HONDA RACING INFORMATION 2014 FIM MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 World Championships Round 9, German Grand Prix, Sachsenring Race day, Sunday, July 13 2014 Weather: light rainfall, then warm and dry Temperature: Ambient 21 degrees C / Track 27 degrees C MIRACULOUS MARQUEZ LEADS DOMINANT HONDA ONE-TWO Unbeaten Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) and team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) dominated a unique MotoGP race at Sachsenring this afternoon, scoring their third one-two result of the 2014 season. Marquez’s win was his ninth from nine races, a remarkable achievement from the 21-year-old former Moto2 and 125 World Champion. So far, only two riders have won more than nine consecutive premier-class wins: Giacomo Agostini (MV Agusta), who won all ten races of the 1968 500 season, and Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda), who won ten successive victories in the 1997 500 World Championship. Today’s race started in confusing conditions after a light rain shower moments before the start, with most riders choosing to start the warm-up lap on rain tyres, then realising that slicks would be better for the race. They therefore had to swap to their ‘dry bikes’ and then start the race from pit lane once the rest of the riders had sped past into the first turn. Only nine riders started from their assigned positions on the grid. Local hero Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) was the only rider on the first five rows to start from the grid and so took an easy lead during the first few laps. But all was not well for Bradl, who had started from the front row. His RC213V may have been fitted with slicks but it was running wet-weather suspension settings, so he was unable to use the full performance of his slick tyres. Meanwhile Marquez and Pedrosa – both recovering from big tumbles during practice – were charging through the mostly Open bikes that had also started from the main grid, until the two RC213V riders were into second and third places on lap four. At that point Bradl still had a healthy lead but it was quickly whittled away by the two Spaniards. Marquez assumed the lead at the end of lap six, with Pedrosa soon following him through into second. Marquez and Pedrosa had the rest of the race between them, Marquez always leading, with the gap see-sawing this way and that. One lap Marquez would open the gap by a tenth, then the next Pedrosa would close it by a tenth, until one third-distance when Pedrosa made a couple of minor errors and slipped more than a second behind his team-mate. Pedrosa’s seventh podium of the year promoted him to second overall, ahead of today’s fourth-place finisher Valentino Rossi (Yamaha). At the chequered flag the gap between Pedrosa and Marquez was 1.4 seconds, with Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) almost eight seconds back in third. Try as he might, Bradl slipped further back as riders with the correct settings/tyre combination came past him. He crossed the finish line in a disconsolate 16th place, no doubt hoping that Germany’s duel with Argentina in tonight’s World Cup final will turn out better. Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) was one of the last few riders to come past Bradl. The Spaniard ended the race in ninth place, just behind Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati). MotoGP rookie Scott Redding (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RCV1000R) was one of the many riders to start from pit lane and had a great ride, racing his Open RCV1000R against many factory bikes to eventually take 11th place, three seconds behind team-mate Bautista. It was a good day for Honda’s RCV1000R production machine, with all four riders finishing in the points. Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) started from the grid and ran up front in the early stages, gradually falling victim to the faster factory machines. The former 250 World Champion finished 12th. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) started on slicks and ended the race in 13th position, just ahead of Nicky Hayden (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R). Former MotoGP World Champion Hayden was another rider who pitted for slicks at the end of the warm-up lap but he didn’t get the best of the hectic massed pit-lane start. He ended the first lap in last place, then worked his way through to 14th at the finish. Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert, Suter) won a brilliant victory in the Honda-powered Moto2 race, his first time on the top step of a Grand Prix podium. The Swiss was in the battle for the win from the early laps, leading the first lap and then spending most of the rest of the race shadowing leader Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team, Kalex). In the final few laps the stakes were raised with Aegerter grabbing the lead at the first corner, only for Kallio to grab it back at the last corner. Finally, Aegerter prevailed, passing the chequered flag just 0.091 seconds ahead of the Finn. Third place went to Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing, Forward Kalex) whose duel with series leader Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team, Kalex) also lasted to the very end. Corsi passed Rabat at the penultimate corner, then Rabat returned the compliment at the final turn, but he went in too hot, ran wide and Corsi beat him to the finish line by one tenth of a second. Maverick Vinales (Pons HP 40, Kalex) had an astonishingly good race. Fifteenth at the end of the first lap, the Austin Moto2 winner cut a swath through the pack and then closed on the battle for third place. In the end he finished right behind Rabat and less than a second off the podium. Also featuring strongly in that battle was fast-improving rookie Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team, Kalex) who finished a close sixth after battling with the group for much of the race. Randy Krummenacher (Ioda Racing Project, Suter) headed the next group in seventh place, just ahead of Mattia Pasini (NGM Forward Racing, Forward Kalex) and Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock, Suter). Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda NSF250RW) played a brilliant role in the front-running brawl in the Moto3 race, eventually crossing the line in third place, just 1.1 seconds behind race winner and series leader Jack Miller (KTM). The battle at the front was enthralling, with Miller heading the chase but only just. Masbou, who received an upgraded NSF250RW engine at Assen where he finished a close fourth, was delighted with his first podium of the year, less than a tenth ahead of Catalunya and Assen winner Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW), whose fourth-place finish keeps him second overall. Efren Vazquez (SaxoPrint-RTG Honda NSF250RW) rode a heroic race to lead the second group home in sixth place, a result which moved him into third place in the championship, ahead of Romano Fenati (KTM) and Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) who both crashed out. John McPhee (SaxoPrint-RTG Honda NSF250RW) also had an excellent ride, finishing just one tenth of a second behind team-mate Vazquez in an eight-man skirmish that had sixth to eighth places covered by 1.1 seconds. Honda MotoGP rider quotes Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: race winner “Before going out on track I thought it would be a similar race to the Assen, but in the end the surface dried out very quickly. I saw on the grid that Bradl had gone with the slick tyre option and I really had my doubts, because the area around the back of the track was still wet. I finally decided to see what Dani and Valentino were going to do, as they are my main rivals in the championship and if you get it wrong in these races, you can lose a lot of points. That’s why I decided to copy their strategy. The race was nice, especially the first part which was when I enjoyed it the most!” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2nd “The start of the race today was a bit like Assen. Rainfall before the race meant that half the track was wet, and in the time we took to set up on the grid and do the warm-up lap it had been drying out. There was only one wet corner, but it was very wet. We had to change to the bike with slicks and almost all of the riders started from pit lane. We couldn’t fight for victory but we were very close, Marc was very fast today, too. Now we have the test at Brno and will try to find a few tenths somewhere, so that we can go faster and be even stronger at Indy.” Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 9th “The start from pit lane affected our whole race: we went to the grid with the bike for wet conditions and during the warm-up lap I preferred to stay behind the other riders to see what they decided to do, because in some places the track was still very wet. When I saw almost all the riders enter the pits to change the bike I did the same, but then when we lined up at the exit of the pit lane there was no space to stay ahead and therefore I had a poor start. However, I started to overtake some riders, although it’s not easy on this track, and then I managed to keep a good pace. Lets say that I enjoyed overtaking many riders, even if I’d preferred to do it for a better position. Too bad for the start, which as mentioned before, penalised us a lot. I also think that many riders starting the race from the pit lane was a potentially dangerous situation, although luckily in the end nothing happened. Now we have a couple of weeks to rest, and then we will resume fighting: we hope to be more consistent in the second half of the season.” Scott Redding, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 11th “Today was good for me. I didn’t think I was going to catch the other Honda riders who started the race with slick tyres, I just thought that I had to beat Nicky, who started from the pit lane like me. When we left the pit lane I started to push and I was quite fast, also compared to the factory bikes. I took a lot of risks in the wet parts of the track, because I had to, you know… I was feeling quite comfortable and I was reasonably strong also when the soft tyre started to drop. Even when Pol Espargaro passed me I stayed with him for two or three laps, and also with Alvaro. I’m happy because I gave everything today.” Hiroshi Aoyama, Drive 7 Aspar Honda: 12th “Weve had two races with complicated conditions, so it’s been a pretty stressful situation. Luckily my team had done a great job over the weekend and were able to advise me well before the race. I was a little worried but our decision to use slicks from the beginning but it was successful. At first some parts of the circuit were very wet, so we had to use caution. Even so, I was comfortable. In contrast, in the middle of the race I lost feeling with the front and that prevented me from going as fast as yesterday. Luckily I finally regained confidence, so I was able to go faster with each subsequent lap. If I had reached that pace a little earlier, I would have finished in a better position. In any case, considering the track conditions, finishing the race in twelfth position is positive for us.” Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing: 13th “It was a very difficult race to evaluate. I will start by saying we scored three points, so considering the situation on the circuit, it’s good result. The start was really interesting due to the weather. Many of us did not stay on the grid. The majority of riders decided to change bikes after the warm-up lap. By then the track was completely dry, except one corner. I had slick tyres and it turned out to be the best decision. I not happy that Aoyama finished in front of me. I was riding for a long time behind him but my tyres wore down a lot. Then I risked it and overtook him. Unfortunately he was very fast on speed so he retook me. I did everything to achieve a good result today. We managed to finish and we all hope that during the second part of the season we can improve one or two positions.” Nicky Hayden, Drive 7 Aspar Honda: 14th “The conditions for todays race were really crazy, and racing like this is so hard because you do not see exactly how the track is at each point. Im not happy with the start of the race. I had no confidence and I let several riders get away from me until I was down in last. At the beginning of the race, with the wet track and cold tyres, I did not have a chance to overtake anyone. It was a shame to start with so much prudence, because over the last 15 laps I imposed a pretty good pace which allowed me to gain a lot of positions. I could have caught my teammate and Abraham, but in the end I lacked a little bit of push. I am annoyed, because the team did a great job this weekend. We improved the performance of the bike, and that allowed us to be competitive in qualifying yesterday. I hope to perform at a higher level next time.” Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 16th “Just before the race it started to rain and after two sighting laps on wet rubber, we decided to change to slick tyres on the grid because I thought that the track would have dried up quickly. At the first moment it seemed that we had an advantage but on the grid we had some issues in changing the front fork to dry setting, as the time was not enough, so I started the race with rain settings and slick tyres and it was a real gamble. When I saw the others starting from the pit, I could have done the same as my bike was ready and I am sorry for this mistake. I was three seconds slower a lap because my settings were not correct. I am speechless right now because this is the worst way to end my home race but I want to thank my fans for their great support throughout this weekend.” Moto2 rider quotes Dominique Aegerter, Technomag carXpert: race winner “This was definitely a perfect weekend for me – my first pole yesterday and my first victory today. I’m very happy with the race, but it was difficult because Kallio was pushing so hard all the way, right on the limit and making no mistakes. I tried to stay with him and later on I overtook him, but then he overtook me back! On the last lap I did it again and this time I closed my line at the last corner and it worked. My thanks to everyone who has helped me: my team, my sponsors, everyone. Now I’m looking forward to a little celebration in the summer break.” Mika Kallio, Marc VDS Racing Team: 2nd “I’m a little bit disappointed because yesterday I was very close to Dominique in qualifying and again he was better than me today. The points are very important for the championship, but of course 20 points for second place is better than nothing. Usually I would be happy with second but I was sure I had the pace to win today. I kept pushing harder and harder but all the time he kept with me and my mechanics kept giving me the same signal: +0, +0, +0! When I got in front again for the last couple of laps I knew he would attack at the last couple of corners and this time I couldn’t stop him.” Simone Corsi, NGM Forward Racing: 3rd “I had a great race with Tito and Maverick. My start wasn’t so bad but Dominique and Mika were too fast for me to go with them. The last lap was a big battle with Tito. I passed him at the last-but-one corner, then he passed me at the last corner but I had a better line on the way out so I got third place and I’m very happy.” Honda Moto3 rider quotes Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold: 3rd “I had a great result here last year but this is always a difficult race. At some recent races I’ve struggled with feel for the bike but it was really good here, so I was able to ride hard. We all pushed very hard to follow Jack. To get my first podium of the year is very important.” Alex Marquez, Estrella Galicia 0,0: 4th “We wanted to have a good race to go into the summer break feeling good and that is the case, despite me finishing fourth. I got a good start and was behind Miller, but I saw that I had to go right on the limit and wasn’t comfortable being at the front. I also had a few scares with the rear, so fourth is very positive for us and, most importantly, we keep adding points to our tally. We will train to the fullest in the summer break in order to get ready for Indianapolis.” Efren Vazquez, SaxoPrint-RTG: 6th “I tried my best. After my crash yesterday my body was completely destroyed and I have a lot of pain all over. Also, the crash made me start from a bad grid position, so the race was very difficult for this reason also. I did my best and my only goal was to finish the race and score some points for the World Championship.” RESULTS MOTOGP RACE: (30 laps = 110.13 Km) POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP 1 / Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 4147.664 / 158.1 / 2 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 4149.130 / 158.0 / 1.466 3 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / YAMAHA / 4157.981 / 157.4 / 10.317 4 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / YAMAHA / 4206.858 / 156.9 / 19.194 5 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 4211.173 / 156.6 / 23.509 6 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / NGM Forward Racing / FORWARD YAMAHA / 4215.473 / 156.3 / 27.809 7 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 4220.917 / 156.0 / 33.253 8 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 4221.532 / 155.9 / 33.868 9 / Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / GO&FUN Honda Gresini / HONDA / 4221.895 / 155.9 / 34.231 10 / Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 4222.340 / 155.9 / 34.676 11 / Scott REDDING / GBR / GO&FUN Honda Gresini / HONDA / 4225.408 / 155.7 / 37.744 12 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Drive M7 Aspar / HONDA / 4232.682 / 155.3 / 45.018 13 / Karel ABRAHAM / CZE / Cardion AB Motoracing / HONDA / 4232.841 / 155.3 / 45.177 14 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Drive M7 Aspar / HONDA / 4234.340 / 155.2 / 46.676 15 / Danilo PETRUCCI / ITA / Octo IodaRacing Team / ART / 4240.433 / 154.8 / 52.769 16 / Stefan BRADL / GER / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 4241.553 / 154.7 / 53.889 17 / Yonny HERNANDEZ / COL / Energy T.I. Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 4242.140 / 154.7 / 54.476 18 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Avintia Racing / AVINTIA / 4243.879 / 154.6 / 56.215 19 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 4243.957 / 154.6 / 56.293 20 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / NGM Forward Racing / FORWARD YAMAHA / 4251.747 / 154.1 / 104.083 Pole Position: Marc MARQUEZ 120.937 163.2 Km/h Fastest Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 122.037 161.0 Km/h Lap 21 Circuit Record Lap: Dani PEDROSA 121.846 161.4 Km/h 2011 Circuit Best Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 120.937 163.2 Km/h 2014 CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE: 1 MARQUEZ 225, 2 PEDROSA 148, 3 ROSSI 141, 4 DOVIZIOSO 99, 5 LORENZO 97, 6 ESPARGARO 77, 7 ESPARGARO 67, 8 IANNONE 62, 9 BRADL 56, 10 BAUTISTA 50, 11 SMITH 48, 12 REDDING 33, 13 HAYDEN 29, 14 CRUTCHLOW 28, 15 AOYAMA 28, 16 HERNANDEZ 27, 17 ABRAHAM 18, 18 EDWARDS 8, 19 PIRRO 7, 20 PARKES 6. MOTO2 RACE: (29 laps = 106.459 Km) POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP 1 / Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Technomag carXpert / SUTER / 4112.461 / 155.0 / 2 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 4112.552 / 155.0 / 0.091 3 / Simone CORSI / ITA / NGM Forward Racing / KALEX / 4122.975 / 154.3 / 10.514 4 / Esteve RABAT / SPA / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 4123.127 / 154.3 / 10.666 5 / Maverick VIÑALES / SPA / Paginas Amarillas HP 40 / KALEX / 4123.879 / 154.2 / 11.418 6 / Franco MORBIDELLI / ITA / Italtrans Racing Team / KALEX / 4126.561 / 154.1 / 14.100 7 / Randy KRUMMENACHE / SWI / Octo IodaRacing Team / SUTER / 4134.344 / 153.6 / 21.883 8 / Mattia PASINI / ITA / NGM Forward Racing / KALEX / 4134.437 / 153.6 / 21.976 9 / Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Interwetten Paddock Moto2 / SUTER / 4134.510 / 153.6 / 22.049 10 / Xavier SIMEON / BEL / Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 / SUTER / 4138.971 / 153.3 / 26.510 11 / Ricard CARDUS / SPA / Tech 3 / TECH 3 / 4139.127 / 153.3 / 26.666 12 / Marcel SCHROTTER / GER / Tech 3 / TECH 3 / 4145.505 / 152.9 / 33.044 13 / Louis ROSSI / FRA / SAG Team / KALEX / 4145.881 / 152.9 / 33.420 14 / Luis SALOM / SPA / Paginas Amarillas HP 40 / KALEX / 4149.654 / 152.7 / 37.193 15 / Axel PONS / SPA / AGR Team / KALEX / 4150.288 / 152.6 / 37.827 16 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Italtrans Racing Team / KALEX / 4150.572 / 152.6 / 38.111 17 / Anthony WEST / AUS / QMMF Racing Team / SPEED UP / 4152.433 / 152.5 / 39.972 18 / Hafizh SYAHRIN / MAL / Petronas Raceline Malaysia / KALEX / 4155.065 / 152.3 / 42.604 19 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 / SUTER / 4156.107 / 152.3 / 43.646 20 / Sam LOWES / GBR / Speed Up / SPEED UP / 4158.493 / 152.1 / 46.032 Pole Position: Dominique AEGERTER 124.761 155.9 Km/h Fastest Lap: Mika KALLIO 124.902 155.6 Km/h Lap 14 Circuit Record Lap: Julian SIMON 124.809 155.8 Km/h 2013 Circuit Best Lap: Jordi TORRES 124.634 156.1 Km/h 2013 CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE: 1 RABAT 170, 2 KALLIO 151, 3 VIÑALES 120, 4 AEGERTER 96, 5 CORSI 85, 6 LUTHI 68, 7 SALOM 62, 8 WEST 58, 9 FOLGER 47, 10 ZARCO 46, 11 SIMEON 37, 12 SCHROTTER 36, 13 LOWES 33, 14 CORTESE 32, 15 DE ANGELIS 29, 16 CARDUS 27, 17 MORBIDELLI 25, 18 TORRES 23, 19 PASINI 22, 20 KRUMMENACHER 19. MOTO3 RACE: (27 laps = 99.117 Km) POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP 1 / Jack MILLER / AUS / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 3926.927 / 150.7 / 2 / Brad BINDER / RSA / Ambrogio Racing / MAHINDRA / 3927.107 / 150.7 / 0.180 3 / Alexis MASBOU / FRA / Ongetta-Rivacold / HONDA / 3928.046 / 150.6 / 1.119 4 / Alex MARQUEZ / SPA / Estrella Galicia 0,0 / HONDA / 3928.107 / 150.6 / 1.180 5 / Danny KENT / GBR / Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo / HUSQVARNA / 3928.217 / 150.6 / 1.290 6 / Efren VAZQUEZ / SPA / SaxoPrint-RTG / HONDA / 3953.158 / 149.1 / 26.231 7 / John MCPHEE / GBR / SaxoPrint-RTG / HONDA / 3953.263 / 149.0 / 26.336 8 / Isaac VIÑALES / SPA / Calvo Team / KTM / 3953.401 / 149.0 / 26.474 9 / Matteo FERRARI / ITA / San Carlo Team Italia / MAHINDRA / 3953.510 / 149.0 / 26.583 10 / Juanfran GUEVARA / SPA / Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 / KALEX KTM / 3953.662 / 149.0 / 26.735 11 / Jakub KORNFEIL / CZE / Calvo Team / KTM / 3953.800 / 149.0 / 26.873 12 / Philipp OETTL / GER / Interwetten Paddock Moto3 / KALEX KTM / 3953.936 / 149.0 / 27.009 13 / Arthur SISSIS / AUS / Mahindra Racing / MAHINDRA / 3954.232 / 149.0 / 27.305 14 / Eric GRANADO / BRA / Calvo Team / KTM / 3957.011 / 148.8 / 30.084 15 / Enea BASTIANINI / ITA / Junior Team GO&FUN Moto3 / KTM / 4012.052 / 147.9 / 45.125 16 / Alessandro TONUCCI / ITA / CIP / MAHINDRA / 4012.466 / 147.9 / 45.539 17 / Jules DANILO / FRA / Ambrogio Racing / MAHINDRA / 4012.952 / 147.8 / 46.025 18 / Hafiq AZMI / MAL / SIC-AJO / KTM / 4013.037 / 147.8 / 46.110 19 / Luca GRÜNWALD / GER / Kiefer Racing / KALEX KTM / 4023.714 / 147.2 / 56.787 20 / Ana CARRASCO / SPA / RW Racing GP / KALEX KTM / 4024.076 / 147.1 / 57.149 Pole Position: Jack MILLER 126.997 151.9 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Brad BINDER 126.877 152.1 Km/h Lap 8 Old Circuit Record Lap: Luis SALOM 127.183 151.5 Km/h 2013 Circuit Best Lap: Jack MILLER 126.767 152.3 Km/h 2014 CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TILL DATE: 1 MILLER 142, 2 MARQUEZ 123, 3 VAZQUEZ 112, 4 FENATI 110, 5 RINS 107, 6 VIÑALES 90, 7 MASBOU 79, 8 OLIVEIRA 53, 9 BINDER 49, 10 KORNFEIL 48, 11 BASTIANINI 46, 12 KENT 46, 13 MCPHEE 45, 14 BAGNAIA 42, 15 AJO 35, 16 GUEVARA 23, 17 ANTONELLI 18, 18 LOI 17, 19 HANIKA 16, 20 TONUCCI 15. NEXT EVENT: ROUND10, AUG 10 INDIANAPOLIS
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 09:13:23 +0000