Points for both riders of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team who cross the finishing line respectively in P6 and P10 

Portimao (Portugal), March 24th 2024 - Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio both hit the Top10 at the Portuguese GP which took place today at Portimao. The riders of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team finished the second GP of the season in sixth and tenth place.
Starting from the second row of the grid, but struggling in the initial stages of the race, Marco manages to keep a good pace and recover from the 12th place, thus signing his best result of the season so far (12 points in the general standings). 

Fifth row at the start, but constant pace over the distance, on the Ducati Desmosedici GP, for Fabio capable of a good comeback up to the limits of the Top10 after a more complicated weekend than expected (15 points in the standings).

A busy Grand Prix of Spain on the outskirts of Madrid was the scene for round two of twenty in 2024 MXGP and for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing to chase their first podium silverware of the season. World Champion Andrea Adamo won the second MX2 moto with his KTM 250 SX-F and finished 3rd while Jeffrey Herlings classified 4th in the MXGP class with the KTM 450 SX-F; tying on points for 3rd place.

MXGP landed into European soil for the second Grand Prix of the season and into the compact confines of the Spanish circuit constructed specifically for the MXGP fixture and on the southern outskirts of Madrid. Decent weather coated the weekend as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing were back to full strength with a four-rider roster in both MXGP and MX2 classes and with the KTM 450 SX-F and KTM 250 SX-F in play.

On Saturday Jeffrey Herlings recovered from two big ‘moments’ from the start and during the formative phases of the RAM Qualification Heat to work his way to 4th position by the checkered flag and therefore earn the same choice in the gate for Sunday’s motos. In the MX2 affair Liam Everts completed a solid return from injury to confirm 3rd. Andrea Adamo was 6th with Sacha Coenen taking 8th place

Herlings started brightly in the first MXGP moto on Sunday. He fought in the beginning and towards the end with Tim Gajser and captured 3rd for his first top three result of 2024. In the second race he made it to 4th on the first lap but a static affair saw little passing opportunities and he crossed the line in the same berth.

Liam Everts was the best starting and highest finisher from MX2 Moto1. The Belgian’s dependable level of consistency ensured 4th while Adamo was 6th and Coenen weathered some mistakes to take 12th. Coenen grabbed the holeshot in the second moto but it was Adamo who resiliently bossed the race for his first P1. His 6-1 scorecard was good enough for the final step of the rostrum. Everts was 6th in the race (5th for the GP) and Coenen took 8th (for 9th overall).

From Spanish earth to deep Italian sand: the Riola Sardo circuit on the island of Sardinia will entertain the third Grand Prix of 2024 during the first weekend of April.

Jeffrey Herlings, 3rd and 4th for 4th overall in MXGP: “Pretty OK. I was 5th in the first moto and worked my way to 3rd and pretty much stayed there the whole time. I put a challenge on the 2nd placed guy but couldn’t make the pass. An ‘OK’ start in the second moto and stayed in 4th. No excuses. Things went better than Argentina but still not a great weekend. We made a step in the right direction because we were closer to the leaders than round one. We’ll put our heads down and look to Sardinia where we can hopefully get on the podium and where a win would be absolutely great.”

MXGP

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser made it two podiums out of two, as the Slovenian went two-two for second overall at the difficult Intu-Xanadu circuit in Arroyomolinos, near Madrid, Spain. The deep, ruts provided a real challenge for all the riders but Gajser was able to put in two strong races and keep up the challenge at the top of the MXGP Championship. Teammate Ruben Fernandez will have surgery on his torn ACL this Tuesday, when more information about his recovery period will be available.

After his second place in the qualification race yesterday, the #243 had second gate-pick for the motos today but in the first race he wasn’t able to use that to his advantage and instead came around the first turn in the middle of the field. Showing his speed and precision in the rest of the lap, he quickly carved his way through the pack and was in fourth place by the end of complete first lap. A lap later he was up to third, and then a couple of laps after that he was in second, but much like the qualifying race yesterday, the leader was too far ahead to mount any challenge.

The start went a lot better in race two, as Gajser’s Honda CRF450R rocketed around the first turn in second place. Poised to capitalise on any mistake, the #243 tried his best to put pressure on the leader but with the track conditions deteriorating, he realised that it was better to maintain his second place, than to risk a crash and drop valuable points at this early stage in the championship. So in the end, a two-two finish was still good enough for second step on the podium, and gives him soul possession of second place in the title battle with 18 rounds still left to race.

Next up for Gajser will be the deep sand track of Riola Sardo, in Sardinia on April 6-7, which hasn’t always been kind to him before, but now offers the perfect chance for redemption and a great opportunity to take his first overall victory of the 2024 MXGP World Motocross Championship.

MX2

Following on from his excellent sixth overall in Argentina, was always going to be tough for rookie Ferruccio Zanchi, but the youngster continued to display the grit and determination that is needed from young riders, fighting hard for every position right until the very end.

Yesterday’s qualification race didn’t give him the best gate-pick but he was just outside the top 10 after the first lap, in 12th place. From there, he kept it steady until the very end, when a problem dropped him to 18th place just a couple of corners from the end.

Motivated to make up for that, the Italian once again had a good start around the top 10 and again spent the entire trying to make up places and hold his position from much more experienced riders. This time he was able to cross the line in a very respectable 12th place, and keep his early season momentum going, which will hopefully continue for the next couple of rounds, which are both in Italy and at tracks that he is familiar with, with the deep sand of Riola followed by the picturesque hillside track of Pietramurata in Trentino, Italy.

Tim Gajser  243

It was a solid consistent day, at a track that I must admit, isn’t my favourite. Still, there will be races when I’m not the fastest rider and I know that it is still important to get good points and today was like that. I didn’t get the best start in the first moto but was able to come through well to second place. Then in race two I got a much better start and was able to follow the leader round the first corner in second place. I tried to stay up with him but he pulled away and then the gap stayed pretty consistent. I wanted to push near the end but lappers made that difficult so in the end second was the best I could manage. Riola next up, will be a much different experience, but one I’m looking forward to.

Brad Binder rode to 4th place and Jack Miller was 5th to cap another competitive and positive weekend of MotoGP for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, and for what was the second Grand Prix of the campaign and only the fifth to be held at the Algarve International Circuit. In Moto3™ Jose Antonio Rueda earned his first silverware of the season with a strong charge to 2nd.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing reset their objectives for the Grand Prix of Portugal and for what was a strategic and cagey 25-laps in southern Europe. The Algarve International Circuit may have missed the sunshine on race day but there was plenty of color to be had in the contest for maximum points and where Brad Binder (starting 10th) and Jack Miller (launching from 5th) had their say.

Both KTM RC16s made their customary bright getaway from the grid and Brad and Jack were joined by starlet rookie Pedro Acosta as Austrian machinery filled three slots in the mid-top ten. Binder and Miller had to measure their pace with their tire wear and levels of effective grip as the race distance counted down. Incident and accident marked the running order in the space of the final three laps and the two orange bikes took full benefit to cross the line in the top five. The points ensure that Brad stays P2 in table after two rounds and Jack posted his first score to sit 9th.

The Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas will bring MotoGP to a U.S. audience with the annual visit to the long and varied Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The world championship will reconvene in Texas in mid-April.

Brad Binder, 4th: “It was cool to take 4th today even though we had some help with it. It was a really tough weekend and I struggled to get comfortable and that meant it was hard in the race because I wanted to push and go with the boys. I had to ride smart and make sure I didn’t make the same mistake as yesterday. To have 4th after a hectic and hard weekend…we’ll take it.”

Jack Miller, 5th: “I wanted a little bit more today. I wanted to go with the boys at the front early on but just didn’t quite have the pace mid-corner to get my claws-in and hang on for the [tire] drop. We got a bit lucky with some of the crashes at the end there…but we’ll take it. We have to have some luck sometimes! We still have a bit of work to do but this was a massive improvement over Qatar. The bike has plenty of potential, so we’ll do our homework, look at the data and come back for another go in Austin.”

Team HRC and factory riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge have concluded round 2 of the 2024 Superbike World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with the sensation that the final results fell short of expectations.

Although the track was damp for morning warm-up, meaning that most riders elected not to ride, conditions had fortunately improved by 11am (CET) when the lights went out on the morning’s ten-lap Superpole race. Lecuona was lying sixteenth through the opening stages having started the race from the sixth row of the grid, while Vierge found himself in twentieth position. Putting in some strong initial laps, Xavi soon made up three positions and moved ahead of his team-mate, who lost a little ground throughout the second half of this short sprint race, the Spaniard having also opted for a different tyre with respect to his fellow Honda riders. While Vierge gained further ground in the last laps to conclude the Superpole race in fifteenth, team-mate Lecuona crossed the line twenty-first.

Back out early afternoon for the second and final Superbike race, the factory duo was keen to improve on their race 1 performance. Xavi placed fourteenth and Iker fifteenth through the first turns. Unfortunately lap three brought an incident for Lecuona, when Ray made contact and caused them both to crash. Iker was fortunately unhurt, but unable to continue with his race. Xavi moved into thirteenth on lap three and from there battled with a group of riders, oscillating between thirteenth and fifteenth position throughout the central phase but unable to make any real inroads on the group ahead considering the very similar lap times. Vierge finished this final race of the weekend in the points, in fourteenth position.

As round two draws to a close, Vierge lies fifteenth in the championship standings with 13 points, Lecuona eighteenth with 3 points. Next up for Team HRC is the Dutch WorldSBK round at Assen, set to run over the weekend of 19-21 April.

SEATTLE, Wash. – A hard-fought second-place result was earned by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Chase Sexton in Seattle's 11th round of the 2024 AMA Supercross Championship, the defending champion taking the 450SX Main Event down to the wire as the checkered flag flew tonight.

Sexton was fast from the outset in technical conditions on his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION at Lumen Field, fourth fastest in qualifying and then claiming P3 in Heat 1 after leading his share of laps. From there he also led a large portion of the Main Event, fighting all the way to the finish and coming up short of victory by only 0.592s.

Chase Sexton: "Overall, minus a few mistakes, I rode a really good race and came back towards the end – I had really good speed tonight in these gnarly conditions. This weekend definitely showed signs of improvement. These last two weekends I've built back some of that confidence I've needed, we made some bike changes before the Heat race and it was a direction I've been chasing for a while. I'm thankful for the team I have behind me and we'll keep grinding. We're climbing that ladder."

Premier class teammate Aaron Plessinger was once again competitive in the soft, rutty conditions, qualifying in eighth position and then claiming second place in Heat 2 following a fast start. He carried that momentum into the Main Event, climbing from 10th position at the end of the opening lap to P4 in the end, only narrowly outside of a podium result.

Aaron Plessinger: "Seattle was the best race I've had in a month and probably one of the better races I've had this year. In my mind, I should have gotten on the podium. My start was decent and I went backward in the first couple of laps, but started riding well around lap three or four. I got within a second of Jett [Lawrence] at the end, but couldn't quite seal the deal for third. It was good, I needed that result to get back into the flow, and everything's positive, so I'm looking forward to St. Louis and another Triple Crown!"

Seattle saw the 250SX West region return to action following an extended break, where Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Julien Beaumer continued his rookie season onboard the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION. He was a convincing third in his Heat, and then factored at the front of the pack early in the Main Event, before eventually finishing in seventh position.

Julien Beaumer: "It was a good day here in Seattle. The morning started out a little rough, just didn't feel like myself, and then I managed to turn it around for the night show. I felt better each time out and then really figured the track out for the Main. I'm not satisfied yet though, I definitely have more in the tank, so we'll get back to work this week and come out swinging in St. Louis."

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing were strong protagonists for the second round of 2024 MotoGP and the first event on European soil. After a comfortable entry to Q2 for both riders, Jack Miller classified 5th in the Sprint at a cloudy Algarve International Circuit in Portugal while Brad Binder crashed out at Turn 13.

The fifth MotoGP event at the Algarve International Circuit got off to a cool, cloudy and rainy start. The Portuguese asphalt was dirty and damp for the first practice sessions on Friday but soon cleared off and the riders again had to master the swirling and technical 4.5km layout.

Sandwiched between Grands Prix in Qatar (the season opener) and another trip overseas for the Grand Prix of the Americas in the USA, Portimao allowed Red Bull KTM Factory Racing to work out of their customary truck, trailer and pitbox set-up. The crew were keen to see if their recent gains with the 2024 spec KTM RC16 would suit the sweeping Algarve International Circuit curves.

Brad Binder and Jack Miller were both among the top five fastest riders on Friday morning and glided through to Q2 for Saturday. A sunny Qualifying went largely to plan for Jack who was bumped from 4th to 5th only in the last seconds of the session and acquired a slot on the second row of the grid for the Sprint (and the Grand Prix on Sunday). A slow speed tumble out of Turn 5 early in Q2 disrupted Brad’s bid for Pole and he used his second KTM RC16 to make sure of 10th.

A decent gathering of fans at the circuit on Saturday afternoon were treated to the 12-lap Sprint. Jack lunged into the lead around the opening turns and then applied his pace to the rest of the distance, exploring positions and possibilities inside the top five. He reached the line in 5th, 4.3 seconds from the winner and with five championship points for his efforts. Brad was a few slots behind his teammate but slid into the gravel after three laps as he tried to attack through Turn 13.

MotoGP will circle for 25 laps, starting at 15.00 CET (14.00 local time) on Sunday. Moto3 opens the Grand Prix at 12.00 followed by Moto2 at 13.15 (CET).

Jack Miller, 5th in qualification, 5th in the Sprint: “Happy-ish. We left a bit on the table and I struggled at the beginning to get the feeling into the tire and with the conditions. I made a small mistake with a mis-shift which cost me the tow with the front group but then I maintained the pace. 5th was our maximum today so we’ll have a look in the areas we can improve. I felt really good at the end of the Sprint so fingers crossed we can carry that into tomorrow.”

Brad Binder, 10th in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “A bit of a shocker today. The crash in Q2 didn’t help and then the second bike and the configuration didn’t give me the feeling I needed. Anyway, the Sprint was going pretty well and I felt like I had the pace to pick the guys off and keep going forward but I ended-up carrying just a bit too much angle and brake into Turn 13 when I hit a bump. Not the day I was expecting but I know we’ll be in the game tomorrow.”

MXGP

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser put in a solid day of racing at the second round of the 2024 MXGP World Championship, held at the Intu-Xanadu circuit in Arroyomolinos near Madrid in Spain. The Slovenian had the second fastest time in timed practice, and then placed second again in the qualification race, giving him nine points and moving him up into second place in the championship.

On what is a very-rutted circuit, the Honda CRF450R rider took his time to find his rhythm, but once there, he showed the speed that saw him win two of the three races in Argentina last time out. This gave him a good pick for the qualification race, where he was unable to maximise that advantage as he didn’t get the best of starts. However, the #243 made a lot of moves on the opening lap and actually had got his way all the way up to third by the end of the first full lap. Three laps later and the five-time world champion was into second place but by the time he got there, the leader had already opened up a considerable gap and rather than push too hard on this tricky terrain, he decided just to cruise it home for a solid second place. This gives him second pick once again for the two motos tomorrow, where he’ll be hoping to make better starts and try to add to his race and overall win tally and get hold of the championship-leading red-plate.

Unfortunately watching from the sidelines was teammate Ruben Fernandez, who is missing this round due to the torn ACL he suffered in Argentina. The Spaniard still had a good reception wherever he went amongst all the fans in the crowd, but he would much prefer to be out there battling on the track.

MX2

It was a difficult day at the office for youngster Ferruccio Zanchi, who was never able to find the speed and consistency that he displayed on his Team HRC debut last time out in Argentina. The #73 wasn’t able to lay down a good lap in the timed practice, which meant that he started in the middle of the pack and had to fight it out with a lot of other riders early on.

Unfortunately, he paid the penalty for this, with a small tip-over on the opening lap, dropping to the very back of the pack. Just like in Argentina, he put his head down and charged as much as he could, but with the shorter race time for these qualification races, he was only able to get back to 17^th, which is outside the points and means that once again he’ll have a difficult gate-drop for the two GP-scoring motos tomorrow.

A day of improvements for Joan Mir and Luca Marini in Portugal, the pair pleased to finish the Sprint with good information and direction for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Despite a muted start to the day with Qualifying, the Repsol Honda Team were ultimately left with positive feelings as setup changes for the Sprint Race saw both Mir and Marini make improvements. The pair head into Sunday looking to emulate this progress once more as they remain focused on building the project ahead of them.

Starting 20th, Mir launched well but found himself in a tangle of riders through Turn 1 and his progress briefly stalled. Keeping his focus, the #36 would produce a steady march up the order to finish as the first Honda rider home. Passing Morbidelli and Augusto Fernandez in the closing stages of the race, Mir walked away pleased with the pace he had shown compared to that of the top ten. Mir would ultimately finish in 14th.

Marini entered the 12-lap Sprint focusing purely on himself and his riding, out to collect as much information as possible. Starting well, he attached himself to the other Honda riders and worked to stay with them throughout the race. Pre-Sprint setup changes yielded some positives for the Italian who is looking for further improvements, and more laps completed, in Sunday’s feature race. Marini crossed the line in 18th place.

The 25-Lap Portuguese Grand Prix is schedule to start at 14:00 Local Time on Sunday, March 24. Both Mir and Marini will be searching for more progress on Sunday as they continue the development of the Honda RC213V.

Breaking away from the polished façade of podium celebrations, Yamaha Racing's new YouTube series "Inside MXGP" delves deep into the inner workings of the MXGP paddock. It promises viewers a raw, unfiltered, all-access look behind the scenes, revealing the mud, sweat and tears that are part and parcel of life in racing.

The first episode, titled "No Pain, No Gain," sheds light on the challenges faced by the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP and MX2 teams at the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship season opener in Villa La Angostura, Argentina.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Jago Geerts appeared poised for a strong debut in his MXGP career, having clocked the seventh-fastest time in Timed Practice. Yet fate had other plans, and during the Qualifying Race on Saturday afternoon, Geerts was involved in a racing incident at turn one before landing short on a jump and going over the handlebars on lap two.

This heavy blow underscored the unpredictable nature and physical demands of MXGP, resulting in the 23-year-old Belgian sustaining a broken right collarbone and a fractured left elbow.

Despite setbacks, such challenges often serve as opportunities for growth and character development. Maxime Renaux exemplifies this, having faced numerous injuries throughout his career, including a complicated foot injury in 2023. While the phrase “no pain, no gain” may sound cliché, for those in MXGP it IS their way of life. Renaux's impressive fifth-place finish in Argentina spotlights his lionheart and underscores a narrative shared by teammate Calvin Vlaanderen, who returned from injury with ninth overall.

At the same time, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 riders Thibault Benistant, Rick Elzinga, and Andrea Bonacorsi faced trials and tribulations of their own. Although each of their challenges differed, their conviction was the same: without struggle, there would be no strength, growth, or glory.