The Race that MotoGP Needed 🇬🇧🇬🇧

Article Photo: CormacGP

My Full British Grand Prix, MotoGP Race Recap

This year’s British Grand Prix had arguably the most dramatic build up in recent memory. And with Cal becoming victorious in Brno two weeks ago, taking a gamble on hard tyres in damp and tricky conditions, beating the likes of Rossi and Marquez fair and square, record crowds were expected yesterday. Cal is the first British winner in the Premier class since Barry Sheene in 1981, and I still didn’t think I’d be saying that so soon! On top of that win, which he said still did not top becoming a Father a month ago, he managed yet again to out perform everyone in Qualifying on Saturday in the pouring rain, setting a very brave, cracking lap in the wet to take pole position! Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales joined him on the front row. Marc Marquez was down in fifth on the grid, so another classic British GP was on the cards.
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After the absolutely horrible accident in the first start, (riders involved Pol Espargaro and Loris Baz are now thankfully on the mend) the second start frankly shocked us after Vinales rocketed into the lead at Abbey on lap 1, to then produce a small gap to Crutchlow, Rossi and Marquez. Maverick had shown how fast his nimble, user friendly Suzuki race pace can be throughout the year but it has mostly been too little to late with slowish starts, but Sunday was a great exception. 

As the race progressed, Maverick’s impeccable pace just got better and better, and once Valentino had got passed the battling Honda’s of Cal and Marc, even he could not reel in the 2013 Moto3 World Champion. This soon turned most people’s attention to the race long battle for 2nd and 3rd between Rossi, Marquez, Crutchlow, with Iannone joining the party with his following plus one, Dani Pedrosa on the second Repsol Honda. As more laps tumbled, Iannone would find himself I front of this pack, only to be relegated to third, and then losing the front end at Luffied with a handful of laps left, ending his race. 

After yet another personal looking, nearly fairing bashing battle between Rossi and Marquez, which Marquez soon won, the Spaniard was riding the wheels of his Factory Honda, and with three laps left was attempting to pass Crutchlow who had retained second while the battle royale was taking place. The two exchanged places until the penultimate lap where Cal was ahead on the Hangar straight, and Marc’s ambitious attempt of out breaking Cal back fired when he out braked himself into Stowe, going wide onto the Tarmac run off and rejoining behind Pedrosa in 5th.

But the man of the race was the ultra cool Maverick Vinales, who didn’t lose any of his lead to Britons Cal Crutchlow, and took a well deserved debut win in the MotoGP class. Crutchlow fended off Rossi to take his first ever British Grand Prix podium at Silverstone, after many injuries and various different portions of bad luck at Silverstone since his first race there in 2011. Marquez was able to overcome his teammate Pedrosa to finish fourth, so his title lead is still very substantial with a 50 point advantage over Rossi.

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Another lacklustre performance from Jorge Lorenzo makes one wonder when his form will return, and if he’s lost his motivation and confidence with Yamaha given his Ducati move next year. Along with the extremely disappointing moment for British fans when Johann Zarco took out a flying Sam Lowes in the Moto2 race, Scott Redding crashed twice in the MotoGP race, while running inside the top 10 and looking fast. This to me was really frustrating because it didn’t show how fast Scott was at Silverstone this weekend and how far he could of got on Sunday. 

Bradley Smith’s replacement, due to an injury sustained in an Endurance race crash, Alex Lowes from the Yamaha World Superbike Team,  finished in 13th place, scoring 3 points in his first ever Grand Prix, not bad at all considering he’d only done four laps on the machine before Friday’s practice. 

With Marquez, Miller and Crutchlow winning races this year for Honda, Rossi and Lorenzo for Yamaha, Iannone winning in Austria for Ducati, and with Vinales’ win at Silverstone for Suzuki…I’m failing to remember a season that felt like a golden era of a motorcycle racing as much as the current, the racing is great, weekend, week out, regardless of the 50 point lead Marquez has. The Sport is on the up and up, growing in popularity and attracting many fresh sponsors. Days like Sunday don’t get much better.

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Slightly off the subject of MotoGP, may I apologise for the lack of articles in the last two to three months on this site, I have finally got used to living alone after flying the nest late last year which I found a lot harder than I thought, I’ve now (Finally! 🙄) got used to living independantly and my posts will be as frequent as ever. Thanks to the motivational vibes I’ve had from a few people recently, especially on Sunday in the paddock and via messages, it makes all the difference! 

Race Results 

1. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 39m 3.559s 
2. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 39m 7.039s 

3. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 39m 7.622s 

4. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 39m 9.551s 

5. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 39m 9.940s 

6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) 39m 15.862s 

7. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 39m 20.231s 

8. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 39m 22.991s 

9. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 39m 29.177s 

10. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 39m 35.643s 

11. Yonny Hernandez COL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 39m 39.690s 

12. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 39m 42.689s 

13. Alex Lowes GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 39m 43.702s 

14. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 39m 44.915s 

15. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 39m 45.502s 

16. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 39m 51.169s 

17. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 40m 59.736s 

Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) DNF 

Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) DNF 

Loris Baz FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) DNS 

Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) DNS 

Race Results layout courtesy of crash.net

The article cover photo, the Cal Crutchlow photo at Woodcote corner from Saturday’s qualifying, and Race start photos are courtesy of Cormac Ryan Meenan ‘CormacGP’ on all Social Media sites and apps!

Thanks to Pole Position Travel for the last minute Paddock Pass on Sunday, it was incredibly appreciated! 

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Rossi too fast for Lorenzo, wins Spanish Grand Prix

The Stunning, Jerez de la Frontera racetrack, in Southern Spain, in many peoples eyes is one of the most complete and ideal circuits for motorcycle racing. With high speed long sweeping corners, and a massive selection of overtaking opportunities, there isn’t one section of the track that could be labelled as ‘boring’ . It’s worth mentioning it’s in my top five favourites of tracks too. 

The qualifying session was absolutely stunning, with the Spaniards of Lorenzo and Marquez trying to come out on top but it was a spoiler from Rossi that stole the show, pipping teammate Lorenzo after the chequered fell. With the three of them all showing promising race pace in practice, an intriguing Spanish Grand Prix was on the cards.

At the start, Rossi converted his pole to lead Jorge into the first corner, with Marc following suit only to get overtaken by teammate Pedrosa at the end of the lap. With only one lap complete, the race was already getting everyone on the edge of their seats, with Lorenzo diving underneath the Italian only to get it taken back off him immediately. Rossi started to ease away ever so slightly, setting the fastest lap of the race, as Marc retook Dani for 3rd. 

Another impressive showing was from Eugene Laverty in 8th, on a two year old Ducati for the Asapar Team, and after a 4th place back in Argentina we would love to get used to the Irishman permanently inside the top ten. 

The Doctor, Valentino Rossi was now a good second in front of Lorenzo and Marquez, and with just over ten laps left, was still managing to lap faster than both of them. Jorge chipped away at Rossi’s lead but every time that happened it would re stabilise to 3 seconds. 

But Lorenzo never got close enough, Rossi truly was in another class today, and it must be stated that it wasn’t expected for him to clear off, perhaps many thought it was more likely for Lorenzo to escape early on. 

Race Results

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 45m 28.834s 
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 45m 31.220s 

3. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 35.921s 

4. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 39.185s 

5. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 45m 42.977s 

6. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 45m 45.606s 

7. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) 45m 55.111s 

8. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 45m 59.584s 

9. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 46m 1.159s 

10. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 46m 1.458s 

11. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 46m 7.331s 

12. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 46m 8.503s 

13. Loris Baz FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 46m 14.061s 

14. Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 46m 16.720s 

15. Yonny Hernandez COL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 46m 16.822s 

16. Michele Pirro ITA Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 18.248s 

17. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 46m 18.347s 

18. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 46m 22.168s 

19. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 34.389s 

Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) DNF 

Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) DNF 

Pedrosa Wins Massively Controversial Malaysian Grand Prix

Photo: Repsol Honda

After a week of contraversal comments from 9 time Valentino Rossi, saying Marquez was purposely messing with him and Iannone, slowing him down to give Lorenzo and advantage. It was nothing compared to the crazy, shocking, never before seen drama today.

After Pedrosa and Lorenzo got away well and eased ahead of Marquez and Rossi, we got to see another phenomenal battle between Vale and Marc. For 3 laps they swapped positions on nearly every single corner, most probably their most intense battle yet. Some of Marc’s moves were getting a little too hard, it could be fair to say. And eventually, you could argue it got too personal for Rossi. He dived underneath Marquez at turn 14 to attempt another overtake, but started to ride wide, into the path of Marquez, then looked at him, and used his knee to push Marc wide. Marc then crashed, losing the front. 

At this point it cannot be said for sure what the final result will be, and if Rossi did it on purpose. Personally, I’ve never seen anything like it before. We’ve all seen Rossi overtake and collide with another rider in the process, but this was visibly different. 

Dani Pedrosa took his second win in a row, followed by Jorge Lorenzo. Both have not scene the incident enough to have a final opinion, although Jorge feels Rossi needs a big penalty, having told BT Sport. Dani and Jorge both said this race was one of the hottest and most physical races they’ve ever ridden in.  

 
Further down the field, Brits Bradley Smith and Cal Crutchlow finished a cracking 4th and 5th! Although with the drama of this race, it might be a little overshadowed.
The Championship now goes down to the wire, and will be decided in a fortnights time in Valencia.
   
    
    
 These are stills from Dorna TV’s footage of the Race. This is on BTSport’s MotoGP Twitter Feed.

Race Results:

1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 40m 37.691s 

2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 40m 41.303s 

3. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 40m 51.415s 

4. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 41m 1.686s 

5. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 41m 6.412s 

6. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 41m 14.063s 

7. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 41m 16.981s 

8. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 41m 17.127s 

9. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 41m 20.153s 

10. Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 41m 22.292s 

11. Scott Redding GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 41m 25.381s 

12. Yonny Hernandez COL Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 41m 29.803s 

13. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 41m 30.051s 

14. Toni Elias SPA Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 41m 31.310s 

15. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 41m 31.322s 

16. Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS) 41m 39.122s 

17. Jack Miller AUS LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* 41m 40.519s 

18. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 41m 42.766s 

19. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS)* 41m 47.568s 

20. Anthony West AUS AB Motoracing (RC213V-RS) 42m 2.440s 

Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) DNF 

Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) DNF 

Loris Baz FRA Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* DNF 

Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) DNF 

Damian Cudlin AUS E-Motion IodaRacing (ART) DNF 

Rossi wins dramatic & incident filled British GP thriller

Marc Marquez smashed his own pole record on Saturday, but Jorge Lorenzo showed us that his long runs could prove great race pace, and the Brits of Smith, Crutchlow and Redding all qualified inside the top ten. But on Sunday, after the Moto2 Race…it had started to rain again. This made it clear on the warm up that many riders would come in and start the race on wet tyres, from pit lane. Bradley Smith, who has impressed all year and this weekend too, nearly crashed into brooklands, so he went straight into pitlane. Everyone came in after the warm up lap. 

This meant 25 riders were about to start the British Grand Prix from pitlane. Race Direction intervened at the pitlane exit and stopped the race from even starting. The restart was declared a wet race, and would still be the full race distance of 20 laps. 

Utter drama in the opening laps as Jorge, Marc, Valentino, Cal and teammate Jack Miller all scrapped it out in the rain. Cal took third from Lorenzo but it was short lived, as Jack crashed into him at the Vale chicane. A massive blow for the British fans.

As the race progressed, we saw the incredible pace of Petrucci storming through to third, loving the wet conditions, passing the likes of Lorenzo, Espargaro and Pedrosa. Rossi and Marquez had a huge gap, and it looked like Marquez was just sitting pretty. That was until Marc crashed out with 9 laps to go, giving Rossi a big lead but it was getting smaller as Petrucci and Dovizioso started closing in rapidly to The Doctor. 

As Valentino started the last 2 laps, it became clear that Petrucci had settled for 2nd place, which was still his first ever podium. Rossi took his first ever win at Silverstone, to the delight of the British crowd, who also got to see Scott Redding take 6th ahead of Smith in 7th.

Rossi now leads the championship by 12 points from Jorge Lorenzo.

Race Results:

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 46m 15.617s 

2. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.1) 46m 18.627s 

3. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 19.734s 

4. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 46m 21.343s 

5. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 46m 26.749s 

6. Scott Redding GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 46m 41.084s 

7. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 46m 42.334s 

8. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 45.010s 

9. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 46m 54.432s 

10. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 46m 57.329s 

11. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 47m 0.393s 

12. Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS) 47m 8.106s 

13. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 47m 26.828s 

14. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 47m 30.909s 

15. Alex De Angelis RSM E-Motion IodaRacing (ART) 47m 33.480s 

16. Loris Baz FRA Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* 47m 34.927s 

17. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS)* 47m 35.352s 

18. Claudio Corti ITA Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 48m 13.703s 

19. Karel Abraham CZE AB Motoracing (RC213V-RS) +1 lap 

Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) DNF 

Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) DNF 

Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) DNF 

Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF 

Jack Miller AUS LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* DNF 

Yonny Hernandez COL Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) DNF 

Going to the British MotoGP at Silverstone this weekend? Here’s a little Guide if you’ve never been…

If you’ve decided to attend the British GP this weekend, you’ve made a cracking decision. Not only could we be seeing our dominant Danny Kent win on home soil in Moto3, but the top two in the MotoGP class, Valentino & Jorge, are now level on points. The fact that Rossi is, to many, the ‘symbol’ of the Sport, has 3 wins to his name this year, and hasn’t been on this kind of form in 5 years is something very special indeed. Especially when you consider the MotoGP class now oozes youth, with current World Champion Marc Marquez at 22, getting beaten by the 36 year old Italian throughout most of this season. 

This awesome combination of British success, and a tensely close MotoGP Championship, will almost certainly make the weekends atmosphere the best it’s been since MotoGP moved to Silverstone back in 2010. 

Take a look at the circuit Map… 

 Unlike Formula One, which use the ‘Silverstone Wing’, the modern Pit & Paddock building which was finished in 2011, and lies between Club Corner and Abbey, MotoGP use the old Pits. This of course is on the now named ‘National Pits Straight’ which is between Woodcote and Copse. MotoGP did use the ‘Wing’ in 2011 and 2012 but reverted back to the old Paddock in 2013, as getting everything and everyone around that end of the track was a logistical pain in the neck. 

‘Where do I watch? I’ve never been!’
If you’re spending the entire weekend at Silverstone, I’d seriously consider watching at the exit of Luffield Corner & Woodcote, perhaps Maggots, and definitely watch a few sessions at Club corner’s Grandstand, if you can find a seat, the atmosphere there is brilliant! For me it’s all about Luffield/Woodcote and Club.

I love to stand at the exit of Luffield, about 150 yards before Woodcote, you see the bikes screaming down into Brooklands, under heavy braking, then flipping over for Luffield, then hard on the power on towards Woodcote, which is a full on corner for bikes, you’re bound to see Marc and Cal go through sideways on more than one occasion! It’s also very interesting to see the difference in riding styles. You’ll see Lorenzo’s effortlessly smooth change of direction here, and Marquez showing of his ridiculously late braking, into Brooklands. Here’s a video I made of the Moto3 Race there. 

As for Club Corner, in the stand it’s superb because obviously you’re quite high up and you see the bikes for quite a long time. You can hear them on the Hangar straight before you see them for the first time at Stowe, then breaking hard for the Vale chicane, a left and a right, plenty of overtaking takes place here! Then the long Club corner, with an edge of tire right kink at the apex, this section is quite technical but by no means boring, some riders use the kerb on the inside of club which can unsettle the bike. Take a look at a clip I made there last year, MotoGP Qualifying.

Aside from the racing, you’ll be glad to know that Silverstone is littered with great facilities, places to eat and things to do! Make sure you attend the Day of Champions, and see the worlds best riders on stage auctioning off racing gear almost anything related to the sport! Also If you’re camping at Silverstone’s own Campsite, Woodlands, (like me) then don’t worry about facilities. They have got it covered, from permanent Toilets & Showers, to Cash Points & Places to eat. There’s a stage with entertainment on every evening, phone charging booths, the Petrol Head pub, and much more!

If you want to attend the race and fancy making a real weekend of it, then check out Sam Lowes’s hospitality experience with Pole Position Travel. Meet Sam, get lunch every day, With Beer and Wine being served by Sam’s Mum and Dad! Click Here , and on the PPT website select British GP, VIP Hospitality, Sam’s Place! As I’m typing this, there is only a few left so act fast!  

Here’s some Silverstone MotoGP stats:

Circuit Length: 3.67 Miles with 18 Corners

Circuit Lap Record: 2’01:941 | Dani Pedrosa | 2013

Best Pole Lap: 2’00:691 | Marc Marquez | 2013

Highest Top Speed: 204.1 MPH | Andrea Dovizioso | 2014

Most Wins: Jorge Lorenzo, 3 wins, 2010, 2012, 2013.

Enjoy your weekend, my reports will be constant on Twitter, expect many Interviews and Session Reports!

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Rossi wins scintillating Dutch GP after clashing with Marquez yet Again

The Nine Times World Champion, Valentino Rossi, achieves pole position once in a blue moon these days, and that’s why he’s struggled to get up to the front in Races. But on Saturday, he surprised everyone, and smashed the pole position record, and put it on P1. It was as if he’d done a swap with teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who started today’s Dutch TT from 8th place. Suzuki’s Espargaro started second, and Marc Marquez third.

Qualifying back in 8th made no difference to Lorenzo as he ended he first lap in 3rd place behind Rossi and Marquez.

Early retirements were Jack Miller and Hector Barbera who collided at the final chicane on the first lap. 

The first half of the race saw Marquez simply stalk Rossi, not showing his hand but keeping Valentino honest, but it did look like he had the pace to pass Rossi whenever he wanted. Lorenzo was having the loneliest ride of his career in 3rd, with a huge gap in front and behind him. Ducati’s Andrea Iannone was also riding around like Billy no mates in fourth, with the battle of old teammates Crutchlow and Dovizioso. 

With 7 laps to go, Marquez finally made his move on the Urbino born MotoGP Legend, but he didn’t pull away, Valentino was easily able to stay with him. And inevitably, Rossi made a brilliant move on Marquez with 3 laps to go, with Marc making an error out of the last corner, which gave Rossi a nice little gap with one lap left. This gap meant absolutely nothing to Marquez who rode a breathtaking last lap to get within striking distance of Rossi, and of course, Marc took a huge hunge underneath Rossi at the final chicane, only to push Rossi wide into the gravel and back onto the track to confirm the Italians victory. Marc went slightly wide through the chicane but took second place. 

Valentino did cut the chicane but Honda did not appeal as the television footage clearly showed Valentino had nowhere else to go. Lorenzo took a quiet but solid 3rd place, after starting 8th. Iannone, Espargaro, Crutchlow, Smith followed suit.   

 Photos: MotoGP.com, Dorna MotoGP TV stills.

Race Results:

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 40m 54.037s 
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 40m 55.279s 

3. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 8.613s 

4. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 13.146s 

5. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 41m 18.305s 

6. Cal Crutchlow GBR CWM LCR Honda (RC213V) 41m 18.410s 

7. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 41m 18.479s 

8. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 41m 18.693s 

9. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 41m 20.762s 

10. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 41m 21.275s 

11. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.1) 41m 23.075s 

12. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 23.455s 

13. Scott Redding GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 41m 40.700s 

14. Yonny Hernandez COL Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 41m 43.342s 

15. Loris Baz FRA Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* 41m 46.433s 

16. Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS) 41m 50.042s 

17. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 41m 53.894s 

18. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 42m 8.550s 

19. Marco Melandri ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +1 lap 

Alex De Angelis RSM E-Motion IodaRacing (ART) DNF 

Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS)* DNF 

Stefan Bradl GER Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) DNF 

Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) DNF 

Jack Miller AUS CWM LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* DNF 

Lorenzo returns to form with awesome Jerez Victory

Two time MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo from Majorca had a tough 2014, with only a couple of wins, and has had an even worse start to his 2015 campaign. However, this weekend we returned to Europe and his home race in Jerez. Jorge had a point to prove, and he started making that point on Saturday when he took pole position, smashing the pole lap record. 

At the start of the race, he led Marquez, Pol Espargaro, Rossi and Aleix Espargaro. Ducati’s Andrea Iannone got a shocking start from 3rd, ending up down in 11th on the opening laps just ahead of Scott Redding. As more laps went by, there was consistent gaps between the top 3, of 2 seconds. However, Marc was riding injured, with a broken finger, after his training accident, and Rossi was closing in. Cal Crutchlow and Pol Espargaro were behind the 9 times World Champion in 4th and 5th. 

With 1 lap left, Marquez had stabilised the gap to Rossi, and had ridden a brilliant race to finish second, ahead of Rossi who thought about the Championship today, finishing third. 

Lorenzo’s dominant win was a very popular one, and great to see for MotoGP fans, knowing that the title battle might go four ways, not forgetting Dovizioso is still second in the standings. The Ducati rider finished in 9th.

Crutchlow finished fourth, which given the riders and equipment used in front of him, was perhaps the best possible result today.

  
1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 44m 57.246s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 2.822s
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 45m 8.832s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR CWM LCR Honda (RC213V) 45m 19.973s
5. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 45m 23.866s
6. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 45m 24.267s
7. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 45m 32.691s
8. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 45m 33.542s
9. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 45m 39.179s
10. Yonny Hernandez COL Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 45m 48.318s
11. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 45m 48.920s
12. Danilo Petrucci ITA Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.1) 45m 49.667s
13. Scott Redding GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 45m 50.298s
14. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 45m 50.446s
15. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 45m 54.590s
16. Stefan Bradl GER Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 45m 56.264s
17. Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS) 45m 58.752s
18. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS)* 46m 0.409s
19. Marco Melandri ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 46m 4.141s
20. Jack Miller AUS CWM LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* 46m 11.428s
21. Alex De Angelis RSM Octo IodaRacing (ART) 46m 24.078s
22. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) +1 lap
Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) DNF
Loris Baz FRA Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* DNF
Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (RC213V-RS) DNF

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Rossi is victorious in Argentina after clashing with Marquez

Photo: Dorna Sports TV.

After a few frantic opening laps in Argentina, Marc Marquez soon started trying to destroy the moral as he started pulling away from his opponents early on. These were Suzuki’s Aleix Espargaro who again showed us how brilliant the new Suzuki is in qualifying, but in the opening laps he was obliterated on top speed. Even after retaliating to the overtaking Marquez, by the end of the race he ended up 7th.

Obviously, the biggest talking point of the race was Marquez and Rossi’s last lap collision. Marc had risked his tire choice with the Medium rear Bridgstone which nearly worked when you consider how many laps were left when Valentino caught and passed him. Marc was being hunted down by Rossi, but at times the gap was staying the same, with Marc trail braking his heart out in any attempt to stay ahead. As Marc has learnt from Rossi, when you’ve been passed, you should always attempt to try retake the position straight away, and Marc did just that with 2 laps to go. After swapping position in the first sector, Rossi made a move under braking after the long straight, at turn 4, and made it stick. The thing is, Marquez came out the turn quicker than Valentino, but because the next turn requires a direction change, and Marc was still leaning to the right, Marc rode too close to Rossi and  hit the back of the Yamaha which was already turning the opposite way. Marc still had a lap and a half to get back at Rossi, so he easily had enough time. Marc is the current champion and a genius as we all know, and I’ll be shocked if he hasn’t learnt from this. Marc is still learning, and he learnt a very valuable lesson today!

Valentino Rossi has now won 2 races out of the 3 Grand Prix this year, and is leading the standings by 6 points from his compatriots and Ducati pair Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone. Vale’s win was beautiful, many could say he only won because Marc chose the wrong tire, but very few riders could have closed the gap to Marquez, remember that! 

  

 Photo: motogp.com

One of the most impressive overtakes of the race was Cal Crutchlow’s awesome last lap move on Iannone, pulled off on the second to last corner. If you have access to see any highlights or have the race recorded, make sure you see it, he came from almost 7 bike lengths behind Iannone, dived underneath him, made it stick and pipped the Italian to the line. Making it 3 British podium finishes in one day, with Danny Kent dominating yet again in Moto3 with another win, and Sam Lowes finishing 3rd in Moto2, after Zarco and Rins’s pace turned out to be too hot for him. 

Scott Redding and Bradley Smith both finished in the top ten today, and both riders are bound to have stronger performances as we head into the European season. 

Race Results:

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 35.644s
2. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 41.329s
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR CWM LCR Honda (RC213V) 41m 43.942s
4. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 43.996s
5. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 45.836s
6. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 41m 55.520s
7. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 41m 59.977s
8. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 42m 3.314s
9. Scott Redding GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 42m 10.041s
10. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 42m 10.452s
11. Danilo Petrucci ITA Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.1) 42m 15.850s
12. Jack Miller AUS CWM LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* 42m 18.298s
13. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 42m 18.373s
14. Loris Baz FRA Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* 42m 18.497s
15. Stefan Bradl GER Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 42m 18.681s
16. Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS) 42m 18.896s
17. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS)* 42m 19.044s
18. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 42m 19.452s
19. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 42m 20.522s
20. Marco Melandri ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 42m 31.880s
21. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (RC213V-RS) 42m 39.015s
22. Alex De Angelis RSM Octo IodaRacing (ART) 42m 44.088s
Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) DNF
Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) DNF
Yonny Hernandez COL Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) DNF 

MotoGP 2015 starts tomorrow! Here’s my Preview!

Hello everyone! Finally, the first GP is upon us! Well, it’s been a very, very intriguing winter in the world of MotoGP. We’ve seen the Team’s launch their new machines & liveries, riders training like crazy and some very promising surprises in testing.  

 

Picture: Ducati Corse

The biggest surprise is obviously in the Factory Ducati camp, where the new Desmosedici GP15 has topped the timehseets in the final test at Losail, and not even on the Soft compound Bridgstone’s. Andrea Dovizioso and Andea Iannone have both reported that the understeer that has hampered the Ducati’s in recent years is now gone. This does not necessarily mean that the two Andrea’s will be able to fight for victory from the word go. The machine is still very, very new, and both riders are yet to perform a full race simulation. In previous years the machine has been able to stick with the front runners for the opening 5 laps or so, then the understeer would relagate the riders down the field. The only rider who could split the Ducati’s was World Champion Marc Marquez on the Repsol Honda, who set a 1:55.091 just 0.184 behind Dovizioso. With Monday being a Wash-out, Ducati really do have the bragging rights of being fastest before practce starts tomorrow.

 

Picture: Cormac Ryan-Meenan

Further down the order of testing in the desert we saw an impressive showing from our very own Cal Crutchlow. The British rider who left Ducati at the end of last year has gelled nicely with his new Honda, andended up 7th fastest, which was the fastest of all satellite entries. Cal said in Sepang that the hardest transition has been getting used to the brakes, and how deep you can go into corners. Cal has also reported that the machine is still a little strange to him, with regard to the traction control. We’ve known for a long time that he is a sucker for being able to get very lose under braking, and carrying heaps of corner speed, and the Honda ticks the first box very well indeed. When we see Marquez under heavy braking, the rear tyre is bouncing up and down, swerving left and right and he still gets the bike stopped in time for a corner. Many of the Honda riders have said ‘you can get away with murder under braking with this bike’ it’s that forgiving. 

So with Cal impressing on the Honda and setting his sights on a top 5 finish this Sunday, what about his fellow countrymen? Scott Redding is now on the same machinery as Crutchlow, and many predicted that because Redding rode the Open Honda last year, he’d adapt faster than Cal. This has not been the case, Scott really struggled in Valencia and Sepang, mainly with the technique needed to brake with the Honda, and the more complicated electronics. However at the Qatar test he finally said that it was starting to feel like his bike, and that it didn’t feel ‘Alien’ to him anymore. It’s only fair to say that Valencia and Sepang really aren’t Scott’s favourite tracks, and he especially doesn’t get on with Sepang. In Qatar he ended up 10th on the first day, and 13th on the second. I really believe Scott will do special things on that machine, but it’s going to take a small handful of races to there, perhaps less time for Cal.  

 Picture: Marc VDS

Bradley Smith was 8th which is fairly standard for the Tech 3 Yamaha rider, who was satisfied with his testing pace, unlike his teammate Pol Espargaro who had no front end feel with his Yamaha M1. It took a whole setup change on his machine to regain confidence and put in a decent lap time just 0.010 slower than teammate Smith. Pol does have a tendency to be strong in races though, and come Sunday he could well surprise us. On the subject of the Yamaha’s, the Factory Movistar entries of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi didn’t particularly impress, even though they now have a new gearbox that now downshifts seamlessly as well as upshifting seamlessly. This technical upgrade should make a difference in the races, and it better do for their sake, as Honda have had a full seamless gearbox for nearly 4 years. I predict Lorenzo will be fast again in Qatar, as long as he keeps the M1 up right on the first lap this year! He is now renowned for his great starts and stamping his authority on the first lap and trying to pull a gap on the field, wether or not that will work with Ducati and Honda being so strong is something we won’t know til Sunday evening. Jorge will be hard to beat into turn 1.

The Forward Yamaha’s of Stefan Bradl and Loris Baz have had mixed emotions over the winter. Initially it looked like Bradl adapted to the Open Yamaha quite well, but in terms of raw pace, he is struggling for now. Both Suzuki’s, both Avinita Ducati’s, and both Aspar Honda’s were setting times faster than the Forward Yamaha’s. It’s early days yet but this is quite a different story from last year when Aleix Espargaro was easily the fastest of the Open Class machines when he was aboard the Forward Yamaha. 

Team Suzuki Ecstar have had a steady start to their comeback in the Premier Class of Motorcycle racing, with Espargaro saying the bike is one of the best he’s ever ridden. The machine is very agile and gives him and Vinales a lot of confidence with the front, and the pair finished 12th and 14th on the final day in Qatar. Vinales has been fine tuning the electronics of the GSX-RR, and just like his friend Jack Miller, he is new to rider aids such as traction control. Jack Miller has been in the centre of attention for a long while now, and his step up to MotoGP has been very impressive. Having bulked up the muscle necessary to ride a 250hp prototype motorcycle, his performance in testing has been solid, considering he’d never ridden anything over 250cc before November last year! Jack finished the final day of testing 21st, but he was still under 2 seconds behind fastest man Dovizioso. We must remember that he’s riding the Open Class Honda, the RCV1000RS, not the Factory spec RC213V. The machine is more powerful than it was last year however, featuring pneumatic valves and improved aerodynamics, such as the intake at the front is the same as the Factory machine.  

 Picture: motogp.com

As for the other Honda Open riders, and the rest of the elite riders filling up this year’s grid, it’s very much a lottery. The gap from 15th and 25th is incredibly small, and to predict who be the best of the rest feels quite pointless until the race is underway. One thing for certain is that Aprilia are having quite a nightmare. Initially, they were supposed to return to MotoGP in 2016, but a decision was made to return a year earlier, with a revised Aprilia ART (named the RS-GP) which is really a dying flame from the CRT era. Yes, aesthetically it looks different to the ART that Alex de Angelis will ride this year, but it’s not drastically different at all. The plan for Aprilia is to role out their full Factory prototype machine next year, and develop it along side their race programme this year. The Gresini team who fielded Honda’s last year, teamed up with Aprilia to run their comeback, are used to finishing inside the top ten with Alvaro Bautista. But with himself and Marco Meldandri setting lap times right at the bottom of the time sheet, a top ten finish seems impossible at the moment. 

This weekend really is going to be exciting, the big question for me is if Ducati can prove their GP15 is capable of fighting for victory. One of their objectives in practice must be to do some long runs, preferably longer than 8 laps. If they can consistently run at a competitive pace, we have a serious race in our hands!

Top 5 Race Result Prediction:

Marquez, Rossi, Dovizioso, Lorenzo, Pedrosa…

As usual on a Grand Prix weekend, updates on facebook.com/motojimmyp and twitter.com/motojimmyp will be as frequent as possible. 

My Qualifying and Race Articles will be posted on Sunday!

Cover Picture: motogp.com

Sublime performances by the British riders at the Aragon MotoGP Round

It’s not very often we can say there was a British rider on the podium in two races in the same day!

Danny Kent riding the Husqvarna badged Red Bull AJO KTM started from 2nd and finished 3rd, but considering the performance level of the riders who overtook him in the race, it was a good comeback! It looked as if he could win the race as Fenati and Marquez were tripping over each other, but it was not to be and Danny finished third for the second time this year.

John McPhee had a great start today, dived into fourth at the start, then found himself in 3rd when Miller crashed, and even 2nd at one point. But John made a mistake, crashed out on his own in the tricky conditions. He remounted only to crash again. But we now know he can stay with the best in the class, so watch out for him in Japan. I believe even though he crashed, riding at the very front for that long will have boosted his confidence!

Sam Lowes won’t be the Brit gaining the headlines but considering he qualified in 20th place and finished 9th, he is most definitely the Brit who achieved the most damage limitation. Solid ride for him, considering he’s getting used to a completely new suspension. Gino finished 17th which for him isn’t too bad, we’ve seen him finish lower than 25th before.

And of course we have to mention Cal and Bradley’s superb results in the Premier class. Yes it started to rain. Yes riders ahead of them crashed out. But that’s racing, it happens, Cal and Bradley stayed on and switched tyres at the right time. Cal really did impress me today, not only because he got on the podium, but because he’s the rider Ducati have not given the new bike to. Mr Crutchlow can now always say he got onto the podium riding for Ducati! He really did silence a lot of people today, and I have to admit I was doubting his abilities on the Italian machine at times. Classy podium finish…and nearly beat Aleix for second!

Bradley also beat his Moto2 Champ teammate Espargaro, in a fair fight for fifth. I just hope people will remember this, as a lot of fans dismiss Bradley’s ability to fight and beat Pol.