The Pirelli French Round produced one of the races of the WorldSBK season so far as five different riders led at various stages, before Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed out of the lead three laps from home. The Dutchman’s demise looked as though it would hand victory to Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), before a stunning final lap saw Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) take the spoils, after starting from the sixth row.
WorldSBK 2019 Round 11 – Magny Cours
Behind the leading trio, Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) had established himself in an excellent fourth with Tom Sykes settling in fifth after an all-action start.
Loris Baz
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was holding sixth but the Briton was coming under increasing pressure from Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) as the Spaniard chased valuable championship points. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was also in the thick of the action but a highside at the final chicane eliminated him five laps from home.
With clear track in front, Jonathan Rea began his relentless chase of Michael van der Mark, wiping out his advantage heading into the closing stages. With three laps remaining, the leading pair were together but van der Mark’s hopes of a second victory of 2019 were extinguished when the front end of his Yamaha folded into the Adelaide hairpin.
Jonathan Rea leads
Rea seemed on course for a 12th victory of the season, beginning the final lap one-second clear of Razgatlioglu but a stunning final lap from the Turkish rider brought him right into the tail of the Ulsterman entering the last sector. Under braking for Turn 15, Toprak dived up the inside with Rea keen to avoid a costly collision, opting to settle for second.
Toprak wins the run to the flag
The fight for the final podium spot also went down to the wire with Tom Sykes rallying in the latter stages to overhaul Loris Baz, securing BMW’s fourth podium of the season. Baz held on to fourth while Alvaro Bautista recovered up to fifth in the end.
Alex Lowes faded to finish a distant sixth while Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) marked his return from injury with a sensational ride to seventh, Honda’s best result of the 2019 season so far. Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) finished eighth, his best result since Misano, with Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) and Sandro Cortese completing the top ten.
In the end, van der Mark remounted to finish 13th to secure three points which may prove valuable in the ever-tightening race for third in the championship standings. At the top, Jonathan Rea has extended his advantage to 100 points over Alvaro Bautista, and thus is quite likely to clinch his fifth World Superbike Championship crown on Sunday.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) – P1
“I am so happy! The last lap was so stressful for me because I knew I was faster. I tried to pass Johnny, but the front was sliding a lot. I pushed hard and tried to keep the bike straight, and I made it. It is my first victory, and I extremely pleased with this! I am crying! It has been my dream for this season, and I achieve that. Now we see what will happen next race. I don’t know how tomorrow will be. I hope it won’t be raining! Thanks to all my team because today that have done an incredible job”.
Toprak Razgatlioglu
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) – P2
“I was expecting a fight because with these conditions no ones had the chance to work on the bike setup, so today was the same for everybody. I was a little bit worried in the beginning because the conditions were not perfect and in the first ten laps, I felt like we were racing like kids, but it was a lot of fun! When the race settled down, Van Der Mark kept a good rhythm, he went away and slowly I could catch him. I put my head down in the last laps, but I made a big mistake in the last lap and gave a big opportunity to Toprak to come and make that move. I am a little bit frustrated but happy with the result because the podium is a good result. I want to congratulate Toprak because he deserves this win, but we will try to change the order tomorrow”.
Toprak Razgatlioglu
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) – P3
“I enjoyed riding today. I did a good start, and I settled in nicely. With the team with a made a small change to the bike between the last race and now that allowed me to ride with a little bit margin, so I really enjoyed riding my bike today. In the beginning, I swept positions with a few guys who were trying to get a better position, and we were able to fight. The chassis and the tyres stayed consistent throughout the race, sure we still to find some things in some area, but overall a podium is promising here giving that we are only tenth months now into the program. We are thrilled with our efforts, and hopefully, we can keep up the pace for tomorrow”.
#FRAWorldSBK at Circuit de Nevers-Magny Cours: Race 1 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) 2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.240 3. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +6.839
Belgium tops Assen MXoN qualifying as Australia earns fourth
Section: Competition
Australia’s Webster lands top three result in MX2 qualification race.
Image: Supplied.
Team Belgium has topped qualifying at Assen’s 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in the Netherlands, while a strong showing from Team Australia saw the squad earn P4 ahead of Sunday’s racing.
Hosting nation the Netherlands was second in qualifying ahead of a competitive Team USA, while defending champions Team France were seventh in the classification.
The MXGP class was the first to hit the track in Saturday’s qualification races, and it was Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) who broke away to claim victory with a 7.4s advantage over recently-crowned world champion Tim Gajser (Honda HRC), as Jeremy van Horebeek (Honda) locked out the podium.
Dual MX2 world champion Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was fourth in his first-ever 450 outing, followed by home favourite Jeffrey Herlings (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Australia’s Dean Ferris (Raceline Recover8 KTM) finished a respectable 10th.
It was Team USA’s Justin Cooper who reigned supreme in the highly-competitive MX2 division, securing the top spot over Calvin Vlaanderen (Honda HRC), providing a confidence boost to the American team.
In a glowing performance, Australian Kyle Webster (Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing) rounded out the podium in third, and was followed by Jago Geerts (Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha) and Alberto Forato (Husqvarna).
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass, of Latvia, stole a narrow victory in the Open class from Kevin Strijbos (JWR Yamaha), the Belgian finishing 1.147s of P1. Glenn Coldenhoff (Standing Construct KTM) was third, as Shaun Simpson (RFX KTM) and Harri Kullas (Honda).
After sitting inside the top three, 17-year-old Australian Regan Duffy (Raceline KTM Thor) recovered from a crash to finish an impressive sixth.
#FRAWorldSBK🇫🇷 🏁Magny-Cours 🗓Sunday 29th Sept
📋 SPRC
⌚ 11.00 local time (10.00 UK)
📺 Live Eurosport UK 2
☀️ 17*C
🏍 10 laps Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
I made a small mistake in sector two. With the gap on my pit board with a few laps to go, I was convinced that by keeping a good rhythm it would be OK, but that mistake gave Toprak the opportunity to make a manoeuvre in sector three. That is how it is. So if I try to look from the outside, from the championship point of view, it has been a strong race. But I am also a little bit disappointed because I did most of the work to put myself in a good position at the end, and we couldn’t finish the job. We have got two more chances tomorrow.
Jonathan Rea came within 0.240 seconds of winning an unpredictable and exciting 21-lap WorldSBK race at Magny Cours today but it was Topr Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
#FRAWorldSBK🇫🇷 🏁Magny-Cours 🗓Saturday 28th Sept
📋 Race 1
⌚ 14.00 local time (13.00 UK)
📺 Live Eurosport UK 2
⛅️ 18*C
🏍 21 Laps Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
Roles were reversed in a thrilling Global Series race two. Held over 10 laps, trastevere73 got the holeshot and led from the front while AndrewZh and the impressive Wimp gave chase close behind. The leading two soon broke clear, however and produced a grandstand finale, with the Ducati Team rider passing his rival before the final turn on the last lap. Not to be outdone, trastevere73 showed all his class to let the brakes off, and outmanoeuvre his rival to win his first race in this year’s Global Series and put himself back in the championship hunt.
Van der Mark fastest in rain-affected Friday practice at Magny Cours
Section: Competition
Perolari tops the timesheets in WorldSSP category at the French round.
Image: Supplied.
The inclement weather continued to wreak havoc with the WorldSBK class as the second session at the French round began in torrential rain. As a result, the lap times were significantly slower as the riders searched for grip.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) left it late to finish fastest in the morning session but the Dutchman deemed the conditions too wet for any meaningful running and chose to sit FP2 out.
In van der Mark’s absence, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) proved the man to beat during FP2 but it wasn’t without a scare. Rounding the Estoril corner, the world champion suffered a huge moment as the rear of his Kawasaki stepped out.
The Ulsterman maintained control and went on to top the session ahead of former teammate Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), current team-mate Leon Haslam and surprise package Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) in fourth, although all riders were slower than they had gone in FP1.
Overall, van der Mark closes free practice Friday as the fastest man as he looks to chase down his teammate Alex Lowes in the battle for third in the standings. Van der Mark has finished on the podium at Magny-Cours in each of the last three years and will fancy his chances of doing so again, whatever the weather. Lowes ended the day in eighth overall, and much like his team-mate, took a safety-first approach during the afternoon downpour.
Leading the Kawasaki challenge overall was Leon Haslam after a consistent day for the 36-year-old. Haslam was just two tenths shy of the outright fastest time before backing up his team-mate in the afternoon, showing that both Kawasaki riders will be competitive if the heavens open tomorrow.
Rea’s day underlined the exceptional pace the Ulsterman clearly possesses, although a crash during FP1, followed by his near-highside in FP2, prove that nothing is certain in the Superbike World Championship. Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) earned the honour of top Independent rider with third spot, although four figured inside the top six as the heavy rain presented an opportunity for less fancied names.
Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) held onto fourth with home favourite Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) demonstrating his wet-weather credentials, finishing fifth in both sessions. Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) is another rider to watch if the weather takes a turn for the worse, with the Italian an impressive sixth today on the leading Honda.
With Rea and Lowes completing the combined top eight, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) ends Friday as the fastest Ducati rider, narrowly ahead of Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven). Ducati’s championship hopes still rest on the shoulders of Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and the Spaniard wound up in 13th, one spot ahead of teammate Chaz Davies with neither venturing out this afternoon.
Moriwaki Althea Honda Team is boosted this weekend by the return of Leon Camier and the Briton showed promising pace in both sessions, ending up 11th overall. By contrast, Sandro Cortese found the going tough with 19th in FP1, followed by a heavy fall at the Adelaide hairpin later in the day which left him with a left shoulder contusion, plus a left elbow contusion and abrasion. The German rider has been declared fit to continue though.
Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) topped the WorldSSP category over Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing), while the WorldSSP300 class saw Dion Otten (MTM Racing Team), Mika Perez (Carl Cox – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki), and Galang Hendra Pratama (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing) complete the top three.
Australian Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) was 12th in the A group, while his compatriots didn’t make it out on track in the worsening conditions.
Inclement weather wreaked havoc with the WorldSBK class as the second session at the Pirelli French Round began in torrential rain. As a result, the lap times were significantly slower as the riders searched for grip.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) left it late to finish fastest in the morning session but the Dutchman deemed the conditions too wet for any meaningful run in the afternoon and chose to sit FP2 out.
In van der Mark’s absence, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) proved the man to beat during FP2 but it wasn’t without a scare. Rounding the Estoril corner, the world champion suffered a huge moment as the rear of his Kawasaki stepped out. The Ulsterman maintained control and went on to top the session ahead of former team-mate Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), current team-mate Leon Haslam and surprise package Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) in fourth, although all riders were slower than they had gone in FP1.
Overall though it is Van der Mark quickest on Friday as he looks to chase down his team-mate Alex Lowes in the battle for third in the standings. Van der Mark has finished on the podium at Magny-Cours in each of the last three years and will fancy his chances of doing so again, whatever the weather.
Michael van der Mark
“It’s been a bit of a strange day. This morning the track was wet at the start but already starting to dry up a little, so we waited quite a long time before going out. At the end it wasn’t dry, it wasn’t wet, and the track conditions were less than perfect, but I had a good feeling with the bike straight away. I didn’t really push for a time, but ended up quickest, so it was a good start to the day. This afternoon it started to rain a lot before the session, and it continued throughout. We waited to see if the conditions would improve, but they didn’t so we decided to sit out the session as I have a good feeling with the bike already and, anyway, the forecast is for dry conditions from tomorrow onwards.”
Lowes ended the day in eighth overall, and much like his team-mate, took a safety-first approach during the afternoon downpour.
Alex Lowes
“Magny-Cours is one of those places where it’s sometimes a bit hit and miss with the weather, so the conditions today weren’t unexpected. It was good to get out on the track again this morning, even if the mixed conditions meant we weren’t able to learn much. But the feeling with the bike was good, which is one of the reasons why we opted to sit out the second session this afternoon, the other being that the weather looks set to improve ahead of FP3. Despite the limited track time today, we’ll be ready for qualifying and the first race tomorrow.”
Leading the Kawasaki challenge overall was Leon Haslam after a consistent day for the 36-year-old. Haslam was just two-tenths shy of the outright fastest time, indicating that both Kawasaki riders will be competitive tomorrow, wet or dry.
Leon Haslam
“It was slippery out there but it was OK in the end. This morning you just pushed as hard as you needed to. It was one of those sessions where if someone went fast, you went out and pushed a little bit harder. I think everyone was in the same boat. It was also just trying to gather information in case it is a wet race tomorrow. This morning was not fully wet in the end but this afternoon obviously was, so it was quite important for me to understand what the bike felt like in proper rain conditions. We also got to try the new rain tyre, which is very different. I feel we have had a positive day of collecting data and finishing inside the top three in each session.”
Leon Haslam
For Rea though a crash during FP1, followed by his near-highside in FP2, prove that nothing is yet completely certain in the championship.
Jonathan Rea
“Overall I am happy with the day because normally with the forecast to be clear tomorrow, and Sunday being even hotter, it is hard to be fully focused on building a set-up. We changed some things with the engine brake settings and we just needed to confirm them in the wet. This morning I was not so happy and this afternoon we worked to confirm something a bit better in the set-up. The bike is behaving a little bit different to how it has in the past in the wet, especially in how I am loading the front. If we should face any more wet weather over the weekend we need to work on stopping the bike in the last part of braking. But I was happy to be fast in full wet conditions. This morning there was a dry line coming up near the end so a lot of people went fast right at the end. It was a positive day.”
Jonathan Rea
Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) earned the honour of top Independent rider with third spot, although four figured inside the top six as the heavy rain presented an opportunity for less fancied names.
Marco Melandri
“Very difficult weather here today at Magny-Cours, a track that is already very tricky in the wet because the grip is so unpredictable. This morning it was starting to dry a bit towards the end of the session and the track wasn’t so bad. This afternoon, with the onset of the rain, it was difficult to see and the bike was aquaplaning a lot, even in places where there didn’t look to be a lot of water. Luckily it looks like we’re going to have better weather tomorrow and Sunday and I hope we’ll get three dry races. It’s never easy here but this afternoon I wasn’t fast, but I felt better on the bike and this morning the feeling was even a bit better. But while I’m still not completely confident when it’s fully wet, the feeling is definitely better than it was in Misano.”
Marco Melandri
Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) held onto fourth with home favourite Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) demonstrating his wet-weather credentials, finishing fifth in both sessions.
Loris Baz
“The rain seems to be following me around at the moment! The grip here at Magny-Cours has always been limited in the wet, but it seems to get worse every year. We did a pretty good job this morning. Maybe as the track dried towards the end a slick may have been an option, but it would have also been a risk, which we preferred not to take as it will be dry from tomorrow onwards. This afternoon I didn’t do so many laps but we tried a few things in the fully wet conditions that could stand us in good stead if the weather forecast proves to be wrong, which is a distinct possibility here. It was good to finish the opening day in the top five, but we have a lot to do if we’re going to prepare the bike for dry qualifying tomorrow morning in the final 20-minute practice session, which we hope will be run in good conditions.”
Loris Baz
Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) is another rider to watch if the weather takes a turn for the worse, with the Italian an impressive sixth today on the leading Honda.
With Rea and Lowes completing the combined top eight, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) ends Friday as the fastest Ducati rider, narrowly ahead of Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven).
Ducati’s championship hopes still rest on the shoulders of Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) and the Spaniard wound up in 13th, one spot ahead of team-mate Chaz Davies with neither venturing out this afternoon.
Álvaro Bautista
“For sure it wasn’t the best day to make my debut on this track! This morning, on the wet track surface, I crashed after losing the rear at Turn 1 on the opening lap, but luckily I suffered no physical consequences. I quite like the Magny-Cours track and it doesn’t seem as difficult as Imola or Portimão. I could also see that in case of rain it doesn’t have much grip but it’s the same for everyone. In the second session the heavy rain made the situation even more difficult and because of my shoulder, which is still not at 100%, I preferred not to take any more risks and stayed in the box. Let’s hope that the weather improves for tomorrow and gives me a chance to increase my confidence with the track for the race.”
Moriwaki Althea Honda Team are boosted this weekend by the return of Leon Camier and the Briton showed promising pace in both sessions, ending up 11th overall. By contrast, Sandro Cortese found the going tough with 19th in FP1, followed by a heavy fall at the Adelaide hairpin later in the day which left him with a left shoulder contusion, plus a left elbow contusion and abrasion.
WorldSBK Combined Friday Practice Times
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
M. Van Der Mark
Yamaha YZF R1
1m51.852
2
L. Haslam
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+0.223
3
M. Melandri
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.795
4
L. Mercado
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+0.868
5
L. Baz
Yamaha YZF R1
+0.968
6
A. Delbianco
Honda CBR1000RR
+1.053
7
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1.074
8
A. Lowes
Yamaha YZF R1
+1.093
9
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+1.154
10
E. Laverty
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+1.372
11
L. Camier
Honda CBR1000RR
+1.657
12
T. Razgatlioglu
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+2.177
13
A. Bautista
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+2.239
14
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+2.281
15
R. Kiyonari
Honda CBR1000RR
+2.289
16
J. Torres
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+2.307
17
S. Barrier
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+2.455
18
T. Sykes
BMW S1000 RR
+2.592
19
S. Cortese
Yamaha YZF R1
+4.764
20
M. Reiterberger
BMW S1000 RR
+5.109
WorldSSP600
The final WorldSSP session of the day was held in heavy rain ensuring that this morning’s lap times remained unbeaten. Given the risk attached with running in such conditions, FP1 pacesetter Corentin Perolari (GMT94 YAMAHA) chose to watch the second session from the garage, safe in the knowledge that he would finish the day fastest overall at his and the team’s home round.
Corentin Perolari
FP2 was largely dominated by Kyle Smith (Team Pedercini Racing) who gradually improved his pace throughout the afternoon, despite the conditions showing know sign of significant improvement. The Briton was the only rider to drop underneath the two-minute barrier with Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 1.191s adrift in second. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) was the man to fly the French flag this afternoon, edging out compatriot Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) while Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) ensured four Kawasaki riders broke into the top five in FP2.
Lucas Mahias
Overall, Perolari’s late dash in FP1 proved to be fastest of the day, with Mahias second overall ahead of Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing) who restricted his running to just three laps in FP2. Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing) was fourth with Jules Cluzel gearing up for a must-win weekend with the fifth fastest time, proving he will a rider to watch whatever the weather has in store this weekend. Peter Sebestyen (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) rounded out the top six and will have high hopes of consolidating a top ten place in the championship standings.
Peter Sebestyen
Jules Danilo followed closely behind his team-mate in seventh ahead of Hikari Okubo who finishes the day in eighth overall, despite his impressive showing in FP2. Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) was a cautious ninth, a position he matched in FP2 as the Italian completed 16 laps, a total only bettered by wildcard Maximilien Bau (GMT94 YAMAHA). Loris Cresson (Kallio Racing) completed the top ten, although he was one of seven riders to spend the whole afternoon under shelter in the garage.
Of the riders that did brave the conditions in FP2, championship leader Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) was seventh, although that wasn’t enough to lift him from 18th in the combined standings. Elsewhere, Jaimie Van Sikkelerus (MPM WILSport Racedays) suffered his second crash of the day while ESS class runner Gaetan Matern fell at Estoril corner, an accident which left the Frenchman with a left humerus fracture, bringing an end to his weekend.
WorldSSP600 Combined Friday Practice Times
Pos
No. Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
C. Perolari
Yamaha YZF R6
1m44.802
2
L. Mahias
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.082
3
I. Vinales
Yamaha YZF R6
+0.385
4
A. Badovini
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+0.633
5
J. Cluzel
Yamaha YZF R6
+1.215
6
P. Sebestyen
Honda CBR600RR
+2.198
7
J. Danilo
Honda CBR600RR
+2.244
8
H. Okubo
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+2.301
9
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.351
10
L. Cresson
Yamaha YZF R6
+2.575
11
K. Smith
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+2.759
12
T. Gradinger
Yamaha YZF R6
+3.439
13
H. Soomer
Honda CBR600RR
+3.902
14
R. Hartog
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+4.432
15
R. De Rosa
MV Agusta F3 675
+4.450
16
G. Ruiu
Yamaha YZF R6
+4.917
17
G. Van Straalen
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+5.198
18
R. Krummenacher
Yamaha YZF R6
+5.422
19
F. Fuligni
MV Agusta F3 675
+6.091
20
J. Van Sikkelerus
Honda CBR600RR
+6.660
21
N. Calero
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+7.030
22
G. Pot
Yamaha YZF R6
+7.295
23
M. Bau
Yamaha YZF R6
+8.835
24
X. Navand
Yamaha YZF R6
+9.130
25
D. Valle
Yamaha YZF R6
+11.704
26
G. Matern
Kawasaki ZX-6R
+11.709
27
C. Stange
Honda CBR600RR
+11.760
28
G. Sconza
Honda CBR600RR
+14.407
WorldSSP300
Wet weather dominated day one for the WorldSSP300 class at the Pirelli French Round, however Group A enjoyed a window of drier conditions earlier in the morning. With heavier rain then falling, Dion Otten (MTM Racing Team) saw his FP1 time remain unbeaten with many of the big hitters faced with tougher conditions in Group B.
Dion Otten
Otten, who finished a strong sixth at Donington Park earlier this year, finished three-hundredths-of-a-second clear of Galang Hendra Pratama (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing) with Nick Kalinin (Nutec – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) third as he goes in search of three consecutive top-six results this weekend.
Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300), who must win this weekend to have any chance of retaining her title, was fourth with Jan-Ole Jahnig (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) rounding out the top five.
Galang Hendra Pratama
With Group B running exclusively in wet conditions, precious few conclusions can be drawn by comparing lap times between the two groups.
Young Aussie Tom Bramich (Carl Cox- RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) suffered a crash in FP1, sustaining a concussion and fractured left elbow, and has been declared unfit. This opened the door for Mika Perez to step in, and the 2018 championship runner-up topped the overall times in Group B ahead of Adrien Quinet (TGP Racing) and Victor Steeman (Freudenberg KTM Junior Team) who suffered a crash in FP1.
Mika Perez
Hugo De Cancellis (Team Trasimeno Yamaha) was fourth in Group B with Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (DS Junior Team) next up.
This weekend could see Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) crowned the 2019 WorldSSP300 champion and the Spaniard made a bright start, topping FP1 in Group B, closely followed by his nearest rival Scott Deroue (Kawasaki MOTOPORT). However limited running in FP2 for the championship leader saw him drop to 8th within his group, while Deroue sat out the second session completely.
Team Australia draws position 13 in Assen MXoN ballot
Section: Competition
Poland draws P1 as positions are determined for qualification races.
Image: Supplied.
Team Australia has drawn 13th gate pick in the ballot for Saturday’s qualification races at Assen’s 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN), while Team Poland has been granted the number one spot.
Team Lithuania and Puerto Rico will line up second and third, while defending champions Team France is going to pick gate number 29. MXoN favourites Team Holland and Team USA drew positions 27 and 31.
The Australian squad will field Dean Ferris (Raceline Recover8 KTM), Kyle Webster (Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing), and Regan Duffy (Raceline KTM Thor) in the MX1, MX2 and Open categories, donning numbers 10, 11 and 12 respectively.
2019 Motocross of Nations ballot results: 1. Poland 2. Lithuania 3. Puerto Rico 4. Norway 5. Spain 6. Denmark 7. Iceland 8. Belgium 9. New Zealand 10. Latvia 11. Slovenia 12. Croatia 13. Australia 14. Greece 15. Brazil 16. Switzerland 17. Estonia 18. Japan 19. Italy 20. Sweden 21. South Africa 22. Portugal 23. Ukraine 24. Luxemburg 25. Ireland 26. Germany 27. Netherlands 28. Cyprus 29. France 30. Czech Republic 31. USA 32. Austria 33. Great Britain 34. Russia
Wayne Maxwell has momentum behind him heading to P.I.
Momentum. It’s a powerful thing in motorsport, or any form of sport for that matter.
When a rider scores a couple of big results in succession, their confidence has a way of snowballing, in such a fashion it can make them unstoppable. And it’s this sort of momentum 2013 Australian Superbike Champion Wayne Maxwell is carrying into the last two rounds of season 2019.
Wayne Maxwell won the 2013 ASBK Superbike Championship with Suzuki.
Returning to Suzuki after several seasons at Yamaha, Maxwell’s campaign got off to the perfect start with a win in the opening round at Phillip Island.
Wayne Maxwell was clearly emotional after winning the opening race of ASBK season 2019 at Phillip Island, a win he had not expected as he was yet to feel as though the GSX-R was ‘his bike, and was not fully comfortable after a few years on Yamaha machinery – TBG Image
An unfortunate tangle with Aiden Wagner saw Maxwell chalking up an unfortunate DNF in Race 2, but he recovered to finish sixth in the third and final race of the weekend.
Aiden Wagner and Wayne Maxwell clashed at Phillip Island, and Wayne came off second best… – Image Rob Mott
A consistent run at Wakefield Park netted Maxwell third overall. A DNF in the opening race at The Bend after contact with Daniel Falzon was the last real blot on the scorecard for him so far this season.
Troy Herfoss topped the Superbike class for the Wakefield Park weekend from championship leader Cru Halliday, with Wayne Maxwell third overall – Image by Rob Mott
Since then though, Maxwell has not finished a race outside the top three, and after overall wins at Morgan Park and Winton, he is arguably the form rider heading into the all-important final two events.
Wayne Maxwell and family at Wakefield Park
“It’s been fantastic being re-united with Suzuki,not just with some of the old guys from my last stint with the team, but I’ve also enjoyed working with some new faces like (team-owner) Dale Brede,” he said.
“The start of the season was a bit up-and-down. We obviously started well at Phillip Island, but the incident in Race 2 dented our momentum.
“At Wakefield Park, I struggled with a bit of fitness and at The Bend, it was very much a tyre war, but we ended the weekend as the top Pirelli runner.
“At Morgan Park, I was very pleasantly surprised – I felt it would be my weakest track, so to come away with the round win was fantastic, it certainly gave me a lot of confidence heading to Winton, where we were very fast also.”
Wayne Maxwell won the Morgan Park round – TBG Image
Maxwell said the Suzuki’s characteristics are well-suited to his riding style.
“Compared to the Yamaha, the Suzuki is a bit more stable, and I like the acceleration with the variable cam timing,” he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time with Yamaha and won lots of races, but by the end I felt like I had exhausted all the set-up adjustments. This year has been good to start fresh with a different bike, and to be able to try different set-ups.”
Wayne Maxwell – Winton – Image by Rob Mott
This season, Maxwell has also been riding alongside a new team-mate, Josh Waters. He said the relationship has been trouble-free.
“Josh and I have been friends and rivals for a long time, and so far we’ve worked well together,” he said.
“We both like completely different set-ups, but our feedback on the bike and how it’s behaving has been similar.”
Wayne Maxwell on the grid at Winton – TBG Image
Maxwell and his Suzuki team now head to Phillip Island, a circuit where both rider and team have excellent form. But Maxwell is refusing to take anything for granted.
“We tested at the Island on Monday and the bike was very fast out of the box, so I’m feeling positive,” he said.
“But the series this year has been so competitive – it’s probably the deepest field since I started racing in ASBK. Some of the riders like Cru Halliday and Mike Jones have become a lot more consistent, and if all the front-runners fire on their day, it’s a very difficult challenge to win races. It’s great for the category and the fans.”
Wayne Maxwell leads Mike Jones at Winton – TBG Image
