Today it was announced that Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) will replace Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in August. Alex Rins suffered a broken leg and thus Honda needed a substitute. This isn’t the first call Lecuona has received this season. Earlier this year Lecuona filled in for an injured Joan Muir for the MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix. He filled in again for Alex Rins at TT Circuit Assen. In both outings Lecuona was nearly in the points. We imagine with a third stent on the bike he might be able to muster the pace to score some points in MotoGP this year.
Lecuona had the following words for WorldSBK.com on his return to MotoGP action, “I wish Alex a speedy recovery; I know how difficult these situations are. In the meantime, I’m happy to jump on the bike, as I want to do my best and help the team. Besides, I like Silverstone’s layout, and we can have fun. I want to thank the Honda family and LCR for the opportunity.”
In a move supported by both the teams and the Grand Prix Commission. The race weekend format will be changed starting with the next race at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. Friday morning’s first practice session will no longer weigh on entry into Q2. It will be a free practice that will have no implications on qualifying. The session will be 45 minutes long followed by a second Practice session in the afternoon which will be used to place riders into Q2.
The format will start the first weekend of August.
Friday
- Free Practice 1 (45 minutes)
- Practice (60 minutes)
Saturday
- Free Practice 2 (30 minutes)
- Qualifying 1 (15 minutes)
- Qualifying 2 (15 minutes)
- Sprint Race
Sunday
Honda have reportedly and unofficially given Marc Marquez the green light to exit his remaining contract obligations if he doesn’t want to stay with the team through the 2024 season. Honda MotoGP boss Alberto Puig stated, “We have a contract, but every person is free to do what they want in life…Honda is not a company that wants to have people who are not happy being at Honda. So, of course we have a contract, but Honda respects Marc a lot. I want to think [he will stay] based on the contract, but I don’t have a [magic wand].”
The statement came after speculation that Marquez is looking to exit the team for a rumored moved to KTM. Marquez has loosely attested to his commitment to Honda by stating, “I am in a big moment and I cannot think about this. You cannot decide things about your future when you are in such a condition. During this month and a half I need to rebuild my body and the mental side. I am in one of the worst moments of my career. But I’m very lucky that I am in one of the best moments in my personal life, with a very good team around me. Everything is stable and this helps a lot.”
Marc Marquez and the Future
Whether or not Marquez will terminate his contract early is unknown but it appears Honda is still willing to work with him despite the recent woes he has face with not being able to finish races. Marquez has crashed multiple times this season leaving the Honda side unable to capitalize on point scoring opportunities for more of the season. Marquez has not yet completed a grand prix in 2023. The latest event was his withdrawal from the Dutch grand Prix. We will continue to report as this story develops.
For more on this story be sure to check out MotoGP.com
Bagnaia Wins Again
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) wins again at TT Assen for the Dutch Grand Prix. Ducati has dominated the top tier of racing this season with early success in MotoGP, WorldSBK and MotoAmerica. That dominance did not stop at TT Assen. Bagnaia won the Dutch Grand Prix by 1.223 seconds ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing). In third was Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) who helped Bezzecchi cut into Jorge Martin’s (Prima Pramac Racing) lead. Bezzecchi is only 1 point behind Jorge Martin going into the next round. Bagnaia further extended his lead in the championship. He sits atop the table with 194 points on the season.
Marc Marquez Woes Continue
Marc Marquez had yet another disappointing weekend. After crashing again early this weekend. After finishing P17 in the Sprint Marquez stated he was experiencing issues with his ribs, “I was suffering a bit more today with the rib, especially in regard to breathing and using the pectoral in the best way. The goal for tomorrow is to finish the race. I also want to apologies to Enea for this morning, it was my mistake.”
Marquez was declared unfit for the Grand Prix. He stated the following, “We arrived here in a difficult condition and it only worsened as the weekend went on. Last night I suffered a lot trying to sleep, when I woke up the pain was very high and I went straight to the medical center. Checks revealed the break in the rib had shifted so we had to miss the race. Now is the time to rest and recover and come back after the summer break fit and ready to keep working.”
The Clash of the Frenchman
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) crashed this morning taking out fellow Frenchman Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing). Quaratararo was looking to double his podium finishes on the weekend but his lukc fell short after a poor start wheeling from the launch which dropped him 6 positions. Then the subsequent crash removed all hope for the Frenchman. As reported by Crash.net Quartararo stated, “I crashed and I twisted my elbow, so I have to keep it in a sling for the time being. [The elbow] should not take too long to heal and the foot I will have to check, but normally I will have to make surgery on the toe. I will be in a little bit of pain for a few weeks. I made a mistake at the start.”
“I didn’t want to make a normal start, I wanted to make a perfect start and getting too close to perfect, I made a totally bad start! I released the clutch a little bit too fast then I had a wheelie. So I lost a lot of positions and then I just tried to do like in the morning [fastest in warm-up], but I lost the front in turn 7.”
Johann Zarco also commented stating, “…the moment I opened the throttle he lost the front. I was so close to him that I could not avoid the bike and we crashed pretty fast. We both walked away. But it seems he got the injury on the left elbow and still the left foot is painful for him.”
8 riders did not finish the race. Full race results and championship standings are below.
The Dutch Grand Prix Sprint Race at TT Assen concluded this morning which Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) finishing just under 1.3 seconds ahead of the current world championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo). In surprise fashion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) finished 3rd in the sprint which is his best finish of the season. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) took 4th and Brad Binder (KTM) rounded out the top 5. Full sprint race results can be found below. Fabio Di Giannantonio was the only rider to not finish the sprint race.
Championship Standings after the sprint race are below
Jorge Martin has solidified his presence in the MotoGP championship contention with a win in both the Sprint and the German Grand Prix this weekend. Martin edged out current championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) in a down to the wire finish separating the riders by only 0.064 seconds. As reported by Reuters Martin stated, “After almost two years fighting for it, finally it arrived. It was a tough race, Pecco (Bagnaia) was pushing so hard. This is only a first step hopefully, we are getting there and closer.”
Although Bagnaia finished behind Martin in both the sprint race and Grand Prix. Bagnaia still retains a 16 point lead over Martin in the championship. Martin’s teammate Johan Zarco continues the recent success for the Prima Pramac Ducati side with another double podium for the team. Zarco is now within 17 points of third place sitter in the championship, Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing). With plenty of racing to come the championship race is seemingly wide open as we cross the season midpoint.
The woes continued for Marc Marquez after he suffered his 5th crash on the weekend at Sachsenring. the final crash occurred in turn 7 during warmups and Marquez opted to forgo participating in the Grand Prix after the crash. In a brief interview with DAZN Marquez stated, “After four or five crashes, especially the one this morning, well, I don’t feel ready to race, to do the race. And I decided ‘calm down’… and in Netherlands even more. I don’t feel ready. I have many bumps in my body, especially in my ankle, a fracture [to my hand], I don’t feel ready.”
Full race results and championship standings are below.
For more coverages be sure to visit MotoGP.com
In continuation of his recent surge in form. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) secured the win in the German Grand Prix Sprint Race. Behind in second was champion ship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) and Jack Miller (KTM Racing) in third. After an early exchange of leads between Bagnaia and Miller, Martin was able to set an untouchable pace towards the end of the race. Martin clinched the win by a margin of 2.5 seconds ahead of Bagnaia. The win propelled Martin into second place in the championship standings. Despite not winning the race Bagnaia still retains the riders championship lead with 140 points. He sits ahead of, now second place sitting, Jorge Martin by 21 points. Former second place sitter Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) finished third and is 27 points behind Bagnaia. Bezzecchi finished seventh in a disappointing result for his championship race.
Full race results and championship standing scan be found below.
Be sure to check out MotoGp.com for more exclusive coverage.
The morning support class sessions in Germany were plagued with rain as practice session kickoff of the MotoGP weekend. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) tops FP2 with a fastest time of 1m20.271 seconds. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) who came off of a great finish at the Italian Grand Prix ran second fastest with Alex Espargaro running 3rd fastest. Espargaro has reported attending this weekends race activities with micro fractures in his foot. An injury he suffered in Mugello at the last round. Despite two red flags Bezzecchi was able to find the pace in the reduced session time to lead to pack into Saturday.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) cant seem to avoid on track incident. In FP2 Marquez and Johan Zarco collided as Zarco was exiting the pitlane. As reported by Motosport.com, Marquez stated, “I mean, this is a question you need to ask to him because you know that if I’m a guy that does a mistake, I say it’s my mistake. But this time I’m angry because if somebody could have avoided that situation, it was Johann.”
“The guy that is coming out of the pitlane is the guy who needs to watch behind. And if somebody is coming, especially in the last minutes you need to stop in the pit exit. There’s no meaning to stay out of the line. As we see in that corner in the past, even this morning with Aleix Espargaro, with [Fabio] Quartararo, it’s so easy to crash, it’s so easy to lock the front and more when you are pushing in the end of the practice.”
Bezzecchi’s Team Manager Offered his Thoughts
As reported by GPOne.com Gino Borsoi, Pramac team manager, commented harshly on the incident: “Fortunately Zarco is OK, apart from some pain in his lower back. Unfortunately he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and these are accidents that can happen. What I didn’t like, and what I would have expected from a champion like Marquez, was to see him running to the pits to get the bike rather than checking on Johann’s condition. I am saddened by that kind of behaviour, even now that we are really close to each other in the pits he didn’t come to apologize, I didn’t expect that.”
Marquez Continued with his Thoughts on the Incident
“We were super lucky that we both escaped from that crash, but I already heard somebody say ‘ah, Marc is dangerous’. If somebody could have avoided that situation, it was Johann. I was pushing for a hot lap, sorry guys, I crashed.”
“We have had a difficult Friday, even if it started in a good way, but we reached our limit quite soon and we need to keep working on the setup and the bike. Unfortunately, I crashed and Zarco was leaving pitlane. It was very lucky that we both escaped, I went to see Johann after to make sure he was okay. I crashed like many riders in Turn 1, I was pushing for a hot lap, and if there was anyone who could avoid the situation it was Zarco. If it’s my mistake, I always accept it. A complicated day here, tomorrow we keep trying to improve the feeling.”
Full German Grand Prix FP2 Results are Below
Round 7 of the MotoGP championship has arrived in Germany for the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring. The weekend has started off with multiple whispers from the rumor mill on where riders will end up for the 2024 season. While some riders may be distracted by the frenzy. There is one man who’s goal is clear. That man is Francesco Bagnaia.
Bagnaia currently leads the champion by 21 points. After a couple of mishaps involving crashes from the lead. Bagnaia has bounced back to lead the MotoGP field. Given that Bagnaia is in contract until 2024 with Ducati. We don’t anticipate his mindset being influenced by the off track gossip. One man who we do think will be affected is Marc Marquez.
The 8 time world champion has yet to score a point in a Grand Prix this year. Marquez has missed races due to injury and late crashes. The latest in Italy last round. With contract rumors flying and a lack of performance in championship points Marquez needs the German Grand Prix to be the turning point for his season. He is contracted with Repsol Honda until 2024. Honda appears to be in support of a contract extension but Marquez may have other plans. Marquez has been verbally frustrated at Honda in 2023. There have also been rumors that connect him to a move to KTM. No new contract have been inked to date.
Marquez has unofficially been dubbed the king of Sachsenring having won a most 8 times here and securing 7 poles and the fastest race lap of all time. His past success suggests he will perform well here.
About the Track
Sachsenring is a 2.28 mile circuit with 10 left hand turns and 3 right hand turns. Car and bike races have been held on closed public roads in the area around the town of Chemnitz, Germany since the 1920s. It was decided in 1990, however, that the five mile course through such a densely populated area was no longer suitable. A new circuit was built five miles west of Chemnitz in 1996. Sachsenring first hosted MotoGP in 1998 and many improvements have taken place since then. Numerous tight corners make it one of the slower tracks on the calendar.
Full German Grand Prix FP1 Results are Available Below
The MotoGP Italian Grand Prix concluded this morning at Mugello. Francesco Baganaia (Ducati Lenovo) secure yet another win and further extended his championship lead over Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team). Bezzecchi was only able to finish P8 which means that with Bagnaia scores max points Bezzecchi is now 21 points behind in the championship compared to the 1 point he was behind at the start of the weekend. It was a great morning for the Prima Pramac Racing team as Jorge Martin and Johan Zarco run P2 and P3 to lock out the podium. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) finished 4th and Brand Binder (KTM Racing) finished 5th. Ducati dominance was prevalent in the race as Ducatis accounted for 4/5 top finishers in Italy.
The Marquez brothers failed to capitalize on their front row starts. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) crashed out of the race on lap 5 after running wide. He was making an attempt to gain position on Luca Marini in the incident. M. Marquez slid out at at the final turn ending his race. Brother Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) carried on for 9 more laps before he too crashed. A. Marquez went down after missing his brake zone. This will be a disappointing result for the pair after starting on the front row. With yet another crash Marc Marquez’s title run appears to be all but over. Additionally, tensions in the Honda camp will raise questions as to whether he will remain with Honda after 2023.
“Today I was riding really well and with some margin, I was feeling comfortable and not stressed. I saw Bagnaia and Martin had escaped so I focused on staying with Marini in that group and trying to achieve my goal of the top six or seven. I had a moment at Turn 10 on the first lap and then again going into the last corner before I fell. Right now we need to keep improving and keep working. Fortunately, I was not injured in the crash today and we have another race next week so it gives us a chance to keep working.”
In his return to MotoGP Enea Bastianini (Ducati lenovo) finished 9th. The finish was a consolation as Bastianini felt he would be far behind in terms of race pace. Pre race he feared his time away would be a major set back. His injury did not appear to be aggravated at all due to his participation in the race.
It was a lackluster day for the Monster Energy Yamaha camp as they continue to have woes with podium competing pace. Franco Morbinelli and Fabio Quartararo and finished P10 and P11.
Full Race Results are Below
For more coverage from the race be sure to visit MotoGP