Kyle Wyman won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman used a last-lap pass to take a narrow victory by 0.039 second.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss fought his way to the front on his S&S Indian Challenger, but Wyman passed him on the run to the checkered flag, relegating him to second place.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara came out on top of another, equally entertaining battle for third place.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli crossed the finish line fourth, 0.047 second behind O’Hara and 0.223 second ahead of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s defending Champion Hayden Gillim in fifth.
Josh Herrin won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, Herrin led from start to finish and won the 12-lap race by 9.058 seconds.
Bobby Fong was the best of the rest, taking a runner-up finish on his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1.
Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW rider JD Beach was right behind Fong for much of the race but could not make a move and came in third, 0.326 second behind Fong. Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz took the checkered flag 0.434 second behind Beach in fourth.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne was third early in the race but slipped backwards to a lonely fifth-place finish on his Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing YZF-R1.
Sean Dylan Kelly was running second on the final lap when he ran wide entering Canada Corner due to an apparent mechanical issue with his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR. Kelly continued as best he could and salvaged sixth.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammates Brandon Paasch and Xavi Fores were separated by 0.013 second at the finish line with Paasch getting seventh and Fores taking eighth.
Benjamin Smith got ninth and the Superbike Cup victory on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha, and Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10 finishers on his Team Brazil BMW.
Race One winner Cameron Petersen was running seventh on lap six when his Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing YZF-R1 suffered a smokey failure, forcing him to retire.
Five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier did not start Race Two. Beaubier crashed during Race One and broke the heel in his right foot. Beaubier’s recovery time was not known at post time.
Herrin Dominates Steel Commander Superbike Race Two At Road America
Josh Herrin Rides His Ducati To A Nine-Second Win In Elkhart Lake
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 2, 2024) – It may not have been a walk in the park, but it was definitely a high-speed stroll through the track known as America’s National Park of Speed for Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin on Sunday at Road America.
Herrin stormed away at the start of the 12-lap race and was never threatened. The chasing pack kept the gap in the two-second range for a few laps, but then the margin just steadily grew exponentially until it got to the 10-second mark. The Ducati Panigale V4 R was in its element on the high-speed track and Herrin was enjoying every minute of it.
At the completion of the 12 laps, Herrin was a tick over nine seconds clear of the chasing pack. It was his first win of what has been a difficult season thus far for the 2013 Superbike Champion. It was also the 11th Superbike win of his career, which ties him for 18th on the all-time Superbike win list with Anthony Gobert.
The chasing pack was hectic and consisted of four – Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach, TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz.
Kelly did most of the leading in second place, but Fong was on a mission and riding hard to make up for an obvious speed disadvantage with his Yamaha YZF-R1 against the BMW M 1000 RRs of Kelly and Beach. Baz, meanwhile, also had a fast bike but couldn’t go farther forward until the last lap.
It was on the last lap and the run to the final corner and the dash up the hill that the pack lost Kelly, with his BMW faltering as it was stuck in fifth gear. He would finish but it would be in sixth and not the second place he was fighting for. Fong ended up a well-deserved second with Beach third, less than half a second behind the Yamaha on the run to the flag. Then came Baz just a few 10ths behind.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne passed Kelly for fifth with the Floridian nursing the bike up the hill to sixth. Gagne’s ride had been mostly lonely.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch was seventh after beating his fill-in teammate Xavi Forés by just .013 of a second. FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith and Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.
After three rounds and seven races in the Steel Commander Superbike Championship, Gagne leads the injured Cameron Beaubier by 18 points, 113-95, with the five-time Superbike Championship expected to miss at least the next round with the broken heel he suffered in Saturday’s crash at Road America.
Fong jumps to third in the title chase, 25 points behind Gagne and just seven behind Beaubier. Saturday’s race winner Cameron Petersen is fourth in the championship after his Yamaha YZF-R1 suffered a terminal illness that took the South African out of race two after just six laps.
Kelly is tied with Petersen for fourth and fortunate he could nurse the BMW to the finish line. The pair are 30 points behind Gagne and four points ahead of Herrin, who obviously gained tons of ground with his first victory of the year.
Superbike Race Two
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
JD Beach (BMW)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Xavi Forés (Suzuki)
Benjamin Smith (Yamaha)
Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Quotes
Josh Herrin – Winner
“Obviously, no Superbike win is ever easy,” Herrin said. “The guys gave me a great bike today. I had a great bike yesterday, but I’m just terrible in the rain on it. This one feels extra special, but the laps just kept clicking. I just felt super good. I was in a rhythm. I didn’t think about anybody behind me once, until three laps to go and I saw plus nine. I just couldn’t believe it. It was just a magical moment, for sure. It was one of those ones that you can’t explain, and you don’t really know why it happened. I mean, I know I had a great bike and I felt great, and I’ve been putting in the work, but it never comes that easy. I just want to thank the entire Warhorse HSBK Racing team for all the hard work that they do. I’m happy because the last race in New Jersey last year was really tough, and then we went to Road Atlanta, and I was leading and got ran off the track. Then I had a rain race that I sucked in again. Barber was terrible. Yesterday was terrible. So, it’s been a really hard six, seven, eight months, somewhere around there. I’m happy to be back up here. I told the guys, if we have two years on this bike it will make a huge difference. We were showing that in Atlanta, just with the way that we’re able to start Friday and be there right away. It just helps a lot with your confidence. This weekend told the same story. I’m really grateful for the opportunity and just really happy to be with the same team for three years in a row. I have a lot of fun with these guys. It’s really rare. I’ve been doing this for 19 years and this is the third time that I’ve felt like this in 19 years. One was with Graves. One was with Richard (Stanboli) in ’18, and now this team. It doesn’t happen very often that you get the full package, and right now we have it. I’m super happy. I’m bummed that Cam (Beaubier) wasn’t out there. I’m hoping that he has a speedy recovery because I know he for sure would have been there. I’m sure he’ll be back soon and fast. Brainerd is going to be tough, for sure. I’m ready and excited and just grateful for this.”
Bobby Fong – Second Place
“It was a hard-fought race,” Fong said. “It was me and Dylan (Sean Dylan Kelly) putting in our licks. I had to be smart. They had a little bit of horsepower and I had to get a run on him on each straightaway. I would back up a little bit going into the turns and try to come out with him just to stay as close as I could in the draft. I saw JD (Beach) pass me and I thought maybe (Loris) Baz was going to get in there and make some moves. I had to counter and counter fast just to keep my position. Now we’ve moved up in third in the championship and a little bit closer to (Jake) Gagne. Our goal is to be top Yamaha. It’s a bummer that (Cameron) Beaubier was out. Obviously, he was pretty dominant all weekend. Hopefully, he’s back soon because he was the standard all weekend.”
JD Beach – Third Place
“It’s hard,” Beach said. “I want to be pumped about this, but I feel like we’re still so far off right now. It’s not from a lack of trying from the team or myself. We’re just missing something, and I know once we get it, we’ll be right there. I guess it’s nice that I’m not pumped about a third, but in all honesty, it is great to be up here and to be third. I want to be fighting with Josh (Herrin) and Cameron (Beaubier) and the guys at the front. I’m glad we took a big step forward from Barber. That was a hard weekend. We’ll just keep fighting and we’ll keep working. We’ve still got a lot of races to go. There’s no quitting, so we’ll just keep going.”
HICKMAN CLAIMS 14TH TT WIN IN DRAMATIC RST SUPERBIKE RACE
Peter Hickman claimed his 14th TT win during a dramatic RST Superbike TT Race at the Isle of Man TT Races, matching Mike Hailwood’s tally. The Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing rider taking the lead on the final lap to win by 5.84 seconds from Davey Todd (Milwaukee BMW) with Dean Harrison (Honda Racing) in third.
It was one of the most thrilling races of recent times as Michael Dunlop (MasterMac by Hawk/MD Racing Honda) originally led by twenty-five seconds at two-thirds race distance only to have an issue with the sidepod on his visor leaving the pits after his second stop – this resulted in him stopping on Bray Hill, which dropped him down to fourth.
The race got underway on time at 2.40pm with near perfect conditions around the Mountain Course and it was Todd who led through Glen Helen for the first time, his advantage over Hickman just 0.037 seconds. They were quickly followed by Harrison, Dunlop, Hickman’s team-mate Josh Brookes and James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda) as only 3.5 seconds covered the top six but Brookes was soon out, retiring at Handley’s after his chain came off.
Todd maintained his lead at Ballaugh, only 0.166 seconds ahead of new second-placed rider Harrison and it was now Dunlop in third as Hickman slipped back to fourth. But, by Ramsey, Todd had extended his lead over Harrison to 1.18 seconds, although Hickman was the fastest rider from Ballaugh to Ramsey. James Hind, fifth in Saturday’s Supersport race, was another retirement as was Shaun Anderson.
An opening lap of 134.417mph gave Todd a 2.2 second advantage over Dunlop (134.118mph), aided by the best ever sector time from the Bungalow to Cronk Ny Mona, but Harrison (134.048mph) was only half a second further back with Hickman (133.754mph) still in fourth. Hillier (132.172mph) and KTS Racing’s Jamie Coward (131.627mph) were now fifth and sixth ahead of Conor Cummins, John McGuinness, David Johnson and Mike Browne, the latter becoming officially the fastest ever Aprilia rider around the Mountain Course.
Dunlop was quickest to Glen Helen and cut Todd’s lead to 1.5 seconds and although Hickman was closing in on Harrison, the gap between them now just three tenths of a second, he’d lost another second to the leaders. Coward was also closing in on Hillier, the deficit now 2.2 seconds.
Over Ballaugh Bridge and Dunlop was ahead by half a second and round Ramsey Hairpin for the second time, he’d extended his lead over Todd to 4.4 seconds with the quickest ever sector time between the two timing points.
Dunlop was inside the outright lap record at Ramsey and although he fell just short, a second lap of 135.543mph saw him move nine seconds clear. Hickman (134.701mph) was charging though, and he was now in second, four tenths of a second ahead of Todd (133.980mph) as Harrison (133.234mph) continued to lose ground in fourth. Hillier (131.898mph) and Coward (132.098mph) continued to hold onto fifth and sixth ahead of McGuinness, Cummins, Johnson and Browne, the latter just a fraction outside his first ever 130mph lap.
Hickman lost time in the pits though and dropped back to third at Glen Helen on lap three, five seconds behind Todd and a further nine behind the pace setting Dunlop. Hillier had also added five seconds to his advantage over Hillier whilst Dunlop moved ahead of Harrison along the Sulby Straight to now lead on the road.
Dunlop was extending his lead through every timing point and at half race distance, he’d pulled 17.3 seconds clear of Todd with Hickman now four seconds adrift of his fellow BMW rider. Harrison was running in a comfortable fourth, but Coward had now overhauled Hillier for fifth, albeit by just 0.3 seconds. Cummins retired from ninth though at the pits as did Phil Crowe and Rob Hodson with 16-time winner Ian Hutchinson going out at Windy Corner.
Back at the front and a fourth lap speed of 135.235mph enabled Dunlop to stretch his lead further over Todd to 25.1 seconds as he came in for his second pit stop but the battle for third was hotting up as Harrison, benefitting from a tow from Dunlop, posted a personal best lap of 135.185mph to move two seconds ahead of Hickman. Coward (132.655mph) also set a new personal best as he took a stranglehold of fifth with McGuinness now up to sixth.
However, drama followed after Dunlop left the pits as his new visor hadn’t clipped in correctly and he stopped down Bray Hill losing valuable time to fix it – when he got to Glen Helen for the penultimate time, he’d dropped to fourth with Harrison in the lead! Hickman was only 1.1 second behind Harrison though with Todd ten seconds adrift in third.
Starting the final lap it had changed again with Hickman now leading Harrison by two seconds with Todd, who’d taken the best Ballaugh-Ramsey sector time off Dunlop, well in touch and only 4.7 seconds back, which set it all up for a thrilling final 37.73 miles.
Having been in the position before though, Hickman tightened his grip of the race throughout the lap and final lap speed of 135.534mph gave him a 5.8 second victory over Todd with Harrison completing the podium in third. Dunlop was left to wonder what might have been in fourth with his only consolation being a new Superbike lap record of 135.970mph.
The battle for fifth went all the way to the end with Hillier coming out on top, 2.8 second ahead of McGuinness with Coward only 0.2s behind his fellow Honda rider. The top ten was completed by INCompetition Aprilia’s Browne, Michael Rutter (Bathams Ales BMW) and Brian McCormack (Roadhouse Macau by FHO BMW).
Rocco Landers won MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R, Landers came from behind, took the lead on the final lap, and held on to win by 0.154 second.
Alessandro Di Mario led most of the race on his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660, but the 15-year-old said his softer-option rear tire ran out of grip at the end of the race.
Rossi Moor passed Dominic Doyle on the final lap to get third and his first Twins Cup podium finish on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
Avery Dreher finished fourth on his TopPro Racing Aprilia.
Doyle crashed his Giaccmoto Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 on the final lap but was able to remount and salvage fifth place.
Matthew Chapin won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his BARTCON Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 on Dunlop control tires, Chapin led a large group riders across the stripe for six of the seven laps and won by 0.346 second.
Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison was the runner-up, and Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez made a big comeback through the race to score third.
The top six finishers were within 0.660 second of each other at the checkered flag.
Mikayla Moore won MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 on Dunlop control tires, the defending Champion bounced back from a crash and injury that prevented her from riding in Race One and ran away to win five-lap Race Two by 23.9 seconds.
With the win, Moore retook the lead in the Championship point standings.
Aubrey Credaroli took the runner-up spot by 0.2 second over third-place finisher Cassie Creer.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia won the FIM MotoGP World Championship race Sunday at the Mugello circuit, in Italy. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP24 on Michelin control tires, the two-time and defending World Champion won the 23-lap race by 0.799 second
Bagnaia’s Italian teammate Enea Bastianini took a runner-up finish in front of his home fans.
Jorge Martin made it an all-Ducati podium by placing third on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Six-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez finished fourth on his Gresini Ducati.
Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta got fifth on his Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 machine.
Nuvola azzurra: Bagnaia reigns as Bastianini charges past Martin and Marquez at Mugello
Ducati Lenovo paint Mugello blue as the reigning Champion lays down the gauntlet and the Beast has his Sprint revenge
The start of the MotoGP race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Sunday, 02 June 2024
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed a near-perfect weekend on home turf with a masterclass victory in the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo. The Italian stormed to the lead from lights out and then kept it on perfect rails to stay a tantalising distance ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) for much of the race, with the gap going up and down but never quite in range for an attack. That instead came from Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the #23 put together an almighty final charge.
The Beast duelled Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and then put in a late burst of lightning speed to catch Martin, that enough to put him within striking distance at the final corner. And strike he did. Slicing up the inside and keeping it clean as anything, the #23 served his Tissot Sprint revenge to make it a Ducati Lenovo 1-2, with Martin forced to settle for third.
As the lights went out, Bagnaia went full Bagnaia. Second around San Donato as he threaded the needle from the second row, he immediately then lined up and pickpocketed Martin to go into the lead. From there, the hammer was down as Martin dug in to hold on, with Bastianini third ahead of Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
The chess game was on from there on out. Three tenths, six tenths, eight tenths, five tenths; Martin wasn’t getting dropped but he wasn’t consistently able to stay close enough to attack the #1 in the lead.
Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was on the march. Marquez made a move on Bastianini into San Donato and headed wide, with the #23 hitting back immediately, and that put the rookie superstar right on Marquez’ tail. The GASGAS shadowed him round the lap but couldn’t find a way through, then heading wide at the final corner and forced to watch the Gresini disappear out of striking distance.
At the front, the chess match rolled on. Bagnaia led Martin led Bastianini, with Marquez then starting to harry the #23. Acosta was a few tenths further back, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) starting to come under pressure from Viñales with 12 to go. It was tense holding stations, with the one small ripple in the calm coming as Martin went deep into San Donato with 10 laps to go, but he gathered it back up.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (1) leads Jorge Martin (89). Photo courtesy Dorna.
By six laps to go, it wasn’t check mate but it was starting to heat up into a grandstand finish. Marc Marquez finally made a move on Bastianini, attacking into San Donato with a clean move that gave the #23 no right of reply. His mission seemed then to catch Martin, but Martin was starting to cut the gap to the front once again. By three laps to go, it had been halved from the eight or nine tenth maximum Bagnaia had had at any point. Game on?
Very much so, but not for the #89. Instead, Bagnaia threw down the gauntlet and disappeared again as Bastianini stole the spotlight. Through on Marc Marquez at Scarperia, the exact same style of move the #93 had pulled on him, the Beast was on a charge and his next target was the other half of the Sprint tangle that had sent him into the gravel.
Locked on and flying, as Bagnaia crossed the line to take his third Italian GP win in a row as part of his second Mugello double, Bastianini was homing in. Into the very final corner the Ducati Lenovo Team rider found space on the inside to complete the fairtytale 1-2 for the team, and in some serious style as pandemonium erupted in the grandstands. Over the line with time in hand over Martin, Bastianini followed Bagnaia home – and Martin’s lead is cut to just 18 points.
Still, it was another podium finish and a good haul of points, and it was ahead of fellow frontrunner Marc Marquez, who was forced to settle for fourth. Acosta ended up in a lonelier ride for fifth after he’d lost touch with the front group.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) caught Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and got past him, and then managed to catch Viñales and Morbidelli to create a three-way fight for sixth. He made made it past the Aprilia just as the race entered the final three laps, but Morbidelli managed to stay ahead to take P6 ahead of the VR46 rider, Viñales and Alex Marquez.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) didn’t get the same stellar start as he did in Saturday, but the South African held off Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) to complete the top ten.
It’s now just 18 points separating Martin from Bagnaia at the top of the Championship, and after a maximum of 259 have already been on the table. Will the tale twist again at Assen? We’ll find out in a few weeks as MotoGP™ now resets and reloads before heading for the Cathedral. And Ducati keep pondering their 2025 line-up.
Joe Roberts (16) held off Manuel Gonzalez (18) to win the Moto2 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Roberts fights off Gonzalez on the last lap to take first victory since 2022
In a blockbuster Moto2™ race at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took victory in a nail-biting last lap decider, the American repelling the best efforts of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) to take top honours for the first time since the 2022 Portuguese GP. Completing the podium was MB Conveyors SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez, who was elbows out in the front fight, as ever.
Off like a rocket at the start, Roberts led early on the opening lap. He had close competition though, with Lopez and a Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) following on eagerly. A flying start also came in from Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) as well, who stormed to seventh after starting 12th.
Lopez would follow Roberts until lap four before he pounced at San Donato, but it wouldn’t be until Turn 3 before he could make the move stick. Unfortunately for the MB Conveyors Speed Up team, it was glory for one and disaster for another in that moment as Lopez’ teammate Fermin Aledguer crashed out after contact from Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team).
Still in the lead, Lopez now had Gonzalez behind as he had found his way through on Roberts. Slightly further back in the lead pack, disaster stuck for Binder who skittled into the gravel at Arrabbiata 1, an early end to what had been a strong weekend all round.
In a six-rider battle for the lead, everything was building to a grandstand last half of the race. The action kicked off as Roberts and Lopez ran wide at Turn 1 – giving them both more work to do – and allowing Gonzalez and Canet to the lead. But it wouldn’t be long before Roberts would then return the favour and find his way through to the front with just three laps remaining, asking questions of the others at the front.
As a dramatic finish loomed, Roberts entered the final lap in the lead. Gonzalez got a fantastic slipstream and attacked round San Donato, but the American hit back at the next available chance, diving to the inside at Turn 2. Under the highest of pressure, Roberts held strong to take his first victory since the 2022 Portuguese GP by just 0.067s. Gonzalez’ search for a first Moto2™ win goes on, and Lopez picked up third podium of the season.
Claiming fourth was Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), whose advantage in the standings has reduced to seven points. Behind Garcia was teammate Ogura, who Garcia pipped on the last lap, ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) claimed eighth as IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra and OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.
Next up is the TT Circuit Assen in three weeks’ time for what is set to be yet another dramatic Grand Prix, so join us for more at the Cathedral!
David Alonso (80) won the Moto3 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Alonso just keeps the edge on Veijer to extend his lead to 37 points
David Alonso (CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team) remains the rider to beat in Moto3™, taking his fifth win of the season in style at Mugello. The Colombian led from the front for much of a shortened 11-lap dash and held off a late charge from Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) to take another 25-point haul. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) charged up from P13 on the grid to secure third and his first ever Grand Prix podium.
The initial start was red-flagged following a crash for Fillippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Zurutuza heading to hospital for further examination. Once back underway, the distance was reduced to 11 laps of Mugello, with one clear aim for most: keep up with Alonso.
There was drama nearly immediately as Dani Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) tagged riders at Turn 1 and sent Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Stefano Nepa (LEVEL UP-MTA) crashing out, with the #96 given a double Long Lap for irresponsible riding.
Meanwhile at the front, it was a breakway group of six making their moves: Alonso, Veijer, Yamanaka, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI), Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports).
With four to go, it looked like Alonso was trying to make a break, and it took Veijer a couple of laps to take over in second and get enough breathing space to start trying to close the Colombian down. But that he did, and by the start of the final lap the Dutchman was within a couple of tenths, with Ortola in third.
Ultimately, however, he couldn’t get close enough to make a move, and then there was drama in the fight for the final place on the podium too as Ortola slid out at Turn 12, ending his rostrum hopes. One of the quickest remounts of all time saw him still take sixth, but Yamanaka was up the road to take his maiden Grand Prix podium and continue his impressive consistency running near the front in 2024.
Fourth went to Furusato as he was the final rider within a couple of seconds of the front, with Muñoz forced to settle for fifth further down the road. Ortola remounted for that sixth ahead of another impressive ride from rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse). Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), rookie Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Matteo Bertelle (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team) completed the top ten in a closer group battle.
The gap is now 37 points for Alonso at the top. Now it’s next stop Assen after a spring break, but the question remains the same: can anyone stop the Colombian? Veijer nearly managed it at Mugello, and on his home turf in the Netherlands, he’ll try and find another kitchen sink to add to his armory.
Joe Roberts won the FIM Moto2 World Championship race Sunday at the Mugello Circuit, in Italy. Riding his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the American held off Spaniard Manuel Gonzalez by 0.067 second to take his first win and fourth podium finish of the season.
Gonzalez had to settle for the runner-up spot on his QJMOTOR Gresini Kalex, and Alonso Lopez finished a close third on his MB Conveyors SpeedUp Boscoscuro.
Roberts fights off Gonzalez on the last lap to take first victory since 2022
Joe Roberts (16) held off Manuel Gonzalez (18) to win the Moto2 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
In a blockbuster Moto2™ race at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took victory in a nail-biting last lap decider, the American repelling the best efforts of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) to take top honours for the first time since the 2022 Portuguese GP. Completing the podium was MB Conveyors SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez, who was elbows out in the front fight, as ever.
Off like a rocket at the start, Roberts led early on the opening lap. He had close competition though, with Lopez and a Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) following on eagerly. A flying start also came in from Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) as well, who stormed to seventh after starting 12th.
Lopez would follow Roberts until lap four before he pounced at San Donato, but it wouldn’t be until Turn 3 before he could make the move stick. Unfortunately for the MB Conveyors Speed Up team, it was glory for one and disaster for another in that moment as Lopez’ teammate Fermin Aledguer crashed out after contact from Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team).
Still in the lead, Lopez now had Gonzalez behind as he had found his way through on Roberts. Slightly further back in the lead pack, disaster stuck for Binder who skittled into the gravel at Arrabbiata 1, an early end to what had been a strong weekend all round.
In a six-rider battle for the lead, everything was building to a grandstand last half of the race. The action kicked off as Roberts and Lopez ran wide at Turn 1 – giving them both more work to do – and allowing Gonzalez and Canet to the lead. But it wouldn’t be long before Roberts would then return the favour and find his way through to the front with just three laps remaining, asking questions of the others at the front.
As a dramatic finish loomed, Roberts entered the final lap in the lead. Gonzalez got a fantastic slipstream and attacked round San Donato, but the American hit back at the next available chance, diving to the inside at Turn 2. Under the highest of pressure, Roberts held strong to take his first victory since the 2022 Portuguese GP by just 0.067s. Gonzalez’ search for a first Moto2™ win goes on, and Lopez picked up third podium of the season.
Claiming fourth was Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), whose advantage in the standings has reduced to seven points. Behind Garcia was teammate Ogura, who Garcia pipped on the last lap, ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) claimed eighth as IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra and OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.
Next up is the TT Circuit Assen in three weeks’ time for what is set to be yet another dramatic Grand Prix, so join us for more at the Cathedral!
More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:
Record Moto2™ and Moto3™ races in Mugello with standard Pirelli tyres
Joe Roberts (16) leads Manuel Gonzalez (18), Aron Canet (44), and the rest early in the Moto2 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Pirelli.
First win of the year for Roberts in Moto2™ and fifth victory for Alonso in Moto3™; new all-time and race lap records with Pirelli using tyres from the DIABLO Superbike range
The Grand Prix of Italy, raced at the Mugello International Racetrack, had American Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) winning in Moto2™ and Columbian David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team CFMOTO/CFMOTO) taking victory in Moto3™.
With this triumph, his first of the season, Roberts is now second behind Sergio Garcia in the Moto2™ standings, whereas Alonso, now with five wins this year, leads the overall Moto3™ standings with a 37-point advantage over David Holgado.
Satisfaction in the Pirelli camp: thanks to the performance of the DIABLO Superbike range tyres, which are available for purchase regularly on the market, new all-time and race lap records were set for both categories in Mugello, significantly improving on the previous record times.
Giorgio Barbier
Motorcycle Racing Director
A nice bounty of records and a great show on the track
“We are closing out this weekend in Mugello with satisfaction after setting new all-time lap records on Saturday and new race lap records today, all using standard tyres and not prototypes, so products that are sold regularly on the market and available for purchase by all riders. Today in Moto2™, an astonishing 10 riders dropped below the previous race lap record, with Canet improving on it by more than 7 tenths, whereas in Moto3™, there were 15 riders who did at least one lap below the previous record and Veijer set the new record on the tenth and penultimate lap, a full 1.5 seconds faster than the previous one and, even more impressive, after a red flag with a jump start, so without being able to use the tyre warmer on the starting grid. This means that the tyres performed extremely well, demonstrating highly consistent performance all the way to the end of the race. I think it was also significant to see two riders with Kalex frames on the podium in Moto2™, because this means that, by working on the setup and gradually gaining experience, bikes with different frames can battle on an even pitch for victory. Now we have three weekends off before two consecutive GP rounds, in Assen and on the Sachsenring.”
Moto2™
With asphalt temperatures in line with those of the past couple days, for the race, the riders confirmed the solutions that had been most used in practice, so almost everyone was on the grid with the soft SC0 rear and the soft SC1 front. The only exceptions were Binder, Baltus, and Agius who preferred the medium SC2 at the front.
The race was held over a distance of 12 laps due to a restart of the Moto3™ race. American Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) won after starting from pole position ahead of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2/Kalex) and Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro), all with the same tyre options.
Aron Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex) set the new race lap record on the second lap with a time of 1’50.476, improving on the previous one by more than 7 tenths which had been set in 2021 by Sam Lowes. Besides him, another 10 riders did at least one lap faster than the previous track record time.
Moto3™
With asphalt temperatures higher than 30°C, most of the riders on the grid opted for the medium SC2 front and soft SC1 rear combination. The only three riders to put the soft SC1 solution on the front were Furusato, Whatley, and Buasri, whereas Lunetta, Roulstone, Kelso, Muñoz, Farioli, Esteban, Almansa, and Dettwiler opted for the medium SC2 at the rear.
After a red flag on the fifth lap due to an accident, there were 11 laps left to race at the restart with 7 riders making tyre changes: Lunetta, Furusato, Kelso, Rossi, Muñoz, Fernandez, and Piqueras. Overall, the medium SC2 front was used by 22 out of 26 riders, whereas 18 riders opted for the soft SC1 rear. All the riders on the podium used the SC2 front and the SC1 rear.
After starting from pole position, David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team CFMOTO/CFMOTO) won his fifth race of the year and now firmly leads in the overall championship standings. Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Husqvarna), second across the finish line, set the race lap record with a time of 1’54.738 on the tenth and penultimate lap, breaking the previous record by 1.5 seconds which had been set by Sasaki in 2023. Overall, 15 riders dropped below the previous track race lap record.
FIM Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup
The fourth round of the talent cup which is part of the Dorna Road to MotoGP™ project was also held on the Tuscan track. All the riders’ KTM machines are equipped with Pirelli DIABLO Superbike tyres in SC2 compound at the front and rear. The seventh and eighth race of the season, held over a distance of 13 laps, were won respectively by Spaniard Máximo Quiles and Argentine Valentin Perrone.
With a time of 1’59.921, Spaniard Alvaro Carpe set the new all-time lap record for the track in this category, breaking the one set by Angel Piqueras in 2023 by 8 tenths, whereas in Race 1, Malaysian Hakim Danish set the new race lap record on the ninth lap with a time of 2’00.198.
David Alonso won the restarted FIM Moto3 World Championship race Sunday at Mugello, in Italy. Riding his Valresa Aspar Team CFMOTO, the young Colombian held off Collin Veijer to win by 0.142 second, extending his lead in the Championship points.
Veijer had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Liqui Moly Intact GP Husqvarna.
Ryusei Yamanaka claimed the final spot on the podium by finishing third on his MT Helmets – MSI KTM 1.253 seconds behind Alonso.
The race was red-flagged for a crash involving Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Xabi Zurutuza and SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Filippo Farioli on lap three. Both were reported as “conscious” by Dorna. The race was restarted from original gird positions and run for 11 laps.
Brilliant debut Rookies win for Perrone in Mugello 2
Valentin Perrone (73), Brian Uriarte (51), and Álvaro Carpe (83) race for the lead at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Just 2 seconds covered the top 16 KTMs across the line at the end of Mugello Race 2 as Argentina’s Valentin Perrone took his first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory.
Brian Uriarte and Álvaro Carpe matched their 2nd and 3rd places from yesterday just ahead of Rico Salmela.
Perrone takes incredible victory
“I’m really happy with this first win,” grinned the 16-year-old Argentine who was 2nd in his first Rookies Cup race, the season opener in Jerez and has backed that up with a string of good results. “What can I say about the race, it was really crazy, so many overtakes. Then in the last corner, I don’t know exactly what happened, I think Maximo touched Ruche, I don’t know. I took a little the slipstream then got the victory.”
“The plan for the last lap? No, just push like crazy and see what happens. It worked!”
Uriarte lost again
“Second position again, that’s sort of OK, we still get some points in front of Maximo. But still first loser,” laughed the Spanish 15-year-old after his 4th podium of the season.
“Really I’m happy, I enjoyed the race, the last lap I didn’t do so well, I was almost the last of the group, the snake they made on the straight didn’t allow me to pass so it was quite tough but I still managed to make some passes.”
“The last lap was the most exciting for me and the one I most enjoyed, I got up to the front. I don’t know what happened at the end, it all got a bit crazy, that stopped me a little bit otherwise I think I could have got the win. But still a nice weekend, good results and good for the championship, I have to do just a little bit more and get the win next time.”
Carpe completes very strong weekend
“I am very happy as I enjoyed this race so much,” enthused the 16-year-old Spaniard. “All the battling, all the overtaking, it was great to be running at the front all the way.”
“The race was fast and aggressive, I think I did a good job through the weekend and I got two podiums. Now I am 3rd in the championship, 13 points behind Maximo. I say thanks to my Family, Friends and everyone that supports me.”
Salmela’s Super Sunday
“The start of the race was difficult because I didn’t do yesterday’s race, well I did but only a few corners,” smiled the reserved 16-year-old Finn. “The plan was OK, I tried to be more or less, in P4, P3 for the last lap, I was behind Ruche, it’s not easy to overtake Ruche, he’s good on the brakes.”
“Then through the last corner, at first I wanted to pass on the inside but everyone went to the inside and was slow, I saw a gap and went for it but then almost lost the front mid-corner. Then I went a bit wide but still, I thought I was going to make it to the victory or at least the podium.”
“Then I saw Maximo really close to me, was a surprise, I had to cut the gas a bit and lost. P4 is not bad, I wanted more but…. better than yesterday.”
Màximo Quiles 5th – penalised for incident with Ruche Moodley
“A really difficult race, many people slowing, not wanting to give the slipstream and it was crazy,” stated the 16-year-old Spaniard.
“In the last corner no nobody wanted to push and I pushed, I moved to cut the slipstream and I touched Ruche and I am really sorry for him. It was a really dangerous moment and I’m really sad for him and I want to say sorry.”
Following the race, the FIM Rookies Cup Stewards Panel stated that Quiles was, “found to have caused a crash by swerving into the line of another rider at the exit at Turn 15.”
As a result of this the Panel, “has imposed a Suspension from participation in the Motul TT Assen.”
Hakim Danish in the lead group all the way – P6
“In today’s race I feel better than yesterday,” explained the Malaysian 16-year-old. “I felt more confident in the bike and also with my riding. I was able to run in the front group and be in a good position.”
“It was only in the last lap there was a little bit missing, I lost a couple of positions, then I tried to come back. In the last corner, I tried to grab a good position but finally got P6. I’m looking forward to the next race in Assen.”
Leonardo Zanni steps up to 7th
“I am very happy for my best result in the Rookies Cup,” enthused the Italian 15-year-old “It was a hard race, it’s a long straight here and I don’t seem to pass anyone on the straight, I have to do it all on the brakes and round the corners. So I had to work very hard.”
“In the last lap I was determined, I overtook 2 or 3 riders, then another on the run to the line, I am so happy to do this result at my home race.”
Veda Pratama led – but not at the flag P8
“I’m not happy… this is the result, that is what it is,” reported the disappointed 15-year-old Indonesian. “I made mistakes during the race, I can fight but the result was not good for me. I will try to do better in the next round.”
Kyle Wyman won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman used a last-lap pass to take a narrow victory by 0.039 second.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss fought his way to the front on his S&S Indian Challenger, but Wyman passed him on the run to the checkered flag, relegating him to second place.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara came out on top of another, equally entertaining battle for third place.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli crossed the finish line fourth, 0.047 second behind O’Hara and 0.223 second ahead of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s defending Champion Hayden Gillim in fifth.
Josh Herrin won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, Herrin led from start to finish and won the 12-lap race by 9.058 seconds.
Bobby Fong was the best of the rest, taking a runner-up finish on his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1.
Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW rider JD Beach was right behind Fong for much of the race but could not make a move and came in third, 0.326 second behind Fong. Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz took the checkered flag 0.434 second behind Beach in fourth.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne was third early in the race but slipped backwards to a lonely fifth-place finish on his Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing YZF-R1.
Sean Dylan Kelly was running second on the final lap when he ran wide entering Canada Corner due to an apparent mechanical issue with his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR. Kelly continued as best he could and salvaged sixth.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammates Brandon Paasch and Xavi Fores were separated by 0.013 second at the finish line with Paasch getting seventh and Fores taking eighth.
Benjamin Smith got ninth and the Superbike Cup victory on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha, and Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10 finishers on his Team Brazil BMW.
Race One winner Cameron Petersen was running seventh on lap six when his Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing YZF-R1 suffered a smokey failure, forcing him to retire.
Five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier did not start Race Two. Beaubier crashed during Race One and broke the heel in his right foot. Beaubier’s recovery time was not known at post time.
Herrin Dominates Steel Commander Superbike Race Two At Road America
Josh Herrin Rides His Ducati To A Nine-Second Win In Elkhart Lake
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 2, 2024) – It may not have been a walk in the park, but it was definitely a high-speed stroll through the track known as America’s National Park of Speed for Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin on Sunday at Road America.
Herrin stormed away at the start of the 12-lap race and was never threatened. The chasing pack kept the gap in the two-second range for a few laps, but then the margin just steadily grew exponentially until it got to the 10-second mark. The Ducati Panigale V4 R was in its element on the high-speed track and Herrin was enjoying every minute of it.
At the completion of the 12 laps, Herrin was a tick over nine seconds clear of the chasing pack. It was his first win of what has been a difficult season thus far for the 2013 Superbike Champion. It was also the 11th Superbike win of his career, which ties him for 18th on the all-time Superbike win list with Anthony Gobert.
The chasing pack was hectic and consisted of four – Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach, TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz.
Kelly did most of the leading in second place, but Fong was on a mission and riding hard to make up for an obvious speed disadvantage with his Yamaha YZF-R1 against the BMW M 1000 RRs of Kelly and Beach. Baz, meanwhile, also had a fast bike but couldn’t go farther forward until the last lap.
It was on the last lap and the run to the final corner and the dash up the hill that the pack lost Kelly, with his BMW faltering as it was stuck in fifth gear. He would finish but it would be in sixth and not the second place he was fighting for. Fong ended up a well-deserved second with Beach third, less than half a second behind the Yamaha on the run to the flag. Then came Baz just a few 10ths behind.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne passed Kelly for fifth with the Floridian nursing the bike up the hill to sixth. Gagne’s ride had been mostly lonely.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch was seventh after beating his fill-in teammate Xavi Forés by just .013 of a second. FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith and Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.
After three rounds and seven races in the Steel Commander Superbike Championship, Gagne leads the injured Cameron Beaubier by 18 points, 113-95, with the five-time Superbike Championship expected to miss at least the next round with the broken heel he suffered in Saturday’s crash at Road America.
Fong jumps to third in the title chase, 25 points behind Gagne and just seven behind Beaubier. Saturday’s race winner Cameron Petersen is fourth in the championship after his Yamaha YZF-R1 suffered a terminal illness that took the South African out of race two after just six laps.
Kelly is tied with Petersen for fourth and fortunate he could nurse the BMW to the finish line. The pair are 30 points behind Gagne and four points ahead of Herrin, who obviously gained tons of ground with his first victory of the year.
Superbike Race Two
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
JD Beach (BMW)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Xavi Forés (Suzuki)
Benjamin Smith (Yamaha)
Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Quotes
Josh Herrin – Winner
“Obviously, no Superbike win is ever easy,” Herrin said. “The guys gave me a great bike today. I had a great bike yesterday, but I’m just terrible in the rain on it. This one feels extra special, but the laps just kept clicking. I just felt super good. I was in a rhythm. I didn’t think about anybody behind me once, until three laps to go and I saw plus nine. I just couldn’t believe it. It was just a magical moment, for sure. It was one of those ones that you can’t explain, and you don’t really know why it happened. I mean, I know I had a great bike and I felt great, and I’ve been putting in the work, but it never comes that easy. I just want to thank the entire Warhorse HSBK Racing team for all the hard work that they do. I’m happy because the last race in New Jersey last year was really tough, and then we went to Road Atlanta, and I was leading and got ran off the track. Then I had a rain race that I sucked in again. Barber was terrible. Yesterday was terrible. So, it’s been a really hard six, seven, eight months, somewhere around there. I’m happy to be back up here. I told the guys, if we have two years on this bike it will make a huge difference. We were showing that in Atlanta, just with the way that we’re able to start Friday and be there right away. It just helps a lot with your confidence. This weekend told the same story. I’m really grateful for the opportunity and just really happy to be with the same team for three years in a row. I have a lot of fun with these guys. It’s really rare. I’ve been doing this for 19 years and this is the third time that I’ve felt like this in 19 years. One was with Graves. One was with Richard (Stanboli) in ’18, and now this team. It doesn’t happen very often that you get the full package, and right now we have it. I’m super happy. I’m bummed that Cam (Beaubier) wasn’t out there. I’m hoping that he has a speedy recovery because I know he for sure would have been there. I’m sure he’ll be back soon and fast. Brainerd is going to be tough, for sure. I’m ready and excited and just grateful for this.”
Bobby Fong – Second Place
“It was a hard-fought race,” Fong said. “It was me and Dylan (Sean Dylan Kelly) putting in our licks. I had to be smart. They had a little bit of horsepower and I had to get a run on him on each straightaway. I would back up a little bit going into the turns and try to come out with him just to stay as close as I could in the draft. I saw JD (Beach) pass me and I thought maybe (Loris) Baz was going to get in there and make some moves. I had to counter and counter fast just to keep my position. Now we’ve moved up in third in the championship and a little bit closer to (Jake) Gagne. Our goal is to be top Yamaha. It’s a bummer that (Cameron) Beaubier was out. Obviously, he was pretty dominant all weekend. Hopefully, he’s back soon because he was the standard all weekend.”
JD Beach – Third Place
“It’s hard,” Beach said. “I want to be pumped about this, but I feel like we’re still so far off right now. It’s not from a lack of trying from the team or myself. We’re just missing something, and I know once we get it, we’ll be right there. I guess it’s nice that I’m not pumped about a third, but in all honesty, it is great to be up here and to be third. I want to be fighting with Josh (Herrin) and Cameron (Beaubier) and the guys at the front. I’m glad we took a big step forward from Barber. That was a hard weekend. We’ll just keep fighting and we’ll keep working. We’ve still got a lot of races to go. There’s no quitting, so we’ll just keep going.”
HICKMAN CLAIMS 14TH TT WIN IN DRAMATIC RST SUPERBIKE RACE
Peter Hickman claimed his 14th TT win during a dramatic RST Superbike TT Race at the Isle of Man TT Races, matching Mike Hailwood’s tally. The Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing rider taking the lead on the final lap to win by 5.84 seconds from Davey Todd (Milwaukee BMW) with Dean Harrison (Honda Racing) in third.
It was one of the most thrilling races of recent times as Michael Dunlop (MasterMac by Hawk/MD Racing Honda) originally led by twenty-five seconds at two-thirds race distance only to have an issue with the sidepod on his visor leaving the pits after his second stop – this resulted in him stopping on Bray Hill, which dropped him down to fourth.
The race got underway on time at 2.40pm with near perfect conditions around the Mountain Course and it was Todd who led through Glen Helen for the first time, his advantage over Hickman just 0.037 seconds. They were quickly followed by Harrison, Dunlop, Hickman’s team-mate Josh Brookes and James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda) as only 3.5 seconds covered the top six but Brookes was soon out, retiring at Handley’s after his chain came off.
Todd maintained his lead at Ballaugh, only 0.166 seconds ahead of new second-placed rider Harrison and it was now Dunlop in third as Hickman slipped back to fourth. But, by Ramsey, Todd had extended his lead over Harrison to 1.18 seconds, although Hickman was the fastest rider from Ballaugh to Ramsey. James Hind, fifth in Saturday’s Supersport race, was another retirement as was Shaun Anderson.
An opening lap of 134.417mph gave Todd a 2.2 second advantage over Dunlop (134.118mph), aided by the best ever sector time from the Bungalow to Cronk Ny Mona, but Harrison (134.048mph) was only half a second further back with Hickman (133.754mph) still in fourth. Hillier (132.172mph) and KTS Racing’s Jamie Coward (131.627mph) were now fifth and sixth ahead of Conor Cummins, John McGuinness, David Johnson and Mike Browne, the latter becoming officially the fastest ever Aprilia rider around the Mountain Course.
Dunlop was quickest to Glen Helen and cut Todd’s lead to 1.5 seconds and although Hickman was closing in on Harrison, the gap between them now just three tenths of a second, he’d lost another second to the leaders. Coward was also closing in on Hillier, the deficit now 2.2 seconds.
Over Ballaugh Bridge and Dunlop was ahead by half a second and round Ramsey Hairpin for the second time, he’d extended his lead over Todd to 4.4 seconds with the quickest ever sector time between the two timing points.
Dunlop was inside the outright lap record at Ramsey and although he fell just short, a second lap of 135.543mph saw him move nine seconds clear. Hickman (134.701mph) was charging though, and he was now in second, four tenths of a second ahead of Todd (133.980mph) as Harrison (133.234mph) continued to lose ground in fourth. Hillier (131.898mph) and Coward (132.098mph) continued to hold onto fifth and sixth ahead of McGuinness, Cummins, Johnson and Browne, the latter just a fraction outside his first ever 130mph lap.
Hickman lost time in the pits though and dropped back to third at Glen Helen on lap three, five seconds behind Todd and a further nine behind the pace setting Dunlop. Hillier had also added five seconds to his advantage over Hillier whilst Dunlop moved ahead of Harrison along the Sulby Straight to now lead on the road.
Dunlop was extending his lead through every timing point and at half race distance, he’d pulled 17.3 seconds clear of Todd with Hickman now four seconds adrift of his fellow BMW rider. Harrison was running in a comfortable fourth, but Coward had now overhauled Hillier for fifth, albeit by just 0.3 seconds. Cummins retired from ninth though at the pits as did Phil Crowe and Rob Hodson with 16-time winner Ian Hutchinson going out at Windy Corner.
Back at the front and a fourth lap speed of 135.235mph enabled Dunlop to stretch his lead further over Todd to 25.1 seconds as he came in for his second pit stop but the battle for third was hotting up as Harrison, benefitting from a tow from Dunlop, posted a personal best lap of 135.185mph to move two seconds ahead of Hickman. Coward (132.655mph) also set a new personal best as he took a stranglehold of fifth with McGuinness now up to sixth.
However, drama followed after Dunlop left the pits as his new visor hadn’t clipped in correctly and he stopped down Bray Hill losing valuable time to fix it – when he got to Glen Helen for the penultimate time, he’d dropped to fourth with Harrison in the lead! Hickman was only 1.1 second behind Harrison though with Todd ten seconds adrift in third.
Starting the final lap it had changed again with Hickman now leading Harrison by two seconds with Todd, who’d taken the best Ballaugh-Ramsey sector time off Dunlop, well in touch and only 4.7 seconds back, which set it all up for a thrilling final 37.73 miles.
Having been in the position before though, Hickman tightened his grip of the race throughout the lap and final lap speed of 135.534mph gave him a 5.8 second victory over Todd with Harrison completing the podium in third. Dunlop was left to wonder what might have been in fourth with his only consolation being a new Superbike lap record of 135.970mph.
The battle for fifth went all the way to the end with Hillier coming out on top, 2.8 second ahead of McGuinness with Coward only 0.2s behind his fellow Honda rider. The top ten was completed by INCompetition Aprilia’s Browne, Michael Rutter (Bathams Ales BMW) and Brian McCormack (Roadhouse Macau by FHO BMW).
Rocco Landers won MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R, Landers came from behind, took the lead on the final lap, and held on to win by 0.154 second.
Alessandro Di Mario led most of the race on his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660, but the 15-year-old said his softer-option rear tire ran out of grip at the end of the race.
Rossi Moor passed Dominic Doyle on the final lap to get third and his first Twins Cup podium finish on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
Avery Dreher finished fourth on his TopPro Racing Aprilia.
Doyle crashed his Giaccmoto Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 on the final lap but was able to remount and salvage fifth place.
Matthew Chapin won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his BARTCON Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 on Dunlop control tires, Chapin led a large group riders across the stripe for six of the seven laps and won by 0.346 second.
Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison was the runner-up, and Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez made a big comeback through the race to score third.
The top six finishers were within 0.660 second of each other at the checkered flag.
Mikayla Moore won MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 on Dunlop control tires, the defending Champion bounced back from a crash and injury that prevented her from riding in Race One and ran away to win five-lap Race Two by 23.9 seconds.
With the win, Moore retook the lead in the Championship point standings.
Aubrey Credaroli took the runner-up spot by 0.2 second over third-place finisher Cassie Creer.
The Mugello Circuit in Italy. Photo courtesy Michelin.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia won the FIM MotoGP World Championship race Sunday at the Mugello circuit, in Italy. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP24 on Michelin control tires, the two-time and defending World Champion won the 23-lap race by 0.799 second
Bagnaia’s Italian teammate Enea Bastianini took a runner-up finish in front of his home fans.
Jorge Martin made it an all-Ducati podium by placing third on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Six-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez finished fourth on his Gresini Ducati.
Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta got fifth on his Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 machine.
Nuvola azzurra: Bagnaia reigns as Bastianini charges past Martin and Marquez at Mugello
Ducati Lenovo paint Mugello blue as the reigning Champion lays down the gauntlet and the Beast has his Sprint revenge
The start of the MotoGP race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Sunday, 02 June 2024
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed a near-perfect weekend on home turf with a masterclass victory in the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo. The Italian stormed to the lead from lights out and then kept it on perfect rails to stay a tantalising distance ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) for much of the race, with the gap going up and down but never quite in range for an attack. That instead came from Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the #23 put together an almighty final charge.
The Beast duelled Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and then put in a late burst of lightning speed to catch Martin, that enough to put him within striking distance at the final corner. And strike he did. Slicing up the inside and keeping it clean as anything, the #23 served his Tissot Sprint revenge to make it a Ducati Lenovo 1-2, with Martin forced to settle for third.
As the lights went out, Bagnaia went full Bagnaia. Second around San Donato as he threaded the needle from the second row, he immediately then lined up and pickpocketed Martin to go into the lead. From there, the hammer was down as Martin dug in to hold on, with Bastianini third ahead of Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
The chess game was on from there on out. Three tenths, six tenths, eight tenths, five tenths; Martin wasn’t getting dropped but he wasn’t consistently able to stay close enough to attack the #1 in the lead.
Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was on the march. Marquez made a move on Bastianini into San Donato and headed wide, with the #23 hitting back immediately, and that put the rookie superstar right on Marquez’ tail. The GASGAS shadowed him round the lap but couldn’t find a way through, then heading wide at the final corner and forced to watch the Gresini disappear out of striking distance.
At the front, the chess match rolled on. Bagnaia led Martin led Bastianini, with Marquez then starting to harry the #23. Acosta was a few tenths further back, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) starting to come under pressure from Viñales with 12 to go. It was tense holding stations, with the one small ripple in the calm coming as Martin went deep into San Donato with 10 laps to go, but he gathered it back up.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (1) leads Jorge Martin (89). Photo courtesy Dorna.
By six laps to go, it wasn’t check mate but it was starting to heat up into a grandstand finish. Marc Marquez finally made a move on Bastianini, attacking into San Donato with a clean move that gave the #23 no right of reply. His mission seemed then to catch Martin, but Martin was starting to cut the gap to the front once again. By three laps to go, it had been halved from the eight or nine tenth maximum Bagnaia had had at any point. Game on?
Very much so, but not for the #89. Instead, Bagnaia threw down the gauntlet and disappeared again as Bastianini stole the spotlight. Through on Marc Marquez at Scarperia, the exact same style of move the #93 had pulled on him, the Beast was on a charge and his next target was the other half of the Sprint tangle that had sent him into the gravel.
Locked on and flying, as Bagnaia crossed the line to take his third Italian GP win in a row as part of his second Mugello double, Bastianini was homing in. Into the very final corner the Ducati Lenovo Team rider found space on the inside to complete the fairtytale 1-2 for the team, and in some serious style as pandemonium erupted in the grandstands. Over the line with time in hand over Martin, Bastianini followed Bagnaia home – and Martin’s lead is cut to just 18 points.
Still, it was another podium finish and a good haul of points, and it was ahead of fellow frontrunner Marc Marquez, who was forced to settle for fourth. Acosta ended up in a lonelier ride for fifth after he’d lost touch with the front group.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) caught Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and got past him, and then managed to catch Viñales and Morbidelli to create a three-way fight for sixth. He made made it past the Aprilia just as the race entered the final three laps, but Morbidelli managed to stay ahead to take P6 ahead of the VR46 rider, Viñales and Alex Marquez.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) didn’t get the same stellar start as he did in Saturday, but the South African held off Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) to complete the top ten.
It’s now just 18 points separating Martin from Bagnaia at the top of the Championship, and after a maximum of 259 have already been on the table. Will the tale twist again at Assen? We’ll find out in a few weeks as MotoGP™ now resets and reloads before heading for the Cathedral. And Ducati keep pondering their 2025 line-up.
Joe Roberts (16) held off Manuel Gonzalez (18) to win the Moto2 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Roberts fights off Gonzalez on the last lap to take first victory since 2022
In a blockbuster Moto2™ race at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took victory in a nail-biting last lap decider, the American repelling the best efforts of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) to take top honours for the first time since the 2022 Portuguese GP. Completing the podium was MB Conveyors SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez, who was elbows out in the front fight, as ever.
Off like a rocket at the start, Roberts led early on the opening lap. He had close competition though, with Lopez and a Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) following on eagerly. A flying start also came in from Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) as well, who stormed to seventh after starting 12th.
Lopez would follow Roberts until lap four before he pounced at San Donato, but it wouldn’t be until Turn 3 before he could make the move stick. Unfortunately for the MB Conveyors Speed Up team, it was glory for one and disaster for another in that moment as Lopez’ teammate Fermin Aledguer crashed out after contact from Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team).
Still in the lead, Lopez now had Gonzalez behind as he had found his way through on Roberts. Slightly further back in the lead pack, disaster stuck for Binder who skittled into the gravel at Arrabbiata 1, an early end to what had been a strong weekend all round.
In a six-rider battle for the lead, everything was building to a grandstand last half of the race. The action kicked off as Roberts and Lopez ran wide at Turn 1 – giving them both more work to do – and allowing Gonzalez and Canet to the lead. But it wouldn’t be long before Roberts would then return the favour and find his way through to the front with just three laps remaining, asking questions of the others at the front.
As a dramatic finish loomed, Roberts entered the final lap in the lead. Gonzalez got a fantastic slipstream and attacked round San Donato, but the American hit back at the next available chance, diving to the inside at Turn 2. Under the highest of pressure, Roberts held strong to take his first victory since the 2022 Portuguese GP by just 0.067s. Gonzalez’ search for a first Moto2™ win goes on, and Lopez picked up third podium of the season.
Claiming fourth was Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), whose advantage in the standings has reduced to seven points. Behind Garcia was teammate Ogura, who Garcia pipped on the last lap, ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) claimed eighth as IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra and OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.
Next up is the TT Circuit Assen in three weeks’ time for what is set to be yet another dramatic Grand Prix, so join us for more at the Cathedral!
David Alonso (80) won the Moto3 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Alonso just keeps the edge on Veijer to extend his lead to 37 points
David Alonso (CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team) remains the rider to beat in Moto3™, taking his fifth win of the season in style at Mugello. The Colombian led from the front for much of a shortened 11-lap dash and held off a late charge from Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) to take another 25-point haul. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) charged up from P13 on the grid to secure third and his first ever Grand Prix podium.
The initial start was red-flagged following a crash for Fillippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Zurutuza heading to hospital for further examination. Once back underway, the distance was reduced to 11 laps of Mugello, with one clear aim for most: keep up with Alonso.
There was drama nearly immediately as Dani Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) tagged riders at Turn 1 and sent Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Stefano Nepa (LEVEL UP-MTA) crashing out, with the #96 given a double Long Lap for irresponsible riding.
Meanwhile at the front, it was a breakway group of six making their moves: Alonso, Veijer, Yamanaka, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI), Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports).
With four to go, it looked like Alonso was trying to make a break, and it took Veijer a couple of laps to take over in second and get enough breathing space to start trying to close the Colombian down. But that he did, and by the start of the final lap the Dutchman was within a couple of tenths, with Ortola in third.
Ultimately, however, he couldn’t get close enough to make a move, and then there was drama in the fight for the final place on the podium too as Ortola slid out at Turn 12, ending his rostrum hopes. One of the quickest remounts of all time saw him still take sixth, but Yamanaka was up the road to take his maiden Grand Prix podium and continue his impressive consistency running near the front in 2024.
Fourth went to Furusato as he was the final rider within a couple of seconds of the front, with Muñoz forced to settle for fifth further down the road. Ortola remounted for that sixth ahead of another impressive ride from rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse). Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), rookie Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Matteo Bertelle (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team) completed the top ten in a closer group battle.
The gap is now 37 points for Alonso at the top. Now it’s next stop Assen after a spring break, but the question remains the same: can anyone stop the Colombian? Veijer nearly managed it at Mugello, and on his home turf in the Netherlands, he’ll try and find another kitchen sink to add to his armory.
The Mugello Circuit in Italy. Photo courtesy Michelin.
Joe Roberts won the FIM Moto2 World Championship race Sunday at the Mugello Circuit, in Italy. Riding his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the American held off Spaniard Manuel Gonzalez by 0.067 second to take his first win and fourth podium finish of the season.
Gonzalez had to settle for the runner-up spot on his QJMOTOR Gresini Kalex, and Alonso Lopez finished a close third on his MB Conveyors SpeedUp Boscoscuro.
Roberts fights off Gonzalez on the last lap to take first victory since 2022
Joe Roberts (16) held off Manuel Gonzalez (18) to win the Moto2 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
In a blockbuster Moto2™ race at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took victory in a nail-biting last lap decider, the American repelling the best efforts of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) to take top honours for the first time since the 2022 Portuguese GP. Completing the podium was MB Conveyors SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez, who was elbows out in the front fight, as ever.
Off like a rocket at the start, Roberts led early on the opening lap. He had close competition though, with Lopez and a Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) following on eagerly. A flying start also came in from Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) as well, who stormed to seventh after starting 12th.
Lopez would follow Roberts until lap four before he pounced at San Donato, but it wouldn’t be until Turn 3 before he could make the move stick. Unfortunately for the MB Conveyors Speed Up team, it was glory for one and disaster for another in that moment as Lopez’ teammate Fermin Aledguer crashed out after contact from Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team).
Still in the lead, Lopez now had Gonzalez behind as he had found his way through on Roberts. Slightly further back in the lead pack, disaster stuck for Binder who skittled into the gravel at Arrabbiata 1, an early end to what had been a strong weekend all round.
In a six-rider battle for the lead, everything was building to a grandstand last half of the race. The action kicked off as Roberts and Lopez ran wide at Turn 1 – giving them both more work to do – and allowing Gonzalez and Canet to the lead. But it wouldn’t be long before Roberts would then return the favour and find his way through to the front with just three laps remaining, asking questions of the others at the front.
As a dramatic finish loomed, Roberts entered the final lap in the lead. Gonzalez got a fantastic slipstream and attacked round San Donato, but the American hit back at the next available chance, diving to the inside at Turn 2. Under the highest of pressure, Roberts held strong to take his first victory since the 2022 Portuguese GP by just 0.067s. Gonzalez’ search for a first Moto2™ win goes on, and Lopez picked up third podium of the season.
Claiming fourth was Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), whose advantage in the standings has reduced to seven points. Behind Garcia was teammate Ogura, who Garcia pipped on the last lap, ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) claimed eighth as IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra and OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.
Next up is the TT Circuit Assen in three weeks’ time for what is set to be yet another dramatic Grand Prix, so join us for more at the Cathedral!
More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:
Record Moto2™ and Moto3™ races in Mugello with standard Pirelli tyres
Joe Roberts (16) leads Manuel Gonzalez (18), Aron Canet (44), and the rest early in the Moto2 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Pirelli.
First win of the year for Roberts in Moto2™ and fifth victory for Alonso in Moto3™; new all-time and race lap records with Pirelli using tyres from the DIABLO Superbike range
The Grand Prix of Italy, raced at the Mugello International Racetrack, had American Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) winning in Moto2™ and Columbian David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team CFMOTO/CFMOTO) taking victory in Moto3™.
With this triumph, his first of the season, Roberts is now second behind Sergio Garcia in the Moto2™ standings, whereas Alonso, now with five wins this year, leads the overall Moto3™ standings with a 37-point advantage over David Holgado.
Satisfaction in the Pirelli camp: thanks to the performance of the DIABLO Superbike range tyres, which are available for purchase regularly on the market, new all-time and race lap records were set for both categories in Mugello, significantly improving on the previous record times.
Giorgio Barbier
Motorcycle Racing Director
A nice bounty of records and a great show on the track
“We are closing out this weekend in Mugello with satisfaction after setting new all-time lap records on Saturday and new race lap records today, all using standard tyres and not prototypes, so products that are sold regularly on the market and available for purchase by all riders. Today in Moto2™, an astonishing 10 riders dropped below the previous race lap record, with Canet improving on it by more than 7 tenths, whereas in Moto3™, there were 15 riders who did at least one lap below the previous record and Veijer set the new record on the tenth and penultimate lap, a full 1.5 seconds faster than the previous one and, even more impressive, after a red flag with a jump start, so without being able to use the tyre warmer on the starting grid. This means that the tyres performed extremely well, demonstrating highly consistent performance all the way to the end of the race. I think it was also significant to see two riders with Kalex frames on the podium in Moto2™, because this means that, by working on the setup and gradually gaining experience, bikes with different frames can battle on an even pitch for victory. Now we have three weekends off before two consecutive GP rounds, in Assen and on the Sachsenring.”
Moto2™
With asphalt temperatures in line with those of the past couple days, for the race, the riders confirmed the solutions that had been most used in practice, so almost everyone was on the grid with the soft SC0 rear and the soft SC1 front. The only exceptions were Binder, Baltus, and Agius who preferred the medium SC2 at the front.
The race was held over a distance of 12 laps due to a restart of the Moto3™ race. American Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) won after starting from pole position ahead of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2/Kalex) and Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro), all with the same tyre options.
Aron Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex) set the new race lap record on the second lap with a time of 1’50.476, improving on the previous one by more than 7 tenths which had been set in 2021 by Sam Lowes. Besides him, another 10 riders did at least one lap faster than the previous track record time.
Moto3™
With asphalt temperatures higher than 30°C, most of the riders on the grid opted for the medium SC2 front and soft SC1 rear combination. The only three riders to put the soft SC1 solution on the front were Furusato, Whatley, and Buasri, whereas Lunetta, Roulstone, Kelso, Muñoz, Farioli, Esteban, Almansa, and Dettwiler opted for the medium SC2 at the rear.
After a red flag on the fifth lap due to an accident, there were 11 laps left to race at the restart with 7 riders making tyre changes: Lunetta, Furusato, Kelso, Rossi, Muñoz, Fernandez, and Piqueras. Overall, the medium SC2 front was used by 22 out of 26 riders, whereas 18 riders opted for the soft SC1 rear. All the riders on the podium used the SC2 front and the SC1 rear.
After starting from pole position, David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team CFMOTO/CFMOTO) won his fifth race of the year and now firmly leads in the overall championship standings. Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Husqvarna), second across the finish line, set the race lap record with a time of 1’54.738 on the tenth and penultimate lap, breaking the previous record by 1.5 seconds which had been set by Sasaki in 2023. Overall, 15 riders dropped below the previous track race lap record.
FIM Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup
The fourth round of the talent cup which is part of the Dorna Road to MotoGP™ project was also held on the Tuscan track. All the riders’ KTM machines are equipped with Pirelli DIABLO Superbike tyres in SC2 compound at the front and rear. The seventh and eighth race of the season, held over a distance of 13 laps, were won respectively by Spaniard Máximo Quiles and Argentine Valentin Perrone.
With a time of 1’59.921, Spaniard Alvaro Carpe set the new all-time lap record for the track in this category, breaking the one set by Angel Piqueras in 2023 by 8 tenths, whereas in Race 1, Malaysian Hakim Danish set the new race lap record on the ninth lap with a time of 2’00.198.
The Mugello Circuit in Italy. Photo courtesy Michelin.
David Alonso won the restarted FIM Moto3 World Championship race Sunday at Mugello, in Italy. Riding his Valresa Aspar Team CFMOTO, the young Colombian held off Collin Veijer to win by 0.142 second, extending his lead in the Championship points.
Veijer had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Liqui Moly Intact GP Husqvarna.
Ryusei Yamanaka claimed the final spot on the podium by finishing third on his MT Helmets – MSI KTM 1.253 seconds behind Alonso.
The race was red-flagged for a crash involving Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Xabi Zurutuza and SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Filippo Farioli on lap three. Both were reported as “conscious” by Dorna. The race was restarted from original gird positions and run for 11 laps.
Brilliant debut Rookies win for Perrone in Mugello 2
Valentin Perrone (73), Brian Uriarte (51), and Álvaro Carpe (83) race for the lead at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Just 2 seconds covered the top 16 KTMs across the line at the end of Mugello Race 2 as Argentina’s Valentin Perrone took his first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory.
Brian Uriarte and Álvaro Carpe matched their 2nd and 3rd places from yesterday just ahead of Rico Salmela.
Perrone takes incredible victory
“I’m really happy with this first win,” grinned the 16-year-old Argentine who was 2nd in his first Rookies Cup race, the season opener in Jerez and has backed that up with a string of good results. “What can I say about the race, it was really crazy, so many overtakes. Then in the last corner, I don’t know exactly what happened, I think Maximo touched Ruche, I don’t know. I took a little the slipstream then got the victory.”
“The plan for the last lap? No, just push like crazy and see what happens. It worked!”
Uriarte lost again
“Second position again, that’s sort of OK, we still get some points in front of Maximo. But still first loser,” laughed the Spanish 15-year-old after his 4th podium of the season.
“Really I’m happy, I enjoyed the race, the last lap I didn’t do so well, I was almost the last of the group, the snake they made on the straight didn’t allow me to pass so it was quite tough but I still managed to make some passes.”
“The last lap was the most exciting for me and the one I most enjoyed, I got up to the front. I don’t know what happened at the end, it all got a bit crazy, that stopped me a little bit otherwise I think I could have got the win. But still a nice weekend, good results and good for the championship, I have to do just a little bit more and get the win next time.”
Carpe completes very strong weekend
“I am very happy as I enjoyed this race so much,” enthused the 16-year-old Spaniard. “All the battling, all the overtaking, it was great to be running at the front all the way.”
“The race was fast and aggressive, I think I did a good job through the weekend and I got two podiums. Now I am 3rd in the championship, 13 points behind Maximo. I say thanks to my Family, Friends and everyone that supports me.”
Salmela’s Super Sunday
“The start of the race was difficult because I didn’t do yesterday’s race, well I did but only a few corners,” smiled the reserved 16-year-old Finn. “The plan was OK, I tried to be more or less, in P4, P3 for the last lap, I was behind Ruche, it’s not easy to overtake Ruche, he’s good on the brakes.”
“Then through the last corner, at first I wanted to pass on the inside but everyone went to the inside and was slow, I saw a gap and went for it but then almost lost the front mid-corner. Then I went a bit wide but still, I thought I was going to make it to the victory or at least the podium.”
“Then I saw Maximo really close to me, was a surprise, I had to cut the gas a bit and lost. P4 is not bad, I wanted more but…. better than yesterday.”
Màximo Quiles 5th – penalised for incident with Ruche Moodley
“A really difficult race, many people slowing, not wanting to give the slipstream and it was crazy,” stated the 16-year-old Spaniard.
“In the last corner no nobody wanted to push and I pushed, I moved to cut the slipstream and I touched Ruche and I am really sorry for him. It was a really dangerous moment and I’m really sad for him and I want to say sorry.”
Following the race, the FIM Rookies Cup Stewards Panel stated that Quiles was, “found to have caused a crash by swerving into the line of another rider at the exit at Turn 15.”
As a result of this the Panel, “has imposed a Suspension from participation in the Motul TT Assen.”
Hakim Danish in the lead group all the way – P6
“In today’s race I feel better than yesterday,” explained the Malaysian 16-year-old. “I felt more confident in the bike and also with my riding. I was able to run in the front group and be in a good position.”
“It was only in the last lap there was a little bit missing, I lost a couple of positions, then I tried to come back. In the last corner, I tried to grab a good position but finally got P6. I’m looking forward to the next race in Assen.”
Leonardo Zanni steps up to 7th
“I am very happy for my best result in the Rookies Cup,” enthused the Italian 15-year-old “It was a hard race, it’s a long straight here and I don’t seem to pass anyone on the straight, I have to do it all on the brakes and round the corners. So I had to work very hard.”
“In the last lap I was determined, I overtook 2 or 3 riders, then another on the run to the line, I am so happy to do this result at my home race.”
Veda Pratama led – but not at the flag P8
“I’m not happy… this is the result, that is what it is,” reported the disappointed 15-year-old Indonesian. “I made mistakes during the race, I can fight but the result was not good for me. I will try to do better in the next round.”
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Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
