2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Round Six – Spring Creek National, Millville September 19, 2020
Images Jeff Kardas
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship returned to action following a weekend off for its sixth round of the 2020 season from Spring Creek MX Park. With the weather cooler than normal, the annual Thor Spring Creek National treated fans to a perfect afternoon of racing as the temperature hovered around 20-degrees Celsuis.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo was dominant by taking both moto wins en route to his second career 450 Class win. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis swept both motos to capture the eighth overall victory of his career.
Jett Lawrence was on the podium in the opening 250 Moto then backed that up with a sixth in the second Moto, just missing out on the overall podium by a single point.
Older brother Hunter will be pumped after having carded some great results at Spring Creek, 7-5 placings earning him seventh overall for the round.
450MX Moto 1
As the gate dropped on the opening 450 Class moto, Cianciarulo grabbed his third consecutive Motosport.com holeshot of the season, followed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin and Team Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton. Championship point leader Zach Osborne circulated the opening lap in fifth aboard his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing machine.
The top three riders continued to pace each other out front, separated by just seconds for the first several laps. At the 20-minute mark, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-WPS-KTM’s Blake Baggett started to inch his way up towards the lead group, eventually latching onto and finding his way by Sexton for third. Baggett’s push forward didn’t stop there as he slowly started chipping away at the gap between Musquin and himself.
With Cianciarulo clicking off lap-after-lap, Musquin continued to search for faster lines behind him, but every time he would close in on the Kawasaki’s riders rear fender, Cianciarulo managed to retaliate by reestablishing the gap. With just minutes remaining in the moto, Musquin made a costly mistake that saw him stall his motorcycle and relinquish the second position to Baggett.
Cianciarulo withstood the pressure like a seasoned veteran to take his second premier class moto win by 1.7 seconds over Baggett. Musquin would rebound to finish third, followed by Osborne.
450MX Moto 1 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Laps/Interval
1
Adam Cianciarulo
KAW
17 Laps
2
Blake Baggett
KTM
+01.758
3
Marvin Musquin
KTM
+20.489
4
Zachary Osborne
HQV
+30.672
5
Justin Barcia
YAM
+37.337
6
Eli Tomac
KAW
+41.879
7
Christian Craig
HON
+43.856
8
Chase Sexton
HON
+47.919
9
Joseph Savatgy
SUZ
+56.566
10
Max Anstie
SUZ
+1:09.827
11
Fredrik Noren
SUZ
+1:15.407
12
Broc Tickle
YAM
+1:30.878
13
Benny Bloss
HQV
+1:59.268
14
Justin Rodbell
KAW
+2m00.728
15
Jake Masterpool
HQV
+2m03.908
16
Justin Bogle
KTM
+2m09.699
17
Robbie Wageman
YAM
+2m12.895
18
Coty Schock
HON
16 Laps
19
Ben LaMay
KTM
+10.153
20
Justin Hoeft
HQV
+18.192
21
Alex Ray
KAW
+33.218
22
Felix Lopez
KTM
+39.334
23
Grant Harlan
HON
+43.371
24
Tyler Bowers
KAW
+1m06.051
25
Isaac Teasdale
SUZ
+1m25.799
26
Bryce Backaus
YAM
+1m26.654
27
Adam Enticknap
SUZ
+1m7.979
28
McClellan Hile
KTM
+1m37.559
29
Jeffrey Walker
KTM
+1m44.635
30
Bryton Carroll
YAM
+1m48.948
31
Tristan Lane
KTM
+1m51.033
32
Jared Lesher
KTM
15 Laps
33
Nicolas Rolando
KTM
+17.589
34
Joseph Perron
KAW
+1m05.025
35
Hunter Braun
HON
+1m10.061
36
Richard Taylor
SUZ
14 Laps
37
Blake Hansen
KAW
+3m33.170
38
Jerry Lorenz III
YAM
9 Laps
39
Matthew Hubert
KAW
4 Laps
40
Jeremy Smith
KAW
DNF
450MX Moto 2
The final 450 Class moto of the afternoon once again saw Cianciarulo grab the Motorpsort.com holeshot to sweep the holeshots for the second consecutive round, followed by Baggett and Osborne. The rookie Sexton started in fourth, but quickly made his way around Osborne for third, just ahead of Musquin in fifth.
Cianciarulo continued his opening moto form by using the clear track to his advantage to open a small lead over the riders behind him. Sexton found his groove as he charged his way up to Baggett, eventually finding his way by for second and closing in on the leader Sexton.
As the race wore on, Baggett refused to settle and eventually found his way back around Sexton to retake second.
Out front, Cianciarulo finished the race unchallenged to take his third moto win of the season by 2.7 seconds over Baggett. Sexton held on to finish third.
450MX Moto 2 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Laps/Interval
1
Adam Cianciarulo
KAW
17 Laps
2
Blake Baggett
KTM
+02.760
3
Chase Sexton
HON
+20.439
4
Justin Barcia
YAM
+41.815
5
Eli Tomac
KAW
+44.044
6
Christian Craig
HON
+45.236
7
Joseph Savatgy
SUZ
+1m09.500
8
Max Anstie
SUZ
+1m10.166
9
Fredrik Noren
SUZ
+1m50.492
10
Marvin Musquin
KTM
+1m59.718
11
Benny Bloss
HQV
+2m01.893
12
Justin Bogle
KTM
+2m11.171
13
Grant Harlan
HON
+2m11.184
14
Justin Rodbell
KAW
+2m5.826
15
Jake Masterpool
HQV
16 Laps
16
Zachary Osborne
HQV
+06.936
17
Justin Hoeft
HQV
+28.329
18
Isaac Teasdale
SUZ
+34.873
19
Ben LaMay
KTM
+38.273
20
Tyler Bowers
KAW
+53.176
21
Robbie Wageman
YAM
+1m01.402
22
Bryce Backaus
YAM
+1m05.280
23
Richard Taylor
SUZ
+1m14.606
24
Felix Lopez
KTM
+1m22.623
25
McClellan Hile
KTM
+1m25.946
26
Alex Ray
KAW
+1m27.952
27
Jared Lesher
KTM
+1m38.974
28
Tristan Lane
KTM
+1m43.068
29
Adam Enticknap
SUZ
+2m10.500
30
Jeffrey Walker
KTM
+2m12.435
31
Carter Stephenson
YAM
+2m6.010
32
Nicolas Rolando
KTM
15 Laps
33
Joseph Perron
KAW
+28.254
34
Bryton Carroll
YAM
+1m56.198
35
Jerry Lorenz III
YAM
14 Laps
36
Blake Hansen
KAW
5 Laps
37
Broc Tickle
YAM
4 Laps
38
Hunter Braun
HON
+50.652
39
Jeremy Smith
KAW
2 Laps
40
Matthew Hubert
KAW
DNS
The 1-1 sweep gave Cianciarulo his second consecutive overall win in the premier class. Baggett’s consistency earned him second overall (2-2), while Barcia took the final step of the podium in third (5-4).
Adam Cianciarulo
“Man, what a dream come true. I really wanted to go 1-1 last round at RedBud and had that silly mistake. Today, we got the job done and made it happen. Two consecutive victories in the 450 Class just feels really good. We’ve got two rounds remaining and I just want to keep the ball rolling.”
Blake Baggett
“I’m giving it everything I got, RedBud reminded me that I got it in there and I can do it. I’m really just enjoying it. I’m enjoying being a dad and trying to put it up front . The goal is to try to be there at the end and if I don’t win – like today, going 2-2 is awesome but at the same time I was so close to pulling it off – at least they knew I was coming and that’s all that matters, so I’ll take it.”
Despite finishing 10th overall (4-16) on the day and watching his points lead shrink, Osborne kept the red plate with a 15-point advantage over Cianciarulo who overtook Musquin. The Frenchman sits a further five-points behind in third.
Marvin Musquin
“I was doing great in Moto Two until having a mishap at the very top of the mountain on the left-hander before you drop off. I lost the rear just a little bit and it got sideways even more while I was flying in the air so when I landed I was still sideways and it hooked and I had a big crash. It was hard to get back up but I was able to get some points with 10th. I’m super disappointed because I was looking forward to getting a podium today but I’m very lucky right now to not be injured.”
450MX Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Zachary Osborne
235
2
Adam Cianciarulo
220
3
Marvin Musquin
215
4
Eli Tomac
196
5
Justin Barcia
194
6
Blake Baggett
190
7
Chase Sexton
173
8
Christian Craig
141
9
Broc Tickle
134
10
Joseph Savatgy
122
11
Max Anstie
113
12
Dean Wilson
97
13
Fredrik Noren
82
14
Henry Miller
59
15
Jason Anderson
58
16
Justin Bogle
56
17
Jake Masterpool
53
18
Justin Rodbell
49
19
Benny Bloss
47
20
Coty Schock
31
21
Cooper Webb
29
22
John Short
21
23
Ben LaMay
21
24
Grant Harlan
18
25
Jeremy Smith
18
26
Justin Hoeft
17
27
Tyler Bowers
13
28
Luke Renzland
11
29
Matthew Hubert
9
30
Chase Felong
8
31
Felix Lopez
5
32
Robbie Wageman
4
33
Jeffrey Walker
4
34
Cory Carsten
3
35
Isaac Teasdale
3
36
Jared Lesher
3
250MX Moto 1
The first 250 Class moto saw Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire grab the Motosport.com Holeshot, just edging out Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper and JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Racing’s Alex Martin. Just after the completion of the opening lap, Dylan Ferrandis made the pass on Alex Martin to take over third, while championship point leader Jeremy Martin started eighth on his GEICO Honda.
As Hampshire quickly set the pace at the front of the 40-rider field, Ferrandis put his head down in an attempt to track him down and make a bid for the race lead. Behind the lead duo, Cooper and Alex Martin battled bar-to-bar for third, and at the halfway point of the moto, Alex Martin would make the pass stick in front of his home crowd.
With Hampshire riding strong out front, Ferrandis’ patience began to wear thin as he searched for a way around. Ferrandis was able to take advantage of a mistake by Hampshire on one of the uphill step up jumps to take control of the lead with just over 10-minutes remaining. As the moto began to wind down, the battle heated up for third between Alex Martin and GEICO Honda’s Jett Lawrence and Jeremy Martin. Lawrence was able to muscle his way by Alex Martin to steal third with two minutes remaining.
Ferrandis would hold on to take his third moto win of the season by 4.1 seconds over Hampshire who earned his seventh moto podium of the season. Lawrence fended off the hard charging Martin brothers to complete the podium in third. Alex and Jeremy Martin crossed the finish in fourth and fifth, respectively.
250MX Moto 1 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Laps/Interval
1
Dylan Ferrandis
YAM
17 Laps
2
RJ Hampshire
HQV
+04.160
3
Jett Lawrence
HON
+05.989
4
Alex Martin
SUZ
+07.504
5
Jeremy Martin
HON
+09.807
6
Cameron Mcadoo
KAW
+23.993
7
Hunter Lawrence
HON
+25.267
8
Derek Drake
KTM
+33.786
9
Justin Cooper
YAM
+37.436
10
Brandon Hartranft
KTM
+40.276
11
Mitchell Harrison
KAW
+44.921
12
Jo Shimoda
HON
+46.339
13
Carson Mumford
HON
+58.717
14
Jarrett Frye
YAM
+1m06.182
15
Shane McElrath
YAM
+1:08.763
16
Jerry Robin
HQV
+1m42.347
17
Derek Kelley
HQV
+1m54.705
18
Jesse Flock
HQV
+2m00.406
19
Joshua Varize
KTM
+2m01.592
20
Joseph Crown
YAM
+2m07.733
21
Curren Thurman
KTM
+2m16.761
22
Mason Gonzales
YAM
16 Laps
23
Ryder Floyd
HON
+16.625
24
Austin Root
HQV
+17.495
25
Mathias Jorgensen
KAW
+24.696
26
Kevin Moranz
KTM
+27.210
27
Gared Steinke
KAW
+27.730
28
Cody Williams
HQV
+31.306
29
Ezra Hastings
HQV
+44.607
30
Josh Boaz
KTM
+44.921
31
Vincent Luhovey
KTM
+49.306
32
Chase Lorenz
HON
+1m01.469
33
Colton Eigenmann
SUZ
+1m48.201
34
Lane Shaw
KTM
+2m03.970
35
Josiah Hempen
KTM
14 Laps
36
Nick Gaines
YAM
11 Laps
37
TJ Uselman
YAM
7 Laps
38
Max Miller
KTM
6 Laps
39
Jalek Swoll
HQV
2 Laps
40
Gage Schehr
HQV
+33.006
250MX Moto 2
As the field rounded the first turn to start Moto 2 it was Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Shane McElrath who emerged with the Motosport.com holeshot ahead of his teammate Cooper and Alex Martin. Before the end of the opening lap, Ferrandis overtook Alex Martin for third, while his championship rival Jeremy Martin started just outside of the top five.
With a clear track ahead, McElrath opened a small lead over his fellow competitors who continued to duke it out for the second and third positions. Jeremy Martin soon joined the battle for the podium as he pushed his way past his brother for fourth. McElrath would surrender the lead by tucking the front end and going down, allowing Cooper to become the new race leader.
While Cooper held the number one spot, Ferrandis started to show a wheel to his teammate in an attempt to break away from Jeremy Martin. As the race closed in on the halfway point of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto, Ferrandis stuffed his way by Cooper to take the lead, followed by Jeremy Martin who also struck on Cooper to take second just moments later.
Ferrandis and Jeremy Martin pulled away from the field as they paced one another out front in the hunt for valuable championship points. When the checkered flag waved it was Ferrandis who barely held on to take his fourth moto win of the season by 0.4 seconds over Jeremy Martin. A distant third would go to Cooper, followed by Alex Martin in fourth.
250MX Moto 2 Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Laps/Interval
1
Dylan Ferrandis
YAM
17 Laps
2
Jeremy Martin
HON
+00.411
3
Justin Cooper
YAM
+31.518
4
Alex Martin
SUZ
+34.101
5
Hunter Lawrence
HON
+35.075
6
Jett Lawrence
HON
+40.712
7
Shane McElrath
YAM
+41.902
8
Jo Shimoda
HON
+57.037
9
Mitchell Harrison
KAW
+57.661
10
Carson Mumford
HON
+1m25.915
11
RJ Hampshire
HQV
+1m31.181
12
Derek Drake
KTM
+1m34.866
13
Brandon Hartranft
KTM
+1m36.685
14
Jarrett Frye
YAM
+1m57.639
15
Mason Gonzales
YAM
+2m08.734
16
Derek Kelley
HQV
+2m11.648
17
Jesse Flock
HQV
+2m22.850
18
Jalek Swoll
HQV
16 Laps
19
Jerry Robin
HQV
+05.571
20
Mathias Jorgensen
KAW
+08.512
21
Curren Thurman
KTM
+09.895
22
Gared Steinke
KAW
+43.046
23
Ezra Hastings
HQV
+46.325
24
Zack Williams
KTM
+48.901
25
Joshua Varize
KTM
+49.678
26
Vincent Luhovey
KTM
+1m09.927
27
Colton Eigenmann
SUZ
+1m13.846
28
Kevin Moranz
KTM
+1m15.543
29
Chase Lorenz
HON
+1m19.738
30
Ryder Floyd
HON
+1m36.349
31
Lane Shaw
KTM
15 Laps
32
Josiah Hempen
KTM
+1m37.441
33
Austin Root
HQV
11 Laps
34
Josh Boaz
KTM
9 Laps
35
Joseph Crown
YAM
7 Laps
36
Gage Schehr
HQV
3 Laps
37
Cody Williams
HQV
+1m25.918
38
Cameron Mcadoo
KAW
2 Laps
39
TJ Uselman
YAM
DNF
40
Nick Gaines
YAM
DNS
Ferrandis went 1-1 for the first time since the season opener to take his second overall victory of the season. Jeremy Martin finished runner-up (5-2) on the day, edging out his brother Alex Martin (4-4).
“That was a difficult race in the second moto and the pressure was on,” Ferrandis. “It was really good for me to have that battle and come out on top in the second moto. The championship is really close and I think that we were able to put on a good show for everyone today. Jeremy and I have a good relationship I think and we congratulated each other and talked about the battle after the race.”
The win moved Ferrandis back into the championship lead, which stands at three points over Jeremy Martin. Hampshire maintains third, 55-points adrift of Ferrandis.
“That was the funnest race I’ve had all year,” said Martin. “I know I didn’t get the win today, which is always the goal. I don’t like to lose, but it felt good to see the number 14 up there and give him a run. We’ve got two rounds to go and hopefully we can battle each other like we did today.”
MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. has announced a new strategic partnership with Benelli owner QJ-Motor Co. for the distribution of the brand’s motorcycles in China. QJ Group is one of the largest and most prominent two wheeler manufacturers in China, with extensive commercial presence in the region.
The agreement will initially concern the distribution of MV Agusta models through a network of flagship stores across the country, providing the highest standards of service to Chinese customers. At a later stage the partnership will also have important developments on the industrial front, and collaboration in that sense is presently being defined.
Timur Sardarov, CEO MV Agusta Motor S.p.A.
“I am thrilled about this agreement with QJ for the second phase of our expansion into the Chinese market. It is a very ambitious long term partnership that will make MV Agusta the number one Italian premium motorcycle brand in China in the next 5 years. QJ is one of the leading global players in terms of scale, market presence and quality standards and I am confident that with such a solid partner we will reach, and possibly beat, all our commercial objectives very rapidly. We are also developing a further, important collaboration on the industrial front, which we will announce shortly.”
After the successful launch phase in collaboration with Fekon Co., who was instrumental in the introduction of MV Agusta motorcycles in China, QJ will now take over the 7 existing mono-brand stores and expand the sales network with an additional 21 stores within 12 months and service centres with the objective of rapidly and significantly incrementing MV Agusta’s presence and visibility on the Chinese market. QJ has an impressive track record and considerable experience in managing international prime brands.
Dongshao Guo, General Manager of Qianjiang Motor Co.
”We thank MV Agusta for choosing to establish a new strategic partnership with us. MV Agusta is a world-famous brand with a long history, and also an old friend and close partner of Qianjiang Motorcycle. This cooperation is not only a strong combination of the two sides’ business, but also a further recognition of the brands and ideas of each other. We hope that in the future we could work together to bring in for the Chinese customers more high-performance motorcycles that are fashionable, easy to handle, and fun to ride. We aim to make motorcycle travels freer, greener, and more passionate.”
It’s not often an athlete can claim they spent 25 years at the top of their sport across different disciplines, winning more than 70 Championship titles, including two titles in the same year across two classes in the Australian Superbike Championship and is still competitive today. That is unless you are Australian Superbike legend, Jamie Stauffer.
There must be something in the water in the town of Kurri Kurri, NSW, where Stauffer was born, as the town has also produced Australian motorcycle royalty in Casey Stoner (MotoGP) and Chad Reed (Motocross and Supercross).
In fact, the wider Newcastle region could easily claim it has produced more recent world class motorcycle riders than any other region in Australia when you include Toby Price, Jason Doyle, Broc Parkes, Kevin Curtain, Craig Anderson, Rohan Tungate, and Phil Lovett, all who have lived in the region at some point in the early part of their careers before they went onto great success.
“It’s funny because when I look back at Kurri Kurri dirt track and the riders, the names I rode against at the time weren’t names and now they are people who have done really good stuff in all different disciplines across the world and we rode together and made each other better,” said Stauffer who runs the successful DoctorMak Engines in Maitland, NSW.
For Stauffer, now 41, the love affair with motorcycles still burns just as bright as the day he received his first motorcycle at the tender age of 4-years-old.
“It’s a way of life for me,” he said.
“I’ve got a little bit of property where I live and we’ve got a track in the back yard and even if I’m not riding or at a race track with Max, I’m prepping this track so others can ride or I’m at a dirt track or at Christmas at a speedway track and helping people in the pits.
“I’m a motorcycle racing fan in general, but if I’m not around motorbikes, I’m bored to be honest.”
Stauffer’s resume of success is why for many in the sport he is amongst Australia’s greatest riders. Between 1991 and 1999, Stauffer was the king of dirt track, winning 49 State and 16 National titles.
It was a phone call from current Motorcycling Australia President and former Champion, Peter Goddard that started Stauffer’s road to success in road racing.
“In 1996 Peter Goddard rang and said we; my brother and I, should get into road racing and he gave us contacts to get some Suzuki RGV 250s and we said alright we will give it a go and see what happens,” said Stauffer.
“I never knew anything about road racing at the time.
“My brother went full road racing earlier than me as I was doing a bit of speedway and dirt track.
“It came to a point where I said I better do one.”
As they say in the classics, the rest was history. Stauffer would go onto not only dominate Supersport and Superbike classes, but consistently finish in the top ten for the next 15 years.
From the get-go Stauffer impressed. Winning the Australian Aprilia Challenge, the Two Wheels 6 Hour Endurance race, and a win at the Daytona International Speedway in the Formula USA Aprilia Challenge.
2006 was a magical year for the Yamaha shod rider, winning both the Australian Superbike Championship and Supersport Championship.
The following year, he nearly claimed both championships again, but crashed at turn 9 at Sydney Motorsport Park, during the last round, last race and finished second in the Supersport class. Yet, he still won this Superbike class championship.
“2006 was a great year. I had had a few good years before that and a lot of good races and came close to some titles,” Stauffer said.
“When I signed with Yamaha everything just clicked. I was riding at my best. The bikes were good. The team was good and the first meeting I won all six races, scored two lap records and a pole.
“It was one of those times when you feel that confident that you jell with the bike that well and the team everything just fell into place. It was special.
“We had a really great time with Yamaha to be honest, the racing was so good, and the competition was tough.
“Over history there was always someone to step up and raise the bar that everyone had to catch up to, and I was lucky enough that, that was me.
“We had a great run and at the end of the day it made everyone else a better rider as they wanted to win and beat me.”
Stauffer fondly remembers dominating both Superbike and Supersport classes.
Check out this Yamaha advert featuring Jamie
I was there that day the on-track footage on the stock R1 was taken at Phillip Island in this video above. Jamie was asked to go out and pull a few slides so he just jumped on a stocker and had the thing completely sideways everywhere right from the off.
“Back then if you could win a 600 Supersport race, you were pretty confident you could win a Superbike race as well.
“I remember in 2006 or 2007 qualifying in the first round at Eastern Creek and I put it on pole in Superbikes and my qualifying time on a 600 would have put me second place on the superbike,” he said with a chuckle.
Stauffer also raced overseas in the AMA Superbike series after a USA based friend asked him to come and join him and they would get a couple of Yamaha R6’s to race.
“It’s quite a funny story. I went over there, picked up a couple of bikes and went from San Diego to Daytona.
“But the day before leaving, we were getting the bikes tuned, and on the way back, a car ran up the back of me in the truck I was driving.
“It hit me pretty hard and it broke bits of stuff off the brand new bike. So, we were a couple of days late leaving because we were fixing the bike.
“We finished 7th there but 10 of us went across the line side by side and I got the track record there and was lucky enough to get a call up from Yoshimura Suzuki who put me on the 600 over there for the rest of the year.”
Stauffer’s last full season of racing was in 2016 in ASBK, but he was given the opportunity by good friend Craig McMartin to race the last 2 rounds of the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship on what would become Wayne Maxwell‘s 2020 round 1 winning Ducati.
While he suffered bike issues at Phillip Island, Stauffer proved he was just as competitive at Sydney Motorsport Park despite qualifying poorly.
Stauffer managed to race with the front runners in both races scoring a 5th and 6th placing on a bike he had not ridden, showing there was still plenty of talent and fight in the former full-time racer.
“I don’t think anyone forgets how to ride but I struggled all weekend looking after Max’s bikes as well.
“I qualified way back but went out and I did really well over race distance.
“During qualifying I’d come in to make changes to my bike and I was there with the helmet on changing Max’s wheels. It was a hard weekend, too hard to ride and look after Max at the same time.
“The Ducati V4R is pretty damn good, easily the fastest bike I’ve ridden.”
While he could be competitive with ASBK front runners, Stauffer realised it was too hard to race and be crew chief mechanic and Dad to Max.
“I had my time and I realised it was time to give Max a go.
“I feel if I wanted to, I would have to get a lot fitter so I could go out and be competitive in Superbikes, but I love helping my young guy out and making him a better rider.”
Max, now competing in the Motorsports TV Supersport class came through the ASBK junior ranks with plenty of race wins and podium finishes in the YMI Supersport 300 class.
“It’s totally different being on this side of the pit garage, being the crew chief and trying to work out what the rider is trying to interpret is a different thing, but quite fun.”
Like many former racers now helping their children race, Stauffer gets nervous every time Max gets on the bike.
“It’s actually terrible, it is worse than being on the bike.
“It’s nerve racking to be honest and it’s with you the whole time he is out there, but it’s what he wants to do, so I help him.
“The moment he crosses the line you catch your breath and it’s all good.
“He’s definitely got a lot of talent. He is a better rider than I was at the same age.
“If he keeps progressing and learning I think he can move forward, and he seems to be doing all the right things.
“When he first started racing and even though I had a fair bit of experience, every time I would tell him something he would ignore it, but now he has realised pretty quickly that I do know what I’m talking about and now takes it all in and listens and learns.
“Each time he gets on the bike now he’s doing better and getting faster.”
So, what are Stauffer’s hopes for his son Max.
“COVID has changed it a bit this year. Originally, I wanted him to be winning races by the end of the year, I still want that.
“He has only had one race this year on the 600 so we will see how he goes and whether in the future he goes to Superbike here or overseas.
“On a Yamaha I won the Superbike Championship and I think it would good if Max could be the next person on a Yamaha to do that or a double on Yamaha.
“Yamaha have been fantastic and have helped us a lot.
“We all get along great and I’ve always had a good relationship with those guys, even when I went to Ducati and Honda.”
What does Stauffer think about ASBK today?
“I think now it’s more professional, the teams are making the bikes and pit areas more presentable and ASBK is doing a really good job with the series.
“When I started, we turned up with RGV white gel coated fairings and now all the bikes and teams look presentable and everyone has stepped it up.
“It would be good to see some more money in the paddock with more sponsorship available.”
What does Stauffer think of the current riders, some of whom he raced against and who is his tip to take out the 2020 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, in the Kawasaki Superbike class?
“It’s good to see guys like Wayne Maxwell still competitive, you need old people out there on track as well as young people.
“It’s good to see Wayne and Troy Herfoss there and going so good, shows you don’t need to be young if you still got and want it.
“If there was no stoppage this year, I would have said Wayne for sure and I think he still has got a pretty high chance of winning, I’d put my money on him.
“But Troy has a new Honda and it will be interesting to see how fast he is on that, as he was definitely not on the best bike out there.
“Troy is always strong competitor anytime he’s on the track and he is still winning races, so will be interesting to see how he goes.”
While Stauffer has ridden on Ducati, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha throughout his career, there is only one favourite bike.
“The Yamaha 2006 R1SP is definitely my favourite, it was a pretty special bike to ride and I’ve still got that bike, it’s the only one I have really.”
Some of Jamie Stauffer’s major achievements include
2000 – Winner of Australian Aprilia Challenge.
2000 – Winner of Two Wheels 6 Hour Endurance, teamed with Warwick Nowland and Mark Willis.
2005 – 3rd in Australian Superbike Championship.
2006 – Winner of both Australian Superbike and Supersport Championships.
2007 – 9th in Suzuka 8 Hour with Norick Abe.
2007 – Winner of the Australian Superbike Championship, 2nd in the Supersport Championship.
2008 – Winner of the Australian Supersport Championship, 2nd in the Superbike Championship.
2009 – 2nd in Australian Supersport Championship.
2010 – 5th in Australian Superbike Championship.
2011 – 2nd in Australian Superbike Championship.
2012 – 3rd in Australian Superbike Championship.
2013 – 4th in Australian Superbike Championship.
2016 – 8th in the Australian Superbike Championship.
You will be able to catch father and son – Jamie and Max Stauffer – at the next round of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, round 2, to be held at The Bend Motorsport Park, South Australia, on November 20-22.
The ASBK Grand Finale for 2020 will be conducted as a double-header round, rounds 3 and 4 over 4-days, at Winton Motorway Raceway, December 3-6.
ASBK round 2 at The Bend and both rounds 3 and 4 at Winton Motor Raceway (Saturday and Sunday) will be broadcast live through our TV partners on SBSHD, Fox Sports Australia, Fox Sports Asia.
2020 British Superbike Championship Round Four Oulton Park Saturday wrap
Images Dave Yeomans
O’Halloran had been on the pace throughout free practice, claiming pole position for the race on the McAMS Yamaha, but it was a hard-fought victory for the Australian as he faced some serious competition in his quest to return to the top step for the first time since 2016.
At the start of the race, Glenn Irwin had hit the front of the pack ahead of brother Andrew and O’Halloran, as disaster struck Silverstone race-winner Kyle Ryde as he crashed out unhurt on the opening lap.
O’Halloran had taken the lead on the second lap, but in a frantic battle for the win, just four laps later Christian Iddon had taken the advantage at the front, after carving his way up the order.
As the VisionTrack Ducati rider led the freight train of riders, Andrew Irwin was also eager to fight his way though and he had moved into second place.
By the tenth lap O’Halloran had dropped back to fourth, as Iddon started coming under fire from the Honda Racing pairing with Andrew and Glenn holding second and third place.
O’Halloran wasn’t defeated though and he moved ahead of the championship leader and then into second place with three laps remaining as he began his fightback to the front.
Iddon was defending hard but it wasn’t enough on the final lap as O’Halloran was able to grab the advantage and hold off the Snetterton race winner, to claim victory by 0.358s for McAMS Yamaha.
The race also proved to be a highlight for the Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki team as Danny Buchan claimed his first podium finish of the season; moving into third place with two laps to go as he pushed the Honda Racing pairing for the final spot in the top three.
The third place for Buchan means that five different manufacturers have now finished on the podium this season as he became the ninth different rider to celebrate a podium result.
Andrew Irwin held off brother Glenn for fourth place at the chequered flag, as his lead in the championship standings was reduced by five points as O’Halloran leapt up to second in the standings ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
Lee Jackson was sixth after getting ahead of Bradley Ray and Josh Brookes in the closing stages of Round 10 with Tarran Mackenzie and Gino Rea completing the top ten.
Jason O’Halloran – P1
“I got a pretty good start and I got into the lead in the early to the middle part of the race, and thought ‘I might try and have a bit of a break’. I saw +0.4 on the board early on and then I didn’t get the opportunity to go again, and in the early part of the races Andrew and Glenn (Irwin) were quite strong, but we were strong in different places of the track. I am sure when they were behind me they struggled and when I was behind them they struggled! I had to bide my time and figure out a couple of places where I was stronger and where I could make some passes. I need to get past Christian (Iddon) with a couple to go as I didn’t want to leave it right until the last minute, so when I got in front, I put my head down, set the fastest lap of the race on the last lap and managed to get the win. It has been a long time between wins. We have had four race in the row now where I have been on the podium. We were so close at Silverstone and even back at Donington we had the speed to win, we just didn’t manage to get there. A huge thanks to McAMS and the whole McAMS Yamaha team they have given me a great bike this weekend, they have given me a great bike all year and we have been fast from the very beginning. It is thanks to them and I am looking forward to two races tomorrow.”
Christian Iddon – P2
“I made a great start from seventh on the grid and just picked them off one by one in the first few laps; the bike felt really strong, particularly on the brakes and I felt really comfortable. At the same time, I didn’t really want to take the lead when I did so I tried to set a manageable pace and hit all my markers particularly when I realised I wasn’t able to make the break. Jason had shadowed me for a long time and when he came by, I was more than a match for him on the brakes, but his mid-corner speed was a lot better than mine. We both set our fastest laps of the race at the end which shows how hard we were trying but second is a good start to the weekend.”
Andrew Irwin – P4
“It was nice to battle again and be back to where I feel like we should be, we started the weekend steady I would say and we took steps throughout practice and qualifying. I think as the weekend progresses and with another two races hopefully we can keep taking some small steps. Fourth is a really good result for me at the minute, it was above my expectations so I’m happy with that, we’ll try to improve tomorrow and do a good job in the two races. ”
Glenn Irwin – P5
“That result was probably our lot, at the halfway stage I had saved my rear tyre quite a lot and felt strong for a podium, I was behind Andrew and he was riding so well and proving difficult to pass, I made a move at passing but lost my rhythm. We have some things to improve on for tomorrow, it’s probably been our most frustrating race so far, but to come away with a fifth in a race where I wasn’t so content probably isn’t so bad. I’m aware there’s a group of guys who weren’t so far behind, so with two more races we need to do our homework tonight and come back stronger.”
Josh Brookes – P8
“I’m smiling through gritted teeth but deep down I’m very disappointed. There’s Josh Brookesnothing I can say to make the result any better but eighth is not where I nor the team need to be. We need to improve in Sunday’s two races, that’s for sure and Christian has proved the bike is capable of challenging for a win so it’s down to me. I’m not going to say any more other than tomorrow’s another day and we’ll come out fighting.”
Race One Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
Jason O’HALLORAN
Yamaha
25m34.442
2
Christian IDDON
Ducati
+0.358
3
Danny BUCHAN
Kawasak
+0.804
4
Andrew IRWIN
Honda
+3.959
5
Glenn IRWIN
Honda
+4.069
6
Lee JACKSON
Kawasaki
+4.119
7
Bradley RAY
BMW
+4.359
8
Josh BROOKES
Ducati
+4.476
9
Tarran MACKENZIE
Yamaha
+5.884
10
Gino REA
Suzuki
+14.324
11
Luke MOSSEY
BMW
+14.773
12
Peter HICKMAN
BMW
+15.806
13
Ryan VICKERS
Kawasaki
+22.051
14
Tommy BRIDEWELL
Ducati
+22.672
15
Keith FARMER
Suzuki
+25.931
16
Taylor MACKENZIE
BMW
+32.379
17
Storm STACEY
Kawasaki
+41.226
18
Héctor BARBERÁ
BMW
+42.599
19
Josh OWENS
Kawasaki
+50.846
20
Graeme IRWIN
Kawasaki
+1m01.915
21
Bjorn ESTMENT
BMW
+1m15.762
22
Brian McCORMACK
BMW
m35.374
Not Classified
DNF
Joe FRANCIS
BMW
3 Laps
DNF
Jack KENNEDY
Kawasaki
7 Laps
DNF
Kyle RYDE
Suzuki
/
DNF
Tom WARD
Kawasaki
/
British Superbike Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Glenn IRWIN (Honda)
168
2
Jason O’HALLORAN (Yamaha)
138
3
Josh BROOKES (Ducati)
130
4
Christian IDDON (Ducati)
126
5
Tommy BRIDEWELL (Ducati)
124
6
Kyle RYDE (Suzuki)
114
7
Tarran MACKENZIE (Yamaha)
108
8
Andrew IRWIN (Honda)
96
9
Lee JACKSON (Kawasaki)
88
10
Danny BUCHAN (Kawasaki)
63
11
Bradley RAY (BMW)
57
12
Luke MOSSEY (BMW)
44
13
Ryan VICKERS (Kawasaki)
31
14
Peter HICKMAN (BMW)
29
15
Héctor BARBERÁ (BMW)
28
16
Gino REA (Suzuki)
28
17
Alex OLSEN (BMW)
8
18
Joe FRANCIS (BMW)
8
19
Jack KENNEDY (Yamaha)
7
20
Dan LINFOOT (Yamaha)
2
21
Taylor MACKENZIE (BMW)
1
22
Storm STACEY (Kawasaki)
1
23
Keith FARMER (Suzuki)
1
British Supersport Championship & British GP2 Cup
Brad Jones took his first win of the season in the Quattro British Supersport class, ending team mate Rory Skinner’s dominance. Skinner grabbed the holeshot ahead of his teammate Brad Jones, Lee Johnston and Jamie Perrin. Unable to break away like he has in previous races, Skinner was under constant pressure from Jones, with the leading four covered by less than 0.4s.
Setting the fastest lap of the race, Jones was able to move past on lap five as Perrin moved up to third. Skinner moved straight back into the lead on lap six though, as Harry Truelove closed up in fifth to make it a five rider battle for the win. As the pack came round to complete the end of lap nine, Jones moved back into the lead as Johnston and Trulove found a way past Perrin.
Skinner moved back into the lead as they began the penultimate lap, but he was unable to escape Jones, who moved into the lead as they started the final lap. Fending off a last lap challenge from Skinner, Jones was able to hold on to take his first win of the season with Skinner taking second and Truelove third. Johnston was fourth with Perrin fifth and James Westmoreland sixth. Mason Law was the leading GP2 machine in seventh.
Ben Currie unfortunately recorded a DNF, going down a lap before the end of the 12-lap race.
Race Results
Pos
CL
RIder
ENTRY
Time/Gap
1
Brad JONES
Yamaha
19m51.618
2
Rory SKINNER
Yamaha
+0.055
3
Harry TRUELOVE
Yamaha
+1.720
4
Lee JOHNSTON
Yamaha
+1.775
5
Jamie PERRIN
Yamaha
+2.992
6
James WESTMORELAND
Kawasaki
+7.912
7
GP2
Mason LAW
Spirit
+8.170
8
Bradley PERIE
Yamaha
+8.287
9
GP2
Jack SCOTT
Harris
+8.469
10
GP2
Tom OLIVER
Chassis
+9.100
11
GP2
Alastair SEELEY
ABM Quattro
+11.048
12
GP2
Charlie NESBITT
ABM Quattro
+16.264
13
Richard KERR
Triumph
+18.014
14
Ross PATTERSON
Yamaha
+18.224
15
GP2
Jake ARCHER
Kalex
+27.622
16
James ROSE
Kawasaki
+27.770
17
Rob HARTOG
MV Agusta
+28.094
18
Kurt WIGLEY
Yamaha
+28.175
19
GP2
Cameron HORSMAN
Chassis Factory
+28.941
20
Michael DUNLOP
Yamaha
+36.143
21
GP2
Jorel BOERBOOM
Honda
+36.909
22
GP2
Dan JONES
FTR
+40.812
23
GP2
Cameron FRASER
Chassis Factory
+40.901
24
Phil WAKEFIELD
Yamaha
+41.274
25
Mike NORBURY
Kawasaki
+51.657
26
Joseph LOUGHLIN
Yamaha
+56.074
27
Ricky TARREN
Yamaha
+1m05.297
28
Alan NAYLOR
Yamaha
+1m36.250
29
Grant McINTOSH
Yamaha
1 Lap
30
GP2
Joey THOMPSON
Spirit
1 Lap
Not Classified
DNF
Ben CURRIE
Kawasaki
1 Lap
Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Rory SKINNER (Yamaha)
170
2
Brad JONES (Yamaha)
102
3
James WESTMORELAND (Kawasaki)
94
4
Bradley PERIE (Yamaha)
82
5
Lee JOHNSTON (Yamaha)
72
6
Harry TRUELOVE (Yamaha)
70
7
Richard KERR (Triumph)
54
8
Jamie PERRIN (Yamaha)
43
9
Ben CURRIE (Kawasaki)
40
10
Rob HARTOG (MV Agusta)
38
11
Ross PATTERSON (Yamaha)
36
12
Korie McGREEVY (Yamaha)
32
13
Kurt WIGLEY (Yamaha)
27
14
Phil WAKEFIELD (Yamaha)
25
15
James ROSE (Kawasaki)
21
16
Scott SWANN (Yamaha)
12
17
Tom TOPARIS (Yamaha)
11
18
Ricky TARREN (Yamaha)
8
19
Keenan ARMSTRONG (Kawasaki)
6
20
Ben WOTTON (Triumph)
6
21
Grant McINTOSH (Yamaha)
5
22
Alan NAYLOR (Yamaha)
5
23
Michael DUNLOP (Yamaha)
3
24
Mike NORBURY (Kawasaki)
1
British Superstock 1000
Lewis Rollo claimed his opening victory of the season in the Superstock 1000 Championship at Oulton Park. It was Chrissy Rouse who grabbed the holeshot to lead the way over the opening few laps, before machine troubles saw him begin to slip back through the field. Taking over front running, Rollo was able to control the race from the front to take victory.
Behind him, Fraser Rogers was able to find his way past Rouse to claim second place, but Rouse was soon back on the pace, moving up to second again on lap 13. Brayden Elliott was hot on their tales, moving up into third place on lap 13. Coming down to the final lap, Rogers slipped through on the final corner but Elliott was able to get back past on the run to the line.
South Australian Billy McConnell finished seventh while Kiwi Shane Richardson and Damon Rees carded 13th and 17th place results respectively.
Race Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
Lewis ROLLO
Aprilia
22m55.464
2
Chrissy ROUSE
BMW
4.838
3
Brayden ELLIOTT
Suzuki
5.627
4
Fraser ROGERS
Kawasaki
6.115
5
Tim NEAVE
Suzuki
6.518
6
Luke HEDGER
Kawasaki
7.430
7
Billy McCONNELL
BMW
10.507
8
Danny KENT
Kawasaki
11.072
9
Dan LINFOOT
BMW
11.516
10
Tom NEAVE
Honda
12.877
11
Jordan WEAVING
Suzuki
15.889
12
David ALLINGHAM
Suzuki
24.484
13
Shane RICHARDSON
BMW
24.568
14
Ian HUTCHINSON
BMW
28.843
15
Luke JONES
Aprilia
29.044
16
Davey TODD
Honda
33.907
17
Damon REES
BMW
34.129
18
Luke HOPKINS
Kawasaki
34.256
19
Michael DUNLOP
Suzuki
35.175
20
Lee WILLIAMS
Kawasaki
38.632
21
Daniel COOPER
BMW
38.718
22
Barry TEASDALE
Kawasaki
39.367
23
Craig NEVE
BMW
39.496
24
Sam WEST
BMW
58.246
25
Dani SAEZ GUTERREZ
Kawasaki
58.437
26
Tom TUNSTALL
Suzuki
58.748
27
Josh WOOD
Kawasaki
1:11.424
28
Dave MACKAY
Suzuki
1:42.020
29
Nico CIPRIANO
Kawasaki
1:47.645
30
Harry JACKSON
Suzuki
1 Lap
Not Classified
DNF
Shaun WINFIELD
Yamaha
1 Lap
DNF
Joe SHELDON-SHAW
Suzuki
1 Lap
DNF
Matt TRUELOVE
BMW
2 Laps
DNF
Stephen SMITH
BMW
7 Laps
DNF
Dean HARRISON
Kawasaki
12 Laps
Championship Points
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Chrissy ROUSE (BMW)
116
2
Tom NEAVE (Honda)
108
3
Tim NEAVE (Suzuki)
69
4
Lewis ROLLO (Aprilia)
69
5
Damon REES (BMW)
66
6
Billy McCONNELL (BMW)
65
7
Danny KENT (Kawasaki)
55
8
Fraser ROGERS (Kawasaki)
48
9
Davey TODD (Honda)
33
10
Luke HEDGER (Kawasaki)
27
11
Ian HUTCHINSON (BMW)
24
12
Jordan WEAVING (Suzuki)
24
13
Matt TRUELOVE (BMW)
23
14
Joe COLLIER (Suzuki)
23
15
Brayden ELLIOTT (Suzuki)
21
16
Dan LINFOOT (BMW)
20
17
Shane RICHARDSON (BMW)
14
18
Richard COOPER (BMW)
9
19
Leon JEACOCK (Suzuki)
8
20
Shaun WINFIELD (Yamaha)
6
21
David ALLINGHAM (Suzuki)
6
22
Joe SHELDON-SHAW (Suzuki)
3
23
Luke HOPKINS (Kawasaki)
2
24
Luke JONES (Aprilia)
1
British Junior Supersport Championship
Brody Crockford claimed his maiden win of the season in an action-packed opening Hel Performance British Junior Supersport race at Oulton Park. The scheduled ten lap race saw a constant change of places at the front, as Adon Davie, Owen Jenner and Crockford all took turns leading the way.
Set to come down to a final lap challenge, a crash at the final corner saw four of the leading six riders tumble out of contention. Crockford eventually took the win ahead of Seth Crump and Andy Smyth, who claimed his maiden British Junior Supersport podium.
Race Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
Brody CROCKFORD
Yamaha
17m02.081
2
Seth CRUMP
Kawasaki
+0.519
3
Andrew SMYTH
Kawasaki
+12.281
4
James McMANUS
Kawasaki
+14.453
5
Zak SHELTON
Kawasaki
+14.780
6
Oscar PINSON
Kawasaki
+14.961
7
Kam DIXON
Kawasaki
+15.192
8
Jake HOPPER
Kawasaki
+15.344
9
Joseph THOMAS
Kawasaki
+15.492
10
Lewis JONES
Kawasaki
+15.773
11
Kier ARMSTRONG
KTM
+21.007
12
Lucca ALLEN
Kawasaki
+21.797
13
Lewis JONES
KTM
+21.884
14
Cameron HALL
Kawasaki
+22.178
15
Lynden LEATHERLAND
Kawasaki
+23.093
16
Declan CONNELL
Kawasaki
+23.720
17
Chloe JONES
Yamaha
+23.949
18
Christopher JOHNSON
Kawasaki
+36.576
19
Finn SMART
Kawasaki
+36.852
20
Kai DICKINSON
Kawasaki
+36.983
21
Bradley WILSON
Kawasaki
+41.002
22
Connor SELLORS
Kawasaki
+57.508
23
Reece COYNE
Yamaha
+57.691
24
Mcauley LONGMORE
Kawasaki
+57.797
25
Samuel LAIDLOW
Kawasaki
+58.073
26
Ben TAYLOR
Kawasaki
+1m07.362
27
Luke GILBY
Kawasaki
+1 Lap
Not Classified
DNF
Adon DAVIE
Kawasaki
0.000
DNF
Owen JENNER
Kawasaki
0.081
DNF
Osian JONES
Kawasaki
0.239
DNF
Ash BARNES
Kawasaki
0.336
DNF
Alessandro VALENTE
KTM
6 Laps
DNF
Cameron DAWSON
Kawasaki
7 Laps
DNF
Rossi BANHAM
Yamaha
8 Laps
DNF
Kevin COYNE
Kawasaki
8 Laps
DNF
James ROSE
Kawasaki
8 Laps
Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Owen JENNER (Kawasaki)
131
2
Seth CRUMP (Kawasaki)
100
3
Brody CROCKFORD (Yamaha)
85
4
Zak SHELTON (Kawasaki)
66
5
Cameron DAWSON (Kawasaki)
60
6
Osian JONES (Kawasaki)
59
7
Adon DAVIE (Kawasaki)
49
8
Oscar PINSON (Kawasaki)
48
9
James McMANUS (Kawasaki)
43
10
Ash BARNES (Kawasaki)
41
11
Joseph THOMAS (Kawasaki)
36
12
Kier ARMSTRONG (KTM)
33
13
Lewis JONES #25 (KTM)
33
14
Kam DIXON (Kawasaki)
31
15
Cameron HALL (Kawasaki)
27
16
Lynden LEATHERLAND (Kawasaki)
26
17
Jake HOPPER (Kawasaki)
20
18
Andrew SMYTH (Kawasaki)
16
19
Chloe JONES (Yamaha)
13
20
Christopher JOHNSON (Kawasaki)
11
21
Lewis JONES #3 (Kawasaki)
11
22
Finn SMART (Kawasaki)
8
23
Kai DICKINSON (Kawasaki)
7
24
Harris BEECH (Yamaha)
7
25
Lucca ALLEN (Kawasaki)
5
26
Mcauley LONGMORE (Kawasaki)
4
27
Alessandro VALENTE (KTM)
4
Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup
Levi Day built on his success at Silverstone by taking the opening race victory at Oulton Park. Josh Day grabbed the holeshot, before Levi Day was soon able to find his way through on lap two. Maintaining his lead at the front, Elliot Pinson had moved up to second but an incident between him and Josh Day saw Pinson crash out, leaving it a two way battle for the win.
Levi came under increasing pressure in the closing stages from reigning champion Josh Day, however Levi was able to respond to claim victory ahead of Josh Day. David Shoubridge eventually secured third place, ahead of John McGuinness who took his best finish of the season so far. Sam Cox was fifth, ahead of Carl Stevens, Neve, Tustin, Jones and Devonport.
The first ever MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was won by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) as the reigning Champion claimed victory in Race 1 for the inaugural Acerbis Catalunya Round; extending his Championship lead to 41 points.
Rea started from pole position after going quickest in this morning’s Tissot Superpole session and held position off the line as the lights went out, maintaining and increasing a gap to his nearest rivals on track. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finished in second place after getting a superb launch off the grid after starting from seventh place; the British rider taking advantage of a close call between Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and teammate and Michael van der Mark at Turn 1 with both able to stay on their bike.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) and Redding battled in the early stages of the race before trying to work together to close the gap to Rea but they were unable to do so with Rea extending his lead to eventually win by 2.6s. Redding came home to finish in second place while Rinaldi fell down the order in the latter stages, eventually finishing in seventh.
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) battled his way through the field to finish in third place meaning British riders have now locked out the podium on 54 occasions in WorldSBK, with Davies finishing ahead of van der Mark in fourth. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) lost ground compared to his starting position, finishing in fifth place with Razgatlioglu in sixth after the incident with his teammate at Turn 1. Bautista lost a position to Davies on Lap 15 of 20 when he went wide into Turn 1, allowing Davies to sweep around the outside of Bautista.
Rinaldi finished in seventh place after losing lots of time in the final few laps, being passed by Davies, van der Mark and Bautista in three successive laps. He finished ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) as the American continued his strong performances in dry conditions in Barcelona.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was in ninth place with Leon Haslam (Team HRC) completing the top ten. Eugene Laverty picked up points for his efforts with 11th place, just one tenth away from a top ten finish. Wildcard Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) battled his way through the field after not setting a time in qualifying, moving up from 21st to finish 12th.
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) completed the points paying positions by rounding out the top 15. Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) finished in 16th on his first appearance in 2020, ahead of last-minute call up Lorenzo Zanetti (Motocorsa Racing).
Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance), Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) and Valentin Debise (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) were the rest of the finishers in the race with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) retiring from the race in the early stages.
P1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
“I had a lot of motivation in this race. It’s my team home race. Obviously, Ana Carrasco can’t be here with us in the team, so this race win is for her and also for my grandfather. It is his anniversary today, 27 years ago he died so I was using that as a lot of power in the race to just never give up. I am super happy for me, my team. I wish the fans could be here, and their families to celebrate with us but lot of info for tomorrow. I am looking forward to that one because in the last laps, the front was moving quiet a lot. In this temperature with this grip level, we just need a bit more for tomorrow. So, looking forward to sleeping on that and coming back stronger tomorrow.”
P2 Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
“In qualifying I struggled a bit, I think the qualifying tyre was not so good so I started seventh on the grid which is not ideal but I got off to a mega start, then van der Mark came through and made some space for me so it made it a little bit easier. I was behind Rinaldi and I felt good. I needed to get passed him and I got by him, and I lost the rear in Turn 3. This is a corner where we suffer a lot and I tried to push and that’s what happened. He came back, passed me again. He tapped the seat so I thought he was a bit faster than me in some sectors, I tried to see something. I saw the tyre drop and I thought he needed to go and close the gap and had a good run to close the gap a little bit to Jonny, but it was just give and take all the time. So, from seventh to finish second, I am happy with that I must say. It’s a shame we couldn’t fight for the win but in this point of the Championship, we have to get the best results we can, when we can.”
P3 Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
“Yes, a bit steady the first ten laps, I think. I was giving it everything, but I just didn’t seem to have the ability to get it hooked up in some of the longer corners in the early parts. And then it seems that everybody dropped, well the people I was riding with dropped to my sort of grip and then I was able to move forward, and I stayed maybe a bit more consistent than those who were around me. It is the first 10 laps where we are missing out. Start was good, I was in a good position, I was well placed to go forward but had a lack of traction.”
WorldSBK Race One Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Rea
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
0.000
2
S. Redding
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+2.625
3
C. Davies
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+4.459
4
M. Van Der Mark
Yamaha YZF R1
+6.078
5
A. Bautista
Honda CBR1000RR-R
+6.989
6
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha YZF R1
+8.770
7
M. Rinaldi
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+11.676
8
G. Gerloff
Yamaha YZF R1
+15.639
9
A. Lowes
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+18.128
10
L. Haslam
Honda CBR1000RR-R
+22.344
11
E. Laverty
BMW S1000 RR
+22.460
12
J. Folger
Yamaha YZF R1
+22.934
13
X. Fores
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+25.428
14
L. Baz
Yamaha YZF R1
26.083
15
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha YZF R1
+31.880
16
S. Cavalieri
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+37.361
17
L. Zanetti
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+40.668
18
S. Barrier
Ducati Panigale V4 R
+48.001
19
T. Takahashi
Honda CBR1000RR-R
+55.793
20
V. Debise
Kawasaki ZX-10RR
+1m02.531
Not Classified
RET
66 T. SYKES
BMW S1000 RR
WorldSBK Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Jonathan Rea
268
2
Scott Redding
227
3
Toprak Razgatlioglu
157
4
Chaz Davies
157
5
Michael Van Der Mark
146
6
Michael Ruben Rinaldi
140
7
Alex Lowes
134
8
Alvaro Bautista
94
9
Leon Haslam
81
10
Loris Baz
78
11
Tom Sykes
58
12
Garrett Gerloff
47
13
Federico Caricasulo
37
14
Eugene Laverty
36
15
Xavi Fores
36
16
Marco Melandri
23
17
Sandro Cortese
14
18
Leandro Mercado
12
19
Maximilian Scheib
11
20
Sylvain Barrier
5
21
Jonas Folger
4
22
Christophe Ponsson
4
23
Roman Ramos
4
24
Matteo Ferrari
4
25
Takumi Takahashi
2
World Supersport
The weather played a massive role in the outcome of the first ever FIM Supersport World Championship race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) claimed a shock victory in a Red Flagged Race 1 for the Acerbis Catalunya Round as Championship leader Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) finished off the podium for the first time this season.
Verdoïa did not pit stop as the rain came down in Montmelo and was the leader at the timing point the results were taken from; with 11 laps of the 17 scheduled completed full race points awarded. Verdoïa becomes the first WorldSSP300 race winner to win in WorldSSP as well as the youngest WorldSSP winner as he claimed victory ahead of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Kyle Smith (GMT94 Yamaha) who completed the podium; Smith replacing the injured Jules Cluzel for this round.
Championship leader Locatelli finished in fourth place after losing time as the rain started to fall but had been leading in dry conditions. Although he had a poor start and fell into fourth place on Lap 2, a lap later into Turn 1 he passed Mahias, Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha).
Mahias, Smith and Locatelli were the last riders to come into the pits before the Red Flag was shown with all three just about to get back on track after changing tyres in the pits while Verdoïa was able to stay out without pitting, keeping his bike on track to claim victory.
Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team) secured a stunning top five finish and the lead rider out of the WorldSSP Challenge riders, finishing just ahead of Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) in sixth place and 2019 WorldSSP300 Champion Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) in seventh.
Oettl was in eighth place at the timing point the results were collected from with Miquel Pons (Dynavolt Honda) finished in ninth place; equalling his best finish in WorldSSP. Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) completed the top ten with a tenth-place finish, the Italian securing his best result of the 2020 season.
Loris Cresson (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) finished in 11th place with Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team), Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing), Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) completing the point-scoring positions. Perolari, who had been leading the race in the early stages, finished in 16th place while Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) finished in 18th after showing strong pace in the dry. Oscar Gutierrez (GMT94 Yamaha) had showed strong pace in the dry but lost out due to the timing of the red flag, finishing in 19th place on his debut.
Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) was taken to the medical centre following a crash in the early stages of the race, where he was diagnosed with a right-hand contusion. He will have further assessments following that diagnosis.
P1 Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing)
“I cannot believe it. It’s incredible. I said okay continue, keep calm, don’t crash because in second gear, I was spinning on the straight. It was incredible but I said keep calm, try to finish and maybe next lap there will be a Red Flag. So, I continued, and I thought maybe I was in top 10 so at the end it is a first place, I cannot believe it. It’s incredible.”
P2 Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
“For sure it is great for the Championship, to secure third place and maybe pushing to come back to second. I am not really happy because one rider entered the pitlane after me and won the race. He was behind during the race, but it is better than to finish fourth or fifth. But when I saw the rain started, I ride a lot in endurance, and I know these conditions a lot. I know that when you have a bit of rain on the track, it’s possible to push for one more lap. I looked at Locatelli with the hand and I thought that it was okay to push one more lap. I got into first position and when I entered in the last corner, I saw the straight line with lot of water, I thought I made the wrong choice and finally it was the right one. I am a little bit lucky. But I hope for nice weather tomorrow for Race 2.”
P3 Kyle Smith (GMT94 Yamaha)
“It’s a really fun ending to the race to be honest. I am happy that in the dry I was riding in fourth position which is good. The rain helped me get on the podium but as well I don’t 100 percent agree with the rules, with how the Red Flag works. It is the way it is. I think that possibly we could have been more fighting more for the victory. Anyway, I am really happy for the GMT94 team which had bad luck when Jules injured himself. I am happy to keep the team on top, where it deserves to be so yes, I am happy.”
World Supersport Race Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Race Time
1
A. Verdoia
Yamaha
15m37’21.611
2
L. Mahias
Kawasaki
15m36’41.264
3
K. Smith
Yamaha
15m36’41.812
4
A. Locatelli
Yamaha
15m36’43.239
5
K. Manfredi
Yamaha
15m37’02.361
6
S. Odendaal
Yamaha
15m37’02.789
7
M. Gonzalez
Kawasaki
15m37’03.351
8
P. Oettl
Kawasaki
15m37’04.276
9
M. Pons
Honda
15m37’21.174
10
A. Bassani
Yamaha
15m37’25.694
11
L. Cresson
Yamaha
15m37’26.187
12
C. Oncu
Kawasaki
15m37’14.373
13
H. Soomer
Yamaha
15m37’21.382
14
R. De Rosa
MV Agusta
15m37’27.419
15
I. Vinales
Yamaha
15m37’33.267
16
C. Perolari
Yamaha
15m37’30.996
17
F. Fuligni
MV Agusta
15m37’12.416
18
D. Webb
Yamaha
15m37’30.975
19
O. Gutierrez Iglesias
Yamaha
15m37’24.177
20
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha
15m37’26.235
21
P. Hobelsberger
Honda
15m37’09.981
22
G. Van Straalen
Yamaha
15m37’30.457
23
A. Ruiz Carranza
Yamaha
15m37’29.155
24
L. Montella
Yamaha
15m34’00.982
Not Classified
RET
G. Erill
Kawasaki
15m21’59.437
RET
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha
15m16’17.906
World Supersport Championship Standings
Pos
Rider
POINTS
1
Andrea Locatelli
238
2
Jules Cluzel
146
3
Lucas Mahias
139
4
Philipp Oettl
108
5
Raffaele De Rosa
93
6
Corentin Perolari
88
7
Steven Odendaal
84
8
Isaac Vinales
80
9
Manuel Gonzalez
80
10
Hannes Soomer
53
11
Danny Webb
48
12
Peter Sebestyen
37
13
Can Alexander Oncu
34
14
Andy Verdoia
31
15
Alejandro Ruiz Carranza
25
16
Federico Fuligni
21
17
Kevin Manfredi
17
18
Kyle Smith
16
19
Miquel Pons
16
20
Axel Bassani
14
21
Loris Cresson
11
22
Galang Hendra Pratama
9
23
Patrick Hobelsberger
6
24
Maria Herrera
2
25
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus
2
26
Hikari Okubo
1
27
Luigi Montella
1
World Supersport 300
A wet but drying track made conditions tricky for all riders on the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship grid as the Championship hit the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time at the Acerbis Catalunya Round where Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) claimed a dominant maiden victory by more than six seconds.
Booth-Amos started from pole position after going quickest in the Tissot Superpole session and led off the line to hold position despite a challenge from behind; Booth-Amos sweeping into Turn 1 into the lead and not looking back as he took his first WorldSSP300 victory. He was joined on the podium by Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo), with the Frenchman securing his first podium in WorldSSP300, and Marc Garcia (2R Racing) in third with the 2017 World Champion making his return to the Championship.
Mika Perez (Prodina Ircos Team WorldSSP300) finished the race in fourth place as Championship leader Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) finished in fifth; Buis looking like he was struggling in the first half of the race but recovered in the latter stages of the 10-lap race to finish in fifth and extend his Championship lead. Filippo Rovelli (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) claimed a sixth-place finish as he secured his best WorldSSP300 finish.
Victor Rodriguez Nuñez (EAB Ten Kate Racing) finished in seventh in his first race for his new team, having switched to Ten Kate Racing from 2R Racing, with Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) in eighth place. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300) battled his way through the Last Chance Race to claim a top ten finish in ninth, ahead of Johan Gimbert (GP Project).
Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing) was another who had battled his way through the field, running in the top ten in the early stages, but dropped back in a mega battle for a top ten finish, the Brazilian claiming an 11th placed finish. Alfonso Coppola (Kawasaki GP Project) was 12th with Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) in 13th; Deroue also fighting through the Last Chance Race. Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO) and Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) completed the points-paying positions in 15th.
It was an eventful race for Angel Heredia (DEZA-ISMABON Racing Team) who had multiple incidents throughout the race, though the wildcard was able to get back on his back after each one. Paolo Grassia (Team CHIODO Moto Racing) retired from the race after an incident on the opening lap as did Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) and Nick Kalinin (Battley RT-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki). Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) came off his bike and retired from the race although he did look to return to the track, while Kim Aloisi (ProGP Racing) had a similar accident at Turn 2.
P1 Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki)
“Finally, I get a win! It’s not been an easy year. After Portugal, when I had the big crash, it didn’t hurt but I hurt myself quite a lot, but I didn’t tell anyone. I just carried on through and in Aragon we struggled but our guys have worked hard in between, they only had one week but they´ve brought me a new package this weekend and it’s working really well. This is for them and I want to thank them. I’m a little bit far behind in the Championship but if we keep working and I keep winning races, it’s still possible.”
P2 Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo)
“It was a very difficult race. We didn’t know what the weather would be minutes before the start, but we made the right choice to put a good rain setup on the bike. I want to thank all the people that have brought me here.”
P3 Marc Garcia (2R Racing)
“It was amazing. Ten months without taking a bike and to come back into the Championship and get third position is amazing.”
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has done it again. A week on from pole at the San Marino GP, the Spaniard slammed in 1:31.077 to set a new lap record in qualifying at the Gran Premio TISSOT dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini, taking his third pole of the season and third in succession at Misano when including 2019. It was still pretty close, however, with Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) cutting the gap to 0.076 as the Australian leapt up the time-sheets to take second on the grid, with Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) taking third to lock out the front row.
Sunny skies on the Riviera di Rimini since the paddock arrived have seen the times tumble and tumble, right down to another new lap record in Q2. On the way there though, there was Q1 to decide first and it was a real shootout. In the end, Miller was the man on top, with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) in second as two of the key contenders moved through to fight it out for the top 12.
Once Q2 was underway, it was a familiar story for Viñales: two stops, three runs. He was the man on top first as Bagnaia slotted into P2, but then the Italian really got the hammer down on his second lap – a 1:31.313 handing the Pramac Racing rider provisional pole. Quartararo then slotted into P2 less than a tenth off ‘Pecco’, with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder slotting into third ahead of Viñales and teammate Pol Espargaro.
Quartararo was right on the money again though, just 0.032 off Bagnaia coming through Sector 3, but the Frenchman made a mistake coming into Turn 16 – lap over. That was the first runs down for most but as the field filed in, Viñales was back out.
Already on his second run, ‘Top Gun’ was flying. The number 12 nailed the lap to the end but he still didn’t quite manage to beat Bagnaia, 0.073 off and forced to reload for another run at it. Next time around the Spaniard was a quarter of a second up through the first sector and it looked like this might be it, but he lost time in the middle of the lap – with just 0.013 covering him and Bagnaia into the final sector. Viñales was on rails through Sector 4 though and sure enough, a Yamaha was at the summit – a 1:31.268 was now the time to beat for pole position.
Meanwhile Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) – one of the pre-race favourites – was lingering down in P10 after his opening few flying laps, one-lap pace still seemingly hampering the Spaniard and Suzuki on Saturday afternoons. Dovizioso was P8 heading into the final three minutes, and his nearest title rival Quartararo P3. With two minutes to go though, Dovizioso found some time and moved up into P6 – a provisional second row start.
Tucked in behind VR46 Academy protégé Bagnaia, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) then improved from P9 to P5, shuffling Dovizioso onto Row 3, as Binder and Bagnaia lit the timing screens red. The South African moved into P3 with a great lap, but an even greater one (kind of) was coming in for Bagnaia. The Ducati rider rounded the final corner with Rossi and Miller in tow and it was a scintillating 1:30.973, the fastest ever lap round Misano, but it had looked outside track limits… and it ultimately was. Bagnaia’s record-breaker was cancelled for the infraction on the exit of Turn 16 – the same thing that had bitten Viñales earlier in the season.
Miller’s lap, meanwhile, put him second and then provisional pole as Bagnaia’s lap disappeared off the screen, but Viñales was still out on the hunt. The San Marino GP polesitter would take the chequered flag in P1 with another new Misano outright lap record, making it three poles in a row for Viñales, and Yamaha, at Misano as well as Viñales’ fourth overall at the venue. That, in turn, sees him equal Jorge Lorenzo for most MotoGP™ poles at the track.
Quartararo set a personal best on his last lap to claim P3, 0.069 off Miller, with Pol Espargaro just beating Bagnaia’s valid fastest time to give the KTM rider his second best qualifying result of the season. Bagnaia didn’t seem too disheartened in fifth, however.
Binder joins his KTM team-mate Pol Espargaro on Row 2 after qualifying in sixth, which is also the rookie’s best Saturday afternoon result of 2020. Rossi spearheads the third row in P7, The Doctor just three-tenths away from Viñales’ time, with the nine-time World Champion sitting ahead of San Marino GP winner Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT). It was P8 for Morbidelli this time around, who is nursing an illness this weekend.
Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) eventually got the better of teammate Dovizioso and the factory GP20 machines will line-up P9 and P10 for the Emilia Romagna GP. What can the title chase leader do from P10? And what can Mir do from P11 on the grid? The Suzuki rider has been one of the leading contenders throughout the weekend, but finishing outside the top 10 in Q2 wasn’t how the script was supposed to go – although it’s only 0.540 covering the leading 11 riders. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) will want more too, the Japanese rider having crashed at Turn 15 in the early stages. Rider ok, and P12.
The top six in Emilia Romagna GP Q2 were all faster than last week’s pole position, but it’s the same man emerging at the top. Viñales will again launch from pole at Misano, but he’ll be hoping the story of the race plays out a little different his time around.
2020 MotoGP Misano Qualifying Quotes
Maverick Vinales – P1
“We worked really hard today and we got the job done. We hope that tomorrow all the hard work will pay off as well. We are going to try the maximum. I’m very happy and comfortable with the bike. I was very relaxed in FP4 in conditions that are similar to tomorrow’s race, so we will see. Today I focused mainly on riding with a full fuel tank and the race set-up. Tomorrow is a new opportunity to improve. If we don’t, we will try again at the next race in Montmeló. We have good potential, and I think we can still do better. We’re going to try to be at the best level.”
Jack Miller – P2
“Very happy for the qualifying, I didn’t make the Q2 directly, but we have been working all the weekend, we tried many different tires combination, now we know very clear which tire and set up we are going to use. The most important thing will be do a good start,and be in front row for sure will help.”
Fabio Quartararo – P3
“It was a tough qualifying and I didn’t feel that good on the bike. I was surprised with my lap because I made a mistake in Turn 14, but it was still good enough. I’m happy to be on the front row again, this was our main goal and also our pace is great. We tried many things in FP4 with the bike, so it was a little bit difficult for us, but we’ve shown that we have a good pace and I’m feeling strong. I think there are seven or eight riders who could fight for the victory tomorrow. It will be important to have a good start, which I have been working on this weekend to improve. I think it will be a fun race and hopefully we should be able to have a good result.”
Pol Espargaro – P4
“I’m very happy because it was a crazy fast lap and it was difficult to put it all together. There was a lot of risk today. In the end the fast lap came through taking chances through those left corners and I ‘sent it’ through the last sector. I did not care so much about crashing, I wanted the lap. I’m happy we got the time, but we also had an amazing performance with our rhythm in FP4 and this is what matters for tomorrow’s race.”
Pecco Bagnaia – P5
“Unfortunately I made a mistake and I touched the green area when the pole was mine, in T3 I had a big advantage and I didn’t have an advantage touching the green indeed I lost time but the rules are made to be respected and I made a mistake. I’m sorry because I would like to do my first pole position in MotoGP here in Misano. Our pace is one of the fastest, also Yamaha and Mir but we can play it.”
Brad Binder – P6
“Much better. Much happier with qualifying today and to be in 6th place is fantastic. Not only is the rhythm better but also the lap-time: 1.2 seconds faster. In the second exit of FP2 we made some changes that gave me a little bit more feedback from the front tire as well as a little bit more support on the rear, so I felt stronger and it gave me the opportunity to push a bit harder. The more I pushed the better I felt, so it was good. I’m not really setting a goal on positions tomorrow. All I know is that starting in 6th position is going to be much nicer than last week. Starting in 16th was so tough. I’m happy with the steps we have made so hats-off to the boys for getting everything ready and we’ll try to have a solid race tomorrow.”
Valentino Rossi – P7
“Today was a good day for me, because during this second weekend in Misano everybody raised their level, but so did we. We were able to improve the setting of the bike and to be stronger. In the afternoon, in FP4, we made some modifications to the bike that give me more grip, so I feel good and I have a good pace. I’m not very happy about my position in the quali. It’s true that I’m only 0.3s off pole, but I had the potential to do better, because my bike was good and worked well. I didn’t ride fantastic on my hot lap, and I can do better. Anyway, I will start from seventh. A lot of riders have good pace, but we are also strong. Starting from the third row is a bit difficult: you have to do everything well from the start. But like I said, I feel stronger than last week, and we improved in some places where I was losing something last week. So, I hope I will be able to fight for the top positions.”
Franco Morbidelli – P8
“Today was not too bad. I am feeling better than yesterday, but I am still not 100% so I had to manage this in today’s sessions. In qualifying I didn’t feel like I had the energy to be able to attack how I wanted, but I will try to rest some more to be as prepared as possible for the race. The pace doesn’t look too bad, but we do still need to decide which tyres we will use. I think tomorrow’s race will be more demanding compared to last Sunday. I have been sick all week, lost one day of testing and I don’t feel completely fit yet. The gap between a lot of riders is really tight so I think it will be a close race.”
Danilo Petrucci – P9
“Finally, we were able to find some solutions that have improved my feeling with the bike. Unfortunately, in qualifying, I wasn’t precise, and I made some mistakes that made me lose a few tenths. In general, I am satisfied because I’m back being fast and I’m happy with the steps forward that we’ve been able to make. Let’s see how tomorrow’s race will go: it will be crucial to know how to manage the tyres well.”
Andrea Dovizioso – P10
“It has been a difficult day. This morning we weren’t able to get through to Q2 directly, but luckily we found something in FP4 that improved my feeling with the bike, and that allowed me to set the second-fastest time in Q1. Unfortunately, in Q2, I wasn’t able to do a perfect lap. Tomorrow we will start the race quite from behind, but I hope this won’t penalise us too much”.
Joan Mir – P11
“I improved my pace today, which was good, but I still for found it hard to set a fast lap. My one-lap pace is something I’ve struggled with for a while; I actually perform better with less grip and on worn tyres. For that reason I’m confident with my race pace, because I feel good with my bike and I know I can do well over race distance. It’s not easy starting from further back on the grid but I will fight to be on the podium again and try to take as many points as possible.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P12
“It was a tough day for us, especially this afternoon as in FP4 I had one crash, then in qualifying Q2 I had a crash again. After the session I was disappointed because we ended up in P12, so it will be difficult for tomorrow’s race as the starting grid is not the best. But, fortunately, I am ok after these two crashes, it was high speed and there is quite a lot of damage to the bike. I’ll try to stay positive and the team will work hard to prepare another bike for tomorrow and we’ll see what happens. We’ll concentrate on tomorrow and be ready for the race.”
Iker Lecuona – P13
“In FP3 I struggled and found it difficult to improve my lap time but finally, in FP4 we worked really well with used and harder tires, which made me truly confident for the Qualifying. I was so close to the Q2. I have to say, that I’m very happy anyway. I have a good feeling for tomorrow, we have a good pace for the race, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Miguel Oliveira – P15
“It was not the best Qualifying for us. After this morning’s crash I lost a bit of feeling and I also hurt my right shoulder. In any case, we went faster than the whole weekend, so we must be happy for that. We have a hard race ahead tomorrow. We know that we are going to suffer a bit, especially because we start from behind. We can only take what we can, score the maximum amount of points possible and make a clever race. It’s a shame because we improved our speed a lot from last weekend to this one.”
Aleix Espargaro – P16
“Today I gave everything I could, starting from FP3 this morning, but it wasn’t enough to get into the top 10. I am disappointed because the RS-GP is working well. I have an outstanding feeling and I’m having fun riding. The only thing lacking is acceleration. I was able to follow various bikes and I’m able to keep pace with them. The problem is coming out of corners where even the riders who are slower than me have an advantage. This factor limits us particularly on the flying lap, because we are unable to exploit the extra grip of the new tyre. In any case, I’ll start aggressively and focused tomorrow. The gaps are still narrow, especially in terms of pace.”
Alex Marquez – P17
“Again, our race pace is looking quite good and in both practice sessions we did a good job. Our rhythm is good but we can’t make a big step like the others with the soft tyre. Since Jerez we have improved this and even since last weekend we have found some time but everyone else has also made a step. I feel good on the bike but when we put new tyre in, the situation changes. It will be a hard fight tomorrow starting from where we are but if we can make some moves at the start we can make some progress.”
Alex Rins – P18
“It seems like a difficult weekend for us. I don’t know why but I can’t quite find the same feeling that I had during the test. I’ve been going faster this weekend compared to last weekend, but all the other riders have also taken a step forward. So let’s see how I can manage the race tomorrow, my aim will be to recover as many positions as possible and give my best. At the moment my shoulder is feeling OK, and I’m continuing with my physiotherapy.”
Bradley Smith – P19
“Undoubtedly a tricky day. I don’t know if it was because of the wind or our settings, but I struggled a lot in the third sector. That’s also where I crashed in the tests, so that obviously doesn’t help my confidence. The FP4 session started off in the worst possible way, with a crash, but I’m pleased to have done my best time of the weekend in qualifying, managing to get my focus back. At the moment, we’re struggling to find something that will let us make a decisive step forward, but we won’t stop looking and working.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“Overall, we had a positive day today. We have seen how high the level is in MotoGP and how much everyone has improved since last week, so we knew this Q2 was going to be a hard one. After a not-so-good Friday, Maverick found his way again. He is looking even stronger than he did last week, both in terms of one-lap and long-distance pace. He is comfortable with the bike again, also during the longer stints, so we are feeling positive about tomorrow. It’s a pity Valentino lost the second row by just 0.047s, especially because his ideal time, combining all his best sectors, was almost 0.2s quicker. But, anyway, his confidence on the bike is quite good, as shown in FP3, and we know that Valentino is always able to bring something extra to the table on a Sunday. For sure, it will be another tough race, especially at the end of two full-on weeks of riding, but we’ll go into battle with 100% determination to get top results.”
MotoGP Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Q
Time/Gap
1
Maverick VIÑALES
YAMAHA
Q2
1m31.077
2
Jack MILLER
DUCATI
Q2
+0.076
3
Fabio QUARTARARO
YAMAHA
Q2
+0.145
4
Pol ESPARGARO
KTM
Q2
+0.231
5
Francesco BAGNAIA
DUCATI
Q2
+0.236
6
Brad BINDER
KTM
Q2
+0.312
7
Valentino ROSSI
YAMAHA
Q2
+0.359
8
Franco MORBIDELLI
YAMAHA
Q2
+0.489
9
Danilo PETRUCCI
DUCATI
Q2
+0.497
10
Andrea DOVIZIOSO
DUCATI
Q2
+0.504
11
Joan MIR
SUZUKI
Q2
+0.540
12
Takaaki NAKAGAMI
HONDA
Q2
+1.207
13
Iker LECUONA
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.156
14
Johann ZARCO
DUCATI
Q1
(*) 0.205
15
Miguel OLIVEIRA
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.282
16
Aleix ESPARGARO
APRILIA
Q1
(*) 0.353
17
Alex MARQUEZ
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.639
18
Alex RINS
SUZUKI
Q1
(*) 0.716
19
Bradley SMITH
APRILIA
Q1
(*) 0.927
20
Tito RABAT
DUCATI
Q1
(*) 1.291
21
Stefan BRADL
HONDA
FP1
1.663
Moto2 Qualifying Report
A 1:35.271 for Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) – and a new lap record to boot – hands the Italian a second consecutive pole position of the season as he beat team-mate Marco Bezzecchi by just 0.036 in Moto2 Q2 at the Gran Premio TISSOT dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini. Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Xavi Vierge completed the front row, 0.348 off pole position despite a late crash for the Spaniard.
The first laps were slammed in and it was Bezzecchi who led the way from Vierge, but Marini’s second lap was absolutely incredible. Enea Bastianini’s (Italtrans Racing Team) FP3 lap record was a 1:35.649 in the morning, but that was obliterated by Marini. The Championship leader set a 1:35.271 to lay down the gauntlet, with Bezzecchi going P2, 0.195 seconds off. Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto2) and Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) got themselves into the top four in the early stages. too.
Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) then jumped onto the provisional front row, 0.4 off, and went quicker on his next lap to get the gap down to 0.3, but the Brit remained P3. Meanwhile, Bezzecchi was on a charge and was right on Marini’s pace halfway around the lap. The Moto2 sophomore was then under his teammate’s blistering time by 0.032, but he couldn’t hold it to the line, ultimately missing out by 0.036. Just ahead of Bezzecchi was Vierge, who shot onto the front row in P3. That secured the position for Sunday although immediately after, the Spaniard tucked the front at Turn 1 – rider ok.
Lowes was then going great guns again and was less than a tenth away at the third checkpoint, but something went wrong in the fourth split and the British rider lost four tenths. Bezzecchi and Marini were again both setting a very similar pace to pole, but neither could maintain it to the line. Not that it mattered, as the Sky VR46 duo remained a class above in qualifying, the two Italians getting the business done on home turf once again on Saturday.
Despite his crash, Vierge kept P3 to secure his first front row start since the 2019 Dutch GP. Lowes threatened to displace the number 97 in the latter stages but couldn’t string a lap together, but the Brit will be pleased with P4, with a podium seemingly in sight for the rider who claimed P8 from pitlane last weekend. Bastianini will be hoping to challenge the leading Italians in the opening stages too in a bid to minimise the potential damage that could be caused with Marini and Bezzecchi on song.
Canet completes Row 2, the rookie sensation 0.532 from pole and having a much improved weekend at Misano second time around, but it was close as the Spaniard beat Jake Dixon by just 0.011. P7 is nevertheless Dixon’s best Moto2 qualifying result, and his first top ten since the 2019 Czech GP.
Beta Tools Speed Up’s Fabio Di Giannantonio lines up just behind Dixon in P8, and just ahead of teammate Jorge Navarro. Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completed the top 10, the Italian seven tenths shy of compatriot Marini.
Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) suffered a big crash at Turn 5 in Q2 – rider ok but to be reviewed on Sunday morning.
Moto2 Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Q
Time/Gap
1
Luca MARINI
KALEX
Q2
1m35.271
2
Marco BEZZECCHI
KALEX
Q2
+0.036
3
Xavi VIERGE
KALEX
Q2
+0.348
4
Sam LOWES
KALEX
Q2
+0.469
5
Enea BASTIANINI
KALEX
Q2
+0.518
6
Aron CANET
SPEED UP
Q2
+0.532
7
Jake DIXON
KALEX
Q2
+0.543
8
Fabio DI GIANNANTONI ITA
SPEED UP
Q2
+0.657
9
Jorge NAVARRO
SPEED UP
Q2
+0.681
10
Nicolò BULEGA
KALEX
Q2
+0.708
11
Marcel SCHROTTER
KALEX
Q2
+0.762
12
Augusto FERNANDEZ
KALEX
Q2
+0.783
13
Tetsuta NAGASHIMA
KALEX
Q2
+0.816
14
Mattia PASINI
KALEX
Q2
+0.883
15
Hector GARZO
KALEX
Q2
+0.939
16
Thomas LUTHI
KALEX
Q2
+0.971
17
Lorenzo DALLA PORTA ITA
KALEX
Q2
+0.974
18
Joe ROBERTS
KALEX
Q2
+1.125
19
Lorenzo BALDASSARRI ITA
KALEX
Q1
(*) 0.175
20
Marcos RAMIREZ
KALEX
Q1
(*) 0.206
21
Stefano MANZI
MV AGUSTA
Q1
(*) 0.213
22
Edgar PONS
KALEX
Q1
(*) 0.422
23
Bo BENDSNEYDER
NTS
Q1
(*) 0.440
24
Simone CORSI
MV AGUSTA
Q1
(*) 0.631
25
Hafizh SYAHRIN
SPEED UP
Q1
(*) 0.740
26
Somkiat CHANTRA
KALEX
Q1
(*) 0.915
27
Kasma DANIEL
KALEX
Q1
(*) 1.280
28
Andi Farid IZDIHAR
KALEX
Q1
(*) 1.683
29
Piotr BIESIEKIRSKI
NTS
Q1
(*) 3.284
Moto3
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Raul Fernandez clinched his third Moto3 pole position of the season at the Gran Premio TISSOT dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini, putting in a late dash to take to the top. With just 30 seconds remaining on the clock, the Spaniard snatched it away from home hero Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) by a tiny 0.088, with fellow Italian Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) putting in a late charge to lock out the front row, still within a tenth.
There was some drama earlier in the afternoon before the final charge, with last weekend’s San Marino GP winner John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) failing to make it out of Q1 and, as a result, starting 20th on the grid. Instead, it was Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) the first through from Q1, joined by eventual front row man Arbolino, Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team).
Arbolino looked like he would be the star of the show too, with the Italian holding on to provisional pole heading into the final push of the session. A crash for Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) just ahead of him scuppered a chance to improve though, and Fernandez would go on to pounce. A late 1:41.705 from the Spaniard, despite being six tenths adrift of Celestino Vietti’s (Sky Racing Team VR46) new lap record set in FP3, was enough for Fernandez to take pole number three of the year.
The chequered flag came out not long after, with Vietti clinging on to the final front row place just behind Fernandez and Arbolino. His Sky Racing Team VR46 teammate Andrea Migno had other ideas, however, pushing him down to fourth before Albert Arenas (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3) also pipped the number 13; the Championship leader making a valuable leap up from 16th to head the second row. Sterilgarda Max Racing Team’s Romano Fenati slots in just behind Vietti in sixth, meaning the number 55 has secured back-to-back slots on the front two rows of the grid for the first time since the Japanese and Australian Grands Prix back in 2017.
Fronting row three, meanwhile, is Q1 graduate Kaito Toba. He was set to be joined there by compatriot Suzuki, who was eighth quickest in the session, but the SIC58 rider was declared unfit for a broken wrist sustained in his crash, so Leopard Racing’s Jaume Masia moves up to start eighth. Reigning FIM Moto3 Junior World Champion Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) will therefore get a third row start as he gains a place too, tenth fastest in the session but starting ninth. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) will be the man completing the top ten on the grid.
As well as McPhee, who faces a fight back from 20th, there’s another name missing so far: Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia). The man second overall in the standings, and polesitter last week, was P12 in Q2 but will start 11th, leaving him a little more work to do to take the fight to Arenas and cut back his five-point deficit.
Moto3 Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Q
Time/Gap
1
Raul FERNANDEZ
KTM
Q2
1m41.705
2
Tony ARBOLINO
HONDA
Q2
+0.088
3
Andrea MIGNO
KTM
Q2
+0.092
4
Albert ARENAS
KTM
Q2
+0.146
5
Celestino VIETTI
KTM
Q2
+0.168
6
Romano FENATI
HUSQVARNA
Q2
+0.256
7
Kaito TOBA
KTM
Q2
+0.258
8
Tatsuki SUZUKI
HONDA
Q2
+0.266
9
Jaume MASIA
HONDA
Q2
+0.339
10
Jeremy ALCOBA
HONDA
Q2
+0.424
11
Dennis FOGGIA
HONDA
Q2
+0.591
12
Ai OGURA
HONDA
Q2
+0.609
13
Deniz ÖNCÜ
KTM
Q2
+0.670
14
Filip SALAC
HONDA
Q2
+0.755
15
Stefano NEPA
KTM
Q2
+1.037
16
Ayumu SASAKI
KTM
Q2
+1.150
17
Barry BALTUS
KTM
Q2
+1.428
18
Sergio GARCIA
HONDA
Q2
+1.966
19
Gabriel RODRIGO
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.341
20
John MCPHEE
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.481
21
Darryn BINDER
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.494
22
Niccolò ANTONELLI
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.528
23
Alonso LOPEZ
HUSQVARNA
Q1
(*) 0.645
24
Riccardo ROSSI
KTM
Q1
(*) 0.829
25
Ryusei YAMANAKA
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.851
26
Khairul Idham PAWI
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.987
27
Yuki KUNII
HONDA
Q1
(*) 0.994
28
Maximilian KOFLER
KTM
Q1
(*) 1.165
29
Carlos TATAY
KTM
Q1
(*) 1.195
30
Jason DUPASQUIER
KTM
Q1
(*) 1.571
31
Davide PIZZOLI
KTM
Q1
(*) 1.627
MotoE Qualifying
Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) took his first ever E-Pole – and first pole position in the Grand Prix paddock – on Saturday, coming out on top in another classic shootout to beat Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) by just 0.011. Points leader Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) completed the front row for Race 1 of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup at the Emilia Romagna GP.
There were no track limit infractions and no crashes in the session, but there was a splash of drama for Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) as he suffered an issue with his transponder. Given another E-Pole slot later in the session, the Italian got a second chance at it but it led to some last minutes nerves for the men on for a provisional front row start. Casadei’s lap, right at the end, wouldn’t show on timing screens – it would just appear once he crossed the line…
Ultimately though, Torres, Ferrari and Aegerter held on to much relief and a slight drum roll, with Casadei taking P7 and a third row start. In between the top three and the Italian, Row 2 is Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing), Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) and Lukas Tulovic (Tech 3 E-Racing), the latter off the front row for the first time in 2020. Granado’s lap also merits a postscript, as the Brazilian was visibly cautious after falling foul of track limits in E-Pole last weekend.
MotoE Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
Jordi TORRES
Energica
1m43.154
2
Matteo FERRARI
Energica
+0.011
3
Dominique AEGERTER
Energica
+0.143
4
Eric GRANADO
Energica
+0.198
5
Xavier SIMEON
Energica
+0.263
6
Lukas TULOVIC
Energica
+0.278
7
Mattia CASADEI
Energica
+0.348
8
Mike DI MEGLIO
Energica
+0.691
9
Niki TUULI
Energica
+0.696
10
Alejandro MEDINA
Energica
+0.752
11
Alex DE ANGELIS
Energica
+0.836
12
Tommaso MARCON
Energica
+0.979
13
Niccolo CANEPA
Energica
+0.985
14
Xavi CARDELUS
Energica
+1.097
15
Josh HOOK
Energica
+1.348
16
Alessandro ZACCONE
Energica
+1.437
17
Maria HERRERA
Energica
+2.156
18
Jakub KORNFEIL
Energica
+2.811
MotoE Race One
Dominque Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) emerged victorious from a last lap FIM Enel MotoE World Cup battle in Race 1 at the Gran Premio TISSOT dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini, the Swiss rider beating title rivals Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) and Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) to the line as all three were covered by a tenth at the flag. To add some extra late drama, Ferrari crossed the line second but was demoted one position to P3 for exceeding track limits on the final lap.
It was Ferrari who got the holeshot into Turn 1 from second on the grid, with polesitter Torres slotting into P2. There was drama from the off though as Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing) suffered a huge highside at Turn 2 in the middle of the pack, thankfully the riders avoided contact with Tulovic and the German rider headed to the medical centre for a check-up. Tech3 later confirmed Tulovic had suffered a broken third metacarpal bone in his right hand and he has some pain in his right ankle, but the doctors will decide tomorrow morning whether he is fit to ride in Race 2, which he wants to do.
After the shuffle at the start then, Ferrari was out front as a lead group of six formed by the end of Lap 1, with Aegerter grabbing second off Torres on Lap 2. Lap 3 then witnessed more drama – and it was big for both the race and standings. Free Practice pacesetter Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing), having made his way past Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) shortly before, went for an inside move on Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) at the tight Turn 4 right-hander. It looked like Granado had made the move stick but then the front of his Energica Ego Corsa suddenly washed away, with Simeon the unlucky party caught in the crossfire. Both riders were down and out of the race – thankfully ok – but that’s a disaster for their title hopes. It also means the duo will be starting from the back of the grid for Race 2 tomorrow…
That incident left a lead group of three riders up front, with Casadei 0.8 seconds adrift of Ferrari, Torres and Aegerter – the top quartet also the top four in the World Cup standings, making it a vital race. With three laps to go, Aegerter made his move on Torres at Turn 14 but the Spaniard was able to get the cutback – giving Ferrari a little bit of breathing space…
That was soon diminished though and at the start of the last lap, Aegerter again showed a wheel to Torres – and made a Turn 1 pass stick. Now, the top two in the standings were the top two in the race. Heading down the back straight into Turn 11, Ferrari remained ahead but you could tell what was coming: Aegerter was tucked into the slipstream of his rival and heading into Turn 14, the Swiss rider slammed up the inside of Ferrari and into the lead. Could the Italian hit back? Not quite, as Aegerter led through the final sector and held it into the final corner to claim a crucial Race 1 victory and his second win of the season.
In an attempt to beat Aegerter on the run to the line, Ferrari then exceeded track limits at Turn 16. Having crossed the line ahead of Torres, he was demoted one position and loses that chunk of points to boot, now back behind Torres overall. Nevertheless, the top three across the line were covered by just 0.103 seconds in whichever order!
Casadei took the chequered flag 2.5 seconds from victory to earn his fourth consecutive top five finish of 2020, with Tommaso Marcon (Tech3 E-Racing) completing the top five. Niccolo Canepa (LCR E-Team) finished P6, just over half a second ahead of a great gaggle of riders who battled it out for the remaining top 10 positions. Alejandro Medina (Openbank Aspar Team), Josh Hook (Octo Pramac MotoE), Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) and Alessandro Zaccone (Trentino Gresini MotoE) crossed the line covered by just half a second to round out the top 10.
Alex de Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE) and Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) crashed unhurt in Race 1, and Niki Tuulu (Avan Ajo MotoE) jumped the start, given two Long Lap Penalties for the infraction.
Aegerter extended his lead in the standings to 19 points over Torres, with Ferrari two adrift of the Spaniard in P3. The podium finishers secure front row starts for Race 2 on Sunday as Race 1 results now set the second grid.
MotoE Race One Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
Dominique AEGERTER
ENERGICA
0.000
2
Jordi TORRES
ENERGICA
0.103
3
Matteo FERRARI
ENERGICA
0.075
4
Mattia CASADEI
ENERGICA
2.531
5
Tommaso MARCON
ENERGICA
6.578
6
Niccolo CANEPA
ENERGICA
7.695
7
Alejandro MEDINA
ENERGICA
8.277
8
Josh HOOK
ENERGICA
8.336
9
Xavi CARDELUS
ENERGICA
8.553
10
Alessandro ZACCONE
ENERGICA
8.640
11
Maria HERRERA
ENERGICA
11.566
12
Jakub KORNFEIL
ENERGICA
16.973
13
Niki TUULI
ENERGICA
17.538
Not Classified
DNF
Alex DE ANGELIS
ENERGICA
4 laps
DNF
Xavier SIMEON
ENERGICA
5 laps
DNF
Eric GRANADO
ENERGICA
5 laps
DNF
Lukas TULOVIC
ENERGICA
/
DNF
Mike DI MEGLIO
ENERGICA
/
MotoE Championship Standing
Pos
Rider
Bike
Points
1
Dominique AEGERTER
Energica
82
2
Jordi TORRES
Energica
63
3
Matteo FERRARI
Energica
61
4
Mattia CASADEI
Energica
51
5
Xavier SIMEON
Energica
35
6
Eric GRANADO
Energica
34
7
Niccolo CANEPA
Energica
29
8
Lukas TULOVIC
Energica
27
9
Mike DI MEGLIO
Energica
25
10
Josh HOOK
Energica
23
11
Tommaso MARCON
Energica
22
12
Alex DE ANGELIS
Energica
21
13
Alejandro MEDINA
Energica
21
14
Xavi CARDELUS
Energica
17
15
Alessandro ZACCONE
Energica
15
16
Maria HERRERA
Energica
12
17
Niki TUULI
Energica
8
18
Jakub KORNFEIL
Energica
8
2020 MotoGP Calendar
Rnd
Date
Circuit
1
08 March (Moto2/Moto3)
Losail International Circuit
2
19 July
Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
3
26 July
Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto
4
09 August
Automotodrom Brno
5
16 August
Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
6
23 August
Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
7
13 September
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
8
20 September
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
9
27 September
Barcelona – Catalunya
10
11 October
Le Mans
11
18 October
MotorLand Aragón
12
25 October
MotorLand Aragón
13
08 November
Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
14
15 November
Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo
15
22 November
Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Schedule
Day one of the Acerbis Catalunya Round for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship was a day of two halves as the mostly dry weather in the morning made way for mixed conditions in the afternoon; the track conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya slowly improving after a shower soaked the track. Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) ended the day fastest after posting the best lap time in the dry Free Practice 1 session.
The combined classifications meant Razgatlioglu topped Friday’s running after a flurry of quick laps at the end of Lap 1 changed the order rapidly. The Turkish rider led a Yamaha 1-2-3 as teammate Michael van der Mark and American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) finishing the day in third place.
All three riders were running as the session came to a close and kept improving their lap times with Gerloff putting in a stunning lap for third place right at the end of the session; allowing him to finish the day nearly a second clear of team-mate Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team); the Italian in 14th place.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P1
“Today we had a good start in FP1, but I still feel like we still have some work to do to improve more – this is normal after only one session. I’m happy with FP2 as we rode in wet conditions and normally this is my big weakness, but I had a good feeling on the Yamaha R1 today and I could understand the grip levels. Maybe 10th position is not “good”, but I feel like I am riding better in these conditions! We are happy with today, everything is working really well in the team and I am enjoying my R1 very much here in Barcelona – maybe too much after FP1, as I made a big “stoppie” for fun but Race Control were not so impressed, so I had to say sorry to them!”
Michael van der Mark – P2
“Really happy with the first day here in Barcelona, the conditions were different to the test but I felt very good with the bike immediately and the changes we made during FP1 were all positive. The bike’s also quite a lot different to what we had here at the test, so it was really interesting to see how the R1 was performing. I was really happy with how fast we were this morning, and also with the used tyre we had really good pace. In my fast lap I had a small moment, but even with this FP1 was great. FP2 was wet so I waited a little bit to see how track conditions were before I went out with the bike and to be honest I felt really comfortable. I was making progress every lap and in the end we tried a different bike set-up for these conditions but also the track was drying a lot. Happy with my bike, happy with FP1 and I think it was valuable to ride in FP2.”
Paul Denning – Team Principal
“A positive Friday and a good first day here in Barcelona both for us as Pata Yamaha and for WorldSBK. It’s a great facility, the circuit layout is fantastic and, as we hoped, it looks like a more “friendly” track for the R1 by comparison to Aragón. Both Mikey and Toprak had a great feeling straight away in FP1, running competitive and consistent lap times, while also managing to both make impressive laps on fresh rubber at the end of the session to go one and two. Equally important, the wet performance was good, with Mikey right at the sharp end as usual and Toprak improving significantly on what has previously been a weak point for him. Race distance will be a challenge on this circuit in terms of rear tyre durability, but we’ve made a strong start to the weekend and let’s hope it can continue.”
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) had led the majority of the running in the opening practice session of the day but was one of a handful of riders who did not take to the track in the last few minutes of the session; the Spanish rider finishing the day in fourth place ahead of reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).
Alvaro Bautista – P4
“We’ve had a positive day. In FP1 I focused on using just one tyre, as the track is critical in terms of tyre consumption and we don’t have real references here of course. I was really happy with my feeling today and held first place for most of the morning’s session, only losing it when others put in fresh tyres at the end. The bike is giving me more feedback and I’m feeling increasingly in control. This afternoon I used the rain tyres for only the second time. At first the feedback on the wet track wasn’t great, but we made some changes to improve my feeling and pace during that session and to be honest, by the end, I was feeling quite confident also in the wet. So we have some ideas ahead of tomorrow as well as good information regarding tyre life, which I think will be key in the races.”
Bautista’s Team HRC team-mate, Leon Haslam, finished the day in 18th place but was running towards the front of the field in the wet Free Practice 2.
Leon Haslam – P18
“It was a little tough today. We spent the morning working on the bike and so I only made a couple of flying laps. We weren’t doing too badly in the heavy rain this afternoon but as the track began to dry my feeling wasn’t as good, so we have a few things to reassess. I’m enjoying the track though and those first laps in the rain have helped build my confidence. Tomorrow we’ll use FP3 to make a few changes to try and find better feeling ahead of the Superpole and race one.”
Rea had appeared to be unhappy during the early stages of Free Practice 1 but found lap time as the session progressed and ended the day in fifth place, with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in eighth place as KRT finished with both bikes inside the top ten as they celebrated their home race. Rea ended the Free Practice 2 as the fastest rider in the wet session.
Jonathan Rea – P5
“In the end I felt quite good with the bike and found a good rhythm. This morning I had some issues in braking, when the lever was coming back too far, so the first half of the session was dealing with that. In the afternoon it was wet so we were just step-by-step finding the conditions. We have never ridden here in the wet so we were just looking out for those slippery areas. I almost got caught out in the afternoon when Maximilian Scheib fell just in front of me – and first of all I want to say that I hope he is OK. I was catching him and he lost the rear on the exit of turn five. I was right there and I got in between the bike and him, so I was so lucky. After day one I feel like we are quite prepared and I have experience in wet and dry conditions now. We know what we are dealing with.”
Alex Lowes – P7
“I felt quite good this morning in the dry session. We used the same tyres for all of FP1 and we went well on them. We had a good test here so even though we did not get any dry track time in the afternoon today we feel quite good with the set-up of the bike. In the rain I tried some different settings on the bike but the track conditions were also drying up and changing so it was a strange session. I have not done many wet laps on the bike before so it was nice to get out in the rain. Now let’s see what the weather is like on Saturday. I feel great and three or four days after the Motorland race I was feeling completely relaxed. It is so nice to be here feeling good, feeling fresh, knowing I can attack the races rather than physically struggle for 20 laps.”
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished the day in eighth place as BMW, who were strong in a test at the circuit in July, continue to show good pace at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Tom Sykes – P8
“I am feeling quite good at the end of the day, I also think P8 is not a true reflection of how we performed. We made a few changes to the BMW S 1000 RR this morning, found some good improvements here and there so this is great that we keep moving forward. I was happy with our consistency throughout the session and the gap to the top, before the soft tyres came out at the end. This afternoon we had a wet session and I wanted to see what grip we had available, so I certainly took it easy in the opening stages. Once I had the feeling on the bike the lap times began to come to us, for sure the changes we made in the morning session helped in the wet conditions so to be P3 / P4 and respectable gap to the top boys was pleasing. Obviously towards the end the track began to dry, we did plan to schedule a change but, in those conditions, there was not much need to risk it and as a result dropped down the timing sheets. I feel that today has been very successful and I am looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.”
Team-mate Eugene Laverty finished the day in 12th place, just two-tenths outside the top ten.
Eugene Laverty – P12
“Today was a good day, and right from start of the session we were up in the second and third positions for a while. We decided to stay on the used tyre as we were testing a different rear setting on the bike for the race, this meant we got bumped down the order towards the end but reality is we were likely in the top 6, which is the first time this year. The second session we ended up in P9, this was good for us as the last time I rode the bike in the wet was in Phillip Island, which we didn’t have a good feeling on. My aim as normal for tomorrow is to get up into that top 6 in qualifying, this will give us a real good chance for the opening race.”
Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was classified in ninth place for the day’s running, around seventh tenths away from Razgatlioglu’s pace, with Redding looking to start clawing back some of Rea’s 36-point Championship lead. Teammate Chaz Davies was in 11th place but with little to separate the two Ducati riders on the timesheets.
Scott Redding – P9
“It was a very particular day that allowed us to go out on the track in different conditions. For this reason, I think it was a positive first day at the end of which we collected interesting data. In FP1 the feeling with the bike was good. We worked for a lot with the used tire and at the end of the session, I preferred not to try the time attack. The feelings are positive“.
Chaz Davies – P11
“I am quite satisfied with what we did today, especially in FP1 in dry conditions. We completed many laps with the same tire and the race pace was incisive. We tried to improve the grip with positive results. The plan of the afternoon was to try other tires solutions but the rain did not allow us to do it. Anyway, I am very confident“.
Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was inside the top ten after Friday’s two practice sessions but was another who showed strong pace in the mixed conditions in the afternoon, finishing sixth in the second practice session although the Frenchman crashed in the latter stages of the session at Turn 7. Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the day in 13th place after edging close to the top ten, finishing half a second away from Baz in tenth.
Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) was 15th after his first day of WorldSBK action after showing promising pace early in the opening session but falling down the order as others improved their lap time. Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) was 19th for the day with Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) in 20th on his WorldSBK debut, and rookie Valentin Debise (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) completing the order.
Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) was declared unfit for the weekend following a crash in Free Practice 1 after he came off his bike, with the Argentinean taking to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with a right wrist fracture (radius and scaphoid). Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) crashed during the wet running at Turn 4; finishing the day in 17th place. Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) suffered a crash in the wet running in Free Practice 2 at the Turn 4 right-hander causing the session to be Red Flagged; Scheib taking to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash and later declared unfit with a right acromioclavicular joint injury and taken to a local hospital for further assessment.
WorldSBK Friday Combined Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
T. Razgatlioglu
Yamaha
1m42.140
2
M. Van Der Mark
Yamaha
+0.169
3
G. Gerloff
Yamaha
+0.338
4
A. Bautista
Honda
+0.373
5
J. Rea
Kawasaki
+0.474
6
M. Rinaldi
Ducati
+0.495
7
A. Lowes
Kawasaki
+0.548
8
T. Sykes
BMW
+0.659
9
S. Redding
Ducati
+0.692
10
L. Baz
Yamaha
+0.699
11
C. Davies
Ducati
+0.733
12
E. Laverty
BMW
+0.887
13
X. Fores
Kawasaki
+1.117
14
F. Caricasulo
Yamaha
+1.457
15
J. Folger
Yamaha
+1.524
16
M. Scheib
Kawasaki
+1.806
17
T. Takahashi
Honda
+2.082
18
L. Haslam
Honda
+2.175
19
S. Barrier
Ducati
+2.698
20
S. Cavalieri
Ducati
+2.832
21
L. Mercado
Ducati
+3.411
22
V. Debise
Kawasaki
+3.521
World Supersport
The FIM Supersport World Championship teams and riders were greeted with dry running in the morning and a damp track in the afternoon as the Championship made its debut at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the inaugural Acerbis Catalunya Round. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) topped the combined timesheets after setting the pace in the morning Free Practice 1 session.
Mahias posted a time of 1’45.682s to top the timesheets on the opening day of running in Montmelo as he looks to keep his Championship hopes alive across the Catalunya Round weekend. The French rider was less than a tenth clear of Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) at the top of the standings, although Viñales did top the second practice session ahead of Mahias. Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was third in the standings after the two practice sessions.
Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), who can clinch the WorldSSP World Championship title at the Catalunya Round, finished in fourth place overall for the day, with the Italian three tenths away from Mahias’ pace. South African rider Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) finished in fifth place, matching Locatelli’s time, while Corentin Perolari (GMT94) completed the top six.
Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was seventh with Kyle Smith (GMT94 Yamaha), replacing the injured Jules Cluzel, in eighth place; Smith making his return to WorldSSP as a substitute rider. 2019 WorldSSP300 World Champion Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) was ninth in the classification with Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) completing the top ten in the James Toseland-run team; Webb surviving a trip through the gravel in the first session to post the tenth best time.
Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team) was 11th fastest after the two sessions but briefly found himself leading the timesheets in Free Practice 2. He finished ahead of Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team) with the Italian finishing the day as the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider. Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) was 13th with Andy Verdoïa (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) in 14th and Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) rounding out the top 15.
Miquel Pons (Dynavolt Honda) was the lead Honda rider in 16th place as he edged out teammate Patrick Hobelsberger in 17th place. Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) was in 18th place after showing impressive form in recent rounds; the Hungarian will look to return to the top ten throughout the weekend.
WorldSSP Friday Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
L. Mahias
Kawasaki
1m45.682
2
I. Vinales
Yamaha
+0.059
3
P. Oettl
Kawasaki
+0.231
4
A. Locatelli
Yamaha
+0.258
5
S. Odendaal
Yamaha
+0.289
6
C. Perolari
Yamaha
+0.461
7
R. De Rosa
MV Agusta
+0.730
8
K. Smith
Yamaha
+0.958
9
M. Gonzalez
Kawasaki
+1.065
10
D. Webb
Yamaha
+1.107
11
C. Oncu
Kawasaki
+1.136
12
K. Manfredi
Yamaha
+1.163
13
H. Soomer
Yamaha
+1.180
14
A. Verdoia
Yamaha
+1.583
15
A. Bassani
Yamaha
+1.689
16
M. Pons
Honda
+1.943
17
P. Hobelsberger
Honda
+1.983
18
P. Sebestyen
Yamaha
+2.213
19
F. Fuligni
MV Agusta
+2.588
20
L. Cresson
Yamaha
+2.667
21
A. Ruiz Carranza
Yamaha
+2.714
22
G. Hendra Pratama
Yamaha
+2.985
23
G. Van Straalen
Yamaha
+3.601
24
O. Gutierrez Iglesiasesp Gmt94 Y
Kawasaki
+3.752
25
L. Montella
Kawasaki
+3.771
26
G. Erill
Kawasaki
+4.271
WorldSSP300
FIM Supersport 300 World Championship’s visit to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Acerbis Catalunya Round was disrupted by rain in the afternoon meaning Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) topped the times after going fastest in the morning Free Practice 1 session with dry conditions with the Italian going two tenths quicker than his nearest rival.
Group B riders were the first to venture on track this morning but riders from Group A riders made up the first three positions in the combined standings with Ieraci posting a 1’56.453s to lead Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) and Championship leader Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT); Buis continuing his Championship charge by being in the top three in practice.
Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Scuderia Maranga Racing) was in fourth place overall for the day, almost matching both Meuffels and Buis on pace during the session and finished as the lead Group B rider for the day. Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) made it three MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT riders in the top five with fifth place, finishing just ahead of Alan Kroh (Yamaha MS Racing).
Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) finished the day in seventh place with Meikon Kawakami (Team Brasil AD 78) in eighth place and Marc Garcia (2R Racing) in ninth; the 2017 WorldSSP300 Champion making his return to the Championship at 2R Racing following Victor Rodriguez Nuñez’s switch to EAB Ten Kate Racing. Angel Heredia (DEZA-ISMABON Racing Team) completed the top ten as he competes at the Catalunya Round as a wildcard.
Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) finished the day in 11th place as the three-time podium finisher missed out on the spot in the top ten by just a tenth of a second, while Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing) was in 12th, less than a tenth behind Booth-Amos. The top 12 were separated by just six tenths of a second in dry running.
Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT), currently second in the Championship and 12 points behind teammate Buis, was 15th in the Group B classification as the Dutch rider looks to close the gap on his teammate at the top of the Championship.
In the afternoon session, in the rain in Montmelo, Eunan McGlinchey (Team# 109 Kawasaki) topped the times as teams and riders looked to gather information for any more potential wet running across the weekend. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300) was a faller in the afternoon’s Free Practice 2 session as the Turkish race winner came off his bike at Turn 10 with Sofuoglu able to complete four laps in the session.
Brad Binder tops tight Friday Practice at Misano II
Five riders in less than a tenth and the top ten within 0.444? Sounds about right for the incredibly competitive 2020 MotoGP season, and that was the case on Day 1 of the Gran Premio TISSOT dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is the man on top as action draws to a close on Friday, just 0.002 ahead of Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), with Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) slotting into third. Covering the three is a tiny 0.071…
FP1
Quartararo began the day as the man to beat, but San Marino GP winner and teammate Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) made for close company as he ended the session within 0.090. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was third quickest as KTM’s promised step forward in Tuesday testing started to materialise early.
It was a rapid start to proceedings on Friday morning for the premier class riders, with Quartararo’s quickest time just three tenths away from Maverick Viñales’ (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) lap record set in Q2 last weekend. A mini time-attack in the final few minutes is when the Frenchman unleashed his speed, although second place Morbidelli set his best time on the hard rear tyre, which could bode well for the Italian if he’s planning to race it.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), third at Misano last Sunday, was fourth fastest behind Pol Espargaro as the Suzuki rider continued to shine. Mir was 0.205 off Quartararo’s pace, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) making it two RC16s inside the top five in FP1 with a best time of a 1:31.965 – 0.244 away from Quartararo, in fifth.
It was a tougher session for Mir’s teammate Alex Rins, who escaped a highside as he got spat out his seat a couple of times on the exit of Turn 5, lucky to stay on. The Spaniard did then crash later in the session – rider ok.
FP2
In the opening stages of FP2, Quartararo was the pacesetter on the hard front, medium rear tyre and was setting very impressive lap times – as he did this morning. The Frenchman’s fastest time was a 1:32.320 before he then improved to a 1:32.273 soon after in the opening 15 minutes, with Nakagami sitting second already – 0.099 off the pace.
The two Red Bull KTM Tech 3 riders of Miguel Oliveira and Iker Lecuona were going well as the duo sat P3 and P5, with Pramac Racing’s Jack Miller splitting them in P4. Having said that, Miller, Lecuona and Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing) were the only riders to have improved their combined times in the opening 20 minutes of FP2.
The first man to oust Quartararo from the top of the timesheets was San Marino GP podium finisher Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) as the Italian slammed in a 1:32.138, and then they were off and the times tumbling. Pol Espargaro – a crasher in the early stages of FP2 – recovered from that to really move the goalposts, the Spaniard heading to the top with a 1:31.699 – the first lap quicker than Quartararo’s 1:31.721 from the morning.
Nakagami hit next to go top, by 0.069, as the Japanese rider’s improvements in testing kept impressing. It still wasn’t quite all she wrote, however, as Binder made his move. Tucked in behind lap record holder Viñales, the Brno winner demoted Nakagami to P2 by 0.002 seconds – leaping up the timesheets after P14 in the morning. Viñales, just ahead of the South African on track, went to P4.
Quartararo couldn’t quite retake the top and slotted into P3, with Viñales improving again abut staying fourth. Pol Espargaro’s 1:31.699 eventually saw him slip to fifth and at the end of the session, you could throw a blanket over the top five – it was that close. Just 0.071 between three manufacturers is a timely reminder of how close the premier class is in 2020!
The top five overall, then, are the top five from FP2: Binder, Nakagami, Quartararo, Viñales and Pol Espargaro. Morbidelli then slots into sixth courtesy of his FP1 time, not improving in the afternoon, with Joan Mir just behind him in seventh and likewise faster in FP1. The same is true of Oliveira, who ends Friday in P8.
Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) gained some time in the afternoon to take P9 overall and the honour of top Ducati, although not by much. Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) was tenth, Bagnaia 11th and Dovizioso 12th overall – leaving the latter duo especially with work to do on Saturday morning in FP3 if they want to guarantee themselves a place in Q2.
Joining them on the FP3 charge to take a place in Q2 are another two names outside the top ten: Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in P15 on Day 1, and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) just behind him. Will they make it through?
Rider Quotes
Takaaki Nakagami – P2
“It’s a pretty good start for us, I felt so good on the bike. Following the test on Tuesday we’ve definitely improved the bike and my feeling with the bike – we’re much more consistent. We’re also working hard on the qualifying lap, the one lap time, but the lap times overall are more consistent because the bike is more stable. So I’m feeling really good, there are still some sectors we can improve a little, like sector two, and we’ll just keep working hard for qualifying. For tomorrow our target will be to get on the front row, because here the starting grid is really important.”
Fabio Quartararo – P3
“Honestly I felt great today. I was able to make a bit of a long-run, about 16 laps, all in the 1min 32 seconds and that was really positive. Our pace feels good. We have modified the settings a little bit since last week, and I feel a bit better on the bike. There are still some areas for improvement, but I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. We tried a time attack on the medium tyre and we were fast. I think the soft has a little bit more potential but we finished less than one tenth from the top on this tyre. I’m also really happy with our practice starts too. The pace is great, which is really important, and we will see what we find tomorrow and Sunday. I want to fight for the pole position again and I’m feeling stronger than last week so we will see.”
Maverick Vinales – P4
“The feeling for one lap is good, but the only problem is that everything that we tested on Tuesday doesn’t work during the race weekend, because the feeling and the grip level changed. We need to set-up for these conditions in preparation for the race, and we need to try to understand how we can be faster. So, we went back to our standard bike that we finished with last Sunday. We lost a bit of time because of all of this. We have to continue working to find out how to have more grip during the race.”
Franco Morbidelli – P6
“Today was a good Friday. We’ve been reconfirming our speed this morning and checking what the track conditions were like – I felt quite good. This afternoon the conditions were a little bit different and we had to adapt to that. I think we made the right choices and we improved the settings of the bike throughout the day. We were able to have a good pace, so this is positive. I will rest a little bit now before tomorrow, to try to be in even better shape and see where we are. Tomorrow morning it will be important to be fast in our time attacks.”
Joan Mir – P7
“We tried each rear tyre option today, which gave us good information. The sessions were very competitive today with very close times, and even though everyone has improved since last weekend, we feel that we have taken a step forward too. We’re ready to fight again at the front, so tomorrow we’ll try to improve a few more things and we’ll aim to get a good qualifying position. Let’s see what’s possible!”
Miguel Oliveira – P8
“It was a nice day of work here. We went faster than in the last Grand Prix, which was obviously the target. We still have some things to adjust for tomorrow morning. I feel good. We know in FP3 it’s going to be very tight to go to Q2, but I believe we can manage to do a decent session and a decent lap. Our pace this afternoon was quite good, which I’m happy about, but we know that this pace here is not enough to do a good result, so we need to be faster tomorrow morning to be with the front.”
Danilo Petrucci – P9
“After last Tuesday’s test, we were able to take some steps forward. Since this morning, I have been able to have positive sensations on my bike. This afternoon I did a good lap time and, although it will not be enough to get directly into Q2, I am confident because we still have some room for improvements. We hope to be able to do so tomorrow morning in FP3, where it will be crucial to stay in the top ten.”
Johann Zarco – P10
“I have had a good day, this morning, I went fast from the first moment, although everyone has gone very fast since FP1. We have worked with the medium rear tire, and we are being more competitive with tire than last week, this is good for the race. I had a small crash in the afternoon, when my first lap launched with the soft tire started, it closed from the front on turn 2. Despite not having a wings on the left, I felt I had to continue because there were only 5 minutes left and that was the good tire. I could improve my lap time and stay on the Top-10.”
Pecco Bagnaia – P11
“Today we worked with medium tire because last Sunday Mir and Morbidelli were very fast with this tire so it was very important to try it to understand what will be the best choice. Tomorrow I will be able to do the time attack. I feel good and today we finished the work started last week.”
Andrea Dovizioso – P12
“Today, we preferred to focus on the preparations for the race, without worrying too much about the lap times. We have made some progress, but it is still not enough: our rivals have also improved a lot since last Tuesday’s test. In any case, I am confident: we know where we need to work on to be more competitive. Now we need to keep our concentration: tomorrow morning it will be important to close FP3 in the top ten”.
Aleix Espargaro – P13
“I am satisfied with this first day. We were more competitive compared to last week. The gaps are obviously very narrow, but the improvement is clear. In the afternoon with the medium compound, which is not my favourite, I was able to lap in the low 32 range. The bike has improved, especially in terms of electronics. Tomorrow we’ll try to go through to Q2 using the soft tyre. I get the impression that there will be ten riders within a tenth of one another, so we’ll need to grit our teeth and maybe stretch out our arms like they do in cycling sprints!”
Iker Lecuona – P14
“In FP1 I was quite happy, because we were working on our pace and I was working on my riding style. We wanted to improve that a bit and I had a good feeling, riding smoother and more relaxed. This afternoon, I put in a good tyre and was a lot closer to the top. On my fastest lap, I did a small mistake, but I did two quick lap times. At the moment, it is difficult to improve further. Anyway, I’m quite satisfied about today, as we are close to the top 10 again. Tomorrow we need to continue to work hard in order to improve this fast lap time.”
Valentino Rossi – P15
“It was a difficult first day. We tried something different on the bike. In the morning I didn’t do a lap on new tyres, I did it this afternoon. Unfortunately, I’m out of the top 10, though I improved on my Friday lap time from last week, because everybody is a lot stronger and faster, like we expected. So, we have to work to raise our level. We have to try something else to improve our pace. We will work on the bike. We haven’t found the right balance yet, but we will continue to work and try again tomorrow morning.”
Jack Miller – P16
“Today the plan was to find the best solution for Sunday, We worked very well, I think we are in the right way. Tomorrow we will try to do the time for being in Q2, I’m feel very confident, we did a massive improvement.”
Alex Marquez – P17
“Today was a good day. We were able to confirm the step that we made in the test which is really good for us. Today we ended just two tenths from the top ten, so this is also good and shows we are working in the right direction. The plan is to keep working and keep pushing, especially over one lap. We tried some different options for the race and our pace is again looking good. A positive Friday for us.”
Alex Rins – P18
“Today has been a bit difficult for me. During the test on Tuesday I was able to keep a good performance even on used tyres, but today I didn’t capture that same feeling. Finally towards the end of FP2 I started to feel good again and that gives me confidence for race day. This morning in FP1 I had a very big moment, and a big save, and after that I also had a little crash. This didn’t impact my work too much and I’m still focused on tomorrow’s qualifying and Sunday’s race.”
Tito Rabat – P19
“It’s been a pretty positive day, our fast lap is 1.32.7 a step forward given by having turned 32 today. Tomorrow we will try to take another step forward, today we have finished with positive feelings and continue working as before.”
Bradley Smith – P20
“We arrived at the level of the tests and that is a positive aspect. We also tested a few changes that we weren’t able to assess on Tuesday. Using a new engine, I found different sensations today with respect to my base, but I’m confident that we’ll be able check the data and set it up correctly for tomorrow. The situation got steadily better already in the afternoon, but everyone was extremely fast straight away, including Aleix. We’ll need to work hard tomorrow to recover a few tenths which we seem to be lacking at the moment.”
Stefan Bradl – Withdrawn
“Unfortunately, I am still having problems with my right arm and I am not able to ride in a safe and consistent way. I spoke with my doctor and we performed a small operation to clean the nerve before this weekend but when they opened my arm, they saw the situation was more complicated than they first thought. I came to Misano with the intention of racing because my doctor told me it would be okay to race. But in this situation, I do not feel I can ride safely over a whole race, together with HRC we have decided to take the rest of the week to recover before Barcelona.”
Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager
“We’ve been keeping working today. Joan had good pace from the start trying different tyres options, and we continued to work on settings with him. Alex also was trying different tyre options and at the end he could find a good combination with good pace. Friday is the day for working on all these things, so at the moment we’re happy with how the day has gone and we’re looking forward to qualifying tomorrow. As we suspected, it’s much more competitive between all the riders this weekend because everyone has one race in the bag already and also a test. But our level was high last weekend, and we’ll try to do well again.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“Today we revisited the items of last Tuesday’s testing programme. The weather conditions for this weekend are expected to be slightly cooler than what we‘ve had previously during the San Marino GP and the Misano Test. Also the track conditions are different from the test, with more rubber on track, so we wanted to use today‘s sessions to see how this affects matters, especially concerning the grip levels. Maverick continues to have a good feeling with the bike for one lap, but he is still working on improving his race pace. He tried using some things he found during the test, but because the track conditions are so different from Tuesday, he went back to the package he used last weekend. Still, he finished only 0.041s from the top of today‘s timesheets. Valentino isn‘t that far off the fastest time either, but the entire rider field is very close. He is now in 15th place in the combined rankings. We expect tomorrow to be intense. If today‘s times are anything to go by, the battle for the top 10 in FP3 will be hard-fought, and also the times in qualifying will be very fast. The team will work hard tonight to prepare another step for FP3 to let Maverick and Valentino face the competition in the best shape possible.”
Friday MotoGP Combined Practice Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
B.Binder
KTM
1m31.628
2
T.Nakagami
HONDA
+0.002
3
F.Quartararo
YAMAHA
+0.016
4
M.Viñales
YAMAHA
+0.041
5
P.Espargaro
KTM
+0.071
6
F.Morbidelli
YAMAHA
+0.183
7
J.Mir
SUZUKI
+0.298
8
M.Oliveira
KTM
+0.337
9
D.Petrucci
DUCATI
+0.345
10
J.Zarco
DUCATI
+0.444
11
F.Bagnaia
DUCATI
+0.510
12
A.Dovizioso
DUCATI
+0.524
13
A.Espargaro
APRILIA
+0.557
14
I.Lecuona
KTM
+0.610
15
V.Rossi
YAMAHA
+0.635
16
J.Miller
DUCATI
+0.651
17
A.Marquez
HONDA
+0.741
18
A.Rins
SUZUKI
+0.779
19
T.Rabat
DUCATI
+1.160
20
B.Smith
APRILIA
+1.288
21
S.Bradl
HONDA
+1.756
Moto2
San Marino GP winner Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) was back on top on Day 1 of the Gran Premio TISSOT dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini, the Italian’s 1:35.956 a new lap record at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. He only got the better of rookie Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto2) by less than a tenth, however, with Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) completing the top three.
FP1
In FP1, Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) was top of the pile, 0.171 ahead of Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) as the Swiss veteran put in an impressive session to get back nearer the front. Last week’s pole position setter, Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), completed the top three as his Misano pace remained very much intact.
Hector Garzo (Pons HP 40) was another who impressed as he ended FP1 in fourth, just ahead of Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2). Championship leader Marini began the day in sixth, 0.281 off the top.
Kasma Daniel (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) crashed at Turn 5 in FP1, before Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) went down at Turn 16. Andi Izdihar (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) also took a tumble, the Indonesian at Turn 14.
FP2
In the afternoon, Marini hit back and set his fastest lap on a well-used tyre – having spent most the session on it – which may prove ominous to many. Canet was second and Schrötter third, with both making a significant move up the top ten in FP2. Lowes was fourth, with American Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) leaping up the timesheets to complete the top five.
Schrötter crashed in the afternoon although still took third, with the other faller proving San Marino GP podium finisher Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46). It seemed a tougher first day at the track this time around for the Italian, and he crashed at Turn 6 in a highside.
On Friday it’s an FP2 top five on the combined timesheets as Marini leads Canet leads Schrötter, with Lowes and Roberts in fourth and fifth respectively. Bastianini slots into sixth by virtue of his FP1 best, ahead of Bezzecchi and Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing).
Lüthi ends Friday in ninth from his FP1 fastest, with the top ten completed by Jorge Navarro and his FP2 best. Currently, the final riders provisionally moving through to Q2 are Garzo, Bulega, Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing). The first three by virtue of FP1, and Dixon after a huge step forward in the afternoon following some technical troubles in the morning.
Friday Moto2 Combined Practice Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
L.Marini
KALEX
1m35.956
2
A.Canet
SPEED UP
+0.090
3
M.Schrotter
KALEX
+0.201
4
S.Lowes
KALEX
+0.205
5
J.Roberts
KALEX
+0.295
6
E.Bastianini
KALEX
+0.306
7
M.Bezzecchi
KALEX
+0.328
8
X.Vierge
KALEX
+0.361
9
T.Luthi
KALEX
+0.477
10
J.Navarro
SPEED UP
+0.511
11
H.Garzo
KALEX
+0.553
12
N.Bulega
KALEX
+0.564
13
T.Nagashima
KALEX
+0.601
14
J.Dixon
KALEX
+0.625
15
L.Baldassarri
KALEX
+0.638
16
A.Fernandez
KALEX
+0.704
17
M.Ramirez
KALEX
+0.743
18
F.Di Giannanto
SPEED UP
+0.765
19
L.Dalla Porta
KALEX
+0.798
20
H.Syahrin
SPEED UP
+1.065
21
S.Manzi
MV AGUSTA
+1.153
22
B.Bendsneyde
NTS
+1.186
23
S.Corsi
MV AGUSTA
+1.222
24
E.Pons
KALEX
+1.335
25
M.Pasini
KTM
+1.396
26
A.Izdihar
KALEX
+1.423
27
S.Chantra
KALEX
+1.455
28
K.Daniel
KALEX
+1.616
29
P.Biesiekirski
NTS
+4.666
Moto3
Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) set a new all-time lap record on Friday at the Gran Premio TISSOT dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini, a 1:41.663 putting him just under three tenths ahead of Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by the end of play. Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) completed the top three by just 0.021 as action got back underway at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with the top three in the Championship all outside the top ten on Day 1.
FP1
In FP1 it was Fernandez once again fastest out the blocks, the Spaniard’s last dash 1:41.962 making him half a second quicker than Ai Ogura’s (Honda Team Asia) pole position laptime last weekend. He was also just a fraction away from the 2019 outright lap record that Masia would go on to break in FP2. Reigning FIM Moto3™ Junior World Champion Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) was second quickest, 0.164 back, with Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) in third only another 0.026 in arrears.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) and Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) were a quarter of a second back in fourth and fifth.
Masia had a scary moment early on but later found some rhythm to start the day in sixth, just ahead of Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team) and World Championship leader Albert Arenas (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3). They were the final two of the eight riders who managed to go under Ogura’s pole lap from the San Marino GP.
Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) crashed twice, first at Turn 9 and later at Turn 6, rider ok. San Marino GP podium finisher Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) also went down at Turn 4, and Foggia at Turn 6.
FP2
In the afternoon, Masia moved from sixth to top as he smashed the lap record, ending the afternoon fastest ahead of Vietti as the Italian looks to bounce back from a tougher first weekend on home soil. Suzuki and Migno were next up, with Fernandez down in fifth and suffering a highside in the session – rider ok and even able to get it back to the pits.
Rodrigo, Migno and Fenati also all suffered crashes, riders ok.
Masia is the man leading the way to FP3 on the combined timesheets after that new lap record, and he’ll likely feel confident of moving through to Q2 despite a penalty he has to serve in the FP3 session. The Spaniard is one of a number of riders suspended from the last 15 minutes due to slow riding in practice last weekend.
Will the grid be able to get the jump on him? Next overall on Friday is Fernandez with his best laptime from FP1, ahead of Vietti, Suzuki and Migno with their fastest efforts from FP2. Alcoba slots into sixth overall courtesy of his FP1 lap, with Salač’s FP2 lap putting him just 0.007 behind the Spaniard.
Foggia’s FP1 quickest puts him in P8 and he’ll be another sitting out the final 15 minutes of FP3, so he’ll be looking for more early on Saturday to ensure he keeps that provisional place in Q2. Rodrigo was ninth overall, with Stefano Nepa (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3) completing the top ten.
Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) bounced back from a DNF through no fault of his own last time out to take P11 overall, ahead of Championship leader Arenas by just 0.033. The last two currently set to move through to Q2 are Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) – who’ll be missing the last 15 minutes of FP3 as well – and Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo).
That leaves a couple of familiar names outside that all-important top 14 and looking to move forward in FP3: San Marino GP winner and third in the Championship, John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), who is P15 overall, as well as the man second in the title fight, Ai Ogura. Last week’s polesitter was down in P19.
Can they bounce back on Saturday? FP3 begins at 9:00 (GMT +3), with an interesting final slice of the session to come as Arbolino, Foggia and Masia join Ryusei Yamanaka (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Davide Pizzoli (BOE Skull Rider Facile Energy) on the sidelines after having been penalised for riding slowly in FP3 last weekend. Qualifying then begins from 12:35 (GMT +2)!
Friday Moto3 Combined Practice Times
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J.Masia
HONDA
1m41.663
2
R.Fernandez
KTM
+0.299
3
C.Vietti
KTM
+0.320
4
T.Suzuki
HONDA
+0.412
5
A.Migno
KTM
+0.426
6
J.Alcoba
HONDA
+0.463
7
F.Salac
HONDA
+0.470
8
D.Foggia
HONDA
+0.489
9
G.Rodrigo
HONDA
+0.549
10
S.Nepa
KTM
+0.564
11
A.Sasaki
KTM
+0.614
12
A.Arenas
KTM
+0.647
13
T.Arbolino
HONDA
+0.650
14
K.Toba
KTM
+0.697
15
J.Mcphee
HONDA
+0.782
16
D.Binder
KTM
+0.799
17
R.Fenati
HUSQVARNA
+0.824
18
R.Rossi
KTM
+0.830
19
A.Ogura
HONDA
+0.885
20
A.Lopez
HUSQVARNA
+0.909
21
S.Garcia
HONDA
+0.930
22
J.Dupasquier
KTM
+0.954
23
D.Pizzoli
KTM
+0.993
24
C.Tatay
KTM
+1.016
25
N.Antonelli
HONDA
+1.110
26
D.Öncü
KTM
+1.182
27
R.Yamanaka
HONDA
+1.249
28
M.Kofler
KTM
+1.249
29
B.Baltus
KTM
+1.392
30
K.Pawi
HONDA
+1.396
31
Y.Kunii
HONDA
+1.900
MotoE
Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) was the man to beat on Day 1 of FIM Enel MotoE World Cup action at the Gran Premio TISSOT dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera di Rimini, this time setting a new lap record – 1:42.910 – to gain some breathing space at the top. His closest challenger was Sammarinese home hero Alex de Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE), two tenths in arrears, with three-time Misano winner Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) third overall.
The sun was shining at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli but the day wasn’t without some dramas, including a crash for the fastest man on Friday, Granado. He went down right at the end of the day, but no harm done and rider ok. On the other end of the scale, closest rival De Angelis crashed near the start of the day in FP1, tumbling at Turn 14. Rider also ok, but losing much of the session before he could get back out – making his P2 overall even more impressive.
Behind Granado, de Angelis and P3 man Ferrari, Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) was the fastest rookie on Friday as he took fourth, completing a top four on the combined timesheets who all set their fastest laps in the morning. Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) in fifth was the first to break that trend, the Belgian quicker in the morning by a few tenths and that keeping him in the top five. The number 10 did crash in the afternoon, however – rider ok.
Tommaso Marcon (Tech 3 E-Racing) was next up and sixth quickest on one of his best days in MotoE yet, just 0.018 off Simeon and improving by nearly eight tenths from FP1 to FP2. Points leader Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP), meanwhile, was seventh overall and 0.662 off Granado by the end of the day, the Swiss rider one of those who didn’t go quicker in FP2.
Veteran Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was next up in P8, shuffled down by just 0.015, with Lukas Tulovic (Tech 3 E-Racing) less than a tenth behind him. The gap to complete the top ten was even smaller, with Alessandro Zaccone (Trentino Gresini MotoE) 0.004 behind the German, forced to settle for tenth.
One surprise on Day 1 was Mattia Casadei (SIC58 Squadra Corse), with the Italian down in 11th overall. He’ll be one of those looking for more in E-Pole and Race 1 as Saturday promises a packed program for the electric runners!
Josh Hook – P15
“This morning was quite good, we made a good improvement compared to last week. The feeling was much better, a very good impression. During the FP2 I struggle a lit bit, but we understand a lot. We still have work to do, but we are in the right way”
MotoE fastest on Friday
Friday MotoE Combined Practice Times
Pos
Bike
Bike
Time/Gap
1
E.Granado
ENERGICA
1m42.910
2
A.De Angelis
ENERGICA
+0.207
3
M.Ferrari
ENERGICA
+0.252
4
J.Torres
ENERGICA
+0.409
5
X.Simeon
ENERGICA
+0.517
6
T.Marcon
ENERGICA
+0.535
7
D.Aegerter
ENERGICA
+0.662
8
M.Di Meglio
ENERGICA
+0.677
9
L.Tulovic
ENERGICA
+0.775
10
A.Zaccone
ENERGICA
+0.779
11
M.Casadei
ENERGICA
+0.873
12
N.Canepa
ENERGICA
+1.015
13
N.Tuuli
ENERGICA
+1.066
14
A.Medina
ENERGICA
+1.097
15
J.Hook
ENERGICA
+1.291
16
M.Herrera
ENERGICA
+1.566
17
X.Cardelus
ENERGICA
+1.597
18
J.Kornfeil
ENERGICA
+1.760
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
MotoGP World Championship Points
Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Schedule
The Molteni brothers, based in Milan, made micro motors after WW II. In 1950 they started production of their T50 scooter which featured a cast light alloy central truss frame. The swingarm pivoted off the end of the frame. The motor was a 123 cc two-stroke with a three-speed gearbox. Power was 4.5 hp and good for 70 km/h, while the scooter weighed 80kg. The T52 with improved performance was introduced in 1952.
Prina was established in 1949 in Asti, and from ’52 their scooters were co-branded with the nearby Orix company. Both firms used German ILO two-stroke motors in capacities from 123 to 173 cc. Only about 100 scooters were built before production ceased in 1953. This 1953, unrestored example has the 173 cc motor, with power claimed at 8.2 hp, weighing in at 85 kg, and with a top speed of 85km/h.
This is the only known example of its kind known to exist, a 1950 MV Agusta 125 Competizione. They were based on the production model of the time and made available to privateers, only in Italy, mainly to combat the successful Vespa and Lambretta racing scooters.
The 1954 Juno K was Honda’s first scooter and was quite advanced for the time. It featured an electric starter (although not the first on a scooter – that honour goes to the 1952 Ducati Cruiser), built-in indicators, a full windscreen and more importantly, it was the first vehicle to use Fibre-Reinforced Plastic body construction in Japan.
The original K model was quickly followed by the KA (seen here) and KB but none of them proved popular with only 5,980 of all types produced over 18 months.
The K’s 189 cc OHV motor only made 7.5 hp at 4800rpm and tended to overheat. In addition the FRP bodywork was heavier than expected resulting in clumsy handling and low performance. The K weighed 170 kg. The KA and KB used a larger 220 cc motor that made 9 hp and weighed a hefty 195 and 160 kg respectively.
After the failure of K-series scooters, Honda introduced the Juno M80/M85 scooter in late 1961. Again less than 6000 were constructed over a 12 month period. A 124 cc OHV horizontally opposed twin was fitted to the M80 and a conventional steel monocoque body replaced the FRP of the Juno K.
11 hp was produced at 9000 rpm, with a weight of 146 kg, an improvement on the KA and KB Juno. Top speed was 100 km/h. The M85 used a larger 169 cc motor which had 12 hp at 7600 rpm, but also weighed in at a heftier 157 kg.
Salsbury scooters date from 1935 and amazingly one of their early innovations was the Continuously Variable Ratio Transmission, still widely used today! In 1945 Salsbury became a subsidiary of Northrop Aircraft and the Model 85 scooter (as seen here) was introduced the following year.
Northrop sold Salsbury in 1948, to the Wayne Street Sweeper Company (!), which sold scooters assembled from spare parts. In 1954 the company was again sold, to Emery Engineering, which continued to assemble scooters from parts. About 700-900 were manufactured in total, with power output at six horsepower and a top speed of 80km/h.
Freccia Azzurra scooters were designed and built by engineer Giuseppe Del Bianco from 1951, originally using a Puch 125cc split-single two-stroke motor. A three-speed gearbox and chain final drive were used, as were telescopic front forks.
The Ambrosini company soon provided financial support and the scooters were then built in their factory in Passignano. From 1952 a Sachs 142 cc four-speed motor was used. As can be seen from this 1954 (final year of manufacture) machine, the scooter was aimed at the top end of the market and was about twice the price of a Vespa or Lambretta. Only small numbers were produced.
The first Fuji Rabbit scooter, the S-1, was introduced in June 1946 (six months prior to the Vespa) and was based on the Powell scooter used by US troops. The last was made in June 1968. This 1959 S-101 is a transition model, using a dated side-valve 250cc motor together with a modern hydraulic torque convertor. The styling would appear to be based on the Ducati Cruiser! 41,790 were produced from 1957-59, with seven horsepower and weighing 148 kg. Top speed was 75 km/h.
Terrot unveiled its first scooter in 1952 – the 100cc two-speed two-stroke VMS, aimed at the youth market. The VMS 2 was introduced the following year and was basically identical apart from a 125 cc motor and a pillion seat option. The three “portholes” on each side of the rear bodywork indicate that this example is a 1954 model. Power was 3.5 hp, with a weight of 75 kg, and top speed of 60km/h.
From 1947 the Italian company Zoppoli produced mopeds powered by Ducati’s Cucciolo motor. The design was licensed by La Neue AMAG, then by the Swiss AMI company which substituted a Sachs 125cc two-stroke motor (as seen here).
Helmet Bastert built small numbers of bicycles as well as mopeds and motorcycles in sizes from 48 to 248 cc in Bielfeld, Germany. In the early 1950s he designed the Einspurato (single track car) for which he is best known. Approximately 1200 were constructed from 1952 to 1956 and only about 20 are known to still exist – this is a 1953 model.
They were built to the highest standard with alloy bodywork over an aircraft-style frame and had many advanced features such as individual indicator lights for each gear, a second leather pillion seat that folded in behind the rider’s seat, lights in the engine compartment and solid aluminium wheels. ILO 150cc (three-speed) or 175cc (four-speed) motors were available.
The Bernardet company was founded in 1921 and built sidecars up until 1948. In 1947 they began scooter production, which continued – through 12 models- until 1959. The B 250 model seen here, was introduced at the Paris Salon in 1949 and featured a twin cylinder 250 cc two-stroke motor designed by Marcel Violet. Power was 10 hp at 4000 rpm.
In 2011 I found myself on the outskirts of Milan to photograph a bike I had been trying to find for many years – Lambretta’s 250 GP racer (Lambretta 250 Grand Prix Racer – LINK). However the collection that it is a part of, “Casa Lambratta” is such a wonderful place that I thought it would be worth a detailed look.
Here is Part 1 where you can see a general overview. Part 2 will show a selection of the scooters in more detail. I revisited a couple of years later so these images are from both visits.
To be accurate the correct name of the collection is “Museo Scooter & Lambretta” but as it is housed above Vittorio Tessera’s Casa Lambretta workshop and offices it is by that name it is best known.
Vittorio has been a Lambretta fan since his father bought one in the ‘60s when Vittorio was a child. In 1981 he formed a Lambretta club which has since grown to over 3000 members!
In 1985 the Innocenti family, realising his dedication to their brand, offered him access to the company archives and donated numerous rare models to his collection This fascination grew to encompass all things scooter and in 2004 his collection was formally recognised and added to Milan’s museum registry.
There is a main hall which all the Lambrettas are displayed. A scale model of the Innocenti factory takes pride of place in the centre. Countless Lambrettas, of all flavours, take up the rest of the hall. Rare examples include a Model A with frame number 2, Jane Mansfield’s gold-plated TV175, a 1949 three-wheeled FB and many others.
A smaller hall is dedicated to Lambretta’s competition machines and this is where the 250GP is to be found.
While the Lambretta brand is perhaps not quite as famous as its traditional rival Vespa, over four million were produced in the nearby Lambrate factory from 1947 to 1971. In addition they were built under licence in South America, Asia, India, Spain, Germany and France.
Additional halls hold scooters from all around the world, over 160 in total.