2022 Moto2/3 Test Portimao Report Day Three

If anyone had doubts about the hype surrounding Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), the time to surrender them is now. It’s a new year, new class, new number but the same sensation as the Moto2 rookie smashed the lap record in testing at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, putting in a 1m41.552.

The previous Moto2 benchmark at Portimao was Remy Gardner’s 1m42.447 set in 2021. Gardner also holds the race lap record at 1m42.504 along with the pole record of 1m42.592, both of those times coming on the 2020 race weekend.

In some further 2021 deja vu, Augusto Fernandez made sure it was a Red Bull KTM Ajo 1-2 as he ended Monday 0.154 off his team-mate, with Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) completing the top three.

Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors Speed Up) put the Boscocuro in fourth, 0.563 off the top, with Albert Arenas (GASGAS Aspar Team) for close company.

There were a couple more tenths back to Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), with Joe Roberts just 0.011 back as his second season with Italtrans Racing Team gets off to a solid start.

Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team) and Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) were next up, with Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP 40) completing the top ten.

However on combined times across all three days Jake Dixon would have placed fourth.

Jake Dixon

“We close the Portimao test with a good pace, an average 1m42, although when I was looking for time attack, I crashed. In the last run I was coming in 1m41 but in the last two corners I had my foot resting on the brake lever and that has prevented me from achieving it. The positive thing is that we have a good set-up for the first race, I am already looking forward to competing in Qatar.”

There were a number of crashes including one for Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) that saw the Dutch rider break his collarbone and another for Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) that led the German to leave early for a medical check on his hand.

The first session is when Schrötter crashed, as did team-mate Jeremy Alcoba, Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW Racing GP) and Arenas. Canet crashed twice. In the second session, Canet, Alcoba and van den Goorbergh crashed again, and Bendsneyder suffered his tumble. Dixon also fell, as did Alessandro Zaccone (Gresini Racing Moto2), Gabriel Rodrigo (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Aldeguer. Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2) took two tumbles.

Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) also remained sidelined as he aims to recover from tendonitis in his wrist ahead of the Qatar GP.

After three interesting days on the Algarve, it’s now time to look ahead to racing and the Qatar GP. The lights go out in less than two weeks.

Portimao Moto2 Test Day Three Times

Moto3

Dennis Foggia lost the top spot to new team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki on Sunday, but by the end of Day 3 the Italian was back on top and with a new lap record no less. Foggia’s 1m46.990 makes him the only rider under the 1m47 barrier as testing concluded in Portugal.

The previous best Moto3 lap of Portimao was set in 2020 by Jaume Masia at 1m47.398 while Gabriel Rodrigo holds the race lap record at 1m47.610, and Andrea Migno hold the pole record at 1m47.423. both of those times being set on the 2021 race weekend.

It was close though as Foggia was only 0.052 ahead of Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) to take that top spot.

Sophomore Izan Guevara (GASGAS Aspar Team) completed the top three, 0.334 off the top, with the first session bearing the most speed for the majority of the field, top three included.

Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) was fourth quickest, around half a second off the searing new lap record, with rookie David Muñoz (BOE SKX) for close company in fifth as the Spaniard continued to impress and the timesheets tightened.

Day 1 and 2’s fastest rider, Tatsuki Suzuki, ended Monday in P6 but on combined times across the three days would have been fourth quickest ovall.

In seventh on the final day was Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ahead of Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Sergio Garcia (GASGAS Aspar Team) and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power).

Deniz Öncü

“We finished three days of testing here in Portimao before the first race in Qatar. We have tried a lot of different things on the bike with the team, and have found some really good set-ups to fit my riding style. However, these last three days have been tough for me but my injury is not so bad. I will now go home to recover in order to get ready for Qatar next week.”

The biggest gap between fifth and tenth was just 0.037, and the tiny deficits continued throughout the field.

Joel Kelso found another quarter-of-a-second on the final day to end the third day of testing P25 which equated to 1.617-seconds off Foggia’s P1 benchmark.

Suzuki and Migno crashed in the first session, with Garcia and rookie Brit Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team) taking tumbles in the second session. There were no fallers in the final outing of the day for Moto3.

That’s a wrap on official testing for the lightweight class, now all there’s left to do is race.

Portimao Moto3 Test Day Three Times

2022 Moto2 Entry List

2022 Moto3 Entry List

2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

2022 Moto2/3 Test Portimao Day Two

Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40) underlined his speed with some style on Sunday by ending the day fastest and with a new Moto2 lap record at Portimao – a 1’41.892.

The rider on the chase was none other than rookie sensation Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with the debutant just 0.037 in arrears.

His team-mate Augusto Fernandez was third, 0.111 off the top, with Day 1’s fastest, Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team), fourth on Sunday and the final rider to break the old lap record.

Jake Dixon 1:42.040 – P4

“Day 2 done. It has been a positive day, just riding: I haven’t changed anything. I’m just trying to get the flow, feeling good on the bike and around the track. I have been running on old tires, I was fast in old and new. I’m looking forward to day 3, to see what we can do, continuing in this way, doing a lot of laps in the last day before Qatar.”

Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) had a little fresh air in fifth, the American 0.147 off Dixon but two and a half tenths clear of Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) in P6.

Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors Speed Up) put his Boscoscuro in seventh, ahead of Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) as the two sophomores continue to show good pace. So too does Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) as he slotted into ninth. Albert Arenas (GASGAS Aspar Team) was only 0.017 off the American, completing the top ten.

Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) once again sat out the final session of the day, and the Brit is suffering from tendonitis that will also see him miss Day 3 entirely.

Lowes crashed in the second session too, as did Ogura, Acosta, Keminth Kubo (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) and Sean Dylan Kelly (American Racing). Kelly also crashed in session one, as did Schrötter and Aldeguer. The final session saw the most tumbles as Beaubier, Arenas, MV Agusta Forward Racing’s Simone Corsi and Marcos Ramirez, Niccolo Antonelli (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Jorge Navarro (Flexox HP 40) crashed, all riders ok.

Portimao Moto2 Test Day Two Times

Moto3

Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing)  retained his grip on top of the charts in Portugal, with the Japanese rider leaving it late but denying new team-mate Dennis Foggia by just 0.019.

Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) made it a Honda 1-2-3, exactly a tenth in further arrears.

There was a bigger gap of a couple of tenths back to Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP), with the Spaniard, in turn, 0.297 ahead of Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse).

John McPhee was sixth as the Scot gets to grips with his Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max machine, with Sergio Garcia (GASGAS Aspar Team) 0.003 further back and Alberto Surra (Rivacold Snipers Team) 0.077.

David Muñoz (BOE SKX) followed up a top three on Day 1 with ninth on Day 2, and the Spaniard was top rookie as he slotted in 0.144 behind Surra. Izan Guevara (GASGAS Aspar Team) completed the top ten.

Joel Kelso dropped more than a second off the time he recorded on day one, his quickest time of the test thus far coming in the morning session, a 1m48.851 placing him 20th on combined times at the end of Sunday’s proceedings.

There were some crashes on Day 2, most notably a tumble for Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) as the Turk crashed and collected his new team-mate, Adrian Fernandez. Fernandez was ok and Öncü headed for the Medical Centre, given the all-clear for fractures but suffering with pain in his foot.

Elia Bartolini (QJMotor Avintia Racing Team) was the sole crasher in the first session. The Öncü incident was in the second session, in which Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Guevara also fell. McPhee crashed in session three, riders all ok.

Portimao Moto3 Test Day Two Times

2022 Moto2 Entry List

2022 Moto3 Entry List

2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au

2022 Moto2/3 Test Portimao Day One

With just two-weeks until season start in Qatar on March 6, the riders that will form up the grids in the 2022 Moto2 and Moto3 Championships are in Portugal for the Official Portimao Test with the aim to allow riders to get up to speed after the winter break.

Many teams and riders have already held their own private test sessions previously, with testing being conducted at other tracks such as Valencia and Jerez already this month. All riders now have three days at the Algarve International Circuit for the final adjustments before heading to Qatar.

As it would be expected at this time of the year in the south of Portugal, the first session of the day started under very windy conditions.

The opening day of the official Moto2 and Moto3 test at Portimao saw Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team) make a late lunge to the top in the intermediate class, the Brit ending the day 0.075 ahead of Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40).

Jake Dixon – P1

“Overall I’m very happy with how today went. I have achieved my fastest lap on this circuit. It’s business as usual, when you’re not focused on getting a lap time, it comes alone. I am also very happy with the team; we continue to work hard and we have found small improvements between the second and third sessions that have allowed us to ride better. I have to try to make fewer mistakes to continue improving.”

Almost as close was Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo), only another four-thousandths in arrears. Only a few more thousandths behind came his team-mate, reigning Moto3 World Champion Pedro Acosta, with last year’s rookie sensation maintaining that moniker as he moves into the intermediate class…

Then came a small gap back to Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) as the American ended the day 0.265 off Acosta, heading up another group of incredibly tight lap-times.

Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Albert Arenas (GASGAS Aspar Team) were up next, with Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) just 0.002 off Arenas. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) took P9, with Fermin Aldeguer (Speed Up Racing) taking tenth.

The likes of Fernandez, Acosta, Ogura, Beaubier and Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing) didn’t head out in the final session and with lap-times only a second off the pole record already, it will be interesting to see how the pace progresses on Sunday.

Portimao Moto2 Test Day One Times

Moto3

In Moto3 Tatsuki Suzuki began his tenure with Leopard Racing by topping the timesheets on Day 1, the Japanese rider putting in a 1’48.575 to pull nearly a tenth and a half clear of Izan Guevara (GASGAS Aspar Team), who is gearing up for his second season in Moto3. It was a rookie completing the top three though, with David Muñoz (BOE SKX) 0.283 off the top.

That denied Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) as the Turk was an apt 0.053 further back, with another rookie standout in fifth: Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI). The Brazilian debutant was even closer in the tight field, 0.017 off Öncü.

Deniz Öncü – P4

“We finished the first day of the Portimao Test, which is also the fifth test day for me this month. Everything has been positive so far because I have a very good rythm, I register good lap times and my pace is strong. Today we have been working a lot on the bike and we tried different set-ups to see which ones suit best to my riding style. I got some fast laps so we definitively have a great potential and good ideas. Tomorrow, we will continue the work in this direction.”

Adrian Fernandez seems to be settling in at Red Bull KTM Tech 3 as he ended Day 1 in P6, just ahead of Sergio Garcia (GASGAS Aspar Team).

Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) put CFMoto into the top ten on their debut in P8, ahead of another impressive rookie in Ivan Ortola (Team MTA).

Ayumu Sasaki’s first official day in Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max colours saw the Japanese rider complete the top ten.

The likes of Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) were outside the top ten, but it is, after all, only the first day.

Aussie rookie Joel Kelso finished day one P21 on the time-sheets despite a small tumble without consequences.

Ana Carrasco continued her adaption to Moto3 and brought up the tail end of the time-sheets at this early juncture with plenty more speed still to come from the tough Spaniard no doubt.

Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing), runner up last season, was sidelined due to illness. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) is also sidelined after breaking his ankle.

Portimao Moto3 Test Day One Times

2022 Moto2 Entry List

2022 Moto3 Entry List

2022 Provisional MotoGP Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au