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Alex Rins tops day two in Qatar from Vinales and Quartararo

February 25, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

2019 MotoGP
Qatar Test – Day Two

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) continued his great pre-season form by topping the timesheets on the second day of testing in Qatar overnight. The Spaniard put in a 1m54.593s to go fastest on Day 2, but it remained tight at the top as Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) ended the day just 0.057 in arrears.

MotoGP Test Qatar Day alex rins — Alex Rins – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

That made some headlines in itself, but the man in third stole some too: rookie Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) claimed the next fastest position.

Rins’ teammate, rookie Joan Mir, also impressed and put in a 1m55.280s to end Sunday in P11, less than seven-tenths off his team-mate, and rank as the second quickest rookie.

Alex Rins – P1

“It would be good if the race was tomorrow! We’ve been doing a great job; in Sepang we tested a lot of parts, but here we’re confirming that those parts are good. But the important thing is the way I’m riding, step-by-step with a nice rhythm, and using worn tyres as well. The aim is to get everything 100% clear when we come back for the first race. I feel that our package is better than last year, just by changing small things. I feel happy with the bike.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Suzuki Rins — Alex Rins – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Joan Mir – P11

“I’m really satisfied with today, because I made good improvements. I’m feeling strong with the bike, especially as I improved my feeling with the front end which helped me to get a better pace. It was a shame because I put a new tyre in, but I wasn’t able to get the lap I wanted, but we have another day tomorrow and I’ll try again then. Today I tried the new exhaust and I’m happy about that too, I found positive things from it. The plan tomorrow is a race simulation and further improvements.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day joan mir — Joan Mir – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Team Manager Davide Brivio said Mir was also testing some things, as well as adapting to the bike, but that he’d like to “race tomorrow” looking at Rins’ pace. That bodes well, and the Hamamatsu factory man also said everything “visible” on the bike is decided.

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Ecstar Team Manager

“We’ve had another positive day, the cherry on the cake was having the fastest lap time today. But the most important thing is that we were able to continue our plan and do our jobs well. Alex has good pace every time he takes to the track, and he puts together strong laps which is very helpful for us when it comes to testing. Joan improved again today and had another good lap time, close to many other riders. We are happy with the progress and the work we’ve done. Tomorrow we’ll think more about the upcoming race.”

Maverick Viñales – P2

“We were working a little bit on the race pace and honestly I’m quite happy, because I think we made good improvements today. It was important to feel the bike a little bit more, to find a new set-up to go fast. I think that job has been done and I’m quite happy about that. We still have a lot of things to do tomorrow to further improve. I hope to go faster tomorrow, because I think the track today wasn’t great. Tomorrow we can hopefully find a bit more grip. At the moment the grip level for me is quite low but we’re still there at the front and that’s the most important.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Maverick Vinales — Maverick Vinales – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

It was a different story – in terms of lap-time at least – for teammate Valentino Rossi. The ‘Doctor’ ended the day down in P19, over a second off Viñales after putting in 51 laps, but the number 46 has never been one to blast out the blocks in testing.

Valentino Rossi – P19

“Today was more difficult. I struggled more, especially with the rear grip. Yesterday we had a base setting, I was not so bad. Today we tried to improve, we tried some different settings, but also some different materials. Unfortunately we didn’t improve. It was a difficult day, I was always too slow, so we’re not happy. Tomorrow we’ll try to follow some other directions, to be more competitive.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Valentino Rossi — Valentino Rossi – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Team Director Massimo Meregalli said it’s been time to confirm positives from Sepang, and that the speed and consistency from Day 1 were encouraging. On Sunday they focused on back-to-back comparisons, and working on fairings as homologation date draws near. The fairing, says Meregalli, is the only thing left to be decided upon – but there was also a new tail unit spotted.

Petronas Yamaha SRT, meanwhile, remained impressive in their own right and as help with development for the Iwata marque. Quartararo’s bike isn’t far off that of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, and teammate Franco Morbidelli’s is the same as that of Viñales and Rossi. Quartararo stunned with his laptime in third, and Morbidelli ended the day in P13 after 52 laps of more important data gathering.

Fabio Quartararo – P3

“It has been a very positive Sunday night for us here at Losail and we have learnt a lot about the bike. We kept up a strong pace on used tyres and also took an important step forward with respect to our time attacks. Tonight was the first time I have left the box thinking, ‘I’m going to set a fast lap no matter what,’ and I am happy with the lap times we set, especially lapping alone, when I put together three great laps. The objective tomorrow is to complete a longer run to check how the tyres work when they are already worn, and then at the end of the evening we will try another time attack.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Fabio Quartararo — Fabio Quartararo – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Franco Morbidelli – P13

“Today we took a step forward from yesterday and we have understood some new things. We are still gathering experience with the bike and figuring out how it reacts to certain changes that we make. Looking at the lap times tonight, the pace was good but we can still improve over a single lap on the soft tyre. We have to work out the best way to do that, which is exactly what testing is for.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Franco Morbidelli — Franco Morbidelli – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati Team) was the fastest Borgo Panigale machine in P4.

Danilo Petrucci – P4

“It’s been a busy day. We were among the first ones to take it to the track, and I felt comfortable right away. In particular, I was happy with the feeling with used tyres, both the medium and soft compounds. Our pace is competitive, while we still need to improve in terms of pure speed on new tyres. I still have to look into detail at our rival’s lap times, but we all seem to be quite close. Tomorrow we’ll keep working on the setup and we’ll also run a race simulation to make another step forward, which is crucial to fight for the podium during the race.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day petrucci UC — Danilo Petrucci – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

After 48 laps ‘Petrux’ did a best of 1m54.953s and, despite being down in P8, teammate Andrea Dovizioso was close with a 1m11.205s after 53 laps. Team Manager Davide Tardozzi said Ducati have “clear ideas regarding frame, engines, aerodynamics, electronics” and that they were concentrating on tyre life – with an interesting addition under the bike that rumour says is aimed at tyre temperature.

Andrea Dovizioso – P8

“If we look at the lap times, today they probably don’t reveal too much: many riders worked esclusively for the upcoming race, but what matters the most is that my feeling with the bike is good. Today, as we had previously done in Malaysia, we did a race simulation split into two runs. It’s a very important task ahead of the opening race, even if it will unfold in slightly different conditions, and it allowed to gather interesting feedback even though it’s still difficult to gauge the true potential of our opponents. I think we’re working well and methodically, and tomorrow we’ll continue to focus on some details to find more ways to further improve.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day dovizioso UC — Andrea Dovizioso – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) was the top Independent Team Ducati rider on Sunday and leapt up the timesheets into P12.

Jack Miller – P12

“I’m happier than yesterday. We worked effectively on the setup and geometry of the bike even though in the end we had to deal with a technical issue that slowed us down. I was able to improve my time despite the humidity that certainly didn’t help and for this, I thank the team that did a great job. Tomorrow we will try again in better conditions.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Jack Miller AX — Jack Miller – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) was in P14 despite a crash. He was just ahead of the second Alma Pramac Racing machine of rookie Francesco Bagnaia.

Pecco Bagnaia – P15

“It’s been a good day. We have taken a big step forward since yesterday. We were able to take a path that led us to be faster. In the end, I went on track to do a long run and in the first six laps, the feeling was good. Tomorrow we will also do some time attacks because we saved a lot of soft tyres today”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Pecco Bagnaia AX — Pecco Bagnaia – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

At Honda, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was the fastest man for the marque, in fifth. A 1m55.004s was his best effort, but crucially the reigning Champion managed nearly 60 laps – a good sign in his ongoing recovery from shoulder surgery, with Marquez having done less than forty on most test days so far.

Marc Marquez – P5

“I’m very happy today because it was my first ‘normal’ day of testing. I did a lot of laps, there was a little pain in the shoulder but it’s manageable. We also made a big step with the setup of the bike, I’m happy overall with my condition and the bike. We’re getting closer and closer at a circuit that’s usually not the best for us and there’s still a day of testing left.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day marquez — Marc Marquez – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo was a second quicker than Day 1 but in a tight trio between Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Rossi, and he put in 44 laps with a best of 1:55.742 as he fights to recover from his broken scaphoid.

Jorge Lorenzo – P19

“Today was better than yesterday. We modified the bike to improve my feeling and confidence across the whole circuit. You can see we’ve improved by over one second, the position isn’t much better but we are much closer to the front – this is the most important part. Tomorrow we’re aiming to make another step forward again, especially with corner entry as I think there’s still more to do there.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day lorenzo — Jorge Lorenzo – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was second fastest Honda in P7, and rumour has it one of his bikes seemed to migrate to his teammate’s side of the garage too. That teammate, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), had a tough first day but was back in the mix in the top ten on Sunday, doing 35 laps and taking P9.

Takaaki Nakagami – P9

“It was another positive test day for us, and step-by-step we are really making improvements on the bike. Also, I feel my riding improved even more today compared to the first day. I’m very happy with the feeling on the bike and of course with the LCR Honda IDEMITSU Team. The position is not so bad, and the lap time is closer to the top, so I’m really happy with the day and looking forward to the last day of pre-season tests. Let’s see if we can make even more improvements tomorrow before the season begins.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Nakagami — Takaaki Nakagami – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Cal Crutchlow – P9

“We finished a little bit early today on our second day of testing here in Qatar. We got through everything in our programme for the day. We’ve got more to do tomorrow, and we’ve decided on a few different things we’re going to try then on the last day of testing before the season starts. The LCR Honda CASTROL Team have worked really hard as always, and we are a bit more pleased than yesterday, but there’s still a way to go to make sure we’re at the front.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Crutchlow G — Cal Crutchlow – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) impressed once again on Day 2. He ended the day in sixth – just 0.002 ahead of Nakagami – and put in 55 laps. Aprilia had a new exhaust, and Technical Manager Romano Albesiano said Espargaro and teammate Andrea Iannone were testing race setup and aero. Iannone reportedly had positive feedback on the aero, and he ended the day in P16. Test rider Bradley Smith, meanwhile, was focusing on electronics.

Aleix Espargaro – P6

“I am satisfied overall. We managed to improve a lot compared to yesterday. I feel more at ease with the 2019 RS-GP although I must admit that there is still margin for improvement, especially in terms of my feeling, for example in the braking phase, where I take a few too many risks. But you also need to consider that this is our second test with the new bike. I learn something with every outing and the mechanics gather more information that lets us perfect the setting. Tomorrow will be a fundamental day, the last before the race weekend. We’ll try a simulation to have a clearer idea of our level as compared to our rivals.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Aleix Espargaro — Aleix Espargaro – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Andrea Iannone – P17

“Our priority right now is to get to know the bike better, improving step by step. We improved compared to yesterday, but we need to keep pushing hard and make the right choices, especially in terms of setup. There is obviously always something that doesn’t give us the results we expect, but we take that as another bit of information that helps us improve. As I said yesterday, we have good potential and the job is to make it consistent throughout race distance in order to maintain a good pace from start to finish.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Iannone — Andrea Iannone – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Completing the top ten on Sunday was another headline stealer – Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). He was even higher up for much of the session, and his 1:55.255 meant that all six factories were within the top ten after a fitting 44 laps for the 2013 Moto2 World Champion.

Pol Espargaro – P10

“A satisfying day. We knew we had a lot to try so we started early on. Traction is important on this track, especially from corners 9-12, but we have to be careful not to use the tyre. We were working on that – as well as the race pace – because we know it will be a hard GP for us. The race itself should be a bit earlier in the day, so it’ll be warmer and tyre wear at the end will be really important. Tomorrow will be a hard day and we want to try a long run as well. Michelin are doing a good job, they have brought a new softer rear compound so they are trying to make our work fun, which is nice, and the performance of the bike is good. Overall though we must work on the electronics and the overall set-up.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Pol Espargaro — Pol Espargaro – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Teammate Zarco was in P17 just ahead of Lorenzo, but quicker than Day 1. Team Manager Mike Leitner said the focus had switched from bigger changes to details, and noted the pressure to get ready – especially with so many items to test. He also said both have good feelings and noted the particularly positive results for Espargaro’s testing.

Johann Zarco – P17

“The second day has been better for me and straight away we were able to understand why I could not improve any more on the first day. It’s important to feel that on the bike, and the positive and negatives things of our work. We moved a few steps forward for my sensation when riding and it made me smile. We’re still one second away from the first guy but we made improvements. We made many laps here and while I’m not sure if we are fully set for this race yet we can do the best job we can. It is just about finding the right set-up for my riding style and when we put our finger on something I can immediately make progress. We are taking a while to find it…but this is just the beginning of our story. I would like to get inside a second tomorrow: that would be interesting. I want to get closer.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Johann Zarco — Johann Zarco – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Miguel Oliveira – P21

“Today has been quite different to yesterday. We improved the lap time, which is a good point. We managed to do some decent work on the bike, we kept focused more on the long-runs and how the race should look like; tyre-wise and also setting-wise, we adapted the bike a lot – not to do a fast lap, but to have a fast pace. Overall, I felt quite strong. We have plenty of opportunities tomorrow to try to put in a fast lap.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Miguel Oliveira — Miguel Oliveira – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

Hafizh Syahrin – P23

“It has been a tough second day here. We tried to change many things to improve my feeling on the brake and especially on the front part of the bike. On the rear, we just tried the soft tyre. To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed of myself because I was expecting more. Anyway, we keep on working hard, try to understand more and I want to refresh for tomorrow as it is the last day before the start of the season.”

MotoGP Test Qatar Day Hazifh Syahrin — Hazifh Syahrin – 2019 MotoGP Qatar Test – Day 2

MotoGP riders have one more day of testing in Qatar and that will get underway tonight. We will have all the news for you on MCNews.com.au in the morning.

MotoGP Qatar Test 2019
Day Two Times

RINS Alex – SPA – Team Suzuki Ecstar 1’54.593
VINALES Maverick – SPA – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +0.057
QUARTARARO Fabio – FRA – Petronas Yamaha SRT +0.315
PETRUCCI Danilo – ITA – Mission Winnow Ducati +0.360
MARQUEZ Marc – SPA – Repsol Honda Team +0.411
ESPARGARO Aleix – SPA – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +0.580
NAKAGAMI Takaaki – JPN – LCR Honda +0.582
DOVIZIOSO Andrea – ITA – Mission Winnow Ducati +0.612
CRUTCHLOW Cal – GBR – LCR Honda +0.654
ESPARGARO Pol – SPA – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.662
MIR Joan – SPA – Team Suzuki Ecstar +0.687
MILLER Jack – AUS – Alma Pramac Racing +0.787
MORBIDELLI Franco – ITA – Petronas Yamaha SRT +0.963
ROSSI Valentino – ITA – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +1.011
RABAT Tito – SPA – Reale Avintia Racing +1.068
BAGNAIA Francesco – ITA – Alma Pramac Racing +1.087
IANNONE Andrea – ITA – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +1.105
ZARCO Johann – FRA – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +1.123
LORENZO Jorge – SPA – Repsol Honda Team +1.149
ABRAHAM Karel – CZE – Reale Avintia Racing +1.358
OLIVEIRA Miguel – POR – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 +1.681
SMITH Bradley – GBR – Aprilia Racing Test Team +2.273
SYAHRIN Hafizh – MAL – Red Bull KTM Tech 3 +2.390

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP, Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

#SepangTest Day 2 | Vinales catapults clear at the top

February 7, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

2019 MotoGP Sepang Test Day Two

Vinales catapults clear at the top

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) got within just 0.067 of Jorge Lorenzo’s fastest ever lap of Sepang on Day 2 of testing, with the 1:58.830 set by Lorenzo last season – although not an official lap record – now surely under threat on Day 3.

Viñales had been hovering in third for much of the latter part of the day and left his vie at record breaking late as the final few minutes saw time attacks light up the timesheets.

More than three tenths up before the final sector, the Spaniard eventually crossed the line 0.527 ahead of nearest rival Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), setting both a supreme lap and a serious benchmark.

Maverick Vinales – P1

“Honestly, we tried to work really hard today on the race pace. We were always using the spec for the race. I felt good and around midday we made good lap times especially during the race simulation when it was hot, without grip, so I’m actually really happy how we worked today. We made a good improvement on the bike, so we need to try to do this again tomorrow.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Maverick Vinales — Maverick Vinales

That built on a positive first day on the timesheets for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP and Valentino Rossi in sixth added to the good vibes. The veteran Italian did 51 laps and was only two tenths off second, although the distance to his teammate stretched out from there. The Iwata marque confirmed they have a busy agenda, with different winglets and chassis items on the menu. Happy with progress since November, Team Director Massimo Meregalli says the biggest focus from Sepang is the last part of the corner and specifically, acceleration.

Valentino Rossi – P6

“We continued to work because we had some other items to improve and also today was not so bad. We found something that improved the performance and I think we did a good job. At the end my pace was always quite strong. So, it was a quite positive second day and we still have something to test tomorrow. We will try to continue to work and we’ll see what our situation is like at the end of the three days.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Valentino Rossi — Valentino Rossi

Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli ended the day in P14 and P15 respectively – and the Frenchman had a 2019 bike as he made that key step forward. They both did 58 laps.

Fabio Quartararo – P14

“The second day here at Sepang International Circuit has been very positive. This morning we set some good lap times on the new tyres and made the most of the track conditions to make a time attack, which I was really happy with. This afternoon we tried to improve but it wasn’t possible. We worked a lot on the setting of the bike, especially under braking, where we managed to improve the feeling. This evening we will analyse the data and come back tomorrow to try and improve the lap time and make more progress under braking, which is the area we have most room to improve.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Quartararo — Fabio Quartararo

Franco Morbidelli – P15

“Today we focused on improving grip and trying to set a good pace on used tyres. I am happy with the work we have done and with the progress we made on both tyre compounds. It was a shame to crash so early because we missed out on the coolest part of the day and the chance to make a good time attack. In general, we have improved the feeling from yesterday so I am happy. We are showing some good form in the test but we still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow we will continue working, try to improve our performance and make more progress overall. We will keep pushing to the maximum.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Morbidelli — Franco Morbidelli

Alex Rins was the man who lost his top spot to Viñales after seeming set to end the day fastest, but the Spaniard’s 1:59.424 was nevertheless an incredible laptime and he did 61 laps on Thursday.

Suzuki Team Manager Davide Brivio said it’s going well and they have different swingarms, new aerodynamics with both riders and some different combinations; engine mapping, clutch, “things like that” – as well as an exhaust to try on Day 2. The Italian said their focus is fitting together the “puzzle” correctly for the first race, and the timesheets seem to bode well for Rins despite the Hamamatsu factory losing their concessions in 2019. Rookie teammate Joan Mir ended the day in P21 after 64 laps.

Alex Rins – P2

“Today was a very positive day; we tried the new fairing, some new electronics settings, and it was all good. My rhythm and race pace were very good, even on used tyres. We were able to confirm a lot of things, we still need to improve a little bit, but nothing major. Overall, I’m very happy with how it’s all going, and with my lap times too.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Alex Rins — Alex Rins

On Rins’ tail was the fastest Ducati on Day 2 and once again it was an Independent Team rider – this time Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing).

The Australian was a late mover like those above him and was only a tenth off Rins by the end of play, putting in 49 laps.

Jack Miller – P3

“We have worked hard on the set up and tried many solutions. The feeling with the bike is very good and already with the used medium tyre I was able to lap very fast in high 1’59’’. It’s a shame about the crash: it’s the second one in two days at turn 9. Tomorrow I have to stop this bad tradition”.

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Jack Miller — Jack Miller

Just behind Miller came Andrea Dovizioso, who was the fastest Mission Winnow Ducati and looked set to top the day’s action until the late flurry of fast laps saw him pushed down to fourth. Initially the number 04 was working on frames, and Team Manager Davide Tardozzi confirmed that teammate Danilo Petrucci was focused on finding a better connection between the throttle and the rear tyre – working on the electronics and engine. Roles were then reversed, and Tardozzi also confirmed the Borgo Panigale factory also had some work on aero planned. That’s expected tomorrow. Today, it was two red machines in tandem as the two were on track together on some longer runs in the afternoon, with Petrucci saying he has “more to learn” than his teammate and ending the day in ninth.

Andrea Dovizioso – P4

“It’s been a really positive day, and I’m very happy with the way we’re working, which allowed us to gather plenty of interesting data. Today, we focused on some areas in which we struggled a bit in the past, finding good solutions. Instead of just riding alone, I also managed to do a couple of longer runs together with Danilo to bring the tyres to race distance, which helped us to better simulate what happens during a GP. We still have a few components to try tomorrow, development never stops and we’ll keep looking for more ways to improve our performance.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Andrea Dovizioso — Andrea Dovizioso

Danilo Petrucci – P9

“It’s been a very intense day from a physical standpoint, because we clocked a lot of laps and we even rode over the race distance in two consecutive runs during the hottest hours. I have to say we gathered a positive feedback, both from a technical and physical standpoint, and the team did an excellent job. A small setback prevented us from further improving our lap times, but the rankings are certainly not our priority at this point of the year. Compared with yesterday, we’ve been a lot more competitive with higher temperatures, which makes me really confident ahead of tomorrow.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Danilo Petrucci — Danilo Petrucci

Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) pipped Petrucci on his GP18 to end Thursday in P7, with Francesco Bagnaia fastest rookie in P12 for Alma Pramac Racing.

Pecco Bagnaia – P12

“It’s been a very good day. I worked much better than yesterday at the technical level and in the afternoon we made a big step forward. Tomorrow we will try to make a time attack and a race simulation but I think it is a positive test so far: lap after lap I feel to better understand the bike”.

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Pecco Bagnaia — Pecco Bagnaia

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) put in a good showing on Thursday to take fifth overall and end the day as fastest Honda. The Brit is returning from a badly broken ankle sustained at Phillip Island last season but managed 53 laps to end the session within just 0.004 of Dovizioso. He also suffered a crash; Rider OK.

Cal Crutchlow – P5

“Today was a positive day and the team worked very well. We tried the 2019 bike all day, and we had two of them in the garage which meant we could do back-to-back tests on a few things. It was always the plan, so it’s good to do that. I felt quite comfortable over the day and we are pleased with what HRC has brought us to the test and as a race bike for this season. My physical condition is not too bad as regards my ankle. I have more pain at the end of the day and the ankle is swollen due to the heat, but in general I’ve felt good on the bike. I had a small crash at turn five, which was a strange one because I wasn’t pushing or doing anything different – it was a first lap out of the pits. Luckily, I was ok. We look forward to the last day tomorrow, where we will focus more on working on the setting, and we can try and get all the information we need to be ready for the start of the season.“

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Cal Crutchlow — Cal Crutchlow

Next up for Honda was eighth placed Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who downed tools early once again and put in 37 laps on Day 2 – although some of those were a longer run in the afternoon. The team confirmed they’re on schedule despite the lighter lap load for the reigning Champion, too – with Marquez routinely having done over 90 laps per test day last season – and were working on the new bike, new engine and electronics, with a lot to get through including some different fairings.

Marc Marquez – P8

“Today we worked much the same as yesterday and tried a few new things, the most important ones for Honda. I started the day well but then the shoulder started to get a bit worse so we stopped to be able to run well again tomorrow. I can’t ride exactly how I’d want, normally I’m a rider who brakes very late and deep but I can’t do that at the moment and have to brake earlier and smoother. In regards to the bike, we’ve been working mostly on corner exit but sometimes at this circuit the grip can change a lot.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Marc Marquez — Marc Marquez

Crutchlow’s teammate Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) took P10 after 60 laps, with Stefan Bradl (Honda Test Team) taking P16 after 59 laps.

Takaaki Nakagami – P10

“Second day done, and we finished in P10, and to be inside the top ten is a good thing for us. This is testing however, and the main thing is that we stay focused on our programme and planned testing schedule, which we are doing. We are working hard to improve the set-up of the bike. Yesterday we had a bit of a struggle with the braking stability, but finally today we found an improvement and a better feeling on the brakes. On the other hand, we are still missing a bit of edge grip on the rear. Tomorrow we have to see if we can find a better balance on the bike, and then we can make a race simulation. At the end of the day today we went into the 1’59s, and that was my target for the day so that is good. We will keep pushing tomorrow of course and let’s see what happens.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Nakagami — Takaaki Nakagami

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing saw some tables turned on Day 2 as Johann Zarco ended the day as fastest Austrian machine for the first time since his switch to the marque. He said he outstripped his expected progress for the day and it made him smile to dip below the 2 minute mark for the first time, and he ended the day in P11 after 58 laps. Teammate Pol Espargaro was P17 and just over three tenths off the Frenchman.

KTM test rider Mika Kallio was a couple of places back, and just pipped Red Bull KTM Tech 3 rookie Miguel Oliveira.

Miguel Oliveira – P20

“It seems like we can improve our lap time every day a little bit. With the used tyres I was quite happy with my performance, also with the performance of the bike. It was only the last run, that we couldn’t improve the lap time, because we ran a different traction control setting, which was really something else and combined with the new tyre, it didn’t work. We had to learn, which direction to take and will finetune this area tomorrow to be able to go faster. I’m very motivated, plus the team is doing a great job, we understand the bike more and more. Today we were only missing the time attack, but I would say we are quite strong and on a good direction.”

Malaysian Hafizh Syahrin had a tougher day, outside the top twenty.

Hafizh Syahrin – P25

“To be honest, I’m still quite slow at the moment and far from the top, especially because Maverick (Viñales) improved in the end. But now I start to understand many things when I was on the track. Today I followed some others, while before I rode alone, trying to do my best to improve my lap time. When I followed some riders like my teammate Miguel and also Pol Espargaro and Mika Kallio, I tried to understand how they can do such a good turning. Now we found out where the point is and we’ll improve it for the last day tomorrow. I hope I can do something good. I keep my motivation and work hard and also try to give my best for my team.”

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, meanwhile, had a race simulation fairly early on Day 2 for Aleix Espargaro as Andrea Iannone remained focused on adaptation. Bike balance, electronics and torque control were a focus for the Noale factory.

Espargaro ended the day in P13 after 54 laps, Iannone in P18 after 39.

Aleix Espargaro’ – P13

“Today I did a 20-lap race simulation and I am very satisfied, both with how I held up physically and with the performance of the RS-GP. I managed to lap in the first half of the long run at 2’00 and in the low 2’01s for the second half – a good pace that confirms our competitiveness with used tyres. I must be realistic and also consider that the track is in better conditions than those of the race, but I am still pleased with the performance. We are still lacking incisiveness when we have more grip on new tyres. It seems like the others are able to exploit it better on the flying lap.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Aleix Espargaro — Aleix Espargaro’

Andrea Iannone – P18

“Today we began to get to know the bike better, which is part of our growth path. There are some positive changes and some not so positive, so we’ll keep going without revolutionising the bike, but with the clear goal of constantly improving, lap by lap. We managed to find some advantages in performance with used tyres. I did my best lap precisely in these conditions and using the medium. I am pleased about that and I can confirm our potential, considering the fact that this is our first real test.”

MotoGP Sepang Test Day Andrea Iannone — Andrea Iannone

Romano Albesiano, Technical Manager, also confirmed that it’s not just the immediate future that Aprilia are working towards, with plans made to make some big changes in testing in order to set up some more radical development later in the season.

2019 MotoGP Sepang Test Day Two Times

Pos	Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Gap
1	VIÑALES, Maverick	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	1:58.897	///
2	RINS, Alex	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:59.424	0.527
3	MILLER, Jack	Alma Pramac Racing	1:59.517	0.620
4	DOVIZIOSO, Andrea	Mission Winnow Ducati	1:59.562	0.665
5	CRUTCHLOW, Cal	LCR Honda CASTROL	1:59.566	0.669
6	ROSSI, Valentino	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	1:59.625	0.728
7	RABAT, Tito	Reale Avintia Racing	1:59.664	0.767
8	MARQUEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	1:59.790	0.893
9	PETRUCCI, Danilo	Mission Winnow Ducati	1:59.845	0.948
10	NAKAGAMI, Takaaki	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	1:59.966	1.069
11	ZARCO, Johann	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	1:59.973	1.076
12	BAGNAIA, Francesco	Alma Pramac Racing	1:59.995	1.098
13	ESPARGARO, Aleix	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2:00.101	1.204
14	QUARTARARO, Fabio	Petronas Yamaha SRT	2:00.108	1.211
15	MORBIDELLI, Franco	Petronas Yamaha SRT	2:00.151	1.254
16	BRADL, Stefan	Honda Test Team	2:00.230	1.333
17	ESPARGARO, Pol	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	2:00.305	1.408
18	IANNONE, Andrea	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2:00.510	1.613
19	KALLIO, Mika	Red Bull KTM FactoryTest Team	2:00.523	1.626
20	OLIVEIRA, Miguel	KTM Tech 3 Racing	2:00.672	1.775
21	MIR, Joan	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	2:00.876	1.979
22	ABRAHAM, Karel	Reale Avintia Racing	2:01.245	2.348
23	TEST 1, Yamaha	Yamaha Test Team	2:01.406	2.509
24	GUINTOLI, Sylvain	Suzuki Test Team	2:01.654	2.757
25	SYAHRIN, Hafizh	KTM Tech 3 Racing	2:01.859	2.962
26	TEST 2, Yamaha	Yamaha Test Team	2:02.989	4.092
27	TSUDA, Takuya	Suzuki Test Team	2:03.276	4.379

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP, Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP unveil 2019 livery

February 5, 2019 mcnews Leave a comment

Rossi & Vinales introduce 2019 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team has revealed their 2019 colour scheme in Jakarta, Indonesia, with a theme of ‘Beast Mode On’ celebrating a new title sponsorship deal between Yamaha and Monster Energy, with the Sepang test to kick off shortly.

MotoGP Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP — 2019 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team

Yamaha‘s newly named Factory Racing MotoGP team proudly presented its brand-new livery, that reflects Yamaha‘s long-term global alliance with the team‘s new title sponsor, Monster Energy Company.

The multiple year title sponsor agreement was signed last summer and Monster Energy sponsors multiple Yamaha teams (the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP team since 2013) and riders (including Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales) in various racing classes.

Monster Energy and Yamaha‘s mutual passion for racing was evident when the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team announced that they will be turning their “Beast Mode On” for the 2019 MotoGP World Championship challenge.

Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales soon joined the talk show. They made it clear that they can‘t wait to get back into action at the official 2019 IRTA MotoGP preseason test held in Sepang, Malaysia, in two days‘ time.

Valentino is famously Yamaha‘s most successful rider. This will be his 14th season with the manufacturer since he first joined the factory team in 2004, and there is no sign of him slowing down. The nine-time World Champion is as eager as ever to score GP victories, as he enters a seventh consecutive year with Yamaha since his return in 2013.

Valentino Rossi

“The team presentation is always an event that I enjoy. It is the first time that we can show off our full package for the new season and, most importantly, this event signals that the start of the preseason is close! I‘ve taken a bit of time to relax and train these last couple of months, but, like the fans, I‘ve mostly been looking forward to starting the new season. The upcoming test in Sepang is very important, because it‘s the first opportunity for the team to get together to try everything Yamaha has been working on over the winter. Our performance improved towards the end of last season, but we want and need to make some more big steps, so we need to get to work. I‘m happy that Monster Energy is joining our team in a new role this year. They have been Yamaha‘s and my sponsor for a long time, so we know each other well and we share the same passion for racing, which is important. I‘m sincerely looking forward to the new season and to riding again, I want to get back aboard my M1! I feel as good and determined as ever, nothing changed in that area, and I believe that, with some hard work, we can improve upon last year and be back on top.”

Maverick joined the Factory Yamaha crew in 2017 after gaining two years of experience in the premier class and was quick to make a name for himself. He ultimately took third place in the rider standings in his first season with Yamaha.

Though the 2018 season proved to be tough, the Spaniard kept his motivation high and won the race at Phillip Island. He finished the season in fourth place overall, just five points behind his teammate in third position.

Maverick Vinales

“We are here in Jakarta to start the new season. This year‘s team presentation was very special, because there are many changes compared to last year. The most noticeable of course are the new team colours and the bike livery. As soon as I saw it, I couldn‘t help but feel excited to start the new season. It will be a completely fresh start for all of us: new title sponsor, new team colours, and for me a new rider number. It all came together very nicely, so now all we have to do is get the preseason underway! The winter months were a good opportunity to prepare for 2019 season. I had some time to relax and reflect, but a good part was spent training, so I‘m ready to start riding my M1 again. We ended last year‘s season stronger than we started, so it will be important to keep that momentum going as we prepare for the first race in Qatar in April. Our first chance to see where we stand is at the Sepang Test in a few days‘ time. I‘m looking forward to it, because I have high expectations for this year. My motivation hasn‘t changed, and I plan on going all out this season – ’Beast Mode On‘!”

Valentino and Maverick were given the honour of presenting the new livery and they proudly presented the 2019 Yamaha YZR-M1. Its colour scheme has completely changed, with the team‘s M1 sporting a ’Monster Energy black‘-to-’Yamaha Factory Racing blue‘ gradient, including subtle blue stripes.

Besides the prominent Monster Energy branding, the team is also pleased to announce that throughout the 2019 racing season the bike will continue to feature the slogans of Yamaha Indonesia Motor Manufacturing, Yamaha Motor Vietnam Co., Ltd., Yamaha Motor Philippines, Inc., and Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

Massimo Meregalli – Team Director

“First of all, I would like to apologise for not being able to attend the team launch event today. I would have liked to be there as it is a significant milestone – the team start a new journey with Monster Energy. With the very important Sepang Test starting in just two days, I chose to be in Sepang working with Sumi-san and the YMC staff, as well as our team staff – several of which are new for 2019 – to be best prepared for the start of the new season. Like I said, we‘re starting afresh and there is always a sense of excitement that comes with new beginnings. I‘m sure the entire crew, as well as the riders, can‘t wait to get back into action. We already laid the foundation for the 2019 preparation during the tests in Valencia and Jerez at the end of last year. The upcoming week will be very important, because we will use the test in Sepang to confirm the choices we made. It will be a crucial first stepping stone to success in 2019.”

Lin Jarvis – Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director

“This year the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP team‘s package is different from previous years, so it seemed only fitting to hold a special launch event to mark this fresh start. The team travelled to Indonesia this time. The country‘s market is very important for the Yamaha Motor Group, and the fans‘ and local media‘s great passion for MotoGP further adds to its appeal. Its central location in Asia and close vicinity to the first official test, held in Malaysia the day after tomorrow, made it a perfect location for the Team Launch. Yamaha and Monster Energy have been collaborating for many years. We are proud to have them as an official sponsor of the Yamaha Factory MotoGP Team since 2013, and now we will be working even closer together as we step up the global alliance between the two brands and they take on the title sponsor role. Monster Energy is known for giving its audience the full experience of whatever makes them passionate, which is also what we strive after at Yamaha. During the upcoming season we aim to leave a strong impression throughout the entire MotoGP season, and we very much look forward to sharing this next chapter with race fans, giving them a thoroughly enjoyable season. We‘ve revealed our new team logo and livery today. The new design, especially the black-toblue gradient on the bike, visualises the partnership between Monster Energy and Yamaha. Now the work really begins with the upcoming preseason test in Sepang. The entire team, the riders, and I‘m sure the fans are impatient to see some MotoGP action again.”

2019 MotoGP Calendar

March 10 – Qatar* Losail International Circuit (*Night Race)
March 31 – República Argentina Termas de Río Hondo
April 14 – Americas Circuit of the Americas
May 5 – Spain Circuito de Jerez
May 19 – France Le Mans
June 2 – Italy Autodromo del Mugello
June 16 – Catalunya Barcelona – Catalunya
June 30 – Netherlands TT Circuit Assen
July 7 – Germany Sachsenring
August 4 – Czech Republic Automotodrom Brno
August 11 – Austria Red Bull Ring – Spielberg
August 25 – Great Britain Silverstone Circuit
September 15 – San Marino Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
September 22 – Aragón MotorLand Aragón
October 6 – Thailand Chang International Circuit
October 20 – Japan Twin Ring Motegi
October 27 – Australia Phillip Island
November 3 – Malaysia Sepang International Circuit
November 17 – Comunitat Valenciana Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP, Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Vinales tops scintillating MotoGP qualifying session at Valencia

November 17, 2018 mcnews Leave a comment

MotoGP 2018 Valencia Qualifying

It was seven-time Champion Marquez who led the field onto the first flying lap but then at Turn 4, the 2018 Champion suddenly lost the front and went down. The pain and anguish was writ large on the Spaniard as he clutched his limp left arm, his shoulder dislocated yet again, but this time looked more painful than ever as he returned to his motorhome. But minutes later Marquez was back on track, and back on the pace… What a machine.

In the absence of Marquez, it had been Dovizioso was setting the pace, but then Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) got the better of his compatriot to set the first 1:31 of the session before blitzing the field again on his next lap – a 1:31.531 becoming the time to beat.

MotoGP Valencia QP Dovizioso — Andrea Dovizioso

Then with six-minutes to go, a warrior emerged in the form of Marquez as he left pit-lane and all eyes were on the seven-time Champion. Before the 93 crossed the line though, Viñales shot to the top to take provisional pole…

MotoGP Valencia QP Vinales — Maverick Viñales

Red sectors were lighting up the screens in the final minutes of the session though and it was Viñales who went quicker again to make 0.068 his margin at the top, with the miraculous Marquez climbing back up to P3. The World Champion was going for it again to take pole but then another moment at turn one put an end to his chances.

But there was still time for change elsewhere as Rins was then threatening to take pole on his final lap. In the end, however, a breathless qualifying ended with Viñales spearheading the grid after his first pole on a Saturday since Aragon last year, with his Americas GP pole this season resulting from a Marquez penalty.

Maverick Viñales – P1

“Great to be back on pole and to be on the front row. The target for today was to be on the first or second row, and in the end we got pole, so that’s something amazing and unbelievable. I’m so happy, to finish the season in that form, feeling really strong. Honestly, I can’t say anything more than that, I’m just happy. However, I will take it session by session. We did good in the qualifying and I’m excited about tomorrow, but tomorrow is another day. It could rain, or maybe not, we don’t know – we have to be ready for all conditions. I think the bike, in the rain, still needs to be improved. The bike we have right now is in the top-10, but let’s see. I’m curious what will happen. It’s very important to start from pole, because if you’re at the front in the first laps it’s better. I’ll do my best, but there’s no pressure. It’s the last race of the season. I will give everything, but I don’t pay too close attention to the championship standings right now, I’m just going to enjoy the time on the bike and let’s see if we can be at the top.”

Rins and ‘DesmoDovi’ complete the front row, and Petrucci is top Independent Team rider in fourth, gunning for that title on Sunday too.

Alex Rins – P2

“I’m happy. For sure I would’ve liked to get pole, I was very close to it. But the most important thing is that after the second crash of the day I’m OK, it was quite a heavy fall and I wasn’t feeling great afterwards. Luckily I was still able to get 2nd place. The bike was working well today, despite the mixed conditions. Tomorrow will be wet but I think I can stay in the lead group, the target will be the podium. I’d like to finish this year in the best way possible.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P3

“The qualifying session went well and I’m very happy, because starting up at the front is always important, especially here at Valencia. This morning we made a big step forward in the rain, and it was important to be ready in case of a wet qualifying session. In fact, Q2 was held on a dry track surface and we were able in any case to find a good set-up and set a good time. For the race we have a good chance, but it will almost certainly rain and in that case anything can happen.”

Danilo Petrucci – P4

“I am very satisfied because we did well in both wet and dry conditions. Honestly there is a bit of disappointment because I could have won the front row but that’s okay. We are competitive but it is clear that in rain I will feel better this week end”.

MotoGP Valencia QP Petrucci — Danilo Petrucci

Marquez’ miracle top-five performance sees him remain well in the mix.

Marc Marquez – P5

“Qualifying today was a bit unlucky as I crashed in the first right-hand corner on my first flying lap, and I soon felt something strange in my shoulder. Luckily, when I got back to my truck and tried a few movements, we realized it wasn’t that bad and I started to feel better. When the doctors arrived and checked it, it was all back in its place and I was ready to get back on my bike. I didn’t push as usual though, as it was better to stay on the bike! Only one tenth off the pole isn’t bad so tomorrow, race day, will be another day.”

MotoGP Valencia QP Marquez — Marc Marquez

Just behind the reigning Champion, sixth made it a great day for Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) with the Spaniard just 0.265 from pole in KTM’s equal best qualifying performance.

Pol Espargaro – P6

“With everything we have been through this season this feels a bit more than a [great] qualification session for us. It means quite a lot and I’m feeling happy, and for the boys in the pitbox. I think we did the maximum today – just two tenths from first place – and we didn’t expect to be so close in the dry. We were always in the top ten in the wet and in very tricky conditions. We are good here and it means we need to think about what we can copy for the other circuits. Most of it is to with the fact that I am coming back to my normal speed. I think we are in a position for a nice result. I don’t think we have had an opportunity like this so far with KTM but we must take it calmly tomorrow.”

MotoGP Valencia QP Pol Espargaro — Pol Espargaro

Pol Espargaro just ahead of Q1 graduate Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in P7, with Aleix Espargaro’s (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) P8 the final piece in the puzzle that saw all six manufacturers inside the top eight, split by just 0.318.

Andrea Iannone – P7

“For sure it’s been a difficult day because I had a crash, and in the wet conditions it’s very tricky. In Q1 I had a better feeling with the bike and I was able to get a great lap time. When it came to Q2 I didn’t have the same pace, and I used a different tyre so the feeling was different. But in any case, tomorrow I’ll start on the 3rd row and it’s OK. Set-up is not easy here, especially when it’s raining or half-wet, half-dry. We’ll try to stay in the top group tomorrow, let’s see what happens!”

MotoGP Valencia QP Iannone — Andrea Iannone

Aleix Espargaro – P8

“I’m happy with how the entire weekend has gone and not just because of the performance today. Yesterday we were consistently competitive even in the wet. This morning in FP3 I crashed right in the final moments. I raced back to the garage and with the second bike I managed to do the ninth time and go through to Q2, so that is positive and very important. Then, in qualifying I struggled on the first turn, but despite this, we finished just three tenths behind the pole position time. My RS-GP worked well both in the wet and on dry asphalt. We have a good pace and that makes me confident for the race, but I am also happy with the many indications that we are gathering in view of the tests next week and for the 2019 bike.”

MotoGP Valencia QP Aleix Espargaro — Aleix Espargaro

In his final ever qualifying, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) claimed P9 to start from the outside of the third row after some difficulties in FP4 that affected his QP, with Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) suffering his fourth crash of the weekend to start P10 but automatically through to Q2 once again.

Dani Pedrosa – P9

“Today in the dry FP4 I had an issue with the bike’s setup that we weren’t able to adjust before qualifying, so I went out still struggling a bit. I did my best but didn’t manage to get a better position for tomorrow. If it rains tomorrow track conditions will be the key, as whether there’s a lot or a little water on the asphalt will affect the feeling a lot. This morning I ultimately found a good feeling in the wet, but it took me a long time. So let’s wait and see how the weather is and see what we can do tomorrow.”

MotoGP Valencia QP Pedrosa — Dani Pedrosa

Jack Miller – P10

“I’m disappointed. I was convinced that I could qualify well and I pushed hard but I crashed. I have to find a better feeling with the front tyre but the race pace is very interesting. I am confident that I can have a good race tomorrow”.

While on a lap that was 0.3 under, Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) also crashed at Turn 10 to start P11 – rider ok, with Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) settling for P12 after making it straight into Q2 from Free Practice.

Johann Zarco – P11

“Saturday in Valencia has been a good day. In FP3 we did some great work with the team and I could manage the decisive practice well, caught a top 5 result and made it to Q2. So I was happy, but at the same time there was not so much water on the track. This gave me great confidence, although the bike was not perfect. In the afternoon, we had dry conditions. I enjoyed it and was quite competitive. I began the Qualifying not too good, because something was missing on the bike. We tried to change it a bit to get an enhanced feeling. When I restarted with the second new tyre my feeling improved immediately a lot. I could control the bike better, but trying to be fast on the first flying lap, I crashed in turn 10. It’s a right corner, so maybe the front tyre was still a bit cold and also because the conditions were not 100 percent clear. It’s a pity, because the potential for the first row was there today. Now we start in 11th position. Anyway, we will see what happens tomorrow and hope to have a strong race from the beginning to the end in order to play with Danilo Petrucci and Alex Rins.”

Jorge Lorenzo narrowly missed out on going through to Q2.

Jorge Lorenzo – P13

“We went out on track for Q1 without any real data because in all the other sessions the track was wet. I think I did a good time, which was quite a surprise, and for just a few thousandths of a second I couldn’t get into Q2. In the end it was Viñales who knocked me off the top 2 spots in Q1 and then he set pole, so for this reason I think that if I had gone through I would have been a lot further up the grid. In any case it’s highly likely that tomorrow’s race will be held in the rain and we’ll find completely different conditions to today so we’ll try and bring home the best possible result.”

MotoGP Valencia QP Lorenzo — Jorge Lorenzo

Another star failing to make it through Q1 was Valentino Rossi, The Doctor starts P16 after a tough day at the office.

Valentino Rossi – P16

“It was a difficult day, very tough. On the wet yesterday I felt comfortable, so I was quite optimistic this morning that I could finish in the top-10 because it was still wet. I tried to push at the beginning and I crashed with one bike, but apart from that I was not fast enough in FP3 anyway to go through to Q2. After that the conditions changed and it became drier, so from the morning to the afternoon we changed something on the bike, but in reality I never felt good and couldn’t push 100% in the afternoon. At the end, I improved my lap time in Q1, but it wasn’t enough to get into Q2, so we start from very far back, which will be hard. We have to work and try as hard as possible, and we also have to wait and see what the conditions will be like tomorrow morning, because the forecast is very bad.”

MotoGP Valencia QP Rossi — Valentino Rossi

Untitled


MotoGP Q2
Pos.	Rider	Bike	Km/h	Time
1	Maverick VIÑALES	Yamaha	313.7	1’31.312
2	Alex RINS	Suzuki	312.0	1’31.380
3	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	318.5	1’31.392
4	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	314.3	1’31.414
5	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	315.9	1’31.442
6	Pol ESPARGARO	KTM	315.0	1’31.577
7	Andrea IANNONE	Suzuki	311.6	1’31.629
8	Aleix ESPARGARO	Aprilia	308.2	1’31.630
9	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	314.3	1’32.140
10	Jack MILLER	Ducati	311.0	1’32.145
11	Johann ZARCO	Yamaha	313.1	1’32.179
12	Michele PIRRO	Ducati	318.4	1’32.310


MotoGP Q1
Pos.	Rider	Bike	Km/h	Time
1	Andrea IANNONE ↑	Suzuki	313.6	1’31.382
2	Maverick VIÑALES ↑	Yamaha	314.9	1’31.858
3	Jorge LORENZO	Ducati	315.4	1’31.900
4	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	Honda	307.6	1’31.928
5	Franco MORBIDELLI	Honda	308.8	1’32.385
6	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	311.7	1’32.452
7	Thomas LUTHI	Honda	308.9	1’32.545
8	Karel ABRAHAM	Ducati	313.6	1’32.547
9	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Ducati	314.3	1’32.568
10	Stefan BRADL	Honda	319.0	1’32.708
11	Hafizh SYAHRIN	Yamaha	312.1	1’32.749
12	Bradley SMITH	KTM	309.2	1’33.011

Records
Fastest Lap:	Lap: 6	Andrea IANNONE	1’31.382	157.7 Km/h
Circuit Record Lap:	2016	Jorge LORENZO	1’31.171	158.1 Km/h
Best Lap:	2016	Jorge LORENZO	1’29.401	161.2 Km/h

Moto2

The clouds loomed for Moto2 qualifying but it stayed dry and as the clock ticked towards the 10-minute remaining mark, it was Marini who led the way. Schrötter then took over at the top to better the Italian by 0.080 but he wasn’t going down without a fight. Straight away the Malaysian GP race winner leapfrogged the German to head the field again – 0.007 the gap. Then, the Italian went quicker once more to move the goal posts further, with 0.201 his advantage over the field.

Vierge was then on a mission, but could he topple Marini’s time? Nearly, but not quite. The Spaniard crossed the line just 0.027 off to go to P2. Personal best laps were incoming, but nothing would trouble Marini at the summit – a second pole of the year was the Italian’s, with Vierge’s time also unable to be bettered. Schrötter tried to climb up the front row but despite setting his best time on his final lap, the German would remain P3 – 0.168 off pole.

2018 World Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) managed to launch himself up to P4 at the chequered flag as he prepares to go into battle for the final time in the intermediate class on Sunday and compatriot Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) also managed to improve on his last lap to go from P7 to P5. He now starts one place ahead of Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) in P6 after Lowes’ best qualifying result since the German GP. But just 0.001 behind the British rider was Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in seventh, who in turn was just 0.044 ahead of countryman Augusto Fernandez (Pons HP40) – another top result with P8 for the Spaniard getting him into the top ten in the latter stages.

Fabio Quartararo (HDR Heidrun – Speed Up) was ninth, with the two Red Bull KTM Ajo machines next up – P10 for Miguel Oliveira, P11 for Brad Binder.


Moto2 Qualifying Results
Pos.	Rider	Bike	Km/h	Time
1	Luca MARINI	Kalex	257.8	1’35.777
2	Xavi VIERGE	Kalex	260.2	1’35.804
3	Marcel SCHROTTER	Kalex	259.2	1’35.945
4	Francesco BAGNAIA	Kalex	257.4	1’36.173
5	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	Kalex	257.8	1’36.270
6	Sam LOWES	KTM	257.3	1’36.335
7	Joan MIR	Kalex	258.7	1’36.336
8	Augusto FERNANDEZ	Kalex	260.2	1’36.380
9	Fabio QUARTARARO	Speed Up	255.6	1’36.396
10	Miguel OLIVEIRA	KTM	259.7	1’36.429
11	Brad BINDER	KTM	260.2	1’36.464
12	Jesko RAFFIN	Kalex	256.6	1’36.499
13	Simone CORSI	Kalex	256.1	1’36.515
14	Mattia PASINI	Kalex	261.5	1’36.532
15	Khairul Idham PAWI	Kalex	258.8	1’36.572
16	Alex MARQUEZ	Kalex	258.8	1’36.580
17	Remy GARDNER	Tech 3	252.0	1’36.595
18	Andrea LOCATELLI	Kalex	258.3	1’36.638
19	Joe ROBERTS	NTS	255.0	1’36.656
20	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	Kalex	259.8	1’36.667
21	Iker LECUONA	KTM	255.7	1’36.671
22	Steven ODENDAAL	NTS	258.2	1’36.819
23	Jorge NAVARRO	Kalex	258.0	1’36.909
24	Dominique AEGERTER	KTM	260.0	1’36.976
25	Hector GARZO	Tech 3	253.0	1’37.444
26	Niki TUULI	Kalex	257.5	1’37.457
27	Tommaso MARCON	Speed Up	254.1	1’37.483
28	Federico FULIGNI	Kalex	252.3	1’38.351
29	Isaac VIÑALES	Suter	254.7	1’38.406
30	Xavi CARDELUS	Kalex	253.9	1’38.718
31	Jules DANILO	Kalex	255.9	1’39.275
32	Lukas TULOVIC	Suter	250.6	1’39.600

Moto2 Records
Fastest Lap:	Lap: 18	Luca MARINI	1’35.777	150.5 Km/h
Circuit Record Lap:	2014	Thomas LUTHI	1’35.312	151.2 Km/h
Best Lap:	2016	Johann ZARCO	1’34.879	151.9 Km/h

Moto3

It was a hectic start to the Moto3 qualifying session as several riders went down in the opening exchanges on a drying Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PreustelGP) was the man to lead the opening exchanges, but he crashed his KTM machine at Turn 8. 2018 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) then took over at the summit, but he also went down at Turn 8 – the Turkish rider able get straight back on track but the Italian having to get his bike fixed.

As they have been all weekend, the track conditions were tricky but with no rain falling, a slight dry line started to appear as the times continued to tumble, with Atiratphuvapat sitting 0.2 clear with 12 minutes remaining. However, with his bike repaired, Bezzecchi then took over at the top but by only 0.027.

The track was getting drier and drier and the times started to get faster, with Raul Fernandez (Angel Nieto Team Moto3) and Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) taking over at the top soon after and from there on in, the red sectors were coming from across the board as five minutes remained. Pole position? Anyone’s guess at that stage – but there were still no gamblers changing from wets.

With two to go, it was Atiratphuvapat on top by 0.188 but half the field were lighting up the timing screens with red sectors as some began to gamble on slicks. Arbolino was one of them and he moved the goal posts by over a second, so could that be beaten? Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) got within 0.3 of the Italian as they homed in, before Arbolino went even quicker to set a 1:46.773; the insurmountable time that would earn the Italian pole.

Öncü then leapt up to a stunning P2 on his final run, before McPhee and then Atiratphuvapat just bumped the 15-year-old wildcard down to fourth and the front of the second row. He’s joined by Canet who ended the session P5 after the late flurry of times, with Bezzecchi starting from the outside of the second row in his last Moto3™ race – P6 for the Italian.

After a crash, Marcos Ramirez (Bester Capital Dubai) managed to get himself up to P7 at the end of the session, with Kornfeil settling for eighth. Ninth went to Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto Team Moto3), the Spaniard another rider to crash during the session, with teammate and wildcard Fernandez rounding out the top ten in another impressive showing.

The sensational qualifying session ends with some big names down the order: 2018 Champion Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) starts P13, with teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio P15 and Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) sandwiched between the two in P14.


Moto3 Qualifying Results
Pos.	Rider	Bike	Km/h	Time
1	Tony ARBOLINO	Honda	219.0	1’46.773
2	Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT	Honda	215.3	1’47.017
3	John MCPHEE	KTM	215.8	1’47.116
4	Can ONCU	KTM	214.1	1’47.336
5	Aron CANET	Honda	215.6	1’47.431
6	Marco BEZZECCHI	KTM	215.9	1’47.776
7	Marcos RAMIREZ	KTM	219.0	1’47.783
8	Jakub KORNFEIL	KTM	217.6	1’47.796
9	Albert ARENAS	KTM	215.9	1’47.826
10	Raul FERNANDEZ	KTM	213.7	1’47.880
11	Alonso LOPEZ	Honda	213.0	1’47.896
12	Vicente PEREZ	KTM	215.6	1’48.069
13	Jorge MARTIN	Honda	219.0	1’48.124
14	Enea BASTIANINI	Honda	216.7	1’48.216
15	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	Honda	214.7	1’48.357
16	Jaume MASIA	KTM	216.6	1’48.435
17	Dennis FOGGIA	KTM	220.6	1’48.543
18	Tatsuki SUZUKI	Honda	216.3	1’48.614
19	Darryn BINDER	KTM	213.3	1’48.772
20	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	Honda	218.4	1’48.894
21	Kaito TOBA	Honda	211.5	1’49.027
22	Kazuki MASAKI	KTM	217.2	1’49.469
23	Gabriel RODRIGO	KTM	215.4	1’49.696
24	Celestino VIETTI	KTM	215.0	1’49.802
25	Ayumu SASAKI	Honda	217.2	1’49.980
26	Niccolò ANTONELLI	Honda	217.0	1’50.011
27	Philipp OETTL	KTM	214.5	1’50.145
28	Andrea MIGNO	KTM	216.7	1’51.870
29	Stefano NEPA	KTM	213.0	1’52.119
30	Izam IKMAL	Honda	214.8	1’53.093

Moto3 Records:
Fastest Lap:	Lap: 17	Tony ARBOLINO	1’46.773	135.0 Km/h
Circuit Record Lap:	2017	Marcos RAMIREZ	1’39.109	145.4 Km/h
Best Lap:	2017	Jorge MARTIN	1’38.428	146.4 Km/h

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP, Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Riders & Team Managers reflect on Australian GP

October 29, 2018 mcnews Leave a comment

Australian MotoGP 2018

Yamaha resurgent as Vinales from Iannone, Dovi wins

Riders and Team managers talk the Phillip Island GP

Maverick Vinales – P1

“This is the best feeling ever, honestly! We‘ve been in the dark all year, and suddenly we came into the light! I couldn‘t show my potential in the previous races, but today I could. Being first in Australia is always amazing! It‘s the best track ever, and I like to be at the front there. To win here and break this long none winning period of Yamaha is unbelievable! I was riding on the bike like I was in FP4. I got a really good feeling from the bike, so I knew I could maintain 1‘29s. That‘s what I did for most of the middle of the race. I tried to escape as far as I could, because I knew my tyre wasn‘t going to last until the end. I knew opening that gap would be difficult, I had some moments with some riders, and some shaking on the bike – I was struggling, but I still made it through anyway. It was amazing! I have to say ‘thank you’ to the team, because this weekend they worked for the win. We will try to be the best and we‘ll try to work in a good way. We don‘t want to lose the concentration, because we don‘t know what will happen in Malaysia, but for sure the level of motivation will be high after this weekend.”

MotoGP Australia Vinales — Maverick Vinales

Andrea Iannone – P2

“I’m really happy, especially as we were at the top almost all weekend long, and this gives us a lot of positivity. We worked together on improving my feeling with the bike and it meant I was able to finish really close to the top. I felt able to win but it was a hard fight with the others and I was losing ground with them. When I managed to overtake them and keep them behind I realised I couldn’t catch Viñales, so I just tried to defend and manage the tyres. At the end I pushed at 100% to make sure I could get 2nd place.”

MotoGP Australia Iannone Dovi Bautista Rins Rossi Miller — Andrea Iannone

Andrea Dovizioso – P3

“I’m really satisfied with the way the race went. Even though we knew we had good speed, managing to get a podium here is another thing. I’m pleased I got myself immediately into an ideal position in the race, because if you start from the third row here at Phillip Island anything can happen, as we saw. Instead with a bit of luck I immediately managed to make up some positions and after a few laps I was first: I never expected that! Then I had a chance to manage the tyres and reach the end of the race in a good state, even though we were all in trouble a bit. I’m very pleased with the work we’ve done here: Phillip Island was a fundamental test to understand our level of competitiveness and now we know we have made a good step forward over last year.”

MotoGP Australia Dovizioso UC — Andrea Dovizioso

Álvaro Bautista – P4

“At the end of a difficult weekend in which I crashed three times, this fourth place is a great reward for me. To come into a new team and step onto a new bike at a circuit like this was for sure not going to be easy, but I think we’ve worked well together, making steps forward in every session. I started the race really focussed and relaxed because I had no real targets to aim for, except for enjoying riding the Desmosedici GP18. After quite a complicated start, I was able to soon catch up with the leading group and fight for the front positions. In the last few laps I made a few small mistakes and lost contact with Dovizioso and Iannone, but in any case I’m very happy with my overall result, especially for the team and for Ducati, whom I would like to thank once again for the trust they have shown in me.”

MotoGP Australia Bautista UC — Álvaro Bautista

Alex Rins – P5

“It was an interesting race and I was able to learn a lot. During the first part, when I was inside the group, I was feeling good but then when I got the contact from Maverick I lost a lot of ground and it cost me a lot because the group got away, but this is racing. I also lost further time trying to overtake Miller. But we want to focus on the positive points, and there were many, for instance the way I was able to battle with Rossi and defend my 5th place. We’re going to Malaysia with good feelings and we are prepared, so we hope for another nice result there.”

MotoGP Australia QP Vinales Rossi Rins Dovi — Alex Rins chases down Vinales and Rossi

Valentino Rossi – P6

“Unfortunately from the first lap I already started to slide a bit too much on acceleration. I lost some grip compared to yesterday and this morning. It’s a shame because for sure we wanted to try to do better. I tried to ride smoothly and manage the tyres, but unfortunately after 15 laps I was in trouble, because when exiting left corners I had too much spin. We need to understand why this happened and then try to improve, but having Maverick win a race is good news for the team and Yamaha, because it gives great motivation.”

MotoGP Australia Rossi — Valentino Rossi

Jack Miller – P7

“If I have to be honest I was expecting a little more but I am still happy with this result and being the first Independent rider. I got off to a good start even though I honestly didn’t think I would be in the lead so early. In the middle of the race I tried to save my tyres but in the end I didn’t have any room to attack the podium group.”

MotoGP Australia QP Jack Miller — Jack Miller

Franco Morbidelli – P8

“I am very happy with this result, my personal best result in MotoGP. We did a god job to exported the situation with riders going out of the race. Our tyre choice was the right one and I had good pace especially from half-race and I was able to get into the tope ten. I want to thank my crew for a great job this weekend to sort out the set-up of the bike for the race.”

MotoGP Rnd Thailand Morbidelli GP AN — Franco Morbidelli

Aleix Espargaro’ – P9

“On the straight, I was in the slipstream of a lot of riders and at a certain point, a piece of Marc’s bike struck my left hand. I began to feel pain, but fortunately in MotoGP we only use the clutch for the start, so I was able to finish the race. We’ll assess the situation in view of Malaysia. After a less-than-easy weekend, in warm up we made a big step forward and in the race I was able to ride very incisively. This is demonstrated by the fact that we lapped faster than in qualifying, but unfortunately on the final laps, the soft rear tyre began to suffer and I was unable to hold onto eighth place. In any case, the result is good, considering the hard work done this weekend with two different bikes.”

MotoGP Aragon Espargaro Aleix GP AN — Aleix Espargaro – AJRN Image

Bradley Smith – P10

“We did a good job. We saw Phillip Island as an important weekend for KTM because we knew the bike would work quite well here. The team did a fantastically because the main aim of the weekend was to try and set up the bike as best as we could to look after the rear tyre. It meant we had to sacrifice qualification a little bit yesterday but it paid off today. I had a great first lap to come from sixteenth to eighth and then tried to hold the position for as long as possible. Unfortunately towards the end I just didn’t have anything left for Morbidelli or Aleix. Sepang now and it is a difficult track but I think we have some good confidence and the bike has a good setting and it working well for me. I’m optimistic we can keep the same level and take some good points.”

MotoGP Australia Bradley Smith — Bradley Smith

Karel Abraham – P11

“We have to be happy with this race, we have doubled our points score for the season in just round. I am happy to have had the chance to ride the Ducati GP17, I could see how much potential the bike has but you also have to consider that it is difficult for any rider or chief mechanic to find the perfect set-up for a new bike in just one weekend. In any case we have done a good job and you could see that at the start of the race, when I felt really good. After that the bike started to slide and pump, I changed the mapping and it helped for a couple of laps but then it started again. I didn’t want to use the last two maps because they are for emergency use and we still had a lot of laps to go. The riders behind me were closing in and I wanted to push harder but I couldn’t get any more out of the bike. In the end, luckily, I managed to stay ahead of them.”

MotoGP Australia Abraham — Karel Abraham

Danilo Petrucci – P12

“It’s really a shame. I felt like I had a great feeling right from the warm-up. I went on track very focused and made my best start in my career. Unfortunately at turn two I had a problem with the clutch. I am really sorry but these are the races: once it is the rider who makes a mistake, another time it is the bike that betrays you. We’ll try again in Sepang.”

MotoGP TBG Rnd Phillip Island Petrucci ALI — Danilo Petrucci

Scott Redding – P13

“I am happy with the way the race went. To be honest, I didn’t expect it. Even in warm up, I didn’t have any particularly good feeling. Apparently, staying in the slipstream of the other riders helped me warm up the front tyre better. Maybe in terms of pace I could have done a bit better too, but when I found myself leading the group, I began to have some difficulties. In any case, I battled, overtaking Nakagami on the final lap and bringing home important points. A few crashes helped, but we did a good job anyway turning a complicated situation around.”

MotoGP Silverstone Redding GP AN — Scott Redding

Takaaki Nakagami – P14

“It was a difficult weekend. The weather conditions were a little bit better than yesterday, they were less windy and the track temperature was getting higher and higher. We decided to go with a soft compound on the rear and I think that was the correct choice, but I really struggled in the last ten laps. The lap times were quite strong and I couldn’t find the race pace I wanted. In the end I got into the points which is very good, but I was expecting a better result here so now we have to think about the next one in Sepang and try to be more consistent over the weekend.”

MotoGP Australia Takaaki Nakagami AX — Takaaki Nakagami

Xavier Simeon – P15

“I have a lot of problems with the clutch and once again, my start was horrible. I was last again, but this time at least I was able to recover some positions on the first lap. The bike was very good and I had the pace to fight between eleventh and fifteenth position. Ten laps from the end though, the left flank of the rear tyre was destroyed and I had to slow down. Therefore I’m a little bit disappointed. The weekend has been very good and I always felt strong, but we depend too much on tyre wear. Apart from this, I’m super happy about achieving my first MotoGP point and I want to thank my team because they helped me a lot since I got on this bike. In Malaysia we have to improve the start and work more with the tyres for the race. I hope to have fun again like here and score more points.”

MotoGP Aragon Simeon GP AN — Xavier Simeon

Tom Luthi – P16

“I had a good rhythm for the first ten laps and could stay with the group I was in so I’m little disappointed for this result. But then I lost a lot of edge grip and could not keep corner speed in the fast left-hand corners and I was struggling with understeer and that’s where I lost too much time. I’m disappointed to be 16th again and just miss some championship points.”

Jordi Torres – P17

“The race has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. This morning in the warm-up I felt pretty strong and we had a very promising pace. But it was more windy in the race and tyres maybe did not reach the right working temperature on the first laps because twice I was close to a crash when I tried to push. This affected my confidence and I wasn’t riding comfortably throughout the race. I know what I have to do to go fast, but I lacked the confidence to do it. At least I’m gaining experience in every race and I hope things will go better in Malaysia. Sepang is a very long circuit and I’ll have to learn many things in a short time, because the other riders have done lot of kilometres over there. The heat will also be a new challenge for me. I hope to my level of fitness is high enough.”

MotoGP Rnd Thailand Torres GP AN — Jordi Torres

Mike Jones – P18

“I just wanted to give my best and finish the race, and we achieved our objective. I am very happy and grateful to the Ángel Nieto Team for the opportunity to race in MotoGP in front of the Australian fans. It has been an incredible experience, the power of the bike is crazy and the braking force is unreal. It has been a physically demanding weekend because this is such a different bike to anything I have ridden before.”

MotoGP Australia Mike Jones — Mike Jones

Marc Marquez – DNF

“At first I didn’t understand exactly what had happened, but I was angry because I felt the contact from the rear. I couldn’t continue the race because my seat was broken and moving around. It was impossible to ride. When I arrived in the garage and saw the video, I understood. It was just a race incident because at that point of the track, we arrive really fast, over 300 km/h. I was behind Jack Miller when I braked even a bit later than usual, and then I felt the impact. Zarco had taken the slipstreams from the two of us. You may think he could have considered that, but for me it’s just a race incident and I already spoke with him. What I can say is that today I feel really lucky, and the most important thing for me is that both me and Johann are okay. Today I was really focused, and the race was going as expected. I led for a couple of laps, and then I decided to stay in the group and wait a bit. I had the pace and I felt I was able to fight for the win. It’s unlucky that we got a zero here at Phillip Island, but if next year I can win the title in Japan again and have another DNF here, I’ll sign up for that! Now let’s focus on the next race.”

MotoGP Australia Marquez Damage — Damage to Marc Marquez’s Honda

Dani Pedrosa – DNF

“It has been a difficult weekend. We never had a good feeling over the three days, and unfortunately I crashed out of the race. I wasn’t in a good position, and then I lost the front in the braking point after the straight—quite a big crash, as it’s a fast point. Anyway, we just have to move forward, hoping to have a better race next Sunday.”

MotoGP Australia Pedrosa AX — Dani Pedrosa

Hafizh Syahrin – DNF

“Until lap 19 I had a good race. I just lost the front because I tried to close again on Miller. In the straight it is just impossible, as the Ducati just passes very easily. The guys and myself, we are already working very hard with our package, which is a bit different to the rest of the Yamahas. I was fighting with the faster group in the front, but it was just technically impossible to keep up with them, although I was pushing very hard. It’s a great pity to crash on the 19th lap. Anyway, we keep pushing, working hard and believing in ourselves because my team and me work very hard to be strong in the race. We tried to use our speed for a good result, but in the end we didn’t have a chance to fight with the rest of the riders in front.”

MotoGP Rnd Thailand Syahrin GP AN — Hafizh Syahrin

Johann Zarco – DNF

“It was a bit cold today, but the sunshine made it a nice day. Starting from third position was a good advantage. I got a good start, but in the second corner I slide with the rear and a few guys had the same, I lost a few positions, but then I was really feeling quite ok to attack and try to overtake. I’m happy about the feeling that I was strong and did some good passes. After a few laps, I was still feeling pretty good, I got the slipstream of Jack Miller and Marc Marquez was also there. We were going so fast and when we were braking for corner one, I touched the rear wheel of Marc and totally flew away. I had a big crash, but I’m okay, which is the most important thing, as that crash was really fast It’s a shame about the race, because finish the race would have been important for the independent riders’ championship, but I didn’t. The crash was big and I am sorry that Marc could not finish the race. Thank you to my team, because the bike was competitive today! I did a mistake and I need to make up for it on the next two rounds.”

Pol Espargaro – DNF

“I was super-angry because I think we worked well this weekend and did a lot of laps with the tyres front and rear and we put the Soft options for the race thinking it would be OK. For some reason after six-seven laps it started to drop and I couldn’t open the throttle. After a few more laps it was dangerous to ride the bike so I had to stop. I don’t know what else to say. We made all the processes and procedures to know the tyre 100% but it looks like it can be a lottery. We’ll talk to Michelin and try to learn from this.”

MotoGP Australia Pol Espargaro — Pol Espargaro

Davide Brivio – Suzuki ECSTAR Team Manager

“This has been another very good day for our team, we took another podium, the second in a row and the third in 4 races. Andrea had a great battle with many riders and was able to finish 2nd. Because of this big battle it was hard to catch the leader, but anyway, it was a good race and we scored our 7th podium of the season. Alex finishing 5th was also very positive, Top 5 is really important to us. I really hope we can continue like this for the last two rounds of the season and thanks again to everybody involved for always working hard, especially on difficult times.”

MotoGP Australia Iannone — Andrea Iannone

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“What a thrilling and dramatic race! Maverick is always strong at the Phillip Island circuit, and he once again outdid himself in Australia today. He really deserved the victory, because he had been strong the entire weekend. It‘s a great feeling for the team to secure a win again – we have all been working so hard for this. It‘s not just us who have been waiting, but also our fans, so this is as much for them as it is for us. It was a pity that Vale wasn‘t able to join the podium, because he was showing great potential for the majority of the race. It would have been great to have him up there too. He and his crew have also been pushing to the maximum, but sixth place was really the best he could do today due to tyre wear at the end of the race. Overall this weekend has been a great moral boost, because both riders were competitive, so we‘re all looking forward to the next round, the Grand Prix of Malaysia, in just a week‘s time.”

MotoGP Australia Vinales Forcada — Maverick Vinales with crew chief Roman Forcada

Hervé Poncharal – Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager

“There are some days you wish what you see is a dream – or rather a nightmare. But unfortunately, what we saw today was reality. We had high hopes with a great Qualifying from both of our riders, Johann on the front row and Hafizh with his best ever Qualifying in 10th. The start was difficult as usual, it was a big pack as we saw in the other two classes and clearly, Johann was trying to find his way through the field after a bit hectic lap one. We could see that he was really fast and I think he wanted to use the advantage of the soft-soft choice he had made for front and rear and that was quite intense until that incident, which was unbelievable. When you see a rider going down at such a high speed – I think he touched the ground at 280 km/h – for the few seconds following the incident, you just hope nothing bad will happen. Johann had a really good reflex and although his bottom is quite sore, he was strong to walk back to the garage and be still fully fit and ready to race the next round. That was a big thing. Unfortunate for the fans and the racing overall, Marc and Johann were out of the race, which made it less exciting. So, our focus went on Hafizh, who was behind the leading group until he slowly los the contact. But he was still holding on a good eighth position and we were quite happy because although he was loosing ground he was still keeping a good pace and he crashed without any warning, without really understanding why. That was the end of our weekend. Both of our riders could have been really strong and both of them get no points, which is a big disappointment. I know you always have to keep up the ‘never-give-up-attitude’, but today it is hard, also with Remy in the Moto2 class. The only good thing is, our riders are fit, ok and we have a race next week.”

MotoGP Phillip Island Moto Wayne Remy Gardner GP AN — Remy Gardner

Mike Leitner – KTM Team Manager MotoGP

“Race conditions can be difficult here and so can tyre choice. It went quite well for Bradley and he ran where he we think we can be – between 8-10. We lost ninth position by four hundredths of a second: it was very close. A shame for Pol. He had a different tyre choice but then other riders also had that selection. In the middle of the race he had a very big drop which is not usual and he had to stop. So we need to analyse what happened. He should have also been able to fight for the top ten. We’ll go to Malaysia now and try to make it happen.”

MotoGP Australia Bradley Smith Pol Espargaro — Bradley Smith & Pol Espargaro

Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager

“Phillip Island is always a big challenge and this year was certainly no different. The strong gusting winds and cold temperatures made it difficult for everyone, but the whole Michelin team worked in a very professional and methodical way with the riders to make sure the tyres which were best suited to the conditions and riding styles were used today. Despite the challenges, the race was very exciting and it is good for Michelin to have another winner, both rider and manufacturer, and it is also pleasing to see all six manufacturers in the top-ten and three different ones on the podium. We are constantly striving to give tyres to all that they can use to the best of their abilities, so having results such as this are very rewarding. The Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix is a very big occasion on the company’s calendar and this has been another great event. We have again learned a lot about the toughest track of the year and this will enable us to come back even stronger next year.”

MotoGP Australia Michelin — Michelin at the Australian MotoGP 2018

2018 Phillip Island MotoGP Results
Pos	Rider	Team	Time
1.	Vinales M.	Movistar Yamaha	40:51.081
2.	Iannone A.	Team Suzuki Ecstar	+1.543
3.	Dovizioso A.	Ducati Team	+1.832
4.	Bautista A.	Ducati Team	+4.072
5.	Rins A.	Team Suzuki Ecstar	+5.017
6.	Rossi V.	Movistar Yamaha	+5.132
7.	Miller J.	Alma Pramac Racing	+6.756
8.	Morbidelli F.	Marc VDS Racing Team	+21.805
9.	Espargaro A.	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+22.904
10.	Smith B.	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	+22.940
11.	Abraham K.	Angel Nieto Team	+34.386
12.	Petrucci D.	Alma Pramac Racing	+35.025
13.	Redding S.	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+36.348
14.	Nakagami T.	LCR Honda	+36.389
15.	Simeon X.	Reale Avintia Racing	+44.214
16.	Luthi T.	Marc VDS Racing Team	+48.226
17.	Torres J.	Reale Avintia Racing	+1:04.965
18.	Jones M.	Angel Nieto Team	+1:19.817
DNF	Espargaro P.	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	DNF
DNF	Syahrin H.	Monster Tech 3	DNF
DNF	Pedrosa D.	Repsol Honda	DNF
DNF	Marquez M.	Repsol Honda	DNF
DNF	Zarco J.	Monster Tech 3	DNF

2018 MotoGP Championship Standings
Pos	Rider	Team	Points
1.	Marquez Marc	Repsol Honda Team	296
2.	Dovizioso Andrea	Ducati Team	210
3.	Rossi Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	195
4.	Vinales Maverick	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	180
5.	Crutchlow Cal	LCR Honda	148
6.	Petrucci Danilo	Alma Pramac Racing	137
7.	Zarco Johann	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	133
8.	Iannone Andrea	Team Suzuki Ecstar	133
9.	Lorenzo Jorge	Ducati Team	130
10.	Rins Alex	Team Suzuki Ecstar	129
11.	Bautista Alvaro	Angel Nieto Team	96
12.	Pedrosa Dani	Repsol Honda Team	95
13.	Miller Jack	Alma Pramac Racing	83
14.	Morbidelli Franco	Marc VDS Racing Team	46
15.	Espargaro Aleix	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	39
16.	Rabat Tito	Reale Avintia Racing	35
17.	Espargaro Pol	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	35
18.	Syahrin Hafizh	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	34
19.	Smith Bradley	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	29
20.	Nakagami Takaaki	LCR Honda	21
21.	Redding Scott	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	15
22.	Abraham Karel	Angel Nieto Team	10
23.	Kallio Mika	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	6
24.	Nakasuga Katsuyuki	Yamaha Factory Team	2
25.	Simeon Xavier	Reale Avintia Racing	1
26.	Pirro Michele	Ducati Team	1
27.	Luthi Thomas	Marc VDS Racing Team	0
28.	Bradl Stefan	Honda Racing Corporation	0
29.	Torres Jordi	MV Agusta Reparto Corse	0
30.	Jones Mike	Reale Avintia Racing	0
31.	Guintoli Sylvain	Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team	0
32.	Ponsson Christophe	Ponsson C.	0

2018 MotoGP Team Points
Pos	Team	Points
1.	Repsol Honda Team	391
2.	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	375
3.	Ducati Team	353
4.	Suzuki MotoGP	262
5.	Alma Pramac Racing	220
6.	LCR Honda	169
7.	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	167
8.	Angel Nieto Team	93
9.	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	64
10.	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	54
11.	Estrella Galicia 0,0	46
12.	Reale Avintia Racing	36

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP, Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Yamaha celebrate MotoGP resurgence with Vinales victory

October 28, 2018 mcnews Leave a comment

Maverick Vinales breaks win drought for Yamaha

Movistar Yamaha close in on Repsol Honda in Teams Title

The drought is over. 25 races since their last win – taken by Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) at the TT Circuit Assen last season – Yamaha were back on the top step at the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix as Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) brought an end to their losing streak in imperious style.

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team are celebrating at Phillip Island as they returned to the top step of the podium with Maverick Viñales taking a stunning win. Valentino Rossi was also a strong contender in today‘s Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, eventually crossing the line in sixth place as he struggled with tyre wear.

VIñales didn‘t have the start he had hoped for from second on the front row and slotted into tenth position after the first corners. At the end of the first lap he started to climb his way back up the ranking order, and on lap 3 he moved into eighth position. He remained there for a while, but was looking comfortable.

Drama happened with 21 laps to go, when Johann Zarco and Marc Márquez collided. Unaffected by the incident, the Factory Yamaha rider used the moment to launch his attack. He smoothly fought his way through the rider field to take the lead on lap 8. From that moment on he did exactly as he predicted yesterday: he put his head down, lapping 1‘29s laps, to break away at the front.

Towards the end of the race the Spaniard had a comfortable advantage of over four-seconds, allowing him to have a bit of a breather over the last five laps. He didn‘t put a foot wrong and secured a fantastic victory, with a 1.543s margin over his closest rival.

Maverick Vinales

Rossi was in the fight but faded to sixth

Rossi had a good start from seventh on the grid, gaining a spot on the first lap. He continued to fight in the bunched-up leading group and soon found a way past Álex Rins to take fifth. He was looking to hit the front of the pack early but got involved in a scrap with Zarco and Jack Miller, which moved him back to sixth.

MotoGP Australia Rossi Iannone Dovi — Valentino Rossi

As Zarco and Márquez touched going into turn 1 on lap 6, the fight for the lead heated up. Viñales took the number one spot on lap 8 and the Doctor was keen on following him. He wrestled for a bit with Andrea Dovizioso and initially came out victorious, so he could attempt to follow his teammate in first place, but he couldn‘t quite keep up the challenge.

A fight with Andrea Iannone cost him some valuable time, and with 12 laps to go he got swept up again in a battle consisting of five riders fighting for second place. Rossi was pushed back to fifth but wasn‘t about to give up. With 8 laps to go he made another charge, briefly reclaiming second place, only to find himself in sixth again shortly after. The Italian pushed hard and had another try in the final three laps, but still finished the race in sixth place, 5.132s from his teammate.

Today’s results see Rossi hold third position in the championship standings with a 15-point gap to second. Viñales remains in fourth place, and thanks to his splendid win he currently has a 15-point gap to his teammate.

Valentino Rossi

Yamaha holds third place in the Constructor Championship after the race in Australia, with a 44-point margin to second, while the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team remain in second position in the team standings, with now a 16-point gap to first.

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action at the Sepang International Circuit next weekend for the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix, held from November 2nd – 4th.

2018 Phillip Island MotoGP Results
Pos	Rider	Team	Time
1.	Vinales M.	Movistar Yamaha	40:51.081
2.	Iannone A.	Team Suzuki Ecstar	+1.543
3.	Dovizioso A.	Ducati Team	+1.832
4.	Bautista A.	Ducati Team	+4.072
5.	Rins A.	Team Suzuki Ecstar	+5.017
6.	Rossi V.	Movistar Yamaha	+5.132
7.	Miller J.	Alma Pramac Racing	+6.756
8.	Morbidelli F.	Marc VDS Racing Team	+21.805
9.	Espargaro A.	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+22.904
10.	Smith B.	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	+22.940
11.	Abraham K.	Angel Nieto Team	+34.386
12.	Petrucci D.	Alma Pramac Racing	+35.025
13.	Redding S.	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+36.348
14.	Nakagami T.	LCR Honda	+36.389
15.	Simeon X.	Reale Avintia Racing	+44.214
16.	Luthi T.	Marc VDS Racing Team	+48.226
17.	Torres J.	Reale Avintia Racing	+1:04.965
18.	Jones M.	Angel Nieto Team	+1:19.817
DNF	Espargaro P.	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	DNF
DNF	Syahrin H.	Monster Tech 3	DNF
DNF	Pedrosa D.	Repsol Honda	DNF
DNF	Marquez M.	Repsol Honda	DNF
DNF	Zarco J.	Monster Tech 3	DNF

MotoGP Australia MotoGP Vinales Iannone Dovi — MotoGP Race Results
Maverick Viñales (SPA) YAMAHA 40’51.081
Andrea Iannone (ITA) SUZUKI +1.543
Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) DUCATI +1.832

MotoGP Championship Points

2018 MotoGP Championship Standings
Pos	Rider	Team	Points
1.	Marquez Marc	Repsol Honda Team	296
2.	Dovizioso Andrea	Ducati Team	210
3.	Rossi Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	195
4.	Vinales Maverick	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	180
5.	Crutchlow Cal	LCR Honda	148
6.	Petrucci Danilo	Alma Pramac Racing	137
7.	Zarco Johann	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	133
8.	Iannone Andrea	Team Suzuki Ecstar	133
9.	Lorenzo Jorge	Ducati Team	130
10.	Rins Alex	Team Suzuki Ecstar	129
11.	Bautista Alvaro	Angel Nieto Team	96
12.	Pedrosa Dani	Repsol Honda Team	95
13.	Miller Jack	Alma Pramac Racing	83
14.	Morbidelli Franco	Marc VDS Racing Team	46
15.	Espargaro Aleix	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	39
16.	Rabat Tito	Reale Avintia Racing	35
17.	Espargaro Pol	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	35
18.	Syahrin Hafizh	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	34
19.	Smith Bradley	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	29
20.	Nakagami Takaaki	LCR Honda	21
21.	Redding Scott	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	15
22.	Abraham Karel	Angel Nieto Team	10
23.	Kallio Mika	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	6
24.	Nakasuga Katsuyuki	Yamaha Factory Team	2
25.	Simeon Xavier	Reale Avintia Racing	1
26.	Pirro Michele	Ducati Team	1
27.	Luthi Thomas	Marc VDS Racing Team	0
28.	Bradl Stefan	Honda Racing Corporation	0
29.	Torres Jordi	MV Agusta Reparto Corse	0
30.	Jones Mike	Reale Avintia Racing	0
31.	Guintoli Sylvain	Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team	0
32.	Ponsson Christophe	Ponsson C.	0

2018 MotoGP Team Points
Pos	Team	Points
1.	Repsol Honda Team	391
2.	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	375
3.	Ducati Team	353
4.	Suzuki MotoGP	262
5.	Alma Pramac Racing	220
6.	LCR Honda	169
7.	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	167
8.	Angel Nieto Team	93
9.	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	64
10.	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	54
11.	Estrella Galicia 0,0	46
12.	Reale Avintia Racing	36

2018 MotoGP Constructors Championship
Pos	Manufacturer	Points
1	Honda	339
2	Ducati	300
3	Yamaha	256
4	Suzuki	193
5	KTM	55
6	Aprilia	49

Source: MCNews.com.au

2019 MotoGPQatar Test – Day Two

Alex Rins – P1

Joan Mir – P11

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Ecstar Team Manager

Maverick Viñales – P2

Valentino Rossi – P19

Fabio Quartararo – P3

Franco Morbidelli – P13

Danilo Petrucci – P4

Andrea Dovizioso – P8

Jack Miller – P12

Pecco Bagnaia – P15

Marc Marquez – P5

Jorge Lorenzo – P19

Takaaki Nakagami – P9

Cal Crutchlow – P9

Aleix Espargaro – P6

Andrea Iannone – P17

Pol Espargaro – P10

Johann Zarco – P17

Miguel Oliveira – P21

Hafizh Syahrin – P23

MotoGP Qatar Test 2019Day Two Times

2019 MotoGP Sepang Test Day Two

Vinales catapults clear at the top

2019 MotoGP Sepang Test Day Two Times

Rossi & Vinales introduce 2019 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Valentino Rossi

Maverick Vinales

Massimo Meregalli – Team Director

Lin Jarvis – Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director

2019 MotoGP Calendar

MotoGP 2018 Valencia Qualifying

Moto2

Moto3

Australian MotoGP 2018

Yamaha resurgent as Vinales from Iannone, Dovi wins

Riders and Team managers talk the Phillip Island GP

Maverick Vinales – P1

Andrea Iannone – P2

Andrea Dovizioso – P3

Álvaro Bautista – P4

Alex Rins – P5

Valentino Rossi – P6

Jack Miller – P7

Franco Morbidelli – P8

Aleix Espargaro’ – P9

Bradley Smith – P10

Karel Abraham – P11

Danilo Petrucci – P12

Scott Redding – P13

Takaaki Nakagami – P14

Xavier Simeon – P15

Tom Luthi – P16

Jordi Torres – P17

Mike Jones – P18

Marc Marquez – DNF

Dani Pedrosa – DNF

Hafizh Syahrin – DNF

Johann Zarco – DNF

Pol Espargaro – DNF

Davide Brivio – Suzuki ECSTAR Team Manager

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

Hervé Poncharal – Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager

Mike Leitner – KTM Team Manager MotoGP

Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager

Maverick Vinales breaks win drought for Yamaha

Movistar Yamaha close in on Repsol Honda in Teams Title

Rossi was in the fight but faded to sixth

MotoGP Championship Points

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2019 MotoGP
Qatar Test – Day Two

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