From Río Hondo Hot Springs
No more speculation, analysis and balance sheets left by the two days prior to the start of the Michelin Grand Prix of the Argentine Republic, valid for the second date of the MotoGP world championship calendar. With the respective consummated classifications and run the sprint race of the major division -in which the South African Brad Binder (KTM) prevailed-, the pilots who led the day will start this Sunday in the first positions of the starting grid. In the MotoGP, which will take place at 2:00 p.m., the honor went to the Ducati, with the Spanish Alex Márquez at the helm, followed by the Italians Marco Bezzecchi and the current champion, Francesco Bagnaia.
On the day of this Saturday at the Termas de Río Hondo International Circuit, which began with the contact of several pilots with the public in the space called Hero Walk, located next to the Paddock in front of the Automobile Museum, did not lack seasoning. The thing is the results of the qualifying rounds changed expectations and speculations with the pole position achieved by Alex Márquez (Ducati)brother of the six times world champion, Marc Márquez (Honda), absent due to injury in this championship round.
Alex had not started the day well, since after a fall in the first qualifying round the lower part of his Ducati caught fire. From the fall he got up with momentum and that finally allowed him to take pole position with a time of 1:43.881. “I am very happy. Q1 was very difficult with the rain tyres, I was not very convinced to be on the dry ones, it was too wet”, commented Márquez after getting his first pole position in Argentina, something he had not achieved since the Grand Prix from Malaysia 2019, when he was racing in Moto2. Then, regarding the crash, he added: “I made a mistake in the penultimate corner trying to overtake Mir. Then we had a problem with the bike, with the fire, so it was not easy because in Q2 with these conditions we only had one bike “.
The tires
“I have done everything I can with the rain tires. Later, when I came in, I said that there was no time to change, but we changed to slicks with the wet set-up and it worked,” explained Márquez after taking pole position. Each team receives a set of 27 tires per race. (15 front, 5 of each compound: soft, medium and hard); 12 rear (7 soft and 5 hard), although they can only use 22, provided by Michelin, main sponsor of the Grand Prix of the Argentine Republic. “These types of competitions are key to measuring both the technology and the compounds of our covers. The races not only provide us with a lot of information, but on top of that, it is information that reaches us quickly“, they explain to Page 12 Carlos Spinazzolla, product manager, and Nicolás Konsol, marketing manager of the tire firm, and add: “This weekend we have delivered 1,100 covers to the teams”, which are the ones used in the three days of activities.
The pole positions
Behind Márquez in the MotoGP, the Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati) was located, at 0.172; the Italian and current champion of the category, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), at 0.858; while the first six places were completed by the Italian Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha), at 2,101; the Spanish Maverick Viñales (Aprilia), at 2,355 and the Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati), at 2,582. One of the striking data of the day was the last place on the grid of the official Honda driver, Alex Rins, who was 4,813 behind the poleman.
In the category Moto2the pole was in the hands of the Spanish Alonso López (Boscoscuro), with a time of 1:42.472; while Moto3will start from the first place of the grid the Japanese Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna), with a record of 1:48.597.
MotoGP and IndyCar
Among the great movement that MotoGP generates in the region, the presence of foreign tourists stands out, including a large Brazilian majority. “In recent years, the reception of fans from abroad has increased, which is one of the objectives that we set ourselves,” says Ricardo Sosa, from Santiago, executive secretary of Inprotur.at a press conference. “Brazil is the main issuer of tourists and that is where we work. This work impacts not only Santiago but the entire north of Argentina. The MotoGP is one of the most important world events that Argentina hasbecause it allows us to quantify and qualify the economic impact,” he adds.
Another international event whose name is beginning to gain strength in these lands is the IndyCar Series., which could arrive in the country next year. “We are making a lot of efforts and we are very well on our way. If If we had to make a hypothesis, I would say that by 2024 or 2025 we could have MotoGP in the first half and IndyCar in the second. We are immersed in a process of management and relationship so that this idea can materialize”, admitted the official.
Argentina already has a driver in this classic category of American motorsport: Agustín Canapinowho integrates the Juncos Hollinger team. The efforts go through convincing the president and CEO of Penske Entertainment, owner of IndyCar, to encourage them to take the event from the United States to Argentina as it happened back in 1971 in the city of Rafaela.
