Marquez makes it 4 wins in Texas as Rossi crashes out

Photo: Crash.net

With no articles regarding pre season testing, and the first two Grand Prix of the year, for reasons I will explain in another article, today it was finally time to get back to writing! 

The Circuit of the Americas, a place that Marc Marquez has never lost at since the series started going there, was again looking like it would see Marc dominate the 21 lap race. Marquez, also being the pole man, got balked slightly in the opening laps by Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Rossi attempting some overtakes that turned out to be fairly clumsy, and non of which stuck, as Marc started ease away. Crash crazed drama was to follow however, as Rossi lost the front end at turn 2, a rare mistake from arguably the Greatest of all time, and for him to crash on his own accord his almost unheard of. Dani Pedrosa wiped out Andrea Dovizioso under braking for turn one, the Spaniard misjudged how far away the corner was plowed into Dovizioso. Which was sadly another DNF for the Italian through no fault of his own. Pedrosa would carry on only to retire due to a broken screen. 

Brits Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith both crashed at the pre back straight hairpin, on the very same lap! Bradley’s bike nearly hit Cal as he stood up, but fortunately both were uninjured and remounted, albeit in the last places.

The most entertaining battle on track was that of the two Suzuki’s of Vinales and Espargaro, but they still missed out on the podium, but with the bike being one of the most competitive of the year so far, it must be just around the corner.

  
Photo: Stephen English

Marquez took a massively dominant victory, and was pulling away from Lorenzo all the way to the flag, it’s almost a cliche to say Marc was in a lead of his own, but today the man truly was. 

Jack Miller was declared unfit to race due to his leg injury, and says he will be back at Jerez.

1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 43m 57.945s 

2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 44m 4.052s 

3. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) 44m 8.892s 

4. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 44m 16.367s 

5. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 44m 18.656s 

6. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 44m 26.906s 

7. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 44m 30.057s 

8. Michele Pirro ITA Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 44m 30.702s 

9. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 44m 32.537s 

10. Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 44m 38.156s 

11. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 44m 43.368s 

12. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 44m 45.072s 

13. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 44m 45.371s 

14. Yonny Hernandez COL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 44m 49.135s 

15. Loris Baz FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 45m 10.874s 

16. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 45m 17.197s 

17. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 45m 25.981s 

Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) DNF 

Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP) DNF 

Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) DNF 

Another Marquez v Lorenzo battle takes place at Silverstone for the Hertz British Grand Prix

2010 and 2012 MotoGP World Champion, and last years race winner, Jorge Lorenzo took the early lead on lap 1, as Marquez again failed to lead from pole position. This set the scene for the rest of the race, until another battle royale between the Spanish rivals took place.

Aleix Espargaro got another good start, battling with Valentino Rossi on lap one and two, delaying Mr Rossi’s mission to catch the disappearing Lorenzo and Marquez. Pramac’s Andrea Iannone usually qualifies well but only managed tenth in qualifying. That didn’t matter too much, as he fought his way to 8th place, having to deal with Bradley Smith who sadly had bike trouble. Bradley rejoined to finish last, a lap down but still got an enormous reception from the fans.

Ducati’s Cal Crutchlow was catching Scott for 11th place but could not manage to overtake the 21 year old. Scott would end up finishing 10th after catching and passing Columbian Open Ducati rider Yonny Hernandez…just.

If I had to pick a rider of the day, without a doubt, it would be Andrea Dovizioso. Most people in the stands, in front of the TV, and the ones in the know, thought after half race distance he would drop back into the wheel tracks of Pol and Stefan. This is usually due to tyre wear and the infamous understeer.

It was not to be. It was arguably one of his best Ducati performances, scrapping with the Factory Honda and Factory Yamaha world champions, Dani and Vale. This should give him and Ducati some serious confidence and greater optimism for what could be possible next year.

Race Results at Silverstone, 20 Laps.

1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 40m 51.835s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 40m 52.567s
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 0.354s
4. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 41m 0.529s
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici) 41m 1.073s
6. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 41m 16.581s
7. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) 41m 18.552s
8. Andrea Iannone ITA Pramac Racing (Desmosedici) 41m 18.745s
9. Aleix Espargaro ESP NGM Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 41m 25.290s
10. Scott Redding GBR Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RCV1000R)* 41m 30.929s
11. Yonny Hernandez COL Pramac Racing (Desmosedici) 41m 32.090s
12. Cal Crutchlow GBR Ducati Team (Desmosedici) 41m 34.862s
13. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (RCV1000R) 41m 44.080s
14. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Drive M7 Aspar (RCV1000R) 41m 50.816s
15. Alex De Angelis RSM NGM Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 41m 50.999s
16. Leon Camier GBR Drive M7 Aspar (RCV1000R) 41m 57.515s
17. Michael Laverty GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM-ART) 42m 2.774s
18. Danilo Petrucci ITA IodaRacing Project (ART) 42m 8.669s
19. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Avintia) 42m 8.739s
20. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Avintia)* 42m 26.774s
21. Broc Parkes AUS Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM-ART)* 42m 30.277s
22. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) +1 lap
Alvaro Bautista ESP Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RC213V) DNF

This weekend I took one of my oldest mates to the British MotoGP round. He finally experienced the GP Paddock, rubbed shoulders with the riders he has followed since 2006. This would not have been possible if it was not for Pole Position Travel, click here and check out their MotoGP Experiences!!!

MotoGP Sepang Test 2 & Phillip Island Tyre Test Review

Over the past fortnight we have seen the most significant and important build up to this years Championship. And for the official manufacturer teams, the final tests before the Qatar Grand Prix in two weeks time.

The second visit to Kuala Lumpur’s Sepang International Circuit saw some noticeable changes on the timing sheets. Of course, World Champion Marc Marquez was obviously absent following his unfortunate training accident that resulted in his broken right leg.

The biggest surprise was the way the 2014 Yamaha’s reacted to the new specification Bridgestone tyres. Jorge Lorenzo lapped down in 7th place on the second day. The 2012 Champion simply could not find any decent grip and refused to speak to the Media. Teammate Valentino Rossi actually felt more comfortable with it, and was able to set the equal fastest lap time on the final day with Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. Satellite Honda rider Alvaro Bautista performed well during the test, taking the top spot on the time sheets for the first day. He told MotoGP.com ‘if my elbows are down it means I’m happy’. These days, ever since the arrival of Marquez, elbows scraping the Tarmac, or rumble strips for that matter, has usually meant a rider is on the limit, and happy with his bike.

The Tech 3 Monster Yamaha boys yet again were roughly setting the same lap times throughout the 3 days. Bradley Smith stated he has no intention of setting a fast qualifying lap until the first Grand Prix, and maintained his pattern of focusing on riding with a worn tyre and trying out race simulations. New teammate Espargaro was keeping him honest, even though he is trying to adapt to a slightly new riding style. Pol just like Marquez, performs the extreme hang off, grind-your-elbows riding style, and as much as Lorenzo and Rossi perform great lean angles, the Yamaha machine isn’t usually ridden in such a way. The outcome is that Espargaro’s Dainese leathers are being destroyed. Dainese are modifying the elbow section of his leathers for greater protection, but at the same time, the spaniard feels it’s perhaps a good idea to adapt his riding style too.

The Production Honda’s used by Hayden, Redding, Aoyama and Czech rider Abraham made steady progress, but not did not get any closer to the FTR Yamaha of Aleix Espargaro. It is still unclear when the teams running the machine will get upgrades…and if they will have to pay for them.
Looking at the rest of the field, Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera has gained more than two seconds testing at Sepang with his new machine over the pre season months. When asked how it feels compared to last years chassis, he said ‘it feels much better’ and stated later that ‘last years chassis produced a lot of chatter’.

In the last week, the official teams of the 3 Manufacturers, Honda, Ducati and Yamaha tested this years Bridgestone Tyres at Phillip Island to see if the tyres could last race distances safely. People who watched last years Australian Grand Prix will know that every rider in the MotoGP race had to pit stop once, change bikes, with a fresh tyre on the other bike. This was because the brand new high grip surface that was new for last year was destroying the tyres after 9 or 10 laps. A similar situation occurred in Moto2, as the race distance was halved due to the Dunlop Tyres also being chewed up by the new surface. That’s why Marc VDS Racing and the Mapre Aspar Team went to to Phillip Island for the same reason.

Jorge Lorenzo topped the time sheets down under, obviously feeling more comfortable with the new tyres despite being very disappointed with them in Sepang. Yamaha even brought in a special fairing with a radical new air intake to tackle the high winds on the Island. In general, there was mixed opinions from the riders. Each rider from their teams, tested the construction, and the compound on different days, so Bridgstone could get maximum feedback. Honest as ever with the media, Cal Crutchlow told MotoGP.com ‘I could maintain the same lap time for 16 laps, but I had to stop as the front tire was absolutely destroyed’. This was the final Test the 3 official Manufacturers had before the first Grand Prix of the year in Qatar in a fortnights time.

Speaking of Qatar, today, Saturday and Sunday the rest of the MotoGP grid will get their final turn to find a competitive edge before the season opener. However, the circuit will be very filthy having not seen much track activity for a long while. Also construction of a sports stadium nearby kicked up a considerable amount of sand, which will only make the track worse. So expect slower lap times until the bikes clean up the track.

The introduction of the ‘Factory 2’ category will feature in an article next week. What is currently puzzling me personally, is the thinking of introducing a class that will only have Ducati participating in. Like I said, I will write about it next week. Enjoy the Qatar Test!