Bray Hill Blues; visor issue costs Dunlop as Hicky wins 14th TT

June 2, 2024

If Brad Pitt and Channing Tatum decide to make a movie based on the TT, their script writer will have to be very special to better the script written by the hand of fate for the Superbike TT. The weather was just about perfect; increasing amounts of sunlight breaking through the thin, high cloud, light breezes; cool temperature and we had a perfectly dry track.

The race started on time; the great John McGuinness (Honda) was the first to power away to the plunge down Bray Hill. Jamie Coward (KTS Steadplan Honda) was next; hoping that late changes would solve a handling problem. The perennially fast starting Dean Harrison was next on the Honda Racing Fireblade; that had been giving front end handling problems when the fuel load lightened.

In what seemed no time at all the first riders reached the timing beat at Glen Helen. It was Davey Todd on the Milwaukee BMW who was quickest over the 9 miles from the start; he led by 0.4s from Peter Hickman on the FHO BMW; with Dean Harrison 3^rd, 0.66s behind. Michael Dunlop (Hawk Honda) was 4^th; Josh Brookes 5^th on the second FHO BMW and James Hillier 6^th on the WTF Honda. For Brookes the race was over at Handley’s due to machine problems. At Ballaugh, Todd led by 0.166s from Harrison with Dunlop 3^rd, 1.42s behind. Hickman, Hillier and Jamie Coward completed the top 6.

There were a smaller number of spectators than is usual at May Hill. The conditions were ideal as John McGuinness charged between the walls and onwards to White Gates. Dean Harrison was next, having already taken the 10s starting difference out of Jamie Coward (Steadplan Honda). Michael Dunlop and James Hillier were next as the riders provided a fine spectacle for the spectators gathered to watch the action. The timing beam at White Gates showed that Davey Todd led by 1.19s from Harrison with Dunlop 3^rd; just 0.8s behind. Hickman, Hillier and Coward filled the leader board.

With a lap at 134.417s Todd led the race by 2.254s from Dunlop (134.118mph) as they started lap 2. Harrison (134.048 mph) was third, only 0.525s down on Dunlop. Hickman, Hillier and Coward completed the first 6. Conor Cummins (Milenco Padgett Honda) held 7^th, McGuinness 8^th, Davo Johnson 9^th; all lapped at over 130mph. Mike Browne set the best lap ever by an Aprilia with his 129.489mph.

It was tight at the sharp end; Todd led by 1.52s from Dunlop at Glen Helen, Harrison was 3^rd, with Hickman 4^th. They were over 19s ahead of Hillier who had Coward 2.3s behind him. Dunlop seems to be the master of the section to Ballaugh; he led there by 0.51s from Todd. Hickman was third; with Harrison 0.855s behind him. Lap 2 gave more fine action at May Hill where it was obvious that Dunlop had pulled the pin; he led by 4.45s and was on Superbike lap record pace. Hickman held 3^rd 1.87s down on Todd. Harrison; Hillier and Coward completed the top 6.

A sector record time allowed Dunlop to lead by 6.62s at the Bungalow. A Superbike lap record of 135.543s gave him a lead of 9.2s over Hickman (134.701mph) as they came in for the first fuel stop. Todd lapped at 133.98mph to be just 0.416s behind Hickman. Harrison, Hillier and Coward completed the top 6; with McGuinness 7^th. Mike Browne in 9^th put his Aprilia around at 129.918mph; so near to the first 130mph lap for rider and bike.

Dunlop reached Glen Helen with a 9s advantage over Todd. Hickman had been dropped to third by a relatively slow pit stop. Harrison was 4^th with Coward 5^th; just 0.3s ahead of Hillier. As they passed us at May Hill; Dunlop led on the road and by 14.64s from Todd; with Hickman 4.04s adrift in 3^rd. A lap speed of 128.139mph gave Dunlop a lead of 17.316s from Todd; with Hickman 4.1s down on Todd. Harrison, Coward and Hillier completed our top 6.

Glen Helen on lap 4 saw Dunlop’s lead up to 17.6s and Todd 7.24s ahead of Hickman. When he powered up May Hill, Dunlop had a lead of 22.6s from Todd; who was now 6.24s ahead of Hickman. Harrison was far from out of the equation being just 2.75s down on Hickman.

Entering pit lane for the second fuel stop, a lap at 135.235mph gave Dunlop a lead of 25.135s from Todd. Harrison also lapped at over 135mph, and this had allowed him to grab third by 2.06s from Hickman. As Dunlop was about to leave it was noticed that his new visor had not clicked into place properly. To be able to attach it properly he had to stop on Bray Hill; take it off; take his gloves off; effect correct attachment; then put everything back on. This cost him over a minute. There were groans from the spectators as this was announced on Radio TT. Todd’s prospects were seriously damaged when his machine would not re-fire immediately and required a lengthy push down pit lane. For Harrison and Hickman there were no such problems.

At Glen Helen we had a new race; Harrison led by 11.17s from Hickman, Todd was 10.14s further back in third; with Dunlop 19.66s down in 4^th. John McGuinness was up to 5^th, with Hillier 6^th. Dunlop and Todd were on a mission; Dunlop set a sector record on the run to Ballaugh; with Todd just 0.3s slower. They aced the run to Ramsey; this time it was Todd who claimed the record. Dunlop used every inch of the road on the exit of Cruickshank’s Corner; whilst Todd did the same going out of White Gates. Hickman set a personal best to lead the race by 1.45s from Harrison as he passed us. Todd was the fastest on the mountain climb to edge closer to the leaders.

Hickman’s lap at 127.948mph gave him a lead of 2.097s over Harrison as they went past the Grandstand at full speed. We had four of the finest of their generation battling for glory; the expectation was that the lap record set earlier in the race by Dunlop would be blown into the weeds. Sector best times were the order of the day for the leading group; with Dunlop setting the new sector record to Glen Helen. Hickman was fastest to Ballaugh; where he led by 6.516s from Harrison. Todd had cut his deficit to Harrison to 1.28s; meanwhile Dunlop was over 20s behind him with just 19 miles to go. The top riders were superb through Cruickshanks and White Gates; using all of the road in a dazzling display of skill and courage. Starting the mountain climb Hickman led 8.52s from Todd who was 0.9s ahead of Harrison. Dunlop was the fastest of all; but he was not going to secure a podium finish.

Hickman’s last lap of 135.534mph gave him his 14^th TT victory by 5.84s from Todd (135.664mph); with Harrison (134.335mph) taking the final podium finish. Dean will be happy with the progress made with the new Fireblade since the start of practice. Dunlop set a new Superbike lap record at 135.970mph to show what should have been. The TT can be cruel; yesterday’s euphoria replaced by bitter disappointment. He will take comfort from the fact that with a trouble free run he would have won; he will the man to beat in the Senior. Another fine ride took James Hillier to 5^th and let him gain revenge (for snatching a NW podium place) on John McGuinness who was just 2.887s behind him after 6 laps of the toughest road racing on the planet. Jamie Coward took 7^th, his last lap at 132.696mph shows that he is making progress with his new Fireblade. A wonderful ride saw local TT debutant Marcus Simpson take 12^th in his first ride on the course on a 1000cc machine. Other locals had ill luck, Conor Cummins and Mikey Evans forced to retire whilst Ryan cringle had an off at Waterworks; thankfully without injury.

This race will live in memory for a very long time; it saw Michael Dunlop set two new laps records yet fail to take a podium place. If the Senior Race can come close to this; it too will be very special.

Bray Hill Blues; Visor Issue Costs Dunlop As Hicky Wins 14th Tt . — Davey Todd

Prado Takes The Red Plate Back As Lucas Coenen Makes It Three In A Row

Frank Duggan

June 2, 2024

For the third GP out of the last four, wet weather affected the conditions for the gladiators of the MXGP World Motocross Championships this weekend, but the Liqui Moly MXGP of Germany provided more fantastic confrontations between the leading contenders in both classes at the Talkessel!

What the weather could not affect, however, was the enthusiasm of the German fans, who created an incredible atmosphere in the tight valley of the Teutschenthal venue. The hosting MSC Teutschenthal clubalso worked very hard with the MXGP track crew to keep the circuit in the best racing condition possible.

After struggling more than most in muddy conditions so far this season, reigning World Champion Jorge Prado took his sixth Grand Prix win of the season in MXGP, with two race wins for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, achieved in his customary style of getting out early and holding off all challengers, although he certainly had challenges to contend with! He leaves Germany with the red plate back on his machine, and a slender two-point lead in his pocket heading to Latvia.

In MX2, the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing duo of series leader Kay de Wolf and Lucas Coenen battled hard, with the Belgian teenager coming out on top to make it three straight GP wins for the #96 rider. This moves him up to second in the Championship table, 59 points behind his teammate.

Tim Gajser took to the starting line first for Team HRC and knew that the start would be more vital than ever on the sticky circuit, which still had a hard base to affect traction amongst all the ruts. The Slovenian led the championship by six points over Jorge Prado after winning the RAM Qualifying Race .

For the first time this year, Glenn Coldenhoff took the Fox Holeshot Award for Fantic Factory Racing, with Henry Jacobi again getting involved on his Sarholz Racing KTM with the front runners, as Prado ran the German hero wide, allowing Gajser to briefly grab 2nd from the reigning Champ! However, Prado was having none of it and the pair got aggressive with each other in the first few corners! Just after completing the move on Gajser, the Spaniard made a decisive move up the inside of Coldenhoff to take the lead halfway around the first lap!

Gajser took some time to get past Coldenhoff, and when he finally did on lap four, Prado was already eight seconds down the track. Leading as well as usual and setting the fastest lap on lap four to immediately squash Gajser’s hopes of catching, it was the 9th GP race win of the year for the #1 plate holder.

There was more battling going on behind him, though, as Calvin Vlaanderen worked his way forward for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP, along with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings, who was outside of the top ten around the first corner! Romain Febvre, meanwhile, started touring, and pulled out of the weekend’s racing, turning straight into the Kawasaki Racing Team paddock on the third lap.

Gajser seemed to not have his full speed available to him, and later confessed to suffering with intense arm-pump issues. Herlings fought past both the Slovenian and, on lap 14 of 17, Vlaanderen to take what would be a solid second place. Calvin passed Tim, but fell in a right hander by the start straight and gifted the position back. They swapped places twice more, a loss of traction on a jump costing the Dutchman third position, and keeping the Honda man in the Championship lead by a single point going into race two!

Standing Construct Honda man Pauls Jonass made a late move on Coldenhoff to claim 5th, but ultimately no-one could touch Prado who took a win by 13 seconds from Herlings after backing off for the last few easy laps.

The rain held off and let the track dry out, making it around five or more seconds per lap faster than race one, and with the confidence to move to a slightly more outside gate, Prado grabbed his 9th Fox Holeshot Award of the season, but he had company this time in the shape of “The Bullet” as Herlings held an inside line in turn two to pass the Kawasaki Racing Team rider Jeremy Seewer for 2nd. Gajser and Vlaanderen also got past the Swiss veteran to give chase to the flying Prado.

It looked like Herlings had got his claws into the reigning Champ with a series of faster laps that put him just a second shy of the leader. Then he hit a rut a little too hard and although he didn’t crash, it hurt his momentum and he was almost immediately under attack from Gajser!

On lap twelve the Slovenian made his move in the middle of the valley, and took up the chase to Prado! Vlaanderen and Coldenhoff held on to fourth and fifth, and Seewer made a late move to grab sixth from TeamShip To Cycle Honda Motoblouz SR veteran Valentin Guillod.

Gajser, just as Herlings before him, got to within a second of Prado, but the Spaniard simply would not crack and kept up his pace to break the pursuit, eventually winning by just over three seconds. The Spaniard moves onto 44 Grand Prix wins for his career, two behind Gajser for sixth in the all-time win list.

Jorge Prado: “It was overall a perfect weekend. I’m super happy with my riding. Getting back to hard pack with more normal conditions for me. It was good with good starts too. Not much to say, I’m just very happy to get another win! We keep going like this with Latvia next,, which is a good track for me so let’s get some sand riding next week!”

Tim Gajser: “With my first race I’m a bit disappointed you know, because I had a good start and was just behind Jorge (Prado) and Glenn (Coldenhoff) but couldn’t pass immediately so I lost a little bit of rhythm so I used wrong line and got arm pump and survival mode until the end. Race two was much better, we got a very pace with Jorge and Jeffrey (Herlings). I managed to make a pass toward the end but had to settle for second but riding was good and I’m happy to leave Germany with a podium. A big thank you to all my team.”

Jeffrey Herlings: “It was not easy in the second race. It was really unlucky twice for me to come back on Tim (Gajser) with some lappers in between us and I couldn’t get close enough to Tim. But anyway 2-3 and third on the day which is not that bad. I got injured a couple of times on this track so I’m very happy to come back home safe and keep fighting for the championship as it’s still a long season. Proud of my day! “

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 36:00.648; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:12.895; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:14.689; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:17.094; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Honda), +0:22.867; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:31.524; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:40.501; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +0:45.931; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:50.795; 10. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), +0:57.896

MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 35:36.969; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:03.329; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:07.378; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:41.166; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:49.615; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:54.007; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:11.756; 8. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), +1:19.029; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +1:24.930; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:26.354

MXGP Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 36:00.648; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:12.895; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:14.689; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:17.094; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Honda), +0:22.867; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:31.524; 7. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:40.501; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +0:45.931; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:50.795; 10. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), +0:57.896

MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 50 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 42 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 42 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 31 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 27 p.; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, FAN), 23 p.; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 21 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 21 p.; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 21

MXGP – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 402 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 400 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 336 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 327 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 267 p.; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 263 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 231 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 161 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 151 p

The MX2 class held the main hopes of the German crowd for some home success as their man Simon Laengenfelder, second in the points standings for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, took the fastest lap in Time Practice, before a fall cost him a shot at the RAM Qualifying Race, which was won by Kay de Wolf.

It was the man in form, Lucas Coenen, who took his first Fox Holeshot Award of the year to lead immediately in race one, but crowd favourite Laengenfelder was in second, and after disposing of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo around the first lap, so too was De Wolf – the top three in the series briefly in reverse order!

It didn’t take the Dutchman long to get around the German, though, and took up the chase to Lucas Coenen. The top five stayed in their order throughout the race, with Adamo fourth, and Rick Elzinga fifth for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2. After carving past the Fantic Factory Racing MX2 machine of Kay Karssemakers on the third lap, Quentin Prugnieres was sixth for F&H Racing, despite holding off several attempts from Team HRC rookie Ferruccio Zanchi. Liam Everts had one of those races to forget for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, with a poor start and a further crash, just to nip past Zanchi on the final lap to salvage 7th.

De Wolf made several runs at Lucas, but this time the Belgian did not crack, and in fact it was Kay who made the mistakes as he chased, ultimately having to settle for second despite claiming the fastest lap of the race. It was Lucas’ fourth straight GP race win and left him just a point behind Laengenfelder for second in the series.

A fired up Laengenfelder took the Fox Holeshot Award ahead of Adamo and Elzinga, but De Wolf and Lucas Coenen battled past the Dutch Yamaha star and the reigning World Champion to try and chase down the crowd favourite as the valley vibrated to the sound of horns, hooters, and revving chainsaw engines encouraging their man to greater heights!

Despite this, De Wolf was through into the lead on the second lap, and Lucas got through on lap six. Adamo also took advantage of a mistake by the German to grab third, but a few corners later he was on the ground after over balancing on a corner jump. He would recover to finish sixth. Just in front of the pit lane a lap later, De Wolf tipped over in a deep rut and handed the lead to his teammate! As Mikkel Haarup moved up to take a fine fourth place finish for Monster Energy Triumph Racing, so a pitched battle between the leading two men in the series took place. De Wolf had issues in several deep ruts just as he was looking to attack, then in front of a bank of spectators on a long left-hander made a stunning move around Laengenfelder on lap 15!

It wasn’t over there though, as the red plate holder again made a mistake in a rut and allowed the German back past, only to repeat his earlier move to the anguish of the crowd and finally clinch second place!

It was all too late to stop Lucas Coenen, however, who cruised to a win that buried the memories of a broken chain denying him his first GP win here 12 months ago. It was a 9.5 second win that builds his streak to five straight race wins and three Grand Prix wins, and it moves him ahead of Laengenfelder to second in the Championship, 59 behind De Wolf.

Now the teams and crews head 1,400 km north-east to the sandy terrain of Kegums in Latvia, where The Bullet took his most recent Grand Prix win, and the battle will be joined in both classes once more!

Lucas Coenen: “That’s three in a row, it’s amazing to see how everything can go perfectly let’s say. During the last few laps, I was quite nervous because of what happened last year but I can now get over it finally with winning Teutschenthal. I saw Kay crash which is a bummer as I wanted us to do the same as in the first race but I got the win so I’m happy. I can’t thank enough everybody around me.”

Kay de Wolf: “In general I had a very great weekend and I showed great speed all weekend long. I was really happy with my riding. I just did a small mistake and tipped over and got my leg stuck under the bike but in the end it went okay. It was hard to pass in the second race and all of a sudden, I found this outside line that helped me to pass Simon twice in a row. Now, we’ll go to Latvia where I had my first GP win so I’m really looking forward to it!”

Simon Laengenfelder: “I’m happy to be on the podium for my home GP but for sure I want to be more in front of course. It’s a 2-3 today after some mistakes yesterday. I’m happy with my starts and also my riding that I think was great. I feel also good physically and my fitness is getting where I want it to be so let’s keep going for the next races”

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 35:07.874; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:03.664; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:25.075; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:54.760; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:59.138; 6. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:10.063; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +1:15.887; 8. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:17.707; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +1:35.788; 10. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +1:37.187

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification : 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), 35:45.714; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:09.505; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:11.179; 4. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:12.866; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:26.367; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:42.902; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:59.027; 8. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +1:09.723; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +1:14.332; 10. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +1:15.882

MX2 Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 50 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 40 p.; 4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 33 p.; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 29 p.; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 26 p.; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 23 p

MX2 – World Championship – Top 10 Classification: . Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 396 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 337 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 333 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 304 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 299 p.; 6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 252 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 249 p.; 8. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 226 p.; 9. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 178 p.; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 152 p

MX2 – Manufacturers Classification: 1. Husqvarna, 432 points; 2. KTM, 387 p.; 3. GASGAS, 340 p.; 4. Yamaha, 307 p.; 5. Triumph, 277 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 176 p.; 7. Honda, 158 p.; 8. Fantic, 112 p.; 9. TM, 29 p.;

LIQUI MOLY MXGP OF GERMANY QUICK FACTS:
Crowd Attendance: 27,000
Circuit length: 1590m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature: 21°
Weather conditions: Rainy/Cloudy

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Bagnaia reigns as Bastianini charges past Martin and Marquez at Mugello

Frank Duggan

June 2, 2024

Ducati Lenovo paint Mugello blue as the reigning Champion lays down the gauntlet and the Beast has his Sprint revenge.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed a near-perfect weekend on home turf with a masterclass victory in the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo. The Italian stormed to the lead from lights out and then kept it on perfect rails to stay a tantalising distance ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) for much of the race, with the gap going up and down but never quite in range for an attack. That instead came from Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the #23 put together an almighty final charge.

The Beast duelled Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and then put in a late burst of lightning speed to catch Martin, that enough to put him within striking distance at the final corner. And strike he did. Slicing up the inside and keeping it clean as anything, the #23 served his Tissot Sprint revenge to make it a Ducati Lenovo 1-2, with Martin forced to settle for third.

As the lights went out, Bagnaia went full Bagnaia. Second around San Donato as he threaded the needle from the second row, he immediately then lined up and pickpocketed Martin to go into the lead. From there, the hammer was down as Martin dug in to hold on, with Bastianini third ahead of Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).

The chess game was on from there on out. Three tenths, six tenths, eight tenths, five tenths; Martin wasn’t getting dropped but he wasn’t consistently able to stay close enough to attack the #1 in the lead.

Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was on the march. Marquez made a move on Bastianini into San Donato and headed wide, with the #23 hitting back immediately, and that put the rookie superstar right on Marquez’ tail. The GASGAS shadowed him round the lap but couldn’t find a way through, then heading wide at the final corner and forced to watch the Gresini disappear out of striking distance.

At the front, the chess match rolled on. Bagnaia led Martin led Bastianini, with Marquez then starting to harry the #23. Acosta was a few tenths further back, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) starting to come under pressure from Viñales with 12 to go. It was tense holding stations, with the one small ripple in the calm coming as Martin went deep into San Donato with 10 laps to go, but he gathered it back up.

By six laps to go, it wasn’t check mate but it was starting to heat up into a grandstand finish. Marc Marquez finally made a move on Bastianini, attacking into San Donato with a clean move that gave the #23 no right of reply. His mission seemed then to catch Martin, but Martin was starting to cut the gap to the front once again. By three laps to go, it had been halved from the eight or nine tenth maximum Bagnaia had had at any point. Game on?

Very much so, but not for the #89. Instead, Bagnaia threw down the gauntlet and disappeared again as Bastianini stole the spotlight. Through on Marc Marquez at Scarperia, the exact same style of move the #93 had pulled on him, the Beast was on a charge and his next target was the other half of the Sprint tangle that had sent him into the gravel.

Locked on and flying, as Bagnaia crossed the line to take his third Italian GP win in a row as part of his second Mugello double, Bastianini was homing in. Into the very final corner the Ducati Lenovo Team rider found space on the inside to complete the fairtytale 1-2 for the team, and in some serious style as pandemonium erupted in the grandstands. Over the line with time in hand over Martin, Bastianini followed Bagnaia home – and Martin’s lead is cut to just 18 points.

Still, it was another podium finish and a good haul of points, and it was ahead of fellow frontrunner Marc Marquez, who was forced to settle for fourth. Acosta ended up in a lonelier ride for fifth after he’d lost touch with the front group.

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) caught Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and got past him, and then managed to catch Viñales and Morbidelli to create a three-way fight for sixth. He made made it past the Aprilia just as the race entered the final three laps, but Morbidelli managed to stay ahead to take P6 ahead of the VR46 rider, Viñales and Alex Marquez.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) didn’t get the same stellar start as he did in Saturday, but the South African held off Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) to complete the top ten.

It’s now just 18 points separating Martin from Bagnaia at the top of the Championship, and after a maximum of 259 have already been on the table. Will the tale twist again at Assen? We’ll find out in a few weeks as MotoGP™ now resets and reloads before heading for the Cathedral. And Ducati keep pondering their 2025 line-up.

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Roberts fights off Gonzalez on the last lap to take first victory since 2022

Frank Duggan

June 2, 2024

In a blockbuster Moto2™ race at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took victory in a nail-biting last lap decider, the American repelling the best efforts of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) to take top honours for the first time since the 2022 Portuguese GP.

Completing the podium was MB Conveyors SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez, who was elbows out in the front fight, as ever.

Off like a rocket at the start, Roberts led early on the opening lap. He had close competition though, with Lopez and a Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) following on eagerly. A flying start also came in from Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) as well, who stormed to seventh after starting 12th.

Lopez would follow Roberts until lap four before he pounced at San Donato, but it wouldn’t be until Turn 3 before he could make the move stick. Unfortunately for the MB Conveyors Speed Up team, it was glory for one and disaster for another in that moment as Lopez’ teammate Fermin Aledguer crashed out after contact from Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team).

Still in the lead, Lopez now had Gonzalez behind as he had found his way through on Roberts. Slightly further back in the lead pack, disaster stuck for Binder who skittled into the gravel at Arrabbiata 1, an early end to what had been a strong weekend all round.

In a six-rider battle for the lead, everything was building to a grandstand last half of the race. The action kicked off as Roberts and Lopez ran wide at Turn 1 – giving them both more work to do – and allowing Gonzalez and Canet to the lead. But it wouldn’t be long before Roberts would then return the favour and find his way through to the front with just three laps remaining, asking questions of the others at the front.

As a dramatic finish loomed, Roberts entered the final lap in the lead. Gonzalez got a fantastic slipstream and attacked round San Donato, but the American hit back at the next available chance, diving to the inside at Turn 2. Under the highest of pressure, Roberts held strong to take his first victory since the 2022 Portuguese GP by just 0.067s. Gonzalez’ search for a first Moto2™ win goes on, and Lopez picked up third podium of the season.

Claiming fourth was Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), whose advantage in the standings has reduced to seven points. Behind Garcia was teammate Ogura, who Garcia pipped on the last lap, ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) claimed eighth as IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra and OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.

Next up is the TT Circuit Assen in three weeks’ time for what is set to be yet another dramatic Grand Prix, so join us for more at the Cathedral!

For more Moto2 info checkout our dedicated Moto2 News page

Or visit the official MotoGP website motogp.com

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.motogp.com

Alonso just keeps the edge on Veijer to extend his lead to 37 points

Frank Duggan

June 2, 2024

David Alonso (CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team) remains the rider to beat in Moto3™, taking his fifth win of the season in style at Mugello.

The Colombian led from the front for much of a shortened 11-lap dash and held off a late charge from Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) to take another 25-point haul. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) charged up from P13 on the grid to secure third and his first ever Grand Prix podium.

The initial start was red-flagged following a crash for Fillippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Zurutuza heading to hospital for further examination. Once back underway, the distance was reduced to 11 laps of Mugello, with one clear aim for most: keep up with Alonso.

There was drama nearly immediately as Dani Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) tagged riders at Turn 1 and sent Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Stefano Nepa (LEVEL UP-MTA) crashing out, with the #96 given a double Long Lap for irresponsible riding.

Meanwhile at the front, it was a breakaway group of six making their moves: Alonso, Veijer, Yamanaka, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI), Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports).

With four to go, it looked like Alonso was trying to make a break, and it took Veijer a couple of laps to take over in second and get enough breathing space to start trying to close the Colombian down. But that he did, and by the start of the final lap the Dutchman was within a couple of tenths, with Ortola in third.

Ultimately, however, he couldn’t get close enough to make a move, and then there was drama in the fight for the final place on the podium too as Ortola slid out at Turn 12, ending his rostrum hopes. One of the quickest remounts of all time saw him still take sixth, but Yamanaka was up the road to take his maiden Grand Prix podium and continue his impressive consistency running near the front in 2024.

Fourth went to Furusato as he was the final rider within a couple of seconds of the front, with Muñoz forced to settle for fifth further down the road. Ortola remounted for that sixth ahead of another impressive ride from rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse). Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), rookie Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Matteo Bertelle (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team) completed the top ten in a closer group battle.

The gap is now 37 points for Alonso at the top. Now it’s next stop Assen after a spring break, but the question remains the same: can anyone stop the Colombian? Veijer nearly managed it at Mugello, and on his home turf in the Netherlands, he’ll try and find another kitchen sink to add to his armory.

For more Moto3 info checkout our dedicated Moto3 News page

Or visit the official MotoGP website motogp.com

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.motogp.com

Brilliant debut Rookies win for Perrone in Mugello 2

Frank Duggan

June 2, 2024

Just 2 seconds covered the top 16 KTMs across the line at the end of Mugello Race 2 as Argentina’s Valentin Perrone took his first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory.

Brian Uriarte and Álvaro Carpe matched their 2nd and 3rd places from yesterday just ahead of Rico Salmela.

Perrone takes incredible victory
“I’m really happy with this first win,” grinned the 16-year-old Argentine who was 2nd in his first Rookies Cup race, the season opener in Jerez and has backed that up with a string of good results. “What can I say about the race, it was really crazy, so many overtakes. Then in the last corner, I don’t know exactly what happened, I think Maximo touched Ruche, I don’t know. I took a little the slipstream then got the victory.”

“The plan for the last lap? No, just push like crazy and see what happens. It worked!”

Uriarte lost again
“Second position again, that’s sort of OK, we still get some points in front of Maximo. But still first loser,” laughed the Spanish 15-year-old after his 4th podium of the season.

“Really I’m happy, I enjoyed the race, the last lap I didn’t do so well, I was almost the last of the group, the snake they made on the straight didn’t allow me to pass so it was quite tough but I still managed to make some passes.”

“The last lap was the most exciting for me and the one I most enjoyed, I got up to the front. I don’t know what happened at the end, it all got a bit crazy, that stopped me a little bit otherwise I think I could have got the win. But still a nice weekend, good results and good for the championship, I have to do just a little bit more and get the win next time.”

Carpe completes very strong weekend
“I am very happy as I enjoyed this race so much,” enthused the 16-year-old Spaniard. “All the battling, all the overtaking, it was great to be running at the front all the way.”

“The race was fast and aggressive, I think I did a good job through the weekend and I got two podiums. Now I am 3rd in the championship, 13 points behind Maximo. I say thanks to my Family, Friends and everyone that supports me.”

Salmela’s Super Sunday
“The start of the race was difficult because I didn’t do yesterday’s race, well I did but only a few corners,” smiled the reserved 16-year-old Finn. “The plan was OK, I tried to be more or less, in P4, P3 for the last lap, I was behind Ruche, it’s not easy to overtake Ruche, he’s good on the brakes.”

“Then through the last corner, at first I wanted to pass on the inside but everyone went to the inside and was slow, I saw a gap and went for it but then almost lost the front mid-corner. Then I went a bit wide but still, I thought I was going to make it to the victory or at least the podium.”

“Then I saw Maximo really close to me, was a surprise, I had to cut the gas a bit and lost. P4 is not bad, I wanted more but…. better than yesterday.”

Màximo Quiles 5th – penalised for incident with Ruche Moodley
“A really difficult race, many people slowing, not wanting to give the slipstream and it was crazy,” stated the 16-year-old Spaniard.

“In the last corner no nobody wanted to push and I pushed, I moved to cut the slipstream and I touched Ruche and I am really sorry for him. It was a really dangerous moment and I’m really sad for him and I want to say sorry.”

Following the race, the FIM Rookies Cup Stewards Panel stated that Quiles was, “found to have caused a crash by swerving into the line of another rider at the exit at Turn 15.”

As a result of this the Panel, “has imposed a Suspension from participation in the Motul TT Assen.”

Hakim Danish in the lead group all the way – P6
“In today’s race I feel better than yesterday,” explained the Malaysian 16-year-old. “I felt more confident in the bike and also with my riding. I was able to run in the front group and be in a good position.”

“It was only in the last lap there was a little bit missing, I lost a couple of positions, then I tried to come back. In the last corner, I tried to grab a good position but finally got P6. I’m looking forward to the next race in Assen.”

Leonardo Zanni steps up to 7th
“I am very happy for my best result in the Rookies Cup,” enthused the Italian 15-year-old “It was a hard race, it’s a long straight here and I don’t seem to pass anyone on the straight, I have to do it all on the brakes and round the corners. So I had to work very hard.”

“In the last lap I was determined, I overtook 2 or 3 riders, then another on the run to the line, I am so happy to do this result at my home race.”

Veda Pratama led – but not at the flag P8
“I’m not happy… this is the result, that is what it is,” reported the disappointed 15-year-old Indonesian. “I made mistakes during the race, I can fight but the result was not good for me. I will try to do better in the next round.”

For more info checkout our dedicated Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup News page Rookies Cup News

Or visit the official Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup website rookiescup.redbull.com/

Dynasties – glory day for Dunlop and Crowes.

Richard radcliffe

June 2, 2024

The racing at TT 2024 opened in spectacular fashion with Michael Dunlop joining his uncle; the great Joey; on 26 TT wins. He did so by continuing his mastery of the Supersport Class; riding a superb race, to win by 8.574s from Davey Todd. Later we witnessed another TT record being created as Ryan and Callum Crowe led from start to finish to win Sidecar Race1; in doing so joining their father Nick (5 wins) on the winners’ Roll of Honour.

The Supersport Race 1 was excellent with close racing throughout the field. To win, Michael had to come from behind. Dean Harrison (Honda) was best on the first run to Glen Helen; leading by a tiny 0.08s margin from Davey Todd on the untried Ducati. Dunlop was 3^rd: James Hillier (Kawasaki), James Hind (Suzuki) and Mikey Evans (Triumph) completed the top 6. Todd had edged in front by 0.257s from Harrison at Ballaugh. In Ramsey; one mile down the road from our vantage point of Tower Bends; Harrison had reclaimed the lead. Then, the small gathering of spectators looked towards Waterworks from where Jamie Coward (Triumph) emerged with Paul Jordan (Honda) close behind. They swept through Tower Bends in fine style; tight to the inside bank on the right hander; then powering away close to the wall on the exit. Harrison was next; then Hillier, Dunlop, Ian Hutchinson (Honda) and Todd. Harrison led from Todd and Dunlop; just 1.9s covering them. The rapid action kept the crowd enthralled; with none of the riders having a moment. Harrison kept his nose in front on the mountain climb and with a lap at 128.037mph led by 1.979s from Todd on the gorgeous Ducati Panigale; his lap speed was 127.798mph. Dunlop (Yamaha) was 1.203s down on Todd. Coward, Hillier and Hind completed the top 6.

Harrison led at Glen Helen on lap 2; but Dunlop had edged past Todd; just 1.9s covered them. Coward, Hillier and Hind were 4^th, 5^th and 6^th respectively. Dunlop was on the move; he led by 0.531s at Ballaugh Bridge. Dunlop had a lead of 2s as the riders charged past us lap 2; but it was from Todd; with Harrison 0.4s further back. They were pulling away from Coward, Hillier and Hind. Peter Hickman held 7^th on a Triumph that would not rev out in 5^th or 6^th gear due to a mapping issue, Dunlop’s lap at 128.833mph saw him enter the pits with a lead of 4.6s; however, he lost 1.6s of that as Todd’s crew produced a fast refuelling routine. Harrison remained third; behind the gaps were widening; Coward; Hillier and Hind completed our top 6.

Dunlop regained the time lost in the pits and more to lead by 5.54s at Glen Helen on lap 3. Harrison was now over 3s down on Todd. Coward suffered machine failure; allowing Paul Jordan to take 6^th on the leaderboard. With a sector best time; Todd pulled back1s on the run to Ballaugh. Todd was fastest through to the Bungalow where the lead was 3.9s. Harrison was not able to match the top 2 and was now over 10s behind Todd. Hillier, Hind and Jordan continued to fill out the top 6.

At Glen Helen on the final lap the lead for Dunlop was up to 6.875s after he set the best sector time of the race. Todd was fastest on the run to Ballaugh; but Dunlop took the time back on the run into Ramsey. The action continued to be excellent at Tower Bends; where Dunlop led by 7.1s as he charged up the mountain. Harrison was now 20s down on Todd; but in a safe 3^rd; 33s ahead of Hillier. Hind was 5^th; Jordan 6^th; but being closed down by Mike Browne and Josh Brookes. There was no drama on the mountain climb; surely Michael was going to equal the record of the great Joey Dunlop and take his 26^th TT victory. Michael was fastest down the mountain; he set the fastest lap of the race at 129.214mph to win by 8.574s from Todd; who set the best ever lap of the course by a Ducati rider with a speed of 128.875mph. The data from this race will help Todd’s crew as they attempt to turn the untried Panigale into a TT race winning machine. In Race 2 Michael may need to top 130mph; as he did last year. Dean Harrison completed the podium trio; his last lap being at 127.562mph. Hillier took a fine 4th; Hind secured 5^th with Brookes 6^th; both lapped at over 126mph; as did Mike Browne in 8^th. Best local rider was Mikey Evans in 10th; he lapped at 126.113mph on the last lap; an excellent performance in his first TT on the Triumph.

After the seemingly mandatory delay, the Sidecar Race began in lovely early evening sunshine. Peter Founds / Jevan Walmsley on the FHO Honda were the hare for the others to chase. Next away were the fastest pair in practice; Ryan and Callum Crowe on their Kelproperties Honda. Hopes for the first local win since Dave Molyneux / Dan Sayle in 2016 were bolstered when the timing at Glen Helen showed that the Crowe brothers had eaten away 6.3s from the starting interval to Founds / Walmsley. Lee Crawford / Scott Hardie were third on the ARC Kawasaki; 4.5s down on Pete Founds and just 0.2s ahead of Lewis Blackstock / Patrick Rosney (Dave Holden Yamaha). Alan Founds and debutant passenger, his nephew, Rhys Gibbons were 5^th, Tim Reeves / Mark Wilkes (Bonovo Yamaha) 6^th; just 1s covered 4^th to 6th. Dave Molyneux’s ill luck continued; he and Jake Roberts forced to park the outfit at Ballacraine.

At Ballaugh, the Crowe brothers were on the tail of Pete Founds and soon used their better top speed to good effect. Once behind, Founds used the slipstream to hang to the coattails of the Crowes. Coming into Parliament Square, Founds braked later and was briefly ahead; however, he had to run wide, and the Crowe brothers retook the lead. It was great sight at Tower Bends as the two crews swept through the S-bend just a metre apart; the speed amazing for a 600cc machine with two men to carry. Their lead was 0.1s as they headed for the Gooseneck. Blackstock / Rosney were up to third; 2.2s ahead of Founds / Gibbons.

A lap at 118.525mph gave the Crowe brothers a lead of 12.2s over Founds / Walmsley as they went flat out along Glencrutchery Road. Blackstock / Rosney remained in third; but just 3.2s covered 4th to 6^th. On their first lap, World Champions Todd / Emmanuelle Clement lapped at 113.006mph in 7^th; this made Emmanuelle the fastest lady passenger of all time.

The lead had been extended to 17s at Glen Helen; 25.15s at Ramsey as they began the mountain climb. A lap at 119.800mph gave the Crowe brothers a lead of 30.27s from Founds / Walmsley (117.786mph); they in turn had an advantage over Founds / Gibbons whose lap at 115.984mph made Rhys Gibbons the fastest newcomer in history. Behind them; Ellis / Clement raised their lap speed to 113.786mph; amazing after so little practice.

In the final lap the Crowe brothers eased their pace to save the motor; their lap at 117.580mph gave them victory by 26.894s from Founds / Walmsley. The winning race average was 118.628mph. Alan Founds / Rhys Gibbons took third; Founds supposedly easing Gibbons into his role. Blackstock / Rosney took 4^th; the returning Crawford / Hardie pairing took 5^th; Reeves / Wilkes were 6^th. A fine debut saw Ellis / Clement finish 7^th.

This day’s racing may never be beaten for the sheer emotion of it. The Superbike Race is next on the menu.

Dynasties - Glory Day For Dunlop And Crowes. — Dean Harrison

Arai Helmet Parade Lap Celebrates 40 Years at The Isle Of Man TT

Frank Duggan

June 2, 2024

Akihito Arai gives starting signal to Arai athletes for 40th anniversary IoM TT lap

Arai Helmet has marked 40 years at the Isle of Man TT in a Parade Lap around the world’s most famous road race with Arai riders past and present. Signalling the participants off from the start line was Akihito Arai, son of CEO Michio Arai, in a special event four decades since Joey Dunlop and Brian Reid first wore Arai at the IoM TT in 1984.

16 Arai riders took to the TT Mountain Course ahead of the first race of 2024. Participants included Michael Dunlop, Ian Hutchinson, Brian Reid, Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle and Steve Plater, with each rider wearing the 2024 RX-7V EVO Limited Edition IoM TT, the 15th unique Arai IOM TT design.

The Parade Lap celebration was a fitting prelude to the Monster Energy Supersport Race 1 that saw Arai athlete Michael Dunlop make history with his 26th TT win, drawing level with his uncle and one of the first Arai riders at the TT, Joey Dunlop.

The Isle of Man TT has played an important role in Arai R&D over their 40-year relationship, contributing many small improvements to the characteristic rounder, smoother, stronger shell design and crucial Glancing Off ability that Arai is renowned for. In 2024 more than half of all TT competitors have chosen Arai for one of the greatest challenges in motorsport, trusting in the protective qualities and comfort its helmets provide.

A passionate IoM TT fan and long-time rider himself, Akihito Arai was proud to be at the start line with so many Arai athletes:

“There is nowhere else like the Isle of Man TT. To be here with these athletes, 40 years after Arai was first present at the most famous road race in the world is very special to me. Having so many riders choose and trust us year after year, at such a challenging race, is a very proud moment.”

“We are as committed to our Priority for Protection as much now as when Arai began creating helmets. The IoM TT provides important R&D insights that helps us to constantly improve our helmets and their Glancing Off ability, so to have been at the Isle of Man for four decades means a lot to me and my family.”

The riders were also honoured to play their part in the Parade Lap:

Davey Todd:
“It’s awesome to be part of this as an Arai rider. There are a lot of IoM TT winners in this line-up, so I felt a little bit out of place! But, it was great to get out there and have a spin around the course with all these other Arai athletes.”

Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle:

“It’s a complete and utter honour to be part of the Arai Parade Lap at the 2024 Isle of Man TT. As a young boy I always dreamt of wearing an Arai when racing, I was fortunate enough to have Arai’s help to fulfil my dream. I won the TT in an Arai; I still wear an Arai every day on my way to work! It’s such a pleasure to be here.”

Brian Reid:
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a while! I was nervous, as if I was starting a proper race, but it never leaves you. It was brilliant to get the new 2024 RX-7V EVO Limited Edition IoM TT on and go down Bray Hill. Arai was a huge part of my career and it’s a privilege to be here.”

The 2024 Isle of Man TT continues with racing until Saturday 8^th, with rest days on Monday 3^rd and Thursday 6^th.

For more information about the Isle of Man TT, please visit www.iomttraces.com.

Petersen Over Gagne By .004 Of A Second In Steel Commander Superbike At Road America

Frank Duggan

June 2, 2024

Teammates Battle To The Finish, Beaubier Crashes Out Of Championship Lead

Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing teammates Cameron Petersen and Jake Gagne battled to the bitter end of the Steel Commander Superbike race on Saturday, with Petersen winning the battle of Yamaha YZF-R1s by just .004 of a second in horrendous conditions at Road America.

Steel Commander Superbike race one was held in a rainstorm and riders were faced with conditions many of them claimed were the worst they’d ever raced in. While the Road America surface had good grip despite the rain, it was puddles in bad places that caused the most concern with some riders crashing without any lean angle.

When all was said and done, it was Petersen winning his second race of the young season and the fifth of his MotoAmerica Superbike career. Petersen led early, lost the lead to TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly, got it back and then spent the majority of the remaining laps looking at Gagne’s rear wheel. Until the final lap. The pair went into the last turn side by side and came out of it side by side. With both Yamahas spinning their way up the hill, it was Petersen who got his hooked up better and nipped Gagne at the line.

Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz was with the two Yamahas for most of the race and his one error came with two laps to go when he tried to make a pass on Petersen in turn five. The out-braking move didn’t work with Baz getting in too hot and losing touch with the two Yamahas. Still, it was an impressive third-place finish that left the Frenchman smiling.

Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach was a somewhat lonely fourth after inheriting the spot from his teammate Cameron Beaubier. The five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion had led the race early before running off track in turn five. He rejoined and started to charge forward. However, soon after getting past Beach for fourth and starting to make inroads into the lead trio, he crashed his BMW M 1000 RR. The crash left Beaubier limping away before ultimately getting helped to the ambulance. He was transported to undergo X-rays on his heel.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch ended up fifth, less than a second ahead of Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis. Those two were well clear of FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith. Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong; Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin, who led early before running off track in turn five; and Jarritos Racing/Team GMR’s Gabriel Da Silva rounded out the top 10.

Beaubier wasn’t the only one to crash out in the difficult conditions as Kelly crashed out of the lead early on and Xavi Forés crashed his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki while battling for fourth place.

With his second-place finish combined with Beaubier’s non-finish, Gagne moved to the lead in the championship point standings after six races by seven over Beaubier, 102-95.

Petersen jumped up to second in third in the title chase and he trails his teammate Gagne by 19 points. Kelly drops to fourth with 73 points and is now just five points ahead of Fong and 14 ahead of Baz.

Herrin, Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim, Beach and Paasch round out the top 10 heading into tomorrow’s race two at Road America.

Petersen Over Gagne By .004 Of A Second In Steel Commander Superbike At Road America — Petersen celebrates his second win of the season on Saturday at Road America.
Photo by Brian J. Nelson

Cameron Petersen – Winner

“Last thing you want to do is knock your teammate down. Like these guys said, just a crazy race. I led a few of the opening laps and I saw SDK go down in front of me. Kind of when I saw that, he was straight up and down and lost the front. I didn’t really know what pace we could go, so I think I was kind of holding the guys up for the first few laps there. Then once Jake (Gagne) got past me, he definitely dropped the pace a little bit. I just followed him around, to be honest. He was good in kind of all the right places. Then last lap, I’ve been so reserved in the past. I had a good feeling underneath me. The last corner, at least on the front, felt really good. I just got a really good run through the second-to-last corner. I was like, ‘man, if you don’t take a shot, then you don’t deserve this ride.’ So, I just kind of had a go. Like Jake said, it was so funny the drag race to the line. He rolled around me, and I could hear his bike. I could hear the TC kicking on in his bike, and then the TC would kick on my bike. We kind of see-sawed there for a little bit, and we went up over the rise. There was kind of like a dry spot – well, a drier spot in the middle of the track. I was on that line, so I think coming up over the rise his bike just spun up a little bit and that gave me that little bit of an edge. Just so stoked. I think this is the first time I’ve got more than one win in a season, and especially after crashing in qualifying this morning. It’s a nice way to repay the team. Congrats to these two guys. We were all together the whole race. I look forward to battling tomorrow.”

Jake Gagne – Second Place

“Like Loris Baz said, the craziest race I’ve ever been a part of. Just the hydroplaning everywhere. The new surface makes it hard to tell. Everything is so shiny and nice. It’s hard to kind of even really tell where the big puddles are. But the straightaway down into the corner, we were at like 10 percent throttle, just trying to figure out how to get the thing to not spin up. I’m happy we’re here on the podium. Yamaha one-two is awesome. I hope everybody that went down is okay, because that was insane. After those first couple laps, I got passed by a couple of guys. I’m like, I’m just going to try to finish this thing. I think SDK (Sean Dylan Kelly) went down, and Cam (Beaubier) ran wide and went down. Just a freaking wild one. Then I got by Cam (Petersen). I knew him and Loris were right there because I could see it on the big screen. That last lap, tried to be smart and not give Cam any opportunity to stick it up in there, but I just was a little wide entering into the final turn. I saw that Yamaha come up underneath me. I tried to roll around the outside and then it was just a drag race. Seriously, it was the first time in my life, when me and Cam got together before the finish line, I was literally laughing in my helmet. I was like, at least we survived this thing and one of us is going to cross the line first. Either way, good day for the team. I’m pumped for CP and to race with him and to race with Loris again. I’m just glad. Hopefully, everybody got through that thing, and hopefully SDK is all right and Cam B. is all right. I’m shivering right now. I’m cold.”

Loris Baz – Third Place

“I think it’s the worst conditions I’ve ever raced a bike on in all my career. I remember my first win in Superbike there was a lot of water on the track. I was racing injured. But that was just another level. I think we were 20 percent throttle on the back straight, and you have those walls. It’s just the bike spinning. I don’t know how fast we go. I’ve never been scared on the bike, and I was scared going into that back section for the whole 10 laps. I normally have a lot of fun in the rain, but this one was just trying to be really clever and not make any mistakes because it was so easy to have a big, big one. But I felt good on the bike. Those guys, my mechanic and all the crew from Ducati did a good job because the only time I rode the bike on the wet was in Atlanta and I had a broken ankle. So, I didn’t really push there. I had no idea setup-wise. In those seven minutes before the race, I didn’t feel good on the bike. They did some adjustments really quick before the race and I felt better straightaway. So, it was just a race where I was improving and trying to learn all the race, coming back behind Jake (Gagne). Just waiting, but I couldn’t see how many laps were remaining, so it was really tough. Then Jake went in front, and he just made a big step and improved the pace. I tried to overtake Cameron (Petersen), but it wouldn’t stop. It was two laps remaining in that moment. The only time I saw my pit board was L2. I said, ‘just try to be clever,’ because I could not increase my pace at that moment and bring it home. I’m happy. It’s the first podium. We had a tough beginning of the season with injury in Atlanta, injured in Barber again. So, happy to be here. Thankful for Ducati New York and the Warhorse. They did a lot of sacrifice and hard job to have me back here, and I just want to thank them, and all the people involved to have me back here in America. I had a lot of fun in ’21 and I want to have as much fun this year. It’s just the first podium and it will bring the big smile to the team. We have so much fun with Josh (Herrin) and I just hope we can share a podium soon.”

For more news check out our dedicated MotoAmerica News page MotoAmerica News

Or visit the official MotoAmerica website motoamerica.com/

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of motoamerica.com/

Wet Races All Around In Support Class Action At Road America

Frank Duggan

June 2, 2024

Rain Rolls Through Elkhart Lake Causing Havoc at Road America

One of the things that the MotoAmerica series prides itself on is that we race, rain or shine. Saturday’s weather forecast for Road America foretold that the rain would start around 11 a.m. and continue through about 6 p.m. So, basically, all six feature races would be run in fully wet conditions. That’s completely do-able at all the tracks we go to, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy. Each of the five support-class races at Road America were dramatic and affected their respective championships. Here’s a rundown of who won, who reached the podium, and what happened along the way to the checkered flags.

Junior Cup – Chapin In The Wet

Junior Cup race one started off Saturday’s racing at Road America, and a steady rain fell throughout most of the afternoon. MotoAmerica’s entry-level riders handled the conditions pretty well, but surprisingly, defending class champion Avery Dreher crashed out of third place towards the end of the final lap, and he also knocked Isaac Woodworth out of second place in the process. Woodworth was able to rejoin the race and finish fifth, while Dreher was out of the race.

BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin avoided the melee, and he took the checkered flag with his teammate Eli Block finishing second. Ironically, the rider who benefitted the most from Dreher’s incident was his sister Ella Dreher. The 14-year-old Bad Boys Racing rider notched the first podium result of her career.

“I’ve had a little bit of rain practice since Atlanta, so my confidence going into the race was definitely up,” Chapin said. “Also, my qualifying position being P3, I could see straight to turn one. I’ve never had that before. My best qualifying before this was seventh, I think. So, I think that was all a big part of it.”

Commenting on Avery Dreher’s crash, Chapin said, “I was on the inside of the corner, and then Avery was trying to out-brake me on the left side. He tucked the front really early, and then his body hit Isaac’s back tire and took him out. So, it was pretty close, but I didn’t really think I was going to get involved in it.”

Wet Races All Around In Support Class Action At Road America — PJ Jacobsen (15) beat Mathew Scholtz (11) to the finish line by .040 of a second in Supersport action at Road America on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson

Supersport – Jacobsen Over Scholtz

Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen sat behind Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz for most of the six-lap Supersport race at Road America on Saturday. But he struck at the end and drafted past the South African at the finish line to win by .040 of a second.

The win was Jacobsen’s third of the young season and it gave him a 16-point lead over Scholtz in the championship.

Scholtz was an ever so close second with the lead duo well clear of Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis, who backed off late in the race after realizing the risk wasn’t going to get him the reward he wanted.

Vision Wheel M4 Suzuki’s Tyler Scott was fourth with Jacobsen’s Rahal Ducati Moto’s Kayla Yaakov rounded out the top five.

“You don’t really have an option at that point,” Jacobsen said. “I know we’re only on the third round, but if the guy that’s closing on you in the championship is right there in front of you and there’s a possibility to get him, then I’m going to get him. I’m not going to just give up and settle for a second. I was going for it, but it didn’t really feel like I was on the limit of crashing or anything like that. I felt pretty comfortable. I was slowly inching away at him there towards the end. He had a very strong pace in the beginning. I felt like I kind of missed that seven minutes as well because our (rain) light was out, so I missed the little seven minutes that we had in the beginning. actually, I asked Jake how the track was, and he told me in some spots. So, that was helpful. It was a really good race. Before the restart, it was pretty crazy too because there was a big group of like seven guys. But Mathew (Scholtz) was riding great.”

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Creer Gets Her First

Coming into Road America, defending Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Champion Mikayla Moore was on a nine-race winning streak extending back to the beginning of last year. Unfortunately, Moore crashed during final qualifying for her debut in the BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship, and she was unable to start Saturday’s BTR race one.

Taking advantage of the situation, while also avoiding the treacherous track conditions, Cassie Creer got her first win, while Emma Betters extended her podium streak to three races with her runner-up result. Camille Conrad joined Betters in keeping her own podium streak going as she crossed the finish line third.

When asked about her racing experience in the rain, Creer said, “I’ve never ridden on rain tires before. No rain experience. It was terrifying.” Despite her complete lack of experience in racing in the rain, Creer led all four laps of the rain-soaked race.

Mission King Of The Baggers – Herfoss Untouchable

S&S Cycle/Indian Motorcycles’ Troy Herfoss was in another dimension in Saturday’s first of two Mission King Of The Baggers races. The Australian was so dominant that he basically coasted across the finish line, with a margin of victory of 5.2 seconds after botching the final lap. Prior to the last lap, he led by some 10 seconds. It was easy. At least it looked that way.

Herfoss beat his championship rival Kyle Wyman with the Harley-Davidson Factory Team rider inheriting second when his teammate James Rispoli had a scary crash at the end of the front straight.

Third place went to Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara with the Californian holding off Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Jake Lewis by just .355 of a second.

“Because James (Rispoli) was so fast in warmup, and then in the challenge race he was also really strong,” Herfoss said. “I saw on the screen he was second on the first lap at the end of turn two. I checked the screen. So, I was like, ‘okay, he’s going to come past at some stage, just stay safe until he does and then we’ll try and engage in battle.’ I come down the straight and there was so much water around and you’re going at 170 mph or something. I just kept seeing seven. I thought it was .7. Okay, he’s not on me. Just keep doing what you’re doing. He’s not one me. I haven’t heard the bike. On the last lap I poked my head up and I saw whatever it was, 10 seconds. Then I completely sh*% myself. I just froze up. I missed a gear on the way into turn one. Stayed in fourth gear. It’s just so nerve-racking out there. First and foremost, I’m just happy that James (Rispoli) and Hayden (Gillim), especially, are okay. That crash (Gillim’s)… when I came down after the challenge race and seen it, a 300-kilo bike next to a concrete wall and a stretcher rolling out and I couldn’t find a person, it just doesn’t feel good. We take a lot of risk to do this job. We’re lucky we got a lot of good people around us caring for us at the track. We’re as safe as we can be racing motorbikes, but in conditions like that, it’s really nice to get the win but it’s really nice to be safe. I’m glad everyone is okay.”

BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Doyle Wins, Landers Takes Over At The Top

Saturday’s BellissiMoto Twins Cup race one at Road America was a pivotal one for the season championship. Previous points leader Gus Rodio suffered a mechanical issue with his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia, and he was unable to finish the race. That created a golden opportunity for the other riders trailing Rodio in the standings.

Giaccmoto Racing Yamaha’s Dominic Doyle rode a flawless race at the front and took the checkered flag over second-place finisher, Rodio’s teammate Alessandro Di Mario. Earlier in the day, Di Mario set a new track record with his pole-sitting performance in the morning’s final qualifying session.

Finishing third was RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki rider Rocco Landers, who was able to move up from second to first in the standings with his result.

“At Atlanta, when I got a pretty good start and kind of got to the lead at the start, just having a clear track in front of me benefitted me quite a bit,” Doyle said. “It did again today. I just tried to nail the start and click off the laps. Just waiting for the race to end. The last round (at Barber Motorsports Park) hurt us a little bit, but I think these 25 points and hopefully a good result tomorrow will help us a lot.”

For more info checkout our dedicated MotoAmerica Support Series News page motoamerica-support-series-latest-news/

Or visit the official MotoAmerica website motoamerica.com/

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of motoamerica.com/

Red Plate Holders Gajser And De Wolf Take The Ram Qualifying Race Wins In Germany

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

The MXGP World Motocross Championships burst back into life today with the RAM Qualifying Races that provided some scintillating racing at the Liqui Moly MXGP of Germany!

Following some intense rain in the week leading up to the event, the track proceeded to dry out through the Saturday programme, until a storm washed over the circuit about thirty minutes before the gate dropped for the MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, and several showers followed it throughout the afternoon!

MXGP saw a continuation of the title fight, and represented the Championship in general, with Tim Gajser emerging victorious for Team HRC from yet another rain-affected race! Kay de Wolf battled some issues as well as his competitors to grab a narrow victory for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, his first chequered flag for nearly two months, which assures him of keeping the red plate into the next round no matter what happens tomorrow! It also puts him clearly in front of his teammate Lucas Coenen in the fight for the most RAM Qualifying Race wins of the season, the winner of which gets the use of a top-of-the-line RAM truck for six months at the end of the year!

The battle on the timesheets in both Free and Time Practice was fascinating, as Reigning World Champion Jorge Prado kept moving the bar to eventually top both sessions for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, but Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings were both right behind him, albeit a little over a second behind.

Although the holeshot went to Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing star Mattia Guadagnini, Prado took over the lead exiting the second corner, as Gajser got held up briefly in a battle with fast-starting home hero Henry Jacobi on his Sarholz KTM Racing Team machine! Herlings was quickly up into fifth, but Romain Febvre had only qualified in 27th for the Kawasaki Racing Team. The Frenchman battled hard through the pack, once more finding speed in the rain when others were floundering.

On lap six of the eventual twelve, Febvre dived past Herlings for fourth after they both got around Jacobi. The following two laps saw them both pass Guadagnini as well, but the crowd’s eyes were on the leading pair as Gajser closed in on Prado!

The Spaniard landed short on an uphill triple jump as the rain lashed down, giving the Slovenian the half-chance he wanted, and the impact of the landing had taken all of the fight out of the defending Champion.

So the big four of the series so far finished in their Championship order, while Febvre’s teammate Jeremy Seewer fought through to fifth position, and Pauls Jonass just kept his Standing Construct Honda ahead of a charging Calvin Vlaanderen, who had to fight through on his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP machine from outside of the top twenty on lap one!

This victory puts Gajser level with Prado on three RAM Qualifying Race win each, with Febvre just behind them on two! So the fight really is on for that RAM Award this winter!

The forecast tomorrow is for better weather, and Gajser carries a six-point lead over Prado into the full Grand Prix races. It is still anybody’s guess as to who will emerge triumphant!

Tim Gajser: “It was good! I think I didn’t get the best jump out of the gate but it was helping that I was on the inside and I came out 3rd/4th. Then I make passes and I was behind Jorge (Prado) and he was riding good at the beginning but then I could sense that with the track becoming slippery that I could pass which I managed to do and thn made a little gapo to control the race. So… Yeah I’m super happy!”

MXGP – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 24:47.614; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:09.090; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.791; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:17.716; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:18.923; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Honda), +0:20.169; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:20.584; 8. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:28.828; 9. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), +0:30.210; 10. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:31.283

MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 358 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 352 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 327 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 294 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 258 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 240 p.; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 227 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 200 p.; 9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 145 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 130 p

Series leader Kay de Wolf was fastest in Free Practice ahead of the brothers, Sacha Coenen for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, ahead of Lucas. That was until Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder, inspired by circuit-wide trackside support, leapt to the top of the Time Practice scoreboard by ninety thousandths of a second over De Wolf! Sacha was third, although a frustrated Lucas fell on his final flying lap to only go to the line in fifth!

That man De Wolf pulled a stunning holeshot from the inside gate, with Rick Elzinga challenging for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 and briefly taking the lead due to a small mistake on the first lap by his fellow Dutchman, who edged back ahead across the finish line jump! Lucas Coenen fell on the second corner, holding up his brother in the process.

Meanwhile, the crowd favourite Laengenfelder was charging into third place, but he just charged a little too hard into a corner and tipped over, not for the last time either, as he dropped sadly down to 8th position at the flag. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo of Andrea Adamo and Liam Everts were making progress, the Belgian pulling quite possibly the pass of the season on Elzinga in a sweet cutback move that was like a piece of art!

Elzinga tried to fight off Mikkel Haarup in the final laps, but ultimately the Dane on the Monster Energy Triumph Racing machine got through to finish fourth. De Wolf was battling a small technical issue and Adamo closed to within 1.2 seconds of the leader by the finish, with Everts holding on for third. It is going to be mighty close again in MX2 tomorrow, but De Wolf has the comfort of a 59 point lead over Laengenfelder heading into GP race day at the Liqui Moly MXGP of Germany!

Round eight of the 2024 MXGP World Championship is going to be tough to predict whatever the weather, and the crowd will be back louder than ever to make it something special! Don’t miss it!

Kay de Wolf: “It was a very difficult race! I struggled with clutch issues and so I didn’t have a clutch. That’s why Rick (Elzinga) passed me, I was really struggling. I’m really happy to get that win in the end! I’m still a little bit confused as there was so many things happening but this win really mean a lot to win without a clutch, so I’m very happy.

MX2 – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 25:16.223; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:01.147; 3. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:02.661; 4. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:10.768; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:22.266; 6. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:24.153; 7. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:27.273; 8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:47.101; 9. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Fantic), +0:49.837; 10. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:51.987

MX2 – World Championship Classification: . Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 352 points; 2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 293 p.; 3. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 287 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 276 p.; 5. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 266 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 226 p.; 7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 223 p.; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 217 p.; 9. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 159 p.; 10. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 129 p.

LIQUI MOLY MXGP OF GERMANY QUICK FACTS:

Circuit length: 1590m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature: 21°
Weather conditions: Rainy/Cloudy

TIMETABLE

SUNDAY: 09:45 WMX Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:10 MXE Race 2, 11:55 EMX250 Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.

For more news check out our dedicated MXGP/MX2 News page

Or visit the official MXGP website mxgp.com

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.mxgp.com

Casadei strikes in last lap nail-biter to regain the championship lead

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

The #40 pulled on an impressive lap lap move to win a postponed Race 1 at Mugello ahead of Zaccone and Garzo.

Race 1 for the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship gave us unpredictable action from start to finish at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, with Mattia Casadei (LCR E-Team) taking victory in spectacular fashion. Casadei now has a six-point lead in the championship after crossing the line to win by just 0.269s ahead of Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing), who led from the start before going head-to-head with the reigning World Champion on the final lap. The last spot on the podium went the way of Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) who returns to the podium for the first time since Portimao.

In the original start to Race 1, Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™’s Lukas Tulovic suffered a crash at Bucine on the opening lap. Bringing out the red flag, the race was halted and later rescheduled to take place at 18:40 local time (UTC +2).

The restarted Race 1 got underway with this time Garzo taking the lead as the pack rounded San Donato but, defiant to get the start he needed, Zaccone dived underneath Garzo into Turn 2 to pinch the early lead.

Building up an early gap, Zaccone seemed to have broken the tow of the slipstream. But despite his early advantage, Casadei broke through to the head of the chasing pack and set about chipping away at Zaccone’s advantage. With the gap coming down a fraction each lap, everyone was waiting to see where Casadei would strike.

Flying through the fast Biondetti chicane on the penultimate lap, Casadei chopped Zaccone’s advantage to virtually zero. It placed him perfectly to get the slipstream he so needed to fire into the lead at Turn 1 as the final lap began. Zaccone briefly looked to respond on Casadei but soon realised he also had Garzo to worry about just behind.

In the end it was Casadei who expertly held on for victory, his first since the opening round of the season. But as one champion rejoiced, another grumbled as Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) would crash out on the final lap while battling for a top 10.

Zaccone’s second place means his three-year wait for victory goes on as Garzo completed the podium for his third of the season. Behind, Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) lost fourth place on the line to Kevin Zannoni (Openbank Aspar Team) as the featherweight Zannoni slipstreamed to the line, crucial extra points for his championship challenge.

Andrea Mantovani (KLINT Forward Factory Team) rounded out a decent weekend with sixth as Massimo Roccoli (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) once again impressed to take a fine seventh. Further down, 2024 race winners Nicholas Spinelli (Tech3 E-Racing) and Oscar Gutierrez (Axxis-MSI) took 10th and 11th respectively as they’ll look to Assen in the hope good fortunes return.

The next chapter of the season MotoE™ season is not far away and will take place at the historic TT Circuit Assen for another thrilling two races in three weeks’ time, so make sure you join us then for more.

For more info checkout our dedicated MotoE News page

Or visit the official MotoGP website motogp.com

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.motogp.com

Zannoni doubles up in an intense all-Italian final lap duel

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

The Italian takes the spoils in the first showdown at Mugello after a stunning battle with Casadei as Granado just grabs third.

In a thrilling FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship Race 2, that was in fact the first MotoE™ race of the day after the earlier was postponed, Kevin Zannoni (Openbank Aspar Team) stormed to victory in front of his home crowd to double his victory tally. Zannoni held on after a stunning last lap duel with reigning champion and nearest championship rival Mattia Casadei (LCR E-Team). Claiming second spot at the chequered flag, Casadei returned to the podium after difficult outings in Barcelona. Behind, Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) took third by just 0.011s after taking the spoils in a multiple-rider fight for the final podium place.

Once the lights went out, Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing) initially got the early jump before Zannoni powered past from fifth to lead into Turn 1. Casadei soon showed his hand as the #40 surged to the lead on lap three, with a daring move into San Donato. Setting a hot pace, Casadei, Zannoni and Nicholas Spinelli (Tech3 E-Racing) began to pull away from the pack, before Spinelli suddenly was forced into pulling off a miraculous save. Tucking the front through Materassi, Spinelli somehow wrestled his MotoE™ machine upright, continuing, albeit now down in fifth.

As the top two stretched their gap even further, Granado in third had his hands full with the battle for third involving eight riders at one point.

Into the final lap and Casadei took Turn 1 – San Donato – as his time to shine. Diving to the inside, he was ahead but an apex went begging, affording Zannoni just enough room to sneak back through on Casadei’s inside with a classic switchback. Zannoni then, just as he did in Barcelona, put together a perfect final lap. Cool, calm and collected under pressure, MotoE™’s newest race winner then crowned himself as MotoE™’s newest back-to-winner.

But as the applause began to roll in for victor Zannoni, all eyes turned to an incredible drag race to the line. Clanging elbows as the line came into view, Granado and veteran Massimo Roccoli (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) were locked in a photo finish, with the Brazilian just beating Roccoli to the line. Despite the disappointment of missing the podium, fourth is Roccoli’s best result in MotoE™.

Behind, the riders came thick and fast, with 12th placed Jordi Torres less than 2.4 seconds behind Granado in third. Andrea Mantovani (KILNT Forward Factory Team) completed the top five with polesitter Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing) sixth, just ahead of brighter performance from Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE) in seventh. Further down the order, third in the championship Oscar Gutierrez (Axxis-MSI) could only manage 10th, just behind the fading Spinelli in ninth.

For more info checkout our dedicated MotoE News page

Or visit the official MotoGP website motogp.com

©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.motogp.com

Quiles takes epic Mugello Race 1

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

A superb 13 KTM lead battle blessed Mugello’s beautiful curves and it was points leader Màximo Quiles who flashed across the line just 0.004 seconds ahead of Brian Uriarte. Álvaro Carpe grabbed 3rd, 0.044 off the win.

Less wind and more sun raised the track temperature slightly affecting settings and the teenage aces had to adjust.

Quiles wins photo finish
“The bike didn’t feel the same today as it did in Qualifying,” explained the 16-year-old Spaniard. “I didn’t feel comfortable from the start and when I pushed I felt I was nearly crashing and saving it. I said, ‘Right, it’s going to be a hard race.’

“I couldn’t break the group, I pushed as hard as I could but couldn’t get away. Then going onto the last lap it was very close, I was in front, I was overtaken, when we braked, Perrone hit me, I hit Veda and we almost went down.”

“Then I pushed on, I overtook Brian, it was like a replay of last year’s I got in front, I closed the door in the last corner and managed to hold the lead to the line.”

“I want to thank everyone, I enjoyed that race so much.”

Uriarte hates 2nd
“Second is the first loser, I’d rather be third. I could win today… but I didn’t,” stated the Spanish 15-year-old.

“But still a good race, a hard race, I was a bit tired at the end, couldn’t grip the bar so well, I had a big blister.”

“I was pretty confident through the race, I got a bit of chatter in the last few laps but nothing too bad, I have to talk to Aitor (Lafoz, suspension engineer) and see if we should change anything for tomorrow, the track was hotter than Qualifying but it will be cool again tomorrow morning.”

“I think that I learnt from yesterday, I think I put it all together today but we didn’t show it.”

“I gave it everything, I tried to pass on the last straight but Maximo made something strange, I couldn’t follow the slipstream and I couldn’t quite get past. It was good points, a good result but tomorrow must be better.”

“I was a bit lost yesterday, I saw today that the guys in front had some different lines and I learnt from that and will use it in Race 2.”

Carpe knows he needs more than 3rd
“It was an incredible race, so much fun, a big group with everyone pushing so hard all the way. I stayed towards the front of the group almost all race and I’m happy with the way I have been riding here, fastest in all sessions yesterday and 3rd today.”

“I was looking to win this but a rider hit me in the first corner of the last lap and I had to battle back to the front in the next corners.”

“P3 is a good result for the championship but tomorrow I have to do better.”

“Today was hotter than yesterday, that made the bike move around more but my feeling with the KTM was good, the Pirelli tyres also felt good so I don’t think I will change anything for tomorrow.”

Ruche Moodley in the hunt for the win – P4
“I pushed really hard, I had to as I started P9,” explained the 17-year-old South African. “Yesterday I felt quite confident overtaking so I knew that I could do it. I did well but I am a little bit disappointed to miss out on the podium by so little. I have to think that if I did some things differently, small changes, I could have made it.”

“I will try to make some changes myself and do better tomorrow.”

Veda Pratama bumped off the podium – P5
“I am happy with the race today but I didn’t have such great luck,” commented the 15-year-old Indonesian. “In the first corner on the last lap, someone hit me and I got pushed out but I was lucky because I didn’t crash. I pushed hard in that last lap and finished 5th so I am happy with that.”

“The bike wasn’t quite perfect but it wasn’t a big problem for me and I am learning all the time, learning from the top riders.”

Valentin Perrone running up front – P6
“I’m not really happy with the result,” revealed the 16-year-old Argentine. “I felt not so bad with the bike but the temperature of the track was higher and that gave me some chatter on some corners.”

“It’s good points for the championship but I will talk to Dani (Ribalta, Rider Coach) and see if he has any suggestions for me to improve and do better tomorrow.”

Hakim Danish fought through – P7
“This race was really difficult for me because at the start I lost many positions,” revealed the 16-year-old Malaysian. “I tried to come back but it’s not easy, I tried to fight with the other riders and as I felt more confident in the corners I started to overtake one by one.”

“I arrived in the front group and I tried to stay there, I wanted to fight for the podium. In the last lap, I made a small mistake in the first sector and I finished P7. I will try to push more for a better result tomorrow.”

Carter Thompson takes big step – P9
“I felt really good,” stated the 16-year-old Australian. “In the first few laps, I didn’t get as far up as I wanted to off the start. But I kept chipping away every lap, by the end I got up with the front group.”

“It’s unfortunate that in the last lap, I got hit and had to go in the gravel trap but overall it was a positive race, a big improvement over last year and the last couple of races so I am really happy with the progress.”

For more info checkout our dedicated Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup News page Rookies Cup News

Or visit the official Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup website rookiescup.redbull.com/

Bagnaia resists Marquez to claim first Sprint spoils since 2023

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

Bagnaia resists Marquez to claim first Sprint spoils since 2023, Martin crashes out at Mugello.

The #1 reigns supreme in Italy after a dramatic Tissot Sprint that sees the Championship gap cut to just 27 points.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is a Tissot Sprint winner for the first time since the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix! The reigning Champion redeemed his last lap crash a week ago in Barcelona to put in a stunning performance on Saturday at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, taking off in the lead and then holding Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) at bay over a tense final few laps. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) completed the Sprint podium fresh from the news he’ll be in orange next season.

Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), meanwhile, crashed out in the latter stages – and after a tangle with Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team).

Bagnaia got an almighty launch from second to take the holeshot, heading down into San Donato with metres to spare. Teammate Bastianini also launched it like a rocket to take the inside line and move into P2, denying polesitter Martin. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) shot up from P13 on the grid to challenge in the top five, with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) losing out to the South African and Marc Marquez.

Binder vs Marquez was the first big move, with the #93 attacking the KTM next time round down the main straight. He just found room on the right, tight as anything, and just kept it into Turn 1. The Gresini then set off after the top three – but drama was already brewing up ahead.

Bagnaia held the lead as Martin barreled back past Bastianini, but the Beast went for the move at Turn 1, heading slightly deep. Martin took the cutback and there was contact, with then Bastianini sliding out of his home Sprint. Incident: under investigation by the FIM MotoGP™ Stewards, alongside another that saw Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing) collide.

The result was no further action regarding either incident, which was certainly positive for the #89’s hopes of taking some key points, as he now had Marc Marquez to deal with – and Bagnaia was starting to disappear up the road just as Acosta was starting to home in.

With four to go, there was yet more drama though, and at the front. This time alone, but once again for Martin. The #89 had passed Marquez then been passed back, and he was holding a fairly secure third just ahead of Acosta. But round San Donato the front said no more and the Championship leader slid off onto the sidelines.

That left a familiar chess match at the front: Bagnaia vs Marquez. Next time around too, the #93 took a huge chunk out of the lead, and it was down to seven tenths with two to go. But the reigning Champion found a response in the third sector of the penultimate lap, and with that the deal was done. One more lap to right the wrong of the Barcelona Sprint – and with a second in hand. It was 1.469 as he crossed the line, and Marquez had put down his own burst of speed to leave Acosta a further two and a half seconds in arrears.

Taking his first Saturday victory since the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix is a big statement as Bagnaia cuts the gap to 27 points at the top of the Championship. He also once again escapes Marc Marquez, but the #93 once again banks some points, stays consistent, and this time starts Sunday ahead of the reigning Champion too. For Acosta, a podium is a nice dovetail to a day that also saw him confirmed as a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider for 2025.

Martin, meanwhile, will be ruing his mistake, having not made too many at all so far in 2024. But 27 points remains sizeable as he looks to hit back on Sunday.

Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) equals his best result of the season so far, taking his second P4 in a Sprint after doing the same in Jerez, with Viñales completing the top five after getting past Binder. The South African held off Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), who completed the points in that order n a close-fought battle. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) completed the top ten, just a tenth ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).

The dust settles on another dramatic Sprint, with Martin failing to score on Saturday for the first time ever since the format was introduced. Can he flip the form book on Sunday and come out swinging to gain some ground in the Grand Prix? Can Marquez take Ducati’s 93rd win? Or, despite that three-place grid penalty, can Bagnaia make it three Mugello wins in a row and complete a second double in two years? All will be revealed on Sunday at 14:00 (UTC +2), so don’t miss it!

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Roberts sets new lap record to deny Garcia by just 0.078

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

After a dramatic qualifying at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) will start on pole position on Sunday after a late lap to claim a new lap record.

The #16 continues to battle for the World Championship against Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), who will start from second on the grid. Garcia set a great time early on which would stand the test of time ahead for all but pole, with MB Conveyors SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez rounding out the front row in third.

There would be drama before Q2 even got underway for one rider, with Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) not taking part in Q2 due to an issue with his shoulder. He will be reviewed ahead of the Moto2™ race, and if starts it’ll be down the order after not heading out in the session.

Once Q2 was underway, Garcia was fastest in the early stages – setting a 1:49.955 early on. Roberts found time in the last two minutes to jump to second and set a new lap record after a stunning performance by the American, and during the last minute, Lopez also found time, pushing Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Racing Moto2™) off the front row of the grid.

Heading the second row of the grid in fourth position will be Gonzalez, ahead of Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), with the latter having an eventful qualifying after battling through Q1 and setting seven fast laps across Q2. Binder will be joined by fellow Q1 graduate Marcos Ramirez, with the #24 capping off a great day for OnlyFans American Racing.

Team Ciatti Boscoscuro wildcard Mattia Pasini will start from the third row of the grid after another impressive result from the Italian. Behind Pasini was Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) in eighth, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) rounding off the third row of the grid. However, some big names will start further back, such as Catalan GP winner Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) in P12 and Barcelona podium finisher Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) in 15th, both ahead of Aldeguer, who will start from 18th if he races on Sunday.

Moto2™ take on Mugello on Sunday at 12:15 local time (UTC +2), so make sure you tune in!

For more Moto2 info checkout our dedicated Moto2 News page

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©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.motogp.com

Alonso heads Ortola, Rueda on the chase as Moto3 line up to take on Mugello

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

A brilliant Moto3™ qualifying concluded with David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) storming to pole position after an incredible performance all weekend at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo.

The #80 secured pole position on his final lap after a frantic session, heading Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) as the Spaniard got closest. Rounding off the front row at Mugello is Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda, who took his sixth front row of the season.

Once Q2 got underway it was Jerez winner Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) who was fast straight out of the gates, with Alonso ending his first run down in third. On the second run, Veijer would improve before all eyes turned to Alonso who briefly topped the times. Ortola was next to steal the top honours on his final run, but Alonso would have his chance to respond, clocking an incredible 1:54.194 on his final lap of qualifying before Rueda jumped to third to knock Veijer off the front row too.

Veijer heads the second row of the grid after a late crash at Scarperia while the #95 was on a fast lap. Alongside the Dutchman will be Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), who rounds out the top five – less than a second adrift. Holgado has a good starting position for Sunday, as does rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) as he takes sixth.

Rookie Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) starts from seventh on the grid, alongside Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato, with the #72 continuing to impress this weekend. After fighting through Q1 earlier on, Joel Kelso will round off the third row of the grid in ninth position for BOE Motorsport.

Can anyone catch Alonso? We’ll find out at 11:00 (UTC +2)!

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©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.motogp.com

Martin denies Bagnaia by hundredths as Marquez crashes in Q

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

The #89 takes pole by 0.043 from the reigning Champion, with Viñales third for Aprilia and Marquez fourth after crashing out of his chance at pole.

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) set a new lap record to deny Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) pole position at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, with the two split by just 0.043 at the top. Bagnaia has a three-place grid penalty for Sunday, but not Saturday, so he’ll line up second for the Tissot Sprint. Completing the front row on Aprilia Racing’s home turf is Maverick Viñales, with Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) forced to settle for fourth after a crash at Scarperia on what could have been a pole-threatening lap.

Q1: LAP RECORD SMASHED
The big names and home heroes were raring to make their mark on Q1. After a flurry of early activity it was Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) leading the way from Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46), but the second runs saw it all change again – at first at least.

Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) put in a fast one and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), but a final push from Morbidelli saw the Pramac rider set a new lap record to take back to the top. He moved through along with Raul Fernandez, with Binder left P13 on the grid.

Q2: LAP RECORD SMASHED & #93 CRASH
Martin came out swinging in Q2 to set the first real benchmark, 0.043 ahead of Bagnaia, but the #1 was looking to hit back quickly. Up in the first sector, absolutely equal to Martin with +0.000 in the second and then just over tenth up in the third, it looked like he was on course to take over but over the line, it was just 0.068s off, leaving his previous effort as his best.

Next to try and look for an answer was Marc Marquez. The #93 was setting red sectors before it then suddenly all came apart and the front folded – leaving him fourth on the grid at best.

The final serious attack came from Viñales. The Aprilia was up right round the lap until the final sector, then just coming up short and unable to challenge Bagnaia and Martin. Bagnaia couldn’t find another challenge for the #89 either, with a lap gone for yellow flags too. Martin, gearing up for a final push, then encountered Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) at San Donato after the #73 had shot past him on the straight, and that was that. Still, for the Championship leader, the job was already done – and with a new lap record to boot.

THE GRID(S)
Martin takes pole as he looks to spoil the home turf party for his rivals but make it even better for his Prima Pramac Racing team, with Bagnaia second on the grid for the Sprint but then set to take that three-place penalty on Sunday, dropping him to fifth on the grid. That changes the grids for a few riders. On Saturday it’s Martin, Bagnaia, Viñales, Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) in that order in the top five, but on Sunday it will be Martin, Viñales, Marc Marquez, Bastianini and then Bagnaia in P5. All of them broke the old lap record in Q2.

Behind them comes Q1 record setter Morbidelli as he completes Row 2 in P6, the first of those unaffected by the Bagnaia penalty. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) is next up as the superstar rookie takes P7, but that’s one record now out of reach as he loses the chance to take the record of youngest ever premier class polesitter from Quartararo.

Alex Marquez improved on the lap he was starting when just ahead of Martin, taking P8, ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™). The Trackhouse duo complete the Q2 runners, with Miguel Oliveira 0.081 off Rins and Raul Fernandez the exact same 0.081 off Oliveira.

Binder starts P13 ahead of Diggia, with the two joined on that row by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) in 15th. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) is at the head of Row 6 as a tougher season continues on home turf so far.

The stage is set for a stunning set of showdowns at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, with the reining Champion and winner of the last two at Mugello starting from two different grid positions after that – in his words – “clown penalty”. Join us for both from the stunning Tuscan venue!

SATURDAY
TISSOT SPRINT: 15:00 (UTC +2)
SUNDAY
GRAND PRIX: 14:00 (UTC +2)

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Hickman and Crowe brothers set the pace at TT 2024

Richard radcliffe

June 1, 2024

The weather was cool, there was stiff north-westerly wind and cloud overhead as the roads closed on the Mountain Course. We were treated to a day of frenetic action at TT2024 that saw some amazing speeds being set; with Peter Hickman setting the best lap of the week in the evening session at 134.638mph on his Superstock machine.

The Clerk of the Course took the option to use the contingency (evening) session due to the loss of two sessions earlier in the week. Milntown was the chosen location for the afternoon session. Here the bikes approach flat out from the S-bend at Pinfold Cottage. The fast riders become airborne before sweeping right, tight to the wall of Milntown House; the ancestral home of the Christian family (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame). You can feel the draft of the machines on either side of the track; for those who watch online; you are missing out on the thrill of being close to some incredible action.

For once, the sidecars had first use of the famous course. Ben Birchall / Kevin Rousseau were first to reach us; they set the best time to Ramsey; but then had an off at the Mountain Box (East Mountain Gate for purists). They are okay; Ben is confident of having the outfit good to go tomorrow. The yellow flags shown meant that first lap speeds were down for the other teams. The field streamed through Milntown in fine style; with Dave Molyneux / Jake Roberts giving a standout performance. Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement continue to impress; they set a new best at 112.991mph on their second lap. On that second lap Alan Founds /Rhys Gibbons retired the outfit at Milntown. At the end of the session the Crowe bothers led the way with a superb 119.191mph lap; Peter Founds / Jevan Walmsley were second at 115.885mph with Tim Reeves / Mark Wilkes third at 115.260mph.

Next it was the turn of the Superstock and Superbikes; the session was led away by Dean Harrison and Jamie Coward. The action was superb at Milntown as the machines powered past at 150mph. The speeds on track were mind blowing; Davey Todd lapped at 133.942mph; Peter Hickman at 133.851mph and Dean Harrison made a quantum leap on the Honda to record 132.143mph. Michael Dunlop chose his Superstock and set a speed of 132.135mph. He then did two laps on his Superbike; the best of which was 132.728mph. Dean Harrison did the reverse and set his best Superstock of the week at 131.293mph. There were no moments at Milntown, but we did have a yellow flag due to a minor spill at Schoolhouse, 600m down the road.

The Supersports and Supertwins closed the session; led away by the impressive Jim Hind on his Supersport Suzuki. Once again, excellent action was seen at Milntown as the riders hustled their mounts between the walls. Hind was first to reach us and kept ahead of the pack to set an opening lap at 124.349mph. He ended the session in 9^th. Class master Michael Dunlop led the way at 127.649mph from Jamie Coward at 127.210mph and Davey Todd on the gorgeous looking and sounding Ducati Panagale at 126.450.

Mark Herbertson put down a marker in the Supertwins with a first lap at 119.544mph; he then broke the 120mph barrier at 120.036mph. Late in the session Peter Hickman went out on the Swan Yamaha and set the best lap at 120.885mph; with Todd grabbing third at 119.259mph on his Kawasaki. This is the class with most variety of machinery and it should give very close racing.

The evening gave us bright sunshine; a much lighter breeze and it felt warmer. The 20 miles marker at Sulby Bridge was the vantage point for another busy session. The action was good; but not as mind blowing as at Milntown. The riders take the fairly tight right hand bend on the bridge then open the taps and head for the tricky rising left hand bend at the famous Ginger Hall hotel and on towards Kerrowmoar.

Dean Harrison was first to reach us on his Superbike. He was followed by Peter Hickman, Jamie Coward, James Hillier, Ian Hutchinson and Josh Brookes; all on Superstock apart from Brookes. Michael Dunlop was next on his Superbike; then Davo Johnson and a rejuvenated John McGuinness. All were neat and fast over the bridge. The second lap also gave good action for the far from record crowds gathered at the trackside. Peter Hickman showed that he will be the man to beat by setting the best lap thus far to take top spot in the Superstocks with that 134.638mph lap. Davey Todd and Michael Dunlop both lapped at over 132mph to take second and third. Hillier and Coward lapped at over 130mph. Nathan Harrison was best of the local riders in 10^th, at over 128mph.

Hickman was not finished; he went out on his Superbike and topped that chart at 132.863mph. Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop were also over 132mph. Josh Brookes lapped at over 131mph, and the great John McGuinness posted a 130mph lap.

The smaller bikes were next out giving some fine action and interesting engines notes, especially from the Supertwins. Davey Tood led the way in the Supersports from James Hind and local star Mikey Evans. Michael Dunlop put in two rapid laps on his Paton to lead the Supertwins at 121.882mph. Jamie Coward lapped at over 120mph; Peter Hickman was third at over 119mph. After a lengthy absence Adam McLean is picking up his pace; he was 7^th on his Yamaha. The Sidecars closed the session; but it was very much a case of bed new parts in; in readiness for the first race.

After more big bike practice; Saturday will have the Arai Parade Lap; then the first Supersport Race and will close with Sidecar Race 1; where we could have a local win.

Hickman And Crowe Brothers Set The Pace At Tt 2024 — Ben Birchall / Kevin Rousseau

MotoGP to race at the Red Bull Ring until 2030

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

A five-year contract extension confirms the Austrian GP on the calendar until 2030 inclusive.

It’s official: the Austrian Grand Prix will be on the MotoGP™ calendar until 2030. Previously confirmed until 2025, a new agreement ensures the world’s most exciting sport will continue to race at the spectacular Red Bull Ring – Spielberg from 2026-2030 inclusive.

After nearly two decades, the Austrian GP returned to the calendar in 2016 and immediately became a fan and paddock favourite, winning Best Grand Prix for its first event back and then taking the trophy again in 2019. Set in the glorious Styrian hills in Spielberg, the Red Bull Ring provides a stunning backdrop for MotoGP™ – serving up fantastic racing, iconic final corner showdowns, and a full programme of fan activities throughout the Grand Prix.

Mark Mateschitz, owner of the Red Bull Ring: “Anyone who loves motorsport loves MotoGP. It embodies racing in its purest form. When the best riders in the world go head-to-head and there are multiple changes of position in a single lap, nobody can stay in their seats. Once you’ve experienced the enthusiasm of the fans here at the Red Bull Ring, you can’t get enough of it. I am delighted that we have been able to secure this great event for the spectators with a long-term commitment to Austria and to the Steiermark in particular.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP™ rights holder Dorna Sports: “We’re very happy to announce that the Austrian Grand Prix will be on the calendar until 2030. Not only is it one of the world’s most beautiful racetracks, it also delivers an incredible weekend for fans with fantastic facilities, great entertainment events, and spectacular racing. The Red Bull Ring has staged some of our most iconic modern moments since the track returned to the calendar.

“As the home track for KTM and part of Red Bull’s incredible commitment to motorsport, it’s also an important venue for many of our stakeholders and Austrian motorsport as a whole. We’re very happy to announce that we’ll be returning until 2030 and look forward to many more years working together.”

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©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.motogp.com

Beaubier, Herrin, Fong In Superbike Q1 At Road America

Frank Duggan

June 1, 2024

Cameron Beaubier Tops Josh Herrin And Bobby Fong On Opening Day In Wisconsin.

Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier followed up his two wins at Barber Motorsports Park two weeks ago by earning provisional pole position for the two Steel Commander Superbike races at Road America on a sunny Friday afternoon.

Beaubier and Herrin played catch with the top spot for some of the session with Beaubier leading first, Herrin taking over for a short period before Beaubier nabbed it for good with his 2:09.764 coming on his 12th lap of the four-mile Road America. After that, no one would get within a second of the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion.

Beaubier’s lap ended up being 1.2 seconds quicker than Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Herrin, who in turn was just .204 ahead of Wrench Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong with Fong rounding out the provisional pole position.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Xavi Forés had his best session since taking over the injured Richie Escalante’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 R. Forés was just .131 of a second ahead of TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly.

Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz ended the day sixth fastest on his Panigale V4 R and just.091 of a second clear of Beaubier’s Tytlers Cycle Racing teammate JD Beach.

Brandon Paasch ended up eighth on the second Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.

It wasn’t a good day Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen and defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne with the pair ending up ninth and 10th, respectively. Petersen’s Q1 session ended prematurely with a mechanical failure ending his day.

“The Tytlers BMW is working really good around here,” Beaubier said. “We’ve got some power and it’s so nice to use it at this track. It’s a pretty special place for me. I’ve had a lot of wins here and I really enjoy this place. Not just the track, but everything around it and the crowds that come out. We are enjoying ourselves this weekend aand we just have to keep our heads down. I know everyone is coming. It was a really good day today and we move on to tomorrow.”

Supersport – Mesa Quick
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa hasn’t had the start to his 2024 Supersport season that he would have liked. At Road America he was hoping to turn that around and he began with leading the way in Q1.

Mesa and his Kawasaki ZX6-R led the way on opening day with his 2:17.226, which was .320 of a second faster that TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo, the pole sitter from the Barber Motorsports Park round a few weeks earlier.

Third on Friday afternoon went to Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing’s Roberto Tamburini with the Italian .410 of a second slower than Mesa.

The top eight riders were within a second of Mesa. Championship points leader PJ Jacobsen and his Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2 was ninth with his early season championship rival Mathew Scholtz fifth in Q1 on the Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.

BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Di Mario Keeps It Going
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Alessandro Di Mario won his first BellissiMoto Twins Cup race at Barber Motorsports Park a few weeks ago to emerge as a potential class champion. On Friday at Road America Di Mario kept the momentum gained at Barber to earn provisional pole position with his 2:24.625, a new Road America lap record for the class.

Di Mario was chased to the finish by RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers and Di Mario’s championship points leading teammate Gus Rodio. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor and Koch Racing’s Sean Ungvarsky rounded out the top five.

Beaubier, Herrin, Fong In Superbike Q1 At Road America — Kyle Wyman started his weekend by earning provisional pole position for the Mission King Of The Baggers on Friday afternoon at Road America. Photo by Brian J. Nelson

Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman’s Record Breaker
Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman broke the Mission King Of The Baggers lap record at Road America on Friday with the New Yorker lapping at 1:19.135 – .724 of a second faster than Bobby Fong’s lap record from a year ago in race two.

Wyman topped championship points leader Troy Herfoss with the Australian and his S&S/Indian Motorcycles-backed Challenger by just .150 of a second.

Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara ended the day third quickest and the last rider to lap in the 2:19s. Defending series champion Hayden Gillim ended up fourth on the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Guess Who?
Mikayla Moore does what Mikayla Moore does and that usually means doom and gloom the rest of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. women. Today was no different.

Moore led Q1 at Road America on Friday, with her 2:51.642 besting Cassie Creer by 7.7 seconds. Emma Betters rounded out the provisional front row heading into tomorrow’s Q2 session and race one.

Although Moore had things in hand at the front, just .281 of a second separated Creer from fifth-placed Aubrey Credaroli.

Junior Cup – Dreher Rebounds
Defending MotoAmerica Junior Cup Champion Avery Dreher hasn’t had a great start to his 2024 season, but things got a lot better for the Bad Boys Racing-backed Floridan in Q1 at Road America.

Dreher led the way with his 2:40.967, but as always it was close at the top. BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin ended up second, just .152 of a second off Dreher’s best.

Championship points leader Yandel Medina completed the provisional front row, and he was only .265 of a second from pole.

For more news check out our dedicated MotoAmerica News page MotoAmerica News

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Zaccone takes maiden pole as rain and then shine delivers classic qualifying at Mugello

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

The #61 continues to impress to take his first MotoE™ pole, with Tulovic and Garzo completing the front row.

The FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship returned for more action at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo with an exciting, and even briefly rain-hit, qualifying session to decide the grid. Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing) came out on top as his speed in 2024 continues to get even better, fresh from a podium in Barcelona. The rest had no answer for the #61 and he took his maiden MotoE™ pole position, 0.312s ahead of a return to the front for Lukas Tulovic (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™).

Hector Garzo is close on the chase to make it an Intact GP double completing the front row. Q1 saw the rain shower down part-way through, but by the time Q2 began it was back onto slicks and became a straight shoot-out for pole.

Heading up the second row of the grid will be Eric Granado (LCR E-Team), the Brazilian just pipping teammate and reigning World Champion Mattia Casadei. Both riders will be looking for more in Italy after crashing out of Race 2 in Barcelona. Rounding out a star-studded second row of the grid is championship leader Kevin Zannoni (Openbank Aspar Team) in sixth, looking to repeat his stellar starts from the Catalan GP.

Nicholas Spinelli (Tech3 E-Racing) lines up seventh, leaving him with work to do tomorrow to recover valuable points lost after a double DNF in Barcelona. Behind Spinelli sit both Felo Gresini MotoE™ riders – Matteo Ferrari and Alessio Finello. For Ferrari, 8th signifies his best qualifying of the season as finds more form and for Finello, 9th means a personal best gird slot by three places in his MotoE™ career.

Unable to set a time in Q2 was KLINT Forward Factory Team’s Andrea Mantovani, who topped but also crashed out of Q1 midway through the session. Rookie, Catalan GP Race 1 winner and championship contender Oscar Gutierrez (Axxis-MSI) has a mountain to climb from 15th, and will be looking to gain big and early.

Make sure you don’t miss both races on Saturday with lights out at 12:15 local time (UTC +2) for Race 1 before Race 2 gets underway at 16:10 local time!

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Carpe fast all day in Mugello for Rookies Pole

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

The sun came out in Mugello for Qualifying and gave Alvaro Carpe that extra boost to head the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup timing screen.

The Spaniard is not 17 until next Wednesday but showed plenty of experience as he made the best use of the slipstream and his KTM to be the only rider under 2 minutes for the 5.245km circuit.

Finnish 16-year-old Rico Salmela was just 0.394 seconds slower and 0.040 better than Cup leader Màximo Quiles, the 16-year-old Spaniard.

Carpe P1, Salmela P2, Quiles P3

Carpe wants to keep going
“So far I have a perfect weekend, P1, P1, P1. It’s my first pole position ever, my feeling with the KTM was incredible, just a little chatter but very good. The Pirelli tyres were working very good, I like the track so much, all the fast corners, the hard braking.”

“I hope I can continue the perfect weekend tomorrow.”

“I was running behind the group, I would drop back about 2 seconds then catch them in the last sector because the slipstream there is so important. It worked.”

“I hardly changed the bike setting, in FP2 I tried the shorter sprocket and I had P1 but it didn’t feel right and I went back to the longer sprocket for Qualifying.”

Salmela is happy overtaking
“I started Quali by myself. I had a good feeling when I was running alone, I did quite a good lap time alone but then I went for another one, tried to push a lot and then into turn one I arrived sliding, I couldn’t stop the bike and went wide.”

“The group behind caught me then and I was a bit stuck in the group. I didn’t want to push too much and help the others in the group too much. Then in the last lap, I had made a little gap and I ran in front and did a decent lap. I made a few mistakes but it was still a good lap time.”

“I feel good for the race, I feel more comfortable overtaking today, that’s good, we’ll see tomorrow.”

Quiles is happier alone
“I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted the pole but it is difficult with these guys because they are really crazy in a group, they go, they slow down. So I said to myself, OK, I don’t want to touch with anybody, I will go alone.”

“So I ran alone, but here you really do need a slipstream, it’s like half a second or one second so this time is really good. I feel good with the bike, I have chatter but this is normal, the bike is good.”

“I will try to break away tomorrow if I can, I don’t know but I will try.”

Brian Uriarte knows there is more to come from P4
“I wanted the pole position,” stated the 15-year-old Spaniard frankly. “I worked first alone, then I went with some other riders because I wanted to see where I was compared to them. I have raced here many times in the Italian Championship in PreMoto3 and I enjoy it.”

“I think there are some things to improve from my side, I have to work more on my pace, try to improve both following and alone, it’s a long track, the slipstream will help but also you need to be able to go alone.”

“On the last lap I made the time alone and I still have to make everything work together, I know all the tricks but I need to put it together. I wanted the pole but I have P4 and I don’t start too bad so we’ll see.”

Valentin Perrone is happier with the bike than the track – P5
“I’m really happy because I was pushing all the time,” stated the 16-year-old Argentine. “Overtaking in the group and also following, getting to the front, whatever I wanted to do. So I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

“In the end, I am really happy with the bike, in the beginning, I was a little confused with it, I didn’t feel really comfortable but in Qualifying with the new tyres it felt really good.”
“It’s my first time here, I don’t immediately like the track, It’s a little bit difficult but I am working on it.”

Hakim Danish has the bike sorted and wants more from himself – P6
“P6 is not bad after FP1 and FP2, they were quite difficult for me,” explained the 16-year-old Malaysian. “So in QP, I was able to improve my riding and the better time came.”

“I feel confident with the bike, I think I can have a good race but I still need to improve.”

“We did work on the settings a bit today through the Free Practice sessions and for Qualifying it felt good so we will keep it for the race.”

Veda Pratama enjoying Mugello – P7
“I’m happy but I think I can go faster,” enthused the 15-year-old Indonesian. “In the beginning, I was 0.2 or 0.3 faster but the lap time was cancelled. Finally, in the last lap I did a 2-minute 0.8 I’m happy with that.”

“The bike is good, not perfect, not perfect in the front but it’s not a big problem for me.”

“It’s my first time here and I like this circuit, It is really fun and I enjoy the long straight, the fast corners, especially the Arrabbiata, fast, climbing, I really enjoy that.”

Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.

Race 1 is at 17:00 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:45, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.

For more info checkout our dedicated Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup News page Rookies Cup News

Or visit the official Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup website rookiescup.redbull.com/

Bagnaia pulls the pin to head Rins, Acosta and Oliveira

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

Bagnaia pulls the pin to head Rins, Acosta and Oliveira, with four factories in the top four on Friday.

Pecco quickest but penalised, Marc Marquez goes through to Q2, Martin ends Friday in seventh and Quartararo JUST misses the cut as Practice in Mugello delivers plenty to talk about.

After an intense hour of Practice at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, the important Q2 spots have been decided and it’s reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) returning to the top. He stamped some authority on the field at the end of Friday to set a magnificent 1:44.938 and pull quarter of a second clear. However, he was also then given a three-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix race on Sunday for an incident with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), deemed to have been slow on line and disturbed the #73. Watch the incident below!

Meanwhile, the chasing pack is led by Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) in second as Yamaha continued to make a statement of intent to fight further forward this weekend. Rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) made a brilliant recovery after a crash at Turn 13 to complete the top three, and the #31 also had a tip off in the morning but no harm done to rider nor pace.

There was drama throughout the session and some after. Acosta’s crash forced the #31 to get a lift back to the paddock for his spare bike, and the Bagnaia decision was confirmed in the evening. The end of Practice was a frantic rush to the top too, deposing the leader before the final few minutes, which had been Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).

Bagnaia became the first rider of the weekend to enter the 1:44 bracket as a handful of riders tried to find time in the closing minutes, but nobody was able to match the #1’s third sector. Rins shot back up to second though, and Acosta’s damage limitation was even more than that as he takes P3.

Further back in fourth after a brilliant end to Friday’s proceedings was Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing), who improved late in the session to make it four different bikes in the top four as he repped for Aprilia.

After dramas on the last couple of Fridays, meanwhile, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) had none at Mugello and will have direct entry to Q2 for the first time since the Spanish GP. Has he solved the one-lap puzzle?

After a tough start to the day, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) found pace with a new soft rear tyre to jump to sixth on the timesheets. Bastianini ended what was a good day for the factory Ducati team and finished ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), with the Championship leader having a slightly more muted day on the timesheets.

Alex Marquez, despite that incident with Bagnaia, also claimed his first direct entry to Q2 since the Spanish GP – taking P8 and capping off an excellent Friday for Gresini. Behind the #73 was Viñales, who dropped down to ninth ahead of Aprilia Racing teammate Aleix Espargaro, who took the final spot inside the vital top 10 for Saturday’s qualifying.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team’s Fabio Quartararo missed out by just 0.019 as teammate Rins moves through, and he’ll battle the likes of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder and Jack Miller, as well as Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team duo Marco Bezzecchi and last year’s polesitter Fabio Di Giannantonio.

They’ll now reset and recharge for super Saturday, and we know it really will be. Join us then for more from Mugello!

FP2: 10:10 (UTC +2)
Q1: 10:50
Q2: 11.15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00

For more MotoGP info checkout our dedicated MotoGP News page

Or visit the official MotoGP website www.motogp.com

Chantra, Roberts, Aldeguer and Lopez covered by less than a tenth

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) ends Friday fastest at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo with a 1:50.841, but it was tight at the top with Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) a mere 0.011s behind and MB Conveyors SpeedUp duo Fermin Aldeguer and Alonso Lopez still within a tenth.

Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) and Roberts duelled for the top spot throughout the opening stage of the session before Chantra began to improve, the Thai rider then just able to deny both. Garcia got leapfrogged by more riders too, shuffled down to P8 by the end of play as Aron Canet (Fantic Racing), RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP’s Barry Baltus and Filip Salac (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) took fifth to seventh, respectively.

Barcelona winner Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) will want more than P12 when action continues on Saturday, and Catalan GP podium finisher Jake Dixon (CFMoto Inde Aspar Team) is looking for a big move up from P25.

For more Moto2 info checkout our dedicated Moto2 News page

Or visit the official MotoGP website motogp.com

Alonso throws down the gauntlet, Veijer gives chase

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team’s David Alonso is the benchmark to beat once again on Friday at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, over half a second clear of Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP).

Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) was third quickest as his quietly impressive 2024 continues, and the Japanese rider was the final competitor within seven tenths of the top.

Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is next on the chase as the timesheets tighten up, with hundredths and thousandths measuring the gaps throughout the rest of the top ten and beyond. Rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) impressed once again in fifth as he comes into Mugello off the back of his best finish yet, with Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) forced to settle for sixth by only 0.017.

One to watch as the lightweight class head back out for P2 will be Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), who is second in the Championship but ended P1 in 17th. Moto3™ head back out in the morning for P2 before qualifying at 12:50 (UTC +2).

For more Moto3 info checkout our dedicated Moto3 News page

Or visit the official MotoGP website motogp.com

Harley-Davidson Joins MotoGP This Racing Season

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

Harley-Davidson^® is pleased to announce it is joining forces with MotoGP^™ to bring the Harley-Davidson experience to moto racing enthusiasts across Europe.

Harley-Davidson will have a presence at several MotoGP races throughout the 2024 season, giving fans of the sport the opportunity to see the vast range of motorcycles from the iconic American brand.

Harley-Davidson has adventure as part of its DNA, with a more than 100-year history in racing and a national and world championship winning legacy, meaning the brand is more than at home at the racetrack. Currently, the Harley-Davidson^® Factory Race Team is successfully competing in the MotoAmerica^® King of The Baggers racing series in the United States.

MotoGP fans will be able to find Harley-Davidson at the following races:

Gran Premio d’Italia – 31^st May – 2^nd June
TT Assen – 28^th – 30^th June
Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland – 5^th – 7^th July
British Grand Prix – 2^nd – 4^th August
Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich – 16^th – 18 ^t August

The Harley-Davidson display is open to customers, fans of the brand and moto-enthusiasts alike, who are looking to fuel their passion for adventure, searching for inspiration to get back on the open road or those curious to learn more about the latest Harley-Davidson^® motorcycle range.

Discover the all-new 2024 range at H-D.com, or at an authorised Harley-Davidson^®dealership near you.

For more Harley-Davidson UK news check out our dedicated page Harley-Davidson UK News

or head to the official Harley-Davidson UK website www.harley-davidson.com/gb/en/index.html

MotoAmerica And Road America Ink A Multi-Year Partnership Extension

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

MotoAmerica Racing Set For Iconic Wisconsin Race Track For Years To Come.

MotoAmerica, North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series, and Road America, one of the premier racing circuits in North America, are thrilled to announce a multi-year partnership extension. This enduring alliance promises to bring exhilarating motorcycle racing action to fans at the iconic Wisconsin track for years to come.

“MotoAmerica has been an integral part of our racing family, and we are delighted to extend our partnership,” said Mike Kertscher, President and General Manager of Road America. “This collaboration has not only fueled the passion of countless racing enthusiasts but has also significantly contributed to the local economy and motorsport culture.”

The partnership between Road America and MotoAmerica has consistently delivered some of the most thrilling and competitive racing on the MotoAmerica calendar. Road America’s challenging four-mile, 14-turn track has become a favorite among riders and fans alike, known for its high speeds, dramatic elevation changes, and beautiful scenery.

“We are excited to continue our journey with Road America, a venue that resonates deeply with our riders and fans,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “This extension is a testament to our shared commitment to delivering top-tier motorcycle racing and enhancing the fan experience.”

The multi-year agreement ensures that MotoAmerica will remain a staple at Road America, with the series set to host its annual event at the circuit for years to come. Fans can look forward to witnessing some of the best riders in the country compete in various classes, including the premier Steel Commander Superbike class.

As part of this renewed partnership, both Road America and MotoAmerica are committed to further enhancing the event experience for attendees. This includes improved fan zones, more interactive displays, and expanded access to riders and teams.

Tickets for this weekend’s (May 31-June 2) MotoAmerica event at Road America are now available, with special early bird pricing and exclusive packages for fans who wish to experience the adrenaline-pumping action up close.

For more news check out our dedicated MotoAmerica News page MotoAmerica News

Or visit the official MotoAmerica website motoamerica.com/

MotoGP riders turn beekeepers for a day at the Italian Grand Prix

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

The Italian MotoGP kicked off with the inauguration of the Mugello Circuit Curva San Donato in the presence of Circuit Director & CEO Paolo Poli, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, and a number of excited MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE riders.

On Thursday, when all engines were still silent, the heroes on two-wheels found themselves at one of the most beautiful turns of the Mugello Circuit, the Curva San Donato, as beekeepers.

The Ferrari plant, which has always valued sustainability, installed 5 hives full of pollinating bees in May. The riders themselves then became the main characters of the scene at the Curva San Donato itself, which was painted black and yellow for the occasion. Supported by a local beekeeper, they were able to identify the queen bee from the worker bees and the honey from the pollen. The riders were also asked to get creative and draw pictures of bees on a board, calling attention to these ever so important little insects who happen to be responsible for 80% of the pollination of all living plant species.
Paolo Poli, CEO and Director of the Mugello Circuit, emphasized the importance of biodiversity, not only in this circuit, but throughout our entire world: “Public opinion watches us all over the world. Our sport can become a privileged platform to send out important messages, such as the importance of the environment. At Mugello, we have always tried to make our contribution to preserve the beauty of our Tuscan Hills territory. Mugello has a green soul and every year we intervene with concrete actions. We thought about incentivizing the biodiversity of our wonderful park where so much of our ecosystem lives. Everything starts with the main element of nature: bees, the beings from which everything develops. And we tried to find an iconic location to enable them to do their job in harmony with a green environment. The image we want to project is one where both MotoGP and the Mugello Circuit are keenly aware of sustainability, nature, and our future”.

Bristol Bike Night – Friday 7th June

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

Calling all motorcycle enthusiasts! Join the next Bristol Bike Night at Fowlers Motorcycles on Friday, June 7th.

What to Expect:
Immerse yourself in a sea of two-wheeled passion alongside your fellow riders as you kick off the weekend. Feast your eyes on an incredible display of motorcycles, from nimble scooters to roaring superbikes, timeless classics, and unique customs. Mingle with representatives from industry giants like Alpinestars and Cardo Systems, and find out more about the local race circuit at Castle Combe and their motorcycle events.

Bristol Bike Night is more than just engines and chrome. Show your support for worthy causes like Blood Bikes, DocBike, Bristol Advanced Motorcyclists, and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Grab delicious food prepared by Harry’s Cafe, knowing that a proportion of the proceeds will go to the charity.

Enter the “Bike of the Night” competition and vie for the grand prize of “Bike of the Season”. Try your luck in the free raffle with an exciting prize and capture the memories with photo opportunities provided by Drop 4 Gear.

Event Details:

Every first Friday of the month, 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM, from May – September
Free Entry – No Booking Required
Location: Fowlers Motorcycles, 2-12 Bath Road, Bristol BS4 3DR (10-minute walk from Temple Meads Station)

For more details, visit.www.fowlers.co.uk

Bristol Bike Night: Your gateway to a fun-filled riding weekend!

View our dealer news section for more news: Dealer News

For more information on Fowlers Motorcycles products visit www.fowlers.co.uk

Royal Enfield is Official Headline Sponsor of the 2024 DTRA Flat Track Nationals Series

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

Royal Enfield is Official Headline Sponsor of the 2024 DTRA Flat Track Nationals Series as well as Launching the First Ever “Slide School Cup”.

Building on its support for grassroots motorsport, Royal Enfield continues to show commitment to the flat track season as headline sponsor of the 2024 DTRA Flat Track Nationals Series.

For 2024, Royal Enfield is running a new prototype Sherpa 450 race bike, based on its new 450cc engine, alongside the TwinsFT run last year. Experienced racer Gary Birtwistle continues to fly the flag for RE, racing in both Pro and Twins classes, respectively.

Complementing the sponsorship of the DTRA is Royal Enfield’s Slide Schools, an official experience partner initiative to offer an accessible flat track experience worldwide, and run in the UK by Gary Birtwistle across a series of dates at select venues nationwide.

Slide School launched in 2021, with the aim of bringing enthusiastic riders to the dirt track, teaching skills across a day long course that will enable participants to feel sufficiently confident to engage with amateur DTRA events, as well as giving them vital handling skills that will stand them in excellent stead both on and off the road.

Slide School has been a huge success across the world, with schools in the UK, India, the US, Italy and the Netherlands joined this month with the newest school in Thailand. To capture the excitement and enthusiasm generated among riders in Europe, Royal Enfield is launching “The Slide School Cup,” offering a neat path into a specially created DTRA event, which will bring the top three riders from each Slide School across the European schools together to compete in a specially created class at an end of series event in September.

Says Adrian Sellers, Head – Custom & Motorsport, Royal Enfield, “Royal Enfield has always been about supporting grassroots initiatives, and DTRA is a perfect embodiment of our guiding principles of providing fun and accessibility to all riders. We launched Royal Enfield into DTRA in 2021 and even we were taken by surprise by the enthusiasm and support for the concept.

Every year we think hard about how we can build on the previous year’s success and how we can open up to even more enthusiastic riders who want to have a go on the dirt. Slide Schools, alongside our DTRA sponsorship, is our way of giving back to the community and actively trying to grow it – as Slide School is the perfect access point for any rider wanting to get stuck in. The community created along the way, and the fun we have with creating racing bikes for the track adds to the excitement. We can’t wait to see who joins us for our debut Slide School Cup at the end of the season.”

For further information on the DTRA and dates, please visit the website here.

For further information on Slide School and 2024 dates, please visit the website here.

For more Royal Enfield news check out our dedicated page Royal Enfield News

or head to the official Royal Enfield website royalenﬁeld.com/uk

No time for a (Spa) break as EWC challenge intensifies

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

Belgium’s round of the FIM Endurance World Championship might be shorter – from 24 hours to eight – but the intensity of the challenge facing the ace riders and their teams at the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps will shift up another gear next week.

Following two unmissable editions of the 24H SPA EWC Motos, round two of the EWC season will take place over eight hours with the first 8 Hours of Spa Motos scheduled from 7-8 June.

Thirty-four permanent EWC teams appear on the 37-strong entry list with BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team – the winners at Spa in 2022 and 2023 respectively – firmly in the fight for more success on the iconic 6.985-kilometre layout.

While a shorter race would suggest a tamer contest on paper, the reality is set to be anything but with riders expected to push from start to finish in a race where there will be no margin for error, no time for delay and a greater focus on strategy.

Rider-turned-team boss Werner Daemen, who heads up Belgium-based BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, said: “The teams are so professional that I expect everyone will go flat out from the start to the end, more like a sprint race. If you have an issue then it will be difficult to win and we see in the eight-hour races there are much more mistakes from the riders because they have to push like a sprint race and mistakes will happen for sure.”

Having overseen Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team’s Spa victory in 2023, and its capture of the FIM Endurance World Championship for Teams, Mandy Kainz said: “The track is good for us, it’s good for the tyres, it’s good for the riders. For the consumption we have to see for the strategy. On paper, we are one of the favourites but there are five or six teams who can win. But the one parameter you cannot calculate is the endurance parameter. If you crash the race is lost, you have to be very, very clever and find the compromise between speed and endurance. But we will come with an eight-hour spec.”

Xavier Siméon, the Belgian motorcycle racing hero turned expert pit reporter for Eurosport, said: “The race will be very, very fast. We know Spa is a very fast track so we will have a lot of action because the riders will push more than what they do in a 24-hour race. The race will be great but what the riders will face in Spa is the weather. The weather can be a mystery, it can be dry or wet and because the track is very long, what can happen is it can be raining in one part of the track but not in another part. It’s possible we will see double stints. In an eight-hour race you cannot make any mistake, especially because the level in EWC is very strong. The fuel consumption will be very important because the track is very long and all the time you can be on the track and not in the pits will be crucial. It will be a very exciting race.”

The 8 Hours of Spa Motos follows on from an all-action start to the 2024 EWC season, the 10th promoted by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, at Le Mans in April. Click HERE for the race recap.

MALMEDY PARADE AND AUTOGRAPH AN EXCITING SPECTACLE AND A THRILL FOR THE FANS
All motorcycles contesting the 8 Hours of Spa Motos will take part in a spectacular riding parade from Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to the town of Malmedy on Wednesday 5 June. EWC riders will sign autographs for fans and pose for selfies before returning to the track. The parade gets under way at 16h00 CET with the autograph signing session from 16h30-18h00. Click HERE for more information.

EWC RIDERS SAID WHAT?
Gregg Black (France), Yoshimura SERT Motul: “It’s an eight-hour race which means you can push your body, mental strength and bike that bit harder, knowing you’re ‘only’ going to do two to three stints. We basically do our stints for fuel and, with such a long straight at Spa, they are shorter, around 50 minutes, as opposed to nearly an hour at Le Mans. We know the track. It’s one of nicest tracks in world. It’s an old type of circuit with the countryside, an undulating profile, and some blind, really fast corners such as the famous Raidillon. It’s always impressive to carry speed through that corner. It shows the difference between slower and faster riders.”

Niccolò Canepa (Italy), Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team: “Winning at Spa last year was one of the best memories I’ve had with YART. To win our first 24-hour race after many years was really fantastic, especially on a mythical track like Spa. Our bike was very consistent and very easy to ride, especially in the infield part of the track. So when your bike is consistent you know exactly where to brake, exactly where to open the throttle. The lines are the same and that allows you to be consistent and fast.”

Loris Cresson (Belgium), BMRT3D maxxess Nevers: “Every race we want to deliver the best result but when it’s at home and everybody is there you have an extra motivation because you want to make everybody proud and you also want it for yourself. When we were competing in the Superstock class before we had a big ambition to win the race but, unfortunately, we didn’t do it. In Formula EWC we are fighting with the big guys and if we are on the podium it means there are only two teams or one team better than us so it’s a big motivation if we can do this.”

Jérémy Guarnoni (France), KM99: “An eight-hour race is another philosophy and it may be harder for us against the factory teams. But mistakes can happen and we have seen that in the Suzuka 8 Hours there are many mistakes. It will be less physical, of course, because three 24-hour races in one season was difficult for the riders, physically.”

Randy Krumennacher (Switzerland), Tati Team Beringer Racing: “I never raced at Spa before but I was there when I was a kid, around four years old, with my parents. I remember this but since then I never came back. Very fast tracks always suit me so I expect I can be fast there. Of course not knowing the track will make the first day hard but I like new challenges. We are already naturally very fast with the Honda on fast corners so I expect it to be a little bit easier. But I have my process for learning new tracks. For many years I watch the onboard videos, I walk the track and really memorise every single corner so I already go on track knowing quite a few things.”

Chris Leesch (Luxembourg), Chromeburner-RAC41-Honda: “It’s my favourite track so I guess I’m a little bit biased. It’s also the closest one to my home so it’s the closest thing I’m going to get to a home race, so I have very good emotions linked to the track. There are so many different elements to the track from the high-speed parts, the low-speed parts, blind corners, it’s just so different from any other track in the world. I think we all really enjoy going back there but it’s actually a very physical track, also mentally very tough because you have to push quite a lot to get a fast lap time. The bike is moving a lot, especially on the Superstock bikes we are sliding constantly on the rear so you have to push a lot more. You really have to push every lap to get a good lap time and you have to improvise in the fast corners. Because it’s a little bit less precise you need to have a big heart to be brave and push.”

Markus Reiterberger (Germany), BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “Coming to Spa is always special, the Tarmac is so nice and I am really loving it, it’s just amazing with so much grip. My team manager Werner [Daemen, from Belgium] was the former record holder so Spa is a good place for us.”

Tom Ward (Great Britain), TRT27 AZ Moto: “It’s a track you must respect but I’ve got quite high expectations for myself because I did the fastest ever stock Suzuki lap round there last year and I did really well in qualifying. Being on the Honda I definitely feel we can challenge for pole. With our rider line-up we’ll be really strong there. It’s meant to be me, Tom Oliver and Alex Olsen riding for TRT27 AZ Moto but Alex has broken his wrist and if he’s suffering with his wrist then me and Tom will do the race by ourselves. I know it will be physically harder but I feel like it could be better. I can’t wait.”

GS Yuasa set to power epic 8,000-mile journey for Prostate Cancer UK

Frank Duggan

May 31, 2024

In an inspiring tribute to a friend and in support of Prostate Cancer UK, Neil Scrivens, backed by the unparalleled reliability of GS Yuasa, is set to embark on an ambitious 8,000-mile motorcycle journey from the very tip of Norway to the very south of Spain.

Commencing at the beginning of June, Neil will leave his home near Dover and travel to Nordkapp, at the end of the northernmost public road in Europe, then turn around and head to Tarifa at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, then finally return to Dover.

This incredible challenge is being completed to raise awareness and funds for Prostate Cancer UK. After losing a close friend last year, Neil’s aim is to break the stigma and encourage men to get checked; an important step to diagnose the disease early. The money raised will not only help Prostate Cancer UK support those who are suffering with prostate cancer, but also fund important research into new ways of diagnosing the disease early.

Set to be completed in just 20 days, the trip traverses diverse terrains and climates, showcasing not only his, but also Yuasa’s endurance and dedication to such a vitally important cause. Having relied on Yuasa batteries for over two decades, Neil knows the importance of a reliable and high-quality battery. He said:“With my experience with Yuasa as a brand, and considering the trip that I’m now endeavouring to complete, there’s just no way I’d use any other brand.”

Neil has been riding for over 35 years and has exclusively used Yuasa motorcycle batteries for over two decades, having had bad experiences with unreliable batteries in the past. When asked why he switched, Neil said:

“I had a couple of very bad experiences while trying to take holidays away and I had a battery go bad on me. I spoke to some other bikers who said, look, just put a good quality Yuasa in there. And from that day, I’ve only bought Yuasa and it’s always worked.”

With unmatched performance, reliability and long life, Yuasa have always stayed true to their core offering of premium performance batteries for motorcycle enthusiasts around the world.

Alongside giving Neil one of their GYZ® High Performance Maintenance Free AGM batteries, the Japanese battery manufacturer is also set to support his fundraising efforts for Prostate Cancer UK. Yuasa is donating £500 to the fundraiser in a nod to the 500A CCA rating of the GYZ32HL battery fitted as standard to Neil’s Harley Davidson Road King. On top of this, Yuasa has also given Neil a Yuasa YCX6 smart charger to help maintain the battery when both Neil and the bike take a well-deserved break after the trip.

Find out more about Neil’s epic adventure, as well as the trust he holds in Yuasa, by watching the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMo9WXTsggg

You can join GS Yuasa in supporting Neil’s monumental journey and the fight against prostate cancer by donating at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/neil-scrivens-1708265068838.

You can follow his progress on GS Yuasa’s social channels @GSYuasaUK, as well as Neil’s Instagram page @roadkingantics.

About GS Yuasa
At the forefront of lead acid battery technology since the early part of the 20th century, GS Yuasa embraces new developments, applying research and investing in modern production plants to meet the increasing demands of a power-hungry world. GS Yuasa is market leader in the UK for Automotive Aftermarket, Industrial and Motorcycle Batteries. GS Yuasa batteries are available worldwide through a global network of GS Yuasa companies and appointed distributors.

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Ducati Lenovo paint Mugello blue as the reigning Champion lays down the gauntlet and the Beast has his Sprint revenge.

David Alonso (CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team) remains the rider to beat in Moto3™, taking his fifth win of the season in style at Mugello.

Akihito Arai gives starting signal to Arai athletes for 40th anniversary IoM TT lap

Teammates Battle To The Finish, Beaubier Crashes Out Of Championship Lead

Rain Rolls Through Elkhart Lake Causing Havoc at Road America

The #40 pulled on an impressive lap lap move to win a postponed Race 1 at Mugello ahead of Zaccone and Garzo.

The Italian takes the spoils in the first showdown at Mugello after a stunning battle with Casadei as Granado just grabs third.

A superb 13 KTM lead battle blessed Mugello’s beautiful curves and it was points leader Màximo Quiles who flashed across the line just 0.004 seconds ahead of Brian Uriarte. Álvaro Carpe grabbed 3rd, 0.044 off the win.

Bagnaia resists Marquez to claim first Sprint spoils since 2023, Martin crashes out at Mugello.

After a dramatic qualifying at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) will start on pole position on Sunday after a late lap to claim a new lap record.

A brilliant Moto3™ qualifying concluded with David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) storming to pole position after an incredible performance all weekend at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo.

The #89 takes pole by 0.043 from the reigning Champion, with Viñales third for Aprilia and Marquez fourth after crashing out of his chance at pole.

A five-year contract extension confirms the Austrian GP on the calendar until 2030 inclusive.

Cameron Beaubier Tops Josh Herrin And Bobby Fong On Opening Day In Wisconsin.