Label: Austin

Sep282023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Ricciardo's return in Qatar is unlikely

The Red Bull Racing team announced that Daniel Riciardo will most likely not return to the wheel of the Alpha Tauri F1 racecar at the Qatar Grand Prix. "The Australian has already missed the last three races after injuring his right hand in training for the Dutch GP, his second race since returning to the 'regular' racers. Since then, he has been replaced very successfully by rookie Liam Lawson, Christian Horner, team boss Red Bull Racing, however, says Ricciardo is in no rush to get back in the car. "His return in Qatar is unlikely," Horner said. Qatar, but has more time until the race in Austin, where the track is very undulating. This extra time can be spent on preparations. I know he's aiming for the return

Apr172023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Oliveira happy with the result after his return

MotoGP News

Muguel Oliveira was very pleased with his results in the first race weekend since his return. The Portuguese, who missed the last race in Argentina due to injury, set the fifteenth time in Saturday's qualifying. In the sprint race, he managed to gain seven places and thus finished eighth. He fared even better on Sunday, when he crossed the finish line in fifth place. "The race was very exciting because of all the drops and the wind. Even after the morning warm-up, we knew that the conditions would be more demanding than those on Saturday. In the first laps of the race, it was crucial to stay on two wheels. I managed to get a good start, and then I started very good lap times. I would like to thank the team for preparing me an outstanding bike. Fifth place feels like a small victory considering everything that happened in the

Apr172023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Bezzecchi: I destroyed the front tire too fast

MotoGP News

Despite the sixth place in yesterday's race, Marco Bezzecchi managed to increase the overall lead. He is 11 points ahead of the nearest Bagnaj. As he emphasized after the race, he does not bother with scoring. "Of course I'm happy to keep the overall lead, but I don't think too much about it because it's still too early to think about fighting for the title." However, he had quite a few problems yesterday, especially in the second half of the test, when he could not fight for places at the top, as he wore out the front tire too quickly. "I'm happy with my performance this weekend. We had a lot of problems on Friday, then we did a little bit better on Saturday. But today the conditions were such that you make a mistake quickly. In the opening part I pushed my bike too much, set lap times around

Apr172023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Quartararo: It is difficult to accept the superiority of Ducati

MotoGP News

Fabio Quartararo was satisfied after yesterday's third place, but added that it is difficult to accept Ducati's superiority, especially in terms of top speed, where Yamaha is still far behind. The French racer started Sunday's race from seventh place, and after the fall of some in front of him, he made it to second place. He successfully defended this against Luca Marinj for a while, but then had to admit Ducati's superiority when the Italian sped past him on the longest straight. The Yamaha rider finished in third place and thus stepped onto the winners' podium for the first time this year. Although Yamaha made a step forward in terms of their top speed over the winter, it is still far from enough to fight Ducati. As Quartararo said after the race, it is difficult to accept such superiority when he cannot do anything himself. "It was long and demanding

Apr172023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Aleix Espargaro on the reasons for the high number of crashes: The problem is in the track

MotoGP News

Yesterday's race in Austin, in addition to interesting events, also served up a fairly large number of crashes. There were 10 of them in total. When asked what was wrong with such a large number, Aleix Espargaro, the Spaniard, who was also one of those who ended the race early with a fall, found the answer without thinking. He cited the bumpy track as the reason. "The reason for the large number of crashes is hidden in the track. It is really full of bumps, which causes a lot of problems for us and the motorcycles. It just needs to be resurfaced." "At the same time, I would like to add that the configuration of the track itself is great. It is one of the best on the calendar, as it has fast, slow corners and long straights. Practically everything. It would only be necessary to fix these humps. Most of the crashes on the circuit are the result of these

Apr172023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Rins: The fall of Bagnaja scared the crap out of me

MotoGP News

After finishing second in Saturday's sprint race, Alex Rins celebrated his sixth victory in the elite class on Sunday. The racetrack in Austin suits him very well, as this is his fourth victory at this venue in all three competition classes. At the same time, it should not be forgotten that the victory ended the LCR team's five-year drought. The last time Cal Crutchlow stepped onto the top step of the podium in their colors was in Argentina in 2018. But for Lucio Cecchinelli's team, this victory was special for another reason. It is the hundredth place on the winner's stage after he founded his team twenty-seven years ago. "Fantastic. We've had an amazing weekend. Everything went according to plan. On Friday we secured a direct entry in the faster qualifying group, then we were second in

Apr172023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Disappointed Marquez: It was my best weekend but I leave without points

MotoGP News

Alex Marquez leaves Austin without a point after two zeroes last weekend. The Spaniard is convinced that he could have achieved much more this weekend, as he felt very competitive. He ended Saturday's sprint race early after vomiting and falling while braking in the twelfth turn. In the main race on Sunday, he was eliminated by Jorge Martin. When he fell, his leg got stuck between the motorcycle, but fortunately he survived the fall without serious injuries. "When I fell, my leg somehow got stuck between the two motorcycles, and then I hit the fence. It wasn't the most pleasant fall. Fortunately, it was nothing worse, but I'm angry, because we wasted a good opportunity to win a lot of points." "It is somewhat strange that I leave the weekend, when I showed my best form so far, without points. On Po

Apr172023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Bagnaia cannot explain the fall

MotoGP News

Francesco Bagnaia won Saturday's sprint race in Austin. Even on Sunday, it looked very good for him, that with the victory he will get his second complete win this season. At the start of the eighth lap, however, there was a shock when he fell in the second turn. Instead of retaking the lead in the overall with the victory, he leaves America eleven points behind the leader Bezzecchi. After the race, he was understandably angry and frustrated, as he could not explain why the fall occurred. "It's a shame that the crash happened. It's hard to explain why the crash happened. It certainly wasn't the fault of the wind or the cold tires. I did 80 laps in three days, always riding the same way, but still I crashed today. Until then I had everything under control." "In Argentina, the reason for the fall was that I took off too quickly in the wet

Apr162023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Alex Rins took advantage of the fall of Baganaja and won the race to Austin in a superb manner

MotoGP News

Alex Rins wins the third race of the season in Austin. The Spaniard, who started the race from second place, kept the rhythm of the leader Bagnaja in the introduction, and then took advantage of the fall of the Italian racer and celebrated his second victory on this circuit in the elite class. For the LCR team, this is the first victory since 2018, when Cal Crutchlow celebrated in Argentina. Luca Marin and Fabio Quartararo joined him on the podium. For Marini, this is the first place on the winning balcony in the elite class. https://twitter.com/MotoGP/status/1647687310455066628 Fourth place was taken by Maverick Vinales ahead of Muguel Oliveira and Marco Bezzecchi. He thus took advantage of Bagnaja's fall and increased his lead in the total. Johann Zarco finished seventh ahead of Franco Morbidelli. And ten

Apr162023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Alex Rins: A Honda motorcycle requires a lot more power to ride

MotoGP News

With second place, Alex Rins was one of the main heroes of Saturday's sprint race. The Spaniard took second place in qualifying, even took the lead in the opening part of the first round, but then he had no chance to defend himself on the long straight against Francesco Bagnaja. Despite some mistakes, he managed to hold second place. "It's been an amazing day. We did an amazing job in both qualifying and the race," said Rins after the race. "In the first lap I tried to pass Pecc, because I knew he had a great rhythm that I couldn't hold. After the longest straight he managed to overtake me straight away. There was nothing I could do. When braking into the twelfth turn I often had problems." With second place, Rins achieved Honda's best result this season. At the same time, this is for m