Aussies Racing Abroad: July 2022 Update

July 29, 2022

Oli Bayliss' debut effort in the World Supersport class couldn't have gotten off to a worse start when he broke his right ankle in preseason testing. — Up next for Bayliss was the season ending race at Phillip Island, where he was desperate to put on a show for the home fans in attendance to close his year on a high.

With many Aussies racing abroad in a range of disciplines both on-track and off-road, our monthly column focuses on how they’re faring battling it out with the best in their chosen classes against the best riders in the world. Edward Sratmann has our July update…

Oli has been showing promise in the WorldSSP class as he gets comfortable on his Barni Spark Racing Ducati.

Oli Bayliss – World Supersport
Despite a tough start to his weekend at Donington Park that meant he started from 20th on the grid, Oli Bayliss admirably worked through the field in race one to claim a solid 11th. Wanting to better his result for race two, unfortunately it wasn’t to be for the Barni Racing star, with the pressure in his front tyre dropping steadily as the race wore on, forcing him to settle for 13th.

“The Barni Racing Team and I had a fair weekend all in all. In race two we struggled with an issue with the front tyre dropping pressure throughout the race, and that kept me from pushing, especially from the front half,” Bayliss recalled. “It was a big learning weekend but we can take a lot of positives from here to Autodrom Most in two weeks’ time.”

In his World Supersport season debut, Australia’s Oli Bayliss on the Barni Ducati Panigale V2 took a 21st in WorldSSP’s Saturday race, and improved for a 19th place in the Sunday’s race two. — Currently sitting 16th in the championship and gaining vital experience with every passing race, the talented Bayliss will now quickly shift his attention to round six in the Czech Republic.

Currently sitting 16th in the championship and gaining vital experience with every passing race, the talented Bayliss will now shift his attention to round six in the Czech Republic.

Jason O’Halloran – British Superbike
Jason O’Halloran impressively moved to the top of the British Superbike standings after another wonderful weekend of action. Going 1-2-2 at Brands Hatch, the “O Show” stamped his authority early by winning the qualification race .Riding exceptionally and consistently to take home two second place finishes on Sunday, this rounded out an outstanding weekend for the Yamaha maestro.

Heading into Caldwell Park, the "O Show" holds a crucial 24 point lead over Ray, as his immaculate recent form has propelled him into a commanding position. Photo: BSB Championship. — Jason O’Halloran impressively moved to the top of the British Superbike standings after another wonderful weekend.

The second race was particularly exciting, as O’Halloran went head-to-head with McAMS Yamaha teammate Tarran Mackenzie in a race-long battle. In the end, though, following some entertaining back and forth, Mackenzie edged O’Halloran at the line to secure victory by a measly 0.0037 seconds.

“A really good weekend for us, I was really happy to win yesterday,” he explained. “I’ve finished no worse than second in nine races now and won five of them. We needed to make a step forward at Brands from last year and I think we’ve done that.”

Harrison Voight will be back in Australia racing a Supersport 600 machine at The Bend for the ASBK Finale... — Competing in the Red Bull Rookies and the Moto3 Junior World Championship, just like Roulstone, Harrison Voight has achieved some exceptional results this month.

Harrison Voight – Moto3 Junior World Championship
Continuing his fine progress in 2022, Harrison Voight keeps producing the goods in the Moto3 Junior World Championship. Beginning the month with an impressive sixth in race one and ninth in race two at Jerez, the youngster battled hard in this fiercely competitive class to earn two deserved top 10s.

Although he couldn’t replicate these results at the Algarve due to him being taken out on the last lap, the fact he qualified on the front row and was in the group battling for second and holding his own offered plenty of reason for encouragement.

“What a pity to end a great weekend! I was strong being up in the front of the group battling for second. Unfortunately starting the last lap, a rider made a stupid move making contact with another rider to then hitting me,” the man in 13th in the championship insisted. Taking the positives about this race, it was well and truly the best race I’ve had until this situation. I’ll keep chipping at it, soon we will arrive back on the podium.”

Jacob Roulstone – Moto3 Junior World Championship
While the results haven’t matched his speed in the Moto3 Junior World Championship, Jacob Roulstone’s still on the right path as he gains valuable experience. Securing a decent 18th in the opening race at Jerez, things then took a turn for the worse in race two, for he endured a nasty crash while attempting to avoid a rider who’d highsided. As a result, Roulstone, who was travelling at 180kph had nowhere to go, with him ultimately colliding with a wall.

Gaining vital experience with every passing race in both the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the Junior Moto3 Championship, young Aussie starlet, Jacob Roulstone, is relishing his time in Europe. — Gaining vital experience with every passing race in both the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the Junior Moto3 Championship, young Aussie, Jacob Roulstone, is relishing his time in Europe.

Heading into the Algarve round, a battered and bruised Roulstone left feeling happy with his output from the weekend, where he escaped unscathed and put in some consistent lap times on his way to finishing 21st in this stacked class.

“We are taking more steps each time and I feel good results are coming. I’ve worked out a few things I need to work on and I just need to sort out the qualifying and first lap aggression. Thank you to all my team for the ongoing hard work,” said the upbeat hotshot.

After missing the entire 2021 MXGP season with a troublesome wrist injury, it's been terrific to see Team Honda HRC's Mitch Evans back at the races. — After missing the entire 2021 MXGP season with a troublesome wrist injury, it’s been terrific to see Team Honda HRC’s Mitch Evans back at the races. Disaster struck at Lommel unfortunately.

Mitch Evans – MXGP
Almost back to a level resembling his best, Mitch Evans’ recent form has been extremely positive, for he’s shown he can take it to the frontrunners and hold his own. Having gone 6-7 for seventh overall at the Czech GP, Evans backed that up by running third in the qualifying race in the sand of Lommel.

Disaster then struck near the end, with the likeable Aussie enduring a horror crash over the triple. Although he bravely attempted to race on Sunday, Evans was forced to retire 15 minutes into the moto, with the ramifications of his incident seeing him withdraw. The HRC rider then wisely sat out the second moto, as he now turns his attention to the Swedish GP in two weeks.

Jed Beaton deserves credit for battling through the pain to show he belongs at this elite level. — F&H Kawasaki mounted Jed Beaton is steadily getting better with every round, in his quest to get back to race fitness.

Jed Beaton – MXGP
F&H Kawasaki mounted Jed Beaton is steadily getting better with every round, in his quest to get back to full race fitness. Running in seventh for a large part of the second moto at the Czech GP was a massive boost for him, in a race where he spent some crucial time battling with some of the elite riders in MXGP.

While last weekend at Lommel was a tough one at the office for Beaton, the bike time and experience he gained will serve him nicely moving ahead. Hoping to land some more top 10 finishes in the remaining four rounds is now the goal for Beaton to close out his injury interrupted debut MXGP campaign in style.

Leading the championship by 37 points with two rounds left, Jett Lawrence is in a commanding position to seal his second consecutive 250 AMA Pro Motocross title. — Jett Lawrence continues his dominance of the AMA 250 Pro Motocross series, hoping to score another championship…

Jett Lawrence – AMA Pro Motocross
Jett Lawrence continues his dominance of the AMA 250 Pro Motocross series, as the inordinately talented youngster appears destined to claim another outdoor crown. Although his July started cruelly with a DNF in moto one at RedBud when his bike let go, he remained focused to salvage the day by winning the second moto.

Having lost his red plate at RedBud, Lawrence emphatically reclaimed it at Southwick by going 1-1 in the sand to earn a dominant overall win. He then flexed his muscles to round out the taxing four race stretch by bagging overall wins at Millville and Washougal to extend his championship lead to 28 points heading into the three week break.

Falling just short of making it a clean sweep for the Lawrence brothers in the 250s, Hunter was forced to settle for second in the 250 West standings, a measly 10 points behind Christian Craig. — Hunter has also been riding flawlessly, finishing rounds just behind his brother. The Lawrence family is a name that will go down in motocross history.

Hunter Lawrence – AMA Pro Motocross
Still in the championship mix and proving he can match Jett for speed frequently, Hunter Lawrence isn’t giving up on the title yet. Sitting 28 points behind his younger brother and clearly feeling confident with four rounds to go, the older brother will be doing everything in his power to close the gap.

With his last eight moto scores reading 2-2-6-8-2-5-1-4, it’s obvious he’s got the quality, he just needs to avoid the small mistakes and keep pushing for better starts if he’s to truly be in the hunt.

Sitting pretty atop the FIM EnduroGP world championship at the completion of two rounds, Aussie Wil Ruprecht's enjoyed a sensational start to his season. — Wil had an awesome start to the 2022 FIM EnduroGP world championship but had a shocking weekend in Portugal.

Wil Ruprecht – Enduro GP
Heading into the EnduroGP in Portugal at the beginning of the month leading the championship and stamping his mark as the man to beat, things frustratingly took a turn for the worse for the Aussie.

Starting the round with a disappointing crash, this put Ruprecht on the back foot from the off, with him only able to muster five points from the weekend. Consequently, he also dropped back to second in the standings behind Andrea Verona.

“Bonehead mistake on my part in the supertest set the tone for the weekend really,” Ruprecht lamented. Was going to work in the first enduro test of day one, just hitting my marks but ended up laying it down. Tried to gather every point I could following that but I couldn’t bring home anything worth talking about. So that hurt the championship a bit but with plenty still to play for it’s all hands on deck for the upcoming GPs.”

Getting on the podium in just his fourth EnduroGP, Daniel Milner deserves immense credit for his exceptional performance in Portugal. Photo: Daniel Milner Racing.

Daniel Milner – Enduro GP
Getting on the podium in just his fourth EnduroGP, Daniel Milner deserves immense credit for his exceptional performance in Portugal. Looking comfortable and fast aboard his Fantic, the consistent Australian proved he’s adjusted smoothly to the class and can match it with the best of them.

“To get on the overall podium in my fourth EnduroGP was a good feeling. Feel like I’m adapting and feeling more and more comfortable every race,” he explained.

Broc Pearson To Test DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R

July 21, 2022

Gold Coast based racer and reigning SuperSport Champion Broc Pearson will climb aboard a DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R alongside Bryan Staring for the upcoming two-day test at Morgan Park on July 21/22. Check out what Broc and the team co-owners, Troy Bayliss and Ben Henry, had to say!

Broc had an unfortunate start to his season in the Superbike class of ASBK, crashing out and sitting out some of the weekend. Now it's full steam ahead to secure a team like DesmoSport Ducati. — Broc had an unfortunate start to his season in the Superbike class of ASBK, crashing out and sitting out some of the weekend. Now it’s full steam ahead to secure a team like DesmoSport Ducati.

Team co-owner, Ben Henry: “Troy and I have known Broc through a lot of his career. He’s local to the Gold Coast, he’s mates with Oli and he’s pushed through a lot of adversity to achieve what he has in his racing career so far, so although it’s just a two-day test, I’m glad we could find a way to get him on one of our bikes alongside Bryan. The additional data will help us better prepare for the upcoming Morgan Park round next month and I’m looking forward to seeing how he adapts to our Panigale V4 R. As for racing the bike he tests on, the reality is that Broc would have to be really fast at the test, and we’d need to secure some additional financial support, so I’d say it’s unlikely at this point.”

Broc Pearson: “I just want to thank Benny and TB for the opportunity to ride one of Bryan’s bikes. I’ve been into them a bit on some group chats and when I go past the workshop to let me have a ride, but I’ve pretty much done that for the last 2 years, sort of half-jokingly really, knowing that DesmoSport wasn’t going to have any rides readily available. When Troy called last week and said that he and Ben had an opportunity to ride the Panigale V4 R if I was interested, I jumped at the chance. It’s only for the two-day test at Morgan Park, but I’m pretty excited to get on one of the fastest bikes in the country.”

"As for racing the bike he tests on, the reality is that Broc would have to be really fast at the test, and we'd need to secure some additional financial support, so I'd say it's unlikely at this point." said Ben Henry. — “As for racing the bike he tests on, the reality is that Broc would have to be really fast at the test, and we’d need to secure some additional financial support, so I’d say it’s unlikely at this point.” said Ben Henry.

Team co-owner, Troy Bayliss: “Broc’s found himself in an unfortunate position this season, but I’m glad we found a way at least get him on track at the test. He’s a good kid, full of confidence and a fast rider. He knows his way around Morgan Park too, so it’s a good opportunity for him to have some fun and show everyone what he can do on a superbike.”

WorldSBK Auctions Raise $23,000 for Two Wheels for Life At Donington Park

July 20, 2022

The action on track at Donington Park was a thrilling affair as the WorldSBK Championship descended on a scorching United Kingdom, but off-track there were some key events happening too. During the Paddock Show at Donington, with Two Wheels for Life returning to WorldSBK after a two-year absence.

Across the UK Round, lots of riders donated items for auction or took part in a rider concert to raise money for charity.

Two Wheels for Life works on delivering vital healthcare to some of the most remote parts of Africa and the charity’s presence at Donington Park was a prime opportunity to raise some money to help with this vital work. With auctions on items provided by riders and teams across Friday and Saturday at Donington, around £15,000 ($23,000 AUD) was raised by the incredible spectators to help Two Wheels for Life.

Signed leathers and boots from reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) sold for $2375 and $560 respectively, while signed boots from six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) were sold for $1650; all three items going during Saturday’s auction. Also, on Saturday, there was an auction for a signed helmet from three-time WorldSBK Champion Troy Bayliss which sold for $1550; showing the huge generosity of the fans at Donington Park.

Signed boots from six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) were sold for $1650.

Other items that were auctioned off included hospitality experiences with Kawasaki, BMW, Team#109 Kawasaki and McAMS Yamaha, with the team making their first WorldSBK appearance at Donington Park, several items from riders up and down the paddock, a crashed fairing from Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and much, much more.

Also on stage were performances by Giulio Maceroni, with his Rock ’n’ Road show performed at WorldSBK for the very first time. However, he was not the only musical performance on stage, with several riders from WorldBK and WorldSSP showing off their singing voices in a rider concert, with this concert alone raising $450 for Two Wheels for Life’s valuable work.

Several riders from WorldBK and WorldSSP showed off their singing voices in a rider concert, with this concert alone raising $450 for Two Wheels for Life’s valuable work.

All funds raised through the auctions will go to the life-saving Riders for Health programmes in some of the poorest and most remote areas of Africa, where motorcycles are predominantly used to deliver vital health care.

WorldSBK Reports: All The Action From Donington Park

July 20, 2022

Donington Park saw the reigning world champion back on the top step of the podium. Starting from third on the grid, Razgatlioglu was able to claim his first full-length race win of the 2022 season before doing it all over again in Race 2 while Kawasaki claimed their 500th WorldSBK podium.

Tissot Superpole
Tissot Superpole for the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s fifth round at Donington Park was intense and intriguing from the start. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) will see his quest for Donington Park victory and Kawasaki’s 500th podium start from pole position, as he smashed the previous lap record out of the park.

It was a disastrous start to the session for Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), who after finishing second in FP3, crashed at the start of his first flying lap at Turn 1. However, the times were absolutely electric from the first runs, with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) lapping together and getting down into the 1’26s, the best laps of their weekend so far.

With seven minutes to go, the riders came into the pits to take a quick break before putting the SCQ tyres on and getting back out for their second and final runs with six minutes to go. Rea and Redding once again left the pits together with Redding’s teammate, Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) likewise aiming to improve his time with the two home-heroes laying down the pace.

Come the chequered flag at the end of the session, it was Rea who obliterated the lap record with a 1’26.080s, a new outright motorcycle lap record at the Donington Park circuit. Joining him on the front row in second place is teammate Alex Lowes, who will want to get a first podium of the season and his third podium at Donington Park. Third place went the way of Toprak Razgatlioglu, who made it 11 straight front rows – a record for a single Yamaha rider.

Donington Park Tissot Superpole Front Row (Full Results Here)

1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’26.080s
2 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.273s
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.426s

Race One
The opening MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race of the Prosecco DOC UK Round was a dramatic affair full of battles up and down the grid at Donington Park as reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK Team) claimed victory by 6.3 seconds to claim his first full-length race win of the 2022 season. It means Razgatlioglu is now 54 points behind Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the Championship standings following the latter’s retirement.

It’s a move that has been seen a lot throughout 2022 as Razgatlioglu got the holeshot at the start to take the lead of the race and he was able to take advantage of the battling between Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and teammate Alex Lowes in the early stages, before Rea and Bautista fought each other for second place in the middle stage of the race.

Rea initially got swamped on Lap 1 and dropped to as low as fifth place before fighting his way back up to second place. He first fell behind Bautista on Lap 7 as the pair battled, with Rea making a move on Bautista on Lap 8. Bautista then re-passed Rea on Lap 12 at Turn 9 before Rea responded immediately before making the move stick on Lap 14 at Turn 12. Two laps later, however, Bautista crashed at the same corner and retired from the race; ending his run of 12 consecutive podium.

Razgatlioglu’s victory gave him the 20th of his career and his 64th podium finish in WorldSBK, while it was also Yamaha’s 97th win. Rea claimed his 226th podium and claimed Kawasaki’s 500th podium placement in WorldSBK. In the Championship standings, Rea took 20 points out of Bautista’s lead with the gap now only 16 points, with Razgatlioglu 54 points back.

The battle for third place came down to a shootout between two home heroes as Lowes fought with Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Redding was ahead until the final handful of laps as the pair battled through the final sector of the race, racing hard through Turns 11 and 12 and into Turn 1 on the next lap, before Lowes got the move done on the exit of Turn 1 and into Turn 2 to secure his first podium of the 2022 season. Lowes ensured Kawasaki immediately moved onto their 501st podium; Lowes’ third place was the 30th podium finish of his career. It was also his first podium since the Superpole Race in the 2021 French Round at Magny-Cours.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) finished as the best Independent rider in Race 1 as he claimed fifth place in Race 1, his sixth consecutive top-seven finish in 2022. Bassani finished as the lead Ducati rider following Bautista’s crash as he finished a second clear of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in sixth place.

American star Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) performed another customary late-race surge as he finished in seventh place, equalling his best result of the season so far. Gerloff passed Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) on the final lap with the Spanish rookie finishing in eighth place, almost 7.5 seconds clear of Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in ninth and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in tenth.

Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) was 11th on his first race at Donington Park, finishing two seconds clear of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 12th; Mahias securing points on his return from injury. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was just a tenth back from Mahias while he was one second clear of wildcard Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) in 14th with the reigning British champion taking points on his WorldSBK debut. British rider Leon Haslam (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) rounded out the points with 15th place.

Stand-in rider Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) made a good start to climb up the order but dropped down to 16th place at the end of the race, missing out on points by just 0.244s after the 23-lap race. He was more than seven seconds clear of Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) who was only half-a-second clear of fellow rookie Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) in 18th.

Japanese rider Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 19th, just over a second clear of Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) and Robert Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team), with Laverty and Tamburini separated by just 0.085s.

Wildcard Peter Hickman (FHO Racing) was 22nd ahead of Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in 23rd; the last of the classified finishers. Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the first retirement of the race after he crashed at the Turn 12 hairpin, the final corner of the circuit, on Lap 8. Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) was the second retirement of the race as he brought his Yamaha into the pits.

WorldSBK Donington Park Race One Pdoium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +6.397s
3 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +9.449s

Tissot Superpole Race
Razgatlioglu, like in Race 1, was able to get the holeshot at the start to move into Turn 1 and, also like in Race 1, went on to lead every lap of the race, finishing ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in second place. The battle for third was also reminiscent of Race 1 as Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) fighting for third place; Redding this time able to come out on top for his first BMW podium. It means the front row of the grid in Race 2 will be made up of Razgatlioglu, Rea and Redding.

Lowes made moves on Redding through the Turn 9-10 chicane, battled with him through Turn 11 and into Turn 12 before Redding responded into Turn 1. After that, he had to fight with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for fourth place, with the Championship leader coming through at Turn 9 on the final lap for fourth; Lowes will start Race 2 from fifth. Bautista was the highest placed rider using the SCX tyre with the front three all using the SCQ, while teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi was sixth also on the SCX tyre.

Wildcard Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) retired from the race after a crash with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) at Turn 12 on Lap 4, with Vierge able to re-join the race. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards.

WorldSBK Donington Park Tissot Superpole Race Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +1.089s
3 Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +3.889s

Race Two
It was an inseparable duo at the front of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field in Race 2 at Donington Park but Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) was able to hold on after consistent challenges from Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) to take his first hat-trick in WorldSBK during the Prosecco DOC UK Round.

Like in the previous two races of the Donington Park weekend, Razgatlioglu led into Turn 1 but, unlike Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race, he was unable to escape from his rivals as Rea stuck with him throughout the race usually within just a couple of tenths of a second. On Lap 3, Rea initially got past into Turn 9 but Razgatlioglu responded immediately into Turn 11 with the same happening again on Lap 6 after Razgatlioglu was a bit offline through the Foggy Esses.

At the start of Lap 14, Razgatlioglu was able to start opening up the gap to Rea after resisting 13 laps of constant pressure from the six-time Champion, with the pair often alongside each other on the run down to the Foggy Esses. The pair were able to drop Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), with the Spanish rider taking his first podium of the weekend, although Bautista was able to attack Rea in the closing stages of the race, with Bautista passing Rea on Lap 19 at Turn 11 to move into second place with Ulsterman Rea finishing in third place.

The results mean all three riders in the 2022 title fight have now taken a WorldSBK hat-trick in their career, with Razgatlioglu the latest to join the exclusive club following his three wins. Razgatlioglu has now taken 22 WorldSBK wins in his career and 66 podiums while Yamaha now sit on 99 wins. Bautista’s second place gave him his 40th WorldSBK podium while Ducati now have 999 podium placements in the Championship, with Rea moving on to 228 podiums in his career.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed fourth place at Donington Park and, for the lap after his teammate overtook Rea, looked like he would be able to challenge the six-time Champion for the podium spot but the gap stabilised at 1.2 seconds. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) concluded a very strong weekend with fifth place, with Redding leaving his home round with a third, fourth and fifth-place finish. He was ahead of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in sixth, with Lowes and Redding seemingly inseparable throughout the three races as they often battled on track.

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was once again the lead Independent rider, repeating his Race 1 feat, as he secured yet another top-seven finish, his tenth in the first 15 races of the season. The Italian finished ahead of compatriot Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) in eighth place, with Italian more than seven seconds clear of an incredible fight for ninth place. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) took home ninth place after a battle with four other riders for ninth place, passing Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in the latter stages of the race.

Lecuona had to fend off a late challenge from American rider Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with the Spanish rider coming out on top by just 0.084s; Lecuona remains the only rider to have scored top ten finishes in every race this season. Gerloff was just half-a-second clear of rookie Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) in 12th with Lecuona’s Honda teammate Xavi Vierge less than a second back from Oettl. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) completed then points-paying positions with 15th place, the wildcard fighting his way up for field after being given a five-place grid penalty for irresponsible riding following a crash with Vierge in the Superpole Race.

Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) was another who fought his way up the field as he claimed 16th place, finishing seven seconds clear of Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) in 17th place. Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 18th after losing a couple of positions in the closing stages of the race, and the Japanese rider withstood a late charge from wildcard Peter Hickman (FHO Racing) who finished 19th. Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team), Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) rounded out the riders.

Ukrainian rider Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the first retirement of the race after he had a Lap 3 crash at Turn 7. Leon Haslam (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) retired from the race when he brought his bike into the pitlane on Lap 8 of 23. Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) was the final retirement after he came out of the race in the closing stages of the race.

Donington Park WorldSBK Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.102s
3 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.615s

Championship Standings After Donington Park (Full Standings Here)

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 246 points
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 229
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 203

WorldSBK Heads To Donington Park This Weekend

July 13, 2022

Razgatlioglu got a good start from second on the grid to lead into Turn 1 with Rea in second and it was a precursor of what was to come during the 21-lap race.

Back to where it all began, where on a cold Sunday in 1988, the Championship was born. The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has arrived at Donington Park for Round 5 of the season and the Prosecco DOC UK Round. Make sure you tune in this weekend for all the action…

The historic home of WorldSBK and unequivocally home to some of the Championship’s greatest sporting moments, more emotions lie ahead this weekend.

The 35th season of World Superbike action is proving to be one of the best yet and with a three-way fight for the title clear, other stars aim to have a say at a round that brings seen shocks and surprises. Could this be one of the key turning points in 2022, or will we see the usual suspects continue to knock spots off each other?

12 podiums from 12 races in 2022 and leading the Championship by 36 points, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) has undertaken a more measured approach in 2022 in comparison to 2019 and it seems to be working. The Spaniard has won six races and is the only rider in the Championship to have finished on the podium in every race he’s finished.

Donington Park has been far from a happy hunting ground for Ducati in recent years; no win since 2011 and the Ducati Panigale V4 R has only had one third place.

owever, Donington Park has been far from a happy hunting ground for Ducati in recent years; no win since 2011 and the Ducati Panigale V4 R has only had one third place – courtesy of Bautista in 2019’s Race 2. No top two finish since 2016, will Bautista change all of that? Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi had a successful test at Misano during the break and will look to back-up his findings and step back on the podium, whilst Ducati chase their 1000th podium in WorldSBK; they currently have 998.

Chasing down Bautista and heading home to rule the roost, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) will be keen to continue his success at Donington Park. A sole win last year and a triple in 2019, Rea’s got amazing form at Donington Park. He’s been testing for the Suzuka 8 Hour race during the gap since Misano and will hope that he can hit the ground running at a circuit at which he crashed at in 2021’s Race 2, relinquishing the Championship lead. This time, he’s chasing it from Bautista at a circuit where Rea certainly seems to have the upper hand. On the other side of the garage, Alex Lowes hopes to dazzle at home after a podium in Race 1 in 2021; Kawasaki as a manufacturer are one podium place away from 500 in WorldSBK – will they manage it?

Looking to build on a first victory from the last round at Misano, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) hopes that Donington Park lives up to be the happy hunting ground of years gone by. Along with San Juan, Donington Park is one of just two circuits where Razgatlioglu has taken a podium at least once every year he’s raced there. In 2018, he took a first rostrum whilst in 2019, he battled for victory in Race 2 with Jonathan Rea. However, the Turk’s opening lap of Race 1 in 2021 will go down as one of WorldSBK’s finest moments as he cruised to two wins and the Championship lead. Does more success await? Teammate Andrea Locatelli will aim to consolidate his top five placing with a strong ride this weekend, where he had a best of ninth in the Superpole Race.

In what has been a very strong opening four rounds of the Championship, a challenge lies ahead for Iker Lecuona (Team HRC). The Spanish rookie has never raced at Donington Park and only completed a track day at the circuit prior to the round. One of just two riders to finish every race – the other being compatriot Bautista – Lecuona is nine points from Locatelli in the battle for fourth. Honda only have one round of experience with their current bike at Donington Park, with a best of fourth with Leon Haslam in the Superpole Race last year, but they’ll hope a pre-round test at Misano can give them a boost going to the UK. Hoping to be fighting fit, Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) will have to get his head around the quirky circuit layout during the round.

Likewise in a track day at Donington Park in between rounds, the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and Scott Redding. One of Redding’s career highlights came at the British circuit, when in 2008, he became the then-youngest Grand Prix winner in the 125cc World Championship Grand Prix, aged just 15. Since then, wins in BSB but no podiums in WorldSBK have come at the circuit, with a best of fourth in Race 2 last year. Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) will once again be present in the place of double Donington Park winner Michael van der Mark who is still recovering from injury; he’s scored points in WorldSSP and STK1000 at Donington Park before.

The Independent battle is led by Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), who returns to Donington Park, historically a tricky circuit for him, despite being top Ducati in Race 1 last year. Eighth overall and just seven points behind Alex Lowes, he’s 23 ahead of Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), who aims to return to the top six at a track he knows well, having fought for victory in 2014. 11 points further back of Baz is Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), who returns to the circuit at which he got his last podium at 12 months ago, when he was second in Race 2. Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) will race at Donington Park for the first time, whilst Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) has a podium to his name at the track; both complete the top five in the Independent standings.

The action at Donnington Park gets underway on Friday. Make sure you tune in so you don't miss any action! — The action at Donington Park gets underway on Friday. Make sure you tune in so you don’t miss any action!

Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) is next up in 15th place overall, with the Italian just marginally ahead of Sammarinese rider Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team), who’s made steps of late. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) will hope to be passed fit after being ruled out of Misano, whilst Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) makes a debut at the track as he missed out through injury in 2021.

Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha), like Mahias, hopes to be fit after being ruled out in Italy, whilst the target for MIE Racing Honda Team duo Leandro Mercado and Hafizh Syahrin is points. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) is another rider hoping to be passed fit, whilst home-hero Leon Haslam returns with the TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki outfit. Two wildcards to keep an eye on: long-awaited debut of Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) and return of Peter Hickman (FHO Racing) on a BMW M1000RR.

Mladin Innocent, Makes Statement Saying He Was The Victim Of DV

July 7, 2022

Mat Mladin has made further statements after being acquitted of the charges against him. The seven-time AMA Pro Superbike Champion says he was the victim of domestic violence by his ex-partner. You can read the complete statement he made to his Facebook page below.

“For anyone who is a victim of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE”

I am “MAT MLADIN”. Surely I could not be the victim of DV, especially how all of you know me as the racer.

But away from the track I’m known as “Doof” by the two most important people in my life, Em and Jess, my two beautiful daughters. Yes 18 and 15 and they still call me Doof, the name my eldest gave me when she was just 2.

“He says it as he sees it”, “brutally honest”, “hard man”, “a machine”, “boring”, “prick”, “asshole”, and the list goes on. These are the things I was known as by the people that didn’t approve of how I went about things and probably by most of my competitors when racing in the USA. When you do a bit of winning you could be Harry Potter and they will call you these things. But truth be truths, on occasion I was all of the above. What you don’t know is that my life away from the track was very different. I didn’t believe I had to be defensive like I was at the track. I trusted people, I rarely hid anything from anyone. As one of the three witnesses in my case said, “too honest for his own good”. People that knew me well would say “he is so different at home compared to the track”. I could go on, but suffice to say I really screwed up my personal life after racing had finished. I should have treated my personal life like my professional life and I know now, I would have been much much happier if I did. I have screwed up some things and hurt some people and for this I can only improve and not allow things like this to happen again.

The seven-time AMA Pro Superbike Champion says he was the victim of domestic violence by his ex-partner.

Because of the lies that landed me in this crap, the past two years of my life have been spent doing the best I could to prepare my now 18 year old uni student daughter and my 15 year old homeschooled daughter who is on the autistic spectrum, to prepare them for some years without their father and the possibility of having their mother depart their life at some point (a little on this later). Some would say that if I knew I was innocent, why would I worry about doing this? Anyone on this FB page knows most of my success on two wheels, from my first Australian dirt track championship win in 1981 through to my last and seventh American Superbike championship win 28 years later in 2009. To be able to have such success, one thing you have to learn first and foremost is to prepare for the worst because I can tell you from much experience that when you win as many motorcycle races as I have, a lot of the time you do so with some sort of problem (mechanical, sickness etc) that can mostly be overcome by being organised and prepared. So I started preparing my girls the best way I knew in March of 2020. That’s over 2 years of not knowing what my future held and worried sick about my daughters and their mum. It was the heaviest burden to carry.

My message to you: do not wait to go to the police because you think the DV you are suffering from will get better, it will not. If you are told “I love you, I’m sorry and I won’t do it again”, do not believe it – it will never get better.

My abuser would sneak up to my property with no worries about others seeing or hearing as the property was in the middle of nowhere. As per usual the tears and the sorry’s and the I love yous were the first thing, and when you didn’t accept these things once again and you verbally abuse them because that’s all you have, then that way of them trying to get back in is quickly replaced with yelling abuse and calling you everything under the sun and last but not least as they are walking away telling you to stop abusing them. Yes they change that quickly when they are not getting what they believe they deserve. They use every tool they have to make you feel like you are the abuser and they are the victim. My closest friends and my family have no idea at the depth of abuse I was subject to. Some have witnessed it, but for the most part I denied it was that bad. If video footage and CCTV from my security systems wasn’t available, few would believe it.

Throughout the past years, even though the relationship was on again off again, but by far mostly off, I endured constant stalking, mental and emotional abuse and physical violence, break and enter to my homes (whilst I was there and not) and the list goes on. I was dining with another woman in my local town, I was confronted, verbally abused, as was my date and chased out of the restaurant. I have been physically abused on the street and hoped that no one would see it, only to be asked later by a business owner across the road, who I’d known for 30 years, was I okay and if I wanted him to call the police. No I said, thinking it will “get better” and not wanting the abuser to get charged and so on.

In 2018, I had the chance to work directly with a young man and get back involved in road racing, which for a few reasons I was excited about. I got to go to the track again and get my hands dirty in a different role, this time as a mechanic. I had big shoes to fill. If you ever saw my boys work on my bikes you would understand.

I enjoyed giving back to the sport that has afforded myself, my daughter’s and their mum a very comfortable life. After all the abuse, I thought this will get me back on track and to be able to get away from my abuser. How wrong I was. When they see you slipping away, the abuse, the stalking, the complete invasion of privacy gets far far worse. Then you find yourself being told you are this and that, words I won’t use here because I’m sure some kids are reading, then you start feeling it’s your fault and that you are making this person abuse you and it’s exactly what you are being told by them.

Being charged with what I was, thrown in jail and then living the past two and a half years in silence waiting for my turn to speak, was very hard. But as I did in my racing days, I have and am taking all the positive things that have and are coming out of this tumultuous time in my life and have become smarter and better from the experience. We could hold onto the negatives and allow these perpetrators of DV to win and allow them to still control our lives indirectly but I won’t, never. I thank my abuser for the experience I have gained at the hands of her abuse. Mine and my daughter’s lives will be that much richer because of it.

I talk openly, actively and honestly with Em and Jess, about DV, among other things (unfortunately Em witnessed a lot of it). But I won’t let this very negative part of my life go forgotten without drawing on the positives. I did this in my professional life so I sure as heck won’t miss this opportunity this time in my private life.

When your life and privacy are constantly under threat of violence in one manner or another, you quickly turn inward and for me, being financially set and not having to go to work and also my daughters being with their mum fifty percent of the time, I had plenty of spare time and I started to drink alcohol, far too much at times and my cocaine use was out of control at times also. Other than a celebratory drink after winning a championship or a Daytona podium swig of the champers for example I never became a drinker until the abuse entered my life in my early 40’s. Even after the rough years of retiring from the sport I loved, I never touched a drink for three years after retirement. The first time I used drugs was not long after the first time I was physically abused as an adult when I was 43 years old. The drugs started for the first time not long after my abuser stormed into my house (on a property in a national park with just one private road in and my nearest neighbour 2kms away) when I had returned from a round of the Australian Superbike championships in 2015, with a woman I was seeing. We got home at midnight from the Queensland road trip. Half an hour after we were settling in for the night, my abuser bust through the door into my house and verbally abused my friend and this was the first time I was physically abused. The drugs allowed me to escape the abuse. These years could have all been a non event if I just took care of myself and not worried so much about others.

DO NOT BELIEVE YOUR ABUSER NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY OR HOW MUCH THEY APOLOGIZE. IF IT HAPPENS ONCE, IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN AND OVER TIME IT WILL GET WORSE!

One last thing, I wanted to clear something up as the lovely person who looks after this FB page has told me that some people may be a little confused and may be thinking that all of this is about by my X wife. It is not. Absolutely couldn’t be further from the truth. We were trogehter for nearly twenty years. My X wife and I are still good friends. We share our girls 50/50 and have done from the first day of our separation. There are no court orders in place to make sure we stick to this verbal agreement because we never needed that. We have both done everything we can to soften the landing as much as we can for our girls in what was a very hard time. We have remained very cordial for the past 10 years since our separation. The girl’s mum is going through her own very tough time battling brain cancer. The past twelve months have been very hard for her and of course us and her mum, dad and siblings and her close friends.

She was the first person to put her hand up for me to come to trial as a character witness but her health just didn’t afford that. She was the third person to give me a tight squeeze (after our daughters) after all this stuff got sorted. I continue to support her through her fight and would do anything for her. She is the best mum and a loving, caring and compassionate person. And if I need an ear she was always there until the day her communication became a bit hard for her. She is the woman that gave me my beautiful daughters and until I take my last breath I will be there to support her.

Thank you,

Mat

Bagnaia Crashes Car Then Blows Over The Limit

July 7, 2022

Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati set to continue together in the 2023 and 2024 MotoGP seasons

Ducati Lenovo Team MotoGP rider, Francesco Bagnaia, has come out and publicly apologised to his fans after a crash his car while allegedly intoxicated in Ibiza. Pecco left the club where he had been drinking with friends and attempted to drive home before putting his car into a ditch.

Ducati Lenovo MotoGP team rider, Francesco Bagnaia, ends up crashing car into a ditch after a night of partying.

After the single car accident, a local newspaper (Periodico de Ibiza y Formentera) posted on their twitter claiming that Bagnaia blew a whopping three times over the limit of 0.25mg/L at 0.87mg/L with a photo of the car in a fence.

Bagnaia, who claims he is “practically a non drinker” took to Instagram to make the following statement: “Last night I was in Ibiza with my friends for a party during this break from MotoGP. We celebrated and toasted together for my victory at the Dutch GP. As I was leaving the disco at 3am, I was facing a roundabout when I ended up with the front wheels in a ditch without involving other vehicles or people.”

Accidente en Ibiza del piloto Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia, que da 0,87 en la prueba de alcoholemia.https://t.co/lSpIqDVDTP

— Periódico de Ibiza (@periodicibiza) July 5, 2022

“However, the alcohol test carried out by the police found that the blood alcohol level was higher than what is allowed by Spanish law. I am sorry for what happened; I am practically a non drinker, and it was serious carelessness that should not have happened. I apologize to everyone, and I can assure you that I have learned my lesson. Never get behind the wheel drinking alcohol. Thank you.”

Owning up to his mistake straight away on social media saw a mixture of replies, with some scolding the rider for driving and others offering support, applauding the rider for not beating around the bush.

Might be time for Pecco to give dry July a go before the next round of MotoGP. — Might be time for Pecco to give dry July a go before the next round of MotoGP…

MotoGP returns in August for the British GP. We will see how this incident has affected the championship contender in terms of headspace, will he be back on the podium? When he’s there, will he drink the champagne? We will have to wait and see.

One thing is for sure, don’t drink and drive. Especially when you’re a MotoGP star and are not short of a buck or two, is it really worth saving $30 on an Uber? I bet Peccco doesn’t think so, considering he’ll be catching the bus for the next few months…

Racer Test: Troy Corser’s WorldSBK BMW S 1000 RR

July 4, 2022

Over a decade ago I headed to Portimao to ride the WorldSBK machines. The BMW was of particular interest, as I had ridden the first model at the same circuit and some domestic BMW superbikes here in OZ. It turned out to be Troy’s final World Superbike.

The BMW Motorrad Motorsport S 1000 RR was heavily modified for the 2011 season, their third in WorldSBK.

Check out our other racer tests here…

The 2011 season marked an exciting time for BMW Motorrad Motorsport WSBK team. After an encouraging debut season in 2009, where the team achieved 17 top 10 finishes, followed by a first pole position and podium in 2010, 2011 was going to be the year that the team could concentrate on racing for more podiums and perhaps an ambitious win…

Jeff was fortunate enough to sample all of these back in 2011 when he was a WorldSBK TV commentator on Speed TV for a few years. He also rode the top Supersport machines... — Jeff was fortunate enough to sample all of these back in 2011 when he was a WorldSBK TV commentator on Speed TV for a few years. He also rode the top Supersport machines…

Rainer Baumel, previously technical director, moved into the role of Head Of Race Operations, while Stephan Fischer became Head Of Development and logistics, personnel, finance and responsibility for the race factory was placed in the hands of alpha Racing Manager Josef Hofmann.

The weight distribution was optimised with the seating position of the rider shifted back to increase weight over the rear.

There were extensive changes to the machine for 2011. The engine specifications were dramatically altered to give more mid-range power, evident by the use of a new shorter exhaust pipe. But maximum power was increased to 220RWHP. The year began with specification engine number nine and spec 10 was introduced mid season. The goal was to increase top end without losing mid range. This was achieved and saw a 5hp increase.

In the engine specifications were dramatically altered to give more mid-range power, evident by the use of a new shorter exhaust pipe.

However, maximum power is not the only criterion in WSBK, with throttle response being equally important. The BMW S 1000 RR throttle-bodies are controlled by a ride-by-wire system that was continually developed throughout the season. It is controlled by an RSM5 management system, developed in-house by BMW Motorrad Motorsport.

The throttle-bodies are controlled by a ride-by-wire system that was continually developed throughout the season.

Chassis-wise, there was also a lot changed for 2011. The weight distribution of the bike was optimised with the seating position of the rider shifted back to increase weight over the rear of the bike. The fuel tank was also new, as was the rear sub-frame and new Ohlins TRSP25 forks were used. Also, interestingly, a cast rear swingarm replaced the previous fabricated swingarm. Lastly, new livery was added to the carbon-fibre fairings to make bike look more like the limited edition blue and white road version. Nice touch…

Lots of buttons... probably best to just leave these alone... — Lots of buttons… probably best to just leave these alone…

The ‘bars are very traditionally positioned – wide, pulled back with an angle downwards.

THE RIDE
By the time I rode the BMW of hero Troy Corser, I’d already sampled the Althea Ducati, Yamaha, Alitalia Aprilia and a few 600s. So I was well and truly back in the groove on the track and the nerves had settled. As much as they can when riding a World Superbike!

Jeff said he found the S 1000 RR electronics to be super intrusive, perhaps dialled up for journo pace.

The BMW Motorrad Motorsport pit set up was the most professional of the lot. It was incredibly clean and the team were really friendly. Fellow Speed TV WSBK face Steve Martin was hanging around so I had a chat with Steve about the bike he played such a big role in developing. Troy Corser popped in to the pit garage however I was not able to get a chance to chat to the two-time WSBK champ sadly.

Looking over the bike, the attention to detail is incredible. From the stunning Akropovic shorty four-into-one to the amazing and huge handmade radiator, the bike is incredibly perfect to the eye. Not a mark or a scratch and nothing looks like its worth anything under a million bucks.

These systems were ground-breaking at the time.

The Akra pipe played an awesome symphony.

I’d overheard a few fellow journalists complaining that the electronics on the bike were too intrusive, perhaps set too conservatively for some of us, so as the team fired up the bike I was a little concerned the ride might be less than the real deal – so far on the day every other team had left the bikes as raced, and showed us the data to prove that – and the settings they used.

The bike was fired up and I jumped on. The first thing that blew me away was just how tiny the machine is and how compact Troy must be! He’s no Marco Melandri midget but I was more cramped on Troy’s bike than on Marco’s, Checa’s, Rea’s or Biaggi’s machines.

The team at BMW somehow made the S1000RR feel like a 250... Just goes to show how specially catered these are to keep the riders comfortable. — The team at BMW somehow made the S1000RR feel like a 250… Just goes to show how specially catered these are to keep the riders comfortable.

The ‘bars are very traditionally positioned – wide, pulled back with an angle downwards. The levers are tiny and only for two-fingers. And the footpegs very, very narrow. The seating position feels way back over the rear wheel and despite the ride height in the bike; it feels rear biased and low. Overall, tiny. I felt like I was on a 250!

The engine idled over at a fast pace as I clicked up into first gear and headed off down pit lane with a fist full of revs to get moving in the tall first gear. The pit lane limiter kept me at 40km/h then automatically switched off as I exited onto the end of Portimao’s fast chute.

The BMW throttle could be opened very early and the top-end hit was absolutely incredible.

I was lucky again as I had new tyres. So I put my head down and started to push from turn three onwards. The peaky nature of the bike was immediately noticeable and it did not have the punch and throttle response off the turns that the other fours enjoy and nowhere near the Ducati. However, the throttle could be opened really early without torque tying the bike in knots – and the top-end acceleration was incredible. Much more than the Castrol Honda or the Yamaha and similar in feeling to the Alitalia Aprilia.

It was about now that I got into a rhythm and the electronics started to spoil my fun. At anything but close to upright the bike would cut ignition and fuel and splutter off the turns slower than a 600 supersport bike. In fact, the bike felt slower than the street bike in some instances. Off any of the first or second gear corners, right on apex when I started to pickup the throttle and feed some power in, the traction control would cut in and sometimes it almost caused me to crash when the bike did not react to the throttle and pick itself up to drive off the corner. To adapt I had to basically park it turn, stand it up and fire it off the corners. It was a shame as most of us there were experienced racers and should have been given the opportunity to ride the bikes as raced.

The only other theory s that Troy is carrying more speed and higher rpm at that lean angle and the TC is set to be less intrusive there – so I was not riding in the same rpm range as him, therefore the TC was misbehaving. However, after speaking with the other test riders, the experience was a common one apart from for the really slow guys that were not opening the throttle hard enough.

The handling of the bike was different to the other four-cylinder machines. Firstly, Troy has the set-up very stiff compared to all of the other superbikes. And as mentioned, you really feel like you are riding the rear wheel everywhere – whereas looking at the bike in 2009 and 2010 it looked very forward biased and Troy was a weapon at running it into corners blindingly fast.

With the narrow footpegs and tiny levers, I felt like I was slipping off the bike and I could not get the hang of the thumb rear brake – but I did make a point of trying it. I reckon once you got used to the mental mechanical action it would be brilliant.

Initial turn-in on the bike is brilliant. The steering light and agile and I could get the turning process done more quickly than I could on the other fours. There is a mix of braking turns and non braking turns at Portimao and the bike was great in both situations, turning with accuracy and speed and not much effort. However, I found that I had to put quite a lot of effort into keeping the BMW on its side through a turn, really using my outside knee to hold the bike down. On picking up the throttle for exit, the bike would snap and try to stand up. So running a long, accelerating line off a corner was difficult. It was a shame, as the lack of torque made the bike easiest to open the throttle early on and the chassis should not get upset so much without torque there to tie it in knots…

With all the assists on, the 999cc powerhouse felt nowhere near 220hp through the corners... — With all the assists on, the 999cc powerhouse felt nowhere near 220hp through the corners…

A shame we didn't get to find out what it was capable of. — A shame we didn’t get to find out what it was capable of.

I think it was a combination of me not fitting in the seating position and having my 90kg at the time weight over the rear wheel, plus the aggressive nature of the engine in the higher rpm in some situations, that caused the reaction in the faster corners. In the slow corners I can’t explain it…

On the brakes the bike was extremely stable and the slipper clutch and back-shift system was brilliant. But with the thumb rear brake and stubby levers on the handlebars, the experience was different and would take some getting used to.

"I left thinking that the ASBK winning S 1000 RR of Glenn Allerton is a better handling package and I wonder how Troy would go on that if it had another 20hp." — “I left thinking that the ASBK winning S 1000 RR of Glenn Allerton is a better handling package and I wonder how Troy would go on that if it had another 20hp.”

Acceleration down the front chute was definitely a thrill on the 220hp S 1000 RR as the electronics battled to keep the front wheel on the ground coming over the crest at 200-odd km/h before accelerating to close to 300 before the braking area. And experiencing how the electronics work was great, although it would have been more interesting if it was raining for example.

Overall I really enjoyed the ride but left thinking that the ASBK winning S 1000 RR of Glenn Allerton is a better handling package and I wonder how Troy would go on that if it had another 20hp…

BMW Motorrad Motorsport 2011 Season
Team Partner: alpha Racing
BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: Bernhard Gobmeier
Head of Race Operations: Rainer Bäumel
Head of Development: Stephan Fischer
Managing Director Stephanskirchen: Josef Hofmann
Riders: Troy Corser, Leon Haslam
Crew Chief Troy Corser: Tom Larsen
Crew Chief Leon Haslam: Giacomo Guidotti

TROY CORSER – active WSBK 1992 – 2011.
Date of birth: 27th November 1971 in Wollongong
Place of residence: Monte Carlo
Nationality: Australian
Marital status: Married to Sam, two children: Kalani and Kelisa
Height: 1.70m
Weight: 68kg
Hobbies: Golf, wakeboarding, karting, jet ski, motocross
Passion: Racing
Favourite circuits: Phillip Island, Valencia, Portimão
First bike: Yamaha TY80, Honda CR80
First race: 1989 Australian Production Series 250cc
Career highlights: 1996 Superbike World Champion, 2005 Superbike World Champion
World Superbike record: 377 race starts, 130 podiums
33 wins, 47 seconds and 50 third places, 43 pole positions, 45 fastest laps

Troy Corser’s WorldSBK BMW S 1000 RR Specifications

Power: Over 220hp
Wet weight: 162kg
Fuel capacity: 23L

Engine: Liquid-cooled, inline four-cylinder, DOHC, 16-valve, four-stroke, Bore and stroke 80 x 49.7mm, 999cc, compression ratio: 14:1, fuel delivery: Dell’Orto fuel management system with 48mm throttle-bodies, gearbox: Six-speed cassette-style, clutch: wet multi-plate slipper clutch

Frame type: Twin-spar alloy frame with adjustable geometry
Wheelbase: Adjustable
Rake: Adjustable
Trail: Adjustable
Front suspension: Ohlins forks
Rear suspension: Ohlins TTX shock
Front brakes: Dual 320mm Brembo rotors with Brembo four-piston radial-mount monoblock calipers and radial-pull master-cylinder
Rear brake: Brembo
Front wheel: OZ Racing
Rear wheel: OZ Racing
Front tyre: Pirelli Slick, 120/70 – 16.5
Rear tyre: Pirelli Slick, 190/50 – 16.5 or 200/55 – 16.5
Instruments: BMW Racing

MotoE Weekend: All The Action From Assen

June 29, 2022

The racing in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup is truly some of the best. That’s never been more true than of Race 1 at the TT Circuit Assen, with just 0.081 covering the podium as Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™), Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) and Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) took the show to the wire.

Aegerter had qualified on pole but the battle for the lead was initially between Granado and Casadei, who went side-by-side into the first corner. However, both ran wide exiting Haarbocht and Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini ) emerged in the lead, ahead of Aegerter and Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team). Granado and Casadei slotted into fourth and fifth, but both were back ahead of Pons within a lap.

Granado soon proved the master of the fast Ramshoek left-hander, overtaking Aegerter there on Lap 3 just when it looked like Ferrari might be starting to creep away, then passing the 2019 World Cup winner himself another lap later again. Ferrari reclaimed the lead from the Brazilian as they ran through the Ossebroeken section on Lap 5, but Granado got back in front later that lap at Stekkenwal.

Meanwhile, a big battle had broken out for third between Aegerter, Casadei, and Pons, but the current World Cup leader had shaken those off when he launched an attack on Ferrari. He squeezed past the Gresini rider into the Geert Timmer Chicane on Lap 6, and Ferrari dropped towards the back of the leading pack when he had two big wobbles as he tried to take second position back at the start of Lap 7, with Casadei inheriting third position.

Aegerter then got underneath Granado at Strubben, but that gave them a slow entry down the back straight and Casadei stormed by both on the run into the Ruskenhoek, before Granado then re-passed Aegerter. The Swiss rider snatched the spot back just a few corners later at the Geert Timmer Chicane though, and making a little contact as he did so and that losing Granado a handful of tenths.

Despite being back in the runner-up position with a lap to go and a World Cup lead to protect, Aegerter didn’t seem in the mood to simply collect points. He dived past Casadei at Strubben but could not make the move stick and very nearly got chucked off his Energica Ego Corsa when he opened up the throttle again. Still, the Swiss rider tried again at Ramshoek near the end of the lap, but it all came down to the final chicane.

Granado was back on their tail as Aegerter went for the lead just ahead, and the Swiss rider just about shut the door on Casadei to secure the win. Granado needed no second invitation to try his own attack, blasting just past the Italian to grab second by mere thousandths to take second.

After some early heroics and then excellent damage limitation, Ferrari took fourth ahead of Hector Garzo (Tech3 E-Racing) in fifth, just 0.960 seconds behind the winner. Marco Alcoba (Openbank Aspar Team) had been in the leading group on the last lap but crashed at high speed at the Ramshoek, with an x-ray clearing him of a fractured left elbow but another medical review coming on Sunday.

Pons eventually came through to finish sixth, ahead of Niccolo Canepa (WithU GRT RNF MotoE™ Team), Bradley Smith (WithU GRT RNF MotoE™ Team), Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40), and Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta Sic58 Squadracorse).

MotoE Assen Race One Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Dominique Aegerter – Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™ – Energica – 13’55.704
2 Eric Granado – LCR E-Team – Energica – +0.072
3 Mattia Casadei – Pons Racing 40 – Energica – +0.081

Sunday
Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) was rewarded for his bravery in tricky conditions as the Brazilian took victory in Race 2 of FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup at the Motul TT Assen. The number 51 scythed his way from fourth to the lead in just three laps in a contest which would be cut short due a Red Flag, with points leader Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) claiming second and Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) completing the podium.

The Red Flag saw Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) crash out and suffer contact from Marc Alcoba (Openbank Aspar Team), with the LCR rider conscious and getting a check up at the circuit before heading to local hospital in Groningen for a CT scan to his pelvis.

Before the flag was thrown, however, it was a five-wide run to the first corner when the action finally got underway, with patchy showers having twice delayed the start. Casadei came from fourth on the grid to lead the field into the first corner, while Aegerter fended off an early challenge from Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) at Strubben, and then again at De Bult, to end the opening lap in second, with Granado just behind them.

The riders had no time to waste, with the delays seing the originally distance of eight laps cut to six, and Granado was a man on a mission. He passed Ferrari as they turned into Haarbocht at the start of Lap 2 although, in doing so, he made room for Pons to follow him. A brief battle between the LCR duo ensued before Granado shook off his teammate and attacked Aegerter.

Incredibly, as the rain flags flew again, Granado passed Aegerter around the outside of the high-speed Ramshoek left-hander, then went down the inside of Casadei when they arrived at Haarbocht again on Lap 3. Ferrari got back underneath Pons three corners further around at the Ossebroeken complex and, unfortunately, that was just the start of the LCR rider’s troubles.

Exiting the following corner, De Strubben, Pons highsided and was thrown from his motorcycle. Running two bikes back, Marc Alcoba was unable to avoid it and also crashed. Alcoba eventually remounted but, as Pons was initially attended to at the side of the track, the race was red flagged on Lap 4. Soon after news came through it would not restart, and instead half points would be awarded.

Granado is therefore classified the winner, ahead of Aegerter, Casadei, Ferrari, Niccolo Canepa (WithU GRT RNF MotoE™ Team), Alex Escrig (Tech3 E-Racing), Kevin Manfredi (Octo Pramac MotoE™), Maria Herrera (OpenBank Aspar Team), Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta Sic58 Squadracorse), and Hector Garzo (Tech3 E-Racing).

In the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup standings, Aegerter has now moved to 158 points, but Granado closes in slightly in second on 126.5 points, with Ferrari third on 112.5. Action in the electric class resumes with the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, at the Red Bull Ring on August 19-21!

MotoE Assen Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Eric Granado – LCR E-Team – Energica – 05’21.0940
2 Dominique Aegerter – Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™ – Energica – +0.270
3 Mattia Casadei – Pons Racing 40 – Energica – +0.556

MotoGP Sunday: MotoGP Championship Shift At Assen

June 29, 2022

Francesco Bagnaia blasted back into serious MotoGP title contention with victory in a wild Motul TT Assen. World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) clashed with his nearest rival in the points table Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), early on and crashed out.

The early incident also left Espargaro down in P15 and facing a fight back. But fight back he did and that as Quartararo crashed again later in the race, the Frenchman ultimately taking home a nil points and a Long Lap penalty for the Monster Energy British Grand Prix after summer break for the overly ambitious move.

Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) put in a stunner to follow Bagnaia home with some breathing space and take his first premier class podium, with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) shooting up from P11 on the grid to third, visiting parc ferme with Aprilia for the first time. And did we mention Aleix Espargaro’s 2-for-1 on Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) at the final chicane for fourth?!

Rewinding to before all that, Bagnaia launched well and led the field into the first corner, while Quartararo briefly dropped back to fourth when he ran wide as he tried to go with the pole-sitter. He quickly re-passed Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and also went down the inside of Espargaro at De Strubben, but then couldn’t keep the RS-GP behind him when they ran up the back straight.

Bagnaia had 0.7 in hand at the end of the first lap, by which time Bezzecchi had passed Miller for fifth, and the rookie was into fourth when he overtook Martin at the start of Lap 3. Miller then dropped from sixth to 10th on Lap 4 when he served his Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding in Q2, facing his own comeback.

On Lap 5 though, it was high drama at Turn 5 as the top two in the World Championship came together. Quartararo looked to make a move on Espargaro but dropped his Yamaha and slid into the Aprilia, no saving it. The Frenchman was last by the time he had remounted, and while Espargaro did well to stay upright and avoid a crash, he still plummeted to 15th and was facing one serious Sunday fight back from the gravel.

That left Bezzecchi in second, with Bagnaia’s advantage over the field out to 1.3 seconds and Martin holding third ahead of Binder. The South African was back to fifth when he was overtaken by Viñales as they ran through the Ossebroeken complex on Lap 10, however, with the number 12 on a charge.

A few laps later, De Strubben then bit Quartararo again – hard. The Frenchman had already dropped off the lead lap after a visit to the pits before he fell off for a second time once back out, highsiding on the exit of the slow left-hander. Thankfully, Quartararo got onto his feet and was given the all clear, having adding no injury to the insult of two crashes.

Meanwhile, Bagnaia continued to lead as Espargaro mounted his fightback. The Spaniard was already closing in on the battle for ninth between Zarco and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) when, a couple of positions ahead, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was then given a Long Lap Penalty for exceeding track limits, promoting #41 to the top ten. And there was plenty more to come.

Virtually the only thing that hadn’t happened by that stage was rain, but it soon started falling as well. Rain flags and then the white flag, signalling that riders were allowed to change bikes, started to wave, but it never got heavy enough to force them to do so. Still, it made for a tricky period in the race, as Viñales passed Martin for third at the Geert Timmer Chicane on Lap 17, then both Binder and Miller overtook the Pramac rider on the next lap.

For the second weekend in a row, Miller was doing an admirable job of recovering from a Long Lap Penalty, passing Binder for fourth at the start of Lap 21 and wasting little time in closing up to Viñales as he sought consecutive podiums. He looked to have made the move at the Timmer Chicane on Lap 25, but was in a bit too hot and had to bail out of it, which put him under pressure from Binder.

Up ahead and free of all the mayhem, however, Bagnaia cruised to victory. He eased off at the end, with the winning margin officially only 0.444 seconds after 26 remarkable laps, but it never seriously looked in doubt. Bezzecchi sent the VR46 team into raptures with his first premier class podium, and Viñales was less than a second further back in third after escaping the clutches of Miller.

Aleix Espargaro, meanwhile, wasn’t done. The Aprilia rider had risen to sixth and that looked like an admirable salvage job, but then he divebombed Miller and Binder as they ran into the Timmer Chicane for the final time – and pulled it off with such perfection it’s a contender for move of the year, decade or maybe more.

Fourth snatched away, Brad Binder would take fifth, ahead of Miller, Martin, and Mir. Mir had a couple of close brushes after contact with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as they lined up on the grid before a clash with Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) once the race had actually started. Oliveira shed bodywork in that incident but still finished ninth, ahead of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Nakagami, Zarco, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) in the final points position.

Raul Fernandez (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) retired with arm pump, while Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Darryn Binder (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team) made it three YZR-M1 riders who crashed out of the contest as Yamaha leave the Cathedral pointless, echoing Honda at the Sachsenring.

Now though, the MotoGP™ paddock now has the summer break to catch its breath before Round 12. The Monster Energy British Grand Prix descends on Silverstone from the 5th to the 7th of August, and there’s absolutely everything to play for.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team): “It felt long, very long. The first time I looked at how many laps were remaining, it was 24, so I’d just done two laps and it was too long. In any case, I’m so happy; so happy after two difficult races, when we were always competitive but without any results, so it’s incredible. I’m so happy, we did an incredible job. It wasn’t easy because, halfway through the race, it started raining a bit, and it was very scary, but finally I won here. That means to me that we are very good, we are strong.”

MotoGP Assen Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – 40’25.205
2 Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – Ducati – +0.444
3 Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) – Aprilia – +1.209

Moto2
The Moto2 Championship sits on a knife edge going into the summer break after Augusto Fernandez picked up his second win in a row, coming out on top in a true classic at the Motul TT Assen. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider is now equal on points with Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), who finished fourth, although the Italian leads as it stands thanks to more wins so far this season.

Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), meanwhile, sits just a point further back after hauling his way back from as low as 16th to claim second on the day, with polesitter Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) completing the podium.

It was as you were when the race got underway as far as the top two was concerned, with Dixon leading Inde GASGAS Aspar team-mate Albert Arenas into the first corner, but drama hit early for Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) as he ran well wide. Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyers Speed Up), however, had launched well from fifth on the grid before passing Arenas for second at De Strubben and then Dixon for first at Stekkenwal. Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) moved into third when he passed Arenas at the Geert Timmer Chicane on Lap 4, in what was something of a breakaway quartet at the head of the field.

However, Fernandez reeled them in and he gladly took fourth position when Arenas made a small error at De Strubben on Lap 5. Then, just up the road at De Bult, Schrötter picked off Dixon to move into second position and Arenas got back ahead of Fernandez, as home hero Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) lurked in sixth spot.

Arenas got back into the podium places when he overtook Dixon at the Timmer Chicane on Lap 7, before Schrötter hit the front for the first time when he got past Lopez as they ran down the back straight on Lap 8. Fernandez passed Dixon for fourth at De Strubben on Lap 9, before Lopez ceded second position to Arenas and third to Fernandez on a ragged 10th lap of the race.

Schrötter looked like he might finally break through for his first Grand Prix victory until disaster struck for the German on Lap 12, when he crashed out at De Strubben and handed the lead to Arenas. On Lap 13, Lopez re-passed Fernandez at the Timmer Chicane, but the German GP winner prised second position back from the man on the Boscoscuro on Lap 15.

Meanwhile, Vietti and Ogura, who started the race as the top two in the Championship, were closing in on the lead group as they battled over eighth position. Both were on a comeback after tough starts to the race, Vietti having only qualified 11th before finding himself even further away from the top 10 in the opening corners, and Ogura having two big rear end moments within the first handful of laps which had dumped the Japanese rider as far back as 16th.

Lopez dropped three positions to sixth when he ran wide exiting Haarbocht on Lap 16, promoting Dixon to the podium places again, as Vietti received a track limits warning. What would turn out to be the decisive lead change came on Lap 17 when Fernandez went underneath Arenas at De Strubben, while Bendsneyder sent the Dutch crowd wild when he passed Dixon for third just behind them. Unfortunately for the rider from Rotterdam, he undid his good work with a slow run off the Timmer Chicane at the end of the lap. He was picked off by not only Dixon, but also Cameron Beaubier (American Racing), who got ahead of both of them.

Dixon re-passed Beaubier moments later at De Strubben, and signalled to the American that they should work together to catch the top two of Fernandez and Arenas, who had taken advantage of the battle for third place to skip several tenths of a second clear. They did just that, as Ogura finally moved back into the top five with a pass on Bendsneyder at the start of Lap 19, which opened the door for Vietti to follow him through.

Ogura’s progress continued when he got through on Beaubier at De Strubben on Lap 20, while Dixon took second place from Arenas at the Timmer Chicane on that same lap. At the start of Lap 21, Beaubier crashed out of fifth position as he came under big pressure from Vietti, and Ogura was then into the top three – 13 positions higher than he had been when he nearly got chucked off his bike for the second time – by passing Arenas.

The Japanese rider went down the inside of Dixon for second position as they turned into Haarbocht on Lap 22, and Arenas got back in front of the Briton at the Timmer Chicane. Dixon got him back at the start of Lap 23, though, and Arenas was out of the race altogether when he dropped it at De Bult. That crash promoted Vietti to fourth, behind a top three of Fernandez, Ogura, and Dixon, and that is how they would finish – all within a second of each other – after an astonishing Dutch GP for the Moto2 field.

Bendsneyder claimed fifth on home soil and Lopez, who had started to become somewhat ragged, got home in sixth, ahead of Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), and Filip Salac (Gresini Racing).

Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors Speed Up), Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40), Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Jeremy Alcoba (Liwui Moly Intact GP), and Barry Baltus (RW Racing GP) completed the points. Lowes was notable among the non-finishers, crashing out on only Lap 4.

Moto2 Assen Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – Kalex – 39’07.133
2 Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) – Kalex – +0.660
3 Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) – Kalex – +0.725

Moto3
Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) is now a Grand Prix winner! The Japanese rider put in an impressive performance to come out on top in a classic Moto3™ showdown at the Motul TT Assen, taking the win ahead of Izan Guevara (GASGAS Aspar Team) and Sergio Garcia (GASGAS Aspar Team). Some drama hit for Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) as he crashed out, and Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) likewise after the number 5 suffered contact on the final lap.

Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) nabbed the holeshot ahead of a fast-starting David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports), only just edging the Spaniard out into Turn 1. But Sasaki was quick to take back over at the front and Guevara quick to follow into second as the classic Moto3™ freight train began. However, a smaller group was initially able to break away – and then the first drama hit for Foggia as he was given a Long Lap for a shortcut at the final chicane.

That dropped him back into the chasing group, where Garcia was already tucked in trying to push forward, along with John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max). And the Brit and his fellow veterans got the job done, bridging the gap to make another freight train. That created another classic fight at the front, and then the second drama hit for Foggia. A brush with Muñoz sent the Leopard rider wide, and he was unsettled on the kerb before crashing out.

The chopping and changing continued, but Sasaki led onto the last lap, with Suzuki shadowing and Masia into third as Guevara got shuffled back. Suzuki struck briefly but the number 71 hit back, but then huge drama hit the final lap. Muñoz went for an optimistic for a move on Masia and instead, skittled the number 5 out – earning himself a Long Lap for Silverstone – and McPhee crashed just behind in his own incident.

At the front, Sasaki was clear as Guevara and Suzuki went toe-to-toe, with Garcia able to close up too. By the final chicane, Sasaki had just enough room to cross the line for his first Grand Prix win, and Guevara muscled through on Suzuki. Garcia then attacked the Japanese rider to gas it past on the left, the Championship leader retaining that moniker by just 0.007.

Sasaki becomes a Grand Prix winner, Guevara cuts the gap to just three points off the top and Garcia takes yet another podium under increasing pressure, with Suzuki just left out of the party. Xavier Artigas (CFMoto PrüstelGP) completed the top five with a slightly under the radar but impressive ride, the last rider in the front group who saw the flag after the last lap drama.

Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) overcame a Long Lap given for crashing under yellows in practice to take sixth, just heading the second group ahead of Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team). There were a few more tenths back to Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI), who just beat Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power). Öncü retains his record as the only rider in Moto3 to score in every race so far this year.

Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) and Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse) were next, ahead of Carlos Tatay (CFMoto PrüstelGP) classified 14th after two Long Laps from Germany and a three-second penalty for track limits. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) completed the points after a Long Lap and a double Long Lap after failing to comply with the first.

Moto3 Assen Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) – Husqvarna – 37’28.371
2 Izan Guevara (GASGAS Aspar Team) – GASGAS – +0.314
3 Sergio Garcia (GASGAS Aspar Team) – GASGAS – +0.392

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