INDIA in F1

Category: Moto GP

Moto GP, the Motorcycle World Championship

  • Lorenzo races to a stunning on-the-line victory to edge out Marquez in Mugello

    Lorenzo races to a stunning on-the-line victory to edge out Marquez in Mugello

    LORENZO Jorge (SPA) of Movistar Yamaha. Image by: MICHELIN
    LORENZO Jorge (SPA) of Movistar Yamaha. Image by: MICHELIN

    Mugello, 22 May 2016: Jorge Lorenzo raced to stunning on-the-line victory at Mugello in Italy today as he used his new hard and soft compound Michelin tyres to the full and pushed to the limit on the last-lap to take victory as he crossed the finishing line.

    Starting from fifth on the grid, Lorenzo chose the new hard compound MICHELIN Power Slick for the front of his Yamaha and paired this with the soft compound rear, which was also being used for the first time this season. The Spaniard got a good start and led for the early laps despite constant pressure from nine-time World Champion and yesterday’s pole-setter Valentino Rossi. The Yamaha team-mates fought hard over eight-laps until an unfortunate technical issue forced Rossi to retire, leaving Lorenzo out front on his own. The race was far from over though, as Honda´s Marc Marquez chased down the current World Champion and caught Lorenzo with several laps to go. The two riders were then locked in a monumental battle amongst the mountains of Mugello, which culminated in a breath-taking final lap. Marquez made a pass on Lorenzo to take the lead, before the championship leader snatched it back, only to see Marquez come straight back at him and re-take the lead yet again. Marquez looked to have secured victory, but Lorenzo got fantastic drive from the last corner from his Michelin tyres and pulled himself past Marquez on the line to win by only 0.019 seconds.  Lorenzo´s winning race time of 41’36.535 was also over two-and-a-half seconds quicker than last year´s race and an outright race-record for the Mugello circuit – beating the existing record from 2012 by almost a second. His victory today was his third of the season and increased his championship lead over Marquez to 10 points.

    Third place was taken by a home favourite Andrea Iannone on a Ducati. The Italian fought his way to a podium finish after a poor start which cost him five places from third on the grid. Iannone finished the race very strongly as he set the fastest lap of the day on the final circulation to establish the durability of the MICHELIN Power Slicks on this demanding circuit. Dani Pedrosa on a Honda rode a solid race, as he too finished strongly securing fourth place, just in front of the second Ducati, this time ridden by Andrea Dovizioso. Sixth went to the Suzuki of Maverick Viñales, with Bradley Smith taking a well-deserved seventh – and the plaudits of being the First Independent Team Rider. Another home favourite Danilo Petrucci on a satellite Ducati was eighth with Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) and Michele Pirro (Ducati) rounding out the top-ten in ninth and tenth respectively.

    The huge and colourful crowd of 100,640 – the largest ever on race day at Mugello – filled the hillsides around the track and baked in the Italian sun as temperatures rose to 26°, which also saw track temperatures hit 40°C – the warmest of the weekend. The latest versions of the MICHELIN Power Slicks performed well in the extreme conditions, at a track that is notoriously difficult for tyres. The technicians will now analyse all the data from what has been a successful weekend, as Michelin moves on through the season and continues to strive to improve its performance at each circuit as the year progresses

    Next stop for Michelin will be the Catalonian Grand Prix at the Montmelo circuit near Barcelona, when the whole MotoGP paddock will reconvene their rivalries at round seven of the championship on Sunday 5th June.“I am very, very happy with the tyres and how they performed today. During the last laps they started sliding a little bit more than in the previous laps, but now we don’t have anything like the problem that we had in Jerez on the straights. It has been a great weekend, it was a very close race, a great show for all and I am now 10-points above Marquez in the championship, so I am very happy.”

    Jorge Lorenzo said:

    “I am very, very happy with the tyres and how they performed today. During the last laps they started sliding a little bit more than in the previous laps, but now we don’t have anything like the problem that we had in Jerez on the straights. It has been a great weekend, it was a very close race, a great show for all and I am now 10-points above Marquez in the championship, so I am very happy.”

    Nicolas Goubert:

    “It has been a very good race weekend for us. The race time was shorter that the record race time, with the fastest lap at the end of the race by Iannone which was very close to the race lap-record.  It was the same yesterday with Rossi in qualification when he was one-hundredth-of-a-second off the outright track record. Everything went really well for us and there were no crashes that could be contributed to the front tyre, which was an important thing as nearly everybody used the new front, so this gives us confidence as we move forward with more technological advancements. We made a step here and now we head to the next race in Catalunya, where we also have a test on the Monday following the race, but if all the races are like this one we will be very happy.”

  • Mahindra’s Bagnaia shines at home with Mugello podium: Moto3

    Aspar Mahindra rider takes spectacular third place, whilst teammate Jorge Martín places fourteenth in wild race 

    Mug3llo, 22 May 2016: An exciting Moto3 race was expected at Mugello, and the lower cylinder category did not disappoint. A tight contest, the points-scoring positions were separated by just 2 seconds –and the Top Five was split by just 0.077s. The winner was decided on the final corner, as Brad Binder held off riders attempting a slipstream to claim the third victory of his career. He leads the World Championship by 49 points over Jorge Navarro, who failed to finish at Mugello . The podium was completed by Italians Fabio di Giannantonio, second, and Aspar Mahindra’s Pecco Bagnaia –who made a spectacular push from ninth position with three laps remaining.

    Pecco Bagnaia took his third podium of the season at Mugello. He began strongly, and on the first lap he had already gained three positions –moving up amongst the frontrunners just a few laps later. The Italian was consistently close to the front of a crowded group, consisting of more than twenty riders, but with three laps to go he ran wide at Turn 1, dropping to ninth. From there, Bagnaia continued to climb up the field to go into the last corner second, dropping down to third. He was just 0.031s off the rider in second place at the finish line. Teammate Jorge Martin fought his way up from fourteenth on the grid to fourth place a few laps from the end, but a series of glitches with his gearbox forced him back into the fight with the group. He would eventually take the chequered flag in fourteenth.

    3rd Pecco Bagnaia: “It’s a great result. After spending the whole weekend in the Top Five, it has been exciting to finish third in Mugello; we have gone beyond our limit. It was a tough race, with a very large group, and from the beginning I tried to give my best and push the bike in the same way.  I am very happy with the team’s work; it has been a great race for us. It was hard because I had to stay in front, but at the same time it was easy because there was a very high pace. After finishing fourth for the last two years at Mugello, finishing third is incredible.”

    eom/Aspar press release

  • Rossi powers to pole in Mugello

    Mugello, 21 May 2016: Riding with a special helmet design to mark his first home race of the season, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi brought massive cheers to the Autodromo del Mugello circuit today as he took a sensational pole position in the qualifying session ahead of tomorrow’s Gran Premio d’Italia. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo also pushed hard during the tense 15-minute qualifying heat and secured fifth place on the grid.

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi set a hot pace at the Autodromo del Mugello track today to score a brilliant pole position for tomorrow’s Gran Premio d’Italia. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo also put in a solid performance in the tight qualifying session, securing fifth place.

    Rossi arrived at the box with a special helmet that symbolizes how the hills around the Mugello track turn yellow when thousands of his fans come to support him during the Italian GP weekend. He took his time to leave the pit lane as qualifying got underway, allowing most of the other riders to depart before he headed out. The local hero put in a 1’48.433s on his first flying lap to slot into tenth place, before moving up to eighth place with a 1‘47.593s on his second attempt.

    Unable to improve his time on lap three, the Doctor quickly returned to the pits with less than five minutes on the clock for a new rear tyre. Back on the track, he dug deep and squeezed out all that his YZR-M1 has to offer on his fourth hot lap and set an incredible1’46.504s to take over first place. The last minute of the session saw a flurry of activity but the Italian‘s amazing time was left unchallenged, resulting in his second pole position of the season, 0.094s ahead of his closest rival.

    Teammate Lorenzo was the first rider to make his way out on the circuit for the start of the 15-minute qualifying heat, ensuring him some clear track space. He immediately put the hammer down on his first flying lap of 1’47.116s to take provisional third place, before returning to the pits for fresh rubber with ten minutes remaining.

    A minute later he was back on the track for more qualifying action. Having been relegated to fourth, the Mallorcan pushed hard to shave a little off his time. He clocked a second hot lap of 1‘47.005s but remained in the same position and decided to make a second pit stop to fit a new front tyre.

    With two minutes remaining the current MotoGP championship leader started his third and final stint. He waited until the very end of the session to drop a 1’46.882s on his final lap and claim fifth on the grid, 0.378s from pole.

    eom/Movistar Yamaha release

  • Bagnaia and Martín start off on top at Mugello

    Aspar Mahindra riders make positive start at Italian GP, setting the second and eleventh fastest times on Friday. Martín has his own second place cancelled out due to exceeding the track limits.

    The Moto3 riders were the first out on track at Mugello on Friday, and had the thankless task of kicking off the Italian GP weekend with mixed track conditions. The first session served to draw few conclusions due to the half wet, half dry surface, but the FP2 saw the action pick up. Lap times dropped by more than ten seconds, with Japan’s Hiroki Ono the fastest with a time of 1.58.849. On a day in which six Italians entered the top ten at their home race, the best of the lot was Aspar Mahindra’s Pecco Bagnaia -second and only 271 thousandths off the top spot.

    The Moto3 riders were the first out on track at Mugello on Friday, and had the thankless task of kicking off the Italian GP weekend with mixed track conditions. The first session served to draw few conclusions due to the half wet, half dry surface, but the FP2 saw the action pick up. Lap times dropped by more than ten seconds, with Japan’s Hiroki Ono the fastest with a time of 1.58.849. On a day in which six Italians entered the top ten at their home race, the best of the lot was Aspar Mahindra’s Pecco Bagnaia -second and only 271 thousandths off the top spot.

    eom/Aspar release

  • Lorenzo produces perfection in crash filled French GP; Rossi 2nd

    Le Mans (France), 8th May 2016
    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi repeated their 1-2 performances from Jerez at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, this time finishing in reversed order.

    Lorenzo started the 28-lap sprint exactly as he had planned. As the lights went out he had a lightning start from pole position and took the holeshot to create 0.4s lead after the first lap. Followed by Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso, he put his head down and dropped quick laps to keep a consistent gap of little more than half a second until, with 23 laps left, it was time to break away.

    With clear track in front of him and behind him, the triple premier class World Champion rode consistently fast lap times in the 1’33s to manage the gap to his pursuers that had rapidly grown to more than two seconds.

    Lorenzo was in a league of his own and remained unchallenged for the rest of the race. Leading the race from start to finish, the freshly turned 29 year old marked his birthday by securing a perfect victory, with a more than ten second margin, and to top off the celebrations he also took over the top spot in the championship standings.

    Teammate Rossi brought the heat to the racing action today, fighting his way up the order from his seventh place grid position. The Doctor had a challenging start from third row but quickly moved into sixth position before getting involved in a scrap with Pol Espargaró and Bradley Smith in the opening laps.

    After muscling his way past his fellow Yamaha riders with strong but fair passes, he quickly went on to take fifth place from Aleix Espergarò after the third lap. The nine-time World Champion then set his sights on Marc Marquez and increased his pace as he closed down the 1.3s gap, posting a 1’33.293s, the fastest lap of the race.

    With 20 laps to go Rossi moved up to fourth place as Iannone crashed out, which spurred him on to fight for a place on the podium. Having saved his tyres, he lined up his Spanish rival and under loud cheering from the fans he made his move in the Garage Vert corner on the next lap.

    Now in his element he overtook his next target, Andrea Dovizioso, up the inside in Musée corner. Though he was unable to stretch his lead when in second place, he kept pushing his YZR-M1 to the limit until Marquez and Dovizioso got caught out in turn seven while trying to keep up with his pace. With twelve and a half laps left to go, Rossi was no longer under pressure. Unable to close in on his teammate, who had a gap of more than 5.2s, he focused on managing his advantage over Maverick Viñales in third place and landed a second consecutive podium finish, taking the chequered flag 10.654s behind his teammate.

    Lorenzo‘s first place earns him 25 points, while Rossi adds 20 points to his score. These results put the Mallorcan in the lead in the championship standings on 90 points, five points ahead of his closest rival. Rossi stays third in the rankings with a 78-point total, seven points from second place.

    eom/A Movistar Yamaha release
  • Lorenzo seals pole position while Marquez settles for P1

    Lorenzo seals pole position while Marquez settles for P1

    Le Mans (France), 7 May 2016: After keeping up the pace in Saturday‘s two free practice sessions on the second day in France, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi went straight through to the Q2 session to qualify on the first and third row for tomorrow’s fifth race of the 2016 MotoGP World Championship.

    Marquez of Repsol Honda qualified second while teammate Dani Pedrosa had to settle for 11th place.

    Lorenzo had his signature start to the qualifying session, waiting for all other riders to leave the pit lane before rushing out on hisYZR-M1. Having set a 1‘32s lap this weekend, the Mallorcan continued the trend dropping a 1‘32.437s, a best lap of the weekend at that time, for first place. He further extended his lead with a 1‘32.236s before heading back to the pits with more than seven minutes remaining.

    There were mixed feelings for Repsol Honda today at Le Mans, with Marc Marquez emerging second-best from a demanding qualifying session and Dani Pedrosa forced to settle for 11th place after slipping off at turn 4 halfway through the session.

    Marquez had found quite a good pace in the morning FP3 session, and he struggled to match that speed in his first run in qualifying. However, the Spaniard put in a couple of very fast laps during his second exit and finished in a strong second position behind pole-man Jorge Lorenzo.

    Pedrosa was unfortunate to suffer a small crash after completing his first flying lap and so losing precious time and the chance to improve his lap time enough to do better than 11th.

    Lorenzo was back on track with five minutes to go and had just enough time left for two more hot laps. Despite a slight error on his third hot lap, he made a stunning recovery. He waited until the last moment to show his blistering pace and became the fastest man everaround the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, posting a new circuit best lap record of 1’31.975s, extending his lead to 0.441s.

    Valentino Rossi had a similar strategy to his teammate and was one of the last riders to exit pit lane as the lights went green. His first flying lap put him in third place until Lorenzo completed his first flying lap, pushing the Italian back to fourth. Eager to stay on the first row, he improved his time on his second try and moved back into the provisional top three with a 1‘32.829s.

    eom/Press Releases from teams

  • Rossi seals superb Spanish victory;

    Rossi seals superb Spanish victory;

    Rossi celebrates after winning Spanish GP. A Movistar Yamaha image
    Rossi celebrates after winning Spanish GP. A Movistar Yamaha image

    Jerez, 24 April 2016: Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi highlighted why he is the most successful rider at Circuito de Jerez  on Sunday and rode one of the strongest races of his career to receive a standing ovation as he jumped onto the top step of the podium for the Gran Premio de España. Jorge Lorenzo also put in a stunning effort under the Andalusian sunshine and made it a perfect 1-2 for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team.

    Rossi says: I think that this was the perfect weekend. We started to go faster from Friday morning and we worked very well. The bike, in the race, was fantastic and we worked very well with the team so I have to say “thank you” to the whole Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team, especially my crew. I had a good pace and a good start and felt good with the bike from the beginning, so I could push. Sincerely, it was a special taste to have a win like this, so thanks a lot!

    The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team dominated the scenes in Spain as Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo set off from first and second place of the grid. They didn‘t relinquish the first two places once to any other riders and gave Yamaha a perfect one-two podium.

    Starting from pole the nine-time world champion had a strong start and took the holeshot with his team-mate following his every move like a shadow. Two laps of tense racing action followed as they pushed each other to the limit. Rossi tried to make his YZR-M1 as wide as possible as Lorenzo tried to steal the lead. He had a brief success, but Rossi immediately responded. Realising the threat that was coming from behind, the Doctor dropped the fastest lap of the race on lap three, a 1‘40.090s, and created a 0.7s gap to his pursuers. With clear track in front of him and behind him, Rossi put the hammer down and checked out.

    Determined to look after his tyres, the Italian lowered his pace a little in the final stages of the race, yet made sure to keep enough space between him and Lorenzo by responding in the right moments. He finished his lonely ride by taking the chequered flag 2.386s ahead his closest rival and took home his 113th career victory.

    Teammate Lorenzo had a strong start and tucked in behind team-mate Rossi in second place. The local hero is known for being strong on the opening lap and built on the pressure on his fellow Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider. He was eager to find a way past the number 46 rider after a few attempts that weren‘t to last, but soon he had to focus on protecting his second place from a fast approaching Marc Marquez.

    However, the race was far from over. With 10 laps to go Lorenzo was able to turn the tables on Rossi and started to close down the margin. It looked like a second battle for the win was about to take place when suddenly the Spaniard suffered from wheel spin on the long straight just as he started to reel in his team-mate. Keeping his head cool, Lorenzo finished the race calmly and secured his100th premier class podium.

    Rossi remains in third position with his first place podium finish, now on 58 points and seven points behind Lorenzo, who is in second place with a total of 65 points, 17 behind the leader in the championship standings.

    The team will be back on track tomorrow at the Circuito de Jerez for a one-day test.

  • Rossi takes pole; Lorenzo to start on P2

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo kept the pressure on in qualifying this afternoon for tomorrow‘s Gran Premio de España, taking first and second on the grid.

    Rossi was one of the favourites to claim a spot on the front row after dropping the fastest time, a low 1‘49s lap, in FP3 this morning.

    As the last rider to take to the track at the start of QP2, he had clear tarmac in front of him and was quick to push out a strong time attack. His first flying lap of 1‘39.761s gave him initial third place. Over his next few tries he improved his time to a 1‘39.463s but he remained in provisional third position as he headed into the pits with five and a half minutes remaining.

    Less than a minute later the Doctor was back on his way and ready to step up his pace. Despite there only being a few minutes left of the session he was not rushed by the clock and calmly waited until after the flag had already come out to drop into the 1‘38s with a1‘38.736 and take his first pole position since last year‘s Dutch Grand Prix in Assen. This impressive achievement puts him in joint first place with team-mate Lorenzo in the most pole position rankings, as they both hold 62 first place Grand Prix starts over all classes.

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s local hero Lorenzo finished at the top of the standings for three of the four practice sessions and had his eye fixed on the front row of the grid for the race. He was the first man to leave pit lane at the start of the qualifying two heat. He immediately dropped into the 1‘39s with a 1‘39.405 lap and took the lead, but was pushed back to second place as he headed into the pits for his first of two stops.

    He returned to the track with more than nine minutes remaining, but quickly came back into the box after experiencing tyre issues and switched back to his first bike to make his final dash for pole. His next lap was a superb 1‘38.858s for provisional first place and it remained unchallenged, until Rossi took over at the front in the final minute with a margin of just over one tenth of a second.

    Tomorrow the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team-mates will be on track for the fourth race of the season at 14:00 (GMT+2) local track time. (5.30 pm IST)

  • Marquez domination continues at Austin: A Michelin view

    Austin, 10 April 2016: Marc Marquez today scored his fourth successive win from pole at Circuit of the Americas, making it his 10th victory in a row on American soil and extending his lead in the Championship standings by 21 points over Jorge Lorenzo according to a Repsol Honda team press release.

    Marc led from the beginning of the Texas weekend, finishing first in every practice, earning pole position and finally leading the race from the start to the chequered flag, setting the fastest lap of the race at 2’04.682 on lap 11. With this success, Marquez overtakes Kevin Schwantz in number of victories in the premier class, with 26, while Honda now leads both the Constructor and Team standings.

    It was a masterful victory, the result of his particularly good feeling with the track and the good teamwork performed in the garage. After today’s warm-up in fact, the Spaniard, together with his team and Michelin technician, chose to race with a medium rear/soft front tyre combination that proved to be successful.

    A Michelin View

    Michelin’s MotoGP™ debut at the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, America has been totally dominated by Marc Marquez on a Honda as he secured his fourth successive victory at the Texan track, a Michelin release adds.

    Michelin brought new rear tyres to the American circuit following a decision after last weekend’s race to begin production on a brand new version in readiness for today’s race. The tyres began their build process on Monday in Clermont Ferrand, France and were then shipped to Houston in Texas, before finally arriving in separate batches at the track on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. The new tyres had a stiffer construction with a softer compound, designed specifically for the Texan circuit, and built with a significant respect for safety to counter any incidents like the one encountered in Argentina last weekend, although the result of the analysis of Scott Redding’s tyre is not yet available.

    Free Practice and qualifying went well with the new MICHELIN Power Slicks with all teams and riders adapting to the new rubber and dialling in the settings as practice continued, before Marquez secured his fourth pole position in-a-row at COTA on the Saturday afternoon. Today’s race was held in warm, but cloudy, conditions and as the lights changed to signal the start of the race in front of over 56,000 enthusiastic fans, Marquez led off the line, but was passed by reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. The 2015 champion was unable to make the move permanent and his Yamaha was relegated to second as Marquez again took the lead – a position that he would not relinquish again as he stormed to back-to-back victories on Michelin tyres, the first rider to do so since  Valentino Rossi in 2006.

    Behind the dominant Marquez, Lorenzo rode a lonely race and was never really pressured as he took a comfortable second place, with Andrea Iannone in third on a Ducati to complete a podium of three different manufacturers. The variation in machines continued into fourth place after a race-long battle between Suzuki riders Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro, saw the former just edge out his team-mate. Sixth position and the honour of First Independent Team Rider went to Ducati’s Scott Redding, While Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro finished in seventh. Eighth and ninth positions went to Ducati, one ridden by Michele Pirro and the other by Hector Barbera respectively, whilst a solid ride from Stefan Bradl secured tenth for Aprilia and the fifth different brand in the top-10. Marquez’s victory takes him to the top of the championship classification after three-rounds, in front of Lorenzo and Yamaha’s Rossi – who unfortunately crashed on lap-three due to a clutch issue he suffered at the start of the race.

    Michelin and the whole MotoGP paddock now heads back across the Atlantic ocean on its way to Europe as it moves to Jerez in Spain for round-four of the championship, which will be held on Sunday 24th April in the heart of Andalucía.

    Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda:

    “During this weekend we have all done a really good job together. I want to say this victory is not only for me and my team, but for my Michelin Technician, because he convinced me that the soft front tyre option was good for me and it would be the right option for my riding style and that really convinced me.  With this choice I was able to do a great race and I am very happy with the result. Now we go to Europe, these are tracks that are very different to where we have already been and also Michelin has more experience on them – because the tracks are older – so we will try to work hard again when we get there.”

    Nicolas Goubert – Deputy Director, Technical Director and Supervisor of the MotoGP Programme:

    “What we really wanted to do here was to show that we could react in the correct way after the issue that Scott had in Argentina. We did exactly what we said we would do and brought some new tyres that were based on the extra tyre that we should have run in Argentina, but with compounds more suited to the track here. It was tight in the factory to get it done, but it worked and the tyres did a pretty good job, so we are pleased about that. Considering this is the first time that we have had these constructions on the race-track we are quite satisfied with the results.”

    Piero Taramasso – Manager of the Two-Wheel Motorsport Group:

    “This has been quite a demanding week, because after Argentina we had to react quickly, so we had to build the tyre, ship it, get it through customs and then get it delivered to the track, so the logistics of that were not easy – but luckily everything went well. We got all the tyres in time so that the teams and the riders had time to test it properly and make the correct settings and then make the right tyre choice for the race. I really want to give a special mention to the Michelin Technicians and Fitters here at the track for their hard work this week, and especially the staff back in the factory who pushed so hard to make sure the tyres were made and sent here for us to use.”

    eom/Michelin press release

  • Bagnaia takes brilliant third for all-new Mahindra: Moto3

    Bagnaia takes brilliant third for all-new Mahindra: Moto3

    Doha, 21 March 2016: Aspar Mahindra rider Pecco Bagnaia toughed it out for a brilliant third place under the floodlights in the opening round of the 2016 Moto3 World Championship in Qatar on Sunday..

    The 19-year-old Italian fought every inch of the way in an eight-strong pack of the world’s best riders, using the MGP3O’s superb handling and his own intelligent tactics to be with the leaders as the chequered flag fell.

    The new white-liveried Mahindra racer was just 0.148 of a second adrift of winner Niccolo Antonelli’s Honda, with Brad Binder’s KTM sandwiched between them.

    Bagnaia had started the Qatar Grand Prix – the first of 18 rounds – from the fourth row of the grid, and finished the first of 18 laps of the 5.38-km Losail circuit in seventh position. From there to the end it was an action-packed 38 minutes, with eight riders exchanging blows at every corner, and swerving in and out of one another’s slipstreams down the kilometre-long start-finish straight.

    Bagnaia held his own throughout, sometimes losing ground on the straight but then taking it back with interest in the corners. At the finish, the first seven riders were still within three quarters of a second of the leader.

    It was a superb debut for the all-new Mahindra Moto3 machine, completely redesigned during the winter break; and justification also for a tactical change of bodywork during the weekend, after it was found that a different version of the fairing gave better results at the desert circuit.

    With the agreement of its customer teams, the only Indian constructor in international racing made the one bodywork change allowed for the season even before the first race. The podium finish was the pay-off; in future races all eight Mahindra riders will have the choice of two different versions of the fairing.

    FRANCESCO “PECCO” BAGNAIA – Third Place

    This was a really, really difficult race. I had to push to the maximum on every single lap, and the pace was very strong. After practice and qualifying I didn’t think it would be possible to stay with the front group – but with the slipstream in the race, I realised I could do it. It was an amazing result for us. Mahindra and the Aspar team have worked really hard. The different fairing was definitely a help: it was easier to take the slipstream, and to close the line on the corners.

    MUFADDAL CHOONIA – CEO Mahindra Racing

    A podium is a fantastic way to start the new season after all the hard work from Mahindra Racing and our teams over the winter. Pecco rode magnificently to show the potential of the new MGP3O. Congratulations and thanks to him. He was the only rider who used the new aerodynamic package that we chose to homologate here. It improved stability and cornering speed, and the result certainly showed. Now we will work toward ensuring all the Mahindra and Peugeot Motocycles riders have the same opportunity: we’re committed to providing all of them with the new fairing from the next race in Argentina.”

    ends

    About Mahindra Racing

    In 2016, Mahindra Racing is competing as a constructor in its fifth year in the Moto3™ class of MotoGP and remains the only Indian constructor in the series, having first participated in 2011.  Mahindra Racing supplies the Mahindra MGP3O single-cylinder, 4-stroke, 250cc motorcycle to the factory Aspar Mahindra Team and three customer teams. Mahindra also supplies an official Peugeot Motocycles derivative of the MGP3O to the factory Peugeot MC Saxoprint Team.

    The 2016 Mahindra Racing line-up includes: Aspar Mahindra Team – Jorge Martin (SPA), Francesco Bagnaia (ITA);  Peugeot MC Saxoprint – Alexis Masbou (FRA), John McPhee (GB); Platinum Bay Real Estate – Karel Hanika (CZE), Darryn Binder (RSA); CIP-Unicom Starker- Fabio Spiranellia (ITA), Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN); 3570 Team Italia – Stefano Valtulini (ITA), Lorenzo Petrarca (ITA).

    Mahindra Racing made history in the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix taking the first-ever podium for an Indian constructor. The MGP3O recorded top-five finishes in 10 of the 17 rounds in 2013 as well as a pole position, three circuit lap records and third in the constructors’ rankings. The 2014 season saw a further three podium finishes for the Indian motorcycle, including second place at the Sachsenring. In 2015, the Mahindra regularly fought at the front of the ultra-competitive Moto3 class and recorded a podium finish at Le Mans.

    As well as its commitment in the World Championship, Mahindra continues to supply MGP3O machines to Team Aspar to compete in World Championship feeder series, the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship in 2016.

    Mahindra’s bold decision to take on the world’s best at the highest level of motorcycle racing has won the team a number of prestigious awards in India, including: the NDTV Car and Bike Awards – ‘Mobil 1 Motorsport Award of the Year’, 2012 and 2013; the Bike India Magazine – ‘Motorsport Award’, 2013; and ‘ZigWheels Motorsport Award of the Year’, 2012.

    For further information please visit: www.mahindraracing.com.

    eom/Mahindra press release