JAMES TOSELAND’S INSIDER INSIGHTS: 14TH JULY 2019

GERMAN SACHSENRING

Hi all! 

I have just returned home from an incredible weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and I had the honour of riding Triumph’s Moto 2 bike up the hill on Saturday and Sunday as well as attending the prestigious Goodwood Ball. The festival is a fantastic showcase of why motorsport is so popular in the U.K and around the world and I’d highly recommend going if you’re a bike or car fanatic!

Moto 3

Once again, the lightweight class did not disappoint and there was another new name on the top step of the Moto 3 podium! His name was Lorenzo Dalla Porta and what a weekend it was for the Leopard Honda team. Lorenzo’s team mate, Marcos Ramirez pushed him right to the chequered flag, finishing a close second with Aron Canet completing the Moto 3 podium. Lorenzo’s victory promoted him to the top of the championship by 2 points ahead of the short summer break. 

John McPhee had another solid performance in 6th place which put him inside the top of the championship. It really does look like John has found a setting that works at most tracks. If he can keep this kind of consistency going to the end of the season then he has a real chance of finishing in the top 3!

Brno next time out! Game on!!

Moto 2

I might as well copy and paste my last blog for Moto 2! 

Another lap record and race record smashed by the power of the Triumph 765 engine! That’s every track bar one, that the Triumph engine has beaten the lap record in its maiden year! 

Moto 2 was powered by Honda for 8 years and to break lap record after lap record in your first year is so impressive!  With 8bhp more than the Honda 600cc engine, this Triumph 765 is a Superbike in Supersport clothing!

The mid-range of the triple cylinder 765cc engine is so impressive and this is exactly the area where it wins over the Honda. Accelerating out of every turn, it pulls yards on its closest rivals and with race tracks having over 10 corners, there are 10 places it chips away at these 8 year old lap records.

One rider who obviously loves his new Triumph is Alex Marquez! He took his 4th win and he’s not just winning, he’s dominating. It looked like Alex was destined to always be the bridesmaid of the Moto 2 class, but he’s stepped up this season and put any possible critics firmly back in their box! He obviously has the Marquez tenacity and his hard work and perseverance is definitely paying off.  With this kind of form he will now have the MotoGP teams calling most days and I can’t wait for the day we see the Marquez brothers going head to head in MotoGP. 

KTM have really struggled in the first half of this season but since the new chassis arrived in Assen it’s given Brad Binder and Jorge Martin a real boost of confidence. Brad had a great battle with the home hero, Marcel Schrotter and came across the line just in front of the young German. Even though Alex took his 4th victory of the season, there is only 8 points separating the top two men in the championship and it’s all to play for but it’s going to take some ride to halt Alex’s run of form. 

It’s Brno next time out and this track never fails to produce amazing racing! 

MotoGP

It was literally 10 out of 10 for the miraculous Marc Marquez! 10 years racing at Grand Prix level and there is still no one on this planet to get the better of Marc around the Sachsenring! 

Beating the best riders in the world is an incredible achievement in itself but to do it consistently for 10 years is phenomenal!  Some would argue he’s making things a little predictable but I think we should respect and admire a true great at work here. We’ve seen a Roger Federer, a Tiger Woods, a Serena Williams dominate their individual sports and Marc is just one of those athletes that doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses in his skill sets. 

Valentino Rossi was exactly the same in the decade previous. These kind of athletes are wired up slightly different to their closest rivals and this kind of competitors always seem to figure out how to beat who ever stands in their way.   

Alex Rins was unlucky again to crash whilst a certain podium position was in his grasp. He’s riding so well this year also. Maverick Vinales backed up his victory in Assen by finishing a strong second behind Marc and it was fantastic to see Cal Crutchlow back on the podium in 3rd place.

Marc has a 58 point lead in the championship now and I can’t see anyone stopping him in his relentless drive for another title! But motorcycle racing has a habit of throwing a curve ball just when we least expect it, so who knows! 

Let’s see what happens in Brno!

Moto E

I have another race to review after the weekend in Germany! Moto E is GO!

If you haven’t heard of this championship then don’t worry, it’s because they don’t make much noise! Ha! But the all new battery powered championship made plenty of noise in the press office as it was a huge moment in the history of motorcycle racing. If this is the direction motorcycle racing is heading in the future then the future is very bright! 

Niki Tuuli was the first rider to be victorious in Moto E and the lap times were so impressive! Less than 7 seconds from the MotoGP times was an amazing achievement in the classes maiden race. 

Bradley Smith came home in a fantastic second and rounding up the podium was Mike Di Meglio. 

After a devastating start to the year when all of the bikes set on fire at a pre-season test, it is awesome that this championship is finally underway and providing us with another great championship to follow. 

Can’t wait for Brno! 
All the best. 
JT.