2021

Halfway through the 2021 MotoGP season, it’s an open secret that things are bad inside the works Yamaha camp – or at least on one side of the team’s pit box. Maverick Vinales, already set to leave at the end of the year after breaking his contract, seems desperately unhappy, and it’s being reflected in his results. But are things bad enough to lead to the Spaniard not even seeing out the rest of the season? The relationship between Vinales and the team hasn’t exactly been plain sailing for quite some time – but it has undoubtedly taken a turn for the worse in the past few weeks. All coming to a head in the embarrassment of finishing the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring in last place, things have got worse rather than better since then despite a brief upturn in form for him. In fact, the mood within the team was actually highlighted not by failure but by success, with an atmosphere in the winners’ enclosure so tense you could have cut it with a butter knife after Vinales finished second to team-mate Fabio Quartararo at the Dutch TT only a week after his humiliating Germany result. He’s since apologised for the disrespect he showed to his fans with his attitude after the second placed finish, but it was nonetheless too late to change much – with news coming less than 24 hours later confirming that Vinales would part ways with the team for next season. He’s taking the very rare step of breaking his two-year contract at the halfway point and looking set to lose a colossal amount of money as he makes the (still to be officially announced) switch to Aprilia. There was hope that taking some time away from the paddock for MotoGP’s extended five-week summer break would give Vinales the chance to calm down and reset his brain, but it seems like that has failed to happen. He turned up for the Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring knowing that it was going to be a difficult weekend for Yamaha thanks to the track layout, and it turned into a complete disaster as Vinales blamed a litany of issues for his poor race – problems that eventually led him to pull into the pits with only a lap to go to seemingly avoid the ignominy of finishing in last place for the second time in three races. Making matters even worse, team-mate Quartararo had none of the same issues, fighting forward to an excellent and somewhat unexpected podium finish behind Jorge Martin and Joan Mir. It’s clear from body language alone that things on the other side of the garage are far from fixed – and with incredibly manic interviews to the media over the course of the weekend, Vinales is very clearly deeply unhappy with his position within the team. Which begs the question: is there a chance that we’ll see the nine-time MotoGP race winner fail to even finish the season with Yamaha? After all, there is precedent for the switch, with KTM pulling off exactly the same move in 2019 when it parted ways with Johann Zarco. Like Vinales at Yamaha, Zarco was deeply unhappy at being unable to find performance from the RC16, he too was accused of making the garage a deeply unhappy workplace, and after he and KTM initially announced plans to end their two-year deal a year early things continued to get even worse and Zarco was paid to stay at home for the final six races of the year. Arguably Yamaha has an even better replacement option than KTM had at the time, too, in the shape of test rider Cal Crutchlow. While Zarco was replaced by Finnish racer Mika Kallio, Yamaha has a proven three-time MotoGP race winner who it could drop into Vinales’ place. But as much as Vinales might actually be hoping for some sort of release from his Yamaha deal given the impact continuing with the team seems to be having on him, the reality is that the situation between him and Zarco is inherently different thanks to one key detail: culture. Much is made of the difference in MotoGP between the corporate culture of the traditional Japanese factories and the very different approach taken by the relative newcomer European teams. KTM in particular has an air of ruthlessness about it – just look at the way the sacking of Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona was handled last weekend while the pair were on track for free practice four. That’s not the way that Yamaha does things. It’s a much less impulsive company, sometimes to its detriment – and this is very likely to mean that Vinales has a long second half of the season ahead as he grits his teeth and bears it.

Valentino Rossi has rejected a report claiming he is in talks to sell his VR46 team to Saudi Arabian Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud. VR46 is linked to the Prince though an apparent sponsorship deal with the predominantly state-owned Aramco petrochemical company, a deal about which there remains some scepticism. However, a report from Italy’s Il Sole 24 Ore earlier this week claimed that Rossi was also negotiating to sell the team altogether, with a figure of EUR 150 million suggested. That was put to the retiring champion by Italian media at this weekend’s Michelin Grand Prix of Styria, where he denied the rumour. “It is absolutely not true that we want to sell VR46 to the Saudis,” said Rossi after Friday practice at the Red Bull Ring. “This is just made-up news; we don’t even think about it. “We like it, we have our whole world there and it’s something that I have no idea how it came out.” Tanal Entertainment Sport & Media, the holding company owned by the Prince which announced the Aramco sponsorship in April, advised last weekend that it would be holding a press conference in coming days. That press conference, which would cover a wide range of activities but have “special emphasis” on the VR46 partnership, is yet to take place. “As for Tanal, I don’t know much about this press conference,” said Rossi. “Our lawyers and accountants are working in VR46, who are trying to do everything. “But maybe I’m not the right man to talk about these things, because I know up to a point.” Exactly what the relationship between Aramco and VR46 is remains unknown, given the company has reportedly denied knowledge of any agreement.

Francesco Bagnaia topped third practice for the MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix, as Yamaha duo Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales almost came to blows. Perfect conditions for FP3 meant combined order lap time improvements came immediately, Pramac rookie Jorge Martin making the biggest jump on his Ducati early on. Martin fired in a 1m23.834s to, an improvement of well over a second from his Friday best, to go second overall and move into the lead of the individual session timesheet. After 10 minutes of the 45-minute session, all but four riders had improved on the combined order, with Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales taking over top spot with a 1m23.781s moments later. This lap stood as the benchmark for around the next 10 minutes before world champion Joan Mir, using Suzuki’s new ride height adjuster, moved ahead with a 1m23.599s having one out on a fresh soft tyre early. Both Mir and Alex Rins have one of the new ride height device each this weekend. Another 10 minutes passed before top spot changed hands again, this time Marc Marquez on his Honda doing the honours with a 1m23.513s. But it was a short-lived stint for the Spaniard, as Yamaha-mounted compatriot Vinales returned to the top of the order with a 1m23.475s. Vinales found more time on his following effort with a 1m23.375s to extend his advantage over Marquez to a slender 0.138 seconds. Teammate and championship leader Fabio Quartararo was nudged out of the top 10 as the session reached its final five minutes having had a difficult session on his M1. Quartararo struggled on a number of occasions to get his bike stopped into the Turn 3 right-hander, the Frenchman visibly becoming frustrated with his plight. On one occasion Quartararo almost clattered into Vinales, leaving the latter fuming as the pair entered pitlane in the closing stages of the session. With just under three minutes to go Quartararo leaped up to second with a 1m23.416s, but had that lap cancelled for a track limits violation, dumping him back to 15th. His following effort of 1m23.142s returned him to top spot and safely secured him a place in Q2 in qualifying. But it was the Ducati of Bagnaia who would end the session fastest of all with a last-gasp 1m23.114s, the Italian heading Quartararo and Vinales at the chequered flag. Jorge Martin was fourth fastest to get his first Q2 appearance since Germany – though the Spaniard did have an embarrassing low-speed tumble at Turn 1 at the end of the session. Mir completed the top five on his updated Suzuki ahead of Pramac’s Johann Zarco and the leading Honda of Marc Marquez, while Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, Ducati’s Jack Miller and Friday pacesetter Takaaki Nakagami on the LCR Honda secured the final Q2 places. Pol Espargaro on the sister factory Honda was denied a Q2 place by just 0.017s, while wildcard Dani Pedrosa was the leading KTM in 12th in a difficult session for the Austrian marque on home soil. Brad Binder was the next best KTM in 15th, trailing LCR’s Alex Marquez and Suzuki’s Alex Rins, while last year’s Styria winner Miguel Oliveira was 16th as he battled through a wrist injury. Trailing them came Tech 3 KTM duo Iker Lecuon and Danilo Petrucci, while Petronas SRT duo Valentino Rossi in 19th and Cal Crutchlow in 23rd will also face Q1. Avintia’s Luca Marini was the only other crasher in FP3, the rookie 21st as a result behind teammate Enea Bastianini and a head of Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori. STYRIAN MOTOGP, AUSTRIA – FREE PRACTICE (3) RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) 1’23.114s 23/23 318k 2 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.028s 23/24 310k 3 Maverick Viñales SPA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.148s 21/21 311k 4 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +0.180s 20/20 317k 5 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.273s 22/23 309k 6 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.373s 20/22 316k 7 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.399s 16/21 315k 8 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +0.480s 16/19 311k 9 Jack MILLER AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +0.617s 23/23 315k 10 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.626s 20/22 313k 11 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.643s 20/21 319k 12 Dani Pedrosa SPA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +0.644s 21/23 313k 13 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.652s 19/24 309k 14 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.675s 23/24 316k 15 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +0.685s 22/22 313k 16 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +0.821s 20/22 310k 17 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.045s 19/21 309k 18 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.228s 19/21 308k 19 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.267s 21/21 306k 20 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.270s 20/22 314k 21 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.289s 18/18 311k 22 Lorenzo Salvadori ITA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* +1.323s 22/23 310k 23 Cal Crutchlow GBR Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.530s 18/21 305k

Raul Fernandez confirmed as a 2022 Tech3 KTM rider alongside Remy Gardner, meaning no room for current riders Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona. It’s been officially confirmed that Moto2 rookie star Raul Fernandez will move to MotoGP alongside current Ajo team-mate Remy Gardner at Tech3 KTM next season. The young Spaniard’s deal means both of Tech3’s current riders, Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona, are not only out of the team but almost certainly out of MotoGP at the end of this season. When Moto2 title leader Gardner’s MotoGP deal was confirmed in early June, Fernandez seemed likely to spend another season in the intermediate class. However, by the summer break, Fernandez had equalled Gardner’s tally of three race wins, alongside six podiums and four pole positions from nine rounds and has decided to join the likes of Joan Mir in spending just a single year in the Moto2 class. A mistake at Sachsenring means Fernandez starts the second half of the Moto2 season in Austria this weekend needing to overhaul a 31-point deficit to Gardner, before both step-up to the four-time MotoGP race winning RC16. “Honestly, I’m really pleased with this opportunity from KTM, as much for this year as for the next. I’ve been learning a lot and enjoying Moto2 and was able to get into a position where I have this chance to enter MotoGP and for which I’m very grateful: it’s the dream of any rider to arrive to this class,” Fernandez said. “Right now, the most important thing is to keep focusing on this season and giving all I have up until the last race to try and fight for the championship. If it doesn’t work out then fine, everything happens for a reason, and you have to look towards the positives. I’ve been a rookie this year and I want to close the chapter and then start again for 2022 where I’ll be looking to find a good feeling on the bike and, above all, aiming to enjoy myself.” Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director added: “We all know that Raul is an outstanding talent. His jump from Moto3 to Moto2 had some question marks but he showed repeatedly that he is an excellent rider on the bigger bike, which was our original thought and hope because he was quite tall for Moto3. Going to MotoGP so quickly wasn’t part of the initial plan but he has demonstrated that he has the potential.” “I think it’s going to be a very exciting 2022 season with the two of the brightest talents of the Moto2 category moving to the premier class,” said Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal. ” Even though it will be their rookie season, I’m quite sure they will quickly learn and after a few races show their potential in the MotoGP as well. “Raul has had an unbelievable first part of his rookie Moto2 season, something that has not been achieved in a long time. “Although we are very pleased with this announcement we know we still have half a season to go with our current riders, Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona, which I want to thank for their dedication and their never-ending constructive attitude, and, we clearly wish them well and best of luck for the future.” The all-new Tech3 line-up comes at the expense of Lecuona and Petrucci, who until recently had seemed to be battling for the remaining ride. Petrucci arguably had the strongest case for a renewal. Being new to the team and bike this season meant that the double Ducati race winner (like Pol Espargaro and class rookies Enea Bastianini, Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini) was worst hit by the scrapping of the usual winter testing programme due to the Covid restrictions. Apart from a general lack of familiarity with the RC16, it also meant Petrucci has struggled with top speed due to an aerodynamics package that appears not suited to his size.

Aprilia rider Lorenzo Savadori tops his first ever MotoGP session during a rain affected Styrian FP2. A rain affected free practice two for the Styrian MotoGP produced an unlikely name at the top of the leaderboard, as Aprilia’ Lorenzo Savadori was fastest from Johann Zarco. The Italian took over from Zarco with under five minutes to go and was able to hold on despite late efforts from the Pramac man, Joan Mir and Marc Marquez. While many of the riders chose to stay in pit lane during the first few minutes, Tech 3 KTM riders Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci were first to venture out, before second placed in the championship Zarco followed suit. After just five minutes on track, Lecuona crashed at turn one – his second of the day. However, the Spaniard quickly re-joined before going fastest from Pol Espargaro and team-mate Petrucci. As the rain eased up, tricky condition specialists Jack Miller and Marc Marquez went second and third. That was until Marquez went a full second clear of Lecuona two laps later. With 17 minutes remaining, Lecuona and Mir then got within half a second of Marquez, while Zarco moved up to fourth place. Zarco then went to the top of the leaderboard inside the final ten minutes as a dry line began to appear. However, the Frenchman was then up seeded by fellow Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia. The Italian only led for a matter of seconds before Savadori put in an impressive lap with just under five minutes to go – good enough to go one second clear of Bagnaia. Miller was unsurprisingly the first rider to try slick tyres but conditions didn’t improve enough for the Australian to go faster, as he ultimately finished the session 13th. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo struggled to get close to the top ten throughout the session and eventually finished 15th. Zarco, Mir and Marquez all had red sectors during their final laps, but Savadori’s time of 1:31.304s was good enough to see him hold on. Alex Marquez and Valentino Rossi both found turn four tricky to manage as they ran through the gravel trap, while Brad Binder also ran off track at turn three late on. STYRIAN MOTOGP, AUSTRIA – FREE PRACTICE (2) RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 Lorenzo Savadori ITA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1’31.304s 15/19 299k 2 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.154s 21/21 304k 3 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.262s 18/18 303k 4 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +0.878s 21/21 309k 5 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +0.927s 12/12 299k 6 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +1.007s 18/18 303k 7 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +1.141s 16/16 305k 8 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.239s 18/20 300k 9 Maverick Vinales SPA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.381s 10/13 299k 10 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +1.537s 11/14 303k 11 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.720s 21/21 303k 12 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.848s 16/18 301k 13 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +2.111s 10/16 308k 14 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +2.149s 9/14 305k 15 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2.194s 16/18 298k 16 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +2.285s 19/19 304k 17 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +2.354s 14/15 302k 18 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +2.380s 11/15 296k 19 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +2.602s 20/20 308k 20 Cal Crutchlow GBR Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2.650s 18/19 298k 21 Dani Pedrosa SPA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +2.650s 15/17 296k 22 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +3.278s 15/20 298k   Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) No Time    

Takaaki Nakagami topped his first free practice session of the 2021 MotoGP season at the Red Bull Ring, while Miguel Oliveira suffered a big highside at turn three. Joan Mir was the early pace setter as he led a Monster Energy Yamaha 2-3 of Maverick VInales and Fabio Quartararo. The order remained largely the same throughout the second runs, except when Marc Marquez jumped from tenth to second on used medium tyres. Fellow Honda rider Nakagami was next to significantly improve as he went fastest with 14 minutes remaining, however, the Japanese rider’s time was deleted for exceeding track limits. But with just a few minutes left, Nakagami improved again – this time kept his lap – which eventually saw him pip Mir with his final lap. Behind Espargaro was Alex Rins in fourth, while Pol Espargaro jumped up the order to fifth with his final attempt – one spot ahead of team-mate Marquez. Vinales and Quartararo were two riders not to set a time attack and instead focused on used tyre performance. The pair finished seventh and eighth respectively. The top Ducati was Johann Zarco who finished ninth just ahead of factory rider Jack Miller. Iker Lecuona suffered an early crash at turn three in what’s expected to be the Spaniard’s last season in MotoGP. Dani Pedrosa enjoyed an impressive return to competitive action as he finished 11th quickest – top KTM. Pedrosa’s first session back wasn’t without issues though, as the 35 year-old pulled off the Spielberg circuit with an apparent mechanical problem with 18 minutes to go. More drama followed for the home manufacturer as one of the pre-weekend favorites Oliveira suffered a big highside on the exit of turn three moments later. Worryingly, the Portuguese rider seemed dazed after hitting his head and right shoulder. Oliveira returned to pit lane on the back of a scooter, but did not reappear for the final few minutes. STYRIAN MOTOGP, AUSTRIA – FREE PRACTICE (1) RESULTS POS RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) 1’23.805s 22/22 312k 2 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.076s 21/22 310k 3 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +0.378s 20/22 309k 4 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.416s 22/23 308k 5 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.449s 22/22 316k 6 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.670s 14/24 314k 7 Maverick Vinales SPA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.687s 19/25 310k 8 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.775s 7/26 308k 9 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.775s 22/22 315k 10 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +1.022s 21/21 316k 11 Dani Pedrosa SPA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.045s 20/21 308k 12 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) +1.110s 20/26 313k 13 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +1.154s 8/23 313k 14 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.402s 20/22 309k 15 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.433s 12/14 311k 16 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.459s 15/22 308k 17 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +1.511s 22/22 316k 18 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.512s 13/22 313k 19 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.604s 8/20 304k 20 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.694s 19/20 309k 21 Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.780s 9/21 313k 22 Lorenzo Salvadori ITA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* +1.988s 18/21 306k 23 Cal Crutchlow GBR Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +2.285s 12/20 307k