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MotoAmerica: Kevin Olmedo Quickest In Junior Cup FP1 At Sonoma Raceway

Cycle Gear Championship of Sonoma

MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, California

August 10, 2019

Liqui Moly Junior Cup Free Practice One Results (all on Dunlop tires):

1. Kevin Olmedo (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:52.748

2. Josh Serne (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:52.807

3. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:52.984

4. Hunter Dunham (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:53.610

5. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:53.786

6. Dominic Doyle (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:54.310

7. Teagg Hobbs (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:54.556

8. Jackson Blackmon (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:54.698

9. Gauge Rees (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:54.967

10. Damian Jigalov (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:56.443

11. David Kohlstaedt (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:58.250

12. Benjamin Gloddy (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:58.847

13. Jamie Astudillo (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:58.877

14. Brett Voorhees (Yam YZF-R3), 1:59.038

15. Karen Ogura (Yam YZF-R3), 1:59.408

16. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:59.459

17. Jacob Stroud (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:59.568

18. Rafael Revelo (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:59.628

19. John Knowles (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:00.573

20. Toby Khamsouk (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:01.164

21. Liam Grant (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:01.873

22. Grayson Davidson (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:03.360

23. Isiah Burleson (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:04.172

24. Aden Thao (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:05.040

25. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:08.627

MotoGP: Marc Marquez Breaks Lap Record, Earns Pole Position At Red Bull Ring (Updated)

MotoGP Race Lap Record: Andrea Dovizioso, 1:24.277, 2018

MotoGP All Time Lap Record: Andrea Iannone, 1:23.142, 2016

2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship

Red Bull Ring

Spielberg, Austria

August 10, 2019

Qualifying Results (all on Michelin tires):

From Qualifying Two:

1. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:23.027 (New All-Time Lap Record)

2. Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:23.461

3. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:23.515

4. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:23.523

5. Francesco Bagnaia, Italy (Ducati), 1:23.652

6. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:23.669

7. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:23.681

8. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:23.688

9. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:23.754

10. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:23.817

11. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:23.866

12. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:23.964

From Qualifying One:

13. Miguel Oliveira, Portugal (KTM), 1:24.130

14. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:24.270

15. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:24.389

16. Johann Zarco, France (KTM), 1:24.392

17. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:24.423

18. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:24.526

19. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:24.749

20. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (KTM), 1:24.759

21. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Honda), 1:25.020

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Undisputed: Marquez takes premier class pole record from Doohan

The number 93 takes pole number 59, Quartararo and Dovizioso set to start alongside him in Austria

Saturday, 10 August 2019

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) claimed another stunning pole position at the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, and in doing so he surpasses MotoGP™ Legend Mick Doohan’s previous record of 58 premier class pole positions. Now the undisputed king of qualifying, the number 93 will have Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) alongside him on the front row.

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the fastest rider after the first flying laps at the Red Bull Ring, with the Spaniard doing his first stint on the medium tyres and going four-tenths quicker than the field on his second fast lap as teammate Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Quartararo all fought it out for second position and Viñales’ advantage was chopped.

Then, however, Marquez started really taking the the bull by the horns. The reigning Champion has been the man to beat all weekend in Austria and soon enough, Marquez was back at the summit, 0.269 faster than Viñales’ to sit on provisional pole after the first set of flying laps.

Just seven tenths covered the top 12 as the riders came out on fresh rubber for their second stints, with Viñales switching to a soft rear tyre this time. And ‘Top Gun’ went quicker to cut Marquez’ advantage to 0.164 as Dovizioso then ramped up his pace to slot himself onto the provisional front row behind the two Spaniards. The red sectors, though, were lighting up and that was for one man: Marquez. The Spaniard had Doohan’s premier class pole record well in his sights, and he also had a 1:22 on his radar. When Marquez came round to complete his lap, a 1:23.027 making it the fastest we’ve ever seen around the Red Bull Ring…although not quite in the 1:22s.

The front row wasn’t quite decided there though. Dovizioso was able to improve his time to shoot 0.008 ahead of Viñales and on his final qualifying lap, but rookie sensation Quartararo beat the pair of them to stick his M1 on the front row for the sixth time in 2019. The Frenchman was overjoyed with another quality Saturday display, set to start between Marquez and Dovizioso on Sunday.

That puts Viñales at the head of Row 2 ahead of a stunner from Q1 graduate Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), the reigning Moto2™ World Champion, who had a cracking Q2 to claim his best MotoGP™ grid slot yet. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) continued his solid weekend to set the sixth-fastest time in Q2, and the Japanese rider was just 0.017 off Bagnaia to claim his best Q2 result as well.

On the third row, Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins leads Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Q1’s fastest man Crutchlow in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively, with P10 going the way of Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Behind ‘The Doctor’, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro will launch from P11 to try and push for the Austrian team on home soil, while a late crash for Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) at Turn 4 ended a disappointing Q2 for the Italian – meaning it’s P12 for ‘Petrux’, rider ok.

Can anyone beat a superlative Marquez on Sunday afternoon? He’s qualified on pole twice in Austria before and has yet to win, so all is not lost for the chasing pack. Dovizioso looks set to be his closest rival, so will Ducati keep up their 100% Red Bull Ring record? A classic encounter awaits and you don’t want to miss it. Tune in at 14:00 local time (GMT+2).


Moto2™ qualifying at the Red Bull Ring sets up a race to remember

Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) picked up a magnificent maiden Moto2™ pole position after setting a 1:28.718 in Q2 at the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, the Japanese rider beating Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on KTM’s home turf by just 0.073. Thai rider Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) claims a stunning first front-row start in third, becoming the first from Thailand to start from the front in the class since Assen 2010.

The forecast storm stayed away as sunny skies greeted the intermediate class riders for Q1 and Q2 at the Red Bull Ring, and we were to witness a few surprises. It was no surprise to see the likes of Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM) and Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) come through the first part of qualifying though as 18 riders got set to battle it out for pole position.

Immediately it was Binder who was setting the pace as the South African set about trying to give KTM a home GP pole, but Nagashima had been quick all weekend and the Japanese rider wasn’t messing about in Q2 – taking provisional pole on his third flying lap as Chantra slammed in a lap good enough for provisional P3. But what could Championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) do? The Spaniard was on the fringes of the top ten and went up into fifth, but his lap time was cancelled for exceeding track limits as the field struggled to go quicker than their early benchmark laps.

So did Nagashima, Binder and Chantra have the front row covered? They did. Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) was just over a tenth off at the third split but would slot into fourth before being demoted to fifth by top rookie Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), with Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40) completing Row 2.

Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) spearheads the third row on the Austrian GP grid, the Spaniard joined by compatriot Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) and Nagashima’s teammate Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team). Marini claimed P10 after coming through Q1.

Marquez, meanwhile, has plenty to do from P11 on the grid as he ended up just 0.008 behind Marini. The number 73 has a 33-point lead but will be gunning to move through quickly on Sunday, as will the men around him: rookie Jorge Martin starts 12th for Red Bull KTM Ajo at their home race, ahead of Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) and Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM). Mattia Pasini (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) completed the top 15, just ahead of Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP), who starts P16 and will be looking for more on Sunday, too.

How will the pack shuffle on race day, and will the rain stay away? Find out at 12:20 local time (GMT+2).

Fenati fires from Q1 to Moto3™ pole

The Italian takes pole for the first time since the 2017 British Grand Prix

VNE Snipers’ Romano Fenati took pole position for the first time in nearly two years after taking to the top in Q2 at the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, the Italian progressing through from Q1 before pouncing late for P1. Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was second quickest, with Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) third and the fastest KTM on the Austrian factory’s home turf.

Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) was the man on top as the flag flew to signal the end of the session, but from then on a flurry of riders crossed the line at the end of their final flying laps and the pack shuffled. Petronas Sprinta Racing’s John McPhee went it alone and crossed the line first, taking provisional pole position, but the Scotsman would slip down the order when the pack fired through.

However, a host of penalties will shuffle starting positions, and it’s McPhee who will start from pole.

Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers), Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing), Fenati, Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP), Masia, Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia), Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing), Sasaki, Toba and Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) have all had their fastest laps in Q2 cancelled. Riccardo Rossi (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) have 12-position grid penalties, in addition to the 12-place penalties given to Sasaki and Ogura after Friday’s action. Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) also received a penalty then, that of starting from the back of the grid.

Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) was awarded two penalties: his fastest lap in Q2 was cancelled and he was given a back of the grid start.

After lap cancellations and penalties, McPhee heads Fenati and Toba, with Arbolino, Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Masia on Row 2. Ramirez starts ahead of Dalla Porta as the two Leopard teammates took P7 and P8 respectively, joined on the third row by rookie Raul Fernandez.

Kornfeil is tenth ahead of Yurchenko and Antonelli, with Canet just behind his key rival in P13. Suzuki and Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) complete Row 5 alongside the Championship leader.

Sasaki starts P20, Ogura P22, Rossi P28, Migno P29 and Binder P30. Alonso Lopez will start from pitlane due to his penalty from the Czech GP.

After a dramatic Saturday, tune in at 11:00 (GMT +2) local time to see the lightweight class take on the stunning Red Bull Ring – with some looking to capitalise and some looking for a comeback.

BMW Boxer Cup: American Nate Kern On Pole Position At Most, In The Czech Republic

IDM Championship Series

Most Circuit, Czech Republic

August 10, 2019

BMW Boxer Cup Combined Qualifying Results (all riding BMW R nineT Racer motorcycles):

1. Nate Kern, USA, 1:47.627

2. Christof Hofer, Germany, 1:47.989

3. Marvin Jurgens, Germany, 1:48.380

4. Harald Kitsch, Germany, 1:49.182

5. Kai-Uwe Lenz, Germany, 1:50.537

6. Fritz Spenner, Germany, 1:51.873

7. Matthias Betz, Germany, 1:52.159

8. Kiljan Lange, Germany, 1:53.012

9. Marco Gluch, Germany, 1:54.593

10. Hans-Werner Haas, Germany, 1:55.656

Moto3 World Championship: John McPhee Takes Pole Position In Austria

Moto3 Race Lap Record: Lorenzo Dalla Porta, 1:36.307, 2018

Moto3 All Time Lap Record: Joan Mir, 1:36.228, 2016

2019 FIM Moto3 World Championship

Red Bull Ring

Spielberg, Austria

August 10, 2019

Qualifying Results (all on Dunlop tires):

1. John McPhee, UK (Honda), 1:36.690

2. Tatsuki Suzuki, Japan (Honda), 1:36.788

3. Romano Fenati, Italy (Honda), 1:36.814

4. Kaito Toba, Japan (Honda), 1:36.847

5. Tony Arbolino, Italy (Honda), 1:36.850

6. Celestino Vietti, Italy (KTM), 1:37.021

7. Jaume Masia, Spain (KTM), 1:37.055

8. Ayumu Sasaki, Japan (Honda), 1:37.272

9. Marcos Ramirez, Spain (Honda), 1:37.301

10. Lorenzo Dalla Porta, Italy (Honda), 1:37.330

Racers Complain About Cornerworkers At Laguna Seca Damaging Crashed Racebikes, And Shooting Videos Instead Of Paying Attention

KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman and Yoshimura
Suzuki’s Josh Herrin both crashed during MotoAmerica EBC Brakes Superbike Race
One during the combined World Superbike and MotoAmerica event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca last month, and said that cornerworkers who pulled their crashed racebikes out of gravel traps carelessly caused additional damage. Wyman added that he saw a cornerworker using a cell phone to make a video instead of paying attention to what was happening as riders approached the crash scene.Today at Sonoma Raceway, Wyman and Herrin repeated those charges. And despite a cornerworking organization official stating that a standard review of closed-circuit track videos didn’t show cornerworkers using their cell phones following the Wyman and Herrin crashes, an independent video from another crash, in another corner, showed a cornerworker staring at their phone while racebikes were on course.

Herrin ran off Turn Six at high speed and crashed his factory
Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the gravel trap. “One side of my bike was damaged, but the other side didn’t
even have a scratch on it,” Herrin told Roadracingworld.com. “They took my bike
behind the wall, and put it down on the side that wasn’t damaged. I was like,
‘What the hell?’”

Prior to Herrin’s crash, Wyman fell after getting hit by another
rider (Jayson Uribe) in Turn Two at the start. “Some of the cornerworkers were dealing with me, because my
hip was hurting pretty badly,” said Wyman. “Some others were trying to get my
bike out of the gravel trap. It was still in gear, but instead of putting it in
neutral they put a strap through the rear wheel and tried dragging it out backwards.

“The bellypan was plowing through the gravel, making it
harder for them to move it. So the cornerworkers go and start ripping off the
bellypan and ripping at wires. I’ve got over six figures in this bike, and they
were ripping it apart.

“I went back over to them and put it in neutral and it rolled it right out. You would think that cornerworkers at an event like this
would be trained to know how to put a bike in neutral.

“And the worst part, I get over to the wall and I’m standing
next to a cornerworker and she’s waving a flag with one hand and recording
video with her phone in her other hand. Why is she shooting video with her
phone?” Wyman also said that an expensive aerodynamic wing off his crashed bike was never returned to him.

Roadracingworld.com asked MotoAmerica Chief Operating Officer
(COO) and KRAVE Partner Chuck Aksland about the complaints made by Herrin and Wyman. “It’s unfortunate what happened and it was passed on to the
circuit,” Aksland told Roadracingworld.com. “It’s up to them to deal with it
for the future.”

Aksland said organizing, training, and overseeing the
cornerworkers at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is up to SCRAMP (Sports Car
Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula), the host of the combined World Superbike and MotoAmerica event, just like
it is up to Circuit of The Americas for the combined MotoGP and MotoAmerica weekend at that track. At Laguna Seca, the
cornerworker duties were handled for SCRAMP by United States Auto Race Marshals (USARM).

Soon after the event, Roadracingworld.com also contacted Jan Kaufman, a member of
the USARM Board of Directors, and asked her about the Wyman and Herrin crashes and their related complaints. She did not get back to Roadracingworld.com as promised. but answered her phone when we called again today. 

“I talked to the Turn Marshal and several of the people that
were working at Turn Two,” Kaufman told Roadracingworld.com today. “When you talk to
the workers and look at the [closed-circuit] video, none of them ever saw [mishandling
of Wyman’s motorcycle], and every one of them said, ‘There’s no way we would
ever do anything like that.’ So if you look at the video you don’t see it.

“[Wyman] did shove one of the workers and was very hostile,
which we understand. He was in pain and his adrenaline was sky high, but everybody
I spoke to said the bike was handled properly, as it normally is.”

Wyman admitted to Roadracingworld.com that he shoved a cornerworker out of his way when he tried to get to his motorcycle to
put it in neutral and save it from further damage.

“On the Turn Six incident, where Josh Herrin crashed, when
he went down and they pulled [his bike] behind the wall, they did lay it down,”
said Kaufman. “They laid it down on the good side because there were concerns
with fluid leaking out of the bad side. That was the only reason they did that.
They didn’t drop it. They placed it on its side, and there’s [closed-circuit]
video of that, too.

“The people in Race Control, the officials from MotoAmerica
that are there with my folks during the race, every single time we have a crash
or an incident we have them play it back for us. We go back though it almost in
slow motion at times to review every single thing: Pre-crash, during the crash,
and post-crash, like clearing the track and loading it onto the [crash truck]
when they come to pick it up. And in both incidents, the officials that were in
Race Control during those incidents said that everything was handled properly.”

What about Wyman’s report of a cornerworker shooting
video with their mobile phone while waving a flag at his crash scene? And why wasn’t it caught during the review of video from each crash scene that Kaufman said standard USARM practice?

“That is 100% against policy,” said Kaufman. “Nobody knew
about that. We didn’t pick it up on any
cameras.

“We all look out for each other. The responders, the medical
staff, we all kind of look out for each other, and when we see someone doing
something they shouldn’t be doing, like using their video [phone], our folks
are usually the first to say, ‘Hey, put that phone away!’

“So if that happened and it was missed, shame on us. I can’t
verify if it did or did not. It shouldn’t happen. In every single training
session we have we say those things [mobile phones] do not come out anytime
bikes are on course. I don’t care if it’s the cool-down lap, those phones are
to be tucked away or are supposed to be tucked away.”


(Above) Another image of a cornerworker at Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew using a mobile phone while flagging during an incident involving MotoAmerica Supersport racer Braeden Ortt (left).

MotoAmerica Supersport racer Braeden Ortt didn’t complain about
how things were handled when he highsided in the Corkscrew during a session at
Laguna Seca, mainly because he was knocked unconscious and concussed when he
regained consciousness. If he had been aware of his surroundings, however, he
may have noticed a cornerworker waving a flag with one hand and shooting video
with their mobile phone with the other, which is clearly visible in MotoAmerica’s
video replay of the incident.

View the video here, and draw your own conclusions.

Canadian Superbike: Rain Interrupts Qualifying At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Changing conditions halt Pro qualifying for season finale doubleheader at CTMP

Bowmanville, ON – August 9, 2019 – Fans of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship will be forced to wait longer than expected for qualifying results from the two Pro classes, as rain temporarily halted Friday’s action in the season finale Doubleheader Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, presented by BMW Motorrad.

With rain closing in during the Mopar Pro Superbike qualifying session, riders in the feature class were forced to wait past the original start time for the subsequent Top Ten SuperPole session. The track had dried out in time for the field to settle the qualifying order before another patch of rain halted things once again, resulting in an early end to the day with qualifying yet to be completed.

CSBK officials will announce their formal qualifying plans at roughly 7:30 am ET on Saturday, with the two options being either a SuperPole restart on Saturday morning, or the original qualifying results from Friday being made official.

Qualifying was also pushed back for the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike class, which will be subject to a similar announcement on Saturday.

Should the original qualifying results from Friday stand as official, it would be championship leader Ben Young starting from pole position after leading the session with a time of 1:22.405 aboard his Liqui Moly/Barrie Trim BMW S1000RR.

The Collingwood, ON native enters Saturday with a chance to clinch his first ever CSBK title regardless of the qualifying results, as he carries a commanding 59-point lead into the weekend over rival Jordan Szoke.

“We’re in a really good position, but things are far from over, and Jordan’s not going to make it easy on us,” Young said. “We just got to keep doing what we’ve done all year – I think we’ve been first in all but two or three sessions – so if we can keep that going tomorrow, regardless of how things play out, it should go well for us.”

Second-fastest on the day was Young’s veteran teammate, Jeff Williams, who could potentially tie his best qualifying result of the season after falling just 0.147 seconds behind Young aboard his Williams Paving BMW.

The Inverary, ON native and former race-winner is the oldest Superbike rider in the field at 47, but will look to cap off his resurgent campaign alongside his younger counterpart in the weekend doubleheader.

“It feels good to be at the front here, running alongside Ben and all the kids,” Williams joked. “I would have loved to get a shot at pole, but the weather got a little wild at the end and keeping everyone safe is the main thing, so we’ll at least get to save some energy tonight and try to push a little harder tomorrow.”

While Young and Williams will be among the list of names hoping that Friday’s results are made official, Szoke will be perhaps the biggest name hoping for another shot on Saturday, as the four-time defending champion struggled to eighth aboard his Mopar Express Lane Kawasaki ZX-10RR Ninja.

The Lynden, ON veteran was visibly frustrated at the end of the day with his shot at a fifth consecutive title and 14th overall on the line, but tried to keep things in perspective earlier in the afternoon as he enters CTMP in unfamiliar territory.

“Realistically, it’s going to be tough for us to come back, but anything can happen and crazier things have happened, so we just got to keep pushing,” Szoke said. “If we can end the year strong and add a couple wins, maybe things go our way, but if not at least it’s a good start for next year.”

Rounding out an all-BMW top-three was Blysk Racing’s Samuel Trepanier, who posted a time of 1:22.998 as he looks to make up for his heartbreaking trip to the East Coast in round four, when the St. Isidore, QC native lost out on his first career win by just a few feet to Young.

It was also a disappointing end to the day for the front-runners in the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike class, who got in very limited track time after both weather and track conditions disrupted their day. The morning practice session was cut short due to concerns about debris on the track, but once the circuit was deemed safe, the weather began to throw a wrench into the scheduled qualifying session.

As a result, majority of the class competitors were unable to produce a relevant time, including championship leader Will Hornblower, who’s best times were produced in the Superbike category aboard his Bickle Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.

“It’s been a weird day, mostly because the track wasn’t great until the weather hit, so it’s really about trying to get a good feel for things before we can put in those fast laps,” the Sarnia, ON native said. “There’s not a lot of issues to work through in terms of the bike, so hopefully things get better so we can push the pace this weekend.”

It was an equally unusual day for his rival, Tomas Casas, who was unable to post a strong time aboard his Parts Canada Yamaha machine. The two-time defending champion out of Peterborough, ON was still able to run solidly in his limited time aboard his YZF-R1 superbike, but was unable to gain any ground aboard his YZF-R6 machine as he looks to erase a 34-point deficit to Hornblower.

The lone two classes to successfully complete the scheduled qualifying on Friday were the Amateur ranks, with Samuel Guerin and Jared Walker claiming pole position in the respective categories.

Guerin, making just his second appearance in the Mopar Express Lane Amateur Superbike class out of Quebec City, QC, was able to outlast the conditions aboard his Aprilia RSV4RR and score his second pole of the year.

Meanwhile, the Oakville, ON native of Walker – also making his second appearance of the year aboard his Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja – was able to capitalize on changing conditions to secure his first ever National pole, though the attention will likely fall on third-place qualifier Jake LeClair out of Blackstock, ON.

While LeClair’s qualifying result will not jump off the page, the bLU cRU Yamaha YZF-R6 youngster will have a chance at erasing his 20-point deficit to championship leader Christian Allard on Saturday, after the Chambly, QC native suffered a mechanical issue aboard his Turcotte Performance Kawasaki and was unable to qualify.

In addition to the pending qualifying announcements regarding the two Pro classes, the TSN Motorcycle Experience Lightweight Sport Bike class will qualify on Saturday morning as originally scheduled.

The weekend schedule, though subject to change, can be found on the official series’ website at www.csbk.ca. 

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup: Alex Escrig Takes Pole Position In Austria

Editorial Note: American Tyler Scott is not competing in Austria. Scott crashed during the European Talent Cup race July 14 at Motorland Aragon and injured the ring finger on his left hand, requiring surgery and forcing him to miss this weekend’s event.

Escrig and Uriarte team up for Red Bull Ring Qualifying 1-2

Spaniards were in control all the way through Free Practice and Qualifying with 15-year-old Alex Escrig finally grabbing pole ahead of 14-year-old Marcos Uriarte after the pair worked together at the end of Qualifying. Fellow countryman and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup leader, 16-year-old Carlos Tatay was all on his own for third.

The Escrig/Uriarte plan also included another Spielberg first timer, 15-year-old Pedro Acosta but the 15-year-old Spaniard missed out and was only ninth fastest. Also missing out was Japanese 18-year-old Haruki Noguchi who topped the timing screen only to have that best lap cancelled because he exceeded track limits.

Team Spain

Naturally Escrig and Uriarte were grinning. “Yes that was our plan,” explained Escrig. “We would work together and help each other with the slipstream. It is so important here. In FP1 I was not so happy with the bike but I talked to Santi (Suspension engineer Santiago Morralla) and we sorted things out in FP2. I was feeling really confident then so I knew a good qualifying was possible.”

“I crashed in FP2,” explained Uriarte. “But I also thought we could do a good job working together in Qualifying. Early on the group was much too big and we were getting in each other’s way but right at the end Alex and I got it right. I’m really happy with the bike, the setting is good for the races, I think it should be good, I need my first podium at least.”

Tatay on his own

Tatay has already won five races and scored two second places this year. With rival Yuki Kunii missing the Austrian round after injuring his right hand again in his wild card GP debut in Brno last weekend the 16-year-old Spaniard could well clinch the Cup this weekend. He could even do it on Saturday if Acosta, David Salvador and Jason Dupasquier do not score a few points. Most likely the Cup will still be in play on Sunday.

Tatay is not worried about being third. “That is OK, it’s the front row, the bike is working very well. I took time to find myself some space for my own rhythm and I am happy with that. I think it will be a close race, probably with a lot of riders but I am ready to fight.”

On the limit to win

Noguchi has his own plans for the race. “It’s a shame I missed out on pole but the track limit is my fault. Today was not so easy, it is my first time here and we had an electrical fault so I had to use the spare bike in FP1. That cost a bit of time and we needed to sort out the setting but finally qualifying was good. We might change things slightly for the race, we’ll see. I will be out to win.”

Hanging on

Acosta needs to keep his championship hopes alive and the Sachsenring race 1 winner had no excuses. “I don’t know what went wrong in Qualifying, I just wasn’t there with the others at the end like we planned. The race will be different,” he smiled.

Yet another Spaniard, 15-year-old David Salvador, starts fifth. “I’m OK with that, the bike was not right in FP1 but got better through FP2 and in Qualifying it was really good so I think that I can have a good race,” said the teen who was second in Assen 2.

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 17:15 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 15:30, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.

MotoGP: Suzuki Issues Medical Update On Joan Mir

Mir arrives in Barcelona today and will remain hospitalised until Monday. 

Team SUZUKI ECSTAR rider Joan Mir landed in Barcelona today after travelling from Brno in the Czech Republic, where he has been hospitalised since Monday following a serious accident during the official MotoGP Test.

The Spanish rider was diagnosed with a severe pulmonary contusion after the crash and transferred to the FN Bohunice University Hospital, before finally being able to travel home to Spain in a medical plane. Upon his arrival he was directly transferred to the Department of Internal Medicine at the Hospital Universitario Dexeus, where the Doctor in charge is Angel Charte, who also happens to be the Medical Director of the MotoGP World Championship.

As soon as the young rider arrived, Dr. Charte’s team performed the mandatory medical checks on him:

“We completed an enhanced cranial CT scan, a chest CT scan, and an abdominal CT scan with contrast dye. Both the cranial CT and abdominal CT are normal. We have not observed any involvement or damage of any vital organ, nor any blood in the abdominal cavity. However, the thoracic CT does show a pulmonary contusion, predominantly on the right side. Although the lungs are functioning well and have stood up to analysis, there is still that heavy bruising which requires hospital rest and observation, with daily analytical and testing rounds”, explained Dr. Charte.

“Together with my team, we have decided to keep him hospitalised until Monday, then we will do another check to see if the contusion has reduced in intensity – and in that case he would go home.” 

​MotoAmerica: Dallas Daniels Will No Longer Ride For Quarterley Racing/On Track Development In Junior Cup

In spite of being second in the current MotoAmerica Junior
Cup Championship point standings, Dallas Daniels will no longer compete for the
Quarterley Racing On Track Development team in MotoAmerica and will instead dedicate
his efforts to Estenson Racing in the American Flat Track (AFT) Singles series
beginning this weekend in California.

As the MotoAmerica paddock assembled Friday at Sonoma
Raceway, just north of San Francisco, word quickly spread that Daniels would no
longer be racing his Kawasaki Ninja 400 for Quarterley Racing On Track
Development and would instead be competing on his Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F
Saturday, August 10 at the rescheduled Sacramento Mile.

“Our understanding was [Daniels] was going to do the road
racing and then do the flat track events that didn’t conflict,” Bob Robbins,
co-owner of Quarterley Racing On Track Development, told Roadracingworld.com. “I
guess there was a rainout of the Sacramento Mile [earlier this season, causing
the event to be rescheduled this weekend] and his sponsor pretty much insisted
on him being there. So Dallas had to make a choice.”

“Basically, I’m under contract with my dirt track team,
Estenson Racing, and I have a handshake deal with Bob and Dale [Quaterley],”
Daniels told Roadracingworld.com. “My dirt track team wanted me here at the
[Sacramento] Mile. So I had to make a decision on what I wanted to do, and that
resulted in me not racing at Sonoma, and that resulted in me not racing the
rest of the year with Quarterley Racing.”

“He had to make a decision, and I think he probably made the
right one,” said Robbins. “His future is probably in flat track racing, but his
season is done here. There are two others [MotoAmerica and AFT events] that
conflict, so he had to make a choice on which way he was going to go. It wasn’t
an ultimatum. It was just a choice. If it were different circumstances and he
only needed to miss one race I could see it, but when you’re second in the
points with a chance at the Championship I just don’t see it.”


(Above) Dallas Dallas (163) on his Estenson Racing Yamaha at the Buffalo Chip TT AFT Singles race. Photo by Andrea Wilson/Estenson Racing.

At a glance, the situation appears to be confusing. Why
would Daniels give up on his successful MotoAmerica season and the potential to
win the Junior Cup and instead focus on the AFT Singles Championship, where he
just made his debut last month?

But to get the proper perspective, you have to go back to
2018, when Daniels was not having a very successful time in MotoAmerica Junior
Cup and Estenson Racing signed the then-15-year-old to a two-year deal to race
AFT, a significant deal in the flat track world.

“It really does suck and I apologize and feel bad about it,
but I had to make a decision for me and my racing and what was best for me and
my future,” said Daniels. “My future wasn’t looking very good in road racing for
next year, and I have this amazing deal in flat track. I love Bob and Dale and
I love the team and I love road racing, but I had to make a decision and I was
under contract here and I had to do it.”

MotoGP: Marc Marquez On Top, Entire Field Separated By 1.3 Seconds In FP2 In Austria (Updated)

MotoGP Race Lap Record: Andrea Dovizioso, 1:24.277, 2018

MotoGP All Time Lap Record: Andrea Iannone, 1:23.142, 2016

2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship

Red Bull Ring

Spielberg, Austria

August 9, 2019

Free Practice Two Results (all on Michelin tires):

1. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:23.916

2. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:23.982

3. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:24.071

4. Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:24.153

5. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:24.308

6. Miguel Oliveira, Portugal (KTM), 1:24.326

7. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:24.330

8. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:24.336

9. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:24.411

10. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:24.418

11. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:24.532

12. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:24.540

13. Francesco Bagnaia, Italy (Ducati), 1:24.598

14. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:24.630

15. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Honda), 1:24.755

16. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:24.865

17. Johann Zarco, France (KTM), 1:24.948

18. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:25.003

19. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:25.139

20. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:25.233

21. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (KTM), 1:25.269

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:

Oliveira powers to seventh on opening day in Austria – Syahrin improves

Red Bull KTM Tech3’s MotoGP rookie Miguel Oliveira delivered a stunning performance on Friday at Red Bull’s and KTM’s home track. The Portuguese initiated the first day of the Austrian GP as tenth fastest of the highly-competitive MotoGP field and even topped this result with a perfect 1:24.326 to grab P7 overall on Friday and with it, a provisional Q2 entry and the best KTM spot, missing out on the top by just 0.410 seconds.

Meanwhile Hafizh Syahrin showed some great potential as well this morning, but had to conclude FP1 early with a crash. Luckily, the Malaysian could return to the Red Bull Ring for the second Free Practice and did some clear steps into the right direction. The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider went half a second faster in the afternoon, to conclude the first day just 0.943 seconds behind his teammate.

Miguel Oliveira

Position: 7th

Time: 1:24.326

Laps: 44

“Overall, it has been a quite positive day. We managed to do a really good FP2 with a strong pace and finally on the last run with a very fast lap to get us inside the provisional Q2, which is a first time for us on a Friday. We still have tomorrow to improve, which I hope we do. Getting this nice result for the team, I think is a huge boost for everyone.”

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 21st

Time: 1:25.269

Laps: 35

“At the end of the day, it was quite decent. Our gap to the top is just at 1.3 seconds, so it’s really good, although the position doesn’t reflect this. This morning I had a very big crash and I’m still in pain, I’m still not feeling 100 percent comfortable on the bike, but at least we showed our speed is there. Tomorrow we try to find a something to stop the machine a little bit better, as on this track we have many stop-and-go sections, so I hope on Saturday we can improve and for sure we will try to do well.”

More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:

#AustrianGP FP. Solid start for Pramac Racing: Jack 6th and Pecco 13th after first day of practice action at Red Bull Ring

FP1 (Practice Conditions: Dry. Air 21°, Ground 32°)

P4 Jack Miller (1’24.360, +0.327 from P1)

Jack is really fast right from the start. In the last run the Australian rider tests the hard tyre and finishes just 3 tenths of a second from the fastest time of Dovizioso (set with the soft rear tyre).

P13 Francesco Bagnaia (1’24.996, +0.072 from Top 10, +0.963 from P1)

A convincing start for Pecco, who first becomes familiar with the circuit and then begins to push. The Italian finishes just one-tenth of a second from the hypothetical third row, going very fast, especially in T1 and T3.

FP2 (Practice Conditions: Dry. Air 29th, Ground 49th)

P5 Jack Miller (1’24.308, +0.392 from P1)

Jack’s race pace with the medium tyre is very interesting. In the time attack, however, the Australian can not find the right feeling with the front tire to be in a hypothetical front row. Miller ends the first day of activity with a solid P5 (P6 in the combined standings).

P13 Francesco Bagnaia (1’24.598, +0.180 from Top 10, +0.682 from P1)

Pecco is also strong on the race pace with used tyres. Like his team mate, however, the Italian can not take full advantage of the soft front tire in the time attack finishing however very close to the Top 10.

P13 – Pecco Bagnaia

“I am satisfied with this first day. Unfortunately we made the wrong choice of front tyre for the time attack and I wasn’t able to be in the Top 10 but I think that tomorrow in FP3 we will have all the credentials to qualify directly for Q2. The race pace is very positive. I have confidence”.

P6 – Jack Miller

“We got off to a very good start. We have worked a lot on the tyres trying all the solutions and the results have been very good. The race pace is strong and this is a good starting point. We’ll have to fix some details on the electronics to limit the wheelie but the sensations are very positive”.


More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:

LOTS OF RACE PREPARATION WORK STRAIGHT AWAY FOR ALEIX AND ANDREA ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT THE RED BULL RING

Both free practice sessions on Friday at the Red Bull Ring were intense and extremely busy for both of the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders in anticipation of the Austrian Grand Prix that will be held on Sunday.

After finishing the morning practice sessions just 44 thousandths of a second outside the top 10, Aleix Espargaró closed out the combined standings in seventeenth place with a time of 1’24.865, slightly improving in the afternoon session, but without managing to gain provisional access to Q2. The Spanish rider had good sensations in terms of race pace and tomorrow he will continue working on his RS-GP in order to be incisive over the long distance as he prepares for a race that promises to be a demanding one for the tyres.

Andrea Iannone, who is celebrating his thirtieth birthday today, finished the first day of practice with a time of 1’25.003, not far from Aleix, in eighteenth place.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“All told, our pace is not bad. Right now, we are unable to be fast on the single lap because we lose ground in acceleration and we can’t make it all up in braking. The temperatures were very high this afternoon, but the track conditions can change quickly. Tomorrow we will keep working to prepare for the race, assessing the best options in terms of tyres as well, with the goal of being competitive over the long distance.”

ANDREA IANNONE

“I won’t deny that we are encountering some difficulties. Besides the gap, we struggle to maintain a good pace. Since we are at the limit, we need to force a lot and that does not pay off over race distance. In any case, we need to stay focused. The conditions could change and we need to keep improving.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Relentless Marquez controls Friday in Austria

A productive first day at the Red Bull Ring for the Repsol Honda Team saw Marc Marquez lead the way with Bradl less than a second behind.

After just a few days rest from the double point-scoring finish at the Czech GP, the Repsol Honda Team were back to work at Round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship. Both Marc Marquez and Stefan Bradl eagerly returned to track, looking to build on what they achieved respectively in Brno.

Marquez started the Austrian GP with devilish consistency, using just a single set of tyres during Free Practice 1 and sitting at the top of the time sheets until the final moments when other riders fitted new tyres. A relentless start to Free Practice 2 saw Marquez set multiple 1’23s in a row with fresh rubber on his Repsol Honda Team RC213V. The MotoGP World Championship leader finished the day fastest by 0.066s with a 1’23.916, 0.8s from the outright lap record.

Having not ridden at the Red Bull Ring since 2016, Stefan Bradl was able to quickly get up to speed as he continues to deputise the injured Jorge Lorenzo. Bradl diligently worked through his weekend schedule and improved his best lap time by almost a second as he pushed for a Q2 spot. 0.839s away from his day-leading teammate, the German rider missed a spot in the top ten by a little over 0.3s and is ready to battle for a top ten spot tomorrow.

Takaaki Nakagami had a notable performance on the LCR Honda and finished Friday in third overall.

Bradl and the rest of the MotoGP grid will fight it out for a top ten spot and direct passage to Q2 during Free Practice 3 tomorrow, Friday August 09, at 09:55 local time.

Marc Marquez

1ST 1’23.916

“Today like every Friday we worked a lot towards Sunday, focusing on race distance and understanding how the tyres and the setup will behave. Like in Brno and in the Sachsenring we were also working with two different frames – both were good. At a first look we are far ahead, but Dovizioso also has strong pace and Viñales and Quartararo are also quite close to us. We need to understand how the grip will change tomorrow and see what happens.”

Stefan Bradl

15TH 1’24.755

“We had a busy day today, we had a lot of things to try. An intense day with all that we had to do but I am satisfied with the lap time. Obviously our position is not ideal but the gap to the guy in front is very small. On one side I’m happy and on another I could be happier but tomorrow we will be able to focus more on the race and improve our setup to go faster. Let’s hope the weather is OK and we will see what we can do!”

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

Positive start in Spielberg for Quartararo and Morbidelli

PETRONAS Yamaha SRT riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli happy with a solid beginning to their Austrian Grand Prix weekend

Austrian GP – 09 August 2019

Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli have completed a positive first day of action for the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, bettering their expectations to come home fifth and 14th respectively after the opening two practice sessions at the Spielberg circuit.

Quartararo admitted that it had taken hard work from him and his crew to ensure fifth place and a provisional route to Q2 tomorrow, but was able to better his expectations of a top ten place on the first day. Still with work to do to improve his Yamaha YZR-M1, Quartararo is confident that they can close the gap to their rivals when action resumes tomorrow.

Morbidelli was similarly pleased with his work despite not being higher up the time sheets, concentrating instead on race pace and coming away happy with the team’s progress. Able to sue some of the new settings he trialled at Monday’s test in Brno to improve his consistency, he will now focus on one-lap pace in the morning ahead of qualifying.

Action continues tomorrow at 0955 local time (1755 Malaysian time), with qualifying at 1410 local time (2010 Malaysian time) and Sunday’s 28-lap race at 1400 local time (2000 Malaysian time).

Franco Morbidelli

14th (+0.714)

“My pace today has been good, and I’m happy with that. We need to improve our performance over one single lap and we’ve already learned some things that should help us to be a little faster – and that should help us with our consistency as well. It’s important to start the weekend ahead at this track because it can be hard to overtake, so that will be key tomorrow. Compared to the other Yamahas I need to improve a little bit in acceleration.”

Fabio Quartararo

5th (+0.237)

“It’s been a really tough, but we expected that this would be difficult track for us. I’ve been trying to push hard and to be on the limit, and I’m feeling good on the bike. We’re struggling a little bit in the first two sectors and will need to work hard on that, but I’m really looking forward to seeing what will be possible tomorrow. This track is mainly three straights but that means there’s three big braking points as well, and we’re working to get the best out of the bike at those points and on cornering.”

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

TERRIFIC START FOR TAKA IN AUSTRIA

LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami made a superb start as free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix got underway, finishing the day in third position. With Ducati having been expected to dominate in Spielberg, it was instead Honda who led the way on Friday as Nakagami joined day one pacesetter Marc Marquez in the top three.

In dry and sunny conditions, the Japanese star was on the pace throughout as he posted the ninth fastest time in FP1. He then improved by around eight tenths in FP2 to climb towards the top of the timesheets and was naturally delighted with his position heading into Saturday qualifying.

Takaaki Nakagami – 3rd

(1’24.071 – lap 21 of 23)

“It was a little bit of a surprise for me and the team because we expected more of a struggle. Here it’s very stop and go and you need a lot of engine power, but from FP1 I felt quite comfortable on the bike. We’re not losing too much on the straight and for day one the lap time is not too bad, we’re still a few tenths of the lap record. The team did a really great job today and I’m pretty happy about have me progressed between FP1 and FP2. Tomorrow and also Sunday the forecast has a possibility of rain, so I’m happy to finish in a good position today.”

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

SOLID START FOR CRUTCHLOW IN SPIELBERG

LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow secured a place in the top 10 on the opening day of free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The Briton ended up in eighth place overall in Spielberg, but feels there is plenty of room for improvement ahead of Saturday’s qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.

Under fine, sunny skies, Crutchlow had to settle for 11th position the morning’s FP1 session. But, with an unsettled forecast predicted for Saturday, he improved in FP2 to break into the top 10 and ensure he is well-placed to progress to Q2 tomorrow.

Cal Crutchlow – 8th

(1’24.336 – lap 21 of 21)

“Today was not a bad day, but I think we can improve in a lot of areas, I look forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow. I was struggling to stop the bike in turn one and turn four and hopefully we can improve that overnight with some settings changes. I had to cut one of my runs short as I didn’t get the correct feeling with one of the settings, so hopefully that will help me in that area. I’ll work closely with the team and Honda tonight to understand the situation and also to work out the best tyre to use for qualifying and the race.”

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

RINS ON THE EDGE OF THE TOP 10 IN AUSTRIA

Alex Rins: 12th – 1:24.540 (+ 0.624)

• Alex Rins makes solid start to Austrian weekend.

•Team looking ahead to Saturday’s qualifying.

Just five days after the Czech GP, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR are back into ‘race mode’ at the Red Bull Ring in Austria for Round 11.

Alex Rins took to the track alone after his team-mate, Joan Mir, was ruled out pre-event due to an accident sustained at Monday’s Brno test. The morning’s FP1 session went well as Alex got settled into Spielberg’s sweeping circuit; the Spaniard placed 3rd with one-minute left on the clock but got bumped to 7th place as the flag came out. However, he was just half a second from the top.

The track reached a scorching 50°c for FP2, and Rins once again looked solid as he tried different tyre combinations and continued to work on set-up for the unique Austrian track. He spent the majority of the session in the Top 5 and completed FP2 in 12th place. Rins is ready to push in tomorrow’s FP3 to try and secure a place in the all-important Q2.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“Alex had to work hard today; we had to try some different settings and discover the best direction to take. We still need to do a bit more work to fine tune the settings and to confirm a tyre selection. Tomorrow we hope to stay in the Top 10 and be in Q2, we’ll see what we can do. Overall it’s been quite a good opening day.”

Alex Rins:

“Today went well. I tried all the different tyre combinations on the front and rear, and we know more or less which way we want to go. I was hoping to take a provisional place in Q2 during FP2, but in the end it wasn’t quite possible because I was 12th, and that was a bit disappointing for me. I’m struggling a little in the second sector, but apart from that I feel pretty good here. Today I didn’t really push for a fast lap, we preferred to focus on feel and settings.”

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

MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP TAKE STEPS IN SPIELBERG FIRST FP SESSIONS

Spielberg (Austria), 9th August 2019

GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRIA

FREE PRACTICE

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi kicked off the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich weekend. Whilst the team-mates both enjoyed strong results in the morning, only Viñales was able to improve on his time in the afternoon, securing second place in the FP2 and combined rankings. Rossi just missed out on a top 10 result and ended the day in 11th position.

2nd MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’23.982 (FP2) / 23 + 23 LAPS

11th VALENTINO ROSSI 1’24.469 (FP1) / 23 + 25 LAPS

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi used the first free practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg track to the fullest to prepare for an intense weekend. They both showed great form in the morning, but in the hotter afternoon only Viñales was able to successfully defend his provisional place for Q2. The team-mates finished 2nd and 11th respectively in FP2 and combined free practice rankings.

Viñales felt motivated by a positive test in Brno last Monday and it showed in this morning’s FP1. He was quick to ride his YZR-M1 to a place in the top 3 and kept hold of the position for the first half of the 45-minute session. As the pace heated up towards the final stages, the Spaniard responded. Eager to keep his spot at the front, he set two personal best times on his final run and ended in third place, with a best time of 1‘24.280s and a 0.247s gap to first.

The number-12 rider raised his game even further in the afternoon. He took a little time to adjust to the hot temperatures and then again set a fast lap to feature at the front. He tried various tyre specs until the usual mini time attack at the very end of the session. With five minutes to go, Viñales started his last run and delivered, wrapping up the first day in Spielberg with a best time of 1‘23.982s for second place in the FP2 and combined free practice timesheets, just 0.066s from P1.

Rossi built gradual progress in the morning session, moving to sixth place after 16 minutes. Knowing the importance of braking stability and acceleration, he concentrated on getting his bike set-up just right, until the very end of FP1. Keen to show the progress he made, he put his head down on his final run to take fifth position in the results, with a 1‘24.469s best lap, 0.436s from first.

In the afternoon, the Doctor picked up work where he left off in the morning. He mainly focused on his bike‘s set-up and tyre selection until the final ten minutes when all riders made a dash to secure a provisional Q2 position. He put in some solid laps on his last stint but found himself just outside the top 10, in 11th place, with a best time of 1‘24.532s, 0.616s from first. His faster morning time also put him in P11 in the combined standings, 0.553s from the top.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

“We started the Austrian GP weekend well this morning. We are in a better place than we were last year at this round. Having learned from that experience, we knew what we had to focus on. Maverick‘s second place today is really a good result for us because, like we have pointed out before, this is not considered a ’Yamaha-track‘. It‘s a shame that, after a positive FP1, Vale was unable to better his morning time in the afternoon and just missed out on a top 10 result. Getting into Q2 is always crucial, so that‘s the goal for both riders. We will have to keep pushing, but we‘ve seen some positive signs on this first day, so our motivation is high. We’ve been able to test all the tyre options and have a good indication for Sunday’s race choice.”

MAVERICK VIÑALES

“The feeling has been quite positive. We‘ve been working a lot on the bike, trying to understand in which direction we should go. I think we might have found something good to better my rhythm, but we still have to improve. We just missed out on first place, but I‘m feeling positive. Being second in FP2 here is really good for us, this is a track where we suffer a lot. This year it seems to be going better, so we are in a good way and will try to keep improving things tomorrow. We‘re going to try to be on the first row and then we‘ll see. Today we tried the tyres and we have more or less some ideas for tomorrow, so we‘re going to be working very hard.”

VALENTINO ROSSI

“This morning was not so bad and also this afternoon the pace was quite good, but at the end, with the soft, I didn’t ride very well. I was stuck in the traffic and I wasn’t able to improve. As always, there are a lot of riders that are very fast, but it looks like we are more competitive compared to last year, because our pace is a bit better. I’m not in the top 10 by a small margin. Apart from that, the feeling is not so bad and it looks like the forecast is good for tomorrow morning, so I think we will fight for Q2 in FP3.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Dovizioso and Petrucci wrap up the opening day of practice for the Austrian Grand Prix in third and eighth place respectively

The first two free practice sessions for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring close to Zeltweg concluded this afternoon with the two Ducati Team riders – Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci – in third and eighth place respectively.

Dovizioso, who topped the timesheets in the morning’s FP1 session with a quickest lap of 1’24.003, was unable to improve in FP2 thanks also to an innocuous slow-speed crash at Turn 3 at the end of the session, while Petrucci finished the day in eighth place with a best time of 1’24.330 which he set in FP2.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1’24.003 (3rd)

“We began the day in a really positive way. In the afternoon we tried a different set-up that worked better under braking and this is important, especially because my pace is very good and I’m not far behind Marquez. We’re working well and I think there is still room to improve. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake at Turn 3 and was not able to improve my FP2 time, but as I said before we’re fast and I’m really pleased about that.”

Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 1’24.330 (8th)

“In the afternoon we were able to improve on our morning performance and so I’m satisfied with that. This is a bit of a tough track for me because, like Brno with its long straights, I tend to lose a bit of aerodynamic efficiency, because of the way I’m built. As a result, we’re trying to improve under braking, where we can make up a bit of the time we’re losing on the straight. My squad is working well and I’m pleased with the way I lapped with the used tyres. Of course tomorrow we will have to try and do a bit better and also make the best of the new tyres so we can start Sunday’s race from the front of the grid.”

The Ducati riders will be back on the track tomorrow, Saturday 10 August, at 09.55 CET for the third free practice session, while the qualifying sessions will be held after FP4, starting from 14.10.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Viñales runs Marquez close at the Red Bull Ring

Yamaha rider takes the fight to the reigning Champion, with Dovizioso completing the top three

Friday, 09 August 2019

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) ended Day 1 of the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich in P1 overall, but the reigning Champion was run close. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) got within just 0.066 of the number 93, with FP1’s fastest man, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), ending the day third overall. The Italian failed to improve his laptime due to a late tip off, but his FP1 fastest keeps him in P3 at the venue where he won in 2017.

Marquez came out the blocks all guns blazing at the start of FP2 as he sported a soft rear tyre, and immediately the number 93 was able to better his time from the morning session and went to the top of the combined standings, pushing FP1 pacesetter Dovizioso down to P2. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) was also going well in the opening stages of FP2 too, after the Italian had a quiet FP1 and lingered down in P14 ahead of the afternoon’s running.

As so often happens, however, it all came down to a frantic last 10 minutes. The day was sunny, hot and, potentially, quite different to what may greet the grid on Saturday – meaning it was weapons free in a bid to take a provisional place in Q2. Dovizioso was the first who looked under threat as he uncharacteristically crashed at Turn 3 just after setting a red first sector. Would he keep the place or could his rivals leap up the timesheets?

One of the big improvers was Takaaki Nakagami, the LCR Honda Idemitsu rider having finished FP1 in ninth and finding time in the afternoon. First Nakagami went to P5 overall but on the next lap, the Honda man shot to P3 on the combined times, second in FP2. Viñales, third fastest in FP1, was also ramping his pace up and sure enough, the Yamaha man went second quickest – just 0.066 behind Marquez’ early session time. Marquez, Viñales and Nakagami would remain the quickest of the session, with ‘DesmoDovi’ slotting into third overall.

Behind Nakagami was a familiar face at the front: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). The Frenchman was within a tenth of the Japanese rider ahead of him and finished the day in an impressive fifth overall, just ahead of a key rival: Jack Miller (Pramac Racing). The Australian flipped his formbook at the venue to complete the top six.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), meanwhile, had a stunning Friday. The Portuguese rookie built on his 10th place in FP1 to move up to seventh on the combined standings, fastest KTM on the Austrian factory’s home turf – just 0.018 off Miller and 0.004 ahead of Petrucci by the end of play. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was equally close in an incredibly tight gaggle of riders, 0.006 off Oliveira, and he moved up into ninth overall on his last flying lap despite finishing outside the top 10 in FP1.

The man who completed those who’ll be heading through to Q2 should the rain come down was Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who made it two KTMs in the top ten on home turf. And the Austrian factory achieved that at the expense of some key contenders: Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was P11 by mere thousandths and will be hoping for a dry FP3 on Saturday to improve his time, and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was just behind the ‘Doctor’ looking for the same. Will the two be heading head to head in Q1?

See what Saturday brings, how the skies dawn and how the grid shuffles in FP3 at 9:55 (GMT+2), before qualifying then begins at 14:10 to decide the grid.

MotoAmerica: Kevin Olmedo Quickest In Junior Cup FP1 At Sonoma Raceway

Cycle Gear Championship of Sonoma

MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, California

August 10, 2019

Liqui Moly Junior Cup Free Practice One Results (all on Dunlop tires):

1. Kevin Olmedo (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:52.748

2. Josh Serne (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:52.807

3. Marc Edwards (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:52.984

4. Hunter Dunham (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:53.610

5. Brenden Ketelsen (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:53.786

6. Dominic Doyle (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:54.310

7. Teagg Hobbs (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:54.556

8. Jackson Blackmon (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:54.698

9. Gauge Rees (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:54.967

10. Damian Jigalov (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:56.443

11. David Kohlstaedt (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:58.250

12. Benjamin Gloddy (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:58.847

13. Jamie Astudillo (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:58.877

14. Brett Voorhees (Yam YZF-R3), 1:59.038

15. Karen Ogura (Yam YZF-R3), 1:59.408

16. Nikolas Thompson (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:59.459

17. Jacob Stroud (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:59.568

18. Rafael Revelo (Kaw Ninja 400), 1:59.628

19. John Knowles (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:00.573

20. Toby Khamsouk (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:01.164

21. Liam Grant (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:01.873

22. Grayson Davidson (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:03.360

23. Isiah Burleson (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:04.172

24. Aden Thao (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:05.040

25. Rocco Landers (Kaw Ninja 400), 2:08.627

MotoGP: Marc Marquez Breaks Lap Record, Earns Pole Position At Red Bull Ring (Updated)

MotoGP Race Lap Record: Andrea Dovizioso, 1:24.277, 2018

MotoGP All Time Lap Record: Andrea Iannone, 1:23.142, 2016

2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship

Red Bull Ring

Spielberg, Austria

August 10, 2019

Qualifying Results (all on Michelin tires):

From Qualifying Two:

1. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:23.027 (New All-Time Lap Record)

2. Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:23.461

3. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:23.515

4. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:23.523

5. Francesco Bagnaia, Italy (Ducati), 1:23.652

6. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:23.669

7. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:23.681

8. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:23.688

9. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:23.754

10. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:23.817

11. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:23.866

12. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:23.964

From Qualifying One:

13. Miguel Oliveira, Portugal (KTM), 1:24.130

14. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:24.270

15. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:24.389

16. Johann Zarco, France (KTM), 1:24.392

17. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:24.423

18. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:24.526

19. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:24.749

20. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (KTM), 1:24.759

21. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Honda), 1:25.020

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Undisputed: Marquez takes premier class pole record from Doohan

The number 93 takes pole number 59, Quartararo and Dovizioso set to start alongside him in Austria

Saturday, 10 August 2019

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) claimed another stunning pole position at the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, and in doing so he surpasses MotoGP™ Legend Mick Doohan’s previous record of 58 premier class pole positions. Now the undisputed king of qualifying, the number 93 will have Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) alongside him on the front row.

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was the fastest rider after the first flying laps at the Red Bull Ring, with the Spaniard doing his first stint on the medium tyres and going four-tenths quicker than the field on his second fast lap as teammate Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Quartararo all fought it out for second position and Viñales’ advantage was chopped.

Then, however, Marquez started really taking the the bull by the horns. The reigning Champion has been the man to beat all weekend in Austria and soon enough, Marquez was back at the summit, 0.269 faster than Viñales’ to sit on provisional pole after the first set of flying laps.

Just seven tenths covered the top 12 as the riders came out on fresh rubber for their second stints, with Viñales switching to a soft rear tyre this time. And ‘Top Gun’ went quicker to cut Marquez’ advantage to 0.164 as Dovizioso then ramped up his pace to slot himself onto the provisional front row behind the two Spaniards. The red sectors, though, were lighting up and that was for one man: Marquez. The Spaniard had Doohan’s premier class pole record well in his sights, and he also had a 1:22 on his radar. When Marquez came round to complete his lap, a 1:23.027 making it the fastest we’ve ever seen around the Red Bull Ring…although not quite in the 1:22s.

The front row wasn’t quite decided there though. Dovizioso was able to improve his time to shoot 0.008 ahead of Viñales and on his final qualifying lap, but rookie sensation Quartararo beat the pair of them to stick his M1 on the front row for the sixth time in 2019. The Frenchman was overjoyed with another quality Saturday display, set to start between Marquez and Dovizioso on Sunday.

That puts Viñales at the head of Row 2 ahead of a stunner from Q1 graduate Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), the reigning Moto2™ World Champion, who had a cracking Q2 to claim his best MotoGP™ grid slot yet. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) continued his solid weekend to set the sixth-fastest time in Q2, and the Japanese rider was just 0.017 off Bagnaia to claim his best Q2 result as well.

On the third row, Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins leads Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Q1’s fastest man Crutchlow in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively, with P10 going the way of Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Behind ‘The Doctor’, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro will launch from P11 to try and push for the Austrian team on home soil, while a late crash for Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) at Turn 4 ended a disappointing Q2 for the Italian – meaning it’s P12 for ‘Petrux’, rider ok.

Can anyone beat a superlative Marquez on Sunday afternoon? He’s qualified on pole twice in Austria before and has yet to win, so all is not lost for the chasing pack. Dovizioso looks set to be his closest rival, so will Ducati keep up their 100% Red Bull Ring record? A classic encounter awaits and you don’t want to miss it. Tune in at 14:00 local time (GMT+2).


Moto2™ qualifying at the Red Bull Ring sets up a race to remember

Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) picked up a magnificent maiden Moto2™ pole position after setting a 1:28.718 in Q2 at the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, the Japanese rider beating Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on KTM’s home turf by just 0.073. Thai rider Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) claims a stunning first front-row start in third, becoming the first from Thailand to start from the front in the class since Assen 2010.

The forecast storm stayed away as sunny skies greeted the intermediate class riders for Q1 and Q2 at the Red Bull Ring, and we were to witness a few surprises. It was no surprise to see the likes of Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM) and Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) come through the first part of qualifying though as 18 riders got set to battle it out for pole position.

Immediately it was Binder who was setting the pace as the South African set about trying to give KTM a home GP pole, but Nagashima had been quick all weekend and the Japanese rider wasn’t messing about in Q2 – taking provisional pole on his third flying lap as Chantra slammed in a lap good enough for provisional P3. But what could Championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) do? The Spaniard was on the fringes of the top ten and went up into fifth, but his lap time was cancelled for exceeding track limits as the field struggled to go quicker than their early benchmark laps.

So did Nagashima, Binder and Chantra have the front row covered? They did. Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) was just over a tenth off at the third split but would slot into fourth before being demoted to fifth by top rookie Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team), with Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40) completing Row 2.

Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) spearheads the third row on the Austrian GP grid, the Spaniard joined by compatriot Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) and Nagashima’s teammate Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team). Marini claimed P10 after coming through Q1.

Marquez, meanwhile, has plenty to do from P11 on the grid as he ended up just 0.008 behind Marini. The number 73 has a 33-point lead but will be gunning to move through quickly on Sunday, as will the men around him: rookie Jorge Martin starts 12th for Red Bull KTM Ajo at their home race, ahead of Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) and Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM). Mattia Pasini (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) completed the top 15, just ahead of Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP), who starts P16 and will be looking for more on Sunday, too.

How will the pack shuffle on race day, and will the rain stay away? Find out at 12:20 local time (GMT+2).

Fenati fires from Q1 to Moto3™ pole

The Italian takes pole for the first time since the 2017 British Grand Prix

VNE Snipers’ Romano Fenati took pole position for the first time in nearly two years after taking to the top in Q2 at the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, the Italian progressing through from Q1 before pouncing late for P1. Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) was second quickest, with Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) third and the fastest KTM on the Austrian factory’s home turf.

Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) was the man on top as the flag flew to signal the end of the session, but from then on a flurry of riders crossed the line at the end of their final flying laps and the pack shuffled. Petronas Sprinta Racing’s John McPhee went it alone and crossed the line first, taking provisional pole position, but the Scotsman would slip down the order when the pack fired through.

However, a host of penalties will shuffle starting positions, and it’s McPhee who will start from pole.

Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers), Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing), Fenati, Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP), Masia, Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia), Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing), Sasaki, Toba and Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race) have all had their fastest laps in Q2 cancelled. Riccardo Rossi (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) have 12-position grid penalties, in addition to the 12-place penalties given to Sasaki and Ogura after Friday’s action. Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) also received a penalty then, that of starting from the back of the grid.

Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai) was awarded two penalties: his fastest lap in Q2 was cancelled and he was given a back of the grid start.

After lap cancellations and penalties, McPhee heads Fenati and Toba, with Arbolino, Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Masia on Row 2. Ramirez starts ahead of Dalla Porta as the two Leopard teammates took P7 and P8 respectively, joined on the third row by rookie Raul Fernandez.

Kornfeil is tenth ahead of Yurchenko and Antonelli, with Canet just behind his key rival in P13. Suzuki and Stefano Nepa (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) complete Row 5 alongside the Championship leader.

Sasaki starts P20, Ogura P22, Rossi P28, Migno P29 and Binder P30. Alonso Lopez will start from pitlane due to his penalty from the Czech GP.

After a dramatic Saturday, tune in at 11:00 (GMT +2) local time to see the lightweight class take on the stunning Red Bull Ring – with some looking to capitalise and some looking for a comeback.

BMW Boxer Cup: American Nate Kern On Pole Position At Most, In The Czech Republic

IDM Championship Series

Most Circuit, Czech Republic

August 10, 2019

BMW Boxer Cup Combined Qualifying Results (all riding BMW R nineT Racer motorcycles):

1. Nate Kern, USA, 1:47.627

2. Christof Hofer, Germany, 1:47.989

3. Marvin Jurgens, Germany, 1:48.380

4. Harald Kitsch, Germany, 1:49.182

5. Kai-Uwe Lenz, Germany, 1:50.537

6. Fritz Spenner, Germany, 1:51.873

7. Matthias Betz, Germany, 1:52.159

8. Kiljan Lange, Germany, 1:53.012

9. Marco Gluch, Germany, 1:54.593

10. Hans-Werner Haas, Germany, 1:55.656

Moto3 World Championship: John McPhee Takes Pole Position In Austria

Moto3 Race Lap Record: Lorenzo Dalla Porta, 1:36.307, 2018

Moto3 All Time Lap Record: Joan Mir, 1:36.228, 2016

2019 FIM Moto3 World Championship

Red Bull Ring

Spielberg, Austria

August 10, 2019

Qualifying Results (all on Dunlop tires):

1. John McPhee, UK (Honda), 1:36.690

2. Tatsuki Suzuki, Japan (Honda), 1:36.788

3. Romano Fenati, Italy (Honda), 1:36.814

4. Kaito Toba, Japan (Honda), 1:36.847

5. Tony Arbolino, Italy (Honda), 1:36.850

6. Celestino Vietti, Italy (KTM), 1:37.021

7. Jaume Masia, Spain (KTM), 1:37.055

8. Ayumu Sasaki, Japan (Honda), 1:37.272

9. Marcos Ramirez, Spain (Honda), 1:37.301

10. Lorenzo Dalla Porta, Italy (Honda), 1:37.330

Racers Complain About Cornerworkers At Laguna Seca Damaging Crashed Racebikes, And Shooting Videos Instead Of Paying Attention

KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman and Yoshimura
Suzuki’s Josh Herrin both crashed during MotoAmerica EBC Brakes Superbike Race
One during the combined World Superbike and MotoAmerica event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca last month, and said that cornerworkers who pulled their crashed racebikes out of gravel traps carelessly caused additional damage. Wyman added that he saw a cornerworker using a cell phone to make a video instead of paying attention to what was happening as riders approached the crash scene.Today at Sonoma Raceway, Wyman and Herrin repeated those charges. And despite a cornerworking organization official stating that a standard review of closed-circuit track videos didn’t show cornerworkers using their cell phones following the Wyman and Herrin crashes, an independent video from another crash, in another corner, showed a cornerworker staring at their phone while racebikes were on course.

Herrin ran off Turn Six at high speed and crashed his factory
Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the gravel trap. “One side of my bike was damaged, but the other side didn’t
even have a scratch on it,” Herrin told Roadracingworld.com. “They took my bike
behind the wall, and put it down on the side that wasn’t damaged. I was like,
‘What the hell?’”

Prior to Herrin’s crash, Wyman fell after getting hit by another
rider (Jayson Uribe) in Turn Two at the start. “Some of the cornerworkers were dealing with me, because my
hip was hurting pretty badly,” said Wyman. “Some others were trying to get my
bike out of the gravel trap. It was still in gear, but instead of putting it in
neutral they put a strap through the rear wheel and tried dragging it out backwards.

“The bellypan was plowing through the gravel, making it
harder for them to move it. So the cornerworkers go and start ripping off the
bellypan and ripping at wires. I’ve got over six figures in this bike, and they
were ripping it apart.

“I went back over to them and put it in neutral and it rolled it right out. You would think that cornerworkers at an event like this
would be trained to know how to put a bike in neutral.

“And the worst part, I get over to the wall and I’m standing
next to a cornerworker and she’s waving a flag with one hand and recording
video with her phone in her other hand. Why is she shooting video with her
phone?” Wyman also said that an expensive aerodynamic wing off his crashed bike was never returned to him.

Roadracingworld.com asked MotoAmerica Chief Operating Officer
(COO) and KRAVE Partner Chuck Aksland about the complaints made by Herrin and Wyman. “It’s unfortunate what happened and it was passed on to the
circuit,” Aksland told Roadracingworld.com. “It’s up to them to deal with it
for the future.”

Aksland said organizing, training, and overseeing the
cornerworkers at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is up to SCRAMP (Sports Car
Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula), the host of the combined World Superbike and MotoAmerica event, just like
it is up to Circuit of The Americas for the combined MotoGP and MotoAmerica weekend at that track. At Laguna Seca, the
cornerworker duties were handled for SCRAMP by United States Auto Race Marshals (USARM).

Soon after the event, Roadracingworld.com also contacted Jan Kaufman, a member of
the USARM Board of Directors, and asked her about the Wyman and Herrin crashes and their related complaints. She did not get back to Roadracingworld.com as promised. but answered her phone when we called again today. 

“I talked to the Turn Marshal and several of the people that
were working at Turn Two,” Kaufman told Roadracingworld.com today. “When you talk to
the workers and look at the [closed-circuit] video, none of them ever saw [mishandling
of Wyman’s motorcycle], and every one of them said, ‘There’s no way we would
ever do anything like that.’ So if you look at the video you don’t see it.

“[Wyman] did shove one of the workers and was very hostile,
which we understand. He was in pain and his adrenaline was sky high, but everybody
I spoke to said the bike was handled properly, as it normally is.”

Wyman admitted to Roadracingworld.com that he shoved a cornerworker out of his way when he tried to get to his motorcycle to
put it in neutral and save it from further damage.

“On the Turn Six incident, where Josh Herrin crashed, when
he went down and they pulled [his bike] behind the wall, they did lay it down,”
said Kaufman. “They laid it down on the good side because there were concerns
with fluid leaking out of the bad side. That was the only reason they did that.
They didn’t drop it. They placed it on its side, and there’s [closed-circuit]
video of that, too.

“The people in Race Control, the officials from MotoAmerica
that are there with my folks during the race, every single time we have a crash
or an incident we have them play it back for us. We go back though it almost in
slow motion at times to review every single thing: Pre-crash, during the crash,
and post-crash, like clearing the track and loading it onto the [crash truck]
when they come to pick it up. And in both incidents, the officials that were in
Race Control during those incidents said that everything was handled properly.”

What about Wyman’s report of a cornerworker shooting
video with their mobile phone while waving a flag at his crash scene? And why wasn’t it caught during the review of video from each crash scene that Kaufman said standard USARM practice?

“That is 100% against policy,” said Kaufman. “Nobody knew
about that. We didn’t pick it up on any
cameras.

“We all look out for each other. The responders, the medical
staff, we all kind of look out for each other, and when we see someone doing
something they shouldn’t be doing, like using their video [phone], our folks
are usually the first to say, ‘Hey, put that phone away!’

“So if that happened and it was missed, shame on us. I can’t
verify if it did or did not. It shouldn’t happen. In every single training
session we have we say those things [mobile phones] do not come out anytime
bikes are on course. I don’t care if it’s the cool-down lap, those phones are
to be tucked away or are supposed to be tucked away.”


(Above) Another image of a cornerworker at Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew using a mobile phone while flagging during an incident involving MotoAmerica Supersport racer Braeden Ortt (left).

MotoAmerica Supersport racer Braeden Ortt didn’t complain about
how things were handled when he highsided in the Corkscrew during a session at
Laguna Seca, mainly because he was knocked unconscious and concussed when he
regained consciousness. If he had been aware of his surroundings, however, he
may have noticed a cornerworker waving a flag with one hand and shooting video
with their mobile phone with the other, which is clearly visible in MotoAmerica’s
video replay of the incident.

View the video here, and draw your own conclusions.

Canadian Superbike: Rain Interrupts Qualifying At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Changing conditions halt Pro qualifying for season finale doubleheader at CTMP

Bowmanville, ON – August 9, 2019 – Fans of the Mopar Canadian Superbike Championship will be forced to wait longer than expected for qualifying results from the two Pro classes, as rain temporarily halted Friday’s action in the season finale Doubleheader Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, presented by BMW Motorrad.

With rain closing in during the Mopar Pro Superbike qualifying session, riders in the feature class were forced to wait past the original start time for the subsequent Top Ten SuperPole session. The track had dried out in time for the field to settle the qualifying order before another patch of rain halted things once again, resulting in an early end to the day with qualifying yet to be completed.

CSBK officials will announce their formal qualifying plans at roughly 7:30 am ET on Saturday, with the two options being either a SuperPole restart on Saturday morning, or the original qualifying results from Friday being made official.

Qualifying was also pushed back for the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike class, which will be subject to a similar announcement on Saturday.

Should the original qualifying results from Friday stand as official, it would be championship leader Ben Young starting from pole position after leading the session with a time of 1:22.405 aboard his Liqui Moly/Barrie Trim BMW S1000RR.

The Collingwood, ON native enters Saturday with a chance to clinch his first ever CSBK title regardless of the qualifying results, as he carries a commanding 59-point lead into the weekend over rival Jordan Szoke.

“We’re in a really good position, but things are far from over, and Jordan’s not going to make it easy on us,” Young said. “We just got to keep doing what we’ve done all year – I think we’ve been first in all but two or three sessions – so if we can keep that going tomorrow, regardless of how things play out, it should go well for us.”

Second-fastest on the day was Young’s veteran teammate, Jeff Williams, who could potentially tie his best qualifying result of the season after falling just 0.147 seconds behind Young aboard his Williams Paving BMW.

The Inverary, ON native and former race-winner is the oldest Superbike rider in the field at 47, but will look to cap off his resurgent campaign alongside his younger counterpart in the weekend doubleheader.

“It feels good to be at the front here, running alongside Ben and all the kids,” Williams joked. “I would have loved to get a shot at pole, but the weather got a little wild at the end and keeping everyone safe is the main thing, so we’ll at least get to save some energy tonight and try to push a little harder tomorrow.”

While Young and Williams will be among the list of names hoping that Friday’s results are made official, Szoke will be perhaps the biggest name hoping for another shot on Saturday, as the four-time defending champion struggled to eighth aboard his Mopar Express Lane Kawasaki ZX-10RR Ninja.

The Lynden, ON veteran was visibly frustrated at the end of the day with his shot at a fifth consecutive title and 14th overall on the line, but tried to keep things in perspective earlier in the afternoon as he enters CTMP in unfamiliar territory.

“Realistically, it’s going to be tough for us to come back, but anything can happen and crazier things have happened, so we just got to keep pushing,” Szoke said. “If we can end the year strong and add a couple wins, maybe things go our way, but if not at least it’s a good start for next year.”

Rounding out an all-BMW top-three was Blysk Racing’s Samuel Trepanier, who posted a time of 1:22.998 as he looks to make up for his heartbreaking trip to the East Coast in round four, when the St. Isidore, QC native lost out on his first career win by just a few feet to Young.

It was also a disappointing end to the day for the front-runners in the Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike class, who got in very limited track time after both weather and track conditions disrupted their day. The morning practice session was cut short due to concerns about debris on the track, but once the circuit was deemed safe, the weather began to throw a wrench into the scheduled qualifying session.

As a result, majority of the class competitors were unable to produce a relevant time, including championship leader Will Hornblower, who’s best times were produced in the Superbike category aboard his Bickle Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.

“It’s been a weird day, mostly because the track wasn’t great until the weather hit, so it’s really about trying to get a good feel for things before we can put in those fast laps,” the Sarnia, ON native said. “There’s not a lot of issues to work through in terms of the bike, so hopefully things get better so we can push the pace this weekend.”

It was an equally unusual day for his rival, Tomas Casas, who was unable to post a strong time aboard his Parts Canada Yamaha machine. The two-time defending champion out of Peterborough, ON was still able to run solidly in his limited time aboard his YZF-R1 superbike, but was unable to gain any ground aboard his YZF-R6 machine as he looks to erase a 34-point deficit to Hornblower.

The lone two classes to successfully complete the scheduled qualifying on Friday were the Amateur ranks, with Samuel Guerin and Jared Walker claiming pole position in the respective categories.

Guerin, making just his second appearance in the Mopar Express Lane Amateur Superbike class out of Quebec City, QC, was able to outlast the conditions aboard his Aprilia RSV4RR and score his second pole of the year.

Meanwhile, the Oakville, ON native of Walker – also making his second appearance of the year aboard his Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja – was able to capitalize on changing conditions to secure his first ever National pole, though the attention will likely fall on third-place qualifier Jake LeClair out of Blackstock, ON.

While LeClair’s qualifying result will not jump off the page, the bLU cRU Yamaha YZF-R6 youngster will have a chance at erasing his 20-point deficit to championship leader Christian Allard on Saturday, after the Chambly, QC native suffered a mechanical issue aboard his Turcotte Performance Kawasaki and was unable to qualify.

In addition to the pending qualifying announcements regarding the two Pro classes, the TSN Motorcycle Experience Lightweight Sport Bike class will qualify on Saturday morning as originally scheduled.

The weekend schedule, though subject to change, can be found on the official series’ website at www.csbk.ca. 

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup: Alex Escrig Takes Pole Position In Austria

Editorial Note: American Tyler Scott is not competing in Austria. Scott crashed during the European Talent Cup race July 14 at Motorland Aragon and injured the ring finger on his left hand, requiring surgery and forcing him to miss this weekend’s event.

Escrig and Uriarte team up for Red Bull Ring Qualifying 1-2

Spaniards were in control all the way through Free Practice and Qualifying with 15-year-old Alex Escrig finally grabbing pole ahead of 14-year-old Marcos Uriarte after the pair worked together at the end of Qualifying. Fellow countryman and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup leader, 16-year-old Carlos Tatay was all on his own for third.

The Escrig/Uriarte plan also included another Spielberg first timer, 15-year-old Pedro Acosta but the 15-year-old Spaniard missed out and was only ninth fastest. Also missing out was Japanese 18-year-old Haruki Noguchi who topped the timing screen only to have that best lap cancelled because he exceeded track limits.

Team Spain

Naturally Escrig and Uriarte were grinning. “Yes that was our plan,” explained Escrig. “We would work together and help each other with the slipstream. It is so important here. In FP1 I was not so happy with the bike but I talked to Santi (Suspension engineer Santiago Morralla) and we sorted things out in FP2. I was feeling really confident then so I knew a good qualifying was possible.”

“I crashed in FP2,” explained Uriarte. “But I also thought we could do a good job working together in Qualifying. Early on the group was much too big and we were getting in each other’s way but right at the end Alex and I got it right. I’m really happy with the bike, the setting is good for the races, I think it should be good, I need my first podium at least.”

Tatay on his own

Tatay has already won five races and scored two second places this year. With rival Yuki Kunii missing the Austrian round after injuring his right hand again in his wild card GP debut in Brno last weekend the 16-year-old Spaniard could well clinch the Cup this weekend. He could even do it on Saturday if Acosta, David Salvador and Jason Dupasquier do not score a few points. Most likely the Cup will still be in play on Sunday.

Tatay is not worried about being third. “That is OK, it’s the front row, the bike is working very well. I took time to find myself some space for my own rhythm and I am happy with that. I think it will be a close race, probably with a lot of riders but I am ready to fight.”

On the limit to win

Noguchi has his own plans for the race. “It’s a shame I missed out on pole but the track limit is my fault. Today was not so easy, it is my first time here and we had an electrical fault so I had to use the spare bike in FP1. That cost a bit of time and we needed to sort out the setting but finally qualifying was good. We might change things slightly for the race, we’ll see. I will be out to win.”

Hanging on

Acosta needs to keep his championship hopes alive and the Sachsenring race 1 winner had no excuses. “I don’t know what went wrong in Qualifying, I just wasn’t there with the others at the end like we planned. The race will be different,” he smiled.

Yet another Spaniard, 15-year-old David Salvador, starts fifth. “I’m OK with that, the bike was not right in FP1 but got better through FP2 and in Qualifying it was really good so I think that I can have a good race,” said the teen who was second in Assen 2.

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 17:15 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 15:30, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.

MotoGP: Suzuki Issues Medical Update On Joan Mir

Mir arrives in Barcelona today and will remain hospitalised until Monday. 

Team SUZUKI ECSTAR rider Joan Mir landed in Barcelona today after travelling from Brno in the Czech Republic, where he has been hospitalised since Monday following a serious accident during the official MotoGP Test.

The Spanish rider was diagnosed with a severe pulmonary contusion after the crash and transferred to the FN Bohunice University Hospital, before finally being able to travel home to Spain in a medical plane. Upon his arrival he was directly transferred to the Department of Internal Medicine at the Hospital Universitario Dexeus, where the Doctor in charge is Angel Charte, who also happens to be the Medical Director of the MotoGP World Championship.

As soon as the young rider arrived, Dr. Charte’s team performed the mandatory medical checks on him:

“We completed an enhanced cranial CT scan, a chest CT scan, and an abdominal CT scan with contrast dye. Both the cranial CT and abdominal CT are normal. We have not observed any involvement or damage of any vital organ, nor any blood in the abdominal cavity. However, the thoracic CT does show a pulmonary contusion, predominantly on the right side. Although the lungs are functioning well and have stood up to analysis, there is still that heavy bruising which requires hospital rest and observation, with daily analytical and testing rounds”, explained Dr. Charte.

“Together with my team, we have decided to keep him hospitalised until Monday, then we will do another check to see if the contusion has reduced in intensity – and in that case he would go home.” 

​MotoAmerica: Dallas Daniels Will No Longer Ride For Quarterley Racing/On Track Development In Junior Cup

In spite of being second in the current MotoAmerica Junior
Cup Championship point standings, Dallas Daniels will no longer compete for the
Quarterley Racing On Track Development team in MotoAmerica and will instead dedicate
his efforts to Estenson Racing in the American Flat Track (AFT) Singles series
beginning this weekend in California.

As the MotoAmerica paddock assembled Friday at Sonoma
Raceway, just north of San Francisco, word quickly spread that Daniels would no
longer be racing his Kawasaki Ninja 400 for Quarterley Racing On Track
Development and would instead be competing on his Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F
Saturday, August 10 at the rescheduled Sacramento Mile.

“Our understanding was [Daniels] was going to do the road
racing and then do the flat track events that didn’t conflict,” Bob Robbins,
co-owner of Quarterley Racing On Track Development, told Roadracingworld.com. “I
guess there was a rainout of the Sacramento Mile [earlier this season, causing
the event to be rescheduled this weekend] and his sponsor pretty much insisted
on him being there. So Dallas had to make a choice.”

“Basically, I’m under contract with my dirt track team,
Estenson Racing, and I have a handshake deal with Bob and Dale [Quaterley],”
Daniels told Roadracingworld.com. “My dirt track team wanted me here at the
[Sacramento] Mile. So I had to make a decision on what I wanted to do, and that
resulted in me not racing at Sonoma, and that resulted in me not racing the
rest of the year with Quarterley Racing.”

“He had to make a decision, and I think he probably made the
right one,” said Robbins. “His future is probably in flat track racing, but his
season is done here. There are two others [MotoAmerica and AFT events] that
conflict, so he had to make a choice on which way he was going to go. It wasn’t
an ultimatum. It was just a choice. If it were different circumstances and he
only needed to miss one race I could see it, but when you’re second in the
points with a chance at the Championship I just don’t see it.”


(Above) Dallas Dallas (163) on his Estenson Racing Yamaha at the Buffalo Chip TT AFT Singles race. Photo by Andrea Wilson/Estenson Racing.

At a glance, the situation appears to be confusing. Why
would Daniels give up on his successful MotoAmerica season and the potential to
win the Junior Cup and instead focus on the AFT Singles Championship, where he
just made his debut last month?

But to get the proper perspective, you have to go back to
2018, when Daniels was not having a very successful time in MotoAmerica Junior
Cup and Estenson Racing signed the then-15-year-old to a two-year deal to race
AFT, a significant deal in the flat track world.

“It really does suck and I apologize and feel bad about it,
but I had to make a decision for me and my racing and what was best for me and
my future,” said Daniels. “My future wasn’t looking very good in road racing for
next year, and I have this amazing deal in flat track. I love Bob and Dale and
I love the team and I love road racing, but I had to make a decision and I was
under contract here and I had to do it.”

MotoGP: Marc Marquez On Top, Entire Field Separated By 1.3 Seconds In FP2 In Austria (Updated)

MotoGP Race Lap Record: Andrea Dovizioso, 1:24.277, 2018

MotoGP All Time Lap Record: Andrea Iannone, 1:23.142, 2016

2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship

Red Bull Ring

Spielberg, Austria

August 9, 2019

Free Practice Two Results (all on Michelin tires):

1. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:23.916

2. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:23.982

3. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:24.071

4. Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:24.153

5. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:24.308

6. Miguel Oliveira, Portugal (KTM), 1:24.326

7. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:24.330

8. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:24.336

9. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:24.411

10. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:24.418

11. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:24.532

12. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:24.540

13. Francesco Bagnaia, Italy (Ducati), 1:24.598

14. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:24.630

15. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Honda), 1:24.755

16. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:24.865

17. Johann Zarco, France (KTM), 1:24.948

18. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:25.003

19. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:25.139

20. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:25.233

21. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (KTM), 1:25.269

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:

Oliveira powers to seventh on opening day in Austria – Syahrin improves

Red Bull KTM Tech3’s MotoGP rookie Miguel Oliveira delivered a stunning performance on Friday at Red Bull’s and KTM’s home track. The Portuguese initiated the first day of the Austrian GP as tenth fastest of the highly-competitive MotoGP field and even topped this result with a perfect 1:24.326 to grab P7 overall on Friday and with it, a provisional Q2 entry and the best KTM spot, missing out on the top by just 0.410 seconds.

Meanwhile Hafizh Syahrin showed some great potential as well this morning, but had to conclude FP1 early with a crash. Luckily, the Malaysian could return to the Red Bull Ring for the second Free Practice and did some clear steps into the right direction. The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider went half a second faster in the afternoon, to conclude the first day just 0.943 seconds behind his teammate.

Miguel Oliveira

Position: 7th

Time: 1:24.326

Laps: 44

“Overall, it has been a quite positive day. We managed to do a really good FP2 with a strong pace and finally on the last run with a very fast lap to get us inside the provisional Q2, which is a first time for us on a Friday. We still have tomorrow to improve, which I hope we do. Getting this nice result for the team, I think is a huge boost for everyone.”

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 21st

Time: 1:25.269

Laps: 35

“At the end of the day, it was quite decent. Our gap to the top is just at 1.3 seconds, so it’s really good, although the position doesn’t reflect this. This morning I had a very big crash and I’m still in pain, I’m still not feeling 100 percent comfortable on the bike, but at least we showed our speed is there. Tomorrow we try to find a something to stop the machine a little bit better, as on this track we have many stop-and-go sections, so I hope on Saturday we can improve and for sure we will try to do well.”

More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:

#AustrianGP FP. Solid start for Pramac Racing: Jack 6th and Pecco 13th after first day of practice action at Red Bull Ring

FP1 (Practice Conditions: Dry. Air 21°, Ground 32°)

P4 Jack Miller (1’24.360, +0.327 from P1)

Jack is really fast right from the start. In the last run the Australian rider tests the hard tyre and finishes just 3 tenths of a second from the fastest time of Dovizioso (set with the soft rear tyre).

P13 Francesco Bagnaia (1’24.996, +0.072 from Top 10, +0.963 from P1)

A convincing start for Pecco, who first becomes familiar with the circuit and then begins to push. The Italian finishes just one-tenth of a second from the hypothetical third row, going very fast, especially in T1 and T3.

FP2 (Practice Conditions: Dry. Air 29th, Ground 49th)

P5 Jack Miller (1’24.308, +0.392 from P1)

Jack’s race pace with the medium tyre is very interesting. In the time attack, however, the Australian can not find the right feeling with the front tire to be in a hypothetical front row. Miller ends the first day of activity with a solid P5 (P6 in the combined standings).

P13 Francesco Bagnaia (1’24.598, +0.180 from Top 10, +0.682 from P1)

Pecco is also strong on the race pace with used tyres. Like his team mate, however, the Italian can not take full advantage of the soft front tire in the time attack finishing however very close to the Top 10.

P13 – Pecco Bagnaia

“I am satisfied with this first day. Unfortunately we made the wrong choice of front tyre for the time attack and I wasn’t able to be in the Top 10 but I think that tomorrow in FP3 we will have all the credentials to qualify directly for Q2. The race pace is very positive. I have confidence”.

P6 – Jack Miller

“We got off to a very good start. We have worked a lot on the tyres trying all the solutions and the results have been very good. The race pace is strong and this is a good starting point. We’ll have to fix some details on the electronics to limit the wheelie but the sensations are very positive”.


More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:

LOTS OF RACE PREPARATION WORK STRAIGHT AWAY FOR ALEIX AND ANDREA ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT THE RED BULL RING

Both free practice sessions on Friday at the Red Bull Ring were intense and extremely busy for both of the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders in anticipation of the Austrian Grand Prix that will be held on Sunday.

After finishing the morning practice sessions just 44 thousandths of a second outside the top 10, Aleix Espargaró closed out the combined standings in seventeenth place with a time of 1’24.865, slightly improving in the afternoon session, but without managing to gain provisional access to Q2. The Spanish rider had good sensations in terms of race pace and tomorrow he will continue working on his RS-GP in order to be incisive over the long distance as he prepares for a race that promises to be a demanding one for the tyres.

Andrea Iannone, who is celebrating his thirtieth birthday today, finished the first day of practice with a time of 1’25.003, not far from Aleix, in eighteenth place.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“All told, our pace is not bad. Right now, we are unable to be fast on the single lap because we lose ground in acceleration and we can’t make it all up in braking. The temperatures were very high this afternoon, but the track conditions can change quickly. Tomorrow we will keep working to prepare for the race, assessing the best options in terms of tyres as well, with the goal of being competitive over the long distance.”

ANDREA IANNONE

“I won’t deny that we are encountering some difficulties. Besides the gap, we struggle to maintain a good pace. Since we are at the limit, we need to force a lot and that does not pay off over race distance. In any case, we need to stay focused. The conditions could change and we need to keep improving.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Relentless Marquez controls Friday in Austria

A productive first day at the Red Bull Ring for the Repsol Honda Team saw Marc Marquez lead the way with Bradl less than a second behind.

After just a few days rest from the double point-scoring finish at the Czech GP, the Repsol Honda Team were back to work at Round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship. Both Marc Marquez and Stefan Bradl eagerly returned to track, looking to build on what they achieved respectively in Brno.

Marquez started the Austrian GP with devilish consistency, using just a single set of tyres during Free Practice 1 and sitting at the top of the time sheets until the final moments when other riders fitted new tyres. A relentless start to Free Practice 2 saw Marquez set multiple 1’23s in a row with fresh rubber on his Repsol Honda Team RC213V. The MotoGP World Championship leader finished the day fastest by 0.066s with a 1’23.916, 0.8s from the outright lap record.

Having not ridden at the Red Bull Ring since 2016, Stefan Bradl was able to quickly get up to speed as he continues to deputise the injured Jorge Lorenzo. Bradl diligently worked through his weekend schedule and improved his best lap time by almost a second as he pushed for a Q2 spot. 0.839s away from his day-leading teammate, the German rider missed a spot in the top ten by a little over 0.3s and is ready to battle for a top ten spot tomorrow.

Takaaki Nakagami had a notable performance on the LCR Honda and finished Friday in third overall.

Bradl and the rest of the MotoGP grid will fight it out for a top ten spot and direct passage to Q2 during Free Practice 3 tomorrow, Friday August 09, at 09:55 local time.

Marc Marquez

1ST 1’23.916

“Today like every Friday we worked a lot towards Sunday, focusing on race distance and understanding how the tyres and the setup will behave. Like in Brno and in the Sachsenring we were also working with two different frames – both were good. At a first look we are far ahead, but Dovizioso also has strong pace and Viñales and Quartararo are also quite close to us. We need to understand how the grip will change tomorrow and see what happens.”

Stefan Bradl

15TH 1’24.755

“We had a busy day today, we had a lot of things to try. An intense day with all that we had to do but I am satisfied with the lap time. Obviously our position is not ideal but the gap to the guy in front is very small. On one side I’m happy and on another I could be happier but tomorrow we will be able to focus more on the race and improve our setup to go faster. Let’s hope the weather is OK and we will see what we can do!”

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

Positive start in Spielberg for Quartararo and Morbidelli

PETRONAS Yamaha SRT riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli happy with a solid beginning to their Austrian Grand Prix weekend

Austrian GP – 09 August 2019

Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli have completed a positive first day of action for the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, bettering their expectations to come home fifth and 14th respectively after the opening two practice sessions at the Spielberg circuit.

Quartararo admitted that it had taken hard work from him and his crew to ensure fifth place and a provisional route to Q2 tomorrow, but was able to better his expectations of a top ten place on the first day. Still with work to do to improve his Yamaha YZR-M1, Quartararo is confident that they can close the gap to their rivals when action resumes tomorrow.

Morbidelli was similarly pleased with his work despite not being higher up the time sheets, concentrating instead on race pace and coming away happy with the team’s progress. Able to sue some of the new settings he trialled at Monday’s test in Brno to improve his consistency, he will now focus on one-lap pace in the morning ahead of qualifying.

Action continues tomorrow at 0955 local time (1755 Malaysian time), with qualifying at 1410 local time (2010 Malaysian time) and Sunday’s 28-lap race at 1400 local time (2000 Malaysian time).

Franco Morbidelli

14th (+0.714)

“My pace today has been good, and I’m happy with that. We need to improve our performance over one single lap and we’ve already learned some things that should help us to be a little faster – and that should help us with our consistency as well. It’s important to start the weekend ahead at this track because it can be hard to overtake, so that will be key tomorrow. Compared to the other Yamahas I need to improve a little bit in acceleration.”

Fabio Quartararo

5th (+0.237)

“It’s been a really tough, but we expected that this would be difficult track for us. I’ve been trying to push hard and to be on the limit, and I’m feeling good on the bike. We’re struggling a little bit in the first two sectors and will need to work hard on that, but I’m really looking forward to seeing what will be possible tomorrow. This track is mainly three straights but that means there’s three big braking points as well, and we’re working to get the best out of the bike at those points and on cornering.”

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

TERRIFIC START FOR TAKA IN AUSTRIA

LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami made a superb start as free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix got underway, finishing the day in third position. With Ducati having been expected to dominate in Spielberg, it was instead Honda who led the way on Friday as Nakagami joined day one pacesetter Marc Marquez in the top three.

In dry and sunny conditions, the Japanese star was on the pace throughout as he posted the ninth fastest time in FP1. He then improved by around eight tenths in FP2 to climb towards the top of the timesheets and was naturally delighted with his position heading into Saturday qualifying.

Takaaki Nakagami – 3rd

(1’24.071 – lap 21 of 23)

“It was a little bit of a surprise for me and the team because we expected more of a struggle. Here it’s very stop and go and you need a lot of engine power, but from FP1 I felt quite comfortable on the bike. We’re not losing too much on the straight and for day one the lap time is not too bad, we’re still a few tenths of the lap record. The team did a really great job today and I’m pretty happy about have me progressed between FP1 and FP2. Tomorrow and also Sunday the forecast has a possibility of rain, so I’m happy to finish in a good position today.”

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

SOLID START FOR CRUTCHLOW IN SPIELBERG

LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow secured a place in the top 10 on the opening day of free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The Briton ended up in eighth place overall in Spielberg, but feels there is plenty of room for improvement ahead of Saturday’s qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.

Under fine, sunny skies, Crutchlow had to settle for 11th position the morning’s FP1 session. But, with an unsettled forecast predicted for Saturday, he improved in FP2 to break into the top 10 and ensure he is well-placed to progress to Q2 tomorrow.

Cal Crutchlow – 8th

(1’24.336 – lap 21 of 21)

“Today was not a bad day, but I think we can improve in a lot of areas, I look forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow. I was struggling to stop the bike in turn one and turn four and hopefully we can improve that overnight with some settings changes. I had to cut one of my runs short as I didn’t get the correct feeling with one of the settings, so hopefully that will help me in that area. I’ll work closely with the team and Honda tonight to understand the situation and also to work out the best tyre to use for qualifying and the race.”

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

RINS ON THE EDGE OF THE TOP 10 IN AUSTRIA

Alex Rins: 12th – 1:24.540 (+ 0.624)

• Alex Rins makes solid start to Austrian weekend.

•Team looking ahead to Saturday’s qualifying.

Just five days after the Czech GP, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR are back into ‘race mode’ at the Red Bull Ring in Austria for Round 11.

Alex Rins took to the track alone after his team-mate, Joan Mir, was ruled out pre-event due to an accident sustained at Monday’s Brno test. The morning’s FP1 session went well as Alex got settled into Spielberg’s sweeping circuit; the Spaniard placed 3rd with one-minute left on the clock but got bumped to 7th place as the flag came out. However, he was just half a second from the top.

The track reached a scorching 50°c for FP2, and Rins once again looked solid as he tried different tyre combinations and continued to work on set-up for the unique Austrian track. He spent the majority of the session in the Top 5 and completed FP2 in 12th place. Rins is ready to push in tomorrow’s FP3 to try and secure a place in the all-important Q2.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“Alex had to work hard today; we had to try some different settings and discover the best direction to take. We still need to do a bit more work to fine tune the settings and to confirm a tyre selection. Tomorrow we hope to stay in the Top 10 and be in Q2, we’ll see what we can do. Overall it’s been quite a good opening day.”

Alex Rins:

“Today went well. I tried all the different tyre combinations on the front and rear, and we know more or less which way we want to go. I was hoping to take a provisional place in Q2 during FP2, but in the end it wasn’t quite possible because I was 12th, and that was a bit disappointing for me. I’m struggling a little in the second sector, but apart from that I feel pretty good here. Today I didn’t really push for a fast lap, we preferred to focus on feel and settings.”

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

MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP TAKE STEPS IN SPIELBERG FIRST FP SESSIONS

Spielberg (Austria), 9th August 2019

GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRIA

FREE PRACTICE

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi kicked off the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich weekend. Whilst the team-mates both enjoyed strong results in the morning, only Viñales was able to improve on his time in the afternoon, securing second place in the FP2 and combined rankings. Rossi just missed out on a top 10 result and ended the day in 11th position.

2nd MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’23.982 (FP2) / 23 + 23 LAPS

11th VALENTINO ROSSI 1’24.469 (FP1) / 23 + 25 LAPS

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi used the first free practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg track to the fullest to prepare for an intense weekend. They both showed great form in the morning, but in the hotter afternoon only Viñales was able to successfully defend his provisional place for Q2. The team-mates finished 2nd and 11th respectively in FP2 and combined free practice rankings.

Viñales felt motivated by a positive test in Brno last Monday and it showed in this morning’s FP1. He was quick to ride his YZR-M1 to a place in the top 3 and kept hold of the position for the first half of the 45-minute session. As the pace heated up towards the final stages, the Spaniard responded. Eager to keep his spot at the front, he set two personal best times on his final run and ended in third place, with a best time of 1‘24.280s and a 0.247s gap to first.

The number-12 rider raised his game even further in the afternoon. He took a little time to adjust to the hot temperatures and then again set a fast lap to feature at the front. He tried various tyre specs until the usual mini time attack at the very end of the session. With five minutes to go, Viñales started his last run and delivered, wrapping up the first day in Spielberg with a best time of 1‘23.982s for second place in the FP2 and combined free practice timesheets, just 0.066s from P1.

Rossi built gradual progress in the morning session, moving to sixth place after 16 minutes. Knowing the importance of braking stability and acceleration, he concentrated on getting his bike set-up just right, until the very end of FP1. Keen to show the progress he made, he put his head down on his final run to take fifth position in the results, with a 1‘24.469s best lap, 0.436s from first.

In the afternoon, the Doctor picked up work where he left off in the morning. He mainly focused on his bike‘s set-up and tyre selection until the final ten minutes when all riders made a dash to secure a provisional Q2 position. He put in some solid laps on his last stint but found himself just outside the top 10, in 11th place, with a best time of 1‘24.532s, 0.616s from first. His faster morning time also put him in P11 in the combined standings, 0.553s from the top.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

“We started the Austrian GP weekend well this morning. We are in a better place than we were last year at this round. Having learned from that experience, we knew what we had to focus on. Maverick‘s second place today is really a good result for us because, like we have pointed out before, this is not considered a ’Yamaha-track‘. It‘s a shame that, after a positive FP1, Vale was unable to better his morning time in the afternoon and just missed out on a top 10 result. Getting into Q2 is always crucial, so that‘s the goal for both riders. We will have to keep pushing, but we‘ve seen some positive signs on this first day, so our motivation is high. We’ve been able to test all the tyre options and have a good indication for Sunday’s race choice.”

MAVERICK VIÑALES

“The feeling has been quite positive. We‘ve been working a lot on the bike, trying to understand in which direction we should go. I think we might have found something good to better my rhythm, but we still have to improve. We just missed out on first place, but I‘m feeling positive. Being second in FP2 here is really good for us, this is a track where we suffer a lot. This year it seems to be going better, so we are in a good way and will try to keep improving things tomorrow. We‘re going to try to be on the first row and then we‘ll see. Today we tried the tyres and we have more or less some ideas for tomorrow, so we‘re going to be working very hard.”

VALENTINO ROSSI

“This morning was not so bad and also this afternoon the pace was quite good, but at the end, with the soft, I didn’t ride very well. I was stuck in the traffic and I wasn’t able to improve. As always, there are a lot of riders that are very fast, but it looks like we are more competitive compared to last year, because our pace is a bit better. I’m not in the top 10 by a small margin. Apart from that, the feeling is not so bad and it looks like the forecast is good for tomorrow morning, so I think we will fight for Q2 in FP3.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Dovizioso and Petrucci wrap up the opening day of practice for the Austrian Grand Prix in third and eighth place respectively

The first two free practice sessions for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring close to Zeltweg concluded this afternoon with the two Ducati Team riders – Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci – in third and eighth place respectively.

Dovizioso, who topped the timesheets in the morning’s FP1 session with a quickest lap of 1’24.003, was unable to improve in FP2 thanks also to an innocuous slow-speed crash at Turn 3 at the end of the session, while Petrucci finished the day in eighth place with a best time of 1’24.330 which he set in FP2.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1’24.003 (3rd)

“We began the day in a really positive way. In the afternoon we tried a different set-up that worked better under braking and this is important, especially because my pace is very good and I’m not far behind Marquez. We’re working well and I think there is still room to improve. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake at Turn 3 and was not able to improve my FP2 time, but as I said before we’re fast and I’m really pleased about that.”

Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 1’24.330 (8th)

“In the afternoon we were able to improve on our morning performance and so I’m satisfied with that. This is a bit of a tough track for me because, like Brno with its long straights, I tend to lose a bit of aerodynamic efficiency, because of the way I’m built. As a result, we’re trying to improve under braking, where we can make up a bit of the time we’re losing on the straight. My squad is working well and I’m pleased with the way I lapped with the used tyres. Of course tomorrow we will have to try and do a bit better and also make the best of the new tyres so we can start Sunday’s race from the front of the grid.”

The Ducati riders will be back on the track tomorrow, Saturday 10 August, at 09.55 CET for the third free practice session, while the qualifying sessions will be held after FP4, starting from 14.10.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Viñales runs Marquez close at the Red Bull Ring

Yamaha rider takes the fight to the reigning Champion, with Dovizioso completing the top three

Friday, 09 August 2019

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) ended Day 1 of the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich in P1 overall, but the reigning Champion was run close. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) got within just 0.066 of the number 93, with FP1’s fastest man, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), ending the day third overall. The Italian failed to improve his laptime due to a late tip off, but his FP1 fastest keeps him in P3 at the venue where he won in 2017.

Marquez came out the blocks all guns blazing at the start of FP2 as he sported a soft rear tyre, and immediately the number 93 was able to better his time from the morning session and went to the top of the combined standings, pushing FP1 pacesetter Dovizioso down to P2. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) was also going well in the opening stages of FP2 too, after the Italian had a quiet FP1 and lingered down in P14 ahead of the afternoon’s running.

As so often happens, however, it all came down to a frantic last 10 minutes. The day was sunny, hot and, potentially, quite different to what may greet the grid on Saturday – meaning it was weapons free in a bid to take a provisional place in Q2. Dovizioso was the first who looked under threat as he uncharacteristically crashed at Turn 3 just after setting a red first sector. Would he keep the place or could his rivals leap up the timesheets?

One of the big improvers was Takaaki Nakagami, the LCR Honda Idemitsu rider having finished FP1 in ninth and finding time in the afternoon. First Nakagami went to P5 overall but on the next lap, the Honda man shot to P3 on the combined times, second in FP2. Viñales, third fastest in FP1, was also ramping his pace up and sure enough, the Yamaha man went second quickest – just 0.066 behind Marquez’ early session time. Marquez, Viñales and Nakagami would remain the quickest of the session, with ‘DesmoDovi’ slotting into third overall.

Behind Nakagami was a familiar face at the front: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). The Frenchman was within a tenth of the Japanese rider ahead of him and finished the day in an impressive fifth overall, just ahead of a key rival: Jack Miller (Pramac Racing). The Australian flipped his formbook at the venue to complete the top six.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), meanwhile, had a stunning Friday. The Portuguese rookie built on his 10th place in FP1 to move up to seventh on the combined standings, fastest KTM on the Austrian factory’s home turf – just 0.018 off Miller and 0.004 ahead of Petrucci by the end of play. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was equally close in an incredibly tight gaggle of riders, 0.006 off Oliveira, and he moved up into ninth overall on his last flying lap despite finishing outside the top 10 in FP1.

The man who completed those who’ll be heading through to Q2 should the rain come down was Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who made it two KTMs in the top ten on home turf. And the Austrian factory achieved that at the expense of some key contenders: Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was P11 by mere thousandths and will be hoping for a dry FP3 on Saturday to improve his time, and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was just behind the ‘Doctor’ looking for the same. Will the two be heading head to head in Q1?

See what Saturday brings, how the skies dawn and how the grid shuffles in FP3 at 9:55 (GMT+2), before qualifying then begins at 14:10 to decide the grid.