More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Viñales top, Marc Marquez clocks most laps, KTM busy in Barcelona

Yamaha make it a 1-2 in the post-Catalan GP test, with a few headlines made at Honda and KTM too

Monday, 07 June 2021

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales set a 1:39.400 to finish top of the Official Test standings at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as teammate Fabio Quartararo makes it a factory YZR-M1 1-2 at the summit. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was third on the timesheets as he and his HRC colleagues complete a crucial day at the office that saw Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) put in the most laps of anyone. KTM also looked pretty busy down in pitlane…

At Yamaha, fastest man Viñales was testing the carbon swingarm, and the Spaniard went to the top of the standings late in the day to top his teammate. As is often the case with Viñales, he tallied up an impressive amount of laps: 85, the second highest. Quartararo, meanwhile, was mainly playing around with different settings as the World Championship leader got back on track after a dramatic Sunday.

Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was trying Brembo’s new brake discs which have slits in them, aiding cooling. The Doctor didn’t have anything else in terms of new parts to try, but it was nevertheless a busy for the nine-time World Champion. Rossi completed 72 laps, finishing just six tenths away from former teammate Viñales in 10th place. Franco Morbidelli’s (Petronas Yamaha SRT) day lasted until 13:30 local time, the Italian completed 39 laps and set a 1:40.022 to finish P8 in the classification. He too tested the new Brembo brake discs.

It was a busy day across the board for the Honda riders. Marc Marquez said after the race on Sunday that Monday’s test was more important that the Grand Prix itself, which tells you why the Japanese manufacturer riders had a busy day at the office.

Marc Marquez was out on an all-black bike, one that has a different air intake, for some laps, and the eight-time World Champion also lapped with – at least – two different aero packages. Teammate Pol Espargaro was circulating on the 2021 bike all day, he and the team trying different setups to try and aid their early season difficulties. Espargaro too tried at least one of the aero packages, as well as the new Brembo discs, with a crash at Turn 9 not affecting his day’s work in Barcelona.

Notably, Marc Marquez was able to complete 87 laps on Monday, the most of any rider. That’s after he completed less than 10 laps at the Jerez Test due to fitness concerns, so it seems great news for the number 93. He finished P11, just 0.6s shy of the leading Yamaha.

LCR Honda Idemitsu’s Takaaki Nakagami led for a couple of hours during the afternoon, the Japanese rider had one 2020 and one 2021 bike in the garage. LCR Honda Castrol teammate Alex Marquez was seen running a few different aero packages, and like Pol Espargaro, was using the 2021 bike throughout the day. Nakagami ended the day P3 on the timesheets, a positive day in terms of laps time, with Alex Marquez sitting P15 after 70 laps.

Across the board in the Honda ranks, 296 laps were completed – every one of those will have brought useful data as the manufacturer aims to get back to winning ways in 2021.

With Alex Rins out of action through injury, Team Suzuki Ecstar testing duties on Monday were left to reigning World Champion Joan Mir and test rider Sylvain Guintoli. Mir was positive about the day’s work as he and the team focused on geometry and general settings with the GSX-RR. The Spaniard finished P4 on the timesheets after 65 laps. Guintoli added another 72 and had some things to try, but wouldn’t say what…

At Ducati Lenovo Team, work was mainly focused on setup for Francesco Bagnaia and, for Sunday podium finisher Jack Miller, reconfirmation. Bagnaia’s key takeaway was better consistency after a bit of a tougher weekend for the number 63, and he felt more positive and ready for the next couple of races after the extra time on track. He finished the day in P5 after 48 laps, just under half a second off the top. Miller, meanwhile, said the track wasn’t perfect after overnight rain, but he got 49 laps in and was P14 by the end of the day, 0.842 in arrears.

Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) also focused on setup. He also said he worked on himself physically, trying to do a lot of laps in shorter time. He was P7 after 61 laps. Sky VR46 Avintia’s Luca Marini and Avintia Esponsorama’s Enea Bastianini also focused on setup. The former was P13 and did 49 laps, the latter P17 after 36 laps. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing), returning from injury, wasn’t present.

At KTM, there was plenty to see. First off, both Catalan GP winner Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and teammate Brad Binder pitted out on a bike first spotted at the Qatar Test in the hands of test rider and MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa. It seems to sport a new chassis, swingarm, exhaust and tail unit. In the afternoon, both factory riders went back to their bikes used over the race weekend, working on set up. Oliveira ended the test in P9 and said one particularly useful thing for comparisons was having a proven good base – the one that won yesterday. Binder was P12 by the end of play. The two bikes they tested in the morning did 25 and 7 laps, respectively, with their own transponders showing up on the timing screen.

At Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, the new chassis – the one raced by Oliveira and Binder since Mugello – was in the box for both Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona. Lecuona was also spotted with some different aero items: one was a fairing with holes, and one addition to that looked a lot like a fellow factory’s aero on the bottom of the fairing. Petrucci did 61 and Lecuona 71 laps.

For Aprilia, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was in the box at the start of the day but then headed for a check up on his arm following recent arm pump surgery, sitting the test out. He got the all-ok to continue his recovery as he has been doing. Instead, Matteo Baiocco was on the bike testing reliability and doing a few practice starts, joining Lorenzo Savadori on track. Baiocco did 66 laps, Savadori 78 as he worked on setup.

That’s a wrap on the test day, with MotoGP™ now heading for Germany to take on the Sachsenring in just under two weeks.

More, from a press release issued by Tech3 KTM Factory Racing:

Tech3 KTM Factory Racing pair with busy test schedule in Montmeló

Straight after the latest round of the MotoGP World Championship last weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya the premier class field was back on Monday for an official day of testing. Due to heavy rain on Sunday night, track conditions haven’t been ideal this morning, which delayed the action for half an hour and affected the early lap times.

Yet the sun dried the tarmac quickly and Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona managed to use nearly the full day, doing 61 and 71 laps, respectively. Thereby both had the chance to try a new chassis with their KTM RC16 machines and several settings in order to prepare the upcoming back to back Grand Prix in Germany and the Netherlands.

Danilo Petrucci

Position: 18th

Time: 1:40.937

Laps: 61

“It was important to stay on the bike another day, because during this year we barely have a chance to try different things with the setup. We got a new chassis, but focused on the setup, trying to move the weight balance of the bike. I’m happy about the feeling I have on the bike, even if we only worked with hard tyres and the lap time was not super fast. But we had difficult track conditions, so we will see the next two race weekends how the situation is going to be on other tracks.”

Iker Lecuona

Position: 22nd 

Time: 1:41.205

Laps: 71

“Today we tried the new chassis. Finally, it was not about a fast lap time, so we finished quite far back. But I feel very good with the bike and confident for the next races. I think the bike has a lot potential to continue to improve and to fight close to the top, so I’m quite happy about today overall.”

More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:

Constructive Catalan Test for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT

Franco Morbidelli eighth and Valentino Rossi tenth in one-day Catalan Test

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s MotoGP riders were straight back to work today, as they took part in a one-day test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi ended the day eighth and tenth respectively on the final timesheets.

Opting to condense his testing into just the morning session, to limit the stress on his recovering knee, Morbidelli completed 29 laps in his hours on track. The main focus for the Italian was to improve the feeling from Sunday’s race. In addition, he tested a new rear tyre, along with new brake discs. Franco was the fastest rider for a portion of the morning but at the lunch break, when he chose to conclude his day, was third on the timing screen with a 1min 40.022secs lap. With no afternoon running, this became eighth when the chequered flag waved at the end of the eight hours.

Rossi started his day’s work just after Morbidelli, completing 33 laps in the morning session and 39 laps after his lunch break. Like his teammate, one of the main aims for the Italian today was to understand the feeling of the bike from yesterday’s race, as he did not have the grip that he expected. Valentino also tested a new rear tyre, brake discs and a new setting for the rear shock during today’s test session. Rossi’s fastest lap of the 72 he completed – 1min 40.050secs – was the tenth quickest time of the day.

The MotoGP duo will now enjoy a short break ahead of the next two back-to-back races, which will start with the Grand Prix Deutschland at Sachsenring (18-20 June).

Franco Morbidelli

8th (1’40.022)

We had a good morning session today. We kept our testing programme short, not doing that many laps, as we wanted to be mindful of my knee. Although it is not 100% yet, it is healing and so we just wanted to take care of it a bit more, try not to over stress it today. The things we tried were good though and I’m quite happy with them. We used some new brake discs that could be interesting for Austria, and also some other tracks potentially. Now it’s time to rest, and face the last two races before the break in the best way possible.

Valentino Rossi

10th (1’40.050)

It has been a good day for us because, although we didn’t have a lot of new parts to test, we did have a few things and settings that we wanted to try. First of all we tried to understand why we were slower yesterday than the pace we had in practice. Today I was more in line with FP4 and Warm Up. After that we worked on the bike, the suspension and tried some different things. At the end of the day the feeling was positive, I was in the top-ten, my pace was good and my lap time was not so far from the top. We tried the new brake discs today, because in Austria the brakes are under a lot of stress, and the feeling with them was good.

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Productive Catalan Test for Repsol Honda Team

With 159 laps between them, Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro made the most of the latest in-season MotoGP test as they worked through an extensive list.

For the second time in 2021, the MotoGP World Championship was back out on track on Monday for an in-season test. After a difficult start to the season, it was a crucial test for the Repsol Honda Team and both riders were some of the first out on track.

With Sunday’s disappointment behind him, Pol Espargaro went about working with the Repsol Honda Team to find a direction for future races. A total of 72 laps made for a busy day, his best time of 1’39.877 coming on lap 71. This time saw Espargaro end the day in sixth and with more knowledge gained after another full day on board the RC213V. Espargaro’s afternoon was briefly upset by a fall as a result of another rider riding slowly.

Marc Marquez worked hard from the start of day and in total completed 87 laps aboard the RC213V machine, the most laps of any rider across Monday. A time attack was not the focus of the test for eight-time World Champion, Marquez ending the day as the 11th quickest rider with a best time of 1’40.054.

June 20 is the date of the next Grand Prix, affording the Repsol Honda Team a week to work away from the circuit after two demanding back-to-back weekends.

Pol Espargaro

6TH – 72 LAPS  1’39.877

“Without much pre-season testing, every chance I have to ride the Honda is important. We’ve had a good and busy day trying a lot of things to keep learning and understanding the bike. We had one unfortunate crash today due to another rider, but we have still been able to complete many laps.”

Marc Marquez

11TH – 87 LAPS  1’40.054

“It has been a very busy day today; we have completed a big amount of laps, I suffered today but I needed a day like this where I could just ride. In the beginning it wasn’t bad, in the afternoon I wasn’t pushing as much but it worked well. Now it’s time to take a rest and do a step with my physical condition. We have found a lot of information, and this is key. Overall, it has been a good and productive day on the bike.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Idemitsu:

TAKA THIRD FASTEST AT OFFICIAL MOTOGP TEST SESSION IN CATALUNYA

7 June 2021 | Catalan Test

LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami enjoyed a productive test in Montmelo on Monday and ended the day-long session in 3rd position on the timesheets. After finishing 13th in Sunday’s GP at the same venue, the Japanese star returned to the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit today with the rest of the MotoGP class for official testing.

In bright, sunny conditions in north-east Spain, Taka spent the day trialling a variety of parts and settings, including new aerodynamic components and engine mapping to enhance rider feeling on his RC213V. He was able to gather valuable data as he got through a total of 67 laps, with his best being a time of 1’39.702 which he posted midway through the afternoon.

Takaaki Nakagami – 3rd

(1’39.702 – lap 47 of 67)

“Today was a very important test day for us and generally my feeling on the bike was pretty good and consistent throughout. It was much better than during the weekend at Catalunya. We tested many items, including new wings and there were things that are worth keeping. So overall I’m happy with the feeling of the bike and I want to say thanks to my team, because today was very busy, until 6 o’clock, and all my mechanics were working hard. So thanks to all my team and I’m really looking forward to the next race in Germany.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:

BUSY DAY OF TESTING FOR ÁLEX MÁRQUEZ IN BARCELONA

7 June 2021 | Catalan Test

Álex Márquez returned to his home circuit in Barcelona for a day of official MotoGP testing alongside his premier class rivals on Monday. Under sunny skies in Montmelo, the LCR Honda CASTROL rider worked hard as he put a number of new parts and settings through their paces in search of valuable improvements for the forthcoming World Championship rounds.

Fresh from finishing 11th in his home GP on Sunday, the Spaniard had a busy day at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, completing 70 laps in total as he looked for solutions to the grip issues that have dogged him this season. Álex ended the day in 15th position overall, but was still just a second off the fastest time of the day.

Álex Márquez – 15th

“So we had one day of testing and it’s always nice to be on track and feeling good on the bike. Honestly, I felt pretty good today and had less problems than during the GP weekend. We found some really positive items, but, as we said all weekend, our main target of trying to improve grip on the bike will take a little bit more time to solve. But, in general, we found some small solutions and small items that we can introduce and that I hope will help us in the next races. I hope to have good back-to-back races in Germany and Holland to go on holiday feeling positive and with good results.”

More, from a press release issued by KTM Factory Racing:

STERLING MOTOGP™ CATALAN GRAND PRIX EPISODE ENDS WITH BUSY IRTA TEST DAY

MotoGP 2021 IRTA test Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (ESP)

The second one-day IRTA test of 2021 meant that KTM got back to work at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya only a few hours after celebrating their first MotoGP race win of the season.

After a small delay to clean the asphalt at the Catalan venue, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Tech3 KTM Factory Racing launched their testing program in more sunny and warm conditions. The Tech3 duo of Danilo Petrucci (the Italian with a best lap-time of 18th) and Iker Lecuona (22nd) continued to assess chassis modifications for the KTM RC16.

Race winner Miguel Oliveira (9th fastest) and Brad Binder (12th) explored set-up options based around the softer compound of the Michelin tires as well as assessing some prototypes parts previously used by test riders DanI Pedrosa and Mika Kallio; who were not in action around the Spanish circuit.

After back-to-back Grands Prix in Italy and Spain the KTM MotoGP effort will enjoy a free weekend before another race ‘double’ this month in Germany and then the Netherlands.

Miguel Oliveira: “A positive day. After a very good weekend we had a decent base for comparison. We did good evaluation on a couple of parts and the focus wasn’t on a time attack or really fast laps but we were still quite quick. In the afternoon we focused more on what we can achieve with this package but it is always hard on a Monday because the grip conditions are quite different. It was such a great weekend that the base and the standard was already quite high. It was tricky to step it up. We were able to give our opinion on some prototype items and there has been some good work. We tried a couple of things but I liked yesterday’s race bike!”

Brad Binder: “I really enjoyed riding the bike after yesterday.We managed to get quite a few laps in. We really just focussed on trying a couple of small different things. Little bits, to try and stabilise the bike on corner entry. We had some prototype parts to try and as always some negatives and some positives, so we need to really look through everything and figure out what’s the next step.”

Danilo Petrucci: “Quite a long day but I’m satisfied. The most important thing was to get used to the bike, and I feel well for the next two races because Sachsenring and Assen don’t have long straight sections where we are currently losing time. Braking is the only part where I can make some gains. Anyway, today we had the chance to try some different set-ups and mainly with hard tires to explore the worst cases scenarios for set-ups.”

Iker Lecuona: “Today we tried the new chassis. Finally, it was not about a fast lap time, so we finished quite far back but I feel very good with the bike and I’m confident for the next races. I think the bike has a lot potential to continue to improve and to fight close to the top, so I’m quite happy about today overall.”

Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Race Manager: “This racetrack is always demanding and after we were able to catch a victory we thought today would be hard work and the lap-times showed that. But the guys worked solidly. On the Tech3 side especially, Danilo and Iker tried many ideas, so it was a productive day. We looked further at the race bike chassis and also had one extra machine that was more of a prototype for the future. We are more than happy with the outcome of what we could do here.”

Sebastian Risse, Technical Coordinator MotoGP: “It was an intense day for us. The benchmark was already set high from Sunday! So it was difficult to improve from that but I think we still found some areas both in the short term and the long term where we can be better. We also collected a lot of data in pretty much all areas and some of this we might use in the next round, it largely depends on the tracks coming up and the conditions. I think we will see some things popping up and a lot of information will be going back to the factory as we have to start looking at next year’s bike.”

More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:

MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE CATALUNYA TEST

Montmeló (Spain), 7th June 2021

CATALUNYA MOTOGP OFFICIAL TEST

TEST

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team returned to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya today to take part in the one-day official MotoGP IRTA test. Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the session timesheets.

1st MAVERICK VIÑALES 1‘39.400 / 85 LAPS

2nd FABIO QUARTARARO 1‘39.537 / 79 LAPS

Less than a day after the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team were back in action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for an official one-day IRTA Test. Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo were eager to try some new solutions to improve their race performance for the remainder of the 2021 MotoGP season. They clocked the 1st and 2nd fastest time of the day respectively.

Viñales once again showed his impeccable work ethic as he diligently set himself to the task of bettering his bike‘s race and flying lap set-ups compared to last weekend. He completed a total of 85 laps, looking for improvements and testing various solutions. He ended the day by dropping a 1‘39.400s on lap 78, which earned him 1st place with a 0.137s advantage over his teammate in second.

As he noticed some room for further improvement in certain corners during yesterday‘s race, Quartararo arrived at the Montmeló track this morning motivated to make another step. Rather than wanting to set a fast time, he worked on the race settings of the bike and also on practice starts. He completed 79 laps in total. His fastest time, a 1‘39.537s set on lap 69, put him in 2nd place in the rankings, 0.137s off the number-1 spot.

The team will analyse the gained data in preparation for the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, held at the Sachsenring from 18th – 20th June 2021.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Our riders spent today‘s time following our test plans. We had a full-on schedule, which meant Maverick and Fabio had to put in a lot of laps. We worked on race set-ups, qualifying set-ups, the balance of the bike, practice starts, and tested some new solutions. The goal was to collect as much information as possible, so we can give our riders a package that makes them feel confident at the upcoming race at the Sachsenring. We will take all the data we gained today on board for the next GP. The level of competition is really high again this year, so we will continue to work hard all season and leave no stone unturned.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

We were working on the feeling with the bike and riding with general settings of the bike. We also worked on setting a fast lap, because we missed out by quite a lot at the Catalan GP, and in the end, it cost me the opportunity to be on the podium. So, we were working quite a lot, also on the front, and the weight balance of the bike. Little by little, with the help of Silvano Galbusera, we are starting to understand a bit more what I like on the bike, and how I should ride it. This is the most important. We still need to improve, but this was only our first race and first test with Silvano as our Crew Chief. We tried many things, because the objective for us was to collect a lot of information, so we can prepare a competitive bike for the Sachsenring. On a good lap, we were able to be fast. To improve our rhythm we tried to work a lot between 2 and 3 o‘clock in the afternoon, which is when the track is the most slippery. We improved a little bit, especially the last six laps of the tyre life.

FABIO QUARTARARO

I felt good. We tried some interesting settings on the bike and the electronics. We did many laps and also practice starts, so I‘m happy. It‘s great to be back here again after yesterday. I feel good, like I did during the race weekend, so I‘m looking forward to the German GP. I was trying to improve my riding style in the corners that I was struggling with a bit during the weekend. But honestly, my riding style was already quite good. I think that the new setting that we tested today was great. We need to check if it‘s better to use it in the future, and in general I‘m quite happy because we did close to 80 laps and everything was working well.

More, from a press release issued by Esponsorama Racing:

BASTIANINI AND MARINI COMPLETE A VERY PRODUCTIVE TEST IN BARCELONA

Barcelona (Spain), 7th June 2021

Enea Bastinini and Luca Marini took part today in an official test day at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya.

Both riders had the opportunity to continue getting more mileage on their Ducati Desmosedici GP19 and to continue with the work of adaptation and set-up to face the next rounds of the MotoGP World Championship as best as possible. Bastianini completed a total of 36 laps with a best time of 1:40.923. Marini closed the day with 49 laps and a time of 1:40.226.

After four consecutive days in Barcelona, Avintia Esponsorama and Sky VR46 Avintia are already looking ahead to the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, which will take place on 18th, 19th and 20th June at Sachsenring.

#23 ENEA BASTIANINI

“Today was a difficult day because since yesterday morning I have had some pain in my shoulder and also in my arm. The test was important, especially to work on the middle part of the corner because I’m a bit slow in this area and especially in this race to release the brake was difficult for me. I’ve tried some new things on the front, I managed to improve my feeling and I feel more competitive also on used tyres. We’ll see if all this works for us at Sachsenring.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:

SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS FOR SUZUKI IN TEST

Team Suzuki Press Office – June 7.

Joan Mir: 4th – 1’39.816 (+ 0.416)

Sylvain Guintoli: 20th – 1’40.994 (+ 1.594)

Following on from a challenging but satisfactory race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya where Joan Mir managed a solid finish and useful championship points, Team Suzuki Ecstar took to the track once again on Monday for a one-day test.

Sylvain Guintoli, the factory’s test rider, joined Joan Mir and the pair set about searching for any useful improvements for use in the coming races. No major new parts were tested in terms of ‘hardware’ but information was given to the team after the riders worked on electronics, geometry, and suspension.

Completing 65 laps, Mir reported positive feelings and he felt confident that the feedback given to the team would stand him in good stead for Sachsenring in just under two weeks’ time.

After 72 laps, Guintoli was left impressed with the feel and the feedback given by his GSX-RR. He completed a full programme and worked on many small areas of the bike, which included a swingarm.

Joan Mir:

“It’s been a good day of testing, we didn’t have a lot of things to try but we worked on geometry settings, things like my riding position on the bike, and electronics and it was all positive. I also worked a little bit on rear suspension and the rear shock. I was able to give important feedback and information to the team about a few areas, and now they will work on all of that while looking at the data. I’m happy with what’s been done but it’s been a tiring couple of weeks and I’m ready to go home and start my preparations for Germany.”

Sylvain Guintoli:

“This Catalan test has been a real pleasure for me, I haven’t ridden the GSX-RR since the test in Qatar and it was so nice to be back with it again. My feeling was really good today, I was a bit worried that after so long off the bike and with everybody else fresh from racing, that I would get thrashed in terms of lap times! But in fact I had very good feedback from the bike and the tyres, and I was able to complete the day’s programme really well with 72 laps completed and a really solid test. I did some comparisons and worked on a wide variety of things, including the swingarm. Now I’m going to race in the Le Mans 24hrs and riding the GP bike today has got me fired up for that.”

Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:

“We didn’t have many items here, certainly not anything big, so instead we focused on the smaller items which can also help us to improve. We’ve made some positive steps forward and I’d like to thank both Joan and Sylvain for their great work today collecting data – all the information they’ve given us will go towards building on our good results. Now we’ll continue to work behind the scenes and be back on track in Sachsenring.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Pons takes sensational first MotoE™ win after classic Barcelona battle

The rookie takes the spoils, Aegerter and Torres complete the podium and there’s drama for Granado on Sunday

Sunday, 06 June 2021

Rookie Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) produced a fantastic FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup performance at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya to win his first race in the Cup by an impressive 0.531 after fighting at the front from the off. Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) claims P2 to get within one point of Cup standings leader Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE), with reigning World Cup winner Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) occupying the final step on the rostrum.

There was drama before the six-lap race got underway as polesitter Eric Granado (One Energy Racing) encountered an issue just before lights out. That caused the start to be delayed as he was wheeled off the grid, heartbreakingly forced to start from pitlane.

After the brief stoppage, the lights went out and we were GO in Barcelona. Aegerter grabbed the holeshot as a fierce MotoE™ scrap started from the off, with Pons lunging up the inside at Turn 10 to slot into second. It was then slipstream city down the long home straight as the lead changed down into Turn 1 aplenty: Zaccone led, then Aegerter returned to the front, before Pons eventually took the lead into the first left-hander on the penultimate lap.

Looking strong, the LCR E-Team rider was able to edge out a 0.3 lead – not a lot, but enough – heading onto the last lap, and importantly held off Aegerter in the slipstream too. The top eight were covered by just 1.8 but Pons remained ahead as attentions turned to the last real overtaking spot: Turn 10.

However, after a crash for Mattia Casadei’s (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) there on the penultimate lap, the yellow flags were waving at Turn 10. That meant no overtaking, which scampered Torres’ chances of a move up the inside of Aegerter on the last lap. And just ahead of that, Pons made no mistake in the final sector and crossed the line to take a maiden MotoE™ victory, Aegerter and Torres picking up their second podiums of the year in that order.

World Cup points leader Zaccone took the chequered flag in P4 to keep his advantage over Aegerter intact, but it’s just a point splitting them in the overall standings. Yonny Hernandez (Octo Pramac MotoE) ended the six-lap dash in P5, and that’s the Colombian’s best result of the season so far.

16-year-old Fermin Aldeguer (Openbank Aspar Team) took 6th just 1.7 off the win, and the Spaniard was promoted one place after Matteo Ferrari (Indonesian E-Racing Gresini MotoE) exceeded track limits on the last lap. Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing), Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) and Corentin Perolari (Tech3 E-Racing) completed the top 10 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

So what of Granado? After starting from pitlane and having lapped a second a lap quicker than the leaders when fighting his way back through, the Brazilian then crashed out of the points at Turn 4, rider ok. Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) and Jasper Iwema (Pons Racing 40) also crashed out unhurt.

Yet another terrific MotoE™ race lights up Barcelona, with a new winner joining the fold. Pons is up to fourth in the overall classification, 18 points behind Zaccone, with Torres 11 off the leader and Aegerter that single point off the top. MotoE™ returns in a few weeks at the TT Circuit Assen.

Miquel Pons: “My first victory is amazing for me. I worked very hard and the work is reflected in this victory. I want to dedicate it to my family, partners and team, and to my friend Jason.

“We worked hard this weekend and at the end of the race I could push a little bit more and make the difference.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Gardner goes back-to-back in style

The Championship leader does it again, pulling clear of his teammate for win number 2 of 2021

Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) capped off a week of headline-stealing – following a new MotoGP™ contract for next year – with another win in the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, going back-to-back for the first time in his career. That means, for the first time since Casey Stoner in 2005, an Australian has won two intermediate class races on the spin. Gardner’s rookie teammate Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took second, with Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completing the podium, back on the box for the first time since 2018 and on home turf.

Gardner was able to get the start he would have wanted from pole, the Australian earning the holeshot as teammate Fernandez held P2 also. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) likewise got a great launch and troubled Raul Fernandez at Turn 5, the Dutchman making a clean move stick before the number 25 was able to strike back at Turn 7.

Gardner was into a rhythm at the front but his teammate, with a bit of clear track in front, was able to slowly creep his way up to tag onto the back. Bendsneyder and Vierge were able to stay within touching distance of the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders though, with fifth place Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) 2.3 back from the race lead on Lap 10 of 22.

The lead then changed with 11 laps remaining. Raul Fernandez drafted Gardner down the straight, pulled alongside on the brakes and made a clean and concise move stick. Bendsneyder was still a close third, with Vierge and Bezzecchi less than a second down, as Gardner clung onto the coattails of Fernandez.

At the beginning of Lap 20, Gardner pounced. A late lunge at Turn 1 saw the Aussie cut past his teammate and a 1:44.399 helped him edge out a 0.6 lead. Heading onto the last lap, it was up to 1.1 and that sensational final trio of laps saw Gardner claim a second victory in a row, extending his lead in the title race over his teammate to 11 points as Raul Fernandez took second. Vierge fended off Bezzecchi to hand Petronas Sprinta Racing their maiden Moto2™ rostrum in third.

Bezzecchi threatened to steal the podium in the closing stages but it was P4 for the Italian, with Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) equalling his best result of the season in P5 – an important one for the Spaniard after good speed but bad luck of late. Bendsneyder faded in the latter stages but picks up a great P6, the Dutch rider 0.3s ahead of seventh place Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) after a solid race for the Brit, who needed a finish. Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP), Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) completed the top 10 in Barcelona.

Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) missed out on a top 10 by less than a second in P11, with reigning Moto3™ World Champion Albert Arenas (Inde Aspar Team) having a good ride to end the day P12 on home soil. Tony Arbolino (Liqui Moly Intact GP), Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) were the remaining points scorers.

The Moto2™ riders return to put on another show at the Sachsenring in two weeks!

Remy Gardner: “In the beginning I tried to break away but didn’t want to burn up the rear tyre so I was just trying to be smooth. I thought if I could break away like that perfect, but I saw it was half a second the whole time. I didn’t know who was behind but Raul made a push and I thought ‘alright I’ll follow you’. He wasn’t pulling away and I just sat behind managing the tyres. I knew I had a bit more in me, I had half the race to study him and I said to myself, ‘alright two laps to the end I’m going to pass him and just go for it’. I saw the opportunity at Turn 1 and went ‘alright, let’s do it’, put the hammer down and pulled away. Couldn’t be happier, another 25 points.”

More, from a press release issued by Italtrans Racing:

Dull Catalan Grand Prix for Italtrans Racing Team.

Joe Roberts finishes 10th while Lorenzo Dalla Porta crashes four laps from the end.

Dull Catalan Grand Prix for Italtrans Racing Team at Montmelò Circuit, near Barcelona, for the seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship.

At the end of a weekend with light and shadow Joe Roberts finished in the top ten, while Lorenzo Dalla Porta unfortunately ended with a crash after a good growth.

Starting from the sixth row of the grid after setting the 17th fastest time in qualifying, Roberts maintained a consistent pace throughout the race, recovering positions in the final laps and finishing in the top ten.

Dalla Porta made positive progress in all sessions, showing speed and pace, but finished his race with a crash. Starting 15th on the grid, the Tuscan rider unfortunately crashed at Turn 1 four laps from the end while he was 13th.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta

nc

“It’s a shame about the crash because we worked well all weekend long and I could have finished in the top ten. In the race I didn’t feel completely comfortable and I crashed trying to keep the lead of my group. Let’s look at the glass as half-full: we were close to the top ten and that’s positive. Thanks to the whole team for the great job: this is the right way, we’ll do well next race”.

Joe Roberts

10°

“Tough weekend. I don’t understand why we never find the rhythm. We made one change for the race in order to improve the feeling with the front but I couldn’t find the right pace. Not the best weekend at all, but we got some points for the championship. We’ll try to understand what happened and work for the next two races before the summer break”.

Giovanni Sandi, Technical Director

“Not a positive weekend. It’s a shame for Lorenzo because he crashed once more and he could have finished in the top ten, while Joe couldn’t find the right feeling since Friday. We look forward hoping to show our potential in the next GP”.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Oliveira plays his cards to perfection to put KTM back on top in Barcelona

The Portuguese rider just outpaces Zarco, with Miller taking third after two penalties for Quartararo on Sunday

Sunday, 06 June 2021

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) put in an outstanding performance in the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya to take back to the top step, the Portuguese rider storming Barcelona for back-to-back podium finishes and his first win in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing colours. First he out-duelled Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) to keep the lead before just outpacing Johann Zarco after a late charge from the Pramac Racing rider. The number 5 took second, with Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) completing the podium. The Australian crossed the line fourth, behind Quartararo, but was promoted to third following the first of two penalties for El Diablo on Sunday.

Miller was king of the brakes into Turn 1 to take the holeshot off the front row, blocking Quartararo as Oliveira then shuffled the Frenchman down to third too. El Diablo, in a very busy opening handful of laps, looked a bit impatient and a mistake at Turn 7 saw him drop to P5, with Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) making a phenomenal start from 10th to get into the top three in the early stages. Oliveira then took the lead from Miller on Lap 2 and was able to stretch a one-second advantage out, but Quartararo was able to carve his way back up to P2 by Lap 7.

Oliveira was doing an outstanding job out front, but some low 1:40s saw Quartararo able to reel the KTM back in, with Mir, Miller and Zarco line astern behind the World Championship leader. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) lurked too, two seconds off the top five in P6 and P7.

On Lap 12, Quartararo made his move for the lead. A good exit from Turn 4 saw the Frenchman able to slice his way up the inside of Oliveira at Turn 5, but the latter returned the favour at the start of Lap 14. The KTM grunt, coupled with a dose of slipstream, saw Oliveira able to stick with the Frenchman and then re-take the lead into Turn 1, with just 1.3 covering the front five: Oliveira, Quartararo, Mir, Miller, and Zarco.

By nine to go, Oliveira and Quartararo were edging clear but Zarco and Miller were both past Mir and just 1.2 behind Quartararo, who, in turn, was staying tucked up behind the race-leading KTM. Who had something to spare?

By five to go, Zarco had closed the gap to the front two to under a second and it was fourth place Miller who was the fastest of the leading quartet. And with four to go, Oliveira was really starting to stretch his legs again, suddenly 0.9 clear of Quartararo as the latter had his closest title rival homing in on him: Zarco.

The Pramac Racing Ducati tagged on and then passed Quartararo on the straight, the Yamaha following that up with a moment at Turn 1. The polesitter was forced to run wide and slotted back on track in P3, and we saw a unique situation unfold – Quartararo’s leathers were undone, his chest protector was thrown clear and Miller was right behind him after his off-track excursion too.

Up ahead, Zarco was just half a second down on Oliveira as the riders headed onto the last lap, and the Frenchman had been 0.4 quicker on the previous lap. Could he do it? The gap was down to under four tenths through the second split but the Ducati man wasn’t close enough into Turn 10, the last real overtaking spot, and in the end he was forced to settle for second. Oliveira held his nerve to claim a phenomenal Catalan GP victory: his first in factory colours, his third in MotoGP™ and third for KTM, making it back-to-back podiums after his second place at Mugello.

Zarco took the flag just 0.175 behind in a marvellous second place, and Quartararo was handed a three-second penalty for gaining an advantage when going wide at Turn 1. That put Miller on the podium as the Australian had another good weekend, starting to rake in some serious points after a tougher start to the year.

Quartararo was classified fourth in the direct aftermath of the race, but the Frenchman was then handed another three-second sanction for riding with his leathers undone and without the required chest protector. That shuffles him back to sixth in the final results.

Mir faded slighty in the final stages but is ultimately classified fourth for more good points, and from 10th on the grid it was a solid Sunday. The number 36 was able to keep Viñales at bay, and the number 12 is now fifth to end the day just ahead of his teammate Quartararo in the final results. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was 1.8 down on Viñales at the chequered flag in a quieter outing for the Italian in P7. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took P8, just 0.2 behind Pecco after shadowing the Italian for much of the race.

Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was another rider to have a quiet afternoon, the Italian finishing a lonely P9. 3.6 adrift of Morbidelli in P10 was rookie and reigning Moto2™ World Champion Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama), his third top 10 of the season. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia), Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) – who crashed on the sighting lap and was forced to start from the back of the grid upon his return from injury – and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) picked up the remaining points on offer in Barcelona.

Both Repsol Honda Team machines suffered DNFs in the early stages, Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez going down uninjured at Turn 4 and Turn 10 respectively. Aleix Espargaro and Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) were two others who, like Marc Marquez, crashed at Turn 10. Danilo Petrucci and Tech3 KTM Factory Racing teammate Iker Lecuona also crashed out on Sunday afternoon – all riders ok.

And that’s that. Oliveira and KTM deliver an outstanding Sunday performance to win their first race of 2021, following up from their first podium of the season too. The Austrian factory are back in business this season after a tricky opening few rounds, with Ducati also impressing on Sunday once again. And in terms of the World Championship, Zarco has closed the gap to Quartararo after a dramatic day in Barcelona for the latter. Now, it’s just 14 points… and next up it’s the Sachsenring. What awaits in Germany? We’ll find out in two weeks!

Miguel Oliveira: “From my perspective it was hard to understand what was going on behind me, I knew at the beginning there were a couple of switches in position for second place. I got the little gap, I was comfortable and could be gentle with the tyres, do my lines and not make any mistakes, and I think that was the key. It was hard for everyone I guess, but for me it was extra hard because I had the hard front tyre. The last eight laps it was not for me to stay on and not crash!”