Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 71 Issue 07 i Australian Motorcycle News

TALK ABOUT DOWN to the wire! Earlier in the MotoGP season it looked like Fabio Quartararo was all but champion-elect but now, thanks to two wins on the trot, Pecco Bagnaia looks like he has an outside shot at the title. Pecco is still 48 points behind Fabio with only four races left to run, but you can be sure the factory Ducati man will have the support of teammate Jack Miller at the pointy end of the field, along with several other fast Ducati riders wanting to do the right thing by the Bologna factory. On the flipside, it seems highly unlikely that Fabio can rely on the likes of new teammate Franco Morbidelli or Petronas Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso to help him up the front. After…

AMCN HAS BAGGED a ‘blind’ track test on a yet unnamed Multistrada prototype which will be revealed to the press and public at the end of this year. With price, weight and specifications still very much under wraps, details are limited to what AMCN’s Adam Child could see and feel. Likely to be dubbed the Pikes Pikes edition, Ducati has opted for 17-inch wheels and to show how serious the firm is about its sporting intentions, the testbike was fitted with slicks for the exclusive test. Ducati has opted for semi-active Öhlins suspension, front and rear, instead of the electronic Skyhook Marzocchi items found on the 2021 Multistrada V4 S. There are four riding modes: Race, Sport, Touring and Urban, with Race mode replacing the standard bike’s Enduro mode. There’s…

➜ MODEL 2019-20 Honda CBR500R, CB500F and CB500X ➜ IMPORTER Honda Australia ➜ NUMBER OF AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES 666 ➜ ISSUE Due to a manufacturing issue with the anti-lock braking system (ABS) module it is possible that excess grease may adhere to internal components. ➜ POTENTIAL HAZARD Increased braking distance. ➜ MODEL 2020-21 Kawasaki H2 and ZX-10R/RR (all variants) ➜ IMPORTER Kawasaki Motors Pty Ltd ➜ NUMBER OF AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES 295 ➜ ISSUE Due to improper assembly of the oil pressure relief valve, it may fail and the engine may become insufficiently lubricated. This may result in a reduction of engine performance and a possible engine seizure. ➜ POTENTIAL HAZARD Rear wheel could lock, risking an accident. ➜ ACTION REQUIRED: Contact your nearest Kawasaki dealer for remedial action. However, should the oil…

AS WELL AS Euro-5 compliancy, Royal Enfield has upgraded its 411cc Himalayan adventure bike with turn-by-turn navigation, a switchable anti-lock braking system and improved comfort for the 2022 model year. Comfort upgrades include a new style of seat and a screen with improved protection, while the tank gains protection in the form of ’bars as well as an improved carry rack. The navigation, called Tripper and which debuted on the firm’s Meteor 350 earlier this year, is a simple and intuitive turn-by-turn system. Available now from $8190 ride away, the Himalayan comes with a three-year warranty and roadside assist, and there are three new colour options: Mirage Silver, Pine Green and New Granite Black. Royal Enfield claims sales in Australia and New Zealand have topped 1800 and it plans to…

Facebook Post of the issue A new Bimota always prompts some strong (and opposing) opinions Instagram Don’t Forget #amcn_mag Comment of the Issue Brett Hodgman fancies either a cheaper Triumph Speed Triple RR, or a French sub… At $33k ride away… yes they are weaponising the price as well, can almost get one of those Aussie nuclear-powered subs for that Reaching out Want to see your pride and joy featured in AMCN? The only thing we love more than writing about bikes is looking at your bikes. Tag your social pics with @aumotorcyclenews on Facebook or @amcn_mag on Instagram, or fire them off in an email to amcn@amcn.com.au And don’t forget to tell us why you love it. Get it off yer chest! Got something funny, new, old or wise…

THE FAST ROOKIE theme was powerful in the middle class as well, with Raul Fernandez fresh up from Moto3, and a race-winner at only his third attempt. Since then he’s added another five wins and three further podiums. Amazing. But he’s not the only one putting together a fantastic season, and he’s still only second overall. Leading the class is son-of-a-champion Remy Gardner, Raul’s Red Bull Ajo KTM teammate, and at 23, in his seventh full season, proving that maturity can be a trump card. Remy, who races with the number 87 in tribute to father Wayne’s 1987 500cc title, has been a model of controlled consistency. Four wins of his own are backed by another seven podium results. He hasn’t dropped a single race, and seventh in Austria was…

WHEN THE JAPANESE factories conquered GP racing in the 1960s they did so with two-strokes, with the exception of Honda. Yamaha stayed true to the chainsaw yowl of TZ race bikes and RD street bikes until global emissions legislation marked the end of the road for so-called stinkwheels. Yamaha’s first four-stroke racebike was appropriately named Genesis. The FZR750 Genesis used an FZ750 engine and would’ve won its debut race – the 1985 Suzuka Eight Hours, part of the endurance world championship – but for a dropped valve in the final minutes. It learned fast; two years later Yamaha won the Eight Hours, its first big four-stroke victory. Yamaha won its first four-stroke world championship in 2004 when David Checa and William Costes took the endurance crown, aboard an R1. Since then…

THE ACTION WAS hotting up in the Under-9s soccer match. Out of the corner of my eye I was also keeping a watch on my two-and-a-half-year-old grandson, who was standing maybe two metres back from the touchline. A furious passage of play involving his older brother found the ball spiralling out of play towards him. In two deft movements, the toddler stopped it then kicked it straight back into play. As I watched him achieve this most unexpected feat at such a young age, I realised two things. He had been kicking the ball a lot with his older brothers and he had used what sports psychologists call the ‘quiet eye’. Back in our formative days of the 1970s, us longhairs never heard an expression like ‘quiet eye’. We would…

Round 9 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 17-19 September 2021 WorldSBK Championship THE DAYS OF predictable racing in WorldSBK have long gone and the Barcelona Catalunya weekend was the perfect illustration of that. We had two changes of championship lead in as many days, and even unheard of terminal technical issues that arrived at just the wrong time for one of those championship challengers. In Superpole qualifying, on the revised 4.657km version of Catalunya, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) set the new track best alight at the end of the warm and sunny morning session, with his 1m40.408sec, fully 0.286sec faster than second placed Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx). Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) ended his previously perfect 2021 Superpole run of eight in succession on Saturday and was…

ADRIAN HUERTAS (MTM Kawasaki) moved much closer to the championship win despite only finishing seventh and fourth in Catalunya. His main title rival Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) was ruled out after a crash in Race One broke his hand and injured his shoulder. Two no-scores for the Englishman means Spaniard Huertas is 43 points ahead with two rounds and four very important races left. The two 12-lap Catalunya contests were won on Saturday and then Sunday by 2020 champion Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) and then Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha MotoxRacing), as the R3 took a rare win. Ton Kawakami (Ad78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) joined Buis and second-placed Sofuoglu on the Race One podium, with Ton’s brother Meikon fourth. Alvaro Dias Cebrian (Arco-Motor University…

JORDI TORRES TOOK his second MotoE title in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable. In Race One two title hopefuls crashed, Alessandro Zaccone (Pramac) on lap 1 and Eric Granado (One Energy) on the last lap, while trying to steal the win. That allowed Torres (Pons) through to win from Domi Aegerter (Intact GP). In the second and deciding race Torres led from the front. After a slow start, Aegerter closed in, setting up a sensational late showdown. The lead changed hands on eight occasions before the defining moment of the entire World Cup season. Aegerter’s late pass at turn 14 pushed both men wide, and in the process Torres crashed out. The Swiss rider’s celebrations were soon curtailed as he was handed a 38-second penalty – the equivalent of a ride-through…

Round 10 Circuito de Jerez, Spain, 24-26 September 2021 WorldSBK Championship EVERYTHING THAT happened after the fatal accident suffered by 15-year-old Dean Berta Viñales on Saturday rang hollow compared to any other WorldSBK weekend. How could it not? But despite the cancellation of Saturday’s WorldSBK and WorldSSP races, the racing continued on Sunday, for all three classes, with a modified schedule. Berta Viñales’s family had spoken with the organisers to give their approval to continue racing and the organisers had spoken with riders in all classes on Saturday night. Even the WorldSSP300 riders would race again on Sunday, which was met with approval and disapproval from inside and outside the paddock. The Sunday schedule was changed, meaning the usual WorldSBK 10-lap Tissot-Superpole race was replaced – effectively – by ‘Saturday’s’…

THE WORLD WAS looking forward to a potential championship decider – in favour of Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) – after Tom Booth-Amos (Fusport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) was ruled unfit after his hand injury from the previous Barcelona round. The world, racing or otherwise, became a sadder place after 15-year-old Dean Berta Viñales (Viñales Racing Team Yamaha) was killed after being struck by two closely following bikes, on the 11th lap of the race. A red flag brought the race to a halt without most knowing the reason why, but as the news gradually came out, the track action was halted for the day. Race One itself was won by Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki), from Inigo Iglesias (SWM Kawasaki) and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Yamaha MotoxRacing). It did however…

JACK MILLER HAS helped countryman Bill Van Eerde get a footing in the World Supersport Championship with the IXS-YART Yamaha squad. Van Eerde, a former Asia Talent Cup winner, made his debut at Barcelona, where he scored a 22nd-place finish in race one. Van Eerde had started the year competing in the FIM Junior Moto3 World Championship, but it was decided he had outgrown Moto3 machinery. Miller, who took Van Eerde under his wing when the 19-year-old first moved to Europe, was able to find a route. “He was in the Junior World Championship before,” said Miller. “He was ATC champion and won some races in the Rookies Cup. I was trying to help him. It hasn’t been an easy year. He was starting to get too tall, so we…

Australian Motorcycle News road test photographs are posed for by skilled, professional riders under controlled circumstances. Attempting to imitate their actions may be dangerous. Australian Motorcycle News supports and endorses rider training and wearing protective riding gear. It’s nearly eight years since a ruby-cheeked youngster tapped on Fred’s door, asking if he could help design some of the ‘modaboike pages’. This week, that lad heads through the door in the opposite direction, to take on new opportunities in the world of digital thingies. Through a plague, numerous lockdowns and drunken 2am Skype calls, issue after issue Paul Andrews has made our words look good, page after page. So we say thanks PA, may all your pixels be bright and your ‘outdoor’ bikes stay vertical.…

GUZZI, GUZZI, GUZZI. OI, OI, OI! Perth-based Moto Guzzi importer Stolarski Motorcycles had just announced the release of the new 1100cc California in Australia, and the factory in Italy had just announced that production was about to start on its new 1100 Sport, so on the outside everything seemed hunky dory for Italy’s oldest existing motorcycle marque. But behind the scenes, things weren’t so snazzy with an active search underway for a new buyer after the board announced that it had enough cash to keep production going for several more months – but after that they’d be in deep doo doo. DUCS IN A ROW In 1994, long before social media and Covid ruined our social lives, the rally calendar was thriving. And one of the busiest times on the…

If it’s a paddock basher, a for-lifer or a brand-spankin’ shiny new one, we wanna see your bike! This is the project bike l built a few years ago, made up from two 1972 CB750 K2 basket cases. Bodywork is fibreglass wrapped in carbon-fibre, wheels are 18" front and rear, it has alloy triple clamps and clip-ons, a stainless 4-into-2 system and an 820cc big-bore kit, with the engine fed by Keihin CR carbs. Surprisingly, the bike rides really well, even around town. Max Robertson These are my pride and joy, the ‘twins’. There are other bikes in the shed, but these 1999 Honda VFR800s are very special. They are both the same year models, and both are immaculate. If anyone is wondering if these beauties are hidden and not…

KTM WOULDN’T CONFIRM racing plans for the RC 390, but don’t be surprised if they enter or provide bikes for the highly competitive World SSP300 series. During the launch, KTM was also testing a racing prototype, which looked and sounded great. Full race bodywork, very loud full race exhaust from Akrapovic, a combination for Pirelli slick and SC1, revised suspension, uprated brakes and no rider aids. This was very much a prototype, a racing mule to experiment with, but highlighted KTM’s intention to race at some stage, or at least provide race parts. I managed to throw in a few laps on the impressive little bike. It steered incredibly quickly and gave even more confidence to release the brakes early and carry higher corner speed. KTM wouldn’t confirm the increase…

THE SCHOOL PREFECTS (aka FIM Stewards) have been kept very busy at GP racing’s beginner’s class, handing out punishments galore. But kids will be kids, and it doesn’t seem to be helping much. Just how effective the discipline is was demonstrated by Pedro Acosta, yet another blazing rookie, fresh from winning the Red Bull Rookies Cup, and more often than not unbeatable. At the second round, the Doha GP, the 16-year-old Spaniard was one of seven riders hit with a pitlane start, for slow riding in free practice. The outcome? He won the race. This is a measure of the rider as well as the ineffectual punishment regime, and of the nature of Moto3 racing. Almost every time huge leading groups – anywhere from 10 to 20 strong – fight…

WHEN WORLD SUPERBIKES launched in 1988 Yamaha was hardly ready. While Honda had the RC30 and Ducati raced its booming 851 V-twin, Yamaha riders had to make do with the more basic FZ750. They waited five years for the arrival of the YZF750, which still wasn’t good enough. In 1999 the R7 arrived, Yamaha’s first proper go at a WorldSBK homologation special. The following year Noriyuki Haga and the R7 were fast enough to win the championship, but the Sultan of Slide failed a doping test and ended up second. Incredibly it was another decade before Yamaha finally conquered WorldSBK, largely thanks to the know-how they’d gathered by winning in MotoGP with Valentino Rossi. The latest YZF-R1 owed much to Rossi’s YZR-M1 and was good enough to take American Ben…

On 17 September 1961, Mike Hailwood and his four-cylinder RC162 won the 250cc Swedish grand prix at Kristianstad, securing Honda’s first world championship as he crossed the line. Jim Redman finished the race in fourth, completing a clean sweep of the top four places for Honda, watched by company founder Soichiro Honda, who had made a rare trip to Europe – from Tokyo to Stockholm via Hong Kong, Mumbai, Karachi, Cairo and Rome – to see his dream come true. “There is no need to be a winner in Japan – first, I want to be the world winner,” Honda-san had said seven years earlier. Redman was Honda’s most successful rider of the so-called Golden Age, winning six world championships between 1962 and 1965. Six decades later no other Honda…

IT’S BEEN 10 years since my first MotoGP appearance with Ducati and it’s something I reflect on sometimes over a couple of beers now. My route to MotoGP started when I met a couple of blokes at a trackday with this wild looking bike they’d built called the AV1. After sharing a few laughs, they asked if I’d give it a ride and some feedback. These blokes were Klaus Hirsekorn and Alex Baumgaertel, co-founders of Kalex. I was living in Germany at the time, earning a living racing in the IDM Championship and Endurance World Championship, and suddenly I was offered a job as a test rider for them. A couple of years later in 2010, Kalex entered the first season of Moto2 with Sito Pons’ team. I was still…

2020 Winners WSBK R1 J Rea 34m34.245s WSBK R2 C Davies 34m29.729s WSS R1 A Verdoia 21m27.708s WSS R2 A Locatelli 30m11.013s WSBK Race 1 DNF T RAZGATLIOGLU (TUR, YAM), G GERLOFF (USA, YAM). POLE POSITION (NEW RECORD) SYKES 1m40.408s (REA 1m41.619s, 2020) FASTEST LAP REDDING 1m56.166s WSBK Superpole race FASTEST LAP (NEW RECORD) RAZGATLIOGLU 1m41.493s (BAUTISTA 1m41.828s, 2020) WSBK Race 2 DNF L CRESSON (BEL, KAW), L EPIS (AUS, KAW), L EPIS (AUS, KAW), L MAHIAS (FRA, KAW), A LOWES (GBR, KAW), T SYKES (GBR, BMW). FASTEST LAP RINALDI 1m42.566s RIDER STANDINGS AFTER 9 OF 13 ROUNDS 1 RAZGATLIOGLU 399, 2 REA 398, 3 REDDING 339, 4 RINALDI 218, 5 LOCATELLI 201, 6 LOWES 192, 7 VAN DER MARK 172, 8 SYKES 167, 9 GERLOFF 158, 10 BAUTISTA 142,…

Round 14 Misano, Italy, 17-19 September 2021 MotoGP World Championship IF THE CHINESE proverb is to be believed, the best things in life come in twos. Yin and yang; male and female; and in Francesco Bagnaia’s (Lenovo Ducati) case, MotoGP victories. The Italian sustained the rich vein of form that saw him defeat Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) the previous week to triumph at home after a late Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) onslaught. Bagnaia’s staunch defence here may have lacked the all-out kung-fu combat of the previous race, but there was reason to believe it was just as impressive. While his rival in Aragon was still far from full fitness, regaining strength and feeling aboard one of the poorest incarnations of Honda’s RC213V in living memory, here he had to…

THIS WAS A super four-way fight. Raul Fernandez (Ajo Kalex) overcame early leaders Sam Lowes (Marc VDS Kalex) and Aron Canet (Aspar Boscoscuro), before Remy Gardner (Ajo Kalex) joined the fun, after fighting off first Marco Bezzecchi (Sky VR46 Kalex) then Xavi Vierge (Petronas Kalex). Once Fernandez was ahead he showed unerring consistency, posting the consecutive fastest laps the 18th and 19th time around to eke out 0.4sec on Canet. By now Gardner had overcome those scrapping behind to latch onto the lead group. Moves on Lowes (lap 17) and Canet (24) gave him time to work on his teammate up front. Only on the final two laps did Fernandez show signs of fatigue. And Gardner smelt blood, hacking 0.25sec out of his teammate’s lead on the penultimate lap, then…

Did you know? After the impossibility of an Argentina race that is now looking more like a reality, it seems that so is the season finale in Indonesia. The 13th round of the championship is very much on again, although a week later than planned, set for 19-21 November WSBK Race 1 DNF L MERCARDO (ARG, HON), M RINALDI (ITA, DUC), S CAVALIERI (ITA, DUC). POLE POSITION (NEW RECORD) RAZGATLIOGLU 1m38.512s (REDDING 1m38.736s, 2020) FASTEST LAP REA 1m39.837s WSBK Race 2 DNF L CRESSON (BEL, KAW), K NOZANE (JPN, YAM), C PONSSON (FRA, YAM). FASTEST LAP REDDING 1m40.776s RIDER STANDINGS AFTER 9 OF 13 ROUNDS 1 RAZGATLIOGLU 449, 2 REA 429, 3 REDDING 375, 4 RINALDI 227, 5 LOCATELLI 227, 6 LOWES 199, 7 VAN DER MARK 189, 8 GERLOFF…

JOAN MIR “I’m a bit angry because I knew, I know my potential this year. I’m angry. I’m riding better, I’m making less mistakes and I’m a better rider. And I will not get the championship.” Joan Mir concedes defeat with a 67-point deficit to Quartararo. MARC MARQUEZ “When Bastianini overtook me, I immediately understood this rookie has a great opportunity. But then I saw that I was over my limit, and I said, okay, cool down, let him go.” Marc Marquez admits he didn’t have the pace to stay with Enea Bastianini. FRANCO MORBIDELLI “Just jumping on the bike after so much time it basically just feels like a spaceship. So, I cannot give any feedback or anything about the difference between the two bikes because it was so much time…

DEAN BERTA VIÑALES suffered fatal injuries in a multiple rider incident near the end of the first WorldSSP300 race of the weekend at Jerez. The 15-year-old Vinales Racing Team Yamaha rider crashed while riding at the front of a group just outside the top 10. “Berta Viñales was involved in a multi-rider incident at Turn 1, with the race immediately Red Flagged. The rider suffered severe head and thoracic injuries,” an official WorldSBK press release stated. “Medical vehicles arrived at the site immediately and the rider was attended to on track, in the ambulance and at the circuit Medical Centre. Despite the best efforts of the circuit medical staff, the Medical Centre has announced that Berta Viñales has sadly succumbed to his injuries.” All Saturday track activity was halted and…

AUSTRALIA WILL COMPETE in the final of the Monster Energy Speedway of Nations tournament after coming up trumps in their semi-final meeting. Both semis were staged in Latvia on consecutive nights with the top two teams after the 21 heats of pairs racing locking in a berth in the final, while the next two teams then had to contest a Last Chance Qualifier for the final – all races scored on a 4,3,2,0 basis. On Night 1 Poland (37) and Sweden (34) topped the scorechart while Denmark (32) then beat the USA (28) to claim third, while Finland (24), Slovenia (17) and the Czech Republic(17) trailed. Australia seemingly drew the easier of the two semi-finals, particularly when the team representing the Russian Federation did not have the services of previous…

Access, AMCN, PO Box 6, Bittern, Vic, 3918 access@amcn.com.au Letter of the issue OGIO Drifter Dark Static Backpack Win OGIO’s ultra-padded air-mesh backpack valued at $119! Include your full name and address in your letter, via post or email. Long letters will be cut to fit, so don’t ramble. The views expressed by readers are not necessarily those of the editor. Letter of the issue No, officer As a note regarding Scott McKee’s letter in AMCN Vol 71 No 05. I also live in the Hawkesbury LGA and have had the unfortunate meeting with that highway patrol officer. I had just fitted a new clutch basket to my daily rider, and was on a short ride to adjust the settings. I was within 10km from home, in a line of…

Grand Prix success is no new thing for Australian riders. But by recent standards, 2021 is a vintage year, with Jack Miller a regular threat in MotoGP, while Remy Gardner is on course to take overall glory in the Moto2 class. Both have enjoyed intense years. Miller brought his season back from the brink to win two successive races in his first year in factory Ducati colours. And Gardner has pieced together a campaign of sustained brilliance that has earned him a 34-point championship lead with four races to go. This is the story of their respective seasons. JACK MILLER A ROLLERCOASTER SEASON A MOVE TO the Ducati’s factory team for 2021 was earmarked as a year when Jack would make good on the promise of previous years and push for…

1 RISE FROM THE ASHES Ficeda Accessories From $249.95 1300 437 711 ficeda.com.au The Falco Fenix 3 Air boot features a Micro-synth upper and Air-tech ventilated liner providing excellent warm weather comfort. There are ventilated shin, heel and calf plates, and stretch panels for comfort, while safety requirements are met with a dual joint ankle pivot system, and D30 ankle cup inserts. 2 RED BAG GIVES YOU WINGS Honda Australia $270 1300 246 632 honda.com.au The Meridian Gear Bag from Honda features a boot/knee brace locker with waterproof lining, a padded helmet compartment and integrated goggle storage with separate pocket for lenses and roll-offs. The large main compartment is vented to eliminate odours, and a waterproof change mat lurks within the bag’s base. 3 FLEX FOUR ME Whites Moto From $38.79 (03)…

RACING USED TO be predictable. History has long periods when you could pick a winner, before a wheel had turned, before you’d even arrived at the track. One rider, or in richer spells one of two (possibly three) riders. Think Roberts and Sheene, Spencer and Lawson, Rainey and Schwantz, Doohan, Rossi, Marquez… Familiar, experienced riders ruled. Rookies took time to learn. That’s how it worked. Not any more. This is a year when beginners’ luck is extraordinarily strong – the Moto3 championship is led by a rookie (Pedro Acosta) chased by another rookie (Sergio Garcia); Moto2 has a rookie (Raul Fernandez) hounding the well-seasoned Remy Gardner. Last Sunday at Misano, yet another precocious performance proved the point. After Brad Binder’s win last year and this year Jorge Martin’s poles, podiums…

MANUEL GONZALEZ (ParkinGo Yamaha) secured the Superpole ‘win’ on Saturday morning, before going on to secure a wet race second place in Race One and then a perfectly judged win in Race Two. He had to give best to the reborn Randy Krummenacher in what was suddenly a wet Race One, just after the dry start. Loic Arbel (Andotrans team Torrento Yamaha) stayed out on slicks and led for a long time, dropped back as almost everybody else went in for full wets, then gained places for sixth as the track dried out slowly. Krummenacher was fully 16 seconds up on second placed Gonzalez, who just held off Raffaele de Rosa (Orelac VerdNatura Kawasaki) – a portent of things to come in very different circumstances in Race Two. Can Öncü…

Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano Adriatico, Italy Circuit length 4.226km Race distance MotoGP 114.102km Moto2 105.650km Moto3 97.198km 2020 winners MotoGP F Morbidelli 42m02.272s Moto2 L Marini 40m41.774s Moto3 J McPhee 39m48.952s Round 14 MOTO2 25 LAPS DNF S CHANTRA (THA, KAL), L DALLA PORTA (ITA, KAL), B BALTUS (BEL, NTS), Y MONTELLA (ITA, BOS), S CORSI (ITA, MVA). POLE POSITION R FERNANDEZ 1m36.264s FASTEST LAP R FERNANDEZ 1m36.938s STANDINGS AFTER 14 OF 18 ROUNDS 1 GARDNER 271, 2 R FERNANDEZ 237, 3 BEZZECCHI 190, 4 LOWES 140, 5 CANET 119, 6 A FERNANDEZ 118, 7 DI GIANNANTONIO 108, 8 OGURA 104, 9 SCHROTTER 84, 10 VIERGE 75, 11 NAVARRO 74, 12 ROBERTS 59, 13 VIETTI 53, 14 ARBOLINO 41, 15 BENDSNEYDER 39. RACE 1 7 LAPS RACE 2…

FOR 14 LAPS and for the second time in three races that rarest of things, a Moto3 runaway win, was on the cards. As he had done at Silverstone two-time Misano winner Romano Fenati (Max Racing Husqvarna) pushed from the start to build up an insurmountable 2.7sec lead over a six-way fight for second. When he made one mistake it was a big one, losing the front through turn 15 and his faint title hopes milliseconds later. From there, Dennis Foggia (Leopard Honda) seized control of the contest. As Sergio Garcia (Aspar GASGAS), Andrea Migno (Snipers Honda), Jaume Masia (Ajo KTM) and Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia KTM) fought for second, the Italian, who put inter-team struggles behind him to sign to stay with Leopard in 2022, built up a 0.5sec lead,…

A FIRST EVER WorldSSP Superpole ‘win’ for Philipp Öttl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) saw him take pole for the ultimately cancelled Saturday race and then again on Sunday, when the lone race of the WorldSSP weekend actually took place. From the start Öttl fancied his chances of a first WorldSSP race win, but championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Yamaha) had other ideas. He inexorably launched ahead just a few metres at a time, and just as Öttl thought he had picked up some track debris on his front tyre on the first lap, then thought it may be a puncture, Aegerter was gone and going further ahead. Öttl was shocked by how far Aegerter was ahead, which is as clear an indication of how much Aegerter wanted to win after…