Category: MotoGp

The Japanese GP at Twin Ring Motegi Circuit is expected to be a poignant one in Suzuki Motor Corporation’s home country and will allow many of the factory’s engineers, technicians and developers to see with their own eyes the results of their efforts.

The circuit is considered favourable by both riders Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró, who will receive enthusiastic support from the local Suzuki fans and Viñales arrives in Japan full of enthusiasm after the positives from recent races; the Japanese GP will also be the young Spaniard’s 100th race in the World Championship. At the previous round in Aragon, Spain, he proved to be consistently-fast and capable of running with the fastest, having led the race for many laps and finally ending just a step off the podium. He also has a further incentive to perform well after his crash in last year’s race and wants to put in a positive performance for all the passionate Suzuki technicians from Suzuki’s Hamamatsu factory attending this the weekend.

Espargaró has undergone a strong training regime in preparation for the three fly-aways and is approaching the Japanese GP with full concentration and determination. Although his path to competitiveness has been hard recently, the weekend in Aragon proved that he can still be competitive and find good efficiency.

The GP of Japan will be raced on the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, a modern facility located among the vast natural beauty of the northern Kanto district. It consists of a 2.4 km (1.5 mile) oval – meant to introduce American motorsport culture to the country – and a 4.8 km (2.9 mile) road course, where the MotoGP™ race will take place, over a total distance of 24 laps (115.2 km – 71.5 miles.) The track the riders will be racing on takes in six left-hand corners and eight right-hand ones.

Maverick Viñales:

“My feeling for Motegi is very good, we are going to have a lot of support from fans and also the people coming to the race from the Suzuki factory. From my side I feel very confident, we are growing race after race and now we are aware that we can be competitive for the top positions in any race. It’s a good feeling, because it allows us to work with less pressure and keep the focus on our method. The machine has grown, but also our understanding of the electronics and the set-ups allow us to be more competitive. For sure in Motegi we will also take advantage to collect more information and transfer directly to the Japanese developers, it’s going to be a reward for their efforts but also a big injection of enthusiasm for them to push even further. Last year the rain complicated our weekend, so I’m happy that now we have different solutions to be competitive in the wet conditions.”

Aleix Espargaro:

“Racing as a Factory rider for a Japanese brand means that when it’s time to go to Motegi the emotion increases a lot. The warmth from our Company will be a further push for a positive weekend; recently I haven’t been as competitive as I would have liked because I can’t understand how to exploit the front tyre yet. My team is doing a great job, the machine has grown a lot, but I still miss that something in my riding style that could allow me to get closer to the top. I’ve made a strong preparation for this race, as it will also be the first of a three-in-a-row series that will be very demanding physically and mentally, and my determination is at the top, I would really like to get an outstanding result with Suzuki before the end of the season, as a reward for all the effort we have made so far.”

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

Ahead of the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, the Pre-event Press Conference gathered Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) together, with talk centered on Marquez’ title chances and the Motegi venue on the new Michelin rubber.

Marquez began proceedings, and immediately wanted to divert talk away from his first mathematical shot at wrapping up the 2016 Championship. “Here is the first chance but there’s no need to talk about it!” said the 2013 and 2014 MotoGP™ World Champion. “So many things would have to happen – and it’s nearly impossible. I’m going to have the same mentality as until now, just work hard. We know Motegi won’t be like Aragon but I think we’re getting better and better. It’s a good circuit for my riding style but with our bike we struggle a bit here every year, but we’ll see because we also thought we’d be far in Misano but we were closer.”

With that same mentality, Marquez has a clear aim for the weekend: “To take points for the Championship is the most important, and if we can get on the podium, even better. Now we have three races in a row it’s important to finish all the races and stay calm in the practices because there are two more races soon. It doesn’t matter when or where, the important thing is to achieve our goal.”

Next to speak was P2 in the title – 52 points back on Marquez -Valentino Rossi. The Italian is optimistic for the weekend, but knows the key could rest with the Michelin rubber and understanding how to get the best out of it.

“This is a good track for us usually,” said Rossi. “I’ve had a lot of podiums but not so many victories. It’s a good track for the Yamaha but every year is different and as in every race this season we need to understand the tyres. I hope the weather is good and it’s warmer, because today it’s very cold. Three races in a row is always difficult – you can have a small problem in the first one and you pay very much. But they are three fantastic tracks!”

Teammate Lorenzo agreed the Yamaha suits the Twin Ring Motegi, and was also ready to get down to business understanding the 2016 package at the venue after having dominated much of the recent track time at the manufacturer’s home venue.

“We came back strong and this track should be good for my riding style – and the Yamaha,” agreed Lorenzo. “Let’s see how the tyres and the electronics are – if it’s similar to the last three years we should be ok.” The reigning World Champion also had a wholly positive view of the challenging three race stint, finding it physically easier in some ways to race back-to-back: “I like three races in a row, I like to stay on the bike as much as possible. When you stay on the bike more, your muscles are more ready.”

Maverick Viñales goes into the weekend trying to fight his way back into the top four of the Championship – and is happy to kick that project off in Motegi; a track that has usually been kind to him. “Last year here was good for me and I’m really motivated. I think it will be hard but maybe a bit better than Aragon. Here has always been a really good track for me, especially in Moto3, and it’s good for my riding style.”

Andrea Dovizioso was another optimist ahead of the Japanese GP, having been on pole at the venue in 2014 and had two top five finishes in the two most recent Motegi race weekends. “On paper this track looks good for us,” said the Italian. “We have strong acceleration. But, the tyres will make the difference and we’ll have to see tomorrow. In the last two years we’ve been quite competitive and I think we can be even better this year.”

Last to speak was Bradley Smith, who makes his first appearance back in MotoGP™ since damaging his knee in a practice session for the Oschersleben 8H after the Czech GP. Although physio and recovery is ongoing, the Brit is glad to be back on track and see how the injury holds up over a MotoGP™ weekend – rather than a gym simulation of one.

“It’s nice to be here,” smiled the Brit. “It’s been a challenging seven weeks and it’s not fun watching from the sofa! Physio’s been tough but my heart and head are 100% so I’ll try and make up whatever my knee is still lacking. Tomorrow I just want to get out on track and do some laps.”

FP1 on Friday at the Twin Ring Motegi gives Smith his first chance to try it out as the engines fire up for the weekend proper, with lights out for the first session at 9:55am (GMT + 9) as Marquez leads the field into the flyaways – 52 points clear and closing in on a third crown.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

Aprilia’s positive trend was confirmed once again under the chequered flag at Aragón. The RS-GP machines ridden by Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl finished respectively in ninth and tenth place, with a gap behind the leader of just over 20 seconds for the Spaniard (23.071 for Bautista, 27.898 for Bradl).
This is a result that Aprilia has built toward throughout the championship, developing a bike in its true rookie season even directly in the races.

The race, where Bradl started from the twelfth spot on the grid and Alvaro from the fourteenth, began well straight away for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders, moving up through the ranks in the initial phases. In the subsequent laps, Bautista and Bradl’s pace shown through, both skilfully maintaining interesting times while their direct rivals showed an increasingly marked drop in performance. During the seventh lap, Alvaro overtook his teammate, proceeding to hunt down the pair made up of Pol Espargaró and Andrea Dovizioso. He engaged in a heated battle with the rider from Forlì, coming out on top and moving into a nice ninth place. Behind him, Stefan Bradl continued his progress, finishing the race in tenth place.

Bautista: We have definitely taken a step forward

“A good weekend for us, ending with a double top 10. I had good sensations in the saddle throughout all the practice sessions and we did a good job. The, in FP4, when I had a consistent pace even with used tyres, I realized that we could do well in the race. I battled with Hernandez and with Dovi, managing to overtake them, and I fell in behind Pol whose times were very similar to mine. We maintained a good pace and I saw that we continued to make up ground on the group that was battling for fifth place, but toward the end of the race I lost a bit of feeling with the rear tyre. In any case, ninth place is a great result for me and for Aprilia, considering Stefan’s performance as well. Since Misano we have definitely taken a step forward and I wish to thank the team and the guys who are hard at work at home. Now we will continue in this direction to finish the season well”.

Bradl: I have high expectations

“I am happy with the top 10 and the weekend in general. We improved during practice and I hope to be able to continue this trend in the coming races. We took a step forward in terms of settings from the Misano race, especially improving in the braking phase and giving me a better feeling with the front tyre. We were able to further perfect things here, finding a good base straight away on Friday and then working to sort the details. Obviously, there is still room for improvement, for example in taking better advantage of the rear tyre to be faster with new tyres, but we are not far off. Now I have high expectations for myself for the season finale”.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

After a satisfying Saturday, that ended up with the double Top 10 earned in qualifying, the Sunday at Aragon does not give joy to the Octo Yakhnich Pramac team.

The start was good and Scott was able to overcome Petrux. At the first corner, the riders were ninth and tenth respectively, but a contact between the two forced the British rider to go wide and lose the front on the curb. Back on track after the crash, Scott finished the race without being able to fight for any points. After the clash, Danilo continued the race also if he had to deal with some technical problems that forced him to lap without a good pace. On lap 9, the Race Direction, after reviewing the contact, fined Petrux a “ride-through” penalty.

At that point, even his race was compromised. Petrux and Scott have finished respectively 17th and 19th.

Redding: It was really frustrating

“I am very sorry for what happened. I do not think it is a beautiful thing when it happens between teammates. I started quite well then that contact made me go wide and I could not avoid the crash. I continued until the end, but it was really frustrating because in the last 3 races I have not had the chance to fight with the others to gain experience with this bike in dry condition.”

Petrucci: I’m mortified

“I am very sorry for what happened with Scott. Since the first corner, I experienced problems with the bike, I could not brake properly, I was always going wide. Unfortunately, I touched Scott. I felt it was not a very heavy touch, but it was heavy enough to push him off the track. I am really mortified. He is very angry and will apologize. The remaining of the race was really hard.”

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró put in strong performances on their Team SUZUKI ECSTAR GSX-RRs at today’s Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón MotoGP in Spain after having led the race for several laps.

Viñales – choosing a hard/ hard Michelin tyre combination – took the lead on the opening of 23 laps at Motorland Aragon from his second position on the grid, and, apart from losing his lead a few times momentarily, controlled the race until almost half race-distance before running wide, but fought back to bring home a solid fourth-place and just off the podium.

Espargaró – using a medium front/ hard rear tyre choice – was also very much in the mix with the leading pack and at one stage moved to fifth position, eventually scoring seventh.

Maverick Viñales: I gave 100%
“Another positive race for me, although I’m never fully satisfied when I’m off the podium, but we must say that we gave 100% today. When the grip was supporting me I could do a really good pace, and in fact I took the lead in the race. I felt really confident and the lap-times came quickly and easily. Then suddenly the rear tyre lost performance due to the consumption and that is when I had to give-it-up a little. I couldn’t feel confident with hard-braking and also in acceleration, and trying to force the pace I made some mistakes that warned me to be more conservative in my riding. It was important to not have a crash and to finish the race; fourth is a lot better than a ‘NC.’ We knew I could have problems towards the end of the race with a worn tyre, we tried to put in some countermeasures with the electronics, but we still need to better-develop this set-up. We are continually learning and my crew did a really good job, we are getting better and better and the results in last races are evidence on this.”

Aleix Espargaró: It was too late
“I had bigger expectations for the race, especially to be more competitive at the beginning because the progress we made in this morning’s Warm-Up gave me bigger hopes. The start was positive but then I struggled a lot to overtake for the fifth position in the second part of the race, which was the one needed to keep in contact with the head of the race. When I succeeded it was too late to catch up. Anyway my feeling was a little better than last races but I still struggle to find a good feeling with the front. I’m not able to interpret the front tyre and exploit its potential. We made a lot of attempts and changes but I can’t adapt my riding style and so I cannot be as fast as I would like to be. I had a really good fight until the end, but finally I made a small mistake on the last lap and I lost sixth position.”

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

Marc Marquez returned to the top spot of the podium at a Spanish race for the first time since the 2014 finale in Valencia, taking a maiden victory at the Aragón GP. At just 23 years of age, Marquez brings his career tally to 54 wins, equalling Australian legend Mick Doohan. The only rider so far this year to win four races, Marc has extended his championship lead to 52 points over Valentino Rossi and 66 over Jorge Lorenzo, with four rounds to go.

The race was incredibly challenging and close. Starting from pole, Marc fought hard to overtake Maverick Viñales and Lorenzo, taking the lead on the second lap. Soon after, a risky moment on lap three could have changed the outcome of his race; Marc almost lost the front in turn 7 and nearly crashed out. He saved it but dropped back to fifth.

It took the Spaniard a few laps to calm down and begin his recovery; he overtook Andrea Dovizioso on lap five, Lorenzo on lap seven, Viñales on lap 10 and finally Rossi on lap 12. He pushed hard for a few laps to pull a gap and then managed the advantage until the chequered flag. Marc was joined on the podium by Honda Motor Director Shinji Aoyama, celebrating the fifth victory by a Honda rider in the last seven races and Honda extending its leading in the Constructor and Team standings.

Dani Pedrosa struggled the entire race with lack of both front and rear tyre grip. In particular, he suffered an unusual degradation of the front tyre, which Michelin will promptly investigate. It was a pity Dani was not able to exploit the great potential he had displayed in the practice sessions, but his determination to fight hard allowed him to gain the 10 points that come with sixth place and to maintain his fourth place in the Championship standings.

Marc Marquez: It was a miracle I didn’t crash

“I’m very happy to have taken the win at a home Grand Prix, and one of my favourite races. I was waiting for this GP, it was a ‘red point’ on the calendar for me, as I saw it as one where I wanted to attack and where I could win the race. It was an important victory, but nothing is finished yet. I said yesterday that something can always happen in a race, and it was a miracle that I didn’t crash today when I almost lost it in turn 7. That was when I decided to relax a little and go back to my mentality from practice of riding precisely and braking in the right places. All this made for a more entertaining race, with many overtaking moves at the start, and a second part in which I was able to open a gap to Valentino, which was important. He had gone several races gaining points on us, and we wanted to stop that trend, because otherwise it would boost his morale and perhaps create doubts for us. Now we leave Aragón with a larger advantage and more convinced ahead of the flyaways. I was very happy on the podium, but the most emotional moment for me today was when [brother] Alex scored his first Moto2 podium. That was really special for me.”

Dani Pedrosa: I didn’t have grip

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good result today, as we had a very difficult race. I didn’t have grip since the beginning of the race; I couldn’t exit the corners with good speed, and that turned out to be my biggest problem in the opening laps. I couldn’t open the throttle out of the corner and I lost ground on the front guys. I tried to manage in the best way possible, but a few laps later I started to have an issue with front tyre as well. I started feeling a vibration, and when I finished the race it was clear there was some problem there. I tried to fight with Crutchlow but I had to slow down my pace. It was a shame but now we must look forward.”

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

Today’s Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón proved to be the most action-filled race of the season so far, as Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo fought off his rivals to secure a hard-fought second place. Teammate Valentino Rossi also used his YZR-M1 to the fullest to fend off the competition and secured the fourth double podium of the season for the Factory Yamaha team.

Lorenzo didn’t let a crash in warm-up this morning hold him back in today’s race. The local hero had a brilliant start from third on the grid and fought for the holeshot with Marc Marquez. Maverick Viñales soon joined the fight for the front, beginning a Spanish duel that had the race fans on the edge of their seats. A flurry of activity followed that saw Lorenzo finish the first lap in third position, closely followed by his teammate. A mistake by Marquez two laps later made Lorenzo storm to second place and he continued to claw his way to Viñales, but he had to let his teammate past.

The top three riders briefly formed a leading group as they upped their pace, dropping low 1’49s laps. However, Marquez was closing in and with 17 laps remaining he found a way past Lorenzo, but the Mallorcan wasn’t fazed. He made his experience count and waited for the right moment to fight his way back to the front, which came with 14 laps to go when he didn’t need a second invitation to pass Viñales after the compatriot had gone wide.

Lorenzo cleverly continued his race in such a way that he still had enough rubber left on his Michelins to make a final charge five laps before the end of the race to smoothly take over second place. He was consistently stalked by Rossi, but he didn’t let it shake his confidence and held off the Italian’s attack to take second place over the line, 2.740s from first.

Teammate Rossi had a good start from his sixth place grid position and slotted into fourth place after turn 1, determined not to let the leading group out of his sight. With 21 laps to go, Marquez dropped back to fifth, allowing Rossi to take hold of a podium finish for the first time in the race, fuelling his ambitions even further. He hunted down his teammate and bided his time to make a move with 18 laps left, to close the gap to the race leader. He was the first rider to drop into the 1’48s as he reeled in Viñales and went on to take the lead of the race after a block pass in turn 4 with 15 laps to go.

The Doctor’s pace proved too hot for the Spaniard, who went wide in turn 1 a lap later, allowing Rossi some breathing space before Marquez made his move with 12 laps to go. Rossi wasn’t willing to let his rival go and put his head down, but he was unable to stick to the home rider and with five laps to go he put his attention towards his teammate, who pushed him back one place. The Doctor followed the fellow Yamaha rider like a shadow, but was unable to get past and took the chequered flag 5.983s behind the man in first place.

Lorenzo’s superb race craft delivers him 20 points. He remains in third position, now just 14 points behind his teammate in second. Rossi’s third place gives him a total of 196 points, now 52 points behind the championship leader.

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP will next head to Japan in three weeks’ time for the Grand Prix of Japan, the first of the three overseas races.

Lorenzo: The crash was good!

“Sometimes a bad situation or a bad thing brings you a good thing and that’s what happened when I crashed. I got almost injured and was almost in pain, as has happened in the past, but this made me do two warming up laps, one with the hard tyre and one on the soft tyre. Finally on these two laps the hard tyre suddenly gave me a good confidence, even if I was warming up and very slow, so my instinct told me that I needed to change my race tyre to the hard one and this crash and bit of instinct for sure gave me the possibility to do this race the way I was riding it. I didn’t expect to finish on the podium, I thought I would finish maybe sixth or seventh, but finally the race was again surprising. It’s been a difficult weekend for me, but sometimes these kind of situations bring you to the top.”

Rossi: In Aragon, we always suffer

“We started with a different setting and we tried to be stronger towards the end of the race, but in the final stages I was spinning a lot, but I think everyone was in the same boat anyway. It’s a shame that with two laps to go I made a mistake in braking and I had to go wide. If not for that we could have fought for the second place, but anyway the podium is OK. I’m happy because it’s a good podium. Here, in Aragón, we always suffer a bit. It’s a shame and I’m not fully happy, because I wanted to arrive as the first of the Yamahas and in front of Lorenzo, but unfortunately in the second half of the race he was faster than me. It’s a shame, because I had some cards up my sleeve for the last laps, because I was there, but I made a mistake. I decided to go straight because else it would have been very dangerous for both of us. I lost the four points to Jorge, but it’s another podium. We hope we can improve and that we can be more competitive for the overseas races.”

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

Team Suzuki Ecstar heads back to Spain this weekend for the third time this year and the last European race before the overseas leg of the MotoGP™ Championship. The spectacular Motorland Aragon circuit will be the scene of the 14th round, with its variety of characteristics that makes it very challenging for technicians and demanding but fun for the riders.

Maverick Viñales arrives in Alcañiz after the historic victory at Silverstone and a solid race in Misano. The previous round in Sam Marino had been a positive performance on a circuit where the characteristics of the track weren’t the most suitable for the GSX-RR; fifth place gave him positive points for the championship, but also signalled the capabilities of the team to finalise a well-performing machine.

The Spanish round in Aragon will also be a good change for improvements for Aleix Espargaró. His struggle to finalise an effective strategy influenced his race in Misano, in particular the feeling with the front tyre, but the characteristics of the Motorland circuit will give him another chance to continue with the good steps forward he has made in the latest races.

The Motorland Circuit of Aragon is a modern facility that was remodelled in 2010 to fulfil the security and standards requested by the MotoGP™ organisation. The origins of the Grand Prix have their roots in a solid history of street racing in Alcañiz and the circuit has hosted events between 1963 and 2003. Eventually it was modernised by renowned German circuit architect Hermann Tilke.

The track is 5.077km (3.16 miles) long and has 17 turns: 10 left-handers and seven right-handers. The longest straight is 968 m (3175.85 ft.) and the Grand Prix will be raced over 23 laps, which correspond to a total length of 116.8 km or 72.7 miles.

Maverick Viñales: We can fast in high temperatures
“The Motorland circuit is a very interesting one, it has a variety of areas that make it a demanding but fun layout. We arrive here with a positive feeling, the victory at Silverstone gave us an extra injection of confidence and in Misano we did the best we could considering the conditions. Also, Aragon is tricky regarding the weather; it could be cold or extremely hot. Some races ago we were more worried about hot temperatures, but after Misano we can approach this with more confidence, as we finally proved we can be competitive in high temperatures; and that was one of the things we were worried about previously.”

Aleix Espargaró: I feel really comfortable now
“Unfortunately in Misano I made the wrong choice of the tyre and this resulted in a bad race, but we had many positives from the work we’ve done. The machine has improved a lot and in many situations I feel really comfortable now. We are doing a good job and if we manage to make a further step we can be really competitive. Aragon will be important because it’s the last one before the three back-to-back races, and the circuit is a nice one. It is a mix of the most famous parts of many other circuits and this makes it very enjoyable to ride. Also, our machine is improving in performance and effectiveness so I hope we can enjoy more positive results.”
Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

 

Before departing for the long tour in Japan, Australia and Malaysia, the MotoGP championship will take on the penultimate European race on the 2016 calendar. The race will be hosted by Motorland Aragón, a 5,078 metre circuit located in Alcañiz in the autonomous community of Aragona. It is a very complex track, fast thanks to the long straight, but demanding for riders and vehicles alike.

The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini is taking on the Spanish round after good performance in Misano, with Bautista riding his RS-GP straight through to Q2 and then to a top 10 race finish. The Spanish rider and his teammate, Stefan Bradl, tackled two days of tests on the Valencia circuit, both to continue developing the new chassis configurations introduced in recent races and to assess electronic updates aimed mostly at perfecting the V4 engine’s power delivery.

Bautista: Aragon has different characteristics

“I am coming to one of my home rounds highly motivated, especially after the good performance at Misano, going through to Q2 and having a race pace that took us into the top 10. We will pick up from here with the goal of being competitive and improving even more. It will not be easy, but we will try our hardest. Aragón has very different characteristics. It is a complete layout where it will be essential to work well straight away on how to use the tyre, which is usually very stressed here”.‬

Bradl: The Valencia test gave us confidence

“It is difficult to predict how the RS-GP will perform here at Aragón. We will be able to tell only after the first practice session. I like the track; both the layout and the structures of the circuit are really interesting. There are many corners with different inclinations and direction changes. Overall, it is a fast track since there is also a long straight. I think that the confidence gained in Misano and the two days of testing at Valencia will help us take on this Spanish race with a good package”.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko