ThePitcrewOnline

Category: Crew On Two

  • Suzuki Head to Home Round Full of Optimism

    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

  • Marquez Insists Taking Points is First Priority

    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

  • Antonelli and Danilo looking to fight back in Japan

    The riders of the Ongetta Rivacold Racing team, Niccolò Antonelli and Jules Danilo, are ready to face the first of the three consecutive extra-european races, taking place at Twin Ring Motegi, theater of the fifteenth round of the season. The Japanese race will precede Phillip Island (Australia) and Sepang (Malaysia) rounds. The Twin Ring Motegi circuit, built by Honda, is 4.8 km long and has 14 corners, 6 left and 8 right. Last year, on a wet track, Niccolò Antonelli got his second win in career and, with his 25 points, gave Honda the constructor title, which was missing since 2001.

    Niccolò Antonelli: I eally like Motegi

    “The Twin Ring of Motegi is a track I really like, last year I got my second win here. It will be important to work well and turn a lot. In the first sessions I will do as many laps as possible alone in order to find a good pace and be ready for the race”.

    Jules Danilo:I am sure we can do a good race

    “After a couple of weeks of hard training with the bike I am looking forward to start turning here in Japan, on a track I really like. We know how to solve the problems we had in the last few races so, if we start working well at the beginning of the weekend, I am sure we can do a good race. In the last four rounds I didn’t get the results I hoped so I want to come back soon in the top fifteen in the Championship classification”.

    Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

  • Kawasaki pair do Battle in France

    Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes (KRT) finished second and third respectively in the second 21-lap FIM Superbike World Championship race at Magny Cours, with Rea extending his championship lead over his team-mate to 48 points.

    Rea has scored nine race wins on the latest Ninja ZX-10R so far this season and Sykes five, but despite being joined in a battle out front for much of the 21 lap contest – held in fully dry conditions – the late pace of Saturday race winner Chaz Davies also gave him a win on Sunday.

    With both official Kawasaki Racing Team riders keen to add to their race victory tallies, especially after Sykes had been third and Rea fourth in Saturday’s opener, the front-running action was close and competitive between the riders who still occupy first and second places in the championship.

    The conditions of race two could not have been more different from the wet and drying track encountered on Saturday. The dry surface allowed Sykes to post a new lap record of 1m 37.864 seconds, on lap three, as he rode away out front to try and gap the field.

    The undulations and heavy braking areas of the 4.411km Magny Cours circuit provided many passing opportunities for Rea after he had caught up with Sykes, but Tom proved determined to hold onto his lead. He only surrendered it on lap 16 – temporarily to Rea and then finally to Davies. Rea re-passed Sykes with four laps to go and set about trying to reel in Davies. Rea had lost too much ground by that stage but still scored his first podium of the weekend in second place.

    The top three riders were covered by just over 2.5 seconds at the end, with Sykes half a second from Rea across the line. After race two in France Rea has now scored 84 podium places during his career and Sykes 81. In the current championship standings, Rea has 426 points, Sykes 378 and Davies 345.

    The next races in the championship will take place on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th October, at Jerez in Spain. The last round will be held at the Losail Circuit in Qatar, between 28th and 30th October.

    Jonathan Rea, stated: “I tried to plan my pass on Tom because he is strong right now and he is hard to pass at the best of times. When I overtook under braking, unfortunately it let Chaz come past us. Then I had to try to pass Tom again but already the gap to Chaz was too much. Maybe I spent too much time behind Tom but he is riding so well. I am happy with my race because, today, second place was the best I could do and I am happy with the way I rode. We need to improve the bike set-up in some areas but all things considered I am happy with the result. It is a 48-point gap now and it is nice to extend the championship lead, if by one point after Lausitzring last time and by another single point here! Championships can be won by a point so every one of them is important. If we can just have a clean end to the season hopefully we can do the job.”

    Tom Sykes, stated: “When I started the race the bike felt really good and it was quite easy for me to manage 1m 37 second lap times. Unfortunately, for the first time all weekend, our pace dropped and I am confused about this. I then struggled to carry corner speed so that is something for us to look at. On Friday we were very fast and consistent but we had some issues in the second part of the race today. We were more consistent over the whole weekend this time, however, and we are making steps forward. Unfortunately it is quite late in the season now but at least we are able to fight at the front and be somewhere close for the race win.”

    Behind the official KRT riders, Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN Kawasaki) was 13th today and stand-in rider Matthieu Lagrive (Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) 15th. Gianluca Vizziello (Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki) went 17th but Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) no-scored after retiring.

    Kiko Giles

  • ‘Poor Communication’ triggers Halsall to leave Suzuki for 2017

    Team Owner of Halsall Racing Martin Halsall speaks to us about his decision to ditch Suzuki for the 2017 BSB campaign in an attempt to fight for the showdown positions. He tells us the reasons behind the split, his 2017 options and also the team’s end of season objective.

    Why are you leaving Suzuki for 2017?

    Primarily, we weren’t getting any clear indication of when we were going to get this new bike; we have had probably five or six promises of this “new bike” but we no delivery. Now obviously, we are an established team now in BSB and we want to start attracting front running riders like we have over the last couple of seasons. It’s a struggle to do that when we are sitting down with possible riders and not telling them what bike they’ll be riding. It’s just poor communication with everything really; I run businesses and I need, clear defined answers for me to attract sponsors and riders too. I was in a catch 22 position really; I either stayed with Suzuki, not caring who I put on the bike, but that isn’t me, or I have to make a decision and change manufacturer and then have the right conversation with the right riders.

    Rider line up for 2017?

    Hopefully Tommy (Bridewell) will stay, we haven’t put pen to paper yet but the most important thing for Tommy is that he has to be happy, and he is happy with us and we are very happy with him. It is a combination that is work well this year so we have to be happy really. There’s a number of riders I’d like to name and get but at this stage it is all up in the air.

    Are you staying with 1 rider for the last rounds?

    Yes, we are staying with one rider however, we have kept hold of the whole team from the other side of the garage too. We haven’t let anyone go, so the garage is quite busy with just one rider but two teams worth of mechanics. Primarily, we have done that because we have a structured team and I think that when we talk to riders next year, it will make us more attractive to them because we have that structure, so we can go straight into racing.

    Will Bennett’s remain your title sponsor?

    Yes that deal is more or less sorted. It’s just a case now of trying to slot in with another manufacturer and trying to make that work really.

    What is the objective for the final few races?

    Be a nuisance! It was a real shame about Tommy not making it into the showdown. He’s one of the most versatile riders out there, he will race whatever you put under him. If you put a little scooter under him he would give it his best shot. With what we have got he’s done a great job, he has really brought his bit to the table. We put a new swinging arm on the bike half way through the season and put new brakes on at Cadwell Park so we have invested quite a lot in the package we have. I’m sure the last couple of rounds, going to Assen and Brands will be quite exciting. He was on the podium at Brands so let’s hope for the same, he just needs to sort his race ones out!

    What manufacturer will you be running next year?

    I can’t say at the moment. We have had a few conversations with a few different people, and we are working on sorting out the bike. I can’t even give you most likely, it’s all really a case of getting negotiations done and seeing where we go from there.

    Thank you to Gareth Davies for the image.

    Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

  • Super Swede Backlund: I thought UK tracks were going to be Crazy!

    I enjoyed my time at Donington Park but one of the highlights of it all was meeting this man! Filip Backlund is Sweden’s shining star and at just 26, he has time on his side to climb the ranks of bike racing. I spoke to him about his injuries, the huge drought that Sweden is suffering in terms of producing motorcycle racers and also he treats us to a stunning insight of how he prepares for every round – no really, this is something that you will love!

    Why did you choose BSB?

    When I became professional in 2010, I made a five-year plan. The plan had in it that in 2012 or 2013, I would go to the World Championship, in Moto2. However, in the first year of Moto2, at least for me anyway, I needed to pay a lot of money. By that, I mean we are looking at £750,000 up to £1.5m. For me, I just had to look at the facts and think I was never going to have that kind of money, and that with the sponsors I already had, I was only going to be in a medium good team. So then I look at my next option which was the British Championship. I came over, I did a year or two in the Superstock 1000 class; my first year was great. I took four podiums, two new lap records and third in the championship along with a good win at Silverstone. The following year was also good, and then we finished off the season in Superbikes so yeah, if you can’t be in the world championship, BSB is the next toughest in the world.

    Does Luke being in the showdown give you more motivation to do better?

    It’s brilliant for Luke to be in the showdown, of course I want to be there as well. For me, this has been a season which started with the collarbone break, just a week before the first race. Before I did that, I had some really, really good pace which I haven’t been able to find since. Also, we see that I have some really big crashes and my body has had some hard impacts, so unfortunately we find that I haven’t had the best of luck, or the best of seasons. Donington Park was the first round that I feel more confident and comfortable with the bike. For me, I want to finish off the season as best I can; I want to score points in every race that’s left this year; that is my main goal and that’s what I hope we will do.

    Best experience since joining the BSB paddock?

    For sure, my win in Superstock 1000 at Silverstone and also when I was battling in the top three at Assen in BSB with the FFX Yamaha team in 2014. Those two moments so far are the best. I mean, I’m a racer and I love to win, so the win at Silverstone was the best. The feeling of winning was incredible, so yeah, I can’t think of a better one for now!

    How did you find British circuits to learn?

    In my first year, I was expecting it to be worse than it was. There’s a lot of tracks over here, and I used to watch the BSB tracks on TV or Youtube and I thought, “OK this is going to be crazy”. Once you ride them though, the only one I find crazy is Cadwell Park, but all the other places are brilliant! It’s a bit more special compared too wider, European ones which are much faster but in general they’re all great over here!

    Where do you think you could be now without the injuries you got?

    Without the injuries, our goal for the season was to go for the top 10 and then hope to fight for the top five too. In my opinion, that is where I think I could have been!

    How do you prepare for each round?

    On Monday, I normally do some light training, maybe one or two hours’ light cardio to refresh your body. Then I have a few days harder training. In terms of mental preparation, I do a lot of visualisation. I do some on board laps and then go back to visualisation. After this I go back and do it sector by sector, and then corner by corner. I try to nail every corner, learn where the breaking markers are, where I pick the throttle up and where I start to turn in. The whole point of this is to make the perfect lap. When I get to a race weekend, we do a similar kind of thing. Before every session, I go through the whole lap, figure out where I’m strong and where I need to improve and make some changes. My visualisation comes from my work with the mental coach when I was 15. They recommend visualisation because in any form of motorsport, you can’t be on the bike too often, so it’s all about trying to find solutions or ideas of how we can actually improve lap times and improve technical skills, despite not being on the bike.

    When did you realise you was going to be a professional motorcycle racer?

    I understand that this is my career and I am earning money for what I am doing. It’s funny because riding the bike is the smallest part, because you’re only on the bike for about 12 race weekends a year. I decided to take a year off school when I was 15 or 16 and just focus purely on the bike racing. My goal is to be world champion. At 7, it was always like “I will be a motorcycle racer” but then at 15 or 16 it was like “I will be a motorcycle racer”, so that’s probably when it sunk in.

    Where does your nickname, ‘The Teacher’ come from?

    If you had seen me in my private side of things, I wear my glasses. When I first came to the UK I had my suit on, my briefcase and everything, I like to be organised. Because of my business history, that is how I always look! They used to call me ‘The Librarian’, but for half a season they call me the teacher and it stayed ever since!

    Why is Sweden not producing more motorcycle racers?

    I think that Sweden in general as a country, we are very forward in terms of environment and health and safety and unfortunately, I don’t think motorsport quite fits their ethos. That’s one way of looking at it, however looking back, Sweden has produced big names like Ronnie Peterson and Kent Andersson, so you have some big names in the history but like you say, after that, it was just a drop and there’s few coming through. If you look at the few riders like myself and Christoffer Bergman in World Supersport, we are the only ones able to find opportunity outside of Sweden. The competition level in Sweden is not as high as it was. When I was racing there, between 2005 and 2010, we had riders from Germany, Australia and Austria in Sweden, earning money riding bikes but now you can’t. It’s tricky.

    Plans for 2017?

    Well I can confirm I have plenty of plans. However, them plans are nothing more than that at the moment, as nothing is solid! We have a few discussions going on. I like this team, they are happy with me, I am happy with my role at the team. We are already in talks with a few teams so we will see what happens. Unfortunately, those teams don’t have names just yet, but we will see in the future!

    Five years’ time? Where will you be?

    I see myself in WSBK. Not in MotoGP. Definitely WSBK!

    Thanks to Gareth Davies for the image.

    Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

  • Aprilia Shine in Spanish Sun with Double Top 10

    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

  • Disaster as Pramac Ducati experience points Drought in Spanish Desert

    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

  • Lowes reignites the championship hopes of Great Britain by taking Aragon Moto2 win

    Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 rider Sam Lowes converted his excellent pace in practice and qualifying into a race winning performance at today’s Aragon Grand Prix, the 26-year-old Briton scoring his second victory of the season in style.

    After a few laps Sam started to open a gap on the other riders and then he crossed the finish line with over three second over Spaniard Alex Marquez, second under the checkered flag. Thanks to this great result, Lowes has now 162 points in the standings, 40 points behind Championship leader Johann Zarco.

    Lowes: I was really confident

    “We worked really hard all weekend, making long runs in every practice session, so I was really confident for the race. That’s why I tried to get to the front as soon as possible and make a god rhythm. Once I had a bit of a gap I just tried to relax and keep my pace. This makes a change compared to the last few races, we have shown a good level of competitiveness and it’s nice. Now we are 40 points behind the lead in the Championship, so everything can happen and for sure we won’t give up. I feel good on the bike and we will take this confidence to Japan, where we will do our best!”.

    Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

  • Vinales mistake costs him podium charge, Aleix takes 7th with strong showing

    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