Just a few weeks after winning the MotoE World Championship, Mattia Casadei had the opportunity to compete in the Moto2 World Championship this weekend.

The Italian rider was called up by Fantic Racing to replace the injured Borja Gómez, allowing him to explore the intermediate category again.

Naturally, it was a challenging task as he had to adapt to a new bike and a new team, ultimately finishing in 26th place. This marked an improvement compared to his last experience when he retired at the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP.

O conteúdo Mattia Casadei, from winning the MotoE title to the Moto2 Japanese GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Pedro Acosta expressed his satisfaction with finishing on the last step of the podium at the Japanese Grand Prix in Moto2, behind the winner Somkiat Chantra and second-placed Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex).

‘It was a really tough race. I made a mistake in the first corner. I miscalculated the start… After that, I stayed at a distance that I couldn’t recover from. However, this podium counts more than others because I wasn’t as good as in other weekends. These are good numbers and points for the championship. We’re doing a good job’, said the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider to DAZN.

Regardless of what happens for the rest of this season, the 19-year-old Acosta has already confirmed that he intends to stay in the Moto2 World Championship next season, although he doesn’t know which team he will be racing for, whether he continues with KTM or switches to another squad.

O conteúdo ‘These are good numbers for the championship’ – Pedro Acosta aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

A tale of a foreseen victory – that’s how the Moto2 Japanese GP race could be described. Somkiat Chantra closed out a weekend of dominance in Motegi with a clear-cut victory, after leading all the sessions from the beginning of the weekend.

Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) had a good start to keep the lead, with Jake Dixon (Inde GasGas Aspar/Kalex) taking the second position. Alonso López (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) settled into third. After starting fourth, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) dropped to seventh.

On the second lap, Dixon was overtaken by López and Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex). At the front, Chantra quickly opened up a gap of more than a second, while Ogura closed in on him.

López stayed in the podium positions until the fifth lap when he started serving his two Long Lap penalties, imposed following an infraction in the Indian GP. Acosta then moved up to third, while his compatriot dropped to seventh.

At the front, Chantra remained solidly in the lead without major challenges, while Ogura also secured the second position. Acosta consolidated third place, with Dixon in fourth and Filip Salac (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) in fifth.

These positions remained unchanged for much of the race until the end. Chantra secured his second career win with a 1.237s margin over Ogura in a weekend he completely dominated. Acosta completed the podium in third, followed by Dixon and Salac. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex) once again lost significant ground to Acosta in the title fight, finishing only 11th. After serving his Long Lap penalties, López dropped gradually in the standings and finished 13th.

Results:

O conteúdo «The icing on the cake»: Somkiat Chantra confirmed a superior performance in Motegi with the win aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The Idemitsu Honda Team Asia was unstoppable in the Moto2 Japanese GP qualifying. Somkiat Chantra confirmed their dominance in practice with pole position and a new lap record at Motegi, beating teammate Ai Ogura to secure the one-two for the team at its home.

Not all riders completed their first flying laps right away, but after five riders had done so, Fermín Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) led the way ahead of his teammate Alonso López.

After dominating practice, Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) took the lead in qualifying on his first attempt, while Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) moved into second place. The Spaniard was later overtaken by Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex).

The leader was already below category’s lap record at Motegi. Jake Dixon climbed to second ahead of Acosta, but Chantra remained out of reach. Filip Salac (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) became the fourth fastest.

Within the final minute, Ogura returned to second place. He finished 0.120s behind Chantra, and nothing changed further, meaning the Thai rider secured his third career pole position. Dixon moved ahead of Acosta to take third, and Salac completed the top five. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex), second in the championship, finished 13th in a challenging qualifying session where he couldn’t contend for top positions.

Q2 results:

Overall qualifying results:

O conteúdo No one can stop Somkiat Chantra, who clinched pole position at Motegi with a new lap record aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Alonso López was the fastest rider in the first qualifying for the Moto2 Japanese GP. The rider led the quartet of last qualifiers for the Q2 session in Motegi with a 0.205S advantage.

López (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) was the initial leader, despite a hiccup when his bike stalled at the end of the pit lane. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team/Kalex), Zonta van den Goorbergh (Fieten Oil Racing GP/Kalex), and Izan Guevara (Inde GasGas Aspar/Kalex) also secured qualifying positions.

With six minutes to go, there were significant changes, with Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Kalex) taking the lead ahead of van den Goorbergh, while Jake Dixon (Inde GasGas Aspar/Kalex) was third and Bendsneyder fourth. Guevara was out of the qualification zone.

Several changes occurred in the final two minutes. López returned to the top, with Binder in second, van den Goorbergh in third, and Dixon in fourth. Bendsneyder lost a position to Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who moved up to fifth, 0.196s behind the top four.

In the closing laps, nothing changed, and López, Binder, van den Goorbergh, and Dixon secured their spots in the Q2 session. Guevara climbed to fifth place but fell short of advancing by 0.118s.

Results:

O conteúdo Alonso López and three others sealed their spot in the Moto2 Q2 at Motegi aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Somkiat Chantra’s outstanding performance continues in the Moto2 Japanese GP. The rider from Idemitsu Honda Team Asia was also the fastest in the third practice session, leading all the sessions at Motegi so far.

The Thai rider was already leading after the first flying laps but was later overtaken by Marcos Ramírez (Onlyfans American Racing/Kalex). The Spanish rider took turns at the front with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) in the following laps, but #37 took command after the first ten minutes.

In the final five minutes, Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) briefly took the top spot, but Chantra reclaimed it in the closing moments, finishing 0.277s faster. Acosta was third, followed by Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex) and Fermín Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro).

In the combined standing after the three practice sessions, Arón Canet (Pons Wegow Los40/Kalex) finished fourth, being one of the few riders not to improve compared to yesterday, and Lowes ended up in fifth place. Filip Salac (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) secured the last direct spot in Q2 with the 14th fastest time, while Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team/Kalex) missed out by just 0.018s. Jake Dixon (Inde GasGas Aspar/Kalex), in 16th place, is another rider who will have to go through Q1.

P3 timesheet:

Combined standings P1 + P2 + P3:

O conteúdo Somkiat Chantra completes the «hattrick» in Moto2 practice for the Japanese GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Somkiat Chantra achieved a perfect day on the first day of the Japanese Moto2 Grand Prix. The rider was once again the fastest in the second practice session, which he led for most of the time.

At the end of the first flying laps, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) was leading ahead of Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) – who continued to show his speed after leading in P1. The Thai rider took the command 31 minutes from the end, while his teammate Ai Ogura moved up to second.

For a long time, the changes in the timing sheet only occurred behind Chantra… until Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex) dethroned him with seven minutes to go. This was an important phase of the session, as riders were looking to set fast times to secure direct qualification for Q2 in case of rain during the third practice session tomorrow.

After being beaten, Chantra didn’t give up and returned to the top of the timing sheet, passing Lowes. Acosta improved but not enough to pass the two riders ahead of him. In the end, Chantra improved once again to set the fastest lap of the day (1m50.396s), finishing 0.037s ahead of Arón Canet (Pons Wegow Los40/Kalex), who beat Lowes.

Acosta and Ogura completed the top five. In the combined timesheet, Alonso López (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) holds the last direct qualification spot for Q2 in 14th place with a 0.058s margin over his teammate Alonso López.

Timesheet:

O conteúdo Perfect Friday for Somkiat Chantra in Moto2 at Motegi aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

There was a surprise in Motegi during the first practice session of the Japanese Moto2 GP. Somkiat Chantra was the fastest rider of the session, beating the championship leader, Pedro Acosta.

After the initial flying laps, Filip Salac (QJMotor Gresini/Kalex) was the leader, but he was overtaken shortly afterward by Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex). The Italian also couldn’t hold onto the position for long. With just over 12 minutes elapsed, Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) became the first rider to establish himself at the front.

The Thai rider led for nearly 20 minutes before being overtaken by Manuel González (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp/Kalex). In the following six minutes, two more riders took the lead: Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) and Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex).

Two minutes from the checkered flag, Chantra set a lap time of 1m50.477s that proved unbeatable. Acosta finished 0.140s behind, with Salac in third and González in fourth. Jake Dixon (Inde GasGas Aspar/Kalex) completed the top five.

Timesheet:

O conteúdo Somkiat Chantra surprised by setting the pace in the first practice of Moto2 Japanese GP 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.