Category: Moto GP

1. MotoE debut: top-ten for Ferrari, Savadori crashes out

   Posted on 8:00pm Friday 5th Jul 2019

   The inaugural day of action at Sachsenring saw the first free practice sessions of the newly-born FIM MotoE World Cup and for Team Trentino Gresini was a bittersweet day.
   
   Matteo Ferrari was very active on track (16 laps completed) and was among the fastest riders as the maiden session got underway before showing a great pace and logging a personal best of 1’29.496secs lap-time, which was competitive enough to place him within today’s top-10. The 11 still has some room for improvement on the second split, but he generally claimed a good feeling with the bike and the track.
   
   On the other side of the pit-box, Lorenzo Savadori did not enjoy a positive day: the #32 experienced a high-side at turn one few minutes into the opening sessions, meaning he could only ride in the afternoon. Lorenzo got away with a painful leg, which did not allow him to be at his best in the afternoon, although he is confident to be back to full fitness tomorrow.
   
   MotoE proceedings will resume tomorrow at 4pm for the single-lap E-Pole qualifying session, which gets underway at 4pm local time (GMT+2).

2. APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI - Sachsenring preview

   Posted on 3:00pm Wednesday 3rd Jul 2019

   FINAL GP BEFORE THE SUMMER BREAK ON THE SACHSENRING

   ANDREA IANNONE KEEN TO CONFIRM THE GROWTH TREND SEEN IN ASSEN

   GOOD NEWS EXPECTED FROM ALEIX ESPARGARÓ ON RECOVERY FROM THE BARCELONA ACCIDENT
   
   Before the summer break, MotoGP makes a stop in Germany to tackle the 3.7 kilometres of the Sachsenring. It is the shortest track on the calendar, but full of treachery: with 10 left-handers and only 3 right-handers, the German asphalt puts the engineers to the test, especially in tyre choice and use. On this subject, all the Michelins allocated for the German GP are asymmetrically constructed, with softer compound on the right side.

   Aprilia heads to Germany after the good result in Assen, with Andrea Iannone increasingly more competitive, finishing the race in the top 10. These are the first fruits of much work put in by the Italian rider and his team. The biggest question mark for Aleix in Holland had to do with his physical condition after the crash in Barcelona, doubts that the Spanish rider overcame by gritting his teeth and taking home precious points in the race. The situation is improving steadily but, with only a few days of rest, Aleix’s condition will be put to a hard test by the short German circuit which is physically extremely demanding.
   
   ALEIX ESPARGARO'
   "After the Assen race, my knee had swollen up a lot, so as soon as I got home, I continued with rehabilitation. The goal is to be able to ride more smoothly on the Sachsenring, a track where I have always felt particularly good."
   
   ANDREA IANNONE
   "The German track is very complicated, narrow and twisty. It will be an important test bench for us. We are working a lot on managing the electronics and on a circuit like this one, we’ll be able to assess our progress from this point of view. The goal is to have another good weekend after the one in Assen, where we had a nice confidence boost."

3. Team Trentino Gresini MotoE and IBL Banca join forces in 2019

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 21st Jun 2019

   Leading Italian company in the salary and pension-backed loan sector IBL Banca will support the all-Italian team Gresini for the five events of MotoE, the new all-electric category of the FIM MotoGP World Championship.

   The logo of IBL Banca will be present in the paddock as well as on the bikes and leathers of Team Gresini, one of the top Italian institutions of the motorcycle racing world - that was founded back in 1997 by two-time world champion Fausto Gresini.

   The rider line-up will see the youngster Matteo Ferrari – born in 1997 – joined by 25-year-old Lorenzo Savadori, who has a wealth of experience across many classes and championship. Savadori showed great potential during Valencia test this week and both riders will be ready as soon as MotoE action will finally start in Sachsenring.

4. David Johnson sets third fastest time in TT Superbike qualifying

   Posted on 12:00pm Sunday 2nd Jun 2019

   It’s been a disruptive week on the Isle of Man for the 2019 TT races, with just two qualifying sessions going ahead in seven days. The Honda Racing team with Ian Hutchinson and David Johnson have been patiently waiting for the sun to shine and today there was action again around the Mountain course, where Johnson set the third fastest time in the Superbike class, aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2.

   Since last Saturday (25 May) only three sessions have been held, one of them being the Supersport/Lightweight/Newcomer last Sunday. In Tuesday’s first scheduled session Johnson impressed with his pace and was amongst the quickest in the Superbike and Superstock class – a feat the Australian was able to repeat today with a third place in the Superbike qualifying, posting a time of 17:39.206 mins (128.236 mph). Johnson also was quick on the Honda CBR600RR, posting the ninth fastest time in the Supersport class.

   Teammate Hutchinson suffered a crash in Tuesday’s practice session at the 11th Milestone – the 16-time TT winner was left uninjured after the fall. This afternoon ‘Hutchy’ went straight out on the Fireblade in the Superbike class, and ended the qualifying session aboard the CBR600RR strong; setting the sixth fastest time.

   Tomorrow (Monday 3 June) will be the first race day of the 2019 TT races with the RST Superbike Race (4 laps) scheduled to go at 10:45, the Monster Energy Supersport TT Race (4 laps) will follow and is scheduled to go ahead at 18:30 (all times local).

   Click here for Monday’s full schedule.

   To keep up-to-date with all the latest team news follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter and Honda Pro Racing on Facebook and Instagram.

5. Le Mans Race

   Posted on 5:00pm Sunday 19th May 2019

   ALEIX AND APRILIA IN THE POINTS AGAIN AT THE LE MANS GP

   ANDREA’S SUNDAY ENDS WITH A DNF DUE TO PAIN FROM HIS CRASH IN JEREZ

   His twelfth-place finish at Le Mans gives Aleix Espargaró important points, despite the disappointment of not finishing in the top ten. In the race, the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rider had to deal with grip that was not enough to keep the pace of the leaders on a track like the stop-and-go French circuit. The low temperatures also kept him from being incisive, particularly in the second half of the race, and Aleix had to contain the damage, bringing home four championship points in spite of a penalty levied against him for cutting a chicane.

   Andrea gave it a go. Declared fit to race on Thursday, Iannone went out on the track in pain, but hoping to put the Jerez crash behind him, along with the pain in his left ankle that had forced him to miss the Andalusian race. Instead, the pain worsened gradually, session after session, and it seemed clear as early as the warm up session that he would likely not be able to finish the race. In common accord with his team, the decision was made not to risk compromising the much-awaited Mugello race. Andrea lined up on the grid – even moving up several positions – but had to throw in the towel on the ninth lap.
   
   ALEIX ESPARGARO'
   "Taking points home is always positive, but I cannot be satisfied. I was unable to follow the leaders, especially because of the lack of grip that is so important on a track with these characteristics. There was really only one possible tyre choice with these low temperatures. In fact, we were all in the same conditions. Now we need to work hard to make progress. Our rivals have improved and it is getting harder and harder to finish in the top ten."
   
   ANDREA IANNONE
   "Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the race today. The pain in my ankle just got to be too much. The situation got worse day by day and, also thinking of the next race in Mugello, we decided to contain the damage. We will continue working on recovery now, trying to rest the ankle and changing the training programme in order to still stay fit. I have always achieved good results at Mugello in my career, so I want to be at 100% when we get there."