The Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix was another victory for McLaren. Italian riders won in MotoGP and WorldSBK in Italy on Italian-made motorcycles and once again the country went crazy. IMSA raced an IMEC 6 Hour race on the IMS road course, which witnessed a BMW 1-2. Read on for race coverage.

This weekend features two-wheel action on three continents. MotoGP moves from Misano to Mandalika for the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, WorldSBK is in Spain for the Tissot Aragon Round and MotoAmerica Superbikes at New Jersey will wrap up the 2024 calendar by crowning champions at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Our review copy of Superbike: An Illustrated Early History arrived last Friday. By Sunday we were hoping for a sequel. "Page-turner" is certainly a well-worn cliché. We describe our zeal for the next image and description below.

The J. Wood and Company Jack Weaver auction is this Saturday in Springfield, MA. There are 110 motorcycles up for auction. Click on the banner below for more information and registration details.

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For more news, visit the home page of SARNIMOTORSPORTS.

Jay Geils Memorial TV Links:

Saturday, September 28th: WorldSBK - Tissot Aragon Round Superbike Race 1 8:00 AM ET MAVTV

MotoGP - Indonesia - Sprint 8:30 AM ET TRUTV

MotoAmerica - New Jersey Superbike Race 1 3:00 PM ET MAVTV

MotoAmerica - New Jersey King of the Baggers Race 1 4:00 PM ET MAVTV

Sunday, September 29th: WorldSBK - Tissot Aragon Round Superbike Race 2 8:00 AM ET MAVTV

MotoGP - Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia 10:30 AM ET TRUTV

MotoAmerica - New Jersey Superbike Race Race 2 3:00 PM ET MAVTV

MotoAmerica - New Jersey King of the Baggers Race 1 4:00 PM ET MAVTV

ENJOY YOUR RACE WEEKEND!

MOTOGP - Nothing to lose, everything to gain. Before we preview this weekend's Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, we must revisit last weekend's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The main title protagonists; Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin were engaged in their usual dog fight. In Saturday's Sprint Bagnaia couldn't hold off Martin and Brad Binder, as the polesitter fell to third. But Binder dropped back and with six laps to go Pecco's pressure caused Martin to make a mistake and Bagnaia seized his opportunity to take the lead and the win. It narrowed Martin's lead in the championship to just four points.

Sunday was another story. Martin shot into the lead at the start, but Bagnaia got by right away. The Prima Pramac Ducati rider stalked Pecco and on Lap 4 he made a move and made the pass. From there Pecco's pace fell off as his Ducati Lenovo teammate Enea Bastianini picked up the baton and was off in pursuit of Martin.

Pedro Acosta was having a great race, riding hard in P4 fighting at the top. It didn't last though, with the GAS GAS Tech 3 rider down and out with 19 laps to go. Suddenly the gap to the leading duo was closing fast, as Pecco was putting in some burning times. That charge didn't last as the championship took another dramatic turn when Bagnaia crashed out while in pursuit. P3 points turned into zero points and Pecco had to wait and see whether he would trail by 29 points or 24 points. Only Enea Bastianini had the answer to that question.

The Beast roared on the final lap with an inside stuff in Turn 4 that stood Martin up. There are many who thought that the Beast crossed the line, but Race Stewards let the pass stick and Bastianini was the one who took Ducati's 100th GP win. Sweet revenge. The man who replaces him on the Factory Ducati voiced his disapproval of the maneuver. But let us not forget that Marc Marquez is the man in the glass house tossing stones and is the the master of riding over the edge and crashing his competition out. More fuel for the fire. Marquez finished P3, with the Ducati 1-2-3 at Misano giving the Bologna brand the 2024 Constructor's Championship.

Bastianini gifted Pecco five important championship points while the No. 1 was spectating in the garage. In doing so Bastianini set himself up in P3 in the MotoGP World Championship; one single point above Marc Marquez. Game on. There will be some very motivated riders this weekend, as the Riders' Championship is as hot as the Mandalinka weather.

Enea Bastianini: “This victory is a great achievement, because we built up to a crescendo this weekend. Yesterday we were missing something to battle for the win, but we worked until late in order to put all the pieces together and to find a solution ahead of today’s race, and it worked. Jorge (Martín) was extremely fast throughout the race and there was a moment in which I wasn’t sure if I could have stayed with him, as I started experiencing a bit of vibration at the rear-end. As the laps went by, however, I tried to understand how to minimize the issue. In the final laps, something extra obviously comes out that enables you to battle for the win. In the end, I made my move: when I dove in, Jorge tried to close the door and that forced me to lean a bit, which led to the front-end locking. I tried to rely on the rear as much as I could, while making sure I could make the turn, and it worked.”

Before the proceedings get under way in Mandalika, the 2025 MotoGP calendar has been revealed. The schedule features 22 Grands Prix in 18 countries, including the return of Brno in Czechia and the debut of Balaton Park in Hungary.

After pre-season testing at Sepang and Buriram, the Thai Grand Prix prepares to make history as the first season opener in Southeast Asia for 25 years – and the first ever in Thailand. Then it's off to South America and a return to Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina, followed by a trip north to Texas at Austin's Circuit of the Americas.

Next up it’s Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, before the classic start to the European stint as Jerez prefaces Le Mans, where the French GP will be aiming to break the all-time attendance record once again. Then it’s two events in new timeslots: the British GP at Silverstone at the end of May and the Aragon GP two weeks later.

Then back to back races in Mugello and a special 100th anniversary event at Assen, before Germany's Sachsenring precedes MotoGP’s return to Brno. After a few weekends off for summer break, action resumes in Austria at the Red Bull Ring before the debut of Balaton Park in Hungary, followed by Catalunya and the San Marino GP at Misano.

MotoGP moves back to Asia at Motegi in Japan then to Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit on Lombok in Indonesia. A weekend off then precedes a trip to Australia's Phillip Island, before the final “flyaway” will take place at Sepang in Malaysia.

The final two stops on the calendar are back to Europe with the recently-confirmed Portuguese GP at Portimão and the classic curtain closer at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. Also announced this week; the return to Buddh International Circuit will have to wait until 2026. With no available dates towards the end of the season, MotoGP will therefore return to India the following year.

With everyone settled in to Mandalika Thursday's Press Conference matched the Indonesian heat. First Jorge Martin, who leads the Riders' Championship by 24 points entering the weekend was focused in on the task at hand.

Jorge Martin: "For me, it doesn’t make sense to keep talking about the past, I don’t 100% agree as I think it was over the limit but it’s okay. In the end, I need to accept the stewards’ decision, so congrats to Enea and I will try here.

“For sure, this next month and a half will be really demanding but I am looking forward to it, different tracks, different grip levels and situations, but now I want to focus on Indonesia, it is a really nice track, but it will be difficult. It is always. It could be a bit dirty, so it is important to be on the correct line and not to make mistakes, so I will try and be focused and do my best.”

Pecco talked about his crash at Misano and the feeling he had on the medium Michelin tire.

Francesco Bagnaia: It is difficult to say something about the pace, at the start of the race, it was very difficult to push, I was not having a great feeling with the rear tire. We spoke with Michelin a lot, and we tried to work together, as always, to develop and work together. About the crash it is not the first time that it has happened. It was my mistake, but as soon as you’re not pushing that hard on the brakes and your bike is more aligned, it is easier to lose the front, and it is something that we have already seen this season. It was a strange Sunday as I was feeling super good all weekend, but then, in the race, I was struggling to repeat the same pace as Practice. We are already focusing on this weekend. Sunday was good last season, but we will take what we did on Sunday and try and be competitive for the rest of the weekend.

"It is a track that I like, it is a bit different from what we are used to in terms of grip as it is less, and we will have to get used to it as soon as possible. It is a good track, and I like it and think we can be very fast.”

Pecco's teammate then talked about Indonesia and the reaction to his Misano pass on Jorge Martin.

Enea Bastianini: “The Indonesian track is one of my favorites; it is very beautiful, and I am confident to be fast at this track. It is different compared to European tracks, and also the asphalt will probably be dirty on Friday, but after it will be better, we have to be clear with the situation and have the confidence to improve, and I am ready to start.

“No, I am not surprised as I also went outside the line and I turned to see how Jorge was as I thought he might have crashed, but without the situation, I was on the line, and I agree with my first decision to be correct.”

With temperatures in the 90s, stifling humidity and the ever-present threat of showers, this weekend riders will not only be battling their competitors on the grid, but the elements as well. Just an added factor into another pivotal weekend in the MotoGP World Championship.

The Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia is on Sunday, September 29th with a later start than normal. The broadcast can be seen in the States on truTV at 10:30 AM Eastern. Saturday's Sprint race is also at 10:30 AM Eastern, also on truTV.

WORLDSBK - The first-ever WorldSBK visit to Cremona was a windfall for Danillo Petrucci. The likable Italian got his first WorldSBK win. His second. And his third at the Acerrbis Italian Round.

Petrucci became the first rider to win in MotoGP, WorldSBK, STK1000, STK600, MotoAmerica and a stage of the Dakar Rally.

After recovering from a serious training accident it was a sweet and emotional weekend for Petrux on home turf. In Saturday's Race 1, the Barni Spark Ducati rider lined up with Team GoEleven's Andrea Iannone and Aruba Ducati's Nicolo Bulega on pole position. A close three-way battle followed with Petrucci, who had been strong all weekend pushing hard for his maiden win.

The race was Red Flagged due to technical issues. The trackside cameras malfunctioned and communications to marshal posts went out, as did the LED light boards, which caused a safety issue.

Nicolo Bulega took his fifteenth career podium in second, with Alvaro Bautista putting in an impressive recovery ride to take third. 

Petrucci's dream weekend continued into Sunday with victory in the Superpole Race. Behind the Italian hero at the line was Kawasaki Racing Team's Alex Lowes, and Andrea Iannone on the Team GoEleven Ducati taking the third spot on the podium. Nicolo Bulega and HRC's Iker Lecuona rounded out the top five in the Superpole Race.

In Sunday's Race 2, Petrucci secured his third win in a row over the race weekend, stepping onto the podium for the 13th time this season. The fight of the race was for the remaining spoils on the podium, with teammates Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista battling to gain an extra four vital championship points.

Bautista came out on top of Bulega, with American rider Garrett Gerloff topping Alex Lowes in a fierce fight for P4.

Toprak Razgatlioglu still leads the championship, despite missing two rounds. Nicolo Bulega is P2, 13 points behind, with Alvaro Bautista in third, 82 points from first.

Danilo Petrucci: "This has been one of the best weekends of my career. I was overwhelmed after winning yesterday and I didn’t expect to win the Superpole Race. I was really nervous for Race 2, especially about Alvaro, because I knew he would be faster at the end of the race. I managed to build a gap and then to maintain it. Today’s success is special because this is our home round. Our workshop is an hour away. It’s special because we are an Independent with small sponsors and small businesses supporting us. Today were all here and I think they truly deserve this.”

The riders are in place now at MotorLand Aragon on back-to-backs. The big news out of Spain is that

ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team's Toprak Razgatlioglu has been cleared today to ride on Friday.

After his Cremona sweep, Barni Spark Racing's Danillo Petrucci is just two points behind Alex Lowes for fourth in the World Championship, but in all reality, this is a two-way battle between Toprak and Nicolo, with Alvaro having an outside chance. Counting this weekend at MotorLand Aragon there are three rounds remaining on the calendar.

Alvaro Bautista has triumphed in the last two races at Aragon, bringing his total victories at the Spanish track to seven. Notably, Toprak Razgatlioglu has yet to claim a victory at Aragon in WorldSBK. If he is fit enough to ride after Friday Practice, he will be out to change that stat.

Talking in the Thursday Press Conference before the Tissot Aragon Round Toprak Razgatlioglu spoke about his comeback from his back injury.

Toprak Razgatlioglu: “When people have seen me, everyone’s said, ‘Happy to see you back’! It’s not been an easy four weeks. I watched the races and I tried to come back quicker. Today wasn’t easy. I was waiting and I was feeling some stress; it looks like I was more stressed than 2021 when I was fighting for the title! It’s not possible for me to say I’m 100% ready because it’s been four weeks without riding a bike or training. Now I am fit, and my body is 100%. I hope the feeling is good immediately. Normally, I do some training every day but this time it’s been difficult, and I jump directly on the bike. Motivation is very high now because I’m fit. I think the crash is 100% my mistake because I saw I was on for a very good lap time. I tried to brake later, and I use a lot of front braking. I lost the front tire. I started walking, and I understood there was nothing broken; the lung had a problem. I was feeling okay, with some pain and it wasn’t easy to take a breath. This track isn’t easy for me. With the BMW, we’ve won at many new tracks. Why not? I’m thinking about winning this race. I know it’s not easy because of the new surface. We need a good setup. My target is to win, I’m fighting for the podium. I need to win here because I’ve never won here in WorldSBK.”

Cremona hero Danillo Petrucci revealed he’s already eyeing up more wins now that he has a taste for them after the Acerbis Italian Round triple:

Danillo Petrucci: “It’s something good because now I understand how I can win. I want to repeat that as soon as possible. It’s been huge because when you win in Italy, you have a lot of friends and family. On the way home, we stopped at Misano with some old MotoGP friends and we had some dinner. From the day after, both me and my friends have to leave. The goal is to have fun and to fight for the podium like we did in the last rounds. Someone suggested that I had a look at the Championship standings, but I don’t know, maybe the top three in the Championship could be a nice result for next season; it could be my target. I don’t know if it’s possible to reach it this year. Last year, this was the first round where I felt really competitive in WorldSBK, topping a couple of sessions, but then I did one of the most stupid mistakes of my career. I was quite fast in Race 1, the best pace of everyone, but maybe it was still not the time to get the first one.”

Second in the WorldSBK title standings is Aruba Ducati's Nicolo Bulega. He spoke about having his rival back on the grid this weekend.

Nicolo Bulega: “I’m ready and I like this track. I hope to be fast. I feel good. I said at Cremona that I hope Toprak was good and it’s nice to have him back. When a rider has an injury, it’s never nice and fun. I recovered a lot of points, but I wasn’t happy to recover points against a rider with an injury. I prefer to recover points with him on track, even if it’s more difficult. I expect him to be fast. When he crashed at Magny-Cours, he was on a victory streak, so he’ll be fast. I’m thinking about doing my job, the best I can do and then we’ll see at the end of the Championship.”

This is a home round for Alvaro Bautista. He previewed the weekend and talked about his health.

Alvaro Bautista: “Now, I feel a bit better than in Cremona. The Monday after Cremona, I was a bit more destroyed because after all the effort I had to make and adrenaline had worn off, it was like my body was saying, ‘Okay, you have to relax and stop just for a while’. I felt much better on Tuesday and Wednesday and today I’m improving. You can’t do anything special for this, it’s just a matter of time. I’m not 100% but I hope tomorrow, Saturday, and especially Sunday, I feel better and better. It’s always special to ride at home. Aragon is a track I like a lot and I have good memories from the past; I won many races here. We’ll try to create a good base to start the weekend and then try to improve practice by practice. I’m really happy that Toprak and also Jonathan are fit. It’s always nice to see all the competitors on the grid. I hope Toprak can ride the bike as before without any problems and he doesn’t have more problems. If he can ride the bike as normal, I expect he’ll be very competitive and fight for the victory in all three races; he can defend the gap in the Championship.”

TV listings for the Tissot Aragon Round have the race broadcast at 8:00 AM ET on MAVTV Saturday and Sunday.

INDYCAR - On Monday, September 23rd INDYCAR announced a new charter system for team owners in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

In total, owners of 10 teams have accepted charters for 25 entries competing in the racing series, beginning immediately. Charters were extended to team owners based on full-time entries over the previous two seasons, with a maximum of three awarded per team.

This is the first charter system to be introduced in the history of the series. It means that a chartered entry is guaranteed a starting position on the grid at all NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, excluding the Indianapolis 500.

An entry also must be chartered to qualify for the annual NTT INDYCAR SERIES Leaders Circle program – an annual award program that compensates the 22 top finishers in the prior year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. The terms of the initial, long-term charter agreements are committed through the end of 2031.

Chartered 2025 INDYCAR Teams with number of entries:

A.J. Foyt Enterprises 2

Andretti Global 3

Arrow McLaren 3

Chip Ganassi Racing 3

Dale Coyne Racing 2

Ed Carpenter Racing 2

Juncos Hollinger Racing 2

Meyer Shank Racing 2

RLL Racing 3

Team Penske 3

IMSA WTSC - At their home event, with the company headquarters just a few miles from the racetrack, BMW M Team RLL achieved a major breakthrough after a challenging season so far. The two car crews topped the GTP class and the difficult conditions, especially at the start of the “Battle on the Bricks” with rain and then a drying track. The team made no mistakes, and made the right strategic decisions.

It was the No. 24 crew that was the first of the GTP cars to switch to slicks, thereby making an important move towards the lead. In the final laps, the two BMW M Hybrid V8s kept their competitors at bay even in dense lapping traffic and decided first place between themselves.

Jesse Krohn and Philipp Eng celebrated not only their first win but also their first podium finish in the top class of the IMSA series. The only other win in the GTP category had been claimed by Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly at Watkins Glen in 2023. The No. 25 team finished 1.647 seconds behind the winning pair.

Bobby Rahal: “This is a great day for us. I'm happy for everyone on our team, but even more for our joint project with BMW M Motorsport. We've had good and bad days this season, kept fighting, and never gave up. Now we have rewarded ourselves with this one-two result – right here, on one of the best racetracks in the world. I am incredibly happy.”

Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy finished third in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. that puts them just 14 points behind their Porsche Penske teammates Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron in the No. 7 car in the GTP championship.

Wait. What? This just in. Not so fast Roger. Don't count your chickens Wayne. At the conclusion of last Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship six-hour race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the sanctioning body announced an extended post-race technical inspection for selected GTP cars.

Seven cars – the No. 24, No. 6, No. 85, No. 40, No. 5, No. 01 and No. 63 – were impounded for in-depth technical inspection. The inspections were completed late Monday, revealing the following infractions:

The No. 6 Porsche had modifications to its wiring harness/loom that were outside of homologation. The car will be moved to 10th place in the final GTP race standings (second-from-last) and the manufacturer – Porsche – receives a financial penalty of $10,000.

The No. 40 Acura had modified components of its brake ducting system that were outside of homologation. The car will be moved to 11th place in the final GTP race standings (last place) and the manufacturer – Acura – receives a financial penalty of $10,000.

In LMP2 Steven Thomas and Mikkel Jensen, who were joined by Hunter McElrea in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 took the class win. The margin of victory was 26.049 seconds over the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA shared by Nick Boulle, Tom Dillmann and Jakub Smiechowski. The No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA of Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel and Connor Zilisch took third in class.

Mikkel Jensen: “The TDS car is quick here and we know our lineup is strong. That’s why we won last year, and we were straight away fast again this year. It was quite a crazy race, but Hunter did an amazing job bringing it up to first, and that made my life easier.”

In GTD PRO, after Laurin Heinrich qualified the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R fastest of the 35 cars entered in the two GT classes, the car was sent to the rear of the field for not meeting the minimum ground clearance. Rexy was just giving everyone else a head start. The green dinosaur started 56th and last overall and 13th and last in GTD PRO.

After the first hour, Heinrich had gained 33 spots overall, and rose to 23rd overall and fourth in GTD PRO. Heinrich pitted under a lengthy early full-course yellow, just under 90 minutes into the race, and handed off to Christensen where the team could deploy its intended strategy.

The pivotal moment of the race occurred on the final pit stop sequence with just over one hour remaining. Entering the pits third, the AO Racing crew propelled the No. 77 Porsche to the lead ahead of the leading No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 and No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.

Heinrich extended the gap from the restart and ultimately secured the class victory by 12.527 seconds over Mike Rockenfeller, who shared the No. 64 Ford with Harry Tincknell to deliver that pair its second straight runner-up finish. Antonio Garcia claimed the final podium place for the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R, in the car he shared with Alexander Sims. Garcia captured the spot after a daring inside move of Jack Hawksworth, in the No. 14 Lexus, at Turn 13 three laps from the finish.

Michael Christensen: “I’m immensely proud of our team and my teammate Laurin. That was an outstanding performance. Our 911 GT3 R’s setup was perfect, and so was our strategy. We started last and simply did what needed to be done confidently. All in all, it was perfect teamwork.”

In GTD, the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche started deep in its class and also emerged victorious after six hours of racing in Indianapolis. Elliott Skeer, Adam Adelson and Jan Heylen used the rain and strategy to score the class win.

Turner Motorsport took P2, with Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher and Jake Walker at the wheel of the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3. The No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG completed the podium in GTD, in the hands of Mikael Grenier, Kenton Koch and Mike Skeen.

Adam Adelson: “What a race! We came here with the idea that we wanted to learn as much as possible for our outing with the 911 GT3 R in the Intercontinental GT Challenge race at the beginning of October at this same venue. Now we’re class winners – unbelievable! It feels like a fairytale; I can’t really believe it yet. I’m in my second year of GT3 racing and my first season in the IMSA series. This is unbelievable. I’m lucky to have the best team and the best drivers by my side.”

The season concludes October 12th with the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.