JAMES TOSELAND’S INSIDER INSIGHTS: 13TH AUGUST 2019

AUSTRIAN RED BULL RING – SPIELBERG

We didn’t have to wait long to have another hit of two wheel racing! 
Only 5 days ago we enjoyed some amazing racing from the Czech Republic and now the circus has rolled in to Red Bulls’ back yard. 

The hills were alive once again in Austria, but this time the music was of a different kind! 
The Austrian crowd were treated to the triple tone of the 765 Triumph for the very first time and it was some homecoming for the Red Bull KTM team! 

Moto 3

The track conditions for the start of the Moto 3 race were far from ideal. It was pretty damp with a narrow dry line. 

This makes racing very difficult because when you try and overtake the rider in front, you are inevitably going to be on the wetter part of the circuit and this dramatically increases your risks of a mistake or even a crash. 

In this situation qualifying is so important. The further you are to the front of the grid, the less you have to overtake at the early part of the race and as the race progresses, the dry line increases, making overtaking much less risky. 

It was no surprise for me that one, two, and three on the grid were first, second and third respectively across the finish line. 

It was another outstanding ride in those tricky conditions from the little renegade Roman, Romano Fenati, followed by his team mate Tony Arbolino. 

Rounding up the podium was our very own wee McPhee! 

John McPhee is now up to 6th in the championship with his second podium finish of the season and he’s starting to show the consistency needed to put him in the shop window for that jump up to Moto 2. 

With Silverstone coming up next, I’m sure he’ll be right up there once again for his home GP!

There is only 1 point separating the top two in the championship after last weekend’s result and there is a new name on top, Lorenzo Dalla Porta! 

I’m sure Aron Canet will want to reverse that next time out at Silverstone though!

Moto 2

Last time out I gave Moto 2, 9 out of 10. I’ll now give it 10 out of 11!

I’m referring once again to the lap records the brand new Triumph 765cc engine has smashed this season so far! 

After 11 rounds of the inaugural Moto 2 season for Triumph, they have taken 10 of the lap records!
 
These lap records were set by Honda over an 8 year development period. To take all but one of them in your very first season shows just how strong this engine really is! 

As I said in my introduction, it was an amazing homecoming for the factory KTM team as Brad Binder took his first victory of the season. 

It’s been a difficult year for the factory KTM team so far but a new chassis arrived a few races ago and it seems to give the riders much more feeling and confidence. 

On the podium with Brad was championship leader, Alex Marquez in 2nd place and Jorge Navarro in 3rd.
 
There were plenty of dramatic mistakes being made throughout the race. Xavi Vierge taking out the pole man, Tetsuta Nagashima and then Luca Marini took Enea Bastianini out. Both were huge crashes but all riders walked away ok fortunately. 

Alex Marquez now has a comfortable lead of 43 points going into the next round at Silverstone. 

It’s comfortable but not as comfortable as his brother’s gap in MotoGP so he’ll have to keep his powder dry next time out. 
After last year’s weather at Silverstone that might not be as easy it it seems!! 

MotoGP

What amazing racing Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso have given us over the past few years! Especially here at the Red Bull Ring! 

What a move it was by Dovi at the final corner to take victory once again. 

You could see Marc was struggling for grip on the right hand side of his rear tyre and on the penultimate corner it wouldn’t hook up for him. This meant he had slightly too much lean angle at the apex and couldn’t accelerate the way he wanted to up to the final corner. Dovi saw this and like a lion stalking its prey, he pounced as soon as he saw weakness! 

After the race it was great to see how much mutual respect they have for each other. 

3rd was the ever-improving rookie, Fabio Quatararo! It was Fabio’s 6th front row start and his 3rd podium of the season so far in his very first year in MotoGP! 

This is incredible from the young French rider! Especially when he’s doing it on a one-year old Yamaha. 

He’s only 11 points from being the top Yamaha rider in the championship now! 

Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi will be hoping that another manufacturer makes him a lucrative offer to lure him away from Yamaha because he will have to have a factory bike in the very near future you would think. 

I hope Yamaha support this amazing talent with everything they have until the end of the season though and we can all enjoy watching him get closer and closer to his first victory. 
Silverstone next time out! The home of motorsport! 

Enjoy it if you’re going and I hope the weather is better than last year! 

All the best. 
JT.