Iván Ortolá takes his second race win in three races around the Sachsenring. He only got his first win in the class two rounds ago at the Czechia Grand Prix.
His win was not easy with a close challenge from Daniel Holgado, who came home in second, 0.6 seconds behind. Izan Guevara coming home third, three seconds behind the front pair.
Before the weekend started, we got the sad news of the passing of team owner Marc van der Straten. Having been a very important man within the motorsport community, racing in Moto2, MotoGP, and Endurance Championships. Everyone at The Girls Who-Motorsport offers their condolences to his family and friends.
Guevara Fastest on Friday
Guevara tops Friday practice ahead of Ortolá and David Alonso. All lap times were close, with 22 riders within one second of the top time. Friday morning practice kicked off the weekend for the riders in cooler-than-usual conditions at the Sachsenring.
Due to the cooler conditions, riders had several near-crashes. The cooler conditions make it harder for the tyres to find grip. Some moments did lead to crashes like this one for Celestino Vietti.
Manuel González went the fastest on Friday morning ahead of Tony Arbolino and Senna Agius. With it being the morning session, the field was more spread out, as everyone was trying to find the best bike setup rather than a fast lap time.
As the afternoon session came around, the track temperature heated up, going from 26°C/79°F in the morning to 43°C/109°F in the afternoon.
The first half of the session was slow, with all the riders keeping to themselves and making sure their bikes were right. Halfway through the session, people started pushing more, which led to more moments, including this one for Agius and Jorge Navarro.
Not long after this, Guevara set a stunning lap time that remained the fastest until the end of the session. Ortolá and Alonso closely followed him. While Guevara’s lap time was set early, everyone else was very close.
Practice Top 10:
P1: #28 Izan Guevara 1:22.260
P2: #4 Iván Ortolá +0.036
P3: #80 David Alonso +0.215
P4: #81 Senna Agius +0.302
P5: #18 Manuel González +0.307
P6: #12 Filip Salač +0.336
P7: #11 Álex Escrig +0.374
P8: #14 Tony Arbolino +0.374
P9: #53 Deniz Öncü +0.498
P10: #72 Taiyo Furusato +0.616
Ortolá takes a tight pole position
Ortolá took his first pole position in Moto2, setting a new all-time lap record in the process with a 1:21.493, the same lap time as Valentino Rossi in 2013. He was 0.038 seconds faster than González, with Guevara in third.
Qualifying One
As always, qualifying one sets the bottom half of the grid and gives an opportunity to improve their position.
Even with everyone close together on the track, they kept their laps clean and set their banker laps. On their second runs, everyone kept their laps clean except Vietti, who ran wide, losing his chance to improve in the session.
The four fastest riders progressing to Q2 was Luca Lunetta, Sergio García, José Antonio Rueda, and Alberto Ferrández.
Qualifying Two
As Q2 got underway, it was very short-lived for García, who crashed out after three minutes of the session. The rest of the riders kept pushing for their lap times.
The first lap of the session was set by Ortolá, and ended up being the pole-sitter’s lap time. The lap was as fast as what Rossi did in the 2013 MotoGP qualifying session.
The rest of the riders battled it out to get the best grid position they could behind Ortolá. The closest person to the top time was González, who was 0.038 seconds behind the fastest time. Friday’s fastest rider, Guevara, came in third, 0.1 seconds away.
Qualifying Top 10
P1: #4 Iván Ortolá 1:21.493
P2: #18 Manuel González +0.038
P3: #28 Izan Guevara +0.178
P4: #96 Daniel Holgardo +0.227
P5: #81 Senna Agius +0.355
P6: #11 Álex Escrig +0.356
P7: #72 Taiyo Furusato +0.359
P8: #80 David Alonso +0.385
P9: #65 Collin Veijer +0.410
P10: #64 Mario Suryo Aji +0.436
Ortolá Wins around Sachsenring
Ortolá wins a closely contested battle between himself and Holgado, with Guevara coming home in third, three seconds behind the top two. There was damage to the championship lead, as González recorded his worst result of the year, P6. Championship contender Alonso also lost out on an important point after crashing.
As the lights went out, it was a good start for Ortolá, taking the lead into turn one. Over the first lap, there were lots of battles across the field. Holgado was one of the riders to benefit the most, making up two places going from fourth to second in five laps. It felt like déjà vu from the Dutch Grand Prix with the fourth battle among Alonso, Agius, and González.
At the midpoint of the race, it started to settle down. While there wasn’t as much battling, there were a few crashes, including one involving Arón Canet and another involving Vietti, both at turn one. Alonso, who crashed out at turn four, lost his fourth place.
The race carried on, and the battle for the lead between Ortolá and Holgado continued. They were that close at times that there was almost contact. It was Ortolá who managed to take the win after closing the door to Holgado on the last lap.
Race top 10:
P1: #4 Iván Ortolá 35:00.119
P2: #96 Daniel Holgardo +0.614
P3: #28 Izan Guevara +3.229
P4: #81 Senna Agius +7.430
P5: #72 Taiyo Furusato +7.489
P6: #18 Manuel González +9.460
P7: #12 Filip Salač +9.725
P8: #98 José Antonio Rueda +10.205
P9: #95 Collin Veijer +11.237
P10: #35 Luca Lunetta +12.741
The Summer Break for the MotoGP paddock is now underway. They will be back at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, 7-9 August.