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Tag: MotoGP
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Marquez’s record seventh win brings in Honda’s 100th win from 2002
Catalunya, 15 June 2014: Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has continued his perfect season with his seventh consecutive win, marking Honda’s 100th victory since the introduction of the four-stroke MotoGP era, and has become just the second rider after Valentino Rossi to win seven successive MotoGP races since the category was introduced at the start of 2002. Teammate Dani Pedrosa battled to the end with Marc, but lost out after a last lap attempt and finished in third.
It was an incredible race which started at a very high tempo in front of 92,845 spectators. Dani and Marc, first and third on the grid respectively, fell to third and fourth on the first lap before Marc passed Dani into third on lap two, setting a new record race lap of 1’42.182 (beating Dani’s time of 1’42.358 from 2008). Valentino took the lead from Jorge Lorenzo on lap four and on lap six Marc and Jorge had a nice battle passing each other a few times, before Marc made it stick. Coming into turn one on lap seven Dani passed Jorge for third place and began to chase down his teammate Marc and on lap nine the two Repsol Honda riders passed each other twice, but Marc was able to hold onto second place.
Marc caught up with race leader Valentino and ran wide attempting a pass, briefly dropping down to third but the regaining second place immediately. Five laps later, on lap nineteen, Marc passed Valentino but saw a yellow flag, so he wanted to give back the position immediately. Dani also passed but realised something was strange so he followed Marc’s actions and conceded the position back, he kept close to the two riders battling and on lap twenty two he passed Valentino and chased down Marc.
On the final lap, both Repsol Honda riders displayed a masterpiece of riding as they passed each other four times before Dani made a small mistake and slightly touched Marc. He was forced to sit the bike up and ran slightly wide, allowing Valentino to pass him and claim second place as Marc won the race setting a new fastest race time with 42’56.914.
With his victory here in Catalunya, Marc has also become the youngest ever rider (21 years and 118 days) to win seven successive races in the premier class, taking the record from Valentino Rossi (23 years and 155 days) also riding a Honda. This victory marks the first time two brothers have won on the same day in the World Championship after Alex Marquez rode his Honda to victory in the Moto3 race earlier this morning.
Marc continues to extend his lead in the Rider’s Championship with 175 points with Dani in third on 112. Honda lead the Constructor’s Championship by 48 points, with a total of 175, and the Repsol Honda Team lead the Team’s Championship by 92 points, on 287 points. The next race will take place in Assen on the 28th June.
Marquez: “I am delighted with this win because this is a track which I have always found difficult. You could see how tough it is for me this weekend: I missed out on pole for the first time this season and had my first crash of the year. The race was very hard with a battle against Dani, Jorge and Valentino. I think that the last few corners were especially spectacular, with the moves by Valentino and Dani. I am very happy about taking another 25 points and also to win on the same day as my brother at home in front of all our fans! It’s something very special”
Pedrosa: “It was a very good, hard-fought race because we had four riders up at the front for most of the race. There was a lot of overtaking and it was very intense, because we were going so fast. Overall I am very satisfied, even though the end result was not the best; we fought hard and I felt much better physically. I’ll take the positives from this race: I got my wish of being up at the front, both in practice and on the early laps of the race, and I ended the race fighting with Marc for the victory!”
eom
Marc Marquez wins 7th race to bring up the 100th win for Repsol Honda in MotoGP on Sunday. A Repsol Honda team image -
Pedrosa on pole; Marquez makes first mistake of the season, starts P3
Catalunya, 14 June 2014: Local boy Dani Pedrosa has taken his first pole position since Catalunya last year at his home circuit with teammate Marc Marquez, who was been on pole every race so far this season, crashing out on his final run in qualifying. He will start third on the grid and Lorenzo of Movistar Yamaha who gave a stunning performance last race, is on P2 to continue the battle.
Dani, who is still recovering from his arm surgery five weeks ago, has been gradually improving all weekend after being tenth in Friday’s FP1. His time of 1’40.985 (lap 5/7) was just 0.092 off his pole record from 2013 (1’40.893). Marc had taken provisional pole on his first run, but again the 2013 World Champion and his team opted for a three-run qualifying to give him the best chance at his seventh consecutive pole of 2014. However, on his final run Marc crashed in turn one ending his session. Fortunately his time of 1’41.135, recorded on his first run, was enough for the front row for tomorrow’s 25 lap race.
Pedrosa said: “I am very happy to have taken pole position today, in front of my family and the home fans! I am also delighted that, for the first time this year, I felt good on the bike in qualifying. I’ll try and get a good start from pole position tomorrow, I am sure that it will be very hot and we will have to manage the tyres well during the race, but we will try to do as well as possible!”
QUALIFYING RESULTS
Gran Premi de Catalunya – Round 7Pos. Rider Num. Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap 1 Dani Pedrosa 26 ESP Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1’40.985 2 Jorge Lorenzo 99 ESP Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 1’41.100 3 Marc Marquez 93 ESP Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1’41.135 4 Stefan Bradl 6 GER LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1’41.220 5 Valentino Rossi 46 ITA Yamaha Factory YAMAHA 1’41.290 6 Aleix Espargaro 41 ESP NGM Mobile Forward Racing YAMAHA 1’41.308 7 Andrea Dovizioso 4 ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1’41.337 8 Bradley Smith 38 GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1’41.491 9 Yonny Hernandez 68 COL Pramac Racing DUCATI 1’41.671 10 Pol Espargaro 44 ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1’41.677 11 Andrea Iannone 29 ITA Pramac Racing DUCATI 1’41.751 12 Alvaro Bautista 19 ESP Go & Fun Honda Gresini HONDA 1’42.024 13 Cal Crutchlow 35 GBR Ducati Team DUCATI 1’42.578 14 Scott Redding 45 GBR Go & Fun Honda Gresini HONDA 1’42.730 15 Michele Pirro 51 ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1’42.955 16 Nicky Hayden 69 USA Drive M7 Aspar HONDA 1’43.043 17 Colin Edwards 5 USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing YAMAHA 1’43.226 18 Karel Abraham 17 CZE Cardion AB Motoracing HONDA 1’43.360 19 Broc Parkes 23 AUS Paul Bird Motorsport PBM 1’43.530 20 Hiroshi Aoyama 7 JPN Drive M7 Aspar HONDA 1’43.564 21 Michael Laverty 70 GBR Paul Bird Motorsport ART & PBM 1’43.737 22 Hector Barbera 8 ESP Avintia Racing MotoGP FTR-KAWASAKI 1’44.115 23 Mike Di Meglio 63 FRA Avintia Racing MotoGP FTR-KAWASAKI 1’45.012 24 Michel Fabrizio 84 ITA IodaRacing Project IODA-SUTER 1’46.214 -
Pedrosa takes pole; Lorenzo and Marquez on P2 and P3 respectively
Catalunya, 14 June 2014: Local boy Dani Pedrosa has taken his first pole position since Catalunya last year at his home circuit with teammate Marc Marquez, who was been on pole every race so far this season, crashing out on his final run in qualifying. He will start third on the grid and Lorenzo of Movistar Yamaha who gave a stunning performance last race, is on P2 to continue the battle.
Dani, who is still recovering from his arm surgery five weeks ago, has been gradually improving all weekend after being tenth in Friday’s FP1. His time of 1’40.985 (lap 5/7) was just 0.092 off his pole record from 2013 (1’40.893). Marc had taken provisional pole on his first run, but again the 2013 World Champion and his team opted for a three-run qualifying to give him the best chance at his seventh consecutive pole of 2014. However, on his final run Marc crashed in turn one ending his session. Fortunately his time of 1’41.135, recorded on his first run, was enough for the front row for tomorrow’s 25 lap race.
Pedrosa said: “I am very happy to have taken pole position today, in front of my family and the home fans! I am also delighted that, for the first time this year, I felt good on the bike in qualifying. I’ll try and get a good start from pole position tomorrow, I am sure that it will be very hot and we will have to manage the tyres well during the race, but we will try to do as well as possible!”
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Marquez wins epic battle over Lorenzo; Oliveira claims 4th for Mahindra
Mugello, 1 June 2014: Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez was the hero once again as he had the last laugh after an epic battle with Movistar Yamaha Jorge Lorenzo to take his record breaking sixth victory from the six starts of the season even as the Mugello circuit turned yellow with thousands of fans cheering their 35-year-old hero Valintono Rossi, who was on his 300th GP. Rossi did not disappoint them as he dashed to a podium finish after starting from 10th on the grid and his teammate Lorenzo lost the lead in the last lap as his bike lacked the straight-line speed on Sunday.
Meanwhile, it was another historic day for Indian team Mahindra as Miguel Oliveira claimed a resounding fourth place in the Italian GP showing all his skills and the growing strength of the Mahindra MGP3O Moto3™ racer in a fearsomely close race, with a gang of more than 15 riders locked in close slip-streaming combat down the spectacular Mugello circuit’s long straight.
According to a Mahindra team release, fourth equals the Portuguese teenager’s best finish of his second season with the only Indian team in world championship motorcycle racing, but was a landmark of race-craft and skill. He had started from 19th on the grid, and picked his way through a huge brawling group to finish a tenth of a second off the top-three podium, and 0.121 seconds behind winner Romano Fenati.At the finish there were still ten riders within six seconds, and the first seven of them within just over half a second. Two more of them were Mahindra MGP3O machines, with CIP rider Alessandro Tonucci seventh, and Ambrogio rider Brad Binder ninth. A fourth Mahindra also took points in the hands of San Carlo Team Italia’s Matteo Ferrari.Second Mahindra Racing rider Arthur Sissis was 17th, narrowly missing out on his first points of the season. Sissis had qualified 24th, and was delayed by slower riders as he moved through towards the top 15.The next race is the Catalunyan GP in Barcelona, in two weeks.MIGUEL OLIVEIRA – Fourth positionIt was such a hard race. Unfortunately yesterday’s qualifying wasn’t the best. We tried to improve the bike and it turned out not to be the best decision. I didn’t start so well, but I felt good and I started to recover some positions. Of course the last lap was the key: I tried to get behind the group and save the tyres, and in the end to attack under braking – and I could make some positions. In the last corner, I tried for more but it was very hard. I am very happy with the result and for the team after some disappointing races. This gives us more motivation to keep pushing. We still need more work, but we have more potential than we showed at recent races. Today the bike allowed me to make the difference.ARTHUR SISSIS – 17th positionIt was a hard race. It’s always the same – I start badly then I am stuck in a fight with guys who are not so fast, and on a track like this you can’t get away, because the straights are so long. You get half-a-second gap then they catch your slipstream on the straight and pass you again … and it takes another two laps to get past six riders again. When I was on my own I was quite fast, so it’s getting better.MUFADDAL CHOONIA – CEO Mahindra RacingThese are the kind of Moto3 races we all pay money to see. My compliments to our team and Miguel in particular. He showed amazing skill and race-craft to jump from 19th on the grid to fourth. Also to our customer teams, CIP and Ambrogio, whose riders Tonucci and Binder also finished in the top ten. It shows the MGP3O is improving all the time, as our customers get more used to the bike. We hope for even stronger results during the rest of the season. It was very heartening to see the gap between Miguel and the winner was just 0.121 seconds, and between Tonucci and the race winner 0.597 seconds … two Mahindras within six tenths of victory. This race wasMiguel Oliveira of Mahindra MGP30 Moto3 took the fourth place for a historic day for the Indian outfit at Mugello on Sunday. A Mahindra Moto3 team image a big shot in the arm, and we look forward to the next race in Barcelona in less than two weeks.
eom/Mahindra team release -
Lorenzo in second row; Marquez on pole again
Mugello (Italy), 31 May 2014: Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo kept the pressure on in qualifying this afternoon for tomorrow’s Gran Premio d’Italia, taking third on the grid. Teammate Valentino Rossi found the 15-minute qualifying heat a bigger challenge, taking tenth position on the fourth row. It was, however, Marc Marquez all way for one more pole and was joined in the front row by Andrea Iannone.
According to a Movistar Yamaha press release:
Jorge Lorenzo of Movistar Yamaha kept the pressure on the top riders with a front row start. A Movistar Yamaha team image Lorenzo made his trademark early exit from the pits as the session began, the first rider to attack the Mugello circuit. He immediately dropped below the ’48 mark with a first flying lap of 1’47.605s. Hot laps by rivals Marc Marquez and Andrea Iannone then dropped him to third, but just 0.167 from the front. With just over eight minutes remaining it was a super quick pit-stop for Lorenzo, and back to the track less than a minute later. He was able to improve on his earlier time, scoring a session best of 1’47.521s to secure third on the grid, 0.251s from pole.
Rossi was also quick to exit at the start of the session, just one rider back from teammate Lorenzo. He too immediately dropped under the ‘48s with a first flying lap of 1’47.791s to take provisional third. As the times fell he dropped down to 5th, 0.521 from first as he entered the pits mid-session. An extended pit stop saw him return to the track with five minutes remaining having taken extra time to change to a softer front tyre in the hunt for a quicker turning bike. Unfortunately he was unable to improve on his first hot lap and make the softer front tyre work for him, wrapping up qualifying in tenth position, just over half a second from pole.
“I’m satisfied with third place because it’s important to start in the first row here to try to avoid some problems with the first laps and be with the front group. I feel like it’s a second place because Iannone has extra soft tyres that can maybe get some extra tenths. I’m happy with the lap time, but more I’m happy with the consistency and the work we’ve done with the bike. My physical condition is getting better as well so I’m happy. Circumstances are different to last year so it’s more difficult to be in front, but little by little we adapt to be as competitive as possible,” said Lorenzo.
Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi rued about his mistake: “We made a big mistake in the qualifying, we decided to change the front tyre at the same time as the second rear. It was the wrong decision, I felt really bad with the softer front and I was unable to improve my lap time. It’s a great shame, because I had a good potential and could have started on the front, my pace is good and I feel good with the bike, but it’s like this. Tomorrow from the fourth row everything will be harder and more difficult. We have good pace, we need to fix some small problems and try to make the maximum. I want to try and make a good race because it’s my 300th Grand Prix and also we are in Mugello! I’m quite desperate for the tenth position but nothing is lost yet. It will be hard but we can do a good race.”
ends/Movistar Yamaha press release
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Unstoppable Marquez makes it five-in-a-row for Repsol Honda
Le Mans (France), 18 May 2014:
Valentino Rossi once again finishes second at the MotoGP race in Le Mans on Sunday. A Movistar Yamaha team photo Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) continued his astonishing run of historic MotoGP victories with a stunning win at sunny Le Mans this afternoon. The 21-year-old reigning MotoGP World Champion won the French Grand Prix with a comfortable margin ahead of former champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), despite running off the track on the first lap, which forced him to fight back from tenth place.
Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) made it two Hondas on the podium with a storming ride to third that helped erase memories of a difficult start to his season. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) – both recovering from post-Jerez surgery to fix arm-pump problems – finished in fifth and sixth positions
Marquez started from pole position – as he has done at every race so far this year – but he lost out in the long drag to Le Mans’ high-speed turn one. This was no real worry for the youngster who knew that he and his RC213V had the pace to run at the front. But at the tight Garage Vert double right-hander he ran right off the track when Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) ran slightly wide just ahead of him. That dropped Marquez a further four places.
His comeback was spectacular. Showing remarkable cool, he was soon the fastest man on track, passing Pedrosa, Bautista and Bradley Smith (Yamaha) in short order. On lap seven he rode right round the outside of early leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and established a new lap record as he set off in pursuit of the top three: Bradl, Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) and Rossi.
He took Bradl and Espargaro on consecutive laps at Turn Two, then rapidly closed the gap on leader Rossi, who made things easy for his young rival by running wide at the Esses Bleu just before half-distance, allowing Marquez into the lead for the first time. From there he fully controlled the race, stretching his lead to 3.4 seconds at the start of the last lap, which he ended by cruising across the finish line, 1.4 seconds in front of his childhood hero.
Marquez now has a perfect score of 125 points from the opening five races, the first time any rider has managed this since Giacomo Agostini in 1971, a different era of racing when Ago enjoyed a huge machinery advantage over his mostly privateer rivals. And he broke another record today, becoming the youngest rider to score five premier-class victories.
Bautista, who scored his first points of the year at Jerez after crashing out of the first three races, was delighted with third place, which he grabbed from Espargaro with ten laps to go.
Pedrosa fought a long duel with old rival Lorenzo, eventually leaving his compatriot behind and then closing right up on Espargaro in the final laps, despite issues with front-end grip. Without that concern he would undoubtedly have been closer to the front.
Bradl wasn’t happy with his seventh-place finish. The former Moto2 World Champion ran second for the first two laps and was confident of a strong ride following pre-race changes to his rear suspension, aimed at improving edge grip. In fact the modification had the opposite effect, robbing the German of grip and allowing several riders to pass him.
Scott Redding (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RCV1000R) was the top finisher aboard Honda’s new production racer, the RCV1000R. It was another impressive display from the young rookie, who won last year’s Moto2 race at Le Mans, after a set-up change that allowed him to push deeper into the corners.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) was happy enough with his weekend, but like many riders his performance suffered slightly in today’s warmer temperatures. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) was happy to score the last point.
Nicky Hayden (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) was the fastest RCV1000R rider in yesterday’s qualifying sessions but his race lasted only a few seconds before he crashed out when Andrea Iannone (Ducati) collided with him on the exit of the third corner.
The MotoGP circus now travels south to Italy, where the championship will reach one-third distance with the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on June 1
Honda MotoGP rider quotes
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: race winner
“I am really happy with this win, which was different to the other victories. I made a mistake at the start; maybe I was too relaxed off the line, then when Jorge passed me I had to take a wide line otherwise we would have touched and as a result, many riders overtook me. However, from that moment on I began a really good comeback and it was a lot of fun, ending in my fifth consecutive victory. Although it might look easy to people, we are working extremely hard and this is the reward for the whole team!”
Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 3rd
“I’m so happy to be on the podium, especially since it’s more than one year since I’ve had this feeling. After the three crashes we had in the first three races and the practice troubles we had at Austin and in Argentina, we began to work well again at Jerez. Here I felt so good on the bike from FP1, so we’ve been competitive all weekend. Marc was on another level today, but I could stay with others, always trying to keep my rhythm. My thanks to the team – this result gives us a lot of confidence.”
eom/Courtesy Repsol Honda release
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Marc Márquez becomes newest Laureus Ambassador
LONDON, 8 April 2014: Spain’s brilliant young MotoGP world champion Marc Márquez is the newest Laureus Ambassador.Márquez, the youngest ever MotoGP world champion, at 20 years 266 days, a feat for which he received the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award last month in Kuala Lumpur, was welcomed into the Laureus Family by motor cycle legend and Laureus World Sports Academy Member Mick Doohan, a Laureus release said.Doohan, who won five straight 500cc world titles, said: “Ten years ago, thinking of somebody in MotoGP at 20 was a rarity. Now we have brilliant young racers like Marc who can dominate their sport. But Marc is much more than that. He has shown he has a social commitment to helping others by wanting to become a Laureus Ambassador and support the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. I thank him, welcome him and look forward to working with him in the future.”Fellow Laureus Academy Member Giacomo Agostini, who won 15 world titles, said: “Marc has shown what an amazing rider he is. He fully deserved to win the Laureus Breakthrough Award and being just 20 you wonder what he can go on to achieve. He connects to other young people around the world and I know he will be an amazing asset to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. I thank him for making this commitment.”Márquez, who also made history in 2013 by becoming the youngest winner of a Grand Prix at 20 years 63 days, in Austin, Texas, and the first to win the world title in his debut season since Kenny Roberts in 1978, said: “It was a great honour to win a Laureus Award, but I know that Laureus is much more than the annual Awards Ceremony. By using sport, Laureus does great work throughout the year in my native Spain and around the world to help children, which is why I am I am delighted to be named a Laureus Ambassador. I look forward to be being able to do what I can to help.”Gabriel Masfurroll, President of the Fundación Laureus España, said: “It is an honour to have a world champion like Marc Márquez as a Laureus Ambassador. He is a young sportsman who represents the values of sport and the values of Laureus.”The Laureus Ambassadors are a select group of current and retired sportsmen and sportswomen, who, along with the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, support the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation has raised more than €60 million for projects which have helped to improve the lives of millions of young people. Laureus currently supports more than 140 projects in 34 countries.eom/Laureus release/dvdMarc Marquez inducted as Laureus Ambassador by Mick Doohan. A Laureus Foundation image -
Order restored as Marquez takes season’s first pole; Espargaro 9th
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has secured the first pole of the season while Alvaro Bautista of Go & Fun Honda Gresini was second with Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith completing the first row at the Losail circuit in Qatar on Saturday night (IST).
Meanshile, after three practices on top of the time sheets, Aleix Espargaro confirmed that he is a very fast rider also in the qualifying session. Unfortunately two crashes prevented him to finish in the front row, which was close at hand. Thus order was restored with pre-season favourite Marquez taking the pole.
After crashing on turn 2, while he was third in the time sheets, Aleix went back on track with the second machine and he was 1 tenth faster than the pole when he crashed for the second time, loosing the front. Fortunately the crashes were without consequences for the Spanish rider, who will take the start of the Qatar GP from the third row.
The reigning world champion in this class, Marquez
After dominating from Thursday, Aleix Espargaro missed pole and qualifies 9th. An NGM Forward Racing photo clocked a time of 1’54.507, marking his 10th MotoGP career pole, from 19 starts in the class. Teammate Dani Pedrosa, despite being just 0.196s from Marc with 1’54.703, will start from the second row in 6th position, a Repsol Honda Team release said.
It was an exciting session with fastest times being traded between several riders. Marc, who is still suffering from the injury that sidelined him from the last two Winter tests, took provisional pole on his first exit in Q2 before securing it with a faster time on his final lap of his second exit. He’s now found a setup he is happy with and will work on fine tuning it in tomorrow’s warmup session.
Dani was also happy with his pace after making positive setup changes in FP4 and will be looking for one of his trademark starts in tomorrow’s 22 lap race, that will begin at 22h00 local time.
Repsol Honda team quotes: Marc Marquez – 1st – 1’54.507
“I’m really happy and this pole position is a special one for me, because after coming back from injury it gives me a boost in confidence. In any case, we know that tomorrow is the day that counts and it’s in the race that points are decided, so we have to be very focused. It is going to be a very tough for me physically, because I don’t have much strength in my leg and I have to compensate with my right arm. We are happy with how today went and seem to have found a good setup, with just a few details still to refine in tomorrow’s warmup. It will be difficult, because many riders have pace within a tenth of each other, but we shall try to have a good race”
Dani Pedrosa – 6th – 1’54.703
“The qualifying session was really closely contested today – especially in the final laps. Looking at things objectively, we have a good pace and were able to set a fast lap in the session, even though in the end we qualified sixth by a really narrow margin. We’re going to continue to be positive about things, believe in the work that we have been doing here so far this weekend, and tomorrow we’ll give everything that we have to do well at the first race of the season”
Qualifying time provided by Repsol Honda TeamQualifying position
1 Marc Marquez 1’54.507 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team 2 Alvaro Bautista 1’54.564 ESP HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 3 Bradley Smith 1’54.601 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 4 Andrea Dovizioso 1’54.644 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team 5 Jorge Lorenzo 1’54.661 ESP YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 6 Dani Pedrosa 1’54.703 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team 7 Stefan Bradl 1’54.871 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP 8 Cal Crutchlow 1’54.888 GBR DUCATI Ducati Team 9 Aleix Espargaro 1’54.986 ESP FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing 10 Valentino Rossi 1’55.096 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing 11 Andrea Iannone 1’55.127 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing 12 Pol Espargaro 1’55.152 ESP YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 13 Nicky Hayden 1’55.894 USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar 14 Colin Edwards 1’56.042 USA FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing 15 Hiroshi Aoyama 1’56.479 JPN HONDA Drive M7 Aspar 16 Scott Redding 1’56.555 GBR HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini 17 Yonny Hernandez 1’56.648 COL DUCATI Pramac Racing 18 Karel Abraham 1’56.715 CZE HONDA Cardion AB Motoracing 19 Hector Barbera 1’57.006 ESP AVINTIA Avintia Racing 20 Danilo Petrucci 1’57.513 ITA ART IodaRacing Project 21 Broc Parkes 1’57.574 AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport 22 Mike De Meglio 1’57.667 FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing 23 Michael Laverty 1’58.254 WAL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport ends -
Espargaro fastest on Day 2 in Qatar
Losail, 21 March 2014: Action resumed Friday at the Losail Circuit in Qatar for the second and third free practice sessions of the opening round of the 2014 MotoGP season, a NGM Forward Racing release said.
A file photo from NGM Forward Racing. It was another fantastic day for Aleix Espargaro of NGM Forward Racing, who was the fastest rider in both practice sessions. The Spaniard rider of the NGM Forward Racing Team was quick to find a competitive pace with hard tyres and he was able to use at the best the soft tyre to close on top of the time sheets, recording 1’54’73, +0.413 ahead of Andrea Iannone, second and Alvaro Bautista, third.
Espargaro said: “I’m really happy to close the second day here in Qatar on top of the time sheets. We have a good race pace with the hard tyre and then we could make another step forward with the soft tyre. We have a good set up but we need to keep on working. Tomorrow our target is the front row in order to fight for the podium on Sunday. We know that it won’t be easy as we loose a lot in terms of top speed on the long straight, but finishing on top for two days in a row is already a fantastic result. Together with the team we are all very excited and motivated”.
It was a positive day also for NGM Forward Racing teammate Colin Edwards who was satisfied of his race pace with hard tyres, while he needs to improve the bike set up with the soft tyre in order to make a step forward tomorrow during the qualifying session.
The track conditions were quiet slippery during the FP3 and the riders expect that it will be even worst for the race that will take the start at 22:00.
Team Yamaha Racing
Meanwhile, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo left it to the last minute in Friday’s final practice, taking seventh to secure a spot in Saturday’s second qualifying session within the top ten riders for Sunday’s Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar.
Lorenzo continued today where he finished yesterday, battling a severe lack of grip on the Losail circuit as he struggled to set up his YZR-M1 for Sunday’s race. Having completed the second practice of the weekend in 11th earlier in the evening the double MotoGP champion came in to the third session sitting outside the top ten and so provisionally relegated to the first of tomorrow’s two qualifying sessions. As the minutes wound down a mid-session smattering of rain threatened to complicate matters further. In the final moments Lorenzo rose to the occasion under pressure, pulling out a 1’55.495 lap on the medium rear tyre to climb several places and take seventh at the end of the practice, securing a place in the second qualifying session.
Although also finding the lack of grip a real challenge, teammate Valentino Rossi spent most of today’s two practices one step ahead of Lorenzo. The nine-time world champion was working hard to ride round the grip issues the Movistar Yamaha riders were facing, and finished the first session of the day in ninth position, just under a second from the front. The final session of the day initially saw more of the same with the Italian pushing his M1 hard to stay in the top ten. With 25 minutes to go he had moved to ninth and looked able to hold the position until the last moments when Lorenzo’s late surge from 11th to seventh dropped him to tenth.
The final combined times mean both Lorenzo and Rossi will go through to the second qualifying sessiontomorrow to fight for their grid positions for Sunday’s race.
Combined Free Practice Result (provided by Yamaha team)
1. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’54.773 2. Andrea Iannone (ITA) Pramac Racing 1’55.186 3. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Go&Fun Honda Gresini 1’55.240 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Ducati Team 1’55.250 5. Marc Marquez (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1’55.446 6. Bradley Smith (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech3 1’55.474 7. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1’55.495 8. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1’55.562 9. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda MotoGP 1’55.676 10. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1’55.702 11. Pol Espargarò (SPA) Monster Yamaha Tech3 1’55.793 12. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Ducati Team 1’56.013 13. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’56.238 14. Nicky Hayden (USA) Drive M7 Aspar 1’56.357 15. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 1’56.633 16. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Drive M7 Aspar 1’56.939 17. Scott Redding (GBR) Go&Fun Honda Gresini 1’56.997 18. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 1’57.345 19. Brok Parkes (AUS) Paul Bird Motorsport 1’57.665 20. Mike Di Meglio (FRA) Avintia Racing 1’58.204 21. Hector Barbera (SPA) Avintia Racing 1’58.219 22. Michael Laverty (GBR) Paul Bird Motorsport 1’58.378 23. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Came Iodaracing Project 1’58.651 ends
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Movistar Yamaha MotoGP take the covers off for 2014 season
The covers are off! An Yamaha MotoGP team photo Losail Circuit (Qatar), 19 March 2014: Movistar Yamaha MotoGP kick started the Qatar MotoGP weekend this afternoon by taking the covers off the 2014 YZR-M1 in front of the world’s key motorcycle media.
In a Press Release Yamaha said: Riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi were joined on the Losail circuit start grid by Kouichi Tsuji, General Manager of Yamaha Motor Co.’s Motorsports Division, Yamaha Motor Racing’s Managing Director Lin Jarvis and Telefónica Spain’s Director of Media, Luis Velo to reveal the new livery.
The first two months of the year have seen a flurry of activity for the team, highlighted by the recent ground breaking five-year title sponsorship agreement that launches the team Yamaha Movistar MotoGP ahead of the 2014 season.
The new year has also seen the announcement of other new sponsors to the Team including EURASIAN BANK and FIAT PROFESSIONAL along with renewals and continued partnerships with ENEOS, SEMAKIN DI DEPAN (Yamaha Motor Indonesia), MONSTER ENERGY, SUISSEGAS, YAMALUBE AND TW STEEL.
Pre-season testing on track has been very positive. With the exception of a rear grip issues at Sepang, bothLorenzo, Rossi and the 2014 YZR-M1 have shown great promise and speed in the shakedown ahead of this season’s title challenge.
Now the wait is over and the riders will take to the track under the floodlights of the Losail circuit in Qatar in just 24hrs to begin practice for round one of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship, the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar.
The track has proved to be a great season starter for Lorenzo, the double premier class world champion having taken consecutive victories in the last two races. Lorenzo has always started from the front row and never finished off the podium in Qatar.
Nine-time world champion Rossi has an equally impressive record at the Losail circuit, claiming three wins and taking second last year after a fantastic battle with then rookie Marc Marquez in his first MotoGP race.
Built in the desert on the outskirts of Qatar’s capital city Doha, the Losail International Circuit has hosted a MotoGP round since 2004. The track celebrated the first ever night-time Grand Prix in 2008 and continues to be the only night race on the calendar. The 5.4km track is well suited to the YZR-M1 with a fast flowing nature. With a main straight over a kilometre in length and a combination of medium and high-speed corners the track is guaranteed to provide an exciting spectacle to start the season.
Unlike normal race weekends this weekend’s practice will be run from Thursday to Saturday, ensuring the riders get the optimum track conditions in the evening sessions.
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Gran Premi de Catalunya – Round 7
