More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office.
#EstorilWorldSBK – Day 1
Redding edges Razgatlioglu after Friday running; Rea in fourth
British rookie Scott Redding strikes first in the title decider as he tops Friday running ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu
Scott Redding (45). Photo courtesy Dorna.
For the first time in 27 years, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship took to the track at the Circuito Estoril with two Free Practice sessions and it was Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) who topped the combined timesheets as he used his experienced at the Portuguese circuit to this advantage in the early stages of the Pirelli Estoril Round.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (54). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Redding had set the pace in the morning Free Practice 1 session and backed that up with the fastest time in Free Practice 2, posting a 1’36.886s in the last few seconds of the second session to pip Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) to top spot; the Turkish rider finishing the day in second place. Frenchman Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) showed strong pace throughout the day and finished in third place despite a crash in Free Practice 2.
Loris Baz (76). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Baz went into Turn 1 as he tried to find the limit but lost the front end of his bike and was unable to bring the bike back to the garage himself after damaging a water hose on his Yamaha. The Ten Kate Racing team were able to repair his bike and the French rider returned to the track with around 10 minutes left in the session.
Jonathan Rea (1). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Five-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) put in the fourth best time of the day as he looks to secure both his 100th win and six title across the Estoril Round weekend, edging out teammate Alex Lowes by just a tenth of a second. American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) was sixth fastest despite an off in the second session; the third Yamaha rider in the top six of the combined times.
Alex Lowes (22). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finished the day in seventh places, less than a second away from teammate Redding at the front of the field as he beat wildcard Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) by just 0.002s; Folger making his second appearance of the season as a wildcard. He was around a tenth faster than Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and Leon Haslam (Team HRC), who completed the top ten.
Garrett Gerloff (31). Photo courtesy GRT Yamaha.
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) finished the day in 11th place as the Spanish rider looks to bounce back from a challenging Magny-Cours weekend; but the Spanish rider crashed in Free Practice 2 at Turn 7. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was in 12th place, ahead of Ducati-bound Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) in 13th.
Spanish rider Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 14th as he marks his last weekend with the Kawasaki Puccetti outfit, finishing a tenth ahead of Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance). Italian Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) was 16th, ahead of the returning Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) in 17th and Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 18th.
Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing), Eric Granado (MIE Racing HONDA Team), Sheridan Morais (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura), Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) and Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) rounded out the field; Granado, Morais and Cresson making their first WorldSBK appearance of the season.
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Razgatlıoğlu Second Fastest on First Day at Estoril
Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team with Rizla rider Toprak Razgatlıoğlu was second-fastest overall in Friday’s Free Practice at the final round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Circuito Estoril.
Birthday boy Razgatlıoğlu, who turned 24 today, felt immediately comfortable taking to the Portuguese circuit for the first time in his career. The technical nature of the circuit seemed to suit his aggressive, hard-braking style of riding, as he completed a total of 39 laps in search of the best race set-up during the two 50-minute Free Practice sessions.
With less than a second separating the top 10 riders in the premier WorldSBK field, Michael van der Mark found himself on the other end of the spectrum after 45 practice laps. The Dutchman, who is aiming to end his four-year tenure with the Pata Yamaha team on a high this weekend, wasn’t able to immediately find a comfortable set-up and ended the day in ninth position, despite being quickest of all riders in the fast fourth sector.
Van der Mark and Razgatlıoğlu will have one final Free Practice at 09:00 (UTC+1) to finalise their official Yamaha R1 set-ups before the all-important Tissot Superpole qualifying at 11:00. The first WorldSBK race at Estoril since 1993 will then get underway at 14:00.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: P2 – 1’36.975
“Today was my birthday but also I am happy with how it has gone at this new track. I have always liked the look of the circuit, but I’ve never ridden it! I like it because of the very hard braking layout and the flowing corners. Today we finished in second position, and I am really pleased to start this last race weekend of 2020 like this because I want to finish the season well – and I also need to score a podium again! We will keep working on some small areas to improve the feeling and, with it, the lap time. It feels good now, but we need to find a little bit extra for better turning and grip to improve the final result.”
Michael van der Mark: P9 – 1’37.775
“It’s been a difficult day for us, obviously it’s a new track and this morning I had to try out some different gearing and find a good set-up, which isn’t that easy. We’re struggling quite a lot with the balance and the turning. I thought in the afternoon we could make a good step forward, but we are still not where we need it to be. We have quite a lot of work to do for tomorrow, the differences are really small but I feel like we have to make a big step in set-up so we can improve our potential result.”
Paul Denning – Team Principal
“I think everybody is happy to be here at the Estoril circuit – the track has a great layout, the sun is shining and for us, in general, the Yamaha R1 seems to be working well here. The times are very close, which is impressive when you consider the lack of experience that the whole field has at this circuit. For Toprak in particular, the day was very productive. He has been working well with his crew to improve feedback and confidence from the bike over the course of the day, resulting in really competitive lap times. Mikey feels less comfortable, and we have some work to do to get his bike to steer and respond in the way he needs, but even so, the gap to make up is not so big. Fingers crossed for more sunshine and some great racing tomorrow.”
Media Images
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
#EstorilWorldSBK FP.
Scott Redding goes quickest in Friday’s first free practice sessions for the Pirelli Estoril Round.
Chaz Davies ends the day in seventh
The first day of free practice for the Pirelli Estoril Round – the last event of the 2020 WorldSBK season – ended with Scott Redding who notched out the quickest time in both FP1 and FP2. After a difficult FP1, Chaz Davies managed to improve convincingly in the afternoon.
Scott Redding was dominant in FP1 thanks to an impressive series of fastest laps, setting his best time on lap 20 with the used tyre. After working on the set up of his Ducati Panigale V4 R, in the last run of the FP2, the British rider pushed hard lowering the morning’s lap time by over three tenths.
Chaz Davies was not able to be incisive in FP1 finishing 10th with a rather wide gap from his teammate. In the afternoon, however, the Welsh rider managed to increase his feeling with the bike R by improving his Chrono by almost a second to close in seventh.
P1 – Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I am satisfied with what we have done today. In the afternoon we tried some solutions but they didn’t work as we hoped so we went back to the morning set up. The new circuit? It’s a normal situation this season. I could say that this weekend the other riders will also try this kind of experience that has been a constant for me throughout most of the season. My target for tomorrow? A good qualifying will be crucial for all races”.
P7 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“All in all, things didn’t go wrong today. I raced here 15 years ago in the 250cc Championship but it is clear that the conditions with the Superbike are completely different. That’s why in FP1 I tried to get familiar with the circuit to understand where it will be possible to attack and where it will be necessary to manage the tyres. In the FP2 the situation has improved but we will still have to work on the setup and electronics to take the step forward that we need to be competitive tomorrow”.
More, from a press release issued by Team Go Eleven:
FRIDAY HARD DAY; FREE PRACTICES 1-2 ARE OVER AT ESTORIL!
The Friday from the new entry Estoril track, it turned out to be particular and interesting. Many riders found themselves racing on the Portuguese ups and downs for the first time ever. Despite the almost ideal conditions, with temperatures around 18 degrees and a light wind that did not influenced riders, on a new circuit the cards were reshuffled, with some surprises in the top positions compared to the last rounds.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi used the first session of the morning to learn the lines, and understand the ideal trajectories to push the Ducati V4-R to the maximum. He faced some set-up difficulties, complaining of little rear grip and little feeling under braking. The track here is spectacular, but strange to understand, with many different sectors: fast corners, a long straight, hard braking from first gear and quick changes of direction. In FP 1 the number 21 ride on race tyres, managing to improve at the end, finishing in 1.38.857.
For the afternoon session the Go Eleven technicians changed the geometry of the bike to face Michael’s requests, with the aim of gaining grip. The start of the session, with a train of SC0 used since the morning, saw the rider from Romagna immediately improve his laptime, showing some small improvements. With new tyres, however, the feeling is still not great and you can’t make the most of it. In the middle of the session, Rinaldi tried the softer compound, trying to understand the differences in compounds in view of both the Superpole and the race. Unfortunately it did not give the hoped-for improvements, even if it managed to set a low 38 with the SCX, which placed him close to the top ten. The riders are all very close, with narrow gaps, so tomorrow it won’t take much to climb the rankings. Between today’s evening and Saturday morning, the staff will work in a more invasive way on the Ducati V4-R to give greater support to Michael’s riding style.
Time is short, but there is room for improvement!
Michael Rinaldi (Rider):
“It was a very difficult day, unfortunately the sensations on the bike aren’t good and I can’t ride as I normally do. This afternoon we improved the time compared to this morning, but still not the feeling with the bike. Now let’s look closely at the data, we try to understand how and where to improve, and we hope to find a good solution for tomorrow. We are not so far from the top, so if we improve a little bit we can take a good step forward. Tomorrow morning we only have one free practice to test the changes, so we have to do a great job tonight. The track is particular, I’ve never been here before, and it’s normal not to be 100% now, but we already have a race tomorrow. ”
More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport WorldSBK Team:
BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team conclude the opening day at Estoril outside the top 10.
The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team today completed their FP1 and FP2 sessions at the final race weekend of the year at Estoril. Unfortunately, both BMW’s of Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty were unable to mount a challenge on the top 10 positions. Tom Sykes was the fastest of the two BMW S 1000 RR’s during today free practice sessions as he placed himself in P12 on combined times (1’37.936) +1.050 slower than P1. Team-mate Eugene Laverty struggled to get a good feeling with his S 1000 RR from FP1 and his times reflected this as he concluded FP2 in P18. (1’38.925) +2.039 seconds behind pace setter Scott Redding.
Shaun Muir, Team Principal:
“A pretty average day today. It was tough trying to get a comfortable setting with the track being so abrasive. Both riders have the same problems to overcome, so we will go into tomorrow with some good ideas we have worked on overnight. This should give them more confidence with the chassis balance and be able to use what grip is available. We are expecting to take big steps forward in FP3 before Superpole and I’m confident we can get a good grid position for the race tomorrow.”
Tom Sykes:
“It’s early days. It is my first time at this track and I don’t want to be pushing the boundaries but gather relevant information. I certainly enjoy the track. It is a fantastic layout. I am just getting to know my way around the Estoril circuit and I have to say it’s just such a good and enjoyable place to ride. We’ve had a couple of little experiments today; we’ve tried the combination of the set-up with the tyres, we’ve gathered a lot of information and of the back of this, I have to be quite happy. Looking at the times, it seems at the moment that the V-configuration, the cross-plane cranks have a little bit of an advantage with the circuit layout and what grip it has to offer. So, we will have a good sit-down now and see if we can try and eat into this deficit that we’ve got. For now, it’s just day one and tomorrow, we will try to put the pieces in the jigsaw together.
Eugene Laverty:
“It was tough today and time gap to the top was too much. I know that our bike does not suit the slow corners, so if you start to throw in these first gear corners we will struggle. Here in Estoril we are using first gear in five corners, so we must put our heads together tonight and see what we can do. We can definitely make a step forward tomorrow because we went the wrong way between the sessions, so we know where we can improve. It’s going to be a challenge but I don’t give up, we’ll sit to together with the engineers and try to push forward for tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:
Ferrari and the Barni Racing Team satisfied (P17) after the first day at Estoril
Estoril (POR), 16th October, 2020. The Barni RacingTeam rider Matteo Ferrari ended with a positive P17 in the combined times of today’s two free practice sessions at the Estoril circuit, Portugal, which is hosting the last round of the 2020 World Superbike Championship.
The rider from Romagna, just graduated vice-champion in Moto E, is making his debut on the Ducati Panigale V4 R of the team from Bergamo and he had a positive approach.
Ferrari showed a constant improvement in lap time: the best lap of the day, 1’38.766, arrived just at the last flying lap, lowering his best time of the FP1 by more than half a second. Ferrari closed at 1.8s from the leader and one second from the Top 10.
The #71 completed 36 laps concentrating in a single day the work of adaptation on the saddle, setup tests and time attack. Tomorrow after the last free practice session the Superpole will get underway at 11 am , while Race 1 is scheduled at 2 pm local hour.
Matteo Ferrari:
Free Practice (combined results): P17 (1’38.766)
“The first day was positive. Since the morning feeling was good, but in the second session I really took the bike in hand: we identified the area to improve and I think that by changing a little bit the rear setup we can get closer to the top 10 which is not so far away.”
Marco Barnabo, Team Principal:
“As already happened this season we had to start the work almost from scratch, but the beginning is encouraging: Matteo got on a bike totally different from the one he has ridden so far and He was very quick to adapt. There is a lot of rooms for improvement and I’m confident that tomorrow we can grow again.”
More, from a press release issued by GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team:
Apprenticeship Friday in Estoril for GRT pilots
The final round of the WorldSBK season kicked off today with the first two free practice sessions at the Estoril circuit. For the teams, Friday was useful to discover the secrets of the track, which returns to the calendar for the first time since 1993, and to try to find the right setup for Saturday and Sunday.
The GRT drivers had a good time on the Portuguese track already in FP1, where Gerloff set the second time, while Caricasulo finished ninth. In FP2 in the afternoon, on the other hand, with temperatures rising and the wind making its appearance, the American finished in sixth position despite a crash, while his teammate had more difficulties, setting the 16th best time. The team remains confident that they can aim high tomorrow.
Gerloff had a good impression of the Portuguese track, which has a similar layout to that of Barcelona and fits well with his R1. In view of tomorrow we only need some small improvements: “Today went quite well. It’s a new track for everyone, so it’s not bad to all start at the same level. Right from the start the Yamaha R1 worked very well, and together with the team we made only a few changes. I felt a little more comfortable in FP1, with less wind, while in the second session, with higher temperatures and stronger gusts, I struggled a bit more. I still like the track a lot and I can’t wait to race tomorrow. This circuit reminds me a lot of Barcelona: it has a similar configuration looking at it from above, and the style of the corners is similar, so it seems to fit very well with the Yamaha because it has some nice folding sequences that we can take advantage of. The goal for tomorrow is definitely to try to repeat Barcelona’s performance, but there are still some things I need to understand better and some improvements to make. However, the start was good and I’m happy to be close to the leaders. I absolutely have to go fast in qualifying, which have often been my Achilles heel, but if we can start from the front I think we can have a good race. The first day went well, we hope to continue like this.”
Caricasulo, struggling with learning the new track and with a general lack of performance, did not have a simple Friday: “It was not an easy day because we had to learn this new track. We got off to a pretty good start this morning, but then we stalled a bit in the afternoon. We did a race simulation where we weren’t very fast and even on the flying lap we weren’t able to get the performance we wanted. For tomorrow we will try to make the right changes to improve today’s problems and we will try to be more competitive starting from FP3. ”
The Technical Coordinator Damiano Evangelisti is pleasantly surprised by the technical characteristics of the new track, and hopes to close the championship by entering the top-5: “Working on a completely new track more or less for everyone like Estoril, where Superbike didn’t come from many years, it is certainly very interesting from a professional point of view. I was immediately surprised yesterday, when we found a very technical track, with many changes in slope and many corners that need to be interpreted. So in my opinion, the driver and setup here will definitely make a lot of difference. With just one weekend we will not be able to reach a perfect setup, because the time to find it is not enough, but we will do the best possible job. Today we focused on just that, trying to understand what our riders’ needs were on this new track. Garrett is again confirmed, he has now found excellent confidence with the bike and is able to be fast in all situations. Especially this afternoon we worked hard on the bike, and we only used one set of new tires, justifying the fact that we didn’t improve this morning’s time that much. We focused more on the work to be done for the race than on the flying lap, there is some refinement to be done but we think we have found the right place in terms of Garrett’s setup. Instead, we are a little behind with Federico: he still needs to find a little more speed on this new track, and above all we have not been able to exploit the new tires to the full. His gap on the flying lap is in fact due to the fact that, in the second part of the session, with the new tires he was unable to improve. We have to understand why we are not able to take advantage of the grip of the rear tire above all, but by tomorrow morning we will certainly find a good solution to try, and I remain quite confident with regards to the weekend’s trend. In any case, we see that all the Yamahas are in the top ten, and this means that the bike itself goes well with this track, and this gives us hope. Clearly our potential has changed a bit now, so we need to start aiming a little higher. Now for us, staying in the top ten will have to become a constant, and we will have to aim to stay in the top-5. It would be a nice ending to this growing season,
Tomorrow’s schedule includes the last Free Practice session at 9, Superpole starting at 11, while Race 1 will end the day at 14 local time.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Fast First Day At Estoril Finale
The KRT WorldSBK duo of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes both enjoyed a strong opening day at the final round of the championship in Portugal, with Rea fourth and Lowes fifth fastest at a circuit neither they nor their team has any previous experience of.
The 4.182km long Estoril track was last used for WorldSBK racing in the early nineties so it was an all-new challenge for the whole KRT squad to learn in two 50-minute practice sessions on the opening day. The weather was kind, with sunshine and mild temperatures throughout, and expectations that the weather should hold throughout race weekend.
In the final Friday session Rea was to finish just over half a second from the fastest rider Scott Redding, who has raced at Estoril in the earlier years of his MotoGP career. Jonathan, who was still learning secrets of the track layout right up to the final minutes of FP2, was occasionally on course to be fastest rider of all, only losing some pace in the final sectors.
Armed with set-up improvements based on the opening day’s data, Rea and his crew will reconvene on tack on Saturday for FP3, Tissot-Superpole and then race one, which will offer Jonathan the first chance to win the championship outright. It will also be an opportunity to score his 100th career race win in WorldSBK. He only needs three points from this weekend to guarantee his sixth successive title.
It was also a positive opening day for Lowes in Portugal, as he who was one place and only 0.120 seconds behind his team-mate Rea. His top five performance gave him confidence to take into the opening race as he goes for more podium finishes to wrap-up his first season as a Ninja ZX-10RR rider.
Having been resurfaced two years ago the grip from the track surface at Estoril has proved to be been consistent and drew praise from most riders, the majority of whom were seeing the track for the first time.
Now the KRT competitors will maximise their combined potential to take into the first of three races that will complete a compact and intense eight round championship.
Race one, over 21 laps will take place on Saturday afternoon at 14.00 local time in Portugal, with a ten lap Tissot-Superpole race on Sunday morning and then a final 21-lap race in the afternoon.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “The track is really nice; a big challenge because there are a lot of technical aspects. It is enjoyable and fun to ride. It is also quite ‘busy’ to ride on a more than 200 horsepower WorldSBK bike. It is day one and honestly I am still leaning the way around. Even in the last laps I felt I was doing different things on the bike and trying to understand the best way to attack it. We understood two rear tyre options and the track layout a little bit and we now need to improve the bike set-up for Saturday, especially during trail braking. My rhythm with used tyres is very strong so if I can find just a little bit more performance I can fight for the podium, and possibly even better. That is the target. I will try to forget about the championship as I have three chances to wrap that up but we are in a good position because in FP2 I felt a lot better than in FP1. Even on old tyres I set my fastest lap. All good for the opening day.”
Alex Lowes, stated: “I like the layout here. It is quite a small track, the sections are all inside each other and the surface is quite good. I heard some reports that the track was quite bumpy, and there are corners with some bumps, but honestly it is not bad. To go to a new track is always good fun. It is a little bit different, and I am not sure which other circuit I can compare it to. It is a lot tighter and smaller than I expected but I enjoyed riding the track for the first time. I feel OK on the bike but we do not really know how things will turn out yet until we can get in a few more sessions and everything settles down a little bit more. I enjoyed it today.”
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) placed 14th overall on Friday and was top independent Kawasaki rider. Two new Kawasaki riders were drafted in to replace injured regulars at this round. Sheridan Morais (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) took over the ride of injured Chilean rider Maximilian Scheib and was 21st, while Loris Cresson (Outdo Kawasaki TPR) was 23rd as he substituted for the injured Sandro Cortese.
Viñales leads a Yamaha lockout as action begins at Aragon
The Iwata marque lay down a marker at MotorLand, with Mir the closest man on the chase
Friday, 16 October 2020
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) made it a 2-for-1 on Day 1 at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon, the Spaniard fastest in both FP1 and FP2 to take full control on Friday. It was a Yamaha 1-2-3 overall though, with Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) a couple of tenths down and teammate Franco Morbidelli locking out the top three… the last man within half a second after a slightly ominous day from the Iwata marque. It was a tougher day for Ducati, as all Borgo Panigale machines remain outside the top ten and provisional entry to Q2.
FP1
Viñales started as he meant to go on as he topped a very cool FP1, with the session getting underway half an hour later due to low track temperatures. Once the sun had warmed MotorLand Aragon through a little more though, the Spaniard set a 1:49.866 to lead a Yamaha trio at the top and was the first man to set a sub-1:50 lap time with 15 minutes of the session left.
Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo completed the top three, with Morbidelli less than a tenth off Viñales and Quartararo another two in arrears. Both crashed on Friday morning, however, Morbidelli first taking a tumble at Turn 14 and Quartararo doing the same at the end of the session at Turn 8. Both riders were up and ok.
Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) also crashed in the session, going down at Turn 2 just before the halfway point, but the number 73 bounced back to end FP1 in a mighty fourth. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) completed the top five, around half a second off the top.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completed the top ten.
Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) also crashed, the Frenchman going down at Turn 14, and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) crashed at Turn 2.
Some big names ended up a little down the order in FP1: Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was P12, and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was in 17th by the flag.
FP2
The heat had risen to a more optimal 24 degrees as the MotoGP™ riders headed out for a crucial FP2, and sure enough, some riders immediately went faster. The Ducatis struggled to get a competitive lap time in FP1 but Dovizioso, his teammate Danilo Petrucci, Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco all went quicker than they did on Friday morning with just six minutes of the session played.
However, the Yamaha trio of Quartararo, Morbidelli and Viñales were all faster than the latter’s FP1 time and the goalposts had moved again. Morbidelli was then the first rider to go sub-1:49 this weekend, a 1:48.992 the Italian’s effort in the opening stages, with Yamaha leading the way from Alex Marquez as the rookie showed more great pace early on in the afternoon. Dovizioso too, the Italian in P5 with 15 minutes gone. Meanwhile, after catching out Zarco and Morbidelli in FP1, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed unhurt at Turn 14 – the front of his KTM washing away.
Mir then took over at the top, two consecutive fastest laps of the session putting the Spaniard three tenths clear of Morbidelli, before Viñales cut the gap to 0.140 with just over 20 minutes to go. Nakagami was then into the top two as less than two tenths split the leading four, with Quartararo down to P6 behind fifth fastest Alex Rins.
Everything would change again in the final stages of the session, however, with time attack mode engaged. Despite MotoGP™ FP3 kicking off half an hour later (10:25) on Saturday morning to allow the temperature to rise a little, it will still likely be cool and the last ten minutes of FP2 were therefore even more vital as riders eyed a place in Q2.
Quartararo shot first as he slammed in a 1:48.406 to take over at the top by 0.282, before going even faster again to see his advantage climb to 0.478 seconds. What did the competition have in response?
Viñales got close to get within 0.094, with Aleix Espargaro impressing to go P3 thereafter. It wasn’t over though, as Viñales then absolutely obliterated Quartararo’s time. The number 12 set a blistering 1:47.771 to move nearly half a second clear as Morbidelli got back up to P3, the FP1 pacesetters back at the top. On his final flying lap, Quartararo also improved but the Frenchman ultimately couldn’t get within two tenths of Viñales, so it was the latter who took opening day honours in Aragon. All three Yamahas on circuit – the absent Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) watching on from home after his positive COVID-19 test – made it an ominous first day of action.
By the end of the shuffle, it was Joan Mir closest on the chase. With one-lap pace traditionally a tougher challenge for the Hamamatsu factory, his speed will be encouraging and could set us up for a stunner on Sunday. Just behind him, Cal Crutchlow set his personal best time in his final run to move up to P5, the Brit once again impressing despite his ongoing recovery.
Aleix Espargaro ends FP2 and Day 1 in sixth overall as the Aprilia rider showed off some characteristic impressive pace at MotorLand, but it was a close run thing against younger brother Pol Espargaro as the KTM rider was forced to settle for seventh by just less than a tenth. That was impressive in itself too though, with the number 44 having suffered from injury at the track over the last two seasons and having experienced a little less track time than some.
A late lap to move back up into the top ten sees Alex Marquez end FP2 and Friday in eighth after his stunning fourth in FP1, the rookie fresh from a maiden podium, and it couldn’t really have been closer with Nakagami as the Japanese rider was forced down to P9 by just 0.001. Alex Rins completes the top ten, another good sign for Suzuki and a solid day for the truly, really local rider.
That leaves some names looking for a lot more in FP3, not least of all Championship challenger Dovizioso. The number 04 ends Friday in P13 despite a better start to FP2, and he was leapfrogged by Zarco in P11 and Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing) in P12. Behind Dovizioso comes Miller and behind him Petrucci, with Ducatis locking out P11 to P15, and Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) down in P19. The mission is a clear one for FP3.
Zarco suffered a second crash of the day as well, this time at Turn 2, with Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) also taking a tumble; the German at Turn 12.
That’s it from a chilly Friday in Teruel. Come back for more on Saturday as Ducati try and break into that top ten and the rest try to move the goalposts once again. The morning sessions get underway half an hour later so FP3 starts at 10:25 (GMT +2), but qualifying remains set to start at 14:10. Don’t miss it!
Di Giannantonio leads Bezzecchi and Lowes on Day 1
The top trio are split by just a tenth on Friday, with Marini and Bastianini also moving back up the timesheets in Teruel
MB Conveyors Speed Up’s Fabio Di Giannantonio took Moto2™ top spot on Friday at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon, the pace upped in FP2 as the Italian set a 1:52.748 to fend off second fastest Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) by just 0.045. FP1 pacesetter Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) finished P3 on the combined standings, although the Le Mans winner’s afternoon was slightly marred by a Turn 7 crash – rider ok.
FP1
Sam Lowes finished FP1 in charge, the British rider’s 1:53.391 enough to fend off Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) by 0.052 seconds. The gap had been up to eight tenths earlier in the session, but the German was able to cut that down and so was third fastest Di Giannantonio. The Italian was within 0.058 of Lowes in a tight top three.
Championship leader Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) set his personal best time on his final lap to leap up to P4, 0.189 off Lowes, with Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) completing the top five. Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing), despite an earlier run off, ended the session in sixth.
Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) started his weekend in P7, the last man within half a second of the top. Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) put in a solid showing to take eighth, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who completed the top ten.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team) crashed at Turn 2 and he was the only faller in the session. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) suffered a bike problem at Turn 9.
FP2
The afternoon saw the top times tumble in Moto2™, but not for everyone in the field – unlike Moto3™ and MotoGP™. Di Giannantonio reigned by the end of play, the Italian pipping compatriot Marco Bezzecchi to the top by half a tenth after a late lunge. Before that, it was Bezzecchi vs Lowes for the fastest lap, the Brit holding it for most of the session before the Italian hit back. But ‘Diggia’ hit back last of all.
It was a great day for Edgar Pons (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) as the reigning European Moto2™ Champion finished P4, the Spaniard 15th after FP1 but improving his time by over a second to leap up the timesheets in the afternoon to sit 0.031 ahead of Championship leader Marini in the session and overall. Thankfully for Marini, there seem to be few effects from his huge Le Mans crash seven days ago and he’s right in the hunt to make amends in Aragon.
Just behind Marini, in the session and the standings, came Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team). ‘Bestia’ produced a superhuman save at Turn 2 in FP2 and finished the opening day in P6, climbing from a P11 finish in FP1. Marcos Ramirez’ (Tennor American Racing) early FP2 time sees the rookie place P7 after finishing FP1 in P22, beating Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) by just 0.001, with Martin and Roberts rounding out the top 10 in FP2 and overall.
Jorge Navarro is 11th by virtue of his FP2 time, with Schrötter P12 on the combined timesheets and the first man not to have improved – the German’s FP1 time quick enough to put him on the list of provisional Q2 entrants. Garzo was 13th quickest overall, with Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) rounding out those who stand to move through to Q2 as it stands.
That’s all from Friday, with all but a handful of riders across the class going quicker in FP2 than they did in FP1. Will Saturday morning shuffle the pack again? Find out at the later time of 11:25 (GMT +2) as Moto2™ take to the track for FP3.
Moto2™: the five fastest on Friday
1 Fabio Di Giannantonio – MB Conveyors Speed Up – Speed Up – 1:52.748
2 Marco Bezzecchi – Sky Racing Team VR46 – Kalex +0.045
3 Sam Lowes – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Kalex – +0.106
4 Edgar Pons – Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 – Kalex – +0.269
5 Luca Marini – Sky Racing Team VR46 – Kalex +0.300
Raul Fernandez (25). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Fernandez four tenths clear of Fenati on Friday
The Spaniard leads the way on Day 1 once again, ahead of Fenati and Arenas
The recent Friday form man was up to his old tricks at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon. With a half second advantage by the end of the day, it’s Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on top once again, with Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) in second. After a more muted morning session, Championship leader Albert Arenas (Solunion Aspar Team Moto3) completed the top three as he moved up the timesheets in the afternoon.
There was also another key headline on Friday: Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) will be forced to sit the weekend out. The Italian must undertake a mandatory period of self-isolation after he was found to have been on a flight with a positive case of Covid-19. He has tested negative, but the self-isolation is a requirement of health authorities regardless – sidelining a Championship challenger for the weekend.
FP1
Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) started the day on top as the South African beat winner last time out, Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46), to the top by three tenths. Binder struck late to deny the Italian too, setting his lap as the flag flew to bring FP1 to an end.
Vietti was the only rider within half a second of Binder’s 1:59.813 despite losing out late on. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was 0.503 in arrears and third quickest.
Fernandez was fourth fastest in the morning, another half a tenth adrift of McPhee, with SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Niccolo Antonelli closing out the session in fifth. It was a strong showing for the Husqvarna duo of Alonso Lopez and Romano Fenati as the Sterilgarda Max Racing Team sat first and second in the early stages too, both bouncing back from their disaster/bad luck combo at Le Mans and eventually ending the session in sixth and ninth, respectively.
Second in the Championship Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) was seventh, starting off the weekend with a positive move up the timesheets after two tougher GPs, and points leader Albert Arenas was down in 13th. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was eighth, with rookie Yuki Kunii (Honda Team Asia) impressing to complete the top ten behind Fenati.
There were three incidents in the session: Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team) had a technical problem early on at Turn 7, Ryusei Yamanaka (Estrella Galicia 0,0) crashed at Turn 2 ten minutes later, and Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) went down at Turn 14.
FP2
With temperatures having risen significantly after a cold morning, the entire field were able to improve in the afternoon, ensuring the combined timesheets mirror those of FP2. Antonelli was the first man under the two minute barrier – something only Binder managed in the morning – but laptimes would drop from there on out. Fernandez was the man on the move, setting four fastest laps in a row in the latter part of the session.
Fenati maintained his form to end the day in second and Arenas was a key improver as he moved up to become the quickest Championship challenger overall, the Spaniard setting his quickest lap of the day on his final lap of the day. FP1’s fastest man Darryn Binder completes the top four, ahead of Suzuki by less than a tenth, with Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) within a tenth of the Japanese rider in turn as he moved up to end the day in sixth.
Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) ends Friday in P7 as he beat Ogura to it by just 0.011, but the Japanese rider continued his move forward after a couple of more difficult Grands Prix, well within the provisional Q2 entrants on Day 1. Vietti ends Friday in P9, with Alonso Lopez completing the top ten.
The final four on for provisional graduation to Q2 are Carlos Tatay (Reale Avintia Moto3), Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) – the sole crasher in the afternoon session, rider ok – and Antonelli… leaving John McPhee needing to move forward in FP3. Can the Brit do it? Find out on Saturday morning at the slightly later time of 9:30 (GMT +2).
Moto3™: the five fastest on Friday
1 Raul Fernandez – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM 1:58.144
2 Romano Fenati – Sterilgarda Max Racing Team – Husqvarna +0.438
3 Albert Arenas – Solunion Aspar Team Moto3 – KTM +0.532
4 Darryn Binder – CIP – Green Power – KTM +0.545
5 Tatsuki Suzuki – SIC58 Squadra Corse – Honda +0.619
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
MAVERICK VIÑALES TOPS ARAGON GP FRIDAY FREE PRACTICE SESSIONS
Alcañiz (Spain), 16th October 2020
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales enjoyed a very successful opening day of the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragón race weekend. His strong liking for the MotorLand Aragón track once again showed in the FP2 session. He was the only rider to drop under the 1‘48s-mark, earning himself first place in the FP2 and combined free practice standings.
Viñales already had topped the FP1 rankings in the morning, and he continued the positive momentum in the afternoon. He gradually upped his pace throughout the warmer FP2, preparing for a mini time attack at the end of the session. He proved that the base set-up of his Yamaha is working well for him when he clocked a 1‘47.771s on lap 12/15. The hot lap put him at the top of the Friday timesheets, with a 0.249s margin over his closest rival.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
Of course, this is a very strange weekend for our team. We had the bad news yesterday that Valentino is not able to join us here this weekend. It‘s a situation that none of us ever even wanted to imagine, and he is dearly missed by the whole team. We all wish for Vale to return to good health quickly, and we hope to have him back on track with us as soon as possible. But until then we have to focus on the task at hand. We came here feeling quite optimistic that we could be strong this weekend, and so far we are on the right track. Maverick loves this circuit, and his pace is very strong, although the conditions were really cold and windy today. The number of crashes shows that it‘s quite tricky out there when you start pushing, but Maverick still felt comfortable with the bike, so this is very promising. We will continue to work hard this evening, because we‘re aiming to obtain a front-row qualifying result tomorrow.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
First of all, I want to say I‘m sorry for Vale that he can‘t be here. I wish him a quick recovery. Today was good. I’m quite happy because I think we did good lap times. Even if the track is not at its best, our lap times are pretty fast. The bike is working well from the first laps. We know this track is good for us, because it has a lot of flowing corners. We just needed to improve in a few corners and we did that today, which makes me very happy. Today it was also windy here, and usually the Yamaha is very stable even then. Our race pace is quite good. We still need some more time to understand the tyres, but I can do a 1’48s-rhythm, which is good. I hope tomorrow the temperatures will be a bit higher. Especially this morning the conditions were very tricky. It was so difficult to stay on the bike. We will use tomorrow’s sessions to try to be more consistent. I want to try to improve my riding style, because it’s still not perfect at the entire track, but I can make another step in FP3. Anyway, today we did a good job. Overall the feeling is very positive. Now we will focus on tomorrow.
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
PETRONAS Yamaha SRT in top form at chilly Aragón
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli end Aragon GP opening day second and third
After a slightly delayed start to Friday MotoGP action at MotorLand Aragón, due to the cold track temperatures, PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli showed that they are in top form once again. The pair ended day one of the Aragon GP second and third respectively.
Quartararo had a strong opening practice session, staying within the top-three places for the entirety of the 45 minutes. The Frenchman did experience a Turn 8 crash on his final flying lap, but still finished the session third with a 1min 50.142secs lap. Fabio stayed at the sharp end throughout FP2 and enjoyed a period of time at the top of the timesheets as well. His fastest time of 1min 48.020secs placed him second in the session, and overall.
Although Morbidelli’s FP1 session came to an early end, after a Turn 14 crash with just over eight minutes to go, the Italian ended the 45 minutes with the second fastest lap time: 1min 49.951secs. Immediately up to speed in the afternoon session, Franco placed his Yamaha YZR-M1 at the top of the timesheets in the early part of FP2. Come the end of the 45-minute session, Morbidelli’s 1min 48.218secs lap saw him end the session, and the day, third.
The MotoGP FP3 session will begin at 10.25am local time (4.25pm MYT) for Fabio and Franco tomorrow, with qualifying due to get underway at 2.10pm local time (8.10pm MYT).
Fabio Quartararo
2nd (1’48.020)
It was not an easy day, but it was quite positive: we had a strange crash in FP1, I’m still not completely sure why it happened, but FP2 was great. Tomorrow it looks like we will need to do some laps with the soft rear tyre; I think it could be a good option for the race because the rhythm is good, but not great. In general though, it was a positive day. I’m so happy that in the afternoon we had a great feeling with the front tyre, because it wasn’t there in the morning. I think tomorrow afternoon it will be important to not lose this rhythm, but also to make sure we are prepared for the race as well.
Franco Morbidelli
3rd (1’48.218)
It was a positive day for us and we have started the weekend well, in fact all Yamahas were on top! This morning the conditions were tricky, the temperatures were low and the wind was blowing quite a lot. We seem to suffer a bit less than others in these conditions though. I made a mistake this morning: I had a slow lap because of a yellow flag, then I started to push again too quickly and I crashed. Although we have a good lap time from today, I will still try to push tomorrow. I think we can improve because the weather forecast says the conditions should be slightly better and there will be more rubber on the track.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Alex Marquez heats up his pace at frigid Aragon
Increasing temperatures saw lap times drop throughout the day as the MotorLand Aragon circuit warmed. Alex Marquez showed top-ten pace in both sessions with Stefan Bradl building his base.
There was a delayed start to round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship with track temperatures showing at less than ten degrees for Free Practice 1, the opening session of the day subsequently delayed by half an hour. Conditions did improve to allow uninterrupted running after the delayed start.
The cold morning got off to a solid start for Alex Marquez, able to run within the top ten for much of the first session. Alex was victim to the classic Aragon Turn 2 crash during FP1, the MotoGP rookie walking away unharmed. Bouncing back from his fall, Alex ended the morning as the fourth fastest rider with a solid final lap. Speed at the end of the session continued for Alex, the Repsol Honda Team rider setting a 1’48.823 on his final flying lap of Free Practice 2 to defend his position in the top ten. Both sessions demonstrated consistent speed with late flashes of one-lap pace from the Le Mans podium finisher.
Friday proved to be a busy day for Stefan Bradl who went about adjusting the setup of his Repsol Honda Team RC213V to the Aragon circuit. A fall at Turn 12 with 15 minutes of the FP2 session remaining saw Stefan Bradl walk away unharmed, able to quickly return to the Repsol Honda Team garage. Completing a total of 34 laps around the 5.1-kilometre-long circuit, the HRC test rider set a best time of 1’50.091.
Cal Crutchlow ended the day in fifth, the fastest of the Honda RC213V machines. Crutchlow, Alex and Takaaki Nakagami in ninth made it three Hondas in the top ten once again.
Timings for morning sessions on Saturday and Sunday have been revised due to the forecasted cold temperatures. Free Practice 3 on Saturday will start half an hour later at 10:25 Local Time with Warm Up rescheduled to 10:00 on Sunday. The race is still set to begin at 14:00 Local Time.
Alex Marquez
8TH 1’48.823
“I felt good today on track, it’s a circuit I really like, and I normally feel very comfortable here with my riding style. The Honda is also quite good here. I had a rookie crash in the morning but in the afternoon, we managed everything quite well and we tried some different options for the front. Tomorrow morning, even with the delay, I think it will be tricky to improve our lap time with the expected temperature, so I was working a lot in FP2 to put myself in a strong position to fight for Q2. I did a good last lap and I am pleased with how it went but you never know in MotoGP! Let’s see what happens in FP3 tomorrow.”
Stefan Bradl
20TH 1’50.091
“Well today was a little bit tricky, first in the morning it was very cold which stopped us doing some of the things we had planned. In the afternoon, the conditions were better but I had a very strange crash. I need to look at the data to understand what happened better, I am physically OK though which is the most important. Let’s see what tomorrow brings, hopefully the conditions will improve, and we can get through what we need to in FP3 and FP4. There’s some work to do, but I am confident we can do it. There were three Hondas in the top ten, so the bike is working well here.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:
ALEIX SIXTH ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT ARAGÓN
Despite temperatures that were anything but summery, so much that FP1 was delayed to let the Spanish asphalt warm up a few degrees, Aleix confirmed his feeling and the Aprilia RS-GP’s on the MotorLand de Aragón track.
On the first day of practice, he took sixth in the combined standings, a result clinched by in the second part of the FP2 session. A nice start in view of qualifying.
With a rather solid pace in the various conditions, Bradley Smith seemed less incisive in terms of a flying lap.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“This morning was the only time in my MotoGP career I’ve been worried, seeing the asphalt temperature. With this bike and the power we have available, it is really difficult and I thought delaying FP1 was definitely the right thing to do. In the afternoon, things more or less got back to normal and I was able to go fast, but I’m not sure that my time will guarantee pre-qualifying for Q2. Knowing the riders, I’m sure that at the end of FP3 tomorrow, everyone will try a time attack and the standings will change. In any case, I am optimistic. On this track, the Aprilia RS-GP expresses itself extremely well.”
BRADLEY SMITH
“Conditions today, especially in FP1, were rather difficult. With such low temperatures and with the added factor of the wind, nothing seems to work as it should. Things improve in the afternoon, but the difference between the two sessions is enormous. It will be something to discuss, since we’ll most likely find similar conditions for the upcoming races as well.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
SUZUKI GOING STRONG ON DAY ONE IN ARCTIC ARAGON
Motorland Aragon in Spain plays host to Round 11 of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship this weekend, and the technical track is proving tough with very chilly temperatures in the mornings around the desert-like terrain.
FP1 was delayed to allow time for the circuit to warm up to a safer temperature. Team Suzuki Ecstar’s riders, Joan Mir and Alex Rins, took a careful approach to the morning’s proceedings, allowing time to get to grips with the feel of the track. However, both riders found themselves able to set strong lap times with their GSX-RRs, with Mir placing himself well within the Top 10 and closing FP1 in sixth, while Rins was close by in ninth.
Friday afternoon’s FP2 was much warmer, making it the candidate to split the Top 10 for tomorrow’s qualifying given the likelihood of another chilly start on Saturday. Rins was quick to get into the Top 3 before switching his focus to settings for the mid-part of the session and pushing again towards the end. He worked hard to ensure a place inside the Top 10 with provisional passage to Q2, bringing his lap times down by two seconds compared to the morning and taking 10th. Mir also set about putting a string of laps together, working on tyres and setup ahead of race day. This paid off as he maintained a spot in the Top 5, closing the session in a great fourth, also shaving two seconds off his best lap of the morning.
Saturday’s FP3 sessions will be pushed back by 30 minutes, with MotoGP starting at 10:25 local time.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“It’s been a positive day. This morning the conditions were complicated with such cold temperatures – it was easy to make mistakes so we kept calm and focused on settings. In the afternoon we could work much more effectively thanks to the warmer weather, so we focused on bike settings and tyres. Joan had good lap times and things are looking promising. Alex did well to stay in the Top 10, which is important for tomorrow. There’s some room to improve in terms of setup but we’re feeling happy and ready for tomorrow.”
Joan Mir:
“I’m happy and feeling positive with what I’ve done today, the team and I have started in a good way and we’re working from a good base so I feel great. My potential is really good but we need to do a bit more work and improve further, as well as assessing the tyre choice again. Today wasn’t easy for anyone with the conditions, but we’re hoping that with warmer temperatures tomorrow the feeling will get even better.”
Alex Rins:
“My target today was to be inside the Top 10, and I managed to do that but only just. I made a few mistakes when trying to set my fastest laps, but I know I have good pace so I feel confident about tomorrow. This morning it was really cold and it was quite tough. I rode very cautiously to try and stay safe and learn how to manage it. I think tomorrow will be a little easier and I’m looking forward to it.”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:
CRUTCHLOW FIFTH FASTEST ON OPENING DAY IN ARAGON
Cal Crutchlow picked up where he left off in France as he was straight back on the pace in the opening free practice sessions for the Aragon Grand Prix. Although he failed to finish last Sunday’s race at Le Mans, the LCR Honda CASTROL rider showed his speed all weekend and was amongst the frontrunners again in Spain on Friday as he ended in fifth place overall.
With freezing cold conditions complicating matters for the premier class riders, Crutchlow made a sound start in a delayed FP1 session as he posted the ninth fastest lap. Times improved in FP2 as things warmed up a little and Crutchlow ensured he was well-placed ahead of qualifying on Saturday by going fifth quickest, ending as the leading Honda rider.
Cal Crutchlow – 5th
(1’48.598)
“It was really cold here in Aragon today. Obviously, we had a delay to the first session which I think was the right decision given the Grand Prix bikes and the Michelin tyres characteristics. It seems very difficult to get heat into them which we know from experience over the years, so the race direction did a good job. Once the sessions got underway I felt quite good, I was comfortable enough and quite confident with the bike, although it was shaking a lot moving around and we need to improve that area for tomorrow. We’re a long way off the lap times of a normal race weekend because of the temperature, but it was a good day for the team and we look forward to tomorrow now.”
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Aragon GP – Difficult day for Pramac Racing, Jack P14 and Pecco P19 in the combined standing
First day of activity at MotorLand Aragon, Jack and Pecco finished in fourteenth and nineteenth position respectively in the combined standing. Jack Miller after being the fastest Ducati rider in the first free practice session during the FP2 improved his time by almost two seconds but was not enough to enter in the top ten. The Australian rider finished in P14 with his best time time of 1:49.026. Pecco Bagnaia despite with his Ducati touched the top speed of the track at 351.8 km/h had the same difficulties as his teammate. The Italian rider closed the day in P19 with a time of 1:49.488.
Pecco Bagnaia
We weren’t expecting to be so far behind in a track that usually Ducati is very competitive. With this cold condition of the track I couldn’t warm up the tires and this was the reason why I was very slowly. During FP2 I felt better with the bike with Medium tires and in only 3 laps I improved my chrono ( 1.7).
Jack Miller
Not the best way to start, I did some good laps, but we struggled with the wind and this morning it was very cold. Tomorrow the weather conditions should be better and we will certainly have more chances to do well.
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Idemitsu:
TAKA INSIDE TOP 10 ON DAY ONE IN ARAGON
Takaaki Nakagami made a solid start as free practice for the Aragon Grand Prix got underway amid chilly conditions in the north-east of Spain. The LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider was inside the top 10 in both sessions on Friday and eventually finished in ninth position in the overall standings.
The morning’s FP1 was initially delayed because of the cold but, when the action started, Nakagami responded well to claim fifth place. Although temperatures rose for FP2, gusty winds still made life difficult for the riders and Nakagami battled hard for ninth – finishing just three tenths behind Suzuki’s Joan Mir in fourth.
Takaaki Nakagami – 9th
(1’48.824)
“Today the conditions were a bit tricky, especially in FP1 when it was very cold. In FP2 it was slightly better conditions, but the track temperature was very low and there were strong winds. We are inside the top 10 and overall it was not a bad start, but we need to check the data to see where we can improve and understand in which sector we are losing most time. But my general feeling on the bike was quite nice and the pace was good, so tomorrow we need to work out our race tyre option because with a soft compound on the rear we had good grip but we don’t know if it will work for race distance, so we’ll check that in FP4.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Aragon GP: first day of free practices affected by the cold weather. Dovizioso closes thirteenth at the end of the first two sessions. Petrucci ends with the fifteenth time overall
Low temperatures and strong winds made difficult the first day of free practices of the MotoGP Aragón Grand Prix held this weekend at MotorLand Aragón.
The first two free practices sessions of the Aragon GP, scheduled this weekend at MotorLand Aragon in Alcañiz, were affected by low temperatures and cold wind, forcing the Race Direction to delay the start of FP1 this morning, to allow the asphalt to reach at least 12 degrees before welcoming the MotoGP riders on the track.
In FP1, characterized by several crashes, Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci took to the track without pushing, leaving to the afternoon session their search for the best lap times. In FP2, with the temperatures of the tarmac reaching the 23 degrees, the Ducati Team riders were finally able to ride with the same conditions that they will find on Sunday in the race.
Seventeenth at the end of FP1, Andrea was able to improve his morning lap time by more than 2 seconds in the afternoon session, closing the day with the thirteenth time overall in 1:49.015. Danilo finished 15th with a time of 1:49.107, just a few thousandths of a second from his teammate.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:49.015 (13th)
“It was a pretty difficult day because of the cold weather and the strong wind. With our bikes, we struggle a bit to warm up the tyres with these cold temperatures. This morning we weren’t able to do much during the first session, while in the afternoon, we started our work ahead of Sunday’s race. Tomorrow the wind should calm down, and so we hope to be able to make good use of the time available to make further steps forward.”
“The conditions today were particularly difficult due to the low temperatures and the wind. The feeling with the bike is good, but we still have to find the right setup for this weekend. Temperatures should be similar tomorrow, but the wind should stop, and that could help us. We don’t have much time, but all in all, we are close to the firsts, so I am confident that we can improve on tomorrow.”
The Ducati Team riders will return to the track tomorrow at 10:25 AM local time (GMT +2.00) for the decisive session of FP3, while qualifying will be held according to the usual schedule, starting from 2:10 PM local time, after FP4.
More, from a press release issued by Esponsorama Racing:
THE ESPONSORAMA RACING FINISHES THE FIRST DAY OF THE ARAGON GRAND PRIX SATISFACTORILY
Johann Zarco and Tito Rabat finished in eleventh and twelfth positions respectively on the first day of free practice for the Aragon Grand Prix.
The first free practice was delayed by 30 minutes due to the low temperatures on the track. Despite this, Tito Rabat set a time of 1.51.581, only three tenths slower finished Johann Zarco after suffering an inconsequential crash at Turn 14.
In the afternoon, both riders fought for the top 10 during the practice. Johann Zarco, although he suffered a crash at turn two, finished in eleventh with a time of 1.48.906. One tenth behind is Tito Rabat in twelfth position.
Tomorrow from 10:25 will take place the last free practice and qualifying sessions of the Aragon Grand Prix where Esponsorama Racing will fight for the best possible grid positions.
JOHANN ZARCO – P11
“I am disappointed with today because I have had two crashes due to the cold. Angry, because the objective this afternoon was to be among the top ten, because I think that tomorrow in FP3 we will not be able to lower today’s times. In Q1 we will do our best to get a good lap and fight for the front lines of the grid”
TITO RABAT – P12
“It has been a very positive day, both in the morning and in the afternoon. Let’s hope that tomorrow we can improve a little, even if it is cold, since the forecasts say that it will be less windy “
O’Halloran heads off title rivals in opening practice at Brands Hatch
Jason O’Halloran got the jump on his Bennetts British Superbike Championship rivals in the opening free practice session at Brands Hatch this afternoon as the McAMS Yamaha rider held the advantage in the times, leading the way by 0.076s.
O’Halloran held the position from SYNETIQ BMW’s Bradley Ray who had a stunning start to his home round in second place, nudging title contender Glenn Irwin for Honda Racing into third place ahead of tomorrow’s opening race.
Luke Mossey was another rider to break up the title contenders in the opening session as he fired his Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW into fourth place, narrowly ahead of championship leader Josh Brookes. The Australian will be striving to hold on to his advantage in the standings, with 16-points between him and his VisionTrack Ducati teammate Christian Iddon.
Iddon was just adrift in sixth place with Andrew Irwin and Tommy Bridewell next up in the order as Héctor Barberá and Danny Buchan completed the top ten.
For the fifth of the title contenders, it was a disastrous start to the weekend with Tarran Mackenzie crashing out at Stirlings, and sidelined for the majority of the session. The McAMS Yamaha rider ending the opening day in 18th place.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch GP, Free Practice 1:
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 1m26:113s
Bradley Ray (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.076s
Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.169s
Luke Mossey (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.322s
Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.407s
Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.509s
Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.556s
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.748s
Héctor Barberá (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.830s
Danny Buchan (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) +0.877s
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha)
Bennetts BSB – Fastest in free practice
“I love riding the GP circuit here at Brands Hatch. I eased into it and felt comfortable pretty much from my out lap and I felt happy with the setting of the McAMS Yamaha.
“I built into it, went back out at the end and wanted to try and improve my pace, but the track was quite cool so I just played it safe.
“We got plenty of laps in and I don’t think we are far away; we will make some small tweaks tonight but we should be in good shape for tomorrow.
“I can’t wait to get stuck in with qualifying and the first race tomorrow to see what we can do!”
It’s that man Acosta again in Aragón Rookies Cup Qualifying
Leading the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and leading the times when it counted on Friday at Motorland Aragón, there is no doubt that Pedro Acosta is setting a very high standard.
The Spanish 16-year-old second year Rookie was chased hard by fellow countryman Daniel Holgado and it was the 15-year-old first year Rookie who also pressed him hard in Austria.
David Alonso, the 14-year-old Colombian completes the front row and is looking for his first podium after a string of 4ths at the Red Bull Ring.
Acosta confident
“That’s a lot better because last year I started here from 9th and the race was very difficult,” explained Pedro Acosta who was 4th and 7th in 2019. “The bike is really great and the set-up is very good for the warmer temperature this afternoon which will be the same time as the race.”
“I think it maybe is possible to break away in the race, because in FP2 which was at the race time I had a really good feeling with the used tyre and I think that we can break the race or at least reduce the size of the front group. I think that is important for the last laps here.”
“I feel really good because I had a perfect bike in every condition today, even this morning when it was cold and quite windy, it felt good.”
Holgado will challenge
“I’m happy to be on the front row,” enthused Daniel Holgado. “The bike improved in the afternoon and I am happy that we have a good setting, it gave me good feelings this afternoon. I think we can race at the front tomorrow.”
Alonso ready for the battle
“I’m 3rd and really really happy,” explained David Alonso. “It was not easy because I could not find the space I needed for the best lap but in the end I did it. I could make the lap time on my own and I am happy that I continue to improve. That is what I am looking to do tomorrow as well, keep getting better.”
“I need to do better in the front group than in Austria, be more aggressive and more intelligent in the final laps.”
David Muñoz wants more
“It was a very good Quali, a good position on the second row, but the bike could be better,” stated David Muñoz, the 14-year-old Spaniard. “The front is pushing a lot and causing me a lot of problems. I will have to talk to the engineers because I don’t know if we should change something for the race, I do need something.”
Van den Goorbergh with his best
“Qualifying was good finally,” explained Dutch 14-year-old Zonta van den Goorbergh. “Free Practice 1 this morning was hard as we had the wrong set-up. We changed it for FP2 and that was better but I was running on my own and couldn’t get a good time. I was losing 8 or 9 tenths in the final sector.”
“So in Qualifying we decided to go with the main group. In the beginning I went with Holgado and we caught the main group. We overtook some riders and got some good laps. In the end I wanted to really push one more time but got the finish flag. That’s a shame but P5 is still my best grid position in the Rookies so I’m happy with that.”
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 1 is at 16:30 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 15:30, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
THE PRIZE WINNER for Survey 13 is John Kappus of Denver, Colorado.
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Ben Bostrom, Josh Herrin And More Stars Set To Compete
IRVINE, CA (October 16, 2020) – As eye-opening as the built-to-the-hilt V-twin Baggers set to compete in the Drag Specialties King of the Baggers are, the list of riders set to do battle on them at the iconic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is equally as stout. And a fight it promises to be on Saturday afternoon, October 24, as the Baggers will highlight the opening day of racing in the MotoAmerica GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey.
The teams, who have gone all-in on the concept of showing off their wares in a race like none before it, aren’t just pulling guys off the street to race their steeds. One only has to look at the #77 Feuling Parts Harley-Davidson entry to see that’s not the case. Stop rubbing your eyes… that is former AMA Superbike Champion and multi-time World Superbike race winner Ben Bostrom’s name. Yes, the Ben Bostrom.
And how about the #50 entry from Performance Machine? That would be 2013 AMA Superbike Champion and current MotoAmerica Superbike racer Josh Herrin. What about that Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson? Yes, that’s Hayden Gillim, who last year came very close to earning the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship.
The rest of the 13-rider field? Well, there’s not a slouch in the bunch.
The SlyFox Harley-Davidson will be ridden by former AMA and MotoAmerica racer Cory West; another former MotoAmerica racer, Tyler O’Hara, will be riding the S&S Indian Challenger; and Josh Chisum, on the Barnett Clutches Harley, is another who has raced in MotoAmerica previously.
Current MotoAmerica Stock 1000 and Superbike racer Travis Wyman will throw his leg over the Trask Performance Harley-Davidson with Michael Woolaway, a highly regarded bike builder and Pikes Peak racer, doing likewise on the Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Road Glide. Eric Stahl will take to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the Alloy Art MFG Co. Harley Road King with Tony Sollima riding The Speed Merchant’s Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard.
Arlen Ness is set to field a Harley-Davidson with noted stunt rider and the son of former 500cc World Motocross Champion Logan Lackey handling the riding chores. A second Indian entry has been fielded by Roland Sands Design and will feature flat tracker/road racer Frankie Garcia.
You may also have heard of Michael Barnes, the veteran hired gun who has been a race winner in nearly all forms of AMA road racing over the years. The Floridian will ride a Bassani Xhaust Harley-Davidson Road King.
So, there you have it. Thirteen top-notch riders on some of trickest motorcycles the world has seen attacking the iconic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The eight-lap Drag Specialties King of the Baggers race is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. (Pacific) on Saturday afternoon, October 24, on the Monterey Peninsula. The race will air live on MotoAmerica Live+, the live streaming and on-demand service from MotoAmerica, and on Harley-Davidson TV. Additionally, the final practice session for the Baggers will air live on MotoAmerica’s Facebook page at 4:40 p.m. (Pacific) on Friday.
For the full 2020 MotoAmerica Series schedule, click HERE
To purchase tickets to any of the 2020 series rounds, click HERE
For information on how to watch the 2020 MotoAmerica Series, click HERE
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office.
#EstorilWorldSBK – Day 1
Redding edges Razgatlioglu after Friday running; Rea in fourth
British rookie Scott Redding strikes first in the title decider as he tops Friday running ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu
Scott Redding (45). Photo courtesy Dorna.
For the first time in 27 years, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship took to the track at the Circuito Estoril with two Free Practice sessions and it was Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) who topped the combined timesheets as he used his experienced at the Portuguese circuit to this advantage in the early stages of the Pirelli Estoril Round.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (54). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Redding had set the pace in the morning Free Practice 1 session and backed that up with the fastest time in Free Practice 2, posting a 1’36.886s in the last few seconds of the second session to pip Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) to top spot; the Turkish rider finishing the day in second place. Frenchman Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) showed strong pace throughout the day and finished in third place despite a crash in Free Practice 2.
Loris Baz (76). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Baz went into Turn 1 as he tried to find the limit but lost the front end of his bike and was unable to bring the bike back to the garage himself after damaging a water hose on his Yamaha. The Ten Kate Racing team were able to repair his bike and the French rider returned to the track with around 10 minutes left in the session.
Jonathan Rea (1). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Five-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) put in the fourth best time of the day as he looks to secure both his 100th win and six title across the Estoril Round weekend, edging out teammate Alex Lowes by just a tenth of a second. American star Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) was sixth fastest despite an off in the second session; the third Yamaha rider in the top six of the combined times.
Alex Lowes (22). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finished the day in seventh places, less than a second away from teammate Redding at the front of the field as he beat wildcard Jonas Folger (Bonovo Action by MGM Racing) by just 0.002s; Folger making his second appearance of the season as a wildcard. He was around a tenth faster than Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and Leon Haslam (Team HRC), who completed the top ten.
Garrett Gerloff (31). Photo courtesy GRT Yamaha.
Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) finished the day in 11th place as the Spanish rider looks to bounce back from a challenging Magny-Cours weekend; but the Spanish rider crashed in Free Practice 2 at Turn 7. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was in 12th place, ahead of Ducati-bound Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) in 13th.
Spanish rider Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 14th as he marks his last weekend with the Kawasaki Puccetti outfit, finishing a tenth ahead of Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance). Italian Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) was 16th, ahead of the returning Matteo Ferrari (Barni Racing Team) in 17th and Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in 18th.
Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing), Eric Granado (MIE Racing HONDA Team), Sheridan Morais (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura), Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) and Loris Cresson (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) rounded out the field; Granado, Morais and Cresson making their first WorldSBK appearance of the season.
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Razgatlıoğlu Second Fastest on First Day at Estoril
Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team with Rizla rider Toprak Razgatlıoğlu was second-fastest overall in Friday’s Free Practice at the final round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Circuito Estoril.
Birthday boy Razgatlıoğlu, who turned 24 today, felt immediately comfortable taking to the Portuguese circuit for the first time in his career. The technical nature of the circuit seemed to suit his aggressive, hard-braking style of riding, as he completed a total of 39 laps in search of the best race set-up during the two 50-minute Free Practice sessions.
With less than a second separating the top 10 riders in the premier WorldSBK field, Michael van der Mark found himself on the other end of the spectrum after 45 practice laps. The Dutchman, who is aiming to end his four-year tenure with the Pata Yamaha team on a high this weekend, wasn’t able to immediately find a comfortable set-up and ended the day in ninth position, despite being quickest of all riders in the fast fourth sector.
Van der Mark and Razgatlıoğlu will have one final Free Practice at 09:00 (UTC+1) to finalise their official Yamaha R1 set-ups before the all-important Tissot Superpole qualifying at 11:00. The first WorldSBK race at Estoril since 1993 will then get underway at 14:00.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: P2 – 1’36.975
“Today was my birthday but also I am happy with how it has gone at this new track. I have always liked the look of the circuit, but I’ve never ridden it! I like it because of the very hard braking layout and the flowing corners. Today we finished in second position, and I am really pleased to start this last race weekend of 2020 like this because I want to finish the season well – and I also need to score a podium again! We will keep working on some small areas to improve the feeling and, with it, the lap time. It feels good now, but we need to find a little bit extra for better turning and grip to improve the final result.”
Michael van der Mark: P9 – 1’37.775
“It’s been a difficult day for us, obviously it’s a new track and this morning I had to try out some different gearing and find a good set-up, which isn’t that easy. We’re struggling quite a lot with the balance and the turning. I thought in the afternoon we could make a good step forward, but we are still not where we need it to be. We have quite a lot of work to do for tomorrow, the differences are really small but I feel like we have to make a big step in set-up so we can improve our potential result.”
Paul Denning – Team Principal
“I think everybody is happy to be here at the Estoril circuit – the track has a great layout, the sun is shining and for us, in general, the Yamaha R1 seems to be working well here. The times are very close, which is impressive when you consider the lack of experience that the whole field has at this circuit. For Toprak in particular, the day was very productive. He has been working well with his crew to improve feedback and confidence from the bike over the course of the day, resulting in really competitive lap times. Mikey feels less comfortable, and we have some work to do to get his bike to steer and respond in the way he needs, but even so, the gap to make up is not so big. Fingers crossed for more sunshine and some great racing tomorrow.”
Media Images
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
#EstorilWorldSBK FP.
Scott Redding goes quickest in Friday’s first free practice sessions for the Pirelli Estoril Round.
Chaz Davies ends the day in seventh
The first day of free practice for the Pirelli Estoril Round – the last event of the 2020 WorldSBK season – ended with Scott Redding who notched out the quickest time in both FP1 and FP2. After a difficult FP1, Chaz Davies managed to improve convincingly in the afternoon.
Scott Redding was dominant in FP1 thanks to an impressive series of fastest laps, setting his best time on lap 20 with the used tyre. After working on the set up of his Ducati Panigale V4 R, in the last run of the FP2, the British rider pushed hard lowering the morning’s lap time by over three tenths.
Chaz Davies was not able to be incisive in FP1 finishing 10th with a rather wide gap from his teammate. In the afternoon, however, the Welsh rider managed to increase his feeling with the bike R by improving his Chrono by almost a second to close in seventh.
P1 – Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I am satisfied with what we have done today. In the afternoon we tried some solutions but they didn’t work as we hoped so we went back to the morning set up. The new circuit? It’s a normal situation this season. I could say that this weekend the other riders will also try this kind of experience that has been a constant for me throughout most of the season. My target for tomorrow? A good qualifying will be crucial for all races”.
P7 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
“All in all, things didn’t go wrong today. I raced here 15 years ago in the 250cc Championship but it is clear that the conditions with the Superbike are completely different. That’s why in FP1 I tried to get familiar with the circuit to understand where it will be possible to attack and where it will be necessary to manage the tyres. In the FP2 the situation has improved but we will still have to work on the setup and electronics to take the step forward that we need to be competitive tomorrow”.
More, from a press release issued by Team Go Eleven:
FRIDAY HARD DAY; FREE PRACTICES 1-2 ARE OVER AT ESTORIL!
The Friday from the new entry Estoril track, it turned out to be particular and interesting. Many riders found themselves racing on the Portuguese ups and downs for the first time ever. Despite the almost ideal conditions, with temperatures around 18 degrees and a light wind that did not influenced riders, on a new circuit the cards were reshuffled, with some surprises in the top positions compared to the last rounds.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi used the first session of the morning to learn the lines, and understand the ideal trajectories to push the Ducati V4-R to the maximum. He faced some set-up difficulties, complaining of little rear grip and little feeling under braking. The track here is spectacular, but strange to understand, with many different sectors: fast corners, a long straight, hard braking from first gear and quick changes of direction. In FP 1 the number 21 ride on race tyres, managing to improve at the end, finishing in 1.38.857.
For the afternoon session the Go Eleven technicians changed the geometry of the bike to face Michael’s requests, with the aim of gaining grip. The start of the session, with a train of SC0 used since the morning, saw the rider from Romagna immediately improve his laptime, showing some small improvements. With new tyres, however, the feeling is still not great and you can’t make the most of it. In the middle of the session, Rinaldi tried the softer compound, trying to understand the differences in compounds in view of both the Superpole and the race. Unfortunately it did not give the hoped-for improvements, even if it managed to set a low 38 with the SCX, which placed him close to the top ten. The riders are all very close, with narrow gaps, so tomorrow it won’t take much to climb the rankings. Between today’s evening and Saturday morning, the staff will work in a more invasive way on the Ducati V4-R to give greater support to Michael’s riding style.
Time is short, but there is room for improvement!
Michael Rinaldi (Rider):
“It was a very difficult day, unfortunately the sensations on the bike aren’t good and I can’t ride as I normally do. This afternoon we improved the time compared to this morning, but still not the feeling with the bike. Now let’s look closely at the data, we try to understand how and where to improve, and we hope to find a good solution for tomorrow. We are not so far from the top, so if we improve a little bit we can take a good step forward. Tomorrow morning we only have one free practice to test the changes, so we have to do a great job tonight. The track is particular, I’ve never been here before, and it’s normal not to be 100% now, but we already have a race tomorrow. ”
More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport WorldSBK Team:
BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team conclude the opening day at Estoril outside the top 10.
The BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team today completed their FP1 and FP2 sessions at the final race weekend of the year at Estoril. Unfortunately, both BMW’s of Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty were unable to mount a challenge on the top 10 positions. Tom Sykes was the fastest of the two BMW S 1000 RR’s during today free practice sessions as he placed himself in P12 on combined times (1’37.936) +1.050 slower than P1. Team-mate Eugene Laverty struggled to get a good feeling with his S 1000 RR from FP1 and his times reflected this as he concluded FP2 in P18. (1’38.925) +2.039 seconds behind pace setter Scott Redding.
Shaun Muir, Team Principal:
“A pretty average day today. It was tough trying to get a comfortable setting with the track being so abrasive. Both riders have the same problems to overcome, so we will go into tomorrow with some good ideas we have worked on overnight. This should give them more confidence with the chassis balance and be able to use what grip is available. We are expecting to take big steps forward in FP3 before Superpole and I’m confident we can get a good grid position for the race tomorrow.”
Tom Sykes:
“It’s early days. It is my first time at this track and I don’t want to be pushing the boundaries but gather relevant information. I certainly enjoy the track. It is a fantastic layout. I am just getting to know my way around the Estoril circuit and I have to say it’s just such a good and enjoyable place to ride. We’ve had a couple of little experiments today; we’ve tried the combination of the set-up with the tyres, we’ve gathered a lot of information and of the back of this, I have to be quite happy. Looking at the times, it seems at the moment that the V-configuration, the cross-plane cranks have a little bit of an advantage with the circuit layout and what grip it has to offer. So, we will have a good sit-down now and see if we can try and eat into this deficit that we’ve got. For now, it’s just day one and tomorrow, we will try to put the pieces in the jigsaw together.
Eugene Laverty:
“It was tough today and time gap to the top was too much. I know that our bike does not suit the slow corners, so if you start to throw in these first gear corners we will struggle. Here in Estoril we are using first gear in five corners, so we must put our heads together tonight and see what we can do. We can definitely make a step forward tomorrow because we went the wrong way between the sessions, so we know where we can improve. It’s going to be a challenge but I don’t give up, we’ll sit to together with the engineers and try to push forward for tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:
Ferrari and the Barni Racing Team satisfied (P17) after the first day at Estoril
Estoril (POR), 16th October, 2020. The Barni RacingTeam rider Matteo Ferrari ended with a positive P17 in the combined times of today’s two free practice sessions at the Estoril circuit, Portugal, which is hosting the last round of the 2020 World Superbike Championship.
The rider from Romagna, just graduated vice-champion in Moto E, is making his debut on the Ducati Panigale V4 R of the team from Bergamo and he had a positive approach.
Ferrari showed a constant improvement in lap time: the best lap of the day, 1’38.766, arrived just at the last flying lap, lowering his best time of the FP1 by more than half a second. Ferrari closed at 1.8s from the leader and one second from the Top 10.
The #71 completed 36 laps concentrating in a single day the work of adaptation on the saddle, setup tests and time attack. Tomorrow after the last free practice session the Superpole will get underway at 11 am , while Race 1 is scheduled at 2 pm local hour.
Matteo Ferrari:
Free Practice (combined results): P17 (1’38.766)
“The first day was positive. Since the morning feeling was good, but in the second session I really took the bike in hand: we identified the area to improve and I think that by changing a little bit the rear setup we can get closer to the top 10 which is not so far away.”
Marco Barnabo, Team Principal:
“As already happened this season we had to start the work almost from scratch, but the beginning is encouraging: Matteo got on a bike totally different from the one he has ridden so far and He was very quick to adapt. There is a lot of rooms for improvement and I’m confident that tomorrow we can grow again.”
More, from a press release issued by GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team:
Apprenticeship Friday in Estoril for GRT pilots
The final round of the WorldSBK season kicked off today with the first two free practice sessions at the Estoril circuit. For the teams, Friday was useful to discover the secrets of the track, which returns to the calendar for the first time since 1993, and to try to find the right setup for Saturday and Sunday.
The GRT drivers had a good time on the Portuguese track already in FP1, where Gerloff set the second time, while Caricasulo finished ninth. In FP2 in the afternoon, on the other hand, with temperatures rising and the wind making its appearance, the American finished in sixth position despite a crash, while his teammate had more difficulties, setting the 16th best time. The team remains confident that they can aim high tomorrow.
Gerloff had a good impression of the Portuguese track, which has a similar layout to that of Barcelona and fits well with his R1. In view of tomorrow we only need some small improvements: “Today went quite well. It’s a new track for everyone, so it’s not bad to all start at the same level. Right from the start the Yamaha R1 worked very well, and together with the team we made only a few changes. I felt a little more comfortable in FP1, with less wind, while in the second session, with higher temperatures and stronger gusts, I struggled a bit more. I still like the track a lot and I can’t wait to race tomorrow. This circuit reminds me a lot of Barcelona: it has a similar configuration looking at it from above, and the style of the corners is similar, so it seems to fit very well with the Yamaha because it has some nice folding sequences that we can take advantage of. The goal for tomorrow is definitely to try to repeat Barcelona’s performance, but there are still some things I need to understand better and some improvements to make. However, the start was good and I’m happy to be close to the leaders. I absolutely have to go fast in qualifying, which have often been my Achilles heel, but if we can start from the front I think we can have a good race. The first day went well, we hope to continue like this.”
Caricasulo, struggling with learning the new track and with a general lack of performance, did not have a simple Friday: “It was not an easy day because we had to learn this new track. We got off to a pretty good start this morning, but then we stalled a bit in the afternoon. We did a race simulation where we weren’t very fast and even on the flying lap we weren’t able to get the performance we wanted. For tomorrow we will try to make the right changes to improve today’s problems and we will try to be more competitive starting from FP3. ”
The Technical Coordinator Damiano Evangelisti is pleasantly surprised by the technical characteristics of the new track, and hopes to close the championship by entering the top-5: “Working on a completely new track more or less for everyone like Estoril, where Superbike didn’t come from many years, it is certainly very interesting from a professional point of view. I was immediately surprised yesterday, when we found a very technical track, with many changes in slope and many corners that need to be interpreted. So in my opinion, the driver and setup here will definitely make a lot of difference. With just one weekend we will not be able to reach a perfect setup, because the time to find it is not enough, but we will do the best possible job. Today we focused on just that, trying to understand what our riders’ needs were on this new track. Garrett is again confirmed, he has now found excellent confidence with the bike and is able to be fast in all situations. Especially this afternoon we worked hard on the bike, and we only used one set of new tires, justifying the fact that we didn’t improve this morning’s time that much. We focused more on the work to be done for the race than on the flying lap, there is some refinement to be done but we think we have found the right place in terms of Garrett’s setup. Instead, we are a little behind with Federico: he still needs to find a little more speed on this new track, and above all we have not been able to exploit the new tires to the full. His gap on the flying lap is in fact due to the fact that, in the second part of the session, with the new tires he was unable to improve. We have to understand why we are not able to take advantage of the grip of the rear tire above all, but by tomorrow morning we will certainly find a good solution to try, and I remain quite confident with regards to the weekend’s trend. In any case, we see that all the Yamahas are in the top ten, and this means that the bike itself goes well with this track, and this gives us hope. Clearly our potential has changed a bit now, so we need to start aiming a little higher. Now for us, staying in the top ten will have to become a constant, and we will have to aim to stay in the top-5. It would be a nice ending to this growing season,
Tomorrow’s schedule includes the last Free Practice session at 9, Superpole starting at 11, while Race 1 will end the day at 14 local time.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Fast First Day At Estoril Finale
The KRT WorldSBK duo of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes both enjoyed a strong opening day at the final round of the championship in Portugal, with Rea fourth and Lowes fifth fastest at a circuit neither they nor their team has any previous experience of.
The 4.182km long Estoril track was last used for WorldSBK racing in the early nineties so it was an all-new challenge for the whole KRT squad to learn in two 50-minute practice sessions on the opening day. The weather was kind, with sunshine and mild temperatures throughout, and expectations that the weather should hold throughout race weekend.
In the final Friday session Rea was to finish just over half a second from the fastest rider Scott Redding, who has raced at Estoril in the earlier years of his MotoGP career. Jonathan, who was still learning secrets of the track layout right up to the final minutes of FP2, was occasionally on course to be fastest rider of all, only losing some pace in the final sectors.
Armed with set-up improvements based on the opening day’s data, Rea and his crew will reconvene on tack on Saturday for FP3, Tissot-Superpole and then race one, which will offer Jonathan the first chance to win the championship outright. It will also be an opportunity to score his 100th career race win in WorldSBK. He only needs three points from this weekend to guarantee his sixth successive title.
It was also a positive opening day for Lowes in Portugal, as he who was one place and only 0.120 seconds behind his team-mate Rea. His top five performance gave him confidence to take into the opening race as he goes for more podium finishes to wrap-up his first season as a Ninja ZX-10RR rider.
Having been resurfaced two years ago the grip from the track surface at Estoril has proved to be been consistent and drew praise from most riders, the majority of whom were seeing the track for the first time.
Now the KRT competitors will maximise their combined potential to take into the first of three races that will complete a compact and intense eight round championship.
Race one, over 21 laps will take place on Saturday afternoon at 14.00 local time in Portugal, with a ten lap Tissot-Superpole race on Sunday morning and then a final 21-lap race in the afternoon.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “The track is really nice; a big challenge because there are a lot of technical aspects. It is enjoyable and fun to ride. It is also quite ‘busy’ to ride on a more than 200 horsepower WorldSBK bike. It is day one and honestly I am still leaning the way around. Even in the last laps I felt I was doing different things on the bike and trying to understand the best way to attack it. We understood two rear tyre options and the track layout a little bit and we now need to improve the bike set-up for Saturday, especially during trail braking. My rhythm with used tyres is very strong so if I can find just a little bit more performance I can fight for the podium, and possibly even better. That is the target. I will try to forget about the championship as I have three chances to wrap that up but we are in a good position because in FP2 I felt a lot better than in FP1. Even on old tyres I set my fastest lap. All good for the opening day.”
Alex Lowes, stated: “I like the layout here. It is quite a small track, the sections are all inside each other and the surface is quite good. I heard some reports that the track was quite bumpy, and there are corners with some bumps, but honestly it is not bad. To go to a new track is always good fun. It is a little bit different, and I am not sure which other circuit I can compare it to. It is a lot tighter and smaller than I expected but I enjoyed riding the track for the first time. I feel OK on the bike but we do not really know how things will turn out yet until we can get in a few more sessions and everything settles down a little bit more. I enjoyed it today.”
Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) placed 14th overall on Friday and was top independent Kawasaki rider. Two new Kawasaki riders were drafted in to replace injured regulars at this round. Sheridan Morais (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) took over the ride of injured Chilean rider Maximilian Scheib and was 21st, while Loris Cresson (Outdo Kawasaki TPR) was 23rd as he substituted for the injured Sandro Cortese.
Viñales leads a Yamaha lockout as action begins at Aragon
The Iwata marque lay down a marker at MotorLand, with Mir the closest man on the chase
Friday, 16 October 2020
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) made it a 2-for-1 on Day 1 at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon, the Spaniard fastest in both FP1 and FP2 to take full control on Friday. It was a Yamaha 1-2-3 overall though, with Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) a couple of tenths down and teammate Franco Morbidelli locking out the top three… the last man within half a second after a slightly ominous day from the Iwata marque. It was a tougher day for Ducati, as all Borgo Panigale machines remain outside the top ten and provisional entry to Q2.
FP1
Viñales started as he meant to go on as he topped a very cool FP1, with the session getting underway half an hour later due to low track temperatures. Once the sun had warmed MotorLand Aragon through a little more though, the Spaniard set a 1:49.866 to lead a Yamaha trio at the top and was the first man to set a sub-1:50 lap time with 15 minutes of the session left.
Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo completed the top three, with Morbidelli less than a tenth off Viñales and Quartararo another two in arrears. Both crashed on Friday morning, however, Morbidelli first taking a tumble at Turn 14 and Quartararo doing the same at the end of the session at Turn 8. Both riders were up and ok.
Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) also crashed in the session, going down at Turn 2 just before the halfway point, but the number 73 bounced back to end FP1 in a mighty fourth. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) completed the top five, around half a second off the top.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completed the top ten.
Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) also crashed, the Frenchman going down at Turn 14, and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) crashed at Turn 2.
Some big names ended up a little down the order in FP1: Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was P12, and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was in 17th by the flag.
FP2
The heat had risen to a more optimal 24 degrees as the MotoGP™ riders headed out for a crucial FP2, and sure enough, some riders immediately went faster. The Ducatis struggled to get a competitive lap time in FP1 but Dovizioso, his teammate Danilo Petrucci, Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco all went quicker than they did on Friday morning with just six minutes of the session played.
However, the Yamaha trio of Quartararo, Morbidelli and Viñales were all faster than the latter’s FP1 time and the goalposts had moved again. Morbidelli was then the first rider to go sub-1:49 this weekend, a 1:48.992 the Italian’s effort in the opening stages, with Yamaha leading the way from Alex Marquez as the rookie showed more great pace early on in the afternoon. Dovizioso too, the Italian in P5 with 15 minutes gone. Meanwhile, after catching out Zarco and Morbidelli in FP1, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed unhurt at Turn 14 – the front of his KTM washing away.
Mir then took over at the top, two consecutive fastest laps of the session putting the Spaniard three tenths clear of Morbidelli, before Viñales cut the gap to 0.140 with just over 20 minutes to go. Nakagami was then into the top two as less than two tenths split the leading four, with Quartararo down to P6 behind fifth fastest Alex Rins.
Everything would change again in the final stages of the session, however, with time attack mode engaged. Despite MotoGP™ FP3 kicking off half an hour later (10:25) on Saturday morning to allow the temperature to rise a little, it will still likely be cool and the last ten minutes of FP2 were therefore even more vital as riders eyed a place in Q2.
Quartararo shot first as he slammed in a 1:48.406 to take over at the top by 0.282, before going even faster again to see his advantage climb to 0.478 seconds. What did the competition have in response?
Viñales got close to get within 0.094, with Aleix Espargaro impressing to go P3 thereafter. It wasn’t over though, as Viñales then absolutely obliterated Quartararo’s time. The number 12 set a blistering 1:47.771 to move nearly half a second clear as Morbidelli got back up to P3, the FP1 pacesetters back at the top. On his final flying lap, Quartararo also improved but the Frenchman ultimately couldn’t get within two tenths of Viñales, so it was the latter who took opening day honours in Aragon. All three Yamahas on circuit – the absent Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) watching on from home after his positive COVID-19 test – made it an ominous first day of action.
By the end of the shuffle, it was Joan Mir closest on the chase. With one-lap pace traditionally a tougher challenge for the Hamamatsu factory, his speed will be encouraging and could set us up for a stunner on Sunday. Just behind him, Cal Crutchlow set his personal best time in his final run to move up to P5, the Brit once again impressing despite his ongoing recovery.
Aleix Espargaro ends FP2 and Day 1 in sixth overall as the Aprilia rider showed off some characteristic impressive pace at MotorLand, but it was a close run thing against younger brother Pol Espargaro as the KTM rider was forced to settle for seventh by just less than a tenth. That was impressive in itself too though, with the number 44 having suffered from injury at the track over the last two seasons and having experienced a little less track time than some.
A late lap to move back up into the top ten sees Alex Marquez end FP2 and Friday in eighth after his stunning fourth in FP1, the rookie fresh from a maiden podium, and it couldn’t really have been closer with Nakagami as the Japanese rider was forced down to P9 by just 0.001. Alex Rins completes the top ten, another good sign for Suzuki and a solid day for the truly, really local rider.
That leaves some names looking for a lot more in FP3, not least of all Championship challenger Dovizioso. The number 04 ends Friday in P13 despite a better start to FP2, and he was leapfrogged by Zarco in P11 and Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing) in P12. Behind Dovizioso comes Miller and behind him Petrucci, with Ducatis locking out P11 to P15, and Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) down in P19. The mission is a clear one for FP3.
Zarco suffered a second crash of the day as well, this time at Turn 2, with Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) also taking a tumble; the German at Turn 12.
That’s it from a chilly Friday in Teruel. Come back for more on Saturday as Ducati try and break into that top ten and the rest try to move the goalposts once again. The morning sessions get underway half an hour later so FP3 starts at 10:25 (GMT +2), but qualifying remains set to start at 14:10. Don’t miss it!
Di Giannantonio leads Bezzecchi and Lowes on Day 1
The top trio are split by just a tenth on Friday, with Marini and Bastianini also moving back up the timesheets in Teruel
MB Conveyors Speed Up’s Fabio Di Giannantonio took Moto2™ top spot on Friday at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon, the pace upped in FP2 as the Italian set a 1:52.748 to fend off second fastest Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) by just 0.045. FP1 pacesetter Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) finished P3 on the combined standings, although the Le Mans winner’s afternoon was slightly marred by a Turn 7 crash – rider ok.
FP1
Sam Lowes finished FP1 in charge, the British rider’s 1:53.391 enough to fend off Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) by 0.052 seconds. The gap had been up to eight tenths earlier in the session, but the German was able to cut that down and so was third fastest Di Giannantonio. The Italian was within 0.058 of Lowes in a tight top three.
Championship leader Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) set his personal best time on his final lap to leap up to P4, 0.189 off Lowes, with Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) completing the top five. Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing), despite an earlier run off, ended the session in sixth.
Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) started his weekend in P7, the last man within half a second of the top. Hector Garzo (Flexbox HP 40) put in a solid showing to take eighth, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who completed the top ten.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team) crashed at Turn 2 and he was the only faller in the session. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP 40) suffered a bike problem at Turn 9.
FP2
The afternoon saw the top times tumble in Moto2™, but not for everyone in the field – unlike Moto3™ and MotoGP™. Di Giannantonio reigned by the end of play, the Italian pipping compatriot Marco Bezzecchi to the top by half a tenth after a late lunge. Before that, it was Bezzecchi vs Lowes for the fastest lap, the Brit holding it for most of the session before the Italian hit back. But ‘Diggia’ hit back last of all.
It was a great day for Edgar Pons (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) as the reigning European Moto2™ Champion finished P4, the Spaniard 15th after FP1 but improving his time by over a second to leap up the timesheets in the afternoon to sit 0.031 ahead of Championship leader Marini in the session and overall. Thankfully for Marini, there seem to be few effects from his huge Le Mans crash seven days ago and he’s right in the hunt to make amends in Aragon.
Just behind Marini, in the session and the standings, came Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team). ‘Bestia’ produced a superhuman save at Turn 2 in FP2 and finished the opening day in P6, climbing from a P11 finish in FP1. Marcos Ramirez’ (Tennor American Racing) early FP2 time sees the rookie place P7 after finishing FP1 in P22, beating Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) by just 0.001, with Martin and Roberts rounding out the top 10 in FP2 and overall.
Jorge Navarro is 11th by virtue of his FP2 time, with Schrötter P12 on the combined timesheets and the first man not to have improved – the German’s FP1 time quick enough to put him on the list of provisional Q2 entrants. Garzo was 13th quickest overall, with Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) rounding out those who stand to move through to Q2 as it stands.
That’s all from Friday, with all but a handful of riders across the class going quicker in FP2 than they did in FP1. Will Saturday morning shuffle the pack again? Find out at the later time of 11:25 (GMT +2) as Moto2™ take to the track for FP3.
Moto2™: the five fastest on Friday
1 Fabio Di Giannantonio – MB Conveyors Speed Up – Speed Up – 1:52.748
2 Marco Bezzecchi – Sky Racing Team VR46 – Kalex +0.045
3 Sam Lowes – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Kalex – +0.106
4 Edgar Pons – Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 – Kalex – +0.269
5 Luca Marini – Sky Racing Team VR46 – Kalex +0.300
Raul Fernandez (25). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Fernandez four tenths clear of Fenati on Friday
The Spaniard leads the way on Day 1 once again, ahead of Fenati and Arenas
The recent Friday form man was up to his old tricks at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon. With a half second advantage by the end of the day, it’s Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on top once again, with Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) in second. After a more muted morning session, Championship leader Albert Arenas (Solunion Aspar Team Moto3) completed the top three as he moved up the timesheets in the afternoon.
There was also another key headline on Friday: Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) will be forced to sit the weekend out. The Italian must undertake a mandatory period of self-isolation after he was found to have been on a flight with a positive case of Covid-19. He has tested negative, but the self-isolation is a requirement of health authorities regardless – sidelining a Championship challenger for the weekend.
FP1
Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) started the day on top as the South African beat winner last time out, Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46), to the top by three tenths. Binder struck late to deny the Italian too, setting his lap as the flag flew to bring FP1 to an end.
Vietti was the only rider within half a second of Binder’s 1:59.813 despite losing out late on. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was 0.503 in arrears and third quickest.
Fernandez was fourth fastest in the morning, another half a tenth adrift of McPhee, with SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Niccolo Antonelli closing out the session in fifth. It was a strong showing for the Husqvarna duo of Alonso Lopez and Romano Fenati as the Sterilgarda Max Racing Team sat first and second in the early stages too, both bouncing back from their disaster/bad luck combo at Le Mans and eventually ending the session in sixth and ninth, respectively.
Second in the Championship Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) was seventh, starting off the weekend with a positive move up the timesheets after two tougher GPs, and points leader Albert Arenas was down in 13th. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was eighth, with rookie Yuki Kunii (Honda Team Asia) impressing to complete the top ten behind Fenati.
There were three incidents in the session: Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team) had a technical problem early on at Turn 7, Ryusei Yamanaka (Estrella Galicia 0,0) crashed at Turn 2 ten minutes later, and Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) went down at Turn 14.
FP2
With temperatures having risen significantly after a cold morning, the entire field were able to improve in the afternoon, ensuring the combined timesheets mirror those of FP2. Antonelli was the first man under the two minute barrier – something only Binder managed in the morning – but laptimes would drop from there on out. Fernandez was the man on the move, setting four fastest laps in a row in the latter part of the session.
Fenati maintained his form to end the day in second and Arenas was a key improver as he moved up to become the quickest Championship challenger overall, the Spaniard setting his quickest lap of the day on his final lap of the day. FP1’s fastest man Darryn Binder completes the top four, ahead of Suzuki by less than a tenth, with Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) within a tenth of the Japanese rider in turn as he moved up to end the day in sixth.
Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) ends Friday in P7 as he beat Ogura to it by just 0.011, but the Japanese rider continued his move forward after a couple of more difficult Grands Prix, well within the provisional Q2 entrants on Day 1. Vietti ends Friday in P9, with Alonso Lopez completing the top ten.
The final four on for provisional graduation to Q2 are Carlos Tatay (Reale Avintia Moto3), Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) – the sole crasher in the afternoon session, rider ok – and Antonelli… leaving John McPhee needing to move forward in FP3. Can the Brit do it? Find out on Saturday morning at the slightly later time of 9:30 (GMT +2).
Moto3™: the five fastest on Friday
1 Raul Fernandez – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM 1:58.144
2 Romano Fenati – Sterilgarda Max Racing Team – Husqvarna +0.438
3 Albert Arenas – Solunion Aspar Team Moto3 – KTM +0.532
4 Darryn Binder – CIP – Green Power – KTM +0.545
5 Tatsuki Suzuki – SIC58 Squadra Corse – Honda +0.619
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
MAVERICK VIÑALES TOPS ARAGON GP FRIDAY FREE PRACTICE SESSIONS
Alcañiz (Spain), 16th October 2020
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales enjoyed a very successful opening day of the Gran Premio Michelin de Aragón race weekend. His strong liking for the MotorLand Aragón track once again showed in the FP2 session. He was the only rider to drop under the 1‘48s-mark, earning himself first place in the FP2 and combined free practice standings.
Viñales already had topped the FP1 rankings in the morning, and he continued the positive momentum in the afternoon. He gradually upped his pace throughout the warmer FP2, preparing for a mini time attack at the end of the session. He proved that the base set-up of his Yamaha is working well for him when he clocked a 1‘47.771s on lap 12/15. The hot lap put him at the top of the Friday timesheets, with a 0.249s margin over his closest rival.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
Of course, this is a very strange weekend for our team. We had the bad news yesterday that Valentino is not able to join us here this weekend. It‘s a situation that none of us ever even wanted to imagine, and he is dearly missed by the whole team. We all wish for Vale to return to good health quickly, and we hope to have him back on track with us as soon as possible. But until then we have to focus on the task at hand. We came here feeling quite optimistic that we could be strong this weekend, and so far we are on the right track. Maverick loves this circuit, and his pace is very strong, although the conditions were really cold and windy today. The number of crashes shows that it‘s quite tricky out there when you start pushing, but Maverick still felt comfortable with the bike, so this is very promising. We will continue to work hard this evening, because we‘re aiming to obtain a front-row qualifying result tomorrow.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
First of all, I want to say I‘m sorry for Vale that he can‘t be here. I wish him a quick recovery. Today was good. I’m quite happy because I think we did good lap times. Even if the track is not at its best, our lap times are pretty fast. The bike is working well from the first laps. We know this track is good for us, because it has a lot of flowing corners. We just needed to improve in a few corners and we did that today, which makes me very happy. Today it was also windy here, and usually the Yamaha is very stable even then. Our race pace is quite good. We still need some more time to understand the tyres, but I can do a 1’48s-rhythm, which is good. I hope tomorrow the temperatures will be a bit higher. Especially this morning the conditions were very tricky. It was so difficult to stay on the bike. We will use tomorrow’s sessions to try to be more consistent. I want to try to improve my riding style, because it’s still not perfect at the entire track, but I can make another step in FP3. Anyway, today we did a good job. Overall the feeling is very positive. Now we will focus on tomorrow.
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
PETRONAS Yamaha SRT in top form at chilly Aragón
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli end Aragon GP opening day second and third
After a slightly delayed start to Friday MotoGP action at MotorLand Aragón, due to the cold track temperatures, PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli showed that they are in top form once again. The pair ended day one of the Aragon GP second and third respectively.
Quartararo had a strong opening practice session, staying within the top-three places for the entirety of the 45 minutes. The Frenchman did experience a Turn 8 crash on his final flying lap, but still finished the session third with a 1min 50.142secs lap. Fabio stayed at the sharp end throughout FP2 and enjoyed a period of time at the top of the timesheets as well. His fastest time of 1min 48.020secs placed him second in the session, and overall.
Although Morbidelli’s FP1 session came to an early end, after a Turn 14 crash with just over eight minutes to go, the Italian ended the 45 minutes with the second fastest lap time: 1min 49.951secs. Immediately up to speed in the afternoon session, Franco placed his Yamaha YZR-M1 at the top of the timesheets in the early part of FP2. Come the end of the 45-minute session, Morbidelli’s 1min 48.218secs lap saw him end the session, and the day, third.
The MotoGP FP3 session will begin at 10.25am local time (4.25pm MYT) for Fabio and Franco tomorrow, with qualifying due to get underway at 2.10pm local time (8.10pm MYT).
Fabio Quartararo
2nd (1’48.020)
It was not an easy day, but it was quite positive: we had a strange crash in FP1, I’m still not completely sure why it happened, but FP2 was great. Tomorrow it looks like we will need to do some laps with the soft rear tyre; I think it could be a good option for the race because the rhythm is good, but not great. In general though, it was a positive day. I’m so happy that in the afternoon we had a great feeling with the front tyre, because it wasn’t there in the morning. I think tomorrow afternoon it will be important to not lose this rhythm, but also to make sure we are prepared for the race as well.
Franco Morbidelli
3rd (1’48.218)
It was a positive day for us and we have started the weekend well, in fact all Yamahas were on top! This morning the conditions were tricky, the temperatures were low and the wind was blowing quite a lot. We seem to suffer a bit less than others in these conditions though. I made a mistake this morning: I had a slow lap because of a yellow flag, then I started to push again too quickly and I crashed. Although we have a good lap time from today, I will still try to push tomorrow. I think we can improve because the weather forecast says the conditions should be slightly better and there will be more rubber on the track.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Alex Marquez heats up his pace at frigid Aragon
Increasing temperatures saw lap times drop throughout the day as the MotorLand Aragon circuit warmed. Alex Marquez showed top-ten pace in both sessions with Stefan Bradl building his base.
There was a delayed start to round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship with track temperatures showing at less than ten degrees for Free Practice 1, the opening session of the day subsequently delayed by half an hour. Conditions did improve to allow uninterrupted running after the delayed start.
The cold morning got off to a solid start for Alex Marquez, able to run within the top ten for much of the first session. Alex was victim to the classic Aragon Turn 2 crash during FP1, the MotoGP rookie walking away unharmed. Bouncing back from his fall, Alex ended the morning as the fourth fastest rider with a solid final lap. Speed at the end of the session continued for Alex, the Repsol Honda Team rider setting a 1’48.823 on his final flying lap of Free Practice 2 to defend his position in the top ten. Both sessions demonstrated consistent speed with late flashes of one-lap pace from the Le Mans podium finisher.
Friday proved to be a busy day for Stefan Bradl who went about adjusting the setup of his Repsol Honda Team RC213V to the Aragon circuit. A fall at Turn 12 with 15 minutes of the FP2 session remaining saw Stefan Bradl walk away unharmed, able to quickly return to the Repsol Honda Team garage. Completing a total of 34 laps around the 5.1-kilometre-long circuit, the HRC test rider set a best time of 1’50.091.
Cal Crutchlow ended the day in fifth, the fastest of the Honda RC213V machines. Crutchlow, Alex and Takaaki Nakagami in ninth made it three Hondas in the top ten once again.
Timings for morning sessions on Saturday and Sunday have been revised due to the forecasted cold temperatures. Free Practice 3 on Saturday will start half an hour later at 10:25 Local Time with Warm Up rescheduled to 10:00 on Sunday. The race is still set to begin at 14:00 Local Time.
Alex Marquez
8TH 1’48.823
“I felt good today on track, it’s a circuit I really like, and I normally feel very comfortable here with my riding style. The Honda is also quite good here. I had a rookie crash in the morning but in the afternoon, we managed everything quite well and we tried some different options for the front. Tomorrow morning, even with the delay, I think it will be tricky to improve our lap time with the expected temperature, so I was working a lot in FP2 to put myself in a strong position to fight for Q2. I did a good last lap and I am pleased with how it went but you never know in MotoGP! Let’s see what happens in FP3 tomorrow.”
Stefan Bradl
20TH 1’50.091
“Well today was a little bit tricky, first in the morning it was very cold which stopped us doing some of the things we had planned. In the afternoon, the conditions were better but I had a very strange crash. I need to look at the data to understand what happened better, I am physically OK though which is the most important. Let’s see what tomorrow brings, hopefully the conditions will improve, and we can get through what we need to in FP3 and FP4. There’s some work to do, but I am confident we can do it. There were three Hondas in the top ten, so the bike is working well here.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:
ALEIX SIXTH ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT ARAGÓN
Despite temperatures that were anything but summery, so much that FP1 was delayed to let the Spanish asphalt warm up a few degrees, Aleix confirmed his feeling and the Aprilia RS-GP’s on the MotorLand de Aragón track.
On the first day of practice, he took sixth in the combined standings, a result clinched by in the second part of the FP2 session. A nice start in view of qualifying.
With a rather solid pace in the various conditions, Bradley Smith seemed less incisive in terms of a flying lap.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“This morning was the only time in my MotoGP career I’ve been worried, seeing the asphalt temperature. With this bike and the power we have available, it is really difficult and I thought delaying FP1 was definitely the right thing to do. In the afternoon, things more or less got back to normal and I was able to go fast, but I’m not sure that my time will guarantee pre-qualifying for Q2. Knowing the riders, I’m sure that at the end of FP3 tomorrow, everyone will try a time attack and the standings will change. In any case, I am optimistic. On this track, the Aprilia RS-GP expresses itself extremely well.”
BRADLEY SMITH
“Conditions today, especially in FP1, were rather difficult. With such low temperatures and with the added factor of the wind, nothing seems to work as it should. Things improve in the afternoon, but the difference between the two sessions is enormous. It will be something to discuss, since we’ll most likely find similar conditions for the upcoming races as well.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
SUZUKI GOING STRONG ON DAY ONE IN ARCTIC ARAGON
Motorland Aragon in Spain plays host to Round 11 of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship this weekend, and the technical track is proving tough with very chilly temperatures in the mornings around the desert-like terrain.
FP1 was delayed to allow time for the circuit to warm up to a safer temperature. Team Suzuki Ecstar’s riders, Joan Mir and Alex Rins, took a careful approach to the morning’s proceedings, allowing time to get to grips with the feel of the track. However, both riders found themselves able to set strong lap times with their GSX-RRs, with Mir placing himself well within the Top 10 and closing FP1 in sixth, while Rins was close by in ninth.
Friday afternoon’s FP2 was much warmer, making it the candidate to split the Top 10 for tomorrow’s qualifying given the likelihood of another chilly start on Saturday. Rins was quick to get into the Top 3 before switching his focus to settings for the mid-part of the session and pushing again towards the end. He worked hard to ensure a place inside the Top 10 with provisional passage to Q2, bringing his lap times down by two seconds compared to the morning and taking 10th. Mir also set about putting a string of laps together, working on tyres and setup ahead of race day. This paid off as he maintained a spot in the Top 5, closing the session in a great fourth, also shaving two seconds off his best lap of the morning.
Saturday’s FP3 sessions will be pushed back by 30 minutes, with MotoGP starting at 10:25 local time.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“It’s been a positive day. This morning the conditions were complicated with such cold temperatures – it was easy to make mistakes so we kept calm and focused on settings. In the afternoon we could work much more effectively thanks to the warmer weather, so we focused on bike settings and tyres. Joan had good lap times and things are looking promising. Alex did well to stay in the Top 10, which is important for tomorrow. There’s some room to improve in terms of setup but we’re feeling happy and ready for tomorrow.”
Joan Mir:
“I’m happy and feeling positive with what I’ve done today, the team and I have started in a good way and we’re working from a good base so I feel great. My potential is really good but we need to do a bit more work and improve further, as well as assessing the tyre choice again. Today wasn’t easy for anyone with the conditions, but we’re hoping that with warmer temperatures tomorrow the feeling will get even better.”
Alex Rins:
“My target today was to be inside the Top 10, and I managed to do that but only just. I made a few mistakes when trying to set my fastest laps, but I know I have good pace so I feel confident about tomorrow. This morning it was really cold and it was quite tough. I rode very cautiously to try and stay safe and learn how to manage it. I think tomorrow will be a little easier and I’m looking forward to it.”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:
CRUTCHLOW FIFTH FASTEST ON OPENING DAY IN ARAGON
Cal Crutchlow picked up where he left off in France as he was straight back on the pace in the opening free practice sessions for the Aragon Grand Prix. Although he failed to finish last Sunday’s race at Le Mans, the LCR Honda CASTROL rider showed his speed all weekend and was amongst the frontrunners again in Spain on Friday as he ended in fifth place overall.
With freezing cold conditions complicating matters for the premier class riders, Crutchlow made a sound start in a delayed FP1 session as he posted the ninth fastest lap. Times improved in FP2 as things warmed up a little and Crutchlow ensured he was well-placed ahead of qualifying on Saturday by going fifth quickest, ending as the leading Honda rider.
Cal Crutchlow – 5th
(1’48.598)
“It was really cold here in Aragon today. Obviously, we had a delay to the first session which I think was the right decision given the Grand Prix bikes and the Michelin tyres characteristics. It seems very difficult to get heat into them which we know from experience over the years, so the race direction did a good job. Once the sessions got underway I felt quite good, I was comfortable enough and quite confident with the bike, although it was shaking a lot moving around and we need to improve that area for tomorrow. We’re a long way off the lap times of a normal race weekend because of the temperature, but it was a good day for the team and we look forward to tomorrow now.”
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Aragon GP – Difficult day for Pramac Racing, Jack P14 and Pecco P19 in the combined standing
First day of activity at MotorLand Aragon, Jack and Pecco finished in fourteenth and nineteenth position respectively in the combined standing. Jack Miller after being the fastest Ducati rider in the first free practice session during the FP2 improved his time by almost two seconds but was not enough to enter in the top ten. The Australian rider finished in P14 with his best time time of 1:49.026. Pecco Bagnaia despite with his Ducati touched the top speed of the track at 351.8 km/h had the same difficulties as his teammate. The Italian rider closed the day in P19 with a time of 1:49.488.
Pecco Bagnaia
We weren’t expecting to be so far behind in a track that usually Ducati is very competitive. With this cold condition of the track I couldn’t warm up the tires and this was the reason why I was very slowly. During FP2 I felt better with the bike with Medium tires and in only 3 laps I improved my chrono ( 1.7).
Jack Miller
Not the best way to start, I did some good laps, but we struggled with the wind and this morning it was very cold. Tomorrow the weather conditions should be better and we will certainly have more chances to do well.
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Idemitsu:
TAKA INSIDE TOP 10 ON DAY ONE IN ARAGON
Takaaki Nakagami made a solid start as free practice for the Aragon Grand Prix got underway amid chilly conditions in the north-east of Spain. The LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider was inside the top 10 in both sessions on Friday and eventually finished in ninth position in the overall standings.
The morning’s FP1 was initially delayed because of the cold but, when the action started, Nakagami responded well to claim fifth place. Although temperatures rose for FP2, gusty winds still made life difficult for the riders and Nakagami battled hard for ninth – finishing just three tenths behind Suzuki’s Joan Mir in fourth.
Takaaki Nakagami – 9th
(1’48.824)
“Today the conditions were a bit tricky, especially in FP1 when it was very cold. In FP2 it was slightly better conditions, but the track temperature was very low and there were strong winds. We are inside the top 10 and overall it was not a bad start, but we need to check the data to see where we can improve and understand in which sector we are losing most time. But my general feeling on the bike was quite nice and the pace was good, so tomorrow we need to work out our race tyre option because with a soft compound on the rear we had good grip but we don’t know if it will work for race distance, so we’ll check that in FP4.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Aragon GP: first day of free practices affected by the cold weather. Dovizioso closes thirteenth at the end of the first two sessions. Petrucci ends with the fifteenth time overall
Low temperatures and strong winds made difficult the first day of free practices of the MotoGP Aragón Grand Prix held this weekend at MotorLand Aragón.
The first two free practices sessions of the Aragon GP, scheduled this weekend at MotorLand Aragon in Alcañiz, were affected by low temperatures and cold wind, forcing the Race Direction to delay the start of FP1 this morning, to allow the asphalt to reach at least 12 degrees before welcoming the MotoGP riders on the track.
In FP1, characterized by several crashes, Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci took to the track without pushing, leaving to the afternoon session their search for the best lap times. In FP2, with the temperatures of the tarmac reaching the 23 degrees, the Ducati Team riders were finally able to ride with the same conditions that they will find on Sunday in the race.
Seventeenth at the end of FP1, Andrea was able to improve his morning lap time by more than 2 seconds in the afternoon session, closing the day with the thirteenth time overall in 1:49.015. Danilo finished 15th with a time of 1:49.107, just a few thousandths of a second from his teammate.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:49.015 (13th)
“It was a pretty difficult day because of the cold weather and the strong wind. With our bikes, we struggle a bit to warm up the tyres with these cold temperatures. This morning we weren’t able to do much during the first session, while in the afternoon, we started our work ahead of Sunday’s race. Tomorrow the wind should calm down, and so we hope to be able to make good use of the time available to make further steps forward.”
“The conditions today were particularly difficult due to the low temperatures and the wind. The feeling with the bike is good, but we still have to find the right setup for this weekend. Temperatures should be similar tomorrow, but the wind should stop, and that could help us. We don’t have much time, but all in all, we are close to the firsts, so I am confident that we can improve on tomorrow.”
The Ducati Team riders will return to the track tomorrow at 10:25 AM local time (GMT +2.00) for the decisive session of FP3, while qualifying will be held according to the usual schedule, starting from 2:10 PM local time, after FP4.
More, from a press release issued by Esponsorama Racing:
THE ESPONSORAMA RACING FINISHES THE FIRST DAY OF THE ARAGON GRAND PRIX SATISFACTORILY
Johann Zarco and Tito Rabat finished in eleventh and twelfth positions respectively on the first day of free practice for the Aragon Grand Prix.
The first free practice was delayed by 30 minutes due to the low temperatures on the track. Despite this, Tito Rabat set a time of 1.51.581, only three tenths slower finished Johann Zarco after suffering an inconsequential crash at Turn 14.
In the afternoon, both riders fought for the top 10 during the practice. Johann Zarco, although he suffered a crash at turn two, finished in eleventh with a time of 1.48.906. One tenth behind is Tito Rabat in twelfth position.
Tomorrow from 10:25 will take place the last free practice and qualifying sessions of the Aragon Grand Prix where Esponsorama Racing will fight for the best possible grid positions.
JOHANN ZARCO – P11
“I am disappointed with today because I have had two crashes due to the cold. Angry, because the objective this afternoon was to be among the top ten, because I think that tomorrow in FP3 we will not be able to lower today’s times. In Q1 we will do our best to get a good lap and fight for the front lines of the grid”
TITO RABAT – P12
“It has been a very positive day, both in the morning and in the afternoon. Let’s hope that tomorrow we can improve a little, even if it is cold, since the forecasts say that it will be less windy “
O’Halloran heads off title rivals in opening practice at Brands Hatch
Jason O’Halloran got the jump on his Bennetts British Superbike Championship rivals in the opening free practice session at Brands Hatch this afternoon as the McAMS Yamaha rider held the advantage in the times, leading the way by 0.076s.
O’Halloran held the position from SYNETIQ BMW’s Bradley Ray who had a stunning start to his home round in second place, nudging title contender Glenn Irwin for Honda Racing into third place ahead of tomorrow’s opening race.
Luke Mossey was another rider to break up the title contenders in the opening session as he fired his Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW into fourth place, narrowly ahead of championship leader Josh Brookes. The Australian will be striving to hold on to his advantage in the standings, with 16-points between him and his VisionTrack Ducati teammate Christian Iddon.
Iddon was just adrift in sixth place with Andrew Irwin and Tommy Bridewell next up in the order as Héctor Barberá and Danny Buchan completed the top ten.
For the fifth of the title contenders, it was a disastrous start to the weekend with Tarran Mackenzie crashing out at Stirlings, and sidelined for the majority of the session. The McAMS Yamaha rider ending the opening day in 18th place.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch GP, Free Practice 1:
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 1m26:113s
Bradley Ray (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.076s
Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.169s
Luke Mossey (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.322s
Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.407s
Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) +0.509s
Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing) +0.556s
Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +0.748s
Héctor Barberá (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +0.830s
Danny Buchan (Rapid Fulfillment FS-3 Kawasaki) +0.877s
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha)
Bennetts BSB – Fastest in free practice
“I love riding the GP circuit here at Brands Hatch. I eased into it and felt comfortable pretty much from my out lap and I felt happy with the setting of the McAMS Yamaha.
“I built into it, went back out at the end and wanted to try and improve my pace, but the track was quite cool so I just played it safe.
“We got plenty of laps in and I don’t think we are far away; we will make some small tweaks tonight but we should be in good shape for tomorrow.
“I can’t wait to get stuck in with qualifying and the first race tomorrow to see what we can do!”
It’s that man Acosta again in Aragón Rookies Cup Qualifying
Leading the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and leading the times when it counted on Friday at Motorland Aragón, there is no doubt that Pedro Acosta is setting a very high standard.
The Spanish 16-year-old second year Rookie was chased hard by fellow countryman Daniel Holgado and it was the 15-year-old first year Rookie who also pressed him hard in Austria.
David Alonso, the 14-year-old Colombian completes the front row and is looking for his first podium after a string of 4ths at the Red Bull Ring.
Acosta confident
“That’s a lot better because last year I started here from 9th and the race was very difficult,” explained Pedro Acosta who was 4th and 7th in 2019. “The bike is really great and the set-up is very good for the warmer temperature this afternoon which will be the same time as the race.”
“I think it maybe is possible to break away in the race, because in FP2 which was at the race time I had a really good feeling with the used tyre and I think that we can break the race or at least reduce the size of the front group. I think that is important for the last laps here.”
“I feel really good because I had a perfect bike in every condition today, even this morning when it was cold and quite windy, it felt good.”
Holgado will challenge
“I’m happy to be on the front row,” enthused Daniel Holgado. “The bike improved in the afternoon and I am happy that we have a good setting, it gave me good feelings this afternoon. I think we can race at the front tomorrow.”
Alonso ready for the battle
“I’m 3rd and really really happy,” explained David Alonso. “It was not easy because I could not find the space I needed for the best lap but in the end I did it. I could make the lap time on my own and I am happy that I continue to improve. That is what I am looking to do tomorrow as well, keep getting better.”
“I need to do better in the front group than in Austria, be more aggressive and more intelligent in the final laps.”
David Muñoz wants more
“It was a very good Quali, a good position on the second row, but the bike could be better,” stated David Muñoz, the 14-year-old Spaniard. “The front is pushing a lot and causing me a lot of problems. I will have to talk to the engineers because I don’t know if we should change something for the race, I do need something.”
Van den Goorbergh with his best
“Qualifying was good finally,” explained Dutch 14-year-old Zonta van den Goorbergh. “Free Practice 1 this morning was hard as we had the wrong set-up. We changed it for FP2 and that was better but I was running on my own and couldn’t get a good time. I was losing 8 or 9 tenths in the final sector.”
“So in Qualifying we decided to go with the main group. In the beginning I went with Holgado and we caught the main group. We overtook some riders and got some good laps. In the end I wanted to really push one more time but got the finish flag. That’s a shame but P5 is still my best grid position in the Rookies so I’m happy with that.”
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 1 is at 16:30 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 15:30, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
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Tony Sollima testing at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway on The Speed Merchant Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard. Photo by CaliPhotography.com, courtesy MotoAmerica.
MotoAmerica: The Baggers Entry List Is Here!
Ben Bostrom, Josh Herrin And More Stars Set To Compete
IRVINE, CA (October 16, 2020) – As eye-opening as the built-to-the-hilt V-twin Baggers set to compete in the Drag Specialties King of the Baggers are, the list of riders set to do battle on them at the iconic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is equally as stout. And a fight it promises to be on Saturday afternoon, October 24, as the Baggers will highlight the opening day of racing in the MotoAmerica GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey.
The teams, who have gone all-in on the concept of showing off their wares in a race like none before it, aren’t just pulling guys off the street to race their steeds. One only has to look at the #77 Feuling Parts Harley-Davidson entry to see that’s not the case. Stop rubbing your eyes… that is former AMA Superbike Champion and multi-time World Superbike race winner Ben Bostrom’s name. Yes, the Ben Bostrom.
And how about the #50 entry from Performance Machine? That would be 2013 AMA Superbike Champion and current MotoAmerica Superbike racer Josh Herrin. What about that Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson? Yes, that’s Hayden Gillim, who last year came very close to earning the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship.
The rest of the 13-rider field? Well, there’s not a slouch in the bunch.
The SlyFox Harley-Davidson will be ridden by former AMA and MotoAmerica racer Cory West; another former MotoAmerica racer, Tyler O’Hara, will be riding the S&S Indian Challenger; and Josh Chisum, on the Barnett Clutches Harley, is another who has raced in MotoAmerica previously.
Current MotoAmerica Stock 1000 and Superbike racer Travis Wyman will throw his leg over the Trask Performance Harley-Davidson with Michael Woolaway, a highly regarded bike builder and Pikes Peak racer, doing likewise on the Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Road Glide. Eric Stahl will take to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the Alloy Art MFG Co. Harley Road King with Tony Sollima riding The Speed Merchant’s Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard.
Arlen Ness is set to field a Harley-Davidson with noted stunt rider and the son of former 500cc World Motocross Champion Logan Lackey handling the riding chores. A second Indian entry has been fielded by Roland Sands Design and will feature flat tracker/road racer Frankie Garcia.
You may also have heard of Michael Barnes, the veteran hired gun who has been a race winner in nearly all forms of AMA road racing over the years. The Floridian will ride a Bassani Xhaust Harley-Davidson Road King.
So, there you have it. Thirteen top-notch riders on some of trickest motorcycles the world has seen attacking the iconic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The eight-lap Drag Specialties King of the Baggers race is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. (Pacific) on Saturday afternoon, October 24, on the Monterey Peninsula. The race will air live on MotoAmerica Live+, the live streaming and on-demand service from MotoAmerica, and on Harley-Davidson TV. Additionally, the final practice session for the Baggers will air live on MotoAmerica’s Facebook page at 4:40 p.m. (Pacific) on Friday.
For the full 2020 MotoAmerica Series schedule, click HERE
To purchase tickets to any of the 2020 series rounds, click HERE
For information on how to watch the 2020 MotoAmerica Series, click HERE
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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