The second half of the 2016 MotoGP season kicked off in style at the Austrian GP. Joan Mir recorded his maiden victory aboard the Leopard KTM bike. Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini closely followed him to a well-deserved podium. As the riders head to the Czech Republic for the next round, we give you a sneak peek at what to expect this weekend.
Moto3
The big story came from the Team Sky VR46 camp that suspended championship contender Romano Fenati in the wee hours building up towards the race at Spielberg. An official statement from the team revealed that the Italian rider was suspended from the Austrian GP race on disciplinary grounds. A decision on Fenati’s participation in the remainder of the season has yet to be made.
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Not much is known as to what transpired within the team to result in the surprising decision, but it must have been serious if it meant ousting a championship contender. According to team manager Pablo Nieto, the decision was only taken on Saturday, but it looked like the suspension could possibly extend to the rest of the season.
The sad part was that the Sky VR46 team had been planning to move up to Moto2 next season with Fenati and Francesco Bagnaia at the helm. As it stands, Fenati’s behavior hasn’t earned him any favors with the team and it seems as if they may run a single entry next season. Meanwhile, Binder is running away from Jorge Navarro in the championship battle and with Fenati out of the picture, this could promote Pecco Bagnaia into 3rd.
Moto2
Austria Moto2 was a hotly contested battle that was ultimately clinched by Johann Zarco. Behind him were Franco Morbidelli and Alex Rins, rounding out the podium. Zarco and Rins are locked in a tight championship battle along with Sam Lowes and Tom Luthi.
Swiss rider Luthi was running strong throughout the race but faded towards the end and Lowes had a forgettable race after he binned the bike. So the question is, can anyone stop Johann Zarco’s dominance or will he successfully defend his title?
MotoGP
Now come the big boys, Ducati romped to a 1-2 finish with Iannone reaching the checkered flag ahead of Dovizioso. Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo was third ahead of Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in that order.
Without a doubt, Luigi “Gigi” Dall’Igna and Paolo Ciabatti would have been praying that the Ducati boys stay out of each other’s way considering what happened the last time they battled.
So as we head to Brno this weekend, Lorenzo will be aiming to regain his form, Marquez will be looking for his 3rd MotoGP title and Rossi will be aiming for the perfect 10 championships. But the Ducati’s have thrown in their hands and broke the 6-year stranglehold of the Honda and Yamaha.
The track
Also known as the Masarykring, it ran anti-clockwise on a 31km stretch of public roads. A revised version was a 17.8km long circuit and the final revision reduced it to a 10.92km circuit in 1987.
Going on a flying lap of the circuit, the bike hurtles down the straight before a hard left for Turn 1 and it extends to a short kink at Turn 2 and Turn 3. A small burst of speed and braking hard for the first left-right sequence at Turn 4 and Turn 5.
A double right hander at Turns 6 and 7 and an almost 180-degree curve greets the rider at Turn 8. Another left-right sequence at Turns 9 and 10 to negotiate and brings us onto the back straight and hard on the anchors for Turn 11.
Getting a good exit is imperative because the penultimate left-right sequence at Turns 12 and 13 looms. Another short straight and the final left-right sequence greets the rider at Turns 14 and 15. Many a race has been won and lost at the notorious Turn 15 as that corner has witnessed a number of epic last gasp overtakes.
Whatever the case, this weekend will guarantee plenty of roaring action for petrolheads.
