Rennie Scaysbrook | November 26, 2023
2023 Valencian MotoGP News and Results—Sunday Grand Prix
Following a highly dramatic Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, the 2023 MotoGP™ World Champion is Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) after Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) crashed out of the race following an incident at Turn 4 with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). Pecco went on to claim victory as a phenomenal fight for P1 played out, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) locked onto the Italian’s rear wheel. ‘Diggia’ crossed the line in 2nd with Zarco 3rd. However, a post-race sanction for Di Giannantonio due to wrong pressures demoted the Italian to P4 with Zarco being promoted to P2 and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) inheriting the final podium position.
Because of a Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) three-place grid penalty for ignoring the black and orange flags in Warm Up, Pecco was promoted to pole position for the final showdown, with Martin still launching from P6.
For the final and most important time in 2023 it was time to race. Bagnaia got the dream getaway from pole to grab a crucial holeshot, with Martin also making a fantastic launch to grab an early P2. Pecco P1, Martin P2 – that’s how it was after the opening lap, with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing pair of Binder and Jack Miller P3 and P4.
Between the title fighting duo, it was as you were after the second lap but a monumental moment then took place at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 3. Martin was right in the slipstream of Pecco and as the duo chucked the anchors on into Turn 1, Martin got sucked in and made slight contact with Pecco. Martin was wide – well wide – and dropped to P8, with Pecco unhindered by the incident. Huge drama early on.
The fightback began on Lap 4 for Martin. P8 became P7 as the Spaniard got the better of Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). Martin tried to do the same to Viñales a lap later but the latter bit straight back – and a repeat played out at Turn 11.
Up front, Binder was crawling all over the back of Pecco but focus was elsewhere. A battle was raging between Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), with that enabling Viñales and Martin to close right in.
What happened next ultimately decided the Championship. Martin was getting visibly frustrated and on Lap 6, having finally got through on Viñales, Marc Marquez was next in line. At Turn 4, Martin lunged up the inside of the eight-time World Champion but contact was made. So much so, the pair were tangled together. Martin ran straight into the gravel as Marquez was thrown into a vicious highside, as two of the home crowd favourites were down and out. Marquez’s final race with Honda ended in huge disappointment, with Martin’s title hopes vanishing. A painful end to a wonderful campaign for the Prima Pramac star.
With Martin out, no matter what Bagnaia did, he would be the 2023 MotoGP™ World Champion. ‘MARTIN OUT’ was signalled on his pit board as the two KTMs of Binder and Miller were now first and second, with Zarco and Viñales chasing Pecco.
With 12 laps to go though, Binder made a mistake. A big one too. Just as he did in the Tissot Sprint, the South African was wide at Turn 11, and that dropped him from P1 to P6. Miller now led Pecco by just over a second.
Binder’s comeback began with an aggressive move on Alex Marquez at Turn 4, and it was one that saw him handed a drop one position penalty. With nine laps left, Miller’s race then ended. The Aussie crashed at Turn 10 which handed the lead back to Bagnaia, who had Zarco just 0.3s behind him. A disastrous few laps for KTM.
The Championship might have been decided, but the race certainly wasn’t. Binder was just 1.5s away from the lead again and Diggia tagged himself onto the rear wheel of the KTM. Soon, the Italian was into P3 with five laps to go.
With three laps left, 0.3s was still the gap between Pecco and Zarco. But cue the jaws music – Di Giannantonio was on a mission. On Lap 25 of 27, the top trio were split by 0.3s over the line. At Turn 4, Di Giannantonio shoved his Ducati up the inside of Zarco’s and made a move stick for P2. Next: the World Champion elect.
Three riders, only one could win. Would Bagnaia claim the title with a win or would it be Di Giannantonio or Zarco standing on the top step? Halfway around the lap, there was no way through. A head shake from Di Giannantonio told us frustrations were there, but Pecco rode superbly to fend off both his compatriot and Zarco to win the World Championship in the best way possible: victory. A classy ride from your top three. The podium result would later change however with Di Giannantonio’s three-second penalty demoting him to P4 and promoting Binder onto the podium.
Raul Fernandez (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) earned his best result of the season with a fantastic P5. Alex Marquez was P6 with Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) capping off his Yamaha career with a solid P7, as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Luca Marini in his final Mooney VR46 Racing Team appearance and Viñales rounded out the top 10.
An unwell Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) finished P11 after feeling ill, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), Lorenzo Savadori (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) and Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) the other finishers, as the latter ends his full-time MotoGP™ career – for now – in P14 after a crash and remount.
Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) and Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) were the other riders to DNF, Bezzecchi after an early race crash with Marc Marquez.
2023 Valencian MotoGP—Sunday Grand Prix
1 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
Ducati Lenovo Team |
|
2 |
Johann Zarco |
Prima Pramac Racing |
+0.360s |
3 |
Brad Binder |
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
+2.347s |
4 |
Fabio Di Giannantonio |
Gresini Racing MotoGP |
+3.176s |
5 |
Raul Fernandez |
CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team |
+4.636s |
6 |
Alex Marquez |
Gresini Racing MotoGP |
+4.708s |
7 |
Franco Morbidelli |
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |
+4.736s |
8 |
Aleix Espargaro |
Aprilia Racing |
+8.014s |
9 |
Luca Marini |
Mooney VR46 Racing Team |
+9.486s |
10 |
Maverick Vinales |
Aprilia Racing |
+10.556s |
Moto2 Race
That’s a wrap for 2023 in the FIM Moto2™ World Championship and Fermin Aldeguer (CAG SpeedUp) stole the limelight yet again as he took his fifth victory of the season and fourth in a row. The Spaniard was untouchable as Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) had to settle for P2, with Alonso Lopez (CAG SpeedUp) coming out on top in the battle for the final podium spot in P3.
The Boscoscuro rider stretched the field right from the beginning as he had Canet clinging onto his coattails in second place. With 20 laps to go they already had a substantial gap to Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) in third as the hot pace from Aldeguer stretched out the top five.
Ramirez was out of touch to threaten the top two and had Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) for company as the Brit was desperate to find his way through with the prospect of a third overall in the Championship still tangible.
However, at the front Canet was confidently responding to Aldeguer’s pace, and the two were Dixon’s rivals in the fight for third overall. With 17 laps to go Canet was the fastest rider on the circuit too as he set the quickest lap of the race so far and bettered it one lap later.
The battle for 3rd then began to hot up even more as a flying Lopez caught Ramirez and Dixon as he brought Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) to join the party with him. But Lopez made his way through on Dixon with 14 laps remaining. The Spaniard was on a charge after fighting his way up from 14th on the grid to sit in fourth place with his sights set on Ramirez ahead of him.
12 laps to go and Aldeguer was able to extend the gap to 1.5s. The Spaniard continued to put down his relentless pace and took victory in Valencia by 3.982s, with Canet bringing home second. The fight for the final place on the podium went absolutely to the wire as Lopez got through on Ramirez but the American Racing rider then went for a lunge at the final corner on the final lap. It was a well-judged one, but Lopez got the cutback and won the drag to the line.
Behind Ramirez in P4, Chantra got the better of Dixon in the end as the Thai rider capped off his 2023 season with a 5th place as he pulled eight tenths on the Brit in P6. Dixon ends 2023 fourth overall, with his compatriot Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) completing his final Grand Prix race in seventh as he gets set for a move to the WorldSBK paddock.
Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) took eighth ahead of his teammate Dennis Foggia, with Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completing the top 10. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) claimed P11 ahead of World Champion Acosta, who ended his season with a P12 after a fraught start and tougher race. The Spaniard’s attentions now turn to Tuesday’s Valencia Test.
The final point scorers were Manuel Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Mastercamp), Barry Baltus (Fieten Olie Racing GP) and Jeremy Alcoba (Gresini Racing Moto2™) who took 13th, 14th, and 15th respectively.
2023 Valencian Moto2 Race
1 |
Fermin Aldeguer |
(Speed Up Racing) |
|
2 |
Aron Canet |
(Pons Wegow Los40) |
+3.986 |
3 |
Alonso Lopez |
(CAG SpeedUp) |
+6.455 |
4 |
Marcos Ramirez |
(American Racing) |
+6.476 |
5 |
Somkiat Chantra |
(Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) |
+7.060 |
6 |
Jake Dixon |
(Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) |
+7.864 |
7 |
Sam Lowes |
(Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) |
+8.924 |
8 |
Joe Roberts |
(Italtrans Racing Team) |
+11.842 |
9 |
Dennis Foggia |
(Italtrans Racing Team) |
+12.096 |
10 |
Albert Arenas |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+12.549 |
Moto3 Race
Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) has done it. He is a Grand Prix victor in 2023 – and he did in style! The Japanese rider put on quite some show as he fought tooth and nail in a five-rider scrap for victory at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. The final race of 2023 went down the wire in typical Moto3™ fashion as David Alonso (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) left everything he had out on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo as he pushed Sasaki right until the final corner. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) was very much in the mix as well. The Spaniard came home in P3 after getting his elbows firmly out on the last lap, almost snatching second from Alonso in a close drag to the line.
The riders lined up on the grid for the final race of the 2023 Moto3™ season, and with the Championship decided it promised to deliver barnstorming lightweight action. Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) started from pole position but it was Sasaki who took the hole shot down in Turn 1 as the Moto3™ bikes barrelled in.
The Japanese rider had Veijer and Öncü for company as the riders scrapped for position in the opening sector. We lost a couple at Turn 2 as Vicente Perez (BOE Motorsports) and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) went down and out of the race. Xavi Artigas (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) was later awarded a double long lap penalty after causing the incident.
The top three remained line astern throughout the first lap as Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) and Ortola looked keen to threaten the podium spots. Veijer then took over the lead from his teammate one lap later as he dived up the inside at Turn 2. Veijer, Sasaki, Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Kelso, Ortola was the order as the race began to settle with 17 laps still remaining.
As the laps ticked away a leading group began to form as Alonso and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) put themselves in contention in a seven-bike battle for the lead – Alonso getting his elbows out as he got firmly stuck into the battle for victory.
The pace was hot as they were consistently putting times under the race lap record with Veijer leading the way lap after lap. With 10 laps to go it became it a battle of five as Kelso and Rueda began to fall off the back of the group.
A big move came from Alonso with seven to go as the Colombian chucked it up the inside of Öncü at the final corner with very little room to come through. The two made contact as they both ran wide and lost time to Sasaki and Veijer ahead.
Alonso quickly recovered the time in a matter of corners and one lap later he made his move on Sasaki to put himself into P2. Veijer, Alonso, Sasaki, Ortola, Öncü was now the order in the top five with Öncü finding himself almost a second back.
Veijer cracked for the first time with five to go as he finally lost the lead with a small mistake seeing him run wide and drop to fourth, promoting Sasaki to the lead with Ortola and Alonso hot on his tail.
Sasaki led the way on the penultimate lap as Deniz Öncü was now back in the mix and joined onto the back of the group. The heat was turned up as Veijer shot up the inside of Ortola to take third. Ortola bit back at the beginning of the last lap and it was now or never on the final lap.
Sasaki led the way as they barrelled through the first two sectors for the final time. Alonso was all over his rearwheel with Ortola shadowing Alonso’s every move. It came down to the final corner in the end as the Colombian tried all he could to throw it up the inside but had couldn’t find his way past the Japanese rider as he took his first Grand Prix victory ahead with Alonso fending off Ortola in close drag to the line.
It was heartbreak for Veijer after he led the majority to end up having to settle for fourth, and Öncü did recover to catch the leading group but didn’t manage to make any moves as he brought home P5. Rueda finished in a lonely sixth place with Kelso a further second back in P7. 1.5 seconds back from the Aussie was a 3-rider scrap for eighth place which was won by Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who got the better of David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) and Ryusei Yamanaka (GASGAS Aspar Team) in ninth and 10th.
Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) finished his 2023 campaign with P11 ahead of Fillipo Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing). The newly crowned Champion had a steady end to his title-winning season as he took 13th with Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) taking the final point-scoring positions.
2023 Valencian Moto3 Race
1 |
Ayumu Sasaki |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
|
2 |
David Alonso |
(GASGAS Aspar Team) |
+0.082 |
3 |
Ivan Ortola |
(Angeluss MTA Team) |
+0.128 |
4 |
Collin Veijer |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
+0.266 |
5 |
Deniz Öncü |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+0.384 |
6 |
Jose Antonio Rueda |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+3.589 |
7 |
Joel Kelso |
(CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) |
+4.623 |
8 |
Daniel Holgado |
(Red Bull KTM Tech3) |
+6.105 |
9 |
David Muñoz |
(BOE Motorsports) |
+6.305 |
10 |
Ryusei Yamanaka |
(GASGAS Aspar Team) |
+6.907 |
2023 Valencian MotoGP News—Saturday
Title fight goes down to final day
The MotoGP title fight will go to the final day after Jorge Martin claimed a ninth Sprint victory of the year in thrilling fashion while Pecco Bagnaia rode to fifth.
“I had big balls today, because my feeling was so bad, with the front, with the rear, and even though I pushed to the limit every corner to fight for that victory,” said Martin, who aims to win or crash on Sunday.
Bagnaia admitted his decision to run Michelin’s medium rear compound tyre over the soft was a mistake. But he insisted he was under an equal amount of pressure to his rival for tomorrow. “The pressure is on both. I think he will be also more in trouble than today. 21 points is different to 14 and knowing that he have to win and not make mistakes. Me too, eh? The same.”
RNF Aprilia in crisis
RNF Aprilia was thrown into crisis over the weekend as it emerged Team Principle Razlan Razali has left the team amid rumors the squad is going to be taken over imminently.
“It has been an amazing run,” posted Razali on his Facebook page on Friday night. “A once in a lifetime opportunity to manage and own a MotoGP team in the world championship. We know what it’s like to win and especially in losing.”
A statement from the team on Saturday addressed some rumors – namely that Cryptodata, the 60% shareholder of the squad, owed numerous suppliers a lot of money, as well as Dorna, for their sponsorship payment of the Austrian GP that reportedly hasn’t been made—were untrue.
“The decision for Razlan Razali not to be part of the RNF Team management was not only from yesterday, but was taken more than one month ago, due the pressure made by the shareholders following poor performance and financial decision,” read the statement.
Confirmed: Marini to leave VR46
Confirmation arrived on Saturday that Luca Marini will be leaving the VR46 Ducati team, the outfit in which he has competed since 2018. The Italian will switch to the Repsol Honda team in 2024, with an announcement expected imminently.
“It was a really fantastic period for me with the team,” said Marini of his time with the team. “We share great, great moments. The best moments of my career. And I think that now we’ll start a new era of my life, of my career. I hope to and I want to make much better results and fight for the for the top. So let’s see in the future what we can do. But thanks to the team for all the great memories and moments that we shared in these years because as I’ve always said a family.”
2023 Valencian MotoGP—Sprint Race
The 2023 MotoGP™ World Championship will be decided on Sunday! Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) claimed Tissot Sprint victory to cut Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) advantage in the title fight down to just 14 points at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, ensuring the Grand Prix race will be the closest decider in the premier class sine 2015. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) earned podiums in the final Sprint of 2023, both getting their elbows out.
Bagnaia got a dream launch from P2 to grab the holeshot into Turn 1 as Martin also got away well. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) immediately bit back at Turn 2 with a late lunge on Pecco though as Binder nearly slipped up the inside of Martin.
Lap 1, Turn 11 was where Martin made his move on Pecco. Binder, on the cutback, managed to squeeze up the inside of the pair of them and heading into Turn 12, so did the fast-starting Marc Marquez. Suddenly, Bagnaia went from P2 to P5 in the space of two corners
Martin soon got back past Marquez as we watched Bagnaia drop into the clutches of the group behind that included Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) – the Frenchman making a phenomenal start.
With nine to go though, Quartararo’s Sprint was over as he attempted to overtake Pecco at Turn 6. The front of his Yamaha let go and that was all she wrote for El Diablo on Saturday.
Up front, the top four were locked together – Viñales, Binder, Martin and Marc Marquez. Binder and Viñales were getting very busy with eight laps left and lurking just behind was Martin. At this stage, Bagnaia was 1.6s off the fight – and the Italian had Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) climbing all over his tailpipes.
Seven to go. Now, Binder was leading. Marquez showed a wheel to Martin at Turn 6 as the two made slight contact. Unfazed, Martin then carved his way past Viñales for P2 at Turn 1 with six laps to go and as expected, Marquez wasted little time in following Binder and Martin through. With five and a half laps to go, a huge moment occurred – Martin was P1. Binder went wide at Turn 10 and left the door wide open, with Martin walking through with ease.
Five to go. As things stood, the gap in the Championship was 14 points between Sprint leader Martin and fifth place Pecco. Di Giannantonio had passed Bezzecchi and was looking menacing behind Bagnaia, with Martin still holding Binder at bay.
Three to go. Binder wasn’t close enough to make a move on Martin but he was still too close for comfort. Marquez was half a second further back, and Viñales was being caught by Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi.
Martin led Binder by 0.3s, with Bagnaia still holding Di Giannantonio behind him. Halfway around the lap, Binder still wasn’t close enough. Turn 10 passed by with Martin still leading and the KTM wasn’t close enough into the final corner either. Martin rode brilliantly to secure the most important 12 points of his career, as Binder and the impressive Marc Marquez bagged Valencia Sprint rostrums.
Viñales had to settle for P4 after setting the early pace, as Bagnaia came home P5 to collect five points. Not the result the Italian was searching for as the Championship chase goes down to the final day, but it could still yet prove to be a huge five points.
Di Giannantonio couldn’t find a way past Pecco and claimed P6, with Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) picking up the final points-paying positions in the Sprint.
2023 Valencian MotoGP—Sprint Race
1 |
Jorge Martin |
(Prima Pramac Racing) |
|
2 |
Brad Binder |
(Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) |
+0.190s |
3 |
Marc Marquez |
(Repsol Honda) |
+2.122s |
4 |
Maverick Vinales |
(Aprilia Racing) |
+3.106s |
5 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Ducati Lenovo Team) |
+4.253s |
6 |
Fabio D Giannantonio |
(Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati) |
+4.400s |
7 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Mooney VR46 Racing Team) |
+4.502s |
8 |
ALEX MARQUEZ |
(Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati) |
+5.572s |
9 |
Johann Zarco |
(Prima Pramac Racing) |
+5.910s |
10 |
Augusto Fernandez |
(GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) |
+6.095s |
Saturday Moto2
Aron Canet gave the Pons Wegow Los40 team a worthy present to celebrate their final weekend in Moto2™. The local rider waited until the final moments to top the timesheets at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, with his 1:33.314 beating the on-form Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Toold Speedup) by 0.174s as the Boscoscuro rider was forced to settle for second. Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) then made it a Spanish rider lock-out in the top three as he fell just 0.020s shy of Aldeguer ahead of him.
The late lap from Canet denied Sam Lowes (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) a front-row start in his final race in the category. The Brit has looked strong all weekend however and will be eager to end the year on a high as he prepares to start from the front of row two in P4. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) rounded out the top five to join his compatriot on the second row. Dixon finds himself with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) on the other side of him after the newly-crowned Champion took his triumph-powered Kalex KTM to 6th place on the grid before he moves up. He’ll be aiming a lot higher when the lights go out.
The third row of the grid went to Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) who fought his way through Q1 to finish in P7 ahead of Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™) and Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) rounding out the top ten.
2023 Valencian Moto2—Saturday
1 |
Aron Canet |
(Pons Wegow Los40) |
1:33.314 |
2 |
Fermin Aldeguer |
(Speed Up Racing) |
+0.174 |
3 |
Marcos Ramirez |
(American Racing) |
+0.194 |
4 |
Sam Lowes |
(ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) |
+0.259 |
5 |
Jake Dixon |
(GASGAS Aspar Team) |
+0.334 |
6 |
Pedro Acosta |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+0.448 |
7 |
Joe Roberts |
(Italtrans Racing Team) |
+0.459 |
8 |
Filip Salac |
(Gresini Racing Moto2™) |
+0.530 |
9 |
Albert Arenas |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+0.570 |
10 |
Somkiat Chantra |
(IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) |
+0.607 |
Saturday Moto3
Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) capped off the final qualifying of the year with pole position to head a Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP 1-2 on the grid, with the Dutchman 0.048s clear of teammate Ayumu Sasaki. The top three are covered by just 0.052s too, and it was Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who bagged the final front-row spot as he and Sasaki eye up solid finishes to their Moto3™ careers before moving up.
Row two went the way of Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP), and he was three tenths shy of the front row. The Aussie will be joined by David Alonso (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team), who despite a tough weekend so far with a number of crashes, pulled it together in Q2 to impress and to round out the top five. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) takes the final spot on row two in P6.
Rookie Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is set to head row three after finding Veijer at the end of a pole-threatening lap, so he could be one to watch on Sunday. The Spaniard will start ahead of newly crowned Champion Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) as the pair took 7th and 8th respectively. Their compatriot David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) takes ninth to round out that row.
The fourth row features Ryusei Yamanaka (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) at the head of it, and he has Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) for company in 11th and 12th.
So where’s Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3)? After dominating on Friday, the number 96 highsided in Q2 and didn’t set a lap, so he’ll be looking for a comeback from P18 if he’s declared fit in a review before the race.
2023 Valencian Moto3—Saturday
1 |
Collin Veijer |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
1:38.311 |
2 |
Ayumu Sasaki |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
+0.048 |
3 |
Deniz Öncü |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+0.052 |
4 |
Joel Kelso |
(CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) |
+0.319 |
5 |
David Alonso |
(GASGAS Aspar Team) |
+0.392 |
6 |
Ivn OrtolO |
(Angeluss MTA Team) |
+0.442 |
7 |
Jose Antonio Rueda |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+0.473 |
8 |
Jaume Masia |
(Leopard Racing) |
+0.527 |
9 |
David Muñoz |
(BOE Motorsports) |
+0.668 |
10 |
Ryusei Yamanaka |
(GASGAS Aspar Team) |
+0.703 |
2023 Valencian MotoGP News—Friday
Jorge’s mind games
The final minutes of practice were lit up by Jorge Martin’s insistence at following title challenger Pecco Bagnaia, who languished dangerously outside the top 10. The Spaniard sat behind the Italian for some laps, before they entered – and exited – pit lane in tandem.
The tactics angered Lenovo Ducati Team Manager Davide Tardozzi who tried to partly block Martin from exiting pit lane behind his rider. The tactics worked. Bagnaia ended the day 15th, Martin 2nd, meaning the reigning World Champ faces a perilous trip through Q1.
“I think it’s better if he starts thinking about his job,” said Bagnaia after. “He says he will win both races and like this he is losing time to be focused on his job. Right now he is not the fastest so he needs to focus more.”
Michelin offer Martin tire take
After Jorge Martin’s strong comments toward Michelin in the wake of the Qatar GP, Michelin offered up their take on the incident after spending some days analyzing the Spaniard’s rear tyre
“First things straight away, we call to France and we check all the manufacturing process, if all the parameters when we build the tire were OK,” said Head of two-wheel Motorsport Piero Taramasso. “So we have the answer. The answer is yes. Everything was right in manufacturing. So there is no manufacturing problem. There is no quality problem in Jorge Martin’s tire.
“Second. We did some analysis in our side and last night we share our analysis with Ducati and Pramac. They did their analysis. The conclusion from both sides is that yes, Jorge’s performance in Qatar was not in line from what everybody was expecting.”
Di Giannantonio in line to replace Marini
Luca Marini has yet to be confirmed at Repsol Honda due to the need to untangle his name from some sponsorship deals with the VR46 Ducati team. But his confirmation as Marc Marquez’s replacement is a mere formality.
And it Fabio Di Giannantonio has emerged as the favorite to replace his compatriot, after Moto2 sensation Fermin Aldeguer’s team boss Luca Boscoscuro refused to release his rider from his contract next year.
“I’ve come to Valencia with a helmet and suit to test on Tuesday,” said the Qatar race winner. “We have good chances to test on Tuesday and now we have more of a chance to be on the grid in 2024.”
Friday MotoGP
The heat has officially hit fever pitch in the title battle and a huge Saturday at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana awaits. For one, Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is heading for Q1. Two, amid some interesting mind games from Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) as the Spaniard looks to overturn that 21-point deficit. He was also second quickest on Friday as Bagnaia took only P15. And all that as Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) set the pace thanks to a 1:29.142 – a new Circuit Ricardo Tormo all-time lap record.
After MotoGP FP1 saw Martin take P3 and Bagnaia P13, all eyes were on Practice and the soft rubber went in early with qualifying incredibly important at the tight and twisty Valencia layout – especially for the two title protagonists. The final five minutes of the Practice session is when things got even more interesting as Martin headed out armed with a definite game plan.
Plenty of red sectors came flying in but all eyes were on the title duo, who were locked together in the pitlane after being out on track together. Martin latched himself onto the back of Pecco and shadowed him around the out-lap – including running wide at Turn 8 – as Pecco tried his best to find a time to propel him into the top 10.
That didn’t happen on his first flying lap and with time only allowing for one final lap to be laid in the session, the pressure was on Bagnaia. But it would prove too late as a crash for Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) at Turn 3 brought out the yellow flags, and that was that. Bagnaia ended Practice in P15, meaning Q1 awaits for the Championship leader… and Martin’s tactics seemingly worked a treat as he headed straight into Q2 as the second fastest rider on track. With just over half a second covering the top 15, fine margins again made all the difference, and Viñales ends Friday with that freshly-pressed lap record. Behind Martin in second, his teammate Johann Zarco enjoyed a positive day and ended Friday as one of three riders underneath the seven-year-old lap record too. How crucial could Zarco’s pace prove to be for the rest of the weekend for Prima Pramac Racing and Martin?
Elsewhere, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) continued his strong form to claim P4, with compatriot Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – despite a crash at Turn 8 – completing the top five.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) ended the 60-minute Practice stint in P6, while eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) gets set for a Q2 appearance following a positive day as the #93 finished Friday in seventh. Raul Fernandez (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team), Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – another crasher in Practice – and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) are the other riders who bagged automatic Q2 spots.
Bagnaia will have teammate Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) for company in the biggest 15 minutes of the season, while the likes of Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) will also fancy their chances of processing.
2023 Valencian MotoGP Results—Friday
1 |
Maverick Viñales |
(Aprilia Racing) |
1:29.142 |
2 |
Jorge Martin |
(Prima Pramac Racing) |
+0.147 |
3 |
Johann Zarco |
(Prima Pramac Racing) |
+0.154 |
4 |
Fabio Di Giannantonio |
(Gresini Racing MotoGP™) |
+0.253 |
5 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Mooney VR46 Racing Team) |
+0.254 |
6 |
Brad Binder |
(Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) |
+0.260 |
7 |
Marc Marquez |
(Repsol Honda Team) |
+0.317 |
8 |
Raul Fernandez |
(CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team) |
+0.328 |
9 |
Jack Miller |
(Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) |
+0.339 |
10 |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Aprilia Racing) |
+0.429 |
Friday Moto2
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is the rider to beat after the opening day of the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, exchanging lap times with Fermin Aldeguer (CAG SpeedUp) at the top of the timesheets until a decisive new all-time lap record from the reigning Champion: a 1:33.768. Aldeguer fell 0.132s short of #37 by the close of P2, with Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) rounding out the top three following Friday’s running.
Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) made a step in Practice 2 to put himself within 0.238s off the pace. The Brit finished the day in 4th place ahead of his compatriot Sam Lowes (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) who enjoyed a positive opening day to round out the top five. Celestino Vietti (Fantic Racing) also took well to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo and put his Triumph Kalex in P6 ahead of Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing)
Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) knocked one second off his lap time in Practice 2 as he found his feet in Valencia. The American bagged 8th place ahead of his teammate Dennis Foggia, with Tony Arbolino (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) kicking off his Valencia GP with a Friday P10.
2023 Valencian Moto2 Results—Friday
1 |
Pedro Acosta |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
1:33.768 |
2 |
Fermin Aldeguer |
(SpeedUp Racing) |
+0.132 |
3 |
Aron Canet |
(Pons Wegow Los40) |
+0.183 |
4 |
Jake Dixon |
(Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) |
+0.236 |
5 |
Sam Lowes |
(Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) |
+0.248 |
6 |
Celestino Vietti |
(Fantic Racing) |
+0.324 |
7 |
Marcos Ramirez |
(OnlyFans American Racing) |
+0.354 |
8 |
Joe Roberts |
(Italtrans Racing Team) |
+0.475 |
9 |
Dennis Foggia |
(Italtrans Racing Team) |
+0.549 |
10 |
Tony Arbolino |
(Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) |
+0.561 |
Friday Moto3
Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) ended Day 1 of the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana fastest after his 1:38.706 saw him top the timesheets in Practice 2. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) got the closest to the Spaniard’s time despite bringing out the red flags with a mid-session high side. The Turk was taken to the medical centre for a check-up and will be reviewed before Practice 3 in the morning, but his time stood strong as he remained the only rider to join Holgado in the 1:38 club in 2nd place. Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) finished the day in 3rd place overall after clocking a time just under three-tenths away from the top spot.
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) missed out on the top three by just 0.047s as he took P4. Next up behind the Spaniard was Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team), with 2023 World Champion Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) taking sixth. Ryusei Yamanaka (GASGAS Aspar Team) finished the day in P7 as half a second covered the top eight – the eighth of those riders being Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP). Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) and Vicente Perez (BOE Motorsports) rounded out the top 10.
Rookie of the Year David Alonso (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) suffered two big crashes in Practice 2, the second one involved Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) with the Japanese rider hitting the Colombian’s machine on the exit of Turn 11. Both riders were up on their feet, Sasaki rider ok and Alonso heading to the medical centre for a check-up – he’ll be reviewed tomorrow morning ahead of Practice 3.
2023 Valencian Moto3 Results—Friday
1 |
Daniel Holgado |
(Red Bull KTM Tech3) |
1:38.706 |
2 |
Deniz Öncü |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+0.266 |
3 |
Joel Kelso |
(CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) |
+0.374 |
4 |
Adrian Fernandez |
(Leopard Racing) |
+0.421 |
5 |
Ivan Ortola |
(Angeluss MTA Team) |
+0.422 |
6 |
Jaume Masia |
(Leopard Racing) |
+0.451 |
7 |
Ryusei Yamanaka |
(GASGAS Aspar Team) |
+0.481 |
8 |
Collin Veijer |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
+0.497 |
9 |
Diogo Moreira |
(MT Helmets – MSI) |
+0.596 |
10 |
Vicente Perez |
(BOE Motorsports) |
+0.606 |
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