Victory and championship lead. Jaume Masiá won the Japanese GP and took over the top spot in the Moto3 World Championship, which comes in the decisive stage of the season.

‘This victory feels great. As I said in India, I have a lot of desire, and I hope to continue enjoying moments like this with the team. The key has been to keep evolving, give everything working, which is something I’ve always done. And above all, I continue to have the support of the team, something that has never been lacking for me. I am a very affectionate person, and the truth is that I have always received a lot of affection’, highlighted the Leopard Racing rider.

For Masiá, one of the keys to the improvement he has seen over the past few months is the ‘warmth that the team has conveyed. Since the beginning of the season, there has been a predisposition to listen to me, evolve, and look at every detail with the goal of being better, because we are a bit behind compared to other teams in the championship. It’s the details; at the end of the day, we are all human, and every detail matters a lot’, emphasized the new leader of the category.

After 14 rounds, Masiá has 199 points, six more than Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) and nine more than the former leader Dani Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3).

O conteúdo Championship leader Jaume Masiá has high confidence aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Despite the setback, Daniel Holgado remains confident. The rider, who had led the Moto3 World Championship since his victory in Portimão in the first round, had a challenging race at the Japanese circuit and now occupies third place in the standings, trailing Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) by nine points and Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) by three. However, this hasn’t diminished his ambition.

‘Of course it’s possible to win. There are six races left, which means many races on challenging circuits where experience plays a role. I’ll have to remain calm, always give my best, and when I can’t win, try to finish the races’, said Holgado(Red Bull KTM Tech3), recalling the race in India, where he ‘finished 18th and narrowly missed fourth place’.

‘I’ll go back home, try to disconnect a bit, train, and prepare for the upcoming races, which will be tough because in Indonesia and Thailand, the heat is incredible. I’ll need to prepare well in terms of cardio to withstand a strong pace’, concluded Holgado, speaking to AS newspaper.

O conteúdo ‘Of course it’s possible to win the championship’ – Daniel Holgado aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Deniz Öncü was battling for second place in the Moto3 Japanese Grand Prix when, seven laps from the end of the race, he suffered a fall.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was in turn nine when he lost control, at a time when he was holding the second position just ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP).

After the incident, Öncü tried to continue the race but he was far back in the field and eventually retired. With Jaume Masiá’s winning (Leopard Racing/Honda), he now trails the championship leader by 52 points, which is a significant setback in his championship ambitions.

You can watch or rewatch the fall in the following video.

O conteúdo Video: The crash at Motegi that could cost a lot to Deniz Öncü aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jaume Masiá continues to be in a strong form, and this Sunday he won the Moto3 Japanese GP. In Motegi, the rider delivered a dominant performance, leading for more than half of the 17 laps, securing his position at the top of the championship.

Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) made a strong start to take the lead ahead of Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3), while Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda), who started from pole position, dropped to fourth, also behind Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM).

The Spanish rider regained his position on the second lap. Upfront, Öncü managed to build a small gap over Holgado. On the third lap, Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) not only reached the third position but also set a new race lap record.

A group of four riders formed at the front, battling for the lead: Öncü, Holgado, Sasaki, and Masiá. There was a change of leader with 11 laps to go, as Masiá overtook Öncü. The Turkish rider also lost his place to Sasaki.

The leading quartet remained close, with some position swaps, but Masiá managed to hold onto the lead, and in the last ten laps, he was able to establish a more comfortable margin. Seven laps from the finish, Öncü crashed in turn nine, leaving the battle for the second place between Holgado and Sasaki.

Until the end, Masiá kept an advantage of about one second to secure the victory, giving him the sole lead in the championship. Sasaki came out on top against Holgado in an intense battle for second place that lasted almost until the checkered flag. Nepa and Ivan Ortolá (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM) completed the top five.

Results:

O conteúdo Jaume Masiá dominated the Moto3 Japanese GP and takes an important step in the title fight aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jaume Masiá continues to be in excellent form, and this Saturday at the Moto3 Japanese GP, he achieved his third consecutive pole position – dominating the qualifying session.

The Q2 session began with Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) leading ahead of Ivan Ortolá (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM). Several of the contenders for top positions only completed their first flying laps a few minutes later.

David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM) and Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) took the first two positions less than nine minutes from the end, pushing Bertelle down to third. With about six minutes remaining, Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) suffered a crash at turn nine.

Shortly after, Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) moved to the top of the standings, while Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) became the second fastest.

By the end, Masiá improved to 1m56.331s, and despite Öncü’s attempt to improve, he was 0.208s slower than theleader. Bertelle finished in third place, followed by Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM) and Ortolá in the top five. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM), who shares the championship lead with Masiá, will start from sixth.

Q2 results:

Overall qualifying results:

O conteúdo Jaume Masiá secures third consecutive pole position aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Riccardo Rossi emerged as the leader in the Moto3 Q1 session at the Japanese GP. As a result, the Italian was one of the last four riders to secure a spot in the battle for pole position at Motegi.

After the first flying laps, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) was the leader ahead of Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team/Honda), Mario Aji (Honda Team Asia) and José Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo). However, several riders only posted their first lap times later on.

Filippo Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3) briefly moved into second place, pushing Rueda out of the qualifying positions, and then had a highside at turn two. Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) overtook Furusato with six minutes remaining to become the new leader. At the same time, his teammate, Xavi Artigas, moved into third.

Despite improvements in lap times, the top four remained unchanged, with Kelso, Furusato, Artigas, and Farioli holding those positions.

However, this changed in the final two minutes when Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) became the new leader, and Rueda moved into fourth. As a result, Artigas fell out of the qualifying zone by 0.039s. The standings didn’t change further until the end, and thus the last four participants in Q2 are Rossi, Kelso, Furusato, and Rueda.

Results:

O conteúdo Riccardo Rossi set the pace of the Moto3 Q1 and moves on to Q2 at Motegi aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jaume Masiá was the fastest rider in the third practice session of the Moto3 Japanese Grand Prix. It was during this session that virtually all riders posted their best times of the weekend at Motegi.

Right from his first flying lap, Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) took the lead, improving his time two more times within the opening ten minutes and maintaining the lead for almost the entire session

Although he was briefly overtaken by Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Masiá reclaimed the top spot at the very end, with a lap time of 1:56.148, beating his rival by 0.484s. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) secured the third position, trailing by 0.512s, followed by Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) and Ryusei Yamanaka (GaviotaGasGas Aspar).

Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), in 14th place on the combined timesheet of all three practice sessions, secured the last direct spot in the second qualifying. Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) narrowly missed this goal by just two thousandths of a second, finishing with the 15th best time.

P3 timesheet:

Combined standings P1 + P2 + P3:

O conteúdo Jaume Masiá dominant in the final practice session of the Moto3 Japanese GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Lap times improved and Jaume Masiá led the second practice session of the Moto3 Japanese GP, which took place on Friday at the Mobility Resort Motegi.

As rain is a possibility for tomorrow, riders had to secure a spot in the top 14 in this session, so time attacks began early. The first leader was Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), ahead of Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda), with Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in third.

The next leader was Holgado, who, in the second flying laps, was superior to Masiá and Ivan Ortolá (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM). Times continued to progress, and Masiá was the next to lead, with Öncü placing second. The leaderboard changed again 22 minutes before the end when Holgado took command once more.

With 15 minutes to go, there was another change in the lead when Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) arrived at the top. Shortly afterward, his teammate Ayumu Sasaki moved up to second.

In the final five minutes, the battle for fast laps intensified, with Holgado once again taking the lead. However, Diogo Moreira’s time (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) in the first practice session was only beaten later. Three minutes before the end, a series of improvements saw three riders beating that lap time, with Ortolá moving to the top.

However, he was then passed by Masiá, who clocked a time of 1m57.081s. The Spaniard improved slightly to 1m57.068s and stayed in the lead with a 0.108s advantage over Ortolá. Sasaki, Holgado, and Öncü completed the top five. After leading, Veijer finished 14th, with only 28 thousandths of a second ahead of 15th-placed David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM). The Dutch rider missed out on direct qualification for Q2 and will be hoping for a sunny Saturday morning in Motegi to keep his hopes alive.

Timesheet:

O conteúdo Jaume Masiá was the fastest man on the opening day of the Moto3 Japanese GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Diogo Moreira started the Moto3 Japanese GP as the fastest rider in the first practice session. It was right at the end of the session that the Brazilian rider set the morning’s benchmark time in Motegi.

After constant changes in the lead during the first 15 minutes, Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) held the top spot for about 13 minutes until he was overtaken by Ryusei Yamanaka (Gaviota GasGas Aspar). The last 15 minutes were again intense, with a lot of instability in the timing table.

At the very end, Moreira (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) – who had briefly taken the lead before – posted two fast laps in succession that put him at the front. His best time was 1m57.260s, allowing him to beat David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM) by 0.206s. Masiá finished in third. Further down the field, the other rider tied for the championship lead, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3), placed sixth.

Timesheet:

O conteúdo Diogo Moreira opens Moto3 Japanese GP on top of P1 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The Asian leg of the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 World Championships continues with the Japanese GP taking place this weekend. Motegi has become a classic part of this crucial stage of the season.

In MotoGP, the title race is heating up. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) leads the championship, but after retiring in the Indian GP, he has only a 13-point lead over Jorge Martín. The Prima Pramac rider is in a strong moment of the season, with three consecutive podium finishes. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati) is also strong, having dominated in India and sitting third, 44 points behind the leader. This is the home round for Honda and Yamaha, and both will aim to make a good impression as they did in India: Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) finished third, and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) was fourth.

In Moto2, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) holds a comfortable lead after two consecutive wins. The Spanish rider has a 39-point margin over Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex), who seems to have returned to good form but continues to lose ground. Jake Dixon (GasGas Aspar/Kalex) retired from the race in India, and that set him back in the pursuit of the two riders ahead of him.

The Moto3 World Championship is the most exciting at the moment. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) share the lead just one point ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP). A bit further back is David Alonso (GasGas Aspar), 23 points behind the front. However, the Colombian rider also has a chance to leave Motegi as the leader.

Here are all the schedule for the Japanese GP in all categories (CET time).

Friday, September 29th
02:00-02:35: P1 Moto3
02:50-03:30: P1 Moto2
03:45-04:30: FP1 MotoGP
06:15-06:50: P2 Moto3
07:05-07:45: P2 Moto2
08:00-09:00: Practice MotoGP

Saturday, September 30th
01:40-02:10: P3 Moto3
02:25-02:55: P3 Moto2
03:10-03:40: FP2 MotoGP
03:50-04:05: Qualifying Q1 MotoGP
04:15-04:30: Qualifying Q2 MotoGP
05:50-06:05: Qualifying Q1 Moto3
06:15-06:30: Qualifying Q2 Moto3
06:45-07:00: Qualifying Q1 Moto2
07:10-07:25: Qualifying Q2 Moto2
08:00: Sprint race MotoGP (12 laps)

Sunday, October 1st
03:40-03:50: Warm-up MotoGP
05:00: Race Moto3 (20 laps)
06:15: Race Moto2 (22 laps)
08:00: Race MotoGP (24 laps)

O conteúdo MotoGP without breaks heads to Motegi: The schedule for the Japanese GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.