Race 1: Casadei grabs the glory as Ferrari crashes on the last lap
Last year the late drama came from Casadei, this time around the Italian wins from Granado and Zannoni as Ferrari slides out the lead
Mattia Casadei (40) was gifted the win in Race One when Matteo Ferrari (behind Casadei) crashed out of the lead on the last lap. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) has taken victory in MotoE™ Race 1 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as title-chasing Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) crashed out of the lead on the final lap. Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) and Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) completed the first podium of the day in Austria.
Zannoni got the perfect launch from pole and Granado quickly gained a place into P2 at Turn 2A, with Casadei slipping to P3. That soon changed to P2 though for the latter as the Italian carved his way up the inside of Granado at Turn 1 on Lap 2, with Zannoni’s early 0.5s advantage vanishing on the second lap.
The lead changed for the first time at the end of Lap 3 as Casadei shoved his way up to P1 past Zannoni, and the polesitter went P1 to P4 in the blink of an eye as Granado and Ferrari came charging past too. Ferrari then grabbed the lead after Casadei had a rear-end moment on the exit of Turn 8 a lap later.
With two laps to go, Ferrari boasted a 0.6s lead over Casadei with Granado a further six tenths down in P3. The Brazilian was holding Zannoni at bay, while Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) fancied a bit of the podium action in P5.
0.6s was Ferrari’s lead heading onto the final lap, Casadei’s gap to P3 had grown to 0.8s, as a fierce three-way fight for P3 unravelled. Then, at Turn 7, drama unfolded. Ferrari was down and out on the final lap while leading, which in turn handed Casadei a somewhat unexpected victory. Granado held off Zannoni and Garzo for second, as the latter misses out on a rostrum by just 0.084s.
Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) will be counting his lucky stars as a P5 sees his Championship lead extend to 26 points over Ferrari, as Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) claims P6 despite having a Long Lap penalty to serve from Silverstone. Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing), Mika Perez (RNF MotoE™ Team), Kevin Manfredi (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) and Tito Rabat (Prettl Pramac MotoE™) rounded out the top 10.
Race 2: Casadei holds off charging Ferrari to double down in Austria
Another stunner saw the number 40 do the double and move up to second overall as Ferrari shadowed him home
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) both doubled down in Race 2 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich AND made it three wins in a row, fending off Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) on the final lap to take over in second overall by a single point. Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) took his second podium of the day at the Red Bull Ring as he rounded out the Race 2 rostrum, completing an impressive round including a first pole too.
Mattia Casadei (40) leads Matteo Ferrari (11) and Kevin Zannoni (21) in Race Two. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Zannoni took the holeshot, and immediately had Casadei and Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) for company. Before the end of Lap 1 though, Casadei decided it was time push his way past into the lead. A group of eight riders formed at the front in the early stages with Championship leader Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) making moves at the back of the group. The Spaniard was unable to cling onto the riders ahead, however, and Casadei began to stretch out the field with five laps to go as Ferrari got the better of Granado to put himself inside the top three, too.
Disaster then struck for Granado with two laps to go as the Brazilian asked a little bit too much of his front tyre and hit the deck, rider ok but leaving a three-rider and all-Italian fight at the front.
By the last lap, Casadei led Zannoni led Ferrari, but Ferrari parked it perfectly up the inside to take over in second as they barreled towards the final sector. There was one move between the number 11 and a redemptive win, but into the iconic final corner, the Gresini rider didn’t make a lunge for it. Casadei held him off and crossed the line to complete an awesome weekend worth 50 points, but Ferrari did take that 20-point payday for second as Torres came home in sixth.
Zannoni made it two podiums with another P3, with Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) beating Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) to fourth ahead of Torres in sixth.
With that, it’s now Casadei second overall, 15 points off the top, and Ferrari in third with a deficit of 16 to Torres. Next up for MotoE™ will be the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. With the Championship picture hotting up between the leading trio, you’re not going to want to miss it!
Stefano Mesa gave himself a special 29th birthday present Saturday by winning MotoAmerica Supersport Race One at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace) in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Mesa won the red-flag-interrupted-and-restarted race by 0.180 second.
Xavi Fores finished a close second on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2, but the Spaniard actually extended his Championship point lead.
Tyler Scott was a very close third on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Mesa Gets His First Supersport Win Of The Year At Pitt Race
Mesa, Landers, Dreher Win, Moore Crowned In Pennsylvania
Stefano Mesa (37) leads Xavi Forés (12) and Tyler Scott (70) en route to winning Saturday’s Supersport race. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
WAMPUM, PA (August 19, 2023) – Two MotoAmerica rounds ago, the winner of the 2023 Supersport Championship seemed to be a fait accompli.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Xavi Forés had reeled off eight consecutive wins, and it looked like he was head for a perfect season. But things changed for the Spaniard in Minnesota and the bumpy Brainerd International Raceway wreaked havoc on the handling of his Ducati Panigale V2, as well as on his win streak. He left the Land of 10,000 Lakes without a win, and it continued in Supersport race one at Pittsburgh.
The story of the race, though, was not who didn’t win, but who did.
Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki rider Stefano Mesa notched his first Supersport victory of the season and the second of his career. Mesa also earned the pole position for both of the weekend’s races, so clearly, Pitt Race is a very good track for the Colombian. It was also Mesa’s 29th birthday.
Second place went to Forés, who commented in the post-race press conference that he is doing everything he can to keep up with the other bikes. The only Ducati rider in the field, Forés thinks the balancing measures mandated for his bike are too extreme.
Third place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Tyler Scott, which was his seventh podium result of the season.
“The whole weekend, we’ve been very fast off the get-go,” Mesa said. “I think, after race two in Brainerd, we found a little something on the bike. We’ve been dealing with a lot of chassis issues with the new B bike, what we call the B bike, since I broke the (A bike at) Ridge. I broke it in half. Been battling a lot of chassis setup. But I think we finally hit the nail where it was. I think we’re in the window for the bike. My hats off to the team. They gave me a great bike since we rolled it out of the truck. We’ve been fast all weekend. The race was great. My hats off to these guys. This is great battling with them. It’s great trying to pass Xavi (Forés) on the brakes. I think first clean race I got to actually battle with Xavi and try and go for the win. I think I had the pace. Tomorrow we’re going to try and find a little bit more and see if we can get the win again.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – The Title Chase Tightens
Rocco Landers (97) celebrates his victory in the REV’IT! Twins Cup race on Saturday at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
The battle for the 2023 REV’IT! Twins Cup Championship can’t get much closer than it already is, but Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Rocco Landers is hoping that it gets even closer after tomorrow’s second race at Pitt Race.
Landers won his sixth REV’IT! race of the year after an early battle with championship rivals Blake Davis and Gus Rodio and the win moves him to within 10 points of the lead in the title chase.
The battle for second in Saturday’s race was also the battle for the championship lead and it went to N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Davis by just .042 of a second over Landers’ teammate Rodio.
How’s this for close? Davis now leads Rodio by a single point with Landers 10 points behind Davis and nine behind Rodio.
Team Iso’s Dominic Doyle had a relatively lonely ride to fourth with TrackDay Winner/Blackmon Racing’s Jackson Blackmon rounding out the top five.
“I have not had the best past month, after what I did at Laguna,” Landers said. “But I knew this was a good track for me. It’s a good track for the bike. It’s a good track for the team. The Aprilia is handling absolutely amazing. The start I kind of got shuffled back there a little bit. I just tried to basically pick up the pieces after the first lap and do what I could to get back past these guys. They were riding amazing, obviously killing it. I knew if I could lead a few laps at least through the esses, I could maybe start to stretch out a gap and then hold it there. So, that’s what I did. It went to plan today. Doesn’t always go to plan, but today it did. We’re hoping to do at least that or even better tomorrow.”
Junior Cup – Dreher Bounces Back
The Junior Cup pack fires off into Turn One at Pittsburgh International Race Complex on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
After winning four out of the first five Junior Cup races of the season, it came as quite a surprise that Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki rider Avery Dreher hit a dry spell where he didn’t get another victory for three straight races. But, on Saturday at Pitt Race, Dreher returned to his winning ways.
Starting from pole position, the Florida-based rider battled throughout the 10-lap race with Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM’s Rossi Moor, Hayden Bicknese Racing Kawasaki rider Hayden Bicknese, and Altus Motorsports Kawasaki rider Alessandro Di Mario. At the checkers, it was Dreher who notched the win by .036 of a second over Moor, with Di Mario just .136 of a second back from Dreher.
With three more races left in the Junior Cup Championship, Dreher has a 39-point lead over Moor.
“I honestly didn’t really lead that much,” Dreher said. “I went into the race, and I wanted to be as aggressive as I can. I’m usually not the most aggressive rider, but I had to change that. So, I wanted to be able to lead the whole race, just not fall outside the top two. We went back and forth a couple times. I had a couple moments. I was battling with some little grip issues here and there. But I got to say, the bike honestly felt amazing. Thanks to the team. We figured out our issues from Friday. That last lap was just figuring out if I wanted to be in third or second going onto the front straightaway. Just kind of was in a perfect spot to get that draft. I’m just super happy to extend my points lead and get another win.”
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Moore Crowned!
Mikayla Moore wrapped up the 2023 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Championship at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Mikayla Moore kept her perfect season intact with her sixth win in six starts and it all resulted in her wrapping up the 2023 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. championship. Moore will attempt to close out a perfect season with another victory tomorrow at Pitt Race.
Sonya Lloyd earned her fifth podium of the year with her second-place finish and that virtually assures her of second in the championship after tomorrow’s finale. Lloyd battled with Moore early and finished 2.2 seconds behind the Marylander – the closest anyone has been to the newly crowned champion all season.
Defending series champion Kayleigh Buyck was third in the race and happy to be back on the podium after a rough season for the New Yorker.
“I was going into turn one and I’m like, holy crap, someone was like right next to me,” Moore said. “I just tried to do my best and hit my marks. Luckily, this round, I had my lap timer, so I ended up doing a 2:07. I told my parents. They were like, ‘What time do you think you’re going to run?’ I was like, ‘I think I’ll do a 2:08.’ But every time I get some fresh Dunlop tires, I end up going faster and meet my goals every time.
“If I can be honest, going into this program I thought I would struggle a little bit because in the beginning… I’m not able to adapt quick to bikes, so I’m really actually surprised. After the first round I was able to get quickly adapted to it and things like that. Then also we have a great team, so everyone kept each other positive. I just tried to at the Road America after the first round keep the streak going. So far, I had a perfect season. Just have to complete it tomorrow.”
Mission Mini Cup By Motul – Gouker Dominates
Nathan Gouker (1) won the Ohvale 160 class during Mission Mini Cup By Motul action on Friday at PittRace. Photo By Klingsporn Media.
Stadler America’s Nathan Gouker picked up where he left off with a resounding Ohvale 160 class victory in the MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup By Motul round on Friday afternoon at Pitt Race.
Gouker was dominant in taking a 17-second victory over Madd Will Racing’s Kruz Maddison, who barely beat American Racing’s Connor Raymond by a scant .198 of a second.
American Racing’s Joshua Raymond scored the win in the Ohvale 190 class, beating Alpha Omega’s Ryder Davis by 4.8 seconds with HistoricGP’s Mahdi Salem finishing a distant third.
Stock class racing on Friday saw Cory Texter Racing/Roof Systems’ Cruise Texter winning the Stock 50 class; Varnes Racing’s Cole Varnes doing likewise in Stock 110 with Jacobsen Motorcycle Training/Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt winning the Stock 125 final.
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, LLC:
VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S TY SCOTT EARNS FIFTH STRAIGHT PODIUM AT PITTSBURGH
Suzuki Dominates the Supersport Top Ten Results
BREA, CA — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer continued to stack up trophy-winning weekends with another podium performance in the MotoAmerica Supersport race on Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
Tyler Scott scored his fifth-consecutive podium with a competitive third-place finish.
Teagg Hobbs closed on the leaders late to earn a hard-charging fifth.
Superbike
Richie Escalante qualified fourth before collecting an eighth-place result.
Brandon Paasch showed impressive speed in the opening half of the race and ended up in ninth.
Superbike
Brandon Paasch broke into the top five for the first time in his short stint with the team.
Richie Escalante collected seventh, ending his run of six straight top fives.
Tyler Scott (70) earned a hard-fought third place and fifth consecutive podium at Pittsburgh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott continued his recent tear aboard the team’s next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750, again challenging for victory en route to an eventual third-place result in the day’s Supersport contest. Despite starting from the outside of Row 2, Scott launched into third at the start. After going back and forth with teammate Teagg Hobbs, Scott consolidated third and then tracked down the leaders to make it a three-way fight for the win.
A red flag put a temporary halt to that battle, which resumed with an even more intense four-way fight for glory, with Scott again running in third. The rising star harried the leaders relentlessly but could not find a way through. Scott ultimately crossed the line in third, less than a half-second off the win, securing his fifth consecutive podium finish in 2023.
“It was a tight race and a good one,” Scott said, “but it was very hard. My competitors were very good on the brakes, and it was hard to get beside them to make a move. I was happy with the bike and the team’s performance, and I thought everything was positive. We may adjust some things in the Sunday morning warm-up to see if we can improve, but we are in good shape for the next race.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) qualified strong, battling for fifth in Supersport race one. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
After qualifying second fastest aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, Teagg Hobbs was in a race-long melee himself. With a race chocked full of runs and momentum shifts, Hobbs was as high as third and as low as sixth. Hobbs managed to claw his way back up to fifth late in the contest, where he charged on the leaders before finally taking the checkered flag in fifth. Team Hammer’s results led the charge once more, as Suzuki GSX-Rs continued to dominate the Supersport results, earning 50% of the top ten results in Pittsburgh.
Hobbs said, “I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the race, and we made some changes to the setup during the red flag that made things better. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race. The goal is to stay in the top five – and we did that again – but I am trying to get closer to the leaders. The main thing for tomorrow is to clean things up and change my approach a little.”
Richie Escalante (54) earned eighth place at Pittsburgh’s Saturday Superbike contest. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante reminded the Superbike field of his front-running speed aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R with an impressive fourth-place showing in qualifying. Unfortunately, Escalante was unable to capitalize on that strong start in hopes of notching his tenth top-five race finish of the year. Escalante was shuffled down to ninth on the opening lap, and then struggled to find a way back up through the field, finally coming home with an eighth-place result.
“It has been a difficult weekend, honestly,” Escalante said. “I’ve been working hard with the crew to feel more comfortable on the bike, especially on the exits. We made progress and got P4 in qualifying, but it was a very difficult race. I found my position at the start and thought it was time to start moving forward, but in the different temperature conditions, we needed more grip. I kept pushing and got points, but we are looking forward to getting two more chances tomorrow.”
Brandon Paasch (96) continues his Superbike comeback, carding ninth at Pittsburgh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Coming off another top-five outing with the team in the premier class, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch flashed the speed to repeat that feat early in the Superbike race. After starting on the outside of Row 3, Paasch slotted into seventh early and then applied heavy pressure on sixth place until approximately half-distance. Paasch – who is both adapting to the Superbike class and working back to full fitness – lost ground over the second half of the race before collecting ninth at the checkered flag.
“I’m happy with what we were able to accomplish in the race,” said Paasch. “I had a good start and moved up. We’re surely making progress, but I made a mistake and ran off track in Turn 1. Then, trying to catch up, I ran off again in the chicane. By then, I had killed my tire and I struggled the last few laps. I’m fired up for tomorrow. The competition is tough, but we got 17 more race laps in as I am trying to learn and improve.”
The team will have an opportunity on Sunday to turn podiums into wins and top tens into top fives when the MotoAmerica weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex concludes with another Supersport race and two more Superbike races.
Avery Dreher rode his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 to victory in MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Dreher overtook Rossi Moor on the run from the final corner to the finish line to win his fifth race of the season by just 0.036 second and extend his Championship point lead.
Moor led most of the race but had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM RC 390 R.
Alessandro Di Mario finished third on his Altus Motorsports Kawasaki, taking his first podium finish in Junior Cup.
Hayden Bicknese was a close fourth on his Bicknese Racing Kawasaki, Yandel Medina took fifth on his Yandel Racing Kawasaki, and Max Van was a close sixth, just 0.8 second behind Dreher, on his SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki Ninja 400.
Rocco Landers claimed pole position during MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660, Landers turned a 1:47.736 to top the field of 39 entries.
Defending Champion Blake Davis was the best of the rest with a 1:48.155 on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha YZF-R7, and Landers’ teammate Gus Rodio took the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:48.401 on his Aprilia.
Stefano Mesa grabbed pole position during MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Mesa did a 1:45.746 lap time on his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to top the field of 41.
Teagg Hobbs claimed the second spot on the grid with a time of 1:45.825 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, and Championship point leader Xavi Fores earned the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:46.108 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2.
Defending World Champion Francesco Bagnaia rode his Lenovo Ducati Desmosedici to victory in Saturday’s MotoGP World Championship Sprint Race at Red Bull Ring, in Austria. Bagnaia won the 14-lap race by 2.056 seconds.
Brad Binder was the runner-up on his Red Bull KTM RC16, and Jorge Martin finished third, three seconds behind Binder, on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Championship contender Marco Bezzecchi did not finish (DNF) after being collected in a chain-reaction incident in Turn One and crashing.
Bagnaia holds off Binder as high drama hits in the Spielberg Sprint
Bagnaia vs Binder escapes the chaos as Martin’s dramatic Saturday continues – culminating in a podium and a Long Lap
The start of the MotoGP Sprint Race at Red Bull Ring. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) converted pole position into Tissot Sprint victory number four of 2023 as the Italian fended off an early Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) challenge at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) picked up P3 but the Spaniard was heavily involved in the drama that unfolded right from the get-go, as well as another dose later in the Sprint.
Key contenders crash at Turn 1
Bagnaia got away well from pole well with Binder – as always – launching like a rocket ship from the outside of the front row as well. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) got a sluggish start from P2, however, and dropped like a stone as Turn 1 played host to high drama.
Martin was on the inside line, with contact made with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), which then started a domino effect. Viñales was involved as he was sandwiched between Quartararo and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), and the latter went down along with Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team). Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) was also caught up in the incident. Martin was later given a Long Lap penalty for Sunday’s race after being found to have been riding irresponsibly.
Bagnaia untouchable on Saturday
Francesco Bagnaia (1). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Back at the front, Bagnaia led from Binder. By the start of Lap 5 the duo were over a second up the road from Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), with Martin running in P5. On Lap 6, Miller went from P3 to P5 as Marini and Martin pounced though, and more drama involving Martin then unravelled – this time at Turn 2A. Martin was up the inside of Marini but contact was made as the duo tipped it into the apex, with the latter crashing out unhurt.
Meanwhile, Bagnaia’s lead was up to a second over Binder, who in turn had three seconds in hand to Martin. With six laps left, Pecco was 1.3s ahead of the leading KTM, and the gap kept on climbing. Binder was a safe second, the #33 was 2.7s up the road from Martin, and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) was a lonely P4 as we got confirmation that no further action would be taken regarding the Martin-Marini clash.
Bagnaia made no mistake to bring his Ducati home for Austrian GP Tissot Sprint victory to extend his title lead, with Binder claiming P2 in KTM’s backyard. Martin took the bronze medal from P12 on the grid. A spirited – albeit slightly controversial – comeback ride. Alex Marquez held on to fourth, with Miller taking P5.
With a host of other expected frontrunners further down the order facing a fight back after that huge Turn 1 shuffle, there was plenty going on there, including a charge from GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3’s Pol Espargaro. He took an impressive P6, highly commendable as the Spaniard competes in just his second Tissot Sprint of the season.
Aleix Espargaro finished P7, 0.144s further back, and had some serious pressure from teammate Viñales. The number 12 produced a great fight back to take P8 and nearly, nearly pounce on the final lap. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) held off Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) for the final Saturday afternoon point.
Meanwhile, Quartararo had some extra drama after the Turn 1 incident too. He clashed with Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing), and was given a Long Lap to serve in the Sprint, which he did.
As the dust settles, it truly was drama aplenty in the Austrian GP Tissot Sprint. Now, the big points are on offer on Sunday, with plenty looking to fight back. Tune into the MotoGP™ race at 14:00 local time (GMT+2)!
Bobby Fong stunned the field by taking pole position in MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1, an ex-Fresh N Lean Attack Yamaha, Fong turned a 1:41.674 around the 2.7-mile course. Not only was that time good enough for pole position, it was 0.569 second faster than anyone else.
Fong did his fastest lap while following — and nearly passing — two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne, who was in the process of doing the second-quickest lap, a 1:42.243, on his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Mathew Scholtz made it an all-Yamaha front row with a 1:42.285 on his Westby Racing machine.
Scholtz bumped Richie Escalante off the front row, and the Mexican rider will start fourth based on the 1:42.340 he did on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
PJ Jacobsen led both of Friday’s Superbike sessions, but the best the New Yorker could do Saturday was a fifth-fastest 1:42.430 on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Jacobsen will be joined on the second row by his teammate Cameron Beaubier, who did a 1:42.897.
The first of this weekend’s three MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike races is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. Eastern Time.
Current Championship point leader Avery Dreher claimed pole position during MotoAmerica Junior Cup qualifying Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, Dreher turned a lap of 1:56.774 around the 2.7-mile racetrack to top the field of 33 riders.
Rossi Moor was second-best with a 1:57.083 on his Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM RC 390 R, and Hayden Bicknese earned the third and final spot on the front row with a time of 1:57.202 on his Bicknese Racing Kawasaki.
Mikayla Moore earned pole position during MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) qualifying Saturday morning at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, Moore did a lap time of 2:09.656 around the 2.78-mile course to secure the first spot on the grid.
Sonya Lloyd was second-quickest with a 2:11.174, and Crystal Martinez claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 2:11.222.
Moore holds a 47-point lead heading into Saturday’s Race One. If she leads Lloyd by 25 points or more after Race One, Moore will clinch the Championship.
Pedro Acosta claimed pole position during Moto2 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Red Bull Ring, in Spielberg, Austria. Acosta crashed his Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex early in Qualifying Two, got back to the pits, and then went out and turned a 1:34.040 that secured pole position.
Ai Ogura qualified second with a 1:34.311 on his Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex, and Celestino Vietti was third-fastest with a 1:34.445 on his Fantic Racing Kalex.
American Joe Roberts qualified 21st with a 1:35.304 on his Italtrans Racing Kalex.
American Sean Dylan Kelly (SDK) is not riding in Austria as he is still recovering from arm surgery, according to his American Racing Team.
Race 1: Casadei grabs the glory as Ferrari crashes on the last lap
Last year the late drama came from Casadei, this time around the Italian wins from Granado and Zannoni as Ferrari slides out the lead
Mattia Casadei (40) was gifted the win in Race One when Matteo Ferrari (behind Casadei) crashed out of the lead on the last lap. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) has taken victory in MotoE™ Race 1 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as title-chasing Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) crashed out of the lead on the final lap. Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) and Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) completed the first podium of the day in Austria.
Zannoni got the perfect launch from pole and Granado quickly gained a place into P2 at Turn 2A, with Casadei slipping to P3. That soon changed to P2 though for the latter as the Italian carved his way up the inside of Granado at Turn 1 on Lap 2, with Zannoni’s early 0.5s advantage vanishing on the second lap.
The lead changed for the first time at the end of Lap 3 as Casadei shoved his way up to P1 past Zannoni, and the polesitter went P1 to P4 in the blink of an eye as Granado and Ferrari came charging past too. Ferrari then grabbed the lead after Casadei had a rear-end moment on the exit of Turn 8 a lap later.
With two laps to go, Ferrari boasted a 0.6s lead over Casadei with Granado a further six tenths down in P3. The Brazilian was holding Zannoni at bay, while Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) fancied a bit of the podium action in P5.
0.6s was Ferrari’s lead heading onto the final lap, Casadei’s gap to P3 had grown to 0.8s, as a fierce three-way fight for P3 unravelled. Then, at Turn 7, drama unfolded. Ferrari was down and out on the final lap while leading, which in turn handed Casadei a somewhat unexpected victory. Granado held off Zannoni and Garzo for second, as the latter misses out on a rostrum by just 0.084s.
Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) will be counting his lucky stars as a P5 sees his Championship lead extend to 26 points over Ferrari, as Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) claims P6 despite having a Long Lap penalty to serve from Silverstone. Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing), Mika Perez (RNF MotoE™ Team), Kevin Manfredi (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) and Tito Rabat (Prettl Pramac MotoE™) rounded out the top 10.
Race 2: Casadei holds off charging Ferrari to double down in Austria
Another stunner saw the number 40 do the double and move up to second overall as Ferrari shadowed him home
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) both doubled down in Race 2 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich AND made it three wins in a row, fending off Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) on the final lap to take over in second overall by a single point. Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) took his second podium of the day at the Red Bull Ring as he rounded out the Race 2 rostrum, completing an impressive round including a first pole too.
Mattia Casadei (40) leads Matteo Ferrari (11) and Kevin Zannoni (21) in Race Two. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Zannoni took the holeshot, and immediately had Casadei and Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) for company. Before the end of Lap 1 though, Casadei decided it was time push his way past into the lead. A group of eight riders formed at the front in the early stages with Championship leader Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) making moves at the back of the group. The Spaniard was unable to cling onto the riders ahead, however, and Casadei began to stretch out the field with five laps to go as Ferrari got the better of Granado to put himself inside the top three, too.
Disaster then struck for Granado with two laps to go as the Brazilian asked a little bit too much of his front tyre and hit the deck, rider ok but leaving a three-rider and all-Italian fight at the front.
By the last lap, Casadei led Zannoni led Ferrari, but Ferrari parked it perfectly up the inside to take over in second as they barreled towards the final sector. There was one move between the number 11 and a redemptive win, but into the iconic final corner, the Gresini rider didn’t make a lunge for it. Casadei held him off and crossed the line to complete an awesome weekend worth 50 points, but Ferrari did take that 20-point payday for second as Torres came home in sixth.
Zannoni made it two podiums with another P3, with Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) beating Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) to fourth ahead of Torres in sixth.
With that, it’s now Casadei second overall, 15 points off the top, and Ferrari in third with a deficit of 16 to Torres. Next up for MotoE™ will be the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. With the Championship picture hotting up between the leading trio, you’re not going to want to miss it!
Stefano Mesa gave himself a special 29th birthday present Saturday by winning MotoAmerica Supersport Race One at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace) in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Mesa won the red-flag-interrupted-and-restarted race by 0.180 second.
Xavi Fores finished a close second on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2, but the Spaniard actually extended his Championship point lead.
Tyler Scott was a very close third on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Mesa Gets His First Supersport Win Of The Year At Pitt Race
Mesa, Landers, Dreher Win, Moore Crowned In Pennsylvania
Stefano Mesa (37) leads Xavi Forés (12) and Tyler Scott (70) en route to winning Saturday’s Supersport race. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
WAMPUM, PA (August 19, 2023) – Two MotoAmerica rounds ago, the winner of the 2023 Supersport Championship seemed to be a fait accompli.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Xavi Forés had reeled off eight consecutive wins, and it looked like he was head for a perfect season. But things changed for the Spaniard in Minnesota and the bumpy Brainerd International Raceway wreaked havoc on the handling of his Ducati Panigale V2, as well as on his win streak. He left the Land of 10,000 Lakes without a win, and it continued in Supersport race one at Pittsburgh.
The story of the race, though, was not who didn’t win, but who did.
Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki rider Stefano Mesa notched his first Supersport victory of the season and the second of his career. Mesa also earned the pole position for both of the weekend’s races, so clearly, Pitt Race is a very good track for the Colombian. It was also Mesa’s 29th birthday.
Second place went to Forés, who commented in the post-race press conference that he is doing everything he can to keep up with the other bikes. The only Ducati rider in the field, Forés thinks the balancing measures mandated for his bike are too extreme.
Third place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Tyler Scott, which was his seventh podium result of the season.
“The whole weekend, we’ve been very fast off the get-go,” Mesa said. “I think, after race two in Brainerd, we found a little something on the bike. We’ve been dealing with a lot of chassis issues with the new B bike, what we call the B bike, since I broke the (A bike at) Ridge. I broke it in half. Been battling a lot of chassis setup. But I think we finally hit the nail where it was. I think we’re in the window for the bike. My hats off to the team. They gave me a great bike since we rolled it out of the truck. We’ve been fast all weekend. The race was great. My hats off to these guys. This is great battling with them. It’s great trying to pass Xavi (Forés) on the brakes. I think first clean race I got to actually battle with Xavi and try and go for the win. I think I had the pace. Tomorrow we’re going to try and find a little bit more and see if we can get the win again.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – The Title Chase Tightens
Rocco Landers (97) celebrates his victory in the REV’IT! Twins Cup race on Saturday at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
The battle for the 2023 REV’IT! Twins Cup Championship can’t get much closer than it already is, but Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Rocco Landers is hoping that it gets even closer after tomorrow’s second race at Pitt Race.
Landers won his sixth REV’IT! race of the year after an early battle with championship rivals Blake Davis and Gus Rodio and the win moves him to within 10 points of the lead in the title chase.
The battle for second in Saturday’s race was also the battle for the championship lead and it went to N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Davis by just .042 of a second over Landers’ teammate Rodio.
How’s this for close? Davis now leads Rodio by a single point with Landers 10 points behind Davis and nine behind Rodio.
Team Iso’s Dominic Doyle had a relatively lonely ride to fourth with TrackDay Winner/Blackmon Racing’s Jackson Blackmon rounding out the top five.
“I have not had the best past month, after what I did at Laguna,” Landers said. “But I knew this was a good track for me. It’s a good track for the bike. It’s a good track for the team. The Aprilia is handling absolutely amazing. The start I kind of got shuffled back there a little bit. I just tried to basically pick up the pieces after the first lap and do what I could to get back past these guys. They were riding amazing, obviously killing it. I knew if I could lead a few laps at least through the esses, I could maybe start to stretch out a gap and then hold it there. So, that’s what I did. It went to plan today. Doesn’t always go to plan, but today it did. We’re hoping to do at least that or even better tomorrow.”
Junior Cup – Dreher Bounces Back
The Junior Cup pack fires off into Turn One at Pittsburgh International Race Complex on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
After winning four out of the first five Junior Cup races of the season, it came as quite a surprise that Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki rider Avery Dreher hit a dry spell where he didn’t get another victory for three straight races. But, on Saturday at Pitt Race, Dreher returned to his winning ways.
Starting from pole position, the Florida-based rider battled throughout the 10-lap race with Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM’s Rossi Moor, Hayden Bicknese Racing Kawasaki rider Hayden Bicknese, and Altus Motorsports Kawasaki rider Alessandro Di Mario. At the checkers, it was Dreher who notched the win by .036 of a second over Moor, with Di Mario just .136 of a second back from Dreher.
With three more races left in the Junior Cup Championship, Dreher has a 39-point lead over Moor.
“I honestly didn’t really lead that much,” Dreher said. “I went into the race, and I wanted to be as aggressive as I can. I’m usually not the most aggressive rider, but I had to change that. So, I wanted to be able to lead the whole race, just not fall outside the top two. We went back and forth a couple times. I had a couple moments. I was battling with some little grip issues here and there. But I got to say, the bike honestly felt amazing. Thanks to the team. We figured out our issues from Friday. That last lap was just figuring out if I wanted to be in third or second going onto the front straightaway. Just kind of was in a perfect spot to get that draft. I’m just super happy to extend my points lead and get another win.”
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Moore Crowned!
Mikayla Moore wrapped up the 2023 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Championship at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Mikayla Moore kept her perfect season intact with her sixth win in six starts and it all resulted in her wrapping up the 2023 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. championship. Moore will attempt to close out a perfect season with another victory tomorrow at Pitt Race.
Sonya Lloyd earned her fifth podium of the year with her second-place finish and that virtually assures her of second in the championship after tomorrow’s finale. Lloyd battled with Moore early and finished 2.2 seconds behind the Marylander – the closest anyone has been to the newly crowned champion all season.
Defending series champion Kayleigh Buyck was third in the race and happy to be back on the podium after a rough season for the New Yorker.
“I was going into turn one and I’m like, holy crap, someone was like right next to me,” Moore said. “I just tried to do my best and hit my marks. Luckily, this round, I had my lap timer, so I ended up doing a 2:07. I told my parents. They were like, ‘What time do you think you’re going to run?’ I was like, ‘I think I’ll do a 2:08.’ But every time I get some fresh Dunlop tires, I end up going faster and meet my goals every time.
“If I can be honest, going into this program I thought I would struggle a little bit because in the beginning… I’m not able to adapt quick to bikes, so I’m really actually surprised. After the first round I was able to get quickly adapted to it and things like that. Then also we have a great team, so everyone kept each other positive. I just tried to at the Road America after the first round keep the streak going. So far, I had a perfect season. Just have to complete it tomorrow.”
Mission Mini Cup By Motul – Gouker Dominates
Nathan Gouker (1) won the Ohvale 160 class during Mission Mini Cup By Motul action on Friday at PittRace. Photo By Klingsporn Media.
Stadler America’s Nathan Gouker picked up where he left off with a resounding Ohvale 160 class victory in the MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup By Motul round on Friday afternoon at Pitt Race.
Gouker was dominant in taking a 17-second victory over Madd Will Racing’s Kruz Maddison, who barely beat American Racing’s Connor Raymond by a scant .198 of a second.
American Racing’s Joshua Raymond scored the win in the Ohvale 190 class, beating Alpha Omega’s Ryder Davis by 4.8 seconds with HistoricGP’s Mahdi Salem finishing a distant third.
Stock class racing on Friday saw Cory Texter Racing/Roof Systems’ Cruise Texter winning the Stock 50 class; Varnes Racing’s Cole Varnes doing likewise in Stock 110 with Jacobsen Motorcycle Training/Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt winning the Stock 125 final.
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, LLC:
VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S TY SCOTT EARNS FIFTH STRAIGHT PODIUM AT PITTSBURGH
Suzuki Dominates the Supersport Top Ten Results
BREA, CA — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer continued to stack up trophy-winning weekends with another podium performance in the MotoAmerica Supersport race on Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
Tyler Scott scored his fifth-consecutive podium with a competitive third-place finish.
Teagg Hobbs closed on the leaders late to earn a hard-charging fifth.
Superbike
Richie Escalante qualified fourth before collecting an eighth-place result.
Brandon Paasch showed impressive speed in the opening half of the race and ended up in ninth.
Superbike
Brandon Paasch broke into the top five for the first time in his short stint with the team.
Richie Escalante collected seventh, ending his run of six straight top fives.
Tyler Scott (70) earned a hard-fought third place and fifth consecutive podium at Pittsburgh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott continued his recent tear aboard the team’s next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750, again challenging for victory en route to an eventual third-place result in the day’s Supersport contest. Despite starting from the outside of Row 2, Scott launched into third at the start. After going back and forth with teammate Teagg Hobbs, Scott consolidated third and then tracked down the leaders to make it a three-way fight for the win.
A red flag put a temporary halt to that battle, which resumed with an even more intense four-way fight for glory, with Scott again running in third. The rising star harried the leaders relentlessly but could not find a way through. Scott ultimately crossed the line in third, less than a half-second off the win, securing his fifth consecutive podium finish in 2023.
“It was a tight race and a good one,” Scott said, “but it was very hard. My competitors were very good on the brakes, and it was hard to get beside them to make a move. I was happy with the bike and the team’s performance, and I thought everything was positive. We may adjust some things in the Sunday morning warm-up to see if we can improve, but we are in good shape for the next race.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) qualified strong, battling for fifth in Supersport race one. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
After qualifying second fastest aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, Teagg Hobbs was in a race-long melee himself. With a race chocked full of runs and momentum shifts, Hobbs was as high as third and as low as sixth. Hobbs managed to claw his way back up to fifth late in the contest, where he charged on the leaders before finally taking the checkered flag in fifth. Team Hammer’s results led the charge once more, as Suzuki GSX-Rs continued to dominate the Supersport results, earning 50% of the top ten results in Pittsburgh.
Hobbs said, “I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the race, and we made some changes to the setup during the red flag that made things better. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race. The goal is to stay in the top five – and we did that again – but I am trying to get closer to the leaders. The main thing for tomorrow is to clean things up and change my approach a little.”
Richie Escalante (54) earned eighth place at Pittsburgh’s Saturday Superbike contest. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante reminded the Superbike field of his front-running speed aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R with an impressive fourth-place showing in qualifying. Unfortunately, Escalante was unable to capitalize on that strong start in hopes of notching his tenth top-five race finish of the year. Escalante was shuffled down to ninth on the opening lap, and then struggled to find a way back up through the field, finally coming home with an eighth-place result.
“It has been a difficult weekend, honestly,” Escalante said. “I’ve been working hard with the crew to feel more comfortable on the bike, especially on the exits. We made progress and got P4 in qualifying, but it was a very difficult race. I found my position at the start and thought it was time to start moving forward, but in the different temperature conditions, we needed more grip. I kept pushing and got points, but we are looking forward to getting two more chances tomorrow.”
Brandon Paasch (96) continues his Superbike comeback, carding ninth at Pittsburgh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Coming off another top-five outing with the team in the premier class, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch flashed the speed to repeat that feat early in the Superbike race. After starting on the outside of Row 3, Paasch slotted into seventh early and then applied heavy pressure on sixth place until approximately half-distance. Paasch – who is both adapting to the Superbike class and working back to full fitness – lost ground over the second half of the race before collecting ninth at the checkered flag.
“I’m happy with what we were able to accomplish in the race,” said Paasch. “I had a good start and moved up. We’re surely making progress, but I made a mistake and ran off track in Turn 1. Then, trying to catch up, I ran off again in the chicane. By then, I had killed my tire and I struggled the last few laps. I’m fired up for tomorrow. The competition is tough, but we got 17 more race laps in as I am trying to learn and improve.”
The team will have an opportunity on Sunday to turn podiums into wins and top tens into top fives when the MotoAmerica weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex concludes with another Supersport race and two more Superbike races.
Avery Dreher rode his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 to victory in MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Dreher overtook Rossi Moor on the run from the final corner to the finish line to win his fifth race of the season by just 0.036 second and extend his Championship point lead.
Moor led most of the race but had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM RC 390 R.
Alessandro Di Mario finished third on his Altus Motorsports Kawasaki, taking his first podium finish in Junior Cup.
Hayden Bicknese was a close fourth on his Bicknese Racing Kawasaki, Yandel Medina took fifth on his Yandel Racing Kawasaki, and Max Van was a close sixth, just 0.8 second behind Dreher, on his SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki Ninja 400.
Rocco Landers claimed pole position during MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660, Landers turned a 1:47.736 to top the field of 39 entries.
Defending Champion Blake Davis was the best of the rest with a 1:48.155 on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha YZF-R7, and Landers’ teammate Gus Rodio took the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:48.401 on his Aprilia.
Stefano Mesa grabbed pole position during MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Mesa did a 1:45.746 lap time on his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to top the field of 41.
Teagg Hobbs claimed the second spot on the grid with a time of 1:45.825 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, and Championship point leader Xavi Fores earned the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:46.108 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2.
The Red Bull Ring, in Austria. Photo courtesy Michelin.
Defending World Champion Francesco Bagnaia rode his Lenovo Ducati Desmosedici to victory in Saturday’s MotoGP World Championship Sprint Race at Red Bull Ring, in Austria. Bagnaia won the 14-lap race by 2.056 seconds.
Brad Binder was the runner-up on his Red Bull KTM RC16, and Jorge Martin finished third, three seconds behind Binder, on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Championship contender Marco Bezzecchi did not finish (DNF) after being collected in a chain-reaction incident in Turn One and crashing.
Bagnaia holds off Binder as high drama hits in the Spielberg Sprint
Bagnaia vs Binder escapes the chaos as Martin’s dramatic Saturday continues – culminating in a podium and a Long Lap
The start of the MotoGP Sprint Race at Red Bull Ring. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) converted pole position into Tissot Sprint victory number four of 2023 as the Italian fended off an early Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) challenge at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) picked up P3 but the Spaniard was heavily involved in the drama that unfolded right from the get-go, as well as another dose later in the Sprint.
Key contenders crash at Turn 1
Bagnaia got away well from pole well with Binder – as always – launching like a rocket ship from the outside of the front row as well. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) got a sluggish start from P2, however, and dropped like a stone as Turn 1 played host to high drama.
Martin was on the inside line, with contact made with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), which then started a domino effect. Viñales was involved as he was sandwiched between Quartararo and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), and the latter went down along with Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team). Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) was also caught up in the incident. Martin was later given a Long Lap penalty for Sunday’s race after being found to have been riding irresponsibly.
Bagnaia untouchable on Saturday
Francesco Bagnaia (1). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Back at the front, Bagnaia led from Binder. By the start of Lap 5 the duo were over a second up the road from Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), with Martin running in P5. On Lap 6, Miller went from P3 to P5 as Marini and Martin pounced though, and more drama involving Martin then unravelled – this time at Turn 2A. Martin was up the inside of Marini but contact was made as the duo tipped it into the apex, with the latter crashing out unhurt.
Meanwhile, Bagnaia’s lead was up to a second over Binder, who in turn had three seconds in hand to Martin. With six laps left, Pecco was 1.3s ahead of the leading KTM, and the gap kept on climbing. Binder was a safe second, the #33 was 2.7s up the road from Martin, and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) was a lonely P4 as we got confirmation that no further action would be taken regarding the Martin-Marini clash.
Bagnaia made no mistake to bring his Ducati home for Austrian GP Tissot Sprint victory to extend his title lead, with Binder claiming P2 in KTM’s backyard. Martin took the bronze medal from P12 on the grid. A spirited – albeit slightly controversial – comeback ride. Alex Marquez held on to fourth, with Miller taking P5.
With a host of other expected frontrunners further down the order facing a fight back after that huge Turn 1 shuffle, there was plenty going on there, including a charge from GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3’s Pol Espargaro. He took an impressive P6, highly commendable as the Spaniard competes in just his second Tissot Sprint of the season.
Aleix Espargaro finished P7, 0.144s further back, and had some serious pressure from teammate Viñales. The number 12 produced a great fight back to take P8 and nearly, nearly pounce on the final lap. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) held off Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) for the final Saturday afternoon point.
Meanwhile, Quartararo had some extra drama after the Turn 1 incident too. He clashed with Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing), and was given a Long Lap to serve in the Sprint, which he did.
As the dust settles, it truly was drama aplenty in the Austrian GP Tissot Sprint. Now, the big points are on offer on Sunday, with plenty looking to fight back. Tune into the MotoGP™ race at 14:00 local time (GMT+2)!
Bobby Fong stunned the field by taking pole position in MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1, an ex-Fresh N Lean Attack Yamaha, Fong turned a 1:41.674 around the 2.7-mile course. Not only was that time good enough for pole position, it was 0.569 second faster than anyone else.
Fong did his fastest lap while following — and nearly passing — two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne, who was in the process of doing the second-quickest lap, a 1:42.243, on his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Mathew Scholtz made it an all-Yamaha front row with a 1:42.285 on his Westby Racing machine.
Scholtz bumped Richie Escalante off the front row, and the Mexican rider will start fourth based on the 1:42.340 he did on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
PJ Jacobsen led both of Friday’s Superbike sessions, but the best the New Yorker could do Saturday was a fifth-fastest 1:42.430 on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Jacobsen will be joined on the second row by his teammate Cameron Beaubier, who did a 1:42.897.
The first of this weekend’s three MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike races is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. Eastern Time.
Current Championship point leader Avery Dreher claimed pole position during MotoAmerica Junior Cup qualifying Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, Dreher turned a lap of 1:56.774 around the 2.7-mile racetrack to top the field of 33 riders.
Rossi Moor was second-best with a 1:57.083 on his Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM RC 390 R, and Hayden Bicknese earned the third and final spot on the front row with a time of 1:57.202 on his Bicknese Racing Kawasaki.
Mikayla Moore earned pole position during MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) qualifying Saturday morning at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, Moore did a lap time of 2:09.656 around the 2.78-mile course to secure the first spot on the grid.
Sonya Lloyd was second-quickest with a 2:11.174, and Crystal Martinez claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 2:11.222.
Moore holds a 47-point lead heading into Saturday’s Race One. If she leads Lloyd by 25 points or more after Race One, Moore will clinch the Championship.
Pedro Acosta claimed pole position during Moto2 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Red Bull Ring, in Spielberg, Austria. Acosta crashed his Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex early in Qualifying Two, got back to the pits, and then went out and turned a 1:34.040 that secured pole position.
Ai Ogura qualified second with a 1:34.311 on his Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex, and Celestino Vietti was third-fastest with a 1:34.445 on his Fantic Racing Kalex.
American Joe Roberts qualified 21st with a 1:35.304 on his Italtrans Racing Kalex.
American Sean Dylan Kelly (SDK) is not riding in Austria as he is still recovering from arm surgery, according to his American Racing Team.
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regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
