If Brad Binder killed the suspense in Aragon regarding the 2016 title, it has now shifted to the fight for second place between Jorge Navarro and Enea Bastianini, the Spanish driver having only 4 points ahead of the Italian policeman after his victory in Aragon. Joan Mir, leading the Rookies, also still has a chance, 22 points further.
The first sessions of the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix took place with good weather conditions and this is the case again today, with 19° in the air and 22° on the track, which will allow us to compare the times achieved.
|
Motegi Moto3 |
2015 |
2016 |
| FP1 | 1'57.500 Niccolo Antonelli | |
| FP2 | 1'57.609 Niccolo Antonelli | |
| FP3 | 1'56.572 Niccolo Antonelli | |
| QP | 1'56.484 Romano Fenati | |
| WU (wet) | 2'11.540 Jorge Martin | |
| All time lap record | 1'56.484 Romano Fenati | |
| Running (wet) | Antonelli, Oliveira, Navarro | |
From the first timed lap, Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini run under 2 minutes, which undoubtedly bodes well for a fairly fast track despite the dust always accumulated before the first sessions.
On the next run, Binder went down to 1'58″720, then 1'57.672 at the end of the first run, 6 tenths ahead Phillip Oettl, Enea Bastianini, Gabriel Rodrigo, Niccolo Antonelli and Fabio Quartararo.
On resumption, George Martin loses control of his Mahindra at turn #8 and is evacuated on a stretcher, possibly hit in the left leg. Jules Danilo did the same shortly after at turn #3, but this time, without any seriousness, just like Johan McPhee at turn #7.
Meanwhile, Joan mir takes the lead in the counter-attack, half a second behind the Austrian world champion. Will Bendsneyder then takes advantage of his teammate's aspiration and follows him in the provisional ranking. This good action, however, did not benefit Brad Binder who fell without gravity at turn #3 a few seconds later. A visibly delicate turn since Joan mir gets trapped moments later.
In the remaining five minutes, Jorge Navarro first stands out by positioning itself second before Will Bendsneyder don't lose the front at turn #1, but in the end, it's Nicholas Bulega which turns out to be a tenth faster than Brad Binder and Jorge Navarro, 3 tenths ahead Fabio Quartararo and Livio Loi.
Jules Danilo is having a difficult start to the school year, in 27th position.
Ranking compiled by our friends at crash.net
1. Nicholas Bulega ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 1m 57.523s
2. Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 1m 57.672s
3. Jorge Navarro SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (Honda) 1m 57.721s
4. fabio quartararo FRA Leopard Racing (KTM) 1m 57.838s
5. Livio Law BEL RW Racing GP BV (Honda) 1m 57.870s
6. Andrea Migno ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 1m 57.906s
7. Enea Bastianini ITA Gresini Racing Moto3 (Honda) 1m 58.034s
8. gabriel rodrigo ARG RBA Racing Team (KTM) 1m 58.142s
9. Will Bendsneyder NED Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 1m 58.226s
10. Joan mir SPA Leopard Racing (KTM) 1m 58.242s
11. Philipp Oettl GER Schedl GP Racing (KTM) 1m 58.314s
12. Niccolo Antonelli ITA Ongetta-Rivacold (Honda) 1m 58.315s
13. Hiroki Ono JPN Honda Team Asia (Honda) 1m 58.357s
14. Jakub Kornfeil CZE Drive M7 SIC Racing Team (Honda)
1m 58.428s
15. Francis Bagnaia ITA Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team (Mahindra) 1m 58.434s
16. Juanfran Guevara SPA RBA Racing Team (KTM) 1m 58.785s
17. George Martin SPA Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team (Mahindra) 1m 58.815s
18. Adam Norrodin MAL Drive M7 SIC Racing Team (Honda) 1m 58.930s
19. Aron canet SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (Honda) 1m 59.013s
20. Marcos Ramirez SPA Platinum Bay Real Estate (Mahindra)
1m 59.077s
21. Darryn binder RSA Platinum Bay Real Estate (Mahindra)
1m 59.119s
22. Lorenzo Dalla Porta ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 1m 59.133s
23. Maria Herrera SPA MH6 Team (KTM) 1m 59.251s
24. Tatsuki suzuki JPN CIP-Unicom Starker (Mahindra) 1m 59.434s
25. Fabio DiGiannantonio ITA Gresini Racing Moto3 (Honda)
1m 59.483s
26. Andrea Locatelli ITA Leopard Racing (KTM) 1m 59.589s
27. Jules Danilo FRA Ongetta-Rivacold (Honda) 1m 59.597s
28. Albert Arenas SPA Peugeot MC Saxoprint (Peugeot) 1m 59.966s
29. John mcphee GBR Peugeot MC Saxoprint (Peugeot) 2m 0.052s
30. Khairul Idham Pawi MAL Honda Team Asia (Honda) 2m 0.476s
31. Lorenzo Petrarca ITA 3570 Team Italia (Mahindra) 2m 0.909s
32. Stefano Valtulini ITA 3570 Team Italia (Mahindra) 2m 1.329s
33. Fabio Spiranelli ITA CIP-Unicom Starker (Mahindra) 2m 1.468s
34. Rei Sato JPN 41 Planning IodaRacing Japan (Honda) 2m 2.920s
35. Shizuka Okazaki JPN UQ & TELURU KOHARA RT (Honda) 2m 3.064s
