The Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna brought the 2024 world championship back to the flat mix of high-speed corners and tricky, intricate sections of Misano for the second race in a row. The circuit entertained the second-to-last European GP on the schedule and the final fixture before MotoGP jets into five flyaway events in six weeks.
Already prepped and familiar with the 16-turn layout close to the Adriatic coastline in the recent wake of round thirteen less than two weeks previously, the Husqvarna IntactGP team engaged their performance goals from the first laps of Free Practice and with Collin Veijer searching for the final few tenths of a second to slot into the chase for more trophies. Tatsuki Suzuki was also keen for improved speed.
On Friday the track was still wet after sustained rainfall two days beforehand, but sunshine appeared, dried the asphalt and welcomed hot and humid air for Saturday and Sunday’s programme. After Q2 on Saturday Veijer was 6th on the grid, 0.2 away from Pole. Suzuki had a tougher time after having his flying lap wrecked and qualified 17th.
Moto3 meant another 20 laps of proximity, pacing and strategy. Collin was one of the racers in the leading group of fourteen that filtered down to four in the last four circulations and in the dispute for the podium. Veijer roamed in the quartet with intent but couldn’t make a critical dive for the top three. Only 0.3 of a second split all four at the flag. Collin finished 4th but was then elevated to 3rd after a track limits penalty for Daniel Holgado. It was his seventh rostrum appearance of the year.
Suzuki had to ride smart but aggressively and also preserve what he could of the Pirelli tyres, especially on the righthand side, to move through the field. The Japanese made it up to the top ten after three laps and crossed the finish line in 11th.
Viejer had been tied for 3rd place in the championship standings but is now level for 2nd with 189 points. The gap to David Alonso is 82. Suzuki is 13th while the IntactGP team are still 3rd from the 13 entries in the category. MotoGP now has another two meetings in consecutive weekends and will cover plenty of miles to arrive to the Mandalika Street Circuit for the Indonesian Grand Prix and then fly to Motegi for the Japanese round.
Collin Veijer, 3rd: “The feeling was OK, I was much better than the first Misano race and we made a different choice for the front tyre. I could keep the pace and I tried to close the gap to the top three but on the last lap I was struggling a lot with the righthand corners. I really wanted the podium and if I was near enough then I would have tried but it wasn’t enough for a normal, safe move. So, I took P4 but was given the podium and I’m really happy. Onto the next one!”
Tatsuki Suzuki, 11th: “I started P17 today because I ran into a yellow flag situation during qualifying yesterday but I had confidence for the race. I was pushing hard at the start but it wasn’t quite enough to reach the front group. A bit of a shame but, overall, a positive race I would have liked a top ten at least but we’ll see for the next GP.”
In Moto2 it was a tale of two rides. On Saturday Senna Agius was busy to come through Q1 and then slotted into Q2 and performed decently over a flying lap attempt to rank 11th. He was less than half a second from Pole Position. Darryn Binder had a tougher time and could not exit the first qualifier. He took to the grid in 20th.
While Senna was able to concentrate on invading the top ten and chase the exhaust haze of the leaders, Binder had to make some hard moves in the beginning of the 22-laps to gain ground and not lose too much time to the points positions. The South African fought up to 13th and with options for more as Agius was only a few seconds up the track in 7th. At the culmination of the race Senna was able to guard his position for a third top ten appearance of the campaign but Darryn paid for his early proactivity in terms of grip and finished 16th and just outside of the points.
Senna Agius, 7th: “I had a bit of a tough night and didn’t feel so great. I kept my concentration and made some passes. I’m happy to come back to the top ten again. There have been some races where we have been just outside and close, so to get some decent points is positive. Thanks to my boys because this weekend they gave me a good bike and the work was rewarded today.”
Darryn Binder, 16th: “Disappointed with today’s race. I knew where I was starting would not make it easy but I also knew I had the pace and rhythm for the top ten. I made a good start and climbed up and by mid-race I was starting to find my feet but then really struggled with rear grip and went backwards from there. We need to analyse and see where we went wrong. Two weeks ago I felt really good here at the end of the race but today was very different. We fly to Indonesia tomorrow and I’m excited for the Asian tour.”
Moto3 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix photographs can be found HERE
Results Moto3 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO 33:53.212, 2. Angel Piqueras (ESP) Honda +0.175, 3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.367, 4. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS +0.295, 10. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) KTM +6.012, 11. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +6.043, 19. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM +30.796, 20. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +30.811, 21. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS +31.213
World Championship standings Moto3
1. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO, 271 points, 2. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS, 189, 3. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna, 189, 7. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), KTM, 105, 13. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna, 63, 15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS, 50, 16. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO, 42, 22. Xabi Zurutuza (ESP) KTM, 11
Results Moto2 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
1. Celestino Vietti (ITA) KTM 35:14.420, 2. Aron Canet (ESP) +0.029, 3. Tony Arbolino (ITA) +1.921, 7. Senna Agius (AUS) Husqvarna +12.509, 13. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO +19.490, 16. Darryn Binder (RSA) Husqvarna +23.441, DNF. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO, DNF. Deniz Öncü (TUR) KTM
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Ai Ogura (JPN), 188 points, 2. Sergio Garcia (ESP), 166, 3. Joe Roberts (USA), 143, 7. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO, 130, 8. Celestino Vietti (ITA) KTM, 127, 15. Senna Agius (AUS) Husqvarna, 47, 17. Darryn Binder (RSA) Husqvarna, 38, 19. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO, 28, 20. Deniz Öncü (TUR) KTM 27
