Yamaha Motor Australia has announced its continued commitment to the development of Australian motorcycle racing talent, confirming the BLU CRU R3 Cup will feature prominently in the inaugural 2027 ASBK Summer Championship.
The BLU CRU R3 Cup, a cornerstone of Yamaha Australia’s circuit racing development pathway, will run across four rounds of the newly formatted ASBK Championship, which represents a major shift in the domestic racing calendar as ASBK transitions to a summer-based calendar.
The BLU CRU R3 Cup features riders on Yamaha YZF-R3s, complete with aspirations to follow in the footsteps of predecessors who have progressed to international competition.
BLU CRU R3 Cup calendar – 2027 ASBK Summer Championship
Round 1: One Raceway – December 4-6, 2026
Round 2: Queensland Raceway – January 15-17, 2027
Round 3: Phillip Island WorldSBK – February 19-21, 2027 (R3 Cup riders will compete in the ASBK Supersport 300 category, racing in the same race as SS300 competitors while scoring points for the R3 Cup.)
Round 4: Sydney Motorsport Park – March 19-20, 2027
The announcement comes as ASBK prepares for a transformative summer calendar, designed to align the championship with major international series and bring more fans to the trackside during favourable weather conditions.
“Yamaha Australia continues to invest in rider development and the BLU CRU R3 Cup provides the next vital step in a rider’s career after learning the ropes in the BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup,” said Yamaha Motor Australia’s Motorsport Manager, Scott Bishop. “The BLU CRU R3 Cup is now a global Yamaha initiative that is run and contested in many countries as well as major racing championships in Europe and Asia.
“We look forward to seeing riders continue their passion of racing in the BLU CRU R3 Cup and hope to unearth some racing stars of the future.”
Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Doyle welcomed the confirmation of the BLU CRU R3 Cup’s inclusion in the inaugural summer championship.
“The BLU CRU R3 Cup has been a vital part of the ASBK landscape for nearly a decade, providing a genuine pathway for young riders to develop their skills on a national stage,” he said. “This is a tremendously exciting time for the ASBK Championship as it continues to evolve and push new boundaries, and we are thrilled to have Yamaha’s continued support as we embark on this new summer era.”
About Yamaha Motor Australia:
Yamaha Motor Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., and is responsible for the distribution of Yamaha motorcycles, marine products, power products, and related accessories throughout Australia.
About Motorcycling Australia:
Motorcycling Australia is the National Sporting Organisation and governing body for motorcycle sport as recognised by the Australian Sports Commission, responsible for the administration and promotion of motorcycle racing across the country.
About ASBK:
The Australian Superbike Championship is Australia’s premier national circuit racing series, featuring the nation’s best riders competing across multiple classes.
Circuit Ricardo Tormo to host the final round of the 2027 MotoGP World Championship on 26-28 November.
Ahead of the release of the full 2027 MotoGP calendar on Friday 25 September, MotoGP can confirm that the Valencia Grand Prix at Circuit Ricardo Tormo will be the season-ending round of the championship.
The announcement means the 2027 campaign will once again begin and end at two of the Championship’s most celebrated venues, with Thailand’s Buriram International Circuit already confirmed as the season opener (5-7 March) and Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo set to provide the stage for the season finale. Few venues are as synonymous with MotoGP season finales as Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Since first hosting the Championship, the venue has provided the backdrop for countless title deciders, unforgettable victories and defining moments in Grand Prix racing. Its unique stadium-style layout creates one of the sport’s most distinctive atmospheres, allowing fans to follow almost every corner of the action from their seats.
The confirmation comes as Valencia prepares to host the 2026 season finale later this year, with MotoGP set to take over the city through an expanded programme of fan activities and entertainment. From the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias to Marina Sur, fans will be able to experience MotoGP beyond the circuit, with the MotoGP Fan Fest bringing riders, entertainment and live music into the heart of the city. International DJ HUGEL will headline a special “HUGEL & Friends” event at Marina Sur as part of the weekend celebrations.
Carlos Ezpeleta, Deputy CEO of MotoGP, said: “There are few places that capture the spirit of a MotoGP season finale quite like Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The circuit, the city and the fans create a truly special atmosphere every year, making it the perfect venue to bring another season of world-class competition to a close. We’re delighted to confirm Valencia as the host of the 2027 finale.”
The President of the Valencia Government, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, has emphasised that this is “excellent news for Circuit Ricardo Tormo and for the whole of the Valencian Community. Hosting the final round of the MotoGP World Championship is a tribute to the event organisers and to our fans, who ensure that this Grand Prix continues to grow year on year.”
With the opening and closing venues now confirmed, anticipation continues to build ahead of the unveiling of the complete 2027 MotoGP World Championship calendar.
The full 2027 MotoGP World Championship calendar will be released on Friday 25 September at 12:00 (midday) CET.
Last year, CVMA ran four CVMA Hooligans races per weekend. With participation continuing to grow, we’re adding a second class for the 2026–27 season: CVMA Streetfighters!
Both classes will follow the same rules, but racers will now have two separate championships to compete for. Each class will run one race per day.
Friday Practice Timing
To improve safety and better balance our Friday Practice groups, transponders will now be required for all Friday Practice participants.
Rental transponders will be available Friday mornings.
Le Castellet — The 89th Bol d’Or has concluded at Circuit Paul Ricard, and with it the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship season. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team won the 24-hour race and claimed the world title by four points, the first FIM EWC crown for the German manufacturer and the first won aboard a European bike.
The #37 BMW M 1000 RR of Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal and Michael van der Mark covered 742 laps (a new record at the Bol d’Or), finishing one lap clear of the #12 Suzuki of Yoshimura SERT Motul and two ahead of the #1 Yamaha of the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team.
The outcome carried particular weight for the Belgian-based squad. Twelve months earlier, at the same circuit, the same machine had been half an hour from the title when a mechanical failure ended its race. This time the M 1000 RR ran the full distance without a setback.
Starting from pole position, the #37 was briefly headed at the Le Mans-style start by Gregg Black on the Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki, then regained the lead on the opening lap. The early hours produced a sustained fight with the #5 Honda of F.C.C. TSR Honda France, settled by fuel range and pit-stop efficiency: BMW ran longer stints and completed the 24 hours with 36 minutes 26 seconds of cumulative pit-lane time across 26 stops, the lowest figure among the leading entries. It led both intermediate classifications, taking the maximum 10 points at eight hours and again at 16 hours.
Yoshimura SERT Motul, three-time consecutive winner of the event, moved from fifth in the opening hour to second overnight, passing the YART Yamaha and then the F.C.C. TSR Honda. Gregg Black, Etienne Masson and Dan Linfoot finished second, one lap down, and took third in the final standings.
Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Leandro Mercado recovered from a difficult opening lap that dropped the reigning Champions outside the top 15. The #1 Yamaha ran fourth for much of the race before inheriting third place in the closing hours when the #5 Honda was delayed by a crash at Turn 1 and an eight-minute repair. The podium was not enough to retain the title, which YART lost by four points after winning it by one in 2025.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France finished fourth, six laps down, with Corentin Perolari setting the fastest lap of the race at 1’52.320 (181.8 km/h). Kawasaki Webike Trickstar completed the EWC top five.
Among the retirements were ERC Endurance #6, out after 629 laps, and the AutoRace Ube Racing Team, whose BMW was withdrawn following a fire in the sixth hour. 36 of the 56 starters were classified.
Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST won the Superstock class and the FIM Endurance World Cup. Photo courtesy EWC.
FIM Endurance World Cup: Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST takes the title
Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST won the Superstock class and the FIM Endurance World Cup by four points. Jordi Torres Fernandez, Milan Pawelec, Mateusz Molik and Hector Garzo Vicent brought the #77 Honda home sixth overall on 717 laps, ahead of the #36 Yamaha of 3ART Best Of Bike Hamaguchi and the #44 Honda of Honda No Limits.
Champion-Hert Powered by MRP, which led the class and the standings for most of the weekend, lost more than two hours in the garage overnight and finished eleventh in class. The Belgian team ends the season second, four points behind. Honda takes the Superstock manufacturers’ classification.
FIM Endurance World Trophy: Legacy Competition confirms
Audemar Motoclub Gemenos won the Production class in front of its home crowd, with Bastien Vigne, Arnaud Dejean, Quentin Benslimane and Tony Guerrero completing 666 laps. Legacy Competition finished second, two laps behind, which was enough to secure the FIM Endurance World Trophy with 134 points to 115 for ARTEC #199, third on the road and second in the standings. Yamaha wins the Production manufacturers’ classification.
Team Metiss took the Experimental class honours.
Manufacturers’ classification
Yamaha wins the 2026 FIM EWC manufacturers’ classification with 179 points, ahead of BMW on 167 and Honda on 141.
The 2027 FIM Endurance World Championship season opens with the 24 Heures Motos at the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, from 8 to 11 April.
What they said…
EWC – Winner: BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team
Michael van der Makr: “This year, Werner, the team and BMW took another step forward. They were already really good before, but now they have reached the next level. We riders, Markus, Steven and I, always helped and pushed each other. We were unlucky at Le Mans, but after that the victory at Spa and the podium at Suzuka were something special. Here, we had to take pole position and win – and that’s exactly what we did. Of course, sometimes you also need a bit of luck, but BMW, Werner and the team had that on their side this year. I’m really happy!”
Steven Odendaal: “I couldn’t be happier. We have been trying to win this World Championship for a very long time. To lose it the way we did last year was simply heartbreaking. That makes winning it this year all the more special. We are three very strong riders in a fantastic team. Werner, his team and the guys at BMW have done an incredible job. The bike is truly amazing. Thank you very much to everyone who made this possible.”
Markus Reiterberger: “Finally, we have done it. Last year we had a bit of bad luck, so I was a little nervous during the final stint, but in the end, it worked out. I’m so happy for my team-mates: they were incredibly strong, just like the whole team. I don’t know how long I’ve been racing in this series with BMW, and I can hardly put into words how we feel now. I’m so grateful to everyone – and now let’s celebrate.”
Warner Daemen (Team Manager): “It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts. We started this project together with BMW seven or eight years ago, and we knew it would be difficult to compete against the Japanese manufacturers because they have much more experience. They started back in the 1970s. As a young brand in this racing scene, which came here in 2019, we naturally had a lot of smaller problems. We built something up – and that is a very important point: we didn’t just build the best motorcycle, we also built the best team. And together with BMW, with the hard work and the good equipment they provide us with, we were truly at the top this year. I am very proud to have won the title for BMW.”
AHRMA Vintage Cup Returns: Formula 750 named featured class for the 2027 season.
(September 21, 2026, Knoxville, TN) The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is proud to announce Formula 750 as the featured class for the 2027 Vintage Cup. The big four-strokes that remade American road racing — Honda Fours, BSA and Triumph Triples, Norton twins, Harley-Davidson XR750s, Ducati V-twins and their period works replicas — will take center stage at every AHRMA National road race next season.
Sponsored by Roadracingworld.com and NYC Norton (nycnorton.com), AHRMA’s 2027 Vintage Cup features Formula 750: fully GP-kitted four-stroke machines of up to four cylinders, manufactured as 600–750 cc and built prior to December 31, 1972, and like design. It is a second Vintage Cup turn for a class first featured in 2023.
“Formula 750 is the sound and silhouette of road racing’s big-bike revolution,” says Kenny Cummings of NYC Norton, Vintage Cup sponsor. “These are the bikes that came out of showrooms and factory race shops and changed everything from Daytona to the Isle of Man. Whether you’ve got a BSA/Triumph Triple or Twin, a CR750-based racer, a well-tuned Norton, BMW, an XR750, or Ducati V-twin, 2027 is the year to get it out of the shop and onto the grid. Formula 750 already proved it can fill a Vintage Cup paddock as we saw in 2023. Let’s do it again — louder.”
Typical AHRMA Formula 750 grids include BSA Rocket 3 and Triumph Trident works racers and replicas, Honda CR/RC750 kit machines, Harley-Davidson XR750s (iron and alloy), Norton John Player and FIM production racers, Ducati works V-twins, Laverda SFCs, BMW works bikes, MV 750 fours, Rickman and Seeley specials, Yamaha XS650s, and more.
“Formula 750 captures the moment American road racing became a worldwide prize,” said Leasha Overturf, AHRMA’s Road Race Director. “These machines were the proving ground for factories, tuners and riders who rewrote what a production-based racer could do. Showcasing them in the Vintage Cup honors that legacy and gives today’s racers and fans the chance to see — and hear — the 750s that defined an era.”
“AHRMA continues to do the sport a great service by running a series for people to ride historic race bikes on the track, where they can be seen and heard in action. Roadracing World is happy to be involved with the Vintage Cup program again in 2027. Now go out and have fun on old bikes!” said John Ulrich, Founder & Editor of Roadracing World.
The Vintage Cup will be highlighted during and after each of the 2027 AHRMA National road races. Added enhancements for the 2027 season include:
Enhanced trophies throughout the season.
Special awards for series champion.
Articles and photos on Roadracingworld.com to spotlight the class.
Roadracing World print magazine enhanced exposure for AHRMA and Formula 750.
Discounted race entry fees.
Racer spotlight features in AHRMA MAG.
Class champion on the cover of the AHRMA MAG.
Motorcycles eligible for AHRMA’s Formula 750 class include fully GP-kitted four-stroke machines of up to four cylinders, manufactured as 600–750 cc and built prior to December 31, 1972, and like design. A complete list and technical requirements appear in the AHRMA Handbook, Section regarding Formula 750 (www.ahrma.org/ahrma-handbook).
Technical journalist Kevin Cameron, whose full history of the class appeared in a recent issue of AHRMA MAG, traces Formula 750 to Dick Mann’s 1970 Daytona 200 win on a race-prepared Honda CB750 — the moment a new kind of big-bike racing arrived in America.
Honda’s 1969 CB750 Four, Britain’s 750 twins and triples, and Harley-Davidson’s coming XR750 collided with a booming U.S. market. Sales doubled from 1965 to 1970 and doubled again by 1974. At the AMA’s December 1968 Competition Congress, Triumph and Harley pushed the top class to a straight 750 cc for 1970. Daytona became the most important motorcycle race in the world. Europe followed with the Imola 200 and Paul Ricard 200.
The four-strokes that started it — Mann’s Honda, the BSA Triple that gave him a last British win in 1971, the iron XR750 that overheated at Daytona then became a dirt-track legend in alloy form, plus Norton, Ducati, Laverda and the works replicas — are the machines AHRMA Formula 750 still races. Vintage Cup 2027 is for the Fours, Triples, twins and V-twins built before the end of 1972.
Whether you have a Triple or a Four, a Norton twin or an XR750, a works replica or a production racer — bring it out for the 2027 Vintage Cup.
About AHRMA:
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to competing on fantastic classic and true vintage machines along with a wide range of modern motorcycles. With almost 3,000 members, AHRMA is the largest vintage racing group in North America and one of the biggest in the world. The association has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the increasing interest in classic bikes.
The 400-ish GP is back for Round 5 at Thunderhill — and it might be the most fun race in America.
When we debuted it, the 400-ish GP brought out the largest grid with 62 riders, and we’re trying to make it even bigger this time.
Thunderhill Raceway Park
September 26-27
AFM Round 5
400-ISH GP
400-ish GP Race Rules
Race:
Race will be 6 lap sprint at end of day Saturday if time allows.
There will be one wave.
Experts and novices will race together in the same race.
Grid spots will be given at tech.
Race will have no trophies and no points.
Requirements of Rider:
Must currently have or have had an AFM race license. If rider does not have a current license, they may purchase a single race license for $5. This license is only good for the 400-ish GP. All race practice and other races will still require a standard AFM license.
Requirements of Motorcycle:
Motorcycle must be 457cc or less. Bring your supermotos!
Motorcycle must have water or non-glycol coolant.
Motorcycle must have oil drain bolt safety wired or RTV’d.
All mirrors, lights, and turn signals must be removed or taped over.
Motorcycle must have numbers.
No other safety wire will be required.
All other modifications and body work will be allowed for the race only.
The bike must meet full tech requirements for any other races and practice.
The new season has arrived. Can hardly wait to get back out to @chuckwallavalleyraceway with everyone again this fall/winter. We will be riding once again with our friends from @socaltrackdays (Race Pace) & @racersedgeperformance. Whether you are a track-day rider or you want to tune yourself up for @cvmaracing, we are here to help. We offer military and cvma racer discounts. Look forward to seeing you all soon.
When most people picture the landlocked mountains of Austria, the last thing they think of is shark attacks. So imagine our surprise when we saw the Shark gobble up the competition this week at Red Bull Ring, even devouring Jorge Martin whole.
The Shark in question is, of course, Pedro Acosta driving that giant hammerhead of a KTM. He dominated the training on Friday, screwed it up dramatically on Saturday during the sprint and then came back swinging today, earning KTM its first victory on a dry track in half a decade. But how did he do it?
Enter Mat and Peter, who’ve got some theories. See, one thing that makes sharks so special is that evolution doesn’t seem to have changed them much this aeon. They found something that worked a long time ago, and it works still. Only in this case we’re not talking about a Great White’s scary sense of smell or rotating revolver teeth; we’re looking at an oldschool racing bike which still allows you to go completely apeshit on the front when entering corners. Combine that fact with the nature of this track, and it might be accurate to state that this is the first time we’ve seen Acosta on equal machinery.
God knows we’d like to see it more often!
Meanwhile Jorge Martin seems to have taken over from Marquez in the tournament standing, bringing some seriously competitive heat to the next few races. Exciting times, no doubt.
Just watch out for blood in the water, or we might end up needing a bigger boat bike!
*If there was ever a time to quote from Spielberg, wouldn’t it be when racing here?
Want more? Visit our website or support us on Patreon. With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman’s Dub Club for writing our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!
Oh, and a quick word in regards to sponsors:
If you’re interested in connecting with a really unique MotoGP audience — we’re working with Smash Brand Group out of Sydney to manage partnerships. Curious? Just head to smashbrandgroup.com.au and get in touch!
BSB battle royale as Redding and Ryde share wins in dramatic Showdown opener.
Scott Redding and Kyle Ryde shared the victories in a dramatic opening round of the 2026 British Superbike Championship Showdown at the TT Circuit Assen, with the final race of the day delivering a hallmark finish at The Cathedral of Speed as Ryde, Redding and Bradley Ray went head-to-head in an intense three-way battle.
The opening race of the day began in dramatic style when Rory Skinner had an oil cooler pipe failure on the Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha during the warm up lap, which sent him crashing out delaying the race start for a clean-up operation.
When the race got underway, Redding instantly hit the front of the pack ahead of Ryan Vickers, Ray and Ryde, but the defending champion was instantly fighting and he made a move on both his rivals on the opening lap.
Redding was again holding off his closest championship rivals, but on lap seven, Ryde was cautious of a change of conditions and Ray seized the advantage to take second. Light rain then began and the race was subsequently red flagged, with Redding, Ray and Ryde claiming the podium positions.
Vickers had another strong race in fourth place for Honda Racing UK with Max Cook completing the top five on the AJN Steelstock bimota.
The stage was set for a race three thriller and the TT Circuit Assen delivered as Ryde retaliated with a sensational victory, beating Ray and Redding to the chequered flag after a thrilling final-lap battle that went down to the wire at the iconic final chicane.
At the start of the race, Vickers had grabbed the lead, but Ryde was determined to return to winning ways and he instantly made a pass to hit the front of the field. The Honda Racing UK rider was then under pressure from Ray and Redding, with the McAMS Yamaha contender moving second on lap fourth.
By lap six, Ryde and Ray were duelling for the advantage, trading places throughout the laps, whilst Redding had his sights on joining the battle after he made a move into third on Vickers on the tenth lap.
Ryde and Ray continued to switch the lead and with five laps to go, the pair were trading blows in the battle for victory, but they then had to contend with Redding. Ray and Ryde had both taken the lead on the penultimate lap and it was going down to the wire in a traditional battle at the TT Circuit Assen.
Kyle Ryde (1) and Scott Redding (45) in Assen. Photo courtesy BSB.
Ryde started the final lap in the lead with Redding then making his move on Ray to claim second position and then with his sights set on making it a treble. The Hager PBM Racing Team rider made a move down the inside into the Chicane and was able to stay just ahead of Ryde, but on the exit, the rear tyre stepped out and Redding had to save it and lost drive.
Ryde was able to reclaim the lead to take the chequered flag first to return to the top step for the first time since race one at Thruxton, whilst Ray seized the advantage on the drag to the line to take second from Redding.
Vickers had another strong points scoring weekend in fourth place with Max Cook completing the top five for AJN Steelstock bimota, after his teammate Joe Talbot retired from the final race of the weekend.
Leon Haslam delivered another gritty performance to finish sixth after starting 22nd on the grid on the Moto Rapido Racing Ducati after he was forced out of race two on the warm up lap.
Skinner also battling through after his dramatic warm up lap crash in race two to take seventh as the BSB Showdown now heads to Donington Park for the penultimate round of the season.
British Superbike Championship, TT Circuit Assen, Race 2 result:
Kyle Ryde (1) and Scott Redding (45) in Assen. Photo courtesy BSB.
Kyle Ryde – Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing Ducati:
“I think it was my best start of the weekend in race three! I settled in behind Ryan, well I say settled in, I passed him first lap into the last corner and I got my head down! I tried to not win the race in those first laps, but make it easier for us three to get to the end.
“I did a few fast laps and it was a very fun race to be a part of. I just didn’t want to sit behind for any sort of half a lap because it was obvious Brad was going to be faster than me in some parts and I didn’t want to play cat and mouse.
“As in he would pull two tenths and then catch it back and the Scott catches me, so whenever he passed me I just went back, which made the lap time a lot slower. I just tried to keep fighting to get myself to the front.
“I wasn’t looking at the pit board and before you know it there was three laps to go and I went so defensive everywhere. As Scott said, the physical side was probably not there because the lap time wasn’t there, but it was a great race to be a part of. To beat Scott in one of the races after the weekend he’s had was a good feeling.”
Scott Redding – Hager PBM Racing Team:
“Race two was good, I didn’t feel that good with grip, but it was hard because of the track conditions. I didn’t really want to lead the race when it was changing, but I am just happy to have taken that win. It was a good call on the red flag and then I felt ready to go again in race three.
“Race three physically that was the easiest race for me, mentally one of the hardest trying to overtake! It took me forever to get past Ryan and I kept saying to myself “just be patient, just be patient”.
“I was getting a bit impatient! I just had to try to make unconventional moves and try and do stuff that I wouldn’t really expect myself to do. Everyone was riding so good that it was so hard, and then when Brad and Kyle started battling, I thought “I need to look at this as a three way battle and not a two way battle”.
“I don’t know what happened but I ended up second at the last chicane and I thought “right I’ve got to go”, but Kyle’s bike’s just really good at getting off the corners. On the last lap, I just thought “the championship is on the line, I have to win”.
“At that point I thought the only place I could do it is into the last chicane, but I had a bit of a big slide out of right coming back towards the stadium section and a gap was there. I thought “man, what you gonna do now”. I just went very late on the brakes and just fully committed to it and Kyle was protecting and going wider and wider!
“I said “when he brakes, I just have to brake after” so that is what I did! I went sideways going in and I lost the front. I was so eager to get on the gas, I had a bit of a slide then a wheelie, just thinking “get to the finish line” and then I saw Brad fully lent over!
“To be fair you lose a race like that battling for a championship, I still go home happy, I thought “you know what, we put on a spectacular show and that is what people want.”
The MotoGP Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Austria is in the books, with Pedro Acosta taking his first MotoGP victory ahead of Jorge Martin, while Marco Bezzecchi completed the podium for Aprilia Racing. Read the teams’ post-race PR below.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM:
Victory! Acosta makes a MotoGP breakthrough with Austrian Grand Prix success.
Red Bull KTM won the 2026 Austrian MotoGP as Pedro Acosta controlled proceedings from early race distance and clinched the first premier class checkered flag of his career and the first for the factory this season. The Austrian Grand Prix provided home ground for Red Bull KTM and was a showcase for the speed and talents of Acosta but also a strong result for Brad Binder in 6th as KTM sealed the Moto3™ Constructors Championship on the same day as the KTM GP Academy registered a podium double.
Highlights and key moments from race day at Red Bull Ring
Pedro Acosta wins at Red Bull Ring. The triumph represents KTM’s third at the circuit and the first in MotoGP since 2022. The Spaniard now has five trophies and three in a row this season and has moved up to 4th in the championship
6th and a hard-won 10 points for Brad Binder as the South African logs his highest classification of the season
Enea Bastianini rides to 11th in Austria as Pol Espargaro takes 16th
2nd and 3rd position in Moto3 as Brian Uriarte finishes runner-up ahead of Alvaro Carpe
Beñat Fernandez is the 2026 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup champion after 4th position in the finale for the series
A sun-kissed Red Bull Ring shone brightly for the last European Grand Prix before the flyway sequence of the 2026 calendar. Red Bull KTM took to the MotoGP grid for 28 laps with Pedro Acosta on the front row, Brad Binder in P11, Pol Espargaro, deputizing for Maverick Viñales for the third race in a row, in P14 and Enea Bastianini in P17.
Acosta, who had been a fraction of a second from Pole Position on Saturday and led the majority of the Sprint, barged into the top three from the second circulation. He hassled the rear wheel of Jorge Martin until he was able to take lead on lap 8 and then managed the distance over his pursuers. Pedro crossed the line a second ahead of Martin to join Miguel Oliveira (2020) and Brad Binder (2021) as KTM RC16 Grand Prix winners in Spielberg. The landmark was also notable for the Spaniard, nearly three seasons into his MotoGP career and after 56 starts on Austrian technology.
Binder scorched to the top six after five laps. The South African then found 5th at mid-race distance and engaged in more battling Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia. Brad persisted with his pace, the only rider with the soft front tire choice and grabbed 6th for his efforts.
Bastianini grabbed a few positions at the outset and pushed all race to try and breach the top ten. He was just 0.3 of a second away at the end and classified 11th. Espargaro was bustled by others on the first lap and lost some time but rallied to 16th and only just missed out on GP points.
MotoGP enters a 2027 test at the Red Bull Ring on Monday before boxing-up for the flyaways to Japan, Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia in the coming weeks.
Pedro Acosta (37) and Jorge Martin (89) in Austria. Photo courtesy KTM.
Pedro Acosta, 1st and 4th in the championship:“The first one is always special, and in front of so many Austrian fans. There were many KTM t-shirts and I’m so happy for the team, they deserve it more than me. I had many good people around yesterday when I f**ked up. This result was amazing.”
Brad Binder (33) in Austria. Photo courtesy KTM.
Brad Binder, 6th and 13th in the championship: “Overall, I’d say a successful weekend here in Red Bull Ring and I’m happy to have got my best finish of the year. I would have liked to have been a bit further up the grid but I did my best. Happy with the pace we were able to put together and happy with the work by the team. Well done to them, and also to Pedro on his first victory; I’m sure it’s the first of many.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Super-special day. We had some challenges this summer and if we think about the last two years there have been hard moments and good moments and I cannot say how grateful I am for everybody who is in the process. We have such a good project with many great, passionate and professional people around…and when you have a rider like Pedro, this is what you can expect. From Friday we could see the bike, the track and maybe the tire compound suited us – both riders – and we went to the maximum. We had some disappointment yesterday but today we took our chance. Pedro was a 16-year-old when I started working with him and we won Moto3 in the first season. It’s been a great road since. I feel there is the chance to learn from every rider and we’re thankful to him and that kind of talent.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “Big emotions. We have come out of some tough moments since 2024. The company is back in shape…but we also had our issues on the track this summer: we responded from those with 2nd in Aragon, 3rd in Misano and then winning our home Grand Prix. It is something we could not have imagined a few weeks ago. I’m so happy for the team, for the factory and I also want to give this as a present to all KTM because we all fought to come out of a crisis. We are back. This is what we are fighting for. I am the happiest man and this is the happiest team on the planet. Thanks to KTM, thanks to them and thanks to Pedro who is an amazing rider.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Racing:
Double podium for Aprilia Racing for the long race in Austria.
The weekend in Austria ended with another podium for the Aprilia Racing factory riders after the one they earned in the sprint race.
Jorge Martín had an outstanding start from pole position, maintaining first place when the red lights went out. The Spanish rider then rode his RS-GP26 to a second-place finish when the chequered flag came out. With his win in the sprint race on Saturday, Martín had taken back the championship lead, and at the end of the Austrian GP, he remains at the top of the standings with 286 points.
Marco Bezzecchi also had an extraordinary start from the fourth spot on the grid, moving into second place straight away. The Italian rider then finished third, finishing up a weekend of podium placements after taking third in the sprint race.
Finishing fourth was Ai Ogura, with the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team, back after his injury to repeat the result of the sprint race. This gave Aprilia three RS-GP26 machines in the top four positions.
Aprilia Racing closes out the weekend in Austria with their first double podium ever on the Spielberg track, both in the sprint race and in the long race, as well as another significant result – four consecutive pole positions taken in Silverstone, Aragón, Misano, and Austria – a milestone which the Noale-based manufacturer had never before.
Jorge Martin (89) in Austria. Photo courtesy Aprilia.
Jorge Martin: “It was a great weekend. Getting back to this level of speed and having good fitness after the doubts in Misano make me extremely happy. I wanted to fight for the win, but battling with Pedro was quite difficult, although I tried all the way to the end.”
Marco Bezzecchi (72) in Austria. Photo courtesy Aprilia.
Marco Bezzecchi: “We truly achieved the maximum, and I’m pleased with the way I improved throughout the weekend. My performance wasn’t bad on Friday, but I wasn’t on par with the leaders. Saturday, we managed to remediate, even with a bit of luck. In the race, on the other hand, I think it was truly a good result. At the end, I got very close to Jorge. I may have missed the opportunity to try and overtake on turn 1 because of a small mistake, but in any case, I gave it one hundred percent.”
Massimo Rivola – CEO Aprilia Racing: “Congratulations to Pedro and KTM for their first win. I know how satisfying it is to achieve that in a home race. It was a great weekend for us, where Marco demonstrated growth and consistency, and Jorge showed us – especially on Saturday – a ride truly worthy of a World Champion. The road is still long, and our rivals are extremely strong, especially for the next round in Motegi, so we had better get to work straight away. We have an important test tomorrow with the Pirelli tyres on the 850cc and we also need to work to be competitive on a tough track.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Lenovo Team:
Marc Márquez and the Ducati Lenovo Team secure fifth place in Austria. Francesco Bagnaia finishes seventh.
The Ducati Lenovo Team completed the Grand Prix of Austria, host of the fifteenth event of the season. At the Austrian Ring, Marc Márquez finished the race in fifth position, while Francesco Bagnaia was seventh.
Márquez, after a good start, lost three positions on the opening lap to find himself in fifth place. He then managed to get up to speed a few laps later, moving up to fourth position. On lap ten, however, he ran wide, which made him lose his rhythm momentarily as he dropped down to seventh. Marc ultimately managed to bounce back to a fifth-place finish. Bagnaia moved up one place at the start and showed a good pace in the early stages. After dropping down to eighth, Pecco finished seventh.
As the fifteenth Grand Prix of the season comes to a close, Marc Márquez is second in the championship standings with 294 points. Francesco Bagnaia is ninth, 138 points in arrears of his teammate. The Ducati Lenovo Team is second in the teams’ standings (450 points), while Ducati is also second in the constructors’ championship (432 points).
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action on Friday, October 2nd, for the opening day of the Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi.
Marc Márquez (93) in Austria. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 5th: “We struggled a bit this weekend. We still managed to be quick but unfortunately today in the race, already from lap one, I had some issues under braking, which made everything more complicated and prevented me from being consistent. In the end we were able to secure a fifth-place finish and I’m happy, because there was a moment in the race when I was very close to retiring. This weekend our opponents were quicker than us. We simply need to learn from it and make sure we’re ready for Motegi.”
Francesco Bagnaia (63) in Austria. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 7th: “Overall it was a good race, especially in light of the results from the previous three Grand Prix. It wasn’t easy, because conditions were different and we couldn’t find the right traction while losing a lot of grip at the same time. After five laps I decided to slow down my pace by half a second in order to arrive at the end in the best way possible. This allowed me to bridge the gap with Aldeguer and Binder in the final stages. Unfortunately, around lap six I started to have a small braking issue, which didn’t help in slowing down correctly. I still managed to react the proper way and finish in a crescendo.”
More, from a press release issued by BK8 Gresini Racing:
Fermin Aldeguer comes back, Alex Marquez crashes at Spielberg.
RACEDAY
ALEX MARQUEZ NC
FERMIN ALDEGUER 8º
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ALEX MARQUEZ 8º (158)
FERMIN ALDEGUER 10º (115)
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
BK8 GRESINI RACING 6º (282)
Alex Marquez on the grid in Austria. Photo courtesy Gresini.
Alex Marquez: “It’s a shame because, despite a difficult weekend, we had managed to find something that was helping me during the race. Unfortunately, I lost some time in a few battles and then made a mistake that compromised our Sunday. Now we have a week to recover, and then we’ll start thinking about Japan.”
Fermin Aldeguer (54) and Marc Marquez (93) in Austria. Photo courtesy Gresini.
Fermin Aldeguer: “We have to be satisfied. We made a good comeback after starting from the fourth row. We were fast, had a good pace, and fought with Marc for the position of best Ducati… As always, our weekends start off so-so with qualifying and then often improve. If we had started further up, who knows, but today we did well.”
More, from a press release issued by VR46 Racing Team:
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team ends Sunday’s race at Spielberg in ninth place with Fabio Di Giannantonio while Franco Morbidelli is eighteenth.
The Austrian GP – which marks the end of the European races before the Overseas – ended with a Top10 for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team thanks to Fabio Di Giannantonio’s ninth place. Franco Morbidelli crossed the finish line of the Spielberg race in eighteenth place.
Di Giannantonio had a good start from the third row which allowed him to gain a position. Fabio showed a good rhythm and fought with determination to stay in the first ten places. Despite the Spielberg circuit not being particularly well suited to him, the rider from Rome was able to hold his own, crossing the finish line in ninth place. Di Giannantonio is fifth in the World Standing with 230 points.
A difficult start from the seventh row forced Morbidelli to recover some places after losing two positions. Despite the difficulties which led him to the twenty-second place, Franco bounced back crossing the finish line of the Austrian GP in eighteenth place. Morbidelli is now sixteenth in the World Standing with 56 points.
The Austrian GP marks the end of the European leg of the season, and the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is back on track in two weeks for the Japanese GP, which will kick off the MotoGP Overseas from the 2nd to the 4th of October.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (49) in Austria. Photo courtesy VR46 Team.
Fabio Di Giannantonio: “Overall, it was a tough weekend, but this morning we made a change to improve the feeling of the rear grip and we made some steps forward for the race. This helped us, and in the first laps I was quite competitive, but then I started to struggle. We’re having some difficulties now, but the potential is very high and we are fast. We stay positive because we know we can come back to the top.”
Franco Morbidelli (21) in Austria. Photo courtesy VR46.
Franco Morbidelli: “It was a difficult race and a tough weekend overall. I was expecting more and I wasn’t as fast as I wanted. It’s hard to accept that, but this result will be useful to keep working even more deeply both with the Team and with Ducati to come back to the performances we can have. Anyway, I am lucky beacuse I have a special team, we try to work to come back in front and giving our best even more.”
Pablo Nieto: “Our weekend was harder than usual, but we knew it because we’ve always struggled here at Spielberg. However, I think we’ve been working well throughout all the weekend and we must understand what went wrong to avoid having the same issues. Anyway, in thie European leg there were many positives, we learned a lot and made steps forward. Now the Overseas is just around the corner, I think we can perform well there and we will be able to understand how to improve even more until the end of the season.”
More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda LCR:
Castrol Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finished 10th at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Frenchman Zarco struggled at the start and had to fight his way through the field to make progress.
Zarco managed to overtake several rivals and set his own pace while defending his position.
The rider crossed the finish line in 10th place, securing valuable points and gathering important data.
Johann Zarco (5) in Austria. Photo courtesy Honda LCR.
Johann Zarco 10th: “It was a great weekend overall. Today, 10th was the best we could do. The first lap was tricky, so I lost some positions trying to avoid contact. From there, I managed the tyres and tried to find the pace and make some overtakes. We did a good job, and I’m happy!”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Eleventh for Bastianini in intense Spielberg duel.
Enea Bastianini managed to gain six places at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday to finish eleventh, while Pol Espargaró recovered from contact with another rider to come home in 16th.
A modest attendance of 46,298 showed up at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday to watch Round 15 of the 2026 MotoGP™ World Championship, with the main event held over 28 laps.
Aiming for a place inside the top eight, Bastianini immediately gained ground in the early exchanges, moving from 17th on the grid to sit twelfth at the close of lap one.
Locked in a fight for ninth with Fabio Di Giannantonio, Johann Zarco, Fabio Quartararo and Raul Fernandez, ‘La Bestia’ didn’t have the confidence with the front end to make his usual Sunday fightback. In the end, he came home eleventh, less than two tenths off the final spot in the top ten.
Espargaró’s race was conditioned by an early moment at Turn 4. The Spaniard had gained a place to sit 13th on lap one, but a move to avoid Fernandez under braking on the third lap pushed him wide. Contact with another rider exiting the corner lost him further time. From there, the 35-year-old rose up from 18th to cross the line in 16th, just 0.2s off the points.
Red Bull KTM Tech3 now has a well-deserved weekend off before the Japanese Grand Prix (2-4 October), which marks the beginning of the flyaway tour.
Enea Bastianini (23) in Austria. Photo courtesy Tech3.
Enea Bastianini: “It was more or less like yesterday. I’m a bit surprised because this morning my feeling was better than the race. Looking at the data, we were comfortable with the soft front tyre but with the medium we suffered. It’s the first time we’ve really worked well with the soft, because usually it doesn’t work so well with our bike. But here, it was good for us. Unfortunately, it was impossible to use it in the race because once you are in the slipstream, it starts to move and becomes very critical. I was expecting a little more from the race, but it didn’t happen for us this time. But it happened for Pedro, who did an incredible race. I wish to say congratulations to him.”
Pol Espargaró (44) in Austria. Photo courtesy Tech3.
Pol Espargaró: “The start was actually good, but then I started fighting with the guys. Going into Turn 4, Raul (Fernandez) moved across under braking and I got caught in the slipstream, which pushed me almost onto the gravel. Then I was hit and the side of my aero was damaged, so I lost a lot of time. I lost around six seconds overall. My pace was actually very good and I had the rhythm to fight around P10 or P11, but I was already six seconds behind. I managed to overtake the Yamahas and catch the Hondas, but it was too late. I’m annoyed because I think we had the pace for a really good race, but everything changed in the blink of an eye. Pedro’s victory was very deserved. I think he could have won much earlier, but he built up his speed and finally got the result.”
Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “It was a difficult end to the weekend for both riders here in Austria. Enea finished 11th in the Sprint yesterday, and we know the main race is usually a little quicker, so we were hoping for a strong top-ten finish. Unfortunately, we ended up 11th again. On the other side of the garage, Pol finished 16th and just missed out on scoring points. He actually had a good race and was up in 13th early on, but battles with the other riders dropped him back. It leaves a bitter taste in our mouths, but Pol still had a strong weekend overall. I’d also like to congratulate KTM on a great job and Pedro Acosta on this fantastic victory. There was certainly potential for more from us this weekend, so we can only keep our heads down, continue working and try to improve for the next race in Japan in two weeks.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda HRC Castrol:
Sunday surge in Spielberg for Nakagami to lead Honda HRC Castrol home.
The cobwebs were blown off Takaaki Nakagami as he charged into the points at the Austrian GP, taking 13th and besting Luca Marini who ended the Grand Prix a place behind.
An intense weekend of work for the Honda HRC Castrol team came down to 28-laps on Sunday afternoon in the Austrian hills as both Honda RC213Vs lined up for Round 15 of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship. With both Takaaki Nakagami and Luca Marini having built steadily over the weekend for this moment, their targets were clear.
Takaaki Nakagami’s weekend has followed a clear trajectory throughout: upward. This progress would not halt on Sunday as the #30 put in a commendable ride from 18th to 13th, finishing just a tenth shy of Raul Fernandez. Having spent the vast majority of his time with the new 850cc project this year, the Austrian GP weekend’s performance demonstrates Nakagami’s deep connection with and understanding of the Honda RC213V having spent his entire Premier Class life with the machine. These are Nakagami’s first MotoGP points since he scored a sensational sixth at the French GP in 2025 held in mixed conditions. A perfect foundation for his home wildcard coming up in Motegi.
Sunday would be much more complicated than anticipated for Luca Marini, the Italian tangling with several riders in the first lap and losing important time early on. Keeping calm, he shifted his attentions to hunting down his rivals later in the race when they began to struggle with tyre life. This late charge saw Marini pass fellow Honda rider Diogo Moreira, the Italian trying to catch his teammate for the weekend Nakagami but ultimately unable to close the gap with just a handful of laps to go. Despite continuing his run of point-scoring finishes, Marini’s ambitions remain much higher than 14th place.
The Honda HRC Castrol team will remain at the Red Bull Ring for a one-day private test ahead of the new era of MotoGP starting in 2027. Afterwards, the MotoGP paddock will head for the Japanese GP – Honda HRC’s home race.
Takaaki Nakagami (30) in Austria. Photo courtesy Honda HRC.
Takaaki Nakagami: “A great result today, I am of course really happy with how we have worked as a team this weekend. In the Sprint we got some good information for today and made some changes, especially on the electronics side, to help us manage. 28 laps were really tough with the direction that we went, I had to be super precise, but I knew that in the second half of the race I would have more tyre. I wasn’t expecting to finish ahead of some of the riders I did, so we have to be pleased. Let’s keep raising the level in Motegi with the Test Team. Tomorrow, I go back to my ‘normal’ job – a very busy period now.”
Luca Marini (60) in Austria. Photo courtesy Honda HRC.
Luca Marini:“I had a lot of contact on the first lap, and I lost a lot of time, so I just focused on staying calm and managing everything for the last laps. Unfortunately, most people managed the situation, and we could not make as big of a late comeback as I was hoping for. We’ve worked a lot on the bike all weekend, right up until the race to try and find more grip in the rear. It didn’t work as we expected and it has been a tough Sunday. Congratulations to Taka, he showed his speed and put together a good weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Pro Honda LCR:
Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira finished 15th at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Brazilian Moreira was determined to bounce back from yesterday’s setback and give his best in the race.
Although he felt good during the morning warm-up and had a positive feeling on the bike, the rider admitted he did not have the same sensation during the race, struggling with the front end.
Battling until the very end, Moreira crossed the finish line in 15th place, securing one championship point.
Diogo Moreira (11) in Austria. Photo courtesy Honda LCR.
Diogo Moreira 15th:“The good feeling I had this morning wasn’t there during the race, even though we didn’t change anything. We are now trying to understand why I felt this way. In any case, I tried to overtake my rivals, push as hard as I could, and at least finish in the points. We learn from every situation, and we’ll try to come back stronger and do better in the next race.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Engage in Challenging Austrian Grand Prix Race.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins faced a difficult Grand Prix of Austria Race at Spielberg today. Quartararo spent nearly half of the 28-lap contest fighting inside the top 10 before tyre degradation gradually dropped him to 17th at the finish, while Rins wrapped up an overall tricky weekend with a 19th place.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo showed promising pace in the first half of the 28-lap the Grand Prix of Austria Race. He battled hard inside the top 10, while Álex Rins recovered positions after a difficult start. However, neither rider was ultimately able to challenge for points, with Quartararo finishing 17th and Rins crossing the line in 19th place.
Quartararo started from ninth on the grid and moved up to eighth on the opening lap. However, he was judged to have exceeded track limits in Turn 1 and gained an advantage, resulting in an instruction to drop one position. Losing another place in that same lap 2, the Frenchman fell to tenth before overtaking Fabio Di Giannantonio on lap 4 to reclaim ninth. Quartararo defended the position strongly for much of the race but lost out to the Italian on lap 14. As tyre degradation began to take its toll, he gradually slipped down the order and ultimately finished in 17th, 30.140s from the race winner.
Rins lined up in 20th and found himself in 22nd place in the early stages before passing Franco Morbidelli on lap 3. Overtaking Jack Miller four laps later moved him back into 20th position, and he gained another place when he passed Toprak Razgatlıoğlu on lap 9. With a sizeable gap to the riders ahead, the Spaniard focused on maintaining his rhythm. Álex Márquez’ crash on lap 13 promoted him to 18th, though Morbidelli later found a way through on lap 20. Rins continued to push until the chequered flag, taking 19th place, 34.413s from first.
After today’s Race, Quartararo remains 15th in the championship standings with 61 points, while Rins stays 20th with 24 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are 10th in the team classification with 85 points, and Yamaha hold 5th place in the constructor standings with 84 points.
The MotoGP paddock will now enjoy a one-week break before travelling to the Mobility Resort Motegi for the Grand Prix of Japan, taking place from 2-4 October.
Fabio Quartararo (20) in Austria. Photo courtesy Yamaha.
Fabio Quartararo:“I tried to stay with Pecco [Bagnaia] in the first laps, but I knew I was going to use a lot of my tyres and that it would be difficult to be inside the points today. Overall, I was happy with my qualifying this weekend, but in the Sprint – and also today in the Race – we had a lot of wheelspin. I tried my best. I preferred to push to the limit in the first ten laps, and I enjoyed the race until [Fabio] Di Giannantonio overtook me.”
Alex Rins (42) in Austria. Photo courtesy Yamaha.
Alex Rins: “I had two options in the beginning of the race: burn through the tyres and overtake the riders ahead of me and try to go, or wait to mid-race to overtake them and do my own pace. Our pace was not as expected. When I saw that Morbidelli was catching me, I was trying to analyse his riding and ride in a good way, but I couldn’t stay with him. So, overall, it was just a hard weekend for us.”
Massimo Meregalli – Team Director: “Today was a difficult race for us. Fabio had a strong first half and was fighting inside the top 10 despite losing positions early on after the track-limits penalty. He managed the situation well and was able to fend off Di Giannantonio for a long time, but tyre degradation became a significant factor in the second half of the race and prevented him from maintaining that position until the finish. Álex’ Race was similar to the Sprint: he lost some positions at the start. Though he made up places throughout the race, the final results do not fully reflect the effort from neither the riders, nor from the team this weekend. We will use the data gathered here to continue our work and prepare for Motegi – Yamaha’s home GP.”
More, from a press release issued by Prima Pramac Yamaha:
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP closes its most difficult weekend of the season.
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP endured a challenging Austrian Grand Prix, with Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Jack Miller struggling with the balance and tyre performance of the YZR-M1 throughout the weekend and finishing 20th and 21st respectively.
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP experienced its most difficult weekend of the season so far at the Red Bull Ring, with both riders facing a series of issues from the opening sessions that prevented them from extracting the full potential of the YZR-M1. Despite the continued efforts of the technical team to find solutions and provide both Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Jack Miller with a more consistent package for the race, the difficulties experienced throughout the weekend remained.
Both riders struggled from the early stages of the Grand Prix, with a significant drop in tyre performance becoming apparent within the opening laps and making it difficult to maintain a competitive pace. As a result, Razgatlıoğlu and Miller were unable to make the progress the team had hoped for and eventually crossed the finish line in 20th and 21st position respectively.
The result brings a difficult weekend to a close, but the information collected throughout the sessions will provide further data for the ongoing development of the YZR-M1 project. The team will now analyse the findings from Austria and continue working towards the next round of the championship, the Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi in two weeks‘ time, with the objective of turning the lessons learned into further steps forward.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (07) in Austria. Photo courtesy Pramac Yamaha.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: “I’m very frustrated because I still don‘t understand what happened today. Normally, with a new tyre, the first laps are when you have the most grip and can really push, but from the beginning I had almost no rear grip. I was already struggling in the first few laps, and every time I opened the throttle I was just spinning. It was very difficult to understand how I could manage the bike like that. Usually, if the tyre starts to drop after several laps, you can understand what is happening and adapt your riding. Today, I had the problem from the beginning, so I lost a lot of time straight away and could never find a good rhythm. I was basically just trying to finish the race because I was not enjoying riding the bike at all. I think it is not just one thing. We are missing a little bit of everything at the moment – physical grip, power delivery and electronics – and when you put all those small problems together, it becomes a much bigger issue. We need to understand exactly what happened because we cannot accept having this level of tyre performance from the first laps. It was a very difficult day, but now we need to analyse everything and understand how to avoid this situation again.”
Jack Miller (43) and Franco Morbidelli (21) in Austria. Photo courtesy Pramac Yamaha.
Jack Miller: “It’s honestly a pretty frustrating one, and I‘m disappointed with how the race went. I was able to hang in there reasonably well in the first part of the race, but from around lap 13 or 14 the tyre performance really started to drop and I struggled a lot with the rear. Once that happened, there was not much I could do. I was trying to pick the bike up and manage the acceleration, but I was still getting a lot of spin and losing time. It became more about trying to get the bike to the finish than fighting for the positions we wanted. It’s particularly frustrating because we have experienced something similar earlier in the season, so we need to understand why this is happening and what we can do differently. There are things we need to look at from this weekend, and we‘ll go through the data carefully and try to make sure we learn from it.”
Gino Borsoi:“It is clear that this has been the most difficult weekend of the season for us. We have struggled quite a lot from the first day, and unfortunately we were not able to make the improvements we were looking for. The combination of the problems we faced and the characteristics of this track exposed some of the difficulties we are still working through with this new project. We knew that engine performance would be one of our limitations here, but during the weekend we also understood that there are other areas we need to work on. Both Jack and Toprak suffered from a significant drop in tyre performance during the race, which made it very difficult to maintain a competitive pace. We have to take this weekend as an opportunity to learn. Now it is important to analyse the data carefully, understand exactly what we need to improve and find solutions for the next races. If we can make these steps forward, they can give us a significant improvement with this project. We are not going to get discouraged; we will learn from the difficulties we faced here and come back stronger.”
More, from a press release issued by BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha:
Izan Guevara Dominates Spielberg to Secure Crucial Austrian Grand Prix Victory.
BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2’s Izan Guevara delivered a commanding performance at the Grand Prix of Austria, securing his second victory of the 2026 season and the third Moto2 win of his career. Acting as the team’s sole representative after Alberto Ferrández was ruled out with a broken right collarbone, Guevara did so with flying colours, reducing the gap to the championship leader with a brilliant ride at Spielberg.
The BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 team enjoyed a memorable Sunday at Spielberg as Izan Guevara claimed a vital victory in the Grand Prix of Austria. Coming into the weekend 47.5 points adrift of the championship leader, the Spaniard knew the importance of maximising every opportunity in the title fight and converted his strong pace throughout the weekend into an outstanding win.
Guevara had a great launch from fifth on the grid and immediately joined the battle at the front of the field. The Spaniard quickly worked his way into second place before making a decisive move on Iván Ortolá at the start of lap 2 to take the lead. Once in front, Guevara steadily pulled clear of his rivals and established a comfortable advantage. A big moment at Turn 9 on lap 17 briefly threatened to derail his charge, but the 2022 Moto3 World Champion responded with a spectacular save. Regaining his rhythm almost immediately, he reeled off a series of consistent mid 1’33s laps to keep his pursuers at bay and secure a magnificent victory by 1.728s. The triumph marks Guevara’s second win of the season and the third Moto2 victory of his career.
Guevara remains second in the championship standings with 210 points and has cut the deficit to the series leader to 35.5 points. Ferrández sits in 21st overall with 17.5 points, while the BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 team holds third place in the team standings with 227.5 points.
Alberto Ferrández was unable to take part in the race after being declared unfit following a diagnosis of a broken right collarbone sustained on Saturday. After arriving in the hospital in Spain this morning he left a message to the team saying he was cheering on his teammate. Ferrández has since undergone surgery. He is doing well and is now focused on the next stage of his rehabilitation. The team wish him a speedy recovery and hope to have him back in the box soon.
The Moto2 paddock will now enjoy a one-week break before travelling to the Mobility Resort Motegi for the Grand Prix of Japan, taking place from 2-4 October.
Izan Guevara (28) in Austria. Photo courtesy BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha.
Izan Guevara:“I started the race trying to get to the front and push with a strong pace. I had spoken with the team before the race, and the target was to stay around the 1’32s–1’33s range throughout the race, which I felt very comfortable doing. I had a big moment at one point, but fortunately I managed to save it and stay focused on the race.
“We also decided to use the development front tyre. I had a really good feeling with it throughout the weekend, and compared with the standard tyre, it gave me more stability and good performance over the distance. That was important because it allowed me to reach the final laps with a tyre that was still working well and ready to fight.
“There are still a lot of races to go, so now it’s time to enjoy this moment and keep recovering points in the championship. I really like the next circuits as well, so the goal is to continue in the same way, enjoy the races, and keep fighting.”
Alex De Angelis – Team Manager: “First of all, I want to send a big hug to Alberto. We know that his surgery to repair the collarbone fracture went well, which is great news, and on behalf of myself and the whole team I want to wish him a very quick and complete recovery. We are all looking forward to having him back with us soon.
“As for Izan, today he did something truly exceptional. Once again, he managed to surprise us, and I think this is one of his greatest strengths. We know he is fast and we believe in him, but every time he manages to do something that even we didn’t expect. We knew we had a good package, that he likes this track, and that the heavy braking areas could suit him, but to see him win with such a gap to the others was something we could never have predicted.
“The pace he had was incredible, and he brought home some extremely valuable points for the championship. So, congratulations to the technicians, to Izan, and to everyone in the team. Alberto’s team were also on the grid today supporting Izan’s crew, which once again shows that we really are one big family.
“A big thank you to Pramac and Yamaha, and hopefully we can continue like this. Finally, I want to wish Izan a lot of fun tomorrow when he gets the opportunity to ride the MotoGP bike.”
Yamaha Motor Australia has announced its continued commitment to the development of Australian motorcycle racing talent, confirming the BLU CRU R3 Cup will feature prominently in the inaugural 2027 ASBK Summer Championship.
The BLU CRU R3 Cup, a cornerstone of Yamaha Australia’s circuit racing development pathway, will run across four rounds of the newly formatted ASBK Championship, which represents a major shift in the domestic racing calendar as ASBK transitions to a summer-based calendar.
The BLU CRU R3 Cup features riders on Yamaha YZF-R3s, complete with aspirations to follow in the footsteps of predecessors who have progressed to international competition.
BLU CRU R3 Cup calendar – 2027 ASBK Summer Championship
Round 1: One Raceway – December 4-6, 2026
Round 2: Queensland Raceway – January 15-17, 2027
Round 3: Phillip Island WorldSBK – February 19-21, 2027 (R3 Cup riders will compete in the ASBK Supersport 300 category, racing in the same race as SS300 competitors while scoring points for the R3 Cup.)
Round 4: Sydney Motorsport Park – March 19-20, 2027
The announcement comes as ASBK prepares for a transformative summer calendar, designed to align the championship with major international series and bring more fans to the trackside during favourable weather conditions.
“Yamaha Australia continues to invest in rider development and the BLU CRU R3 Cup provides the next vital step in a rider’s career after learning the ropes in the BLU CRU Oceania Junior Cup,” said Yamaha Motor Australia’s Motorsport Manager, Scott Bishop. “The BLU CRU R3 Cup is now a global Yamaha initiative that is run and contested in many countries as well as major racing championships in Europe and Asia.
“We look forward to seeing riders continue their passion of racing in the BLU CRU R3 Cup and hope to unearth some racing stars of the future.”
Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Doyle welcomed the confirmation of the BLU CRU R3 Cup’s inclusion in the inaugural summer championship.
“The BLU CRU R3 Cup has been a vital part of the ASBK landscape for nearly a decade, providing a genuine pathway for young riders to develop their skills on a national stage,” he said. “This is a tremendously exciting time for the ASBK Championship as it continues to evolve and push new boundaries, and we are thrilled to have Yamaha’s continued support as we embark on this new summer era.”
About Yamaha Motor Australia:
Yamaha Motor Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., and is responsible for the distribution of Yamaha motorcycles, marine products, power products, and related accessories throughout Australia.
About Motorcycling Australia:
Motorcycling Australia is the National Sporting Organisation and governing body for motorcycle sport as recognised by the Australian Sports Commission, responsible for the administration and promotion of motorcycle racing across the country.
About ASBK:
The Australian Superbike Championship is Australia’s premier national circuit racing series, featuring the nation’s best riders competing across multiple classes.
Circuit Ricardo Tormo to host the final round of the 2027 MotoGP World Championship on 26-28 November.
Ahead of the release of the full 2027 MotoGP calendar on Friday 25 September, MotoGP can confirm that the Valencia Grand Prix at Circuit Ricardo Tormo will be the season-ending round of the championship.
The announcement means the 2027 campaign will once again begin and end at two of the Championship’s most celebrated venues, with Thailand’s Buriram International Circuit already confirmed as the season opener (5-7 March) and Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo set to provide the stage for the season finale. Few venues are as synonymous with MotoGP season finales as Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Since first hosting the Championship, the venue has provided the backdrop for countless title deciders, unforgettable victories and defining moments in Grand Prix racing. Its unique stadium-style layout creates one of the sport’s most distinctive atmospheres, allowing fans to follow almost every corner of the action from their seats.
The confirmation comes as Valencia prepares to host the 2026 season finale later this year, with MotoGP set to take over the city through an expanded programme of fan activities and entertainment. From the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias to Marina Sur, fans will be able to experience MotoGP beyond the circuit, with the MotoGP Fan Fest bringing riders, entertainment and live music into the heart of the city. International DJ HUGEL will headline a special “HUGEL & Friends” event at Marina Sur as part of the weekend celebrations.
Carlos Ezpeleta, Deputy CEO of MotoGP, said: “There are few places that capture the spirit of a MotoGP season finale quite like Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The circuit, the city and the fans create a truly special atmosphere every year, making it the perfect venue to bring another season of world-class competition to a close. We’re delighted to confirm Valencia as the host of the 2027 finale.”
The President of the Valencia Government, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, has emphasised that this is “excellent news for Circuit Ricardo Tormo and for the whole of the Valencian Community. Hosting the final round of the MotoGP World Championship is a tribute to the event organisers and to our fans, who ensure that this Grand Prix continues to grow year on year.”
With the opening and closing venues now confirmed, anticipation continues to build ahead of the unveiling of the complete 2027 MotoGP World Championship calendar.
The full 2027 MotoGP World Championship calendar will be released on Friday 25 September at 12:00 (midday) CET.
Bryce Kornbau (17), leading Victor Perez deLeon (61), Owen Williams (13) and Joel Ohman (92) at the start of a CVMA Middleweight Shootout race in October 2025. Photo by Caliphotography.com/courtesy CVMA.
Last year, CVMA ran four CVMA Hooligans races per weekend. With participation continuing to grow, we’re adding a second class for the 2026–27 season: CVMA Streetfighters!
Both classes will follow the same rules, but racers will now have two separate championships to compete for. Each class will run one race per day.
Friday Practice Timing
To improve safety and better balance our Friday Practice groups, transponders will now be required for all Friday Practice participants.
Rental transponders will be available Friday mornings.
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team Wins The Bol D'Or And The 2026 Fim Endurance World Championship. Photo courtesy EWC.
Le Castellet — The 89th Bol d’Or has concluded at Circuit Paul Ricard, and with it the 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship season. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team won the 24-hour race and claimed the world title by four points, the first FIM EWC crown for the German manufacturer and the first won aboard a European bike.
The #37 BMW M 1000 RR of Markus Reiterberger, Steven Odendaal and Michael van der Mark covered 742 laps (a new record at the Bol d’Or), finishing one lap clear of the #12 Suzuki of Yoshimura SERT Motul and two ahead of the #1 Yamaha of the YART Yamaha Official EWC Team.
The outcome carried particular weight for the Belgian-based squad. Twelve months earlier, at the same circuit, the same machine had been half an hour from the title when a mechanical failure ended its race. This time the M 1000 RR ran the full distance without a setback.
Starting from pole position, the #37 was briefly headed at the Le Mans-style start by Gregg Black on the Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki, then regained the lead on the opening lap. The early hours produced a sustained fight with the #5 Honda of F.C.C. TSR Honda France, settled by fuel range and pit-stop efficiency: BMW ran longer stints and completed the 24 hours with 36 minutes 26 seconds of cumulative pit-lane time across 26 stops, the lowest figure among the leading entries. It led both intermediate classifications, taking the maximum 10 points at eight hours and again at 16 hours.
Yoshimura SERT Motul, three-time consecutive winner of the event, moved from fifth in the opening hour to second overnight, passing the YART Yamaha and then the F.C.C. TSR Honda. Gregg Black, Etienne Masson and Dan Linfoot finished second, one lap down, and took third in the final standings.
Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Leandro Mercado recovered from a difficult opening lap that dropped the reigning Champions outside the top 15. The #1 Yamaha ran fourth for much of the race before inheriting third place in the closing hours when the #5 Honda was delayed by a crash at Turn 1 and an eight-minute repair. The podium was not enough to retain the title, which YART lost by four points after winning it by one in 2025.
F.C.C. TSR Honda France finished fourth, six laps down, with Corentin Perolari setting the fastest lap of the race at 1’52.320 (181.8 km/h). Kawasaki Webike Trickstar completed the EWC top five.
Among the retirements were ERC Endurance #6, out after 629 laps, and the AutoRace Ube Racing Team, whose BMW was withdrawn following a fire in the sixth hour. 36 of the 56 starters were classified.
Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST won the Superstock class and the FIM Endurance World Cup. Photo courtesy EWC.
FIM Endurance World Cup: Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST takes the title
Wójcik Racing Team #77 SST won the Superstock class and the FIM Endurance World Cup by four points. Jordi Torres Fernandez, Milan Pawelec, Mateusz Molik and Hector Garzo Vicent brought the #77 Honda home sixth overall on 717 laps, ahead of the #36 Yamaha of 3ART Best Of Bike Hamaguchi and the #44 Honda of Honda No Limits.
Champion-Hert Powered by MRP, which led the class and the standings for most of the weekend, lost more than two hours in the garage overnight and finished eleventh in class. The Belgian team ends the season second, four points behind. Honda takes the Superstock manufacturers’ classification.
FIM Endurance World Trophy: Legacy Competition confirms
Audemar Motoclub Gemenos won the Production class in front of its home crowd, with Bastien Vigne, Arnaud Dejean, Quentin Benslimane and Tony Guerrero completing 666 laps. Legacy Competition finished second, two laps behind, which was enough to secure the FIM Endurance World Trophy with 134 points to 115 for ARTEC #199, third on the road and second in the standings. Yamaha wins the Production manufacturers’ classification.
Team Metiss took the Experimental class honours.
Manufacturers’ classification
Yamaha wins the 2026 FIM EWC manufacturers’ classification with 179 points, ahead of BMW on 167 and Honda on 141.
The 2027 FIM Endurance World Championship season opens with the 24 Heures Motos at the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, from 8 to 11 April.
What they said…
EWC – Winner: BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team
Michael van der Makr: “This year, Werner, the team and BMW took another step forward. They were already really good before, but now they have reached the next level. We riders, Markus, Steven and I, always helped and pushed each other. We were unlucky at Le Mans, but after that the victory at Spa and the podium at Suzuka were something special. Here, we had to take pole position and win – and that’s exactly what we did. Of course, sometimes you also need a bit of luck, but BMW, Werner and the team had that on their side this year. I’m really happy!”
Steven Odendaal: “I couldn’t be happier. We have been trying to win this World Championship for a very long time. To lose it the way we did last year was simply heartbreaking. That makes winning it this year all the more special. We are three very strong riders in a fantastic team. Werner, his team and the guys at BMW have done an incredible job. The bike is truly amazing. Thank you very much to everyone who made this possible.”
Markus Reiterberger: “Finally, we have done it. Last year we had a bit of bad luck, so I was a little nervous during the final stint, but in the end, it worked out. I’m so happy for my team-mates: they were incredibly strong, just like the whole team. I don’t know how long I’ve been racing in this series with BMW, and I can hardly put into words how we feel now. I’m so grateful to everyone – and now let’s celebrate.”
Warner Daemen (Team Manager): “It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts. We started this project together with BMW seven or eight years ago, and we knew it would be difficult to compete against the Japanese manufacturers because they have much more experience. They started back in the 1970s. As a young brand in this racing scene, which came here in 2019, we naturally had a lot of smaller problems. We built something up – and that is a very important point: we didn’t just build the best motorcycle, we also built the best team. And together with BMW, with the hard work and the good equipment they provide us with, we were truly at the top this year. I am very proud to have won the title for BMW.”
Stephen Pettinger (736), Jeff Hargis (84), and Brady Ingles (1D). Photo BY Craig Chawla.
AHRMA Vintage Cup Returns: Formula 750 named featured class for the 2027 season.
(September 21, 2026, Knoxville, TN) The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is proud to announce Formula 750 as the featured class for the 2027 Vintage Cup. The big four-strokes that remade American road racing — Honda Fours, BSA and Triumph Triples, Norton twins, Harley-Davidson XR750s, Ducati V-twins and their period works replicas — will take center stage at every AHRMA National road race next season.
Sponsored by Roadracingworld.com and NYC Norton (nycnorton.com), AHRMA’s 2027 Vintage Cup features Formula 750: fully GP-kitted four-stroke machines of up to four cylinders, manufactured as 600–750 cc and built prior to December 31, 1972, and like design. It is a second Vintage Cup turn for a class first featured in 2023.
“Formula 750 is the sound and silhouette of road racing’s big-bike revolution,” says Kenny Cummings of NYC Norton, Vintage Cup sponsor. “These are the bikes that came out of showrooms and factory race shops and changed everything from Daytona to the Isle of Man. Whether you’ve got a BSA/Triumph Triple or Twin, a CR750-based racer, a well-tuned Norton, BMW, an XR750, or Ducati V-twin, 2027 is the year to get it out of the shop and onto the grid. Formula 750 already proved it can fill a Vintage Cup paddock as we saw in 2023. Let’s do it again — louder.”
Typical AHRMA Formula 750 grids include BSA Rocket 3 and Triumph Trident works racers and replicas, Honda CR/RC750 kit machines, Harley-Davidson XR750s (iron and alloy), Norton John Player and FIM production racers, Ducati works V-twins, Laverda SFCs, BMW works bikes, MV 750 fours, Rickman and Seeley specials, Yamaha XS650s, and more.
“Formula 750 captures the moment American road racing became a worldwide prize,” said Leasha Overturf, AHRMA’s Road Race Director. “These machines were the proving ground for factories, tuners and riders who rewrote what a production-based racer could do. Showcasing them in the Vintage Cup honors that legacy and gives today’s racers and fans the chance to see — and hear — the 750s that defined an era.”
“AHRMA continues to do the sport a great service by running a series for people to ride historic race bikes on the track, where they can be seen and heard in action. Roadracing World is happy to be involved with the Vintage Cup program again in 2027. Now go out and have fun on old bikes!” said John Ulrich, Founder & Editor of Roadracing World.
The Vintage Cup will be highlighted during and after each of the 2027 AHRMA National road races. Added enhancements for the 2027 season include:
Enhanced trophies throughout the season.
Special awards for series champion.
Articles and photos on Roadracingworld.com to spotlight the class.
Roadracing World print magazine enhanced exposure for AHRMA and Formula 750.
Discounted race entry fees.
Racer spotlight features in AHRMA MAG.
Class champion on the cover of the AHRMA MAG.
Motorcycles eligible for AHRMA’s Formula 750 class include fully GP-kitted four-stroke machines of up to four cylinders, manufactured as 600–750 cc and built prior to December 31, 1972, and like design. A complete list and technical requirements appear in the AHRMA Handbook, Section regarding Formula 750 (www.ahrma.org/ahrma-handbook).
Technical journalist Kevin Cameron, whose full history of the class appeared in a recent issue of AHRMA MAG, traces Formula 750 to Dick Mann’s 1970 Daytona 200 win on a race-prepared Honda CB750 — the moment a new kind of big-bike racing arrived in America.
Honda’s 1969 CB750 Four, Britain’s 750 twins and triples, and Harley-Davidson’s coming XR750 collided with a booming U.S. market. Sales doubled from 1965 to 1970 and doubled again by 1974. At the AMA’s December 1968 Competition Congress, Triumph and Harley pushed the top class to a straight 750 cc for 1970. Daytona became the most important motorcycle race in the world. Europe followed with the Imola 200 and Paul Ricard 200.
The four-strokes that started it — Mann’s Honda, the BSA Triple that gave him a last British win in 1971, the iron XR750 that overheated at Daytona then became a dirt-track legend in alloy form, plus Norton, Ducati, Laverda and the works replicas — are the machines AHRMA Formula 750 still races. Vintage Cup 2027 is for the Fours, Triples, twins and V-twins built before the end of 1972.
Whether you have a Triple or a Four, a Norton twin or an XR750, a works replica or a production racer — bring it out for the 2027 Vintage Cup.
About AHRMA:
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to competing on fantastic classic and true vintage machines along with a wide range of modern motorcycles. With almost 3,000 members, AHRMA is the largest vintage racing group in North America and one of the biggest in the world. The association has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the increasing interest in classic bikes.
SuperMoto racing was included in AFM's Round 1 of 2026, at Thunderhill. Photo by Max Klein/Oxymoron Photography.
The 400-ish GP is back for Round 5 at Thunderhill — and it might be the most fun race in America.
When we debuted it, the 400-ish GP brought out the largest grid with 62 riders, and we’re trying to make it even bigger this time.
Thunderhill Raceway Park
September 26-27
AFM Round 5
400-ISH GP
400-ish GP Race Rules
Race:
Race will be 6 lap sprint at end of day Saturday if time allows.
There will be one wave.
Experts and novices will race together in the same race.
Grid spots will be given at tech.
Race will have no trophies and no points.
Requirements of Rider:
Must currently have or have had an AFM race license. If rider does not have a current license, they may purchase a single race license for $5. This license is only good for the 400-ish GP. All race practice and other races will still require a standard AFM license.
Requirements of Motorcycle:
Motorcycle must be 457cc or less. Bring your supermotos!
Motorcycle must have water or non-glycol coolant.
Motorcycle must have oil drain bolt safety wired or RTV’d.
All mirrors, lights, and turn signals must be removed or taped over.
Motorcycle must have numbers.
No other safety wire will be required.
All other modifications and body work will be allowed for the race only.
The bike must meet full tech requirements for any other races and practice.
Jason Pridmore follows a student at one of his JP43 Training events at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. Photo by Caliphotography.com, courtesy JP43 Training.
By Jason Pridmore:
The new season has arrived. Can hardly wait to get back out to @chuckwallavalleyraceway with everyone again this fall/winter. We will be riding once again with our friends from @socaltrackdays (Race Pace) & @racersedgeperformance. Whether you are a track-day rider or you want to tune yourself up for @cvmaracing, we are here to help. We offer military and cvma racer discounts. Look forward to seeing you all soon.
Pedro Acosta (37) in Austria. Photo courtesy Mat Oxley.
By Mat Oxley:
When most people picture the landlocked mountains of Austria, the last thing they think of is shark attacks. So imagine our surprise when we saw the Shark gobble up the competition this week at Red Bull Ring, even devouring Jorge Martin whole.
The Shark in question is, of course, Pedro Acosta driving that giant hammerhead of a KTM. He dominated the training on Friday, screwed it up dramatically on Saturday during the sprint and then came back swinging today, earning KTM its first victory on a dry track in half a decade. But how did he do it?
Enter Mat and Peter, who’ve got some theories. See, one thing that makes sharks so special is that evolution doesn’t seem to have changed them much this aeon. They found something that worked a long time ago, and it works still. Only in this case we’re not talking about a Great White’s scary sense of smell or rotating revolver teeth; we’re looking at an oldschool racing bike which still allows you to go completely apeshit on the front when entering corners. Combine that fact with the nature of this track, and it might be accurate to state that this is the first time we’ve seen Acosta on equal machinery.
God knows we’d like to see it more often!
Meanwhile Jorge Martin seems to have taken over from Marquez in the tournament standing, bringing some seriously competitive heat to the next few races. Exciting times, no doubt.
Just watch out for blood in the water, or we might end up needing a bigger boat bike!
*If there was ever a time to quote from Spielberg, wouldn’t it be when racing here?
Want more? Visit our website or support us on Patreon. With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman’s Dub Club for writing our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!
Oh, and a quick word in regards to sponsors:
If you’re interested in connecting with a really unique MotoGP audience — we’re working with Smash Brand Group out of Sydney to manage partnerships. Curious? Just head to smashbrandgroup.com.au and get in touch!
British Superbike race start in Assen. Photo courtesy BSB.
BSB battle royale as Redding and Ryde share wins in dramatic Showdown opener.
Scott Redding and Kyle Ryde shared the victories in a dramatic opening round of the 2026 British Superbike Championship Showdown at the TT Circuit Assen, with the final race of the day delivering a hallmark finish at The Cathedral of Speed as Ryde, Redding and Bradley Ray went head-to-head in an intense three-way battle.
The opening race of the day began in dramatic style when Rory Skinner had an oil cooler pipe failure on the Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha during the warm up lap, which sent him crashing out delaying the race start for a clean-up operation.
When the race got underway, Redding instantly hit the front of the pack ahead of Ryan Vickers, Ray and Ryde, but the defending champion was instantly fighting and he made a move on both his rivals on the opening lap.
Redding was again holding off his closest championship rivals, but on lap seven, Ryde was cautious of a change of conditions and Ray seized the advantage to take second. Light rain then began and the race was subsequently red flagged, with Redding, Ray and Ryde claiming the podium positions.
Vickers had another strong race in fourth place for Honda Racing UK with Max Cook completing the top five on the AJN Steelstock bimota.
The stage was set for a race three thriller and the TT Circuit Assen delivered as Ryde retaliated with a sensational victory, beating Ray and Redding to the chequered flag after a thrilling final-lap battle that went down to the wire at the iconic final chicane.
At the start of the race, Vickers had grabbed the lead, but Ryde was determined to return to winning ways and he instantly made a pass to hit the front of the field. The Honda Racing UK rider was then under pressure from Ray and Redding, with the McAMS Yamaha contender moving second on lap fourth.
By lap six, Ryde and Ray were duelling for the advantage, trading places throughout the laps, whilst Redding had his sights on joining the battle after he made a move into third on Vickers on the tenth lap.
Ryde and Ray continued to switch the lead and with five laps to go, the pair were trading blows in the battle for victory, but they then had to contend with Redding. Ray and Ryde had both taken the lead on the penultimate lap and it was going down to the wire in a traditional battle at the TT Circuit Assen.
Kyle Ryde (1) and Scott Redding (45) in Assen. Photo courtesy BSB.
Ryde started the final lap in the lead with Redding then making his move on Ray to claim second position and then with his sights set on making it a treble. The Hager PBM Racing Team rider made a move down the inside into the Chicane and was able to stay just ahead of Ryde, but on the exit, the rear tyre stepped out and Redding had to save it and lost drive.
Ryde was able to reclaim the lead to take the chequered flag first to return to the top step for the first time since race one at Thruxton, whilst Ray seized the advantage on the drag to the line to take second from Redding.
Vickers had another strong points scoring weekend in fourth place with Max Cook completing the top five for AJN Steelstock bimota, after his teammate Joe Talbot retired from the final race of the weekend.
Leon Haslam delivered another gritty performance to finish sixth after starting 22nd on the grid on the Moto Rapido Racing Ducati after he was forced out of race two on the warm up lap.
Skinner also battling through after his dramatic warm up lap crash in race two to take seventh as the BSB Showdown now heads to Donington Park for the penultimate round of the season.
British Superbike Championship, TT Circuit Assen, Race 2 result:
Kyle Ryde (1) and Scott Redding (45) in Assen. Photo courtesy BSB.
Kyle Ryde – Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing Ducati:
“I think it was my best start of the weekend in race three! I settled in behind Ryan, well I say settled in, I passed him first lap into the last corner and I got my head down! I tried to not win the race in those first laps, but make it easier for us three to get to the end.
“I did a few fast laps and it was a very fun race to be a part of. I just didn’t want to sit behind for any sort of half a lap because it was obvious Brad was going to be faster than me in some parts and I didn’t want to play cat and mouse.
“As in he would pull two tenths and then catch it back and the Scott catches me, so whenever he passed me I just went back, which made the lap time a lot slower. I just tried to keep fighting to get myself to the front.
“I wasn’t looking at the pit board and before you know it there was three laps to go and I went so defensive everywhere. As Scott said, the physical side was probably not there because the lap time wasn’t there, but it was a great race to be a part of. To beat Scott in one of the races after the weekend he’s had was a good feeling.”
Scott Redding – Hager PBM Racing Team:
“Race two was good, I didn’t feel that good with grip, but it was hard because of the track conditions. I didn’t really want to lead the race when it was changing, but I am just happy to have taken that win. It was a good call on the red flag and then I felt ready to go again in race three.
“Race three physically that was the easiest race for me, mentally one of the hardest trying to overtake! It took me forever to get past Ryan and I kept saying to myself “just be patient, just be patient”.
“I was getting a bit impatient! I just had to try to make unconventional moves and try and do stuff that I wouldn’t really expect myself to do. Everyone was riding so good that it was so hard, and then when Brad and Kyle started battling, I thought “I need to look at this as a three way battle and not a two way battle”.
“I don’t know what happened but I ended up second at the last chicane and I thought “right I’ve got to go”, but Kyle’s bike’s just really good at getting off the corners. On the last lap, I just thought “the championship is on the line, I have to win”.
“At that point I thought the only place I could do it is into the last chicane, but I had a bit of a big slide out of right coming back towards the stadium section and a gap was there. I thought “man, what you gonna do now”. I just went very late on the brakes and just fully committed to it and Kyle was protecting and going wider and wider!
“I said “when he brakes, I just have to brake after” so that is what I did! I went sideways going in and I lost the front. I was so eager to get on the gas, I had a bit of a slide then a wheelie, just thinking “get to the finish line” and then I saw Brad fully lent over!
“To be fair you lose a race like that battling for a championship, I still go home happy, I thought “you know what, we put on a spectacular show and that is what people want.”
Pedro Acosta (37) leading Jorge Martin (89) and Marco Bezzecchi (72) in Austria. Photo courtesy MotoGP.
The MotoGP Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Austria is in the books, with Pedro Acosta taking his first MotoGP victory ahead of Jorge Martin, while Marco Bezzecchi completed the podium for Aprilia Racing. Read the teams’ post-race PR below.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM:
Victory! Acosta makes a MotoGP breakthrough with Austrian Grand Prix success.
Red Bull KTM won the 2026 Austrian MotoGP as Pedro Acosta controlled proceedings from early race distance and clinched the first premier class checkered flag of his career and the first for the factory this season. The Austrian Grand Prix provided home ground for Red Bull KTM and was a showcase for the speed and talents of Acosta but also a strong result for Brad Binder in 6th as KTM sealed the Moto3™ Constructors Championship on the same day as the KTM GP Academy registered a podium double.
Highlights and key moments from race day at Red Bull Ring
Pedro Acosta wins at Red Bull Ring. The triumph represents KTM’s third at the circuit and the first in MotoGP since 2022. The Spaniard now has five trophies and three in a row this season and has moved up to 4th in the championship
6th and a hard-won 10 points for Brad Binder as the South African logs his highest classification of the season
Enea Bastianini rides to 11th in Austria as Pol Espargaro takes 16th
2nd and 3rd position in Moto3 as Brian Uriarte finishes runner-up ahead of Alvaro Carpe
Beñat Fernandez is the 2026 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup champion after 4th position in the finale for the series
A sun-kissed Red Bull Ring shone brightly for the last European Grand Prix before the flyway sequence of the 2026 calendar. Red Bull KTM took to the MotoGP grid for 28 laps with Pedro Acosta on the front row, Brad Binder in P11, Pol Espargaro, deputizing for Maverick Viñales for the third race in a row, in P14 and Enea Bastianini in P17.
Acosta, who had been a fraction of a second from Pole Position on Saturday and led the majority of the Sprint, barged into the top three from the second circulation. He hassled the rear wheel of Jorge Martin until he was able to take lead on lap 8 and then managed the distance over his pursuers. Pedro crossed the line a second ahead of Martin to join Miguel Oliveira (2020) and Brad Binder (2021) as KTM RC16 Grand Prix winners in Spielberg. The landmark was also notable for the Spaniard, nearly three seasons into his MotoGP career and after 56 starts on Austrian technology.
Binder scorched to the top six after five laps. The South African then found 5th at mid-race distance and engaged in more battling Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia. Brad persisted with his pace, the only rider with the soft front tire choice and grabbed 6th for his efforts.
Bastianini grabbed a few positions at the outset and pushed all race to try and breach the top ten. He was just 0.3 of a second away at the end and classified 11th. Espargaro was bustled by others on the first lap and lost some time but rallied to 16th and only just missed out on GP points.
MotoGP enters a 2027 test at the Red Bull Ring on Monday before boxing-up for the flyaways to Japan, Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia in the coming weeks.
Pedro Acosta (37) and Jorge Martin (89) in Austria. Photo courtesy KTM.
Pedro Acosta, 1st and 4th in the championship:“The first one is always special, and in front of so many Austrian fans. There were many KTM t-shirts and I’m so happy for the team, they deserve it more than me. I had many good people around yesterday when I f**ked up. This result was amazing.”
Brad Binder (33) in Austria. Photo courtesy KTM.
Brad Binder, 6th and 13th in the championship: “Overall, I’d say a successful weekend here in Red Bull Ring and I’m happy to have got my best finish of the year. I would have liked to have been a bit further up the grid but I did my best. Happy with the pace we were able to put together and happy with the work by the team. Well done to them, and also to Pedro on his first victory; I’m sure it’s the first of many.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Super-special day. We had some challenges this summer and if we think about the last two years there have been hard moments and good moments and I cannot say how grateful I am for everybody who is in the process. We have such a good project with many great, passionate and professional people around…and when you have a rider like Pedro, this is what you can expect. From Friday we could see the bike, the track and maybe the tire compound suited us – both riders – and we went to the maximum. We had some disappointment yesterday but today we took our chance. Pedro was a 16-year-old when I started working with him and we won Moto3 in the first season. It’s been a great road since. I feel there is the chance to learn from every rider and we’re thankful to him and that kind of talent.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “Big emotions. We have come out of some tough moments since 2024. The company is back in shape…but we also had our issues on the track this summer: we responded from those with 2nd in Aragon, 3rd in Misano and then winning our home Grand Prix. It is something we could not have imagined a few weeks ago. I’m so happy for the team, for the factory and I also want to give this as a present to all KTM because we all fought to come out of a crisis. We are back. This is what we are fighting for. I am the happiest man and this is the happiest team on the planet. Thanks to KTM, thanks to them and thanks to Pedro who is an amazing rider.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Racing:
Double podium for Aprilia Racing for the long race in Austria.
The weekend in Austria ended with another podium for the Aprilia Racing factory riders after the one they earned in the sprint race.
Jorge Martín had an outstanding start from pole position, maintaining first place when the red lights went out. The Spanish rider then rode his RS-GP26 to a second-place finish when the chequered flag came out. With his win in the sprint race on Saturday, Martín had taken back the championship lead, and at the end of the Austrian GP, he remains at the top of the standings with 286 points.
Marco Bezzecchi also had an extraordinary start from the fourth spot on the grid, moving into second place straight away. The Italian rider then finished third, finishing up a weekend of podium placements after taking third in the sprint race.
Finishing fourth was Ai Ogura, with the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team, back after his injury to repeat the result of the sprint race. This gave Aprilia three RS-GP26 machines in the top four positions.
Aprilia Racing closes out the weekend in Austria with their first double podium ever on the Spielberg track, both in the sprint race and in the long race, as well as another significant result – four consecutive pole positions taken in Silverstone, Aragón, Misano, and Austria – a milestone which the Noale-based manufacturer had never before.
Jorge Martin (89) in Austria. Photo courtesy Aprilia.
Jorge Martin: “It was a great weekend. Getting back to this level of speed and having good fitness after the doubts in Misano make me extremely happy. I wanted to fight for the win, but battling with Pedro was quite difficult, although I tried all the way to the end.”
Marco Bezzecchi (72) in Austria. Photo courtesy Aprilia.
Marco Bezzecchi: “We truly achieved the maximum, and I’m pleased with the way I improved throughout the weekend. My performance wasn’t bad on Friday, but I wasn’t on par with the leaders. Saturday, we managed to remediate, even with a bit of luck. In the race, on the other hand, I think it was truly a good result. At the end, I got very close to Jorge. I may have missed the opportunity to try and overtake on turn 1 because of a small mistake, but in any case, I gave it one hundred percent.”
Massimo Rivola – CEO Aprilia Racing: “Congratulations to Pedro and KTM for their first win. I know how satisfying it is to achieve that in a home race. It was a great weekend for us, where Marco demonstrated growth and consistency, and Jorge showed us – especially on Saturday – a ride truly worthy of a World Champion. The road is still long, and our rivals are extremely strong, especially for the next round in Motegi, so we had better get to work straight away. We have an important test tomorrow with the Pirelli tyres on the 850cc and we also need to work to be competitive on a tough track.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Lenovo Team:
Marc Márquez and the Ducati Lenovo Team secure fifth place in Austria. Francesco Bagnaia finishes seventh.
The Ducati Lenovo Team completed the Grand Prix of Austria, host of the fifteenth event of the season. At the Austrian Ring, Marc Márquez finished the race in fifth position, while Francesco Bagnaia was seventh.
Márquez, after a good start, lost three positions on the opening lap to find himself in fifth place. He then managed to get up to speed a few laps later, moving up to fourth position. On lap ten, however, he ran wide, which made him lose his rhythm momentarily as he dropped down to seventh. Marc ultimately managed to bounce back to a fifth-place finish. Bagnaia moved up one place at the start and showed a good pace in the early stages. After dropping down to eighth, Pecco finished seventh.
As the fifteenth Grand Prix of the season comes to a close, Marc Márquez is second in the championship standings with 294 points. Francesco Bagnaia is ninth, 138 points in arrears of his teammate. The Ducati Lenovo Team is second in the teams’ standings (450 points), while Ducati is also second in the constructors’ championship (432 points).
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action on Friday, October 2nd, for the opening day of the Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi.
Marc Márquez (93) in Austria. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 5th: “We struggled a bit this weekend. We still managed to be quick but unfortunately today in the race, already from lap one, I had some issues under braking, which made everything more complicated and prevented me from being consistent. In the end we were able to secure a fifth-place finish and I’m happy, because there was a moment in the race when I was very close to retiring. This weekend our opponents were quicker than us. We simply need to learn from it and make sure we’re ready for Motegi.”
Francesco Bagnaia (63) in Austria. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 7th: “Overall it was a good race, especially in light of the results from the previous three Grand Prix. It wasn’t easy, because conditions were different and we couldn’t find the right traction while losing a lot of grip at the same time. After five laps I decided to slow down my pace by half a second in order to arrive at the end in the best way possible. This allowed me to bridge the gap with Aldeguer and Binder in the final stages. Unfortunately, around lap six I started to have a small braking issue, which didn’t help in slowing down correctly. I still managed to react the proper way and finish in a crescendo.”
More, from a press release issued by BK8 Gresini Racing:
Fermin Aldeguer comes back, Alex Marquez crashes at Spielberg.
RACEDAY
ALEX MARQUEZ NC
FERMIN ALDEGUER 8º
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ALEX MARQUEZ 8º (158)
FERMIN ALDEGUER 10º (115)
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
BK8 GRESINI RACING 6º (282)
Alex Marquez on the grid in Austria. Photo courtesy Gresini.
Alex Marquez: “It’s a shame because, despite a difficult weekend, we had managed to find something that was helping me during the race. Unfortunately, I lost some time in a few battles and then made a mistake that compromised our Sunday. Now we have a week to recover, and then we’ll start thinking about Japan.”
Fermin Aldeguer (54) and Marc Marquez (93) in Austria. Photo courtesy Gresini.
Fermin Aldeguer: “We have to be satisfied. We made a good comeback after starting from the fourth row. We were fast, had a good pace, and fought with Marc for the position of best Ducati… As always, our weekends start off so-so with qualifying and then often improve. If we had started further up, who knows, but today we did well.”
More, from a press release issued by VR46 Racing Team:
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team ends Sunday’s race at Spielberg in ninth place with Fabio Di Giannantonio while Franco Morbidelli is eighteenth.
The Austrian GP – which marks the end of the European races before the Overseas – ended with a Top10 for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team thanks to Fabio Di Giannantonio’s ninth place. Franco Morbidelli crossed the finish line of the Spielberg race in eighteenth place.
Di Giannantonio had a good start from the third row which allowed him to gain a position. Fabio showed a good rhythm and fought with determination to stay in the first ten places. Despite the Spielberg circuit not being particularly well suited to him, the rider from Rome was able to hold his own, crossing the finish line in ninth place. Di Giannantonio is fifth in the World Standing with 230 points.
A difficult start from the seventh row forced Morbidelli to recover some places after losing two positions. Despite the difficulties which led him to the twenty-second place, Franco bounced back crossing the finish line of the Austrian GP in eighteenth place. Morbidelli is now sixteenth in the World Standing with 56 points.
The Austrian GP marks the end of the European leg of the season, and the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is back on track in two weeks for the Japanese GP, which will kick off the MotoGP Overseas from the 2nd to the 4th of October.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (49) in Austria. Photo courtesy VR46 Team.
Fabio Di Giannantonio: “Overall, it was a tough weekend, but this morning we made a change to improve the feeling of the rear grip and we made some steps forward for the race. This helped us, and in the first laps I was quite competitive, but then I started to struggle. We’re having some difficulties now, but the potential is very high and we are fast. We stay positive because we know we can come back to the top.”
Franco Morbidelli (21) in Austria. Photo courtesy VR46.
Franco Morbidelli: “It was a difficult race and a tough weekend overall. I was expecting more and I wasn’t as fast as I wanted. It’s hard to accept that, but this result will be useful to keep working even more deeply both with the Team and with Ducati to come back to the performances we can have. Anyway, I am lucky beacuse I have a special team, we try to work to come back in front and giving our best even more.”
Pablo Nieto: “Our weekend was harder than usual, but we knew it because we’ve always struggled here at Spielberg. However, I think we’ve been working well throughout all the weekend and we must understand what went wrong to avoid having the same issues. Anyway, in thie European leg there were many positives, we learned a lot and made steps forward. Now the Overseas is just around the corner, I think we can perform well there and we will be able to understand how to improve even more until the end of the season.”
More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda LCR:
Castrol Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finished 10th at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Frenchman Zarco struggled at the start and had to fight his way through the field to make progress.
Zarco managed to overtake several rivals and set his own pace while defending his position.
The rider crossed the finish line in 10th place, securing valuable points and gathering important data.
Johann Zarco (5) in Austria. Photo courtesy Honda LCR.
Johann Zarco 10th: “It was a great weekend overall. Today, 10th was the best we could do. The first lap was tricky, so I lost some positions trying to avoid contact. From there, I managed the tyres and tried to find the pace and make some overtakes. We did a good job, and I’m happy!”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Eleventh for Bastianini in intense Spielberg duel.
Enea Bastianini managed to gain six places at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday to finish eleventh, while Pol Espargaró recovered from contact with another rider to come home in 16th.
A modest attendance of 46,298 showed up at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday to watch Round 15 of the 2026 MotoGP™ World Championship, with the main event held over 28 laps.
Aiming for a place inside the top eight, Bastianini immediately gained ground in the early exchanges, moving from 17th on the grid to sit twelfth at the close of lap one.
Locked in a fight for ninth with Fabio Di Giannantonio, Johann Zarco, Fabio Quartararo and Raul Fernandez, ‘La Bestia’ didn’t have the confidence with the front end to make his usual Sunday fightback. In the end, he came home eleventh, less than two tenths off the final spot in the top ten.
Espargaró’s race was conditioned by an early moment at Turn 4. The Spaniard had gained a place to sit 13th on lap one, but a move to avoid Fernandez under braking on the third lap pushed him wide. Contact with another rider exiting the corner lost him further time. From there, the 35-year-old rose up from 18th to cross the line in 16th, just 0.2s off the points.
Red Bull KTM Tech3 now has a well-deserved weekend off before the Japanese Grand Prix (2-4 October), which marks the beginning of the flyaway tour.
Enea Bastianini (23) in Austria. Photo courtesy Tech3.
Enea Bastianini: “It was more or less like yesterday. I’m a bit surprised because this morning my feeling was better than the race. Looking at the data, we were comfortable with the soft front tyre but with the medium we suffered. It’s the first time we’ve really worked well with the soft, because usually it doesn’t work so well with our bike. But here, it was good for us. Unfortunately, it was impossible to use it in the race because once you are in the slipstream, it starts to move and becomes very critical. I was expecting a little more from the race, but it didn’t happen for us this time. But it happened for Pedro, who did an incredible race. I wish to say congratulations to him.”
Pol Espargaró (44) in Austria. Photo courtesy Tech3.
Pol Espargaró: “The start was actually good, but then I started fighting with the guys. Going into Turn 4, Raul (Fernandez) moved across under braking and I got caught in the slipstream, which pushed me almost onto the gravel. Then I was hit and the side of my aero was damaged, so I lost a lot of time. I lost around six seconds overall. My pace was actually very good and I had the rhythm to fight around P10 or P11, but I was already six seconds behind. I managed to overtake the Yamahas and catch the Hondas, but it was too late. I’m annoyed because I think we had the pace for a really good race, but everything changed in the blink of an eye. Pedro’s victory was very deserved. I think he could have won much earlier, but he built up his speed and finally got the result.”
Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “It was a difficult end to the weekend for both riders here in Austria. Enea finished 11th in the Sprint yesterday, and we know the main race is usually a little quicker, so we were hoping for a strong top-ten finish. Unfortunately, we ended up 11th again. On the other side of the garage, Pol finished 16th and just missed out on scoring points. He actually had a good race and was up in 13th early on, but battles with the other riders dropped him back. It leaves a bitter taste in our mouths, but Pol still had a strong weekend overall. I’d also like to congratulate KTM on a great job and Pedro Acosta on this fantastic victory. There was certainly potential for more from us this weekend, so we can only keep our heads down, continue working and try to improve for the next race in Japan in two weeks.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda HRC Castrol:
Sunday surge in Spielberg for Nakagami to lead Honda HRC Castrol home.
The cobwebs were blown off Takaaki Nakagami as he charged into the points at the Austrian GP, taking 13th and besting Luca Marini who ended the Grand Prix a place behind.
An intense weekend of work for the Honda HRC Castrol team came down to 28-laps on Sunday afternoon in the Austrian hills as both Honda RC213Vs lined up for Round 15 of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship. With both Takaaki Nakagami and Luca Marini having built steadily over the weekend for this moment, their targets were clear.
Takaaki Nakagami’s weekend has followed a clear trajectory throughout: upward. This progress would not halt on Sunday as the #30 put in a commendable ride from 18th to 13th, finishing just a tenth shy of Raul Fernandez. Having spent the vast majority of his time with the new 850cc project this year, the Austrian GP weekend’s performance demonstrates Nakagami’s deep connection with and understanding of the Honda RC213V having spent his entire Premier Class life with the machine. These are Nakagami’s first MotoGP points since he scored a sensational sixth at the French GP in 2025 held in mixed conditions. A perfect foundation for his home wildcard coming up in Motegi.
Sunday would be much more complicated than anticipated for Luca Marini, the Italian tangling with several riders in the first lap and losing important time early on. Keeping calm, he shifted his attentions to hunting down his rivals later in the race when they began to struggle with tyre life. This late charge saw Marini pass fellow Honda rider Diogo Moreira, the Italian trying to catch his teammate for the weekend Nakagami but ultimately unable to close the gap with just a handful of laps to go. Despite continuing his run of point-scoring finishes, Marini’s ambitions remain much higher than 14th place.
The Honda HRC Castrol team will remain at the Red Bull Ring for a one-day private test ahead of the new era of MotoGP starting in 2027. Afterwards, the MotoGP paddock will head for the Japanese GP – Honda HRC’s home race.
Takaaki Nakagami (30) in Austria. Photo courtesy Honda HRC.
Takaaki Nakagami: “A great result today, I am of course really happy with how we have worked as a team this weekend. In the Sprint we got some good information for today and made some changes, especially on the electronics side, to help us manage. 28 laps were really tough with the direction that we went, I had to be super precise, but I knew that in the second half of the race I would have more tyre. I wasn’t expecting to finish ahead of some of the riders I did, so we have to be pleased. Let’s keep raising the level in Motegi with the Test Team. Tomorrow, I go back to my ‘normal’ job – a very busy period now.”
Luca Marini (60) in Austria. Photo courtesy Honda HRC.
Luca Marini:“I had a lot of contact on the first lap, and I lost a lot of time, so I just focused on staying calm and managing everything for the last laps. Unfortunately, most people managed the situation, and we could not make as big of a late comeback as I was hoping for. We’ve worked a lot on the bike all weekend, right up until the race to try and find more grip in the rear. It didn’t work as we expected and it has been a tough Sunday. Congratulations to Taka, he showed his speed and put together a good weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Pro Honda LCR:
Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira finished 15th at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Brazilian Moreira was determined to bounce back from yesterday’s setback and give his best in the race.
Although he felt good during the morning warm-up and had a positive feeling on the bike, the rider admitted he did not have the same sensation during the race, struggling with the front end.
Battling until the very end, Moreira crossed the finish line in 15th place, securing one championship point.
Diogo Moreira (11) in Austria. Photo courtesy Honda LCR.
Diogo Moreira 15th:“The good feeling I had this morning wasn’t there during the race, even though we didn’t change anything. We are now trying to understand why I felt this way. In any case, I tried to overtake my rivals, push as hard as I could, and at least finish in the points. We learn from every situation, and we’ll try to come back stronger and do better in the next race.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Engage in Challenging Austrian Grand Prix Race.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins faced a difficult Grand Prix of Austria Race at Spielberg today. Quartararo spent nearly half of the 28-lap contest fighting inside the top 10 before tyre degradation gradually dropped him to 17th at the finish, while Rins wrapped up an overall tricky weekend with a 19th place.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo showed promising pace in the first half of the 28-lap the Grand Prix of Austria Race. He battled hard inside the top 10, while Álex Rins recovered positions after a difficult start. However, neither rider was ultimately able to challenge for points, with Quartararo finishing 17th and Rins crossing the line in 19th place.
Quartararo started from ninth on the grid and moved up to eighth on the opening lap. However, he was judged to have exceeded track limits in Turn 1 and gained an advantage, resulting in an instruction to drop one position. Losing another place in that same lap 2, the Frenchman fell to tenth before overtaking Fabio Di Giannantonio on lap 4 to reclaim ninth. Quartararo defended the position strongly for much of the race but lost out to the Italian on lap 14. As tyre degradation began to take its toll, he gradually slipped down the order and ultimately finished in 17th, 30.140s from the race winner.
Rins lined up in 20th and found himself in 22nd place in the early stages before passing Franco Morbidelli on lap 3. Overtaking Jack Miller four laps later moved him back into 20th position, and he gained another place when he passed Toprak Razgatlıoğlu on lap 9. With a sizeable gap to the riders ahead, the Spaniard focused on maintaining his rhythm. Álex Márquez’ crash on lap 13 promoted him to 18th, though Morbidelli later found a way through on lap 20. Rins continued to push until the chequered flag, taking 19th place, 34.413s from first.
After today’s Race, Quartararo remains 15th in the championship standings with 61 points, while Rins stays 20th with 24 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are 10th in the team classification with 85 points, and Yamaha hold 5th place in the constructor standings with 84 points.
The MotoGP paddock will now enjoy a one-week break before travelling to the Mobility Resort Motegi for the Grand Prix of Japan, taking place from 2-4 October.
Fabio Quartararo (20) in Austria. Photo courtesy Yamaha.
Fabio Quartararo:“I tried to stay with Pecco [Bagnaia] in the first laps, but I knew I was going to use a lot of my tyres and that it would be difficult to be inside the points today. Overall, I was happy with my qualifying this weekend, but in the Sprint – and also today in the Race – we had a lot of wheelspin. I tried my best. I preferred to push to the limit in the first ten laps, and I enjoyed the race until [Fabio] Di Giannantonio overtook me.”
Alex Rins (42) in Austria. Photo courtesy Yamaha.
Alex Rins: “I had two options in the beginning of the race: burn through the tyres and overtake the riders ahead of me and try to go, or wait to mid-race to overtake them and do my own pace. Our pace was not as expected. When I saw that Morbidelli was catching me, I was trying to analyse his riding and ride in a good way, but I couldn’t stay with him. So, overall, it was just a hard weekend for us.”
Massimo Meregalli – Team Director: “Today was a difficult race for us. Fabio had a strong first half and was fighting inside the top 10 despite losing positions early on after the track-limits penalty. He managed the situation well and was able to fend off Di Giannantonio for a long time, but tyre degradation became a significant factor in the second half of the race and prevented him from maintaining that position until the finish. Álex’ Race was similar to the Sprint: he lost some positions at the start. Though he made up places throughout the race, the final results do not fully reflect the effort from neither the riders, nor from the team this weekend. We will use the data gathered here to continue our work and prepare for Motegi – Yamaha’s home GP.”
More, from a press release issued by Prima Pramac Yamaha:
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP closes its most difficult weekend of the season.
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP endured a challenging Austrian Grand Prix, with Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Jack Miller struggling with the balance and tyre performance of the YZR-M1 throughout the weekend and finishing 20th and 21st respectively.
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP experienced its most difficult weekend of the season so far at the Red Bull Ring, with both riders facing a series of issues from the opening sessions that prevented them from extracting the full potential of the YZR-M1. Despite the continued efforts of the technical team to find solutions and provide both Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Jack Miller with a more consistent package for the race, the difficulties experienced throughout the weekend remained.
Both riders struggled from the early stages of the Grand Prix, with a significant drop in tyre performance becoming apparent within the opening laps and making it difficult to maintain a competitive pace. As a result, Razgatlıoğlu and Miller were unable to make the progress the team had hoped for and eventually crossed the finish line in 20th and 21st position respectively.
The result brings a difficult weekend to a close, but the information collected throughout the sessions will provide further data for the ongoing development of the YZR-M1 project. The team will now analyse the findings from Austria and continue working towards the next round of the championship, the Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi in two weeks‘ time, with the objective of turning the lessons learned into further steps forward.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (07) in Austria. Photo courtesy Pramac Yamaha.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: “I’m very frustrated because I still don‘t understand what happened today. Normally, with a new tyre, the first laps are when you have the most grip and can really push, but from the beginning I had almost no rear grip. I was already struggling in the first few laps, and every time I opened the throttle I was just spinning. It was very difficult to understand how I could manage the bike like that. Usually, if the tyre starts to drop after several laps, you can understand what is happening and adapt your riding. Today, I had the problem from the beginning, so I lost a lot of time straight away and could never find a good rhythm. I was basically just trying to finish the race because I was not enjoying riding the bike at all. I think it is not just one thing. We are missing a little bit of everything at the moment – physical grip, power delivery and electronics – and when you put all those small problems together, it becomes a much bigger issue. We need to understand exactly what happened because we cannot accept having this level of tyre performance from the first laps. It was a very difficult day, but now we need to analyse everything and understand how to avoid this situation again.”
Jack Miller (43) and Franco Morbidelli (21) in Austria. Photo courtesy Pramac Yamaha.
Jack Miller: “It’s honestly a pretty frustrating one, and I‘m disappointed with how the race went. I was able to hang in there reasonably well in the first part of the race, but from around lap 13 or 14 the tyre performance really started to drop and I struggled a lot with the rear. Once that happened, there was not much I could do. I was trying to pick the bike up and manage the acceleration, but I was still getting a lot of spin and losing time. It became more about trying to get the bike to the finish than fighting for the positions we wanted. It’s particularly frustrating because we have experienced something similar earlier in the season, so we need to understand why this is happening and what we can do differently. There are things we need to look at from this weekend, and we‘ll go through the data carefully and try to make sure we learn from it.”
Gino Borsoi:“It is clear that this has been the most difficult weekend of the season for us. We have struggled quite a lot from the first day, and unfortunately we were not able to make the improvements we were looking for. The combination of the problems we faced and the characteristics of this track exposed some of the difficulties we are still working through with this new project. We knew that engine performance would be one of our limitations here, but during the weekend we also understood that there are other areas we need to work on. Both Jack and Toprak suffered from a significant drop in tyre performance during the race, which made it very difficult to maintain a competitive pace. We have to take this weekend as an opportunity to learn. Now it is important to analyse the data carefully, understand exactly what we need to improve and find solutions for the next races. If we can make these steps forward, they can give us a significant improvement with this project. We are not going to get discouraged; we will learn from the difficulties we faced here and come back stronger.”
More, from a press release issued by BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha:
Izan Guevara Dominates Spielberg to Secure Crucial Austrian Grand Prix Victory.
BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2’s Izan Guevara delivered a commanding performance at the Grand Prix of Austria, securing his second victory of the 2026 season and the third Moto2 win of his career. Acting as the team’s sole representative after Alberto Ferrández was ruled out with a broken right collarbone, Guevara did so with flying colours, reducing the gap to the championship leader with a brilliant ride at Spielberg.
The BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 team enjoyed a memorable Sunday at Spielberg as Izan Guevara claimed a vital victory in the Grand Prix of Austria. Coming into the weekend 47.5 points adrift of the championship leader, the Spaniard knew the importance of maximising every opportunity in the title fight and converted his strong pace throughout the weekend into an outstanding win.
Guevara had a great launch from fifth on the grid and immediately joined the battle at the front of the field. The Spaniard quickly worked his way into second place before making a decisive move on Iván Ortolá at the start of lap 2 to take the lead. Once in front, Guevara steadily pulled clear of his rivals and established a comfortable advantage. A big moment at Turn 9 on lap 17 briefly threatened to derail his charge, but the 2022 Moto3 World Champion responded with a spectacular save. Regaining his rhythm almost immediately, he reeled off a series of consistent mid 1’33s laps to keep his pursuers at bay and secure a magnificent victory by 1.728s. The triumph marks Guevara’s second win of the season and the third Moto2 victory of his career.
Guevara remains second in the championship standings with 210 points and has cut the deficit to the series leader to 35.5 points. Ferrández sits in 21st overall with 17.5 points, while the BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 team holds third place in the team standings with 227.5 points.
Alberto Ferrández was unable to take part in the race after being declared unfit following a diagnosis of a broken right collarbone sustained on Saturday. After arriving in the hospital in Spain this morning he left a message to the team saying he was cheering on his teammate. Ferrández has since undergone surgery. He is doing well and is now focused on the next stage of his rehabilitation. The team wish him a speedy recovery and hope to have him back in the box soon.
The Moto2 paddock will now enjoy a one-week break before travelling to the Mobility Resort Motegi for the Grand Prix of Japan, taking place from 2-4 October.
Izan Guevara (28) in Austria. Photo courtesy BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha.
Izan Guevara:“I started the race trying to get to the front and push with a strong pace. I had spoken with the team before the race, and the target was to stay around the 1’32s–1’33s range throughout the race, which I felt very comfortable doing. I had a big moment at one point, but fortunately I managed to save it and stay focused on the race.
“We also decided to use the development front tyre. I had a really good feeling with it throughout the weekend, and compared with the standard tyre, it gave me more stability and good performance over the distance. That was important because it allowed me to reach the final laps with a tyre that was still working well and ready to fight.
“There are still a lot of races to go, so now it’s time to enjoy this moment and keep recovering points in the championship. I really like the next circuits as well, so the goal is to continue in the same way, enjoy the races, and keep fighting.”
Alex De Angelis – Team Manager: “First of all, I want to send a big hug to Alberto. We know that his surgery to repair the collarbone fracture went well, which is great news, and on behalf of myself and the whole team I want to wish him a very quick and complete recovery. We are all looking forward to having him back with us soon.
“As for Izan, today he did something truly exceptional. Once again, he managed to surprise us, and I think this is one of his greatest strengths. We know he is fast and we believe in him, but every time he manages to do something that even we didn’t expect. We knew we had a good package, that he likes this track, and that the heavy braking areas could suit him, but to see him win with such a gap to the others was something we could never have predicted.
“The pace he had was incredible, and he brought home some extremely valuable points for the championship. So, congratulations to the technicians, to Izan, and to everyone in the team. Alberto’s team were also on the grid today supporting Izan’s crew, which once again shows that we really are one big family.
“A big thank you to Pramac and Yamaha, and hopefully we can continue like this. Finally, I want to wish Izan a lot of fun tomorrow when he gets the opportunity to ride the MotoGP bike.”
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Kyle Ryde – Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing Ducati: 
Scott Redding – Hager PBM Racing Team: 
