY | BMW | +10.684 |
| 13 | Peter HICKMAN | BMW | +12.783 |
| 14 | Héctor BARBERÁ | BMW | +13.369 |
| 15 | Joe FRANCIS | BMW | +17.519 |
| 16 | Tom WARD | Kawasaki | +27.452 |
| 17 | Jack KENNEDY | Yamaha | +28.488 |
| 18 | Taylor MACKENZIE | BMW | +35.470 |
| 19 | Storm STACEY | Kawasaki | +36.531 |
| 20 | Graeme IRWIN | Kawasaki | +37.247 |
| 21 | Josh OWENS | Kawasaki | +38.217 |
| 22 | Brian McCORMACK | BMW | +1m08.430 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Bjorn ESTMENT | BMW | 4 Laps |
| DNF | Alex OLSEN | BMW | 10 Laps |
| DNF | Danny BUCHAN | Kawasaki | 11 Laps |
| DNF | Andrew IRWIN | Honda | / |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Glenn IRWIN (Honda) | 73 |
| 2 | Christian IDDON (Ducati) | 59 |
| 3 | Tommy BRIDEWELL (Ducati) | 59 |
| 4 | Andrew IRWIN (Honda) | 50 |
| 5 | Jason O’HALLORAN (Yamaha) | 48 |
| 6 | Josh BROOKES (Ducati) | 46 |
| 7 | Tarran MACKENZIE (Yamaha) | 37 |
| 8 | Kyle RYDE (Suzuki) | 28 |
| 9 | Ryan VICKERS (Kawasaki) | 27 |
| 10 | Lee JACKSON (Kawasaki) | 26 |
| 11 | Danny BUCHAN (Kawasaki) | 22 |
| 12 | Luke MOSSEY (BMW) | 17 |
| 13 | Bradley RAY (BMW) | 17 |
| 14 | Héctor BARBERÁ (BMW) | 14 |
| 15 | Peter HICKMAN (BMW) | 12 |
| 16 | Gino REA (Suzuki) | 9 |
| 17 | Alex OLSEN (BMW) | 7 |
| 18 | Jack KENNEDY (Yamaha) | 4 |
| 19 | Dan LINFOOT (Yamaha) | 2 |
| 20 | Joe FRANCIS (BMW) | 2 |
| 21 | Taylor MACKENZIE (BMW) | 1 |
Rory Skinner made it three from three in the British Supersport class overnight with victory over Harry Truelove and Lee Johnston.
Victorian Ben Currie took sixth place.
| Pos | NAME | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Rory SKINNER | Yamaha | 22m39.335 |
| 2 | Harry TRUELOVE | Yamaha | +0.189 |
| 3 | Lee JOHNSTON | Yamaha | +1.915 |
| 4 | James WESTMORELAND | Kawasaki | +2.197 |
| 5 | Bradley PERIE | Yamaha | +2.647 |
| 6 | Ben CURRIE | Kawasaki | +12.685 |
| 7 | Korie McGREEVY | Yamaha | +12.719 |
| 8 | Alastair SEELEY | ABM Quattro GP2 | +15.915 |
| 9 | James ROSE | Kawasaki | +17.952 |
| 10 | Ross PATTERSON | Yamaha | +24.141 |
| 11 | Jack SCOTT | Harris | +26.098 |
| 12 | Jamie PERRIN | Yamaha | +26.408 |
| 13 | Brad JONES | Yamaha | +26.722 |
| 14 | Charlie NESBITT | ABM Quattro GP2 | +27.241 |
| 15 | Jorel BOERBOOM | Honda | +34.205 |
| 16 | Richard KERR | Triumph | +34.511 |
| 17 | Dan JONES | FTR GP2 | +34.796 |
| 18 | Joey THOMPSON | Spirit GP2 | +34.803 |
| 19 | Cameron HORSMAN | Chassis Factory GP2 | +35.077 |
| 20 | Jake ARCHER | Kalex GP2 | +35.541 |
| 21 | Kurt WIGLEY | Yamaha | +35.712 |
| 22 | Tom OLIVER | Chassis Factory GP2 | +36.113 |
| 23 | Mason LAW | Spirit GP2 | +43.373 |
| 24 | Scott SWANN | Yamaha | +46.428 |
| 25 | Rob HARTOG | MV Agusta | +47.616 |
| 26 | Phil WAKEFIELD | Yamaha | +50.849 |
| 27 | Cameron FRASER | Chassis Factory GP2 | +56.171 |
| 28 | Matthew WIGLEY | MW6R GP2 | +1m10.963 |
| 29 | Ben WOTTON | Triumph | +1m12.405 |
| 30 | Jack YOUNGE | Yamaha | +1m32.252 |
| 31 | Alan NAYLOR | Yamaha | +1m44.070 |
| 32 | Grant McINTOSH | Yamaha | +1 Lap |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Keenan ARMSTRONG | Kawasaki | 10 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Rory SKINNER (Yamaha) | 75 |
| 2 | James WESTMORELAND (Kawasaki) | 53 |
| 3 | Bradley PERIE (Yamaha) | 43 |
| 4 | Brad JONES (Yamaha) | 31 |
| 4 | Lee JOHNSTON (Yamaha) | 23 |
| 5 | Richard KERR (Triumph) | 23 |
| 7 | Harry TRUELOVE (Yamaha) | 20 |
| 8 | Korie McGREEVY (Yamaha) | 19 |
| 9 | Ben CURRIE (Kawasaki) | 19 |
| 10 | Rob HARTOG (MV Agusta) | 17 |
| 11 | Ross PATTERSON (Yamaha) | 16 |
| 12 | Phil WAKEFIELD (Yamaha) | 12 |
| 13 | Tom TOPARIS (Yamaha) | 11 |
| 14 | Kurt WIGLEY (Yamaha) | 11 |
| 15 | James ROSE (Kawasaki) | 8 |
| 16 | Scott SWANN (Yamaha) | 8 |
| 17 | Ricky TARREN (Yamaha) | 8 |
| 18 | Jamie PERRIN (Yamaha) | 6 |
| 19 | Grant McINTOSH (Yamaha) | 5 |
| 20 | Alan NAYLOR (Yamaha) | 4 |
| 21 | Ben WOTTON (Triumph) | 4 |
Josh Day led the way after the opening lap, just 0.094s ahead of Ed Best, with David Shoubridge in third. By lap three, Day had been able to extend his lead at the front to 0.5s, with Elliot Pinson moving up to second, however a string of fast laps saw Pinson takeover front running by the halfway stage.
Day immediately responded though, setting the then fastest lap of the race on lap five to move back into the lead, with Best holding third ahead of Levi Day and Shoubridge. Levi Day was able to move up to second by lap eight, as Josh Day continued to set the pace to extend his lead at the front to one second.
Josh Day was able to hold on at the front to take victory ahead of Levi Day, with Pinson taking third. Best eventually finished fourth, ahead of Shoubridge, Cox, Neve, Compton, McGuinness and Cheetham.
“Qualified on pole this morning and feeling really comfortable on the BPS Racing Ducati V2. Got a really bad start in the race and dropped to 5th for the opening few laps. Made hard work for my self because of it but managed to get back to 2nd place in the final standings. Try again tomorrow.”
| Pos | Rider | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Josh DAY | 19m08.569 |
| 2 | Levi DAY | +2.275 |
| 3 | Elliott PINSON | +3.379 |
| 4 | Edmund BEST | +6.388 |
| 5 | David SHOUBRIDGE | +15.902 |
| 6 | Samuel COX | +29.519 |
| 7 | Craig NEVE | +30.357 |
| 8 | Dijon COMPTON | +36.206 |
| 9 | John McGUINNESS | +37.639 |
| 10 | Mark CHEETHAM | +39.846 |
| 11 | Michael TUSTIN | +55.600 |
| 12 | Ben FALLA | +1m05.483 |
| 13 | Sam MIDDLEMAS | +1m06.219 |
| 14 | Carl STEVENS | +1m07.373 |
| 15 | Hiro ARAZEKI | +1m11.666 |
| 16 | Matthew JONES | +1m11.929 |
| 17 | Matt STEVENS | +1m22.896 |
| 18 | Craig KENNELLY | +1m31.071 |
| 19 | Peter HASLER | +1m33.602 |
| 20 | Andre COMPTON | +1m33.631 |
| 21 | Ian FLEETWOOD | +1m42.172 |
| 22 | Tom STEVENS | +1m42.246 |
| 23 | Ewan POTTER | +1m43.587 |
| 24 | Mike LONG | +1m50.535 |
| 25 | Jimmy BUCHANAN | +1 Lap |
| 26 | Murray HAMBRO | +1 Lap |
| 27 | Andy BOOTH | +1 Lap |
| 28 | Andrew HOWE | +1 Lap |
| 29 | Matthew FLOWER | +1 Lap |
| Not Classified | ||
| DNF | Richard SPENCER-FLEET | 2 Laps |
| DNF | Martin THROWER | 6 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Josh DAY | 75 |
| 2 | Elliott PINSON | 52 |
| 3 | Levi DAY | 44 |
| 4 | David SHOUBRIDGE | 35 |
| 5 | Craig NEVE | 30 |
| 6 | Samuel COX | 30 |
| 7 | John McGUINNESS | 27 |
| 8 | Edmund BEST | 26 |
| 9 | Michael TUSTIN | 22 |
| 10 | Dijon COMPTON | 21 |
| 11 | Mark CHEETHAM | 19 |
| 12 | Carl STEVENS | 15 |
| 13 | Richard SPENCER-FLEET | 6 |
| 14 | Sam MIDDLEMAS | 6 |
| 15 | Hiro ARAZEKI | 4 |
| 16 | Ben FALLA | 4 |
| 17 | Ewan POTTER | 2 |
| 18 | Matt STEVENS | 1 |
| 19 | Peter HASLER | 1 |
Owen Jenner secured victory in the opening Hel Performance British Junior Supersport race following last lap battle with Crump. Brody Crockford grabbed the holeshot to lead at the end of the opening lap, but Seth Crump had slipped through by the time the pack came across the line to start lap three.
Jenner stormed through the field, setting a string of fastest laps to move into the lead on lap five, with Crockford holding third, just 0.1s behind the leader.
Coming down to the final lap, Jenner was able to fend off Australian Crump to take victory, with Ash Barnes completing the podium in third.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Owen JENNER | Kawasaki | 17m13.342 |
| 2 | Seth CRUMP | Kawasaki | +0.119 |
| 3 | Ash BARNES | Kawasaki | +0.145 |
| 4 | Brody CROCKFORD | Yamaha | +0.184 |
| 5 | Cameron DAWSON | Kawasaki | +0.925 |
| 6 | Zak SHELTON | Kawasaki | +1.059 |
| 7 | Kier ARMSTRONG | KTM | +17.014 |
| 8 | Lewis JONES | KTM | +17.129 |
| 9 | Kam DIXON | Kawasaki | +22.933 |
| 10 | Oscar PINSON | Kawasaki | +26.508 |
| 11 | Cameron HALL | Kawasaki | +26.610 |
| 12 | Joseph THOMAS | Kawasaki | +26.642 |
| 13 | Osian JONES | Kawasaki | +28.004 |
| 14 | Lewis JONES | Kawasaki | +28.869 |
| 15 | Jake HOPPER | Kawasaki | +29.091 |
| 16 | Lynden LEATHERLAND | Kawasaki | +35.237 |
| 17 | Andrew SMYTH | Kawasaki | +41.791 |
| 18 | Alessandro VALENTE | KTM | +44.584 |
| 19 | Christopher JOHNSON | Kawasaki | +44.842 |
| 20 | Lucca ALLEN | Kawasaki | +45.857 |
| 21 | Kai DICKINSON | Kawasaki | +54.329 |
| 22 | Kevin COYNE | Kawasaki | +54.657 |
| 23 | Mcauley LONGMORE | Kawasaki | +1m01.821 |
| 24 | Samuel LAIDLOW | Kawasaki | +1m16.910 |
| 25 | Finn SMART | Kawasaki | +1m16.963 |
| 26 | Bradley WILSON | Kawasaki | +1m17.796 |
| 27 | James ROSE | Kawasaki | +1m35.909 |
| 28 | Ben TAYLOR | Kawasaki | +1m38.257 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Adon DAVIE | Kawasaki | 1 Lap |
| DNF | Chloe JONES | Yamaha | 3 Laps |
| DNF | James McMANUS | Kawasaki | 4 Laps |
| DNF | Declan CONNELL | Kawasaki | 5 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Owen JENNER (Kawasaki) | 75 |
| 2 | Seth CRUMP (Kawasaki) | 56 |
| 3 | Brody CROCKFORD (Yamaha) | 44 |
| 4 | Cameron DAWSON (Kawasaki) | 33 |
| 5 | Ash BARNES (Kawasaki) | 32 |
| 6 | Oscar PINSON (Kawasaki) | 27 |
| 7 | Adon DAVIE (Kawasaki) | 26 |
| 8 | Zak SHELTON (Kawasaki) | 26 |
| 9 | Osian JONES (Kawasaki) | 23 |
| 10 | Cameron HALL (Kawasaki) | 17 |
| 11 | Kam DIXON (Kawasaki) | 14 |
| 12 | Kier ARMSTRONG (KTM) | 13 |
| 13 | Lewis JONES #25 (KTM) | 11 |
| 14 | Harris BEECH (Yamaha) | 7 |
| 15 | Chloe JONES (Yamaha) | 4 |
| 16 | Jake HOPPER (Kawasaki) | 4 |
| 17 | Joseph THOMAS (Kawasaki) | 4 |
| 18 | Lewis JONES #3 (Kawasaki) | 2 |
| 19 | Lynden LEATHERLAND (Kawasaki) | 1 |
| 20 | James McMANUS (Kawasaki) | 1 |
Matt Truelove stole the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 pole position on his final lap at Snetterton ahead of team mate Chrissy Rouse and Billy McConnell.
After five minutes of the session Rouse led the way by a narrow margin from Truelove with Tim Neave in close proximity. The Newcastle born rider looked set to take pole for Sunday’s race, but on his final flying lap, Truelove stole the pole position from his teammate with Rich Energy OMG Racing’s Billy McConnell rounding out the front row in third.
Kiwi Damon Reed qualified ninth and Tumut’s Brayden Elliott 11th.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Matt TRUELOVE | BMW | 1m50.665 |
| 2 | Chrissy ROUSE | BMW | +0.081 |
| 3 | Billy McCONNELL | BMW | +0.585 |
| 4 | Tim NEAVE | Suzuki | +0.588 |
| 5 | Lewis ROLLO | Aprilia | +0.837 |
| 6 | Davey TODD | Honda | +0.841 |
| 7 | Tom NEAVE | Honda | +0.902 |
| 8 | Danny KENT | Kawasaki | +1.064 |
| 9 | Damon REES | BMW | +1.244 |
| 10 | Fraser ROGERS | Kawasaki | +1.433 |
| 11 | Brayden ELLIOTT | Suzuki | +1.546 |
| 12 | Jordan WEAVING | Suzuki | +1.607 |
| 13 | Joe COLLIER | Suzuki | +1.622 |
| 14 | Leon JEACOCK | Suzuki | +1.674 |
| 15 | David ALLINGHAM | Aprilia | +1.836 |
| 16 | Shane RICHARDSON | BMW | +2.002 |
| 17 | Shaun WINFIELD | Yamaha | +2.138 |
| 18 | Luke HEDGER | Kawasaki | +2.162 |
| 19 | Ian HUTCHINSON | BMW | +2.332 |
| 20 | Luke JONES | Aprilia | +2.870 |
| 21 | Joe SHELDON-SHAW | Suzuki | +3.151 |
| 22 | Rob McNEALY | BMW | +3.386 |
| 23 | Luke HOPKINS | Kawasaki | +3.613 |
| 24 | Dean HARRISON | Kawasaki | +3.751 |
| 25 | Barry TEASDALE | Kawasaki | +4.230 |
| 26 | Lee WILLIAMS | Kawasaki | +4.310 |
| 27 | Craig NEVE | BMW | +4.357 |
| 28 | Sam WEST | BMW | +4.681 |
| 29 | Daniel COOPER | BMW | +4.857 |
| 30 | Josh WOOD | Kawasaki | +4.877 |
| 31 | Jenny TINMOUTH | BMW | +5.744 |
| 32 | Dave SELLARS | Suzuki | +7.085 |
| 33 | Dave MACKAY | Suzuki | +7.626 |
| 34 | Stephen SMITH | BMW | +8.101 |
| 35 | Ben BROADWAY | Aprilia | +9.225 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
Pol Espargaro has qualified on pole position, which is his first pole position since he stepped up to MotoGP back in 2014 and his first since he was on pole at Valencia in Moto2 in 2013. He becomes the 10th different Spanish rider to qualify on pole in the premier class, and this is Spain’s 175th pole position (since 1974 when pole position begun to be officially recorded).
This is KTM’s first pole in the premier class, which is the first time a factory have taken their maiden pole since the 2003 Spanish GP (Ducati with Loris Capirossi), and the first time for a manufacturer since Forward Yamaha at the 2014 Dutch GP. In addition, this is the first pole for a non-Italian nor Japanese manufacturer in the premier class since Proton KR at Phillip Island in 2002 with Jeremy McWilliams.
“Unbelievable. I’m really pleased. I could not imagine we would go Pole and I was fighting for the first or the second row. We were struggling for a very fast lap: I was missing the last tenth and making small mistakes. I knew I could do an ‘OK’ lap if I could stay away from the green track limits! Anyway, I’m super-pleased and super-happy. All my guys and all of Red Bull KTM have worked for this and I’m happy for them.”
Takaaki Nakagami has qualified second as the top Honda and Independent Team rider, which is his best qualifying result and his first front row start since he stepped up to MotoGP in 2018. He’s the first Japanese rider to start from the front row since Shinya Nakano was also second in Australia back in 2006.
This is the eighth successive race without a Honda rider on pole, a sequence that started in Australia last year. This is the longest streak without a pole for Honda since 2008 when the Japanese manufacturer missed out 11 successive times (from Mugello to Phillip Island).
“Of course, I’m very happy today and, as you can see, this is my first-ever front row in MotoGP. It was really close to pole position, but anyway, I didn’t expect to fight for pole position. I have felt really good on the bike all weekend so far and it’s really good to be on the front row for tomorrow’s race. But it will be another story in the race and we are prepared for it. I’m really confident to fight for the podium and if we have the opportunity to fight for the victory, why not? But the first priority is to try and get on the podium tomorrow. So we’ll keep going like this and fingers crossed.”
Johann Zarco has qualified in third place as the highest-placed Ducati rider. This is the second time this year he has qualified within the top three, but he will start from pitlane due to a penalty.
“Today I had the maximum concentration to make a good time, I am very happy with this third position. Since this morning when I have left pit lane, I have felt that the pain is not unbearable, so I have been able to make few laps, but of quality. All day long I’ve been focused on doing a good riding style. From my point of view, today I have learned a lot about the bike, and I think I can take a step in the next race.”
Joan Mir has qualified fourth, which is his best qualifying result since he stepped up to MotoGP last year. With Zarco’s penalty, he starts from third, which is his first front row start in the class. He finished second last week in Austria, his first podium finish in MotoGP.
“Over this weekend so far we’ve managed to improve everything a little bit compared with last weekend. It’s really important at this track to start on the front two rows, so I’m pleased that I managed that, especially as my time was so close to the top. I feel great and I know I have the pace to fight at the front, so let’s see how tomorrow goes.”
Jack Miller, who crashed in FP3, has qualified in fifth but starts from fourth as the highest-placed Ducati rider. He will be aiming to finish on the podium in back-to-back MotoGP races for the first time.
“We started really good this morning, Unfortunately during the FP3 I crashed and after that my right shoulder was in pain, and because of that I could not make the time that I wanted this afternoon in the Q2. I will try to do my best tomorrow hoping that the shoulder does not hurt me”
Polesitter last week, Maverick Viñales has qualified sixth place as the highest-placed Yamaha rider. This is the 14th successive time he has qualified in the top six. On his 13 previous starts from the front two rows, he went on to finish on the podium six times, including a win in Malaysia last year.
“The second row on the grid is good. Considering the track condition and the level of our rivals, it’s not bad, I’m quite happy. But, anyway, tomorrow will be a tough race because most of the riders have the same rhythm. We need to overtake at the beginning and try to understand where we’re faster. I feel really good on the bike. This weekend we’re using a very different set-up, trying to understand if this is better for the race, but we won’t know for sure until tomorrow. We will try it and see. It’s good to try something different at this second GP in Austria, because we can easily compare the data and see if we’re heading in the right direction or not.”
Alex Rins has qualified seventh, which is his best qualifying result since he was also seventh in Malaysia last year. But he starts from sixth, which is his best starting position since he was fifth in Silverstone last year on his way to winning the race.
“It’s strange because when the margins are so small you can easily end up further down the grid than you hoped! I was only two tenths of a second off but I finished seventh. I will actually go up one row on the grid and start sixth because of Zarco’s penalty. My shoulder is still painful but I have good rhythm and consistency for tomorrow, there are some other quick riders so it will be a fight. Tomorrow morning I will decide on the tyre choice and I’m ready to give my all.”
Miguel Oliveira has qualified in eighth, but starts from seventh, which is his best position on the grid since he was fifth in Andalusia earlier this season. Last week, he crashed out in Austria. Winner of the last two races at the Red Bull Ring, Andrea Dovizioso has qualified in ninth (but starts from eighth). This is the first time he fails to start from the front two rows at the Austrian track.
“Overall it was a positive day. We did a very good FP3 session and also a super-good FP4 with a very strong race pace. I went into qualifying feeling ready and I did my best. It was not enough to arrive in the first two rows, which was our goal. But anyway, it is good to start from the third row, better than last weekend and I think we are ready for the race tomorrow.”
“Today our goal was to get on the front row, but unfortunately I couldn’t get a good lap in qualifying. It had never happened to me, but after working so much with the used tyres these days, I struggled to find the feeling needed to push with the new tyres. We’ve been working hard these days, and we’re ready for tomorrow. We hope to be able to recover positions immediately from the early stages of the race.”
Championship leader Fabio Quartararo has qualified in 10th place equalling his worst qualifying result in MotoGP from Le Mans and Brno last year. With Dovizioso, Viñales, Nakagami and Alex Marquez, Quartararo is the only other rider who scored points in each of the MotoGP™ races this season so far.
“Our pace in FP4 was better, but qualifying was not so good. Actually, I prefer it this way round but this isn’t the best track to do it at! With the top speed needed here, it makes qualifying difficult. I wasn’t able to push like I wanted. However, I’m happy because we’ve improved the feeling with the bike and the pace is really good when compared to those riders using the same manufacturer as us. The new settings we have used have worked really well in that aspect. Tomorrow I think finishing in the top-six would be a really good result for us, although of course we want more but this is realistic. Starting from P9 is not the best, so we will try to make a lot of clean overtakes and finish with the best result we can.”
“Today was a funny one: this morning I felt quite okay and I was able to get straight into Q2, but we didn’t reach our potential in qualifying. We decided to try something different for qualifying with different tyre compounds, to see if we could gain something, but it didn’t pay off in the end. We finished 11th, tenth on the starting grid, which isn’t too bad of a starting position as, apart from the top four guys, the pace is quite similar. We will try to make a good start tomorrow, have a good race and pick up as many points as we can. Of course if it rains then it makes it more difficult. This track is tricky in the wet so I’m hoping for a dry race tomorrow.”
“Today, in Q1, I managed to get a good lap time, but I wasn’t able to repeat it in Q2. For the moment, I still can’t find the right balance when it comes to braking, and in the second session of qualifying, I made a small mistake that affected my result. I honestly didn’t expect to close so far behind and hoped I could do better. I expect a difficult race, as on this track it is not easy to recover positions, but the important thing will be to be able to make a good start to avoid getting stuck in the confusion of the first laps.”
“I’m really happy about today. This morning I tried to go to Q2 directly but I missed it by less than one tenth of a second, as everybody is incredibly close on this track. Later in FP4, I was working towards the race. I know I have a decent pace for tomorrow. In qualifying I pushed very hard on my last lap and finished in P1, but later Zarco and Petrucci went a bit faster than me, so I couldn’t make it to Q2. But honestly, I’m really delighted. It’s my best position on the grid so far and I want to say thanks to the team. We are working very well, I’m very comfortable on the bike and I can ride smooth. So, we will see what we can do tomorrow in the race.”
“This morning I was 0.003 from getting straight into Q2 and then in Q1 I gave it a good try but unfortunately was not quick enough. It is what it is. The times are super-tight around this track and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Starting where I am I need to make up time when everybody is tight and compressed. I’m going to have to try and put together a good first lap and then the first two-three is where I will make-or-break my race. Let’s see how we get on.”
“Unfortunately I made a mistake in Turn 9. I think I touched the white line, and it wasn’t clean because of Masia’s incident with the oil in the Moto3 class, so I lost the front. I also made a mistake this morning whilst on a good lap, and had to go to Q1. In that session it’s very difficult, because everybody pushes a lot and the lap times are similar to Q2, so it’s not easy. Starting from 14th on the grid will be hard, but my race pace is not so bad, I’m quite fast and consistent. I think there are four or five riders that are faster, but we are up there with the others. This is not our best track, it’s difficult here with the Yamaha, but the pace is not so bad, I’m quite strong. The race is long. We have to do everything well, trying the maximum from the beginning of the race.”
“A good day, I have improved both the race pace and speed . Tomorrow I will start from the fifth row and I hope to do a good start because I have the pace to be right after the very first ones.”
“In the morning I had a small crash, it was high speed but not really big. The plan was to try a slightly different setting on the second bike but the feeling wasn’t really what I was expecting and because the other bike was damaged I couldn’t improve my lap time in FP3. It’s a shame because on Friday we were feeling better about our one lap speed. Then in Free Practice 4 I spent most of it trying to regain my feeling on the bike. For Q1 I improved a bit, but still couldn’t find that same speed. We have Warm Up still to work on it and recover this feeling to push in the strong areas of the bike, like corner entry.”
“Today was a difficult day again. I hope to be able to improve the situation tonight, essentially I feel a little bit better than I did yesterday, but not in the fast lap unfortunately. I wasn’t really able to make a good lap in the qualifying and it seems we are still going round in circles with the bike a little bit. But hopefully we can make a good start tomorrow and try and battle with some guys that are ahead of us in the qualification. We will work hard tonight as a team and go for it tomorrow.”
“I am rather pleased today as well. We are continuing to improve. We are working in the right direction. My feeling with the RS-GP is increasing, especially in terms of race pace. It’s a pity about the qualifiers. In the last sector, I saw the marshals busy with Valentino’s crash and I slowed down. I could have improved by a few positions. In any case, I have a good pace for tomorrow. A good result in the race would be the right conclusion for this weekend.”
“We made some rather significant changes to the bike and I must say that in FP4, we demonstrated outstanding pace, with a full tank and race tyres. The first run in qualifiers was also fast, but due to a technical fault, I was unable to use the same bike on the last run. Unfortunately, the second RS-GP is set up differently and I didn’t have the same feeling with it, so I was unable to improve my time. It’s a pity, because we’ll have to start from rather far back. Given our pace, I’ll have to take some risks in the early stages of the race.”
“We have changed the bike a lot compared to last weekend and we also wanted to know what direction we had to follow. Fortunately, our pace is looking better than our grid position so I’m hoping to gain some positions tomorrow. But for sure we have a lot of work to do, it’s important to keep working and give our maximum in the race.”
“What happened over the weekend is not very normal. In FP1 with used tires I rode in 1’24.8 and although I fell it was without consequences. Then during the weekend, we could not return to do this, we got a 24.9 in the classification. I am convinced that my entire team is working well, I am focused and working well, but I am not able to find that it fails. The good part of all this is that at least I’m having fun, that we’re doing our best, but to see how the situation evolves. Tomorrow in the race we will forget everything external and we will continue learning.”
Pol Espargaro and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing have both earned their first MotoGP pole positions in the BMW M Grand Prix of Styria. Taking the spoils in a fierce Q2 at the Red Bull Ring, the Spaniard on the Austrian machine just pipped Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) to the top, with Q1 graduate Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) defying the odds to qualify third just a couple of days after surgery on his scaphoid. However, the Frenchman will start from pitlane on Sunday.
Q1 saw Zarco pull a fast one and move through, the Frenchman impressing to pip Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) and deny a few others too. With his pit-lane start already decided, it was a lost opportunity for those denied a place, but won fair and square with some superhuman effort – and there was more to come.
The opening laps in Q2 were tentative but once the riders got one lap under their belt, qualifying kicked off in stunning style at the Styrian GP. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was the first man to delve into the 1:23s with a 1:23.866, with Zarco slotting into second despite his recently operated scaphoid. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) then went onto the provisional front row, before Nakagami took P3.
A raging Red Bull then came flying over the line to snatch provisional pole position from Quartararo, Pol Espargaro taking over at the top by two tenths and moving the goalposts to a 1:23.645. He wouldn’t be at the top of the tree for long though – Nakagami was on a charge and the Japanese star took P1 by 0.043 as a breathless opening stint ended and the Austrian hills fell silent for a brief period, fresh Michelin rubber going in ready for five minutes of MotoGP mayhem at the Red Bull Ring.
Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) – who didn’t set a lap time in Q2 after encountering shoulder issues following his FP3 crash – jumped from P11 to P3 with a great lap, before Pol Espargaro then shot to the top of the times by 0.022. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) climbed to P4 and after two sectors, his teammate Mir was on for pole position – and so was Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso. Mir couldn’t hold his advantage in Sectors 3 and 4 though as the Suzuki rider went P3, with Dovizioso slotting into P6.
Meanwhile, Quartararo had slipped from P1 to P7 with just over a minute to go, as his compatriot Zarco went flying onto the front row. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) found himself down in P10 as well, but he was up after two sectors. However, with Pol Espargaro absolutely lightning through Sector 3, Viñales lost time and had to settle for P6. Was there a further late twist in the tale? Pol Espargaro and KTM were all set for celebrating their maiden premier class pole positions, but breath was held as Nakagami was on a flyer. The Honda man was just 0.006 down after Sector 3 but he couldn’t hold on – and his lap was then cancelled for exceeding track limits anyway.
That was it. The cameras panned to the KTM box and it was celebrations galore. It’s a first pole position for the Austrian factory and being able to do it on home soil will make the feeling even sweeter. It’s also Pol Espargaro’s first MotoGP pole position, and his attentions will now turn to making it a victory for himself and KTM on Sunday afternoon. Nakagami will line-up in the middle of the front row knowing he has a genuine shout of victory at the Red Bull Ring, and is confident of fighting for the podium.
And what a performance from Zarco, who was third fastest. Surgery on Wednesday, fitness test on Friday, no laps completed in FP4 – third place in Q2. A pitlane start faces the double Moto2 World Champion on Sunday, but there are definitely some important points up for grabs for the number 5. Fourth place for Mir is his best MotoGP qualifying and after finishing second from P6 last weekend, he will start Sunday’s battle brimming with confidence. You know things are looking good when the premier class sophomore looks disappointed with P4 despite a best Q2 performance! He’ll start from third too as Zarco’s penalty causes a shuffle.
Things didn’t look good for Austrian GP podium finisher Miller in FP4. A crash in FP3 looked to be putting his weekend in serious doubt with Team Manager Francesco Guidotti telling pitlane reporter Simon Crafar that he’s experiencing shoulder pain, but the Australian gritted his teeth to pocket a P5, just 0.120 shy of pole position in fourth.
Austrian GP polesitter Viñales’ late lap sees the Spaniard start as the leading Yamaha rider – sixth in the session and fifth on the grid. And just 0.198 split those leading six riders in Q2.
Rins starts sixth for the inaugural Grand Prix of Styria, the Spaniard getting the better of Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Dovizioso, who were P8 and P9 in the session, respectively, and also shuffle up a place. All three have shown – at least – podium pace this weekend, so it’s going to be a scintillating watch as they try to carve their way through the field. Championship leader Quartararo – despite finishing just 0.286 away from pole – suffered an equal-worst Q2 result in 10th, becoming a third row start. The 2019 Czech GP was the last time he finished this low down the grid and Quartararo starts off the front row for the first time since the 2019 British GP – almost exactly a year ago. Fellow Petronas Yamaha SRT rider Franco Morbidelli and Q1 graduate Danilo Petrucci finished P11 and P12 in Q2, with the top 12 split by just 0.594.
But there are some names missing, right?
After a crash on Saturday Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was only 15th quickest for the Styrian GP as he had front end lose on his final flying lap in Q1. ‘The Doctor’ was on course to potentially grab P2 in the Q1 session but he and his YZR-M1 slid out of contention at Turn 9, giving the Italian plenty of work to do on Sunday afternoon. Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and rookie Brno winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) also narrowly missed out on a Q2 place, but the two KTMs will start P12 and P13 as they gain a place back as Zarco moves to pitlane…
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Q | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | Q2 | 1m23.580 |
| 2 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | Q2 | +0.022 |
| 3 | Johann ZARCO | DUCATI | Q2 | +0.052 |
| 4 | Joan MIR | SUZUKI | Q2 | +0.098 |
| 5 | Jack MILLER | DUCATI | Q2 | +0.120 |
| 6 | Maverick VIÑALES | YAMAHA | Q2 | +0.198 |
| 7 | Alex RINS | SUZUKI | Q2 | +0.202 |
| 8 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | Q2 | +0.217 |
| 9 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | DUCATI | Q2 | +0.269 |
| 10 | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | Q2 | +0.286 |
| 11 | Franco MORBIDELLI | YAMAHA | Q2 | +0.441 |
| 12 | Danilo PETRUCCI | DUCATI | Q2 | +0.594 |
| 13 | Iker LECUONA | KTM | Q1 | (*) 0.319 |
| 14 | Brad BINDER | KTM | Q1 | (*) 0.323 |
| 15 | Valentino ROSSI | YAMAHA | Q1 | (*) 0.518 |
| 16 | Michele PIRRO | DUCATI | Q1 | (*) 0.664 |
| 17 | Alex MARQUEZ | HONDA | Q1 | (*) 0.761 |
| 18 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | HONDA | Q1 | (*) 0.792 |
| 19 | Bradley SMITH | APRILIA | Q1 | (*) 0.807 |
| 20 | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | Q1 | (*) 0.820 |
| 21 | Stefan BRADL | HONDA | Q1 | (*) 1.058 |
| 22 | Tito RABAT | DUCATI | Q1 | (*) 1.307 |
Rookie sensation Aron Canet (Openbank Aspar Team) has claimed his maiden Moto2 pole position thanks to a 1:28.787 in Q2 at the BMW M Grand Prix of Styria, with the Spaniard heading Austrian GP winner and compatriot Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by 0.118. Previous Red Bull Ring polesitter Tetsuta Nagashima makes it two Red Bull KTM Ajo machines on the front row as he bounced back from some tougher weekends.
In Q1 it was Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) heading through ahead of Nagashima, with the two joined by Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) moving through to Q2. Once the lights went out for that session, it was Free Practice pacesetter Martin fastest out the traps.
The KTM star was leading Garzo and Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in the opening exchanges, before Q1 graduate Nagashima then went P1. However, Canet was on a charge. The number 44 slammed in a 1:28.787 to lay down the gauntlet to his rivals, with Martin trying to respond shortly after but two tenths adrift as Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) then went P4.
The Australian then crashed unhurt at Turn 1, and Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) took a small tumble at Turn 3 as the duo were both inside the top 10. In tandem, Sky Racing Team VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi took over in P4 as he followed teammate Luca Marini, and the Italians then swapped track position as Marini got himself up to P9, the Championship leader struggling to make real inroads into the top six….
Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) looked back to his best as the experienced Swiss rider climbed to P7 in Q2, but no one was able to really look like they were going to challenge Canet’s benchmark. That was until Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Nagashima were just a tenth down halfway round the lap with little time remaining… but at the line, neither improved and it was left to a hard-charging Martin to try and topple Canet. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was 0.034 under Canet’s time as he roared past the Sector 3 marker and into Turn 9, but the former Moto3™ World Champion was unable to keep his soaring lap going, crossing the line a tenth down on Canet’s. Result? A rookie pole.
Martin won’t be too disheartened with second on the grid, he’s been there before and it turned out ok last week… for his first Moto2 victory. Nagashima salvaged a front row start after finishing second in Q1, and that’s by far his best qualifying of the season – his previous best being P8 at the Spanish GP. Can the Japanese rider get his Championship charge back on track at the Red Bull Ring?
Fernandez’ P4 in qualifying is his best Saturday result of the season too as a pre-season favourite finds form. Bezzecchi launches from the middle of the second row aiming for his second podium of the season, with Gardner’s crash – luckily – not affecting him too badly. It’s P6 for the Australian, who keeps Lüthi off the second row by 0.051. Both the latter and Garzo set the exact same lap time in Q2 to line-up P7 and P8, with Jorge Navarro (+Ego Speed Up) and Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Nicolo Bulega completing the top 10.
Down in 11th, meanwhile, it’s Lowes’ worst qualifying result of 2020. The Briton crashed heavily in FP3 and will be feeling the effects of his shoulder injury earlier in the year, while Championship leader Marini had to settle for 12th in Styrian GP qualifying. Dixon and Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) sit between the Italian and title rival Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) as 2020’s leading contenders aim to claw their way through the field on Sunday afternoon…
“I’m very happy to be here on pole in Moto2, it’s a really difficult category for me, all the riders and the rookies. After MotoGP the grip changes a lot, for me it didn’t change so much but for others they can’t do the time… for that, I was able to take pole. We’ll see what happens tomorrow because for sure we’ll see different conditions, but with dry conditions I’m very happy with my pace!”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Q | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Aron CANET | SPEED UP | Q2 | 1m28.787 |
| 2 | Jorge MARTIN | KALEX | Q2 | +0.118 |
| 3 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | KALEX | Q2 | +0.370 |
| 4 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | KALEX | Q2 | +0.381 |
| 5 | Marco BEZZECCHI | KALEX | Q2 | +0.390 |
| 6 | Remy GARDNER | KALEX | Q2 | +0.403 |
| 7 | Thomas LUTHI | KALEX | Q2 | +0.454 |
| 8 | Hector GARZO | KALEX | Q2 | +0.454 |
| 9 | Jorge NAVARRO | SPEED UP | Q2 | +0.466 |
| 10 | Nicolò BULEGA | KALEX | Q2 | +0.473 |
| 11 | Sam LOWES | KALEX | Q2 | +0.484 |
| 12 | Luca MARINI | KALEX | Q2 | +0.548 |
| 13 | Jake DIXON | KALEX | Q2 | +0.616 |
| 14 | Joe ROBERTS | KALEX | Q2 | +0.686 |
| 15 | Enea BASTIANINI | KALEX | Q2 | +0.708 |
| 16 | Somkiat CHANTRA | KALEX | Q2 | +0.747 |
| 17 | Marcos RAMIREZ | KALEX | Q2 | +0.883 |
| 18 | Stefano MANZI | MV AGUSTA | Q2 | +1.057 |
| 19 | Xavi VIERGE | KALEX | Q1 | (*) 0.205 |
| 20 | Edgar PONS | KALEX | Q1 | (*) 0.232 |
| 21 | Marcel SCHROTTER | KALEX | Q1 | (*) 0.327 |
| 22 | Andi Farid IZDIHAR | KALEX | Q1 | (*) 0.505 |
| 23 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | KALEX | Q1 | (*) 0.654 |
| 24 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | KALEX | Q1 | (*) 0.665 |
| 25 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONI | SPEED UP | Q1 | (*) 0.759 |
| 26 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS | Q1 | (*) 0.767 |
| 27 | Simone CORSI | MV AGUSTA | Q1 | (*) 1.151 |
| 29 | Dominique AEGERTER | NTS | Q1 | (*) 1.225 |
| 30 | Alejandro MEDINA | SPEED UP | Q1 | (*) 1.668 |
| 31 | Kasma DANIEL | KALEX | FP1 | +1.341 |
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) will start the BMW M Grand Prix of Styria from pole, the Argentinean rider coming out on top by just 0.012 to deny Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) three in a row. Fernandez will start second though, with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completing a front row split by just 0.064.
Under sunny Styrian skies, it was Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) who headed the timesheets in Q1, securing his place in Q2… or not. Drama hit for the Spaniard in the session as he crashed and damaged his machine, then remounting and heading back to the pits. Except the bike was leaking, leaving two more riders behind to crash and a long clean up operation and delay to the next session. For the lapse of judgement, Masia was suspended from Q2, meaning it was only Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) who would move through and take part.
Once Q2 was underway, we were treated to some late drama as Rodrigo stole pole position away with his final flying lap of the session, chequered flag waving. Before that final attack it was Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) who held provisional pole, but 2020’s qualifying sensations Tatsuki Suzuki and Raul Fernandez jumped ahead of him, demoting the Italian to third… and Rodrigo making sure it became fourth.
Behind that top three split by just 0.064, Arbolino will therefore front the second row of the grid, joined there by Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46), who will start from fifth at the Red Bull Ring for the second time in a week, and John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) in sixth as the Scot proved the fastest of the top three in the Championship.
Half a second behind Rodrigo’s 1:36.470 and seventh on the grid will be Leopard Racing’s Dennis Foggia, the Italian a fraction clear of Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia), who is the man third overall and the second quickest of the top three in the title battle at the moment. it’s not by much though, as World Championship leader Albert Arenas (Valresa Aspar Team) did suffer his worst qualifying of 2020, but only to the extent of starting alongside Ogura in ninth as he defends his 28 point lead.
Darryn Binder will no doubt be a strong challenger on Sunday from 10th on the grid, not needing to make up his often customary and impressive 15 or 20 places on race day, and he will line-up on row four alongside another man likely to have his elbows out: Deniz Öncü. Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team), Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) and Antonelli complete the top 15.
“It was a bit difficult because the second to last corner was very slippy, I had a plan to use two tyres, but as the conditions were a bit strange I decided to stay on track and go faster lap by lap. At the end it worked because I already put a nice lap in at the start but on the last lap I improved even more. I’m very happy, after the last two Sundays we needed a bit of energy for the race! We’re focused for tomorrow, I think the pace is good so I’m really looking forward to the race.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Q | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Gabriel RODRIGO | HONDA | Q2 | 1m36.470 |
| 2 | Raul FERNANDEZ | KTM | Q2 | +0.012 |
| 3 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | HONDA | Q2 | +0.064 |
| 4 | Tony ARBOLINO | HONDA | Q2 | +0.105 |
| 5 | Celestino VIETTI | KTM | Q2 | +0.175 |
| 6 | John MCPHEE | HONDA | Q2 | +0.342 |
| 7 | Dennis FOGGIA | HONDA | Q2 | +0.495 |
| 8 | Ai OGURA | HONDA | Q2 | +0.559 |
| 9 | Albert ARENAS | KTM | Q2 | +0.602 |
| 10 | Darryn BINDER | KTM | Q2 | +0.669 |
| 11 | Deniz ÖNCÜ | KTM | Q2 | +0.801 |
| 12 | Filip SALAC | HONDA | Q2 | +0.891 |
| 13 | Sergio GARCIA | HONDA | Q2 | +0.974 |
| 14 | Jeremy ALCOBA | HONDA | Q2 | +1.053 |
| 15 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | HONDA | Q2 | +1.074 |
| 16 | Stefano NEPA | KTM | Q2 | +1.150 |
| 17 | Kaito TOBA | KTM | Q2 | +1.564 |
| 18 | Jaume MASIA | HONDA | Q1 | 1m36.921 |
| 19 | Ayumu SASAKI | KTM | Q1 | (*) 0.393 |
| 20 | Riccardo ROSSI | KTM | Q1 | (*) 0.499 |
| 21 | Romano FENATI | HUSQVARNA | Q1 | (*) 0.510 |
| 22 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | Q1 | (*) 0.598 |
| 23 | Carlos TATAY | KTM | Q1 | (*) 0.664 |
| 24 | Alonso LOPEZ | HUSQVARNA | Q1 | (*) 0.688 |
| 25 | Jason DUPASQUIER | KTM | Q1 | (*) 0.749 |
| 26 | Davide PIZZOLI | KTM | Q1 | (*) 0.766 |
| 27 | Ryusei YAMANAKA | HONDA | Q1 | (*) 0.905 |
| 28 | Yuki KUNII | HONDA | Q1 | (*) 0.909 |
| 29 | Maximilian KOFLER | KTM | Q1 | (*) 1.278 |
| 30 | Barry BALTUS | KTM | FP1 | +1.035 |
| Time | Class | Session |
| 1640 | Moto3 | WUP |
| 1710 | Moto2 | WUP |
| 1740 | MotoGP | WUP |
| 1900 | Moto3 | RACE |
| 2020 | Moto2 | RACE |
| 2200 | MotoGP | RACE |
| Rnd | Date | Circuit |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 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 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
Geico Honda’s Martin earns 250MX win with consistency.
Image: Octopi Media.
Current Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship 450MX points-leader Zach Osborne has made it back-to-back round wins in a wet and wild day of action at Loretta Lynn’s 2.
There was no denying Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha) victory in the first moto of the day, putting himself into position early and powering away from the chasing pack.
Barcia picked up his first race win of the year outdoors by 48.535s even though he dropped the bike on the final lap, crossing the finish ahead of new teammate Broc Tickle as he made it a 1-2 for the factory YZ450Fs.
In third, despite stopping for goggles on lap one, was Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki), followed by Fredrik Noren (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Osborne – after being struck with an electrical issue during qualifying – in fifth.
Next came Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC), Jake Masterpool (Husqvarna), top qualifier Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM), Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Christian Craig (Team Honda HRC), who had been challenging for a podium earlier on in the moto.
Defending champion Tomac’s bike stopped on the final lap, but he was still credited ninth since he’d lapped into the top 10 prior to his troubles and salvaged valuable points as a result.
Another phenomenal ride from Osborne saw him rise for victory in moto two this afternoon, passing longtime leader Max Anstie (HEP Motorsports Suzuki) in the closing laps to clinch his second 450MX round victory in a row.
Osborne had to fend off a fast-finishing Musquin, who went by Anstie on the last lap and set his sights on Osborne, but came up 2.296s short across the finish. In the end it was Osborne from Musquin and Anstie.
The top five filled by Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), Cianciarulo, who was in place to capture the overall at one point, then Craig, Joey Savatgy (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki), Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS), Tickle and Justin Bogle (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM WPS).
Opening moto winner Barcia went down on multiple occasions, finishing 32nd for P7 overall. It was another bitter end for Tomac, this time exiting and being listed as 24th, which resulted in zero points for 16th in the round. On the podium was again Osborne to extend his points-lead, with Cianciarulo second today and Musquin third.
Image: Octopi Media.
Loretta Lynn’s 2 saw RJ Hampshire and Alex Martin split the 250MX moto wins, but it was Geico Honda’s Jeremy Martin who stood atop the overall podium in round two of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross.
Wet and muddy conditions made for a challenging day out at the Ranch, with qualifying topped by red plate-holder Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) this morning.
Track conditions worsened prior to the opening motos and, as the gates dropped, it was Shane McElrath (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) who got out front early before Alex Martin (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki) stormed past almost immediately.
His time at the front was short-lived, however, going down and returning the lead to McElrath, who then encountered misfortune of his own when stalling his YZ250F and unable to restart for some time.
That enabled Cameron McAdoo (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) to hit the front momentarily, until eventual winner Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) took charge and went on to win by 9.879s.
Behind him came Ferrandis, who recovered from a fall and pit-stop for fresh goggles, and Jeremy Martin was third, over a minute outside of the lead. McAdoo crossed the line in P4, with Carson Mumford (Geico Honda) solid for fifth.
Six through 10th were Mitchell Harrison (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), Alex Martin, McElrath, Pierce Brown (TLD Red Bull KTM) and Gared Steinke (KTM).
One notable non-finisher was Hunter Lawrence (Geico Honda), reportedly dislocating his shoulder after running fourth in the opening laps, while brother Jett struck trouble when inside the top 10 during the latter stages.
It was an all-Martin affair in the second outing, with the rain holding off despite drops falling on the start-line, as Alex Martin went on to take a controlled victory by over a full minute from elder brother Jeremy, which sealed him the round win.
A fast-starting McElrath took third place, while points-leader Ferrandis overcame an opening lap crash to climb all the way back from outside of the top 20 to fourth.
It was another strong effort from McAdoo in fifth, followed by Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha), rookie Stilez Robertson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), Lance Kobusch (KTM), Derek Drake (TLD Red Bull KTM) and Harrison.
Jeremy Martin’s CRF250R was steaming through much of the moto, but managed to hold on and secured his first overall since 2018 via a 3-2 scorecard, joined on the podium by Ferrandis and Alex Martin. Earlier race winner Hampshire’s bike stopped toward the end, dropping him to 18th and sixth overall for the weekend.
Next on the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship schedule will be the Ironman National next Saturday, 30 August, in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Source: MotoOnline.com.au
LCR Honda’s Nakagami on front row while Johann Zarco’s ride to third is in vain with pitlane penalty.
Image: Supplied.
Pol Espargaro and KTM have broken new ground at the Grand Prix of Styria after Espargaro secured a maiden pole position for both himself and the Austrian manufacturer in the premier class.
Espargaro had to withstand a barrage of challengers including a stunning late charge from LCR Honda Indemitsu rider Takaaki Nakagami, who couldn’t quite convert in the final sector of his flying lap. He did secure his first ever front row start and is the only Honda in the top fifteen.
Polarising Frenchman Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) forged his way through Q1 to record the third fastest time in Q2, but will be demoted to a pitlane start due to the penalty imposed for his involvement in the incident in last week’s race. Zarco’s performance is all the more remarkable given he underwent surgery on his broken scaphoid just two days ago.
Promoted to the front row will be Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir, continuing his strong form at the Red Bull Ring after finishing on the podium last week. Heading up the second row is Australian Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) who suffered a nasty crash in FP3 and injured his shoulder. Miller sat out FP4 but still managed to qualify just 0.120s behind Espargaro.
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) qualified as the fastest Yamaha, while Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) will round out the second row. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) continued his run of good form followed by last week’s victor Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and championship leaderFabio Quartarao (Petronas Yamaha SRT) to round out the top ten.
While the factory KTM team celebrated with the performance of Espargaro, Brno winner Brad Binder is languishing on the fifth row, with Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) just behind after falling during Q2 in his quest to progress to Q1.
L-R: Martin, Canet and Nagashima. Image: Supplied.
Rookie Aron Canet (Openbank Aspar Team) has claimed pole position in Moto2, taking his Speed Up machine to the top spot ahead of compatriot and Austrian GP winner Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Team mate Tetsuta Nagashima completes the front row while Australian Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) will start from sixth. His quest for back to back pole positions came to a halt when he crashed at turn three during Q2 with eight minutes remaining and couldn’t restart his bike.
All the drama began in Q1 for Moto3 after Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) continued to ride around the circuit after crashing, leaving an oil spill behind him. This caused a delay and his disqualification from Q2. Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) eventually stole pole by a tiny 0.012s from Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completing the front row.
Source: CycleOnline.com.au