Moto2 & Moto3 InFocus: September

The FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships head to one of the fastest tracks on the 2016 calendar, Silverstone, Northamptonshire, for round 12 over the weekend of 2-4 September. A week later, the Dunlop-shod riders travel to Misano in Italy for round 13, with a two week break before the Motorland Aragon race in Spain on 25 September.

After 11 rounds, both titles are still undecided, although South African Brad Binder holds a massive 61 point lead over Spain’s Jorge Navarro despite crashing out of the lead in tricky conditions in Brno. Navarro is a further 24 points clear of Italian Enea Bastianinni. Moto2 is currently led by reigining champion Frenchman Johann Zarco, with Spaniard Alex Rins just 19 points adrift, and an in-form Briton Sam Lowes, a further 25 points behind going into his home 

August Recap –  Redbull Ring and Brno
Round 10 took place at the new Redbull Ring in Austria and saw a dominant performance from the current Moto2 leader. Johann Zarco converted his pole position to his fifth win of the year, and secured the fastest lap, to extend his lead over Alex Rins who finished third. Joan Mir finally ended the Moto3 streak that has plagued the pole-sitter since Misano in 2015. Securing his first ever pole position, he went on to record his first win, crossing the line 0.297 seconds ahead of Brad Binder whose second place takes his podium tally to 14.

Two weeks later the teams headed to Brno in the Czech Republic where raceday dawned with heavy rain forecast for both races.  Zarco secured his third Moto2 pole of the season in record-breaking form on the Saturday, with one second separating the top 14 riders. Jonas Folger recorded his first Moto2 win of the year, and his fourth podium finish, ahead of Alex Rins whose sixth podium finish keeps him second in the standings. In Moto3 Binder secured his second pole position of the season, but the race was all about another new winner, Briton John McPhee taking victory by almost nine seconds in wet conditions.

#ForeverForward 2016
Moto3 rider Maria Herrera holds station at the top of Dunlop’s #ForeverForward Award, gaining 24 places across the two races to extend her advantage over Moto2 racer Isaac Viñales to ten points. Herrera was the top improver at the RedBull Ring, gaining 16 places, while the top Moto2 improver was Xavi Vierge who gained 11 places from his start position. In Brno, wildcard Anthony West made the most improvement from his grid position, gaining 18 places in the Moto2 race while in Moto3, Bo Bendsneyder moved up 17 places from his start spot.

#ForeverForward after 11 rounds:

1. Maria Herrera (Moto3)  90
2. Isaac Viñales (Moto2)  80
3. Mattia Pasini (Moto2)  69
4. Hafizh Syahrin (Moto2)  68
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Moto3)  65
6. Fabio Spiranelli (Moto3)  63

Round 12: Silverstone, Great Britain –  4 September 2016
• The Northamptonshire venue is one of the fastest and longest tracks on the GP schedule
• The former wartime airfield is prone to unseasonable weather with wind and rain always a possibility

Silverstone Track Facts:
• Length: 5.9km
• Left Turns: 8
• Right Turns: 10
• Energy level: Low/Mid
• Left:right bias: 45%/55%

Silverstone Tyre Allocation:
Moto2
Front: Soft '1'(black on yellow) / Medium '2' (black on silver)
Rear: Hard ’3’ (yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (white on black)

Moto3
Front: Soft/Medium
Rear: Medium 'M1'/ Hard 'H3'

Silverstone 2015 Highlights
• Both Moto2 and Moto3 pole records were broken, Jorge Navarro (Moto3) beating the existing record by 0.5sec, and Sam Lowes (Moto2), by 0.7sec.
• After a dry practice and qualifying session providing the chance for all tyre permutations to be tested, both races were subsequently declared wet
• This year’s race sees three British winners among the entry list; Sam Lowes, Danny Kent and John McPhee, winner of the last round in Brno.

Round 13: Misano, Italy –  11 September 2016

Misano Track Facts:
• Length: 4.2km
• Left Turns: 6
• Right Turns: 10
• Energy level: Mid
• Left:right bias: 40%/60%

Misano Tyre Allocation:

Moto2
Front: Soft '1'(black on yellow) / Medium '2' (black on silver)
Rear: Hard ’3’ (yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (white on black)

Moto3
Front: Soft/Medium
Rear: Soft 'S1'/ Medium 'M1'

Misano 2015 Highlights
• All Moto3 records broken, with pole position, fastest lap and a race seven seconds faster than the previous year
• The top six qualifiers in Moto3 completed the top six finishers in the race, Enea Bastianinni taking his first win from pole position
• Champion-elect Johann Zarco smashed 0.9sec off the pole time and converted that to victory in a race that was 9.5seconds faster than the previous year

Round 14: Aragon, –  25 September 2016
• First held a round of MotoGP in 2010, Aragon is one of the newest tracks on the schedule
Aragon Track Facts:
• Length: 5.1km
• Left Turns: 10
• Right Turns: 7
• Energy level: Low/Mid
• Left:right bias: 55%/45%

Aragon Tyre Allocation:

Moto2
Front: Soft '1'(black on yellow) / Medium '2' (black on silver)
Rear: Hard ’3’ (yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (white on black) 

Moto3
Front: Soft/Medium
Rear: Soft 'S1'/ Medium 'M1'

Aragon 2015 Highlights
• Both Moto2 and Moto3 pole records were broken, Enea Bastianini (Moto3) beating the existing record by 0.5sec, and Tito Rabat (Moto2), by over one second
• Both race lap records were broken, Moto3 racer Niccolo Antonelli’s lap of 1’58.726 knocking 0.9 seconds off the existing record
• The Moto3 total race time was eight seconds quicker than the previous year
• In Moto2 qualifying 15 riders were under the previous pole time
• Alex Rins claimed the Moto2 lap record by a staggering 1.2 seconds on his way to second place
• Jorge Navarro claimed his first podium finish