A new initiative for 2020, the WINDTRE Rising Stars Series consists of four Online Challenges in which Gamers will be divided into three categories, depending on their location. These three are the Americas (North and South), Europe and Africa, and finally Asia and Oceania.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
“We’re equal in our philosophy towards our riders but if this one wants that but the other one wants that, then you make sure that you split yourself. But there are some moments in that time when, y’know, there’s some big egos in this sport as well, you have to manage the rider, the rider’s ego, the entourage, their expectations, their demands that sometimes we couldn’t deliver or fulfil. It’s quite difficult but if you ask me, I would always take two top riders instead of an A & B – it’s more stimulating and challenging. I think next year’s team should be good, this year’s team is good but next year’s will be good as well. Two young guns in there who are both top level. So our desire is to come back into that same winning era. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Lenovo technologies including high-performance ThinkPad™ laptops, ThinkCentre™ desktops and ThinkStation™ desktop PCs; sleek ThinkVision™ monitors; powerful Lenovo Legion™ laptops, versatile accessories and ThinkSystem™ servers are used by Dorna throughout all the Grand Prix weekends. The Lenovo technology will enable the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship to broadcast to hundreds of millions of fans around the world. As the title sponsor at Misano, Lenovo will be the most prominent brand throughout the event, with an eye-catching presence at the start bridge, the podium, the press conference backdrops, the last corner and more.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Despite the change of direction in his career I certainly, and I think many others were surprised, when the new Petronas Yamaha SRT team signed Fabio to join former Moto2™ World Champion Franco Morbidelli for their MotoGP™ debut. They knew exactly what they were doing. What a debut in the premier class last year. Seven podium finishes, Rookie of the Year and fifth in the World Championship. The only thing that was missing was that first premier class Grand Prix win. We did not have to wait long for that magic moment when the 2020 season finally got underway in Jerez last week. Then he did it again a week in the stifling Jerez heat.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Chinese computer company Lenovo signed a multi-year agreement with Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati in 2018.
Initially the agreement was to support the Ducati MotoGP team with computer firepower, but also to develop products and collaborate on research and development.
The result of this collaboration includes special products such as this limited-edition Lenovo Ducati 5 laptop PC, starting at $1999. Only 12,000 will be produced.
It is based on Intel Core i5 processors up to the 10th generation, with a 14-inch full HD display with a thin bezel and Dolby Audio speakers facing upwards.
Lenovo Ducati 5 also has a fingerprint reader on the power button for secure access that is quicker than entering a password.
There’s also a Privacy Shutter, so you can close the webcam when you don’t want to be disturbed.
Matching Ducati’s MO of lightweight and powerful motorcycles, the laptop is 19.1mm thin and weighs only 1.52kg.
We love the official press release that also plays on the motorcycle relationship:
The Lenovo Ducati 5 can run for up to 12 hours without needing to pull over and refuel—more than enough to watch your favourite motorbike team go from pole position to the podium. And when the battery’s low, there’s Rapid Charge. Just 15 minutes of recharging and you’re good to go for another three hours.
Get off to the best possible start with lightning-fast performance and various options, including 1TB PCIe SSD storage, 8GB DDR4 memory, and WiFi 6. Plus, with a state-of-the art USB-C port, you can charge your other devices or transfer data at speeds up to 10Gbps.
Ducati. A symbol of speed, performance, and innovation. The Lenovo Ducati 5 taps into that spirit. Dynamic and aesthetically engineered, it fuses pure horsepower with style and verve. With its metallic chassis elements and Ducati detailing, this special edition 14″ laptop is sure to ignite your passion. Start your engines.
| Processor |
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 (4C / 8T, 1.0 / 3.6GHz, 6MB)
|
| Operating System |
Windows 10 Home
|
| Display options |
14″ FHD (1920×1080) IPS 300nits Anti-glare
|
| Graphics |
Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
|
| Memory |
8GB Soldered DDR4-3200
|
| Webcam |
HD 720p, with privacy shutter, fixed focus
|
| Storage |
1TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe
|
| Optical drive | |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) |
321.7 x 211.8 x 16.9 (mm)
|
| Weight |
Starting at 1.58 kg
|
| Case material | |
| Case colour |
Ducati Colour
|
| Battery |
3-cell (57Wh), integrated
|
| Battery life1 |
Up to 12 hours
|
| AC adaptor | |
| Keyboard |
Backlit keyboard (White)
|
| Trackpad |
Buttonless Mylar surface multi-touch
|
| Security |
Firmware TPM 2.0 integrated in chipset
|
| Fingerprint reader |
Touch style on power button
|
| Audio |
|
| Ethernet | |
| Wireless LAN |
11ax, 2×2, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth® 5.1
|
| Wiresless WAN | |
| Ports |
|
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
“Our rookie Alex Marquez has done a very good job,” said Team Manager Alberto Puig. “The objective was to finish the race and reduce the distance with the leader. Last week, this gap was 27 seconds, today instead it was only 19 seconds, this is almost eight seconds gained, it is a lot, especially given the conditions. He had a good pace, but he still needs to understand the bike on new tyres. From our technical and racing point of view we are very happy because he is learning and understanding each race. Not crashing helps you take more steps and be faster every time you get on the bike.”
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
The rain came down over the lunch break, soaking the track ahead of race 2 for MK-GP70s. Casey O’Gorman took an early lead ahead Lucas Brown, with Johnny Garness dropping through the field from pole position. Drama at the beginning of lap 2 for Casey O’Gorman as he crashed out at turn 5, re-joining the race in 9th place and gifting the race lead to Lucas Brown. As the race went on, a 7 rider battle for the lead emerged with Lucas Brown leading over Harrison Mackay, and Ben Jolliffe. Championship leader Johnny Garness watched from the back of the group. Johnny Garness got more and more confident in the wet weather conditions towards the end of the race, climbing through the field and finishing in 3rd place behind Casey O’Gorman, who’d also climbed up through the field after his crash earlier on, and Lucas Brown who had led the majority of the race, to fend off O’Gorman right at the end and take his first win of the season.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
“It was a tough race. To complete 25 laps in front in these temperatures made it the hardest race of my life! My hands and feet were so hot and there was just no air to cool you down. I felt really good on the bike though. Even though we are at the same circuit as last week, the conditions are different and we had to adapt so quickly to this. The first time I saw the gap to Valentino was 0.6secs, I thought that it was time to push. Then on one lap I looked back in Turn 6 and couldn’t believe the advantage that I had pulled out. At this point I knew I had to keep calm and just finish the race. I’m so happy to have another victory, especially in a race as tough as this one. It was also amazing to be on the podium with Valentino because he has been my idol for so long. I just want to say a massive thanks to my team, Yamaha, partners, my family, my friends, my manager and all the fans for their support.”
“Actually, in this race it was impossible to breathe. First of all, in the first lap I tried to overtake Fabio to get the clear track, because I felt very strong with the bike, but then I went wide and Fabio and Vale overtook me. Then I was stuck behind Vale, and I couldn‘t breathe most of the laps, I was destroyed. I don‘t know why, maybe because of the heat coming from the other bikes, but I couldn‘t do more. I was saving something for the last five laps, and I pushed at the end when I had a good rhythm again. I mean, today I lost it in the first lap, if not it would have been a much better race.”
“I‘m very happy because it‘s been a long time since I was on the podium. We‘re coming back from a bad period with bad results. So this weekend we started working in another way. I‘m very happy with the work David Muñoz did, and the rest of my team also did a good job. I was able to make a good lap at the start, and after that the race was so long. But I‘m happy to be back on the podium. For me it‘s not quite like a victory, but it‘s similar.”
“We were so close to the podium, I think to Valentino (Rossi) and the podium it was just five tenths, but I’m still pretty happy. For all 25 laps of the race I gave my full potential, the bike felt really good and for all the race we were fighting close to the podium. It was difficult and I really struggled to find grip, but it was the same for everyone. The team did a really great job all weekend and the bike improved a lot from last weekend. I hope we can keep going in this direction, we have a few days to rest and then we go on to Brno and hopefully we can get a podium as soon as possible.”
“I’m very happy with what I managed to do; the team deserved a good result. When I was on track I felt that today could’ve been ‘podium day’ because I wasn’t far from it, and I saw a lot of other riders struggling or dropping out for various reasons. I think we did a really good race – and in the end I was only a little more than two seconds behind a podium place, so that’s good news. It was tough today because we didn’t have much information from last weekend to help us. But overall, I’m happy with my good and consistent pace.”
“It’s been a tough two weeks for us here in Jerez, but the good thing is that they have allowed us to gather useful information that we can analyze for the future. This morning we managed to find a good rhythm in the warm-up, but the conditions this afternoon were different. Also, in the race, I had a problem that I’d never had before during the weekend: in the middle of the corner, as soon as I let go of the brakes, I couldn’t feel the front, and it was like that from the first laps of the race. That’s why I couldn’t force too much, and I preferred to stay in the position I was without taking any risks. Surely if I had started closer to the front, I could have done better. Now we will have to be good at interpreting all the inputs received in these two weeks to prepare well for the race weekend in Brno.”
“A lot of things happened! It was not like last week’s race. I almost crashed at the beginning when I touched Petrucci’s rear wheel and I lost some positions. I had to fight to recover the ground and pushed a lot but then I was really suffering in the heat. Last week was not too bad but today I almost couldn’t continue. The bike is performing very well and normally Jerez is one of the toughest circuits for us. We’ve seen other manufacturers struggling but the team did great and we’ve been able to show some of the improvements that everybody in the factory has been working towards in the winter. For sure we were expecting a bit more today, but we’ve been gaining points and we’re equal fourth in the championship.”
“Second race in MotoGP and well, I’m quite happy! We clearly made a decent step compared to last weekend and this was our main target. Two races in a row at the same track gives us a good opportunity to try things and make a step and we took advantage of that. Our race was nine seconds faster than last weekend, which is already a good improvement given the conditions today. We’ve made a good step and have a good base as well. Now it’s time to head to Brno, one of my favourite tracks and I’m looking to make another step with three races in a row. It has been a good start, but there’s more to come!”
“A 9th position is always a good result to take. Compare last week, I got an improvements and still the race has been anyway difficult. I had a good feeling at the beginning, but few tenths was missing during three or four laps, defining the possibility to go on a low 39 or a high 38. This has been even a better race, I have to manage some mistakes that I did during the race that sometimes make you crash. I have finished on a nine position, the results are coming and giving all time the best is the only way to understand the things. It has been firsts two week pretty good, now we are going to Czech Republic, I hope that I will take all this information and doing it even better in Brno. I think the Ducati will have some more advantages on a bigger track so I look forward to see our lever on Czech Republic.”
“The race was unbelievable; I was already suffering from the moment I joined the grid before the start. I got an incredible start but as the laps went on I started to feel more and more pain. With seven laps to go, it was really tough to continue; but after all the work that I’ve done since last weekend, as well as the doctors and my team, I just wanted to keep going. I never lost my faith and it allowed me to take this 10th place. I’ll continue with my recovery and hope to be on much better form for Brno.”
“Today we have done a good start, I went well until turn 6, where I went outside because I did not brake and I had more riders ahead. As for race pace, well, but with respect our teammate we are missing two tenth per lap, which I have to find. Today was a physically important test, which we finished well. Now the important thing is to rest and think about the next race in Brno”
“In this second race, we made some progress, especially in managing to contain the gap with the rider ahead of me. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time on the first corner, having to slow down a lot to avoid the fallen riders. I made the smartest choice, without taking pointless risks. It was a pity because I would have liked staying in the group. One of the positive aspects is certainly the fact that we were able to finish both races without any serious problems and I know that the guys already have some solutions ready to solve some of the issues that came out during these two weekends.”
“Today obviously was a very tough day, but we managed to complete the race with a little pit-stop in the middle! Once I started the race I got caught up in the first corner and lost some positions with the crash of another couple of riders, but I did my best. Unfortunately, my right arm was taking the brunt of the force from my left wrist injury and I was struggling to hold on to the bike and it became dangerous, so I decided to pull into the pit as I thought I was out of the point-scoring positions, because due to the pain it was difficult to see the pit board. But then when I came in, they said I was in the point-scoring positions as many people had pulled out, so I went back out and finished the race in 13th and made sure I wasn’t close to any other riders and just got some points. It was a difficult race, but one we’re glad to finish and get out of here and go to Brno.”
“I had problems overtaking the Yamaha, I tried to overtake Vinales when it wasn’t so fast and when I finally did, I had to push hard and unfortunately, I lost grip and I crashed. I can’t complain, I made a mistake, but we will come back to Brno stronger.”
“I can’t complain after a weekend like this. We worked really well, we were fast and really competitive. Unfortunately a technical problem didn’t allow us to finish the race but we will arrive to Brno more stronger than ever.”
“I didn’t have a great start and so I had to fight my way back through the pack, but I was able to do so quite comfortably. I was feeling great on the bike, the feeling was amazing and I thought it was a great opportunity to get an excellent result, maybe even the podium. We had a really good race pace. Then the mechanical failure happened and the bike stopped, but that’s racing. It happens sometimes. We don’t know what caused the problem, but the team and Yamaha engineers are looking into it. Now we take the positives from this weekend and the previous one, where we had consistent race pace, and focus our energies on Brno.”
“I am sorry about how the race went today because we could have got a good result. I did not expect the crash also because I don’t think I was doing a risky manoeuvre: probably the tyres were already worn out, and I dared too much. I was chasing Dovizioso when I suddenly slid out at turn two. Now my goal is to get back fighting for the top positions, and I hope to be able to do so already in the next race, on a race track a little more favourable to the characteristics of our Ducati.”
“Today definitely did not go to plan and the worst thing was that I destroyed the race for Miguel. He’d had a great weekend up until then and I’m sure he would have had a strong race. Really sorry about that. I had a good start and I didn’t see Danilo on the inside and when I picked up it was already too late: I couldn’t avoid Miguel. When I saw the crash I was really worried so I’m glad he’s OK. After that my race was already difficult. I tried my best to track my way through the field. I kept working and pushing and coming into the last corner I tucked the front and I tried to pick it up but it gripped and highsided. Luckily I’m OK and we’ll try again next time.”
“It was a disappointing end of this weekend for sure. After seeing the race, I could have been easily in the top 5 or even on the podium, I would risk to say, so it’s just disappointing not even having been able to start the race with the incident in the first corner. I was just an unlucky guy in this position, but there was really nothing I could do to avoid the crash. It was the first corner, everyone wants to gain positions, so it’s normal that sometimes we misjudge braking points and we are too optimistic. But we have more races this year, it’s not the end of the world. We take the positives from this weekend and we continue on to the next one.”
“I just need to say sorry to the team! This start of the season hasn’t been easy for us so far. Last week, I was fighting with the temperatures. In the race today, I don’t know why, but the bike felt a bit different than before. I was fighting a lot with Alex Marquez. We passed each other two or three times on the same lap. Finally, my lap time was better, so I tried to catch up with the guys in front of me. I did one mistake and tried to push again, but finally I lost the front. I saved two or three crashes on each lap, so it was truly difficult. I still want to repeat, that I’m very sorry for my team. I know, that they are pushing very hard all the time. We will try to improve in Brno.”
“There isn’t much to say. I’m disappointed and sorry for the team who, after many hours of hard work, did not have the satisfaction of finishing the race. I had a good start, but in order to maintain the pace with my rivals, apparently I need to take more risks and ride very close to the limit, especially in mid-turn to help acceleration. I know that starting the season with two DNFs isn’t the greatest, but I always go into the races giving 100% to take Aprilia to a position to battle with the best.”
“Another great weekend for us. It was a great redemption for John McPhee who raced very smartly this weekend. Second is a good result for him and now he is in third position and only ten points behind the leader in the standings. I’m very happy for him. KIP improved and we expect him to do a lot better in subsequent races. We hope that he’s learned from this weekend and will be able to do better in the Czech Republic. We were very satisfied with Xavi’s eighth position; it shows that he has what it takes. Apart from the problems with his bike, he’s done very well today. Unfortunately for Jake he was pushing too hard this weekend, but I’m sure he will pick it up at the next race at Brno. It was another fantastic win for Fabio in MotoGP! These back-to-back victories put him at the top of the championship standings. It’s very unfortunate for Franky as I think it could have been a one-two for us today, but we need to see what the problem was. We feel so sorry for him because he was strong all weekend and deserved a good result. Even so, it was still an awesome weekend because of the back-to-back wins and leading the championship. Now we just have to try to do it all over again in Brno!”
“Obviously, I‘m extremely happy to have this lockout podium with three Yamahas in the top 3 today, that‘s fantastic. It‘s great to see Valentino bounce back after a very difficult first weekend here in Jerez, and to come back this week and arrive on the podium is a really great achievement. Maverick, at the same time, gave a very solid performance. Two times in a row he came second, so 40 points for him in the first two weekends is a great result. Fabio won his first Grand Prix in the previous weekend and showed again today that he is on top form at the moment. Having three M1-riders finish on the podium is of course an exceptional result. We have a lot of work ahead of us to maintain our lead in the championship, but we‘re on the right path.”
“First of all, both our riders deserve a pat on the back and our full respect. Today‘s conditions were so tough, both on the riders and the bikes, and Maverick and Valentino really had to go all out, riding on the absolute limit of what‘s humanly possible. We are very happy to have both of them on the podium. It‘s especially nice because it‘s been a while since Valentino got to enjoy the view from the rostrum, and to do it in such a difficult race just underlines how he‘s still at the top of his game. I‘m sure Maverick would have liked to fight for the win, but today that was just not in the cards for us. We have to congratulate Fabio on his win – it‘s a Yamaha 1-2-3 today! This is very encouraging for everyone who was involved in preparing for the 2020 season start. I think today’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place was the best way for us to thank all the people involved in Yamaha’s MotoGP project. We now have gained good momentum, and we hope to keep it going in Brno in two weeks‘ time.”
“The weekend in general was very positive and we were very optimistic for the race but this is how the sport is sometimes. It was sad to see Miguel and Brad out of the running on the first corner but we have seen many problems at this turn over the years. Brad pushed and showed great speed again until he went a bit too hard into the last corner. We’re happy the riders are all fit and can go to Brno without any problems. Pol is up to 5th in the championship now and we saw that many bikes had serious problems in the conditions but we were able to finish. We’ll take this 7th position as a positive and we worked hard for it. We’ll go to Brno hoping for another good week.”
“Today I’m really happy. We couldn’t show all our potential, but the riders did the best they could do for now. I want to say thank you to Alex, who fought today despite being in pain, it was great that he finished the race in 10th. Also thank you to Joan for a solid race and points. Next we’ll go to Brno, where Alex will be physically much better. We’ll try for the podium with both our riders. I’m looking forward to it.”
“I have to say thank you very much to Alex for the amazing effort he put in following the serious injury he got last weekend. Staying on the bike for 25 laps in this heat is very hard, and he really deserved the 10th place finish. We saw a lot of people crashing, and it was a very hard race for everyone. Joan took a good step.”
“The second weekend in Jerez was clearly not a weekend for us. After the disappointment of MotoE and the Moto3 we were really hoping that the MotoGP class would give us what I believe “we deserve” after such a strong weekend working hard and got our best ever Qualifying with Miguel. The start was good, but unfortunately Brad Binder, who was pushed wide by another rider took us out. We always say you can never win in the first corner, but you can lose everything in the first corner and this is what happened. It’s a big shame, because all of us we were working very well, the four KTM riders – Factory Team and Tech3 – worked together. We pushed for the KTM company to show how great the progress is, we’ve made and today was a great day to show that KTM is now a potential podium finisher. When I see the pace, I really believe that we could have been very close to a podium, a top 5 was a high possibility. But with “if” you do a lot of things. Fact is, Miguel was taken out after less than 10 seconds and there was nothing he could do. I’m very disappointed, for Miguel, who did an excellent job, for his crew, who did an excellent job, too and for KTM, who is working incredibly well and I’m more than eager to show the progress we are making. Today we couldn’t show it, we did it yesterday, but not today. On our second rider, right now, I don’t have any words, because we’ve been crashing on Friday, we’ve been crashing on Saturday. I had a conversation with Iker last night, that I believe was quite clear and he crashed again after a few laps. On the grid, we told him ‘Take it easy, stay calm and try to see the flag.’ He’s a rookie, he’s got to learn and you don’t learn by crashing and not finishing the race. I’m very disappointed for his side, as well. Anyway, this is zero points for the team in the MotoGP World Championship. It was a great weekend in performance for KTM, but no results. We know this is part of racing, but we just hope the future will be a bit easier. Sometimes we just need a bit of better fortune.”
“This has been an extremely exhausting weekend with the high temperatures, it has been on average five or six degrees higher than last weekend and this has of course made a difference to the track and that also alters the performance of our tyres. As temperatures rise, grip from the track decreases, but the compounds we chose ahead of these two weekends were able to perform at the highest standard and give the riders what they needed. We were again delighted to get the outright lap-record and for the race to be quicker than last week, obviously with this being a new event, it’s the first Andalucía Grand Prix, we set new records for everything, but there was also the chance to compare directly with last week’s race at the same circuit and we also recorded a faster race lap. These are all good indicators of the grip and performance of the new rear construction slick tyre and shows that even in the toughest of conditions we have tyres that work and give the riders confidence. MotoE was another good race and we had a new winner, so congratulations to Dominique Aegerter on his first MotoE victory. The tyres had to work extremely hard this weekend as well. We saw 60°C on-track for the E-pole, but the riders had the grip they needed and set some fast times. The use of the new bio-materials has created a different type of tyre, but the performance is better than it was last year, so all the riders are feeling the benefits of the sustainable tyres that we are now supplying them.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | 41m22.666 |
| 2 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +4.495 |
| 3 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +5.546 |
| 4 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +6.113 |
| 5 | Joan MIR | Suzuki | +7.693 |
| 6 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | +12.554 |
| 7 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | +17.488 |
| 8 | Alex MARQUEZ | Honda | +19.357 |
| 9 | Johann ZARCO | Ducati | +23.523 |
| 10 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | +27.091 |
| 11 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | +33.628 |
| 12 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia | +36.306 |
| 13 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | +Lap |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Francesco BAGNAIA | Ducati | 6 Laps |
| DNF | Franco MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | 9 Laps |
| DNF | Brad BINDER | KTM | 13 Laps |
| DNF | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 14 Laps |
| DNF | Jack MILLER | Ducati | 15 Laps |
| DNF | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | 17 Laps |
| DNF | Iker LECUONA | KTM | 20 Laps |
| Not Finished 1st Lap | |||
| DNF | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 0 Lap |
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
| 1 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | 50 |
| 2 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 40 |
| 3 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 26 |
| 4 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 19 |
| 5 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | 19 |
| 6 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 16 |
| 7 | Jack MILLER | Ducati | 13 |
| 8 | Alex MARQUEZ | Honda | 12 |
| 9 | Johann ZARCO | Ducati | 12 |
| 10 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | 11 |
| 11 | Joan MIR | Suzuki | 11 |
| 12 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Ducati | 9 |
| 13 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 8 |
| 14 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 7 |
| 15 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 7 |
| 16 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | 6 |
| 17 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia | 5 |
| 18 | Brad BINDER | KTM | 3 |
| 19 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | 3 |
| 20 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | 0 |
| 21 | Iker LECUONA | KTM | 0 |
| 22 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 0 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
For the first time since Phillip Island 2014, Yamaha locked out the podium in a 1-2-3, but it was Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who once again scorched to victory on Sunday at the Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucia. Maverick Viñales and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team-mate Valentino Rossi had a memorable fight for the rostrum in which the number 12 came out on top for second – but nevertheless it was The Doctor’s first podium since the 2019 Americas GP as he took P3.
Quartararo got the best launch and from pole, with Rossi also getting away well from P4, but drama unfolded behind as fifth place Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) crashed in a Turn 1 melee that also then involved Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini). The Portuguese rider was down and out of the race, with Binder running off circuit and dropping to the back and Smith’s race compromised too.
There was a three-way Yamaha scrap at the front though, and it was Quartararo leading Viñales and Rossi, who had a slight gap to the two Pramac Racing riders of the quick starting Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia just behind. Quartararo was getting down to business quickly though with the hammer well and truly down, and Viñales went wide at the final corner trying to pounce. Instead, that let The Doctor through into second, with Quartararo starting to escape and Viñales having lost out some significant ground. Just behind, Bagnaia went for P4 underneath Miller as well but was also wide, before making a miraculous save to keep his GP20 upright.
Quartararo’s lead on Lap 4 was up to 1.5 seconds, and Viñales couldn’t find a way through on Rossi to try and give chase. The Pramac Racing duo were also breathing down the YZR-M1 rider’s neck as the number 20 Petronas Yamaha SRT started to clear off into the distance, and Rossi couldn’t do anything about Quartararo’s pace either. By Lap 6 the Frenchman’s lead was nearly three seconds.
With 10 laps down that lead was looking unassailable, with Bagnaia making progress to get through on Miller and Viñales, as the Italian locked his radar onto the boss’ rear wheel. The race in Jerez was quickly starting to become a race of attrition in the blistering Andalusian heat, however – with some parts of the track over 63 degrees. Then Miller slid out of contention at Turn 9 having made his way through on Viñales at the beginning of the lap, and teammate Bagnaia pounced Rossi for second place.
Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) had made steady progress and was the fastest man on track as he got in the hunt for that illustrious first MotoGP podium, but drama was just around the corner in a cruel end to the Italian’s race as he encountered engine troubles with nine laps to go. Heartbreak for Morbidelli, and there would be more incoming for his compatriot Pecco Bagnaia. Safely in P2 ahead of Rossi, smoke started to stream out of his GP20 and onto the back straight, just six laps away from spraying the Prosecco, Bagnaia was out of contention.
This saw Rossi back up into second, with Viñales back in the podium places just behind. El Diablo’s lead was up to nearly nine seconds and the win – barring any mistakes or reliability issues – was surely his. Viñales was clambering all over the back of the number 46, but Rossi was a demon on the brakes and it was really looking like Viñales just wouldn’t be able to find a way through. Then though, after not having put a wheel wrong the whole race, Rossi was slightly wide at Turn 9 – and Top Gun pounced. Viñales was up to second and was able to immediately get some bike lengths on the veteran Italian, although the Doctor couldn’t relax with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) just eight tenths down the road…
At the front though it was all about one man. Quartararo made no mistakes in the brutal conditions to take his second consecutive victory, cementing his lead in the Championship over second place Viñales. The Spaniard salvaged 20 points which could be crucial in the long run, but he had no answer for his 2021 teammate in Jerez. Rossi’s return to the rostrum was more than welcomed for the 41-year-old, the number 46 putting in a mesmerising ride to notch up his 199th MotoGP podium, and his 235th across all classes.
Nakagami’s P4 was the Japanese rider’s best ride in the premier class as he finished just 6.113 off the win and half a second from the podium, putting the Japanese rider 4th in the Championship heading to Brno. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) banished the demons from the Spanish GP to finish 5th seven days later too – his equal-best in MotoGP. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), meanwhile, recovered from a P14 starting slot to take sixth in Jerez after a third place finish last weekend, with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in P7 the only KTM to finish in a tough day for the Austrian factory with Oliveira, Binder and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech3) all crashing out.
Just 1.8 seconds behind Pol Espargaro was Repsol Honda Team’s Alex Marquez, the reigning Moto2 World Champion producing an impressive ride in just his second MotoGP race, in the toughest of conditions, to take the chequered flag in P8. The lone Repsol Honda managed to beat Johann Zarco (Hublot Reale Avintia) as the Frenchman took P9, with the remarkable Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) defying the odds to complete the race and take 10th. An unbelievable and super-human effort from the Spaniard after suffering a dislocation-fracture to his shoulder eight days ago. Tito Rabat (Hublot Reale Avintia), Smith and the second injured rider on the grid, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), were the final finishers – a sterling effort from the latter to complete the laps.
Binder once again showed his cracking pace after dropping back in the Turn 1 incident, but the South African rookie then sadly crashed out unhurt at Turn 13. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) also crashed – riders ok.
50 from 50: Quartararo has had a perfect couple of weekends in Jerez and will head to Brno as the points leader, with Viñales taking home two second places – far from a disaster – and looking to build on a successful weekend. Also expected in Czechia is the return of reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to the MotoGP arena… and we can’t wait for more.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | 41m22.666 |
| 2 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +4.495 |
| 3 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +5.546 |
| 4 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +6.113 |
| 5 | Joan MIR | Suzuki | +7.693 |
| 6 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | +12.554 |
| 7 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | +17.488 |
| 8 | Alex MARQUEZ | Honda | +19.357 |
| 9 | Johann ZARCO | Ducati | +23.523 |
| 10 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | +27.091 |
| 11 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | +33.628 |
| 12 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia | +36.306 |
| 13 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | +Lap |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Francesco BAGNAIA | Ducati | 6 Laps |
| DNF | Franco MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | 9 Laps |
| DNF | Brad BINDER | KTM | 13 Laps |
| DNF | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 14 Laps |
| DNF | Jack MILLER | Ducati | 15 Laps |
| DNF | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | 17 Laps |
| DNF | Iker LECUONA | KTM | 20 Laps |
| Not Finished 1st Lap | |||
| DNF | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 0 Lap |
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
| 1 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | 50 |
| 2 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 40 |
| 3 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 26 |
| 4 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 19 |
| 5 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | 19 |
| 6 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 16 |
| 7 | Jack MILLER | Ducati | 13 |
| 8 | Alex MARQUEZ | Honda | 12 |
| 9 | Johann ZARCO | Ducati | 12 |
| 10 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | 11 |
| 11 | Joan MIR | Suzuki | 11 |
| 12 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Ducati | 9 |
| 13 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 8 |
| 14 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 7 |
| 15 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 7 |
| 16 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | 6 |
| 17 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia | 5 |
| 18 | Brad BINDER | KTM | 3 |
| 19 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | 3 |
| 20 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | 0 |
| 21 | Iker LECUONA | KTM | 0 |
| 22 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 0 |
Italtrans Racing Team’s Enea Bastianini is back on top of a Grand Prix podium for the first time in two years after the Italian clinched a debut Moto2 victory at the Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucia. ‘The Beast’ had some familiar company on the podium in the form of Sky Racing Team VR46’s Luca Marini, with Marini’s sophomore teammate Marco Bezzecchi taking his first Moto2 rostrum finish in third. That made it an all-Italian top three in the intermediate class, for the first time since Imola 1998.
Bezzecchi took the holeshot from pole position but the only held the lead for half a lap, with Bastianini making a brave dive up the inside at Turn 6 to steal it. Bezzecchi then soon also lost out on second after teammate Marini squeezed through just three turns later, the veteran seeming eager to try and stop Bastianini escaping early on. The Italtrans Racing Team man had eked out a comfortable advantage of about three or four tenths already, and the clock was ticking…
Further back, Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) lunged up the inside of Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) at Turn 6 for fifth place, but the Spaniard ran wide and allowed last week’s podium finisher back through. Thanks to the Spaniards squabbling over fifth place, second, third and fourth in the running, Marini, Bezzecchi and EG 0,0 Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes, were then able to open out a second and could focus on cementing a podium place.
Navarro then got through on Martin, again at Turn 6, but yellow flags were waving due to an earlier crash for Kasma Daniel (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team). As a result, the Speed Up man was forced to hand a place back but did so in a pretty smooth manner, running wide at Turn 13 on purpose before then squeezing back in behind Aron Canet (Openbank Aspar Team Moto2), who had battled his way through to fifth.
Back at the front, Bastianini’s gap was at 0.8 with 17 to go, but last week’s race winner Marini had found his groove, halving that advantage in just a lap. The Sky Racing Team VR46 rider then sat in behind his compatriot with 15 laps remaining, looking like a lion ready to pounce on its prey. In that battle for a top five finish, Navarro then suddenly crashed out at Turn 9.
As the laps ticked away, the pressure built on Bastianini and it looked like he’d cracked after running ever so slightly wide at Turn 8, with Marini suddenly glued to his rear wheel. With 12 to go Marini had his biggest look up the inside of the number 33, showing his front wheel, but not managing to squeeze through.
At seven to go, Bastianini pulled the pin. Suddenly moving a second clear, and then 1.5 a lap later, he eventually came across the line 2.1 seconds ahead of Marini to take his first win in the intermediate class. And for the first time since 1998, in a race won by Valentino Rossi, Italy had a podium lock-out as Bezzecchi held off Lowes to joined his compatriots on the box.
The Brit was less than a second in further arrears as they came across the line and again took fourth place, as he did seven days ago. The final place inside the top five went to rookie Canet, again impressing many with his performance, ahead of Martin in sixth. Liqui Moly Intact GP’s Tom Lüthi took seventh.
The fight for eighth went right down to the wire, with Championship leader Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) the man to lose out at the final corner after running wide. Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) emerged out of that gaggle of riders at the front, before Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) and Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) clinched the final top ten spots. Nagahima’s 11th place finish moved him onto 50 points in the World Championship though, and it’s enough to hold onto the lead heading into Brno.
Enea Bastianini – P1
“I’m really happy because also this morning I was fast, and this afternoon in the race, I thought inside me I could win because I’m fast and after pushing from the first laps, the last ten laps I kept a bit of a gap to Marini and it’s a brilliant race. The bike was really incredible, thanks to my team! I dedicate this victory to Livio, my great friend, who is no longer here with us.”
Remy Gardner – P14
“It was another tough Friday. We still weren’t quite there with the bike set-up. We could see the problem on the telemetry, but we just couldn’t seem to get around it. We kept thinking for solutions for Saturday and qualifying but remained fully focused on Sunday which is where you get the points. We made a good step forward on Saturday morning but then went the wrong way in qualifying, especially when you factor the heat. I was giving 100% but there was nothing more I could, so we qualified on row five. Racing is always different to finding a fast lap, so I was confident of moving forward when the lights went out and making something out of what had been a challenging start to the weekend. As it happens, I had a bike with no grip, just like last week. I had four or five massive saves and unfortunately it ended a pretty bad weekend. We will come back stronger in Brno.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Enea BASTIANINI | Kalex | 39m23.922 |
| 2 | Luca MARINI | Kalex | +2.153 |
| 3 | Marco BEZZECCHI | Kalex | +3.243 |
| 4 | Sam LOWES | Kalex | +3.817 |
| 5 | Aron CANET | Speed Up | +9.155 |
| 6 | Jorge MARTIN | Kalex | +11.988 |
| 7 | Thomas LUTHI | Kalex | +13.857 |
| 8 | Xavi VIERGE | Kalex | +19.59 |
| 9 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta | +20.199 |
| 10 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Kalex | +20.262 |
| 11 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | Kalex | +20.447 |
| 12 | Nicolo BULEGA | Kalex | +21.464 |
| 13 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | Kalex | +24.804 |
| 14 | Remy GARDNER | Kalex | +26.37 |
| 15 | Marcos RAMIREZ | Kalex | +27.018 |
| 16 | Edgar PONS | Kalex | +27.126 |
| 17 | Joe ROBERTS | Kalex | +30.228 |
| 18 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Speed Up | +30.895 |
| 19 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS | +41.678 |
| 20 | Andi Farid IZDIHAR | Kalex | +41.793 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Kalex | 3 Laps |
| DNF | Simone CORSI | MV Agusta | 4 Laps |
| DNF | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Speed Up | 11 Laps |
| DNF | Jorge NAVARRO | Speed Up | 14 Laps |
| DNF | Somkiat CHANTRA | Kalex | 18 Laps |
| DNF | Hector GARZO | Kalex | 19 Laps |
| DNF | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Kalex | 19 Laps |
| DNF | Kasma DANIEL | Kalex | 20 Laps |
| DNF | Jake DIXON | Kalex | 21 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
| 1 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | Kalex | 50 |
| 2 | Enea BASTIANINI | Kalex | 48 |
| 3 | Luca MARINI | Kalex | 45 |
| 4 | Aron CANET | Speed Up | 30 |
| 5 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Kalex | 28 |
| 6 | Jorge MARTIN | Kalex | 26 |
| 7 | Sam LOWES | Kalex | 26 |
| 8 | Remy GARDNER | Kalex | 22 |
| 9 | Xavi VIERGE | Kalex | 21 |
| 10 | Marco BEZZECCHI | Kalex | 20 |
| 11 | Thomas LUTHI | Kalex | 15 |
| 12 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Kalex | 15 |
| 13 | Joe ROBERTS | Kalex | 13 |
| 14 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta | 13 |
| 15 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Speed Up | 10 |
| 16 | Jorge NAVARRO | Speed Up | 10 |
| 17 | Nicolo BULEGA | Kalex | 6 |
| 18 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | Kalex | 6 |
| 19 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS | 5 |
| 20 | Hector GARZO | Kalex | 4 |
| 21 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Speed Up | 3 |
| 22 | Jake DIXON | Kalex | 2 |
| 23 | Simone CORSI | MV Agusta | 1 |
| 24 | Marcos RAMIREZ | Kalex | 1 |
Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) is the first man to convert pole position in the Moto3 class at Jerez into a win, taking victory in the Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucia as he held off John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) in another fabulous final corner decider. There was drama in the World Championship standings too, with points leader Albert Arenas (Soliunion Aspar Team Moto3) and previously second-placed Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) crashing out.
Suzuki got the launch he would have been looking for from pole position as the Japanese rider grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1, with Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) and Ogura exchanging P2 and P3 at Turn 1 and Turn 2 as the riders safely negotiated Lap 1 in Andalucia. A rider who was negotiating the pack efficiently was Darryn Binder on the CIP Green Power KTM, too, as the South African was up to the point-scoring positions on Lap 2 – from 25th on the grid and setting two fastest laps in a row to boot…
Suzuki was eager to stay at the forefront of the fight, and the Japanese rider kept himself in or near the lead throughout. Rodrigo and Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had a look at the 24 on a few occasions and despite getting by, Suzuki would then simply bite straight back at the first opportunity. The came the first Championship contender drama as Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) took out Ogura at Turn 9, tucking the front.
At the front of the race though, it remained a lead group of 10 with 10 laps left. Suzuki remained at the head of the train, with Rodrigo having another pop, but the Japanese rider was again back at the front a few corners later. McPhee had slowly picked off his rivals too and was up to third and then second at Turn 5 with nine laps to go, but it seemed it was set to be another classic scrap for the win and podium places between the top 10.
The second big bout of drama for the Championship then hit. With eight laps to go, Arenas had been looking comfortable in the lead group but the Spaniard was suddenly down at the fast Turn 11 right-hander, taking a heavy tumble and heading to the medical centre for a check-up – rider ok. With the previous top two riders in the title race out, it was suddenly a big opportunity for the likes of McPhee and Suzuki to capitalise…
Ultimately, it would end up as a six-way scrap for victory in the latter laps as Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) dropped off the pace, as did Fernandez, with birthday boy Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) also then crashing from the group at Turn 5.
Could anyone get the better of Suzuki? Ultimately not, with the shuffle at the final corner free of drama this time around and the Japanese rider able to keep ahead to the line. McPhee avoided the bad luck of his Spanish GP and was only half a tenth off in the end, with Vietti a similarly tiny gap back in third.
Binder completed the fairtyale comeback this weekend as he took an amazing fourth place – up 21 positions from where he started – with Rodrigo completing the top five. Fernandez took sixth, ahead of a P7 for Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) after the rookie was awarded a three-second penalty for not complying with a Long Lap penalty. He crossed the line fourth.
Eighth went to Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) as he took some solid points, ahead of an impressive first top ten finish for his teammate, rookie Ryusei Yamanaka. Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) completed the top ten.
Tatsuki Suzuki – P1
“I’m very happy, more than let’s say Misano, because in this race I was always in front, leading the group, and I didn’t care when I got pushed behind, I was aggressive and tried to stay at the front. This makes a huge difference! Last weekend I was very disappointed with my race, but today I’m the happiest!”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | Honda | 39m18.861 |
| 2 | John MCPHEE | Honda | +0.064 |
| 3 | Celestino VIETTI | KTM | +0.134 |
| 4 | Darryn BINDER | KTM | +0.628 |
| 5 | Gabriel RODRIGO | Honda | +0.817 |
| 6 | Raul FERNANDEZ | KTM | +2.742 |
| 7 | Jeremy ALCOBA | Honda | +3.315 |
| 8 | Sergio GARCIA | Honda | +4.853 |
| 9 | Ryusei YAMANAKA | Honda | +4.887 |
| 10 | Tony ARBOLINO | Honda | +4.988 |
| 11 | Kaito TOBA | KTM | +5.301 |
| 12 | Romano FENATI | Husqvarna | +5.603 |
| 13 | Carlos TATAY | KTM | +6.783 |
| 14 | Stefano NEPA | KTM | +7.729 |
| 15 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Honda | +7.776 |
| 16 | Yuki KUNII | Honda | +17.641 |
| 17 | Barry BALTUS | KTM | +17.416 |
| 18 | Maximilian KOFLER | KTM | +20.821 |
| 19 | Jason DUPASQUIER | KTM | +20.833 |
| 20 | Khairul Idham PAWI | Honda | +22.445 |
| 21 | Riccardo ROSSI | KTM | +22.5 |
| 22 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | +34.688 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Davide PIZZOLI | KTM | 2 Laps |
| DNF | Dennis FOGGIA | Honda | 3 Laps |
| DNF | Deniz ÖNCÜ | KTM | 4 Laps |
| DNF | Ayumu SASAKI | KTM | 6 Laps |
| DNF | Jaume MASIA | Honda | 7 Laps |
| DNF | Albert ARENAS | KTM | 8 Laps |
| DNF | Ai OGURA | Honda | 8 Laps |
| DNF | Filip SALAC | Honda | 14 Laps |
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
| 1 | Albert ARENAS | KTM | 50 |
| 2 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | Honda | 44 |
| 3 | John MCPHEE | Honda | 40 |
| 4 | Ai OGURA | Honda | 36 |
| 5 | Gabriel RODRIGO | Honda | 30 |
| 6 | Celestino VIETTI | KTM | 27 |
| 7 | Raul FERNANDEZ | KTM | 26 |
| 8 | Tony ARBOLINO | Honda | 23 |
| 9 | Jaume MASIA | Honda | 19 |
| 10 | Jeremy ALCOBA | Honda | 19 |
| 11 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | 13 |
| 12 | Darryn BINDER | KTM | 13 |
| 13 | Sergio GARCIA | Honda | 13 |
| 14 | Filip SALAC | Honda | 8 |
| 15 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Honda | 8 |
| 16 | Ryusei YAMANAKA | Honda | 7 |
| 17 | Dennis FOGGIA | Honda | 7 |
| 18 | Kaito TOBA | KTM | 7 |
| 19 | Romano FENATI | Husqvarna | 7 |
| 20 | Stefano NEPA | KTM | 6 |
| 21 | Ayumu SASAKI | KTM | 5 |
| 22 | Alonso LOPEZ | Husqvarna | 5 |
| 23 | Deniz ÖNCÜ | KTM | 4 |
| 24 | Carlos TATAY | KTM | 3 |
Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) picked up his first FIM Enel MotoE World Cup victory after a dramatic race at the Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucia, escaping the chaos to unleash some serious pace at the front as reigning Cup holder Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) collided with Spanish GP winner Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) with two laps to go. Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) made it a rookie 1-2 as he came home second and avoided the clash, with Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) completing the podium and back on the box for the first time since Misano last year.
It was a frantic start for the MotoE riders as the opening lap saw plenty of swapping and changing. Aegerter got the holeshot from pole position but Ferrari dived under the inside at Turn 5, although it wouldn’t last long as the Italian ran wide and Aegerter was back in the lead. The scrap for first was hotly contested, with home hero Alejandro Medina (Openbank Aspar Team) the next rider making their way to the front from P6 on the grid.
After running deep Turn 6 – taking Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing) wide with him – Granado had work to do if he was to pick up his second victory in seven days. Aegerter had slipped to third behind Ferrari and Medina, but the Swiss rider got back up to P2, before Medina crashed out at the beginning of Lap 4 – handing P3 to Granado. The Brazilian then made a slick move underneath Casadei for second, setting the fastest lap along the way to sit a second behind race leader Aegerter with two laps to go…
Huge drama was about to unfold at Turn 6, however. Down the back straight, Ferrari was late on the brakes, but it really was too late as the inaugural MotoE™ Cup winner couldn’t get his Energica Ego Corsa stopped at all. Granado was in the wrong place at the wrong time as Ferrari careened through and clipped him, both hitting the deck. That left Aegerter with a comfortable cushion over second, and the Swiss rider made no mistakes on his final lap to win his first MotoE™ race by an impressive 2.6 seconds. Torres kept hold of P2, with Casadei managing to recover from running wide after Ferrari and Granado’s crash and the Italian picking up his second MotoE podium.
Alex de Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE) pipped Niccolo Canepa (LCR E-Team) by 0.053 to grab P4 in Jerez, with Canepa completing the top five. Tulovic took home P6 after getting pushed wide early on, with Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Josh Hook (Octo Pramac MotoE), Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) and Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) completing the top 10. Granado managed to limp home to P13 in the end, taking what could end up being a valuable three points…
At the end of a breathless race, Aegerter leads the overall standings by 11 points from Torres, with Granado third – 13 adrift of the top.
Dominique Aegerter – P1
“I’m very happy about taking my first MotoE victory, we were working very hard all week, we tried to take the data from last weekend and check the small details because it’s very important to try to improve and we were able to improve in every session. The conditions were the same as last weekend so it was good to compare some different settings, The team worked very well in the hot conditions in the tent, thanks to them. The race was quite hard, it’s just six laps but we were battling hard in the first two laps and I knew that I had to stay in front. I knew that I had the pace to go away a little, and I could do it and take my first win. Thank you very much for everything, and I hope the fans at home enjoyed the race!”
Josh Hook – P8
“Wasn’t the start I wanted, I couldn’t make the overtaking i was hoping for in the first corner, but today my race pace was good and i’m happy. We still have work to do, but overall I think we are going in the right direction.”
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Dominique AEGERTER | Energica | 10m54.366 |
| 2 | Jordi TORRES | Energica | +2.688 |
| 3 | Mattia CASADEI | Energica | +3.759 |
| 4 | Alex DE ANGELIS | Energica | +4.484 |
| 5 | Niccolo CANEPA | Energica | +4.537 |
| 6 | Lukas TULOVIC | Energica | +5.98 |
| 7 | Mike DI MEGLIO | Energica | +6.133 |
| 8 | Josh HOOK | Energica | +6.513 |
| 9 | Xavier SIMEON | Energica | +8.695 |
| 10 | Xavi CARDELUS | Energica | +10.583 |
| 11 | Maria HERRERA | Energica | +13.594 |
| 12 | Jakub KORNFEIL | Energica | +13.641 |
| 13 | Eric GRANADO | Energica | +1m37.947 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Matteo FERRARI | Energica | 2 Laps |
| DNF | Alejandro MEDINA | Energica | 3 Laps |
| Not Finished 1st Lap | |||
| DNF | Alessandro ZACCONE | Energica | 0 Lap |
| DNF | Tommaso MARCON | ||
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
| 1 | Dominique AEGERTER | Energica | 41 |
| 2 | Jordi TORRES | Energica | 30 |
| 3 | Eric GRANADO | Energica | 28 |
| 4 | Mattia CASADEI | Energica | 27 |
| 5 | Lukas TULOVIC | Energica | 23 |
| 6 | Matteo FERRARI | Energica | 20 |
| 7 | Mike DI MEGLIO | Energica | 15 |
| 8 | Josh HOOK | Energica | 15 |
| 9 | Xavier SIMEON | Energica | 15 |
| 10 | Niccolo CANEPA | Energica | 14 |
| 11 | Alex DE ANGELIS | Energica | 13 |
| 12 | Alejandro MEDINA | Energica | 9 |
| 13 | Xavi CARDELUS | Energica | 8 |
| 14 | Maria HERRERA | Energica | 6 |
| 15 | Niki TUULI | Energica | 5 |
| 16 | Jakub KORNFEIL | Energica | 4 |
| 17 | Tommaso MARCON | Energica | 4 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
“But this time, we worked in another. We have to work hard because with David [Muñoz] we have to pressure Yamaha because sometimes it’s a political problem, we want to change the bike. But we never give up and from Friday morning I had a good feeling. For sure we have to improve, I still have some problems but I ride, I have my style and I enjoy. I arrived to the race today ready, because I knew I could do a good result. I’m so happy for me and my team, also because last year Jerez was bad. And I hope that we can find a solution to follow this way, to be stronger in the harder racetracks.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
