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Ducati 1-2 on the grid at Aragon and five Ducati in top ten

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2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship
Round 13 – Aragon

Qualifying Report

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) put in an absolute stunner at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon to set pole position, the Italian taking Ducati to the milestone of 50 premier class poles and beating a lap record that’s been sitting unthreatened since 2015. He also was the only one to do so, with three-and-a-half tenths in hand over team-mate Jack Miller. The Australian has closer company from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as the Championship leader took third, denied P2 by only hundredths.

2021 Aragon MotoGP front row
1 Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – 1:46.322
2 Jack Miller – Ducati Lenovo Team – Ducati – +0.366
3 Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – +0.397

Q1

Q1 saw a few surprises. First, the rider with the best record across the two events at MotorLand last season, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), didn’t manage to make an impression and ended the session in tenth – which corresponds to P20 on the grid. He’ll have a big mountain to climb on Sunday from his equal worst MotoGP qualifying.

At the opposite end of the Q1 timesheets, Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) moved through on top. The Frenchman said he’s struggling a little with arm pump but his 1:47.293 was the best of the session, beating Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by just 0.051. The South African had a more comfortable 0.164 in hand over fellow KTM rider Iker Lecuona (Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing) as the number 27 was the first to miss out.

Vinales will start from P19 on his Aprilia debut

In the first three splits Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) had been on the money, with two red sectors and then a yellow, still within hundredths, but the final sector saw him lose out and the number 12 will start from P19.

Q2

Bagnaia laid down a big benchmark initially, before Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) hit the top as he just edged out the Italian. Then came Quartararo, and this time the margin was a little bigger as he pulled out 0.151.

Fabio Quartararo has qualified third and starts from the front row for the 34th time (on what is his 46th race in MotoGP,
nearly 73.9%). Over his 33 previous front-row starts, he went on to finish on the podium 17 times (including seven of his eight premier class wins so far).

On the final runs though, the red sectors were flying in and again, it was Bagnaia first – and again by a sizeable chunk of time. He was a whopping 0.405 ahead as he crossed the line with two minutes left on the clock, laying down the gauntlet.

Francesco Bagnaia has qualified on pole position (setting a new all-time lap record at MotorLand) for the second time in MotoGP along with Qatar this year. He will be aiming to take his maiden win in the class.

The only red sectors then were coming from Quartararo, but ultimately no one could come close. And in the end, Miller snuck into second too – edging El Diablo out by just 0.031 as the Frenchman lost time later in the lap and Miller gained it.

Reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ended his final flyer with a frustrated gesture as he headed off into the Turn 1 runoff after crossing the line, taking P7 in the end, with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) following close behind him and making good gains to move onto the provisional front row. But that was scuppered by Miller’s late lunge, with the number 93 shuffled down to fourth.

Combined Times

A Ducati 1-2 sees Bagnaia and Miller spearhead the MotorLand grid, with Quartararo on the outside of the front row. Marc Marquez lines up at the head of Row 2, with top Independent Team rider Martin alongside him – just 0.005 ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) as the Silverstone podium finisher completes the second row.

The pole position for Francesco Bagnaia is the 50th pole position for Ducati in the premier class. In addition, this is the third pole position for Ducati at MotorLand Aragon along with Casey Stoner in 2010, when he took Ducati’s only win at the track, and Jorge Lorenzo in 2018.

Despite Mir’s remonstrations, the Suzuki rider took seventh and put in a solid qualifying, staying ahead of Silverstone polesitter Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) by 0.032. They have Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) for company as the reigning Moto2 World Champion impressed at MotorLand on both Friday and Saturday, taking his best premier class grid position yet after going straight through to Q2 for the first time.

Zarco was forced to settle for tenth in Q2 and wants a lot more on Sunday, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Binder for company on the fourth row.

The likes of Rins and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), podium finisher last year at MotorLand, will be looking to charge through early, and Mir will be keen to get the hammer down. The holeshot heroes of Borgo Panigale most definitely aim to stand in their way. Marc Marquez, meanwhile, made some statements with his FP4 pace and fourth on the grid is one better than where he qualified in Germany… where Sunday went pretty ok, as an understatement, for the eight-time World Champion.

Rider Quotes

Francesco Bagnaia – P1

“I’m thrilled because, for the first time, I was able to be fast here at the MotorLand Aragón. I felt comfortable riding my Desmosedici GP from the first sessions, and we didn’t have to make any setup changes. We just kept on lapping, improving steadily and, in FP4 this afternoon, we were also really competitive. In qualifying, I set an incredible lap time and knowing that I have beaten a record that has remained intact since 2015 gives me a lot of energy. Hopefully, we can continue this positive trend also in the race tomorrow.”

This is the first qualifying 1-2 for the two official Ducati riders since the 2018 Aragon GP with Jorge Lorenzo on pole ahead of Andrea Dovizioso.
Jack Miller – P2

“It’s a fantastic day for Ducati, and I’m delighted, both for Pecco and for me! We have made great steps forward, considering that last year we both couldn’t make it past Q1 and tomorrow, we’ll start first and second on the grid! I feel comfortable on the bike, and I’m happy with my pace, so I am ready for tomorrow’s race. I expect a very close race with many riders ready to fight for the victory, so we’ll have to try to adopt a smart strategy and manage well the tyres”.

Jack Miller has qualified second, equalling his best qualifying result of the season so far from Catalunya when he finished the race in third place, his most recent podium. He has finished on the podium in MotoGP at MotorLand once, in 2019 in third place.
Fabio Quartararo – P3

“Third position is fine. Our goal is always to be on the front row, so I‘m happy. And even if I wasn‘t happy about it, I would still be starting from this position. The small run-off on my penultimate lap didn‘t cost me anything. I can‘t make Sector 4 any faster, I‘m already pushing so much there. It‘s not just the bike, I‘ve always been struggling a little bit in the last corner. I was feeling good on the bike today, but it was so difficult to reach pole position. Let‘s see what we can achieve tomorrow. Our pace is great, maybe not the best, but I will do my best. I think it‘s important for us to keep working in a really good way, so we can achieve the best result possible. Anyway, it‘s great to see the fans on the grandstands again! I have been getting some great support from them. That‘s really good.”

Fabio Quartararo has qualified third and starts from the front row for the 34th time (on what is his 46th race in MotoGP,
nearly 73.9%). Over his 33 previous front-row starts, he went on to finish on the podium 17 times (including seven of his eight premier class wins so far).
Marc Marquez – P4

“Today we finished fourth, this was our main target so that’s good. In Free Practice 4 I felt really good on used tyres so that’s a positive and I was able to ride in a good way. Tomorrow let’s see what my condition is and then see if we can fight in the front group for the whole race. Our pace is there and we’re able to make the lap time but 23 laps around Aragon will be long. Let’s see what happens and we will try to take the most from whatever our situation is.”

Marc Marquez, who has won five times in MotoGP™️ at MotorLand, has qualified fourth for his best qualifying result since he was third at the 2020 Spanish GP (and he broke his right arm during the race).
Jorge Martín – P5

“I am happy with today. I was expecting to do something more from Q2, but to start from the second row is a great result regardless. The feeling is great, and I feel I am in great form.”

Jorge Martin has qualified fifth which is the fifth time over his nine MotoGP races he starts from the front two rows of the grid. He will be aiming to stand on the podium for the fourth time this season.
Aleix Espargaro – P6

“We did a good job again today. In qualifying we had the potential to do a bit better, but the second row is still a good position to start well and stay in the group. In the race, I expect to be able to stay with the fastest riders – that’s what the analysis of my pace says – although I don’t think that it will be the fastest rider who will win, but rather the one who uses the tyres the best in the final laps. From this point of view, I am comforted by the way the RS-GP performed during FP4.”

Joan Mir – P7

“I’m not too disappointed, in fact I’m quite happy, because in the end seventh position as a starting spot isn’t that bad. I did struggle a bit with the feeling during qualifying, especially with the very high temperatures, but overall my day was much better than yesterday and we made a huge step. Of course, there are still areas that we need to improve on, braking is one of those areas. But in general everything felt much better with the bike and I feel pretty good about the race, even though I’m sure it will be a big battle with many fast riders.”

Pol Espargaro – P8

“I wanted a bit more today and I think we had potential to be on the second row. I made two big, big mistakes during our time attack – at the last corner I went super wide and when it’s this tight you can’t make mistakes. In Silverstone my lap was perfect, here I made mistakes and I paid for them. The good point is that even with mistakes we are in eighth, we left time on track and that is disappointing but in the past this situation would have ended with a crash or in 12th and we are able to take eighth place now. It’s not where I want to be, but it puts us in a place to where we can show our potential better in the race.”

Pol Espargaro has qualified in eighth, equalling his second-best result of the season so far from France and Germany, and after Silverstone when he was on pole position.
Enea Bastianini – P9

“I’m happy because it was my first Q2 of the season and I felt pretty good all day. It was a pity I couldn’t close the second fastest lap, plus I struggled a bit with the front tyre and didn’t get the time I wanted. Anyway, it’s good to start from the third row, and we showed a good pace in free practices as well, so I think we can have a good race tomorrow.”

Johann Zarco – P10

“I am a bit disappointed; I made the same mistake that I had made at Silverstone, and I haven’t been able to make the most out of the new tyre: consequently losing time. Tomorrow I will start from the fourth row, I will give it my all to have a good race.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P11

“So, first of all, I’m so happy to reach the 200th GP of my career in the MotoGP Championship, it’s an amazing number and I’m really proud. I would like to thank my team, Idemitsu and all my sponsors because without their support I would not have reached this amazing number. Tomorrow is going to be a really important race for me, starting from P11 I will try my best, and push to fight for the top positions. This track suits me well, so hopefully we can celebrate after the race with all my team. Qualifying was really tight today. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and I was not able to make two laps on my second tyre as I missed the chequered flag by one or two seconds.”

Brad Binder – P12

“I’m happy we made it through to Q2 but unfortunately we didn’t have the tires to make the most of it. I tried my best to make a lap-time from a used one from Q1 but just didn’t have the grip. I struggled to do anything In Q2. Overall, we can be happy with the step we have made today. Now we’ll give our all tomorrow.”

After passing through Q1, Brad Binder has qualified in 12th (for the second successive time) as the highest-placed KTM rider. The best KTM result across the line at MotorLand is Pol Espargaro’s fourth last year at the Teruel GP.
 Danilo Petrucci – P13

“We had a decent Qualifying. I have a really good feeling on the bike, although it’s not perfect yet. The race tomorrow will be very tough, especially with regards to the choice of the rear tyre. I still struggle in acceleration, but we will try our best. I’m quite satisfied about today and we will try to further improve our feeling tomorrow morning.”

Álex Márquez – P14

“Day two here in Aragon and unfortunately in the morning we had a small crash just when we were going faster and better. I made a small mistake and crashed, so we were not able to go directly into Q2. Before that we suffered more than we expected, I was not very happy with the bike’s performance and didn’t feel very good, so tomorrow we need to think about it and change some things. We have some quite clear ideas and directions to follow to try and improve. In qualy I made another mistake as I didn’t put the hard front on and I think that cost us the chance to get into Q2. We were close but not enough, so I’m sorry to the team, but tomorrow we will try again and try harder!”

Cal Crutchlow – P15

“Obviously, yesterday was a good day. This morning was also good, but I missed out on the top 10 to go into Q2. That would have probably been a lot easier situation to be in. But overall we‘re happy. At the end of the day, I believe we have done a good job this weekend. Our pace has been fast, and for a test rider I think it has been respectable and not too bad at all. I didn‘t qualify well because I made a mistake in the last sector in the last corner. I was last in this sector actually, which is probably my best sector at this circuit normally. So, I‘m a little disappointed with that. But the whole Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team have been working great, and we look forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow.”

Iker Lecuona – P16

“I’m quite satisfied with today. We improved a lot. In the morning we worked very hard and have been pretty close to the top guys. Everybody was so close together, so it was difficult to make it directly to Q2. I have a very consistent pace for the race and I feel very strong. Plus, I did one of my best Qualifyings this season and overall in the MotoGP class. Finally, I have a good base in order to fight for the top tomorrow.”

Luca Marini – P17

“Compared to yesterday, we made a good step forward in the bike set-up. In FP4 I rode better and I was able to get closer to the group, although I would need one more day of work to be completely comfortable with the bike and to close the gap. In any case, we will continue to analyse the data to set up the electronics better and to be able to be consistent in long runs. I don’t think we will make any big changes in the warm up because it’s at a time when the track temperature is completely different to the race. We are still deciding which tyre to use tomorrow, most of the riders seem to be orientated with the hard front and the medium rear.”

 Miguel Oliveira – P18

“It was a strange qualifying after the good feeling we had in FP4 the new tyres didn’t make much difference. We had vibration and no grip so we need to understand and analyse the reason why. The race will be long tomorrow and we still have a very good chance to get some decent points.”

Maverick Vinales – P19

“I continued to improve and learn new things today about how the RS-GP works. Evidently, I need to change my style to take better advantage of this bike’s strong points, especially in braking and in acceleration, but overall I must say that the potential is excellent. I’m convinced that we’ll be able to take another step forward in the race tomorrow as well in terms of feeling. I still haven’t tested the Aprilia over race distance, so that will be helpful in gathering important information that we can use in Misano.”

Alex Rins – P20

“Starting from 20th position, especially at this track where I’m normally fast and where I’m very motivated, is quite a difficult thing. I just couldn’t get comfortable – I was making a lot of mistakes throughout the lap and I struggled with getting the bike stopped. Everything combined and it meant it was hard to set a clean fast lap. I’m sure tomorrow’s race will be very exciting with many fast riders, so it will be a fun one and I want to get into the group.”

Valentino Rossi – P21

“It is incredible how close all the riders are here at Aragon. Today I was better than yesterday with the bike and I improved my pace, which was not too bad. The time attack this morning was quite good because I was 0.6seconds off pole position, but I was in 15th place. My pace was also quite good in FP4, but in Q1 I was not able to make the best lap. I was not able to use my full potential because I was always in the wrong place, I had a lot of traffic and I know that we could have been better. The position on the grid is bad but we need to understand which tyres to use, because the choice is very open at the moment, and what pace we could have in the race tomorrow.”

Jake Dixon – P22

“Everything is coming a lot easier this weekend and the gap is a lot smaller, we were only 0.8 seconds off the top. Overall it’s really good, I’m happy and I’m massively enjoying the big bike. It’s a huge learning experience every time I go out. I didn’t do a time attack yesterday, as I did all of them today, and maybe it would have been nice to have done one so I had a reference today, but still really enjoyed Qualifying. It’s been a positive weekend so far and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. I’m hoping to feel good with the bike, have a good race and try to get into a battle for as long as I can.”

MotoGP Combined Qualifying Times

Pos Rider Bike Q Time/Gap
1 Francesco BAGNAIA DUCATI Q2 1m46.322
2 Jack MILLER DUCATI Q2 +0.366
3 Fabio QUARTARARO YAMAHA Q2 +0.397
4 Marc MARQUEZ HONDA Q2 +0.414
5 Jorge MARTIN DUCATI Q2 +0.556
6 Aleix ESPARGARO APRILIA Q2 +0.561
7 Joan MIR SUZUKI Q2 +0.840
8 Pol ESPARGARO HONDA Q2 +0.872
9 Enea BASTIANINI DUCATI Q2 +0.956
10 Johann ZARCO DUCATI Q2 +0.966
11 Takaaki NAKAGAMI HONDA Q2 +1.044
12 Brad BINDER KTM Q2 +1.610
13 Iker LECUONA KTM Q1 (*) 0.215
14 Alex MARQUEZ HONDA Q1 (*) 0.249
15 Cal CRUTCHLOW YAMAHA Q1 (*) 0.320
16 Danilo PETRUCCI KTM Q1 (*) 0.415
17 Luca MARINI DUCATI Q1 (*) 0.448
18 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM Q1 (*) 0.457
19 Maverick VIÑALES APRILIA Q1 (*) 0.471
20 Alex RINS SUZUKI Q1 (*) 0.497
21 Valentino ROSSI YAMAHA Q1 (*) 0.570
22 Jake DIXON YAMAHA Q1 (*) 0.853

2021 MotoGP Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha FRA 206
2 Joan MIR Suzuki SPA 141
3 Johann ZARCO Ducati FRA 137
4 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati ITA 136
5 Jack MILLER Ducati AUS 118
6 Brad BINDER KTM RSA 108
7 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 95
8 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM POR 85
9 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 83
10 Jorge MARTIN Ducati SPA 64
11 Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 64
12 Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 59
13 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN 58
14 Pol ESPARGARO Honda SPA 52
15 Alex MARQUEZ Honda SPA 49
16 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha ITA 40
17 Danilo PETRUCCI KTM ITA 36
18 Enea BASTIANINI Ducati ITA 35
19 Iker LECUONA KTM SPA 33
20 Luca MARINI Ducati ITA 28
21 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 28
22 Stefan BRADL Honda GER 11
23 Dani PEDROSA KTM SPA 6
24 Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia ITA 4
25 Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 3
26 Tito RABAT Ducati SPA 1
27 Cal CRUTCHLOW Yamaha GBR 0
28 Garrett GERLOFF Yamaha USA 0
29 Jake DIXON Yamaha GBR 0

Moto2

Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) has quite a record at MotorLand, and the Brit added a little more to it in the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon. Taking pole position by 0.279 makes it the fourth time he’s taken the honour at the track, the most anyone in Moto2 has managed at a single venue, and last year when he did it twice, he won twice. He’s also equalled 2014 Moto2 Champion Tito Rabat as they now share the most poles in the class: 16.

But there’s another record-breaker on the front row in the form of Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who starts second, with his key rival and rookie sensation team-mate Raul Fernandez set to line up P3.

2021 Aragon Moto2 front row:
1 Sam Lowes – Elf Marc VDS Racing Team – Kalex – 1:51.778
2 Remy Gardner – Red Bull KTM Ajo – Kalex – +0.279
3 Raul Fernandez – Red Bull KTM Ajo – Kalex – +0.306

Moto2 Combined Qualifying Times

Pos Rider Bike Q Time/Gap
1 Sam LOWES KALEX Q2 1m51.778
2 Remy GARDNER KALEX Q2 +0.279
3 Raul FERNANDEZ KALEX Q2 +0.306
4 Hector GARZO KALEX Q2 +0.329
5 Ai OGURA KALEX Q2 +0.370
6 Albert ARENAS BOSCOSCURO Q2 +0.392
7 Jorge NAVARRO BOSCOSCURO Q2 +0.419
8 Fabio DI GIANNANTONI   ITA KALEX Q2 +0.609
9 Marco BEZZECCHI KALEX Q2 +0.613
10 Marcos RAMIREZ KALEX Q2 +0.622
11 Aron CANET BOSCOSCURO Q2 +0.700
12 Augusto FERNANDEZ KALEX Q2 +0.716
13 Xavi VIERGE KALEX Q2 +0.750
14 Nicolò BULEGA KALEX Q2 +0.848
15 Marcel SCHROTTER KALEX Q2 +1.078
16 Thomas LUTHI KALEX Q2 +1.101
17 Fermín ALDEGUER BOSCOSCURO Q2 +1.169
18 Joe ROBERTS KALEX Q2 +1.532
19 Cameron BEAUBIER KALEX Q1 (*) 0.535
20 Simone CORSI MV AGUSTA Q1 (*) 0.581
21 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA KALEX Q1 (*) 0.597
22 Barry BALTUS NTS Q1 (*) 0.680
23 Tony ARBOLINO KALEX Q1 (*) 0.743
24 Stefano MANZI KALEX Q1 (*) 0.756
25 Hafizh SYAHRIN NTS Q1 (*) 0.865
26 Celestino VIETTI KALEX Q1 (*) 1.010
27 Somkiat CHANTRA KALEX Q1 (*) 1.015
28 Bo BENDSNEYDER KALEX Q1 (*) 1.167
29 John MCPHEE KALEX Q1 (*) 1.226
30 Manuel GONZALEZ MV AGUSTA Q1 (*) 1.340
31 Xavi CARDELUS KALEX Q1 (*) 2.228
32 Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI KALEX Q1 (*) 2.253

Moto2 Championship Points Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Remy GARDNER Kalex AUS 231
2 Raul FERNANDEZ Kalex SPA 187
3 Marco BEZZECCHI Kalex ITA 179
4 Sam LOWES Kalex GBR 127
5 Aron CANET Boscoscuro SPA 92
6 Augusto FERNANDEZ Kalex SPA 92
7 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Kalex ITA 91
8 Ai OGURA Kalex JPN 87
9 Marcel SCHROTTER Kalex GER 75
10 Xavi VIERGE Kalex SPA 67
11 Jorge NAVARRO Boscoscuro SPA 58
12 Joe ROBERTS Kalex USA 56
13 Celestino VIETTI Kalex ITA 46
14 Bo BENDSNEYDER Kalex NED 40
15 Somkiat CHANTRA Kalex THA 35
16 Tony ARBOLINO Kalex ITA 33
17 Cameron BEAUBIER Kalex USA 26
18 Albert ARENAS Boscoscuro SPA 23
19 Jake DIXON Kalex GBR 21
20 Stefano MANZI Kalex ITA 20
21 Marcos RAMIREZ Kalex SPA 16
22 Thomas LUTHI Kalex SWI 16
23 Hector GARZO Kalex SPA 12
24 Nicolò BULEGA Kalex ITA 12
25 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Kalex ITA 10
26 Hafizh SYAHRIN NTS MAL 8
27 Simone CORSI MV Agusta ITA 7
28 Fermín ALDEGUER Boscoscuro SPA 4
29 Alonso LOPEZ Boscoscuro SPA 4
30 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI MV Agusta ITA 3
31 Barry BALTUS NTS BEL 2
32 Yari MONTELLA Boscoscuro ITA 0
33 Tommaso MARCON MV Agusta ITA 0
34 Miquel PONS MV Agusta SPA 0
35 Fraser ROGERS NTS GBR 0
36 Taiga HADA / JPN 0
36 Taiga HADA Kalex JPN 0
37 Manuel GONZALEZ MV Agusta SPA 0
38 Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI Kalex POL 0
40 Keminth KUBO Kalex THA 0
40 Keminth KUBO Kalex THA 0

Moto3

Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) showed more good MotorLand form on Saturday at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, the South African pulling out two tenths to head the field and the grid. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) slots into second, to be exact 0.181 back, with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completing an all-Honda front row.

2021 Aragon Moto3 Front Row
1 Darryn Binder – Petronas Sprinta Racing – Honda – 1:57.724
2 Gabriel Rodrigo – Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3 – Honda – +0.181
3 Tatsuki Suzuki – SIC58 Squadra Corse – Honda – +0.252

Moto3 Combined Qualifying Times

Pos Rider Motorcycle Q Time/Gap
1 Darryn BINDER HONDA Q2 1m57.724
2 Gabriel RODRIGO HONDA Q2 +0.181
3 Tatsuki SUZUKI HONDA Q2 +0.252
4 Sergio GARCIA GASGAS Q2 +0.345
5 Andrea MIGNO HONDA Q2 +0.379
6 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM Q2 +0.590
7 Jeremy ALCOBA HONDA Q2 +0.638
8 Niccolò ANTONELLI KTM Q2 +0.657
9 Pedro ACOSTA KTM Q2 +0.710
10 Lorenzo FELLON HONDA Q2 +0.739
11 Filip SALAC KTM Q2 +0.751
12 Xavier ARTIGAS HONDA Q2 +0.766
13 Izan GUEVARA GASGAS Q2 +0.889
14 Dennis FOGGIA HONDA Q2 +0.922
15 Jaume MASIA KTM Q2 +1.106
16 Ayumu SASAKI KTM Q2 +1.169
17 Romano FENATI HUSQVARNA Q2 +1.229
18 Kaito TOBA KTM Q2 +1.315
19 Stefano NEPA KTM Q1 (*) 1.066
20 Carlos TATAY KTM Q1 (*) 1.110
21 Syarifuddin AZMAN HONDA Q1 (*) 1.380
22 Adrian FERNANDEZ HUSQVARNA Q1 (*) 1.396
23 Riccardo ROSSI KTM Q1 (*) 1.415
24 Maximilian KOFLER KTM Q1 (*) 1.586
25 Yuki KUNII HONDA Q1 (*) 1.592
26 Andi Farid IZDIHAR HONDA Q1 (*) 1.864
27 Ryusei YAMANAKA KTM Q1 (*) 2.177
28 Alberto SURRA HONDA Q1 (*) 2.416

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Pedro ACOSTA KTM SPA 201
2 Sergio GARCIA GASGAS SPA 155
3 Romano FENATI Husqvarna ITA 132
4 Dennis FOGGIA Honda ITA 118
5 Jaume MASIA KTM SPA 105
6 Darryn BINDER Honda RSA 95
7 Niccolò ANTONELLI KTM ITA 87
8 Ayumu SASAKI KTM JPN 71
9 Kaito TOBA KTM JPN 62
10 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda SPA 60
11 Gabriel RODRIGO Honda ARG 60
12 Izan GUEVARA GASGAS SPA 59
13 Andrea MIGNO Honda ITA 58
14 Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda JPN 54
15 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM TUR 53
16 John MCPHEE Honda GBR 53
17 Filip SALAC KTM CZE 46
18 Ryusei YAMANAKA KTM JPN 37
19 Xavier ARTIGAS Honda SPA 30
20 Jason DUPASQUIER KTM SWI 27
21 Riccardo ROSSI KTM ITA 23
22 Stefano NEPA KTM ITA 22
23 Carlos TATAY KTM SPA 20
24 Adrian FERNANDEZ Husqvarna SPA 16
25 Yuki KUNII Honda JPN 15
26 Maximilian KOFLER KTM AUT 10
27 Elia BARTOLINI KTM ITA 7
28 Andi Farid IZDIHAR Honda INA 3
29 Daniel HOLGADO KTM SPA 1
30 Lorenzo FELLON Honda FRA 0
31 Joel KELSO KTM AUS 0
32 Takuma MATSUYAMA Honda JPN 0
33 Alberto SURRA Honda ITA 0
34 David SALVADOR Honda SPA 0

2021  – Aragon Schedule  (AEDT)

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP, News

Riders reflect on tense first day of practice at Aragon

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2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship
Round 13 – Aragon

Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) topped Day 1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, the Ducati rider putting in a late lunge as the final few minutes decided the combined timesheets. He enjoys nearly three tenths of breathing space at the top by the end of play, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) next up at a venue he and his machine have enjoyed some good success at – carrying that momentum from Silverstone. Third went the way of Cal Crutchlow (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as the Brit pulled a seriously fast one to complete the top three on Day 1, and the number 35 was top Yamaha to boot. The top 17 were covered by nine tenths on Friday, and from second to 21st it’s just a single second.

FP1 Report

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) started the day with a statement. The eight-time World Champion laid down a 1:48.048, putting him a whopping 0.971 clear of reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). However, Mir did get within almost half a second on his final flying lap before that was cancelled, so the Suzuki rider seemed to have a little more in the locker initially…

Over a second off the number 93, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was a consistent presence near the top as he ended the session in third, with Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) taking fourth with a late move up the timesheets to within 0.013 of the Italian. Thick and fast thereafter came Miller, Aleix Espargaro, Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), with gaps ranging from 0.008 between the latter two and up to a maximum of 0.079 between Zarco and Quartararo. Close? Very. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) completed the top ten, 0.130 off Nakagami.

Maverick Vinales

On Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) watch, the Spaniard did 21 laps and got down to a 1:50.187 in his first official session with the Noale factory – about a second off Bagnaia in third.

Iker Lecuona (Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing) crashed early in the session, rider ok, before Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took a tumble in the latter stages at Turn 5, rider also ok.

FP2 Report

Fortunes changed as Marc Marquez grabbed more headlines but this time for a crash, with number 93 sliding out from behind Alex Marquez. Rider ok but clearly demonstrated his frustration, and he didn’t improve so ended up in P20 on the FP2 timesheets… just ahead of Joan Mir in a real reversal of FP1 for the two.

That was despite the number 93 still leading the combined times with five minutes to go too, but a final flurry of activity in the afternoon saw everything change. Aleix Espargaro and Lecuona charged, then Miller set down his serious marker to beat Marc Marquez’ FP1 best by a margin. Aleix Espargaro did that next, before Crutchlow put in a stunner to slot into second.

Quartararo pipped the FP1 marker next, with Bagnaia – who also crashed earlier in the session – then pipping the Frenchman too and slotting into fourth. Next came Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), before his team-mate Johann Zarco was the final mover and shaker. Almost literally, as the Frenchman leapt up more than ten places despite a serious front end moment on his final lap.

Combined Times

After the mad dash to the top, the combined timesheets saw everyone improve in the afternoon minus Marc Marquez. So Miller reigns with 0.273 in hand over Aleix Espargaro, with Crutchlow ending the day just 0.011 further back as top Yamaha, seriously impressing as his stand-in duty continues.

Zarco takes fourth ahead of Martin and Bagnaia – that’s four Ducatis in the top six as they show early promise of having moved forward a lot since our last visit to Aragon – and the margins remain tiny. Quartararo is P7, 0.002 off Bagnaia.

Eighth is where Marc Marquez’ FP1 chart-toppper fits in, 0.014 slower than El Diablo’s best from the afternoon, with Nakagami in ninth and Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) completing an impressive day in tenth overall – and therefore the last rider currently on to take a place in Q2.

That leaves Pol Espargaro out as it stands, down in P11, with last year’s Aragon winner Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in P12. The comes Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with a new chassis for the Austrian factory to explore too.

Mir ends the day in P21, Rossi in P19 and Viñales splits the two, although on a slightly different mission to those around him. The number 12 ended the day 1.142 off Miller after his first two official sessions with Aprilia.

Rider Quotes

Jack Miller – P1

“This is definitely the best way to start the weekend, and it’s a result that instils confidence. We found the track in good conditions right from the start. To be honest, I was surprised; given the rain that fell last night and the dust on the track, I expected a much more slippery asphalt, but the track was fast, and the grip allowed us to push immediately. This morning, I was able to have a good pace with used tyres, but I was not satisfied with it this afternoon. In FP2, we tried a couple of things that maybe took us in the wrong direction, but once we got back to the morning setup, I found my pace again. There are still some areas we can work on, but overall we are doing well. Now the goal is to continue to be fast. There are many competitive riders here at Aragón, so it will be important to improve consistently, to be among the protagonists in Sunday’s race”.

Jack Miller
Aleix Espargaro – P2

“I am extremely satisfied with today’s results, both on the time attack front and in terms of our work with used tyres in view of the race. If I’m honest, I still don’t have that perfect feeling. I’m able to be fast, but in terms of feeling, I think there is still room for improvement. This morning, the grip on the asphalt was very poor and then it gradually got better, but thinking ahead to Sunday, when rather high temperatures are expected, we will clearly need to work well on tyre choice and setup.”

Aleix Espargaro
Cal Crutchlow – P3

“I wasn‘t surprised by the lap I did after that first sector. I knew that first sector was already a good one for me, so I knew while I was going on with the rest of the lap that I would be okay. The first sector isn‘t always my best sector, and I took it easy because I was a bit scared of Turn 2 with the cold front tyre. But after that I was okay. It was nice to do that lap. I haven‘t pushed and done a lap like that all year, so it was about time to try and do one – and I did. We had a good day today. It was nice to be able to get up there on the timesheets, but I don‘t care about the position. Of course, we want to go fast, but it‘s more about giving information about how I feel with the bike. I tried a few new things today. As a test rider, that‘s my job. It was good to go fast and push the bike to my limit.”

Cal Crutchlow
Johann Zarco – P4

“I am happy with today and I have found the right feeling.  In FP2, I was able to put out a fast lap and I hope to continue on this path tomorrow.”

Jorge Martín – P5

“I didn’t hope to be competitive today, This is not one of the easiest tracks for the Ducati bike and it require a lot of physical effort. My goal is to be in the top ten tomorrow after FP3 and have a good qualifying session.”

Jorge Martín
Francesco Bagnaia – P6

“I’m pleased with the result obtained on this first day at the MotorLand Aragón. Last year, we Ducati riders struggled a lot on this track, but today we were able to be fast right from the start, which shows that we did a great job on our Desmosedici GP. We already have a good base setup, and in the two sessions today, we tried different tyres, except the hard front, and we were able to be competitive with all of them. I’m satisfied with the work done on this first day, and I’m confident that we can do well also in qualifying tomorrow”.

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“I feel great. FP1 was tough because I was trying some tyres and didn‘t really feel great on the bike. This afternoon with the hard-hard tyre combination was much better. I tried something on the second run that I didn‘t like, and then during the time attack I ran into some traffic. But I‘m happy because I know I could achieve a time that‘s close to today‘s top time. I‘m quite satisfied and I didn‘t expect to make those fast laps in the first run, so I‘m pretty confident.”

Fabio Quartararo
Marc Marquez – P8

“We had a perfect plan; a new tyre in FP1 and then work on the race in FP2 but with the crash we changed our plan a bit. It did give us a chance to test the hard rear so it hasn’t impacted our race weekend a lot. For sure when I fell I was frustrated because I was feeling under control. Yes, I was behind Alex with the slip stream and braking slightly later but I knew I was too fast and I tried to go wide, but then I hit the dirty part of the track and fell. That’s why I was frustrated with the fall. I only pushed for a couple of laps today to save some energy, but so far when I push for race pace the lap time has been coming.”

Marc Marquez got caught out while following his brother
Takaaki Nakagami – P9

“It was a good start for us today and we had a good feeling on the bike so far. The track condition this morning wasn’t great, but it improved in FP2 as there was more rubber on the track so everyone was able to improve their lap time. So I’m really looking forward to tomorrow in FP3 and the qualifying sessions, we need to stay in the top 10 in FP3 and be ready for Q2.”

Enea Bastianini – P10

“It was a positive day, where I started off on the right foot. I was able to enjoy FP1, but in FP2 I didn’t feel quite comfortable, because I didn’t feel a good grip with the front tyre. Fortunately, the time attack was good and I managed to set a good time that allowed me to save the day. I had a good pace, but as I said, in the afternoon the feeling wasn’t the same as in the morning.”

Pol Espargaro – P11

“Everyone is very close here today, from the top five down to me in 11th is only 0.1s so there’s nothing between us. One small mistake and you go from P4 to P11 which makes our laps in FP3 really important. We need to get a lap with no mistakes because spending just a tiny amount of time off throttle compared to another rider can see you in Q1 instead of Q2. But it’s been a good day, we were focusing on the race today and preparing for Qualifying so there’s speed to come. I’m happy with how it has gone so far and we’ve had a productive day working for the future.”

Alex Rins – P12

“In FP2 I focused on race set-up, I tried hard and medium tyres and I was checking everything ahead of race day. I didn’t do a proper time attack, even if I had some good laps. I feel comfortable so far and my main target now is to get into Q2 tomorrow. I will push in FP3 and see where I can end up. The team and I will analyse which will be the best tyre choice for the race, because at the moment they feel quite similar. But in the end it’s only Friday and we have time to get prepared for Sunday.”

Alex Rins
Álex Márquez – P14

“In the morning it was great and I was feeling quite good on the bike, and also in the afternoon. Today the most important thing for us was to try all the tyre options and also to see which set-up we should try to keep working with. So, we are quite clear on all those things and did a good job, just with the soft tyre at the end of FP2 I wasn’t able to push as I wanted, but despite that I’m happy and it’s a positive day. I feel great on the track, tomorrow I need to polish a lot of things and improve, but I’m feeling great on the bike, enjoying it and the most important thing is we keep working like this.”

Danilo Petrucci – P15

“Since this morning I got a very good feeling with the front and could brake a lot later. The weakest points for us are always the long straights, but there are plenty of nice corners here, so I really enjoyed riding my bike today. In FP2 I just couldn’t put everything together, but I think if I can manage this tomorrow morning, I might make the jump to Q2. I’m really happy about this, because we are working a lot on the bike and we are gaining a good feeling. We still miss a bit of maximum speed to be really on top, but I’m still satisfied.”

Luca Marini – P16

“I’m happy with today. We worked well with the team, but it’s a pity I made too many mistakes on my time attack with the new tyre. Aragon is not an easy track and, compared to last year, it was a surprise to see a Ducati so competitive on this track. For tomorrow we will focus on the details, the electronics, the suspension, and then we will try to do a good FP4 to know which tyre to use for the race. For the moment, all three compounds seem to work well.”

Iker Lecuona – P17

“It was definitely not an easy day. I had a huge crash in the third lap of FP1. I felt really good and confident with the bike, but the tyre was too cold, I pushed too much and went down. Then I restarted to work in order to gain my confidence again. I have to say a huge thanks to my guys because they repaired the bike pretty quick to be ready for FP2. We worked hard, I felt good in the second session and I’m not far off the top. We still need to improve for tomorrow’s Qualifying, as I think we can fight for the Q2.”

Iker Lecuona
Valentino Rossi – P19

“Today was difficult, which we expected a little bit because this track isn’t the best for the bike, nor for me. For some reason, I have always struggled here at Aragon. We will still give our maximum here and we will try our best to work better with the rear tyre. We will try to modify the settings a little bit to try to be gentler with it. In the end it wasn’t too bad though and we were better in the afternoon. I’m not the fastest but I’m only one second from pole position and that put me 19th. Normally here the grip improves each day and we will also try to be competitive tomorrow.”

Maverick Vinales – P20

“On this first day, we did what we had set out to do, which was to turn as many laps as possible. Although the sensations were good in any case, there is still the fact that I don’t have that much experience on the RS-GP yet and I need to increase my confidence. We were able to improve consistently, shaving off more than a second between the two sessions, so that is positive. We need to keep working this way. Considering the high level here in MotoGP, it’s the details and especially the rider’s confidence that make all the difference.”

Maverick Vinales
Joan Mir – P21

“Here there’s a huge difference between putting on a new tyre or a used one. I decided to do FP2 with the race tyre and not the soft one, because I wanted to understand the true feeling with the bike and to get prepared for the race. This afternoon it looks like I’m really far from the top, but in reality I’m not worried because I wasn’t pushing for a fast lap. Tomorrow the times will come down further and everything will get faster, so it will be interesting to see what we can do. I will be trying the soft tyres for sure, but of course you can’t just put that tyre on and go fast, it’s more important to work on the overall set-up.”

Joan Mir
Jake Dixon – P22

“It’s really good to experience being in MotoGP for a second time. The speed of the bike wasn’t such a shock this time and it was really enjoyable. I struggled a bit in FP1 just to find my reference points, as it’s obviously different to when I rode here in Moto2. In FP2 we found a good direction with both the bike and me, plus the team are all working great. We stayed with the same medium hard tyres throughout the whole day and I felt really good. When everyone else was on the same tyre as us, we weren’t too far off. Tomorrow we’ll put the soft on to try a time attack and I think we could be quite close to the guys at the front. I really enjoy this track and when you have a good feeling somewhere, you tend to do alright. The overall result doesn’t reflect on what we’ve done today, as we didn’t use a new tyre, and I feel like we can do a really good job tomorrow.”

MotoGP Combined Friday Practice Times

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 J.Miller DUCATI 1m47.613
2 A.Espargaro APRILIA +0.273
3 C.Crutchlow YAMAHA +0.284
4 J.Zarco DUCATI +0.375
5 J.Martin DUCATI +0.410
6 F.Bagnaia DUCATI +0.419
7 F.Quartararo YAMAHA +0.421
8 M.Marquez HONDA +0.435
9 T.Nakagami HONDA +0.444
10 E.Bastianini DUCATI +0.473
11 P.Espargaro HONDA +0.553
12 A.Rins SUZUKI +0.654
13 B.Binder KTM +0.665
14 A.Marquez HONDA +0.701
15 D.Petrucci KTM +0.738
16 L.Marini DUCATI +0.843
17 I.Lecuona KTM +0.913
18 M.Oliveira KTM +1.010
19 V.Rossi YAMAHA +1.036
20 M.Viñales APRILIA +1.142
21 J.Mir SUZUKI +1.273
22 J.Dixon YAMAHA +2.374

2021 MotoGP Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha FRA 206
2 Joan MIR Suzuki SPA 141
3 Johann ZARCO Ducati FRA 137
4 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati ITA 136
5 Jack MILLER Ducati AUS 118
6 Brad BINDER KTM RSA 108
7 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 95
8 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM POR 85
9 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 83
10 Jorge MARTIN Ducati SPA 64
11 Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 64
12 Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 59
13 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN 58
14 Pol ESPARGARO Honda SPA 52
15 Alex MARQUEZ Honda SPA 49
16 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha ITA 40
17 Danilo PETRUCCI KTM ITA 36
18 Enea BASTIANINI Ducati ITA 35
19 Iker LECUONA KTM SPA 33
20 Luca MARINI Ducati ITA 28
21 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 28
22 Stefan BRADL Honda GER 11
23 Dani PEDROSA KTM SPA 6
24 Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia ITA 4
25 Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 3
26 Tito RABAT Ducati SPA 1
27 Cal CRUTCHLOW Yamaha GBR 0
28 Garrett GERLOFF Yamaha USA 0
29 Jake DIXON Yamaha GBR 0

Moto2

Moto2 Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ends Day 1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon as the fastest man in the intermediate class, but the Spaniard had some seriously close company as Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) got within just 0.007. Completing the top three it was rookie sensation Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) despite recent surgery for a small metacarpal fracture, but he had even closer company as Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) was just 0.003 in further arrears in fourth.

Moto2 Combined Friday Practice

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 R.Gardner KALEX 1m52.743
2 A.Fernandez KALEX +0.007
3 R.Fernandez KALEX +0.102
4 F.Di Giannanto KALEX +0.105
5 S.Lowes KALEX +0.228
6 A.Arenas BOSCOSCURO +0.280
7 M.Bezzecchi KALEX +0.283
8 N.Bulega KALEX +0.300
9 J.Navarro BOSCOSCURO +0.357
10 F.Aldeguer BOSCOSCURO +0.458
11 M.Ramirez KALEX +0.604
12 A.Canet BOSCOSCURO +0.618
13 H.Garzo KALEX +0.640
14 M.Schrotter KALEX +0.709
15 B.Bendsneyde KALEX +0.830
16 S.Corsi MV AGUSTA +0.927
17 A.Ogura KALEX +0.944
18 X.Vierge KALEX +1.090
19 J.Roberts KALEX +1.135
20 M.Gonzalez MV AGUSTA +1.217
21 S.Manzi KALEX +1.252
22 L.Dalla Porta  KALEX +1.316
23 S.Chantra KALEX +1.483
24 T.Luthi KALEX +1.498
25 C.Vietti KALEX +1.502
26 C.Beaubier KALEX +1.508
27 T.Arbolino KALEX +1.521
28 H.Syahrin NTS 1.657
29 B.Baltus NTS +1.950
30 X.Cardelus KALEX +2.186
31 J.Mcphee KALEX +2.531
32 P.Biesiekirski KALEX +2.619

Moto2 Championship Points Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Remy GARDNER Kalex AUS 231
2 Raul FERNANDEZ Kalex SPA 187
3 Marco BEZZECCHI Kalex ITA 179
4 Sam LOWES Kalex GBR 127
5 Aron CANET Boscoscuro SPA 92
6 Augusto FERNANDEZ Kalex SPA 92
7 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Kalex ITA 91
8 Ai OGURA Kalex JPN 87
9 Marcel SCHROTTER Kalex GER 75
10 Xavi VIERGE Kalex SPA 67
11 Jorge NAVARRO Boscoscuro SPA 58
12 Joe ROBERTS Kalex USA 56
13 Celestino VIETTI Kalex ITA 46
14 Bo BENDSNEYDER Kalex NED 40
15 Somkiat CHANTRA Kalex THA 35
16 Tony ARBOLINO Kalex ITA 33
17 Cameron BEAUBIER Kalex USA 26
18 Albert ARENAS Boscoscuro SPA 23
19 Jake DIXON Kalex GBR 21
20 Stefano MANZI Kalex ITA 20
21 Marcos RAMIREZ Kalex SPA 16
22 Thomas LUTHI Kalex SWI 16
23 Hector GARZO Kalex SPA 12
24 Nicolò BULEGA Kalex ITA 12
25 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Kalex ITA 10
26 Hafizh SYAHRIN NTS MAL 8
27 Simone CORSI MV Agusta ITA 7
28 Fermín ALDEGUER Boscoscuro SPA 4
29 Alonso LOPEZ Boscoscuro SPA 4
30 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI MV Agusta ITA 3
31 Barry BALTUS NTS BEL 2
32 Yari MONTELLA Boscoscuro ITA 0
33 Tommaso MARCON MV Agusta ITA 0
34 Miquel PONS MV Agusta SPA 0
35 Fraser ROGERS NTS GBR 0
36 Taiga HADA / JPN 0
36 Taiga HADA Kalex JPN 0
37 Manuel GONZALEZ MV Agusta SPA 0
38 Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI Kalex POL 0
40 Keminth KUBO Kalex THA 0
40 Keminth KUBO Kalex THA 0

Moto3

Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) struck late on Day 1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon to take over on top, the Turk’s advantage just half a tenth after a close first day on the Moto3 time-sheets. Rookie Izan Guevara’s (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) incredible form at MotorLand continued in second, this time in the Grand Prix paddock, with Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completing a top three split by just 0.076. Even more incredibly, the top 21 are all covered by just 0.999 after Day 1 at MotorLand.

Moto3 Combined Friday Practice

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 D.Öncü KTM 1m58.929
2 I.Guevara GASGAS +0.045
3 D.Binder HONDA +0.076
4 S.Garcia GASGAS +0.081
5 J.Masia KTM +0.104
6 G.Rodrigo HONDA +0.202
7 F.Salac KTM +0.227
8 N.Antonelli KTM +0.289
9 R.Fenati HUSQVARNA +0.306
10 L.Fellon HONDA +0.343
11 A.Fernandez HUSQVARNA +0.388
12 D.Foggia HONDA +0.395
13 A.Sasaki KTM +0.435
14 P.Acosta KTM +0.439
15 T.Suzuki HONDA +0.466
16 A.Migno HONDA +0.552
17 Y.Kunii HONDA +0.604
18 X.Artigas HONDA +0.704
19 R.Yamanaka KTM +0.859
20 C.Tatay KTM +0.896
21 J.Alcoba HONDA +0.999
22 S.Nepa KTM +1.065
23 K.Toba KTM +1.178
24 S.Azman HONDA +1.556
25 M.Kofler KTM +1.586
26 R.Rossi KTM +1.716
27 A.Izdihar HONDA +1.749
28 A.Surra HONDA +1.907

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Pedro ACOSTA KTM SPA 201
2 Sergio GARCIA GASGAS SPA 155
3 Romano FENATI Husqvarna ITA 132
4 Dennis FOGGIA Honda ITA 118
5 Jaume MASIA KTM SPA 105
6 Darryn BINDER Honda RSA 95
7 Niccolò ANTONELLI KTM ITA 87
8 Ayumu SASAKI KTM JPN 71
9 Kaito TOBA KTM JPN 62
10 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda SPA 60
11 Gabriel RODRIGO Honda ARG 60
12 Izan GUEVARA GASGAS SPA 59
13 Andrea MIGNO Honda ITA 58
14 Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda JPN 54
15 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM TUR 53
16 John MCPHEE Honda GBR 53
17 Filip SALAC KTM CZE 46
18 Ryusei YAMANAKA KTM JPN 37
19 Xavier ARTIGAS Honda SPA 30
20 Jason DUPASQUIER KTM SWI 27
21 Riccardo ROSSI KTM ITA 23
22 Stefano NEPA KTM ITA 22
23 Carlos TATAY KTM SPA 20
24 Adrian FERNANDEZ Husqvarna SPA 16
25 Yuki KUNII Honda JPN 15
26 Maximilian KOFLER KTM AUT 10
27 Elia BARTOLINI KTM ITA 7
28 Andi Farid IZDIHAR Honda INA 3
29 Daniel HOLGADO KTM SPA 1
30 Lorenzo FELLON Honda FRA 0
31 Joel KELSO KTM AUS 0
32 Takuma MATSUYAMA Honda JPN 0
33 Alberto SURRA Honda ITA 0
34 David SALVADOR Honda SPA 0

2021  – Aragon Schedule  (AEDT)

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Will Marquez bounce back at Aragon? Or just bounce…?

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2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship
Round 13 – Aragon

Following a weekend break after the British Grand Prix, the MotoGP paddock heads to the Teruel province in Spain for the 13th round of the 2021 world championship this weekend, the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragón at Motorland Aragón.

Part of the autonomous community of Aragón, the Teruel province is noted for its harsh climate, with a wide daily variation of temperatures during the day. With its exposed position, Motorland Aragón can experience quite cool temperatures in the mornings, so a range of tyres to cover these fluctuations of temperature is imperative. There’s plenty to talk about after the British GP, and the FIM MotoGP World Championship now saddles up to head back south to Spain for an anti-clockwise circuit… and that usually means one thing: Marc Marquez will be on fire.  The 5.077 km circuit has an interesting and complex layout featuring 10 left- and 7 right-hand corners, along with a longest straight measuring 968 metres.

Marquez took out Jorge Martin at Silverstone

The eight-time World Champion didn’t cover himself with glory at Silverstone after an early crash that collected Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), but there was no harm done for either party and the number 93 was quick to apologise. But momentum didn’t mean much for Marc Marquez when the paddock arrived in Germany, another anti-clockwise venue he’s made absolutely his own, with the Honda rider putting his foot down to take that history-making win and get back on the top step regardless.  The Aragon GP has been a happy hunting ground with five wins and five pole positions since joining the Repsol Honda Team and the circuit is just a two-hour journey from his home of Cervera.

Marc Marquez

“Aragon is always a track that I enjoy racing at and we have had strong results there in the past. But we can’t rely on what we did in the past, in 2021 we arrive there in a different situation so have to approach the weekend in the correct way, see our level and see what our opponents are doing. It’s great to be back racing at MotorLand after missing the rounds in 2020 and hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans. In recent races we have been closer to the front so the aim is to continue this and see what’s possible on Sunday.”

MotoGP Rnd Aragon Marquez Celebrate
Marquez celebrates victory at Aragon in 2019

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was ill on race day at Silverstone but team-mate Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) had one of his best Sundays of the year so far, and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) most definitely had his best weekend on the whole since joining Honda. Starting from pole, leading for a good while and then coming home in fifth, it was a big step forward for the number 44. And at Aragon?

Pol Espargaro

“I am very excited to be riding in Aragon, the weekend in Silverstone was a great one for us. In the past the Honda has been the bike I was trying to beat in Aragon and now I am riding it, so I am very interested to see what we can do together this weekend. We are arriving in a good moment after the strong Silverstone weekend and I am excited to go racing again. Let’s keep working to finish the season strongly and keep learning.”

That’s also true of Aprilia. After a season of knocking on the door week-in, week-out, Silverstone finally saw that milestone reached: a first MotoGP era podium. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) has impressed for much of the year but his British GP – and last lap battle to hold off Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) – were another impressive performance to underline some serious progress. He also took his previous premier class podium at Aragon, as well as more top finishes as the number 41 always seems to shine at the venue. And this weekend, there’s a headline in the other side of the garage too: Maverick Viñales.

What can Maverick Viñales’ do on the Aprilia?

After a rollercoaster few weeks, the Spaniard returns in black and red to take on a new challenge on the RS-GP, debuting early after already having signed for the Noale factory to race there in 2022. And on his test debut at Misano, the laptimes made for very exciting reading. Viñales already has podiums with two manufacturers, and wins… can he start adding more with Aprilia? And where will he slot back into the pack on his RS-GP debut?

Yamaha, meanwhile, remain on the front foot in the title fight. A stunning race from Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) at Silverstone as issues hit for his closest rivals sees him coming into the weekend a whopping 65 points clear, although the Alcañiz venue has never been the best for Yamaha. That may change who stands on the top step, but it can’t change who leads the standings. Quartararo could sit out the next two weekends and still lead the Championship by a minimum of 15 points, so he has some room to ride clever and focus on damage limitation if he needs to. That said, he himself pointed out the huge step forward taken by the Iwata marque in Austria, another track that’s traditionally tougher, so can he flip the form book? Former teammate Franco Morbidelli did do that on one visit to MotorLand last year too…

Cal Crutchlow returns to partner Quartararo at Monster Energy Yamaha and will be looking to keep making progress and taking data, and Jake Dixon will also get another ride out on the Petronas Yamaha SRT machine. After a solid debut at Silverstone, can he build on that?

Jake Dixon

“I’m really looking forward to Aragon this weekend and to have another chance to ride the Yamaha YZR-M1 again is just awesome. It has made me really happy. I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to ride the bike again and to see what I can do. I want to see how I can improve throughout the weekend again and try to close that gap to the front guys. Obviously they are the best in the world but I have a great team around me and I think it’s possible. I feel like I’m working well with the bike and I think we’ll take another step closer towards the front this weekend.”

His distinguished team-mate, Valentino Rossi, also made a good start and after having gone straight to Q2 at Silverstone before late race grip issues saw him drop down the order. Can the Doctor keep that form rolling on his last visit to MotorLand?

Valentino Rossi

“I felt good with the bike throughout all of the BritishGP, especially as in the free practices we had one of the best pace of our season. We also had a good start to the race, where I was in a place that I could fight with the fastest riders. I am hopeful that we can feel the same this weekend, but Aragon can be really demanding in terms of grip level during the whole race – especially on the rear. Although I have been on the podium a few times, I have never won there. The layout of the track is good and it’s fast, but riding it is tricky; you have to be especially smooth in this circuit to be strong at the end of the race. We will see what happens though and I’m looking forward to being back there after missing it last year.”

MotoGP Rnd Aragon QP Rossi
Valentino Rossi

Reigning World Champion Joan Mir ran out of steam at Silverstone – for steam, read grip – later in the British GP and came home in ninth, staying ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 Factory Racing) by a whisker. But with Quartararo winning, that ninth place finish has left hium 65-points from the top – and he’ll be gunning hard to take the opportunity at MotorLand to hit back.

Team-mate Alex Rins, meanwhile, had no such trouble. The 2019 winner couldn’t quite stage a repeat but he did take his first podium of the season at Silverstone in second, and guess who won last year on our first visit to MotorLand? The number 42 was sublime and he’ll be heading in on that injection of confidence. In fact, Suzuki will likely be feeling pretty confident all round at Aragon, as they’re the only two riders who were on the podium in both visits to the track last season.

And what of Ducati? At Silverstone it was a more muted run for the Borgo Panigale factory. Miller fought for the podium, Martin fell victim to Marc Marquez’ crash, and both Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a tougher race to fade to outside the top ten. Bagnaia conceded it made a chance of the crown an even longer shot too, but until grip trouble hit he’d been fast as ever. And Miller got back in the mix. Can they do so again at a track that’s been traditionally tougher hunting ground? And can Zarco move forward to the postcode he was in for much of the first half of the season?

Last year, we saw KTM have a more difficult first weekend at Aragon followed by a big step forward – with the top Austrian machine beating the top Ducati too, so there’s reason to expect them to fight for more top finishes. At Silverstone Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) put on another stunning Sunday charge to go from 12th to 6th too – and complete the statistic of six factories in the top six for the first time since 1972 – and there were also standouts from Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) and Petrucci as both stormed into the top ten. Will experience from last season help to maintain that now? Binder and Lecuona have now raced at MotorLand twice in MotoGP, which is something that couldn’t be said of Silverstone.

Danilo Petrucci

“I can’t wait and I’m very curious to try my bike in another new place, as I didn’t ride in Aragón with the KTM RC16 yet. Last time out in Silverstone we had a pretty good result, a race that was really fun and especially a very good feeling with the bike, so I hope to maintain this in Aragón and finish in the top 10 once again.”

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will be looking for a lot more from MotorLand too. The Portuguese rider was on an absolute charge earlier this season, but since Assen he’s not scored points. With proven talent, speed and smarts, the Portuguese rider will more definitely reappear at the front, but will it be sooner rather than a little later?

2021 MotoGP Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha FRA 206
2 Joan MIR Suzuki SPA 141
3 Johann ZARCO Ducati FRA 137
4 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati ITA 136
5 Jack MILLER Ducati AUS 118
6 Brad BINDER KTM RSA 108
7 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 95
8 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM POR 85
9 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 83
10 Jorge MARTIN Ducati SPA 64
11 Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 64
12 Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 59
13 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN 58
14 Pol ESPARGARO Honda SPA 52
15 Alex MARQUEZ Honda SPA 49
16 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha ITA 40
17 Danilo PETRUCCI KTM ITA 36
18 Enea BASTIANINI Ducati ITA 35
19 Iker LECUONA KTM SPA 33
20 Luca MARINI Ducati ITA 28
21 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 28
22 Stefan BRADL Honda GER 11
23 Dani PEDROSA KTM SPA 6
24 Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia ITA 4
25 Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 3
26 Tito RABAT Ducati SPA 1
27 Cal CRUTCHLOW Yamaha GBR 0
28 Garrett GERLOFF Yamaha USA 0
29 Jake DIXON Yamaha GBR 0

Moto2

After another statement win at Silverstone – this one from Championship leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – there’s plenty to talk about heading into the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon. Gardner’s lead is now 44 points after teammate and closest challenger Raul Fernandez crashed out at Silverstone, but we’re back on the Spaniard’s home turf…

Gardner has a solid recent record at MotorLand though, and with similar positions at the track last year to the form he showed at the 2020 British GP… which turned out pretty well as 2021 Gardner took it on. Raul Fernandez will be fired up to hit back though, and on previous occasions where that’s been true, the rookie sensation has been sensational. When the chips are down, the number 25 finds a way to reply. And he’ll have to start doing so soon given his deficit to the top.

Remy Gardner takes a 44-point lead to Aragon

Both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders may, however, have a lot on their plates from Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team). The Brit was the headline act at Aragon last year, taking both wins. It was no flash in the pan either, with another win at MotorLand on his CV from 2016 and a podium in 2015. The Brit has been on solid form lately, and although not quite getting back to his dominant start of the season, Aragon would seem a good place to stage a comeback to the top step.

Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46), meanwhile, bounced back well at Silverstone from a disappointing Austrian GP, up at the front and pushing Gardner all the way. On paper he’s not got the best record at Aragon, with one Moto3™ podium, but last year he did nearly add a victory until a heartbreaker of a late crash. Late meaning final lap late. That will be a bad memory, but his speed prior to it a definite positive one… will he have similar in the locker this season?

Just behind the top four, it’s tighter than ever in the fight for fifth. Aron Canet (Kipin Energy Aspar Team) holds it for now, but only on finishing positions as Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) is equal on points. Canet missed the events last year through injury but took a Moto3 win the year before, and the Boscoscuro chassis has a good record at MotorLand. Augusto Fernandez will want a step forward from his record at the track though. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) took a podium last year and is only 1 point behind the two, too… can he leapfrog back into the top five?

Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) is also now a serious threat to the top five. The Japanese rookie continues impressing and he has good memories of MotorLand from his first Grand Prix podium in 2019 in Moto3. And he’s only five points off Canet…

There will also be a debut to watch out for too. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) will make his first appearance in Moto2 at the Aragon GP, moving up to replace Jake Dixon as Dixon remains on the MotoGP machine. What can McPhee do on a bigger bike?

Moto2 Championship Points Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Remy GARDNER Kalex AUS 231
2 Raul FERNANDEZ Kalex SPA 187
3 Marco BEZZECCHI Kalex ITA 179
4 Sam LOWES Kalex GBR 127
5 Aron CANET Boscoscuro SPA 92
6 Augusto FERNANDEZ Kalex SPA 92
7 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Kalex ITA 91
8 Ai OGURA Kalex JPN 87
9 Marcel SCHROTTER Kalex GER 75
10 Xavi VIERGE Kalex SPA 67
11 Jorge NAVARRO Boscoscuro SPA 58
12 Joe ROBERTS Kalex USA 56
13 Celestino VIETTI Kalex ITA 46
14 Bo BENDSNEYDER Kalex NED 40
15 Somkiat CHANTRA Kalex THA 35
16 Tony ARBOLINO Kalex ITA 33
17 Cameron BEAUBIER Kalex USA 26
18 Albert ARENAS Boscoscuro SPA 23
19 Jake DIXON Kalex GBR 21
20 Stefano MANZI Kalex ITA 20
21 Marcos RAMIREZ Kalex SPA 16
22 Thomas LUTHI Kalex SWI 16
23 Hector GARZO Kalex SPA 12
24 Nicolò BULEGA Kalex ITA 12
25 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Kalex ITA 10
26 Hafizh SYAHRIN NTS MAL 8
27 Simone CORSI MV Agusta ITA 7
28 Fermín ALDEGUER Boscoscuro SPA 4
29 Alonso LOPEZ Boscoscuro SPA 4
30 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI MV Agusta ITA 3
31 Barry BALTUS NTS BEL 2
32 Yari MONTELLA Boscoscuro ITA 0
33 Tommaso MARCON MV Agusta ITA 0
34 Miquel PONS MV Agusta SPA 0
35 Fraser ROGERS NTS GBR 0
36 Taiga HADA / JPN 0
36 Taiga HADA Kalex JPN 0
37 Manuel GONZALEZ MV Agusta SPA 0
38 Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI Kalex POL 0
40 Keminth KUBO Kalex THA 0
40 Keminth KUBO Kalex THA 0

Moto3

The British Grand Prix belonged to one rider in Moto3: Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team). The Italian topped every single session, took a second pole in as many weekends and then pulled clear by the finish line to make a serious statement on a tough weekend for the two riders head of him in standings: Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team). But now it’s time to saddle up for the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragon, and that’s home, known turf for the two title fight protagonists so far. So is it a chance for another all-change at the top?

Silverstone seemed a venue likely to prove tougher for rookie sensation Acosta, and so it was. But now we head to MotorLand and his rivals will be especially happy to return to a track where the number 37 has already been on the top step – twice – in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup last season. And having taken some points after an almighty duel with Garcia at Silverstone, the pressure still remains off for Acosta as his lead actually grew to 46 points.

Garcia will be gunning for some revenge after said duel. The number 11 suffered a late shuffle back to just outside the points at Silverstone, and the more familiar turf of Aragon will see him back on his mission to win, win and keep winning… or at least cut the gap as a minimum. Can he showcase the same step forward at Aragon as he has at most venues this season? His teammate could be one to watch too…

After qualifying for the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship races at the track last season, Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) found himself outside the top twenty on the grid despite fighting for the title – and as a rookie in the class too. But once the lights went out, the Spaniard fought through the field not once, not twice, but three times in a row to take a goosebumps-inducing three victories from three. Coming into MotorLand off the back of his best Moto3 finish so far with a fourth at Silverstone, and two fastest laps in a row – new records no less – Guevara will likely be thinking big for Aragon.

The same can probably be said of the rider who just denied Guevara’s rookie podium aspirations last time out, although in a different way: Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing). The Italian was the top Honda once again, and on the rostrum once again, taking some solid points. And with his Leopard machine always impressing on top speed, he’ll be rubbing his hands to take on that long, long back straight at MotorLand and try and take some points back from Fenati as his compatriot pulls clear in the fight for third overall. Fenati is in serious form though, and took a fourth last year.

The fast faces from last season will be gunning for glory too. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took two wins and will be looking to get back in the fight for the podium, and Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing), Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) all stood on the box at Aragon last year.

Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) will be an interesting presence too, with the Italian saying his incredible escape with Fenati at Silverstone helped him fight through the pain barrier. Can he do that again? The likes of Deniz Öncü (Red Bull TKM Tech3), who took eighth on new turf at Silverstone, and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), back in the top five in the British GP, will want to play a key role at Aragon too.

There’s also Syarifuddin Azman (Petronas Sprinta Racing) making his Moto3 debut to keep an eye on, the Malaysian already a race winner in the 2021 FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship. He’s in for John McPhee, who in turn heads for Moto2.

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

Pos Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Pedro ACOSTA KTM SPA 201
2 Sergio GARCIA GASGAS SPA 155
3 Romano FENATI Husqvarna ITA 132
4 Dennis FOGGIA Honda ITA 118
5 Jaume MASIA KTM SPA 105
6 Darryn BINDER Honda RSA 95
7 Niccolò ANTONELLI KTM ITA 87
8 Ayumu SASAKI KTM JPN 71
9 Kaito TOBA KTM JPN 62
10 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda SPA 60
11 Gabriel RODRIGO Honda ARG 60
12 Izan GUEVARA GASGAS SPA 59
13 Andrea MIGNO Honda ITA 58
14 Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda JPN 54
15 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM TUR 53
16 John MCPHEE Honda GBR 53
17 Filip SALAC KTM CZE 46
18 Ryusei YAMANAKA KTM JPN 37
19 Xavier ARTIGAS Honda SPA 30
20 Jason DUPASQUIER KTM SWI 27
21 Riccardo ROSSI KTM ITA 23
22 Stefano NEPA KTM ITA 22
23 Carlos TATAY KTM SPA 20
24 Adrian FERNANDEZ Husqvarna SPA 16
25 Yuki KUNII Honda JPN 15
26 Maximilian KOFLER KTM AUT 10
27 Elia BARTOLINI KTM ITA 7
28 Andi Farid IZDIHAR Honda INA 3
29 Daniel HOLGADO KTM SPA 1
30 Lorenzo FELLON Honda FRA 0
31 Joel KELSO KTM AUS 0
32 Takuma MATSUYAMA Honda JPN 0
33 Alberto SURRA Honda ITA 0
34 David SALVADOR Honda SPA 0

2021  – Aragon Schedule  (AEDT)

Source: MCNews.com.au

News, WSBK

Redding strikes back to win R2 at Aragon

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2021 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round One – Aragon – Sunday

After a starting grid characterised by frenetic decisions between the intermediate or rain tyre, pole man Jonathan Rea took the race lead straight away ahead of team-mate Alex Lowes  in Sunday’s Superpole race. Behind them were Ducati rider Chaz Davies and Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff, battling it out for third.

The leading four riders decided to race on intermediate tyres, whereas the first rider on rain tyres was Scott Redding in fifth.

During the race, Michael Van der Mark made a comeback after starting from the fifteenth spot on the grid, he gambled on slicks and moved up to fifth place behind Davies. However, his performance was not quite enough to finish on the podium and, at the end of the ten lap sprint race, Jonathan Rea finished 3.5-seconds ahead of Lowes, while Gerloff rounded out the podium a further two-seconds behind.

Superpole Race Podium

WorldSBK SuperPole Race

Pos Rider Bike Gap Speed/Km/h
1 J.  Rea Kawasaki / 308,6
2 A. Lowes Kawasaki +3.506 312,1
3 G. Gerloff Yamaha +5.051 311,2
4 C. Davies Ducati +8.908 311,2
5 M. Van Der Mark BMW +10.175 317,6
6 T. Razgatlioglu Yamaha +29.342 314,0
7 A. Bautista Honda +29.565 318,6
8 S. Redding Ducati +33.361 316,7
9 K. Nozane Yamaha +33.675 309,5
10 L.  Haslam Honda +34.771 313,0
11 M. Rinaldi Ducati +36.451 313,0
12 A. Locatelli Yamaha +38.709 309,5
13 J.  Folger BMW +41.188 310,3
14 T. Rabat Ducati +51.975 317,6
15 I.  Vinales Kawasaki +52.644 305,9
16 E. Laverty BMW +52.912 315,8
17 A. Bassani Ducati +1m07.329 315,8
18 L.  Mercado Honda +1m15.604 305,9
19 C. Ponsson Yamaha +1m16.459 306,8
20 L.  Cresson Kawasaki +1m17.105 302,5
Not Classified
RET 66 T. Sykes BMW 3 Laps 309,5
RET 76 S. Cavalieri Kawasaki 7 Laps 300,0
RET 44 L.  Mahias Kawasaki 8 Laps 301,7

WorldSBK Race Two

The drama continued in  the afternoon after a tyre gamble by Scott Redding saw the Brit respond to earlier disappointment and claim a sensational victory in Race Two, coming home almost ten seconds clear of his rivals.

World Superbike Aragon Race Two

An earlier rain shower meant the track was wet but drying throughout the day and, although there was a drying line appearing, most riders decided to race with the immediate tyres. As the track dried further, Redding was able to make his slick tyres work to move into the front and he did not look back, while Jonathan Rea came home in second ahead of teammate Alex Lowes.

The intermediate runners started off the race in the strongest position with six-time World Champion Rea and team-mate Lowes with American star Garrett Gerloff. Gerloff was able to make the move on Lowes for second place.

He soon had his eyes on Rea but it ended with Gerloff coming off his bike and Rea taking a trip through the gravel at Turn 14; an incident that cost both riders places and was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK stewards, and Gerloff given a Long Lap Penalty; the first rider in WorldSBK to be given such a penalty.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Lowes, Van der Mark, Rea, Redding

The incident allowed Lowes, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark to jump ahead of Rea, with Razgatlioglu challenging Lowes for the lead of the race before van der Mark got by his former teammate to give the BMW M 1000 RR its first lap in the lead.

Michael Van der Mark leads Rea and Redding

The mixed conditions meant different strategies on the grid with tyre selection with only Scott Redding and Jonas Folger starting from the grid, although Michael Ruben Rinaldi made the switch to slicks before the race started with the Italian starting from the pit lane.

While the intermediate runners had the advantage in the early stages of the races, the track soon came into favour for the slick-shod bikes, with Redding passing Razgatlioglu for the lead and soon pulling out a large gap to the chasing pack to take his first win of the 2021 season.

While Redding extended his lead out in front, the battle for second was hotting up between van der Mark, Rea, Lowes, Razgatlioglu and Tom Sykes, who managed his intermediate tyres to latch onto the battle for second place. Rea had briefly got ahead of van der Mark at the final corner, but the Dutchman was able to fight back, although Rea was able to make the same move work on Lap 10 until Turn 1 on the next lap, with van der Mark fighting back.

Michael Van der Mark, Toprak Razgatlioglu

Sykes was able to pass Razgatlioglu on Lap 12 of 18 to move into fifth place as BMW searched for a strong result on their first weekend with the new BMW M 1000 RR, although the move cost both riders time. On Lap 13, Rea was able to make a move on van der Mark and make it stick to secure second place, before Lowes followed through a couple of laps later. Van der Mark tried to fight back but found himself sandwiched between teammate Sykes, who was on the kerbs at Turn 1, and Lowes on the inside, with van der Mark eventually falling down to fifth behind Lowes in third and Sykes fourth; the first time two BMWs have finished in the top five since 2013.

Michael Van der Mark, Rea, Lowes, Sykes

Drama was never far away in this race and that continued throughout the top ten with a three-way battle for sixth place between Razgatlioglu, Folger and Gerloff; the Turkish star just about holding on from Gerloff and Folger, who started on slick tyres. Andrea Locatelli was ninth with Lucas Mahias securing his first top-ten finish.

Scott Redding pulled away on slicks as the track came to him

Alvaro Bautista came home in 11th place ahead of a trio of rookies as Kohta Nozane secured another points finish in his maiden WorldSBK weekend, Isaac Viñales in 13th and Axel Bassani in 14th on an impressive weekend for the youngest rider on the grid. Christophe Ponsson was the final points position with 15th, finishing ahead of Rinaldi.

Eugene Laverty was the only BMW rider outside the top ten, finish just clear of Leandro Mercado who was 18th. Chaz Davies was the first to fall victim to the difficult conditions as he came off his Ducati Panigale V4 R at Turn, forcing the Welshman to retire from Race 2 on the opening lap of the race. Leon Haslam’s race came to an end on Lap 5 after he came off his Honda at Turn 2, with the British rider retiring from the race. Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) was another retirement after he crashed at Turn 1. Davies was able to finish the race in 19th despite the crash, ahead of TPR Team Pedercini Racing duo Loris Cresson and Samuele Cavalieri.

Scott Redding and Team Ducati
Scott Redding – P1

“Yes, it’s true, I took a big risk. In my career, however, the intermediate tires have betrayed me twice, both times when I was close to achieving a great result. For this reason, without hesitation, I asked my team to put on slicks. In the first few laps I tried not to make any mistake and then, obviously, it was not difficult to take the lead. For sure I would have preferred winning after having fought with the other guys, but it is still an important success, especially in light of what happened this weekend”.

Scott Redding
Jonathan Rea – P2

“I am really content with the weekend because to win the first race of the season was 100 times better than last year, and also to claim my 100th victory was a real target of mine. Today, I never experienced conditions like this in my whole career, where it really is a big tyre choice by the minute. Every minute it changes. With three minutes to go in race two I was asking Pere if they still had slicks on the grid! The Superpole race was the first time I had ever raced the intermediate tyres so huge kudos to Pirelli. I decided after that experience to use that tyre choice in the final race as well. It was the safest option. It wasn’t the right one, but it was the safest one, for sure. The majority of the grid had that combination. I realised that I was going to race for second but second feels like a win. The only way we could have been more competitive is with the right tyre choice. From that point of view I am really happy and excited for Estoril next week.”

Alex Lowes – P3

“We had no chance of staying with Scott in race two because after two laps the track was completely dry. That was a shame but I felt good on the bike and at the end I played a bit with some settings to find a bit more grip. Three podiums to start the year, on a track I think I have had one podium at in a sprint race on another bike before, but nothing really special. So it is nice to start the season like this. It is just one weekend but I feel good on the bike, which helps. If you are in control on the bike then you can manage the situations a little bit better. This morning in the full wet conditions I felt good. In the dry I felt good. In the mixed conditions we did a good job. In all of these conditions with the bike we understand what is happening and that puts us in a good position going forward.”

Tom Sykes – P4

“A bittersweet day, really. We definitely had a Superpole race to forget which we won’t go into too much detail about. That meant that we compromised our start position in race two. For race two, I wanted to go with the slick tyre but after this morning we opted to play it safe on the intermediates. Overall, after a good start, it was a bit of a waiting game. I could see what the guys in front of me were doing but obviously considering the tyres we were on I tried a different strategy to feel where the BMW M 1000 RR was working and where we had to improve. Unfortunately, we just missed out on the podium today, but considering our results here last year it is a huge improvement.”

Michael van der Mark – P5

“This morning, we had a wet warm-up session which was my first time on the BMW M 1000 RR in the rain, and to be honest I had such a good feeling from the first lap. The Superpole race was in mixed conditions but I opted to go with the slick tyre and in the end was the right choice. It did however keep raining at times during the race which slowed me down in places but anyway it was a good result for us. This afternoon’s race two again was a gamble on tyre choice, and I knew I made the wrong choice going up to the start as the track was drying so quickly. Despite that we made a good start, had some incredible battles taking the lead but I knew I was asking too much of the tyres and in the end some guys got past me. But we have got to be happy with the two P5 positions and most importantly the experience I’ve gained with the BMW M 1000 RR.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P6

“In the Superpole Race, my strategy was to choose the wet tyre because I saw that it was starting to rain again on the grid – my target was to finish well and to start from a better grid position in Race 2. Sixth was good considering the conditions, the riders in front all chose the intermediate tyres so it was a hard fight to get this result. The second race, I tried hard again to fight for the podium and I was strong in the opening laps – taking the lead for some laps and enjoying fighting. The feeling was not good in the middle of the race and I had to manage some problems, but sixth position can still be important points for the championship. We will see next weekend in Estoril, I love the track, now my R1 is better than before and I have good memories from last year!”

Garrett Gerloff – P7

“Our Sunday started off really well with a third place in the Superpole Race. The team and I made a perfect decision to go with the intermediate tyre, and it worked. It was nice to be on the podium, even though I felt like I could have gotten second place. In Race 2, I felt really good from the start, and wanted to at least fight for the podium, so I’m very frustrated with the mistake I made. I was behind Johnny (Rea), but I couldn’t stop as quickly as he did, and my options were either to hit him in the back or to get to his inside and hopefully miss him, so that’s what I tried to do. Unfortunately, I still ran into him, but at least he was able to stay on two wheels. I crashed, but I managed to pick up the bike right away and keep going. It was a bit bent, but overall the bike was good, so I tried to give the team the best possible result despite the mistake. It was nice to be the top independent rider at the finish. Next week we go to Estoril, a track that both I and my Yamaha R1 really like.”

Jonas Folger – P8

“We are absolutely happy with eighth place in race two. It is class that we managed this at the end of what was a difficult weekend. The conditions were very difficult and we did not know for a long time whether wets or slicks were the best option. We opted for slicks in the end. Only very few others made the same decision, including the winner Scott Redding, and we set the same lap time as Scott. The weather obviously suited us, but we are very happy. Unfortunately, I went wide in the battle with Toprak Razgatlioglu at the end of the race, otherwise we could perhaps have finished sixth. However, eighth place was still the highlight compared to the rest of the weekend, so we are very happy.”

Andrea Locatelli – P9

“I am quite happy because in the end we finish P9. It is not easy on the first and second lap for me, so now we need to work on this but for sure today’s races were difficult in the wet conditions. In the middle of Race 2, I was able to go quite fast here and the feeling was good. Overall I learned a lot during the weekend, and with the guys on the team together we did a really good job. Today is one of those days where you can be unlucky or lucky. Because maybe if we tried to use the slick tyre, it could have been a good chance for us to do something – but okay, we lose this opportunity but it is only my first race weekend in WorldSBK. Now we go on to Estoril and hope to push much more because I have more confidence on the R1 and I think this track is a really good opportunity for us.”

Alvaro Bautista – P11

“Today in the Superpole race we opted for rain tyres and when the track started to dry out the riders who had chosen intermediates or slicks clearly had different pace. In the end we ended up seventh, the second fastest among those who’d opted for rain tyres. The positive thing is that I had good feeling with the bike in conditions where we have struggled in the past, and that means we’ve taken a step forward in that respect. In race 2, the track was wetter than in the morning and we opted for intermediates, but the asphalt dried quickly during the race. It was the first time I was using these tyres and with a setting that was a bit of a mix, I wasn’t perfectly comfortable. Then, towards the middle of the race I started to have the same electric problem as yesterday and kept struggling to change gear. I had to manage the situation, riding very carefully to avoid taking any risks. It’s a shame, because without this problem yesterday we would have been fighting for the podium, and at least for the top six today. Having said that, we have to stay focused on the positive things, on the fact that we have worked very well on the set-up, the geometry, the suspension, and also the electronics. This gives me a lot of positive energy for next weekend at Estoril.”

Kohta Nozane – P12

“The conditions were different today, so the tyre choice was a bit tricky. The track kept changing too, so, at the beginning of the race, I was too cautious and I lost positions. I still managed to finish the race and learn so many things. I also took note of so many different aspects in which I have to improve. The next race will be my first time in Estoril, so it will be tough for me, but I will try to be as prepared as possible to do my best for the team. They are working so well with me and helping me a lot, so I will try to get a good result for them in Portugal.”

Michael Rinaldi – P16

“In these circumstances, you have to know how to evaluate the situation and make the right choice. Today I made the wrong choice and, as a result, I had one of the worst races of my career. Last year I came away from Aragon with 3 podiums; this year with only 9 points. This means that we have to find the feeling that we have been missing. The motivation is not lacking and I will try, together with the team, to turn the page from the next race”.

Eugene Laverty – P17

“It was not a good day, unfortunately. We had some problems in all sessions. For the long race, I had the wet front tyre and the other riders had intermediates or slick tyres so there was no chance to move further forward. So it was really disappointing but I am looking forward to Estoril already. I said that Aragón and Estoril have been the toughest two tracks for our bike last year so we have a big challenge but we did a good job here yesterday during qualifying so that’s reason for optimism. In Estoril, we need to put our progress on paper because this weekend we weren’t able to get the results we wanted.”

Leon Haslam – DNF

“The Superpole race did not go well unfortunately, after what was a positive (wet) warm-up. One of the issues was that we should have gone with the intermediate, but we also struggled a bit with throttle delivery. So a difficult race in which I took some risks on several occasions. Then in the final race we went with the intermediate solution, as did most riders, and the pace felt really good. I felt that we resolved the power delivery, as well as a few other things, it was only unfortunate that I then crashed. So even though the results overall have not been what we wanted, I do feel that we were able to make a good step in this final race, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do next weekend at Estoril.”

WorldSBK Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Gap Speed/Km/h
1 S. Redding Ducati / 316,7
2 J.  Rea Kawasaki +9.856 310,3
3 A. Lowes Kawasaki +10.434 314,0
4 T. Sykes BMW +12.094 307,7
5 M. Van Der Mark BMW +16.234 307,7
6 T. Razgatlioglu Yamaha +20.191 311,2
7 G. Gerloff Yamaha +20.427 311,2
8 J.  Folger BMW +20.587 314,0
9 A. Locatelli Yamaha +25.026 312,1
10 L.  Mahias Kawasaki +28.855 302,5
11 A. Bautista Honda +35.644 312,1
12 K. Nozane Yamaha +38.275 303,4
13 I.  Vinales Kawasaki +41.585 305,1
14 A. Bassani Ducati +44.922 313,0
15 C. Ponsson Yamaha +46.022 303,4
16 M. Rinaldi Ducati +1m08.072 314,9
17 E. Laverty BMW +1m13.998 312,1
18 L.  Mercado Honda +1m14.859 306,8
19 C. Davies Ducati +1 Lap 316,7
20 L.  Cresson Kawasaki +2 Laps 294,3
21 S. Cavalieri Kawasaki +3 Laps 291,9
Not Classified
RET T. Rabat Ducati 4 Laps 312,1
RET L.  Haslam Honda 14 Laps 311,2

WorldSBK Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
 1  Jonathan Rea  57
 2  Alex Lowes  45
 3  Scott Redding  40
 4  Toprak Razgatlioglu  30
 5  Tom Sykes  23
 6  Garrett Gerloff  23
 7  Michael Van Der Mark  21
 8  Chaz Davies  17
 9  Andrea Locatelli  13
 10  Michael Ruben Rinaldi  9
 11  Jonas Folger  8
 12  Leon Haslam  8
 13  Alvaro Bautista  8
 14  Lucas Mahias  7
 15  Kohta Nozane  7
 16  Axel Bassani  6
 17  Isaac Vinales  6
 18  Christophe Ponsson  1

WorldSSP

Tyre gambles were the order of the day as Steven Odendaal claimed a stunning FIM Supersport World Championship victory in difficult conditions at MotorLand Aragon for the Pirelli Aragon, while Jules Cluzel fought from last on the grid to claim a podium.

WorldSSP

The drama kicked off before the race had started with Cluzel losing his pole position due to a tyre pressure infringement, meaning the Frenchman had to start from last of the 25-strong grid. This gave both Philipp Oettl and Odendaal a clean run at the start, although Oettl was unable to convert this into a strong result after coming off his bike at Turn 2 on Lap 1, being joined in the gravel by Federico Caricasulo in separate incidents. Both were able to remount although Oettl retired from the race while Caricasulo finished in 18th place.

This allowed Swede Christoffer Bergman to take the lead of the race ahead of rookie Marc Alcoba, with Bergman becoming the first Swedish rider to lead a race in WorldSSP. However, the race was defined by tyre selections with both Bergman and Alcoba on full rain tyres, falling down the order and finishing in sixth and seventh.

WorldSSP

As the race progressed, riders on Pirelli’s intermediate tyres started to pick up the pace with Odendaal, Raffaele De Rosa, Hannes Soomer and Dominique Aegerter all jumping ahead of Bergman and Alcoba.

Cluzel’s race was compromised from the start with the tyre pressure infringement forcing him to start at the back of the grid, although he made light work of moving up the grid. The French rider had moved up to tenth in the early stages of the race and claimed the lead of the race with a handful of laps to go; his moves through the field including a double pass at Turn 1 to move up into fourth place on Vertti Takala and Manuel Gonzalez.

It had looked like the Frenchman would bounce back from yesterday’s disappointment, after being taken out from the lead of the race, but he was reeled in by Odendaal and De Rosa with just a few laps of the race left.

The battle for the win ended with a four-way scrap between Odendaal, De Rosa, Cluzel and Soomer with less than four tenths separating the four riders. De Rosa led on the final lap of the 15-lap race, aiming for his first ever win in WorldSSP, but lost out to Odendaal on the run to the final corner with the South African rider moving to the inside of the double left-hander to claim the lead of the race, with De Rosa unable to get the run out of the final corner to take victory; Odendaal making it two from two at MotorLand Aragon. Cluzel came home in third place despite starting at the back of the grid, holding off Soomer by 0.055s at the chequered flag.

Aegerter was some way back off the four-way scrap for the lead but came home in fifth place with Bergman finishing six, 12 seconds clear of early challenge Alcoba. Finnish rookie Takala came home in eighth place ahead of 2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher and Indonesian Galang Hendra Pratama.

Gonzalez secured 11th place, ahead of Kevin Manfredi who was the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider ahead of fellow competitor Maria Herrera in 13th place. Can Öncü came in in 14th place while Pawel Szkopek became the oldest rider to score points in WorldSSP at 45 years, nine months and 17 days old.

Niki Tuuli did not start Race 2 after he was declared unfit following yesterday with a concussion; an incident for which he has been penalised with a pit lane start for the next race he participates in. Thomas Gradinger was also declared unfit with a left foot contusion following a crash in Sunday’s Warm-Up session. After yesterday’s strong showing, Luca Bernardi had a technical issue in the early stages of Race 2 as he ran in the top five until the issue that forced him to retire.

P1 Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)

“To be honest, it came as a huge surprise to me. I would’ve been happy on the podium today. The conditions were super difficult today. I’ve never even done a race, or practiced, with the intermediate tyres. The team on the grid said ‘no, we need to take the risk and go with the intermediates’, so I said I trust you guys. A big thanks to them because honestly, if it was my choice, maybe I would’ve gone with the wets.”

P2 Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)

“I’m really happy, for me this is incredible. This winter, I had a big injury on my shoulder. For this, I want to say this was a difficult winter. I had an operation. Now I want to say thank you to my team, all the Calero family. The race is incredible, it was difficult trying to understand the conditions. I started too slowly but again, it came better and better throughout the race. I’m really, really happy.”

P3 Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha)

“To be honest, I was thinking not to fight for the victory, but I was fighting for the victory, so it was a great achievement. I had a moment at the end, it was raining, and it was incredible how fast we can go with the nearly slick tyre. It was something that you can take a lot of risk with to win, but you can also lose a lot. I was in the middle to manage but 16 points is great. It’s a shame that yesterday I lost 25 but the season is long and it’s good to be on the podium now.”

WorldSSP Podium

WorldSSP Race Two Results

Pos No. Rider Bike Gap Speed/Km/h
1 S. Odendaal Yamaha / 271,4
2 R. De Rosa Kawasaki +0.100 270,7
3 J.  Cluzel Yamaha +0.334 271,4
4 H. Soomer Yamaha +0.389 271,4
5 D. Aegerter Yamaha +17.785 268,0
6 C. Bergman Yamaha +19.976 261,5
7 M. Alcoba Yamaha +31.984 259,6
8 V. Takala Yamaha +35.144 274,8
9 R. Krummenacher Yamaha +36.403 264,7
10 G. Hendra Pratama Yamaha +37.524 269,3
11 M. Gonzalez Yamaha +37.821 266,7
12 K. Manfredi Yamaha +50.606 265,4
13 M. Herrera Yamaha +56.884 266,0
14 C. Oncu Kawasaki +1’m04.895 268,0
15 P. Szkopek Yamaha +1m12.634 257,1
16 S. Frossard Yamaha +1m17.314 262,1
17 F. Fuligni Yamaha +1m17.560 265,4
18 F. Caricasulo Yamaha +1m33.617 264,7
19 L.  Taccini Kawasaki +1m33.621 268,7
20 S. Kawasaki Kawasaki +1m53.310 262,1
21 M. Fabrizio Kawasaki 1 Lap 265,4
Not Classified
RET L.  Montella Yamaha 2 Laps 255,3
RET D. Pizzoli Yamaha 4 Laps 260,2
RET L.  Bernardi Yamaha 5 Laps 268,7
RET P. Oettl Kawasaki 14 Laps 224,1

WorldSSP Standings

Pos Rider Points
 1  Steven Odendaal  50
 2  Dominique Aegerter  31
 3  Raffaele De Rosa  27
 4  Hannes Soomer  22
 5  Christoffer Bergman  18
 6  Jules Cluzel  16
 7  Philipp Oettl  16
 8  Manuel Gonzalez  16
 9  Luca Bernardi  13
 10  Randy Krummenacher  12
 11  Federico Caricasulo  10
 12  Marc Alcoba  9
 13  Vertti Takala  8
 14  Can Alexander Oncu  8
 15  Galang Hendra Pratama  7
 16  Kevin Manfredi  7
 17  Maria Herrera  7
 18  Michel Fabrizio  2
 19  Pawel Szkopek  1

WorldSSP300

The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship lived up to its reputation of unpredictability after a thrilling Race 2 at the Pirelli Aragon Round, where Tom Booth-Amos claimed a stunning first victory of 2021 at MotorLand Aragon.

WorldSSP300

As ever in WorldSSP300, drama was never far away throughout the 12-lap race with the lead ever-changing as well as battles throughout the field as the 43-strong field took part in Race 2. Booth-Amos claimed victory ahead of Unai Orradre, although the Spanish had crossed the line first he was penalised with a one-place penalty for exceeding track limits on the final lap. It meant he was relegated to second place, ahead of compatriot Adrian Huertas in third, just 0.013s between them.

Huertas had been in the lead of the race but did not want to be ahead going onto the back straight on the final lap, although he was unable to use the slipstream to retake the lead. Yuta Okaya finished in fourth place, with Ana Carrasco in fifth after a strong comeback weekend following an injury sustained in testing in 2020.

WorldSSP300

Ton Kawakami finished in sixth place, just 0.020s away from Carrasco but also just 0.056s ahead of Hugo de Cancellis in seventh and fellow French rider Samuel di Sora in eighth; a late charge seeing di Sora move up the order. Bruno Ieraci finished in ninth place with Meikon Kawakami completing the top ten.

The returning Dorren Loureiro finished in 11th place ahead of reigning Champion Jeffrey Buis; the Dutchman holding the lead of the race throughout different stages of the race but being shuffled down into 12th in the latter stages.

He finished four seconds clear of Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez who came home as the first of four consecutive Spanish riders in a group. Stand-in rider Alex Millan Gomez, replacing Alejandro Carrion who was declared unfit, claimed 14th place despite his first action of the weekend being in Tissot Superpole. 2017 Champion Marc Garcia was in 15th and completed the points, just 0.025s ahead of Inigo Iglesias.

WorldSSP300

Turn 1 was a pinch point for the 43 riders taking place in Race 2, with rookie Harry Khouri, Oliver König, Victor Rodriguez Nuñez, Joel Romero  and Miguel Santiago Duarte all having incidents on the opening lap; the latter taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. One Event rider Stefano Raineri came off his bike on Lap 2 while Sylvain Marakarian crashed two laps later following his crash. Julian Giral Romero was also a retirement from Race 2.

WorldSSP300

Vicente Perez Selfa retired from the race after seven laps, shortly after he was given a double Long Lap Penalty by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards for irresponsible riding at Turn 1, while Bahattin Sofuoglu crashed out recovering after taking the first of his two Long Laps; the Turkish star given a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start.

Kevin Sabatucci was the penultimate retirement of the race when he crashed at Turn 1 on Lap 9, while Koen Meuffels brought his Kawasaki back to the pits after 10 of the 12 scheduled laps.

P1 Tom Booth-Amos (Fusports – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki)

“I didn’t really expect the win because I crossed the line in second but I’m obviously over the moon. I feel like this is my hardest round of the year so very happy to come away with a win and a second place and obviously the Championship lead. It’s a good way to start the season and we’ll continue like this.”

P2 Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing)

“I’m very happy with the race. During the race, I pushed a lot and fought with the Kawasaki. I’m very happy for me.”

P3 Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki)

“It has been a really good weekend. Today in the race, I gave my best but it wasn’t enough. I’m ready to fight for the Championship and I’m really with all the time, with the sensations.”

WorldSSP300 Podium

WorldSSP300 Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Gap Speed/Km/h
1 T. Booth-Amos Kawasaki / 198,9
3 U. Orradre Yamaha +0.127 213,0
3 A. Huertas Kawasaki +0.140 207,3
4 Y. Okaya Kawasaki +0.213 210,1
5 A. Carrasco Kawasaki +0.339 213,9
6 T. Kawakami Yamaha +0.359 208,9
7 H. De Cancellis Kawasaki +0.415 208,9
8 S. Di Sora Kawasaki +0.641 209,7
9 B. Ieraci Yamaha +0.791 210,1
10 M. Kawakami Yamaha +0.795 210,1
11 D. Loureiro Kawasaki +0.914 209,7
12 J.  Buis Kawasaki +1.565 209,3
13 J.  Perez Gonzalez Kawasaki +6.020 208,5
14 A. Millan Gomez Kawasaki +6.038 206,5
15 M. Garcia Kawasaki +10.446 206,9
16 I.  Iglesias Kawasaki +10.467 207,7
17 R. Bijman Yamaha +10.497 207,3
18 V. Steeman KTM +10.675 205,7
19 F. Palazzi Yamaha +21.262 207,3
20 P. Svoboda Yamaha +21.288 205,3
21 M. Gennai Yamaha +21.305 204,5
22 G. Mastroluca Yamaha +21.432 204,9
23 A. Zanca Kawasaki +21.552 205,7
24 M. Gaggi Yamaha +21.596 203,0
25 T. Brianti Kawasaki +21.802 207,3
26 J.  Gimbert Kawasaki +32.246 204,2
27 D. Berta Vinales Yamaha +35.406 203,8
28 H. Khouri Kawasaki +37.283 199,3
29 O. Konig Kawasaki +57.453 196,7
30 J.  Mcmanus Kawasaki +1m01.259 204,5
31 I.  Offer Kawasaki +1m01.465 203,4
32 A. Frappola Kawasaki +1m01.558 199,3
33 A. Diez Rodriguez Kawasaki +1m07.527 198,9
Not Classified
RET K. Meuffels Kawasaki 2 Laps 209,3
RET K. Sabatucci Yamaha 4 Laps 202,6
RET B. Sofuoglu Yamaha 5 Laps 207,7
RET V. Perez Selfa Yamaha 5 Laps 205,7
RET S. Raineri Kawasaki 6 Laps 207,3
RET J.  Giral Romero Yamaha 7 Laps 206,1
RET S. Markarian Kawasaki 9 Laps 204,9
RET V. Rodriguez Nunez Kawasaki 11 Laps 159,1
RET J.  Romero Kawasaki / /
RET M. Duarte Yamaha / /

WorldSSP300 Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
 1  Tom Booth-Amos  45
 2  Adrian Huertas  41
 3  Unai Orradre  33
 4  Yuta Okaya  29
 5  Samuel Di Sora  19
 6  Ton Kawakami  19
 7  Ana Carrasco  16
 8  Jeffrey Buis  14
 9  Hugo De Cancellis  13
 10  Bruno Ieraci  13
 11  Koen Meuffels  8
 12  Harry Khouri  7
 13  Meikon Kawakami  6
 14  Dorren Loureiro  6
 15  Marc Garcia  4
 16  Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez  3
 17  Alex Millan Gomez  2
 18  Inigo Iglesias  2

2021 WorldSBK Calendar

Date Track SBK SS600 SS300
21-23 May Aragón (Spain) X X X 
28-30 May Estoril (Portugal) X X
11-13 Jun Misano (Italy) X X X
2-4 Jul Donington Park (UK) X
23-25 Jul Assen (Netherlands) X X X
06-08 Aug Autodrom Most (Czech) X X X
20-22 Aug Navarra (Spain) X X
3-5 Sep Magny-Cours (France) X X X
17-19 Sep Catalunya (Spain) X X X
24-26 Sep Jerez (Spain) X X X
1-3 Oct Portimao (Portugal) X X X
15-17 Oct San Juan Villicum (Argentina) X X
12-14 Nov Mandalika*** (Indonesia) X X

*** = Subject to homologation

Source: MCNews.com.au

News, WSBK

Rea notches up century with race one victory at Aragon

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2021 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round One – Aragon – Friday

The start of the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season brought more history for the record books as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed a stunning victory in Race 1 at MotorLand Aragon to claim his 100th race victory in WorldSBK, the first man to win 100 races in a single class of FIM road racing world championships.

Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK 1-2

Rea led a Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK 1-2 with Alex Lowes coming home in second place, four seconds away from Rea after challenging him in the early stages of the races. Lowes was under pressure from Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) and finished in second place by just 0.043s ahead of the Turkish rider, who had battled through from tenth on the grid.

Aragon Superbike Race One Podium

Rea was able to retain the lead of the race but was immediately put under pressure by teammate Lowes – looking to be the one who would deny Rea his 100th WorldSBK victory for the time being.

SBK Race One Start

Scott Redding (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) ran in third in the early stages of the race but was unable to keep up with the pace of the Kawasakis out in front, ensuring Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) and Razgatlioglu, who started tenth, were able to stay in podium contention but not challenge the Kawasakis in the early stages.

Lowes leads Redding

Razgatlioglu was the first rider to get by Redding on the inside of the left-hander of Turn 1, allowing the Turkish rider to start chasing down the Kawasakis out in front. Davies followed a lap later with a sensational overtake on Redding at Turn 2 with Davies looking to add to his win total at Aragon.

Redding, Gerloff

After getting past Redding, the Turkish star had his eyes set on Lowes who was his next target for second place, with Razgatlioglu able to get past Lowes before he started to move his target towards Rea. Razgatlioglu was unable to break away from Lowes and Davies but started lapping faster than Rea with around five laps to go, although not fast enough to put pressure on Rea in the closing stages of the race.

Toprak Razgatliogliu leads Redding, Davies and Gerloff

On Lap 16, Lowes tried to re-pass Razgatlioglu at Turn 4 and briefly got ahead but the Turkish rider was able to brake later on the brakes, a theme that ran throughout the last few laps of the race, keeping Davies in contention for second place. At the final corner, Lowes again briefly got ahead but Razgatlioglu was able to just about defend his position although the British rider finaly got by at Turn 1 on Lap 17. The battle was not over as the race came to a conclusion as the pair duelled it out, with Lowes winning out on a drag race to the line for a KRT 1-2; both Lowes and Razgatlioglu claiming their 25th WorldSBK podium.

The battle allowed Redding and Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) to close in on the battle for second, although Redding dropped Bautista as he approached the battle creating a four-way battle for second place; although Bautista crashed out of the race on the final lap at Turn 2, forcing the Spanish rider to retire. After losing out earlier in the race, Redding was able to get by former teammate Davies for fourth place as the final lap started, with Redding finishing fourth and Davies fifth.

Tom Sykes

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was unable to convert third on the grid to a podium finish but, after a difficult start, was able to manage his SCX tyre to come home in sixth place in the M 1000 RR’s first race. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) was another who managed the SCX tyre with seventh place, around two seconds clear of Leon Haslam (Team HRC).

American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed a top ten finish at MotorLand Aragon, seven seconds clear of factory Yamaha rider Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) who claimed a top ten finish in his first WorldSBK race. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished 11th on his debut for BMW, with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in 12th.

Three more rookies secured points finishes on their WorldSBK debut with Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounded out the top ten, with Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Action), Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) and Loris Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) the last of the runners.

Rookie Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) was the first to retire from the race with a technical issue in the early stages of the race after securing a top-12 starting grid spot, while Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) brought his Honda machine into the pitlane on Lap 8 with the Argentinean rider not finishing the race. Rookie Samuele Cavalieri (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) was another retirement from the race around the halfway stage, bringing his Kawasaki machine into the garage. Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse) brought his BMW machine back to the garage on lap 14 of 18 with an issue after running close to the top ten for the majority of the race.

P1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“We reached 100 race wins today and it was done with a lot of hard work. Over the off season Kawasaki really dug in with a new bike and we were able to make a step. Also in the off season I worked really hard on myself and I know I improved in all areas. I was born with the dream of racing motorbikes, and going with my parents to ride around Motocross tracks in 1993, ’94. The history is mad. Getting the opportunity to come to the world championship, in 2008 in Supersport, and straight away after my rookie season going to Superbike. Taking my first race win at Misano in 2009 as a rookie and now with 100 wins… It’s mad! Each and every race win is special, and I have never been a statistics guy, but when I was closing in on 100 wins that was a big goal. It is such a cool number and a career landmark. I am very proud of it. We had been a little bit unlucky in the winter tests with bad weather but my team have left no stone unturned and turned up at every test we could. They reorganised and rescheduled things so huge thanks to all the staff. Not only the management but all the mechanics and their families for making this sacrifice. We have been away from home so long this off season, often for no laps, but we are in a good position now. To win the first race starts our championship off 25 points better than last year! That was a good way to start.”

P2 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

“I I felt good all weekend, I have been really strong and got lots of laps in. In the race, maybe on lap six or seven, I found some problems, struggling with the front of the bike. I did not expect that. I had two slides on the entry to turn five, then turn ten. I thought that as this is the first race of the year, if I crash now it is just for nothing. I thought to myself, find your rhythm, let Jonathan go, then when somebody passes you, try to fight. Then I realised it was Toprak and he is so good on the brakes! In this area, for some reason, I didn’t have the same feeling like I had in the practice sessions. Luckily Toprak used an SCX rear tyre and he started to slide a lot. I was quite smooth, managed well and started to battle with him again. The second part of the race was quite tough but with the difficulty I had I didn’t expect to be there at the end for second. The positive point was that qualifying was good, the start was good and I was riding well at the start, so we can try to improve for tomorrow.”

P3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK)

“I’m really happy with this first race because normally I’m not really strong at this track, but today also my team did a good job because we see I’m on the podium in the first race. This is important for me because now, tomorrow, I come in very strong because I see some problems in the race and today I’m happy.”

WorldSBK Race One Results

Pos Rider Bike Gap
1 J.  Rea Kawasaki  /
2 A. Lowes Kawasaki +3.965
3 T. Razgatlioglu Yamaha +4.008
4 S. Redding Ducati +4.242
5 C. Davies Ducati +4.615
6 T. Sykes BMW  +6.784
7 M. Rinaldi Ducati +8.345
8 L.  Haslam Honda +10.187
9 G. Gerloff Yamaha +10.326
10 A. Locatelli Yamaha +17.693
11 M. Van Der Mark BMW +21.154
12 A. Bassani Ducati +27.523
13 I.  Vinales Kawasaki +30.963
14 K. Nozane Yamaha  +36.769
15 L.  Mahias Kawasaki +39.334
16 J.  Folger BMW +41.544
17 C. Ponsson Yamaha +43.179
18 L.  Cresson Kawasaki +1’21.460
Not Classified
RET A. Bautista Honda 1 Lap
RET E. Laverty BMW 5 Laps
RET S. Cavalieri Kawasaki 9 Laps
RET L.  Mercado Honda 11 Laps
RET T. Rabat Ducati 16 Laps

WorldSBK Superpole

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 J.  Rea Kawasaki 1m48.458
2 S. Redding Ducati +0.275
3 T. Sykes BMW +0.382
4 A. Lowes Kawasaki +0.432
5 C. Davies Ducati +0.611
6 G. Gerloff Yamaha +0.727
7 L.  Haslam Honda +0.788
8 A. Bautista Honda +0.880
9 M. Rinaldi Ducati +1.058
10 T. Razgatlioglu Yamaha +1.246
11 T. Rabat Ducati +1.303
12 E. Laverty BMW +1.309
13 L.  Mahias Kawasak +1.493
14 A. Locatelli Yamaha +1.504
15 M. Van Der Mark BMW +1.731
16 K. Nozane Yamaha +1.977
17 C. Ponsson Yamaha +2.031
18 J.  Folger BMW +2.170
19 I.  Vinales Kawasaki +2.214
20 A. Bassani Ducati +2.649
21 S. Cavalieri Kawasaki +4.259
22 L.  Mercado Honda +4.662
23 L.  Cresson Kawasaki +5.191

WorldSBK Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
1  Jonathan Rea  25
2  Alex Lowes  20
3  Toprak Razgatlioglu  16
4  Scott Redding  13
5  Chaz Davies  11
6  Tom Sykes  10
7  Michael Ruben Rinaldi  9
8  Leon Haslam  8
9  Garrett Gerloff  7
10  Andrea Locatelli  6
11  Michael Van Der Mark  5
12  Axel Bassani  4
13  Isaac Vinales  3
14  Kohta Nozane  2
15  Lucas Mahias  1

WorldSSP

The 2021 FIM Supersport World Championship started in dramatic fashion at MotorLand Aragon as Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. Yamaha WorldSSP Team) claimed a stunning maiden victory ahead at the Pirelli Aragon Round in Race 1 after taking advantage of a collision between early leaders Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) and Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti).

World Supersport Race Start

Odendaal suffered a highside crash at the Supported Test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya which resulted in a dislocated shoulder, with Odendaal responding to that in perfect fashion with victory at Aragon. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) claimed a maiden podium on his WorldSSP debut with Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in third.

There was a contrast of starts from the front row as Cluzel was able to get a superb jump on the field from pole position, while Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) lost time and positions as he fell through the order. The Finnish rider was able to stem the flow before starting to fight his way back through the field.

After Tuuli had recovered from his poor start, he was able to pass race winner Odendaal, second-placed Aegerter and Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) to start chasing down Cluzel, as they battled for the first victory of the season.

Oettl, Bernardi, Caricasulo, Gonzalez

Tuuli had fought back from his poor start to close down Cluzel for the lead but the pair collided in the braking area of Turn 12 with both forced to retire from the race, allowing Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) to engage in a three-way battle for the lead. Both Tuuli and Cluzel were taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the incident; Cluzel was declared fit while Tuuli was transported to hospital for further assessment after being declared unfit with a concussion. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards.

Oettl and Aegerter swapped positions throughout Lap 12, with the German holding on to the lead, but allowed Odendaal to continue to close on the pair. As they approached the final corner, Aegerter was able to pass Oettl on the inside of the final corner, before Odendaal followed him through at Turn 1. Aegerter’s lead did not last long as Oettl passed him into Turn 1, but the Swiss rider moved back ahead at the double left-hander of Turns 4 and 5, with the pair switching positions throughout the last few laps; Aegerter faster in the first half of the lap with Oettl quicker in the second half leading to a thrilling battle for the win.

Odendaal beat Aegerter to the flag

Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) secured San Marino’s best ever result in WorldSSP with a stunning fourth place finish on his WorldSSP debut, ahead of Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team); the Spaniard picking up his best ever WorldSSP result. Federico Caricasulo (GMT94 Yamaha) finished in the top six on his return to WorldSSP following his year in WorldSBK in 2020.

Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) finished in seventh place with Christoffer Bergman (Wojick Racing Team) in eighth place on his return to WorldSSP; his 2020 season being interrupted by injuries sustained away from WorldSSP. Italian Raffaele de Rosa was ninth with Turkish rider Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) completing the top ten.

Randy Krummenacher (EAB Racing Team) claimed 11th place on his return to WorldSSP, ahead of Maria Herrera (Biblion Iberica Yamaha Motoxracing) who was the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider, fending off the challenge from Kevin Manfredi (Altogo Racing Team) in 13th.

Michel Fabrizio’s (G.A.P MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) scored points on his return to WorldSSP after 15 years away from the class, with Indonesian Galang Hendra Pratama (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha completing the points.

Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) was 16th place, just one second outside the points, with Pawel Szkopek (Yamaha MS Racing) in 17th place. Rookie Shogo Kawasaki (G.A.P. MOTOZOO Racing by Puccetti) was in 18th place and the last of the runners on the lead lap.

Leonardo Taccini (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) came off at the chicane in the early stages, forcing the young Italian to finish the race four laps down. An action packed run through the chicane meant Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing) came off his bike although he was able to re-join; the Spaniard coming into the race on the back foot following a six-place grid penalty for an underweight bike in the Tissot Superpole session. Davide Pizolli (VFT Racing) was another retirement following a crash in the early stages of the race, alongside Austrian Thomas Gradinger (DK Motorsport).

P1 Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)

“I’ve been working towards this moment for a long time. The team were excellent the whole weekend. We experienced some difficult conditions during this race because of the temperature.”

P2 Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)

“I’m very happy to be on the podium for the first time in Aragon in the WorldSSP class with the Ten Kate Racing Yamaha. They did a great job and it’s nice to already have one race on Saturday so tomorrow we can try to improve a little bit and I hope we can fight for the top position. To start the season like this is very good and I hope you enjoyed the race!”

P3 Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)

“It was a really tough race; this afternoon was a lot hotter than I expected. It was a good race at the beginning. One time I lost a gear in Turn 15, so I lost some ground to Cluzel and in the end the tyre was completely finished. With the hotter condition, the Kawasaki seems to suffer a little bit. I think today, we did the best out of the situation and I’m happy to be om the podium again after half a year.”

WorldSSP Race Results / Superpole

Pos  Rider Bike Race/Gap Q
1 S. Odendaal Yamaha / 1m53.402
2 D. Aegerter Yamaha +0.099 1m53.553
3 P. Oettl Kawasaki +2.635 1m53.353
4 L.  Bernardi Yamaha +3.956 1m54.323
5 M. Gonzalez Yamaha +4.738 1m54.374
6 F. Caricasulo Yamaha +4.817 1m53.650
7 H. Soomer Yamaha +6.121 1m54.106
8 C. Bergman Yamaha +7.212 1m54.185
9 R. De Rosa Kawasaki +8.352 1m54.388
10 C. Oncu Kawasaki +16.135 1m54.786
11 R. Krummenacher Yamaha +16.279 1m54.674
12 M. Herrera Yamaha +22.257 1m55.170
13 K. Manfredi Yamaha +22.296 1m55.000
14 M. Fabrizio Kawasak +34.274 1m55.697
15 G. Hendra Pratama Yamaha +37.978 1m56.512
16 S. Frossard Yamaha +39.308 1m56.458
17 P. Szkopek Yamaha  +59.882 1m56.690
18 S. Kawasaki Kawasaki +1’04.435 1m58.983
19 L.  Taccini Kawasaki +4 Laps 1m57.548
Not Classified
RET J.  Cluzel Yamaha  7 Laps 1m52.937
RET N. Tuuli MV 7 Laps 1m53.225
RET F. Fuligni Yamaha 7 Laps 1m54.367
RET M. Alcoba Yamaha 12 Laps 1m54.033
RET D. Pizzoli Yamaha 13 Laps 1m54.584
RET T. Gradinger Yamaha 13 Laps 1m56.012
RET L.  Montella Yamaha 14 Laps 1m55.252
RET V. Takala Yamaha  14 Laps 1m55.393

WorldSSPStandings

Pos Rider Points
 1  Steven Odendaal  25
 2  Dominique Aegerter  20
 3  Philipp Oettl  16
 4  Luca Bernardi  13
 5  Manuel Gonzalez  11
 6  Federico Caricasulo  10
 7  Hannes Soomer  9
 8  Christoffer Bergman  8
 9  Raffaele De Rosa  7
 10  Can Alexander Oncu  6
 11  Randy Krummenacher  5
 12  Maria Herrera  4
 13  Kevin Manfredi  3
 14  Michel Fabrizio  2
 15  Galang Hendra Pratama  1

WorldSSP300

The first race of the 2021 FIM Supersport 300 World Championship was shortened due to a late Red Flag but it was not enough to stop Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) claimed his first ever WorldSSP300 victory despite being penalised with a Long Lap Penalty, claiming the closest ever victory in the class history at MotorLand Aragon for the Pirelli Aragon Round.

WorldSSP300

Huertas secured his first victory in the shortened race after taking the lead of the race with Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) finishing just 0.004s behind Huertas at the last timekeeping point the pair had crossed before the Red Flag was deployed, thanks to an incident between Meikon Kawakami and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing. Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) snuck onto the podium at the end of the race, with just 0.098s behind the top three, the fifth-closest podium of all time.

WorldSSP300

Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) immediately lost his starting grid advantage to Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) with the Spanish rider immediately getting the jump to take the lead of the 12-lap race. Further back in the pack, Sylvain Markarian (Leader Team Flembbo), wildcard Julian Giral Romero (Viñales Racing Team) and Thomas Brianti (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) were all caught up in a collision at Turn 12, forcing all three to retire from the race and Romero taken to the medical centre for a check-up. Victor Rodriguez Nuñez (Accolade Smrz Racing) was another early-race retiree after he went down at Turn 9.

WorldSSP300

Huertas kept within the front group throughout the early stages of the race but became the first WorldSSP300 to be penalized with a Long Lap Penalty, for track limits infringements, dropping down from first place down to tenth as well as losing time to the lead group. It meant Meikon Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) would take the lead of the race although immediately lost it to Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) and Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki).

Booth-Amos took the lead just before the halfway stage of the race and remained comfortable up at the front despite having the disadvantage of not being in a slipstream, holding on to the lead throughout the middle stages of the race. With six laps to go, Meikon Kawakami swept around the outside of the final corner to briefly take the lead of the race, although Booth-Amos quickly regained the lead.

On lap nine of 12, Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) had his brief moment of leading the race as he passed Booth-Amos, although the British rider was able to re-gain the lead. It was one of a number of battles throughout the lead group with less than three seconds separating

The race was ended on Lap 10 following an incident between Meikon Kawakami and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing), who had fought into the lead group despite starting on the fifth row, but the incident at Turn 1 put both out of the race, with Sofuoglu taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash.

Orradre claimed fourth place from a front row start, just ahead of Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) completing the top five. Reigning Champion Buis finished in sixth place as his title defence started with a solid points finish at the venue his challenge kickstarted last season.

Polesitter Ton Kawakami finished in seventh place, ahead of Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) while Australian debutant Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) claimed ninth place on his first start in WorldSSP300. The returning Bruno Ieraci (Machado CAME SBK) claimed a top ten finish, three tenths clear of 2018 Champion Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300); the Murcian rider signing off her comeback with a points finish.

French rider Hugo de Cancellis (Prodina Team WorldSSP300) claimed 12th place, ahead of 2017 Champion Marc Garcia (2R Racing), Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) and Dorren Loureiro (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki).

P1 Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki)

“Last year was a really hard year. This year we worked so hard throughout pre-season and we take the things off the tree and we are really happy.”

P2 Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki)

“It’s always nice to be on the podium, so obviously happy about this. A little bit frustrated because I led most of the laps and because of the Red Flag I finished second. This is my worst circuit of the year, by far, so obviously I’m happy to come away with second. Points mean prizes so obviously we push for the Championship.”

P3 Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki)

“My feeling is a little bit difficult because when I come to the parc ferme, I was first, but after I became third. I was a little bit confused myself but my pace is good and I am satisfied for the points, and we will be ready for Race 2.”

WorldSSP300 Race One Results / Superpole

Pos Rider Bike Race/Gap Q
1 A. Huertas Kawasaki / 2m06.502
2 T. Booth-Amos Kawasaki +0.004 2m06.666
3 Y.  Okaya Kawasaki +0.098 2m07.169
4 U. Orradre Yamaha +0.209 2m06.530
5 S. Di Sora Kawasaki +0.345 2m06.928
6 J.  Buis Kawasaki +0.491 2m06.968
7 T. Kawakami Yamaha +0.624 2m06.498
8 K. Meuffels Kawasaki +1.247 2m07.603
9 H. Khouri Kawasaki +1.395 2m07.598
10 B. Ieraci Yamaha +1.815 2m07.006
11 A. Carrasco Kawasaki +2.124 2m07.442
12 H. De Cancellis Kawasaki +2.625 2m07.682
13 M. Garcia Kawasaki +2.954 2m07.335
14 I.  Iglesias Kawasaki 1 Sector 2m06.771
15 D. Loureiro Kawasaki 1 Sector 2m08.128
16 G. Mastroluca Yamaha 1 Sector 2m09.003
17 A. Zanca Kawasaki 1 Sector /
18 M. Gennai Yamaha 1 Sector 2m08.790
19 J.  Perez Gonzalez Kawasaki 1 Sector 2m08.180
20 A. Millan Gomez Kawasaki 1 Sector 2m08.468
21 V. Perez Selfa Yamaha 1 Sector /
22 K. Sabatucci Yamaha 1 Sector 2m09.192
23 R. Bijman Yamaha 1 Sector 2m08.410
24 M. Gaggi Yamaha 1 Sector 2m08.127
25 F. Palazzi Yamaha 1 Sector 2m09.000
26 V. Steeman KTM 1 Sector 2m08.973
27 M. Kawakami Yamaha 2 Sectors 2m06.817
28 J.  Gimbert Kawasaki 2 Sectors 2m09.557
29 D. Berta Vinales Yamaha 2 Sectors 2m08.825
30 P. Svoboda Yamaha 2 Sectors 2m09.131
31 B. Neila Yamaha 2 Sectors 2m09.100
32 S. Raineri Kawasaki 2 Sectors 2m10.493
33 A. Diez Rodriguez Kawasaki 2 Sectors 2m12.843
34 J.  Romero Kawasaki 2 Sectors 2m11.634
35 A. Frappola Kawasaki 1 Lap 2m10.385
36 J.  Mcmanus Kawasaki 1 Lap 2m11.717
37 M. Duarte Yamaha 1 Lap 2m12.599
38 O. Konig Kawasaki 1 Lap 2m08.055
Not Classified
NC 54 B. Sofuoglu Yamaha / 2m07.587
RET 18 I.  Offer Kawasaki / 2m12.517
RET 19 V. Rodriguez Nunez Kawasaki / 2m07.167
RET 23 S. Markarian Kawasaki / 2m08.206
RET 48 T. Brianti Kawasaki / 2m07.835
RET 76 J.  Giral Romero Yamaha / 2m08.293

WorldSSP300 Championship Standings

Pos Rider Points
 1  Adrian Huertas  25
 2  Tom Booth-Amos  20
 3  Yuta Okaya  16
 4  Unai Orradre  13
 5  Samuel Di Sora  11
 6  Jeffrey Buis  10
 7  Ton Kawakami  9
 8  Koen Meuffels  8
 9  Harry Khouri  7
 10  Bruno Ieraci  6
 11  Ana Carrasco  5
 12  Hugo De Cancellis  4
 13  Marc Garcia  3
 14  Inigo Iglesias  2
 15  Dorren Loureiro  1

2021 WSBK – Aragon Round 1 Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au

News, WSBK

Razgatlioglu and Davies set opening pace at Aragon

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2021 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round One – Aragon – Friday

Toprak Razgatlioglu took top spot in the morning session as WorldSBK 2021 got underway at Aragon as Yamaha found good form in the cooler morning session. The Turkish rider has historically struggled at Aragon, as have Yamaha, and in the higher afternoon temperatures, they did drop off once again. Razgatlioglu was fastest overall on the combined times but the Independents were in fine form on Friday too.

Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) finished second overall, taking top Ducati honours. The Welshman was also on top form in the afternoon session and is the most consistent at all times of the day, a possible sign of what is to come throughout the rest of the weekend.

Chaz Davies

Joining him inside the top three was American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), with the Texan on fire in the morning but towards the bottom end of the top ten in the afternoon. Third overall, it’s a strong start for Gerloff.

Garrett Gerloff

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) led the charge of the Kawasakis, having led the morning session at points before eventually finish fourth, whilst he was sixth on the time-sheets in the hotter afternoon outing.

Alex Lowes

Reigning Champion team-mate Jonathan Rea was only fifth after the opening session, but in contrast to Lowes, took charge of Kawasaki’s assault in the afternoon by finishing second. Both Kawasaki riders trialled the SCX tyre in the afternoon, a major talking point throughout Friday. With Lowes and Rea fourth and fifth respectively, expect them to improve on Saturday.

Jonathan Rea

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team had a fairly unassuming day of action at MotorLand Aragon. Michael Ruben Rinaldi was sixth overall on the timesheets and relied on his FP1 time from the morning, whilst Scott Redding was only 11th in the morning but shaved half-a-second off his time in the afternoon, placing him seventh at the close of the day. Plenty of work to do for the factory Ducati, but they were winners at Aragon in 2020, so they have the potential to bounce back to the front.

It was a mixed Friday back in action for Team HRC, with Alvaro Bautista fourth in FP2 but only eighth in the combined times, whilst Leon Haslam was one place behind him in FP2 in fifth, but tenth overall. Both Bautista and Haslam worked well throughout Friday and will be eager to showcase their strength at a circuit they achieved a podium at in 2020. Both riders tried using the SCX tyre throughout the afternoon, perhaps contemplating it as a possible race option for tomorrow, just as Bautista did last year.

Over at BMW, it was Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who was flying the flag, but only from his FP1 time in the morning. He was ninth overall, although team-mate Michael van der Mark had a torrid first day at the office at Aragon, crashing at Turn 8, bringing out the Red Flag. He was OK but missed the rest of the session, leaving him down in 11th overall and completing just 19 laps, the fewest of anyone throughout the day. The other BMWs were also struggling, with Jonas Folger (Bonovo MGM Racing) in 14th and Eugene Laverty (RC Squadra Corse) only 16th.

The rookies battle was also intense further down the order, with honours eventually going to Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in 12th. He was just ahead of ex-MotoGP star Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) who completed his first day of action at a WorldSBK round in 13th, ahead of Jonas Folger and then Japanese sensation Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

Christophe Ponsson (Alstare Yamaha) was 18th but suffered a Turn 5 crash in FP2 but finished ahead of the Kawasaki rookies of Isaac Viñales (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) took 21st ahead of Loris Cresson (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) and his teammate Samuele Cavalieri.

WorldSBK Friday Combined Times

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) 1’49.952s
2. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) +0.308s
3. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.490s
4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.546s
5. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.738s
6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.789s

WorldSSP

It may be three years since Niki Tuuli’s (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) last appearance in the FIM Supersport World Championship but the Finnish rider topped both Free Practice sessions at MotorLand Aragon for the Pirelli Aragon Round as he looks to immediately add to his race wins tally upon his return to the class, posting a time of 1’54.394s in the morning Free Practice session.

Niki Tuuli

The recent experience of both Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was not enough to overhaul Tuuli at the top of the timesheets, with Odendaal finishing less than a tenth away from the Finnish rider. Oettl was another four tenths back in third place as both the German and South African riders search for their first wins in WorldSSP.

Steven Odendaal

Always close at the front, Frenchman Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) goes in search of his first WorldSSP title in 2021 and started the season with fourth place in the combined Free Practice standings, fending off the challenge from the returning Federico Caricasulo (GMT94 Yamaha) by just 0.034s. Rookie Dominque Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was in sixth place, just ahead of Sweden’s Christoffer Bergman (Wojick Racing Team), whose fine form continued in the second practice session.

2019 Champion Randy Krummenacher’s (EAB Racing Team) return marred by limited in running in Free Practice 1, although the Swiss rider was able to set plenty of lap times in Free Practice 2 to sneak into the top eighth of the combined classification, just over a second away from Tuuli’s best time with most riders not improving from the morning session.

Spanish rookie Marc Alcoba (Yamaha MS Racing) claimed ninth spot in the combined classification with Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) rounding out the top ten on his first appearance for his new team at a WorldSSP round; the Italian the highest-placed rider to improve their time in the afternoon.

Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) bounced back from a crash at Turn 10 towards the end of the first Free Practice session to claim 11th in the combined classification, finishing three tenths clear of VFT Racing’s Davide Pizzoli in 12th. Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha ParkinGo Team) was another who improved in the afternoon moving into 13th place. Federico Fuligni (VFT Racing) was in 14th place with San Marino’s Luca Bernardi (CM Racing) completing the top 15. Kevin Manfred (Altogo Racing Team) was the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider in 16th place.

45-year-old Pawel Szkopek (Yamaha MS Racing) had a crash in the first practice session of the day at Turn 8 but was able to re-join the circuit. Verti Takala (Kallio Racing) came off his bike at the end of the second practice session although the Finnish rider was able to walk away from the accident at Turn 3.

WorldSSP Friday Combined Times

1. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Corse Clienti) 1’54.394s
2. Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +0.073s
3. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.434s
4. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.653s
5. Federico Caricasulo (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.687s
6. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.936s

WorldSSP300

The first day of FIM Supersport 300 World Championship action came to a close after two Free Practice sessions with Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) topping the combined sessions as he looks to start the season in the perfect fashion at the Pirelli Aragon Round at MotorLand Aragon.

Unai Orradre

Orradre remained top of the combined standings on day one of WorldSSP300 after posting the best time of 2’06.814s, over half-a-second clear of Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) in second place as they both prepare for their second campaign in the class.

Jeffrey Buis

In third place was reigning Champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) with the Dutchman returning to the Championship as he looks to defend his crown; returning to the venue he secured his first win at in his title-winning campaign.

Tom Booth-Amos

South African rider Dorren Loureiro’s (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) WorldSSP300 comeback continued with a strong fourth place in the combined standings, half-a-second down on his team-mate who competed in WorldSSP300 in 2020. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) was fifth for the day, just 0.009s behind Loureiro and 0.011s clear of Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) on his first competitive outing for his new team.

Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) finished in seventh place with just over a tenth separating Loureiro in fourth and Kawakami in seventh. Turkish star Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha Motoxracing) was in eighth place with Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki) and Australian Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) rounding out the top ten.

Harry Khouri #43 in the thick of the action

2020 race winner Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) was 11th overall for the day despite topping the afternoon Free Practice 2, with times faster in the morning session for the majority of the 44-strong field. It meant he fended off the challenge from Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing); with the Spaniard coming off his Kawasaki Ninja 400 at Turn 2 in Free Practice 1 but was able to return to the track in the afternoon. Wildcard Joel Giral Romero (Viñales Racing Team) was in 13th placed and the highest-placed rider from the Viñales Racing Team for Friday.

Ana Carrasco’s (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) return to WorldSSP300 continued with 14 place in her first Round action since an injury sustained in testing last year, with Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing) completing the top 15.

Alejandro Carrion (Kawasaki GP Project) and teammate Alejandro Diez both had crashes in the afternoon session in WorldSSP300 in separate incidents that occurred close to each other during the session, with Carrion coming off his bike at the tight Turn 5 left-hander early on in the session. Ruben Bijman (Machado CAME SBK) had a huge moment coming out of the right-hander of Turn 13 in the sequence of four corners leading onto the back straight; the Dutchman able to return to his machine. Filippo Maria Palazzi (ProGP Racing) crashed at Turn 8 in the afternoon Free Practice 2 session while Dean Berta Viñales (Viñales Racing Team) had a technical issue during the second session.

WorldSSP300 Friday Combined Times

1. Unai Orradre (Yamaha MS Racing) 2’06.814s
2. Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) +0.573s
3. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) +0.972s
4. Dorren Loureiro (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) +1.077s
5. Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) +1.086s
6. Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) +1.097s

2021 WSBK – Aragon Round 1 Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Aragon II MotoGP Race Reports | Results | Points | All classes

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2020 MotoGP Round 12 – Aragon
Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel

A faultless Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) didn’t put a foot wrong for a formidable second victory of 2020 at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel, no one able to stay with the Italian as he also put himself right back in the title fight. Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins took second place to make it back-to-back podiums, with team-mate Joan Mir picking up another P3 at MotorLand to extend his Championship lead in yet another dramatic premier class race…

Brad Binder skittled Jack Miller in turn one

Heartbreak for Jack Miller once again, after losing two finishes this season already through no fault of his own, he was taken out on lap one by Brad Binder and recorded another DNF.   Binder has been penalised by the Stewards and will have a long lap penalty to be served at the next race.

Miller recorded yet another DNF through no fault of his own. Black cats, mirrors or whatever, Jack needs to avoid them, or maybe start smashing them!

Heartbreak also for Nakagami after what had been an almost flawless weekend from the Japanese rider he threw it all away early on the opening lap.

Mir extended his lead in the championship over Quartararo to 14-points but only five-points further adrift Maverick Vinales is definitely still in the hunt. Morbidelli staked his claim with victory and is now 25-points behind leader Mir, while Dovizioso is only three-points behind Morbidelli. Rins too is not out of the picture with three rounds still remaining in what is the most unpredictable MotoGP season in memory, perhaps ever.

MotoGP now has a short break before reconvening at Valencia on November 8, and races again at the circuit the following weekend before what will undoubetedly be a down-to-the-wire title fight played out on the new challenge that is the undulating tarmac of Portimao on the weekened of November 22.

MotoGP Race Report

Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel

That drama began right from the off on Lap 1. Polesitter Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) got the launch he would have been hoping for and led into Turn 1, just holding off fellow front row starters Morbidelli and Rins. At Turn 2 the first disaster struck as both Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) tumbled into the gravel after the South African tagged the back of the Australian and then, at Turn 5, race leader Nakagami made his first and only race day mistake of the season. The Japanese rider lost the front and was down, sliding out of the race in heartbreaking fashion – no dream podium or victory today for the number 30.

Morbidelli, Rins

That left Morbidelli leading, closely followed by Rins, with Mir the other key player on the move as the Spaniard made a glorious start from P12, up to fifth on the opening lap and ahead of closest rival Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), who had a tougher opening few opening laps. It was opposite fortunes for compatriot Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing), though, as he was up to P3 and holding off Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Mir.

Quartararo was the hunted

Quartararo then began slipping into the clutches of Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Marquez able to escape both to then set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 4; the reigning Moto2 World Champion latching onto the back of Mir. Up front though, Morbidelli then set a 1:48.089 to take the race lap record at MotorLand, he and Rins a second up the road from third place Zarco on Lap 6. Mir was on the move though, slicing past Viñales at Turn 12, and Marquez wasted no time in following suit, putting in a classy move at Turn 15. The Mir-Marquez duo had their sights firmly set on Zarco up ahead…

Quartararo, meanwhile, was in a serious battle mid-top ten. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Crutchlow, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech3) were all line astern behind ‘El Diablo’, and things started to get spicy. Soon enough, that was also true up ahead.

Quartararo was put under plenty of pressure

The gap between Rins and Zarco was still hovering around the 1.7 second mark, with Mir and Marquez shadowing the fastest Ducati on track. But eventually, Mir pounced on Zarco at Turn 4 as the gap between the leading duo and Mir hovered at 2.2 seconds. Marquez then didn’t take long to follow as he took that incredible inside line round the double left hander at the end of the lap, but Zarco fought back at Turn 1. Marquez was back underneath the Ducati at Turn 4 and the small squabble cost the number 73 time, although Mir was making no real dent into the lead held by Morbidelli and Rins.

Zarco, Vinales, Mir

The fight behind, meanwhile, had seen Quartararo drop down to P8 as Pol Espargaro diced up the inside at Turn 1, and Viñales was just a few tenths ahead. Oliveira was then climbing all over the back of Quartararo but the latter was strong on the brakes at the end of the back straight. As the battle raged on, Oliveira briefly got through on Quartararo but the Yamaha was back through at Turn 1 as Crutchlow and Dovizioso waited to pick up any pieces. Pol Espargaro was making progress nearer the front of the group as he got ahead of Viñales, and every single point and position counted. The next drama would come from further up the road though, as the second Honda heartbreak of the day hit.

Marquez was looking strong and marching forward before it all went wrong…

Suddenly at Turn 2, the dream of a third MotoGP podium in a row evaporated as Alex Marquez slid out. Rider ok, but left wondering what could have been as Mir disappeared into the distance.

At the front, Morbidelli’s lead over Rins was 0.6 seconds and holding more than firm, with Mir 2.6 seconds behind with nine laps to go. Zarco had been shuffled down to P4, but he was still ahead of Pol Espargaro, Viñales and Quartararo as the latter two sat sixth and seventh heading into the closing stages. Quartararo was still fending off Oliveira too, and Dovizioso was lurking. The Portuguese rider then made his move and it stuck, with Dovi then right behind Quartararo…

Morbidelli, Rins

Next though, Aleix Espargaro made his presence felt and, after getting so close to making some more gains in the Championship, Dovizioso was on the receiving end of an aggressive move from the Aprilia at Turn 1. The number 04 then ran in too hot at Turn 8 and suddenly, the Italian was down to P12 after crossing the line last time round in eighth.

Morbidelli, Rins

Viñales and Quartararo were next under threat, however. Oliveira grabbed P6 at the final corner to demote Viñales to seventh, and soon enough joined the battle for fourth between Pol Espargaro and Zarco. Esparagaro climbed to P4 and Oliveira was soon through too, but Zarco wasn’t giving it up that easy, the Ducati man fighting straight back at Turn 13.

The action was all going on behind the leaders

Up ahead, it couldn’t have been less chaotic for Morbidelli. From half a second to a second and a half to nearly two and still climbing, the Italian was on rails as the gap kept extending. Rins was well clear of teammate Mir as well as the Championship leader was forced to settle for a lonely third, and all three held firm on the final lap. Morbidelli completed his masterclass with more than two seconds in hand, becoming the second repeat winner of the season – and climbing to within a race win of the top in the Championship.

Morbidelli the dominant victor made no mistakes

Rins takes 45 points from 50 in Aragon as both he and Morbidelli bring themselves right into the title frame, facing a deficit but far from out of it. Two P3s at MotorLand see Mir extend his World Championship lead with three races to go, however, with 14 points now his advantage over Quartararo.

2020 Aragon II MotoGP podium
1 Franco Morbidelli – Petronas Yamaha SRT – Yamaha – 41:47.652
2 Alex Rins -Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki +2.205
3 Joan Mir -Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki +5.376

Pol Espargaro picked up a great P4 from ninth on the grid, another solid ride and some better luck at MotorLand this time around. Just behind the number 44, Zarco vs Oliveira went right down to the wire and in the end, the Ducati eventually pipped the KTM by just 0.038, Oliveira forced to settle for a nevertheless impressive sixth.

Pol Espargaro fought hard for his fourth place finish

Then came Viñales and Quartararo, the Yamaha title contenders finishing P7 and P8 as they slip further away from Mir after a tougher race weekend than expected. Lecuona secured his third top 10 of the year in P9, as Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) rounded out the top 10. Crutchlow and Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) finished P11 and P12, ahead of Dovizioso after his tough race at the office.

Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing) and Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) were the only other two riders to finish, the duo pick up P14 and P15 respectively. Aleix Espargaro was on for a top 10 but his RS-GP suffered an issue with a couple of laps remaining.

That’s a wrap in Teruel. The 2020 title race just keeps on twisting and turning and now, 32 points split the top SIX with three races to go. Mir, Quartararo, Viñales, Morbidelli, Dovizioso and Rins will all fancy their chances still heading into two Valencia races and the Portimao finale. Who will win the 2020 MotoGP World Championship? Mir leads the field by 14 points, but that can change in the blink of an eye. It’s game on in 2020, and Valencia is up next!

Franco Morbidelli

“I had dynamite for breakfast! I felt great out there today. The feeling with the bike was amazing, we gambled a bit with the tyre choice, we knew we had to do something more and strong re: tyre choice and we decided to go with the medium and it paid off because in the race it was working really well and I was feeling great with the package today. This victory is for the team, they worked really well, unbelievable till late in the box trying to sort out what was the best choice and setting, this is for them. Now we’re back in the game, 25 points behind the top… I think we should be as aggressive as we were today in Valencia and Portimao.”

Two Suzuki men on the podium again and Mir extended his championship lead

MotoGP Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 41m47.652
2 Alex RINS Suzuki +2.205
3 Joan MIR Suzuki +5.376
4 Pol ESPARGARO KTM +10.299
5 Johann ZARCO Ducati +12.915
6 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM +12.953
7 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha +14.262
8 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha +14.72
9 Iker LECUONA KTM +17.177
10 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati +19.519
11 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda +19.708
12 Stefan BRADL Honda +20.591
13 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati +22.222
14 Tito RABAT Ducati +26.496
15 Bradley SMITH Aprilia +31.816
Not Classified
Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 3 Laps
Alex MARQUEZ Honda 10 Laps
Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 18 Laps
Not Finished 1st Lap
Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 0 Lap
Jack MILLER Ducati 0 Lap
Brad BINDER KTM 0 Lap

MotoGP World Championship Standings

Pos Rider Bike Points
1 Joan MIR Suzuki 137
2 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 123
3 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 118
4 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 112
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 109
6 Alex RINS Suzuki 105
7 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 92
8 Pol ESPARGARO KTM 90
9 Jack MILLER Ducati 82
10 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 79
11 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 71
12 Brad BINDER KTM 67
13 Alex MARQUEZ Honda 67
14 Johann ZARCO Ducati 64
15 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 58
16 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 42
17 Iker LECUONA KTM 27
18 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 27
19 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 26
20 Stefan BRADL Honda 12
21 Bradley SMITH Aprilia 12
22 Tito RABAT Ducati 10
23 Michele PIRRO Ducati 4

Moto2

Not since Phil Read in 1971 has a Brit won three intermediate class Grand Prix races in a row, but Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) now has. The number 22 dominated from the start to pull over eight seconds clear by the flag in the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel, the 25 points giving him the Championship lead. Second went to Fabio Di Giannantonio (Lightech Speed Up) as the Italian got some redemption after a heartbreaker in the Aragon GP, with Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) doing some solid damage control to take third and stay on the podium.

Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS)

From pole, Lowes got a perfect getaway and made the dream start. The holeshot was his as Jorge Navarro (Lightech Speed Up) made an shocker from P2 on the grid, with asRemy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) grabbing second. Di Giannantonio was soon past the Australian though at Turn 5 and the fast-starting Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was soon P3 from the third row of the grid. Lowes was powering off into the distance though and on Lap 2, his gap was 1.5 seconds over Di Giannantonio and continuing to rise.

On Lap 3, Gardner and Bastianini were through on Dixon in quick succession, with Lowes’ lead up to 1.7. Drama then unfolded in the Championship chase once again, with bad luck hitting Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) twice in a week as the Italian was down at Turn 1, losing the chance at more points to cut his deficit. Can he bounce back at Valencia?

Up front, Lowes’ lead was now at the two second mark, and Diggia was 1.3 clear of Gardner in the battle for the final podium place. Bastianini was on a charge though, past Gardner not long after, and with Dixon and Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing) in hot pursuit. Lowes’ lead continued to soar and with Diggia also showing cracking pace, the Italian was leaving compatriot Bastianini behind in the close fight for fifth with seventh place Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) joining the battle too.

Meanwhile, it was a tough race for former points leader Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46). The Italian was down in P14 behind Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) and Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing), before Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP) then overtook the Italian and suddenly, Marini was P15 with 12 laps to go, only on for a point. Then, fellow VR46 Academy rider Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) made it even worse as he demoted Marini to P16…

By then, Lowes was a comfortable four seconds ahead of Di Giannantonio, who was two seconds ahead of Bastianini in a tense as you were at the front. The battle for the top five was anything but that as Fernandez, Martin, Dixon and Navarro diced it out, with everything still to play for.

There were no such battles for Lowes, however. The Brit was over eight seconds clear by the flag, winning in dominant style and leading from lights to flag to stamp some authority on the Championship to boot – now seven points clear of Bastianini. Di Giannantonio took second and was back on the box after heartbreak last weekend, able to keep some time in hand ahead of Bastianini. For ‘Bestia’ though, it was exactly what he needed – more consistent podiums, with Lowes seemingly having more than the rest at MotorLand.

In the end, Gardner held onto P4 by just three tenths over a hard-charging Navarro as the Australian and Spaniard rounded out the top five, that scrap rolling on to the flag. Martin took P6 and Dixon got the better of Fernandez in the latter stages to take P7, the Spaniard forced to settle for eighth. Ramirez beat teammate Roberts by a second as the two American Racing riders finish P9 and P10 respectively.

And then came Marini. The Italian dug deep to claw back up to 11th place and he takes home some points, but the number 10 does now drop 23 points off Lowes in the title race to make it a triple-header of races to forget for the former Championship leader.

Vierge, Hafizh Syahrin (Kipin Energy Aspar Team Moto2), Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Simon Corsi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) completed the points.

Kasma Daniel (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) and Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) crashed at Turn 1 unhurt, with Garzo, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40), Edgar Pons (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Manzi joining Bezzecchi in riders who crashed out in Teruel, too.

Three wins from three sees a high flying Lowes take the title lead with just three races to go in 2020. Seven points split the British rider from Bastianini, with Marini and Bezzecchi losing a lot of ground in Aragon. A weekend off now follows before two Valencia races and the season finale in Portimao come thick and fast, and the Moto2™ Championship scrap looks set to go all the way to the wire.

Sam Lowes – P1

“I’m really happy because last weekend we were strong, to win the race you have to finish but I felt like Bezzecchi crashed but he had the win, Diggia crashed… it was a great ride but I wanted to improve this weekend and today there was no doubt. I was the fastest guy all weekend, I made a great start and made the race. This is really important for me, there are three races to go, I’m in a good way but to win a race like this takes so much confidence. I said to myself before these three races, Aragon being a track I love, that if I can win these three then I have a chance at the Championship. I didn’t expect some results to go my way, but now we’re already leading and have a good chance. I’m really happy, the team has done an amazing job to improve from last weekend to this, that’s the sign of a great team when they give you a few tenths you don’t have to find yourself! Thanks to everyone that’s supported me the last couple of years and we’ll give everything in these last three races.”

2020 Aragon II Moto2 podium
1 Sam Lowes – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Kalex 39:27.645
2 Fabio Di Giannantonio – Lightech Speed Up – Speed Up +8.425
3 Enea Bastianini – Italtrans Racing Team – Kalex +10.871
Remy Gardner – P4

“It was a solid start to the weekend and I honestly didn’t expect to get the front row, but I was super happy with how things worked out. We worked hard as a team, we had decent pace and I was sure we could pull a good result out when it counted on Sunday. It was a good race and I am really happy with the points we scored. Aragon has always been a place where I have struggled in the past, if you had told me a year ago that we would come away from the double-header with a fifth and a fourth and a front row, I wouldn’t have believed you. I pushed hard from the beginning but was really struggling for rear grip at the end. It was good that I was able to fast in the begin and create the gap, as it helped when I needed to manage the tyre. Big thanks to the team, sixth in the championship, and I am already looking ahead to Valencia!”

Moto2 Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Sam LOWES Kalex 39m27.645
2 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Speed Up +8.425
3 Enea BASTIANINI Kalex +10.871
4 Remy GARDNER Kalex +12.657
5 Jorge NAVARRO Speed Up +13.006
6 Jorge MARTIN Kalex +14.766
7 Jake DIXON Kalex +16.905
8 Augusto FERNANDEZ Kalex +17.027
9 Marcos RAMIREZ Kalex +21.888
10 Joe ROBERTS Kalex ++22.951
11 Luca MARINI Kalex 24.969
12 Xavi VIERGE Kalex +26.206
13 Hafizh SYAHRIN Speed Up +26.317
14 Tetsuta NAGASHIMA Kalex +26.685
15 Simone CORSI MV Agusta +26.899
16 Bo BENDSNEYDER NTS +27.404
17 Nicolò BULEGA Kalex +30.319
18 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Kalex +30.707
19 Somkiat CHANTRA Kalex +30.98
20 Marcel SCHROTTER Kalex +31.501
21 Andi Farid IZDIHAR Kalex +47.953
22 Xavi CARDELUS Speed Up +48.375
23 Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI NTS +1m00.394
Not Classified
DNF Stefano MANZI MV Agusta 1 Lap
DNF Edgar PONS Kalex 2 Laps
DNF Lorenzo BALDASSARRI Kalex 6 Laps
DNF Hector GARZO Kalex 11 Laps
DNF Marco BEZZECCHI Kalex 18 Laps
Not Finished 1st Lap
DNF Thomas LUTHI Kalex 0 Lap
DNF Kasma DANIEL Kalex 0 Lap

Moto2 World Championship Standings

Pos

 Rider Bike Points
1 Sam LOWES Kalex 178
2 Enea BASTIANINI Kalex 171
3 Luca MARINI Kalex 155
4 Marco BEZZECCHI Kalex 130
5 Jorge MARTIN Kalex 105
6 Remy GARDNER Kalex 85
7 Tetsuta NAGASHIMA Kalex 81
8 Joe ROBERTS Kalex 80
9 Thomas LUTHI Kalex 72
10 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Speed Up 65
11 Xavi VIERGE Kalex 63
12 Augusto FERNANDEZ Kalex 62
13 Marcel SCHROTTER Kalex 61
14 Aron CANET Speed Up 61
15 Jorge NAVARRO Speed Up 52
16 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI Kalex 47
17 Jake DIXON Kalex 44
18 Hector GARZO Kalex 34
19 Marcos RAMIREZ Kalex 32
20 Hafizh SYAHRIN Speed Up 21
21 Stefano MANZI MV Agusta 20
22 Nicolò BULEGA Kalex 17
23 Simone CORSI MV Agusta 15
24 Somkiat CHANTRA Kalex 10
25 Bo BENDSNEYDER NTS 5
26 Edgar PONS Kalex 5
27 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Kalex 5
28 Dominique AEGERTER NTS 4

Moto3

Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) is truly the master of MotorLand! A week on from his first win of the year, the Spaniard went back-to-back with another stunning victory – and it’s Honda’s 800th in Grand Prix racing. It was as close as you like in classic Moto3 style, however, with Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) taking his first Grand Prix podium in second, just 0.051 off the win, and Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in third… still within a tenth and a half of the top.

Masia does it again, with Sasaki taking his first podium in second and Toba back on the rostrum for third

It was polesitter Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who managed to hold on to the front through Turn 2, the Spaniard swooping round the outside of fast starter (Tony Arbolino Rivacold Snipers Team) and Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) able to fight off key rival Albert Arenas (Solunion Aspar Team) – but not for long, as the Championship leader struck straight back. These were the early bouts though, and plenty was to come as the classic Moto3 freight train got in gear.

On take two in Teruel, there would be no group splintering off at the front as what seemed like the whole field snaked around MotorLand Aragon, locked together in lightweight class combat. As ever, the leading positions were ever-changing. Down the back straight it was slipstream city as Fernandez slipped from P1 to P3, but on two consecutive laps the Spaniard bit straight back at Turn 1. Fernandez, Arenas, Vietti and Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) all took turns leading on the opening handful of laps, with Fernandez on Lap 5 getting a bit beaten up heading into Turn 1 – the Aragon GP podium man shuffled down to P10. Arenas then took to lead on Lap 6 as Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) did his usual Sunday morning routine of fighting his way through the pack, the South African up to P2.

For the next few laps, Arenas was holding firm at the front as the top 26 riders were all line astern. It really was a Moto3 freight train at MotorLand. However, Arenas was looking formidable and even when the chasing pack was in the slipstream, no one could get past him down the straight. The title chase leader wasn’t getting away though…

With nine to go, Toba tried to take the lead at Turn 1 but he was slightly wide and Arenas went aggressive on the switchback into Turn 2 and held P1, Toba losing out and Masia moving up to try an attack nexy.

Masia was using the Honda grunt down the back straight, but Arenas kept biting back at Turn 1. The Aspar rider was supreme on the brakes, but Masia wasn’t allowing him to get away. After an earlier moment, John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was back in the hunt for victory and up to P4 and with three laps remaining as the battle royale kicked into overdrive. Masia made a move stick at Turn 1 on Arenas but the latter was back through at Turn 7. Toba was up the inside of both Binder and McPhee, but the Petronas rider got back into third as Masia aimed to get Arenas down the back straight.

However, Arenas continued his great run down the 1km straight. With two laps to go, Masia grabbed the lead at Turn 7 instead, but the Spaniard was then dropped back to third as both Arenas and McPhee carved past at Turn 12. Masia got McPhee back down the straight, but Arenas led onto the last lap and the scene was set.

Done waiting, Masia struck early to force his way through at Turn 1, with Toba making McPhee’s life difficult just behind too. Sasaki followed his compatriot through on McPhee as well, as Arenas squeezed past at Turn 7, and so it was all down to the back straight. Could Arenas hold it? Once more he got a great run out of Turn 15 but Masia was reeling him in and the two KTMs of Toba and Sasaki were tucked in too. Into the braking zone, all three soared past Arenas and Masia stole the lead with two corners to go, then ultimately holding it to the line to take his first back-to-back wins and Honda’s 800th Grand Prix win.

Toba had been in second but ran slightly wide, and Sasaki needed no further invitation. Slicing up the inside, the number 71 also got some great traction to home in on Masia – crossing the line just 0.051 down but nevertheless taking a stunning first Grand Prix podium to bounce back from some terrible luck in 2020. Toba was forced to settle for third but got back on the podium, also a bounce back.

2020 Aragon II Moto3 podium
1 Jaume Masia – Leopard Racing – Honda 37:44.602
2 Ayumu Sasaki – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 – KTM +0.051
3 Kaito Toba – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM +0.152

Arenas slipped to P4 in the last two corners but crucially, he beats the likes of Vietti and Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia), key Championship contenders. Vietti finishes just three tenths off the win in fifth though, with McPhee in P6. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) rode superbly to mount a comeback to P7, with Binder suffering in the final couple of laps to finish P8 ahead of Ogura. The Japanese rider was less than a second away from the win but still lost more ground in the fight for the title. Arbolino picks up P10, 2.259 seconds adrift from the win as a crash split the pack on the final lap.

That crash was late heartbreak for Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) as Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) crashed ahead of him, leaving the Spaniard nowhere to go, and he lost out on a solid result after slicing through from P28 on the grid. There were no other crashes.

Another rip-roaring Moto3 race goes down to the wire, with Masia making history for the second weekend in a row. What does all this mean for the Championship? Well, Arenas extends his advantage to 19 points over Ogura with three races to go. Vietti is 20 points behind Arenas with Masia now right in the hunt, 24 points split tdown heading into the final Valencia and Portimao rounds. Game on!

Jaume Masia – P1

“I’m really happy, it’s an amazing sensation to win back to back. I’m really happy because after the win last week I felt a bit more pressure because I was closer than before in the championship so I tried to keep my mind calm and keep working with my team. I kept believing in myself, today I struggled a bit more because the rhythm was really fast, it seems like I was fighting all race with the KTMs, they brake really strong so I struggled more but I did the same strategy as last week. Today I struggled more in the straight as the KTMs were so fast but we’re here again, two wins, closer and we’ll see.”

Jaume Masia took Honda’s 800th GP victory

Moto3 Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Jaume MASIA Honda 37m44.602
2 Ayumu SASAKI KTM +0.051
3 Kaito TOBA KTM +0.152
4 Albert ARENAS KTM +0.296
5 Celestino VIETTI KTM +0.331
6 John MCPHEE Honda +0.372
7 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM +0.583
8 Darryn BINDER KTM +0.772
9 Ai OGURA Honda +0.955
10 Tony ARBOLINO Honda +2.259
11 Alonso LOPEZ Husqvarna +2.489
12 Raul FERNANDEZ KTM +2.493
13 Filip SALAC Honda +2.52
14 Gabriel RODRIGO Honda +2.686
15 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda +2.745
16 Dennis FOGGIA Honda +2.895
17 Carlos TATAY KTM +3.019
18 Andrea MIGNO KTM +3.622
19 Romano FENATI Husqvarna +5.448
20 Stefano NEPA KTM +5.62
21 Barry BALTUS KTM +5.68
22 Niccolò ANTONELLI Honda +6.103
23 Ryusei YAMANAKA Honda +16.543
24 Jason DUPASQUIER KTM +21.606
25 Yuki KUNII Honda +21.716
26 Davide PIZZOLI KTM +21.812
27 Khairul Idham PAWI Honda +32.799
28 Maximilian KOFLER KTM +33.6
Not Classified
DNF Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda 1 Lap
DNF Sergio GARCIA Honda 1 Lap

Moto3 World Championship Standings

Pos Rider Bike Points
1 Albert ARENAS KTM 157
2 Ai OGURA Honda 138
3 Celestino VIETTI KTM 137
4 Jaume MASIA Honda 133
5 Tony ARBOLINO Honda 121
6 John MCPHEE Honda 119
7 Raul FERNANDEZ KTM 93
8 Darryn BINDER KTM 90
9 Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda 83
10 Gabriel RODRIGO Honda 79
11 Romano FENATI Husqvarna 70
12 Dennis FOGGIA Honda 69
13 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda 57
14 Andrea MIGNO KTM 47
15 Ayumu SASAKI KTM 43
16 Kaito TOBA KTM 40
17 Sergio GARCIA Honda 37
18 Niccolò ANTONELLI Honda 33
19 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM 32
20 Stefano NEPA KTM 26
21 Filip SALAC Honda 23
22 Alonso LOPEZ Husqvarna 21
23 Carlos TATAY KTM 14
24 Ryusei YAMANAKA Honda 13
25 Riccardo ROSSI KTM 5

2020 MotoGP Calendar

Rnd Date Circuit
1 08 March (Moto2/Moto3) Losail International Circuit
2 19 July Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
3 26 July Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
4 09 August Automotodrom Brno
5 16 August Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
6 23 August Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
7 13 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
8 20 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
9 27 September Barcelona – Catalunya
10 11 October Le Mans
11 18 October MotorLand Aragón
12 25 October MotorLand Aragón
13 08 November Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
14 15 November Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
15 22 November Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP, News

MotoGP riders reflect on the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragon

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2020 MotoGP Round Eleven – Aragon

2020 continues to serve up a stunner of a MotoGP season, and there have now been eight different premier class winners. In the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragon, it was Alex Rins on the top step as the Suzuki rider took his first victory since Silverstone 2019, slicing up from tenth on the grid to fend off another late charge from rookie superstar Alex Marquez, who took second and the 850th premier class podium for Honda. Third place went to Joan Mir, the number 36 back on the rostrum and the new Championship leader after a tough day at the office for Fabio Quartararo.

Gran Premio Michelin de Aragon

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Alex Rins – P1

“I’m full of emotion! At the beginning of the season I really struggled a lot, and since then the team and I have worked so hard, and now we’ve won and it feels amazing! I was not sure that I could win from 10th on the grid, but I was able to do it! When I was chasing down the riders in front of me I could feel that I had good pace and the bike was working really well. I felt really relaxed despite having Marquez and Joan close behind, and I managed the pressure. It will be tricky to replicate this again next weekend, but for sure I will try my best! It feels super to be back on the top step!”

Race winner Alex Rins and new series leader Joan Mir
Alex Marquez – P2

“Honestly I didn’t expect to get a podium from starting in 11th but I was able to recover well. I found myself in a good position, so we did what we could! I knew I could take quite good care of my tyres for the end of the race. I enjoyed every overtake, but I was really on the limit with the front tyre. Even so, it’s great to be back on the podium and to do it in the dry, we really showed our potential all weekend. We still need to work on Qualifying, but we can enjoy what we achieved today. I want to again say thank you to the Repsol Honda Team for believing in me, supporting me, guiding me and never giving up. They gave me an amazing bike and I enjoyed the whole race.”

A very close finish and it looked as though Marquez might steal the win but Rins held on
Joan Mir – P3

“I’m really happy! All the effort that we’re putting in every race weekend has paid off and I’m now leading the championship. In a way it doesn’t mean a lot because there are still four races to go and a lot can still happen, but it’s a nice situation to be in at the moment. I actually expected a little bit more from today’s race because at the beginning my pace was really good and I maintained everything well, but in the last few laps I started to struggle a bit with the front tyre. I had plenty of grip on the rear tyre but in the end it was better to take 3rd than to take a risk. I’m really looking forward to next weekend and hopefully I’ll be able to get an even better result.”

Joan Mir and Alex Rins
Maverick Vinales – P4

“I‘m so happy I had a good start. I was ahead of the group by 0.7s after the first lap. That gives me a lot of confidence. I was very happy with my opening lap. The soft front also gave me a good confidence this weekend. My problem was the rear. After five or six laps it had a big drop on the left side. I was losing time in sectors with a lot of left corners, but in the right handers I was quite fast, which was good. We got the maximum out of the bike today. We need to work for next weekend. Our bike has its strong points and weak points. We can’t make its weak points stronger, but we can make its strong points even stronger by working in the direction that suits the Yamaha. The goal is to start at the front again next week and then put in a faster rhythm than today. At the end of the race, I was able to put in the fast laps again though. I rode those laps with my eyes closed. I was pushing that hard, because I wanted to have the opportunity to push Joan. I honestly tried, and it was good because now I know I have something extra to give in the last laps if I need to in the next few races.”

Maverick Vinales
Takaaki Nakagami – P5

“I’m pretty happy to finish as the top independent, it’s nice to stay in Parc Ferme for this race. It was a tough race and it was difficult to manage the tyres, but we did our best and congrats Alex (Marquez, who finished second) he did pretty well today and his performance was good. We’ll do our best to fight for the podium in the next race here in Aragon, but I’m happy with this race. I want to say thanks to my team, they did a great job all weekend and it’s good to finish in P5.”

Takaaki Nakagami
Franco Morbidelli – P6

“I did struggle to fight with people at the beginning of the race, we had the medium front tyre, and I lost too much ground in the early stages, battling with some riders. Towards the end I was catching Maverick but I didn’t get close enough to attack him, he was maintaining the distance. Unfortunately, I lost out to Takaaki in the final corner as well. It was a good race though, especially the last twelve laps where I was able to maintain a really consistent pace. We are missing something, so we will try to sort that out for next weekend.”

Franco Morbidelli
Andrea Dovizioso – P7

“Today we managed to achieve the best possible result considering that we were starting just thirteenth on the grid. Unfortunately, we did not have the speed to fight with the front riders, and maybe, with the highest temperatures compared to the last few days, the medium tyre didn’t behave exactly as we expected. Surely, now we have some data to work on ahead of the next race weekend, which will always be here in Aragón. We hope that the weather conditions will allow us to start working consistently, starting immediately from the first free practice session on Friday.”

Andrea Dovizioso
Cal Crutchlow – P8

“Obviously, this is not the result we expected today. On the warm-up lap, we had a problem in the back straight with the clutch slipping on the bike a lot. So when I came to the grid I wasn’t sure how much to push the clutch off the start line because if I’d have really pushed the clutch I’d have been in a lot more trouble in the race. I had a lot of clutch slipping in the first laps until about lap three and then it continued less until lap six. But at that point I was in 12th position and I had to battle back through. The best result I could do was eighth place which I’m pleased with after the difficult moments at the start. I think we did a good job, now we have to look forward to next week and take some positives from today.”

Cal Crutchlow
Jack Miller – P9

“That wasn’t what you’d call an ideal race, let’s say. Everything was more or less going how I wanted it to, and I’d saved my tyres for the end so I could make a charge. I’d deliberately used the medium tyres because I felt the guys using the soft rear were going to drop off near the end, but that didn’t seem to happen. The only guy who seemed to have a problem was (Fabio) Quartararo, but the rest didn’t. So, ninth it was – not great, not terrible. I guess it’s back to the drawing board and time to do some homework if we’re going to make any headway next week here in Aragon.

“My pace wasn’t too bad really, I was only nine seconds off the win so it wasn’t like we were miles off. I was pretty happy with how I rode for the most part, but I can’t help but wonder what my race would have been like if I’d used the soft tyres like I often do. I don’t reckon that would have had me winning the thing, but maybe finishing a few places further up. We need to analyse now how the race went and then to make next week’s race here better. (Johann) Zarco was the interesting one for me because he used the soft rear tyre and seemed to have some decent pace and he’s on a Ducati, so there’s some relevant data to dig through there. Sunday was the warmest it’d been here all week and the track was over 30 degrees for the race, so there might be something in that we can learn from.

“I was pretty happy to qualify fifth and the fastest of the Ducatis after I had to come through Q1, which I didn’t think I was going to have to do. I’d got up inside the top 10 in the last practice and then lost my lap time because of the yellow flags when Fabio crashed, which let’s say I wasn’t that impressed about. I didn’t see the yellow flag, but I did see the cloud of dust where he’d gone off and I slowed down, but I still improved my lap time and that should have been Q2 for me, but then my lap got cancelled. So yeah, was pretty annoyed to put it mildly but just had to get on with it and go the long way around … I mean, nobody’s going to be sorry for me, right?

“So I ended up back in 17th and in Q1, so it was looking a bit dicey, but I got through and gave it a good shake in Q2 and ended up on the second row, which was a lot better than I was thinking Saturday would go. Shame that didn’t carry on to Sunday, I guess.

“How strange is this season going? I equal my worst finish of a race this year (with Brno) and I’m somehow a point closer to the championship leader (Joan Mir). He’s not won a race yet, and eight other guys have. I’m 39 points off the lead but back in eighth … anything can happen this year, and a bit more craziness in my favour would be pretty handy right now. There’s still a lot to play for with four races left and it’s too close to call, who knows where this year will end up.

“The championship was a long shot anyway after we gave away a load of points in Le Mans (and Misano too with that tear-off), so all I’m trying to do now is get back on the podium and get as many points by the end of the season, and try to give the guys at Pramac a nice gift before I leave. That’s the realistic option, and that’s where my focus is. Whatever that leads to, we’ll have to see. It’s been a long time since I won a race, so I’ve got four more chances to do that.”

Jack Miller
Johann Zarco – P10

“I am very happy with the race, a top-10 is a good position, especially after the difficult weekend we had.  I have ridden a large part of the race with a group of several riders in which I have been able to see what my weak points are and what my strengths are for the next weekend.”

Brad Binder – P11

“A challenging weekend in general. We had some good sessions but also some where it did not really work out for us. The whole team worked really hard and we tried different things but we couldn’t find the solution. Today I rode my best and tried my hardest from lap one until the end. It was easy to fold the front end today and we lacked some feeling there. It was hard to stay calm and not over-attack the corners. We’ve got the whole week to analyze and come back stronger next weekend.”

Brad Binder
Pol Espargaro – P12

“It wasn’t an easy day. We already had a tough job from the grid and on the first laps other riders were touching each other and bits of bikes were flying around! I lost a few positions and was stuck behind some guys but didn’t really have the whole package performing as I needed to today. It’s disappointing but we know we need to work and come up with some ideas to be better for next weekend. We have another chance here at MotorLand and we’ll push for much more.”

Pol Espargaro
Aleix Espargaro – P13

“Not an easy race. I started well, but then there was contact ahead of me that cost me several positions. My pace wasn’t bad, but not at the level I would have expected. Unfortunately, we were unable to work at our best on tyre management due to some problems in practice. I struggled particularly in acceleration. I wasn’t able to overtake and that limited me for the entire race.”

Aleix Espargaro
Iker Lecuona – P14

“I’m honestly really happy. This morning in warm wp I felt good and had a decent pace, so I knew it would be possible to fight close to the top 10. I lost some positions in the first laps of the race and it was very difficult to manage but later I was behind Miguel for many laps and tried so save my tires for the end of the race. It was a good idea, as Miguel pushed a lot and we could reduce the gap to the front. Finally, I passed him and pushed with this extra grip. I’m very satisfied with my race, as it was very consistent and strong.”

Danilo Petrucci – P15

“After a good first part of the race, in which I was in tenth place, I began to suffer the tyre drop. Unfortunately, a few laps from the end I had contact with Pol Espargaro and lost other positions, finishing fifteenth. Too bad because we lost important points for the Championship. Now we have some references to work on ahead of next race here in Aragón on Sunday.”

Danilo Petrucci
Miguel Oliveira – P16

“It was a tough race. At least I felt competitive in the first half. Later it was quite difficult for me to manage the tire. I finished it quite quick and started to lose time. For sure, I think our potential to improve is quite high. So, we will try to focus on that and just do our best for next weekend.”

Miguel Oliveira
Stefan Bradl – P17

“It was an exciting race, starting last was a disaster but we were able to make up some positions and have some good fights. We have been working with the geometry of the bike and we are improving, step by step. Our pace in Warm Up was not so bad but unfortunately it didn’t lead to a better result in terms of position. We’re making progress, so coming back next week is a positive thing to let us try and improve again. Congratulations again to Alex for another great podium, the Repsol Honda Team is doing a great job.”

Stefan Bradl
Fabio Quartararo – P18

“It was a really strange race. We knew that our pace was not the best but we were not expecting to finish in this position. I was expecting to be further up the field, but we had an issue with the front tyre. It’s the first time we’ve used this tyre, it felt great to begin with in the opening three laps, but the pressure became too high. It was not possible to ride, I had no feeling in the front. I’m disappointed because without this problem I think we could have been able to fight for a better result. It isn’t easy to understand why but we’ll look and prepare for next weekend, when we are here again.”

Fabio Quartararo
Bradley Smith – P19

“My race was decided on the first lap. Because of a gear selection mistake, I found myself at the back of the group with a 4-5 second gap. At that point, it was rather difficult to recover, although I was able to maintain the pace I expected and that makes me see the glass as half full. Rear grip is still an aspect we need to improve. Racing again on the same circuit in a few days will give us a chance to try something completely different.”

Bradley Smith
Tito Rabat – P20

“I had a good start in which I managed to regain some positions.  It was a difficult race in which it was difficult for me to maintain the rhythm in the first laps, which has caused several riders to pass me.  I have not had a good feeling with the rear tire throughout the race, which has prevented me from following the race group.”

Pecco Bagnaia – DNF

“I’m sorry because I finally found the right feeling, I felt good and unfortunately crashing after only 3 laps is always bad, I’m sure we could have made a good recovery. When I crashed, the feeling was that someone had touched me but actually from the data it seems that the gear did not go well, we will try again next week.”

Team Managers

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“Of course, I’m very happy. Alex managed to win, which was really great. A few things have held him back this year, such as the injury, so it’s really nice to have him finally back on the top step of the podium. Joan also got another podium after a strong race and he’s now leading the championship, which is an incredible feeling. I want to say thank you very much to all the staff who work so hard on this project and thank you to both our riders.”

Team Suzuki
Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“This is a great day for us, really fantastic. We’ve been waiting to get a win this season, and finally we’ve managed it. It was great to watch Alex come up from 10th place, his recovery and fighting spirit were brilliant. Joan also did a very clever race, and despite struggling at the end he focused on the important thing which is the points and the championship. We’re leading the standings and we’ll keep fighting until the end. I want to say a big thank you to all our employees and all the fans, we appreciate them so much and their support always gives us an extra push.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“We didn‘t deliver a perfect race today. We wanted to be on the podium, so we definitely have work to do for next week, but at the same time there are positives to take away from this race. Maverick had a very good start and opening lap. It‘s a shame he couldn‘t hold on to the top 3 in the middle of the race. We had an expected drop of the rear tyre that remained constant until the end. Because of that, he lost contact with the front riders. Had he been just a little bit closer to the front riders, he would have been able to join the battle at the end, because his pace in the last five laps was really good. We think we can do better next weekend, but looking at the bigger picture, Maverick finished in front of two of his three key rivals in the championship today. Thanks to this he gained a position in the overall standings and is just 12 points from the top now. So, the championship fight is far from over. We will do whatever it takes to improve our performance for the next round.”

Maverick Vinales
Razlan Razali – Petronas SRT Team Principal

“That wasn’t among the better race days for the team so we need to analyse what happened in the MotoGP race, that way we can figure out the best way to approach next weekend’s GP. It is at the same circuit so this is going to be really important to do. Franco still managed to finish today’s race sixth, which was a good effort from him. It is a shame that Fabio finished outside of the points, but he did have a big crash yesterday and a tyre pressure issue today. These things happen in racing, we just need to learn from it and come back better next weekend.”

Mike Leitner – Red Bull KTM Race Manager

“Firstly the positive aspect of today is that we had three riders in the points but, generally, we’re not so happy because we didn’t make the top ten and we could not make the most of the tires. We need to put our heads together to make better results and get better performance next weekend.”

Gran Premio Michelin de Aragon
Hervé Poncharal – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“We knew it was going to be a tough race for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 MotoGP team and it was a difficult one. On the grid, we decided to switch for a medium front and keep the soft rear. The grid positions were far from ideal, the start was average, so of course we were quite far back after the first laps. The four KTM’s were following each other and the pace was very similar in between the four guys, but we could never really close the gap to the guys in front, so we just managed to stay in between 11, 12 and 15. At the end of the race, Iker was 14th and Miguel 16th. This is not the result, we were hoping for, although Iker had a steady race. I think he was quite strong, the pace was interesting and he was following Miguel until Miguel’s rear tyre completely dropped. He was on the back of Aleix Espargaro and the two factory KTM’s, but he didn’t want to do anything stupid the last five, six laps and just brought the bike home in 14th position. But I think today he showed again, that he’s got the pace of a proper MotoGP rider. He learned a lot and I’m quite proud of Iker today. On the other side of the garage, it’s a shame, because Miguel is fast, he is working hard and is very focused and then we just couldn’t do anything the last 10 laps, because our rear tyre was completely gone. There was nothing he could do, just stay on track and see the chequered flag. It’s a weekend to forget, but I’m quite sure as we saw in Misano, KTM was quite far back and in the second round we were much more competitive and I’m pretty sure next week is going to be a different story. Let’s have a rest tonight, a steady Monday and Tuesday, thinking about what to do for the next weekend. I’m pretty sure, the race release of Aragon two will be happier and more positive than this current one.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin

“The Michelin Grand Prix is a special event for us and today produced a great race and another winner, we have now had four different manufacturers win a race this season, which shows our tyres are producing results for many different types of motorcycle and rider. It has overall been a difficult weekend again due to the very cold temperatures. The asphalt was below 10°C on Friday morning and it is always a big demand for the riders to try to generate and keep heat in those conditions. We did advise how to use the tyres, but the organisers took the decision to delay all the sessions and today’s race, which was the best thing to do for all the classes. With the warmer afternoons it made tyre choice interesting today and we saw four of the six specifications used. They all performed well and despite all the difficulties faced this weekend – both on and off the track – we are pleased with the weekend from a racing point-of-view. We will now stay here for another race next weekend and the forecast seems to be better, so we plan to improve further and push for records.”

2020 Aragon MotoGP podium
1 Alex Rins -Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki 41:54.391
2 Alex Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda – +0.263
3 Joan Mir -Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki +2.644

 MotoGP Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Alex RINS Suzuki 41m54.391
2 Alex MARQUEZ Honda +0.263
3 Joan MIR Suzuki +2.644
4 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha +2.88
5 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda +4.57
6 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha +4.756
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati +8.639
8 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda +8.913
9 Jack MILLER Ducati +9.39
10 Johann ZARCO Ducati +9.617
11 Brad BINDER KTM +13.2
12 Pol ESPARGARO KTM +13.689
13 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia +14.598
14 Iker LECUONA KTM +15.291
15 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati +15.941
16 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM +18.284
17 Stefan BRADL Honda +20.136
18 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha +21.498
19 Bradley SMITH Aprilia +25.3
20 Tito RABAT Ducati +25.558

MotoGP World Championship Standings

Pos Rider Bike Points
1 Joan MIR Suzuki 121
2 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 115
3 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 109
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 106
5 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 92
6 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 87
7 Alex RINS Suzuki 85
8 Jack MILLER Ducati 82
9 Pol ESPARGARO KTM 77
10 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 69
11 Brad BINDER KTM 67
12 Alex MARQUEZ Honda 67
13 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 65
14 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 58
15 Johann ZARCO Ducati 53
16 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 42
17 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 27
18 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 21
19 Iker LECUONA KTM 20
20 Bradley SMITH Aprilia 11
21 Stefan BRADL Honda 8
22 Tito RABAT Ducati 8
23 Michele PIRRO Ducati 4

2020 MotoGP Calendar

Rnd Date Circuit
1 08 March (Moto2/Moto3) Losail International Circuit
2 19 July Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
3 26 July Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
4 09 August Automotodrom Brno
5 16 August Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
6 23 August Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
7 13 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
8 20 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
9 27 September Barcelona – Catalunya
10 11 October Le Mans
11 18 October MotorLand Aragón
12 25 October MotorLand Aragón
13 08 November Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
14 15 November Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
15 22 November Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP, News

Rins breaks through for win ahead of Alex Marquez | Fabio falters

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2020 MotoGP Round Eleven – Aragon

2020 continues to serve up a stunner of a MotoGP season, and there have now been eight different premier class winners. In the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragon, it was Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on the top step as the Suzuki rider took his first victory since Silverstone 2019, slicing up from tenth on the grid to fend off another late charge from rookie superstar Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who took second and the 850th premier class podium for Honda. Third place went to Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), the number 36 back on the rostrum and the new Championship leader after a tough day at the office for Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT).

Fabio Quartararo had bounced back from two crashed on the weekend to secure pole position

MotoGP Race Report

Gran Premio Michelin de Aragon

As the lights went out, it was Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who was off like a shot from second on the grid, the number 12 carving his way to the front immediately round the outside of Turn 2 as the Petronas Yamahas duelled behind, and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) headed a bit wide.

Gran Premio Michelin de Aragon

Soon enough though, Viñales’ closest company came from Rins as the Suzuki rider sliced through from tenth to get past Morbidelli and Quartararo, homing in on the number 12 in the lead.

Maverick Vinales

Stalking the Monster Energy Yamaha for a couple of laps, Rins chose his moment at the final corner and took a tight, tight line to sweep up the inside for the lead, neatly done to take over at the front. Just behind, things were getting spicy as Mir had managed a two-for-one past the Petronas Yamahas with a similar move up into third, and Alex Marquez was on a charge.

Vinales, Mir, Marquez

Rins, Viñales, Mir… the trio at the front remained pretty close together as the cat and mouse began, with Marquez the man making serious gains. As the number 73 arrived on the scene, Mir seemingly decided enough was enough, slicing through on Viñales at the final corner. To compound Viñales’ chagrin, Marquez then made a stunner of a late dive past the Yamaha into Turn 1 too…

Rins, Morbidelli

Up ahead, Rins remained ahead but it was far from becoming a runaway win. As the laps ticked down, the number 42 retained the close company from team-mate Mir and Alex Marquez, but the next move wouldn’t threaten for the lead. With six to go, and again at the final corner, the number 73 Repsol Honda swooped past Mir to take over in second, Alex Marquez on for his second second place in a row. Or was he?

Once past, the Honda was closing. And not in thousandths or hundredths, but really reeling Rins in. Alex Marquez was over three tenths faster with four laps remaining, and looked seriously primed for a shot at the win. But Rins was holding station, and then a major warning came Marquez’ way at the final corner with two laps and a corner to go. The number 73 was out the seat as he squeezed on the gas and lot some ground, but he gathered it back up and set his sights back on the Suzuki.

Alex Rins, Alex Marquez and Joan Mir

Rins had a three tenth lead with two to go, and coming onto the last lap, it remained at 0.3 seconds. Marquez had to try and get close enough to get into the slipstream down the back straight, but Rins got his GSX-RR hooked up nicely and the Honda man wasn’t close enough to try his inside sweeping move. Despite the pressure, Rins made no mistakes. rising over the brow of the hill and making it to the line with two tenths in hand. The eighth winner in eight races and eighth of the season, back on the top step for the first time in over a year – and Marquez, despite losing out on the win, back on the podium for the second time in a week.

A very close finish and it looked as though Marquez might steal the win but Rins held on

Mir had to keep an eye out for Viñales on the final couple of laps, and Morbidelli had Nakagami for company in the battle for the top five. In the end, Mir came out on top in the fight for third but again, by only a couple of tenths, but it’s enough to see him take the title lead as Quartararo plummeted through the field. Viñales also made a big gain in points given that, coming home off the podium but the second Championship challenger over the line.

Nakagami kept up his 100% top 10 finish record in 2020 with a superb P5, the Honda rider managing to beat Morbidelli on the last lap for the honour of top Independent Team rider too. That’s the number 30’s second top five of the season.. and he’s only 29 points off Mir!

Nakagami

After a difficult weekend, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) salvaged P7 on race day to sit closer to the top of the Championship than he did before the lights went out, top Borgo Panigale machine on Sunday and still in the hunt. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), after a tough start, was able to climb back up to P8. The two Ducatis of Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) completed the top 10, not what either would have been expecting heading into the weekend.

Jack Miller was in the fight early on but eventually was reeled in by others as the race progressed

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) led teammate Pol Espargaro across the line as the Austrian factory suffered a difficult Sunday taking P11 and P12, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) finishing just under a second from his younger brother in P13. Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) grabbed P14 to finish ahead of the final point scorer – Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team).

Petrucci and Quartararo

So where was Quartararo? The former points leader, after struggling with front tyre pressure, went from off the podium to fringes of the top ten to end up outside the points in P18. After a heroic pole position taken despite his big FP3 crash, the Frenchman had one of his toughest Sundays yet in the premier class… but he’ll be fired up to try and hit back next week. Mir now leads on 121 as Quartararo remains on 115, with Viñales third with 109. Dovizioso has 106, still very much in touch..

2020 Aragon MotoGP podium
1 Alex Rins -Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki 41:54.391
2 Alex Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda – +0.263
3 Joan Mir -Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki +2.644
Alex Rins – P1

“Incredible! Unbelievable! Sincerely, at the start I was so calm, and I was thinking ‘hmm maybe that’s a bad thing!’ I made a really good start, the first laps were really good, then when I was behind Maverick I was thinking, ‘Alex, you have a bit more so try to go, but slowly because otherwise you’ll ruin the rear tyre!’ I tried to manage the distance to the guys behind and it’s amazing. This is for all the fans that normally come here from the towns around here, and for all this amazing team, and my family, friends, girlfriend. Everybody! This is for you guys!”

Alex Rins

MotoGP is back on track for the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel this Friday.

MotoGP Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Alex RINS Suzuki 41m54.391
2 Alex MARQUEZ Honda +0.263
3 Joan MIR Suzuki +2.644
4 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha +2.88
5 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda +4.57
6 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha +4.756
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati +8.639
8 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda +8.913
9 Jack MILLER Ducati +9.39
10 Johann ZARCO Ducati +9.617
11 Brad BINDER KTM +13.2
12 Pol ESPARGARO KTM +13.689
13 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia +14.598
14 Iker LECUONA KTM +15.291
15 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati +15.941
16 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM +18.284
17 Stefan BRADL Honda +20.136
18 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha +21.498
19 Bradley SMITH Aprilia +25.3
20 Tito RABAT Ducati +25.558
Race winner Alex Rins and new series leader Joan Mir

MotoGP World Championship Standings

Pos Rider Bike Points
1 Joan MIR Suzuki 121
2 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 115
3 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 109
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 106
5 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 92
6 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 87
7 Alex RINS Suzuki 85
8 Jack MILLER Ducati 82
9 Pol ESPARGARO KTM 77
10 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 69
11 Brad BINDER KTM 67
12 Alex MARQUEZ Honda 67
13 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 65
14 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 58
15 Johann ZARCO Ducati 53
16 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 42
17 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 27
18 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 21
19 Iker LECUONA KTM 20
20 Bradley SMITH Aprilia 11
21 Stefan BRADL Honda 8
22 Tito RABAT Ducati 8
23 Michele PIRRO Ducati 4

Moto2

A seismic shift in the fight to be crowned 2020 Moto2 World Champion took place at the Gran Premio Michelin Aragon Grand Prix, with Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) taking first and second – and Sky Racing Team VR46 teammates Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi both crashing out. That leaves Bastianini, who just beat Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to second on the last lap, take over in the Championship lead, with Lowes’ 25 points for the win putting him just two off the top in the standings…

Sam Lowes

As the lights went out in Aragon, it was a super start from Bezzecchi as he took the holeshot from second on the grid, with Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Jake Dixon swooping through to third from row two. Early drama then struck as Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) crashed at the opening corner following contact with Marcos Ramirez (Tennor American Racing), but the Spaniard thankfully walked away from a scary crash.

Then, polesitter Lowes ran slightly wide at Turn 12 from second and that allowed Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up) through after the Italian had sliced past Dixon, but Lowes hit back quick to set his sights Bezzecchi out front. Not long after that on Lap 3, the Championship then took its biggest twist yet as former points leader Luca Marini tucked the front through Turn 14 and slid out – leaving an open goal for those in the hunt to capitalise.

Teammate Bezzecchi would be the new man ahead in the standings if he could hold on to victory, but Lowes and Di Giannantonio were close. ‘Diggia’ made his move on Lowes with fourteen to go at MotorLand, but the three stayed close as Enea Bastianini edged ahead of Jake Dixon for the final place inside the top five just behind them.

Ten laps in, Di Giannantonio pounced on Bezzecchi for the lead at Turn 14. The pair were side-by-side down the long back straight but the Speed Up man was able to hold on as they went through the final corner. But then suddenly, into Turn 2 next time around, ‘Diggia’ was sliding out of the lead – leaving Bezzecchi and Lowes in a duel for the win.

By then, Martin was beginning to loom ominously in the background though, and Bastianini was just half a second off his rear wheel. With seven to go, the ‘Beast’ struck under the shadow of the MotorLand wall.

Martin wasn’t going to just sit and let Bastianini escape though, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo man immediately finding a response, but the number 33 had an answer too – back past on the brakes into Turn 8.

With five to go Bezzzecchi was still in control, half a second clear of Lowes. Three seconds further back Bastianini held third place, himself three tenths clear of Martin. The laps ticked by and the end drew nearer with Bezzecchi on course for victory, before another monumental moment in the World Championship chase suddenly took place. With just two laps remaining, Bezzecchi suddenly crashed out at Turn 2.

Lowes swooped through, and incredibly took the mantle as Championship leader too as Martin got himself in front of Bastianini. But onto the final lap, it was far from decided. Lowes crossed the line to take his first ever back to back wins, but the fight for second was close. It came down to the final sector on the final lap, with Bastianini putting in a clinical, ruthless and vital move to secure the extra four points to sit atop the Moto2™ standings.

Further back, Dixon well and truly bounced back from his Le Mans heartbreak by clinching a career-best finish in fourth. ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Remy Gardner got the better of Ramirez and Hector Garzo (FlexBox HP 40) in the fight for the final place inside the top five. Tennor American Racing’s Joe Roberts took eighth, before Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Simone Corsi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) rounded out the top ten.

Sam Lowes – P1

“Bezzecchi’s crash was a shame near the end of the race, Diggia I felt like I had his pace… I’m sorry for them, they were stronger than me at a couple of points on the track which is something I can work on for next weekend. But overall I was there, I kept the pressure on, was able to benefit from their mistakes and back to back wins is good for me! It’s the first time for me to get back to back wins in Moto2, so I’m really really happy.”

Remy Gardner – P5

“Qualifying was tough, and I got caught out, ending tenth on the grid. Not where I wanted to be, but I was happy with the rhythm and confident of a good race. I’m extremely happy to finish fifth. It was a big comeback from tenth on the grid and we completed our objective. We also moved up a spot in the championship. We need to keep working and hopefully we can do better. I want to thank the team, we continue to work really well together, and to everyone who is supporting me. We don’t have long to wait until the next race – I’m ready!”

2020 Aragon Moto2 podium
1 Sam Lowes – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Kalex 39:33.202
2 Enea Bastianini – Italtrans Racing Team – Kalex +4.195
3 Jorge Martin – Red Bull KTM Ajo – Kalex +4.430

Moto2 Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Sam LOWES Kalex 39m33.202
2 Enea BASTIANINI Kalex +4.195
3 Jorge MARTIN Kalex +4.340
4 Jake DIXON Kalex +9.298
5 Remy GARDNER Kalex +14.765
6 Marcos RAMIREZ Kalex +15.13
7 Hector GARZO Kalex +15.192
8 Joe ROBERTS Kalex +17.024
9 Tetsuta NAGASHIMA Kalex +19.000
10 Simone CORSI MV Agusta +20.206
11 Augusto FERNANDEZ Kalex +22.661
12 Thomas LUTHI Kalex +22.692
13 Edgar PONS Kalex +22.995
14 Stefano MANZI MV Agusta +23.301
15 Marcel SCHROTTER Kalex +23.989
16 Xavi VIERGE Kalex +26.747
17 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Kalex +26.862
18 Nicolò BULEGA Kalex +27.686
19 Hafizh SYAHRIN Speed Up +27.761
20 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI Kalex +27.892
21 Bo BENDSNEYDER NTS +36.250
22 Andi Farid IZDIHAR Kalex +44.779
23 Somkiat CHANTRA Kalex +45.687
24 Xavi CARDELUS Speed Up +47.231
25 Kasma DANIEL Kalex +58.178
26 Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI NTS +1m05.154
27 Jorge NAVARRO Speed Up +3 Laps
Not Classified
DNF Marco BEZZECCHI Kalex 2 Laps
DNF Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Speed Up 11 Laps
DNF Luca MARINI Kalex 19 Laps

Moto2 World Championship Standings

Pos

 Rider Bike Points
1 Enea BASTIANINI Kalex 155
2 Sam LOWES Kalex 153
3 Luca MARINI Kalex 150
4 Marco BEZZECCHI Kalex 130
5 Jorge MARTIN Kalex 95
6 Tetsuta NAGASHIMA Kalex 79
7 Joe ROBERTS Kalex 74
8 Remy GARDNER Kalex 72
9 Thomas LUTHI Kalex 72
10 Marcel SCHROTTER Kalex 61
11 Aron CANET Speed Up 61
12 Xavi VIERGE Kalex 59
13 Augusto FERNANDEZ Kalex 54
14 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI Kalex 47
15 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Speed Up 45
16 Jorge NAVARRO Speed Up 41
17 Jake DIXON Kalex 35
18 Hector GARZO Kalex 34
19 Marcos RAMIREZ Kalex 25
20 Stefano MANZI MV Agusta 20
21 Hafizh SYAHRIN Speed Up 18
22 Nicolò BULEGA Kalex 17
23 Simone CORSI MV Agusta 14
24 Somkiat CHANTRA Kalex 10
25 Bo BENDSNEYDER NTS 5
26 Edgar PONS Kalex 5
27 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Kalex 5
28 Dominique AEGERTER NTS 4

Moto3

Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) threatened it last time out, but at MotorLand Aragon the Spaniard got the job done to perfection to take his first victory of the season and become the 100th different Grand Prix winner for Honda. After charging up from P17 on the grid, the man he just beat to the line was Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power), the South African less than a tenth off, with polesitter Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) taking his first Grand Prix podium in third.

Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing)

Albert Arenas (Solunion Aspar Team Moto3) took the holeshot from pole, the Championship leader getting the jump on polesitter Fernandez – but not for long. The number 25 struck back quickly, before Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) also made short work of Arenas too. There was early drama hit for Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) as he crashed out, and not long after John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) were given their Long Laps to take within three.

At the front, a distinct group of four had broken away: Fernandez, Suzuki, Arenas and Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), with Darryn Binder hunting them down and, not long after, joining the battle to make it a five-rider fight. Meanwhile, title challengers Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) found themselves mired down in the fight for sixth – and not at the front of that freight train either.

As the five at the front fought it out, however, their pace started to come down and what had seemed an insurmountable gap was suddenly an awful lot smaller. The trio on their tail were Masia, McPhee – despite his Long Lap – and Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3). And then there were eight, and once on the scene, McPhee struck quickly to take Suzuki at the rear of the initial leaders to make it a full group battle.

Fernandez remained pretty steadfast in the lead until a mistake just onto Lap 14, when Binder swept through to capitalise immediately – followed by Arenas. And the number 75 took the lead not long after that as Fernandez was then forced to defend from Fenati for third. But war broke out at Turn 1 next time around, and just like that the number 25 was back in the hot seat and the whole group had shuffled.

At the start of the penultimate lap, McPhee headed a bit wide and dropped down to just ahead of Suzuki, who seemed to be struggling to hang in with the group, and Arenas also opened the door for Binder to go through. Masia was at the front of the train though and there he would remain – the man ahead onto the last lap.

That had already changed by Turn 2, however, as Fernandez took the baton back and Alcoba threatened in third. Arenas was fourth at that point before the title leader then ran wide on the exit of Turn 5, and then Alcoba and Masia got very close for comfort into Turn 8. Fernandez was still leading as they shuffled behind him though, with Binder round the outside of Alcoba at Turn 14 to have the inside line at Turn 15, grabbing P3 heading onto the back straight.

The podium three were the top three, but it was Fernandez, Masia, Binder still as the three opened the gas down the straight. Tucked into Fernandez’ slipstream though, Masia was the man on the move, able to reel Fernandez in and then take over at the front, with Binder also slipstreaming past the number 25. Coming over the crest of the hill, Masia held it to the line to earn his first victory with Leopard Racing from P17 on the grid – Honda’s 100th different Grand Prix winner.

Binder lost out by less than a tenth but earned his second podium of 2020, and Fernandez may have lost out on the win but the Spaniard bwas ecstatic to seal his maiden World Championship podium.

Fenati had another solid ride to take fourth as the Italian remains super consistent, with McPhee recovering well from his Long Lap and Turn 1 excursion to claim P5 – and important points for the Championship. Alcoba crossed the line P6 in the end, the rookie again impressing, with Arenas losing out on the last lap to finish P7 – just 0.396 from victory though. Suzuki lost touch in the latter stages but took eighth, still on the comeback to full strength.

Vietti never troubled the leading contenders in Aragon but finishes just a couple of places behind Arenas in P9, with Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) rounding out the top 10 as the Italian had Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Tatay for company in P11 and P12 respectively. Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) finished a lonely P13, the Japanese rider finishing six seconds ahead of struggling compatriot Ogura. It’s just two points picked up in Aragon for the man second in the Championship as Ogura slips to 13 behind Arenas. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) picked up the final point at the Aragon GP in P15.

Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Maximilian Kofler (CIP Green Power) crashed out at MotorLand.

Another scintillating lightweight class encounter sees Masia become the 100th Honda rider to win a Grand Prix, Arenas extend his lead and Ogura continue searching for his earlier season magic.

Jaume Masia

“For sure, I didn’t expect that rhythm. But I was thinking about not losing my confidence with the bike, the team worked a lot, but all weekend we struggled a lot with the setting unlike in Le Mans. I don’t know how I arrived at the group as Raul put in a high rhythm, he was really strong. But finally we arrived at the group, maybe we pushed the rear too much and used it too much, but finally with my bike on the straight I could overtake Raul.”

2020 Aragon Moto3 podium
1 Jaume Masia – Leopard Racing – Honda 37:45.009
2 Darryn Binder – CIP – Green Power – KTM +0.091
3 Raul Fernandez – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM +0.196

Moto3 Race Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Jaume MASIA Honda 37m45.009
2 Darryn BINDER KTM +0.091
3 Raul FERNANDEZ KTM +0.196
4 Romano FENATI Husqvarna +0.327
5 John MCPHEE Honda +0.368
6 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda +0.385
7 Albert ARENAS KTM +0.396
8 Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda +1.933
9 Celestino VIETTI KTM +2.389
10 Dennis FOGGIA Honda +2.461
11 Kaito TOBA KTM +2.966
12 Carlos TATAY KTM +3.02
13 Ayumu SASAKI KTM +4.872
14 Ai OGURA Honda +10.949
15 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM +10.979
16 Filip SALAC Honda +11.172
17 Alonso LOPEZ Husqvarna +13.861
18 Niccolò ANTONELLI Honda +19.761
19 Sergio GARCIA Honda +21.284
20 Yuki KUNII Honda +21.339
21 Riccardo ROSSI KTM +21.379
22 Jason DUPASQUIER KTM +21.44
23 Stefano NEPA KTM +21.52
24 Ryusei YAMANAKA Honda +36.57
25 Barry BALTUS KTM +36.628
26 Davide PIZZOLI KTM +36.676
27 Khairul Idham PAWI Honda +36.739
Not Classified
DNF Maximilian KOFLER KTM 2 Laps
DNF Andrea MIGNO KTM 11 Laps
Not Finished 1st Lap
DNF Gabriel RODRIGO Honda 0 Lap

Moto3 World Championship Standings

Pos Rider Bike Points
1 Albert ARENAS KTM 144
2 Ai OGURA Honda 131
3 Celestino VIETTI KTM 126
4 Tony ARBOLINO Honda 115
5 John MCPHEE Honda 109
6 Jaume MASIA Honda 108
7 Raul FERNANDEZ KTM 89
8 Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda 83
9 Darryn BINDER KTM 82
10 Gabriel RODRIGO Honda 77
11 Romano FENATI Husqvarna 70
12 Dennis FOGGIA Honda 69
13 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda 56
14 Andrea MIGNO KTM 47
15 Sergio GARCIA Honda 37
16 Niccolò ANTONELLI Honda 33
17 Stefano NEPA KTM 26
18 Kaito TOBA KTM 24
19 Ayumu SASAKI KTM 23
20 Deniz ÖNCÜ KTM 23
21 Filip SALAC Honda 20
22 Alonso LOPEZ Husqvarna 16
23 Carlos TATAY KTM 14
24 Ryusei YAMANAKA Honda 13
25 Riccardo ROSSI KTM 5

2020 MotoGP Calendar

Rnd Date Circuit
1 08 March (Moto2/Moto3) Losail International Circuit
2 19 July Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
3 26 July Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
4 09 August Automotodrom Brno
5 16 August Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
6 23 August Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
7 13 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
8 20 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
9 27 September Barcelona – Catalunya
10 11 October Le Mans
11 18 October MotorLand Aragón
12 25 October MotorLand Aragón
13 08 November Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
14 15 November Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
15 22 November Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

Source: MCNews.com.au

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MotoGP hits Aragon for another double-header | Preview | Schedule

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2020 MotoGP Round Eleven – Aragon

MotoGP returns to Spain this weekend for the next double-header in this condensed season as the paddock heads to Motorland Aragon near Alcañiz for firstly the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragón and then seven-days later the inaugural running of the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel.

Aragon has an interesting and complex layout, which features 10 left- and 7 right-hand corners, comprising of tight hairpins and fast flowing turns, so a front end that gives riders the confidence through a variation of bends is very important, and with a straight of over a kilometre in length where high speed stability and the need to put the almost 300 horsepower of a MotoGP bike down to the tarmac are crucial.

Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner the only riders to have won at the venue, this weekend we’ll have a new rider on the top step. Will it be yet again another new winner in 2020 to make it eight different winners this season? There have been seven different winners in the first nine races of the year, equalling the record of different winners over the opening nine premier class races of a season, set in 2000. 15 riders have now stood on the podium since the first race, which is the highest number in the first nine premier class races since 1976, when there were 17.

MotoGP 2010 Aragon
Ducati’s only MotoGP win at Aragon: Casey Stoner won the first race at Aragon in 2010 from pole.

Without reigning Champion Marc Marquez in the mix, that makes predictions for Aragon difficult. The Honda rider has won at the track five times in MotoGP, and taken five poles. Last year and the year before, however, Dovizioso took second, with Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) also on the podium in 2019. That makes good reading for the Borgo Panigale factory, as does Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) arriving as the most recent winner. With a little more luck, Miller – or team-mate Francesco Bagnaia – could be two real candidates to be the eighth winner of the season.

MotoGP Rnd Aragon MotoGP Podium L R Dovizioso Marquez Miller
2019 Aragon MotoGP Race results:
1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) 41’57.221
2 – Andrea Dovizioso (ITA – Ducati) +4.836
3 – Jack Miller (AUS – Ducati) +5.430

in a rain-soaked French GP, the top three going in ultimately fought it out for ninth, but Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) remains the man on top. Although the Frenchman has never stepped on the Aragón podium, he is confident of being able to put together another good performance and continue fighting for the world championship title.

Fabio Quartararo

“We are in a good position going to Aragón, we don’t really need to change anything with the bike. It is a track that could be a little difficult for us, but we have the extra motivation that we are there to fight for a really good result. We are fighting for the championship, last weekend we managed to increase our lead in tricky conditions and so I think we can do really well again this weekend. First of all we will look to enjoy being back on the bike, then look at how we can make it a great GP for us and, of course, see what the conditions are like when we arrive.”

Fabio Quartararo

Quartararo is 68 points ahead of Johann Zarco in 15th place; this is the closest top 15 after the opening nine races of a premier class season since the current scoring system was introduced in 1993. In addition, with 18-points between Quartararo in first and Dovizioso in third, this is the closest top three after the opening nine races of a premier class season since 2017, when there were six-points between Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso after the German GP.

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) lost some ground to the Frenchman in the championship points in France but gained ever-so-slightly on Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) right behind him on track.

Maverick Vinales

“I‘m really happy that the next rounds are held in Aragon. It is a track that I love, one of my favourites. I usually ride really well there and, for sure, I will give it my all this weekend. It‘s sort of my home GP, and it‘s my goal to put in my best performance of the year so far. Last year we already came close to the podium, so I think that we can do a good job again this time round.”

Maverick Vinales

It was Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) who made the big gains last weekend. Fighting for the win before being forced to settle for fourth, it was a welcome chunk of points after his DNF – through no fault of his own – in Barcelona. He’s now third overall, 18 off the top and ahead of Viñales by a single point.

Andrea Dovizioso

“We immediately move forward after the race in Le Mans, and now we are already focused on the next two Grands Prix in Aragón, that will be crucial at this stage of the season. Last year I managed to get on the podium at MotorLand, and even if on paper we are not the favourites on this track, I am sure that we will also have some opportunities by using the strengths of our Desmosedici GP bike at its best. The championship is still open, and we have to keep working race after race to try to achieve our goal.”

Andrea Dovizioso

Danilo Petrucci, fresh off the back of his success at Le Mans after a masterful race in the wet conducted entirely in the lead, arrives in Spain determined to continue his growing progression and to fight again for the top positions even at the Aragón race track. After Le Mans, the rider from Terni occupies the tenth position in the championship with 64 points. Ducati is second in the manufacturers’ standings, while the Ducati Team is currently third in the teams’ standings.

Danilo Petrucci

“The victory in Le Mans has certainly served to instill a lot of confidence, and I arrive at MotorLand with high morale. Every race is a world unto itself, but after overcoming such a difficult start to the season, now I want to keep improving. I hope to be able to continue with the same positive feelings we had in France, and I am confident that we can also have our say in the last five races that remain in the championship. Let’s see what the conditions of the track at Aragón will look like when we arrive: we will have to be good at interpreting the behaviour of the Michelin tyres. It will be crucial to be able to start on the right foot from Friday’s free practice.”

Danilo Petrucci

Jack Miller will be eager to throw off a demoralising run of bad luck. Robbed of a great result in Misano by an errant tear-off blocking the intake of his Desmosedici, then robbed again by an uncharacteristic engine failure for Ducati last time out at Le Mans, the Australia certainly deserves some luck to go his way.  Jack was on the podium here last year…

Jack Miller was looking certain for a podium and even likely for a win before a technical problem at Le Mans

Franco Morbidelli, who will be looking for a good result after picking up an unfortunate DNF at Le Mans, has visited the podium at MotorLand Aragón twice: once in 2016, when he finished third in Moto2, and again in 2017, when he won the race in the intermediate category. After being taken out by another rider on the first lap of the 2019 edition, the Italian will be looking to take the speed from Le Mans and make a return to the top-3 this weekend.

Franco Morbidelli

“Going to Spain this weekend, I expect that we will be fast! I love the MotorLand Aragón circuit. I won there in 2017 when I was in the Moto2 championship and I think that we can do a really good job there this year. It’s a shame we aren’t going there with better results from France, but we were super fast at Le Mans and we need to take this speed with us to Aragón this weekend. I don’t think that we will need to change a lot on the bike, of course we need to see what the conditions are like but I think it will be a good GP for us.”

Franco Morbidelli

We must also, of course, mention Valentino Rossi, he has been on the podium at MotorLand – his 2015 battle against now-retired MotoGP Legend Dani Pedrosa is stuff of legend in itself – but it’s been a tougher weekend at times since. This season though, Yamaha are on a roll – and Rossi wants in. Rossi has had an uncharacteristic three crashes in a row and he’s looking to bounce back, also a candidate to be winner number eight…

Valentino Rossi

“After the race in Le Mans the team has travelled to the MotorLand circuit for two back-to-back races. This has always been a difficult track for me, so it will be challenging to be strong here. But this year I‘m quite fast, and I have a good feeling with the bike. So, we will work hard again and try to understand if we can also raise our performance level in Aragon.”

Valentino Rossi will be wanting to ensure he makes the chequered flag this weekend

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) will be looking to show good form once again, with the Japanese rider the only man to have scored in every race – and in the top ten. That consistency has seen him move up to fifth overall in the championship, but it’s not just the maths as Nakagami has also had some impressive speed.

Claiming Honda’s 849th premier class podium at Le Mans, Alex Marquez proved to the world why he is a double World Champion and now a factory MotoGP rider. Whatever the conditions Aragon presents, the MotoGP rookie is entering the weekend like any other; looking to continue learning and adapting to the Honda RC213V. With two races at the same circuit, Alex is looking to replicate the growth he showed between the two races in Jerez and Misano respectively while continuing to focus on improving his performance in Qualifying.

Alex Marquez

“It has been a nice few days enjoying the feeling after Le Mans, I want to say thank you again to everyone who has supported me or sent me a message after the race. But now it is time to reset a little bit and get back to work in Aragon. Qualifying is still the area we need to work on the most as we have shown that our race pace is usually not so bad and we’re able to fight more and more each race. Let’s see what the weather brings, Aragon in the morning can be very cold so we need to pay attention to this. Let’s have a good weekend.”

Alex Marquez

Stefan Bradl will once again join the Repsol Honda Team for the upcoming race in Aragon as Marc Marquez continues his recovery at home. After five straight days of riding, Bradl has enjoyed a brief rest between races and is now ready to go again after tasting his first points of the season. The HRC Test Rider achieved a tenth-place finish in 2016 when he last raced at the circuit.

Stefan Bradl

“I am happy to continue with the Repsol Honda Team in Aragon, but I hope that Marc is continuing to recover well. Coming back to the points last race with a strong ride has given me extra motivation for this weekend in Aragon. It’s a circuit with a lot of variety and some tricky points, especially if the temperatures are cooler you really need to pay attention to the right side of the tyre early in the lap. The aim is to again deliver the best result possible for HRC.”

Suzuki have podium form at the track, but last year was a tougher weekend. Their other hurdle remains qualifying too, although Mir and teammate Alex Rins have been doing a stellar job of gaining back on Sunday ground lost on Saturday. For Rins it’s home turf too – about as close as you can get to racing in your own back garden – and for Mir it is too. The number 36 has an interesting record at MotorLand: he’s either won from a good grid position or sliced through the field to a top five or six, although his rookie race in MotoGP was the outlier. This season the sophomore has been a threat everywhere, however, and the bike looks to work everywhere – so can he finally take that first win? He’s seemed on the verge so long, he’s a serious threat to be the eighth different man to win, as is Rins. Mir says that’s a bigger focus than the title, too…

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“Normally in Aragon our bike is quite competitive and we’ve had good results here in the past. The conditions will be different to what we’re used to as the event is happening one month later than usual – the temperatures will be lower and there could be rain, so the weather could play a part. But we’re keen to get going and see what we can do.”

Team Suzuki Pits
Joan Mir

“It’s nice to come to Aragon just after France, because I feel like I’m getting used to the colder circuits and how to manage them. But in the end everywhere is different so we won’t truly know the situation until we start riding. Aragon is a track that I really like and I come here feeling good, I’m still close to the top of the standings and I managed to conserve some points last time out. I’m ready to go.”

Alex Rins

“Aragon is a track that I know well, and the main objective for me will be to qualify in a better position than last week. When you start far back on the grid there’s more pressure and nerves and it’s easier to get caught up where you don’t want to be. My pace in France before the crash was really good and I’m happy to come here and try my best.”

Red Bull KTM

And what about KTM? 2020 is already – after only nine races – their best season in terms of points, and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was on the podium once again in France, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) only just off it. So what can they do? And can rookies Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) bounce back from a tough first race in the wet? The Austrian factory’s best result at MotorLand so far is a 10th, but the times they have-a-changed this season. Pol Espargaro and Brad Binder also have two wins each in the smaller categories at the track. KTM have scored 125 points in the Constructors’ World Championship, already making 2020 their best season in terms of points score.

Hervé Poncharal – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“We’ve just finished our races in Le Mans and the whole team is driving down to Aragón, which is a place we are always so happy to see. It’s great circuit, a great place, great facilities, great paddock, so this is going to be our ‘place of work’ for the next two weeks with two races in MotorLand. I think it’s going to be very interesting. The championships in all three classes are coming quite close and we can start to feel that people are more and more thinking about the final championship position. Therefore, it will be interesting to score important points there as usual. I believe the Aragón layout should suit our bike. We have a strong engine this year and there is a long straight there, good braking stability, so I think we should be quite competitive there. Miguel just finished the French Grand Prix and he showed good form and I’m quite sure he wants to continue to fight for top 5 finishes until the end of the season. It will be also interesting to see how the weather and track conditions will be, because normally we always have great weather there, but we are coming quite late in October. This is something, that could also be playing an important game in the overall result. Iker knows the place well, too. For sure, being a Spanish rider, he has been racing quite a few times there. We are happy to go down to Spain, to go South. This is a great place and we will be happy to spend the next two weeks there.”

Aragon has good memories for Aprilia and especially for Aleix Espargaro. The number 41 took his MotoGP podium in Aragon, although that was before he rode for the Noale factory.

Motorland Aragon is located in the Teruel area of Spain, it is a very dry and rocky location, where hot daytime temperatures can be expected, but due to its open location, Motorland Aragon can also have very cool mornings, so a range of tyres to function in those fluctuations of temperature is imperative. With all these requirements the allocation of Michelin Power Slicks that have been chosen for Michelin’s named race and the Grand Prix the following weekend have been selected to meet those demands. The front selection in soft and medium will be symmetric in design, whilst the hard front and the rears in soft and hard will feature an asymmetric finish with a harder left-hand shoulder to handle the extra stresses from the increased number or corners that go in that direction, with the medium rear having a symmetric finish. Due to the track’s inland location there is also a high likelihood of rain and thunderstorms over the two weekends, with this possibility the Michelin Power Rain tyres will be available in soft and medium compounds for both the front and rear. The front will be symmetric whilst the rears will have an asymmetric design with the harder left side like their slick counterparts.

Aragon Track One
Aragon
Piero Taramasso – Michelin

“It’s always special to be at the Michelin Grand Prix and this is the second time we’ve had the event at Aragon. Last year was a big success and many people from the factories visited us, sadly that won’t be the case this year due to the protocols, but we still aim to put on a good show and make Michelin and all its staff proud. Aragon is always a challenge, with the difference in temperatures from cool mornings to hot afternoons, although we are going there slightly later in the year, so possibly we won’t get the extremes in temperature that we have had before, plus we also have the sand to contend with, which is blown on the track from the surrounding countryside, making it very abrasive. We have chosen a range that will give the riders the confidence in all conditions, so now the thing is it to make the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragón a special event for all.”

MotoGP World Championship Standings

Pos

 Rider Bike Points
1 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 115
2 Joan MIR Suzuki 105
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 97
4 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 96
5 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 81
6 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 77
7 Jack MILLER Ducati 75
8 Pol ESPARGARO KTM 73
9 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 69
10 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 64
11 Brad BINDER KTM 62
12 Alex RINS Suzuki 60
13 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 58
14 Alex MARQUEZ Honda 47
15 Johann ZARCO Ducati 47
16 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 42
17 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 24
18 Iker LECUONA KTM 18
19 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 13
20 Bradley SMITH Aprilia 11
21 Stefan BRADL Honda 8
22 Tito RABAT Ducati 8
23 Michele PIRRO Ducati

2020 MotoGP Calendar

Rnd Date Circuit
1 08 March (Moto2/Moto3) Losail International Circuit
2 19 July Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
3 26 July Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
4 09 August Automotodrom Brno
5 16 August Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
6 23 August Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
7 13 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
8 20 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
9 27 September Barcelona – Catalunya
10 11 October Le Mans
11 18 October MotorLand Aragón
12 25 October MotorLand Aragón
13 08 November Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
14 15 November Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
15 22 November Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

Le Mans  Schedule (AEST)

Time Class Session
1800 Moto3 FP1
1855 MotoGP FP1
1955 Moto2 FP1
2215 Moto3 FP2
2310 MotoGP FP2
0010 (Sat) Moto2 FP2

Time Class Session
1800 Moto3 FP3
1855 MotoGP FP3
1955 Moto2 FP3
2135 Moto3 Q1
2200 Moto3 Q2
2230 MotoGP FP4
2310 MotoGP Q1
2335 MotoGP Q2
0010 (Sun) Moto2 Q1
0035 (Sun) Moto2 Q2

Time Class Session
1740 Moto3 WUP
1810 Moto2 WUP
1840 MotoGP WUP
2000 Moto3 Race
2120 Moto2 Race
2300 MotoGP Race

Source: MCNews.com.au