MotoGP Round 9: Catalan Grand Prix (Barcelona Catalunya, Spain)

 Barcelona Catalunya, Spain, and a legendary raceway for both two and four wheeled vehicles, is the site of the ninth race of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship.  We are ready for launch.  Stand by, as the green flag is waving.  We are set for the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalunya, to give this motorcycle race it's official title.  Revs up.  Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  Franco Morbidelli has a good start while Valentino Rossi, the legend, bogs down on his Yamaha, bike #46.  It's Morbidelli into the lead as we have 24 laps on the board in this race.  Franco Morbidelli definitely got the hole shot and the Ducati riders, at least some of them, are mixing it up early already as well, look.

Morbidelli, meanwhile, leads into the first corner ahead of Jack Miller and Fabio Quartararo.  It's the two Petronas SRT Yamaha YZR M1's split by the #43 Pramac Ducati Desmosedici GP20.  To quote MotoGP color analyst Matt Birt, "Morbidelli absolutely smashed it right off the line", and jeepers creepers, did he ever!  A spot of bother for Valentino Rossi, and Johann Zarco has gone down, and guess who he takes out?  Our world championship leader, Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Ducati, it's game over!  Unbelievable!  Dovizioso came into this race with the championship lead, but it's all gone down the drain now.  Dovizioso's lead is gone!

MotoGP in 2020 has been crazy!  Dovizioso is fuming at Johann Zarco.  Probably, some of the things he's saying to the Frenchman just cannot be repeated here.  We are a family audience, folks.  But, Dovizioso has every right to be angry about his championship going up in a plume of sand.  Joan Mir on the Suzuki is bish bash boshing it and is up to fifth place as we speak!  Zarco is supposed to sign with Pramac Ducati, one of the factory teams, for next year.  I don't think he's considering pulling his pen out right now though.  Zarco of course, is riding currently for the Reale Avintia Ducati satellite team headquartered in Spain.  

Dovizioso, over and out, at the second corner on the race track.  Points as of now (and these are not official, so, no, yours truly doesn't like them, but we must broadcast them anyway).  We have Fabio Quartararo leading on 96 points, followed by Joan Mir five markers behind on 91.  Third is Franco Morbidelli with 89 points, eleven behind the leader, and Maverick Vinales on 85.  That's only 11 points among the top four riders in the world championship!  Mama Mia!  That's close!  Morbidelli and Rossi are first and second.  Miller, Quartararo, and Mir complete the top five.  Alex Rins, too, is making his move early in this motorcycle race.

Rins is sixth, right ahead of Pol Espargaro.  Andrea Dovizioso is walking back to the pits.  He cannot believe what has just happened to him.  Another quote from commentator Matt Birt. "He's gone from undaunted to unimpressed."  He looks back at Johann Zarco, his rival, thinking, "dude, I ought to give you a piece of my mind!"  Zarco must be equally upset.  But, it's like the old phrase, "Johann, you got some 'splainin' to do!"  Let's see what exactly happened headed into turn two.

Maverick Vinales, at first glance, got a horrible start.  He didn't launch off the line correctly.  But, closer inspection reveals that it's Danilo Petrucci, and Danilo Petrucci lost control of his factory Ducati and it made Zarco check up.  All apologies to Johann Zarco.  It was Danilo Petrucci who caused this melee.  Petrucci is the rider of the sister Ducati factory bike.  The top five, meanwhile, on lap four, have all cleared away from Johann Zarco.  Franco Morbidelli leads Valentino Rossi and Fabio Quartararo followed by Jack Miller and Joan Mir.

Espargaro is in a battle with Alex Rins.  Those two are running in the 1:40.9 range.  Lap five, and soon, we will see the cream rise to the top when the tires begin to go away.  Fabio Quartararo, the young charger, he is right in the slipstream of the multiple world champion.  Quartararo holds on, beating Rossi into the corner.  "The Doctor" gets a taste of his own medicine through the first turn.  This is one of the few times since both Morbidelli and Quartararo arrived as team mates at Petronas Yamaha SRT, that they've actually raced each other, heads up.

In 2019, Fabio was faster than Franco.  Meanwhile, Maverick Vinales on the factory Yamaha, the second factory Yamaha is trapped in 15th spot.  He said on Saturday "it is very tough to overtake on the Yamaha", and unfortunately for Vinales, those words are ringing true.  In replay, we watch Quartararo moving around Rossi, again, with ease.  Rossi and Miller are staying right in the wheel tracks of the top three as it's early doors yet, and we are only on lap seven.  Quartararo puts himself in the slipstream of Franco Morbidelli.  Quartararo moves into the lead of this motorcycle race.

Lap nine, and will Morbidelli or Rossi respond?  Will Quartararo begin whistling off into the distance?  Manage the gap, and do this even when the tires begin to fall off, when they begin to lose whatever sweet spot they're in at the moment.  Quartararo fell off his motorcycle in morning warmup here in Barcelona this morning.  He does not want to repeat that mishap.  Some smoke there, look, from Quartararo's rear tire.  The tires are beginning to drop off a cliff, as there's a king size scrap for seventh spot between Danilo Petrucci on the factory Ducati and Pol Espargaro on the factory KTM.

Joan Mir on the Suzuki also needs to pick up the pace as we are a lap away from the halfway mark in this race.  The gap is 3/10ths of a second between Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli.  Then, it's five tenths between Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi.  In the meantime, Cal Cruchlow is closing up on Aleix Espargaro.  It's Crutchlow on the Castrol LCR Honda RC213V #35 vs. Aleix Espargaro aboard the factory Red Bull KTM RC16, bike #44.

We have Maverick Vinales lapping the circuit in the 1:41.3 bracket as well.  We are now into the second half of this motorcycle race in Barcelona.  Alex Rins has run the fastest lap so far but we do not know the lap time he registered.  Oh dear!  I hear that nasty sound of a motorcycle scraping along the pavement.  Someone has gone down.  Someone has ditched their bike.  Pol Espargaro has crashed out of his home Grand Prix.  So, that's one of the factory Red Bull KTM riders over and out.  He just went around Danilo Petrucci but leans too hard into turn one and falls over, dropping the motorcycle.

Quartararo's rear tire may be giving out as Joan Mir is the shark and Jack Miller is definitely the minnow.  He is being gobbled up by the Spaniard.  Franco Morbidelli runs wide into turn one and almost goes down!  He saves it!  That was into the first corner, the same place where Pol Espargaro crashed as he was trying to go by Danilo Petrucci.  Blimey!  Morbidelli did a whale of a job to keep that motorcycle upright.  Joan Mir is chasing Jack Miller.  Also, give a call to Takaaki Nakagami.  The Japanese rider is up to ninth place aboard his #30 Idemitsu sponsored LCR Honda RC213V.  

With eight laps left on the board, on lap 16, Maverick Vinales is way down in 14th spot.  Miller hangs on but another rider, as we can tell by a decelerating engine and scraping on the pavement, has hit the deck.  It's "The Doctor"!  Valentino Rossi is down and out!  The dream is over of trying to win the 2020 MotoGP World Championship.  Rossi is a seven time champion, including five straight titles.  But, the dream of an eighth title will not materialize for "The Doctor" in 2020.  His 200th podium also disappears as he is obviously shaken after falling off the motorcycle and into the gravel trap.

He's on the brakes itno turn one, the right hander, and he went to change direction and the front end of the motorcycle washes out.  From there, Rossi is a passenger and gets pitched off the seat.  The bike rumbles to a stop, on it's side, in the gravel trap.  Game over for Rossi.  Iker Lecuona is also down and out.  The Spanish rider for Red Bull KTM Tech3 has actually crashed four times this weekend.  It's been a pear shaped weekend for him all around and one to erase from his memory bank.  Correction.  Right nation, but wrong rider.  That is Miguel Oliveira whose race has gone pear shaped.  He's fallen off the sister Tech3 KTM, bike #88.  

Tire temperatures are on a knife edge and the two turns we've seen here today in Barcelona that are "calamity corner(s)" have been turn two and turn five.  Alex Rins, meanwhile, is pouring on the steam, making inroads on Jack Miller.  Miller is very close to putting his Ducati on the podium.  Two laps left in this motorcycle race now, as we see Joan Mir in the slipstream of Franco Morbidelli.  Morbidelli tries to defend, but it ain't workin'.  He's having to give way to the Suzuki man.  Alex Rins is also all over Morbidelli like el cheapo suito here.  The Suzuki's have a late turn of speed here in Barcelona.

Tire durability is paramount and the Suzuki boys are very good at nursing tires because their motorcycles are easy on the Michelin rubber.  They just don't overexert their tires.  Suzuki can get the durability out of their tires.  Now, Franco Morbidelli could be on for a podium.  Points as they run, sees Fabio Quartararo extending his lead by eight points over Joan Mir, 108-100.  Third spot belongs to Maverick Vinales, 19 markers behind on 89 points, and in fourth place, Andrea Dovizioso will have to dig himself out of a hole.  He's 24 points behind Quartararo with 84.  Morbidelli is desperate to hang onto the podium.

It's the final lap.  Lap 24.  Half a lap remains here at Barcelona.  Fabio Quartararo is desperate for the checkered flag.  He has fallen off a bit.  The virtual fan wall, is here, as fans watrch from home.  Fabio Quartararo won his first Grand Prix two years ago and got his first podium a year ago.  Fabio Quartararo wins at Catalunya ahead of the Suzuki's of Mir and Rins.  Morbidelli will be gutted, losing a podium.  Quartararo wins ahead of Joan Mir and Alex Rins.  Morbidelli is fourth.  Jack Miller completes the top five.  Sixth through tenth sees Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia, followed by Takaaki Nakagami, Danilo Petrucci, Maverick Vinales, and Cal Crutchlow.

#20 Fabio Quartararo     FRA.    Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha YZR M1

Two weeks from now, it's the French motorcycle Grand Prix from Le Mans, France, and the Bugatti circuit for motorcycles.  We'll see you there for more MotoGP racing as the we are into the second half of this truncated 2020 MotoGP season.  Adios, from Barcelona. 

MotoGP Round 8: San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini #2 (Emilia Romagna)

We are back, for the second time in as many weeks, on Italy's Adriatic coast at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, for the eighth race of the 2020 MotoGP campaign.  This is officially titled as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.  Are we set for more magic here at Misano?  Odds are, yes.  We will see how this race turns out.  Across the front row, it is Yamaha with Maverick Vinales on pole, Ducati with Jack Miller in second spot, and third, Fabio Quartararo.  It's the clash of the titans once again, as MotoGP lines up on the grid.  All five lights are on, and when they extinguish, we will be racing another time, here at Misano Adriatico for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  Jack Miller is the one who gets a flyer of a start on the Ducati, zooming past Maverick Vinales' Yamaha.  Maverick Vinales, second, and Fabio Quartararo third, on the opening lap of 27 scheduled here at Misano.  Jack Miller, the Australian, leads this motorcycle race.  Francesco Bagnaia has made a pass on Pol Espargaro as well.  Francesco Bagnaia, team mates at Pramac Ducati with Jack Miller, and Pol Espargaro of course, on the factory Red Bull KTM RC16.  Vinales and Miller rub handlebars between turns two and three, headed through Variante del Parco for the first time.  Vinales makes his move on Miller into the next corner at Rio, the fourth turn on the circuit.  

Maverick Vinales and Yamaha lead from pole.  Valentino Rossi, "The Doctor", is up ahead of Brad Binder and now just behind Pol Espargaro.  Joan Mir on the #36 Ecstar Suzuki runs wide at turn five as he is trying to move up after starting 11th on the grid.  Vinales is where he wants to be.  Now, there's a scrap here, look, for the fourth position on the road.  Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia is making his move on Fabio Quartararo.  It's tight stuff through there, and oh dear!  Someone has sailed off the road and off the bike!  Who just went down?  That is, from the look of it, last weekend's winner here at Misano, Franco Morbidelli.  He will not do the double at Misano in today's race.

One of the Aprilia's could have also been involved there, and Morbidelli goes from first last week, to this weekend, being caboose on the field.  Brad Binder makes his move on Pol Espargaro, meanwhile, into turn ten at Tramonto.  It's a battle there, look, between the KTM factory riders.  Binder wants to make a move on Fabio Quartararo, but there's a crash!  Valentino Rossi is down and maybe out!  Nope.  It's game over.  Rossi wanted his 200th career podium in MotoGP, but that will not happen today.  Rossi today, is running his 250th race for the factory Yamaha team, but this one at Misano, in Emilio Romagna will be one to forget.

Rossi is back in the saddle but surely he's out of contention.  This also means Rossi will not break into the top three in points before the 2020 season ends.  Wow!  Brad Binder shoots to the inside of Jack Miller!  It's KTM and Ducati scrapping for position.  Binder is into the podium places, but it is game over and heartbreak for Aleix Espargaro.  His factory Gresini Team Aprilia is out of this motorcycle race with mechanical trouble.  He can't believe it.  Game over.  Brad Binder, the standout South African for the factory Red Bull KTM squad is making his move on Jack Miller.

He's nipped past Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia will be the next rider, the next motorcycle, on his shopping list.  "Pecco" Bagnaia is a second away from Maverick Vinales.  Jack Miller runs wide, and Pol Espargaro will move back around him.  Fabio Quartararo also goes by him.  Oh!  Brad Binder has hit the deck!  The KTM rider is down and maybe out.  What a disaster!  Binder, the standout South African was on the podium, and he ditches the motorcycle at turn 15, the next to last corner before the end of the lap.  Disaster for one of the factory KTM riders!

Does anyone want to win the 2020 MotoGP World Championship?  Or, should we just keep the trophy on a shelf and let it collect dust?  Is Binder back in the fight?  Not sure yet.  Close lap times at the front of the field, as Vinales uncorks a 1:32.8 and "Pecco" Bagnaia goes one better at a 1:32.7.  Fabio Quartararo is running fourth and also in the top six, quietly moving his way up, is Danilo Petrucci on the #9 factory Ducati.  Seventh spot is Joan Mir on the Suzuki, and next up in eighth and ninth are two riders we never thought we'd see.  Eighth place is Iker Lecuona on the Tech3 KTM and behind the Spaniard is his countryman, Alex Marquez on the Repsol Honda.

Alex Marquez's brother, multiple world champion Marc Marquez continues to recover from a broken leg he suffered at round two of the championship.  Germany's Stefan Bradl, is filling in for Marc Marquez, running motorcycle #6.  But as of late, Bradl has not been a major factor in any of the races.  Anyhow, Alex Marquez is ninth, directly behind Iker Lecuona.  Wow.  That's amazing!  We ride onboard with Andrea Dovizioso only to watch Aleix Espargaro slide his way off the bike.  He lost control and Franco Morbidelli had nowhere to go, as we also watch again, in replay, Rossi's crash.  Rossi had the front end wash out on his bike while on a full fuel load.

We also see the replay of Brad Binder's incident with the bike spinning like a top, fortunately separate from it's rider.  Petrucci, Miller, Lecuona, and Marquez are all battling for sixth spot.  Francesco Bagnaia is taking time out of Maverick Vinales hand over fist, going for the lead of the motorcycle race.  Oh good grief!  Brad Binder has crashed, again!  Two wrecks in only a few laps for the KTM rider, and this will be race to forget for him and his team.  Brad, it is time to park the bike, forget about this race and rebuild for next weekend's race in Spain.  Details of that event are coming your way, after this one ends.

Francesco Bagnaia has turned the fastest lap of this race so far, on lap six, putting in a 1:32.319.  "Pecco" is on rails and flies through to take the lead away from Maverick Vinales.  Wide on exit is the Italian, and it's a drag race as Maverick Vinales is fighting back on the outside!  It's get your own back time for Bagnaia through Quercia, turn eight.  Vinales got in a little too hot.  Fabio Quartararo just needs to be consistent.  He is fourth, behind Pol Espargaro.  Takaaki Nakagami, also, has been trapped behind Andrea Dovizioso, and is on his way to another top ten finish with six laps left on the board before the finish.

Dovizioso is steadily running mid-1:33 laps.  He is just not on song today at all.  Oh no!  Oh no!  Francesco Bagnaia has crashed out of the lead of this motorcycle race!  Bagnaia, the race leader, has dumped it!  Another monumental twist in the 2020 MotoGP World Championship, and we just saw it with our own eyes!  He had a second advantage over his rivals, whistling off into the distance.  Who is writing this script for MotoGP 2020?  There's a ghostwriter somewhere who is putting this stuff on paper.  I can guarantee that.  Bagnaia's pace was really hot throughout the weekend, and we wondered if he could maintain it.  Apparently not, now that he's crashed out of the race.

He was in strife in the same corner earlier this weekend in practice and qualifying.  That's a hard one to call.  He turned left, the engine revved up, and Bagnaia slid off the motorcycle in turn six before the long backstretch.  The wind has been taken from Bagnaia's sails.  That crash will take a long time to get over and a lot of personal reflection.  Maverick Vinales is leading this motorcycle race over Pol Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo in the other podium places.  The points championship as they run, shows Fabio Quartararo now in the lead on 86 points.  Second place is Maverick Vinales with 83.  Andrea Dovizioso is shown as tied for second with Vinales on 83 points, and Joan Mir is ten markers further back, in fourth, on 73 points.  

Maverick Vinales has a four second lead.  Joan Mir is closing up on Quartararo and Pol Espargaro.  Quartararo wants by Espargaro and is looking, but he has no edge grip right now.  Fabio Quartararo tries the inside at the final turn, Misano corner, but it's not going to work as the KTM rider slams the door in his face.  That was a close one!  VR46 are not having a good day either.  Some top contenders have fallen by the wayside.  Rossi, out.  Bagnaia, out.  Mir is coming, and fast.  Poor Pecco Bagnaia.  He must be in tears.  He must be asking, "what do I have to do to get a better result?  What do I have to do to win?"

Mir and Quartararo are ganging up on Pol Espargaro.  He isn't the smoothest rider in the world.  Just three laps remain in the second MotoGP race at Misano Adriatico in two weekends.  Espargaro can't get drive off the corner, but Joan Mir surely can get drive, and he attacks Fabio Quartararo!  The shark has bitten the surfer here.  He's got Quartararo.  He made the move!  Wow.  That's something to see!  "No Mercy" Mir is fighting hard once again.  Holy cow!  With two laps to go, we have ourselves a points standings update before the checkered flag.  Here's the situation as they run now.  Right now, it shows a three way tie between Quartararo, Vinales, and Dovizioso, with 83 points apiece.  Fourth spot would be Joan Mir, seven points behind, with 76.

Mir made a brilliant move on Quartararo last time by.  Will he try to go for it on Pol Espargaro this time?  Just two laps to go.  Pol holds on, but on the brakes and up the inside, Mir is going to attack.  Bish, bash, bosh, and Mir makes it stick for second spot into turn one.  The Suzuki team are going wild right now, cheering on their man Mir.  Fabio Quartararo has just spoiled Pol Espargaro's podium chances.  Iker Lecuona has dropped like a stone.  But we don't know if he's crashed or if his bike is not working right.  Darn.  Iker Lecuona has indeed crashed out.  Game over.  With Lecuona's misfortune, Andrea Dovizioso has moved up a place.

Pol Espargaro could just reach out and grab a podium place, but now he will have to settle for fourth right in front of Miguel Oliveira, his other KTM stablemate.  In the blink of an eye, Mir has said arriva derci to both Pol Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo basically in one fell swoop.  Maverick Vinales leads and surely his pit crew for the factory Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team have chewed their collective fingernails to the quick, wondering what is going to happen, and if their man can hold on.  Maverick Vinales will have a real shot in the arm, a confidence boost, should he win this motorcycle race.

Going into the next event, Fabio Quartararo would lead the championship standings.  Franco Morbidelli has been ill all weekend and should be in bed, resting, instead of racing.  But he's pushing on, hard.  He's gone past Danilo Petrucci.  He is up to ninth.  Oh no!  Long lap penalty for Fabio Quartararo!  He has to take the long lap!  He won't take it now becausre he wants a podium.  He has been given a track limits warning.  He will lose an podium spot!  Goodness gracious.  Can Quartararo get back after he takes the penalty loopp?  Has he seen seen the message on his dashboard?  Nope.  He will have to incur a time penalty after the race.  In incurring the time penalty, the marshals from the FIM will add the time for going through the long lap, onto his overall race time, which will still cost him a podium place.

Last lap.  Maverick Vinales has been through the ringer, mentally, and critiqued a lot.  But he is going to be another new MotoGP race winner!  Maverick Vinales wins at Misano!  Mir in second.  Quartararo takes a three second penalty so he gives up third to Pol Espargaro.  What's next in MotoGP?  We have now seen six different race winners in seven races in MotoGP 2020!  Unbelievable!  

#12 Maverick Vinales     ESP.     Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha YZR-M1

Still more MotoGP action coming your way.  Next weekend, we are headed to Spain, to Catalunya, actually.  It's the Barcelona Catalunya circuit and the Catalunya Motorcycle Grand Prix.  Looking forward to bringing it to you.  See you next weekend, for more racing MotoGP style.  So long, for now.

MotoGP Round 7: San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini #1

We are set to go, for the first of two back-to-back MotoGP races in San Marino, actually in the town of Misano Adriatico on Italy's Adriatic Sea coast.  Today, and next Sunday, will see races run there.  It's time to bring the action at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.  Your polesitter for today's race, is Maverick Vinales on the factory Monster Energy Yamaha.  Green flag at the back, which means we are ready to roll here at Misano.  Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  Wow.  Maverick Vinales bogs down at the start and it's Franco Morbidelli taking the lead immediately as the bikes head for the first turn.  Fabio Quartararo gets eaten up, and Jack Miller is pushing his way through the field right from the start of this motorcycle race.  The Ducati rider could be a danger man for victory here.  But, we shall see.

But, right now it is Franco Morbidelli leading this motorcycle race on the #21 Petronas Yamaha YZR M1 ahead of the identical, factory bike, in the hands of the legend, "The Doctor", Valentino Rossi.  Fabio Quartararo got a dreadful start from the front row and has been sent backwards.  An Italian 1-2 at Misano, on the Adriatic coast.  Maverick Vinales is running a defensive line at the moment.  Give a call as well, to the two factory Suzuki's.  The two GSX-RR bikes for Suzuki Ecstar of Joan Mir and Alex Rins, their two Spanish riders, are right in the thick of it, early on.

Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo will have to push like no tomorrow to get by Jack Miller on the second Pramac Racing Ducati, bike #63.  Rossi is side by side with Franco Morbidelli, and we're only on lap one of 27 scheduled!  There's a ding dong scrap for the lead of this motorcycle race that we'll be watching the whole time.  Rossi makes his move into Tramonto corner at turn ten.  He's through, on the tight inside line at Tramonto corner.  Morbidelli says, "not now, Valentino", and slams the door in the legend's face!  Maverick Vinales, meanwhile, is being monstered (no pun intended), by Jack Miller on the Ducati, look.  Alex Rins, too, is catching Fabio Quartararo at the moment.

Seven laps on the board, and Francesco Bagnaia has the fastest lap of the motorcycle race.  "Pecco" is the first rider in the 1:32 bracket.  He is Jack Miller's team mate on the #63 Pramac Ducati, running just ahead of the factory Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso, and right behind Joan Mir's Suzuki.  He's half a second ahead of Mir as well.  So, Bagnaia on the Ducati is bish bash boshing it at the moment.  Oh no!  He's gone down!  Our world championship leader, Fabio Quartararo has lost his motorcycle in a low side crash!

Can you believe it!  Quartararo has bailed out at Rio, turn four on the circuit!  He had just, on the previous lap, made a move on Maverick Vinales through turn 14, Carro, and was making inroads, but now, he's down, but maybe not out.  Let's hope he's going to get the bike re-fired and get back into the race.  Fabio fluffs it!  Unreal!  The marshals are getting his bike restarted so he can get back into the scrap, but he'll have to dig, hard, to get back in the game here.  Points as of now, if the race were to end (but there's still 20 laps left on the board), would see Quatararo losing his championship lead to Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Ducati, who is running ninth right now.  Dovizioso would have 75 points, leading by three over Jack Miller with 72, and Quatararo would be five points out, on 70, with Valentino Rossi, a further ten back, on 65.

That's an uncharacteristic mistake by Fabio Quartararo, but let's not count him out yet.  He's still going.  He is back in the saddle, playing catch up.  Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi, both of them, could capitalize on this whole drama.  Lap 12, and Maverick Vinales, who was an early contender, he is dropping like a stone.  He languishes down in seventh spot behind Joan Mir and ahead of Dovizioso.  He is struggling to keep up the pace in the mid 1:33 bracket.  Alex Rins and Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia are a second faster, both fo them, than is Vinales.  

So, now, we have reached halfway, on lap 14 of 27 of the MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix, the first encounter the MotoGP bikes will have at this circuit.  Franco Morbidelli continues to lead, and his margin over Valentino Rossi has ballooned to over a second.  Rossi just doesn't have enough in the locker to keep up with Morbidelli, and meanwhile, he is also being hounded by Alex Rins on the second Suzuki.  Francesco Bagnaia is also back there, running in fourth spot, on the Ducati.  So, he is an additional headache for Rossi to deal with.  

Bagnaia is matching Rins on lap time, and Joan Mir has run the fastest lap of this motorcycle race at 1:33 dead.  That's quicker than Franco Morbidelli in the lead.  Jack Miller, in fifth place, is being caught by Mir.  Here's a lap time comparison.  Mir, 1:33.029.  Miller, 1:34.467.  Aussie Jack Miller on the Ducati will have to pour on the steam to catch the Suzuki mounted Spaniard.  Jack Miller is now beginning to languish.  Rins and Bagnaia have practically said adios and arriva derci, and sped away from the Ducati rider.  As good as these riders are, they are the best motorcycle racers on the planet, no one can keep any consistency in this 2020 season.  It's been topsy turvy so far, and might continue in that fashion.

After five races, no one has more than two podium finishes in 2020.  That could continue once we have this first of the San Marino races, done and dusted.  Linn Jarvis at Yamaha is looking on from pit lane, watching the action intently, watching his riders, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales.  KTM have been running very well this season so far, but here at Misano, they are on the back foot.  They've not got one of their bikes in the top ten.  We don't see either the factory bikes, or the Tech3 bikes at the sharp end.  Brad Binder, Pol Espargaro, Iker Lecuona, and Miguel Oliveira, are you guys there?  Yoohoo!  Oh KTM, where art thou?

Franco Morbidelli is whistling off into the distance in the lead, and knocking down some great lap times.  He sets his personal best lap time at 1:32.748.  This has broken Valentino Rossi.  "The Doctor" might not be able to keep up.  He might just have to settle for second on this day.  Rossi will just have to focus on keeping both Alex Rins and Francesco Bagnaia behind him.  Joan Mir, meanwhile, is racing Jack Miller for position, and Mir is out of the seat!  He wiggles just slightly but keeps the motorcycle planted, thankfully.

Every single point that can be earned in MotoGP, counts.  Just eleven laps remain here at Misano Adriatico.  Time is of the essence.  Franco Morbidelli has bolted.  He is the one to beat in this MotoGP race.  Rossi and Rins are struggling to stay ahad of Francesco Bagnaia.  Bagnaia is faster.  Working lap 17.  Ten laps to go.  Rossi has been doing his level best to keep up with Franco Morbidelli.  But, Morbidelli has been in another zip code this whole race.  Rossi and Rins are still in the 1:33s, but behind them, one more tire, we can see "Pecco" Bagnaia has uncorked yet another high 1:32 second lap.  Maverick Vinales, after 18 laps has finally gotten with the program and is in the low 1:33 range, but it's too little too late for the Spaniard to do anything with that.

Rossi will have to defend like no tomorrow.  He has medium compound Michelin tires on both ends of the bike, while Rins and Bagnaia are actually running soft rear tires.  Game over for Fabio Quartararo.  He is in the pit lane, and will not finish well in this race at Misano, today.  He'll have to try for a better result next week.  Details coming, after the checkered flag.  Rossi has made a mess of his most recent lap, losing a huge chunk of time in sector three on the road.  Rossi is the minnow, while Rins and Bagnaia are the sharks.

Rossi may be one of the kings of Grand Prix bike racing, that's true.  But trying to keep a couple young lions like Rins and Bagnaia behind you, is a job like no other, and he'll have to pour on the steam to do so.  Eight laps left, and Rins can make up time on Rossi, but "Pecco" Bagnaia seems to have other ideas, and flashes past the Suzuki!  Will he do two in one?  That was brave to the extreme by Bagnaia, look.  Rossi is a few feet ahead, but Bagnaia can smell blood now.  That was a bold and brash move made by Francesco Bagnaia on Alex Rins through Curvone.  Unbelievable!  Uh oh.  Someone's gone down.  Someone's crashed out of this motorcycle race.  We just need to find out who.

Fabio Quartararo has crashed out.  This will be a race for him to forget entirely.  That's his second crash of the day.  Apologies to all fans of Franco Morbidelli as we first assumed that the leader had wrecked.  But, no.  He's still leading this motorcycle race with just seven laps left on the board.  Our hearts were fluttering there for a wee while!  Blimey!  Meanwhile, the sign of a legend and champion, Rossi is not cracking under pressure from his younger rivals.  He's still hanging on over Rins and Mir, the two hot shoes for the Suzuki team.  

Oh, will you look at that. While yours truly has been yammering on about this motorcycle race, the laps have ticked by and there's just two left now.  Rins wants by Rossi, and Rossi, he too, is wanting to get past Bagnaia.  This is a bottleneck of the highest order as these chaps battle for whatever positions they can get after Morbidelli has checked out.  Now, things are not all wine and roses for Morbidelli yet.  He's lost a second or so over the last lap run.  So he still has to push.  He still has to be bish bash boshing it as we close in on the checkers.  Vinales has set his personal best lap.  I wish timing and scoring would show that lap time to us, folks.  But I suppose not.

Joan Mir has passed Alex Rins, resetting the table, look, for the Suzuki Ecstar boys.  Hmmm.  That could be that particular battle, done and dusted, mate.  Ooh!  Rossi very nearly ditched the motorcycle on entry to turn one!  How did he get that close to the pavement without losing the bike completely?!  That was weird!  Rins could have also made a mistake.  Now, poor old Morbidelli is dropping pace hand over fist here, look.  He's going to have to fight for this one.  Again, it's not all wine and roses yet.  The fat lady has not sung.  It's the last lap of the motorcycle race, but it's not done.

Mir is going to have a bite of the cherry, trying to go after Rossi.  This'll be wild.  Eat the cherry, mate.  Just don't swallow the pit.  Rossi wants his 200th career MotoGP podium.  But he will have to earn it.  Mir doesn't have enough to get past Rossi through Quercia, turn eight, and Alex Rins, he's gotten smoked.  I don't think he has the power to move in on this scrum for second spot.  What a mega race we've seen here at Misano.  It's not done.  The fat lady is just warming up.  You have to believe Rossi will have something at turn fourteen.  But, ahhh!  Here's come Mir!  Mir is going for it, and they're almost touching!

What a move by Mir!  He's only in his sophomore season in MotoGP and he wants to be a winner!  Bravo Joan Mir!  But Rossi, he's steamed.  He wants to throw the kitchen sink at Joan Mir and give him back a taste of his own medicine!  Rossi is going to make the move, on the outside through Carro!  He's wide!  It's all gone pear shaped for Rossi!  "The Doctor" is going to need a dose of medicine after this one!  Mir ran the super tight line and beat the champ into the corner.  Franco Morbidelli, meanwhile, is going to win his first ever MotoGP race!

Mir takes third, but it's samba time for Franco Morbidelli!  He wins!  Francesco Bagnaia, broken leg and all, takes second for Ducati!  2020 MotoGP, we love you!  What a finish here in Misano!  Rossi is gutted!  Jeepers creepers!  Poor old Rossi.  It's a shame he can't be on that podium.

#21 Franco Morbidelli     ITA.     Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha YZR-M1

More action, suspense, drama, coming your way.  Get ready for round two here at Misano Adriatico, round eight of the championship, next Sunday!  If this weekend's race was any indication, next weekend will also be a barn burner!  Arriva derci, from Italy, for now, ladies and gentlemen.  We'll see you next weekend for more MotoGP madness.

MotoGP Round 6: Styria

Another week, and another MotoGP race in Austria at the Red Bull Ring, as promised.  An interesting front row of the starting grid as we get ready to race for a second consecutive weekend here, in Austria at the Red Bull Ring for MotoGP.  Grab your leathers, gloves, and boots, and cinch down your helmet firmly.  Hold on for the ride.  It's time for another epic MotoGP race.  The report from the second encounter in Austria is next!

On the front row of the grid we have Pol Espargaro, Takaaki Nakagami, and Joan Mir.  Stefan Bradl, once again, replaces Marc Marquez while he recovers.  Alex Rins leads off the second row with Maverick Vinales and Jack Miller.  Fabio Quartararo who is the leader of the world championship points table stars on row three alongside Miguel Oliveira and Andrea Dovizioso.  Watch too, for Valentino Rossi on the #46 Yamaha.  The legend will have work to do starting 14th as he is sandwiched on row three between both Brad Binder and Michele Pirro, on the KTM and the Ducati.  Michele Pirro is of course the test and reserve rider for the Ducati team.  

Pol Espargaro, as we have 28 laps to look forward to, is the man hoping to define the slogan of his sponsor, Red Bull energy drink here at their home track.  Red Bull "gives you wings" or so they say.  Well, will Pol Espargaro be flying to the sharp end of this motorcycle race today?  We're about to find out.  Jack Miller on his #43 Pramac Racing Ducati, crashed in Free Practice 3 and hurt his shoulder.  So he will be riding with some discomfort today, but he's out there to win, just like everyone else on this grid.  The revs rise.  Red lights on.  Red lights out!  Away we go!  It's the second MotoGP race in Austria in as many weeks!

Pol Espatgaro is the man who gets the hole shot.  Jack Miller from row two also gets a flyer!  Joan Mir is racing side by side, look, with Espargaro and is going for the lead into turn one.  Mir makes the pass and leads this motorcycle race into the first turn as they prepare to climb the hill for the first time of asking.  Alex Rins on the second factory Suzuki is moving up.  That launch control system the Suzuki's are using is brilliant.  Johann Zarco starts the race from pit lane on his #5 Reale Avintia Racing Ducati. His is of course the 2019 spec motorcycle, the Desmosedici GP19.  Mir still leads as they approach turn three for the first time and Jack Miller got away from the starting blocks well, too.

Whoa!  Franco Morbidelli was out of the seat for a second on his #21 Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha YZR M1.  Morbidelli stays with it, and of course he had a massive crash here in the race last weekend.  Joan Mir meanwhile, forces Pol Espargaro wide.  Espargaro loses third to Takaaki Nakagami, and the two touch!  Easy there, boys!  That was a close one!  Here's your teeth, mate.  OK.  I'll put my teeth back in and can continue commentating.  Thank you.  The stewards are directing Joan Mir to drop one place because of his running wide on exit at turn one.

Andrea Dovizioso gains a spot and moves from eighth to seventh on this opening lap, and another flying start has come from Valentino Rossi.  "The Doctor" has been very good since the start.  He's running well. Now, lap three and Fabio Quartararo has gone the opposite way.  He's dropping like a stone and is running behind Alex Marquez.  Quatararo aboard the #20 Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha has run wide and lost time.  Alex Marquez is up to 12th place and he is currently having a right old dust up with Iker Lecuona of Spain on the first of the Red Bull Tech3 KTM's, bike #27.

Brad Binder has gone by Valentino Rossi as well.  Joan Mir has also gone back around Jack Miller who held the lead briefly.  Nakagami makes a great pass on Miller in turn six.  We wonder, what is Nakagami's pace like?  Can he break away from the rest of the competitors in the lower half of the top ten?  He has to if he wants to challenge for a podium or even a win.  He has to move ahead of the Australian.  Brad Binder, meanwhile, is closing the gap to Alex Rins.  Rins must be tired of seeing the tail of that KTM.

Oh no.  What's happened here?  We have a bike in flames that has gone through the air fence on the side of the track.  What is this all about?  That's Maverick Vinales and he's a rider without a motorcycle.  This is going to bring out a red flag.  The bike is burning.  It's on fire, and the red flag has to come out because of the damage to the air fence.  The air fence has been breached and the motorcycle is absolutely obliterated.  What on earth happened there?  Vinales just inexplicably falls off the motorcycle and it continues on without it's rider as if by remote control!

The only explanation for Vinales having a runaway motorcycle is that his brakes failed completely.  No brakes on the front or rear wheel.  The bike didn't slow down at all.  Vinales was catapulted off and he landed.  But the bike continued revving and then decelerated and crashed into the gravel trap.  Thank God Vinales got up.  That is terrifying, for the motorcycle to toss it's rider like a bucking bronco and to carry on by itself before it gives itself the coup de gras and crashes... wallop!, into the wall.  No brakes whatsoever for Vinales and his Yamaha YZR M1 absolutely clobbers the barrier!  How scary can it get?  That scary.

Maverick Vinales has had a horrible time in Austria and he will want to erase the events at Red Bull Ring from his memory bank.  This race has been red flagged, folks.  The red flag is out.  Poor old Joan Mir had a two and a half second lead which has now evaporated due to the red flag.  The race has been stopped.  There is a new starting grid with the first two rows being Joan Mir, Takaaki Nakagami, and Jack Miller, followed by Pol Espargaro, Alex Rins, and Brad Binder.  Next up are Miguel Oliveira, Andrea Dovizioso, and Iker Lecuona.  Behind them, we have Fabio Quartararo, Valentino Rossi, and Danilo Petrucci.

We continue to look at the grid for the restart, which will be a 12 lap shootout to the end.  Alex Marquez, Cal Crutchlow, and Aleix Espargaro are next.  Following them are Franco Morbidelli, Johann Zarco, and Michele Pirro.  On the final row for the restart, it is Bradley Smith, Tito Rabat, and Stefan Bradl.  Fabio Quartararo and Valentino Rossi in particular, have been having a bear of a time with front brakes.  Eyes to the lights, for the restart.  Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  We're off and racing once again in the Styrian motorcycle Grand Prix!

Jack Miller and Alex Rins bog down and make horrid restarts, and Joan Mir looks as if he was shot from a cannon!  Pol Espargaro on the KTM is up in the second spot.  So, it is somewhat of a mirror image of the initial start and what we saw.  Cal Crutchlow also ran wide on his LCR Honda.  Mir, meanwhile, is in the pound seats as he and the rest of the pack charge up towards turn three.  Miguel Oliveira passes Takaaki Nakagami for fourth spot and Brad Binder is also in the thick of it.  Miller goes inside of Mir for the lead into turn four and holds it through the braking zone.

Miller runs wide.  Mir has a chance to redress this.  What is he going to do?  Miller and Mir side by side!  It's the battle of the M's.  M&M's, no, not the chocolate candy, folks.  Miller is in the lead as Takaaki Nakagami is hung out to dry and he is going to lose places.  Nakagami is passed by Andrea Dovizioso and Brad Binder in one fell swoop.  Miller leading Mir, Pol Espargaro, and Miguel Oliveira, with Brad Binder fifth.  Oliveira is having a great race as we fast forward in the action with just six laps to run before this motorcycle race is done and dusted.  Now, Miguel Oliveira, he is going to attack Pol Espargaro into turn nine.  Will this work?  Will it end in tears?

Espargaro parks the bike in the middle of the corner, and makes it so Miller has the door slammed firmly in his face.  "Pol, let me in, mate!" he says.  Pol Espargaro says, "no way, sunshine.  I am the leader and you'll have to get back by me."  Uh oh!  Problems for Brad Binder as he's overcooked the final corner and gone way wide up the escape road and fortunately not out onto the paint.  You can see from the helicopter shot, the red and white paint on the outside of the circuit that represents the Austrian flag.  So, Binder is out of contention for a podium, but Pol Espargaro, he is going to maybe just get his maiden MotoGP victory if he can hold it together for another five laps.

Miller takes a good line into the corner at turn three but again, Espargaro closes the door.  "I'm not even going to give you the key, Jack" he is probably thinking.  "You'll have to bust your way in."  Espargaro goes wide.  Will Miller bust his way in?  Will he spoil Espargaro's party as an uninvited guest and nab all the sweets for himself?  That isn't likely.  We are a lap away from seeing a storybook win.  Pol Espargaro might just pull off a hometown win for KTM.  The Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, who also makes the Crossbow sports car, they could very well be on their way to a home victory.  Never count your chickens until they hatch, though.

The fat lady isn't singing yet, nor has the orchestra begun playing Mozart.  This is the lap of his life, for Pol Espargaro, a man who has been champion already in the Moto2 division.  Espargaro has enough traction, enough power to keep Jack Miller on the Pramac Ducati behind him.  Pol Espargaro rides the defensive line, and this could open the door for Miller to steal those sweets and spoil Espargaro and KTM's chances.  Andrea Dovizioso runs wide, and Jack Miller is on a mission.  He's going for it.  Miller, under braking has the preferred line on the inside into turn four!

They rub knees, and Miller leads the motorcycle race into and out of turn four.  This is the money lap.  Give it all you've got.  Espargaro gets stymied.  He's not going to make it and here comes the other KTM Red Bull bike of Miguel Oliveira!  Miguel Oliveira on the second bike for the KTM Tech3 Red Bull satellite team is right there.  One of these three blokes is going to win the Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix.  Pol Espargaro is not fooling around anymore.  Miller wants to keep Ducati's golden run alive, but it might not be so if KTM has anything to say about it. 

It's the final sector of the last lap of this race.  Espargaro has the lead.  Here comes Jack Miller!  Miller is nose to nose with Espargaro!  This is it!  Oh!  Oh!  Oh!  They both slip up!  Miller and Espargaro both are blindsided by Miguel Oliveira!  The Portuguese rider comes from nowhere, and takes the lead!  Unbelievable!  Espargaro runs wide!  Oliveira is going to win this one!  Yes!  Miguel Oliveira wins the Styrian MotoGP Grand Prix and the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 crew goes mad in the pit bunker!  They are delirious with joy!  They cannot believe they've just won this motorcycle race!

#88 Miguel Oliveira      ESP.      Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM RC16

These boys and girls tried for two decades with Yamaha to win in all classes in MotoGP and kept coming up empty.  Today, in Austria, in their manufacturer partner's backyard, they win the victory wreath, the gold cup, and the champagne.  Can you believe it?  Have you ever?  No, I've never!  This is a popular win for the KTM crew!  What a race!  What a finish!  I'll say it again.  What a finish!  Two weeks from now we will be in San Marino, for the next two rounds of the championship, on the Adriatic coast of Italy at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.  Will we see as exciting a race in Italy as we've seen today in Austria?  Yours truly can't wait to find out!  Join us for even more MotoGP excitement, next time.  Auf wiedersehen for now, from the mountains of Austria.

 

Moto2 & Moto3 races

Once again, even though yours truly has been keeping tabs on MotoGP, there’s still no real way to know what has been going on with Moto2 and Moto3 for the last few races in the Czech Republic and Austria.  I still wonder where the coverage is and why it has not been posted.  Oh well.  Yours truly still plans to continue writing about motorcycle racing as much as possible.  Stay tuned for more.

MotoGP Round 5: Austria

 Sorry folks.  Yours truly never saw any highlights for the fourth round of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship at Brno Autodrom in the Czech Republic.  As much as I'd like to bring that race to you, I am afraid it may be slight to impossible to get a report done on it.  So, with that said, we move on now, to the fifth round of the championship.  We're off yodeling in the mountains of Austria at the Red Bull Ring, for the Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix.  Maverick Vinales has pole with Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo alongside.  All eyes on the light gantry as we are ready to race.

Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  We're racing, in Austria!  Jack Miller on the #43 Pramac  Racing Ducati gets away well and Maverick Vinales also gets a flyer.  Franco Morbidelli, if my eyes are correct, is moving up already.  No.  It's someone else who is making an early move.  Joan Mir is the one moving ahead, however, Miller is the man with the hole shot as we get this motorcycle race underway.  Andrea Dovizioso got a good start but Fabio Quartararo runs wide into the first turn and onto the paint on the outside of the circuit.  He's lost six, maybe seven spots, and this won't bode well for keeping his points lead in the World Championship.  

Alex Rins on the Suzuki is also moving up, going from eighth to sixth place.  Joan Mir also got a blinding start.  So, the two Spanish team mates for Team Suzuki Ecstar are in a good position at the moment.  Two of the Ducati's have gone around Maverick Vinales on the Yamaha.  Ducati are making early and bold moves as they fly down the back straight here at the Red Bull Ring for the first time of asking.  28 laps scheduled for this motorcycle race.  Pol Espargaro also gets a decent start moving up one spot from fifth to fourth, and he is pressing Maverick Vinales and he makes the pass.  It was Yamaha vs. KTM there.

Into turn four, Pol Espargaro is now third.  He's on the podium for the moment.  Poor old Johann Zarco absolutely got swamped at the start.  What on earth happened to the Frenchman aboard the #5 Reale Avintia Racing Ducati?  I wonder, too, where is his team mate on the #53 satellite bike?  That's Spaniard Tito Rabat who has been a MotoGP regular for some years now.  He is on the Hublot watches sponsored Ducati for the same team.  They make really, really expensive Swiss watches.  

Meanwhile, Joan Mir has gained a place over Maverick Vinales.  Could the Yamaha rider be dropping like a stone?  We'll have to find out.  Vinales is applying the blowtorch here, look, to Quartararo.  In the not too distant future, these two will be team mates.  Next year it should be a Vinales/Quartararo lineup for the factory Yamaha squad in 2021.  Quartararo is the meat in the sandwich.  He's the bratwurst that is about to fly out of the bun, getting squeezed between Miguel Oliveira, and Maverick Vinales.  Yikes!  Oliveira took advantage of that small space to squeeze through on both Vinales and Quartararo and said, "thanks a bunch lads, I'll see you later!  Eat my dust!"

Andrea Dovizioso meanwhile, is scrapping with Joan Mir and Mir goes through on the Italian.  Oh my!  They make contact, and fortunately stay in the saddle!  Two KTM motorcycles are in the top five in their home Grand Prix.  KTM is based right here in Austria.  Now, has Fabio Quartararo got trouble?  Or, has the sound engineer made a mistake and faded out the individual engine noise of his bike?  Is he cruising or is he racing?  We're trying to determine that right now, ladies and gentlemen.  We will keep you updated on the goings on of Fabio Quartararo.  We look at the championship points as of now, with five laps gone in the race out of 28 scheduled.

Fabio Quartararo leads the points with 59 points but is only seven markers clear of second place Maverick Vinales on 52.  Jack Miller is up six places from where he was before, third in points on 45, 14 points out of the lead, and in fourth place, Andrea Dovizioso is 15 points away from the lead with a total of 44.  Quartararo meanwhile, is way down in 22nd spot.  He's dropped like a stone as well.  He is running right behind Ducati test and reserve rider, Italian Michele Pirro on bike #51 who is actually filling in for Francesco Bagnaia who must be injured and cannot ride this weekend on his usual #63 motorcycle.

Meantime, the pressure is on at the front as Pol Espargaro moves into the race lead ahead of Jack Miller, Joan Mir, and Dovizioso.  The top three has a variety of brands represented.  KTM followed by Ducati followed by Suzuki.  On lap eight, we see Pol Espargaro turn the fastest lap of this motorcycle race run so far at a 1:23.827.  Honda have had a humbling race.  They are nowhere near where they could be.  Alex Marquez on the #73 bike is languishing along with German MotoGP veteran, Stefan Bradl, who is filling in for the injured Marc Marquez, Alex's older brother, and the multiple MotoGP World Champion, for the second consecutive race weekend as Marquez is still dealing with his injured arm.

Oh my God!  Oh my God!  A massive accident has just happened with two motorcycles cartwheeling through the air!  This is absolute carnage!  Two motorcycles have been absolutely obliterated!  This is a red flag situation, without a doubt!  Franco Morbidelli, the Italian on the #21 Petronas Yamaha SRT bike is one involved (the team mate to Fabio Quartararo).  Trying to decipher who the second bike is that cartwheeled through the air.  This is as big a crash as we've seen in MotoGP for a long time as these two motorcycles and their riders were catapulted into orbit!

Johann Zarco, the Frenchman is the other rider involved here, on the #5 Reale Avintia Ducati.  What has happened here?  This crash is like an explosion, like a bomb detonating on this motorcycle race.  This happened on the fastest part of the circuit here at the Red Bull Ring, with two bikes absolutely destroyed.  These motorcycles went from high speed, high performing racing bikes, to worthless heaps of junk in mere seconds!  Let's hope these chaps are OK.  Morbidelli's motorcycle went flying through the air causing this commentator to wince and recoil in agony.  

This is a petrifying accident.  There's no question the marshals had to bring out the red flag.  We look to the top center of the TV screen, or whatever mobile device you might be watching this on.  Look at the top center of your screen.  The two bikes have made contact.  Zarco tried to take a defensive line into the corner and fell, and then, Morbidelli's motorcycle catapulted through the air, like it had a fuse attached and was shot from a cannon!  To make matters even worse, Morbidelli's flying projectile that was once a motorcycle, flies like a terrifying weapon, a missile, right in front of the king of MotoGP, Valentino Rossi!

Valentino Rossi is a lucky chap, who had to be saying his prayers as he nearly gets annihilated by the flying motorcycle!  Dear God alive, will you look at that.  Have you ever?  No I've never!  I kept my eyes open while writing the report on this accident, but oh my Lord, if you're squeamish, look away from your screen on that replay.  You will be absolutely sickened if you don't.  Morbidelli's motorcycle shot straight through the gap between it and Maverick Vinales' bike, like a missile.  This race has been stopped for obvious reasons.  My heart rate is through the roof just watching this carnage!  Oh my God!  That's enough to give anyone the creeps and put a lump in your throat.

OK, everyone.  You may want to get some headache medicine, a glass of water, a cup of tea, something to soothe your frazzled nerves after that crash.  Let's hope that both Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli will be OK and I think they will be.  That was a bad, bad one.   Alright.  It's time for the restart.  Lights out, and away we go again.  Pol Espargaro gets the jump on the restart.  Joan Mir also gets shot from a cannon on the restart.  Jack Miller goes for the lead into turn one but he runs wide and has to regroup.

Joan Mir was electric on that restart and he's into the top three.  Miller runs wide again, look.  It's a tough corner on that uphill left hand turn at turn three.  Blimey!  This is close!  It is hard to watch that corner as we're only 15-20 minutes removed from that mammoth crash we saw earlier.  Everyone, if you took something for a headache or an upset stomach after seeing that crash, the medicine should hold.  Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro leads Jack Miller, followed by Andrea Dovizioso.  Those are the current top three spots.

Thank you tothe marshals for cleaning up the carnage from earlier.  They are heroes and without them, there'd be no motorsports at all, on two or four wheels.  We owe those chaps in either white or orange clothing at the side of the track, a major debt of gratitude for what they do.  Alex Rins has moved past Joan Mir up into fourth place.  Folks, he was down in 11th place when the red flag came out, and so he has been bish bash boshing his way up the race order.  Alex Marquez and Bradley Smith have also moved up and are completing the top ten.  Marquez is ninth and Smith is tenth.  Meanwhile, Jack Miller makes the pass and goes through to the lead of this motorcycle race.

Jack Miller makes a pass on Pol Espargaro and makes it stick.  In the background, look, a battle for seventh and eighth spot, between Brad Binder and Valentino Rossi.  The South African and the Italian motorcycling legend, truly going for it.  Further behind those two, between ninth and 12th spot, we see riders like Takaaki Nakagami, Aleix Espargaro (Pol Espargaro's older brother), Cal Crutchlow, and Danilo Petrucci.  Could there be issues for Maverick Vinales?  His lap times have been all over the shop, fluctuating between 1:24, 1:25, and 1:27 brackets.  

Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo, our points leader, is 13th just behind Danilo Petrucci.  Jack Miller leads, but will the Australian rider for Pramac Ducati be able to make this gamble pay off?  Alex Rins is really pushing.  He's right behind Andrea Dovizioso and challenging the Italian factory Ducati rider for second place.  Rins of course is on the sister Ecstar Suzuki to Joan Mir.  Dovizioso is a wise man. He said the day before this race, Saturday, "I believe Alex Rins is a sure dark horse for the Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix."  Dovizioso may be being proven correct on that assertion.

Dovizioso must be bang on the money, because Rins, he's just cut the fastest lap of the motorcycle race.  1:24 dead.  1:24.007!  He's flying!  Twelve laps to go now, and we've passed the halfway mark.  But the contenders are placing themselves in line to challenge Jack Miller.  He's gone for soft compound tires from Michelin on both front and rear on his motorcycle.  Miller will have to pour on the steam to keep himself ahead of Dovizioso and Rins.  The factory Suzuki as a motorcycle, is set up to manage it's tires really well and Alex Rins is an effective rider at making that happen.

But, Rins almsot wipes out!  He had the front end of the bike nearly wash away, and could have had a low side accident there, very easily.  He's a lucky bloke to stay in the saddle.  Oh dear!  Pol Espargaro has crashed out!  So, KTM will be down to three bikes out of the four they have.  It's very likely game over for Espargaro here.  Uh oh.  This could be worse for the KTM factory squad than they'd hoped!  Two KTM factory riders appears to have gone down!  It's Espargaro but it's also Miguel Oliveira on the #88 Tech3 KTM.  One of the satellite bikes has also wiped out.  So, this means that only Brad Binder and Iker Lecuona are still out there.

Pol Espargaro went wide and it looks like Oliveira went wide, and didn't see him, before... crunch!  He's down in the gravel trap as well.  Oliveira and Espargaro have indeed crashed out at turn four.  We'll have to pick the bones out of that shemozzle and see what the heck went wrong.  Andrea Dovizioso has the power on the front straight, and in bringing more power, he moves around Jack Miller for the race lead up the hill into turn one.  He moves to the lead on lap ten, going for a hat trick of victories here at the Red Bull Ring.  

Alex Rins, too, is closing in on second place and wants by Jack Miller, putting Brad Binder into fifth spot, just behind Joan Mir.  It's a race now between two Ducati's and two Suzuki's.  Oh no!  Alex Rins is down.  He's fallen off the Suzuki!  This is a low side accident as he's skittered into the gravel trap.  But is this game over for the Spaniard?  This race is turning into yet another MotoGP demolition derby.  A two wheeled demolition derby!  Unreal!  Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio cannot believe what he is seeing.  He's absolutely gutted.  He just loses the front of the motorcycle and rotates right off the bike.  It spins like a top and leaves him in the gravel along with the bike.

Dovizioso leads, and we see that Maverick Vinales has had trouble with his Yamaha as now, Jack Miller and Joan Mir are the other two podium contenders.  Maverick Vinales may have had a tech problem with his Yamaha as he languishes down in 13th spot.  He had trouble at the most recent round of the championship last weekend at Brno in the Czech Republic.  Now, once again, yours truly hopes to cover the action from Brno, but is not sure.  So stay tuned.  Meanwhile, Dovizioso leads Miller by 9/10ths of a second and Joan Mir is pressurizing Jack Miller for second spot.  Mir is looking for his first podium.  He can't afford to do anything rash or silly at this point.

Poor old Brad Binder is losing steam and losing ground to the top three.  Ducati wants to go 1-2.  Dovizioso is a second clear of his pursuers.  Should "Dovi" hold on, it will be his third win in five races in Austria, and will be the fifth successive Austrian triumph for Ducati.  They will also score a landmark, as they'll earn their 50th world championship win in MotoGP.  It's the final lap before the finish.  Checkers will wave next time by.  Mir wants to make a move but he knows the risk.  He knows he can't make his move too soon or he'll wipe out.  Miller takes a tighter line going into the corner.

Thus, he is still able to slam the door in Joan Mir's face.  I think Miller has Joan Mir covered.  The Suzuki has good cornering speed and good braking, but will that be enough to beat the Ducati?  Now, Andrea Dovizioso is in the clear.  He's going to win here in Austria.  Miller tries to run the defensive line.  Now, he thinks he's got it.  He thinks he has Mir beat.  Not on your life!  Miller runs wide!  Boom!  Mir goes by for second place as the checkered flag waves!  Andrea Dovizioso is going to win the Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix!

Dovizioso wins over Mir and Miller.  Binder is fourth coming from 17th.  Valentino Rossi fifth, followed by Takaaki Nakagami and Valkentino Rossi.  What a great race!  

#04 Andrea Dovizioso     ITA.     Ducati Team Ducati Desmosedici GP20

The next race is also at Red Bull ring, next weekend.  Excited to bring that one to you, and still hoping to cover the race at Brno in the Czech Republic, too.  This one was wild!  What will the next one have to offer?  Stay tuned here on 2 Wheelin' and we'll find out together, fans.  So long, for now.  See you next week for more MotoGP!

 

   

FIM World Superbike, Round 2: Angel Nieto Circuit, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

The second race of the 2020 FIM World Superbike Championship, is upon us, five months after the first race, due to the global Coronavirus pandemic.  It's been a long time since we've seen the gladiators of the World Superbike Championship and their compatriots in World Supersport, and World Supersport 300, race.  We are in Jerez de la Frontera, in Spain's sherry producing region.  This weekend we have the second and third of six races in eight days.  So, there will be more World Superbike content coming.  For this race report, we shall focus on the Superbikes, only, as they come to Spain for the first of a total of four times in the next six to eight weeks or so.  Such are the scheduling changes, that all forms of motorsport, not just World Superbike, have put in place, due to the pandemic.

There are many holes in the schedule, to be determined, or to be confirmed dates.  We have seen four winners in the opening four races of the season thus far.  Could we see a fifth different winner.  We are actually set, for the highlights of the qualifying race.  Let's look at the grid.  Scott Redding has the pole position, alongside Johnny Rea and Tom Sykes.  It's Ducati, Kawasaki, and BMW on the front row of the grid.  Michael van der Mark has the Yamaha fourth quickest alongside Toprak Razgatlioglu, the Turkish rider, and Loris Baz.  This is actually the second race of the weekend being covered.  In race one, it was Scott Redding taking the checkered flag first.  He and his Ducati team at Aruba.it Racing Ducati, would dearly love to do the double.  Will his fellow Brit and team mate, Chaz Davies, the vastly experienced rider have anything to say?

What about the factory Ducati team with bike #33 for veteran Italian racer Marco Melandri?  As we look at the rest of the starting grid, we see Chaz Davies joined by Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam, who's father, Ron Haslam, known as "Rocket Ron" was a star of the 500cc Grand Prix races in the '80s and '90s.  Row four finds Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Eugene Laverty (another WSBK veteran), and Sandro Cortese, the German rider with an Italian sounding name.  This is a ten lap dash for cash, and we have cooler track temps out there than we've seen all weekend here in Jerez. 

Continuing down the starting grid, it's Federico Caricasulo, Alex Lowes, and Garrett Gerloff.  Caricasulo and Gerloff are team mates at the Yamaha Junior Team in World Superbike for 2020, two rookies in the championship.  Gerloff having moved over from MotoAmerica, and Caricasulo having moved up from the World Supersport class.  On row six, it is Javier Fores from Spain aboard the #12 Pucetti Racing Kawasaki ZX10R.  Next to hium, Alex Lowes on the sister factory Kawasaki ZX10R, and #23 Christophe Ponsson, the French rider on the lone Aprilia in the field, the RSV4 1000 for Nuova M2 Racing.

We have a glance at the final two rows of the grid through position 23.  Marco Melandri is way down aboard the second Barni Racing Team Ducati, bike #33.  Next to him is Leandro Mercado of Argentina on the #36 Motocorsa Racing Ducati, all of which are the relatively new Panigale V4 R model.  Ducati used to run V Twin engines almost exclusively. But now, they are in the game with everyone else including the best from Japan, running four cylinder, 1000cc bikes.  Sylvain Barrier of France is the last bike on row seven, on the #20, another Ducati Panigale for Brixx Performance and a single bike team.  The duo on the final row is Italian rider, #63, Lorenzo Gabellini for MIE Racing Althea Honda Team, and his team mate, Takumi Takahashi of Japan.

So, the Honda bikes, bring up the rear of the field.  This race, at ten laps, is going to be tough.  Lowes and Melandri are going to have a tough go of it.  Lights out, away we go for the Tissot Superpole race!  This will determine the starting grid for the feature.  Tissot, in case you are wondering, is the Swiss watch company that sponsors FIM World Superbike, is one of their major sponsors for the championship.  Marco Melandri lifts the front wheel of his motorcycle, as we see Jonathan Rea hit the lead already.  Scott Redding is in second.  Toprak Razgatlioglu is making a move on Michael van der Mark into turn two.

The Dutchman aboard the Pata Yamaha YZF R1, bike #60, wasn't expecting that. Three wide for second place, look, as Michael van der Mark wants by Scott Redding.  Razgatlioglu has bolted, and will he open a margin on everyone else in this short sprint that is the qualifying race?  Loris Baz is probing Michael van der Mark.  Baz sees an opportunity and wants to grab it.  Through turn five they go, down the back straightaway.  Redding makes a move on Razgatlioglu.  In race one on Saturday, we saw the same thing happen.

This is the qualifying race, the heat race, if you will, for the second points paying event of the weekend here at Jerez de la Frontera.  Eugene Laverty has fallen out of the top ten and he has seen both Leon Haslam and Garrett Gerloff go by.  Scott Redding comes through as Toprak Razgatlioglu has a mechanical issue with his bike.  His hand was in the air to signify, "boys, I've got trouble", and this could be game over for the Turkish rider on the #54 Pata World Superbike Team Yamaha, the team mate to Michael van der Mark. 

Jonathan Rea, meanwhile, he is looking for the win.  Scott Reding is closing up on Jonathan Rea, but it won't be enough.  Rea is going to whittle into Redding's points lead as he wins at Jerez!

#1 Jonathan Rea     GBR.   Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR

Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark round out the podium places.  Loris Baz, Chaz Davies, and Tom Sykes round out the top six.  Completing the top ten are Alex Lowes, Garrett Gerloff, Leon Haslam, and Alvaro Bautista.  Don't go anywhere.  Race two is on deck.  This is the feature event, for all the marbles.  Are you ready?  The riders are ready.  Riders in position.  Green flag at the back.  So, this race is going to start on time.  Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!

Loris Baz wants to go for it off the second row of the grid already.  Chaz Davies wants to move up, but he's boxed in.  Some argy bargy, some bumping and boring already.  Marco Melandri is pushing.  Jonathan Rea leads Scott Redding.  Chaz Davies sweeps around Loris Baz.  He has Toprak Razgatlioglu on his rear tire.  Razgatlioglu has rocketed his way from tenth spot on the grid up to fifth.  20 laps scheduled for this race, by the way.  Alex Lowes sends it, making a pass on former team mate Michael van der Mark. These two raced together at Yamaha some years ago, and Lowes of course, is now team mates to Jonathan Rea at Kawasaki.

Meanwhile, Chaz Davies is under attack from Toprak Razgatlioglu, and Alex Lowes has his hands full with Michael van der Mark, who we might as well call "The Flying Dutchman".  Razgatlioglu dives around Davies into turn 13.  Redding looks for a way past Rea into turn one and yes, he makes it stick.  Scott Redding now leads and Toprak Razgatlioglu is now in third.  He is bish bash boshing his way into a potential podium place.  He has picked up seven spots on the opening lap of this motorcycle race, alone!  Isn't that something?  He's motoring indeed.

Poor old Eugene Laverty is having a lonely race and mechanical woes for his factory BMW Motorrad BMW S1000RR.  He was nearly in the top ten before going off the road.  A terrible weekend for Laverty and the BMW Motorrad squad.  Things are not going much better for former World Champion Tom Sykes either.  He's in 13th.  BMW is not having a good showing here in the sherry region of Spain at all.  Chaz Davies makes a move around Jonathan Rea and is successful.  Scott Redding maintains his lead over Jonathan Rea as well. 

Poor old Jonatahan Rea, a former World Champion, he has Razgatlioglu and Lowes both ready to pounce, just behind him.  Loris Baz is also falling down the order like a stone.  Toprak Razgatlioglu wants to move up into third place.  He wants a podium.  Redding has bolted.  Alex Lowes wants by Jonathan Rea.  Loiwes puishes into turn six and Rea cuts back as his team mate runs deep in turn six.  Alex Lowes is also moving back, and down and out, Loris Baz has catapulted into the gravel trap.  It could be game over for Baz.  He wants the opportunity, pushes too hard, and low sides through the corner. 

Seven laps now remain in race two.  Jonatahan Rea continus his march through the field as he goes by Michael Ruben Rinaldi.  The Italian is too late on braking into the turn.  Alex Lowes wants by both of them.  He is thinking, "if those two blokes wipe each other out, then I can move ahead."  Rinaldi wants to make a move, but his energy seems to be wasted.  Tun nine is a good overtaking place here at Jerez, but the deal is Rea gets him back.  Rinaldi desperately wants to pass Rea, and he's going to try another inside move.  Michael Ruben Rinaldi has the job done, but Rea will fight back as they scream toward turn one another time with just half a dozen laps to run in this motorcycle race.

Michael van der Mark wants to make a move on Alex Lowes as well.  But that battle is secondary to the one we are watching at the moment.  Michael Ruben Rinaldi now, has cleared the defending World Champion and he wants to sprint towards that top three battle that sees Scott Redding leading, Chaz Davies in second, and Toprak Razgatlioglu in third spot.  It's the final lap of the motorcycle race.  Scott Redding can keep his points lead, with a win.  The Ducati team will be very happy.  One turn remains.  Turn 13 for the final time.  Scott Redding, in his debut season in World Superbike, has six straight podiums and two wins.  Redding does the double at Jerez de la Frontera!

#45 Scott Redding     GBR.    Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale V4 R

Chaz Davies second, and Toprak Razgatlioglu gets a second podium.  Michael Ruben Rinaldi fourth.  Alex Lowes, fifth passing Jonathan Rea, who comes home in the top six.  Michael van der Mark in seventh place.  Alvaro Bautista, Marco Melandri, and Garrett Gerloff, complete the top ten.  Jonathan Rea will still hav second spot in the points. 

The next World Superbike event is next weekend.  We will be coming to you, from Portugal, and the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal, for more action in the World Superbike Championship.  Looking forward to that race.  Stay tuned for a race report.  Adios, from Spain.  We'll see you in Portugal.  Take care, everybody.