MotoGP

2021 MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo says the track surface at the Circuit of the Americas is “a joke” and “unsafe”, as several riders including pole sitter Francesco Bagnaia voiced safety concerns after Friday and Saturday practice sessions in Austin. The track near Austin was slammed by most MotoGP riders following Friday’s practices as a result of poor surface riddled with vicious bumps. The situation was even worse when there was a little downfall in the first practice session(FP1). Factory Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo claimed the circuit was a “joke”, while Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro went as far as to say he doesn’t think it’s safe to race on it on Sunday. “It’s more or less a track I use to train with a motocross bike, but much faster and with a MotoGP bike,” he said. “So, it’s really bad. I can’t imagine it, we said three years ago they need to resurface and it’s even worse. “It’s just acceptable to race, I don’t know what to say. But it’s a joke.” “It’s not a MotoGP track for me. To make a race here – for one lap it’s OK – but for 20 laps, we will see that there will be some bad moments.” “You see a lot of bikes shaking in Turn 10. The thing is the bumps are in the worst places possible, because if you have bumps in Turns 1, 11, 12, it’s OK because it’s slow corners.” “But Turn 1, Turn 2, 3, 10 are the worst corners you can have bumps, and there are bumps there. So, let’s see.” “I usually don’t go to the safety commission, but when there is something serious, I will go and today something serious that for the safety is… the track is unsafe. It’s clear to say that it’s not great and we need to resurface everything.” Ducati’s Bagnaia, who is fighting for the championship and currently sits 48 points behind leader Quartararo, believes that the track is currently “over the limit” with regards to safety. The Ducati rider was asked if any lessons could be learned from what happened at Silverstone in 2018, when a badly-resurfaced track could not drain water properly forcing the race to be cancelled, he said the current situation with COTA is worse. When asked if cancelling Sunday’s race was an option, he said, “No, will not be possible, I think. We are here, we have to race. I don’t know, we will speak in the safety commission. “I’m sure that some riders will have the opinion to don’t race, but obviously someone will say it’s raceable and we have to race. So, it’s strange because we are playing to be always [at] the top and [around] this track you can’t go on the limit, because every lap you are over the limit. “And I think it’s over the limit about safety. So, we will speak after and we will take a decision. [It’s] a lot worse than Silverstone, I think.”

Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia brought to an end Marc Marquez’s run of seven straight poles at the Grand Prix of Americas on Saturday as he topped qualifying and took his third consecutive pole in the 2021 MotoGP season after Aragon and San Marino MotoGPs. Bagnaia’s last lap of two minutes 02.781 seconds was just enough to push six-times world champion Marquez into third, as 2021 MotoGP world championship leader Fabio Quartararo took the second place on his Factory Yamaha. “We worked a lot this week. I really enjoy qualifying, I gave it my all in the second attempt, the last corner was a bit wide, but very happy,” said Bagnaia, who ranks second in the championship behind Quartararo seperated by 48 points. Quartararo, despite an unpromising Friday practice, was able to get back to form and was very impressive on Saturday. “We are struggling a little more than usual in qualifying. Pecco (Bagnaia) was really fast but it is always great to start in the first row. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow,” the championship leader said. Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin will start fourth ahead of LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami, while Bagnaia’s team mate Jack Miller, despite being fast all weekend, could only manage 10th. Alex Rins will be leading his Suzuki team-mate Joan Mir in seventh. Mir had to come through Q1 and was only left with one bike to complete qualifying with after he suffered an engine failure at the start of the preceding FP4 session. The Suzuki rider followed Avintia rookie Luca Marini through Q1, the Italian putting his two-year-old Ducati ninth on the grid ahead of a furious Jack Miller. A number of riders, including former world champion Valentino Rossi, crashed during qualifying following concerns this week that the Circuit of the Americas in Texas was too bumpy, with Quartararo calling it “a joke” and “unsafe”. Reigning world champion Joan Mir on Friday said that he would take up the matter with MotoGP’s Safety Commission and try to find a solution. AUSTIN MOTOGP, COTA – FULL QUALIFYING RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) 2’2.781s 6/7 344k 2 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.348s 6/7 342k 3 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.428s 3/6 342k 4 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +0.497s 2/6 346k 5 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.511s 6/6 343k 6 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.598s 3/7 350k 7 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.672s 6/7 341k 8 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.747s 3/6 338k 9 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +0.765s 2/3 341k 10 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +0.939s 2/6 342k 11 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.000s 6/6 343k 12 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +1.094s 3/6 345k   Qualifying 1:           13 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 2’3.872s 5/6 339k 14 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) 2’4.044s 7/7 342k 15 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) 2’4.1s 7/7 346k 16 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* 2’4.118s 6/6 346k 17 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) 2’4.324s 6/7 343k 18 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) 2’4.392s 6/6 341k 19 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 2’4.419s 5/5 345k 20 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) 2’4.699s 3/6 343k 21 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) 2’4.829s 6/7 339k

After Marc Marquez dominating the Friday practice sessions, Factory Ducati rider Jack Miller left nothing to imagination as he topped the time sheets in the third practice session at the Circuit Of The Americas. Before the third practice session was underway, there was speculation that it would be slightly raining. However, luck befell the riders as they set out to a dry track on the qualifying day. In the early stages of the third practice session, the riders could not match the combined friday practice lap times set by Marc Marquez. The closest just came within an eighth of a second of the Spaniards lap time. It seemed as Marquez would continue dominating the Saturday practice, as Takaaki Nakagami closely followed in P2 with a gap of under a tenth of a second. Nakagami later, further narrowed down the gap after recording 2.04.616 lap time, which was sixth tenths of a second off Marc Marquez leading time. Suzuki’s Joan Mir however, split the two riders taking P2, a move that saw the world champion rank tenth overall. With the practice session being halfway, Nakagami made the fastest lap with 2.07.739 time, which was enough to rank the Japanese rider on top of the combined lap times. Nakagami’s teammate Alex Marquez was not that lucky as he suffered a slow crash on turn 1 moments later. Miguel Oliveira soon followed Nakagami in time attack that saw him move into the top 6 fastest lap times, but his time was not long lasting as several riders were faster and eventually the Portuguese rider was knocked out of the top ten by his teammate Brad Binder. Jack Miller, who was the favorite for the Saturday quali, topped the time sheets with only thirteen minutes to go. Monster Energy Yamaha team-mates Fabio Quarararo and Franco Morbidelli made improvements, while Alex Rins, winner the last time MotoGP race at COTA also jumped up the order for Suzuki. Yellow flags were brought out with five minutes remaining as Aleix Espargaro suffered a second crash this weekend at turn 12. At the front, Marquez threatened to displace Miller late on, before the Australian set the first and only sub 2m 03s time so far this weekend, a lap that was a stunning six tenths quicker than Nakagami in second. Luca Marini became the third rider to fall late on at turn two. AUSTIN MOTOGP, COTA – FREE PRACTICE (3) RESULTS POS   RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 ^1 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) 2’02.923s 15/16 348k 2 ^3 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.679s 15/16 341k 3 ^6 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.804s 16/17 341k 4 ˅3 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.881s 15/17 345k 5 ^3 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.900s 15/17 346k 6 ˅3 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.944s 13/17 340k 7 ˅3 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +1.097s 12/12 344k 8 ^3 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.117s 15/15 342k 9 ˅3 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +1.202s 14/15 347k 10 ˅3 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +1.274s 14/15 344k 11 ^7 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.337s 16/16 343k 12 ˅2 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.504s 16/16 346k 13 = Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +1.571s 14/16 340k 14 ^1 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.587s 14/16 339k 15 ^2 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.937s 17/17 338k 16 ^5 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.967s 13/14 340k 17 ˅3 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2.387s 15/15 335k 18 ˅2 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +2.616s 12/14 344k 19 = Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +2.635s 3/12 346k 20 ˅8 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +3.005s 3/12 342k 21 ˅1 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +3.127s 11/15 339k

Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez has topped the sheets again in Austin MotoGP FP2 after beating Factory Ducati rider Jack Miller with just a fifteenth of a second at COTA. Marc Marquez was equally as strong in FP2 which was dry compared to a predominantly wet FP1 in which he recorded the fastest lap. With the weather uncertainity also being expected in Saturday, the dry afternoon session was very important as multiple time attacks were attempted. As the FP2 kicked off in the afternoon, Marc Marquez and Jack Miller were on the top of the time sheets with a way more bigger time margin from the other riders. However, in the end Marquez was too fast to beat even by Jack Miller who finished third last time MotoGP was at COTA back in 2019. Marquez was five tenths of a second faster than Miller as the session began but even looked to widen the gap to a whole second two laps later but the Spaniard chose to head to the pits abandoning his effort. Factory KTM rider Brad Binder ranked third on the timesheets a time he set in the better half of the afternoon practice session. However, Takaaki Nakagami was quick to displace the South African as he pushed him to fourth and finally finished 11th at the end of the session. Miguel Oliveira later challenged Nakagami’s third place as his KTM RC16 found pace but could not challenge Marquez and Miller’s lap times. Later on Miller was able to close the half a second gap from Marc Marquez to just 0.123s. Iker Lecuona was the first rider to experience a highside as Miguel Oliveira and Aleix Espargaro crashed later on in the afternoon session. Bagnaia became the first rider to set a sub 2m 05s lap when the time attacks began , however, the winner of the last two races was immediately beaten by Takaaki Nakagami. Rins and Quartararo also went top before Marquez improved upon Quartararo’s time by a further two tenths. Marquez could have improved further to set a sub 2m 04s time, but the eight-time world champion made a mistake at turn 12. This allowed Miller to get within +0.015s of top spot on his final flying lap. MotoGP is returning to COTA for the first time since the 2019 event, after which further resurfacing work was carried out on around 40% of the track (Turns 1-2, 9-10, 16-19, plus the back straight) to alleviate bumps. However, bikes and riders are still being badly kicked around. As a result of the resurfacing and change of date from April, Michelin is providing a fourth rear tyre option (two hard compounds), while wet weather is also forecast. COTA has the most corners (20) in MotoGP, including the slowest of the season at just 50km/h (Turn 11). The following back straight is the longest in MotoGP at 1.2km and ends with the hardest braking on the calendar, from over 330km/h to less than 60km/h. Maverick Vinales has withdrawn from the COTA event after the tragic death of his young cousin Dean Berta Vinales in last weekend’s Jerez WorldSSP300 race. AUSTIN MOTOGP, COTA – FREE PRACTICE (2) RESULTS POS   RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 = Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) 2’04.164s 16/17 342k 2 = Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +0.015s 17/17 346k 3 ^12 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.202s 15/17 342k 4 ^1 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.388s 16/16 344k 5 ^11 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.448s 13/16 342k 6 ^2 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +0.499s 16/16 341k 7 ^12 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +0.513s 14/15 341k 8 ˅5 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.559s 14/15 346k 9 ˅2 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.638s 16/18 339k 10 ^8 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +0.672s 16/16 342k 11 ˅2 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +0.688s 15/16 342k 12 ˅1 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +0.769s 16/16 343k 13 ˅1 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.930s 15/15 341k 14 ^7 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.973s 14/15 339k 15 ^2 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.132s 13/14 339k 16 ˅10 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +1.450s 16/16 341k 17 ^3 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.467s 16/16 338k 18 ˅14 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.518s 9/14 341k 19 ˅5 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +2.045s 10/12 345k 20 ˅7 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +2.071s 13/14 335k 21 ˅11 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +2.093s 16/16 342k

Six Time Circuit Of The Americas winner, Marc Marquez topped the first practice session of the Austin MotoGP. The Repsol Honda rider dominated the first practice session in wet conditions and once again it looks like he’s the man to beat. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo finished the session in 15th place. The wet conditions at COTA were very similar to Misano first practice sessin two weeks ago, which again Marc Marquez dominated. Marc Marquez started the session two seconds clear of his teammate Pol Espargaro but it was not long before Pramac rider Johann Zarco reduced the margin to just 1.3 seconds. As the practice session progressed the track started to dry out with a dry line appearing but it wasa still too risky to bring the slick tyres out. In the last 15 minutes lap times continued to progress as the riders had much more grip on the track. Marquez, improved his lap time with an eighth of a second after changing from soft wets to mediums. Factory Ducati rider Jack Miller tried to get within two tenths of Marc Marquez but in the end was unable to get the better of him as the time attack became more intense, however Miller ended up ranking second. Johann Zarco was third in the time sheets after undergoing an arm pump surgery as Miguel Oliveira ranked fourth making a huge comeback after tough Silverstone, Aragon, Austria and Misano rounds. Marc Marquez teammate Pol Espargaro ranked fifth in the timesheets as his brother Alex Marquez finished an encouraging sixth as the session came to a close. The only rider to have crashed in the session was Takaaki Nakagami who suffered a late fall at Turn 15. AUSTIN MOTOGP, COTA – FREE PRACTICE (1) RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) 2’15.872s 12/15 338k 2 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +0.167s 14/15 339k 3 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.599s 16/16 338k 4 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +0.783s 14/15 334k 5 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.950s 14/15 339k 6 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +1.092s 16/16 333k 7 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +1.155s 15/15 334k 8 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +1.456s 16/16 338k 9 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.724s 13/14 336k 10 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.724s 16/16 328k 11 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.883s 12/13 335k 12 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +2.031s 9/14 333k 13 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +2.211s 11/14 332k 14 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +2.215s 14/14 333k 15 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2.293s 16/16 334k 16 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +2.420s 14/15 338k 17 Franco Morbidelli ITA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2.658s 13/14 329k 18 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +2.776s 14/14 335k 19 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +2.960s 8/14 332k 20 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +3.796s 14/14 333k 21 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +4.684s 5/12 329k

Aprilia rider Maverick Vinales will not be racing in the United States MotoGP in Austin, Texas following the demise of his cousin Dean Berta Vinales last weekend at Jerez after a horrific bike accident. Dean Berta Vinales sustained serious head and chest injuries after several riders crashed in the World Supersport 300 race. The 15-year-old was on a Yamaha R3 racing for Vinales Racing Team which is run by the family. With only a few days passed after Berta Vinales demise, Maverick vinales has opted out of MotoGP races for the time being to spend time with the grieving family. “Less than a week has passed since the accident involving Dean Berta Viñales, Maverick’s young cousin, which is not enough time to regain the serenity needed to race. Maverick, with the full and unconditional support of Aprilia Racing, has therefore decided to take a break on his journey of getting to know the bike and team from Noale,” the official Aprilia statement reads. “The entire Aprilia Racing family supports this decision and stands with Maverick and his loved ones. There will be other times and other rounds to resume the promising journey begun together. A journey that must be entirely respectful of the people involved and their feelings.” Maverick Viñales has raced twice for Aprilia since his sensational switch to the Italian manufacturer from factory Yamaha racing team. The Spaniard 18th and 13th in his opening races on the RS-GP, at Aragon and Misano respectively. At this stage it’s unknown whether Lorenzo Savadori will return to racing action in place of Viñales. Savadori has returned to his role of test rider following Viñales’ arrival at the team. A minute of silence will be held today (September 30) at 16:15 (local time in Austin) in memory of Dean Berta Viñales.

MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo says he will be facing his worst track on the calendar at Aragon this weekend. The 22-year-old who is leading the MotoGP championship with a 65-point advantage over Suzuki rider Joan Mir after winning at Silverstone, has never finished better than fifth in all his MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 appearances at the track. In the opening round at Aragon in the 2020 season, Quartararo finished on pole in the qualifying session but dropped back to 18th place in the race. The second round in the same track on the following weekend did not go well for the frenchman as he dropped from sixth to eighth on the grid riding on Petronas Yamaha. Quartararo admits that his revelation on Aragon is not on the Yamaha bike but for him. “Aragon is probably the worst track on the calendar, not for the Yamaha bike but for me,” admitted Quartararo. This comes as Quartararo becomes the first Yamaha rider to reach five wins in a season since Jorge Lorenzo back in 2015. “I have been fast there before – I got pole position last year – but I have never really been consistent. “So this would be a great thing to fix. I want to learn at that track and be consistent there too.” “We know this is a track that doesn‘t play to our bike‘s strengths,” added team director Massimo Meregalli. “With that being said, neither does the Spielberg circuit, and Fabio‘s pace was still competitive enough to challenge for a podium there. “One thing is for sure, we are 100% committed to battling for top positions. No doubt it will be hard work, but we are ready for the challenge.”

Petronas SRT have announced that their current MotoGP rider Jake Dixon will continue competing for their MotoGP team in Aragon as John McPhee makes his debut in their Moto2 team. This will be McPhee’s big chance to showcase his abilities on bigger bikes as he has missed Moto2 ride for the last two seasons. The same case happened for Dixon as he made first appearance with the premier class in the Silverstone MotoGP coming from Moto2. McPhee called it ‘a fantastic opportunity’ as he replaces Malaysian rider Adam Norrodin, who himself stepped in for Dixon at Silverstone. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to try the Moto2 bike in Aragon,” McPhee said. “As with every rider, it’s their dream to progress through the categories, and I feel like I am at the level, and have the ability to make this step up to Moto2.” “Of course, the challenge will be extremely difficult because it’s my first time ever racing a big bike, with my only real experience being 15 laps of Barcelona in 2019 which was a ‘thank you’ from the team after my win at Le Mans.” “I’m really excited and motivated for the challenge and really looking forward to trying the bike. “There’s no real expectation, I’m just going to enjoy it a lot and feel like if I can improve session by session and keep closing the gap with the fastest riders, then this will be a job well done. Thank you to my team for this opportunity.” Both riders will take up their contracted Moto2 and Moto3 seats following Aragon as Andrea Dovizioso returns to MotoGP with Petronas Yamaha alongside Valentino Rossi, while Franco Morbidelli moves up to the factory Monster Energy team.

Aprilia has officially confirmed that Maverick Vinales, currently completing his debut test for the factory at Misano, will race the RS-GP for the first time at the upcoming Aragon round. Vinales, who made an early split from Yamaha after being suspended in Austria and was duly confirmed at Aprilia for 2022, was said to be ‘extremely impressed by the first contact with the Italian team’, clearing the way to join Aleix Espargaro at Aragon on September 10-12. The news is yet another boost for Aprilia, following hot on the heels of Espargaro handing the factory its first-ever MotoGP podium at Silverstone on Sunday. Vinales, a nine-time MotoGP race winner for Suzuki and Yamaha, takes the place of rookie Lorenzo Savadori, who will now switch to wild-card appearances and test riding duties. “The decision to have Maverick on the track from Aragón is a direct result of the tests done in Misano,” said Aprilia technical director Roman Albesiano. “It was not a given that, after a career spent up to now on a bike with an in-line engine, Maverick would have a good feeling with our V4 straight away. This is why the test on this track, historically not an easy one for our bike, was an important moment of assessment. “Therefore, we are satisfied with Maverick’s immediately positive reactions, which demonstrated a good feeling both with the RS-GP and with the team and our work method. His and Aleix’s talent, combined with the experience Lorenzo has gained this season, make us optimistic about the future of our MotoGP project.” Vinales reported a best lap time of 1m 33.0s on Tuesday, which was under Espargaro’s best 2020 race lap and half-a-second from his own best, set on the way to victory with the Yamaha M1. “We are extremely proud to be able to announce our plans for the current season and for 2022 with the goal of optimising the contributions of our three riders to the utmost,” said Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing CEO “Alongside our confirmed rider, Aleix, it is our pleasure to welcome a talented athlete like Maverick to the Aprilia Racing team, who demonstrated a great feeling with the team and the bike straight away and who I am confident will be able to give his best as early as the Aragón GP. At the same time, we are also confirming Lorenzo’s role as 2022 test rider. “This is a fundamental position that rewards the great efforts he has demonstrated in developing the new RS-GP, whereas he will finish out the 2021 season taking advantage of the wild cards that we’ll decide on together as soon as he is back to 100% fitness.” Aragon has often been a happy hunting ground for Aprilia in the past courtesy of Espargaro, who matched what was then the bike’s best finish of sixth in both 2017 and 2018, followed by fifth on the grid and seventh place in 2019. However last season’s events (delayed until mid-October by the pandemic) were less successful, with a best of 13th. Vinales was a winner at Aragon in Moto2 but has missed out on the podium in MotoGP, claiming fourth place finishes in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020. While Aprilia has now completed its rider reshuffle, Yamaha is set to wait until the following Misano round before bringing in Franco Morbidelli (who rode an R1 at the test to evaluate his healing knee) from Petronas to take over the former Vinales ride alongside world championship leader Fabio Quartararo, with Andrea Dovizioso then in-turn filling the Morbidelli seat at SRT. As a result, Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow expects to remain alongside Quartararo in Aragon, with SRT yet to confirm if Silverstone stand-in Jake Dixon or another rider will join Valentino Rossi.

Maverick Viñales has taken to social media to show himself onboard the first Aprilia which he will test, at Misano. Viñales’ Instagram story shows the Spaniard sitting on an RS-GP emblazoned with his #12 on the fairing, barely more than a fortnight after he was suspended by Yamaha for attempting to damage one of its engines in the Michelin Grand Prix of Styria. A termination of the contract between Yamaha and Viñales paved the way for him to make an even earlier switch to Aprilia, and thus the two-day test which begins this evening (AEST). Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Lin Jarvis described the turmoil of the Styrian and Austrian Grands Prix events as “extraordinary” but has wished his former rider well. The Iwata manufacturer is likely to itself make an early appointment due to the fallout from Viñales’ tantrum. Specifically, its plan is for Franco Morbidelli to switch to Monster Energy Yamaha two rounds from now, when Andrea Dovizioso would make a grand prix comeback with Petronas Yamaha SRT. That would unfold at the San Marino Grand Prix, which will be held at Misano on September 17-19, while the next round is the Aragon Grand Prix on the weekend prior.

Fabio Quartararo cantered to a fifth win of the year with a commanding run in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone to extend his series lead to 62. Quartararo was shuffled back over the opening couple of tours to fourth by a hard-charging Aleix Espargaro and Francesco Bagnaia, though after settling in the only direction his M1 was going was forwards. Over the subsequent few laps he managed to put passes on both Bagnaia and Espargaro’s Aprilia to move back to second, before chasing down pole-man and early leader Pol Espargaro’s Honda-making the pass for the lead less than half-a-dozen tours into the contest. The Frenchman from here-on-in edged away from the rest of the field, crafting a near four-second advantage over Alex Rins in the closing stages which he controlled to perfection, ultimately taking the chequered flag 3.5 seconds clear of the tight battle for the runners-up spot. Rins had managed to carve his way through from tenth on the grid to second in the middling-stages of the contest, though he found himself unable to pull away from Aleix and Ducati’s Jack Miller as they continued to sustain pressure-the former keen to grab only his second career rostrum and Aprilia’s first in the premier class in over two decades. Miller wasn’t interested in Aprilia’s milestone though and mounted an attack on Espargaro on the final lap, utilising a strong run through Farm to five past the RS-GP to snatch third into Village. Espargaro wasn’t beaten yet though and pulled off a nice cut-back manoeuvre to move back ahead of the Desmosedici into Aintree, while a clean final few corners saw him scream across the line to secure the Italian marque’s first premier class podium since the year 2000 at Donington Park behind Rins, who had been let off by the tussling pair behind to take his first podium of the year. Miller was therefore forced to settle for fourth ahead of Pol, who had begun to struggle with front-end grip towards the end and faded to fifth. Brad Binder completed one of his customary late-race charges to snatch sixth from a suffering Joan Mir with only a few circulations remaining having run 12th early on, while Iker Lecuona backed up his fellow KTM racer as he raced through to a strong seventh for Tech 3. Alex Marquez enjoyed a more competitive outing for LCR Honda in eighth ahead of Mir, while Danilo Petrucci completed the top ten on the second Tech 3 RC16. Johann Zarco lacked speed throughout the race and ended up only 11th, though Ducati stable-mate Bagnaia fared even worse after running into tyre trouble-the Italian slumping all the way to 14th in the end. Another rider to run out of tyre grip was Valentino Rossi, the Petronas SRT seeing his encouraging British GP weekend go up in smoke having run well in the top eight early on before falling to 18th ahead of only rookie team-mate Jake Dixon who made his MotoGP debut this weekend. Both Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin failed to even see the end of the opening lap after the Honda pilot tried to make an aggressive pass on the Pramac man at Club, Marquez going down after making contact with the Styrian GP victor and sweeping the pair out in the process-eliminating them from the race on the spot. Quartararo’s British masterclass sees him open up a yawning 65 point gap over Mir at the head of the series standings following a tough day for his nearest rivals, Bagnaia now 70 adrift of the Yamaha man. BRITISH MOTOGP, SILVERSTONE – RACE RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF 1 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 40m 20.579s 2 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +2.663s 3 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +4.105s 4 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +4.254s 5 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +8.462s 6 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +12.189s 7 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +13.560s 8 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +14.044s 9 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +16.226s 10 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +16.287s 11 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +16.339s 12 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +17.696s 13 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +18.285s 14 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +20.913s 15 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +21.018s 16 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +22.022s 17 Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +23.232s 18 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +29.758s 19 Jake Dixon GBR Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +50.845s   Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* DNF   Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) DNF

Pol Espargaro fired to a surprise first pole for Honda at Silverstone with a mighty final effort to deny Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo at the death. Despite struggling to make an impact so far this season in his debut campaign for Honda, Espargaro from the start of the weekend looked to have found something around the curves of the British venue, the Spaniard going fourth quickest in the opening runs-though Quartararo’s 1:58.990s would take some beating. The 2013 Moto2 world champion came out fighting on his final effort though and stormed across the line to fly to the head of the timesheets by 0.101s over the Yamaha pilot, though he would soon be deposed by Jorge Martin’s Pramac Ducati. The Styrian Grand Prix winner’s time would not stand for long though after it was found he had taken the faster layout of the Silverstone track at Vale to begin his lap, shaving well over a second from his lap that ultimately led to his 1:58.008s-this tour being deleted after the flag. Quartararo meanwhile ailed to find an improvement thanks a troubled final run, leaving Espargaro to celebrate his first pole for Honda-having scored a pair of poles with KTM last year-while Ducati’s Bagnaia managed to grab second, Quartararo ultimately being shuffled back to third to complete the front row. Martin’s previous best time was enough to keep him fourth ahead of Marc Marquez, while Aleix Espargaro enjoyed another strong outing for Aprilia with sixth on the grid for the British GP. Jack Miller was only seventh after topping FP3 on Saturday morning, while Valentino Rossi continued to show the improved performance he had managed to unlock throughout the weekend as he slotted his Petronas SRT-run Yamaha into eighth ahead of leading Q1-runner Johann Zarco. The Pramac racer recovered from a rather average first attempt in the opening segment of qualifying that left him over two-tenths adrift of early leader Enea Bastinaini to set a scorching 1:59.288s, an effort that would ultimately see him top the session by 0.221s over Suzuki’s Alex Rins. Bastinanini crashed on his final attempt while trying to improve, costing the rest of the field the lap they were currently on due to him being the first bike on track-though the majority managed to find an improvement on their final gambits. Despite being shuffled out of Q2 contention the Italian still held onto 13th overall, Rins heading him by just 0.044s. His pole shootout graduation did little to help though as he could only complete the top ten just behind Zarco as Q2 came to an end, Suzuki’s qualifying troubles seemingly back with team-mate Joan Mir only 11th ahead of KTM’s recently-victorious Brad Binder. Takaaki Nakagami suprisngly struggled for speed throughout Q1 and therefore had to make do with 15th, while home hero Cal Crutchlow failed to re-capture his FP3 form en-route to 19th on the grid-while Jake Dixon continued to show decent improvement as he posted his best lap of the weekend-a 2:00.869s only 1.5 seconds adrift of Zarco thus leaving him 21st for his maiden British MotoGP race. BRITISH MOTOGP, SILVERSTONE – FULL QUALIFYING RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1’58.889s 6/7 336k 2 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +0.022s 6/7 338k 3 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.036s 6/6 332k 4 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +0.185s 7/7 339k 5 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.197s 6/7 335k 6 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +0.384s 7/7 334k 7 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +0.479s 5/6 338k 8 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.642s 7/7 332k 9 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.690s 6/6 339k 10 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.750s 6/7 331k 11 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.874s 7/7 329k 12 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.088s 6/7 332k   Qualifying 1:           13 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* 1’59.553s 3/5 338k 14 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* 1’59.764s 7/7 334k 15 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) 1’59.881s 5/7 331k 16 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) 1’59.997s 7/7 334k 17 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) 2’0.117s 7/7 333k 18 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) 2’0.131s 5/7 330k 19 Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 2’0.217s 7/7 333k 20 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) 2’0.391s 2/7 331k 21 Jake Dixon GBR Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) 2’0.869s 3/7 325k

The Sepang Racing Team will quit MotoGP at the end of the year and be replaced by a start-up squad, its team principal has announced. The news follows a tumultuous period for the Yamaha satellite squad, which was preparing for the loss of naming rights partner Petronas and subsequently planned to axe its Moto2 and Moto3 programmes. That’s not to mention high turnover in its ranks this season, with Franco Morbidelli’s injury and the knock-on effect of Maverick Viñales’ controversial split with the factory Yamaha team making for a revolving door of riders. Now, on the eve of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Razlan Razali has confirmed SRT will shut its doors at season’s end – and be replaced by a new team which he will be involved with. “We have experienced a remarkable voyage over the past years,” said the SRT boss. “From a small start in 2015 there was a great step for us in 2018 when we secured an entry to the premier class of MotoGP and built a MotoGP squad from scratch. “In 2019 we were on the grid and just four races into our rookie season we were on the front row. “By the seventh race we were on the podium. In 2020 we secured the first race win for a satellite Yamaha MotoGP team in over 20 years and finished second in the overall team and rider championships. “In 2021 we raced with the Greatest Of All Time rider, Valentino Rossi. This is an incredible story. “The team will race its final race in Valencia and we thank all our crew, riders, fans and partners for their support. “In particular, we thank Petronas, without whom none of this would have been possible. “Together we pushed the Petronas brand and Malaysian expertise to the forefront of the grid and captured unprecedented brand exposure and coverage, exponentially surpassing all expectations. “We also thank Sepang International Circuit for their vision and support of upcoming Malaysian talent over a long period. “Our collective dream was to have a Malaysian rider competing for podiums in the MotoGP World Championship. “Sadly, we were not able to achieve this in the short life of our squad, but we can reflect upon tremendous success by every other measure. “Our final season has not reached its conclusion yet and we continue to strive for the very best results possible across all three classes. Thank you all.” More details about the new-for-2022 team are to come to light during the San Marino Grand Prix weekend of September 17-19. As for this weekend, the retiring Rossi will have yet another new team-mate in Jake Dixon, who has been promoted from Moto2 given that Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow has switched from filling in for Morbidelli at SRT to substituting for Viñales. It emerged yesterday SRT could gain some stability for the remainder of this season, with three-time premier class runner-up Andrea Dovizioso linked to the squad. That outcome would in turn clear the way for Morbidelli to slot straight into the factory team alongside championship leader Fabio Quartararo, once fit again.

Marc Marquez led the way in opening practice for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone despite a nasty crash at Maggots that ultimately ended the session early. Marquez looked at ease around the fast curves of Silverstone from the get-go, swapping fastest times with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo throughout the early stages of the test before eventually settling on top with a 2:01.135s. The Honda man continued to chip away across the remainder of FP1 to ultimately end up as the only rider to lap underneath the 2:01 mark, a 2:00.941s tour leaving him 0.250s clear of the impressive Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro. His session leading effort was little consolation though as the red flags brought an early end with just under two minutes remaining after the six-time premier class champion suffered a fearsome crash on entry to the fast Maggots-Becketts esses section, the Spaniard losing the rear of his RC213-V and sliding across the grass on the inside of the bend from an entry speed of around 170 miles-per-hour. He thankfully was able to walk away seemingly unharmed, though his wrecked machine and subsequent grass and muck that had been dragged onto the circuit forced an early stoppage to the opening practice of the day. Quartararo ended up third overall as he made it three manufacturers in the top three positions, while Marquez’s team-mate Pol Espargaro slotted his own Honda into fourth ahead of Ducati’s Jack Miller. Takaaki Nakagami also showed well for Honda in sixth ahead of Suzuki’s Alex Rins, with factory Ducati racer Francesco Bagnaia and Pramac Racing ace Johann Zarco ending up eighth and ninth respectively. Alex Marquez completed a strong showing for Honda as he completed the top ten, though it wasn’t all plain sailing due to a crash at the quick Farm left-hander, the Spaniard walking away after sliding into the gravel. He wasn’t the only one to get caught out by the bend though as Styrian GP victor Jorge Martin also went down on his way to 13th just behind Cal Crutchlow, the Brit making his factory Yamaha MotoGP bow at his home race only a second from Marquez’s benchmark. His countryman Jake Dixon also impressed as he deputises for the injured Franco Morbidelli, the Petronas SRT man lapping only 2.998 seconds from Marquez’s gambit despite having never ridden a premier class machine prior to leaving the pits at the start of FP1. KTM meanwhile got off to a relatively slow start with Tech 3’s Danilo Petrucci its highest representative in 11th, with factory men Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira 14th and 19th respectively. BRITISH MOTOGP FP1 OFFICIAL RESULTS # Rider Team Bike Time Gap / Int 1 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda 2’00.941 2 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 2’01.191 0.250 / 0.250 3 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 2’01.301 0.360 / 0.110 4 Pol Espargaro Repsol Honda Team Honda 2’01.336 0.395 / 0.035 5 Jack Miller Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 2’01.409 0.468 / 0.073 6 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda 2’01.422 0.481 / 0.013 7 Alex Rins Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 2’01.596 0.655 / 0.174 8 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 2’01.783 0.842 / 0.187 9 Johann Zarco Pramac Racing Ducati 2’01.795 0.854 / 0.012 10 Alex Marquez LCR Honda CASTROL Honda 2’01.870 0.929 / 0.075 11 Danilo Petrucci Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 2’01.956 1.015 / 0.086 12 Cal Crutchlow Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 2’01.966 1.025 / 0.010 13 Jorge Martin Pramac Racing Ducati 2’02.102 1.161 / 0.136 14 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 2’02.111 1.170 / 0.009 15 Joan Mir Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 2’02.219 1.278 / 0.108 16 Valentino Rossi Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 2’02.334 1.393 / 0.115 17 Iker Lecuona Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 2’02.400 1.459 / 0.066 18 Enea Bastianini Avintia Esponsorama Ducati 2’02.526 1.585 / 0.126 19 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 2’02.620 1.679 / 0.094 20 Luca Marini SKY VR46 Avintia Ducati 2’03.196 2.255 / 0.576 21 Jake Dixon Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 2’03.939 2.998 / 0.743 22 Lorenzo Salvadori Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 2’07.699 6.758 / 3.760

Maverick Viñales will begin his Aprilia career with a two-day test at the end of this month, the team has confirmed. The Spaniard, who was team-mate to MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo at Yamaha until his contract was terminated last week, will test at Misano as he begins his preparation for the 2022 season with Aprilia. He will be out on track at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Tuesday August 31, as well as on the following day. Viñales was suspended by Yamaha after hitting the rev limiter on his M1 bike at the Austrian Grand Prix. Two weeks later, the team announced that the partnership had been ended with immediate effect. Aprilia hailed the “encouraging results” that the team had witnessed so far and that it was looking to continue that path with Viñales. “From a technical point of view, it is always fascinating to listen to the impressions of a rider who is testing your bike for the first time,” said Romano Albesiano, Aprilia Racing Technical Director. “Especially with a champion like Maverick, who we are pleased to welcome into the Aprilia Racing family. “After the great work carried out on the track by the racing department over the last two years, we are adding yet another piece to the path of growth that we are undertaking with encouraging results. “Clearly the first approach involves a very practical adaptation phase, in terms of ergonomics and setup, which we know vary for each rider. But I’m sure that Maverick’s talent and speed will come to the fore right away and I can’t wait to start working together.”

Marc Marquez admits that he is “not enjoying” his long recovery from breaking an arm in last year’s Spanish MotoGP round, more than a year ago now. Marquez crashed violently on July 19, 2020 at Jerez and, after an aborted comeback attempt just a week later, ultimately had three operations to correct his broken right humerus. However, he continues to feel the physical effects of the spill, which has now manifested itself in a lack of strength in his right shoulder. Repsol Honda team manager Alberto Puig said after the most recent round, the Austrian Grand Prix, that the six-time champion is “returning to his real potential”. Marquez, however, admits he is still “suffering”, but is determined to push through. “In the hard moments, you need to show your potential,” said #93 in an interview with Britain’s The Guardian newspaper ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. “In the good moments everybody is happy and smiling and quick, in the hard moments you need to fight. “The easiest way would be to stop and come back when I feel ready in one or two years. But that’s not my style. “My style is to try to suffer to improve and come back. And to enjoy it on the bike. “Now I am not enjoying it, now I am suffering.” Marquez has already admitted that he thought about suspending his comeback. Speaking ahead of Round 6, the Italian Grand Prix, the 28-year-old revealed that he spoke to doctors about the possibility but was advised that riding a MotoGP bike would be the best thing for him. Since then, he has won the German Grand Prix, where the Sachsenring’s anti-clockwise layout lessened the impact of his physical issues, and is now Honda’s leading rider in the championship despite missing the first two rounds of the season. The performance led Puig, himself a former rider, to heap praise on Marquez for how he has ridden with only “an arm-and-a-half”. “I think, for a while, some people forgot about who is Marc Marquez,” he said in a video published on MotoGP’s official website during the recent summer break. “I’m not a guy that reads a lot – these newspapers and news, I’m not so much interested – [but] from what I hear from our press manager, there have been strange comments in the past regarding his comeback, his possibilities… “I don’t know if people really understand the level of rider that he is. “Marc’s comeback is being more difficult than expected, due to the injury and what happened, and what he’s doing currently with his situation, it’s really amazing. “Because he’s riding, I’m not saying with one arm, but let’s say with one-and-a-half arms. “He’s clearly not a hundred percent fit, so I think only one guy can do this, and this is him.” Marquez is now 11th in the championship ahead of Round 12 at Silverstone, where practice kicks off on Friday