2020

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Poor performance for works Yamaha as Vinales and Rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Kevin Peterson08 mins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi engaged in the busy mid-pack fights in the early laps of the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana. However, after all riders settled into their positions the race became a lonely ride for the Yamaha duo. They ended in 10th and 12th place respectively. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales had to make up a lot of ground after a difficult opening lap at the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana. The Spaniard put his head down and cruised to a top-10 finish. Valentino Rossi got a taste for battling on track for race positions again. Thanks to a strong start and a mid-race head-to-head with Cal Crutchlow, he secured 12th place today. Viñales had a tough start, dropping from a sixth-place starting position to 13th crossing the finish line for the first time, but he soon recomposed himself. Setting his fastest race lap on lap 4, the Spaniard settled into his position on track, with his team-mate in pursuit of him for a while. “The start was difficult, but I tried to concentrate, get the rhythm, and be better. Somehow I never really got that feeling that I had some races ago. But I did the maximum I could in the race, and now all we can do as a team is to try to understand what we can improve for the final round. The next race we ride in Portimão, which is a track I like, and we will try to go fast. We hope to have a bit more grip there so we can get a better result. “I want to say congratulations to Joan. He is a deserving winner of this year’s title.” Vinales said. However, after eight laps the Valencia GP became a lonely ride for Top Gun. With an over-3s gap to the rider in front of him and a 1s gap to the rider behind him, the Yamaha man focused on his rhythm. With multiple riders crashing out or running wide throughout the course of the race, Viñales ended in tenth place, 19.043s from first. Rossi was keen on getting in 27 race laps around the Valencia track, even if he had to battle in the busy mid-pack. He had a good start from 16th on the grid and skilfully manoeuvred his way through the chaos of the opening stages. Using his experience, he avoided all on-track drama and made up two places on the first lap in the process. At this level, coming back strong is something you have to do step-by-step. I needed this race, because last week I did just four laps. I had six consecutive zero-point results because of mistakes, a problem with the bike, and Covid-19. We know that here it’s difficult for me, because this is my worst track in my whole career. We tried everything. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of grip, but in the end we finished the race. I wasn’t fast enough, but I was consistent all the way to the end, and also physically I feel good. This is important. Now we hope we can feel better with the bike and the tyres in Portimão next week. We will try to be more competitive. “I think Mir deserves this championship. He is mature for his age and doesn’t make mistakes in crucial moments, so congratulations to him,” 9-time world champion Valentino Rossi said. He now found himself in 14th, chasing his team-mate. The duo together gained two more positions due to mistakes from other riders who got caught out by the slippery Ricardo Tormo track. With 19 laps to go, The Doctor lost some positions, but he wasn‘t going to let it slide. Though Francesco Bagnaia, who was one of the riders who slipped past, was out of his reach, Rossi was up for a sparring match with Cal Crutchlow. On lap 16, the Yamaha rider took over 13th place and soon created a gap. The remainder of the race was uneventful for the Italian. With one more rider crashing ahead of him, he crossed the finish line in 12th place, 19.717s from the front. The 2020 Rider MotoGP Title was decided after today’s race, so for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team-mates there now only remains the fight for their final rankings. Viñales stays in fourth with 127 points, 44 from the top. Rossi remains in 15th place, with a 109-point gap to first. Yamaha is third in the constructor standings, and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP is in fifth position in the team classification. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team extend their congratulations to Joan Mir for winning the Championship Title. For the final race of the season, the team will now travel to the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão, where next week’s Grandé Premio de Portugal will be held from 20-22 November.

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Morbidelli wins Valencia MotoGP as Mir takes the championship title for Suzuki

Kevin Peterson05 mins

Joan Mir has won the 2020 MotoGP championship, ending a 20-year wait for Suzuki, as Franco Morbidelli won a last-lap Valencia Grand Prix thriller from Jack Miller.Mir is the first new MotoGP champion since Marc Marquez in 2013 and becomes the first rider to win the crown in Moto3 and the premier class, after coming home a safe seventh in at Valencia. Miller got the better run into Turn 1 off the line, but ran wide and allowed Morbidelli to come back through, while his SRT teammate Fabio Quartararo went off at Turn 2 after running out of room in the braking zone. This dropped Quartararo down the order, with his race lasting until lap nine when he crashed at Turn 6 having once again dropped out of the points, completely ending his championship hopes. Mir navigated the opening lap safely, putting his Suzuki into 10th while Suzuki teammate Alex Rins had leaped up from 14th to seventh. Morbidelli engaged supremely consistent pace in the opening laps to quickly build a buffer over the chasing Miller and KTM of Pol Espargaro. By lap seven his lead stood at seven tenths, with Morbidelli opening that gap up to 1.2s by the 13th tour. Then the SRT rider’s lead started to come down, with Miller getting to within a second by lap 18 and continuing to eat into Morbidelli’s advantage over the next few tours. With five laps to run, Miller was just three tenths behind Morbidelli, though the Italian responded in turn to get his lead back up to half a second. Miller nailed his run out of the final corner to use the brute power of the Pramac Ducati to pass Morbidelli into the first corner at the start of the final lap, and just about held on despite running wide. Morbidelli threw his Yamaha back up the inside of Turn 2, with Miller retaliating at Turn 4 – though this was once again countered with a daring raid on the inside of Turn 5 from Morbidelli. The Italian clung on by 0.093 seconds on the run to the chequered flag to score his third win of the 2020 season, with KTM’s Pol Espargaro a distant third. Alex Rins was fourth on his Suzuki, but it wasn’t enough to delay Mir’s coronation. Rins beat Brad Binder (KTM) and the Tech3 of Miguel Oliveira. Mir pipped Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso to seventh, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales rounding out the top 10. The final points were taken by Pramac’s Francesco Bagnaia, Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow on the LCR Honda, Stefan Bradl (Honda) and Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci. Takaaki Nakagami crashed out late on at the final corner attempting to take third from Espargaro, while Joahnn Zarco fell from his Avintia Ducati on lap six. Not since Kenny Roberts Jr. in 2000 has Suzuki won the riders’ title in the premier class, with Mir becoming just the sixth Suzuki rider in history to be crowned MotoGP world champion.

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Lewis Hamilton wins the Turkish GP as he takes the 7th championship title

Kevin Peterson014 mins

Lewis Hamilton clinched the 2020 Formula 1 world title with victory in a wet and wild Turkish Grand Prix over Sergio Perez, while Valtteri Bottas finished 14th after several spins.The majority of the race was led by polesitter Lance Stroll, who lost out by taking a second stop for intermediates, a strategy Charles Leclerc used to charge to third in the closing stages, which he lost to teammate Sebastian Vettel after making a last-gaps move on Perez, while Mercedes opted to leave Hamilton on a one-stopper after he had charged up the leading Racing Point cars. The result gives Hamilton his seventh world championship, level with Michael Schumacher’s record title haul. At the start, all the cars made slow, slippery starts, but it was the Red Bull cars that could not carry enough momentum off the line, which meant Max Verstappen and Alex Albon were quickly swamped from second and fourth by the Renault and Mercedes cars. Esteban Ocon followed Perez into Turn 1 in third place as Stroll led away from pole, but he was tapped into a spin by Daniel Ricciardo, who had turned out of the left-hander to avoid Hamilton, with the Mercedes suddenly appearing on his inside. Ocon spun around and Bottas was left with nowhere to go, spinning in sync with the Renault as he avoided contact – although the Mercedes driver later tagged Ocon into a second spin, giving him a left-rear puncture, as he lost the rear of his W11 at the Turn 9 left-hander later on lap one. Stroll and Perez surged clear, with Hamilton up to third from sixth on the grid, but he slid off at Turn 9 and was jumped by the fast-starting Vettel, who was up from 11th on the grid, and the recovering Verstappen. At the end of lap one of 58, Stroll had a lead of 3.6s over Perez, which he set about extending to over five seconds with a series of fastest laps over the next few tours before the Mexican driver started to ease back towards his teammate. After Leclerc had proved the time was right to take intermediates with a stop from P14 on lap six, the leaders started to come in two laps later, led by Vettel and Hamilton from third and fifth – by which time Hamilton had become the fastest driver on track. When they came in on lap eight, Verstappen was unleashed from behind Vettel and he insisted on staying out on his full wets until lap 11, two laps after Stroll had come in and easily retained the net lead. Perez pitted the lap ahead of Verstappen, but had a slow right front change, and when the Red Bull finally came in – with Albon waiting until lap as the last of the leaders to change tyres – Verstappen just manage to jump ahead of Vettel, fractionally behind Perez. Stroll’s lead once the stops had shaken out was up to 10.7s, with the race then neutralised on lap 13 by the virtual safety car as Antonio Giovinazzi – who had crashed on the way to the grid ahead of the race, as did George Russell – pulled over to retire on the straight down the hill from Turn 8. When the race resumed two laps later, the Red Bull drivers were able to fire their tyres up best of the leaders, with Verstappen harrying Perez and Albon easily passing Vettel at Turn 7 on lap 16 after Hamilton had locked up and slid off at Turn 12 – the track’s main passing point – the lap the VSC ended. Verstappen had a chance to pass Perez when the Racing Point slipped out of Turn 9 on lap 18, after he had begun to make significant in-roads into Stroll’s lead, but after the Red Bull looked to Perez’s inside of the Turn 11 kink he shot out on the kerbs on the outside and lost the rear, spinning off at high speed and falling behind Albon, Vettel and Hamilton. As he had flat-spotted his tyres, Verstappen had to pit for another set of inters, falling to eighth with Albon then homing in on Perez as Hamilton struggled to stay with Vettel as the teams started to think about switching to dry tyres. By lap 24, Perez had whittled Stroll’s lead down to the four-second mark, with Albon following closely behind before then fading back over the next five laps as he struggled with the inters starting to wear on the drying track. The tread falling away on the green-walled tyres seemed to favour Vettel and Hamilton, as they started to home in on the leaders as the race approached the halfway stage, when Leclerc again triggered another round of stops as he pitted for more inters from ninth. His pace encouraged Vettel to pit as well, with Albon then gifting Hamilton third with spin at Turn 4 on lap 34, after which he immediately pitted. Up front, Perez was suddenly closing right up to Stroll, getting with one second – DRS had been activated on lap 30 – as Racing Point considered whether to take the fresh inters or leave its drivers out. But with Hamilton suddenly looming and the Ferraris flying on their new tyres, Stroll pitted on lap 36, coming out fourth, behind Verstappen – a factor again thanks to his early second stop. Hamilton instructed Mercedes to leave him out and by the start of lap 37 he was within one second of Perez’s car, then making a simple DRS pass on the long run to Turn 12 to take P1, which he had in the opening laps been nearly a pitstop behind. The Briton quickly dropped Perez, who also did not pit for a second set of inters, building a gap on nearly 20s over the next 10 laps. In the pack behind, Vettel, now being followed by the charging Leclerc, attacked a struggling Stroll into Turn 12 on lap 39, and when the…

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Turn of events as Stroll keeps pole and Norris penalised

Kevin Peterson06 mins

In the aftermath of Saturday’s hectic Formula 1 qualifying session for the Turkish Grand Prix and Lance Stroll’s shock pole position, it briefly seemed his jubilation would be short-lived. As the stewards picked their way through the various incidents in a messy qualifying that included two red flags and an hour-long Q1 session, pole-man Stroll came into the spotlight for a possible yellow flag infringement. TV footage showed that Stroll’s teammate, Sergio Perez, had spun ahead of him on track during his fastest Q3 lap, resulting in a yellow flag being waved at Turn 7. Stroll was informed of the spin, but nevertheless set his fastest time and grabbed a shock pole position. The stewards reviewed the incident and ultimately cleared Stroll, deeming that he had slowed down for the yellow flag, but that the telemetry data had not shown as much due to the significant time gains made elsewhere in the changeable conditions. McLaren driver Lando Norris was also investigated over a yellow flag incident, concerning Nicholas Latifi’s spin at Turn 8 towards the end of Q1. While Norris was also deemed to have slowed down for the yellow flags, he still got copped with a five-place grid penalty that dropped him back to 16th on the grid. So why was there such a big difference in the penalties applied to the two drivers? It ultimately comes down to the regulations, and the fact that single-waved yellow flags were shown for Perez’s spin, but double-waved yellows were shown for Latifi. The single-waved yellow was shown at Turn 7 following Perez’s spin, prompting Stroll’s engineer to inform him of the need to ease off. The telemetry showed that Stroll “clearly came off the throttle, coasted into the corner, and then accelerated when clear of the incident”, as per the stewards’ report. As Stroll exited Turn 8, his engineer came back on the radio to say: “That was a single yellow so keep pushing.” It was an important message, as even thought Stroll had slowed for Perez’s spin, had there been double yellow flags, he would have been forced to abandon his lap completely. This is where Norris tripped up. The stewards noted that although the McLaren driver “was not attempting to set a quick laptime, due to the changing track conditions, he nevertheless did so and thereby breached the referenced regulations”. The regulations in question are buried in Appendix H of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, which straightforwardly explains the meaning of the marshal flag signals. Under double-waved yellow flags, it reads: “Reduce your speed significantly, do not overtake, and be prepared to change direction or stop. There is a hazard wholly or partly blocking the track and/or marshals working on or beside the track. “During free practice and qualifying, it must be evident that a driver has not attempted to set a meaningful lap time”. It then clarifies that “this means the driver should abandon the lap”, although there is no requirement to pit. Therefore as the track improved significantly and offered huge gains to drivers, even when trying to back off and abandon the lap, Norris’s improvement was enough to trigger a sizeable penalty. And in Stroll’s case, the fact it was just a single-waved yellow meant he was free to complete his shock charge to pole position, and ensure his fairytale day did not end on a sour note.

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Marquez suffers hand injury in a violent crash in quali

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Honda’s Alex Marquez has escaped with a bone marrow edema in his left hand following his violent crash in qualifying for the Valencia Grand Prix on Saturday. Marquez suffered a vicious highside in the opening stages of Q1 at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit at the Turn 11 right-hander, landing heavily on his backside. Despite being slow to get to his feet, Marquez did get back to his Honda garage to take his second bike – though only completed an outlap before calling time on his session. He was taken to hospital for checks, where he was diagnosed with a bone marrow edema in the capitate bone of his left hand. Marquez will ride in the warm-up session on Sunday before taking a decision to race. “It was not an easy day today at all,” Marquez, who qualified in 20th, said. “First the conditions were very difficult, never fully dry and never fully wet. When it came to Q1 I knew I had to push even if it was still risky, I was pushing very hard for a better lap time and unfortunately I had a really big crash. “I came down very hard on my hip and lower back, after a minute I was able to get back and I tried to go out on the second bike but when the adrenaline wore off, it was clear I could not do another lap. Now we just have to see what the pain is like tomorrow.” KTM’s Brad Binder was directly behind Marquez when he crashed and says he was lucky to avoid being struck by the errant RC213V. “It was quite hectic,” said Binder. “It bit him so quickly, he was so early in the corner and that was a good indication that there was possibly a little bit of water down. I was really lucky that I decided to make a little left turn. If I just… It seemed it was already behind me and I decided to go left anyway. “I think the bike would have probably landed on my handlebar or at least at the side of me, so I was quite lucky to walk away from that one with no issues. It was quite sketchy.”

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Pirelli brings the wrong tyres to the Turkish GP

Kevin Peterson06 mins

Pirelli boss admits he didn’t know the track had been recently resurfaced; Formula 1 drivers struggle to find grip. On Friday afternoon, after the Formula 1 cars completed practice for the F1 Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park Circuit, the organizers got some Renault Clios together and let them run around the circuit, hoping that they would put down some rubber so that the F1 drivers would have some grip on Saturday. The track on Friday was not just green, it was ridiculous. “Don’t think I’ve ever felt such low grip in the dry before,” said Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen, the bravest of the brave in modern F1. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was quickest on Friday. “We did well to react to the conditions out on track,” Verstappen said. “It is very slippery out there, but at the end of the day we just have to adapt to it. I think we are all still about five seconds off where we should be and I hope it’s not going to rain because then we may actually need spikes! “I don’t think softer tires would have made a difference, we did go faster when going from a hard to a soft, but it’s just the grip on the tarmac.” There were two reasons for the situation. Istanbul Park was resurfaced less than two weeks ago. On top of that, the weather was very cool. And it didn’t help that the organizers decided to wash the track overnight. “The new asphalt proved to be extremely slippery,” said Pirelli’s F1 tire boss Mario Isola. “We have a level of grip that is lower than expected. When we selected the tires, we didn’t know about this idea of the circuit resurface, all the track, so the characteristics of the new tarmac are different from the old one. That means that we decided for the three hardest compounds we have in our range. “It’s a bit challenging for drivers, but they’re all the same tires and at the end they have to work with what they have. I believe it is quite difficult if it is going to rain because of the bitumen and the fact that you have some oil that is coming on the surface when it is raining, so we have to pay attention if it is wet. We don’t have support events here so obviously the level of rubber we are able to put down on track is less than usual and this is another element they have to consider in strategies and track evolution.” It has been nine years since F1 was last at the track and much has changed, not all of it for the better. Although there were plans to have a crowd, it is interesting to note that photographers were warned not to go into the empty grandstands because they were not entirely safe because they have not been used for such a long time. The word is that on Sunday there will be a big contingent of government officials present for the race, as they are believed to be angling to fill the empty slot of the F1 calendar left by the withdrawal of Vietnam in 2021.

Daniel Ricciardo 2020 F1 Istanbul Practice Renault

Ricciardo on frustration with the Istanbul Practice

Kevin Peterson04 mins

Daniel Ricciardo said it was “frustrating” that he couldn’t get a true feel of Istanbul Park on Friday ahead of the Turkish GP. Drivers were lapping in the 1:40s during the opening practice session thanks to a combination of low temperatures, overnight rain and most importantly a very slippy newly-laid surface. Ricciardo finished FP2 all the way down in P15, 3.3s off the pace, and admitted that it was a “frustrating” Friday for all the drivers. “I probably speak for most, it was pretty frustrating,” he told reporters. “It’s such a beautiful circuit and we obviously want to push it, but we were a little restricted just with the new surface and the grip. “We had to be quite patient today, hopefully it can pick up a bit, but I think it’s going to rain tomorrow so we might have to just deal with it this weekend. “We struggled a little bit, but found a little bit right at the last few minutes of practice in terms of setup, actually more confident even though we don’t look great on the timesheets. I think we’re more confident now going in to tomorrow. “If it rains tomorrow it will probably be an ice skating rink out there. “I know this is a last-minute calendar so I don’t want to be critical but if there were some other categories [racing] then it would probably help get the track [rubbered] in. “We are doing all the work, but like I said it’s the same for everyone, just want to go faster that’s all. “I’m certainly confident I’ll be better than P15.” Ricciardo’s Renault team-mate Esteban Ocon got the better of the Aussie in both Friday sessions with P10 in the morning and P12 in FP2. He compared the track conditions to being like driving on intermediate tyres instead of the slicks. “It was a tricky day, but we ended on a positive note. We improved the performance significantly, which is good and that’s not an easy thing to do,” he told the Renault website. “It was probably the trickiest conditions I’ve ever driven in as it was really slippery out there. I’d probably compare it to what it feels like driving on Intermediates, only that we were on slick tyres. “It was new territory, and this is why we still have stuff to learn. Our long runs seem strong, so let’s see tomorrow. The track is awesome, and hopefully with a bit more grip we can push a bit more!”

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Chase Purdy joins GMS Racing fulltime for 2021 Truck season

Kevin Peterson02 mins

GMS Racing will field a fulltime entry in the NASCAR Truck Series next season for up-and-comer Chase Purdy. Purdy, a 21-year-old student at the University of Mississippi, ran seven races with GMS this past season with a best finish of 10th at Kansas Speedway in July. Purdy will join teammates Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith and Tyler Ankrum in competing for the 2021 Truck Series championship. “I am very excited to be back full-time racing again, especially with a strong organization like GMS Racing,” said Purdy. “I am ready to get to work with this team and start preparing for 2021. “I am already counting down the days until we leave for Daytona.” Purdy, a native of Meridian, Miss., ran fulltime in 2018 in the ARCA Menards Series for MDM Motorsports, earning 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes and finished fourth in the series standings. He also ran a pair of Truck race – at Martinsville, Va., and Phoenix – in 2018 with GMS and is a former member of the NASCAR Next program, an industry-wide initiative designed to showcase rising young stars in racing. “We are happy to have Chase back and this time for a full season,” said Mike Beam, President of GMS Racing. “He will be a great addition to our powerhouse team for 2021. “Sheldon, Zane and Tyler will be great mentors for him to learn off of. I can’t wait to see how he learns and grows as a driver this coming season.”

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Crutchlow to join Yamaha as their test rider

Kevin Peterson06 mins

Cal Crutchlow will join Yamaha as its official test rider for the 2021 MotoGP season, the Japanese manufacturer announced on Friday morning. The Brit has been searching for a new berth since losing his factory Honda-backed LCR ride earlier this year to Alex Marquez, with a rumoured switch to Aprilia’s factory squad not coming to maturity. Crutchlow instead chased a test role with Yamaha amid suggestions that current tester Jorge Lorenzo would part ways with the organisation following this season. His appointment has subsequently been confirmed on Friday morning just after opening practice for the Valencia Grand Prix, Yamaha’s statement also confirming the exit of Lorenzo and its disappointment that “external circumstances held this partnership back from realising their mutual objectives.” Crutchlow will get his first taste of the ’21-spec M1 during MotoGP’s shakedown test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia in mid-Feburary, while a possible wildcard outing could be on the cards “if deemed beneficial to the testing programme.” “First and foremost I would like to say ‘welcome back’ to Cal,” said Yamaha Managing Director Lin Jarvis. “He spent three seasons with us in the Monster Energy Yamaha Tech3 team before moving on to gain a further seven years of experience with two of our main competitors. “This wealth of experience, coupled with Cal’s honest no-nonsense approach, will surely benefit us greatly as we strive to improve our YZR-M1 bikes with a full testing programme next year.” Crutchlow’s switch to a testing role brings his near-decade run as a race rider in MotoGP to an end, having secured three victories in this time-all with current outfit LCR Honda-collecting a further 16 podium finishes with the Tech 3, factory Ducati and LCR teams. He has scored a best championship result of fifth, coming in ’13 in his final season with the Tech 3 Yamaha squad. Prior to his MotoGP graduation Crutchlow won the World Supersport title on Yamaha machinery in ’09, before spending a single season with the manufacturer in the World Superbike series the following year-bagging 3 wins on his way to fifth in the standings. Lorenzo meanwhile was set to compete in this year’s Catalan GP at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya before the event was postponed as a result of Covid-19, while the banning of any wild-card appearances by Dorna for the rest of the restarted campaign ruled him out of competition for the rest of the year. Cracks in the relationship between the two parties started to emerge after Yamaha elected not to replace Valentino Rossi-who had contracted Covid-19- with Lorenzo for the Aragon double-header, a venue Lorenzo loves. Jarvis says it was “regrettable” that Lorenzo was unable to carry out Yamaha’s planned test programme as a result of the restrictions Covid has placed on the working world in ’20, but thanked the Mallorcan for the “many years of collaboration with Yamaha.” “Of course, we had planned and hoped for a strong programme this year with Jorge,” continued Jarvis. “Unfortunately, our Factory Test Team soon had to put their plans on hold as the Covid-19 pandemic started and continued to influence 2020 from March onwards. “It’s regrettable that we have not been able to carry out our testing programme and realize our goals. “We wish Jorge all the best in his future endeavours, and we thank him for his many years of collaboration with Yamaha.”

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Quartararo: Friday Practice one of my worst days in 2020 season

Kevin Peterson05 mins

Fabio Quartararo admits Friday at the MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix was “one of the worst days of the season” after finishing 16th fastest on his Petronas SRT Yamaha. Quartararo’s championship hopes are all but gone following an early crash last weekend in the European GP, with his points deficit to Suzuki’s Joan Mir now standing at 37. The Frenchman struggled throughout the European GP weekend and once again scrabbled for form on his M1 in Friday practice, making “big changes” to his bike but having no impact on his feeling – something that’s never happened to him before, he claimed. “Actually, it was one of the worst days of the season for me,” Quartararo said. “Today we have tried many things on the bike and normally when you try many things, you feel a different feeling on the bike – better, worse. “But we made big changes and the feeling was exactly the same, and this has never happened. So, we will go in an extreme way tomorrow, because worse than that, it’s difficult. “And today, we were slow even with new tyres. So, this is something we need to change and tomorrow we will go in an extreme way we never did in both years in MotoGP.” Quartararo says his team tried different engine maps, suspension settings front and rear, and ride height adjustments, but admits he is worried as none of it yielded any improvement. When asked if he was worried, he replied: “Yeah, a little bit, because normally we know why we have a problem, not this problem because it’s the first time we have it – and I would say that normally when we change the bike we feel it. “Either positive or negative, I go in and say ‘the bike is worse’, or better or something happens. And today, with all the changes that we make, it was exactly the same. So, I’m a bit worried because I will go out with a bike that I never really ride, and it will be difficult.” Quartararo admits his lack of understanding of a problem on the bike is one of the main problems with the 2020 M1. He added: “Last year, on normal days, you can adapt to the bike, but this year the margin is so small to be fighting for victories or fighting for the points and this is something that is tough to understand and difficult. “At other races it’s also difficult because everybody improves, but actually right now it doesn’t improve, and normally when you make big changes, like we did today, you feel it and you come into the box and say it’s worse, I have this feeling. “But today was the same and this is probably the main problem; first you get lost really easily but it’s difficult to also understand. The problem I have today is the first time I have it, but also the first time I experienced that, making big changes and feeling nothing. It’s a bit difficult to understand.”

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Brett Moffitt leaves GMS to OUR Motorsports up in the Xfinity Series

Kevin Peterson03 mins

2018 NASCAR Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt will make the move over to the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2021 season. Moffitt will leave GMS Racing in the process, joining Our Motorsports for the full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule. The 28-year-old saw his 2020 season end in disappointment after a late-race caution at Phoenix derailed his race and with it, his title hopes. He ended up third in the standings. Moffitt ran most of the Xfinity schedule this year with Our Motorsports, but had declared for Truck points. Even still, he scored seven top-tens and one-top five with the team, placing as high as fifth at Talladega. Moffitt said of the move: “2020 was a learning year for Our Motorsports and the program is now ready to step up to another level. I’m thankful for the last two seasons with GMS Racing and the support Maury Gallagher, Spencer Gallagher, Ron Booth, Mike Beam and the entire team gave me.” “Brett has been instrumental in helping us build this team from scratch and be competitive,” added Our Motorsports Owner Chris Our. “We’ve challenged each other to turn Our Motorsports into a race-winning organization and we have some exciting things in the works that will help us accomplish that goal together.” Joe Williams will return as crew chief of the No. 02 car. A statement from GMS Racing read as follows: “Brett Moffitt will not be returning to GMS for the 2021 season. We can’t thank Moffitt enough for his commitment to GMS over the past two years We wish him the best of luck at Our Motorsports next year.”

poor performance for works yamaha as vinales and rossi finnish 10th and 12th respactively

Daniel Hemric joins Joe Gibbs Racing for 2021 Xfinity ride

Kevin Peterson03 mins

Daniel Hemric will pilot the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra full time and compete for the Xfinity Series championship in 2021, the team announced Thursday. “It‘s been quite a roller coaster ride for me over the last few years, but I can‘t say how thankful I am for the opportunity to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing,” said Hemric in a team release. “Their reputation speaks for itself. I know they have high expectations for me, as I do as well, and I could not be more excited to chase the Xfinity Series championship with them next season.” Hemric was behind the wheel of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for 21 of the series’ 33 races in 2020, compiling an average finish of 16.2 and scattering in seven top fives, 12 top 10 and a pair of runner-ups at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. A season prior he earned Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors at the Cup Series level, running the full season for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 8 Chevrolet. The veteran also made back-to-back Xfinity Series Championship 4 appearances in ’17 and ’18 for RCR, with a third-place finish in the series standings coming in his career year in ’18. Sponsorship and team personnel details will be announced at a later date. Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones will also be competing for the organization in the Xfinity Series on a full-time basis in 2021.Riley Herbst, who piloted the ride in 2020, is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to pursue other opportunities, according to the release and his Twitter account.