INDIA in F1

Tag: MotoGP

  • MotoGP heads to Le Mans: A Michelin view

    MotoGP heads to Le Mans: A Michelin view

    Michelin will see its range of MotoGP™ tyres put through their paces on home soil as the championship heads to France and one of the world’s spiritual racing homes at Le Mans for the HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France.

    The 4,185m Bugatti Circuit is within the famous 24-hour track and uses a part of that legendary layout in conjunction with a purpose-built facility to create a circuit which features nine right-hand and five left-hand corners over its configuration. The stop-go design of the track makes it less stressful on tyres than some other circuits, with late braking and drivability two determining factors that need to be mastered to give a good lap. Michelin recently visited the circuit for a test to appraise the new asphalt that was laid earlier this year and a positive assessment led to valuable data being collected in preparation for this weekend’s event. The one-day test was used to evaluate the best compounds for the new surface and with this information Michelin has brought a series of tyres that will be suited to the track’s improved grip levels.

    The range for the Le Mans race will feature a soft, medium and hard front and rear MICHELIN Power Slick – as is the case at all races this season. These will all be identified with a white band, no band and yellow band respectively to donate the tyre compound being used. Although the circuit is not particularly hard on the tyres, the new surface provides a greater amount of grip and to cope with this, and the extra right-hand turns, the rear tyres – and the hard front compound – will be an asymmetric design with the right-hand shoulder having a harder compound. The MICHELIN Power Rain tyres in soft (blue band) and medium (no band) will be available for use if conditions dictate, which with the mixed weather that has struck MotoGP this season, and the expected climate at Le Mans, might very well be used at some point during the weekend.

    The famous French circuit has held a motorcycle Grand Prix since 1969, with the modern track being a stable fixture on the calendar since 2000. Situated just on the outskirts on the town of Le Mans, approximately 200km south-west of the country’s capital Paris, the circuit always attracts a lively and boisterous crowd that will certainly be taking a keen interest in France’s exploits on the track.

    Michelin will  begin the proceedings for its home race with the rest of the MotoGP paddock on Friday 19th May with two Free Practice sessions, followed by another Free Practice the following morning. Qualifying is on Saturday afternoon to decide grid positions for Sunday’s 28-lap race, which is scheduled to get underway at 14.00hrs local time (13.00hrs BST, 12.00hrsGMT/UST).

    Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager:

    “This is a very important weekend for us as the home Grand Prix always has a special meaning, as well as the added expectation. The French people are very partisan and will certainly be right behind us, so we must perform for them as well as all the Michelin personnel that will be trackside. We had a good test at Le Mans earlier this month to try the new surface and gather as much data as possible about which compounds we will use. This has enabled us to go back to Clermont-Ferrand and prepare a range of tyres that will give optimum performance around this famous circuit. The new asphalt will provide grip in the dry and as we found at the test – because it rained in the morning – it also has very impressive adhesion in the wet, which could prove important as the weather can certainly be changeable at Le Mans.”

  • Pedrosa takes pole, Rossi on P7

    Dani Pedrosa took a stunning pole position, his 29th in MotoGP and the 47th in his career, edging teammate Marc Marquez by just half a tenth in a breath-taking battle for the top spot during the final minutes of the Gran Premio Red Bull de España in Jerez. Cal Crutchlow in third completes an all-Honda front row for the first time since the German GP in 2014 (at the Sachsenring).

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi continued the action today at the Circuito de Jerez, in the FP3, FP4 and Q2 sessions. They secured fourth and seventh place respectively on the grid for tomorrow. C Crutchlow of LCR Honda will start on P3.

    Marc made good use of the work he did on the setup of his RC213V, and after a fourth-fastest time in the morning’s FP3 session ensured him a direct passage to Q2, he posted the top time in FP4 and then fought hard for the pole in qualifying.Dani has led every session this weekend apart from today’s FP4, showing a competitive pace and dazzling speed in every condition. Tomorrow he will start from pole for the first time since Malaysia in 2015, and he’ll do so at the 3,000thGrand Prix of the world championship.

    Dani Pedrosa

    ”This was probably one of the best poles of my career because it was a really hard battle. It was a strategic end of the session with Marc there right behind me, so for a moment I wasn’t sure if I should push or not. There was no choice anyway, so I just went for it. I’m very happy because our main target for the GP was to be on the front row. The feeling was really good, and it has been good all weekend, so I told myself, Okay, let’s try it. It has been a while since I’ve led in qualifying; I’ve struggled a lot last season so I’m very happy with today. Thanks to the team for the hard work, and I’m also happy for Honda. It looks like we’re doing really well so let’s focus for tomorrow and do the best we can,” said Dani Pedrosa.

    Movistar Yamaha adds:

    Viñales was the last rider out this afternoon to clock a time in Q2 and immediately moved up to provisional fourth place, before the pace picked up. He put his head down and improved his time to a 1‘38.677s to promote to third on the provisional front row and returned to the box. On a one-stop strategy, he entered pit lane with seven minutes of the session remaining and went back out on track one and a half minute later.

    He had just enough time for two more tries and didn’t hesitate to put the hammer down to drop a 1’38s lap, but he was unable to improve on his earlier achievement. His second hot lap of the session was fast enough to hold fourth place, 0.428s from pole, on the second row of the grid.

    Teammate Rossi took a little while to get underway at the start of the 15-minute qualifying heat, allowing most of the traffic to leave before him. He entered a relatively empty track, but was struggling to breach into the top of the timesheets. His best lap on his first run, a 1’39.305s, kept him in tenth place as he entered the pits with less than seven minutes on the clock.

    A little more than two minutes later, he was back out again and clearly on a mission. Having dropped to 11th place in the meantime, he was determined to better his position and had two more chances to strive for a top result, which he took with both hands to drop under the 1‘39-mark on his first try. His best lap, a 1’38.908s, 0.659s from the front, earned him seventh on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

    eom/Team Press Releases

  • Moto GP returns to Europe for the Spanish party: A Michelin view

    Moto GP returns to Europe for the Spanish party: A Michelin view

    Rossi file photo by Michelin

    Jerez (Spain), 2 May 2017:  The 2017 Moto GP championship returns from three fly-away races to begin the European leg of the season with the Gran Premio Red Bull de España at Jerez in Spain, according to a Michelin release.

    Michelin and the whole MotoGP field has seen a mixture of conditions during the trio of events in Qatar, Argentina and America, so will be hoping for a weekend of more settled weather for the now traditional first race of the year in Europe. Jerez is one of the best attended Grands Prix on the calendar with spectator numbers up to 250,000 known to attend over the three-days. The whole weekend has a true carnival atmosphere with thousands of people also lining the streets of nearby towns such as Jerez de la Frontera and El Puerto de Santa Maria to join in the festivities in a region that is renowned for its Sherry-making traditions. With huge crowds expected to fill the grandstands and hills around the Andalusian circuit, the event will certainly have a colourful and electrifying feel.

    The 4,423m circuit has a history of producing some memorable racing, this is due to its variable layout, featuring many camber changes, hard-braking zones and fast sweeping curves. The surface also offers very low grip levels, so Michelin will supply tyres to give optimum performance in these conditions, whilst also having the ability to handle the undulating and diverse nature of the track and give the riders the confidence to race at their full potential.

    The allocation of tyres that Michelin will supply will feature a soft, medium and hard front slick, which will be joined by the rear MICHELIN Power Slicks that will be available in the soft (symmetrical), medium (asymmetrical design featuring a harder right-hand-side) and hard (symmetrical) compounds, Both the front and rear tyres will be identified by a white band on the tyre sidewall of the softer version, no band on the medium and a yellow band on the harder specification. In the case of any wet weather, the front and rear soft (blue band) and medium (no band) compound MICHELIN Power Rain tyres will be available.

    Michelin and the MotoGP field takes to the track on Friday for two Free Practice sessions, followed by another practice the following morning. Qualifying will take place on Saturday afternoon, which will decide the important grid positions for Sunday’s 27-lap race that gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (14.00hrs CEST, 13.00hrs BST, 12.00hrs GMT/UTC).

    Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager

    “After all the fly-away races it is good to be starting the European leg of the season and travelling to venues that are closer to home, which have with easier logistics. Jerez is one of the tracks that we are targeting for improvements this season. It is a low grip circuit, with many directional changes, as well as being quite narrow. The diversity of the corner layout means that we need to offer a tyre with a balanced character to provide good handling from low speed through to high speed corners and from flat turns to changes in elevation, so this makes it quite technical in all aspects. We have a range of tyres that will give us the sort of progress we are looking to make and then on the Monday at the test we will be supplying some new options, as well as giving the riders some existing alternatives to try out and make comparisons with the tyres we already have in the range. Jerez itself is an amazing event, full of excitable and colourful fans and it’s a race that has given some memorable battles and is certainly a great place to start at in Europe.”

    eom/Michelin press release

  • Marquez takes 5 win in a row at COTA; Rossi 2nd

    Marquez takes 5 win in a row at COTA; Rossi 2nd


    Marquez after taking COTA win on Sunday. A Repsol Honda image 24apr2017 monIST

    Austin (Texas), 23 April 2017: Marc Marquez continue his unbeaten run at the Circuit Of The Americas today as he raced to victory at the third round of the championship during the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas held in Texas.

    Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) started from pole position following yesterday’s qualifying session, but had to concede the holeshot and first-lap advantage to team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team). The pair led the race as the pack started to form behind them, which was then quickly altered when championship leader Maverick Viñales crashed. As the race wore on Marquez and Pedrosa swapped positions at the front several times before the reigning World Champion seized the opportunity on lap-nine and took a decisive lead which he held until the chequered flag. Marquez crossed the line to take his fifth successive victory at COTA and his ninth consecutive MotoGP class win on American soil, whilst setting the fastest lap of the race on his 15th circulation.

    The battle for the podium positions was an entertaining affair as Pedrosa was hunted down by nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP).  The Spaniard held off the charging Italian for as long as he could, but succumbed on lap-19 leaving Rossi to take second – a position which also gave him the lead in the World Championship Classification – with Pedrosa coming home third. Fourth place was the fight for the First Independent Rider position  as Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) both chased the spoils, with Crutchlow eventually getting the better of the rookie as the race concluded. Sixth position went to Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), with Andrea Iannone (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) in seventh. Danilo Petrucci (OCTO Pramac Ducati) took eighth, with Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) and Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) rounding out the top-ten with ninth and tenth respectively.

    The range of MICHELIN Power Slicks were put to good use today as five of the six specifications were used by the riders and paired in many different configurations throughout the field. The choice of the podium men saw Marquez go with a hard front and rear compound, while Rossi favoured the medium front and rear, with the third placed rider Pedrosa choosing the medium front and hard rear. This difference in choice again highlighted that Michelin can supply a range of tyres for all riders and machines and give competitive options to all the field.

    Michelin and the whole of the MotoGP paddock will now re-group and return to Europe after the hectic start to the season which has seen three fly-away tests and three long-haul races. Round four of the championship will be the Spanish Grand Prix to be held at Jerez in Spain on Sunday 7th May.

    Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team:

    “Today’s race was very good, but also very tricky. It was difficult last year, but this year it was really demanding for the tyres, especially the right side with the many long corners and today the temperature was quite high. Today I chose the hard option front and rear and at the start it was difficult to get the feeling because I hadn’t used the hard front properly in the practice because the temperature wasn’t high enough. I managed my tyres well and attacked during the middle of the race. This was a nice result for us because in this kind of race where we manage the tyres is really demanding for a rider and so today was a good result for me, my team and Michelin.”

    Marc Marquez: First

    “This was a crucial race because after Argentina it was important to come back in the best way, so we are really happy with this result. Although I won, it was difficult, because the temperature was much higher than yesterday. Five minutes before the start, I said to my chief mechanic, ‘Okay, let’s use the hard tyre’ because I knew that I would push the medium front tyre a lot. In the beginning I was just trying to understand the limit because I hadn’t tried it a lot on Friday. I was behind Dani and when I saw that he was struggling a little bit and Valentino was challenging, I said, ‘Time to attack.’ I was able to win, and I’m happy to be back in the championship.”

    Valentino Rossi, second

    It was a great surprise for me and for the team because we were struggling very much with the new bike, especially during the winter. I think we need more time to understand the setting and the way to ride it, but at the end this bike is very good, especially in the race and with the used tyres. I‘m so happy, because today I wasn‘t so far from the front and it‘s also the best result of my career at this track, so it‘s good. When I saw ’Viñales out‘ I started to think “I‘m on top of the championship standings”. I felt good and I also saw Dani having some problems, especially on the right, so I said “maybe those four points are important” and in fact it was like that. For me the penalty wasn‘t right. The problem is we either do it like this, or we crash together at a very dangerous point. But for me, though accepting Race Direction‘s decision, the mistake was made by Zarco.

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

    “This has been another important weekend for us and again shows the different options of tyres that can be used by the riders. Today we had five of the six specifications used, with the top-three all using different configurations, and this was also repeated throughout the field. The riders reported the track was very bumpy and had a changed a lot from last year, so we were impressed with how they coped and used the tyres to make the best of the unusual conditions. Overall this has been another encouraging weekend and one that we will again take a lot from. We now go to Europe where we will race at Jerez and then have an important test at the same track on the Monday after the race, which will see us doing some back-to-back comparisons between existing tyres, previous prototypes and new versions, all designed to take our performance – and that of the riders – on to the next level.”

    eom/Michelin press release with quotes from Repsol Honda and Movistar Yamaha

  • Marquez takes pole; Vinales P2 with Rossi in P3

    Marquez takes pole; Vinales P2 with Rossi in P3

    Austin, 22 April 2017: Marc Marquez extended his record of most Pole Positions in Grand Prix history across all classes, taking the 67th pole in career (his 39th in the MotoGP class, his second in a row this season and his fifth in a row at Austin at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday. Marc worked hard with his team on race pace on used tyres and despite suffering two crashes (without consequences) in FP3, he was able to regain good confidence on his RC213V and keep a fast pace, according to a Repsol Honda release.

    While the stunning dash by the reigning champion got him another pole, the winner of the first two races, Vinales was second and multiple winner Valentino Rossi is third.

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team‘s Maverick Viñales scored a position on the front row with second place in this afternoon‘s qualifying for tomorrow‘s Grand Prix of The Americas. Teammate Valentino Rossi also pushed his YZR-M1 to the limit at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), claiming third place on the grid in the final minutes, adds Movistar Yamaha release.

    The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders wrapped up today‘s intense Qualifying 2 session with some red-hot laps, securing Yamaha its first double front row start of the 2017 MotoGP season and setting the stage for a thrilling race.

    Viñales waited for most of his competition to head out at the start of the 15-minute qualifying session. Wasting no time, his first flying lap was looking promising, but traffic on the track spoiled his efforts in the final corner. His second attempt, a 2‘03.912s, moved him to second place before he rushed back to the box for a fresh set of tyres.

    With four minutes remaining, the young Spaniard pulled out all the stops to earn first place. He narrowed the gap to provisional pole to 0.083s with a 2‘03.125s, but knew he had a margin for improvement left. He made good on his promising pace, when he dropped a 2‘02.871s to briefly take over pole, before being pushed back to second after the flag was out. Nevertheless, Viñales is perfectly satisfied to have secured his second front row start for Yamaha, 0.130s from the front.

    Teammate Rossi went straight into action as soon as the green light signalled the start of the 15-minute time attack. The Italian’s first lap initially lifted him to fifth, but he dropped to eighth when all riders had completed their first attempt. The long American track allowed him one more try and he responded soon with a 2’04.758s for seventh, but was back in eighth when he entered pit lane for a quick stop.

    The Doctor returned to the pits with around six minutes on the clock and quickly changed tyres in under 60 seconds, before heading back out. Having dropped to tenth place, he was determined to show what he got and cleverly searched for some clear space on track. He perfectly timed his final attack, stepping up his pace on his seventh lap to better his time to a 2’03.673s  to take third, 0.932s from first.

    Dani Pedrosa, fourth

    Pedrosa, who was another victim (among many others today) of the tricky track conditions and had a small, inconsequent tumble at the end of FP4, also lapped among the fastest during the day and set the fourth-fastest lap in qualifying, missing out on the front row by just 0.193”.

    Marc Marquez, 

    POLE POSITION  2’02.741

    Marquez celebrates with team after taking COTA pole on Saturday. A Repsol Honda image

    “This pole makes me feel really good because I honestly didn’t expect it, or actually I thought it would be difficult. In fact, even considering that this circuit suits my riding style, I’ve been struggling a bit this weekend. We knew that our opponents were very strong on new tyres and we worked a lot on race distance, and I felt better on race pace than on qualifying pace. But anyway, this is a track I love, so I told myself, ‘Let’s try!’ and on my last lap I pushed to my maximum, doing my best, and we got another pole here in Austin which is very good. I’m happy with the team; we changed many things on the bike over the weekend and step-by-step we regained some confidence, so this afternoon we just focused on keeping a good pace and it worked well. We did a good job in FP4. I feel quite good on used tyres so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

    eom/Honda and Yamaha releases

  • Vinales wins, Rossi makes it 1-2 for Yamaha; Marquez crashes out

    Vinales wins, Rossi makes it 1-2 for Yamaha; Marquez crashes out

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi stormed to their second consecutive double podium of the season in round two of the MotoGP World Championship at the Termas Río Hondo Circuit.

    Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), 9 April 2017: The  Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team gave an astounding performance in today‘s Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina, securing an immaculate 1-2 finish. Maverick Viñales was in a league of his own in the 25-lap sprint, as he flew from sixth on the grid to first place. Valentino Rossi was a man with a plan for his 350th Grand Prix start and was in hot pursuit, to ultimately secure a brilliant second place.

    The Repsol Honda Team suffered a double DNF today in the Argentine GP, which saw seven different riders crash of the race. Pole-sitter Marc Marquez fell in turn 2 on the fourth lap while leading by two seconds over fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, who finished in a positive third position. At the time of his crash, Marquez was pushing hard to try and pull a gap on the chasing group, adds Repsol Honda.

    Dani Pedrosa overtook Johan Zarco and Danilo Petrucci for fourth place and was increasing his pace (recording the second-fastest lap of the race on lap 13, in 1’39.740”), when he too went down in turn 2, on lap 14.

    Fortunately, both riders escaped unharmed and are looking forward to the next round in Austin (Texas, USA) in two weeks’ time.

    Viñales stormed off the line from the second row and soon muscled his way to third place, putting pressure on Cal Crutchlow in second. He attacked in turn 7 on lap 3 and soon after took over the lead as Marc Marquez crashed out of the race.

    Now at the front, with a clear track as far as the eye could see, the Spaniard put his head down and pulled away from the field. He was completely in his element and rode a faultless race, steadily increasing the gap to the pursuing riders. The 22-year-old crossed the line with a healthy 2.915s lead, securing his second consecutive victory on the Yamaha with ease.

    This amazing achievement not only makes Viñales the first Yamaha rider since Wayne Rainey in 1990 to win the first two races of the season, but it also brings Yamaha‘s Grand Prix win tally up to 499 victories in total.

    Rossi had a brilliant start from seventh, entering the first corner side by side with Viñales to exit it in sixth place. He soon flew past Dani Pedrosa and Karel Abraham with the intention to stick to the rear wheel of his teammate. With Marquez out of the race on lap 4, the Italian moved up to third and felt the lure of a second place.

    With sixteen laps to go he dipped under the 1‘40s mark and closed right up to Crutchlow. As the riders behind them got involved in a scrap and were unable to match the pace of the three riders at the front, the Doctor had a comfortable margin of close to 5 seconds, allowing him to focus on the battle to come. The nine-time World Champion sized up the Brit carefully, choosing the best place and time to make a move.

    With seven laps remaining, Rossi made a pass in turn 5 and made it stick. He followed it up with a couple of low 1‘40s laps to inch away from Crutchlow, making it a perfect Yamaha 1-2, the first since the Grand Prix of Le Mans in 2016, when he took the chequered flag 2.915s behind his teammate.

    Today‘s dream results see Viñales hold the lead in the championship standings with 50 points, closely followed by Rossi in second position with 36 points. Yamaha remains in the lead in the Constructors‘ Championship with a maximum of 50 points, while the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team lead the way in the Team Championship with 86 points, 59 points ahead of Monster Yamaha Tech3 in second place.

    The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action in two weeks’ time at the Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, Texas, in the United States.

    Maverick Vinales said: We  did a great job. We made the tyre decision already this morning. I feel really great! The tyre‘s grip level was really good the entire time. I feel pretty strong and Michelin is doing a great job, I feel really happy and confident. It‘s like we are in a dream. I have to say thanks to the team, they are doing a great job, so let‘s continue like that.

    Valentina Rossi about his 350th race and the podium: My mechanic, Brent, said to me on the grid “It‘s the 350th, try to make it a good race”. I‘m happy, because I was competitive today from the first to the last lap. I felt better physically and I trained hard so I felt good on the bike and I could push throughout the whole race. I feel that my concentration is good and also the battle with Cal was good also, because I was able to beat him. Unfortunately, Maverick was a bit faster, but this result is really important for me and the whole team, a Yamaha 1-2 is great! I don‘t think the results would have been different if I‘d passed Cal earlier in the race. Looking at the lap times, Maverick was a bit stronger and that‘s just the way it is today. This track is always tricky, also in the past we saw a lot of problems. Bumps and slipperiness and it also rained yesterday, so you have to pay attention and you also have to be lucky. For us this is good, because we took some important points for the championship and I also felt really good with the bike today.

    eom/Movistar Yamaha press release

    Yamaha riders on podium after Argentina GP on Sunday. A Movistar Yamaha image
  • Vinales in top form, fastest on Friday: MotoGP

    Vinales in top form, fastest on Friday: MotoGP

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales set the tone at the first two free practice sessions of the Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina on Friday. Teammate Valentino Rossi also had a productive day, but struggled to find the right feeling and secured 16th place. Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, the reigning world champion, was second fastest followed by the two Ducatis.

    The early MotoGP World Championship leader remains the man to beat in Argentina. After topping every preseason test and dominating the opening round of the season in Qatar, Maverick Viñales continued his good form in round two, clocking a 1’39.477 in free practice that very few riders were able to follow. The closest was Marc Márquez, a two-time former winner at this circuit, although even he was three tenths adrift.

    Behind him, Pull&Bear Aspar pair Karel Abraham and Álvaro Bautista, along with fellow Independent Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci, were the only other riders able to break the 1’40 barrier. With rain forecast for tomorrow it promises to be an interesting day ahead to see who can qualify for Q2 and who will have to play their cards in Q1. The current top ten contains just three factory riders and seven Independent riders, all separated by a mere seven tenths of a second.

    The Pull&Bear Aspar riders were on the pace throughout both sessions and in the final stages of the second outing a good lap from Bautista was followed immediately by a slightly better one from Abraham to move them into the top two positions. In the end, only Maverick Viñales and Marc Márquez were able to post faster laps, dropping the pair to a stunning third and fourth place overnight.

    Viñales made his prediction, stated in yesterday‘s press conference, come true when he completed his first kilometres on the YZR-M1 in Argentina. His riding style matched the Termas de Río Hondo Circuit perfectly and the Spaniard swiftly moved up the timesheets, setting a 1‘40.796s benchmark. He spent the second half of the morning session completing the mandatory 5-lap harder rear tyre run and surprised friends and foes when he improved on his best lap multiple times, to end the first session with a 1‘40.356s, leading the pack by 0.206s.

    The youngster continued his work on his YZR-M1 in the afternoon. He left pit lane for FP2 with a hard front and rear tyre and only needed seven laps to breach into the top2, but the pace soon picked up when all riders had completed the hard tyre test and switched back to the softer options. Viñales dropped back down the order, but upped his game in the final minutes, dropping two laps under the 1‘40-mark in quick succession, the latter a 1‘39.477s. He ended the day on top with a 0.301s margin to his closest rival in both FP2 and the combined practice times.

    Marc Marquez was second-fastest at 1’39.778” after a very close FP2 session that ended with the top 15 riders separated by less than one second.

    Following a busy FP1 on a dirty track and a crash without consequences in turn 2 early in the session, Marc made significant progress in the afternoon, knocking more than a second off his morning’s best and setting a promising pace with the Michelin hard front and rear tyres.

    Dani Pedrosa also avoided injury in a small crash (in turn 13 during FP2) and then improved his lap times, but despite closing just 0.567” down on his teammate, his best time of 1’40.345” meant he had to settle for 13th place.

    “I feel very positive. I feel great on the bike and physically I‘m really fit. The bike is working good, we are using the basic set-up, and from the first lap I felt really comfortable on the track. Step by step we are improving and we still have some work to do for the race, but I think we have the speed, so that‘s really important. I don‘t know if the hard rear will be an option for the race. It‘s difficult to tell, because we had some wheel spin, so I don‘t know. We are trying many things, but what is sure is that we have good speed. We still have to decide on a race tyre. Tomorrow we have a lot of work to do, so let‘s start and see what the lap times are like,” said Maverick Vinales.

    eom/Press releases from Movistar Yamaha, Repsol Honda and Pull&Bear Aspar teams

  • Maverick Vinales takes season’s first win

    Doha, 26 March 2017: Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales made an incredible Yamaha debut at the start of the 2017 MotoGP season tonight, securing a perfect victory at the Grand Prix of Qatar. Teammate Valentino Rossi also put in a stellar performance during the opening round at the Losail International Circuit, finishing in third place for a double Movistar Yamaha MotoGP podium.

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi kept their heads cool under unnerving circumstances before the race and stormed to first and third position respectively.

    As all sessions were cancelled yesterday, due to standing water on the track, thereby lessening the riders‘ time to practice and perfect their race settings, the level of adrenaline on the grid was even higher than usual. The race start then being delayed twice, due to sudden rain causing dangerous track conditions, added even more to the tension. Eventually, after two warm-up laps to give the riders a feel for the track, the race got under way 45 minutes later than scheduled.

    Viñales secured his first MotoGP pole position thanks to a stunning lap in FP1, but it didn‘t help him at the start of the shortened 20-lap race. The young Spaniard gunned off the line and arrived at the first corner in second place, but had to sit up as 23 riders dashed through the first corner, losing him time and positions and pushing him back to fifth. He slowly picked up the pace as he got a feel for the conditions and, feeling the hot breath of his teammate down his neck, six laps into the race, he knew exactly when to put the hammer down.

    As fellow Yamaha rider, Johann Zarco crashed out of the lead, the Spanish youngster saw the promise of a podium position dangling in front of him. He bridged the gap to Andrea Iannone and tapped on his back with eleven laps to go. A lap later the Italian cracked under the pressure and crashed in front of Viñales, who skilfully avoided him and pushed up to third place. Now on a charge, the Spaniard soon flew past Marc Marquez to start the hunt for leader Andrea Dovizioso.

    Viñales put his head down to decrease the margin of 1.2s, making big strides. Two laps later he passed the Italian, clinching first position. Dovizioso fought back, overtaking the young hero at the end of the long straight, but Viñales used the nimble character of his YZR-M1 to perfection. The last five laps were filled with constant push and pull action between the two riders, but the Yamaha debutant’s stunning last lap, a personal best of 1’56.157s, saw him take the chequered flag in first place, 0.461s ahead of his closest rival. This victory makes Viñales the second youngest rider to win in the premier class with different manufacturers, after Mike Hailwood.

    Teammate Rossi had to start his 2017 campaign from tenth position, but the Doctor didn‘t take long to cut through the field. Launching his YZR-M1 past various rivals as the starting lights went out, he grabbed seventh place, despite a collision in turn one. With 18 laps to go the Italian was the quickest man on track, trying to pass Dani Pedrosa in front of him. Seeing the front group break away, he made his move a lap later and slotted in behind his teammate.

    The Yamaha duo moved up two places as Zarco and Iannone fell victim to the high pace needed to stay in contention in the first hot battle, under unfamiliar track conditions. Rossi ran wide going into turn 1 with ten laps to go, but he recovered quickly. He followed his teammate past Marquez, making the crowd cheer, as now both Movistar Yamaha riders were in for a podium place.

    The veteran bided his time as Viñales and Dovizioso battled for the lead. With four laps to go he set his personal best time, a 1‘56.398s, and was looking threatening, but due to tyre wear he was unable to join in on the fight for the victory and had to settle for a hard-fought third place, crossing the line +1.928s behind his teammate.

    Viñales‘ superb win earns him first place in the championship standings with 25 points. Rossi now holds third place in the championship with 16 points. Thanks to today‘s results Movistar Yamaha MotoGP take the lead in the teams’ championship with 41 points, whilst Yamaha leads the Constructor standings with 25 points.

    Marc Marquez, fourth

    Marquez and Dani Pedrosa took fourth and fifth place, respectively, in today’s Qatar Grand Prix. The Losail evening was affected by mixed weather conditions that created quite a tricky situation.

    A brief, light rain shower fell just minutes before the planned MotoGP race time of 9 p.m., causing the GP start time and race distance to be changed twice. Finally, the lights went off at 9:45, following two warm-up laps that preceded a 20-lap race.

    In the hectic moments preceding the race, Marc changed his front tyre on the grid, switching from a hard-front/medium-rear combination to a medium-medium spec. Dani kept his original choice of medium-medium, but both riders struggled with the front during the race.

    The next round will be held at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit, in Argentina, in two weeks‘ time.

  • Movistar Yamaha wraps up pre-season testing

    Movistar Yamaha MotoGP has wrapped up the first official IRTA test of the 2017 season today at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi have spent the three days working through various testing items to further develop their YZR-M1s and secured first and sixth place respectively in the overall standings.

    Sepang (Malaysia), 1st February 2017  : Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi have completed their testing programme at the Sepang International Circuit today. This third and last day was the toughest for the riders as they rode back-to-back stints in hot temperatures to make up for lost time due to yesterday’s damp track conditions.

    Though the focus of the team was still solely on improving the technical aspects, the Spaniard and Italian took first and fifth place respectively in today’s time sheets and first and sixth in the overall 2017 Sepang MotoGP Official Test results.

    This morning Viñales showed once again that his riding style matches perfectly with the YZR-M1‘s nimble character. He dropped various hot laps before posting his fastest time of the day, a 1’59.368s on lap 40, to slot into first place in the rankings. With a margin of 0.138s ahead of his closest rival, he comfortably held his position until the end of the session after shifting his attention to the last details of his bike’s setting.

    A few spots of rain in the afternoon had the young rider sit in the pit box before he could resume his testing programme. As soon as the conditions improved Viñales had his final go on the YZR-M1 and had enough minutes left to end the test with a time attack. Though unable to beat his own best lap, he is leaving the Sepang track feeling confident, having completed 72 laps today.

    Rossi also didn’t let any time go to waste on the last opportunity of testing in Malaysia. He filled his morning session with evaluating a new tyre for Michelin and building on his findings from the previous testing days.

    Similar to teammate Viñales, the Doctor was eager to start his afternoon session as soon as track conditions allowed. His fastest lap from the morning was a 2’00.125s, putting him in eleventh place, 0.756s from the top, but the Doctor had a trick up his sleeve. Once he got back out on track he fully committed to improving his position in the rankings and set the fourth fastest time, a 1’59.589s, 0.221s from first, on lap 50 of 62. He ended the test day in fifth place as the pace quickened in the final minutes.

    The team will now return to Europe whilst the engineers return to Japan to process the data and take their 2017 MotoGP preparation another step further. The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team will regroup in Phillip Island from Feb 15th – 17th for the second pre-season test of 2017,

    eom/Movistar Yamaha press release

  • Ducati riders take to Sepang for pre-season testing

    Sepang, 30 Jan 2017: The first day of IRTA testing at Sepang concluded this afternoon, as the rain, which began to fall on the Malaysian circuit at around 4 pm, made it impossible to improve times anymore. As a result the session came to an end with Casey Stoner, present at the circuit as test-rider, at the top of the timesheets with a time of 1’59.680 while Andrea Dovizioso was just behind in second with a time of 1’59.797. Jorge Lorenzo, making his debut in factory Ducati Team colours, was in seventeenth place with a time of 2’01.349.

    Casey Stoner (Ducati Test Team #27) – 32 laps – 1’59.680 (1st)
    “Today was positive and the best thing about it was that we got a lot of dry track time. It’s been hanging in the balance really with the weather because the track takes so long to dry and if it rains at all within twelve hours, you’re going to get very little track time. It’s great that we got out there straightaway this morning and started putting in some good laps, reconfirming what we felt earlier in the week. We got a lot of comparisons done today so it was really good to get a feeling and direction with the bike. We still have a lot more work to do, it was disappointing that it rained but hopefully on Wednesday when we come back on track we can pick up where we left off and move this bike further forward, especially in the chassis area.”

    Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 29 laps – 1’59.797 (2nd)
    “The first day of testing in 2017 went pretty well and I am pleased because we showed good pace right from the start, using the same bike as Valencia and without needing to make any particular changes. Without the wings we had to adapt to the bike, and we still have a lot of fine-tuning work to do, both with the electronics and on the set-up, because the bike behaves differently, but in any case we are maintaining a good competitive level and it’s always important to start off with this sort of confirmation. Starting off on the right foot helps us continue with the development, and if you add to this the fact that I set my quickest time on a medium tyre, then we have to be satisfied.”

    Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 45 laps – 2’01.349 (17th)
    “At this circuit I noticed a bigger difference between my Ducati and the bike that I have ridden for the last nine years. Now we have to do two things to be quicker: the first is to gradually adapt the bike to the way I like it, and the second and more important, is to know how to do that and understand how to be quicker. I still need some more time for that, more than I hoped for, but in any case it’s still too early to come to conclusions. It’s only a question of time and laps on the track, so we will work in this direction. The important thing is that the other Ducati bikes were very quick, and this means that the bike has a lot of potential.”

     eom/Ducati website racing news