Hager PBM Racing Team’s Scott Redding topped the times in a dramatic British Superbike Championship Pre-Qualifying session at the TT Circuit Assen ahead of tomorrow’s opening race of the 2026 Showdown.
Bradley Ray had been the rider with the target on his back after setting the pace in the two Free Practice sessions, but he crashed on his first flying lap of the session at turn 10. The McAMS Yamaha rider was able to return to the pitlane and was soon back on track and climbing back up the order. However, he could only end the session 11th on the times, but confirmed his position in tomorrow’s ROKiT Oxygen Performance Qualifying 2.
The session was red flagged with just over ten minutes remaining when defending champion Kyle Ryde then crashed out at turn 17, leaving gravel on the circuit. The Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing rider ended the session in seventh place, as he was unable to complete the remainder of the session.
Redding meanwhile was holding strong at the top of the times ahead of Jason O’Halloran and Ilya Mikhalchik, who both had their strongest session of the year so far and separated by just 0.001s, with the three locking out the leading positions at the chequered flag.
Ryan Vickers bounced back from a pair of tough Free Practice sessions following a technical issue and a crash to claim fourth place in the final session of the day, holding off AJN Steelstock bimota’s Max Cook.
Danny Kent again was again inside the top six for the Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha team, just 0.010s ahead of defending champion Ryde. Leon Haslam was eighth fastest for Moto Rapido Racing, with the top eight riders lapping within the existing circuit lap record.
Glenn Irwin held ninth place ahead of Joe Talbot with Ray and Storm Stacey completing the top 12 riders through to tomorrow’s ROKiT Oxygen Performance Qualifying 2 session.
British Superbike Championship, TT Circuit Assen, Pre Qualifying result:
Scott Redding (Hager PBM Racing Team) 1m:35.619s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing UK) +0.185s
Ilya Mikhalchik (ROKiT BMW Motorrad British Superbike Race team) +0.186s
“I’m happy to be honest, I have been focussing more on myself. I feel like after what happened at Thruxton kind of snowballed into Cadwell where I was just trying to do damage limitation. So here I’ve had a bit of a reset.
“This morning it took me a while to get going, but I found my rhythm, my grove, which was good and I just built on that throughout the day. I feel like today we got off on a good foot, which was nice and I just need to keep that stride going.
“I just need to stay calm and keep churning out the laps, keep the pressure on and keep consistent and see what happens in the race tomorrow.”
Eric Granado was fastest during FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Free practice 2 (FP1) Friday afternoon at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson on Dunlop control tires, the Brazilian rider covered the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) road course in 1:39.014, topping the field of 11 riders.
Oscar Gutierrez was the best of the rest with a 1:39.424 on his Niti Racing Harley-Davidson.
Eric Granado’s teammate, Archie Mcdonald, got third with a lap time of 1:39.490.
American Kyle Wyman got 7th with a lap time of 1:40.482 on his WEGNER X KWR Harley-Davidson and James Rispoli finished the session 8th with a time of 1:40.504 on his Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson.
Riding for Saddlemen Racing Harley-Davidson, American teammates Max Toth (1:39.512), Travis Wyman (1:40.334) and Jake Lewis (1:41.952) finished 5th, 6th, and 10th respectively.
Max Flinders got 9th on his ParkinGO TEAM Harley-Davidson with a lap time of 1:41.900.
Pedro Acosta led MotoGP World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16 on spec Michelin tires, the Spaniard turned a lap time of 1:28.381 to lead the 22-rider field.
Fermin Aldeguer was the best of the rest with a 1:28.508 on his BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP26.
Ai Ogura was third at 1:28.568 on his SuperFile Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP26.
Seven-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez finished the session fourth with a 1:28.585 on hisLenovo Ducati Desmosedici GP26.
Jorge Martin, piloting his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26, finished the practice session in fifth with a lap time of 1:28.603.
Acosta unbeatable in Austria for Friday honours at Red Bull Ring. In good form ahead of the round and untouchable on the opening day, The Shark seems to have plenty of bite this weekend and is ready to lock horns in Spielberg.
Giving KTM fans and bosses exactly what they wanted to see, the Austrian manufacturer’s homecoming has got off to a dream start with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completing a Friday clean sweep at the Red Bull Ring. A 1’28.381 sealed the deal as the #37’s latest quest for a first MotoGP win gets underway in strong fashion, ahead of Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and returnee Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team). There was a brief red flag for a strange crash with Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) but he was all OK and in the top ten by the time the chequered flag waved.
FIRST HALF: the opening to Friday afternoon
Continuing on from his strong start to the day in FP1, Acosta was once again leading the way in the afternoon and after 20 minutes, was the only rider in the 1’28s. Elsewhere, Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) was up in fourth but suffered a tip off at Turn 4 before teammate Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) followed him into the gravel. Moreira wasn’t having much luck at Turn 4, running off three times in the opening 30 minutes of the session.
SECOND HALF: Acosta continues to dominate
Into the second half of Practice and Acosta improved his time once again, this time down to a 1’28.507 to extend his advantage out to more than half a second over Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing). The Shark was mighty lap-after-lap, improving once again to a 1’28.381 and looked to be doing it with ease. Behind, Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) was up into P2 and in the 1’28 club as riders started to get dialled in and push for times. He wasn’t the only Honda flying as Moreira got himself into the top three whilst elsewhere, Aldeguer moved into P2.
NEEDING IMPROVEMENTS: headlining names down field
20 minutes to go and there were notable names out of the top 10, including Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), both Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team riders Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). Teammate Marc Marquez was only 11th with less than 15 to go but donned fresh rubber for the first time in Practice and soon moved himself up to second.
RED FLAG: Alex Marquez suffers strange crash exiting Turn 1
As the #93 improved, brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) crashed on the exit of Turn 1 in strange fashion. After a small wheelie on the exit, as the front tyre touched down, a puff of smoke and then it folded away as the 2025 runner-up fell off the side, bringing out the red flag with 11:42 on the clock. Back underway after the short pause, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) had moved into P8 whilst Bezzecchi came straight back into the pits after a box call by his crew. Teammate Martin had moved into second and Ogura into P3 on his first track action since Silverstone; Alex Marquez was back out on bike #2 and into P5.
FINAL PUSH: chequered flag out in Austria on Friday
A flurry of late changes in the final two minutes as Aldeguer came up the order to second and Binder consolidated his top ten showing with another improvement. Acosta was also back out but KTM’s home star had no need to worry from anyone behind as he led the way on day one. Arch-rival Aldeguer took second ahead of Ogura, whilst Championship leader Marc Marquez was fourth. 0.018s behind, Martin was fifth ahead of Di Giannantonio, Binder, Alex Marquez, Bezzecchi and Quartararo, the 2021 World Champion directly into Q2 for the first time since Barcelona. Missing out by just 0.004s, Marini finds himself in Q1 along with Zarco and Moreira, whereas Pecco Bagnaia was only 18th.
Day one done, qualifying and Tissot Sprint honours up for grabs on Saturday; track action ignites at 08:40, don’t miss the action!
Filip Salac led Moto2 World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the Czech rider lapped the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) road course in 1:32.402, topping the field of 27 riders and breaking Manuel Gonzalez’s All-Time Lap Record of 1:32.779 from 2025.
Ivan Ortola was second-best with a time of 1:32.499 on his QJMOTOR – Campolor – MSI Kalex.
Daniel Holgado did a third-fastest 1:32.600 on his CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team Kalex.
Tony Arbolino got fourth on this RED Fantic Racing Kalex with a lap time of 1:32.625.
Izan Guevara finished the practice session fifth with a time of 1:32.638 on his BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Boscoscuro.
American Joe Roberts finished Friday afternoon’s practice session 16th with a best time of 1:33.302 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.
Salač soars to Practice P1 with new lap record. The Czech star beats Ortola by less than a tenth in a tightly contested Moto2 Practice.
Filip Salač (OnlyFans American Racing Team) heads into the weekend as the rider to beat in Moto2 after the Czech star set a new class all-time lap record at the Red Bull Ring, a 1:32.402, to top Practice. 0.097s away in second place is Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – Campolor – MSI), and a further tenth in arrears is Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team), who acts as the third-quickest rider on Day 1.
Going into Practice, two riders were unfortunately ruled out of action for the weekend after separate Turn 6 crashes in FP1. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Collin Veijer suffered a fractured left collarbone just a few days on from bagging his second podium of the season at Misano, while Angel Piqueras (QJMOTOR – Campolor – MSI) picked up a small fracture in his right hand. Both will head back to Spain and undergo surgery.
On track, FP1 pacesetter Tony Arbolino (REDS Fantic Racing) nailed home a positive day at the office with a P4 finish in Practice, but on the other side of the box, a late crash at Turn 2a cost Misano podium finisher Barry Baltus a chance of climbing into the top 14. Q1 beckons for the Belgian.
The championship frontrunners all made it into Q2 though, with Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) fifth fastest on Friday. The gap between Salač and Guevara was 0.236s; Colombia’s David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) earned P6, with title race leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) one place behind seventh-fastest Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing Team) in P8.
It was a quieter session than usual for Gonzalez and teammate Senna Agius, with the Australian P12 on the Practice timesheets ahead of Saturday afternoon’s qualifying.
Tune in to see if anyone can beat Salač’s new all-time lap record in qualifying – it all kicks off at 13:40 local time (UTC +2).
David Almansa led Moto3 World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Almansa used his Pirelli-shod Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP KTM to lap the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) track in 1:39.668 to lead the field of 26 riders.
Maximo Quiles was second-best with a time of 1:39.863 on his CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team KTM.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Alvaro Carpe claimed the third and final spot on the front with a lap time of 1:40.171.
Matteo Bertelle, piloting his LEVEL UP – MTA KTM finished fourth with a time of 1:40.190.
Carpe’s teammate, Brian Uriarte, got fifth with a lap time of 1:40.278.
Almansa fastest from Quiles on Friday in Austria. Less than a second covered the top 14 but it was a familiar story at the top of the timings.
Once again, it was a Friday to remember for David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) as the Spaniard topped both FP1 and Practice timesheets, the 20th time he’s found himself leading a session this season. A1’39.667 saw him within striking distance of the all-time lap record and with Saturday’s sessions still to come, don’t bet against a new one being set.
Almansa was metronomic from the get-go and set a relentless pace throughout, the majority of the time saw him with P1 next to his name. 0.195s behind, Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Aspar Gaviota Team) is the lap record holder for the time being and was the only other rider along with Almansa in the 1’39s. Three tenths further back, Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) left it late to put in a fast lap but did finish P3 at the chequered flag.
Fourth place honours went to Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA) who had a late fall at Turn 3 and disagreement with the track marshals; he remounted in order to set his fastest lap of the session. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounded out the top five, one place ahead of Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI), who was a late crasher too.
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) was the last rider to sneak into the top 14, denying David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) an ideal return from injury with the #64 in 15th, ahead of Guido Pini (Leopard Racing), 2025 Austrian GP polesitter Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) and Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), setting up for a closely-contested Q1.
Archie Mcdonald was quickest during FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Free practice 1 (FP1) Friday morning at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson on Dunlop control tires, the Australian rider covered the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) road course in 1:39.671, topping the field of 11 riders.
Andrea Iannone was the best of the rest with a 1:39.727 on his Niti Racing Harley-Davidson.
Mcdonald’s teammate, Eric Granado, got third with a lap time of 1:39.899.
American James Rispoli finished the first practice fifth with a time of 1:40.225 on his Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson and Kyle Wyman got sixth with a lap time of 1:40.416 on his WEGNER X KWR Harley-Davidson.
Riding for Saddlemen Racing Harley-Davidson, American teammates Max Toth (1:40.672), Travis Wyman (1:41.467) and Jake Lewis (1:45.937) finished 7th, 8th, and 10th respectively.
Max Flinders got 9th on his ParkinGO TEAM Harley-Davidson with a lap time of 1:43.677.
Pedro Acosta topped MotoGP World Championship Free Practice One (FP1) Friday morning at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Michelin-shod Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16, the Spaniard turned a lap of 1:29.851 around the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) track and led the 22-rider field.
Pol Espargaro was second-best with a 1:30.084 on his Red Bull KTM Tech3 RC16.
Jorge Martin was third with a lap of 1:30.159 on his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26.
Marc Marquez got fourth on his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26 with a time of 1:30.186.
Johann Zarco finished the session fifth with a time of 1:30.364 on his Castrol Honda LCR RC213V.
Acosta leads Espargaro as KTM kickstart home Grand Prix with FP1 1-2. That’s not a bad start to the Austrian GP for the Austrians, is it? The #37 sets the pace ahead of the #44, with Martin completing the top three.
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3) hand the Austrian factory a 1-2 start to the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria, which is KTM’s first 1-2 in any session since Practice at the 2025 Catalan GP. Not bad at all, especially after Espargaro’s small crash at Turn 4. Third place, despite a technical issue in the session, was Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), who arrives at the Red Bull Ring level on points with fourth-fastest Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) at the top of the overall standings.
Acosta’s 1:29.851 was a couple of tenths faster than Espargaro’s best effort, with the back-to-back podium finisher the only rider to dip their toe into the 1:29 bracket on Friday morning. Martin and Marc Marquez were both three tenths away from Acosta’s time, with fifth-place Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) half a second adrift from the FP1 summit.
Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) kickstarted his weekend with a P6 finish, as the Italian aims to bounce back from his Sunday error a few days ago in Misano. And staying on the subject of Aprilia, Ai Ogura (SuperFiles Trackhouse MotoGP Team) began his injury comeback with a P19 finish. The gap to Acosta? 1.4s.
That’s FP1 in the books then, with the fastest 16 riders split by under a second. Coming up, the all-important Practice session at 3 pm local time. Don’t miss it.
Tony Arbolino was quickest during Moto2 World Championship Free Practice One (FP1) Friday morning at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Pirelli-shod REDS Fantic Racing Kalex on the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) track, the Italian rider recorded a 1:33.074 to lead the field of 29 riders.
David Alonso was the best of the rest with a 1:33.116 on his CFMOTO Inde Team Kalex.
Izan Guevara was third-fastest with a 1:33.169 on his BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Boscoscuro.
American Joe Roberts finished the opening session in 27th with a 1:35.256 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.
David Almansa was quickest during Moto3 World Championship Free Practice One (FP1) Friday morning at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP KTM on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard covered the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) road course in 1:40.595, topping the field of 26 riders.
Maximo Quiles was the best of the rest with a 1:41.243 on his CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team KTM.
Adrian Fernandez was third with a lap time of 1:41.289 on his Leopard Racing Honda.
Sometimes it’s the little things that make big differences. Stahlbus began after Martin Maszull had done dozens of brake fluid changes and, according to the company website, “was simply fed up with constantly ruining the freshly painted caliper and being always at loggerheads with his girlfriend when bleeding the system.”
Maszull went on to invent the Stahlbus one-way brake caliper bleeder valve, which has reduced the amount of profanity in garages and shops around the world by an inestimable amount.
A bleeder valve (arrow a) on a caliper; a blue quick-disconnect brake line fitting (arrow b) allows changing or removing the caliper without re-bleeding it.
Similarly, Thomas Modlmeier had a simple idea: a family-run, online business to keep him busy in his later years and something to hand down to his children or grandchildren. He hooked up with Maszull, who he refers to as “a brother,” and became the U.S. distributor for Stahlbus, creating a company whose products have quietly established a presence on bikes across the country.
Modlmeier, age 62, of Munich, started riding mopeds at 16 in Germany and got his first motorcycle when he was 18. Somewhere along the way, he purchased his forever motorcycle—a BMW 75/6—which has been with him for years and travels when he relocates. Which he has, many times.
Modlmeier connecting to BMW was not unusual for someone mechanically minded working in Munich. “If you lived in Munich, you worked for BMW,” he says. He trained as a collision damage repair specialist through Germany’s rigorous apprenticeship system and earned both journeyman and master certifications. His skills and experience led BMW to relocate him to New York, where he spent four years of his life with the company in Manhattan. When his contract was up, Modlmeier’s patience with the weather was up as well.
“New York has pretty much the same weather in Munich. So it rains, it snows, and all this kind of stuff. And I literally said, you know what? I’m done with this crap. I want something different. So I had a Jeep and a trailer and a boat, and I just packed everything to the gills and drove in three weeks from New York, from Queens to San Diego.”
Modlmeier worked for the Penske automotive operation in San Diego, enjoying the sunshine and putting miles on his motorcycles—his favorite being a Triumph 675. Modlmeier put in time upgrading the suspension and running gear to match his needs and his aesthetic. Tinkering, repairing, building, all are rewarding to Modlmeier, and it’s a philosophy he has lived by. “I don’t like to buy things I can build,” he says.
On one of his trips back to Germany, he met Maszull and the two struck up a friendship. Maszull eventually started looking for people to market his devices, and Modlmeier was looking for something beyond his collision repair career.
“Sometimes you meet people in your life and you think like, oh, I can associate. He has the same ideas, the same, you know, hobbies and all this kind of stuff,” Modlmeier says. “You just e-mail, make a call, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ And then during one of these calls, he just says, ‘When are you coming next time?’ And when I come back, he just literally says, ‘Hey, this is what I’m doing. What do you think? Can we do this over there?’ And I said, ‘Let me try it. And that’s how we started out.”
From the beginning, the bleeder valves have been the main seller for the company. At any given moment, Modlmeier has between $80,000 and $150,000 worth of inventory on hand, and the bleeder valves make up most of it. (For those who are not familiar with the valves, they replace the usual brake bleeder valve on the caliper and can be set for one-way operation. You attach the bleeder hose as normal and pump the brake lever, and brake fluid comes out but does not get sucked back into the system. The valves simplify and speed up
a process that is, under the best of circumstances, slow and fraught with the possibility of getting highly corrosive brake fluid onto painted parts.)
The red Stahlbus quick-disconnect brake-line fitting seen here makes it possible to quickly change a crash-damaged master cylinder without bleeding.
And it’s not just motorheads who have found the magic of the valves. Modlmeier says his customer base includes people who are using them for all kinds of non-motorcycle applications.
“I would go to shows and all of a sudden, people are coming up, saying things like, ‘I have a helicopter. Can I use it for the helicopter?’ And I’m like, ‘It was not designed for the helicopter. But if it works for the helicopter, why not?’ See, that’s it. And people started using it for different applications, applications we never thought about it,” Modlmeier says. “We have private pilots, we have so many different diverse people buying our stuff now. There is a guy in Washington state who builds mini submarines who is using them. Every time, when it comes up from a dive, he has air from the depth in the lines. So he uses a drain valve to get the air out. They get used for all kinds of weird stuff.”
Stahlbus fittings.
The company is also known for its quick-disconnect hydraulic fittings that allow for caliper and master-cylinder changes without re-bleeding the brake system, and also offers quick oil change valves.
A Stahlbus quick-attach drain fitting (with hose) reduces mess related to changing bike, car, or truck oil.
Modlmeier spends a fair amount of his time on the road at shows, and still enjoys working with his hands. Which led, in part, to the decision to purchase property in and move to Rising Fawn, Georgia. Modlmeier wanted to own a building for his operation, and land costs in Southern California made that impossible for an operation the size of Stahlbus.
And Modlmeier is not only going to own his own building, he’s going to build it himself. His
new facility will be roughly 30 or 40 feet by 50 feet, designed to with stand regional weather—including tornadoes—and will serve as both workspace and showroom.
Heather Modlmeier works with parts.
But the operation is more than just a business to Modlmeier. He wanted to stay busy after his retirement, and the U.S. Stahlbus operation allows him to stay exactly as busy as he wants as he transitions into his later years. And he wanted to leave something behind for his family when he steps away from business entirely.
“It was designed so we always have something to do,” Modlmeier says. “And later, maybe we give it to our kids or grandchildren—so they don’t have to start from zero.”
Hager PBM Racing Team’s Scott Redding topped the times in a dramatic British Superbike Championship Pre-Qualifying session at the TT Circuit Assen ahead of tomorrow’s opening race of the 2026 Showdown.
Bradley Ray had been the rider with the target on his back after setting the pace in the two Free Practice sessions, but he crashed on his first flying lap of the session at turn 10. The McAMS Yamaha rider was able to return to the pitlane and was soon back on track and climbing back up the order. However, he could only end the session 11th on the times, but confirmed his position in tomorrow’s ROKiT Oxygen Performance Qualifying 2.
The session was red flagged with just over ten minutes remaining when defending champion Kyle Ryde then crashed out at turn 17, leaving gravel on the circuit. The Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Racing rider ended the session in seventh place, as he was unable to complete the remainder of the session.
Redding meanwhile was holding strong at the top of the times ahead of Jason O’Halloran and Ilya Mikhalchik, who both had their strongest session of the year so far and separated by just 0.001s, with the three locking out the leading positions at the chequered flag.
Ryan Vickers bounced back from a pair of tough Free Practice sessions following a technical issue and a crash to claim fourth place in the final session of the day, holding off AJN Steelstock bimota’s Max Cook.
Danny Kent again was again inside the top six for the Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha team, just 0.010s ahead of defending champion Ryde. Leon Haslam was eighth fastest for Moto Rapido Racing, with the top eight riders lapping within the existing circuit lap record.
Glenn Irwin held ninth place ahead of Joe Talbot with Ray and Storm Stacey completing the top 12 riders through to tomorrow’s ROKiT Oxygen Performance Qualifying 2 session.
British Superbike Championship, TT Circuit Assen, Pre Qualifying result:
Scott Redding (Hager PBM Racing Team) 1m:35.619s
Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing UK) +0.185s
Ilya Mikhalchik (ROKiT BMW Motorrad British Superbike Race team) +0.186s
“I’m happy to be honest, I have been focussing more on myself. I feel like after what happened at Thruxton kind of snowballed into Cadwell where I was just trying to do damage limitation. So here I’ve had a bit of a reset.
“This morning it took me a while to get going, but I found my rhythm, my grove, which was good and I just built on that throughout the day. I feel like today we got off on a good foot, which was nice and I just need to keep that stride going.
“I just need to stay calm and keep churning out the laps, keep the pressure on and keep consistent and see what happens in the race tomorrow.”
Eric Granado (51) in Austria. Photo courtesy Bagger World Cup.
Eric Granado was fastest during FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Free practice 2 (FP1) Friday afternoon at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson on Dunlop control tires, the Brazilian rider covered the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) road course in 1:39.014, topping the field of 11 riders.
Oscar Gutierrez was the best of the rest with a 1:39.424 on his Niti Racing Harley-Davidson.
Eric Granado’s teammate, Archie Mcdonald, got third with a lap time of 1:39.490.
American Kyle Wyman got 7th with a lap time of 1:40.482 on his WEGNER X KWR Harley-Davidson and James Rispoli finished the session 8th with a time of 1:40.504 on his Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson.
Riding for Saddlemen Racing Harley-Davidson, American teammates Max Toth (1:39.512), Travis Wyman (1:40.334) and Jake Lewis (1:41.952) finished 5th, 6th, and 10th respectively.
Max Flinders got 9th on his ParkinGO TEAM Harley-Davidson with a lap time of 1:41.900.
Pedro Acosta (37) and Pol Espargaro (44) in Austria. Photo courtesy MotoGP.
Pedro Acosta led MotoGP World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16 on spec Michelin tires, the Spaniard turned a lap time of 1:28.381 to lead the 22-rider field.
Fermin Aldeguer was the best of the rest with a 1:28.508 on his BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP26.
Ai Ogura was third at 1:28.568 on his SuperFile Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP26.
Seven-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez finished the session fourth with a 1:28.585 on hisLenovo Ducati Desmosedici GP26.
Jorge Martin, piloting his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26, finished the practice session in fifth with a lap time of 1:28.603.
Acosta unbeatable in Austria for Friday honours at Red Bull Ring. In good form ahead of the round and untouchable on the opening day, The Shark seems to have plenty of bite this weekend and is ready to lock horns in Spielberg.
Giving KTM fans and bosses exactly what they wanted to see, the Austrian manufacturer’s homecoming has got off to a dream start with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completing a Friday clean sweep at the Red Bull Ring. A 1’28.381 sealed the deal as the #37’s latest quest for a first MotoGP win gets underway in strong fashion, ahead of Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and returnee Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team). There was a brief red flag for a strange crash with Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) but he was all OK and in the top ten by the time the chequered flag waved.
FIRST HALF: the opening to Friday afternoon
Continuing on from his strong start to the day in FP1, Acosta was once again leading the way in the afternoon and after 20 minutes, was the only rider in the 1’28s. Elsewhere, Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) was up in fourth but suffered a tip off at Turn 4 before teammate Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) followed him into the gravel. Moreira wasn’t having much luck at Turn 4, running off three times in the opening 30 minutes of the session.
SECOND HALF: Acosta continues to dominate
Into the second half of Practice and Acosta improved his time once again, this time down to a 1’28.507 to extend his advantage out to more than half a second over Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing). The Shark was mighty lap-after-lap, improving once again to a 1’28.381 and looked to be doing it with ease. Behind, Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) was up into P2 and in the 1’28 club as riders started to get dialled in and push for times. He wasn’t the only Honda flying as Moreira got himself into the top three whilst elsewhere, Aldeguer moved into P2.
NEEDING IMPROVEMENTS: headlining names down field
20 minutes to go and there were notable names out of the top 10, including Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), both Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team riders Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). Teammate Marc Marquez was only 11th with less than 15 to go but donned fresh rubber for the first time in Practice and soon moved himself up to second.
RED FLAG: Alex Marquez suffers strange crash exiting Turn 1
As the #93 improved, brother Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) crashed on the exit of Turn 1 in strange fashion. After a small wheelie on the exit, as the front tyre touched down, a puff of smoke and then it folded away as the 2025 runner-up fell off the side, bringing out the red flag with 11:42 on the clock. Back underway after the short pause, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) had moved into P8 whilst Bezzecchi came straight back into the pits after a box call by his crew. Teammate Martin had moved into second and Ogura into P3 on his first track action since Silverstone; Alex Marquez was back out on bike #2 and into P5.
FINAL PUSH: chequered flag out in Austria on Friday
A flurry of late changes in the final two minutes as Aldeguer came up the order to second and Binder consolidated his top ten showing with another improvement. Acosta was also back out but KTM’s home star had no need to worry from anyone behind as he led the way on day one. Arch-rival Aldeguer took second ahead of Ogura, whilst Championship leader Marc Marquez was fourth. 0.018s behind, Martin was fifth ahead of Di Giannantonio, Binder, Alex Marquez, Bezzecchi and Quartararo, the 2021 World Champion directly into Q2 for the first time since Barcelona. Missing out by just 0.004s, Marini finds himself in Q1 along with Zarco and Moreira, whereas Pecco Bagnaia was only 18th.
Day one done, qualifying and Tissot Sprint honours up for grabs on Saturday; track action ignites at 08:40, don’t miss the action!
Filip Salac (12) in Austria. Photo courtesy MotoGP.
Filip Salac led Moto2 World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the Czech rider lapped the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) road course in 1:32.402, topping the field of 27 riders and breaking Manuel Gonzalez’s All-Time Lap Record of 1:32.779 from 2025.
Ivan Ortola was second-best with a time of 1:32.499 on his QJMOTOR – Campolor – MSI Kalex.
Daniel Holgado did a third-fastest 1:32.600 on his CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team Kalex.
Tony Arbolino got fourth on this RED Fantic Racing Kalex with a lap time of 1:32.625.
Izan Guevara finished the practice session fifth with a time of 1:32.638 on his BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Boscoscuro.
American Joe Roberts finished Friday afternoon’s practice session 16th with a best time of 1:33.302 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.
Salač soars to Practice P1 with new lap record. The Czech star beats Ortola by less than a tenth in a tightly contested Moto2 Practice.
Filip Salač (OnlyFans American Racing Team) heads into the weekend as the rider to beat in Moto2 after the Czech star set a new class all-time lap record at the Red Bull Ring, a 1:32.402, to top Practice. 0.097s away in second place is Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – Campolor – MSI), and a further tenth in arrears is Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team), who acts as the third-quickest rider on Day 1.
Going into Practice, two riders were unfortunately ruled out of action for the weekend after separate Turn 6 crashes in FP1. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Collin Veijer suffered a fractured left collarbone just a few days on from bagging his second podium of the season at Misano, while Angel Piqueras (QJMOTOR – Campolor – MSI) picked up a small fracture in his right hand. Both will head back to Spain and undergo surgery.
On track, FP1 pacesetter Tony Arbolino (REDS Fantic Racing) nailed home a positive day at the office with a P4 finish in Practice, but on the other side of the box, a late crash at Turn 2a cost Misano podium finisher Barry Baltus a chance of climbing into the top 14. Q1 beckons for the Belgian.
The championship frontrunners all made it into Q2 though, with Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) fifth fastest on Friday. The gap between Salač and Guevara was 0.236s; Colombia’s David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) earned P6, with title race leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) one place behind seventh-fastest Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing Team) in P8.
It was a quieter session than usual for Gonzalez and teammate Senna Agius, with the Australian P12 on the Practice timesheets ahead of Saturday afternoon’s qualifying.
Tune in to see if anyone can beat Salač’s new all-time lap record in qualifying – it all kicks off at 13:40 local time (UTC +2).
David Almansa (22) in Austria. Photo courtesy MotoGP.
David Almansa led Moto3 World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Almansa used his Pirelli-shod Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP KTM to lap the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) track in 1:39.668 to lead the field of 26 riders.
Maximo Quiles was second-best with a time of 1:39.863 on his CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team KTM.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Alvaro Carpe claimed the third and final spot on the front with a lap time of 1:40.171.
Matteo Bertelle, piloting his LEVEL UP – MTA KTM finished fourth with a time of 1:40.190.
Carpe’s teammate, Brian Uriarte, got fifth with a lap time of 1:40.278.
Almansa fastest from Quiles on Friday in Austria. Less than a second covered the top 14 but it was a familiar story at the top of the timings.
Once again, it was a Friday to remember for David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) as the Spaniard topped both FP1 and Practice timesheets, the 20th time he’s found himself leading a session this season. A1’39.667 saw him within striking distance of the all-time lap record and with Saturday’s sessions still to come, don’t bet against a new one being set.
Almansa was metronomic from the get-go and set a relentless pace throughout, the majority of the time saw him with P1 next to his name. 0.195s behind, Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Aspar Gaviota Team) is the lap record holder for the time being and was the only other rider along with Almansa in the 1’39s. Three tenths further back, Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) left it late to put in a fast lap but did finish P3 at the chequered flag.
Fourth place honours went to Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA) who had a late fall at Turn 3 and disagreement with the track marshals; he remounted in order to set his fastest lap of the session. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounded out the top five, one place ahead of Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI), who was a late crasher too.
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) was the last rider to sneak into the top 14, denying David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) an ideal return from injury with the #64 in 15th, ahead of Guido Pini (Leopard Racing), 2025 Austrian GP polesitter Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) and Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), setting up for a closely-contested Q1.
Archie McDonald (69) in Austria. Photo courtesy BWC.
Archie Mcdonald was quickest during FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Free practice 1 (FP1) Friday morning at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson on Dunlop control tires, the Australian rider covered the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) road course in 1:39.671, topping the field of 11 riders.
Andrea Iannone was the best of the rest with a 1:39.727 on his Niti Racing Harley-Davidson.
Mcdonald’s teammate, Eric Granado, got third with a lap time of 1:39.899.
American James Rispoli finished the first practice fifth with a time of 1:40.225 on his Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson and Kyle Wyman got sixth with a lap time of 1:40.416 on his WEGNER X KWR Harley-Davidson.
Riding for Saddlemen Racing Harley-Davidson, American teammates Max Toth (1:40.672), Travis Wyman (1:41.467) and Jake Lewis (1:45.937) finished 7th, 8th, and 10th respectively.
Max Flinders got 9th on his ParkinGO TEAM Harley-Davidson with a lap time of 1:43.677.
Pedro Acosta (37) in Austria. Photo courtesy MotoGP.
Pedro Acosta topped MotoGP World Championship Free Practice One (FP1) Friday morning at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Michelin-shod Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16, the Spaniard turned a lap of 1:29.851 around the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) track and led the 22-rider field.
Pol Espargaro was second-best with a 1:30.084 on his Red Bull KTM Tech3 RC16.
Jorge Martin was third with a lap of 1:30.159 on his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26.
Marc Marquez got fourth on his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26 with a time of 1:30.186.
Johann Zarco finished the session fifth with a time of 1:30.364 on his Castrol Honda LCR RC213V.
Acosta leads Espargaro as KTM kickstart home Grand Prix with FP1 1-2. That’s not a bad start to the Austrian GP for the Austrians, is it? The #37 sets the pace ahead of the #44, with Martin completing the top three.
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3) hand the Austrian factory a 1-2 start to the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria, which is KTM’s first 1-2 in any session since Practice at the 2025 Catalan GP. Not bad at all, especially after Espargaro’s small crash at Turn 4. Third place, despite a technical issue in the session, was Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), who arrives at the Red Bull Ring level on points with fourth-fastest Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) at the top of the overall standings.
Acosta’s 1:29.851 was a couple of tenths faster than Espargaro’s best effort, with the back-to-back podium finisher the only rider to dip their toe into the 1:29 bracket on Friday morning. Martin and Marc Marquez were both three tenths away from Acosta’s time, with fifth-place Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) half a second adrift from the FP1 summit.
Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) kickstarted his weekend with a P6 finish, as the Italian aims to bounce back from his Sunday error a few days ago in Misano. And staying on the subject of Aprilia, Ai Ogura (SuperFiles Trackhouse MotoGP Team) began his injury comeback with a P19 finish. The gap to Acosta? 1.4s.
That’s FP1 in the books then, with the fastest 16 riders split by under a second. Coming up, the all-important Practice session at 3 pm local time. Don’t miss it.
Tony Arbolino (14) at Catalunya. Photo courtesy Fantic.
Tony Arbolino was quickest during Moto2 World Championship Free Practice One (FP1) Friday morning at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Pirelli-shod REDS Fantic Racing Kalex on the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) track, the Italian rider recorded a 1:33.074 to lead the field of 29 riders.
David Alonso was the best of the rest with a 1:33.116 on his CFMOTO Inde Team Kalex.
Izan Guevara was third-fastest with a 1:33.169 on his BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Boscoscuro.
American Joe Roberts finished the opening session in 27th with a 1:35.256 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.
David Almansa (22) and Máximo Quiles (28) at Misano. Photo courtesy MotoGP.
David Almansa was quickest during Moto3 World Championship Free Practice One (FP1) Friday morning at Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, in Austria. Riding his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP KTM on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard covered the 2.7-mile (4.35 km) road course in 1:40.595, topping the field of 26 riders.
Maximo Quiles was the best of the rest with a 1:41.243 on his CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team KTM.
Adrian Fernandez was third with a lap time of 1:41.289 on his Leopard Racing Honda.
Thomas Modlmeier imports, distributes, and sells Stahlbus one-way brake bleeder valves, quick
disconnect brake line fittings, quick oil change valves, and other fittings
Sometimes it’s the little things that make big differences. Stahlbus began after Martin Maszull had done dozens of brake fluid changes and, according to the company website, “was simply fed up with constantly ruining the freshly painted caliper and being always at loggerheads with his girlfriend when bleeding the system.”
Maszull went on to invent the Stahlbus one-way brake caliper bleeder valve, which has reduced the amount of profanity in garages and shops around the world by an inestimable amount.
A bleeder valve (arrow a) on a caliper; a blue quick-disconnect brake line fitting (arrow b) allows changing or removing the caliper without re-bleeding it.
Similarly, Thomas Modlmeier had a simple idea: a family-run, online business to keep him busy in his later years and something to hand down to his children or grandchildren. He hooked up with Maszull, who he refers to as “a brother,” and became the U.S. distributor for Stahlbus, creating a company whose products have quietly established a presence on bikes across the country.
Modlmeier, age 62, of Munich, started riding mopeds at 16 in Germany and got his first motorcycle when he was 18. Somewhere along the way, he purchased his forever motorcycle—a BMW 75/6—which has been with him for years and travels when he relocates. Which he has, many times.
Modlmeier connecting to BMW was not unusual for someone mechanically minded working in Munich. “If you lived in Munich, you worked for BMW,” he says. He trained as a collision damage repair specialist through Germany’s rigorous apprenticeship system and earned both journeyman and master certifications. His skills and experience led BMW to relocate him to New York, where he spent four years of his life with the company in Manhattan. When his contract was up, Modlmeier’s patience with the weather was up as well.
“New York has pretty much the same weather in Munich. So it rains, it snows, and all this kind of stuff. And I literally said, you know what? I’m done with this crap. I want something different. So I had a Jeep and a trailer and a boat, and I just packed everything to the gills and drove in three weeks from New York, from Queens to San Diego.”
Modlmeier worked for the Penske automotive operation in San Diego, enjoying the sunshine and putting miles on his motorcycles—his favorite being a Triumph 675. Modlmeier put in time upgrading the suspension and running gear to match his needs and his aesthetic. Tinkering, repairing, building, all are rewarding to Modlmeier, and it’s a philosophy he has lived by. “I don’t like to buy things I can build,” he says.
On one of his trips back to Germany, he met Maszull and the two struck up a friendship. Maszull eventually started looking for people to market his devices, and Modlmeier was looking for something beyond his collision repair career.
“Sometimes you meet people in your life and you think like, oh, I can associate. He has the same ideas, the same, you know, hobbies and all this kind of stuff,” Modlmeier says. “You just e-mail, make a call, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ And then during one of these calls, he just says, ‘When are you coming next time?’ And when I come back, he just literally says, ‘Hey, this is what I’m doing. What do you think? Can we do this over there?’ And I said, ‘Let me try it. And that’s how we started out.”
From the beginning, the bleeder valves have been the main seller for the company. At any given moment, Modlmeier has between $80,000 and $150,000 worth of inventory on hand, and the bleeder valves make up most of it. (For those who are not familiar with the valves, they replace the usual brake bleeder valve on the caliper and can be set for one-way operation. You attach the bleeder hose as normal and pump the brake lever, and brake fluid comes out but does not get sucked back into the system. The valves simplify and speed up
a process that is, under the best of circumstances, slow and fraught with the possibility of getting highly corrosive brake fluid onto painted parts.)
The red Stahlbus quick-disconnect brake-line fitting seen here makes it possible to quickly change a crash-damaged master cylinder without bleeding.
And it’s not just motorheads who have found the magic of the valves. Modlmeier says his customer base includes people who are using them for all kinds of non-motorcycle applications.
“I would go to shows and all of a sudden, people are coming up, saying things like, ‘I have a helicopter. Can I use it for the helicopter?’ And I’m like, ‘It was not designed for the helicopter. But if it works for the helicopter, why not?’ See, that’s it. And people started using it for different applications, applications we never thought about it,” Modlmeier says. “We have private pilots, we have so many different diverse people buying our stuff now. There is a guy in Washington state who builds mini submarines who is using them. Every time, when it comes up from a dive, he has air from the depth in the lines. So he uses a drain valve to get the air out. They get used for all kinds of weird stuff.”
Stahlbus fittings.
The company is also known for its quick-disconnect hydraulic fittings that allow for caliper and master-cylinder changes without re-bleeding the brake system, and also offers quick oil change valves.
A Stahlbus quick-attach drain fitting (with hose) reduces mess related to changing bike, car, or truck oil.
Modlmeier spends a fair amount of his time on the road at shows, and still enjoys working with his hands. Which led, in part, to the decision to purchase property in and move to Rising Fawn, Georgia. Modlmeier wanted to own a building for his operation, and land costs in Southern California made that impossible for an operation the size of Stahlbus.
And Modlmeier is not only going to own his own building, he’s going to build it himself. His
new facility will be roughly 30 or 40 feet by 50 feet, designed to with stand regional weather—including tornadoes—and will serve as both workspace and showroom.
Heather Modlmeier works with parts.
But the operation is more than just a business to Modlmeier. He wanted to stay busy after his retirement, and the U.S. Stahlbus operation allows him to stay exactly as busy as he wants as he transitions into his later years. And he wanted to leave something behind for his family when he steps away from business entirely.
“It was designed so we always have something to do,” Modlmeier says. “And later, maybe we give it to our kids or grandchildren—so they don’t have to start from zero.”
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