Morbidelli battles for the win but finishes seventh after penalty

Losail, Qatar: The opening race of the Moto2 championship delivered a demoralising outcome for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Franco Morbidelli and Álex Márquez.

Both riders were confident of making a strong start to the season only to have their hopes cruelly crushed in bizarre circumstances at the Losail International Circuit.

The start to the Qatar Grand Prix was chaotic with nine top riders making a jump-start including Morbidelli who quickly settled into third place from fifth on the grid.

Morbidelli was in superb form and started the final lap in the lead when, after a long delay, a 20 second jump-start penalty was confirmed by Race Direction.

Morbidelli took the chequered flag in second place just 0.047s behind winner Thomas Lüthi only to learn the devastating news of his time penalty after the race.

After a superb debut performance for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Morbidelli was officially classified seventh, 20.047s behind the winner.

The confusion at the start with nine top riders making jump-starts resulted in Márquez losing concentration and he dropped from 13th to 29th on the opening lap.

The former Moto3 World Champion crashed out on lap seven, to start the season with a disappointing DNF and zero points.

Franco Morbidelli: 7th

“I made a really good race and I was fighting for the victory for the whole race and led for nine laps. I’m very happy about this in my first race with a new team. Unfortunately I had a problem at the start, a lot of riders around me moved, and in that moment it is a reflex reaction so I also moved. I’m sorry for this but we must take the positives. I was fast and fighting for the win and we must take this to the next race in Argentina.”

Álex Márquez: DNF

“It was not a good start to the season, I made a mistake and crashed so I’m sorry for the team. The start was confusing and I lost concentration when nine riders made jump-starts. Now we must focus on Argentina and I am 100% motivated to go there, reset to zero in my head, and do a good job at a circuit I really like.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

“Franco rode a fantastic race, leading more laps than any other rider and this performance justified our decision to sign him for this season. But for nine professional riders, not just Franco, to make a jump-start was a strange situation and we have to analyse this in more detail. For Álex it was disappointing to firstly run off the track and then crash when we know he was capable of a good result.”

More, from a press release issued by Tech 3 Racing:

Resolute Viñales powers through at season opener in Qatar

Tech3 Racing Team rider Isaac Viñales battled all the way to the chequered flag and finished in 19th after a determined and relentless effort in the challenging first round of the 2016 Moto2 World Championship. The rookie bolted forwards from the ninth row of the grid when the lights went out and jumped up two places by the close of the opening lap. He then stuck into his consistent rhythm and was in 19th by half distance. Viñales maintained his consistency by pushing onwards and he eventually ended in this position after what was a demanding Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit.

Meanwhile, Xavi Vierge was unfortunate in the opening round and after running as high as 10th, he lucklessly fell on the 15th lap. The young Spaniard kicked off the race from 20th and immediately launched into his strong rhythm, which saw him move up four places by the close of the first lap. He maintained his pace, yet with less than a quarter of distance left to run the 18 year old’s luck ran out, bringing the otherwise positive weekend to an unfortunate end. Nevertheless, Vierge remains fully confident of bouncing back with a solid result at the next GP in Argentina.

Isaac Viñales

Position : 19th – Points : 0

“I am happy about my inaugural race in the Moto2 class with the Tech3 Racing Team. We gained a lot of knowledge during the 20 lap battle which is vital for the future. I am now able to give more information about what I feel on the bike with the setup and also we learnt a lot about my riding style. There are things that need to be improved more, but I have made some changes and I am pleased about what we achieved at our first GP together. I feel confident that we will finish higher up the field and I am looking forward to the next round.”

Xavi Vierge

Position : DNF – Points : 0

“Of course, the end result is definitely not what we hoped for which is a massive shame because in the warm up, we had a good pace for the Grand Prix and I ended up in 14th. In the race itself, things were progressing well until I fell. I had a good start and the opening few laps were positive. I got up to 14th and then shortly after, 10th. However, with five to go, I changed into second gear and the bike went into neutral, which I couldn’t save. I am dissatisfied because it was the beginning of the season and I was determined about getting a solid finish here. Anyway, now we will focus on Argentina where I will continue to learn and give my all. Thank you to the team for the work this weekend.”

Hervé Poncharal : Team Manager

“It was an interesting first race but for us the end result is disappointing with regards to Xavi. He was running in 10th and he would have been even higher due to the penalties to Morbidelli and Cortese. Today was a golden opportunity to finish strongly, and we haven’t had a single crash since the winter tests started plus, we’ve done so many laps here. Unfortunately it happened when Xavi hit a false neutral in turn two and he just couldn’t hold the bike. We have been talking about this gearbox issue quite a lot, I think this is something that will be fixed by the championship soon. Clearly, we aimed to begin the season on a high note, but it wasn’t meant to be today. On the other hand, I am pleased to see Isaac fighting as well as setting his fastest lap of the whole weekend in the race and ending up in 19th, which is not too far from the points. Hopefully this result will help him to understand a few things and will be strong in the next Grand Prix. We will keep a positive frame of mind and hopefully Argentina will be better but for sure, things will be a bit more challenging for Xavi as he has to learn the circuit. Still, we will keep pushing to try and get two solid finishes at Rio Hondo.”

More, from a press release issued by Forward Racing:

Luca Marini tenth after a superb debut

After a Saturday to forget, Sunday holds a different flavor for the Forward Racing Team. Luca Marini, 26th on the grid, had a lightening start that saw him gain ten places in the early laps. The Tavulliese then lowered his lap time and managed to climb up to the tenth position after overtaking Oliveira and Wilairot despite a battered right knee that forced him to seek treatment in the Clinica Mobile before the race start.

His teammate, Lorenzo Baldassarri did not participate to the race due to a nasty shoulders injury after a frightening highside in qualifying. The young Italian nevertheless attended the race in the pits and congratulated “Maro” at the end of the GP.

Lorenzo Baldassarri

“It’s a pity for me and for the team to debut as a spectator but I’m very happy for “Maro”. I will go back home now and I want to get back in shape in time to be able to compete in Argentina”.

Luca Marini

“I’m really happy with this first result. I sincerely thank all the Forward Racing team for the great job, as both this weekend and during the tests we made some good steps forward. Today it was a difficult race but I managed to achieve my objectives: scoring points and maintaining a good pace throughout the race. I made a small mistake but I’m really happy with this first Grand Prix.

We will try to improve every weekend because we still have a lot of work to do.

The important thing is to stay calm, focused and continue to grow as we have done until now. This is my first year in the World Championship, we are just at beginning and I think we started well!”.

More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team:

Simeon and Simon improve but run out of luck in the race

QMMF Racing Team riders Xavier Simeon and Julian Simon had a small break-through with the set-up of their Speed Up prototypes in the season-opening race of Qatar, but the good feeling with their bikes didn’t turn into a good result: Both rider ran into bad luck and didn’t finish the race. Simon was hit by another rider on only the second lap, whereas Simeon crashed due to increasing chattering problems whilst holding tenth place on the 14th lap.

Xavier Simeon – did not finish

“I have mixed emotions. I crashed, which is a pity, but I am also quite satisfied how we went in the race, because I think we made a step forward. I had the pace to fight with the group of Salom and Kent, which was positive for me. During the winter tests, we struggled a lot and tried so many things that we didn’t focus to try and test the bike over a whole race distance. Today it turned out that the bike was much better in the middle of the race. Only from about the tenth lap, I had a lot of chatter. I wanted to keep pushing in order to catch the group in front of me, but then the chatter got so bad that I crashed. I tried to save it, but then the rear came around by 180 degree! I am sorry for team but I am not completely disappointed because we made an important step in the right direction!”

Julian Simon – did not finish

“I am sorry that we couldn’t get a result today. Another rider took me out in the second corner of the second lap. Up until this point, things went quite well, I felt good on the bike, had better feedback and I was recovering positions. Then bad luck struck. The team worked very hard during these days and I am very grateful for their support and their confidence in me. Now we will try to catch up and do a good race at the next round in Argentina!”

More, from a press release issued by KTM:

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder laid the foundation for what promises to be a solid season in Moto3 when world championship competition got underway on the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on Sunday. The South African played a dominant role throughout the 18-lap race, conceding defeat by just 0.007 seconds to Nicolo Antonelli in the final dash to the line. Francesco Bagnaia took third in the closest of finishes where any of the front six riders could have been on the podium.

Brad Binder: “I knew it was going to be close so I tried to lead going into the final straight and to carry on pushing. I thought I was going to have enough advantage but it wasn’t to be. This year I just want to be as consistent as possible and this is just the first of 18 races.”

Binder takes over at Red Bull KTM Ajo as the lead rider in the two-man team after Miguel Oliveira’s move to Moto2. He was fast and confident all weekend and was set for a front row start after a very strong qualifying but was penalized three places for a riding infringement in the free practice. Starting from the second row, Binder wasted no time in challenging pole man Romano Fenati in the opening seconds of the race, even though the Italian KTM rider also got away at lightning speed.

As the race condensed down to a contest between six riders, Binder and Fenati went on to be major players, and between them shared the lead for most laps, each taking advantage of the slipstream wherever possible. But the Italian rider lost out when he went wide in the final lap as the hunt for the victory intensified and had to settle for fourth place.

The race was also an impressive debut for KTM rookie, the very fast Nicolo Bulega who is teammate to Fenati in the Sky Racing Team VR46. While he eventually finished sixth, the young upstart, regularly in the leading group of six riders in the second half of the race, was briefly in the lead in lap 15.

There are 12 riders on the KTM RC250 GP in 2016 and others in the points in the opening round were Philipp Oettl (GER) at ninth, Joan Mir (ESP) 12th, Fabio Quartararo (FRA) 13th, and Binder’s new teammate Bo Bendsneyder (NED) at 14th.

Next Race: April 3, 2016 – Moto GP of Argentina at Termas de Rio Hondo.

Results Moto3 Qatar 2016

1. Niccolo Antonelli (ITA), Honda, 38:12.161 min (18 laps)

2. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.007 sec

3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Mahindra, +0.148

4. Romano Fenati (ITA), KTM, +0.435

5. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Honda, +0.606

Other KTM

6. Nicolo Bulega (ITA), KTM, +0.625

9. Philipp Oettl (GER), KTM, +8.611

12. Joan Mir (ESP), KTM, +12.380

13. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), KTM, +12.401

14. Bo Bendsneyder (NED), KTM, +12.726

16. Maria Herrera (ESP), KTM, +12.939

17. Andrea Migno (ITA), KTM, +17.152

19. Gabriel Rodrigo (ARG), KTM, +17.451

21. Andrea Locatelli (ITA), KTM, +17.566

25. Juanfran Guevara (SPA), KTM, +32.120

Standings Moto3 2016 after 1 of 18 rounds

1. Antonelli, 25 points

2. B. Binder, 20

3. Bagnaia, 16

4. Fenati, 13

5, Bastianini, 11

Other KTM

6. Bulega, 10

9. Oettl, 7

12, Mir, 4

13. Quartararo, 3

14. Bendsneyder, 2

More, from a press release issued by RBA Racing Team:

Tough race for RBA Racing Team in Qatar

Losail, Qatar

Today the first race of the 2016 season was held at the circuit of Losail.

The riders of the Moto3 class kept up with the expectations, ensuring an entertaining race for the spectators, full of surprises till the last corner.

It was a bittersweet Sunday for Rodrigo, who finished the race in 19th position. After an excursion to the gravel on the seventh lap, Gabriel couldn’t keep fighting for the top 15. Despite all, the Argentinian set a good rhythm and finished the week with positive feelings.

Juanfran Guevara was fast since the warm up, as he was among the first ten riders. In the race, the Spanish youngster fought for the top-10, setting the fourth best time. A crash in the last part of the race prevented him from achieving the hoped result.

#19 Gabriel Rodrigo: 19th

”I started off well, but I got stuck with the other guys in the first few corners and then I was in the second group. Till the seventh lap I was setting good lap times, better than in the sessions of the other days. On the seventh lap I was about to crash out, I ended up in the gravel and once I got back on track I had lost touch with the second group. There was a moment when we had a good pace, we were very fast, but we didn’t manage to get close to the guys in front, the gap was too wide. I’m not happy because this isn’t the position I was expecting, I could have been in the group that was fighting for the tenth position. We have to check today’s data and in this way we’ll start working for the next race.”

#58 Juanfran Guevara: 25th

“We had good sensations and we made a very positive warm up, we had a great rhythm. I was confident for the race: we made a good start and we were within the top ten. Throughout the race we had a good pace, we set the fourth best time. In this sense we can see many positive points. We had everything under control and the top 10 was really close. With two laps to go, the front of the bike closed, we will have to check the data to see exactly what happened. These things can happen, now we’re already thinking about Argentina. It’s a shame not to have finished in a better position and leaving without any point, but generally speaking it was a positive weekend, we progressed a lot and we have to keep going in this direction.”