Category: Moto2

Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP, Uncategorized

Moto3 & Moto2 round-up: Silverstone – Binder and Luthi move clear of trouble to take victory

It was not to be for the Brits on home soil after their recent successes, but the way to victory was clear – get ahead of the madness behind you. Binder managed this late on in Moto3, while Luthi pulled away enough to be clear of trouble in Moto2 at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

Moto3

Brad Binder’s last lap break handed him victory and increased his championship lead after a duel with his rookie team-mate Bo Bendsneyder at Red Bull KTM Ajo had been a highlight of the closing laps.

The championship leader pulled away at just the right time to increase his championship lead further – nearest rival Jorge Navarro had been in contention after recovering from his 18th place grid start rapidly but contact with wild-card Manzi ended his race.

Lowes Zarco Gresini Moto2 2016 Silverstone
Lowes vs Zarco, the big Moto2 talking point! Photo:Gresini Racing Moto2

Mahindra were back on the podium courtesy of a gutsy ride by Pecco Bagnaia, who turned his pole into a second with his final effort, splitting the KTM pair. Bendsneyder took his first podium in third.

With a huge amount of riders in contention for the win right up to the final lap it was Manzi, starting 34th who was just to miss out on the podium, claiming a fine fourth while holding off top Sky Racing VR46 rider Nicolo Bulega who had to settle for fifth. Continue reading “Moto3 & Moto2 round-up: Silverstone – Binder and Luthi move clear of trouble to take victory”

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Moto2, Moto3, Uncategorized

Moto3 & Moto2 round-up : Silverstone- Bagnaia and Lowes on pole as rain takes control.

MotoGP arrives in Britain riding a wave of British success, after John McPhee won the Moto3 race in Brno, closely followed by Cal Crutchlow in MotoGP, with Sam Lowes putting in a podium performance in between in Moto2.

The talk in the paddock soon shifted to the weather, which took hold, drenching the circuit and controlling qualifying. Pecco Bagnaia impressed in his ability to wet weather run for pole in Moto3,with a late run from Lowes also seeing him occupy the top spot on the grid in Moto2.

Moto3

The rain had already settled in by the time Moto3 took to track, so it was left to whoever managed the weather best to have a shot at pole.

Gresini Lowes pole 2016 Silverstone
‘Home Sweet Home’ – Lowes on Moto2 pole for Silverstone    Photo:Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2

Francesco Bagnaia had the right stuff and looked confident as he gave Aspar Mahindra pole, a first for the Italian rider.

He is joined on the front row by Honda Gresini’s Enea Bastianini and Bo Bendsneyder, though the Red Bull KT Ajo will not keep the position as he has earned a five place grid penalty for slow riding. Continue reading “Moto3 & Moto2 round-up : Silverstone- Bagnaia and Lowes on pole as rain takes control.”

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Moto2, Moto3, Uncategorized

Moto3 and Moto2: Brno – Fearless McPhee and Folger show how to win in the wet

With qualifying relegated to just a distant memory it was to be the weather that would have the bigger impact on the Czech Republic races at Brno.

Moto3 gave us a first time winner in John McPhee, while Jonas Folger also stood on the top step of the podium after perfecting his run in the tricky wet conditions.

Moto3

Moto3 saw John McPhee wrangle his bike while his rivals fell in the first race of the day in Brno, his victory particularly special given all his recent bike woes.

The British rider ran at the front on his Peugeot MC Saxoprint along with championship leader Brad Binder and double wet winner Khairul Idham Pawi, with both crashing out McPhee was left with a huge advantage, which he he despite an out-of-the-seat moment in the latter stages.

Gresini Brno Race 2016
Moto3 in action  Photo:Gresini Racing Moto3

Second went to early leader Jorge Martin on the Aspar Mahindra, while Fabio Di Giannantinio made the most of being brought to the front by Pawi to hold on to third as he continues to grace the podium in his rookie season.

His Gresini colleague Enea Bastianini was next to take the flag in fourth ahead of fellow Italian Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold) in fifth and home hero Jakub Kornfeil holding on to sixth for Drive M7 SIC after a strong start.

Bo Bendsneyder used the wet to help him repair his poor qualifying, making his way up to seventh and the top Red Bull KTM Ajo rider. He was ahead of Joan Mir, winner just last week at the Red Bull Ring, for Leopard and Top Sky Racing VR46 rider Nicolo Bulega in ninth. Jorge Navarro, Binders main title rival, cut the points deficit slightly with a tenth for Estrella Galicia. Continue reading “Moto3 and Moto2: Brno – Fearless McPhee and Folger show how to win in the wet”

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Moto3 and Moto2 round up: Brno- experienced Binder and Zarco ride to pole as crashes and penalties dominate.

Straight off the back of the action at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the MotoGP paddock arrives on much more familiar ground at Brno for the Czech Republic Grand Prix races.

Late runs were the order of the day as Brad Binder and Johann Zarco both used their experience in the Moto3 and Moto2 classes to push for pole position as the clock ticked down in qualifying.

UPDATED: Below is left as the result at the time to reflect the qualifying session, however the following penalties have been applied to the following riders post-race:

Moto3-

3 place grid penalty – Niccolo Antonelli, Andrea Migno.

4 place grid penalty – Albert Arenas, Philipp Oettl

7 place grid penalty – Fabio Quartararo

Moto2-

Kent demoted from 8th to 16th after having a string of laps cancelled for low tyre pressure.

Moto3

Brad Binder pulled out the fastest standing lap of qualifying when it counted for pole ahead of the Moto3 Czech Republic Grand Prix, though over the course the session he saw his best lap wiped from the timing screens for exceeding track limits and could not go quite as fast as he did in FP3.

zarco brno 2016 qualifying
Leading the way: Johann Zarco           Photo:Ajo Motorsport

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider and championship leader held off competition for the top spot from Anrdea Migno, eventually finishing the session second for Sky Racing Team VR46 and Enea Bastianini, who also ran too far off track on his best run, leaving the Gresini rider third.

Jorge Martin held the top spot on the timesheets the longest for Aspar Mahindra before finally being pushed down to fourth, a best qualifying result for the Spaniard.

He is joined on row two by Gresini’s top rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio and Sky racing’s fellow rookie Nicolo Bulega, both coping well at a track where they have less experience for fifth and sixth respectively.

Nico Antonelli was pole man and race season at Brno in 2105 but this season the Ongetta-Rivacold rider could only manage a performance good enough for seventh. Continue reading “Moto3 and Moto2 round up: Brno- experienced Binder and Zarco ride to pole as crashes and penalties dominate.”

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Moto3 and Moto2 round up: Austria- pole to victory for both Mir and Zarco

In both of the support class races the rider who was the pole-sitter converted to a win, but neither Joan Mir or Johann Zarco had things all their own way on the way to victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Moto3

Rookie Joan Mir slid into the lead at just the right time as the riders behind remained tangled in a war for position to take his maiden win at the Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

The Leopard Racing rider had been a constant in the lead group and it contracted and expanded, before settling on a final lead five for the closing laps. Mir ensured KTM a win on home soil for the manufacturer when he slipped past Brad Binder, who continued to fight with Enea Bastianini, leaving the Spaniard enough room to steal a gap for a decisive win.

2016 Zarco backfip Austria
Celebrating another win- Johann Zarco  Photo: Ajo Motorsport

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s championship leader extended his lead with second, nearest rivals Jorge Navarro and Romano Fenati failed to score, Navarro fell near the end of the race, while Fenati didn’t start after being suspended by his team over his conduct.

Bastianini managed to stop the KTM podium domination in third for Gresini Honda.

If he was frustrated, then Fabio Quartararo was just pain angry at being run out of the rostrum finishes, throwing his gloves as he returned to the pits on the second Leopard entry. The last of the leaders, Philipp Oettl took fifth. Continue reading “Moto3 and Moto2 round up: Austria- pole to victory for both Mir and Zarco”

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Moto3 and Moto2 round-up: Austria: Zarco and Rookie Mir battle hard for pole.

As the MotoGP paddock returns to Austria after a long hiatus, there are few out-and-out favourites in the support classes after minimal testing at the Red Bull Ring. This produced two very different outcomes in the battle for pole.

Moto3 headed out on track first, where rookie Joan Mir shone on his way to pole after a battle with the experienced championship leader Brad Binder.

Moto2 saw reigning champion and leader in the title hunt Johann Zarco win his own war against Franco Morbidelli to take a confident pole in the last session of the day.

Moto3

Moto3 got qualifying off to a frantic start with a session which saw the lead time swap, until a battle between rookie Joan Mir and championship leader Brad Binder emerged, and not only by time – the pair also had a lose call on track which ended with the Leopard rider in the gravel.

2016 Austria Morbidelli QP EG Marc VDS
Close to the front: Franco Morbidelli  Photo Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS

The Spaniard went on to set the best time around the Red Bull Ring at just the right moment, with Binder having his final lap ruined by traffic on track leaving the Red Bull KTM Ajo Rider in second.

Gresini Honda’s Enea Bastianini managed to halt a full front row of KTM’s on their home turf by stealing a late third.

Aron Canet delighted with a late dash handing him fourth on the grid for Estrella Galicia 0,0, well ahead of his championship hopeful team-mate Jorge Navarro who qualified 18th.

Fabio Quartararo (Leopard Racing) starts fifth but had been one of many riders to struggle with staying inside track limits, losing handfuls of fast laps.

Francesco Bagnaia also improved over the session on his way to sixth for Aspar Mahindra, finishing ahead of Sky Racing Team VR46 top rider Nicolo Bulega.

Philipp Oettl had top ten pace and pushed on, mainly working solo around the track for eighth for Schedl GP Racing. Continue reading “Moto3 and Moto2 round-up: Austria: Zarco and Rookie Mir battle hard for pole.”

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Moto3 and Moto2: Germany- Wins for Pawi and Zarco as the rain arrives at the Sachsenring.

Ahead of race day rain had been predicted, it arrived and played a part in all of the German Grand Prix races at the Sachsenring. Here’s what happened in Moto3 and Moto2.

Moto3

In Moto3 the riders who tend to go better in the wet soon found their way to the front, with Khairul Idham Pawi treating us to another display as good as his Argentina wet win and needing just four laps to hit the front after qualifying down in 20th.

The Honda Team Asia teenager wasn’t without a wobble along the way in the tricky conditions but his confidence in the wet and huge time advantage saw him the clear winner after seeing off early rivals including team-mate Hiroki Ono.

Andrea Locatelli was the next rider to find the chequered flag, his best race result so far and his first podium finish with Leopard on the KTM.

Zarco germany win 2016 Ajo.png
Zarco-back to winning ways     Photo: Ajo Motorsport

The final podium spot went to pole man Enea Bastianini after a brave fight through the group and then a break clear on the Gresini Honda secured him a rostrum finish.

Jakub Kornfeil once again performed well in the wet to be the best of the rest for Drive M7 SIC, his best result of the season. He too pulled clear of the battle for fifth as Gresini’s Fabio Di Giananntonio battled on track with John McPhee. The Gresini rider won at the line, but the Briton still posted the best result yet for Peugeot since their return, and his Continue reading “Moto3 and Moto2: Germany- Wins for Pawi and Zarco as the rain arrives at the Sachsenring.”

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