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Espargaro: Miller and I wanted Styrian MotoGP win “too hard” – MotoGP

Pol Espargaro says he and Jack Miller wanted MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix victory “too hard” in their last-lap duel and “gave it” to Miguel Oliveira.

The KTM rider led from lap seven to the final tour, but an overly defensive line at Turn 3 allowed Pramac’s Miller to overtake him on the run into the corner.

Espargaro scythed up the inside of Miller at the penultimate corner, with the latter attempting a move up the inside into the last turn – though both ended up going wide and allowing Tech3’s Oliveira to sneak through to claim a shock maiden win.

Commenting on his race, Espargaro says he was forced into defending hard on the last lap owing to the Ducati’s strength in braking and on acceleration.

“When I crossed the line, I saw on my pit board ‘plus zero’, so I didn’t know how much distance I had to Jack,”

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Styrian MotoGP won’t be a race about “surviving” for Quartararo – MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo says his MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix won’t be a case of “surviving” for damage limitation, after qualifying in 10th for the second Red Bull Ring race.

The championship leader struggled to eighth place in last week’s Austrian Grand Prix due to a braking issue, and was only seventh at the Czech GP having dominated the opening two rounds at Jerez last month.

On Friday at the Styrian GP, Quartararo was left baffled by a “really bad feeling” with the tyres on his Petronas SRT Yamaha.

Quartararo had “no grip” in qualifying on Saturday despite making a step forward with set-up in practice and could only manage 10th – though he will start ninth as a result of third-placed Johann Zarco’s pitlane start penalty.

When asked if his Styrian GP would be one of survival, Quartararo said: “I will attack because I think it’s really important to not stay

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MotoGP start time: What time does the Styrian Grand Prix start today? – MotoGP

Pol Espargaro has secured both his and KTM’s maiden MotoGP pole position in a dramatic qualifying for the Styrian Grand Prix. Here’s how and when you can watch the race.

With the Red Bull Ring hosting the second leg of its double-header, polesitter Espargaro will be hoping to secure his first MotoGP win having seen rookie team-mate Brad Binder achieve the feat two weeks ago at the Czech GP with a stunning performance.

Takaaki Nakagami, who missed out on his own maiden MotoGP pole position by just 0.022s after having a lap time deleted late on for exceeding track limits, starts from second place for LCR Honda while Johann Zarco ended qualifying in third – but he will start the race from the pitlane due to his penalty for his part in the scary crash involving Franco Morbidelli in the Austrian GP.

With Zarco relegated from the starting grid, Suzuki’s

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Miller “panicked” when Oliveira passed at MotoGP Styrian GP last corner – MotoGP

Jack Miller admits he was “panicking” when Miguel Oliveira passed him at the last corner of the MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix as he thought more riders were coming through.

The Pramac rider led the early laps of the first part of the Styrian Grand Prix race before the red flag, and headed the pack for the first six laps of the restart.

Having been passed by KTM’s Pol Espargaro on lap seven, Miller retook the lead on the final tour and engaged in a thrilling tussle for the win through the final two corners.

Coming up the inside of Espargaro at the last turn, both ran wide and allowed Tech3’s Miguel Oliveira to come through to claim his maiden MotoGP win.

“We just tried to reset, refocus [for the] sprint race,” Miller said.

“Kind of reminded me of the old days in Australian championship.

“12 laps went real quick, great

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Miller leads Ducati 1-2 in MotoGP Styrian GP FP1, Zarco absent – MotoGP

Jack Miller led a Ducati 1-2 in first practice for the inaugural MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, while Johann Zarco was absent.

For the second time in 2020 a second grand prix will be staged at the same circuit, with the field returning to action just a week after a dramatic Austrian GP.

LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami led the way in the early stages of the session with a 1m24.715s, which the Honda rider subsequently improved to a 1m24.103s.

This remained the benchmark for quite some time, with Austria winner Andrea Dovizioso his nearest rival – the Italian 0.035 seconds adrift with around 15 minutes of the session remaining.

With the weather always unpredictable at Red Bull Ring, a late time attack ended the session as the riders made their early bids for a direct place in Q2.

Suzuki’s Joan Mir – who scored his maiden MotoGP

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Zarco to miss Friday MotoGP Styrian GP practice without medical test – MotoGP

Avintia Ducati’s Johann Zarco will miss Friday’s opening two practice sessions for MotoGP’s Styrian Grand Prix having not met the requirements to undergo the mandatory medical test before the weekend.

Zarco was involved in a 200mph crash with the Petronas Yamaha of Franco Morbidelli at Turn 3 of the Red Bull Ring last week, with his Ducati hitting the barrier and vaulting over the track.

Morbidelli’s bike meanwhile slid back onto the track and nearly avoided the factory Yamahas of Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales.

Although it was initially understood that all riders escaped serious injury during a nasty crash at Turn 3 at the Red Bull Ring last weekend, it subsequently emerged that Zarco fractured the scaphoid in his right wrist.

The French rider had his wrist operated on Wednesday in Italy and travelled back to Spielberg on Thursday for the second of the two MotoGP races in Austria.

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2020 MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix session timings and preview – MotoGP

After a dramatic Austrian Grand Prix, MotoGP stays at the Red Bull Ring for the second leg of the double-header with the Styrian GP.

With the paddock reflecting on a stunning Austrian race that was overshadowed by a huge crash involving Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli, MotoGP will return to action at the same track as part of the shaken-up 2020 race calendar following the COVID-19 pandemic postponements and cancellations.

The crash and Red Bull Ring track safety is set to dominate conversation with MotoGP facing the unusual prospect of racing at the same circuit for consecutive weekends – a situation already completed at Jerez and will also take place at Misano, Aragon and Valencia as part of the reshuffled calendar put together by organisers Dorna Sports.

PLUS: Why the Ducati-Dovizioso divorce was unavoidable

As a result of the double-headers, the second Red Bull Ring race is called the Styrian

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Ducati will decide Dovizioso’s MotoGP future after Styrian GP – MotoGP

Ducati has confirmed it will decide Andrea Dovizioso’s MotoGP future with the marque at the conclusion of the Austrian double-header next weekend.

Dovizioso joined Ducati in 2013 and has since won 13 grands prix with the Italian manufacturer, taking it to runner-up spot in the championship standings for the past three seasons.

In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, Ducati has moved to eliminate big-money contracts going forward – which has caused talks with Dovizioso to stall.

Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella said in June that a sabbatical was now a realistic option for his rider should his terms not be met by Ducati.

The Italian marque stated ahead of last month’s Spanish Grand Prix that it had put its 2021 rider decisions on the backburner and would wait until August to decide.

Speaking to Spanish TV network DAZN at the Red Bull Ring on Friday afternoon, Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi

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F1 Styrian GP: Racing Point “debatably” the second fastest car, says Stroll – F1

Racing Point’s Lance Stroll believes his team “debatably” has the second fastest Formula 1 car after its Styrian Grand Prix performance, while Renault has launched a protest against the team.

After struggling in the wet qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, both Sergio Perez and team-mate Stroll charged through the field during Sunday’s race in dry and warm conditions to demonstrate the RP20’s pace.

After Perez overtook both Stroll and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo to climb to fifth – having started 17th – the Mexican damaged his front wing attacking Red Bull’s Alexander Albon on lap 69.

It meant Perez faded to sixth place at the chequered flag, with Stroll right behind him in seventh, having enjoyed a strong race where he fought with Ricciardo and Lando Norris.

The overall performance of Racing Point, coupled with the promising pace shown back in pre-season testing, has led to Stroll feeling the team

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Perez blames lack of tyre temperature for Q1 Styrian GP exit – F1

Racing Point Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez blamed a failure to generate tyre temperatures for the “big disappointment” of his Q1 exit for the Styrian Grand Prix.

The Mexican driver had been expected to challenge near the front of the pack after a strong showing in Friday practice.

But it all went wrong in the wet conditions of qualifying when he was left struggling at the back end of the field and eventually ended up 17th.

Speaking afterwards, Perez reckoned he had the pace to get through to Q2, but said that by the time the tyre temperatures had come up he was caught out by the late red flag in Q1.

“It’s a big disappointment,” he said.

“You know we were on for a great weekend as we have great pace in the dry. But in the wet we couldn’t find our rhythm.

“I struggled a lot to generate

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