# Car Forums > Motorsports >  MotoGP 2022

## SKR

Anyone watching MotoGP this year? I started last year so I don't know a whole lot about it still, but there can't be much racing out there that's better than this.

I haven't been paying much attention to any offseason testing, but there's tons of Ducatis now and they were fast at the end of last year, so maybe that's a sign that they'll win a championship this year. I don't know why there aren't more Yamahas. They seem to be fast everywhere. If Honda has made a bike that can be ridden, and Marquez is healthy, he could rack up a lot of wins. If Suzuki has found more power they'll be a problem too. It'll be interesting to see what KTM's two rookies can do after finishing 1-2 in Moto2. Mooney VR46 has the best livery in the field, despite what stupid r/motogp says.

Also, with a year under his belt getting used to the bike I'm looking forward to seeing what Cam Beaubier does in Moto2. He kicked the shit out of everyone in MotoAmerica in 2020, and ran well in Moto2 last year until he fell off seemingly every race.




I'll also be watching British Superbikes again this year, and I think I saw something about the Daytona 200 being run as a MotoAmerica event so if that's the case I'll be watching that too. I might try to fit in World Superbikes too, and if any of the Irish roads are televised I'll be into that as well as the TT.

That's an awful lot of bike racing to be watching, but bikes are just so much more entertaining than cars.

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## SKR

Forgot to mention why I posted this, the first race of the season at Qatar is this weekend. Watch it on MotoGP.com or whatever TV network carries it or steal it from wherever.

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## ThePenIsMightier

As I've _always_ said, you can't have Motorsports content without...





....




...



...

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## ExtraSlow

Bike race is best race.

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## birdman86

Are motogp races in the same time slot as f1 races?

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## SKR

I don't know. F1 has two too many tires so I don't pay any attention.

If you mean are they live early in the morning here, then yeah probably. I watch the races on demand.

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## haggis88

MotoGP was my Sunday morning viewing in the UK, but I doubt I'd get up early enough to watch it here

I also have a mental block watching non-live sports, I usually check the results and watch a couple of highlights on soch'

Really enjoyed watching Marquez in the 2017 & 2018 seasons

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## SKR

> I also have a mental block watching non-live sports



I'm the other way. Watching sports live is an absolute nightmare, and I avoid it as much as possible.

I've heard NBC is carrying the races this year, but I don't know if that's regular NBC or what because it seems like every network has 16 different sub-networks and they make it as hard as possible to figure it out. Spoiler-free on motogp.com is how I'll be doing it.

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## birdman86

Amazon doing a Drive to Survive for MotoGP, out on the 14th:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgbS...channel=MotoGP

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## SKR

Qatar didn't go like I thought it would. Top 5 was last year's Ducati, KTM, Honda, Aprilia, Honda. Suzukis were quick. Yamahas weren't. This year's Ducati doesn't look as good as last year's. Bastianini has a way of just showing up out of nowhere.









I thought the Moto2 race was kind of dull. I wish Beaubier could find a way to qualify better. He's fast enough but he's always quagmired midfield.

MotoAmerica starts off with the Daytona 200 this weekend. I tried to watch it last year because Michael Dunlop was in it but NBC's streaming was so awful I just gave up. Hopefully MotoAmerica's service is better.

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## SKR

The Indonesian GP was entertaining enough, although only for the battles further back in the field. I've gone on record here before saying I don't like racing in the rain because it's such a wild card. Oliveira was lights out from the start. Quartararo and his Yamaha were back to looking like the reigning champion. Bagnaia stunk. Vinales stunk worse, and good for him because he's a dickhead. Darryn Binder had a great ride.



Marc Marquez was declared medically unfit after a massive 180km/hr highside during the warmup before the race (video here, I don't know how to post reddit videos https://old.reddit.com/r/motogp/comm...ghside_gp_wup/).



Also, last week was the Daytona 200. Great race, and won by .007 seconds. Watch it free on Youtube. The actual race is from 25:00 to 40:00 when it was red flagged, and restarted at 1:09:00 to 2:44:00.

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## SKR

Also, I'd like to point out for anyone considering whether the MotoGP videopass is worth the $140/year or whatever it is, it includes races from every season back to 2002. Go watch 6 of Rossi's 7 championships.

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## HHURICANE1

I believe is 140 euro. About $200 cdn. I'd love to get it but it's about 50% more than I'm willing to shell out.

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## SKR

3 races into the season and 9 different riders on the podium. Big first win for Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia. Suzukis finish 3rd and 4th. Martin finished 2nd and Bagnaia finished 5th I think so maybe Ducati has started to sort things out.



COTA next Sunday. Also MotoAmerica at COTA next Sunday, and World Superbikes at Aragon. I don't know much about either series but I'm going to watch this year.

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## SKR

For all the struggles Ducati has had to start the season, it seems like finally they've turned things around by taking the top 5 qualifying spots at COTA, and all 5 of those finishing in the top 9 including Enea Bastianini getting his second win of the season. The race at the front was pretty scrappy, but just as entertaining was Marc Marquez coming from dead last after a problem at the start to finish 6th.



Also at COTA was MotoAmerica. Danilo Petrucci retired from MotoGP last year, and is riding for Warhorse Ducati in MotoAmerica this year. COTA is the only American track he's familiar with so it'll be interesting to see how the season goes, but it's starting with back to back wins in race 1 Saturday and race 2 today.





World Superbikes started their season at Aragon this weekend Race 1 was pretty tight with Toprak Razgatlioglu, Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista battling at the front. Rea came away with the win in race 1 on Saturday, and Bautista won the Superpole race and race 2 Sunday.





Next weekend should be pretty casual compared to this weekend with the British Superbikes season starting at Silverstone.

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## SKR

This weekend was the opening round of British Superbikes at Silverstone. BSB is my favorite racing series. They're not the 300+hp MotoGP bikes, but they're still 250hp and have no electronics. And it's competitive - anybody in the top 20 could be in the top 5, it's so close.

A great start for Glenn Irwin with 3 races and 3 wins. Last season's champion, Tarran Mackenzie, was out due to injuries sustained in preseason testing so tough luck for him. The National circuit seemed to suit Irwin's Honda, the Yamahas and Kawasakis. The BMWs and Ducatis didn't seem to be suited to the course at all. Guys like Josh Brookes and Peter Hickman are way down the standings. We'll see what they can do as the season progresses. It's a similar start to 2020 where Glenn and Andy Irwin came storming out of the gate, and it wasn't until late in the season when Brookes finally chased them down. There's 30 more races to go in the season so it's a long way from won or lost yet.

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## SKR

It was a good race for MotoGP at Portimao this weekend. A good ride from Joan Mir at the start, but Fabio Quartararo was dominant and got his first win of the season. Mir eventually crashed out with Jack Miller, allowing Aleix Espargaro to finish 3rd on the Aprilia, which I like to see. Alex Rins started 23rd and ended up 4th. Francesco Bagnaia salvaged an 8th, which can probable be seen as good after Ducati's awful start to the season.



In World Superbikes, Jonathan Rea finished ahead of Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu in the Superbike 1 and Superpole races. This is my first season watching WSBK and it's becoming pretty apparent that the podium is always going to be these 3. In Superbike 2, Rea and Razgatlioglu crashed out leaving Bautista to win.





And in MotoAmerica, Danilo Petrucci went 3 for 3 on the season, winning race 1 on Saturday, but blew his motor on lap 1 in race 2, allowing Jake Gagne to cruise to a win with a margin of something like 14 seconds. Gagne won 17 races in a row or something like that last season so he's supposed to be the big swinging dick around there, but he had bike trouble at COTA and this is the first weekend he's really been able to race, so it's hard to say how he stacks up against Petrucci. I suspect like WSBK, MotoAmerica is going to feature podiums of Petrucci, Gagne and either Cam Peterson or Mathew Scholtz.





Next weekend is a little lighter, with MotoGP at Jerez and British Superbikes at Oulton Park.

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## SKR

A good run for Ducati at Jerez as Francesco Bagnaia led from pillar to post, and Jack Miller finished 5th. First place wasn't much of a battle, but third place was with Aleix Espargaro, Marc Marquez, Miller and Joan Mir all in a tight scrap.



Also, race 1 of British Superbikes at Oulton Park was today. Bradley Ray won his first race since 2018, holding off Rory Skinner, Kyle Ryde, Josh Brookes, Peter Hickman and Tommy Bridewell. Brookes has had an atrocious start to the 2022 season, after an atrocious 2021 season, so it's good to see him finish closer to the front. Bridewell was on a tear until the race was red flagged for a crash involving David Johnson. Races 2 and 3 are tomorrow.

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## SKR

Races 2 and 3 of BSB went today at Oulton Park. Another win in race 2 for Bradley Ray. Yamahas are always strong in BSB, but it's a bit of a surprise that it's the Rich Energy OMG team rather than McAMS since this is their first year with Yamaha. Luke Mossey had a scary looking crash but walked away. In race 3, it looked like Ray was running away with it again until Tommy Bridewell and Lee Jackson reeled him in. Jackson got around Bridewell to win his first race in BSB. Tom Neave was stretchered off in another scary crash, but has been discharged from hospital. I still haven't heard anything about David Johnson from yesterday, which I'm taking to be good news. I think of him more as a road racer so maybe he'll lay low until the TT 4 weeks from now.





No racing next weekend. Next up is the North West 200 May 12-14, and MotoGP at Le Mans May 15.

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## SKR

The Supersport and Superstock races on the first day at the North West 200 have finished. Rainy conditions led to many of the top riders to drop out, but favorite Alastair Seeley stayed in to win both races over Davey Todd. The Supertwin race was cancelled due to conditions and darkness. Racing will resume Saturday with Supersport race 2, Superbike race 1, Supertwin race 2, Superstock race 2 and Superbike race 2.

Despite the rain, I think Davey Todd was fastest through the speed trap at 196mph.

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## SKR

There were 6 races today to wrap up the North West 200 in Northern Ireland today - Supertwin 1 and 2, Supersport 2, Superstock 2, and Superbike 1 and 2.

The day started with the first Supertwin race, and was won convincingly by Richard Cooper.

Supersport 2 was a full-on battle between Lee Johnston and Davey Todd, swapping spots several times each lap before Johnston came away with the win in the end.

Superbike 1 saw Glenn Irwin just edge out Davey Todd for his fifth NW200 Superbike win in a row.

Supertwin 2 was won again by Cooper.

Superstock 2 was won by Alastair Seeley, making 27 NW200 wins in his career.

The final race, Superbike 2, was hampered by tire issues from Dunlop. Due to tire failures in the Superbike 1 and Superstock 2 races, Dunlop advised its riders to withdraw from the race. The race went on with Irwin extending his run of Superbike wins to 6.

After the Supertwin races, Richard Cooper was disqualified for illegal modifications to his bike. The race results were amended to name Pierre-Yves Bian and Joe Loughlin the winners or race 1 and 2 respectively.

MotoGP will race at Le Mans late tonight/early in the morning.

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## SKR

Enea Bastianini won his third race of the season at Le Mans in what seems to be his typical fashion - tire conservation until 2/3 race distance, and then ride away from everyone. Jack Miller second, Aleix Espargaro third, Fabio Quartararo fourth, Johann Zarco fifth.

That Gresini Racing livery is probably the ugliest livery in all of motorsports.



Also, Cameron Beaubier couldn't quite hold onto his first podium in Moto2, but fourth is still a career best so good for him.

Next weekend:

World Superbikes at Estoril
British Superbikes at Donington Park
MotoAmerica at VIR

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## shakalaka

Thanks for providing all the updates. I don't follow the sport but I feel like I know enough about it based on your posts. Haha.

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## SKR

Thanks. I'm not sure anyone else really cares, and I'm not even sure if I do, but I'm a completionist shithead so now that I've started I have to finish.

TT is in 2 weeks. Watch it all at ttplus.iomraces.com live and on demand for $32.

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## SKR

No MotoGP this week, but lots of racing in the other series.

In World Superbikes at Estoril, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea swapped positions lap after lap until about 5 to go when Rea outbraked himself and took himself out of contention. Alvaro Bautista was able to get through to second, and then on the exit of the last corner was able to put the power down and to the line ahead of Razgatlioglu by 0.126 seconds.



I'm bored to fucking tears with WSBK. Every race except for one is some combination of Razgatlioglu, Rea and Bautista. It's good racing between those three, but it's only those three.

In British Superbikes at Donington Park, there actually was an entertaining battle for the win with Kyle Ryde, Jason O'Halloran, Bradley Ray, Lee Jackson, Rory Skinner and Glenn Irwin as contenders. In the end, O'Halloran divebombed into the last chicane to get ahead of Ryde, but Ryde got him back on the cutback and edged out the win by 0.038 seconds.



In unfortunate news, a crash in the Supersport race between David Jones and Josh Day has left Day with a significant head injury and according to a statement is in hospital in a medically induced coma.

MotoAmerica is at Virginia International Raceway this weekend, and after trouble with the bike at the start of the season, Jake Gagne has come to life and won his second straight race. He held off early pressure from Danilo Petrucci before Petrucci slipped back to fourth. Mathew Scholtz and Cam Petersen finished second and third, for a Yamaha 1-2-3.



Racing in all three series resumes Sunday.

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## SKR

> I'm bored to fucking tears with WSBK. Every race except for one is some combination of Razgatlioglu, Rea and Bautista. It's good racing between those three, but it's only those three.



This is accurate, and true of all three series this weekend (although it was more coincidence with BSB).

So, WSBK. In the shorter superpole race, Razgatliolgu led for most of it but made a mistake on the last lap and allowed Rea through to win. Bautista finished third. In the second superbike race, Rea passed Bautista on the last lap and Razgatlioglu finished third. In both races, the gap from third to fourth was 7 seconds. In all fairness it's good, competitive racing, but it's the same three guys all the time.



For as much shit as I give WSBK, you'd expect that I'd be similarly unimpressed with BSB. Yesterday's finishing order was Ryde, O'Halloran and Ray. In race 2 today, O'Halloran won, with Ray and Lee Jackson finishing second and third. In race 3, O'Halloran won, with Ray and Jackson finishing second and third. The difference is that Ryde, Skinner, Peter Hickman and Leon Haslam all figured into the win in both races at varying points. Haslam had a big highside crash in race 3 that collected Glenn Irwin. Hopefully he's not too badly injured as he is scheduled to make his highly anticipated TT debut next week.



And, for as much shit as I give WSBK, you'd expect that I'd be similarly unimpressed with MotoAmerica. Except that I expect so little from MotoAmerica. I didn't watch last season, but 2020 was dominated by Cameron Beaubier. In almost every race, by the first corner, Beaubier was gone. In 2021 Beaubier moved on to Moto2, and Jake Gagne became the man to beat. I think he won something like 17 races in a row in 2021. MotoAmerica is competitive, but it's pretty clear who's who there. The reason I watched this year is because I wanted to see how Danilo Petrucci managed. I feel like MotoAmerica is pretty insulated from the rest of the world so I wanted to see how a MotoGP rider stacked up.

Gagne took off, and by the first corner first place was pretty much decided. The race then was for second between Scholtz, Petersen and Petrucci. Petersen started to trail off on the last couple laps, but Petrucci couldn't quite catch Scholtz for second. I think MotoAmerica is a series that really suits Yamahas.



Next week MotoGP is at Mugello, and the first day of practice at the Isle of Man TT starts Sunday.

Standings:

MotoGP
1. 102 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 98 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
3. 94 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
4. 69 Alex Rins (Suzuki)
5. 62 Jack Miller (Ducati)

World Superbike

1. 161 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 144 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
3. 109 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
4. 84 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)
5. 76 Iker Lecuona (Honda)

British Superbikes

1. 158 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2. 130 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
3. 125 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
4. 117 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
5. 116 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)

MotoAmerica

1. 104 Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
2. 100 Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
3. 91 Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
4. 78 Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
5. 63 Hector Barbera (BMW)

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## SKR

> Razgatliolgu led for most of it but made a mistake



This is the "mistake". He saved this, by the way.

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## SKR

MotoGP was at Mugello Sunday for the Italian GP. With its long front straight, and 9 Ducatis in the field, I expected Ducatis to do well and one to win. I also expected the Suzukis to do well, and Yamaha and Aprilia to be in the mix. This season's dark horse favorite, Enea Bastianini, qualified poorly and crashed out. Fabio Quartararo had a great race and finished second. Aleix Espargaro finished third. This season's underachieving favorite, Francesco Bagnaia, leveraged his factory Ducati's power to win. Both Suzukis crashed out. Marc Marquez finished 10th in what might be his last GP, after yet another crash this weekend has led to him requiring potentially season- or career-ending surgery.



MotoGP Standings

1. 122 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 114 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
3. 94 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
4. 81 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
5. 75 Johann Zarco (Ducati)

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## SKR

Also this weekend, Isle of Man TT qualifying began today. In the Superbike class, Davey Todd set the fastest lap at 127.492mph. Peter Hickman led Superstock at 126.490mph. Michael Dunlop led Supersport at 124.103mph. Jamie Coward led Supertwin at 117.573mph. Pete Founds and Jevan Walmsley led the Sidecars at 112.426mph. Newcomer Glenn Irwin was 13th in Superbike at 122.616mph and 14th in Superstock at 121.535mph. Qualifying/practice continues every day this week until Friday, and races every other day starting Saturday.

Normally I post pictures of the riders mentioned, but TT coverage is hard to find.


Dean Harrison


James Hillier


Glenn Irwin


Davey Todd


Ben and Tom Birchall

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## SKR

Day 2 of practice at the Isle of Man TT today. Peter Hickman was the first to cross the 130mph barrier, topping the Superbike leaderboard with a lap of 130.719mph. Davey Todd led the Superstock class with a lap of 129.583mph. Hickman also led the Supersport class at 122.324mph.

Within a few minutes of each other, Michael Sweeney crashed at the 11th Milestone, Ilja Caljouw crashed at the 27th Milestone, and Sam West crashed at Laurel Bank. As far as I'm able to understand, all three had to be helicoptered to hospital but all three are alright. The session was red flagged after West's crash and the Sidecars were cancelled for the evening.

Practice will resume tomorrow.


Peter Hickman

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## SKR

Day 3 of practice at the TT.

I think all three riders from yesterday are okay.

Dean Harrison set the fastest lap of the week so far on his Superbike at 131.767mph, followed closely by Davey Todd at 131.655mph. Peter Hickman was the first Superstock into the 130s at 130.695mph. Michael Dunlop leads Supersport at 125.938mph. Jamie Coward ran a 119.775mph lap to lead Supertwins. Ben and Tom Birchall led the shortened Sidecar practice with a 115.663mph lap.

The Supersport/Supertwin session was red flagged after Dave Moffitt crashed at Laurel Bank and had to be airlifted to hospital. 


John McGuinness

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## SKR

Day 4 of practice at the Isle of Man TT.

Peter Hickman posted the fastest lap of the week so far at 131.957mph.

A bit more of a subdued update today as Mark Purslow was killed in a crash at Ballagarey near the end of the session.



Michael Sweeney and Sam West have both returned to the TT after crashes on day 2. Sweeney is riding again, and West expects to be later in the week. I haven't heard anything about Ilja Caljouw. Dave Moffitt is reportedly "serious but stable".

Practice resumes tomorrow. Watch it all live and on demand at ttplus.iomttraces.com

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## s dime

Killed in a crash? Terrible news, condolences. 

What a crazy race, and event. The press release on the guardian states over 250 people have been killed in this race, or others on the course…

Practice continues…

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## SKR

Yeah it's the greatest race in the world, but it's also fantastically tragic.



Peter Hickman set a new fastest time for the week in Superbike at 133.220mph and Supertwin at 120.994mph, and still holds the fastest time in Superstock at 130.695mph. Michael Dunlop ran a 126.662mph lap to lead the Supersports. Also into the 130s, all in Superbike, are Dean Harrison, Davey Todd, Michael Dunlop and Conor Cummins.

Practice concludes tomorrow, and races starting Saturday with the Superbike and first Sidecar races.



Edit: I forgot to mention that the Birchalls led the Sidecars again. I like the Sidecars, but it's hard to get excited when the Birchalls have won 10 of the last 12, and the last 7 in a row.

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## SKR

Last night of practice in the books. A bit damp from Ramsey to the Gooseneck which led to lap times being down from yesterday. Michael Dunlop set a new fast time in the Supertwins class at 120.303mph. Glenn Irwin set his fastest lap of the week, 128.268mph, making him the third-fastest newcomer of all time behind Peter Hickman and Davey Todd.

Sidecars got fucked again. Practice started late due to a crash involving Mike Booth at Joey's, and then stopped for a water main break at Cronk-ny-Mona. Pete Founds and Jevan Walmsley led the one-lap practice session.


Michael Dunlop

Race schedule:

Saturday
1. RST Superbike TT
2. 3Wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 1

Monday
3. Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1
4. RL360 Superstock TT

Wednesday
5. Bennetts Supertwin TT
6. Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 2

Friday
7. 3Wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 2
8. Milwaukee Senior TT

Watch it all live and on demand at ttplus.iomttraces.com. $32, includes interviews and behind the scenes action, and reviews from every TT from 2009 to 2019.

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## SKR

Oh, MotoGP is at Catalunya this weekend also. That'll be something nice to fill the gap between TT races on Sunday. I forgot about that. I'm very excited for the TT if you can't tell. This thread has a very misleading title recently.

Edit: And MotoAmerica is at Road America.

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## shakalaka

I need to watch a race one of these days and see if I get into it. What day and what race you suggest I look out for next?

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## SKR

> I need to watch a race one of these days and see if I get into it. What day and what race you suggest I look out for next?



For free you can get on youtube and watch the 2018 Senior TT review.




A regular (superbike) race is 6 laps and about an hour and 40 minutes. This is a condensed, 30 minute highlight version of it. 2018 had great weather all through the 2 weeks and new lap and race records were being set every race. The Senior TT is the last race of the week, the most prestigious, and in 2018 it was set to be the fastest ever as Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison tried to be the first rider to run a 135mph lap.

Edit: I've really got the TT on the brain. In case you mean MotoGP, here's the 2018 Dutch GP on youtube.




From the description:




> 100+ overtakes, six different race leaders and numerous faring-bashing clashes 
> 
> A huge front pack battle from start to finish made this race in Assen an instant classic ⚔️ Enjoy it again now

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## SKR

Saturday's racing at the TT has finished. In the Superbike race, Peter Hickman led early and never looked back, finishing ahead of Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop. Glenn Irwin finished 8th in his first ever TT, and set the fastest newcomer lap at 129.85mph. John McGuinness finished 5th in his 100th TT. Davey Todd was in second before retiring on lap 2 with another blown Dunlop tire on the ~190mph Sulby Straight. Todd had a blown tire at the North West 200 three weeks ago, and Dunlop asked its riders to pull out of the event due to tire failures, so hopefully this isn't something that continues. Some switched over to Metzelers, but switched back to Dunlops. That might be something to reconsider.



An awful TT for the Sidecars continues. After shortened or cancelled practice sessions, race 1 went today after the Superbike race but was red flagged minutes in after a crash involving Harry Payne and Mark Wilkes at Ago's Leap. It sounds like both are okay, but racing was stopped for the day. No word yet on when race 1 will be rescheduled to, or if it'll be cancelled.

Supersport and Superstock go Monday.

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## SKR

Unfortunately, what I posted earlier about the Sidecar race was not correct. Harry Payne and Mark Wilkes are indeed okay, but they weren't involved. Driver Cesar Chanal and passenger Olivier Lavorel, both newcomers to the TT, crashed at Ago's Leap. Lavorel was killed and Chanal was transported to hospital in critical condition.

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## SKR

The first of two races for MotoAmerica at Road America had a pretty good battle for the lead between Mathew Scholtz and Danilo Petrucci. Jake Gagne shot to the lead on the opening lap, but got together with Petrucci going into turn 5 and ended up in the gravel. Petrucci reentered the race in fifth. Cam Petersen led the first few laps but retired with mechanical problems, leaving Petrucci and Scholtz. Petrucci led until the last lap when Scholtz got past him, but Petrucci dove in on the last corner and went side by side with Scholtz to the finish line with Scholtz coming out ahead by .015 seconds. Gagne came back from last place after the lap 1 incident to finish fifth.

Race 2 is Sunday.

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## SKR

The Catalan GP went this morning for MotoGP. A bit of a weird one today. Takaaki Nakagami lost the front going into the first corner on lap 1, and took out Alex Rins and Francesco Bagnaia. Fabio Quartararo jumped to the lead and set sail early. Conditions were hot and tire conservation was going to be an issue, which had me keeping an eye on Enea Bastianini. But he crashed out midway through the race, and his Gresini Racing teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed out later on the same lap.

While Quartararo worked to build a 5+ second lead, the fight was on for second place between Aleix Espargaro, Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco. Espargaro finished the race first, and by that I mean he made the mistake of thinking the race was over when there was still one lap left. As he slowed and waved to the fans, Martin, Zarco, Joan Mir and Luca Marini all passed him. Espargaro rejoined the race and was able to get back past Marini to salvage fifth from a likely second place finish, leaving points on the table in his championship bid.

Quartararo won by a margin of 6.473 seconds. Rins broke his wrist in the lap one crash. I don't know how Nakagami is, but considering he took out Bagnaia by smashing into his rear tire with his face, whatever shape he's in is probably better than it could have been.

Standings after the Catalan GP:

1. 147 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 125 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
3. 94 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
4. 91 Johann Zarco (Ducati)
5. 81 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 



In MotoAmerica, after a bit of a snoozer start to the season, race 2 went today. It was a short, 8 lap race on a wet Road America. It was one of the most entertaining races across every series I've talked about in this thread this season. Positions changed every lap between Cameron Petersen on a Yamaha, PJ Jacobsen on a BMW and Danilo Petrucci on a Ducati. Jake Gagne got off to a terrible start and was only able to come back to fourth. Jacobsen led on the last lap, but Petersen was able to get by and Petrucci stayed conservative and raced for points to finish third.

Standings after Road America:

1. 140 Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
2. 133 Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
3. 115 Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
4. 103 Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
5. 79 Hector Barbera (BMW)



Next up in Motorbike Racing:

June 6
- Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1
- 3Wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 1
- RL360 Superstock TT

June 8
- Bennetts Supertwin TT
- Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 2

June 10
- 3Wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 2
- Milwaukee Senior TT

June 11
- World Superbike Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round Race 1

June 12
- World Superbike Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round Superpole Race
- World Superbike Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round Race 2

June 17-19
- British Superbikes Knockhill

June 19
- MotoGP Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

June 24-26
- Dynapac MotoAmerica Superbikes at The Ridge

June 26
- MotoGP Motul TT Assen

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## shakalaka

> For free you can get on youtube and watch the 2018 Senior TT review.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A regular (superbike) race is 6 laps and about an hour and 40 minutes. This is a condensed, 30 minute highlight version of it. 2018 had great weather all through the 2 weeks and new lap and race records were being set every race. The Senior TT is the last race of the week, the most prestigious, and in 2018 it was set to be the fastest ever as Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison tried to be the first rider to run a 135mph lap.
> 
> Edit: I've really got the TT on the brain. In case you mean MotoGP, here's the 2018 Dutch GP on youtube.
> 
> ...



So watched the GP and WTF...that was non-stop entertainment. Are all the races or most like that or was that one a rarity? It's like blink of an eye you're first and now you're 6th and almost every gets to be 1st once. haha. Also found the umbrella girls in the start interesting - not sure I understand the idea behind it but yea. I would guess these guys are way more ballsy than F1 guys. Are there are any street circuits in MotoGP?

Watched half the TT thing...the first person view is fucking insane ripping through the mountain. So that race is more like whoever has the fastest lap wins in the end? Since they all get sent out in staggered format?

I think I might start watching it regularly if the time allows.

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## SKR

> So watched the GP and WTF...that was non-stop entertainment. Are all the races or most like that or was that one a rarity? It's like blink of an eye you're first and now you're 6th and almost every gets to be 1st once. haha. Also found the umbrella girls in the start interesting - not sure I understand the idea behind it but yea. I would guess these guys are way more ballsy than F1 guys. Are there are any street circuits in MotoGP?



I think that race was pretty unique with it having so many contenders for the lead. Most of the time it's a couple guys, and then various battles throughout the field. I wish they'd post it on youtube, last year at Aragon Marc Marquez passed Francesco Bagnaia 7 times in the last 3 laps for the lead, and 7 times Bagnaia passed him back.

There aren't any street circuits in MotoGP, I assume you mean like Monaco. They like to have lots of runoff. For that you'd have to look to "the roads". In the UK they have racing on tracks, and they also race on public roads like the TT. Some riders race on tracks ("short circuits") and others race on "the roads". The Macau GP is most like Monaco.




> Watched half the TT thing...the first person view is fucking insane ripping through the mountain. So that race is more like whoever has the fastest lap wins in the end? Since they all get sent out in staggered format?



Yeah it's a time trial since it would be insanely dangerous to send out 60 riders in a mass start there. The fastest to complete 6 laps (or 4, depending on which race it is) wins. There are road races that are mass starts like the North West 200, Armoy, the Ulster GP, the Southern 100 and the Macau GP. The TT has always been a time trial though.

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## shakalaka

Yea the TT is basically a road circuit anyway. That first person view on those mountain roads was proper scary. These guys have solid balls for sure.

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## SKR

Jesus, what a year.

I haven't been able to watch any of the TT races because the on demand video isn't available, but I've found out that Davy Morgan was killed on the last lap of the Supersport race this morning at the 27th Milestone.

I don't know if any of the other races scheduled for today ran or not. I don't have any way to find out without seeing spoilers.

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## SKR

The TTPlus video was up today so I was able to see all the races from Monday.

In the Supersport race, Michael Dunlop set a lap record, extending his lead on the final lap from 1.1 seconds to 5.6 seconds over Dean Harrison on his way to winning his 20th TT. Peter Hickman finished 3rd, Lee Johnston 4th, and James Hillier 5th. Favorite Davey Todd, after his performance at the NW200, only managed 8th after blowing an engine in practice.



The Sidecar race, delayed after the aforementioned incident in the Supersport race, went as you might expect with Ben and Tom Birchall leading from pillar to post. Pete Founds and Jevan Walmsley were in a fight with Ryan and Callum Crowe for second throughout the race, and a slip by Founds/Walmsley on the last lap at Governor's Dip gave it to the Crowe brothers by .112 seconds.



The Superstock race was set to be one of the most strongly contested races of the week. Favorites included Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison, Davey Todd and Michael Dunlop. Hickman blasted out of the gate with Todd close behind, but as the race went on Hickman got further and further away. Dunlop was in the mix at the start but slid back. Lee Johnston and Conor Cummins were in with a chance at a podium as well. Johnston retired on the last lap, and Cummins put on the fastest lap of the race to get 3rd behind Todd in 2nd and winner Hickman.



The Supertwin and Superstock 2 races go tomorrow.

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## SKR

The Supertwin race is always a bit of a wildcard to the TT. They're smaller bikes so you see some different competitors that don't race the 600s or 1000s, and they're so highly strung that there's a much greater chance of mechanical issues forcing early retirements. In past years it's basically been a two-make race between Kawasaki and Paton, but this year the Aprilia 660 was allowed in. It has more power out of the box than the other two, so reliability was expected to be less of a problem.

That's not how the race started though. Michael Dunlop and Peter Hickman, both on Patons, were setting sector records, and were no more than a second apart at any time during the first two laps. Lee Johnston was on the nearest Aprilia, over a minute down in third. Unfortunately, Dunlop's Paton gave up at Glen Helen, allowing Hickman to relax his bike and run to his 8th TT win and 3rd of the week. Johnston finished second, over 100 seconds behind, and dark horse Paul Jordan brought his Kawasaki home third.



The second Supersport race of the week was postponed until tomorrow due to rain.

In a bizarre and unfortunate turn of events, earlier in the week a crash involving Cesar Chanal and Olivier Lavorel caused the race to be postponed. It was reported that Lavorel was killed and Chanal had been transported to hospital in critical condition. Today (or yesterday I suppose depending on time zones), another report came out that there had been an error in identification, and it was actually Chanal that died and Lavorel in hospital. I can imagine circumstances that could make it difficult to identify a deceased person, but the fact that one of them was and is still alive is certainly confusing.

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## SKR

The second Supersport race, the second Sidecar race and the Senior race at the TT were scheduled to go today, at shortened distances due to weather.

The first Supersport race was a close race between Michael Dunlop, Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman and the second race today was expected to be the same. Shortened from 4 laps to 2, it again was close between Dunlop looking for his second win of the week and Hickman for his fourth. It was within a second until the second lap, when Dunlop opened up a 3+ second lead over the mountain. Hickman finished second, Harrison third.



The Sidecar race was shortened from 3 laps to 2, in what has been an awful week for them. Between reduced time for practice due to weather and the incident with Chanal and Lavorel in race 1, there hasn't been much to cheer about. Race 2 started off a stormer. Ben and Tom Birchall were holding a narrow lead over Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley, and Ryan and Callum Crowe were right behind. Unfortunately, the race was red flagged early into lap 2. The Birchalls were declared the winners, followed by Founds/Walmsley and the Crowes.

Later a statement was given that the reason for the red flag was a crash at Ago's Leap, taking the lives of Roger Stockton and Bradley Stockton.



As a result of that incident, and worsening weather, the Senior TT was initially cancelled, and then postponed until tomorrow. The Senior is expected to be the full 6 lap distance, the first since the Superbike race at the start of the week.

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## SKR

Today was the final race of the 2022 Isle of Man TT, the Senior race. Several riders were picked as favorites to win. Peter Hickman after winning the opening Superbike race. Dean Harrison was defending his 2019 Senior win, the last TT before Covid shut things down. Manxman Conor Cummins is always a race day man. Davey Todd is as fast as anybody and has had an underachieving TT with bike troubles all throughout. James Hillier has had more 130+mph laps than almost anybody else. Michael Dunlop is tough to beat. And who knows what John McGuinness has up his sleeve for the Senior.

The Senior went much the same way as the Superbike race. Harrison led to Glen Helen, and then Hickman took the lead after that. Harrison has always been quickest on the opening half of the course from the Grandstand to Ramsey, but Hickman makes all the time back over the mountain. The race was tighter than the Superbike race, but still ended with Hickman over Harrison by 16 seconds. Cummins just edged out Todd for 3rd. McGuinness finished 9th despite incurring a 30 second penalty for speeding in the pits. Glenn Irwin retired on lap 4 with mechanical issues.

It was a good ending to an up-and-down TT. Hickman won his 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th TTs, the third man to win four in a week along with Philip McCallen and Ian Hutchinson (who won 5 in 2010). Michael Dunlop won his 20th and 21st TTs, both coming in the Supersport races, making him the winningest rider since the 600cc Supersport category was created. And Ben and Tom Birchall continued their dominance of the Sidecars, winning their 10th and 11th TTs in the last 14 races.



In World Superbike at Misano, race 1 was contested again by the usual suspects, Alvaro Bautista, Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu retired on lap 14 with mechanical issues, leaving Bautista and Rea to fight it out. Rea set personal best laps, but Bautista was setting lap records and built a 5 second gap to win. Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes rounded out a top 5 consisting of 3 Ducatis on home soil and both factory Kawasakis.

The Superpole race and Superbike race 2 go tomorrow.

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## SKR

I might be finally starting to change my opinion on World Superbikes.

Today was the Superpole race and race 2. In both races, by the second corner the top 3 was a combination of Alvaro Bautista, Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu, like it has been every race this season. But the riders behind them were actually close enough to dice with them a little bit so it wasn't as guaranteed as it's been.

Razgatliolgu started from the pole in the Superpole race and led from the word go, winning his first race of his title-defending 2022 season. Bautista and Rea were left to race for 2nd, with Bautista coming out on top. Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, former Moto2 and MotoGP riders repectively and now in their first WSBK season with factory Honda, finished a close 4th and 5th.



In race 2, their 1-2-3 finish in the Superpole race meant Razgatlioglu, Bautista and Rea would start on the front row of the grid. Bautista was able to work his way past Razgatlioglu and cruise to the win. Michael Ruben Rinaldi did what hasn't been done all season - push Rea off the podium. Rinaldi finished 3rd, and Rea finished a season-worst 4th. Lecuona rounded out the top 5. Bautista's win means he's still in the championship lead, and is the only rider to finish on the podium in every race this season.



WSBK Standings after Misano:

1. 220 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 184 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
3. 141 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
4. 108 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)
5. 99 Iker Lecuona (Honda)

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## SKR

After a break in the schedule to allow for the TT, British Superbikes are back at Knockhill this weekend with race 1 of 3 running today. Reigning champion Tarran Mackenzie was back in good shape after being injured in crashes in preseason testing, except he wasn't because he crashed in qualifying. Bradley Ray took the lead early and never gave it up. Jason O'Halloran finished second, and Rory Skinner finished third on his home track just ahead of his teammate Lee Jackson.

Races 2 and 3 are tomorrow. Also, MotoGP at Sachsenring tomorrow.

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## SKR

MotoGP was back today at Sachsenring for the German GP. It was a weird race of attrition. Marc Marquez is still out after undergoing surgery, meaning his streak of 11 straight wins at Sachsenring would end. Alex Rins didn't start, still suffering from injuries sustained at Catalunya. Jack Miller had a long lap penalty for, and I didn't know this was a rule, crashing under a yellow flag during practice. Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of second place on lap 3, and Joan Mir crashed out later on the same lap. Darryn Binder crashed on lap 5 and Takaaki Nakagami on lap 6. Alex Marquez retired on lap 6. During all that, Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco were able to plant themselves in first and second respectively, while Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales, Aprilia teammates, were in a close battle for fourth. Vinales retired on lap 19 when his ride height device failed. Pol Espargaro retired on lap 22 with pain from injuries in a qualifying crash. Jack Miller, recently in the news for losing his Ducati ride at the end of this season and signing with KTM for 2023, got through into third past Espargaro on lap 28. Luca Marini rounded out the top 5 in what I think is the best finish for Mooney VR46 Racing so far this season.



In British Superbikes, Rory Skinner led early in race 2 on Sunday, ahead of Bradley Ray and Jason O'Halloran. A crash between Leon Haslam and Storm Stacey brought out the safety car, tightening Skinner's lead. O'Halloran got to the lead as Kawasaki teammates Skinner and Lee Jackson fought for second place, with Jackson coming out ahead. Ray finished fourth and Tommy Bridewell finished fifth.



In race 3, Skinner again jumped out to the lead, looking for his first BSB win, but crashed out on lap 5. Ray led O'Halloran until lap 26, when O'Halloran got past Ray into the lead. Third place was contested between Jackson, Danny Buchan, Bridewell, Josh Brookes, Glenn Irwin and Tarran Mackenzie. O'Halloran held onto his lead, making it a double for Sunday. Sixth is a good finish for Brookes who has had a terrible 2021 and 2022 after winning the 2020 championship.



MotoGP Standings:

1. 172 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 138 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
3. 111 Johann Zarco (Ducati)
4. 100 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
5. 82 Brad Binder (KTM)

British Superbikes Standings:

1. 216 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2. 200 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
3. 174 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
4. 148 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)
5. 141 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)

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## SKR

Today was the last race for MotoGP before the 5 week summer break, at Assen. Francesco Bagnaia started on the pole and jumped out to an early lead, with Aleix Espargaro second. On lap 5, points leader Fabio Quartararo made a move up the inside of Espargaro, but lost the front and took them both out into the gravel. Espargaro stayed upright and dropped back to 15th. Quartararo remounted and rejoined the race in 24th. Marco Bezzecchi moved up into second place, and Brad Binder into third. Jack Miller had to serve a long lap penalty for the second week in a row, dropping him back in the field. After the lap 5 incident, Maverick Vinales was the leading Aprilia and got past Binder for third. Espargaro worked his way back from 15th up to 6th, and in the last chicane forced his way past Binder and Miller to finish fourth and tighten up the championship points. Vinales finished third, his best finish in I think two years. Bezzecchi held onto second, his best finish in MotoGP and the first podium for Mooney VR46 Racing. Bagnaia won by a margin of 0.444 seconds.

Moto2 was a great race too with 8 riders at the front fighting for spots. Cameron Beaubier started 18th, and set lap records one after another until getting briefly up to 3rd, before settling back into 5th. Unfortunately he crashed out before the finish. I wish he'd qualify better so he didn't have to push so hard in the race.

MotoGP is off until August 7th, when they return to Silverstone for the Monster Energy British Grand Prix. British Superbikes rider Rory Skinner has wildcard entries with American Racing for Moto2 at Silverstone and Red Bull Ring. He's been at the sharp end of BSB all year so hopefully he can find some success in Moto2.



MotoGP Standings after Assen:

1. 172 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 151 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
3. 114 Johann Zarco (Ducati)
4. 106 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
5. 105 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)

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## SKR

In MotoAmerica at The Ridge Motorsport Park in Washington, Jake Gagne led all practice sessions, qualified on the pole, led every lap and won both races.

In race 1 on Saturday, Gagne led teammate Cameron Petersen, Danilo Petrucci, Mathew Scholtz and Hector Barbera. In race 2 on Sunday, Gagne led Petrucci, Petersen, Scholtz and Barbera. I haven't seen race 2 because MotoAmerica hasn't uploaded it yet, but I'm sure it looks a lot like race 1 did.



MotoAmerica standings after The Ridge:

1. 176 Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
2. 165 Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
3. 159 Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
4. 139 Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
5. 101 Hector Barbera (BMW)

MotoAmerica will be at Laguna Seca July 8-10.

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## SKR

I don't know if anyone follows 44Teeth on youtube, but in case you do, Mike Booth has had his right leg amputated below the knee after injuries sustained in a crash during practice 4 weeks ago at the TT. Sounds like other than that he's on the mend.

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## SKR

Jake Gagne swept the two MotoAmerica races at Laguna Seca this weekend to put himself on top of the championship standings. Cameron Petersen and Danilo Petrucci had two close races for second place, with Petersen finishing ahead of Petrucci in race 1 and Petrucci finishing ahead in race 2. Mathew Scholz crashed in race 2. Richie Escalante had a great weekend with two fourth place finishes.



MotoAmerica standings after Laguna Seca:

1. 215 Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
2. 212 Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
3. 175 Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
4. 170 Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
5. 122 Hector Barbera (BMW)

Next weekend is World Superbikes at Donington Park. BSB riders Tarran Mackenzie and Peter Hickman have wildcard entries, and it'll be interesting to see how they compare, especially Hickman since the BMWs stink this year.

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## SKR

Toprak Razgatlioglu won his first full-length race of the season today at Donington Park. Starting third on the grid, he got past the Kawasakis of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes and built a lead extending to 8 seconds at the end of the 23 lap race. Not surprisingly, Rea and Alvaro Bautista were racing for second until Bautista crashed out on lap 16. In the closing laps, Lowes was able to get ahead of Scott Redding on a much-improved BMW. I think fourth is Redding's best finish this year.

British Superbike riders Tarran Mackenzie, Peter Hickman and Leon Haslam all had a good day. Mackenzie qualified 12th and finished 14th. Haslam and Hickman held onto their qualifying positions and finished 15th and 22nd.

The superpole race and superbike race 2 go tomorrow.

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## SKR

Two more wins for Toprak Razgatlioglu to make it a sweep at Donington. Razgatlioglu led every lap of all three races to tighten up the championship standings.

Fun WSBK fact: in 15 races this season, there have been 37 lead changes and all of them have been Bautista, Rea and Razgatliolgu. No one else has led a lap this season.

Tarran Mackenzie crashed out of the superpole race when he ran into the back of Xavi Vierge, and Peter Hickman finished 16th. In race 2, Mackenzie finished 15th and Hickman 19th.



WSBK Standings after Donington:

1. 246 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 229 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
3. 203 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
4. 124 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)
5. 119 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati)

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## SKR

British Superbikes at Brands Hatch this weekend. Race 1 started off Yamaha 1-2-3-4 with McAMS riders Jason O'Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie ahead of Rich Energy OMG riders Bradley Ray and Kyle Ryde. Tommy Bridewell managed to split the Yamaha teams and Ryde lost touch with the front four. O'Halloran ran away with 1st, Mackenzie getting past Bridewell on the last lap for 2nd, Bridewell 3rd, Ray 4th and Ryde 5th. Josh Brookes finished 6th, a good result for him and Bridwell on Ducatis which have been absolute garbage all year. Glenn Irwin crashed out on lap 1.

Race 2 started off like race 1, with the four Yamahas leading Bridewell's Ducati. This time Mackenzie finished 1st, followed by O'Halloran, Bridewell, Ray and Leon Haslam. Brookes couldn't keep the momentum up from a strong finish in race 1, crashing out of race 2.

Race 3 had a little different flavor. Mackenzie and O'Halloran were still at the front, but Irwin fought through to the lead on lap 3, holding it to lap 13. O'Halloran and Mackenzie traded the lead for the rest of the 20 lap race, with Mackenzie ahead of O'Halloran by 0.037 seconds. Irwin finished 3rd, Ray 4th and Bridewell 5th. Brookes crashed out again, putting him back out of the top 8 in the championship points after getting in with his 6th place finish in race 1. Rory Skinner had a decent day, but lost a lot of ground to O'Halloran with finishes of 7th, 6th and 9th to O'Halloran's 1st, 2nd and 2nd. Jackson also lost ground, finishing 9th, crashing out in race 2, and 10th. Ryde finished 5th, 7th and 5th.





BSB Standings after Brands Hatch:

1. 265 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
2. 255 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
3. 187 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
4. 174 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)
5. 170 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)

Next on the BSB calendar is Thruxton August 12-14. Next weekend is MotoAmerica at Brainerd and World Superbikes at Most.

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## SKR

WSBK ran race 1 at Most in the Czech Republic today. All the usual suspects were at the front. Toprak Razgatlioglu led the first 5 laps before succumbing to pressure from Jonathan Rea. Rea led the next 4 laps, and Alvaro Bautista passed them both to take the lead. In the later stages of the race, Scott Redding worked his way up to second. But on the last lap he was pushed out of the way by Razgatlioglu, and then by Rea, before forcing himself back past Rea. Bautista won, Razgatlioglu 2nd, Redding matches his best finish of the season in 3rd, Rea 4th and Axel Bassani 5th. Peter Hickman filled in on the other factory BMW bike for an injured Michael van der Mark, qualifying 21st and finishing 22nd. His FHO Racing teammate in British Superbikes, Ryan Vickers, filled in for Leon Haslam who had obligations with Kawasaki to prepare for the Suzuka 8 Hours race. Vickers qualified 24th and finished 23rd. It's interesting that Vickers rides a BMW in BSB and was allowed to ride a Kawasaki in WSBK. I didn't think the manufacturers would allow such a thing. Anyway. Superpole and Race 2 tomorrow.



MotoAmerica got off to a tragic start at Brainerd on Friday. Stock 1000 rider Scott Briody was killed in a single-bike crash in practice. All on-track activities were cancelled on Friday.



Racing went as planned Saturday. Jake Gagne started on the pole. Danilo Petrucci, Mathew Scholtz and Richie Escalante were all involved in practice crashes, with Escalante being unable to start the race in his 5th qualifying spot. Gagne had a one second lead by lap 2, and maintained it at 5 seconds for the rest of the race. Petrucci and Cameron Petersen had a tight race for second before Petrucci ran off track, giving second to Petersen. Gagne 1st, Petersen 2nd, Petrucci 3rd, Scholtz 4th and PJ Jacobsen 5th. Race 2 is tomorrow.

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## SKR

Previously in this thread I ripped on WSBK for being predictable and boring, but maybe that's just me being new to the series because goddamn is it good to watch lately.

In the superpole race, Toprak Razgatlioglu led from the start until lap 8, with Jonathan Rea right behind him until Rea was able to take the lead. Rea held it for a lap, then Razgatlioglu took it back on lap 9. On the final lap of the 10 lap race, the two swapped places a couple times before Rea went off the track into the gravel, and Razgatlioglu cruised on to the win. Alvaro Bautista finished 3rd, Michael Ruben Rinaldi 4th and Axel Bassani 5th. Peter Hickman finished 19th and his FHO Racing teammate Ryan Vickers was a retirement after a crash on lap 3.

In race 2, again it was Razgatlioglu getting the jump with Bautista and Rea close behind. The three swapped positions almost continuously throughout the race. Scott Redding and Axel Bassani had a hard battle for fourth, with Redding able to get clear at the end. Razgatlioglu finished 1st, Bautista 2nd, Rea 3rd, Redding 4th and Bassani 5th. Hickman finished in the points in 14th, and Vickers finished 17th. I think that's the end of the WSBK appearances for Hickman and Vickers. I think Tarran Mackenzie has one more race this season, but other than that it's back to BSB for them.

WSBK Standings after Most:

1. 298 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 267 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
3. 260 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
4. 148 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)
5. 134 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati)



Similar to how I felt about WSBK, MotoAmerica has become fairly predictable. Race 2 at Brainerd was today, and at the end of lap 1 Jake Gagne had built a 1.7 second lead over Danilo Petrucci and Cameron Petersen. He had extended it out to 4 seconds, and then suddenly got off line, lost the front and sent the bike cartwheeling into pieces. Petrucci was able to run to the win, 7 seconds ahead of Petersen. PJ Jacobsen finished 3rd, Hayden Gillim 4th and Hector Barbera 5th. Mathew Scholtz sat out this race due to injuries sustained in practice and qualifying crashes yesterday. Petrucci's win, combined with Gagne crashing and Scholtz not starting means Petrucci is back on top of the MotoAmerica standings.



MotoAmerica Standings after Brainerd:

1. 253 Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
2. 240 Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
3. 215 Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
4. 183 Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
5. 133 Hector Barbera (BMW)

Next week, as WSBK enters its summer break, MotoGP returns from theirs to Silverstone. BSB rider Rory Skinner will make his first of two Moto2 starts with American Racing.

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## SKR

MotoGP is back from the summer break at Silverstone. Johann Zarco qualified on the pole and led early on. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo had to serve a long-lap penalty for an incident at Assen. Aleix Espargaro, second in the points, was riding with injuries sustained in a practice crash. Zarco crashed out of the lead on lap 5, giving the lead briefly to Jack Miller, before he was overtaken by Alex Rins. Rins began to struggle with grip, allowing Francesco Bagnaia to assume the lead on lap 12. In the last few laps, Enea Bastianini started a march to the front, coming from eighth to fourth in the final 5 laps. Maverick Vinales also was on the move, passing Bagnaia for the lead on lap 19 of the 20 lap race, but Bagnaia was able to pass him back and hold on for the win. Vinales finished 2nd, Miller 3rd, Bastianini 4th and Jorge Martin 5th. Quartararo seemed to have issues with grip at the end, dropping like a stone to 8th, and Espargaro held onto 9th to keep pace in the points.



Moto2 was even better than the MotoGP race. There were 2 separate, simultaneous battles with Augusto Fernandez and Alonso Lopez for 1st, and Jake Dixon, Ai Ogura and Aron Canet for 3rd. Fuckin Cameron Beaubier, I watched him win almost every race in MotoAmerica in 2020, and this season in Moto2 he's crashed out of 6 of 12 races. He's going to be back in MotoAmerica if he keeps this up. British Superbikes rider Rory Skinner finished a pretty respectable 21st in his Moto2 debut.

MotoGP Standings after Silverstone:

1. 180 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 158 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
3. 131 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
4. 118 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
5. 114 Johann Zarco (Ducati)

In other motorcycling news, former BSB rider Gino Rea, riding for FCC TSR Honda France in the FIM Endurance World Championship, was airlifted to hospital after a practice crash at the Suzuka 8 Hours on Saturday. He was unconscious at the track with head, chest and lung injuries, and is still in a coma. The team finished the race 10th.

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## SKR

The first race for British Superbikes this weekend at Thruxton ended with another win for Jason O'Halloran. Glenn Irwin was at the front before being passed by the Yamahas of O'Halloran, Bradley Ray and Tarran Mackenzie. Ray held onto O'Halloran and was waiting to make his move, but Mackenzie caught him before he was able and O'Halloran was able to get away. Mackenzie got past Ray at the line by .003 seconds for 2nd. Irwin rallied for 4th and Peter Hickman finished 5th. Races 2 and 3 are tomorrow.



Also, Gino Rea seems to be on the way to recovery after his crash last week. The latest update from yesterday is that he was able to open his eyes and make eye contact with doctors and family, and move his arms and legs, before being administered sedation to continue his treatment. So that's a good sign.

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## SKR

This is why I say British Superbikes is the best racing series going. Race 2 started off much like race 1, with Jason O'Halloran leading, Bradley Ray second and Tarran Mackenzie third. Peter Hickman was up there with them for fourth, until 5 laps to go in the 20 lap race when the three leading Yamahas took off. The last two laps seemed to have a different leader in every corner, with the bikes sliding sideways and smoke rolling off the back tires. On the last lap, Ray led, then O'Halloran, then Ray, then Mackenzie, and finally O'Halloran at the line by .079 seconds over Mackenzie. Ray finished 3rd, Hickman 4th and Lee Jackson 5th.



Race 3 was like the first two. O'Halloran, Ray, Mackenzie and Hickman in the leading pack. Hickman's BMW gave up halfway through the race, leaving the three Yamahas at the front. On the last lap, Ray led Mackenzie and O'Halloran. Mackenzie passed Ray, sideways with the back tire smoking, and beat him to the line by .019 seconds. O'Halloran finished 3rd, Glenn Irwin 4th and Lee Jackson 5th.



BSB Standings after Thruxton:

1. 331 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
2. 307 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
3. 219 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
4. 199 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)
5. 192 Glenn Irwin (Honda)

- - - Updated - - -

Here's the onboard cameras from the last laps of races 2 and 3. Hopefully they work, I've never posted Facebook videos before.

https://www.facebook.com/britishsupe...7593332988183/

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## SKR

Race 1 for MotoAmerica at Pittsburgh International Race Complex was a short one today, red flagged twice and eventually shortened to a 5 lap sprint. On lap 1, Richie Escalante crashed and pushed Mathew Scholtz off line and into the grass, sending Scholtz down to 17th or so, but Scholtz was saved by a red flag after a mechanical failure for Ezra Beaubier. The race was restarted as an 8 lap race, but was again red flagged after a crash by Jeremy Coffey. Jake Gagne led every lap of the race, with Danilo Petrucci coming in 2nd. Scholtz, with the help of the red flags, was able to work his way up to 3rd and if he had another lap would have gotten past Petrucci as the Ducati struggled with grip in the heat. 4th was Cameron Petersen, and Jake Lewis finished 5th.

Race 2 is tomorrow.



Also tomorrow, MotoGP is at Red Bull Ring for the Austrian GP. Enea Bastianini starts on the pole for the first time. And the Manx Grand Prix starts tomorrow on the Isle of Man Mountain Course. Practice and qualifying goes all week, and the races start on Friday.

----------


## SKR

*MotoGP - Austrian GP, Red Bull Ring*

Enea Bastianini started from the pole for the first time in the top series, but it was Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller on the factory Ducatis that jumped out to the front. Bastianini retired on lap 6 with a problem on the bike. Bastianini's competitor for Miller's open factory Ducati seat next year, Jorge Martin, inherited third position after that retirement with championship leaders Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Esparagaro in fourth and fifth. Quartararo passed Martin and then Miller, while Espargaro slid back to sixth. Martin crashed on the last lap but was able to get back on the bike and finish tenth. Bagnaia won by 0.4 seconds over Quartararo, followed by Miller, Luca Marini and Johann Zarco.



MotoGP Standings after Austria:

1. 200 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 168 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
3. 156 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
4. 125 Johann Zarco (Ducati)
5. 123 Jack Miller (Ducati)

*MotoAmerica - Pittsburgh International Race Complex*

MotoAmerica returned Sunday for race 2 of the weekend at PittRace. Jake Gagne rode away to another win, leaving teammate Cameron Petersen, Danilo Petrucci and Mathew Scholtz to sort second place out. Petrucci got around Petersen early, and Scholtz was able to get past them both in the closing laps. PJ Jacobsen just barely held off Richie Escalante for 5th.

Jake Gagne will make a World Superbike start with his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha team as a wildcard entry at Portimao in October. 



MotoAmerica Standings after PittRace:

1. 290 Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
2. 289 Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
3. 241 Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
4. 219 Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
5. 150 Hector Barbera (BMW)

*Gino Rea*

Reports indicate that Gino Rea is recovering well after his crash at the Suzuka 8 hours. He is out of his coma, off the ventilator and communicating with family.

*Upcoming Races*

August 21-29: Manx Grand Prix, Isle of Man Mountain Course
August 27-29: British Superbikes, Cadwell Park
September 2-4: MotoGP, Misano
September 9-11: MotoAmerica, New Jersey Motorsports Park
September 9-11: World Superbikes, Magny-Cours
September 9-11: British Superbikes, Snetterton

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## SKR

Saturday was the first of two race days for the Manx Grand Prix. The races weren't streamed like the Isle of Man TT was so I had to listen to them on the radio. The Manx Grand Prix takes place on the Mountain Course like the TT, but is for amateur riders, and for amateur and professional riders in the classic categories.

In the Lightweight Manx Grand Prix, James Hind led the first 1-7/8 or so of the 2 lap race, but retired between Brandish and Hillberry, only a few miles from the finish line, allowing Mike Browne to earn the win. With Hind's retirement, Dominic Herbertson was on to finish second, except he retired at the 33rd Milestone. Browne's teammate, Ian Lougher, finished 2nd, Stuart Hall 3rd, Rhys Hardisty 4th and Chris Moore 5th.


Eventual race winner Mike Browne (7) following teammate Ian Lougher (2) up the mountain with Ramsey and the Irish Sea in the background

In the Junior Manx Grand Prix, Francesco Curinga set the pace in practice and was in a close race with Jamie Williams and Victor Lopez for the lead. But Lopez retired on lap 2 at Crosby, and Williams retired on the final lap at the 32nd Milestone, and Curinga rode his Paton to the win. Chris Moore finished 2nd, Marc Colvin 3rd, Andrea Majola 4th and Ben Rea 5th.



The Classic Senior race was the final race of the day. Lee Johnston edged out Stefano Bonetti for the win. Mike Browne finished 3rd, aided by Rob Hodson's lap 2 retirement at Rhencullen and James Hillier's lap 3 retirement at Governor's Bridge. Jamie Coward and Alan Oversby finished 4th and 5th.



The Senior Manx Grand Prix and the Classic Superbike Manx Grand Prix go Monday. Also this weekend, BSB is tackling the mountain at Cadwell Park. There are lots of tracks where superbikes have both wheels off the ground. Cadwell Park is the only one where the jump is uphill. It's the most bizarre thing you've ever seen.

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## SKR

British Superbikes race 1 at Cadwell Park started with Bradley Ray on the pole. On lap 2, Rory Skinner passed Ray to take the lead but the race was red flagged shortly after due to a crash on the mountain. Lee Jackson fell first. Takumi Takahashi crashed trying to avoid Jackson's bike, collecting Kyle Ryde. Several other bikes were able to get through but Dan Jones came over the hill and square into Jackson's bike, sending him cartwheeling over the handlebars. Jones was treated at the scene and then flown to hospital. Fortunately he has only suffered a concussion and broken collarbone.

The race was restarted using the original starting positions, with the distance shortened from 14 laps to 12. Ryde was able to restart the race, but Jackson, Takahashi and obviously Jones were unable to. The red flag was a fortunate break for Danny Buchan and Tom Sykes, after they got together on the first lap dropping them back in the field. Chrissy Rouse crashed on lap 11, and Sykes crashed after being pushed off course by a late lunge from Christian Iddon. Ray led all 12 laps, holding off pressure from Skinner and Buchan. Jason O'Halloran finished 4th and Tommy Bridewell finished 5th.

Races 2 and 3 are tomorrow.

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## SKR

Danny Buchan's ill-advised pass attempt on Tom Sykes on lap 1 of the first BSB race at Cadwell Park looked like the start of a long weekend. But, saved by the red flag on lap 2, he was able to come back and finish 3rd in race 1 and start on the front row for race 2. Buchan took the lead from Jason O'Halloran early on, and held it all the way. Bradley Ray appeared to be racing for points, as he maintained a comfortable second. Tommy Bridewell marched forward up to 3rd as O'Halloran slipped backwards. On lap 17 of 18 the race was red flagged for a crash on the mountain involving Josh Brookes. Leon Haslam moved up to finish 4th, and Rory Skinner 5th. This was Buchan's and BMW's first win of the season.

In race 2, Buchan again jumped into the lead ahead of Ray. Bridewell, Haslam and Skinner rounded out the top 5. Coming into this weekend, Buchan looked to be out of the top 8 in points and out of contention for the championship. But after picking up 66 of a possible 75 points on the weekend, and 11 of a possible 15 podium points, he's only 14 points behind Kyle Ryde for 8th. There is one more round at Snetterton before the championship showdown starts, in which the top 8 riders in the points have a shot at the championship. Quite a turn from being 19th or whatever he was at the end of lap 1 in race 1.

BSB Standings after Cadwell Park:

1. 372 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2. 359 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
3. 241 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)
4. 225 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
5. 214 Glenn Irwin (Honda)



On the Isle of Man today, Stephen Smith won the Senior Manx GP and Rob Hodson won the Classic Superbike Manx GP.

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## SKR

It was a light weekend for racing this weekend, with only MotoGP running at Misano. Jack Miller started on the pole, and led the field into turn 1. Contact between Brad Binder and Johann Zarco led to Zarco, Pol Espargaro and Michele Pirro crashing out in turn 1. Miller crashed on lap 2, as did Marco Bezzecchi, although both were able to rejoin the race. Miller's crash handed the race lead over to Enea Bastianini, who nearly crashed himself before the lap was over, and Francesco Baganaia took the lead, followed by Maverick Vinales. The top 4 of Bagnaia, Vinales, Bastianini and Luca Marini put a gap on the rest of the field. With 8 laps to go, Bastianini started his push for the front and passed Vinales. Bastianini was closing in on the last lap but had to get out of the throttle after almost making contact. Out of the last corner, Bastianini mounted one last charge but came up .034 seconds short. The win is the fourth in a row for Bagnaia, the first Ducati rider to win four in a row. Bastianini, replacing Miller next year as Bagnaia's teammate, finished 2nd, Vinales 3rd, Marini 4th and Fabio Quartararo 5th.



MotoGP Standings after Misano:

1. 211 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 181 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
3. 178 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
4. 138 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
5. 125 Johann Zarco (Ducati)

----------


## SKR

Lots of racing this weekend.

*World Superbikes*

Race 1 at Magny-Cours had Scott Redding jump out to an early lead, making him the only rider to lead a lap this season other than the top 3 in the championship, Alvaro Bautista, Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu passed Redding to take the lead on lap 2. Rea crashed out on lap 2, as did Razgatlioglu, giving the lead back to Redding and a stranglehold on the championship to Bautista. Bautista took over the lead on lap 7 and held it to win. Redding finished 2nd, Axel Bassani 3rd, Alex Lowes 4th and Garrett Gerloff 5th.



The superpole race on Sunday had the usual suspects at the front. Bautista led the first half, Razgatlioglu the second. Bautista finished 2nd, Rea 3rd, Lowes 4th and Redding 5th.

Race 2 had more drama and championship implications, as Rea in an absolute dick move rode through Bautista on lap 2, sending Bautista off the track and out of the race. Rea was given a long lap penalty, which after serving he rejoined the track and nearly took out Loris Baz. At the front there were more new leaders, as Axel Bassani and Michael Ruben Rinaldi battled with Razgatlioglu. In the end, Razgatlioglu came out the winner, ahead of Rinaldi, Bassani, Lowes and Rea.



WSBK Standings after Magny-Cours:

1. 332 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 302 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
3. 285 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
4. 167 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati)
5. 166 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)

*British Superbikes*

Snetterton was the final round before the Championship Showdown, in which the top 8 riders have a chance to compete for the championship. Podium points are awarded all season - 5 for a win, 3 for second and 1 for third. The top 8 riders in the standings at the end of the Snetterton round are reset to 1000 points, and then podium points are added on top. The championship is then decided over the next 3 rounds, 9 races in all.

Bradley Ray was the class of the field, winning all three races. Danny Buchan, after his wins last round at Cadwell Park, ran into trouble in race 1 as he was involved in a crash with Ryan Vickers and Josh Owens. The only rider with a real chance to make it into the showdown, Buchan found himself 30 points behind Kyle Ryde with only another 50 points available. Tarran Mackenzie finished race 1 2nd, Ryde 3rd, Christian Iddon 4th and Leon Haslam 5th.

Race 2 had Ray and Mackenzie well out in front, with a gap of over 7 seconds back to third. Ray passed Mackenzie on the last lap to take the win. Tommy Bridwell finished 3rd, Glenn Irwin 4th and Peter Hickman 5th. Buchan's hopes were finally dashed as he finished one spot behind Ryde in 7th.

I didn't get to see race 3 as it hasn't been uploaded yet. For some dumb reason Motor Trend's agreement with BSB ended mid-season, so I had to switch to motorsport.tv and they're not as quick to get the races up. But Ray won again, despite a time penalty for passing the safety car, with Hickman 2nd, Mackenzie 3rd, Irwin 4th and Jason O'Halloran 5th.



BSB Championship Showdown Standings after Snetterton:

1. 1061 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2. 1048 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
3. 1031 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
4. 1016 Glenn Irwin (Honda)
5. 1014 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
6. 1013 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
7. 1009 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)
8. 1008 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)

*MotoAmerica*

And finally, MotoAmerica at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Cameron Petersen led early from Jake Gagne, but the race was quickly red flagged for Hector Barbera stopped on the track with mechanical problems. After the restart, Gagne cruised to the win, with teammate Petersen 4.88 seconds behind. Mathew Scholtz finished 3rd, Danilo Petrucci 4th and PJ Jacobsen 5th.



Race 2 was wet, which made Petrucci the favorite as a master of wet conditions. At one point he had a 10 second lead over second place, eventually reducing to 6 seconds over a charging Scholtz. Petersen was in 3rd before crashing out late, and Ashton Yates was having a great race until he crashed out of 5th. Gagne ended up finishing 3rd, Barbera 4th, and Petersen was able to salvage 5th after remounting and riding the last lap one-handed as his left handlebar was broken off.



MotoAmerica Standings after NJMP:

1. 331 Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
2. 327 Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
3. 272 Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
4. 255 Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
5. 173 Hector Barbera (BMW)

*Next Weekend*

Next weekend will be more casual, with only MotoGP running at Aragon.

----------


## SKR

Another great MotoGP race at Aragon. Last year Francesco Bagnaia held off 7 pass attempts by Marc Marquez in the last 2 laps to get his first GP win. This year he came in on a run of 4 wins in a row. Marquez made his return after leaving earlier this season for arm surgery. Off the start, Marquez flew from 13th to 6th, but had to check up leaving the second corner. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo had nowhere to go and ran into the back of Marquez, sending Quartararo onto the floor and out of the race. Marquez continued but with damage to his bike, and was rearended again later on in the opening lap by Takaaki Nakagami, ending his race as well. Marquez retired to the pits after lap 1. Bagnaia led, but was kept honest by Enea Bastianini. Bastianini briefly led midway through the race before Bagnaia resumed the lead. On the final lap, Bastianini passed Bagnaia again and went on to win his fourth race of the season. Aleix Espargaro finished 3rd, Brad Binder 4th (all of it done in the first two corners of lap 1, going from 10th to 2nd) and Jack Miller 5th. Quartararo not scoring any points brings Bagnaia to within 10, Espargaro to within 17, and Bastianini 48 back with 5 races left on the season.



MotoGP Standings after Aragon:

1. 211 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 201 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
3. 194 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
4. 163 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
5. 134 Jack Miller (Ducati)

Next weekend is full of racing, with all 4 series that I follow running a total of 9 races:

MotoGP at Motegi
World Superbikes at Catalunya
British Superbikes at Oulton Park
MotoAmerica at Barber

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## ThePenIsMightier

Fuck me, I nearly bought an Aprilia a few weeks ago based exclusively on their *Acid Gold* colour and not a single other thing...
Want.

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## SKR

I want one too but not an acid gold one.

I saw a Repsol-liveried Honda riding around town the other day. That was neat. People with bikes should do cool things.

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## SKR

Nine races this weekend across 4 series. 3 today, 6 tomorrow.

*World Superbikes*

WSBK started off with race 1 at Catalunya. Alvaro Bautista took the lead early, and was kept under pressure by Toprak Razgatlioglu. Jonathan Rea had an awful start and was pushed back to 10th. Razgatliolgu wasn't able to keep pace with Bautista, and as his rear tire began to fade he started to lose positions. At the same time, Rea was able to recover and start picking up positions. Rea would eventually finish 2nd, over 8 seconds behind Bautista. Garrett Gerloff had his best race of the season, finishing 3rd. Michael Ruben Rinaldi finished 4th and Razgatliolgu finished 5th. The superpole race and race 2 take place tomorrow.



*British Superbikes*

Today was the first race of the championship showdown, a sort of 9 race playoff system to crown a champion, at Oulton Park. Bradley Ray set a lap record in qualifying, and then continued by winning the opening race. Tommy Bridewell and Jason O'Halloran had a good scrap throughout the race for 2nd. Championship contender, and reigning champion, Tarran Mackenzie crashed out on lap 12. On the last lap, Peter Hickman made a dive inside O'Halloran, pushing O'Halloran off the track and out of the race. Hickman was disqualified for this maneuver. Bridewell finished 2nd, Leon Haslam 3rd, Glenn Irwin 4th and Danny Buchan 5th. The other championship contenders, Lee Jackson, Rory Skinner and Kyle Ryde finished 6th, 8th and 9th respectively. Races 2 and 3 are tomorrow.



*MotoAmerica*

This weekend is the final weekend of the season for MotoAmerica. Jake Gagne held a 4 point advantage over Danilo Petrucci going into the final two races at Barber Motorsport Park. Gagne set a lap record in qualifying and led from the pole. Petrucci struggled with a poor-handling bike and a 5 second penalty for jumping the start. Gagne was chased by his teammate, Cameron Petersen, until Petersen crashed on lap 6. Mathew Scholtz then inherited 2nd, with Petrucci 3rd on track but 6th on the clock behind PJ Jacobsen, Richie Escalante and Hector Barbera. Gagne went on to win with Scholtz 2nd and Jacobsen 3rd. Escalante crashed late and Petrucci was able to put a fast enough last lap in to take 4th from Barbera. After the race, Petrucci's team appealed the penalty and had it overturned, so the top 5 was Gagne, Scholtz, Petrucci, Jacobsen and Barbera. Gagne has a 13 point lead over Petrucci going into the final race tomorrow.

----------


## SKR

*MotoGP*

As far as racing goes, the race today at Motegi was kind of dull. There was a bit of excitement for the championship standings though. Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia both qualified poorly, and Aleix Espargaro qualified quite well. But on the warm up lap Espargaro's bike shit itself, and he had to swap bikes and start from the pits. Both Suzukis failed to finish. Takuya Tsuda filled in for Joan Mir, and his race ended with his bike on fire on lap 12, and Alex Rins retired on lap 14 with mechanical problems. On the final lap, Quartararo was holding off Bagnaia for 8th when Bagnaia dumped it into the gravel. Quartararo went on to finish 8th, but Bagnaia not finishing and Espargaro only being able to get to 16th means Quartararo will extend his lead.

At the front, Jack Miller took the lead from Jorge Martin on lap 3, and held it all the way to the end. For Ducati having such a poor start to the season, they're red hot now with 4 races to go. Brad Binder, Jorge Martin, Marc Marquez and Miguel Oliveira rounded out the top 5.



MotoGP standings after Motegi:

1. 219 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 201 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
3. 194 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
4. 170 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
5. 159 Jack Miller (Ducati)

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## SKR

*World Superbikes*

Another pair of dull races, this time for WSBK at Catalunya. I think Catalunya sucks for bikes. Anyway, the superpole race was dominated by Alvaro Bautista. Sam Lowes and Jonathan Rea had a bit of a battle for 2nd, which Rea ended up coming out ahead. Toprak Razgatlioglu was as far back as 10th, but rebounded to finish 4th ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

In race 2, Bautista ran away again. For a time the top 3 was all Ducati, with Rinaldi and Axel Bassani following behind. Rinaldi held onto his 2nd place position, leaving 3rd to be decided between Razgatlioglu, Bassani and Rea. At the end, Razgatlioglu finished 3rd, Rea 4th and Bassani 5th. 3 wins on the weekend gives Bautista a 59 point lead in the championship standings.



WSBK Standings after Catalunya:

1. 394 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 335 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
3. 327 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
4. 205 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati)
5. 173 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)

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## SKR

*British Superbikes*

Race 2 at Oulton Park was a weird one. Right at the start, Jason O'Halloran, who was ran off the track in race 1, was ran off again by Tommy Bridewell on lap 1. O'Halloran was carried off on a stretcher, but was later seen up and on his feet. Bridewell was initially given a ride-through penalty, but before he could serve it, Tarran Mackenzie crashed on lap 4 and was ran over by Peter Hickman. The race was red flagged and Mackenzie was carried off by ambulance. It was later reported that he has a broken femur. On the restart, Bridwell's penalty was changed to starting 22nd. He was able to climb to 6th before the race was red flagged again for a crash involving Christian Iddon, Rory Skinner and Kyle Ryde, which resulted in Iddon being knocked briefly unconscious and also leaving by ambulance. In the third start, Bradley Ray, who had led all of the first two attempts at the race, wasn't able to run away. Lee Jackson won, with Bridewell 2nd, Ray 3rd, Glenn Irwin 4th and Danny Buchan 5th.



Race 3 was held without much incident. Irwin and Ray swapped the lead back and forth before Bridewell came along and took it for himself. Bridewell went on to win with Irwin 2nd, Jackson 3rd, Buchan 4th and Ray 5th. Ray still holds a 40 point lead in the championship, with at least one of the contenders in Mackenzie likely being out for the rest of the season and O'Halloran likely effectively being out after 2 DNFs and 1 DNS.



BSB Championship Showdown Standings after Oulton Park:

1. 1113 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2. 1073 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
3. 1065 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
4. 1062 Glenn Irwin (Honda)
5. 1048 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
6. 1031 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
7. 1027 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
8. 1017 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)

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## SKR

*MotoAmerica*

And finally, the last race of the season for MotoAmerica. Jake Gagne held a 13 point lead going into this race over Danilo Petrucci, meaning Gagne had to finish 16th or worse for Petrucci to have a chance. Cameron Petersen, Gagne's teammate, led the race from pillar to post with Gagne in 2nd. 3rd was fought between Petrucci, Mathew Scholtz and PJ Jacobsen. Scholtz would eventually fade back and finished 5th, while Jacobsen passed Petrucci on the last lap to finish 3rd.



MotoAmerica standings after Barber:

1. 376 Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
2. 356 Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
3. 304 Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
4. 286 Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
5. 190 Hector Barbera (BMW)

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## SKR

Cool picture from Donington Park this morning on the first day of the second last round for British Superbikes.

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## SKR

Finally, a win for MCE Ducati this season. Tom Sykes led all 15 laps to win in convincing fashion in the first BSB race this weekend at Donington Park. Bradley Ray, Jason O'Halloran and Peter Hickman were in a race-long battle for 2nd with O'Halloran coming out ahead. Ray was 3rd until the final corner when he went in too hard, and Hickman was able to get past into 3rd. Ray finished a couple tenths back in 4th. Glenn Irwin finished 5th after racing hard with his brother Andrew and Kyle Ryde.

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## SKR

Leading up to the Thai GP at Chang International Circuit, all the talk was about rain in the forecast. But practice and qualifying was dry, and Marco Bezzecchi earned his first GP pole. Race day was a different story. After initially being delayed, the race started in the wet. Bezzecchi led early, but was given a penalty for exceeding track limits and never recovered, eventually finishing 16th. On the first lap, championship leader Fabio Quartararo was squeezed out of his 4th place starting spot and fell all the way back to 18th. Jack Miller took over the lead from Bezzecchi when he served his penalty. Francesco Bagnaia held 2nd from Miller until late in the race when Miguel Oliveira, Marc Marquez and Johann Zarco started to apply pressure. Oliveira passed Bagnaia and Miller to lead. Zarco seemed to use up his tires on his charge from 6 seconds back, and was unable (or unwilling, due to championship implications) to pass Bagnaia. Oliveira won, Miller 2nd, Bagnaia 3rd, Zarco 4th and Marquez 5th. Championship contenders Aleix Espargaro, struggling in the wet conditions and with the bike all weekend, finished 11th and Enea Bastianini 6th, while leader Quartararo finished out of the points in 17th. With 3 races left, the gap at the top has closed from 18 points to 2, and Miller's win last week and 2nd this week brings him to within 40 points of the lead with 75 available points remaining. Miller winning the championship would be a long shot, but a hilarious end to his final season with factory Ducati as he gives up his seat to Bastianini next year.

Edit: With Joan Mir still out due to injury, Danilo Petrucci filled in on the Suzuki fresh off his runner-up finish in the MotoAmerica championship. Petrucci started 24th and finished 20th.



MotoGP Standings after Chang International Circuit:

MotoGP standings after Motegi:

1. 219 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
2. 217 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
3. 199 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
4. 180 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
5. 179 Jack Miller (Ducati)

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## SKR

Races 2 and 3 of the BSB round at Donington Park went today. Championship leader Bradley Ray led race 2 early, but was passed by Tom Sykes, leaving 2nd place to be decided between Ray, Glenn and Andrew Irwin, Lee Jackson, Peter Hickman, Tommy Bridewell and Jason O'Halloran. Ray and Glenn Irwin were able to put a gap between 3rd and 4th. Sykes cruised to his second win of the weekend, with Ray 2nd, Glenn Irwin 3rd, Andy Irwin 4th and Lee Jackson 5th.



In race 3, Sykes again led but the race was red flagged after a crash involving Chrissy Rouse on lap 1. The race was restarted, and the fight was on between Ray, Sykes and the Irwin brothers. On lap 6, O'Halloran made a move inside Sykes at the Melbourne Hairpin but couldn't get it stopped and crashed hard. It was the third crash in the last 5 races for O'Halloran, and the second that had him leaving in the back of an ambulance with thumb and ankle injuries. Sykes was also forced to retire. The safety car was brought out to get O'Halloran safely off the track. When the race resumed, Glenn Irwin led but couldn't hold Ray off. Andy also got past Glen, and Bridewell was making a bid for it as well but a small mistake on the last lap foiled that plan. Ray won, followed by Andy Irwin, Glenn Irwin, Bridewell and Danny Buchan. The win gives Ray a 66 point lead in the championship with only 75 points still available. Only Glenn Irwin and Bridewell are still mathematically possible to win. But, anything can happen and with only 1 point between Irwin and Bridewell it might still be a tight finish.



In the race 3 crash on lap 1, Chrissy Rouse sustained a significant head injury and was put into a medically induced coma before being transferred to hospital for further investigation and treatment.

BSB Standings after Donington Park:

1. 1171 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2. 1105 Glenn Irwin (Honda)
3. 1104 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4. 1095 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
5. 1077 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
6. 1051 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
7. 1031 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
8. 1017 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)

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## SKR

> In the race 3 crash on lap 1, Chrissy Rouse sustained a significant head injury and was put into a medically induced coma before being transferred to hospital for further investigation and treatment.



He didn't make it. This sucks.

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## SKR

World Superbikes are the only series running this weekend, at Portimao. Superbike race 1 started late and was shortened from 20 laps to 14. Kawasaki teammates Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes started the race 1-2. Toprak Razgatlioglu took the lead on lap 6, and held it to the end while Rea and Alvaro Bautista raced for 2nd. Bautista passed Rea on the second last lap, leaving Rea to finish 3rd, Axel Bassani 4th and Lowes 5th.



The reason for the delay was waiting for the medical helicopter to return after a crash in the WSSP300 race. Victor Steeman crashed on the 3rd lap of that race and was struck by another rider. Steeman was transported to hospital with "polytrauma and head injuries".

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## SKR

The WSBK superpole race and race 2 have concluded with the usual suspects at the front. The superpole race had Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista racing for the lead, with Razgatlioglu coming out ahead. Jonathan Rea finished 3rd, Alex Lowes 4th and Michael Ruben Rinaldi 5th.



Race 2 was more closely contested with Rea leading early, then Razgatlioglu, then Bautista, back to Razgatlioglu and then back to Bautista for the win. Razgatlioglu finished 2nd, Rea with his third 3rd place finish of the weekend, Rinaldi 4th and Lowes 5th.



MotoAmerica champion Jake Gagne was also in the field this weekend on a wildcard entry, and finished 19th, 16th and 15th in the three races.

No word yet on Victor Steeman, other than he remains in hospital in critical condition.

World Superbike Standings after Portimao:

1. 448 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 392 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
3. 366 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
4. 232 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati)
5. 196 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)

Next weekend features MotoGP at Phillip Island and the British Superbikes season wraps up at Brands Hatch.

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## SKR

> Victor Steeman crashed on the 3rd lap of that race and was struck by another rider. Steeman was transported to hospital with "polytrauma and head injuries".






> No word yet on Victor Steeman, other than he remains in hospital in critical condition.



Steeman didn't make it either.

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## SKR

Last round of the season for British Superbikes this weekend at Brands Hatch. The race was preceded by a nice tribute to Chrissy Rouse, who lost his life after a crash in the previous round at Donington Park. Bradley Ray went in to race 1 with a 66 point lead over Glenn Irwin and 67 over Tommy Bridewell, with 75 points available on the weekend. Irwin started on pole, and led the field into turn 1. Bridwell had an awful start, falling back to 7th or something, and Ray settled into 4th. Tom Neave and Lee Jackson crashed in turn 1, ending their day. Irwin led every lap, and he had to if he was going to have a shot at the championship. Peter Hickman finished 2nd and Andrew Irwin 3rd. Bridewell did end up getting past Ray, but 4th was as high as he got and it didn't matter anyway since Ray finished 5th, giving him enough points to secure the championship.

Notable mentions are this year's British Supersport and British Superstock champions, Jack Kennedy and Davey Todd, getting a chance at superbikes and finishing in the points in 14th and 15th.

Lee Jackson is out for the rest of the weekend with a broken wrist from his lap 1 crash.

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## ThePenIsMightier

Is that person with the Pirelli hat on a female?

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## SKR

> Is that person with the Pirelli hat on a female?



If you don't like that, you're really going to be unhappy if WSBK goes the way it looks like it's going to.

MotoGP returned to Phillip Island for the first time since 2019. With 3 races left in the season, the fight for the championship was still tight with 2 points between Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia, and Aleix Espargaro, Enea Bastianini and Jack Miller still in with a chance. Jorge Martin started on pole (after whining like a fuckin idiot for not being picked for the factory Ducati seat over Bastianini next year, despite being outridden by Bastianini all year). On lap 4, Quartararo made a mistake on the brakes and dropped all the way down to 22nd. Bastianini was way down the order too, falling back from his 15th starting spot. On lap 9, Miller was taken out by Alex Marquez. Quartararo crashed out on lap 11. By this time, the lead group was Bagnaia, Espargaro, Martin, Alex Rins, Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini. Espargaro and Martin would eventually drift back, while Bastianini mounted a late-race charge to finish 5th (ahead of stupid Martin in 7th). Despite there being no team orders from Ducati, and Bagnaia saying he doesn't want to win the championship with team orders, you couldn't help but notice that Bagania was leading a pack of 6 bikes, 4 of which were Ducatis. Starting the last lap, Bagnaia led but Rins and Marquez shot through. Rins held on to win for Suzuki in their final MotoGP season, with Marquez 2nd, Bagnaia 3rd, Bezzecchi 4th and Bastianini 5th.

With 2 races left in the season, it looks to be Bagnaia's championship to lose. Espargaro and Bastianini are still in it, but need a lot to go wrong for Bagnaia and Quartararo.



MotoGP standings after Phillip Island:

1. 233 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. 219 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
3. 206 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
4. 191 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
5. 179 Jack Miller (Ducati)

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## SKR

Today is the last day of the season for British Superbikes. Glenn Irwin led race 2 from the pole from Andrew Irwin, Danny Buchan, Peter Hickman and Bradley Ray. Ray crashed out on lap 2 at Paddock Hill. Hickman took the lead from Glenn Irwin on lap 4. Jason O'Halloran caught the lead pack with a handful of laps to go, and was up into 4th before crashing out on the last lap after contact with Andy Irwin. Irwin would be given a 20 second time penalty and a 3 position grid penalty for race 3. Hickman got his first win of the season, Buchan 2nd, Glenn Irwin 3rd, Kyle Ryde 4th and Tommy Bridewell 5th after starting the race on pit lane.



Race 3 had Buchan leading with the Irwins, Hickman and Bridewell following. O'Halloran didn't make the start, with mechanical problems on the bike after the race 2 crash. Buchan led until lap 17 of 20, when a mistake allowed the Irwins through. Glenn Irwin went on to finish the weekend and the season as he started, winning his 5th race of the season. Andy Irwin finished 2nd, Buchan 3rd, Bridewell 4th and Hickman 5th.



Final British Superbikes Standings:

1. 1192 Bradley Ray (Yamaha)
2. 1171 Glenn Irwin (Honda)
3. 1141 Tommy Bridewell (Ducati)
4. 1095 Lee Jackson (Kawasaki)
5. 1087 Jason O'Halloran (Yamaha)
6. 1077 Kyle Ryde (Yamaha)
7. 1031 Tarran Mackenzie (Yamaha)
8. 1017 Rory Skinner (Kawasaki)

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## SKR

The World Superbike championship is getting close to sewn up with 3 rounds to go. Alvaro Bautista came into the Argentina round with a 56 point lead over Toprak Razgatlioglu. 56 points isn't much when there's 3 rounds times 62 points per round still available, but Bautista doesn't seem to make any mistakes. On the first lap of race 1, Bautista passed Jonathan Rea and Razgatlioglu for the lead. Razgatlioglu tried to force a pass back, but ended up crashing into the gravel. Bautista dropped back to 4th to avoid being caught up, and eventually made his way back to the front. Rea and Axel Bassani raced hard every lap, with Rea eventually coming out on top. Bautista won, Rea 2nd, Bassani 3rd, Iker Lecuona 4th and Michael Ruben Rinaldi 5th. Razgatlioglu remounted after his crash and eventually finished 15th.

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## SKR

The MotoGP race at Sepang was full of commentary about how the championship could be clinched if this and this happens, and what drama, and if the checkered flag flew now, and team orders, and flimsy Europeans. So I put it on mute. It seemed like a good race for first between Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini, and a good race for third between Fabio Quartararo, Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Rins and Joan Mir. Bagnaia being the championship leader, and being able to be named champion if he won and Quartararo finished no better than fourth, and that both Bagnaia and Bastianini ride Ducatis (Bagnaia for factory and Bastianini for Gresini), and that Bastianini will be moving to factory Ducati next year so he and Bagnaia will be teammates next year meant whatever that fuckin chatterbox's name is that does commentary wouldn't shut the fuck up, but it looked like both were riding near the limit. Bagnaia won, with Bastianini 2nd, which will fuel all kinds of speculation from dickheads. Quartararo rode the wheels off his bike to finish 3rd ahead of Bezzecchi and Rins. Jorge Martin set a lap record in qualifying to sit on the pole, and then crashed out of the lead. Imagine being such a douchebag to publicly say you don't know why you didn't get the factory Ducati seat over Bastianini, who has outrode you all season, and then crash out of the lead. Anyway. One round left in two weeks at Valencia, and Bagnaia has a 23 point lead, which I think means Bagnaia has to finish 14th or better to win it, and Quartararo needs to win and have Bagnaia finish 15th or worse to win it.



MotoGP standings after Sepang:

1. 258 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. 235 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
3. 212 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
4. 211 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
5. 189 Jack Miller (Ducati)

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## SKR

I watched WSBK today, but I'm tired and don't feel like typing a bunch more. Toprak Razgatlioglu won the superpole race and Alvaro Bautista won race 2. Jonathan Rea finished 3rd in race 2 and probably somewhere thereabouts in the superpole race. Nobody else has really factored into anything all season. There are 2 rounds left - Mandalika Nov 12-13 and Phillip Island Nov 19-20.





World Superbike Standings after Portimao:

1. 507 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 425 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
3. 409 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
4. 260 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati)
5. 217 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki)

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## SKR

Sidecar passenger Olivier Lavorel has died from injuries sustained at the Isle of Man TT. On June 4, on the first lap of the sidecar TT, driver Cesar Chanal and Lavorel crashed at Ago's Leap. Chanal died at the scene and Lavorel was transported to hospital in critical condition.

I don't know what that will mean for sidecars at future TTs. Deaths at the event aren't unusual; there's been 272 since 1911, including competitors, marshals and spectators. Four deaths in two sidecar races, all at the same spot on the circuit where no other fatal crashes have occurred, seems high.

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## SKR

Valencia was host to the last race of the season for MotoGP. It was billed as #TheDecider, as the championship was being contested by reigning champ Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia. Although it wasn't really much of a decider. In the last 10 races, Bagnaia overcame a 91 point deficit to come in to the final race with a 23 point lead, meaning all he had to do was finish 14th or better, and Quartaro would have had to win and have Bagania finish 15th or worse.

Alex Rins shot off the second row on the start into the lead. Quartararo and Bagnaia were 5th and 6th. Quartararo passed Jack Miller for 4th, but Miller passed him back. Bagnaia tried to follow him through, but he and Quartararo made contact, knocking a wing off Bagnaia's Ducati. Bagnaia started to drift back through the field as Brad Binder started storming toward the front. Binder came up 0.396 seconds short, as Rins gave Suzuki a final win in their final race in MotoGP. Binder finished 2nd, polesitter Jorge Martin 3rd, Quartararo 4th and Miguel Oliveira 5th. Bagnaia finished 9th, good enough to win his first MotoGP title.





MotoGP Standings after Valencia:

1. 265 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. 248 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)
3. 219 Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
4. 212 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)
5. 189 Jack Miller (Ducati)

World Superbikes still has two races left next weekend and the weekend after, and the Macau Grand Prix in two weeks, and that'll be it for motorbike racing this year.

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## SKR

Alvaro Bautista went into Mandalika with an 82 point lead in the World Superbike championship over Toprak Razgatlioglu. While still mathematically possible, Razgatlioglu faces a big hill to climb to defend his 2021 title. Race 1 went Razgatlioglu's way, as he led every lap from the pole. However, he only took 5 points out of Bautista's lead as Bautista finished 2nd ahead of Jonathan Rea. Andrea Locatelli finished 4th and Michael Ruben Rinaldi 5th. Iker Lecuona and Lucas Mahias didn't start after suffering injuries in crashes in practice. Philipp Oetll crashed, and missed the superpole race and race 2.

The superpole race was more hard fought between Razgatlioglu and Rea, but again ended with Razgatlioglu coming out on top. Locatelli finished 3rd after battling early with Alex Lowes. Bautista slid back to 6th on the start, but recovered to finish 4th. Axel Bassani finished 5th. Razgatlioglu has now closed the gap from 82 points to 71, with 87 points left on the season.

Rea led race 2 early on, but was overtaken by Razgatlioglu on lap 6. Bautista also got through on Rea, and stuck to Razgatlioglu. Bautista led lap 14, but Razgatlioglu took it back on lap 15. As they fought, Rea pulled back to within a few tenths, but dropped off at the end. Razgatlioglu completed the hat trick, Bautista finished 2nd, Rea 3rd, Locatelli 4th and Bassani 5th. Bautista's 2nd place finish gives him a 66 point lead going into the final round at Phillip Island, and with only 62 points available in a weekend, Bautista is the 2022 World Superbike champion.





World Superbike Standings after Mandalika:

1. 553 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 487 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
3. 450 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
4. 279 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati)
5. 245 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)

WSBK wraps up its season next weekend at Phillip Island. Next weekend is also the Macau Grand Prix, which is the final road race of the year.

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## SKR

This weekend is the final round for World Superbikes, at Phillip Island. It rained before the race, but cleared off and began drying. Almost all the riders started on wets and planned on pitting to change tires as the track dried. The track and the conditions seemed to finally suit the Kawasakis, as Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes both led. On lap 10 of 22, Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu pitted from 2nd and 4th to change to slicks. Alvaro Bautista pitted on lap 11, and Lowes on lap 12. After all riders had pitted, Rea led over Razgatlioglu and Lowes. Rea went on to win his first race in 24 races. Razgatlioglu finished 2nd, Lowes 3rd, Andrea Locatelli 4th and Bautista 5th. The superpole race and race 2 are tomorrow.



The Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix ran this weekend as well. Most of the big names decided not to enter, mainly due to covid restrictions I think. There are 2 races, and the winner is determined by aggregate time. Both races were scheduled to go Saturday. Race 1 was postponed due to oil on the track, and then cancelled entirely due to damaged barriers from an earlier crash in one of the car races. Race 2 was pushed back to Sunday. (As I write this Saturday evening, it's apparently Sunday morning in Macau.) Erno Kostamo was the pre-race favorite, followed by David Datzer, but it was Sheridan Morais who led the first laps. On lap 3, Kostamo and Datzer passed Morais at the Melco Hairpin. Kostamo led the rest of the 8 lap race to win his first Macau GP. Datzer finished 2nd, Morais 3rd, Lukas Maurer 4th and Rob Hodson 5th.

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## SKR

Today was the last day for World Superbikes. It rained before the superpole race, and most riders started with wets or intermediates, but Alvaro Bautista gambled on the track drying and started on slicks. He started on the pole, but at the end of lap 1 had slid all the way back to 16th. The course again seemed to suit the Kawasakis as Alex Lowes led Jonathan Rea, with the Yamahas of Toprak Razgatlioglu, Andrea Locatelli and Garrett Gerloff in the mix. But by lap 8 the gamble was paying off as Bautista was up to 3rd and running 3 seconds a lap faster. At the end of the 10 lap race, Bautista had a 3 second lead over Razgatlioglu. Rea finished 3rd, Lowes 4th and Locatelli 5th.

Race 2 was dry so no drama compared to the first two races of the weekend. Rea led, followed by Scott Redding. Redding dropped off after a few laps and settled into 6th. Bautista took the lead on lap 6, but Rea was close and was looking faster until lap 17 when the race was red flagged for a crash involving Eugene Laverty. Laverty was taken to hospital with pelvic injuries. As the race was past 2/3 distance, the race was finished and Bautista was the winner. Rea finished 2nd, Lowes 3rd, Razgatlioglu 4th and Locatelli 5th.



Final WSBK Standings:

1. 601 Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. 529 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
3. 502 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki)
4. 293 Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati)
5. 274 Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha)

That's it until the Daytona 200 on March 11 2023.

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## SKR

One last one. Jack Miller's wildcard entry into the final round of Australian Superbikes last weekend. The best livery in all of motorsports for 2022.

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## jacky4566

Got Tickets for Italy June 11, 2023. Should be fun!

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