Monday, January 30, 2017

Nicky Hayden's first tests on the new 2017 Honda Fireblade World Superbike

World Superbike testing for 2017 has kicked off at Jerez de la Frontera, and to say the least, things have been frustrating for Nicky Hayden as he is coming to grips with his new Honda Fireblade.

Hayden says new Fireblade's test pace not representative

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/hayden-says-new-fireblade-s-test-pace-not-representative-868700/?s=1

Hayden endures "frustrating" second test on new Fireblade

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/hayden-endures-frustrating-second-test-on-new-fireblade-869792/?s=1

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Saturday, January 28, 2017

MotoGP coverage

Yours truly has quite a bit to catch up on, with other blogs.  Still working things out.  But, hopeful to cover more MotoGP and finish off the 2016 season before the 2017 campaign begins in March.  Stay tuned for more.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Nicky Hayden Tests New World Superbike-Spec Honda CBR1000RR

"We worked a lot on finding more grip, and the bike ran smoothly without any glitches."

Another story on Nicky Hayden's recent test of the new contender from Honda, in FIM World Superbike, the 2017 spec CBR1000RR.

http://www.motoamerica.com/nicky-hayden-tests-new-world-superbike-spec-honda-cbr1000rr


Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Aprilia launches 2017 World Superbike Contender

Aprilia has unveiled its bike for the 2017 World Superbike Championship, as it formally launched its tie-up with Shaun Muir's Milwaukee operation.

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/aprilia-launches-2017-world-superbike-contender-868135/?s=1


Monday, January 23, 2017

MotoGP from Silverstone

Yours truly will have a race report on MotoGP from Silverstone, England, coming soon.  Will also have full coverage of Moto2 and Moto3.  Stay tuned for that.


Sunday, January 22, 2017

MotoGP news between the Czech Republic & Great Britain

What happened in the news between  at Brno and Silverstone.  Stay tuned for race coverage in all three classes of MotoGP, from Silverstone, coming soon. 

After winning the race at Brno, Cal Crutchlow slams his rivals.

Crutchlow: Rivals "wimps" for not taking tyre gamble

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/crutchlow-rivals-wimps-for-not-taking-tyre-gamble-808711/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Rossi admits "I was desperate" in early laps at Brno

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-admits-i-was-desperate-in-early-laps-at-brno-808729/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Marquez expected bike swap at Brno, using soft tyres "my mistake"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-expected-bike-swap-at-brno-using-soft-tyres-my-mistake-808737/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Lorenzo explains mystery of Brno pitstop confusion

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/lorenzo-explains-mystery-of-brno-pitstop-confusion-808781/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Dovizioso: Michelin doesn't have wet-tyre races "under control"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/dovizioso-michelin-doesn-t-have-wet-tyre-races-under-control-808826/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Rossi shifts focus to beating Lorenzo to second

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-shifts-focus-to-beating-lorenzo-to-second-808926/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Pedrosa tired of telling "same story every day" amid form slump

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/pedrosa-tired-of-telling-same-story-every-day-amid-form-slump-808920/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Crutchlow: I'm the best in the world in mixed conditions

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/crutchlow-im-the-best-in-the-world-in-mixed-conditions-809128/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Michelin will take medium wet tyres to Silverstone

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/michelin-will-take-medium-wet-tyres-to-silverstone-809168/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

New Finnish track designed to thwart track limit abuse

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/new-finnish-track-designed-to-thwart-track-limit-abuse-809188/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Honda says optimising electronic set-up its main weakness

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/honda-says-optimising-electronic-set-up-its-main-weakness-809329/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Alex Lowes replaces injured Smith for Silverstone and Misano

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/alex-lowes-replaces-injured-smith-for-silverstone-and-misano-811185/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Smith will need further surgery on leg injury

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/smith-will-need-further-surgery-on-leg-injury-811563/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Rossi admits he's still feeling effects of 2015 title loss

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-admits-he-s-still-feeling-effects-of-2015-title-loss-811992/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Miller expected to get all-clear to race at Silverstone

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/miller-expected-to-get-all-clear-to-race-at-silverstone-813004/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Lowes: Gap between MotoGP and Superbikes smaller than people think

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/lowes-gap-between-motogp-and-superbikes-smaller-than-people-think-814269/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Lorenzo: "With no wet races, I could have been leading"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/lorenzo-with-no-wet-races-i-could-have-been-leading-814274/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Rossi says early mistakes in 2016 felt inevitable

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-says-early-mistakes-in-2016-felt-inevitable-814299/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Redding motivatd by possible chance to race GP17 next year

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/redding-motivated-by-possible-chance-to-race-gp17-next-year-814260/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Rossi to continue with new Yamaha chassis at Silverstone

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-to-continue-with-new-yamaha-chassis-at-silverstone-814694/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Crutchlow wants dry Silverstone race despite Brno win

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/crutchlow-wants-dry-silverstone-race-despite-brno-win-814736/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

KTM boss suggests Lorenzo not worth Ducati's money

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/ktm-boss-suggests-lorenzo-not-worth-ducati-s-money-814959/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Espargaro admits "I'm a bit alone" with Smith absent

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/espargaro-admits-i-m-a-bit-alone-with-smith-absent-814708/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Lavery feels robbed of pole shot by tyre pressure error

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/laverty-feels-robbed-of-pole-shot-by-tyre-pressure-error-815160/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Marquez rues wrong set-up change before qualifying crash

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-rues-wrong-set-up-change-before-qualifying-crash-815176/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Lorenzo feels wet-weather improvement despite qualifying ninth

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/lorenzo-feels-wet-weather-improvement-despite-qualifying-ninth-815244/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Crutchlow adamant he can compete in dry as well as wet

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/crutchlow-adamant-he-can-compete-in-dry-as-well-as-wet-815278/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Rossi admits rivals' pace "a bit worrying" for Yamaha

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-admits-rivals-pace-a-bit-worrying-for-yamaha-815497/?tp%5B0%5D=2&s=1

Stay tuned for coverage of the MotoGP race and junior class races from Silverstone, coming soon.


Saturday, January 21, 2017

Guy Martin to return to Isle of Man TT

After a year away from the event, 35-year-old Guy Martin will return to competition this June at the 2017 Isle of Man TT.  He will race for Honda, on their new 1000cc Fireblade superbike alongside fellow IOM TT legend, John McGuinness.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/guy-martin-return-isle-man-tt-012017



Friday, January 20, 2017

Video Interview: Roger Hayden, Part II., My Training

We covered the first part of the MotoAmerica Roger Hayden interview yesterday in the most recent MotoAmerica news update.  Go back to:

More MotoAmerica News
http://skip-bruber.blogspot.com/2017/01/more-motoamerica-news.html

At the above link, you can scroll through the list for part one of the interview.  The title is Video Interview: Roger Hayden, Part I., My New Bike.

In part two, Roger describes training.

Video Interview: Roger Hayden, Part II., My Training
http://www.motoamerica.com/video-interview-roger-hayden-part-ii-my-training

Check out both of these features to see what Roger has planned for moving forward in his motorcycle road racing career in 2017.


Thursday, January 19, 2017

more MotoAmerica news

MotoAmerica headlines are beginning to pick up speed a little bit.  Here's the latest.

MotoAmerica Champions Beaubier and Gerloff Speak Out
http://www.motoamerica.com/motoamerica-champions-beaubier-and-gerloff-speak-out

MotoAmerica Preseason Training with Brandon Paasch
http://www.motoamerica.com/motoamerica-preseason-training-with-brandon-paasch

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Roger Hayden Part I, My New Bike
http://www.motoamerica.com/video-interview-roger-hayden-part-i

Stay tuned for the second part.

...And lastly, we blend in some MotoGP news, with the debut of the new factory Yamaha bikes for Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Grabs Spotlight In Madrid
http://www.motoamerica.com/movistar-yamaha-motogp-team-grabs-spotlight-in-madrid

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Friday, January 13, 2017

Moto3: Czech Republic

It is surely raining before the start of the lightweight class race for Moto3 at the Brno Autodrom in the Czech Republic.  This is round eleven of the Moto3 World Championship.  It is warm.  17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature, and 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature.  But, there's lots of spray and standing water on the track as we speak.  The wind is up, too.  Brad Binder has a 67 point lead in the championship, and left it to the last minute to snatch his third pole of 2016 and the third of his career.  Some penalties were also assessed.  Five riders "toured" around the speedway in qualifying.  You can do multiple sighting laps when pit lane is open.

Andrea Migno was supposed to be second on the grid, but no.  Scotland's John McPhee on the Peugeot bike was quickest in the warmup.  Khairul Idham Pawi, and also, Aron Canet, were fast in the warmup.  Brad Binder's 67 point cushion is indeed still over Jorge Navarro in the championship.  Binder has a big lead, and does not want to take risks.  Enea Bastianini has inherited second spot.  Andrea Migno, Niccolo Antonelli, Fabio Quartararo, and Albert Arenas, are four of the five riders who have picked up penalties.  There is a fifth rider on that list, who yours truly isn't sure of, just as the commentators Steve Day and Matt Birt aren't sure either.  Ah. Phillip Oettl was the fifth penalized rider.  That takes care of that list.

Bastianini is riding with a modified glove, as he had a wreck in turn five here at Brno in which he suffered a hairline fracture in his ring finger on his left hand.  Bastianini is not necessarily a wet weather racer, but did get a podium at the Sachsenring in Germany, also in the wet.  Jorge Martin is third.  Fabio Di Giantonio is fourth.  Five successive top ten finishes for Di Giantonio.  Andrea Migno completes the top five.  Migno was caught out riding too slowly in practice or qualifying.  In sixth is Migno's team mate for Sky Racing VR46, Niccolo Bulega.  Spaniard Aron Canet rolls off seventh.  In eighth spot, in his home race, is Czech rider Jakub Kornfeil.

"The Flying Scotsman", John McPhee, topped the morning warmup, and he rolls off ninth on the grid.  Five minutes to the start as the BMW M2 safety car moves away.  Jorge Navarro is 11th.  We have had constant rain all morning, and it varies between light and heavy levels.  Niccolo Antonelli completes the top ten.  Antonelli is rumored to be racing with a different team in Moto3 in 2017.  Antonelli won this race from pole, in 2015.  We look across the front row.  Martin, Bastianini, Binder.  That's your front row as we get ready to race.

19 laps scheduled for this race.  Karel Hanika, who used to race Moto3 full time, from the Czech Republic, is a wildcard rider here.  33 bikes start this race.  Spray everywhere on the warmup lap.  Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia, returns to race with Sky VR46 in 2017, but in Moto2.  As we get set to race the air and track temperatures are identical.  17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature.  17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature.  The wind speed is three miles an hour out of the west.  Will Brad Binder build on his points lead, and throw caution to the wind?  Or, will he defend it?  Jorge Navarro is the nearest contender for Binder in the championship chase.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta will replace Romano Fenati at Sky VR46 in Moto3 from Silverstone onwards, after Fenati was sacked for disciplinary reasons.  We have a glance at the current points situation.  Brad Binder leads Jorge Navarro, by a country mile, (67 points), 179-112.  The absent Romano Fenati, has lost his championship hopes, 86 points adrift on 93 points overall.  Fourth is Pecco Bagnaia, on 90 points, 89 markers out of the lead.  Valentino Rossi, trying to keep warm in this rain, looks on at his riders.  We prepare for a start.  Take a deep breath.  Get your nerves together.  19 laps of racing Moto3 style, is about to commence here at Brno.

Red lights on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  Bastianini has a wobble off the line, as Brad Binder gets a good start and so does Fabio Di Giantonio.  Andrea Migno also moves up.  Binder has the hole shot into turn one.  Jakub Kornfeil also had a good start and now runs in fifth spot.  Jorge Martin moves past Enea Bastianini for second.  Pecco Bagnaia battles with Niccolo Antonelli, but he is about to be overtaken by John McPhee.  Bagnaia has his hands full as Jorge Martin is eking out a bit of a lead at the moment.  Jorge Martin has a 7/10ths of a second lead at this moment.  Martin twitches his bike into turn 11.

They run up horsepower hill for the first time.  Last week's winner in Austria, Joan Mir, is in the picture, inside the top ten.  Enea Bastianini is feeling the heat from local sensation, Jakub Kornfeil.  He's the one who the Czech fans are rooting for.  Kornfeil passes Bastianini into turn one.  Khairul Idham Pawi is moving through the field steadily.  He's cut the field in half, having started 28th, and is now up to 13th.  Brad Binder's Red Bull KTM Ajo team mate, Bo Bendsneyder is also making progress.  The Dutchman has gained eleven spots.  He's come from 24th to 13th.  John McPhee passes Binder for fifth.

Khairul Idham Pawi has passed Bendsneyder and now sets his sights on Niccolo Antonelli.  Andrea Locatelli rode to a second place finish two races ago at the Sachsenring in Germany, in the wet.  But here, Locatelli is only 24th.  Pawi had a fall in the morning warmup, having wrecked along with Gabriel Rodrigo.  Aron Canet makes a move on Jakub Kornfeil.  Brad Binder is making a pass on Fabio Di Giantonio.  John McPhee has made a pass on Enea Bastianini as well.  Canet has set the fastest lap of the race so far at 2:24.649.  Canet is half a second faster than race leader, Jorge Martin.  Phillipp Oettl and Livio Loi, are down towards the bottom end of the top 20, and they are good riders in the wet.  Maybe they can make headway as this race goes on.

Livio Loi won the wet Moto3 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2015.  Khairul Idham Pawi has moved to 11th, passing Niccolo Antonelli, and is looking to pass Joan Mir.  Canet almost loses the motorcycle, and he still puts in fastest lap of the race!  Wow!  Canet wanted to make a move on Kornfeil in turn nine.  No dice.  Kornfeil runs wide!  Canet will pass him!  Poor old Jakub Kornfeil is bound to lose four to five places with that false move as Jorge Martin continues to lead.  Jorge Martin won in the Red Bull Rookies Cup here at Brno a few years back.  So, he knows this track well.  Brad Binder sweeps around John McPhee for third.

He is on a charge, as Jorge Martin continues to lead this race.  But, not for long.  Brad Binder has now taken the lead, and simultaneously, sets the fastest lap of the race, lowering it to 2:23.594.  Check that.  Binder moves past Aron Canet for second.  John McPhee also makes a move on Aron Canet.  Jakub Kornfeil makes a move on Fabio Di Giantonio for fifth.  Dear me.  Fabio Quartararo is way down in 31st.  Adam Norrodin is not having a good race either.  Khairul Idham Pawi passes Joan Mir, and is now seventh.  He ran a 2:24.5 lap time.  Jorge Martin continues to lead.  Martin wants to bring Mahindra their second win.  Pecco Bagnaia won for Mahindra at Assen.

We're only on lap three, and the championship points already get a major shakeup.  Brad Binder is a country mile ahead of everyone else.  He is on 199 points, 84 points ahead of his nearest rival, Jorge Navarro who is on 115.  Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia is 103 behind on 96, and Romano Fenati, who was sacked by the VR46 squad, is 106 out of the lead on 93 markers.  We have yellow flags appearing on the track.  Someone has fallen, as a new fast lap is set by Binder at 2:22.938.  Gabriel Rodrigo has fallen, again.  He's wrecked at turn 14.  Binder is closing up on Martin, but cannot dispense with McPhee and Canet.  Niccolo Bulega is up to tenth behind Joan Mir.  Binder, McPhee, and Canet, are closing up on Jorge Martin.

Khairul Idham Pawi is fifth, and he too, is coming in a hurry.  Binder is making an inside move on Jorge Martin for the lead.  He can't quite make it.  Binder makes a pass for the lead as Khairul Idham Pawi now resets fastest lap.  2:22.563.  John McPhee is also trying to make a move on Jorge Martin.  McPhee makes the pass, and is going for Binder in the lead.  Andrea Migno is having a much better ride here at Brno than he did in the wet at the Sachsenring in Germany a while back.  Niccolo Bulega and Jorge Navarro are also catching up, and running quicker than the top four.  The rain is getting worse.

Khairul Idham Pawi, if he wants to stay in contention, he'll have to be patient.  Fabio Di Giannantonio resets the fastest lap benchmark, cutting a 2:22.211.  Pawi pushes the front end of his bike.  The lead four will soon experience Pawi power.  Pawi has a lot left in the locker in these conditions.  Niccolo Bulega has gotten around his team mate Andrea Migno for eighth place.  Bulega, Navarro, and Joan Mir have all passed Andrea Migno.  Riders down the field are whacking their heads against a brick wall.  Livio Loi and Phillip Oettl are two of those riders, as is Adam Norrodin.  Canet tries passing Martin and can't do it.  Martin is very good under braking into turn ten.  Pawi and Di Gianntonio have not made inroads on McPhee and Binder.  Binder does not want to be a guinea pig.

Well, maybe he does.  But, John McPhee is cooking right now, and has cut the fastest lap.  2:22.178 for McPhee!  Oh dear!  Aron Canet has fallen down!  His bike is busted.  It's game over for the Spaniard.  Binder and McPhee are two seconds clear of Jorge Martin, and in a race of their own.  Binder in the lead, is trying to force McPhee into a mistake.  Here are the top fifteen... the points scoring riders.

1. Brad Binder
2. John McPhee
3. Jorge Martin
4. Khairul Idham Pawi
5. Fabio Di Gianantonio
6. Jakub Kornfeil
7. Jorge Navarro
8. Niccolo Bulega
9. Joan Mir
10. Andrea Migno
11. Niccolo Antonelli
12. Enea Bastianini
13. Bo Bendsneyder
14. Francesco Bagnaia
15. Jules Danilo

Pawi makes the move on Jorge Martin.  We are halfway through this race essentially.  McPhee is right on Binder's rear wheel.  Binder is a little loose.  It's pouring rain here in the Czech Republic.  Kornfeil is being reeled in by a bunch of riders.  Fabio Di Gianantonio is in a battle with Khairul Idham Pawi.  Adam Norrodin has crashed out at Kevin Schwantz corner.  Binder has now cut a new fast lap at 2:21.977.  Jorge Navarro is followed by Austria winner Joan Mir and Niccolo Bulega.  Lots of other riders are really trying to make moves here.  Bo Bendsneyder wants points after being 25th on the grid.

Binder leads by 7/10ths of a second, and is eking out a gap, and looking to pull the pin.  Jakub Kornfeil appears to have issues with his helmet visor steaming up.  Binder lowers fast lap to 2:21.567.  Has this broken the will of John McPhee?  Eight laps to go.  This podium for John McPhee would be amazing, for himself and for the Peugeot Saxoprint team.  Joan Mir is seventh having passed Jorge Navarro and Niccolo Bulega.  McPhee has a cushion over Khairul Idham Pawi as Jorge Martin is under pressure from Fabio Di Gianantonio.  Brad Binder has won three races this year, but has not won since Mugello in May.

Khairul Idham Pawi is in a solid but lonely third as he's broken away from Jorge Martin in fourth.  Another rider has crashed.  It's Albert Arenas on the sister Saxoprint Peugeot motorcycle.  Pecco Bagnaia also wrecked out of 14th spot.  It looks like Albert Arenas has injured his collarbone.  Not good.  Francesco Bagnaia has indeed crashed out as well.  Two high side wrecks in quick succession.  Game over for Aspar Mahindra, well, at least one of their bikes.  At this time, the points standings appear as follows.  Brad Binder leads with 204 points, increasing his lead over Jorge Navarro to 83, as Navarro is second on 121 points.  The absent Romano Fenati remains third on 93 points, 111 behind.  Francesco Bagnaia (who has just crashed), he would be fourth, 114 points in-arrears, on 90 markers.

Jakub Kornfeil is still riding well.  But, Jorge Navarro doesn't seem to think so and takes his position away.  Kornfeil is under pressure from Joan Mir.  Pawi is running a lonely race, but should wind up third.  Jules Danilo is in the points and so is Japan's Tatsuki Suzuki, running ahead of Italian Andrea Locatelli.  Mir tries the inside on Kornfeil.  No dice.  Niccolo Antonelli sees an open door and walks right through it.  Enea Bastianini is coming back into contention as well.  Oh dear!  Binder has gone down!  The championship leader had to be cautious.  He'll keep going, but he's thrown away an opportunity to extend the championship lead.  Scotsman John McPhee could very well take his first ever Moto3 win.  Binder lost the rear end and it washed away, flicking him off the bike, and his mistake bit him hard.

Hero or zero?  It's zero, for Binder today.  Binder is well in charge of the championship.  The points change now.  With Binder's DNF, he only has a 58 point gap over Navarro.  179-121.  Those are the only two places that truly matter right now.  John McPhee is 6.4 seconds ahead of Khairul Idham Pawi, who has also crashed!  Jorge Martin and Fabio Di Gianantonio.  Darryn Binder has also wrecked.  A major high side for Khairul Idham Pawi, and he takes a lick from his bike, too, as they both go in the same direction.  Ouch!  Yours truly wouldn't be surprised if McPhee is given a warning on his pit board, to slow down.

Italy's Stefano Valtulini has also wrecked.  Meanwhile, John McPhee will never have a better time than now, to win a Moto3 race.  McPhee leads by 8.7 seconds.  McPhee was quickest in morning warmup for this race.  This will be the longest four laps of the lives of the family and friends of John McPhee in Scotland, to see if their man can pull off the W here in Moto3 in the Czech Republic.  Jorge Martin seems to be secure for a second place finish.  McPhee is two seconds faster than Martin and ten seconds clear of him on the road.  Fabio Di Giantonio is still fighting hard for second spot.  McPhee is massively out of the seat!  Oh my word!  How did he stay on the motorcycle?!  Oh man!  The bike snapped sideways and nearly chucked him off!

How he stayed on that Peugeot motorcycle, God only knows.  Andrea Locatelli has crashed out.  Jorge Martin will have his best result of the year.  There's a major battle for fifth.  Kornfeil, Mir, Antonelli, and Navarro.  Check that.  Antonelli is ahead of Mir.  One lap remains in the Czech Republic for Moto3.  5.4 kilometers stand between McPhee and a first Moto3 and motorcycle Grand Prix victory.  He could be the sixth first time winner in 2016.  Last lap.  One podium for McPhee.  Indianapolis 2015 in the wet.  Binder, Navarro, Bagnaia, Mir, and Pawi, are first time winners.  John McPhee will likely be added to the list.  A lap of Brno will feel like the old 16 mile Nurburgring.  Mahindra/Peugeot will get a 1-2.  Be cautious when you roll out of the throttle entirely.

The Flying Scotsman, John McPhee wins at Brno!

#17 John McPhee     GBR.     Peugeot

Martin, Di Giantonio, Bastianini, Kornfeil, Bendsneyder, Mir, Bulega, and Navarro, complete the top ten.  It is McPhee's 76th start.  He is the first British winner in Moto3 since Danny Kent won his home race at Silverstone in 2015.  Irony strikes, because the next Moto3 race is at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in the English midlands.  Stay tuned for a report on that one, coming soon.  One more factoid.  McPhee, is the first Scottish rider to win in MotoGP in over 50 years.  54 to be exact.  The last time a Scotsman won, was Bob McIntyre in the 250cc race at the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix. 

We'll see you at Silverstone, ladies and gentlemen.  So long, for now. 

    

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Moto2: Czech Republic

We are set to go with Moto2 at Brno in the Czech Republic.  There was a soggy, wet Moto3 race just before this one.  Stay tuned for coverage that.  Right now, we have air and track temperatures that, on paper, are identical.  16 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature.  17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature.  Johann Zarco is on pole, snatching it right at the end of qualifying.  There might be as many as six to eight riders who could win this race.  But, proceed with caution when you wake up and see the rain.  Johann Zarco was way down the order in the morning warmup.  The bikes and riders are on their sighting lap.  If indeed Zarco is having trouble, the time is now for the likes of Alex Rins and Sam Lowes, to strike back.

The rain is very continuous.  Fans, pit crews, and riders, are all soaking wet.  Sam Lowes rolls off second for this race.  He is 55 points behind Johann Zarco in the championship.  Alex Marquez is on the front row for the first time in Moto2.  Marquez is the 2014 Moto3 world champion.  Johann Zarco is on pole.  We have a 20 lap race coming up.  Takaaki Nakagami rolls off fourth.  In fifth, it is Franco Morbidelli.  Alex Rins starts sixth.  He has had a nightmare weekend this weekend.  Jonas Folger is seventh.  Danny Kent is farther down the grid, but feels he has a good motorcycle for this race.  Simone Corsi is eighth.  Ninth, is Danny Kent's team mate at Leopard Racing, Miguel Oliveira.  Marcel Schrotter completes the top ten.  Incidentally, Schrotter, will move to the Dynavolt racing team, taking the bike vacated by Jonas Folger, when Folger is promoted to MotoGP in 2017.

Sandro Cortese starts 11th and needs a major result.  Next to Cortese is Dominique Aegerter.  Axel Pons qualified 14th.  So, we will be ready to get this one underway in a matter of minutes.  Alex Marquez is third.  Second, is Sam Lowes.  In pole position, it is Johann Zarco.  He is the one with the bulls eye on his back, that everyone wants to stop from winning another race.  Tom Luthi will not start this race.  He suffered a concussion on Saturday after a qualifying wreck.  Danny Kent had his qualifying time disallowed and cancelled due to lower tire pressure than what is required for qualifying, per the rules.

Starting caboose on the field in 28th place, is Anthony West.  We know he's a real rain master and does a great job racing a motorcycle.  No real changes in the weather as we head towards the start of this race.  We check the Moto2 points standings as we get ready to get underway in the wet here at Brno.  Johann Zarco leads with 176 points.  Alex Rins in second, is 34 points in-arrears on 142.  Third is Sam Lowes on 121 points, 55 markers behind.  In fourth, it is a 70 point gap to the absent Tom Luthi, on 106 points.  Luthi is hurt, sitting this race out, and will be back for the next one in Great Britain more than likely.

We are ready for Moto2 at Brno, in the rain.  It's pouring out there.  The race is at hand.  Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  Johann Zarco flies off the line, and so do the riders on the second row of the grid, including Takaaki Nakagami.  Sam Lowes has another bad start, just the same as it was for him in Germany, two races ago.  Zarco leads into turn one, but Jonas Folger wants to go for it.  Alex Rins is making a move, too.  Zarco is hung out to dry in turn four, and it looks like he'll be fifth or so.  Malaysia's Hafizh Syahrin also has a good start.  Syahrin is off the road, though.  He's on the grass, after being nudged by Alex Marquez.

Jonas Folger, meanwhile is checking out on the rest of the field.  Takaaki Nakagami moves to second ahead of Alex Rins.  Axel Pons has crashed out on lap one.  Game over.  Franco Morbidelli makes an inside move on Johann Zarco and really pushes him wide.  Simone Corsi also makes a pass, and Zarco is now dropping like a stone in these wet conditions.  Luca Marini is trying to pass Johann Zarco, and, he's got both Leopard motorcycles of Danny Kent and Miguel Oliveira all over his rear wheel.  Hafizh Syahrin meanwhile, has to contend with Alex Marquez.  Mattia Pasini also tries to make a move.  His best Moto2 finish was fourth, in the rain, two races ago in Germany.  So he's one to keep an eye on, too.

Sam Lowes makes a pass on Alex Marquez.  Johann Zarco has his hands full with Miguel Oliveira.  Folger leads with Alex Rins second.  Luca Marini passes Franco Morbidelli for eighth spot.  Hafizh Syahrin, is nicknamed "the fish" and "the fish", is swimming after Takaaki Nakagami, trying to take a spot away.  Jonas Folger has a 3/4 of a second gap at the front.  Mattia Pasini passes Franco Morbidelli.  Conditions are getting worse at the end of lap two, with Folger still leading.  Visibility and standing water on the speedway, are the two main concerns that the riders, teams, and marshals have to keep an eye on.

Rins is now up to second.  Rins is the man who has set fastest lap of the race thus far at 2:19.361.  This rain has been a get out of jail free card for Alex Rins, because he was nowhere during the dry practice sessions.  Anthony West has moved up to 17th.  The Aussie is running well.  But, he is not progressing quite how we thought he would, in the opening laps.  Sam Lowes is now fourth, as Jonas Folger opens up a gap over Alex Rins.  To give an idea of how bad conditions are, the Moto3 riders (in their race you will hear about here on 2 Wheelin'), were lapping in the 2:21 range, in the wet.  Moto2 is only running two seconds a lap faster, in wet conditions, at 2:19.  Johann Zarco has now fallen all the way down to 14th, literally halfway through the field.

On the previous lap, Zarco was passed by Miguel Oliveira, Sandro Cortese, and Julian Simon.  Jonas Folger, with a second in hand over Alex Rins, resets fastest lap at 2:17.842.  Sam Lowes goes around Takaaki Nakagami who gets his motorcycle really loose into turn four!  Alex Rins has a massive opportunity to gain in the championship, with Johann Zarco having problems, and kind of running down in the doldrums in 14th spot.  Folger, Lowes, Rins, Nakagami, Syahrin.  That's your top five at the present time.  Alex Marquez is sixth, and in seventh, give a call to Luca Marini who is running very well.  Anthony West has now moved up into the points, in 15th spot.

Sam Lowes runs 1.1 seconds behind Alex Rins.  That being said, Lowes has now reset fast lap and lowered it to 2:17.838.  The rain is beginning to lighten up.  Danny Kent passes Johann Zarco and Zarco is now down to 15th.  Jonas Folger still leads the way up "horsepower hill" and into turn 13.  Mattia Pasini has now lowered fast lap to 2:17 flat.  2:17.049.  Pasini is a bloke in search of his first ever podium spot in Moto2.  Johann Zarco is out of the points.  He is down in 16th, right behind Anthony West.  Alex Marquez is now sixth.  Hafizh Syahrin wants to get by Takaaki Nakagami, and at the same time, Sam Lowes is steadily closing up on Jonas Folger and Alex Rins who remain 1-2.  Alex Marquez is closing up on Hafizh Syahrin and Takaaki Nakagami.

Amazingly, Anthony West, is putting in a great performance with a chassis, a Suter chassis, that is three years old.  It is a 2013 spec bike.  On the most recently completed lap, Jonas Folger was 4/10ths of a second quicker than was Alex Rins.  Only the aforementioned top three riders, well, including Johann Zarco, were able to break into the 2:16 bracket for their lap times.  Folger runs a fastest lap at 2:16.576, while Sam Lowes is having a hard time braking Alex Rins' resolve at the moment.  If the checkered flag were thrown right now, there would be a mere 14 points between Zarco and Rins in the championship.  Zarco, meanwhile, could have Xavier Simeon to contend with.  Simeon is 17th, just 3/10ths of a second behind the Frenchman.

Isaac Vinales is behind Simeon.  Folger is managing a gap that is oh, a second or so, over Alex Rins at the present time.  Folger has not won since Jerez in 2015.  Points as they run, look like this.  Zarco leads on 176 points.  Alex Rins is second, 14 points back, on 162.  Sam Lowes is third, 39 points behind on 137.  In fourth, it is Jonas Folger, on 108 points, 68 points behind Zarco.  Folger, if he wins, will have gained three spots in the championship standings.  Mattia Pasini is all over Hafizh Syahrin for fifth spot.  Alex Rins is gaining on Jonas Folger, in sector one, by half a second or so.  Mattia Pasini makes a pass on Hafizh Syahrin.

Sam Lowes logs another fastest lap, bringing it down to 2:15.754.  Takaaki Nakagami's lap times are falling, and he seems to be having grip issues in the rain.  His visor must be steaming up, too.  Folger has a second lead over Rins and resets fastest lap of the race at 2:15.322.  Sandro Cortese is now tenth.  The German rider has passed Franco Morbidelli to get there, and is trailing Simone Corsi by 3/10ths of a second.  Luca Marini takes seventh spot away from Takaaki Nakagami.  Marcel Schrotter is way down in 23rd place.  Mattia Pasini charges past Alex Marquez.  Pasini got his best Moto2 result in Germany, and should match it.

Cortese makes a great move at Kevin Schwantz corner, named for the 1993 500cc Grand Prix world champion and motorcycle racing legend, from the USA.  Another fast lap for Folger, in the meantime.  He runs a 2:15.316.  Sam Lowes is trying to hang on with just ten laps to go.  Pasini has passed Alex Marquez.  Sam Lowes runs third, hanging in there, looking to get in touch with the top two.  Johann Zarco continues to languish down in 16th spot, and is four seconds behind the final man in points paying places, Julian Simon in 15th.  Oh dear!  Game over for Takaaki Nakagami.  He's crashed.  This is bad, because it is the first DNF for Takaaki Nakagami since Malaysia in 2014.  That was a long while ago.

Nakagami is up and walking, but he looks dazed after his wreck.  Oh dear.  Luca Marini has also crashed.  The two riders were next to each other through turn eight.  No top six finish for Marini.  Johann Zarco is now back in the points.  Jonas Folger, is on a Sunday ride.  He is two seconds ahead of his competition, and the first man to dip into the 2:14 range for lap times.  2:14.528 by Folger, is the fastest lap of the race thus far.  Danny Kent moves into tenth spot ahead of Leopard Racing team mate Miguel Oliveira.  Julian Simon is now 12th.  It was Simone Corsi who tipped Takaaki Nakagami off his bike and into the gravel.  We know that Corsi can be a reckless racer sometimes.  Marini took a huge tumble!  It seems he maybe braked on the white line, and the slippery pavement, well, paint, snatched him off the bike and he rolled vigorously into the gravel trap.

Jonas Folger wants his first win of 2016.  He is not in contention for the title at all, but he could do with a race win.  Jonas Folger and Alex Rins will both be in MotoGP in 2017, and so is Sam Lowes.  The stewards are investigating the Corsi/Nakagami kerfuffle.  Race direction must have a word with Simone Corsi.  He is a very aggressive rider, and his aggressiveness has forced other riders to crash.  The top fifteen riders, with eight laps remaining in this rain soaked race in the Czech Republic are:

1. Jonas Folger
2. Alex Rins
3. Sam Lowes
4. Mattia Pasini
5. Alex Marquez
6. Hafizh Syahrin
7. Sandro Cortese
8. Franco Morbidelli
9. Simone Corsi
10. Danny Kent
11. Miguel Oliveira
12. Julian Simon
13. Anthony West
14. Johann Zarco
15. Isaac Vinales

Takaaki Nakagami has entered the pit lane.  The bike is toast.  It will not race any more today.  Danny Kent makes a move and passes Simone Corsi for ninth.  Note to Simone, that's how you properly make a pass.  Miguel Oliveira on the sister Leopard bike also makes a move on Corsi.  Xavier Simeon has taken 15th from Isaac Vinales.  Sam Lowes runs his personal best lap at 2:15.4.  Rins has not won since Le Mans in France.  Sam Lowes is in a solid third, and wants to battle Rins for second spot.  Johann Zarco is just managing 14th over Xavier Simeon.  Simone Corsi will get a ride through penalty for barging Takaaki Nakagami off the road.

Corsi has run Nakagami, and Lorenzo Baldassari off the road.  There was no gap.  Corsi barged into the side of Nakagami's motorcycle, and knocked him down.  Jonas Folger continues to lead, with six laps now remaining.  The gap between Alex Rins and Sam Lowes, has now opened up to 1.8 seconds.  Sandro Cortese has moved ahead of Hafizh Syahrin into sixth place.  Oh dear.  Jonas Folger does not have a working rain light on his bike.  Could this come under scrutiny from the FIM stewards as well, even if he wins the race?  Maybe it was active at the start, and then, failed during the race.

Now then, we have another rider who has fallen.  Ratthapark Wilairot has fallen, and so, both Honda Team Asia riders have run into trouble in this race.Wilairot did the right thing, laying the bike down in the kitty litter, before he hit the air fence.  Alex Rins, responds to the pressure from Sam Lowes, and puts in his personal best lap of this race.  Sandro Cortese, in sixth, is Jonas Folger's team mate for Dynavolt Intact Racing.  Simone Corsi is in the lane, serving his penalty for that flagrant contact earlier on that took Takaaki Nakagami out of the race.  Johann Zarco, then, is promoted to 13th and he will gain a couple of points.

Alex Rins is now 2.2 seconds clear of Sam Lowes with four laps to go.  Ratthapark Wilairot is back in the race.  Sam Lowes is in a safe third place.  This race has major implications on the championship.  Franco Morbidelli is eighth, and with a win, Jonas Folger could inherit fifth in the championship just behind Tom Luthi who is not racing here.  Danny Kent and Miguel Oliveira are right in formation on the two Leopard bikes.  Both of them battled for the title in Moto3 in 2015, and Kent won the championship cup.  The rain is clearing up, and visibility is getting better.  Folger has a 4.6 second advantage with three laps left.

Into turn nine, trying to bring the power back on, Sam Lowes is nearly out of the seat!  Fortunately he saved it!  Second place might be a bridge too far for Lowes in this race.  The battle for fourth is still on.  Mattia Pasini has it, and Alex Marquez, wants it.  Sandro Cortese will continue with Dynavolt Intact Racing in 2017, though there were murmurings after Austria that he would be let go from the team.  Marcel Schrotter will be Cortese's team mate in 2017, but he has had a torrid race in the wet at Brno today.  Simone Corsi, after taking his ride through penalty, has in fact passed Marcel Schrotter.  When Jonas Folger wants it, he's unstoppable.  Clearly, he wants this win.

With two laps left, we look at the championship points table again.  Johann Zarco retains the lead on 180 points, with Alex Rins second on 162, 18 markers behind.  Sam Lowes is still third, 43 points behind on 137.  Jonas Folger, should he win this race, he moves up three spots into fourth place, 72 points out of the lead on 108.  Sandro Cortese passes Alex Marquez.  Sandro Cortese will have his best finish since a podium in Japan at Twin Ring Motegi in 2015.  One lap to go, and it has stopped raining.  Jonas Folger is going to take his first Moto2 win in over a year.  Johann Zarco moves up to 12th.

DynaVolt team boss Herve Poncheral has to be happy.  A brilliant ride for Jonas Folger.  He's bounced back from trouble early in the season.  Dynavolt Intact will win!  Oh no!  Sandro Cortese has made contact with Mattia Pasini right at the end of the race, and gone down!  He's thrown away another top ten place!  Yikes!  Folger wins it!

#94 Jonas Folger     GER.     Kalex

Rins is second.  Lowes is third.  Next up, is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in the English midlands.  Stay tuned for that one.


     

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

MotoGP Round 11: Czech Republic

We are at the Automotodrom Brno in the Czech Republic, for the latest race in MotoGP.  This is round eleven of the championship.

It was supposed to be a drying track here at the Brno Autodrom, but it seems MotoGP and it seems we will declare this one a wet race.  Hard and soft tires are available for front and rear via Michelin.  Will we need slick tires in the Czech Republic?  We have never had a wet race at Brno since the World Championship first came here in 1987 with the monstrous, glorious 500cc machines.  The riders are on their sighting lap.  Maverick Vinales qualified eighth after having brake problems.  But, Aleix Espargaro is fourth.  He did very well.  Jorge Lorenzo isn't on pole.  Marc Marquez is.  Lorenzo was way down in 17th, in the very wet morning warmup and Dani Pedrosa was off the pace.  This might be a flag to flag race.

Some chaps might be on the harder option rear tire.  Some riders ride through the pits, straight to the starting line.  Marc Marquez is on pole.  He's won here in MotoGP and in Moto2.  Marquez had a brave outing the last time we spoke to you, from Austria, when he was battling that dislocated shoulder he suffered.  Jack Miller, has to watch the race in the Czech Republic, from the sidelines.  He is ruled out due to injury.  He was declared fit after his wrist and back were hurt in Austria, where he did race.  But he won't race today at Brno.  Marc Marquez, again, is on the pole.  He has scored points in every single race so far in 2016.

Jorge Lorenzo rolls off second.  Third place on the grid, on the outside of the front row goes to Andrea Iannone.  Danilo Petrucci says he is not sure how the conditions will play out, and that it will be difficult.  Aleix Espargaro is fourth.  The team manager's are running to the grid, with different tires.  We see Yamaha's Massimo Merigali down there, and Ducati's pit crew also down there, waiting to see what tires they'll use for this race, before we get started.  For the third time in four races, we are plunged into a wet race.  Assen, Sachsenring, and here in Brno.  Austria last time, was a dry race.  Valentino Rossi is sixth, and Hector Barbera is fifth.  A great performance for Barbera.  20 years ago, here in Brno, Valentino Rossi won his first ever race in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, winning the 125cc race in 1996.

Andrea Dovizioso starts seventh.  He is starting his 250th consecutive motorcycle Grand Prix.  He is the first rider in history to make that many starts.  Rossi has his worst qualifying effort since France, at Le Mans.  Maverick Vinales rolls off eighth, after having that braking issue in qualifying, and he had no rear grip on the sighting lap.  This weather is tough to figure out.  Riders and team managers are both scratching their heads.  Ten minutes to go before we start round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship.  It'll be a heck of a race.  Will we have a surprise winner, like we did with Jack Miller at the Dutch TT?

Rossi has a new front tire on his motorcycle.  Dani Pedrosa rolls off ninth.  Cal Crutchlow completes the top ten.  He had a crash in qualifying, but has a good record at Brno.  He scored a podium in 2012 and has one of two career poles in MotoGP, that came here at Brno.  Pol Espargaro is 12th.  The tension is unreal.  This is the 400th Grand Prix in the 25 year history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing's modern era with Dorna and IRTA.  Bradley Smith qualified 11th.  Scott Redding is 13th.  Riders are back and forth with what tires they want to use.  It's a massive concern.  No rear grip.  Every time I crack the throttle, I've got no grip!

The safety car pulls away.  22 laps scheduled.  Everyone is on the soft front tire, but every rider has the hard option rear tire.  Ianonne, Lorenzo, Marquez, the front row;.  We're ready to get underway.  This is Marc Marquez's 63rd career pole.  20 bikes start.  No Jack Miller for this race.  It's the final sighting lap.  Tire choice has been made.  Lorenzo is the only rider on the hard option rear tire.  Maybe Valentino Rossi does, too.  Our post time weather, looks like this.  17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature.  19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature.  The wind is out of the northwest at 13 kilometers an hour (9 miles an hour).  It has not rained for a full hour.

82.000 fans are here to watch this race.  The first race here was in 1965, on the streets in the town of Brno, long before the track was built.  The first proper race at the circuit, was in 1987.  Marc Marquez leads the championship on 181 points, with a 43 point cushion over Jorge Lorenzo.  Lorenzo is on 138, and Valentino Rossi remains third, 57 markers behind Marquez with 124.  In fourth, Dani Pedrosa, 76 points behind the leader, on a total of 105.  Could the conditions favor an independent rider over a factory rider for the race win today?  We'll see.  The decisions have been made.  We're ready to start the MotoGP race at Brno in the Czech Republic.  Let the tradition continue!

Round 11 of the MotoGP 2016 is set.  Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  Jorge Lorenzo makes a brilliant start from the middle of the front row.  Andrea Iannone gets a flyer from third and takes the lead into turn one.  Iannone runs wide, and Marc Marquez sweeps through on the Ducati and the Yamaha, aiming to put his Honda in first place.  Great move by Marquez!  He takes the race lead!  They rush down between the trees to the first section of s curves.  Into turn three, Andrea Dovizioso is trying to make a move.  He's trying to pass Aleix Espargaro, and Valentino Rossi.  Jorge Lorenzo though, is beginning to sink through the field.  He's been passed by both Aleix Espargaro and Pol Espargaro.

Valentino Rossi qualified sixth, but he's now fallen outside of the top ten.  They come to the stadium section for the first time, and Marc Marquez is opening up a lead.  Michelin has confirmed that Rossi and Marquez are both running the soft tires.  Rossi is way down the order, under pressure from Danilo Petrucci.  They've made it to the bottom of the circuit through Kevin Schwantz corner, named after the 1993 500cc World Champion.  They climb up the hill through turns 11 and 12.  Rivers of water might just be beginning to form on the road.  Jorge Lorenzo has dropped down to tenth.  Lap one done and dusted.  Andrea Dovizioso has moved from seventh to second.

The top ten right now is:

1. Marc Marquez
2. Andrea Dovizioso
3. Andrea Ianonne
4. Aleix Espargaro
5. Maverick Vinales
6. Scott Redding
7. Pol Espargaro
8. Hector Barbera
9. Bradley Smith
10. Jorge Lorenzo

Redding passes Vinales in turn three, for fifth place.  Rossi, on lap one, ran 4.1 seconds behind Marquez.  Spare bikes are being prepped in pit lane should this become a flag to flag race, as Andrea Dovizioso is still hounding Marc Marquez for the top spot.  Redding makes an inside pass on Aleix Espargaro for fourth.  The bikes race up "horsepower hill" towards turns 13 and 14.  Andrea Dovizioso makes an inside move on Marquez for the lead!  Scott Redding sets fastest lap so far at 2:10 flat.  2:10.010.  Both Ducati's run 1-2.  Scott Redding is now trying to make a pass on Marc Marquez.  Will he do it?  No.

Redding now moves to third through turn five.  It is an all Ducati top three at Brno right now, ladies and gentlemen.  Marquez runs fourth on the factory Honda.  Both Suzuki's still run fifth and sixth in the hands of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.  Clarification from Michelin is that only the Yamaha's of Rossi and Lorenzo are running the hard rear tires.  Dovizioso wants revenge on his team mate Ianonne.  He was the quickest man last time around cutting a 2:09.661.  Valentino Rossi is 12th, and ran a 2:11.813 after being stuck in the 2:13 lap time bracket.  Scott Redding is drawing a bead on the two factory Ducati's at the moment.

Spray appears from the rear wheels of the motorcycles, meaning there are still wet spots here at Brno.  Three other riders have gone with the option hard rear tire.  Cal Crutchlow, Loris Baz, and Tito Rabat, are those riders.  Crutchlow runs way down in 15th spot at the moment.  Loris Baz is behind Crutchlow in 16th.  There's been a lead change, as Andrea Ianonne goes to the front.  Redding, meanwhile, resets fast lap at 2:09.440.  Into the esses another time, and Scott Redding makes a move on Andrea Dovizioso for second place!  The Ducati's are much faster than Marc Marquez, who is also falling into the clutches of both factory Suzuki's, of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.

This is a great effort for Suzuki, because they were way off the charts in the two previous wet races in Holland and in Germany.  Marc Marquez will be happy if the Yamaha's don't bother him.  But, he's under pressure from another blue motorcycle, the Suzuki, of Aleix Espargaro.  Hector Barbera runs seventh at the present time.  Jorge Lorenzo's race is going from bad to worse, as he drops to 16th, out of the points paying positions.  Loris Baz, Cal Crutchlow, and Stefan Bradl have all passed Lorenzo.  Andrea Ianonne is setting sail at the front, running another fastest lap at 2:09.203.  Ianonne is going for it.  He's won here at Brno, in Moto2, and has had good showings in MotoGP races here as well.  Hector Barbera has made a pass on Aleix Espargaro.

Valentino Rossi has waited five laps to get enough heat into the hard option rear tire on his Yamaha YZR M1.  Rossi is running a full ten seconds behind the leaders.  Points as they run now, would see Marc Marquez open his lead over Jorge Lorenzo to 56 markers, 194-138.  Rossi is 66 markers back on 128.  Andrea Iannone is 81 points behind on 113.  Spare bikes are at the ready in the lane right now.  Will we have a flag to flag race?  We'll see.  Dovizioso's spare Ducati GP16 has carbon brakes and possibly slick tires, which is a general dry weather setup for a MotoGP motorcycle.  The track isn't drying as quickly as we thought it would.  The wind has died down and it's cool.

The softer tires will start giving way quicker than the hard ones will.  Could Valentino Rossi have made a good call with his tires?  We'll find out in the next 16 laps.  Cal Crutchlow seriously tussles with Valentino Rossi, and nearly nudges the multi-time world champion out of the way!  Hector Barbera is quite the surprise, folks.  This chap has just set the fastest lap of the race at 2:09.090!  Crutchlow outdoes Barbera, and lowers it further to 2:08.760!  Wow!  This makes him the first rider to break into the 2:08 bracket.  It is true, though.  Hector Barbera is the one who is flying in this race right now.

Cal Crutchlow is a rocket right now.  He's passed Dani Pedrosa, and Bradley Smith, and is looking to make a move on Aleix Espargaro.  Keep an eye on Crutchlow.  He's got the harder option front Michelin tire.  Has he pulled off a tactical masterstroke?  He is slicing through the field like a hot knife through butter.  Ianonne leads Redding by 8/10ths of a second.  A good scrap is heating up for tenth with five riders.  Valentino Rossi is going to make a move on Pol Espargaro, and we also have Cal Crutchlow, Danilo Petrucci, Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro up ahead.  Cal Crutchlow is moving up, and so is Jorge Lorenzo.  He's fighting his way back up the order and is currently in 15th position.

Crutchlow passes Petrucci, and, sets a new fastest lap at 2:08.216!  Oh no!  One of the factory Ducati's is slowing!  It's Andrea Dovizioso!  Oh deary me.  Not sure if he crashed, or if he just ran wide in turn one.  It's game over for Dovizioso, with mechanical issues on the bike.  Game over indeed as Gigi Dall'Igna and Paolo Ciabatti look on.  Dovizioso will stay in the race, if he can get his spare bike for dry weather.  But it isn't dry.  So, they have the change the setup.  Cal Crutchlow scythes past Maverick Vinales, up to seventh.  Is Andrea Ianonne en route to his second consecutive MotoGP win?  Scott Redding runs second.  Scott Redding is piling the pressure on Ianonne.  Valentino Rossi has moved up to ninth.

Andrea Dovizioso is in pit lane, but he's not sure he wants to go back out on the spare bike.  The battle rages between Aleix Espargaro and Cal Crutchlow for fifth.  Ah.  Check what we said earlier.  Dovizioso is going back out, on the spare bike, on intermediate Michelin tires.  Andrea Ianonne is being hotly pursued by Scott Redding.  Crutchlow is coming, and we're only halfway home.  We work lap 11 of 22.  Dovizioso's tire had the center part of the tread come off entirely!  Redding is really closing on Ianonne.  Faintly, a dry line is beginning to appear on the road.  Hector Barbera is reeling in Ianonne and Redding, while Cal Crutchlow is closing in on Marc Marquez as we speak.

Crutchlow passes Marc Marquez for fourth.  Loris Baz is now closing up on Valentino Rossi.  Rossi is ninth.  Baz, is tenth.  Jorge Lorenzo is also charging up through the order.  Rossi closes on Maverick Vinales who will be his team mate at Yamaha during the 2017 season.  Rossi wanted seventh, but Vinales went down the inside to take the spot away.  Rossi ran wide into the turn.  Rossi and Crutchlow are the only two riders in the race who have made it into the 2:08 lap time range.  Is history in the making for Ducati?  Crutchlow tries inside Barbera.  No dice.  He'll bide his time.  Rossi is now seventh, having passed Maverick Vinales for that spot.

Crutchlow passes Barbera, and Barbera, fights back.  Bradley Smith takes his motorcycle to pit lane.  Smith switches to slick tires on his spare bike.  Wow.  Smith, really has nothing to lose with making this gamble.  Smith will have to be careful as there is still a damp track surface out there.  Redding still holds second, and Hector Barbera tries to defend from Cal Crutchlow, but no.  Crutchlow makes the pass.  Crutchlow moves past Redding into second!  Barbera takes third from Redding, and isn't done yet!  He's trying Cal Crutchlow!  Crutchlow holds firm at the top of horsepower hill.  Aleix Espargaro is out, as his Suzuki was on fire before the marshal with the extinguisher put it out.

Andrea Ianonne's advantage over Cal Crutchlow has shrunk to 4/10ths of a second.  Eight laps left.  It has been 35 years, since a British rider has won a Grand Prix in the premier division.  Barry Sheene pulled it off, 35 years ago, way back in 1981.  That was in Sweden, in August of '81 at the Anderstorp circuit.  Sheene, at the time, was riding for Yamaha.  Valentino Rossi, though, will stay have a say in this race.  He's getting closer behind the battle for the lead between Iannone and Crutchlow.  Jorge Lorenzo has cracked the 2:08 lap time range at a 2:08.828.  Crutchlow is closing right onto the back wheel of Iannone.  Crutchlow tries, and can't quite make it.  It is a matter of when, not if.  Alvaro Bautista is in the lane, and has gone to intermediate tires.

Hector Barbera runs wide, and now, Crutchlow is going to make his move!  No dice this time.  Valentino Rossi is also coming back into the frame, but it could be too little too late for "The Doctor".  Dry lines begin to form on the speedway.  Jorge Lorenzo hits the pit lane.  Bradley Smith has also come to pit lane.  Lorenzo was told to stick with the wet weather bike, but is ignoring that idea, and swapping to the spare motorcycle with the dry setup for the final seven laps here at Brno.  Crewman Ramon Focada is not happy with Lorenzo's decision.  Lorenzo was one of the quickest riders on the track.  That's a real odd decision for Lorenzo.  Yours truly, is surprised.

Marc Marquez passes Scott Redding, and, you get the feeling that Crutchlow is going to have to make a move on Redding very soon.  He's running out of time.  Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez are coming, fast.  This is it.  This could be the move of the race.  Crutchlow passes Ianonne on the outside, down the back straight.  Rossi tries Redding and can't do it.  Marc Marquez runs horrendously wide at turn ten.  Rossi goes through on Redding, as Redding is losing grip on his Ducati.  Crutchlow makes his move on Ianonne and makes it stick!  Meanwhile, Rossi gets better grip on his hard option rear tire and passes Redding.

Does Crutchlow have the pace to pull out a gap on Andrea Iannone in these last six laps?  Andrea Dovizioso is back in pit lane.  It's been a nightmare race for Dovizioso, that he'll erase from his memory bank here in Brno.  Game over for Dovizioso.  Crutchlow leads, with five laps left.  LCR Honda team manager Lucio Cecchinello can barely watch.  Cecchinello is a former racer himself.  He ran in the old 125cc class.  Jorge Lorenzo returns to pit lane.  It's been a nightmare race for him.  Lorenzo makes a blunder and goes back out on the track on his wet weather bike, with no change from the spare he came in on.  What a fraught race for Lorenzo and the factory Yamaha squad.

With five laps left, Crutchlow's lead is now two seconds over Andrea Iannone.  Here's how the world championship looks as we approach the finish at Brno.  Marquez leads Lorenzo by 54 points, 192-138.  Rossi, is just a single point behind (55 points behind Marquez), on 137.  Dani Pedrosa is 82 points back, on 110 points.  Four and a half laps left.  Rossi passes Hector Barbera, and is now closing in on Andrea Iannone.  If Crutchlow doesn't make a mistake, the only bloke who can beat him right now, is Rossi.  The soft option Michelin tires are getting eaten alive.  They will be like racing on jelly for Andrea Iannone.  Rossi is the shark, smelling blood in the water.  Crutchlow is the fish, swimming away from Rossi.

Rossi has to pass Ianonne because Crutchlow is outta here!  He's three seconds up the road.  Rossi knows he must make the move now.  He's up the inside of Iannone.  Rossi moves into second.  Iannone isn't finished yet!  He's coming back on Rossi!  82,000 fans here at Brno, go crazy, for the nine time world champ.  The gap between Crutchlow and Rossi is 4.7 seconds.  Cal Crutchlow will become the first British rider to win a MotoGP race in 35 years, and of course, back then, it was still the 500cc class.  Scott Redding is down to sixth.  Rossi blitzes away from Iannone and Barbera.  Crutchlow leads by 5.2 seconds.  He won't have a better opportunity than now, to win a MotoGP race.  Just amazing!

Jorge Lorenzo is a lap down.  Crutchlow leads by six seconds.  LCR Honda formed in 2006.  It's their tenth anniversary.  They are close now, to winning their first race.  Marc Marquez is right back in the fight for the final podium spot.  Check that.  For fourth place, is what this battle shapes up to be.  Hector Barbera has it.  Marc Marquez wants it.  Barbera moves to third, ahead of Andrea Iannone.  But, Barbera runs wide, so he has to give it up.  Barbera thinks he has Iannone and then, Iannone fights back.  Marquez passes Barbera for fourth.  Marquez will lose some points to Valentino Rossi.  Marquez is now third.  Two laps left for Crutchlow.  He's running in the 2:08-2:09 range.  Rossi's tires came to the fore too late.

The championship shuffles.  Here's how it stands just before the checkers in the Czech Republic.  Marquez on 197 points, leads Rossi, by 53 markers.  Rossi is on 144.  Lorenzo drops from second to third, six points behind Rossi, and 59 behind Marquez on 138.  Dani Pedrosa is mathematically out of contention, 88 points behind on 109.  Hector Barbera could get his first MotoGP podium, having passed Marc Marquez.  Look out, too, for Loris Baz!  Baz has come out of nowhere, and is fighting for the top spots!  Wow!  Andrea Iannone's front Michelin tire is shot.  Chunks of rubber are flying off the center like you can't believe.  This is exactly what happened to Andrea Dovizioso's tire, earlier.

Proceed with caution.  The front tires are lunching themselves.  Eugene Laverty has moved to seventh.  Loris Baz passes Hector Barbera.  The nerves are beginning to fray.  Fingernails are being chewed down to the quick.  It's the final lap.  3.357 miles left at Brno, to end the drought for British Grand Prix motorcycle racers!  Cal Crutchlow, will make history!  Half a lap left now, and the wait for Britain in MotoGP will be over!  Five corners left of the Brno Autodrom for Cal Crutchlow.  Rossi has fought his way back to second.  But, Cal Crutchlow, on a cloudy afternoon in Brno, will have his moment in the sun.

Three corners to go for the LCR Honda rider.  Left, right.  Up "Horsepower Hill" for the final time.  Two corners to go.  What a time in the life of Cal Crutchlow, who has just become a dad for the first time.  One corner left.  History is made!  Cue "God Save The Queen"!  Cal Crutchlow does it for England in MotoGP!  The 35 year wait, is over!  Crutchlow wins it!

#35 Cal Crutchloow     GBR.     Honda

Rossi and Marquez complete the podium.  They are followed home by Baz and Barbera in the top five.  Six through ten, is Eugene Laverty, Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Iannone, Maverick Vinales, and Tito Rabat.  Lucio Cecchinello has been in racing for 30 years, and the team has been around for 20 years and in MotoGP for ten.  Jeremy McWilliams, Bradley Smith, and Scott Redding, have all tried to win for England.  Now, Cal Crutchlow has done it.  Hard front and rear tires were the combination to go for in this race.

The next race, is in England, believe it or not, at Silverstone.  Stay tuned.  The report on that race is coming soon.

         

Monday, January 9, 2017

MotoGP news between Austria & the Czech Republic

We look at the MotoGP headlines that transpired between Austria and the Czech Republic.

Dovizioso blames tyre choice for Iannone defeat

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/dovizioso-blames-tyre-choice-for-iannone-defeat-807173/?s=1

Lorenzo: My "black period" is over, but Ducati "in another world"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/lorenzo-my-black-period-is-over-but-ducati-in-another-world-807181/?s=1

Iannone defied Michelin advice with winning tyre choice

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/iannone-defied-michelin-advice-with-winning-tyre-choice-807199/?s=1

Petrucci earns three-place grid penalty for Laverty crash

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/petrucci-earns-three-place-grid-penalty-for-laverty-crash-807191/?s=1

Aprilia bosses hit out at riders: "We cannot accept this"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/aprilia-bosses-hit-out-at-riders-we-cannot-accept-this-807238/?s=1

Stoner: Expect Ducati to threaten for wins at other circuits

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/stoner-expect-ducati-to-threaten-for-wins-at-other-circuits-807194/?s=1

No decision on Miller's 2017 crew chief

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/no-decision-on-miller-s-2017-crew-chief-807292/?s=1

Marquez says Ducati one-two "the good thing" about Austria

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-says-ducati-one-two-the-good-thing-about-austria-807248/?s=1

Vinales: "There's no way I could have beaten Marquez"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/vinales-there-s-no-way-i-could-ve-beaten-marquez-807217/?s=1

Rossi: Attacking Lorenzo carried "too much risk" in Austria

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-attacking-lorenzo-carried-too-much-risk-in-austria-807328/?s=1

Laverty "strongly considering" World Superbikes with Aprilia

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/laverty-strongly-considering-world-superbikes-with-aprilia-806838/?s=1

Lorenzo praises "stubborn" Dall'Igna for turning around Ducati

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/lorenzo-praises-stubborn-dall-igna-for-turning-around-ducati-807409/?s=1

Bautista returns to Aspar for 2017

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/bautista-returns-to-aspar-for-2017-807661/?s=1

Smith says Tech 3 Yamaha package "not up to scratch"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/smith-says-tech-3-yamaha-package-not-up-to-scratch-807210/?s=1

MotoGP riders critical of pit-to-rider communication plan

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/motogp-riders-critical-of-pit-to-rider-communication-plan-807564/?s=1

Honda shelves plans to test 2017 bike at Brno

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/honda-shelves-plans-to-test-2017-bike-at-brno-807744/?s=1

Miller, Espargaro declared fit for Brno

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/miller-espargaro-declared-fit-for-brno-807880/?s=1

Redding: Bad luck cost me chance at Ducati works seat

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/redding-bad-luck-cost-me-chance-at-ducati-works-seat-807859/?s=1

Dovizioso says Ducati "still not complete" package

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/dovizioso-says-ducati-still-not-complete-package-807920/?s=1

Espargaro "destroyed" by excessive pain during Austrian GP

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/espargaro-destroyed-by-excessive-pain-during-austrian-gp-807928/?s=1

Honda rules Miller out of racing in Brno

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/honda-rules-miller-out-of-racing-in-brno-807930/?s=1

Marquez: I need at least two more wins to be champion

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-i-need-at-least-two-more-wins-to-be-champion-807958/?s=1

Brno will deliver clearer picture of Ducati strength, says Rossi

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/brno-will-deliver-clearer-picture-of-ducati-strength-says-rossi-807974/?s=1

Bradl: I don't understand furious Aprilia press release

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/bradl-i-dont-understand-furious-aprilia-press-release-807945/?s=1

Ducati: Using safety as an excuse to ba winglets "dangerous"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/ducati-using-safety-as-an-excuse-to-ban-winglets-dangerous-808093/?s=1

Marquez says 2014 Brno save still his biggest

...And this, after a major one during practice.

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-says-2014-brno-save-still-his-biggest-808160/?s=1

Rossi says Marquez race pace "a big question mark"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-says-marquez-race-pace-a-big-question-mark-808182/?s=1

Marquez having to take a lot of risks, says Lorenzo

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-having-to-take-a-lot-of-risks-says-lorenzo-808195/?s=1

Doohan and Mamola: "Rossi is the best product of all"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/doohan-and-mamola-rossi-is-the-best-product-of-all-808114/?s=1

Yamaha hands Alex Lowes MotoGP test in Brno

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/yamaha-hands-alex-lowes-motogp-test-in-brno-808302/?s=1

Marquez: "I had to get past Rossi" on shock pole lap

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-i-had-to-get-past-rossi-on-shock-pole-lap-808423/?s=1

Vinales brake issue meant he "didn't even try" in qualifying

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/vinales-brake-issue-meant-he-didnt-even-try-in-qualifying-808465/?s=1

Dovizioso urges Michelin to fix tyre vibrations after qualifying issue

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/dovizioso-urges-michelin-to-fix-tyre-vibrations-after-qualifying-issue-808459/?s=1

Rossi: Brno qualifying "disaster" was "like the centre of Rome"

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/rossi-brno-qualifying-disaster-was-like-the-centre-of-rome-808492/?s=1

Marquez copied Lorenzo's style to improve Brno race pace

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/marquez-copied-lorenzos-style-to-improve-brno-race-pace-808504/?s=1

Using year-old bike an "anchor" on results, says Smith

http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/using-year-old-bike-an-anchor-on-results-says-smith-808067/?s=1

Stay tuned for what happens in the race.


Sunday, January 8, 2017

Wayne's Word: Installment One

This is a week late, but it is worth posting. 

MotoAmerican President and three-time World Champion Wayne Rainey says Happy New Year.

http://www.motoamerica.com/waynes-word-installment-one


Saturday, January 7, 2017

stay tuned

Folks, stay tuned for more MotoGP coverage.  Yours truly, is still catching up with the second half of the 2016 season.  Time will tell how ideas develop for covering the races.


Sunday, January 1, 2017

Valentino Rossi and Ferrari in F1: What might have been?

Editor-in-Chief for motorsport.com, Charles Bradley, looks at MotoGP motorcycle racing superstar, Valentino Rossi, and how close he could have come to racing on four wheels.  He did test for Ferrari in Formula 1 car racing, about ten years ago, and was recently offered an opportunity to do so for Mercedes, but turned it down.  Bradley examines then, what might have been.

Valentino Rossi and Ferrari in F1: What might have been?

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/valentino-rossi-and-ferrari-in-f1-what-might-have-been-862154/?s=1

To that end, here is a gallery of Rossi's test runs in a Formula 1 car.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/gallery-valentino-rossi-s-ferrari-f1-test-runs-862047/?s=1