The young lions, of Moto3, are ready to charge, in Austin, Texas, at Circuit of the Americas. This was the first race of the day on the Sunday of action, but, it will be the final race of the weekend that is covered here on 2 Wheelin' as is customary. This is the fourth time we've been here, as mentioned, earlier on in the weekend. The race start, has been delayed due to oil spillages on the back straightaway. After the MotoGP warmup, oil was reported on the back straight. There was also an issue in the MotoAmerica Superbike race as well. People are baffled as to where it came from. There was no evidence of a blown engine in warmup for MotoGP. You've heard about what happened in MotoGP, already.
Phillip Oettl is on pole, and he is the first German rider, to score a pole in the class, since Jonas Folger was able to do it three years ago, which would have been in 2013. Mixed conditions were present in qualifying. Jorge Navarro and Enea Bastianini were also fast. Bastianini is looking forward to this race. Rider stay relaxed, and focus on the race, during the delay for the track cleanup. Brad Binder is someone also hanging out in the garage. He is the points leader, 36 points ahead of Niccolo Antonelli. Jakub Kornfeil is ready to race, and will start fourth.
Livio Loi is ready, qualifying in tenth. Recall the heartbreak for Adam Norrodin after his disappointment in Argentina. Norrodin will start sixth. We wait for the safety truck, to put down the speedy dry. The pit lane opens in five minutes, and the race starts, 15 minutes after that. Weather conditions should be good, for this race. We look at the winner from Argntina, 17 year-old whiz kid, Khairul Idham Pawi. Pawi starts way down on row eleven for today's race. So, he'll have to fight for it if he wants to win two in a row.
Andrea Locatelli had an impressive finish in Argentina, and celebrated like he'd won the World Cup soccer championship. He has team mates in Joan Mir and Fabio Quartararo. Brad Binder remains the championship points leader in Moto3, headed into this race. Francesco Bagnaia is ready to race, after having a great race, in Qatar, and a bad one in Argentina. "Pecco" cannot set the bike up the way he wants it. The Mahindra is not a comfortable bike to ride for some of the riders, in terms of performance. Many riders in this class, search for their elusive first Grand Prix win. Jorge Navarro, Brad Binder, and Fabio Quartararo, among them.
Fun fact. Austin, Texas, is home to the largest bat colony in North America. 750,000 bats. The riders take their motorcycles out of the garage area, ready for the sighting lap. Khairul Idham Pawi, has stalled his motorcycle. He restarts and is on his way. Jorge Navarro was fastest in the Moto3 morning warmup, a 20 minute session. Romano Fenati, has his future plans secured. He will ride again, for Sky Racing Team VR46. But, he will move up, to Moto2, for next season. Fenati is not tall, but he is stocky. He'd fit on a Moto2 bike. Valentino Rossi says there won't be a VR46 academy team in MotoGP next year.
It will not happen now, since Rossi plans to continue racing at the top level of international motorcycle road racing. The oil is isolated off to the left hand side of turn 11. Someone knew they had to get off the racing line, when their bike's engine went sour. Fabio Quartararo has to start performing better than he has been, even though he is young, and only 16 years old. Phillip Oettl has never started on the front row of a Grand Prix, and his previous best was fourth, but that was in 2013 at the round in Aragon, Spain.
Jorge Navarro has his eighth front row start in Moto3. Oettl was quick in the morning warmup, and Navarro ran quicker than the pole time. He has had five podiums in the last seven races. Jorge Navarro may also have an opportunity, to move up to Moto2. 18 laps scheduled for the Moto3 race. Watch Niccolo Antonelli's team mate Jules Danilo. He has run well this weekend, and will roll off from eighth spot. Brad Binder, will start 12th. Will he have the steam, to challenge some of the front runners? That seems unlikely, according to observers. But, we'll find out.
Binder is mired in the middle of the pack. Tatsuki Suzuki starts 13th. Most of the field have medium front and medium rear tires. Enea Bastianini will roll the dice, and use the soft rear tire. Juanfran Guevara, is 14th, ahead of Alexis Masbou. Hiroki Ono is next, nursing a broken foot. Masbou is riding the Peugeot branded bike. Moto3 in Austin, Texas, is ready, for 18 laps of action... next!
We are on the warmup lap. Turn one at COTA is very tight, and is at the crest of a hill. 33 riders fighting for ten yards of tarmac doesn't always work. Alexis Masbou is slow on the warmup lap. Could he have a problem with the bike? This might be a group race at the front. Last year, Danny Kent checked out. This year, it seems as though no one will likely whistle off into the distance. Look out for the number of riders who exceed track limits. Keep an eye out. What is Phillip Oettl thinking, as he starts from pole for the first time? We are ready, to race, in Austin, Texas, Moto3 style!
Watch the lights. When they go out, we are away. Moto3 in Texas, is go! Romano Fenati gets the jump and goes with Enea Bastianini, while Phillip Oettl didn't get the start he necessarily was looking for. Navarro has the hole shot here. Jules Danilo runs wide across the paint in turn one. Jakub Kornfeil runs wide in turn two as well. Enea Bastianini has also lost a couple of spots. He fights Kornfeil and can't get there. Don't let Jorge Navarro get away. That's what the rest of the riders have to remember. A last minute switch, for Enea Bastianini, on the grid, before the bikes took the start. Bastianini is on the option rear tire that is a medium compound one.
Bastianini dives inside Jakub Kornfeil. Slipstream madness will be underway as they approach the back straight. Adam Norrodin lost some spots, and wants to regain them. Navarro stretches his lead while Phillip Oettl fends off Romano Fenati's challenge. Bastianini will want to close the gap, and bring other riders like Fabio Quartararo and Brad Binder with him. Navarro surely has the race pace to leap away from everyone else, as Kornfeil makes a bold move! Kornfeil is halting Brad Binder's march to the top of the table here.
Binder runs wide on the curbs and tries to come back. Jakub Kornfeil slams the door in his face. Niccolo Antonelli languishes outside the top 20. He won in Qatar, but has started from 30th on the grid in this race. Antonelli matches his bike number, and is 23rd right now. Local yellow flags are displayed. A few riders went off the road. Hiroki Ono is one. Jorge Navarro is booking it, setting a 2:16.385. He is just outside the all-time race lap record at COTA in Moto3, set three years ago, by Luis Salom at 2:16.345.
Bad news. Game over, again, for Adam Norrodin. He can't catch a break! Ooh! Hiroki Ono drills him in the side, and wipes out Adam Norrodin, who lands opposite his motorcycle. Hiroki Ono knocked Norrodin off his bike, after hitting the corner way too hot. Ono is going to be sent to the principal's office for that one, and have to have a little discussion, with MotoGP Race Director, Mike Webb. Navarro distances himself from Romano Fenati, by over a second. Oettl is third, followed by Binder, Quartararo, Bastianini, Kornfeil, Locatelli, Guevara, and Loi.
Brad Binder is hunting down Romano Fenati and Phillip Oettl. Jorge Navarro may be replicating how Danny Kent streaked away from the field in this race last year. Joan Mir has made up 13 spots, going from 29th on the grid, to 16th. Niccolo Antonelli is up to 19th. Kornfeil goes inside Bastianini. Antonelli wants by Pecco Bagnaia and Andrea Migno. Navarro streaks away in the lead. The gap is 1.6 seconds. Danny Kent was the first rider to break away from the pack in a Moto3 race, last year.
Meanwhile, Navarro records fastest lap of the race thus far at a 2:17.152. Last time out in Argentina was an exception for Khairul Idham Pawi. Pawi languishes in 26th at the moment. Adam Norrodin is the only retirement from the race thus far. Fabio Quartararo moves ahead of Brad Binder once again. Quartararo is a second and a half behind Phillip Oettl who is in the final podium place as things stand. Jorge Navarro continues stretching his advantage as Romano Fenati tries getting on terms with Navarro. Niccolo Antonelli, meanwhile, continues to struggle. Antonelli has Tatsuki Suzuki of Japan, behind him. Suzuki started 13th, and has plummeted down the order, since then.
Pecco Bagnaia, Gabriel Rodrigo, and Aron Canet are also languishing. Jakub Kornfeil runs a shade wide. Brad Binder is being eaten up by Fabio Quartararo on the sister Leopard Racing (not leo-pard, but leopard, like the African wild cat), bike. Quartararo pulls out of the slipstream and has to get the bike stopped for the corner. Quartararo makes the pass. Will Binder cut back by? No. Jakub Kornfeil and Enea Bastianini have their own battle as do Andrea Locatelli and Niccolo Bulega. Juanfran Guevara and Jules Danilo also fight for position.
Adam Norrodin is back in the garage. He's banged his head and is feeling a little wonky. He may go to the medical clinic for a checkup. Navarro leads, but his gap shrinks be two to three tenths of a second. Romano Fenati sets new fast lap of the race. 2:16.954 is the time for Fenati's fast lap. Oh! Another big wreck! Joan Mir and Darryn Binder have both gone down. Binder is back underway, no doubt miffed by this little contretemps. Mir got into the corner way too hot, and was going too slowly. Therefore, he toppled over when the front end hit the curb, and poor old Darryn Binder, was an innocent bystander with no place to go but, smash!, straight into Mir's motorcycle.
Because of the aforementioned incident, Niccolo Antonelli is now into the points. The top bikes are quicker than those mired deeper in the field as Niccolo Bulega is now ninth. The Hiroki Ono and Adam Norrodin wreck, we saw earlier, is currently being investigated by the stewards. New fastest lap for Jorge Navarro at 2:16.928. He consolidates his lead to 1.4 seconds over Romano Fenati. Phillip Oettl has fallen behind Fenati. Fabio Quartararo and Brad Binder aren't out of this fight either, by any means. Game over for Darryn Binder after his earlier crash.
Hiroki Ono will get a ride through penalty. Race over for him, as he's down in 25th spot. Navarro loses a half a second, making a mistake in sector three on the track. Jakub Kornfeil passes Enea Bastianini. Bastianini just passed Kornfeil on lap six. These blokes are having a ding dong battle. Another fast lap knocked down by Romano Fenati at 2:16.842. Game over for Jorge Martin on bike #88, who has crashed. Phillip Oettl is up on Fabio Quartararo, but only by two seconds. Romano Fenati is closing in, and there will be a fight for the overall win, instead of a runaway winner. Quartararo has to finish in the top five, but he wants a podium.
Jorge Martin rejoins the race. It's not game over for him. Hiroki Ono takes his ride through penalty. Joan Mir and Darryn Binder are out. Fenati passes Navarro after Navarro runs very wide into a corner. Navarro had been flying, but he's now being hunted down as Fenati leads. What does Navarro have left in the locker? Phillip Oettl still hangs on to a podium spot. Quartararo and Binder are closing. Niccolo Bulega is now ahead of Jakub Kornfeil, Andrea Locatelli, and Enea Bastianini, for sixth. In 12th right now, is Niccolo Antonelli.
It is game over for Jorge Martin. Niccolo Antonelli and Aron Canet are both running as the fastest riders in the group battling for sixth. They are into the same lap time range as the podium finishers in the 2:17 range. Nine laps now remain in this race. Phillip Oettl is being caught by Fabio Quartararo, and Brad Binder. Antonelli is now up to tenth place. He wants a top six finish. Nine laps still to run. Nico Bulega has to wrestle his motorcycle and almost crashes! Fenati turns up the heat on Oettl. Quartararo outbrakes Phillip Oettl, and moves up to third.
Quartararo is now in a podium spot. Aron Canet latches onto Niccolo Antonelli. Phillip Oettl is responding to Fabio Quartararo. Brad Binder can eke out a gap over these two. Andrea Locatelli is currently sixth. Eight laps to go, as Romano Fenati is very competitive. Fenati and Navarro are going to duke it out for the win here. Navarro closes the gap to 3/4 of a second. Oh! Navarro wiggles and runs wide in the braking zone in turn one! Are his hopes of victory, dashed? Karel Hanika goes off the road and then rejoins.
Fenati leads from Navarro over Quartararo, Oettl, and Brad Binder, followed by Locatelli, Bastianini, Kornfeil and others. Quartararo and Oettl almost wreck! Oettl almost dove on Quartararo, and thought better of it. Game over for Karel Hanika. Too much crash damage. Quartararo needs to start his season, and Oettl wants his first full dry race podium. Brad Binder has fought the front end all weekend. Karel Hanika pushes too hard, and the motorcycle swaps ends and sends him sailing onto the pavement.
Jakub Kornfeil is being pressured by Niccolo Bulega. Jules Danilo is also pushing. Next year, Bulega could be the real deal, once he gets knowledge of all the tracks. Circuit of the Americas is a technical, and long circuit, making it difficult to learn. Five laps left now. Romano Fenati extends his lead to over three seconds. Phillip Oettl is still gaining on Fabio Quartararo. Niccolo Antonelli will pass Enea Bastianini for seventh. Andrea Locatelli is still leading the scrum for sixth. Niccolo Antonelli is now up to seventh. Bastianini has not finished on the podium in eight races. Gresini and Honda cannot give him a motorcycle that he's confident with.
Bastianini right now, fights with Aron Canet. Aron Canet is the man on the charge, brakes late, and runs wide. He has the inside line and almost slams into Antonelli! Fabio Quartararo's race is run! His shifter is busted. Phillip Oettl will be on the podium. Now, Quartararo has regained speed. Andrea Locatelli is also running fabulously. Quartararo is now dropping like a stone. Oh! Hard spil for Niccolo Antonelli! Aron Canet almost gets caught in it. Antonelli throws away some vital championship points. Quartararo is now eighth. But, it looks like Romano Fenati is going to win this race. Brad Binder will now hunt down Phillip Oettl. It's the final lap.
Romano Fenati is out front by a country mile. Oettl is under pressure from Binder. Binder has tons of front end chatter, as he pushes and pushes to pass Oettl! Binder is throwing caution to the wind. Oettl holds third. Fenati and Navarro will be 1-2. Can Binder get into Oettl's slipstream down the back straight? He closes on Oettl in the braking zone! Binder pulls ahead. What will Oettl do on the brakes? No dice. He has to give it up and let Binder hold station. Binder stops, turns, and shoots off the corner, but Oettl might still have something left in the locker.
A sensational win for Romano Fenati, getting himself back into the fight for the title!
#5 Romano Fenati ITA. Honda
Binder gets the podium place. Oettl fourth. Locatelli, Bastianini, Canet, Loi, Danilo, Bulega, Kornfeil, Guevara, Quartararo, Bagnaia, and Migno, are the points scoring finishers. Fenati had a solid race and was relatively unchallenged for the last part of the race. Poor old Fabio Quartararo, is 13th place in three straight races. Cruel. 13 is NOT Quartararo's lucky number. This leads us to the next Moto3 race, along with their big brothers in Moto2 and MotoGP, this weekend, at Jerez de la Frontera, in Spain. Stay tuned, for action, from Spain, coming soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment