Foggia pushing hard in World Championship battle
Circuit Of The AmericasDennis Foggia (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) arrives in the USA in the best form of his career, aiming to continue his outstanding recent run of results that have brought him back into World Championship contention.
The 20-year-old Italian has racked up four wins this year – at Mugello and Assen, as well as at the last two races at Aragon and Misano – to move him into second in the Moto3 points chase, just 42 points behind rival Pedro Acosta.
Honda’s brilliant NSF250RW has a fine record at the Circuit of the Americas, winning three of the seven Moto3 outings at the track, and four of its bikes occupied the top ten in the last visit to the track in 2019. The NSF250RW’s excellent handling characteristics are perfectly suited to the circuit’s fast, flowing first sector, where riders change direction at speed on multiple occasions.
The second best-placed Honda rider is currently Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing Honda NSF250RW), who put in a heroic display at Misano by finishing sixth, less than two days after suffering a bruising crash in Friday practice.
After a tough run of midseason results Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda NSF250RW) has recovered his best form, backing up his excellent sixth at Aragon with a third place at Misano, his first podium since the Portuguese Grand Prix in April. Migno has form at this track, too, scoring an excellent third place on his previous visit here in 2019, and could be another rider pushing for a top three place on Sunday.
Yuki Kunii (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) will have to get up to speed in a short space of time on his first visit to the American track this weekend. The 18-year-old from Setagaya will be aiming to register his fifth points-scoring finish of the year this weekend, and his first top ten since the Styrian Grand Prix in August.
Kunii’s team-mate Andi Farid Izdihar (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) will also experience the complex Circuit of the Americas layout for the first time in Friday morning’s FP1 session. But the 23-year-old Indonesian has been studying onboard videos of the track to ensure he is as close to the leading names as possible on Sunday. His aim is to score points for the fourth time in 2021.
Just three Moto3 races remain after the race on Sunday: the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Misano, the Algarve GP and the Valencia GP.
We are looking forward to racing at COTA again after such a long time away and the aim of course is to keep going like we have at the last few races – fighting for the victory and getting as many points as we can. We are coming to the last races of the season, so the motivation is extra high because we want to end this year on a high.
It will be my first time at COTA! It looks like a tricky track, and it’s a long one – completely different to what we raced in the last races at Aragon and Misano. I’ll try to do my best and improve in every session. At the last race I made two mistakes, so I want to avoid that, enjoy this weekend and enjoy this new track for me.
I’ve never been to the track, so it will be the first time I’ve competed there. I have watched many videos to analyse the circuit because it doesn’t look like it’s an easy one! But I’ll try to adapt as much as possible to the layout to get up to speed and be close to the leaders. I’ll definitely try my best through the weekend!