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)