INDIA in F1

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  • Shahan, Avalakki continue to dominate: JK Tyre Karting Nationals

    Bengaluru, 8 July 2019: Agra’s Shahan Ali Mohsin and Bengaluru’s Mihir Suman Avalakki continued their good form to hold on to the lead after Round 2 of the Rotax Class of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship 2019 at the Meco Kartopia on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

    Shahan (MSport) looked at ease over the weekend as he won race 1 and finished second in another to notch up 86 points and take his total tally to 175 points in the Senior Max Category.

    Manav Sharma of Faridabad, who was outperformed by Shahan in the opening round, however, accumulated two more points than him by finishing second in the pre-final and winning the final this time around. The Peregrine Racing driver has a total of 173 points now and is sitting on the second place.

    MSports’ Bala Prasanth finished fifth in both the races to collect 78 points and take the third position with 160 points.

    In the Junior Max Category, it was a clean sweep for Birel Art as they took all the podium places, led by another local lad Mihir. He did not have the best of starts to the round, finishing only fourth in the opening race.

    But he came back to clinch the second place in the final race to pocket 83 points and take his total tally to 172 points. He is tied on points with his team-mate Rishon after two rounds, who won both races of the day to amass 89 points. Ruhaan Alva is on the third spot as he posted two third place-finishes to collect 82 points to take his total tally to 165 points.

    In the Micro Max Category, it was Peregrine Racing’s Ishaan Madhesh who came up with another powerful performance and won both the races to extend his tally to 178 points. His team-mate Jagrat Detroja is on the second spot with 166 points while Anshul Sai Shivkumar is in the third place with 157 points.

    Note: Results were not received from the organisers
    Provisional Standings after Round 2:
    Micro Max:
    1. Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing) 178 points; 2. Jagrat Detroja (Peregrine Racing) 166 points; 3. Anshul Sai Shivakumar (Birel Art) 157 points    Junior Max:
    1. Mihir Avalakkai (Birel Art) 172 points; 2. Rishon (Birel Art) 172 points; 3. Ruhaan Alva (Birel Art) 165 pointsSenior Max:
    1. Shahan Ali Mohsin (MSports) 175 points; 2. Manav Sharma (Peregrine Racing) 173 points; 3. Bala Prasath (MSports) 160 points
  • Decade of dominance: Marquez makes it a perfect ten at the Sachsenring

    Decade of dominance: Marquez makes it a perfect ten at the Sachsenring

    The Championship leader reigns the Ring as the battle for the podium heats up

    Marquez takes 10th win at Sachsenring on Sunday. A MotoGP image

    Sachsenring, 7 July 2019: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) completed a decade of dominance at the Sachsenring, winning in style in the HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship here on Sunday.

    Attacking early to take the lead into Turn 1 and not looking back, the reigning Champion made it ten wins in a row in Germany, all from pole. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) completed the podium. Marquez’ win for the seventh successive time in the premier class at the Sachsenring also equals Valentino Rossi’s record of premier class wins in a row at one venue, set in Mugello from 2002-2008.

    Despite a bad start Marquez kept it pinned into Turn 1, the last of the late brakers able to emerge in the lead as Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) slipped back from second to sixth at the start; Viñales, Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Crutchlow all getting past the Frenchman. The first shot of drama would come from the Frenchman too as Quartararo’s race suddenly ended at Turn 3 on Lap 2,  the rookie going to get back past Ducati Team’s Danilo Petrucci but the front washing away in his first ever premier class crash out of a race.

    The battle at the front at that point was more a freight train, with Marquez conducting the pace from Viñales as Crutchlow and Rins demoted Miller down to fifth. The top four started to edge clear of the rest, but edging clear of everyone was King of the Ring Marquez as a 1:21.228 – a new lap record – on Lap 5 saw his lead creep up to just under a second. The man in second was Rins, and he was also stretching his advantage over Viñales and Crutchlow to the same distance, but Marquez was in the groove.

    The seven-time Champion showed exactly why the Sachsenring is his playground, not powering away at a rapid rate but instead eking out a tenth here and there, his lead gradually increasing until he suddenly put the hammer down. Lap 10 saw Marquez go 0.4 faster than Rins as the gap rose above the two-second barrier. From then on, there was no stopping the now ten-time Sachsenring winner.

    The battle for the second and third steps on the podium was heating up, however. Crutchlow was shadowing Viñales, who in turn was sitting a second back from Rins, with the gap remaining constant between the trio as we passed the mid-stage of the race. And the battle for fifth place was very much on as Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso and Petrucci were going head-to-head with fellow GP19 rider Miller, Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro in a close fight for big points.

    Nearer the front though, disaster then struck at the top of ‘The Waterfall’ for Rins. 0.9 clear of Viñales and Crutchlow, the Suzuki man suddenly skitted out at Ralf Waldmann corner for his second consecutive DNF. With the man on the chase down and out, it left Marquez with an unassailable 4.9 lead.

    The last ten laps were just about controlling the gap for Marquez as he saw a 10th Sachsenring win appear ever closer, but who would finish second? Crutchlow had been attached to Viñales’ back wheel for some time to put the Spaniard under pressure and with two laps to go, the duo were separated by nothing. But the number 35 then had a scare at Turn 10; a warning sign that saw Crutchlow running wide and subsequently keeping it calmer to give up the chase. Just ahead, Marquez crossed the line to win his fifth race of 2019, the seventh consecutive year he’s won five or more races in a premier class season – a record that sees him surpass MotoGP™ Legend Giacomo Agostini and nine-time Champion Rossi, both of whom managed to do it for six straight years.

    Viñales crossed the line to take his second straight podium, with Crutchlow getting his equal best result of the year in third and his first rostrum since Qatar GP. The Brit’s ride was even more impressive as he battled a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a small fracture to the top of his tibia this weekend following a cycling mishap. Behind the top trio, meanwhile, there were important points in the Championship to be decided just down the road.

    Rossi had lost touch on the battle for fourth in the latter stages, and it was Mir vs the three Ducatis. With Marquez out in front, second in the Championship Dovizioso needed to limit the damage as much as possible but Petrucci wasn’t going to let his teammate have it all his own way. The Italians exchanged P4 at the bottom of ‘The Waterfall’ before Dovi went to get back past Petrucci into Turn 1 with three to go and they both ran wide; Miller diving up the inside of both. Dovizioso was aggressive though and attacked the Australian as the battle between the Ducatis went down to the wire, Petrucci leading them onto the last lap. The Mugello winner would ultimately hold fourth as the chequered flag came out, a terrific performance after his big crash in Q2, with Dovizioso producing another fine fight back to take P5 from P13 on the grid. Miller was forced to settle for a solid sixth.

    Mir picked up his third consecutive top ten in seventh, a great ride from the rookie, with Rossi ending his run of three-straight DNFs with a P8 at the Sachsenring. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) finished ninth in Germany, the first time he’d raced in the premier class at the track after missing out last year, with Jorge Lorenzo’s replacement Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) grabbing his second top ten of the season in front of his home fans.

    Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) put in a stunner to take P11 from last on the grid, ahead of a tougher race for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro. Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was 13th and top Aprilia after a crash for teammate Aleix Espargaro, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) riding through the pain barrier to P14. Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) completed the points.

    The summer break is now upon us and Marquez will doubtless be the most relaxed after extending his lead once again. But next up is Brno and it’s a good venues for some key rivals…as well as a few weeks away, giving the likes of Quartararo time to come back swinging. Will the reign continue? The Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky will decide…

    Marc Marquez: “My plan was try to lead from the beginning to the end, that was my mentality. For that reason the start wasn’t perfect but I took a lot of risk in the first corner, I braked so late and I was able to be in there and then the first two laps I was just cruising and trying to understand the limit of the track after the rain. Then when I saw the tyres were ready, I was ready and the bike was ready, then I started to attack. I started to do low 1:21s, that was my rhythm in the first ten laps, and apart from that, when I saw Rins was three seconds behind me, then I started to save the tyre and finish the race.”

    Top-3 Race Results:

    1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) 41’08.276
    2 – Maverick Viñales (SPA – Yamaha) +4.587
    3 – Cal Crutchlow* (GBR – Honda) +7.741

    *Independent Team rider

  • Rea takes first triple treat of 2019 ahead of Razgatlioglu and Bautista

    In the final action of the weekend for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, it was yet another thrilling encounter from lights-out to the chequered flag. It was action right from the start, with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) coming out on top after another tough scrap with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing).

    Heading towards Turn 1 for the first time, Jonathan Rea rocketed from pole position to grab the holeshot, ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing), whilst Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) blasted into third. At the Old Hairpin however, Bautista was passed by home-hero Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). Chaz Davies had a strong opening, running as high as fifth, right behind his teammate. It was a nightmare for Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) one lap later, as the Spaniard retired.

    With the race settling down, on Lap 3, Razgatlioglu took the lead at the circuit where he took his first WorldSBK career podium. With a strong out-braking manoeuvre at the Melbourne Loop, he was able to pinch the advantage. However, two laps later, Rea took the lead back and one lap further on, Haslam momentarily got ahead of the Turk at the Foggy Esses. At the Melbourne Loop, Razgatlioglu recovered and the 22-year-old was back in second.

    Razgatlioglu was able to retake the lead from Rea, with the two riders dancing side-by-side around the Donington Park circuit. Another late-braking move at the Melbourne Loop saw him retake the lead and then, putting the hammer down. Razgatlioglu and Rea broke clear of the fading Haslam in third place, whilst Alvaro Bautista was all over the rear-end of the five-time WorldSBK race winner.

    With 12 to go, it was a rare error at the Foggy Esses from Toprak, allowing Rea to cut through and take the lead back from the young Turk. A lap later, and the battle for third started to ignite with Bautista taking the final podium position from Leon Haslam. With all the swapping, slowly but surely, Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) was now closing down Leon Haslam, with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in sixth. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was seventh from tenth on the grid, whilst Davies had slipped to eighth.

    There was a change in the battle for fifth place, as Alex Lowes forced Baz wide at the Foggy Esses, with the British rider getting ahead into the Melbourne Loop. Even further back, double winner from Donington Park in 2018, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team), got ahead of Davies for eighth place.

    In the closing stages, there were two battles: for first and second between Rea and Razgatlioglu, and for third place between Bautista, Lowes, Haslam and Baz – with Lowes getting ahead of Haslam with just three laps to go. Going into the final lap, half-a-second split the leading two, whilst Bautista had a small buffer for a safe third place.

    Coming to the line for the final time, Jonathan Rea completed a Donington Park hat-trick at home, the first triple he has achieved this season. Razgatlioglu took another podium with second and Alvaro Bautista took his first podium of the weekend, although he now trails the reigning WorldSBK champion by 24 points. Alex Lowes was fourth whilst Leon Haslam completed the top five, only just ahead Loris Baz.

    Tom Sykes was the best of the rest, with Michael van der Mark taking a hearty, hard-earnt eighth, ahead of Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), who completed the top ten after a disappointing Prosecco DOC UK Round. Peter Hickman (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was 11th, ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team), with Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) completing the points.
    P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

    “It was incredible, a similar story to Misano with Toprak in Race 2. It was really difficult, he was so strong on the brakes, but my team gave me a great bike and physically this weekend I felt really good, so I was able to extract the best potential from my ZX-10RR. In free practices, I was a little bit unhappy about the setup, and we were quite far away, 0.9 s from the fastest lap time, but step by step we arrived and three race wins, and back in the lead of the championship I can’t quite believe it. We will keep working like we are doing and we go to Laguna next week, which is another good track for us, but I enjoyed the atmosphere here. There were a lot of people here at Donington and now let’s see what happens”.

    P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing)

    “Yesterday with the wet conditions we didn’t go well. We tried a similar setup to Misano but I didn’t feel good on the bike and it was sliding a lot at the rear, so I was waiting for today because I was expecting a dry race and I felt really strong on those conditions. The Tissot Superpole Race was good but it wasn’t perfect. We focused on Race 2, which was more important for me. I did a good start, I followed Johnny and after I overtook him we had a small fight together but he was strong and fast. On the final two laps, I tried to attack him again but it was impossible. I am happy with another podium and now we see what will happen in the US”.

    P3 – Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)

    “Today was important for us to finish the race. We crashed in Misano Race 2 and yesterday again. I knew it was meant to be a tough weekend for us because we are struggling a lot in this kind of tracks that are bumpy and with have poor grip. In the Tissot Superpole Race, I tried to stay with the front group. I pushed as much as I could and physically I was destroyed at the end of the eight laps because the bike was moving a lot and I had to put so much energy in trying to keep the bike straight and not lose too much time exiting the corners. In Race 2, I tried to do the same. I did a good start and remained with the front group. I pushed hard and had to use double my energy, but I managed to finish on the podium, and I am happy because we struggled a lot this weekend. Now we have to improve the weak points of our bike, but I look forward to the next race”.

    #GBRWorldSBK at Donington Park: Race 2
    1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
    2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) +0.365
    3. Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +5.930

  • Double for Sethu, Ravikumar, Abhimanyu; Easy win for Ryhana Bee: MMSC Bike Nationals

    Double for Sethu, Ravikumar, Abhimanyu; Easy win for Ryhana Bee: MMSC Bike Nationals

    Deepak Ravikumar (centre), who scored a double in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, flanked by KY Ahamed 2nd (left) and Amarnath Menon 3rd, at MMRT on Sunday. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 7 July 2019: Bitter rivals on the track, TVS Racing and Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing shared the honours on the concluding day of the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) and Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) completed a double apiece in contrasting styles. Ravikumar was in a league of his own with an authoritative win by the proverbial country mile in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc race, his second of the weekend, while behind him, Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) denied TVS Racing another 1-2 by pipping KY Ahamed.

    Sethu repeated his yesterday’s Race 1 win over TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar for a double in the Pro-Stock 165cc class. After exchanging leads with Jagan through the race, Sethu made a heart-stopping pass on the last corner of the last lap to pull off a superb win while Ahamed scrambled to third spot.

    Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) survived a close fight with Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) to win the Pro-Stock 200-300cc race with Abhishek Vasudev, also from Bengaluru, a distant third.

    Also achieving a double was Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class, sparing nearly three seconds to Venkatesan I (Motomania) while Mohan Babu (Rockers Racing) completed the podium.


    Ryhana Bee, winner of the Girls race

    Meanwhile, defending champion in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, Ann Jennifer suffered a rare defeat as she finished third behind her Sparks Racing team-mate Ryhana Bee and Alisha Abdullah (Team Alisha Abdullah) in the five-lap race. It was Bee’s maiden win in the championship as she made capital of a favourable situation that had pole-sitter Jennifer fumbling at the start and then getting caught up in traffic. While Bee disappeared in the distance, Jennifer could not pass Alisha and decided to hold position with an eye on the championship points.

    In the hot mid-afternoon sun, Chennai youngsters Varoon Sadasivam, Kavin Samaar Quintal and Geoffrey Emmanuel finished in that order on the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R bikes in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-Make Championship after favourites, Md Mikail (Chennai), winner of Race-1 yesterday, and Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag, Karnataka) retired early in the eight-lap race. Mikail crashed at the start, while Habib too went off in the third lap.

    The results (Provisional):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (15mins, 31.358secs); 2. Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) (15:45.432); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (15:45.558).

    Pro-Stock 200-300cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:22.798); 2. Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) (16:22.876); 3. Abhishek V (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:55.918).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (16:07.033);  2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (16:07.152); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (16:09.355).

    Novice – Stock 165cc (Race 2, 6 laps): 1.Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:10.877); 2. Venkatesan I (Team Motomania) (13:13.508); 3. Mohan Babu P (Team Rockers Racing) (13:15.079).

    Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. A Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) (11:11.579); 2. Alisha Abdullah (Team Alisha Abdullah Racing) (11:20.990); 3. Ann Jennifer AS (Sparks Racing) (11:21.078).

    One-Make Championship:

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Honda NSF 250R (Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (14:53.899); 2. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (15:03.271); 3. Geoffrey Emmanuel (Chennai) (15:32.943).

    Honda CBR 150 (Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:28.925); 2. Lalrinzuala Tlau (Aizwal) (13:29.167); 3. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:30.521).

    TVS Open (Apache RTR 310, Race 2, 8 laps): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (16:01.298); 2. Karthik Mateti (Hyderabad) (16:16.321); 3. Soorya PM (Chennai) (16:18.106).

    Novice (Apache RTR 200, Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Venkatesan (Chennai) (13:13.644); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) (13:14.210); 3. Lakshmipathy Balaji (Vellore) (13:15.231).

  • MMRT witnesses historic debut of Moto3 spec bike in Indian Motorsport

    MMRT witnesses historic debut of Moto3 spec bike in Indian Motorsport

    Honda NSF250R, a magic presence on Indian race tracks, a moto3 spec bike, a milestone in Indian Motorsports. Photo by David Bodapati

    The 2019 season augurs well for Indian Motorsports! After a pleasant week-end at the Kari Motor Speedweay in Coimbatore last fortnight where a new generation of cars breathed a whiff of fresh air into the rusty Indian racing scene, with Volkswagen showing the way for future, the week-end at the Madras Motor Race Track of Madras Motor Sports Club in Irungattukottai witnessed another historic milestore with a Moto3 Spec bike making its debut on the Indian soil. Eight young riders took part on these sleek machines in the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup. They are Sarthak Shrikant Chava, the 12-year old baby of the team from Pune, Kavin Samaar Quintal, Geoffrey, Mohammed Mikhail, S Varoon, Mohsin, Charan T, and Kritik Habib. All these riders have been selected from the 2018 Honda India Talent Hunt.

    A new sleek and sophiscated Racing Machine of the new era, a very light machine at 84-kg, compact, high output and high performance, the NSF 250R made its thundering presence and the presence of eight disciplined teenage boys riding with passion provided the kick for the motorsport connoisseur.

    Introduced in Moto3 in 2o12, the bike is powered by a single cylinder 4-stroke engine with 249cc displacement and it is specifically designed for racing purpose. It is not meant to be ridden on the public roads. The NSF250R is a picture model of perfect integration of high-power and rider-friendly beast with a beauty. This light-weight, well-balanced machine offers solid-power and superb performance.

    Honda won the Moto3 constructor’s Championship in 2015 with the NSF250R. The race bike is powered by a 249.3cc single cylinder liquid-cooled engine capable of churning out a maximum power of 47.6 HP at 13,000 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 10,500 rpm. The engine comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox.

    It is Honda ingenuity, supporting your racing pleasure, for the joy of evolution. Finally, India enters a new era with the all-new NSF250R making its presence in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship 2019.

    The credit should undoubtedly go to two men, who with passion and committment for motorsport are making a difference in the Indian Motorsports scene. Three cheers to the dedicated duo of Prabhu Nagaraj of Honda Racing Corporation, India and Sirish Vissa of Volkswagen Motorsport India.

    May their tribe increase!

  • Quartararo runs Marquez close but the King of the Sachsenring takes pole: German MotoGP

    Quartararo runs Marquez close but the King of the Sachsenring takes pole: German MotoGP

    A tenth pole in a row for the reigning Champion sees him head Fast Fabio by two tenths, with Viñales close in third

    Marc Marquez takes German GP pole on Saturday. A Repsol Honda Image

    Sachsenring, 6 July 2019: It started in the 125 World Championship, it continued in Moto2™ and now it’s seven times in a row in MotoGP™: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) continued his stunning form to make it ten successive Sachsenring pole positions in the HJC Helmets Grand Prix Motorrad Deutschland, the 9th round of the MotoGP World Championship, escaping the clutches of rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) by two tenths and on course to challenge for a tenth win in a row at the track on Sunday. Quartararo was once again a key challenger despite a big wobble in FP3 that partially dislocated the Frechman’s shoulder – on top of his ongoing recovery from arm pump surgery, with Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completing the front row and missing out on second by just 0.006.

    The drama started early as Q1 saw Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) lead Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) into Q2 to fight for the top 12, and that had some serious consequences for Championship challenger Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) as he was knocked out by just a few thousandths. He’ll face a fight back on Sunday from P13.

    Meanwhile, at the front, Marquez was the first man to set a benchmark time in Q2, the number 93 slamming in a 1:20.575. But there was more to come, with an advantage of two tenths then becoming half a second as the Repsol Honda rider set a new all-time lap record. A 1:20.215 moved the goalposts 0.553 clear of his nearest challengers as the undisputed King of the Ring laid down the gauntlet for the riders to try and match. And slowly but surely, that half a second gap started to shrink, down to 0.185 as both Quartararo and Marquez headed onto their final flying laps – the 20-year-old just behind Marquez on circuit.

    Both riders set a red first sector, Marquez was superior in the second, Quartararo then went through his favoured third split in the red…but so did Marquez. It all came down to the final sector of the session – would Marquez hold on for a tenth straight pole or would Quartararo steal it from the seven-time Champion’s grasp? Marquez did set a slightly faster lap and a couple of seconds later, Quartararo crossed the line but it wasn’t to be. But two tenths off Marquez in Q2 at the Sachsenring whilst not exactly fighting fit is a warning shot regardless.

    Viñales finished just 0.006 off Quartararo to lineup in P3, his fourth front row start of the season, as Rins spearheads the second row of the grid in P4. By far the leading Ducati rider in qualifying, Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) had a great session to launch from P5, he’ll sit next to the brave Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) – the Briton qualifies sixth for the German GP despite suffering a torn ACL and a small fracture to the top of his tibia ahead of this weekend.

    Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Franco Morbidelli leads Row 3 ahead of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and the duo will line up with Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) alongside them. The Spaniard was involved in an incident with Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) after it appeared the Suzuki rider held up the Italian on the entrance to ‘The Waterfall’ and on the exit of Turn 12…

    Just behind that drama, Takaaki Nakagami qualifies P10, with the Japanese rider beating fellow Q1 graduate Valentino Rossi by 0.033 to turn the tables on ‘The Doctor’ in Q2. To continue a more turbulent session for Petrucci, not long after his words with Mir the Italian then suffered a huge crash at Turn 9 as the front washed away. He headed to the medical centre for a checkup, and will race from P12…just ahead of teammate Andrea Dovizioso.

    Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) was 14th as he replaces the injured Jorge Lorenzo, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) close behind in P15.

    That’s it from Saturday and it’s 10 in a row for the sublime King of the Sachsenring, but pole position didn’t come easy and judging by race pace, Marquez might not quite have it all his own way on Sunday either. Can Quartararo, Viñales or the likes of Rins upset the applecart? And will the likes of Rossi and Dovizioso fight through the pack? The MotoGP class go racing at 14:00 local time (GMT+2) 5.30pm Indian Standard Time (IST).

    Qualifying top-3: MotoGP:

    German Grand Prix Qualification Results

    Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
    1 MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team 1’20.195
    2 QUARTARARO Fabio 20 FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT 0.205
    3 VINALES Maverick 12 SPA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 0.211
    4 RINS Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar 0.336
    5 MILLER Jack 43 AUS Pramac Racing 0.495
    6 CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR LCR Honda 0.662
    7 MORBIDELLI Franco 21 ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT 0.769
    8 ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0.828
    9 MIR Joan 36 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar 0.866
    10 NAKAGAMI Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda 0.909
    11 ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 0.942
    12 PETRUCCI Danilo 9 ITA Mission Winnow Ducati 1.291
    13 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA Mission Winnow Ducati 1’21.105 Q1
    14 BRADL Stefan 6 GER Repsol Honda Team 0.122
    15 ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 0.208
    16 IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 0.328
    17 BAGNAIA Francesco 63 ITA Pramac Racing 0.341
    18 SYAHRIN Hafizh 55 MAL Red Bull KTM Tech 3 0.360
    19 ZARCO Johann 5 FRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0.532
    20 OLIVEIRA Miguel 88

  • Jonathan Rea wins Race 1 and takes championship lead, as Bautista crashes again at Donington

    A wet Race 1 proved to be dramatic in the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, as Donington Park hosted yet another thrilling encounter. A frantic start saw Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) take the lead early on and never look back as he romped to a 76th career win to take the championship lead, as Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) crashed out in dramatic fashion.

    It was a blistering opening lap from Jonathan Rea, who leaped of the line and took the lead at Turn 1, opening up a lead of over a second on the first lap. Pole-sitter Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) held second place, ahead of Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), with the Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha of Loris Baz in fourth. Alvaro Bautista was fifth in the early stages but losing time to Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

    As the race settled, Rea was setting a scorching pace, lapping two seconds a lap quicker than anybody else, whilst behind him, Loris Baz got his way into the podium positions and ahead of Leon Haslam at the Melbourne Loop on Lap 2. One of the bigger losers off the start was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing), who was down in ninth. It was a bright start for Argentine rider, Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), who was up to eighth from 14th, one place behind replacement rider, Peter Hickman (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

    On Lap 4, Bautista began to respond to Lowes, as the Spaniard pulled clear and steadied the tide. Further down the order, Alessandro Delbianco (Mie Althea Racing Team) was showing his wet weather skills once again, as he was coming through the order. However, two laps later, it was a colossal moment for the Italian at Turn 2, with both legs off one side of his Honda, taking to the soaking wet grass at high-speed, yet somehow remaining upright.

    Back at the front, Jonathan Rea continued to pull away from the rest, although Tom Sykes was beginning to match his former teammate’s lap times. After eight laps, Rea had a seven second lead, setting a supreme pace but needing to remain focussed, as the rain became heavier and more water was laying on the track. Whilst Sykes was second, Haslam was back in third and ahead of Loris Baz.

    Then, a succession of accidents as Jordi Torres crashed on wet grass on the exit of Turn 6, whilst Sandro Cortese crashed at the same corner on the same lap, with the entry of the corner being the only difference. However, then there was huge drama, as Alvaro Bautista crashed out in spectacular style at the same point of the track, suffering his first back-to-back crashes of the season. The championship pendulum had now swung to Jonathan Rea, but with more than ten laps left, he still had to remain upright.

    As riders ahead fell, other riders took advantage, with Leandro Mercado now elevated into sixth place, Hickman seventh and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in eighth. Behind them, Alessandro Delbianco was on the move, up inside the top ten and wanting more, as he chased after those ahead of him.
    Jonathan Rea took a third career victory at Donington Park, his 76th in total. Tom Sykes was back on the podium for a second round running and on a third manufacturer at Donington Park, whilst Leon Haslam was third at his home venue. Once again proving his worth in the wet weather, Loris Baz was fourth, ahead of Alex Lowes, who had a relatively quiet race.

    A stunning ride for ‘Tati’ Mercado saw him take his joint-best result of his career and his best result of the 2019 season. Peter Hickman took a career-best seventh as a replacement rider, whilst behind him was Michael van der Mark, Alessandro Delbianco and Chaz Davies – the Italian getting the Welshman on the penultimate lap. It was a best result of the season for Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team), who took 11th.

    The championship lead now changes for the first time in 2019, with Jonathan Rea leading Alvaro Bautista by nine points, with the Northern Irishman being 61 points behind at one point. This remarkable comeback promises to give thrilling battles on Sunday at Donington Park.

     

     

     

  • Deepak Ravikumar leads 1-2 for TVS Racing in Pro-Stock 301-400cc class; Rajiv Sethu tops 165cc

    Deepak Ravikumar leads 1-2 for TVS Racing in Pro-Stock 301-400cc class; Rajiv Sethu tops 165cc

    The 14-year old Md Mikail, winner of the inaugural Honda NSF 250 race at MMRT on Saturday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 6 July 2019: Deepak Ravikumar led a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, while Rajiv Sethu, fresh from an international outing in Japan, scored a thrilling win in the Pro-Stock 165cc category to bring some cheer for Honda in the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here today.

    Starting from pole position, Ravikumar held off team-mate KY Ahamed for a commanding win, while Sethu, who missed the first round in Coimbatore last month, fought tooth and nail to beat favourite and pole-sitter Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing), sealing the win in the last lap.

    Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) also chalked up a last-gasp win over Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) in the Pro-Stock 200-300cc class that was run on a combined grid with the 301-400cc category while Bengaluru’s Abhimanyu Gautam, starting from third on the 39-rider grid, topped the Stock 165cc (Novice) race which went down to the wire.

    Earlier, 14-year old from Chennai, Md Mikail underlined his potential by comfortably winning the inaugural race in the newly-introduced Honda NSF 250R category of the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup One-Make championship. Varun Sadasivam, also from Chennai, came in second ahead of another 14-year old local schoolboy Kavin Samaar Quintal.

    Ravikumar, starting from pole, gradually increased his lead over Ahamed and had plenty to spare at the finish. Amarnath Menon, who too sat out the first round last month, finished third in his debut race for Team Alisha Abdullah.

    The win was some consolation for Ravikumar who lost a third place battle in the Pro-Stock 165cc race to Bengaluru’s Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) behind Sethu and Jagan after some of the front-runners lost track position due to issues with their bikes.

    Reflecting on his win, Sethu said: “I had problems with the grip levels, and I thought I might go off. But I used my experience to stay behind Jagan and eventually passed him on the penultimate lap at the Bridge Complex left-hander. It was a tough race and I had to fight all the way to win.”

    Jagan, a seven-times National champion in the erstwhile Super Sport 165cc class, said: “I did my very best today and was on the limit, but just couldn’t hold back Rajiv. The bike was fine and there were no issues. Today, this was the best I could do.”

    The results (Provisional – all Six laps unless mentioned):

    National Championship:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race 1): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (11mins, 41.479secs); 2. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:47.446); 3. Amarnath Menon (Team Alisha Abdullah) (11:48.814).

    Pro-Stock 200-300cc (Race 1): 1. Mathan Kumar (Erula Racing) (12:11.742); 2. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.774); 3. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:34.687).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race 1): 1. Rajiv Sethi (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (11:59.724); 2. K Jagan (TVS Racing) (11:59.820); 3. Yashas RL (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) (12:11.089).

    Novice – Stock 165cc (Race 1): 1. Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) (13:08.136); 2. Venkatesan I (Team Motomania) (13:08.647); 3. Lokesh V (Team Speedup Racing) (13:09.568).

    One-Make Championship:

    Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup – Honda NSF 250R (Race 1): 1. Md Mikail (Chennai) (11:14.583); 2. Varoon Sadasivam (Chennai) (11:16.963); 3. Kavin Samaar Quintal (Chennai) (11:18.128). Honda CBR 150 (Race 1): 1. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (13:18.183); 2. Lalrinzuala Tlau (Aizwal) (13:18.604); 3. Lal Nunsanga (Aizwal) (13:18.754).

    TVS Open (Apache RTR 310, Race 1): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:58.964); 2. Sivanesan Sethu (Chennai) (12:10.737); 3. Arun Muthukrishnan (Chennai) (12:13.757). Novice (Apache RTR 200, Race 1): 1. Venkatesan (Chennai) (13:16.007); 2. Manoj Y (Chennai) (13:16.163); 3. Annish Samson (Bengaluru) (13:24.783). Girls (Apache RTR 200) (5 laps): 1. Nivetha Jessica (Chennai) (11:27.421); 2. Lakiya Lee (Chennai) (12:02.771); 3. Sayali Pawar (Mumbai) (12:10.872).

  • Marquez reigns over Rins, Quartararo menacing on Friday: MotoGP Deutschland

    Marquez reigns over Rins, Quartararo menacing on Friday: MotoGP Deutschland

    Sachsenring, 5 July 2019: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) topped the timesheets on Day 1 of the HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, but the reigning Champion had some competition at the venue he’s reigned nine times in a row. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was second quickest, but Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) stole a few headlines in both sessions. The French rookie was fastest in FP1, and in the latter stages of the day he was denied the chance to improve his lap first as he got held up by teammate Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and second as he caught Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) at the end of his final push. Does the rookie sensation have more in the tank for Saturday?

    Conditions were warmer in the afternoon and almost the entire premier class field were able to improve their FP1 times within ten minutes of FP2 on a day of good weather in Germany – sometimes easier said than done – and two action-packed sessions, including 66 degrees of lean for Marquez and Quartararo’s determination to try and dethrone the king of the Sachsenring didn’t disappoint. And although the Frenchman didn’t manage that in the end, Quartararo’s rookie run of form in recent sessions is akin only to Marquez’ speed in 2013 – with the rookie now in the top three for 16 sessions in a row; a good omen for the rest of the weekend.

    Assen winner Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who finished on the podium here last season, was the man in P4 after the first day and just over a tenth off Quartararo, with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) next up to complete the top five; the Spaniard putting in another stunner of a performance for Austrian factory KTM.

    Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was P6 despite struggling through the pain barrier after a cycling mishap, just ahead of the fastest Ducati on Day 1: Jack Miller (Pramac Racing). Miller led a Borgo Panigale 7-8-9 as he headed Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) by half a tenth, with Petrucci’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso only a further 0.005 in arrears. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completed the top ten on Friday and therefore currently holds the last of the provisional places in Q2. The ‘Doctor’ was also in the top three in the morning.

    Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was an infinitesimal 0.005 off that fastest ten, and he’ll be the first pushing to try and crack it on Saturday morning in FP3, ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), rookie Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and home hero Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team), who is standing in for the injured Jorge Lorenzo. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) completed the fastest fifteen.

    It was a day with low rates of attrition and only Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) suffered a crash, the Italian going down in FP1. He missed FP2 as he headed for a check up in Chemnitz in the afternoon, rider ok.

    That’s it from Day 1! The top ten after FP3 will go through to Q2, and that final chance to move up the timesheets starts at 9:55 (GMT+2) on Saturday morning at the Sachsenring. Does Quartararo have an ace up his sleeve? Can Marquez move the benchmark once again? Qualifying begins at 14:10 to decide the grid.

    1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) 1:20.705
    2 – Alex Rins (SPA – Suzuki) +0.341
    3 – Fabio Quartararo* (FRA – Yamaha) +0.360
    4 – Maverick Viñales (SPA – Yamaha) +0.488
    5 – Pol Espargaro (SPA – KTM) +0.560

    *Independent Team rider

  • Sykes ends Day 1 on top at Donington Park; contenders battle at the back: World SBK

    Sykes ends Day 1 on top at Donington Park; contenders battle at the back: World SBK

    Sykes tops Friday times. A WorldSBK image

    Donington Park, 5 July 2019: With beautiful sunshine beating down on the Donington Park circuit, WorldSBK took to the track for their second Free Practice session of the day. With a flurry of activity early in the session, most of the top riders improved before settling down for the remainder of the 50-minute encounter. Like in FP1, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ended the session on top, confirming his pace and putting himself as a firm favourite for success throughout the rest of the weekend.

    Coming into FP2 as the man to beat, Sykes took to Donington Park and showed his prowess and why he is the King of Donington Park. The Huddersfield rider, who has nine victories at the circuit in WorldSBK, set a lap time with 13 minutes to go and improved his time from the morning session. His teammate for this weekend, Peter Hickman, put in a good day’s work at Donington Park and finished the day in 12th.

    In second position was Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team), who was flying the Yamaha flag high inside the top three. The British rider put in a strong lap time at the end of the session to finish just 0.018s away from Tom Sykes at the top. Lowes’ teammate, Michael van der Mark, made his return to action and had a comparably quiet FP2, finishing in eleventh position come the end of the day.

    Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) was improving steadily all the way through the session, with his incremental steps rewarding him with second at the end of the session and less than half a tenth of a second behind Sykes at the top. He ended the day as top Independent rider, despite a small crash at the end of the session, ahead of the likes of Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) in seventh, Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) in eighth and Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) in tenth.

    Fighting hard to try and get an advantage on his rivals, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was in fourth at his home event. The four-time WorldSBK champion was less than a tenth off the pace but down in fourth, at a track which he has won at only once for Kawasaki, during Race 2 in 2017. Home-hero teammate, Leon Haslam, was solidly placed inside the top five, looking to get back on the podium at home.

    The ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati team finally came to play, although not with the scorching pace they’ve sported at other rounds this season. Alvaro Bautista only managed to get into sixth come the end of the day, having finished down in 11th after the morning session. The championship leader has work to do, especially with main championship rival Jonathan Rea ahead of him after day one. Chaz Davies’ struggles continued, although the Welshman placed ninth at the end of the day.

    Notable names outside the top ten included Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), who was only 13th, whilst Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) was down in 15th. Top Honda honours went to Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) in 16th, whilst Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) was 18th and last on his return, following nearly two months on the sidelines with two broken wrists.

    #GBRWorldSBK at Donington Park: Friday
    1. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’27.733
    2. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’27.751
    3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) 1’27.775

    WorldSSP: Cluzel concludes day one on top in WorldSSP
    Seven nationalities, four manufacturers and two wildcards make up an extremely close top ten at the end of day one at Donington Park!

    In the final WorldSSP session of the day, it was once again a raging battle at the head of the field, with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) maintaining his advantage ahead of the chasing pack. With the sun beating down, Cluzel was able to improve incrementally through the session before finding a third of a second in the final ten minutes of the day to maintain the first position ahead of Saturday.

    Having looked the dominant force throughout the opening day, Jules Cluzel’s search for his second win of the season continues. The Frenchman was the only rider to dip into the 1’30 bracket on Friday, continuing to push on right the way through the session. Having dropped points in recent rounds, Donington Park acts as a make or break round for the Pirelli Thai Round winner. Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) was in second position, whilst Hannes Soomer (MPM WILSport Racedays) impressed once again in third.

    Fourth position will have to be good enough for Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), as the Frenchman slipped a couple of positions, compared to his FP1 start. The 2017 WorldSSP champion proved his worth however and proved that he was back at the front of the championship, looking as competitive as ever. Fifth place may be an uncharacteristic position for Federico Caricasulo, as the Italian struggled to break into the top positions like he had done before. Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse) was sixth.

    Back in seventh place, it was Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing) will hope to be firmly inside the top ten for the rest of the weekend, as the veteran Italian gets better session-by-session. Wildcard Jack Kennedy (Appleyard Macadam Integro) was in eighth and consolidated his top ten pace, proving the strength of himself and the team at their home circuit. Ninth place belonged to Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) whilst Brad Jones (Appleyard Macadam Integro) completed the top ten, backing his teammate up with good pace – just over one second from top spot.

    Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing) was only 11th, whilst Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was down in 13th, with home-hero Kyle Smith (Team Pedercini Racing) in 15th position.

    #GBRWorldSBK WorldSSP at Donington Park: Friday
    1. Jules Cluzel (GMT94  YAMAHA) 1’30.888
    2. Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) 1’31.078
    3. Hans Sommer  (MPM WILSport Racedays) 1’31.308