28
July
2017
|
13:19 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Moto2 and Moto3 InFocus: August

After the summer break the FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships return to track action with round 10 at Brno, Czech Republic on 6 August, and round 11 at the Red Bull Ring, Austria on 13 August. After nine rounds, Franco Morbidelli is heading the Moto2 title chase, his six wins putting him 43 points ahead of Thomas Luthi. In Moto3, Joan Mir has visited the top step of the podium five times this season, and sits 37 points in front of Romano Fenati.

Heading to historic Brno, riders and teams will be looking for better weather than last year, when wet conditions greeted them on race day. Dunlop’s wet tyres were put to good use, with consistent tyre performance across both races. A week later the teams head to the Red Bull Ring for only their second appearance on the new track. Qualifying last year was a close affair in both championships, with ideal temperatures across the races offering optimum conditions for Dunlop’s tyre selection.

July Recap – Sachsenring

After the rain-soaked race of 2016, the Sachsenring saw a return to sunnier weather and produced two classic races across both championships. Franco Morbidelli took his sixth Moto2 win but had to work for it. A strong challenge from Miguel Oliviera saw him trail the championship leader by just 0.066 at the flag, and moved him up to third in the points. Joan Mir put the disappointment of Assen behind him to bounce back with victory in Moto3, but was chased hard by second-placed Romano Fenati and Marcos Ramirez. Mir won by just 0.1 second with Ramirez also in the mix for the win early on, claiming third, his first Moto3 podium. Pole-sitter Aron Canet took Honda’s ninth successive pole in Moto3, and now sits third in the points.

#ForeverForward 2017

In the Dunlop #ForeverForward Award, rewarding riders for their determination and fightback from adversity, Moto3 rider Andrea Migno is currently top of the league, eight points ahead of Jules Danilo, after an 11-place improvement in Germany. But it was last year’s winner, Moto3 racer Fabio Di Giannantonio, and Takaaki Nakagami (Moto2), who share the honours of demonstrating their resolve at the Sachsenring, both improving by 13 places.

#ForeverForward Award after round nine:

1Andrea MignoMoto369
2Jules DaniloMoto361
3Nakarin AtiratphuvapatMoto357
4Hafizh SyahrinMoto251
5Brad BinderMoto250
6John McPheeMoto346

The full #ForeverForward table can be seen here​.

Round 10: Brno, Czech Republic – 6 August 2017

Brno Track Facts:

Length: 5.4km
Left Turns: 6
Right Turns: 8
Energy level: Mid
Left:right bias: 55%/45%

Brno Tyre Allocation:

Moto2Moto3

Front: Medium '2' (black on yellow)

Front: Soft (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver)

Rear: Soft ’1’ (fluorescent green on black) / Medium ‘3’ (fluorescent yellow on black)

Rear: Soft ‘S1’ (black on yellow) / Medium 'M1' (black on silver)


Brno 2016 Highlights

  • Brad Binder was under the Moto3 lap record in practice, and took his second pole position of the year in qualifying
  • The top three riders in Moto3 qualifying had different permutation of tyres
  • One second separated the top 14 in Moto3 qualifying
  • Last year’s Brno race was held in wet conditions, and saw Briton John McPhee take his first Moto3 win, by nearly nine seconds
  • Jorge Martin achieved a first Moto3 podium
  • One second covered the top 14 in Moto2 qualifying, and Johann Zarco took a third pole, setting a new pole record
  • Jonas Folger overcame difficult, wet conditions to record his first Moto2 win of 2016


Round 11: Red Bull Ring, Austria –  13 August 2017

  • Introduced onto the schedule last year, 240,000 spectators attended the event
  • The track has the fewest corners on the schedule, just two left and six right-handers

Red Bull Ring Track Facts:

Length: 4.3km
Left Turns: 2
Right Turns: 6
Energy level: Mid
Left:right bias: 60%/40%

Red Bull Ring Tyre Allocation:

Moto2Moto3
Front: Medium '2' (black on yellow)Front: Soft (black on yellow) / Medium ‘M’ (black on silver)
Rear: Soft ’1’ (fluorescent green on black) / Medium ‘3’ (fluorescent yellow on black)Rear: Soft ‘S1’ (black on yellow) / Medium 'M1' (black on silver)

Red Bull Ring 2016 Highlights

  • One second separated the top 15 in Moto2 qualifying, and the top 20 in Moto3
  • Johann Zarco was on dominant form taking a fifth Moto2 victory from pole, and the fastest lap
  • The track was resurfaced just ahead of the event, and during the race, good tyre performance saw just a 0.2 second drop in Moto2 lap times
  • Joan Mir achieved a first Moto3 pole position and went on to record his maiden victory by just 0.279s
  • The first five Moto3 riders were covered by 0.600s

2017 Tyre Specifications

The 2017 specification tyres remain similar to last season, utilising the No.2 fronts in Moto2, and with several options for the rears, each carefully selected by the experienced Dunlop engineers to cater for the demands of the different tracks and surfaces. Moto3 equally will feature the same tyres that were successfully used last year, all of which offer increased durability for the ultra-competitive lightweight class.

Moto2Moto3
MS0 Supersoft (blank)Soft ‘S’/’S1’ (black on yellow)
Soft ’1’ (fluorescent green on black)Medium ‘M’/’M1’ (black on silver)
Medium ’2’ (black on yellow) (front only)Hard ’H3’ (fluorescent yellow on black)
Medium ’3’ (fluorescent yellow on black)
Hard ’4’ (fluorescent white on black) 
Special Hard ‘S1’ (blank)
Special Hard ‘S2’ (grey on black)