All-time track and race lap records substantially improved on in both categories with significant improvements in overall race times as well | ||
The streak of records broken by Pirelli in the Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships continues. At the Catalunya GP, raced on the Montmelò track, the DIABLO™ Superbike slicks once again contributed to breaking the all-time track and race lap records in both categories, also significantly reducing the overall race times. In Moto2™, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets-MSI/Boscoscuro) took the win after a spectacular comeback ride from the tenth spot on the grid. Another victory – his fourth this year – went to David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO), who firmly leads in the Moto3™ standings with 118 championship points. Completely rewritten records and increasingly faster races Moto2™ · Rider choice was unanimous for the rear tyre. Everyone was on the starting grid with the soft SC0. Front tyre choice was more varied, with about half of the 32 riders on the soft SC1 and the other half on the medium SC2. All three riders on the podium used the soft SC1 at the front. · Japanese rider Ai Ogura (MT Helmets-MSI/Boscoscuro) won the race, which ran 21 laps, in 36’33.540, a time almost 18 seconds faster than 2023 with an average improvement per lap of about 9 tenths and asphalt temperatures 10°C higher than those in 2023. · Before crashing out of the race, Fermín Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) set the new race lap record with a time of 1’42.688 on the second lap, breaking the old one by more than 1 second, which had been set by Raul Fernandez in 2021 (1’43.757). In addition to the Spaniard, another eleven riders did at least one lap faster than the previous track record time. Moto3™ · With asphalt temperatures close to 40°C, most of the riders on the grid opted for tyres in the medium SC2 compound for both the front and the rear. In fact, 19 out of 27 riders chose this combination and 25 of them put on the SC2 front. Choosing the medium SC2 for both axles was also race winner David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO) and pole man (and second-place finisher) Iván Ortolá (MT Helmets-MSI/KTM). · Only 6 riders used the soft SC1 at the rear, including Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Husqvarna) and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo/KTM) who, starting respectively from the second and third spots on the grid, finished fourth and third. · The race (overall time 32’25.084) was almost 35 seconds faster than the 2023 race (33’00.945), with an average improvement per lap of almost 2 seconds. · Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo/KTM), with SC2 front and rear tyres, set the new race lap record with a time of 1’46.748 on the penultimate of the 18 total laps, breaking the previous record by almost 1.5 seconds which had been set by Darryn Binder in 2021 (1’48.209). Overall, 17 riders dropped below the previous track race lap record. |