FIM MotoGP World Championship Silverstone Circuit, England September 1, 2013 Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 20 laps, 40:52.515 2. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), -0.081 second 3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), -1.551 seconds 4. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -13.233 5. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), -13.298 6. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), -20.227 7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (YAMAHA), -26.299 8. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), -35.993 9. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -36.119 10. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (ART-Aprilia), -53.196 11. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -59.058 12. Michele PIRRO, Italy (DUCATI), -60.710 13. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-Kawasaki), -61.690 14. Colin EDWARDS, USA (FTR-Kawasaki), -61.843 15. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (IODA/SUTER-BMW), -68.833 16. Randy DE PUNIET, France (ART-Aprilia), -69.063 17. Claudio CORTI, Italy (FTR-Kawasaki), -76.474 18. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (FTR-Kawasaki), -76.535 19. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-Aprilia), -92.057 20. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (ART-Aprilia), -96.224 21. Bryan STARING, Australia (FTR HONDA), -120.635 22. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -2 laps, DNF, crash 23. Lukas PESEK, Czech Republic (IODA/SUTER-BMW), -19 laps, DNF, crash World Championship Point Standings (after 12 of 18 races): 1. Marquez, 233 points 2. Pedrosa, 203 3. Lorenzo, 194 4. Rossi, 156 5. Crutchlow, 136 6. Bradl, 113 7. Bautista, 103 8. Dovizioso, 96 9. Hayden, 88 10. Espargaro, 68 11. Smith, 66 12. Pirro, 44 13. Iannone, 41 14. TIE, Edwards/Barbera, 27 16. Petrucci, 22 17. De Puniet, 20 18. Ben Spies, 9 19. TIE, Corti/Hernandez, 7 21. TIE, Alex De Angelis/Karel Abraham, 5 23. Aoyama, 4 24. Laverty, 3 25. Staring, 2 26. Javier Del Amor, 1 More, from a press release issued by FIM: FIM Announcement Decision of the Race Direction Notification of Sanction On 1st September, 2013 during MotoGP™ Warm Up session of the Hertz British Grand Prix, rider Marc Marquez (93) was riding in a section of the circuit where waved yellow flags were displayed due to an earlier accident. He continued at racing speed and did not slow down and be prepared to stop as required by the regulations. His subsequent crash at the same point as the previous accident seriously endangered the rider being attended and the marshals in the accident zone. This is an infringement of Article 1.22.2 of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations. A Race Direction hearing was held at Silverstone on 1st September 2013 and the decision of the Race Direction is to impose two penalty points on the 2013 season total of the MotoGP rider number 93 Marc Marquez. No appeal has been lodged. The decision of the Race Direction is final. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Repsol Honda celebrate seventh double podium in Silverstone Today marked the 200th race in the MotoGP class, since it was introduced in 2002, and Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have taken another double podium finish with 2nd and 3rd places. It was a difficult start to the day when in warm up Championship leader Marc Marquez had a nasty fall and dislocated his left shoulder. Fortunately, the young rookie was able to receive medical treatment and was declared fit to race. To add insult to injury, during the incident, Marc did not see the yellow caution flags being displayed and as a result Race Direction imposed two “penalty points” on Marc’s record – which does not affect his Championship points. Starting from 1st and 5th respectively, Marc and Dani both dropped a position by the first corner with Lorenzo taking the lead. Dani then began to make up ground first passing Bautista and then Rossi on lap two, and Bradl on lap three. He chased down the leaders Lorenzo and Marc and set a new fastest race lap on lap six with 2’01.941. The three title contenders then rode in perfect formation with nothing separating them. On lap thirteen, Marc attempted a pass on Lorenzo which he was unable to complete, then on lap eighteen he passed Lorenzo again and briefly led the race before being re-passed on lap nineteen with just one lap remaining. Marc fought to the end but was unable to attempt another pass and settled for 2nd, just 0.081s behind Lorenzo with Dani completing the podium lineup. With his second place finish in Silverstone Marc has set a new record of the most podium finishes by a rookie in the premier-class (Valentino Rossi scored ten in 2000). He maintains his lead in the Championship with 233 points, and becomes the rider with the most points scored in his rookie season (Dani Pedrosa scored 215 points in 2006), with six races stil l remaining. It also marks his 50th podium finish which at the age of 20 years 196 days makes him the youngest rider to reach a half century of grand prix podium finishes, taking the record from Dani Pedrosa who was 21 years 162 days old when he stood on a GP podium for the 50th time. Dani remains second in the Championship with 203 points, 9 points ahead of Lorenzo. Marc Marquez 2nd Championship Standing: 1st – 233 points “I’m very happy with how things went today. This morning when my shoulder popped out I thought that my weekend was over, but the doctors were able to put it back in place quickly and that allowed me to be up there at the front, fighting with Jorge. I didn’t feel much pain, because I received an injection to dull the pain, but I was lacking strength and was feeling tired by the end. Despite all this, I was able to battle all the way until the final corner with Jorge, who eventually emerged victorious today. Congratulations to him! For me these 20 points are like a win!” Dani Pedrosa 3rd Championship Standing: 2nd – 203 points “I’m disappointed with the result today. I rode well but got a bad start and conceded a lot of seconds on the opening two laps, so I had to really push in order to recover ground. I gradually caught up with Marc and Jorge, but I wore my tyres out in the process and at the end of the race I lacked grip on the right-hand corners. I tried to calm down and slow my pace in order to lower the tyre temperature, although finally I wasn’t able to match their performance. That meant that when I attempted to pass the bike slid out a lot and I was unable to really get involved in the fight for the win. I will have to give it another go at Misano” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: Hazy skies and lower temperatures than the previous two days greeted the twenty-four MotoGP riders at the Silverstone Circuit for the final day of the British Grand Prix, which was marked by a high number of crashes. Ignite Pramac Racing Team rider Michele Pirro picked up four positions immediately after the start before riding to a twelfth-place finish, despite what had been an unfortunate start to his day. Shortly after the start of the morning warm-up session, he had suffered a fall in turn eight, but fortunately he was uninjured apart from some bruising and swelling that was promptly treated at the Mobile Clinic. The fall had been caused by a lack of grip, the low temperatures, and a small bump. The championship’s next stop will be on 15 September at Misano, where Pirro will return to the more familiar Desmosedici GP13 Lab, with which he hopes to find the right feeling and move up some positions in the results. Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing Team “This morning I felt good with the bike so it’s a shame that things went as they did. I had found a good feeling but I had an unexpected fall. I had to use the second bike for the race, and with the different settings and the lost confidence following this morning’s crash, I had a slower pace again. Fortunately, from mid-race on, I moved up some positions and found a good rhythm. Thanks a lot to the team for preparing the bike for the race; I hope to do much better at Misano.” More, from another press release issued by Pramac Racing: Hazy skies and lower temperatures than the previous two days greeted the twenty-four MotoGP riders at the Silverstone Circuit for the final day of the British Grand Prix. Taking advantage of an explosive start that gained him five positions on the first lap, moving him closer to the Ducati Team riders, Andrea Iannone rode in defense for the entire race. The Italian completed the twenty-lap contest with a well-deserved eleventh-place finish and recorded a 2:03.986 lap that was his best of the weekend. Having entrusted himself to the treatment of the Mobile Clinic staff in order to relieve the pain in his injured right shoulder, the Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team rider will now take advantage of a short and well-deserved break before the next round, which will take place in Misano on Sunday, 15 September. Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team “This has been a really tough weekend. I always tried to do my best but it wasn’t easy. I was always pretty far from the leaders, but also from my fellow Ducati riders. For sure the biggest problem at the moment is that my shoulder really hurts. For almost a month now I’ve been taking so many medicines and painkillers that I’m not sure they’re having an effect. I’m not happy with how it went but I know I did my best all the time. Now I’ll take advantage of the short rest period before Misano. I’ll work a lot with my physical therapist to regain strength and mobility in my shoulder. I hope to be at least at 80 or 90% in Misano because I’d like to be fit in front of my home crowd.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Factory MotoGP Team: Lorenzo Shines with Stunning Silverstone Victory Silverstone (Great Britain), 31st August 2013 Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo delivered a stunning performance today to take victory in the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit. The defending world champion made another lightening race start this afternoon, flying from second on the grid to take the hole shot into turn one ahead of arch rival Marc Marquez. Although unable to break away, Lorenzo executed an unbroken string of inch perfect laps to maintain the lead until just three laps from the end when Marquez attempted to take control of the race. His lead was not to last as Lorenzo fought back a lap later to regain the lead, beginning a battle which was to last to the last corner as the two exchanged places in the fight for the lead. It was Lorenzo who emerged victorious, making the definitive move just two corners from the end and holding the tighter line into the last turn to cross the line victorious and claim his fourth win of the season. Team mate Valentino Rossi made an excellent start from sixth on the grid, initially jumping three places to slot in behind Marquez in third position. Still struggling to find an optimum set up for the first few race laps, the nine-time world champion then slipped back to sixth before mounting his fight back. With 12 laps to go Rossi was swapping positions in a close fight with German rider Stefan Bradl, emerging the victor two laps later and then hunting down Alvaro Bautista in fourth. The battle with Bautista was to begin with just three laps remaining and continue to the finish line, Rossi’s race craft eventually giving him the upper hand and earning him fourth place at the flag. The results bring Lorenzo five points closer to the championship leader Marquez, the point difference now 39 as Lorenzo sits on 194, just nine points behind Pedrosa in second. Rossi continues in fourth in the standings, now on 156 points and building the gap to Cal Crutchlow in fifth to 20 points. The next Grand Prix takes place in two weeks time, the San Marino Grand Prix on 15th September. Jorge Lorenzo 1st / 40’52.515 / 20 laps “This was one of the best races I’ve ever had. I’m really happy and really pleased. It’s a very important win. I pushed from the beginning to try and open a gap, even more than in recent races but it was impossible. Marc never gives up, even if he’s a little bit injured after the warm up. He overtook me three laps from the end so I studied him a little for one lap and I saw he was struggling in some braking so I overtook him on the corner where he crashed. I pushed in the last lap to the maximum, I opened a little gap but I made a mistake in braking and almost crashed. When he overtook me three corners from the end I thought it was over again and second place but then he opened a little gap in the last corner so I thought “now or never” and I tried and got it. To be honest I’m not thinking about the championship, I’m thinking just to enjoy this victory which was very special to get then focus on Misano!” Profile Profile Valentino Rossi 4th / +13.233 / 20 laps “For me this result is a bit more positive than in Brno. Every time I come here I have a bad result, this time we worked in a different and better way. The fourth place is better than in Brno, but it is still a fourth place. Unfortunately I made a good start but in the first laps the other guys between the second and seventh lap were a lot faster than me, but the second half of the race was not so bad. We will continue to work hard, we never give up and are not so far now. We have a constant pace and we are nearly there but we need to go a bit faster, we still have to work to improve our pace. We made a modification between warm up and the race that gave me a better feeling with the front.” Yamaha Factory Racing Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “It was fantastic to see the final race from the triple in a row go our way. It was hard to fight for so many laps in the lead and every time get third, but this race he rode like an animal! He gave his best and the last lap was amazing, he deserved this victory. The team worked very hard to prepare the bike he finally raced with. We improved in the braking zone and I think working and listening together we were able to give him what he deserved today.” Yamaha Factory Racing Massimo Meregalli Team Director “Even though it was a really hard and tough race Jorge still won it. I think he did a great and fantastic job. We put a lot of effort into this weekend and he put in a lot of effort too so we could beat our competitors in an incredible last lap. It has been a really nice race to watch. We knew that Silverstone was going to be a good circuit for us and we are really happy to leave here with this big win. We have taken back a lot of positive spirit and we are looking forward to Misano. I want to say a big thank you to the guys who made this possible and we will keep pushing as the target of the Championship is still there. It’s been another challenging race for Valentino but nevertheless he was able to get a good fourth place. Now we head to Misano, Valentino’s home race, and we will again do our outmost to give him the best possible bike to fight for the podium.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo the victor in fantastic last-lap battle at Silverstone Round 12: British MotoGP™ – Race Silverstone, Sunday 1 September 2013 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft & Medium. Rear: Soft, Medium-soft & Medium (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative) Weather: Dry. Ambient 18-19°C; Track 30-32°C (Bridgestone measurement) Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo rode one of the races of his career to win a thrilling British Grand Prix at Silverstone by the narrowest of margins over Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez. Lorenzo got a great start from second on the grid to lead into the first corner and was closely followed by Marquez throughout the race, with the battle heating up in the closing stages of the race. After swapping position numerous times in the final two laps, Lorenzo managed to squeeze past Marquez at Luffield on the final lap and powered away to take the chequered flag a mere 0.081 seconds ahead of Marquez. On the other Repsol Honda, Dani Pedrosa took third place having a set a Circuit Record Lap time of 2’01.941 on lap six. The first CRT rider across the finish line today was Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro, the Spaniard crossing the finish line in tenth place to secure his seventh top-ten finish of the year. The dry and mild conditions continued today with a peak track temperature of 32°C recorded during the race. The fine weather resulted in today’s contest being the quickest overall MotoGP™ race at Silverstone, the average pace being over one second quicker per lap than last year. Another outcome of the consistent weather was that many different tyre strategies were used for the race, with all slick tyre specifications being utilised. The majority of riders preferred the softer slick, although eight riders – including the top four finishers – selected the harder rear slick option. Front tyre choice showed a strong trend towards the harder front slick, with sixteen of the twenty-three riders selecting this option. Lorenzo’s fourth win of the year helps the reigning MotoGP™ champion close the gap to Marquez in the standings to thirty-nine points, while by finishing ahead of his teammate at Silverstone, Marquez extends his lead over Pedrosa to thirty points with six rounds remaining. Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “Congratulations to Jorge and Yamaha for their fantastic victory at Silverstone today; that was one of the most exciting races I have witnessed with so much happening throughout the field! We were all waiting to see who would rise to challenge Marc’s recent run of victories and Jorge put in perhaps his greatest ever performance to show us all why he is the reigning champion, although Marc’s performance after injuring himself in Warm Up was also very impressive. It was wonderful to finally have fine weather all weekend at Silverstone and this not only allowed us to have great action during qualifying and the race, it provided a great atmosphere in the many other activities happening around Silverstone. Apart from supporting the teams and riders on track, we also supported Riders for Health on the Day of Champions and also entertained fans at our display booth in the vending zone. Overall, this was a busy, yet successful weekend for Bridgestone.” Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “It was most welcome that we had dry weather again today as all the setup work and tyre evaluation done by the teams was put to good use for the race. As expected there were a lot of different tyre combinations used today and overall tyre performance was very good, with a quick pace from the beginning of the race and a new race lap record being set. The race pace was over a second quicker than last year and the lap times were also quite consistent over the twenty-lap race. Silverstone was a good race for us and a great way to end a busy period of three back-to-back races.” Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing – Race Winner “I’m really happy as today was one of the best races of my career and it was very emotional. I tried to open a gap at the beginning, pushing even harder than in previous races but it was impossible to get a gap over Marc as he never gives up. I could see some areas in the final laps where I was stronger so I pushed to the maximum and when I saw a gap in the final corner I knew it was no or never, so I had to make the pass. ” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRADL HOLDS 6TH POSITION IN THE STANDING AFTER SILVERSTONE 6TH PLACE Silverstone, 1 September: the twelfth round of the season was held in dry and warm conditions today at Silverstone circuit with the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl ending the 20-lap race in 6th place. The 23-year-old made another strong start from the 4th spot on the grid thanks to his impressive achievement in yesterday’s qualifying. After some laps up in the pack, Bradl could not take advantage of the battle in the front for the remaining laps as he was struggling with edge grip like happened in Brno. Stefan Bradl I feel like we had the same race of Brno last week because we were facing the same problems. We struggled on the edge of the tyre and no drive out of the corners and this is a bit disappointing for me because I am really strong on braking. We have to analyze why we can do a better speed in the practices on used tyres and not in the race. Of course we expected a better placement today but there’s no time to complain now: we must work harder to find a solution ahead Misano GP”. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: British GP: Hayden eighth, crash for Dovizioso at Silverstone Today’s British Grand Prix—the final race in a busy MotoGP tripleheader that lasted almost the entire month of August—was a thrilling affair that featured several exciting battles, including a race-long tussle over eighth place involving Ducati Team riders Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso, as well as Bradley Smith. Ultimately, it was the American who secured the position at the finish, whereas Dovizioso suffered an unfortunate fall just two laps from the end. Dovizioso and Hayden had started from opposite ends of the third row and were ninth and tenth, respectively, at the completion of lap one. The teammates traded positions on a couple of occasions, and on lap seventeen of twenty, the Italian moved by Smith to take over eighth place, only to lose the front end two laps later and crash out. Hayden took advantage and also passed Smith before crossing the finish line in eighth place. The MotoGP riders now get a well-deserved weekend off before returning to the track for the GP di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini on 15 September. Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team, 8th “I was going fast in the warm-up this morning but I had a high-speed crash that really beat up the bike. I had to use the other bike in the race, but even though it had an older engine, it worked fine and I had a good battle with Bradley and Dovi. I had hoped before the race that we could really do something better than that, but I think eighth place was about the maximum that was possible today. The team is really working hard, and they improved the bike a bit for today. We’ll keep rolling and try to do a step forward.” Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team, NC “It’s really a shame about the crash because I had a good strategy and Nicky and I had tried hard to stay with Smith for the whole race. We managed it until near the end. I was trying to put a small gap on them before the last corner, but I lost the front end in turn twelve, a spot where I really wasn’t expecting it. I was quite fast there, and I felt safe. I don’t think I made a big mistake; maybe I was just going a bit faster than normal, but as we’re always riding at the limit, the front closed and I went down. I’m really disappointed because I could’ve had eighth place, which we knew was the maximum that we could do this weekend. I lost some points in the championship, and I’m very sorry for the team.” Paolo Ciabatti – Ducati MotoGP Project Director “Today both Nicky and Andrea gave it their all as they fought for eighth place, and it’s really a shame that Dovi crashed a couple of laps from the end. At the moment, this seems to be our potential, but we’ll continue trying hard to improve the bike’s performance ahead of the Misano round in two weeks. The test team will be back on track at Mugello on Wednesday morning with Michele Pirro and Franco Battaini, and our development work continues without pause.” More, from a press release issued by Silverstone Circuit: Silverstone celebrates record crowds at ‘sensational’ British Grand Prix – Record 159,006 attendance over three days A record crowd of 73,456 was at Silverstone on Sunday for a ‘sensational’ 2013 Hertz British Grand Prix. British rider Scott Redding won his Moto2™ race in front of the passionate home crowd, while reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo claimed victory in the headline MotoGP™ race, after a breathtaking battle with championship leader Marc Marquez. Following bumper attendances of 53,250 for Qualifying on Saturday and 32,300 for Practice on Friday, the 159,006 three-day crowd was the highest in almost 20 years and a record in the MotoGP era. Britain’s Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith finished seventh and ninth respectively in MotoGP; Crutchlow racing with a badly injured arm after a heavy fall on Saturday. Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, said: “We’ve seen record crowds over the three days here at Silverstone and have been treated to some sensational racing. Scott Redding rode a phenomenal race to win in Moto2 and it was fantastic to see a British rider on the top step of the podium. The MotoGP race was also a real thriller between Lorenzo and Marquez. We’ve had fantastic weather and the fans’ support has been tremendous all weekend. They’ve really played their part in making this year’s British Grand Prix one of the best in years.” Race winner Scott Redding, who extended his lead at the top of the Moto2 World Championship, said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better day than today; quickest in Warm Up, led 90% of the race and then went on to get the victory in front of my home crowd. I’ve had an amazing reception here this weekend and I’ve enjoyed every second of it. I’m pleased to have signed the MotoGP deal and for that to be out there, but firstly I need to try and wrap up this year’s World Title.” Marking 10 years since the passing of the late, great Barry Sheene, Silverstone also hosted a well-received Tribute Parade to honour one of Britain’s most popular and successful motorcycle racers. Taking place between the Moto2 and MotoGP™ races on Sunday, the Parade featured several of Barry’s family, former teammates and rivals, riding a selection of the bikes that the two-time World Champion rode during an illustrious career. The riders included Sheene’s son Freddie, brother-in-law Paul Smart, nephew Scott Smart, former teammate Steve Parrish, Niall MacKenzie and his son, Taylor MacKenzie. Friend and on-track rival, Randy Mamola, also supported the tribute, as did Barry’s daughter, Sidonie Sheene. Tickets for the 2014 British Grand Prix are now on sale at advance prices, via www.silverstone.co.uk. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Jorge Lorenzo has returned to winning ways in a highly dramatic Hertz British Grand Prix at Silverstone, beating championship leader Marc Marquez by less than one tenth of a second. Dani Pedrosa completed the podium as home favourite Cal Crutchlow struggled to seventh place. On Saturday, Marquez had clinched his third pole position in five race meetings but further participation was put in doubt when he dislocated his left shoulder by crashing in Sunday morning Warm-Up. After being given the green light in the circuit Medical Centre, the 20-year-old Repsol Honda Team rider headed up the front row from Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo and Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Crutchlow. Critically for Lorenzo, the Mallorcan made another strong start and dived into the lead at Copse corner. In a near repeat performance to Brno last weekend, he would proceed to resolutely defend from both Repsol Honda Team riders. Marquez then seized the advantage at Brooklands just over two laps from home, only for Lorenzo to retake the lead as he confidently out-braked his opponent at Vale. On the final lap, Marquez again grabbed the advantage at Brooklands, before Lorenzo re-passed in a confident move at Luffield, which featured slight contract between the two bikes. The leading duo crossed the finish line separated by just 81 thousandths of a second, meaning Silverstone continues a pattern from Brno of witnessing the closest finish of the season so far. Struggling for rear grip, Pedrosa was a further one and a half seconds behind, having been unable to take advantage of the battling pair in front of him. In fourth spot was Rossi who, having dropped back after his strong start, had become involved in yet another entertaining battle with GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, while LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl finished in sixth place. Having missed his home race in 2011 before starting at the back in 2012, Cal Crutchlow had hoped for a much stronger Silverstone weekend in 2013. He crashed twice on Saturday and again in Sunday’s Warm-Up, then paid the price for a poor getaway as the Tech3 rider plummeted from third to sixth at the start. He would fall back to his eventual finishing position of seventh when the charging Bautista – who had lined up eighth on the grid – overtook at the end of Lap 1. Crutchlow’s teammate Bradley Smith again found himself dicing with the pair of Ducati Team riders, but was ultimately taken advantage of by Nicky Hayden for eighth place. Smith would end the day ninth, while Andrea Dovizioso crashed out on the penultimate tour. The Italian joined second-lap faller Lukas Pesek (Came IodaRacing Project) on the sidelines, promoting Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro into the top ten despite a broken finger and injured neck after a Saturday crash; he therefore led home the CRT riders as PBM’s Michael Laverty ended his maiden home race in 19th position, ahead of Colombian teammate Yonny Hernandez. Following the race, it was announced that Marquez has been given two Penalty Points under the new system due to not slowing down under the yellow flags in the morning Warm-Up. This also happened to be the moment that saw him crash at the same turn as Cal Crutchlow. Not to be confused with Championship Points, the penalty system was introduced in 2013, under which Up to 10 penalty points can be imposed, with sanctions applied at certain thresholds. Any rider reaching four penalty points starts the next race from the back of the grid, while seven points lead to a pit lane start and 10 points a race ban. With the triple-header of Indianapolis, Brno and Silverstone now over, MotoGP™ returns in two weekends’ time with the GP Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini from Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. With six events remaining in 2013, debutant Marquez carries an advantage of 30 points over Pedrosa, with Sunday’s winner Lorenzo now trailing the championship leader by 39 points. Moto2 Moto2™ championship leader Scott Redding has won his home Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Marc VDS Racing Team rider, who took the lead off the start line, was assisted in the closing stages as a tight battled raged for second place. Pole-sitter Takaaki Nakagami and Tom Luthi completed the podium. On Saturday, Japan’s Nakagami had claimed his second pole position within the space of a week, but it was Redding who seized the lead as the red lights went out. Critically for the English rider, much fighting over the remaining rostrum places would prove a decisive element in his first home victory since 2008, when he had claimed a career-first win in the 125 class at Donington Park. A race-long duel between Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team) and Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing) featured various changes of position, not least on the last lap when the duo swapped places at Vale and Club corners before battling deep into the Brooklands complex. The Japanese would finish ahead of the Swiss, with Tuenti HP 40’s Tito Rabat and Technomag carXpert’s Dominique Aegerter in close attendance. Redding’s teammate and Brno winner Mika Kallio was sixth. Sunday was a difficult affair for title contender Pol Espargaro. Following a crash at the start of the Warm-Up session, the Tuenti HP 40 rider started sixth on the grid but lost ground in the early stages of the race – falling to as low as 11th. He fought back up to eighth behind Came IodaRacing Project’s Johann Zarco, but crucially loses a further 17 points in his championship fight with Redding. Six races remain in 2013. Three riders failed to finish. Argiñano & Gines Racing’s Alberto Moncayo was an early faller, while British wildcard Gino Rea (Gino Rea Montaze Broz Racing, fracturing the fourth metacarpus of his right hand) and Xavier Simeon (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team) crashed across the final pair of laps. At JiR Moto2, Australian Jason O’Halloran finished 25th as he replaced France’s Mike di Meglio, injured at Brno last weekend, while both Blusens Avintia’s Dani Rivas and Argiñano & Gines Racing’s Steven Odendaal missed the race following a multiple collision at the end of the morning Warm-Up. Moto2 continues in two weekends’ time, with the GP Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Scott Redding – who has become the first Briton to win an intermediate class race in his home country since Tom Herron triumphed at the Isle of Man TT in 1976 – will head to Italy with a 38-point championship advantage over Pol Espargaro. Moto3 Luis Salom has extended his Moto3™ championship lead with a second consecutive victory, beating Alex Rins by just 49 thousandths of a second in the Hertz British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Alex Marquez rounded out the rostrum while pole-sitter Maverick Viñales just failed to establish a new podium finishes record. Silverstone marked the end of the triple-header, which had first taken the championship to Indianapolis and Brno; with this in mind, many were keen to sign off with victory ahead of a two-week break until the next race. Salom started as he meant to continue by shooting into the lead from third on the grid. Before the 17 laps were completed, however, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider would exchange positions on various occasions with Team Calvo’s Viñales and Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Rins, with Rins’ teammate Marquez also very much in the battle. Salom would confirm his sixth win of the season by less than half a tenth of a second, with second-placed Rins having had to defend as well as attack on the final tour. Marquez’s top three result was his second in three races, while in fourth Viñales finished off the podium for the first time this year; in the process, he just misses out on becoming the first rider in history to claim 11 successive podium finishes from the start of a season in the lower class of the World Championship. The top six was completed by Mahindra Racing’s Miguel Oliveira and Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger, while Britain’s John McPhee (Caretta Technology – RTG) scored two points in his home Grand Prix, finishing 14th. Four riders failed to see the chequered flag, including La Fonte Tascaracing’s Alessandro Tonucci who was involved in a high-speed Woodcote collision with Aspar’s Eric Granado in the closing stages of the races. The first pair of retirements were CIP Moto3’s Juanfran Guevara and teammate Alan Techer, both out of the race in a first-lap collision at Vale with Racing Steps Foundation KRP’s Wayne Ryan. Zulfahmi Khairuddin, teammate to Salom, recovered to 20th place after being forced to start from the pit lane following technical problems on the grid. Salom’s championship lead over Viñales is now 26 points, with Rins a further seven behind. Moto3™ continues at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with the GP Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini taking place in two weeks’ time. More, from a press release issued by Avintia Blusens MotoGP Team: Deserved second CRT position for Héctor Barberá at the GP of Silverstone Aoyama, on a difficult weekend, finishes eighteenth Silverstone, 1 September 2013. Good race of the Avintia Blusens rider, Héctor Barberá, at the GP of Great Britain. Starting from the fifth row he rode on the first two laps between the sixteenth and seventeenth position to place himself among the top fifteen about the fourth lap. With great pace and an aggressive riding style, Héctor placed himself as third CRT and fought with Edwards with whom he maintained a nice duel until both crossed the finishing line separated by a bit more than a tenth in favour of the Avintia Blusens rider. Barberá achieved the points of the thirteenth position and he was level on points with the American rider in the second place of the category classification. At Silverstone the rider from Valencia returned to the line of the good results obtained in the last races before the summer break. It was not an easy GP for Hiroshi Aoyama. The Japanese rider did not manage to feel at ease with his bike during the weekend despite having done a good number of tests and tried different settings. However, in the warm-up he had a better feeling that allowed him to face the race with another perspective. Although the eighteenth position he got is not the place Hiroshi wants to be, it was positive taking into account the difficulties of the weekend. 8 Héctor Barberá: (13th, +1.01.690): In Brno I had a fall and I could not do the race but I already said that we were strong and here we have been able to prove it. We have done a good race, I have had good pace and we have finished second in CRT. Here we were a bit more tense because before the summer break we had obtained good results and on the other hand in the last races things had not gone so well. The team has done a great job, during the practice sessions we have been improving step by step and that has allowed us to do a good race today. We have to continue making progress because the advantage that we had with the teams similar to us has been reduced, as for example with Colin’s team, and now they push us a lot. In a few days we go to Misano where I have always been very good and I hope to continue being in luck. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama: (18th, +1.16.535): It has been a quite difficult weekend for me from the beginning. We have been trying different configurations but we have not obtained the results we wanted. I have not managed to have the good feeling of the last races and that has prevented me from being more competitive. Today in the race I have had more feeling with the bike and, although it has not been easy and the result is not spectacular, I consider it as positive given all the problems we have had during this weekend. Now we must draw conclusions from what has happened and improve for the next race. More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Courageous Crutchlow ends bruising British Grand Prix in seventh Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow showed tremendous determination and desire in this afternoon’s British Grand Prix, the home crowd hero racing to a seventh place finish in front of a record attendance at Silverstone. British teammate Bradley Smith also demonstrated his battling qualities in the 20-lap race to secure ninth position, which was his eighth top 10 finish in 12 appearances on Yamaha’s YZR-M1 machine. Almost 74,000 British fans were cheering when Crutchlow kick off the race in a decent way from the front row of the grid. But riding in considerable pain and discomfort after three high-speed crashes in the build-up to today’s action, the 27-year-old was unable to keep himself in contention for the top six, despite producing yet another performance that typifies his fighting spirit and never-give-up attitude. After defying the pain, Crutchlow still got a rapturous reception from his loyal home crowd, who were appreciative of his efforts to claim a 10th top 10 finish of the season. Smith kept his challenge for a top 10 position in the overall World Championship standings on course after he was narrowly beaten to eighth place in the closing stages. The 22-year-old attacked from the off and brilliantly kept Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso at bay until four laps from the end. Relegated to ninth, Smith mounted a relentless pursuit of American Hayden in the final stages but he couldn’t find a way through and the chequered flag saw him less than 0.2s behind the 2006 MotoGP World Champion. Cal Crutchlow 7th 136 points : “Honestly I’m pleased the weekend is over and at least we finished the race. It certainly wasn’t the easiest race I have ever done and it is disappointing that I couldn’t challenge. But after the crashes I just had no power at all in my right arm and I was also lacking grip at the start when the tyres were cold. Unfortunately that is what happens when you crash three times in a weekend. I didn’t give myself enough time to get laps under the belt to set the bike up properly. The only positive we can take away is that we have been faster than last year. But it’s definitely less than what I hoped for when we arrived at the track on Wednesday. Congratulations though to Jorge, Marc and Dani because they put on an incredible show today and had fantastic speed. I’d have loved to be up there with them and now I’m just looking forward to a few quiet days at home before we go to Misano where I hope to fighting closer to the front again.” Bradley Smith 9th – 66 points : “I was very pleased with my start and we decided to race with the softer rear tyre option, as we were lacking a bit of grip during the whole weekend. I wanted the sun to come out but unfortunately the temperatures remained cold and after just three laps we already knew that the race would be difficult one. Probably the hard tyre would have been the right choice but we did not have enough time to evaluate it yesterday. We did what we could and even if I didn’t want to finish behind Nicky, I decided it was safer the finish the race after Andrea crashed out just in front of me. All in all it has been a tough weekend but riding in front of nearly 75.000 British here today has been an incredible feeling.” Herve Poncharal – Team Manager : “I would like to say I’m happy it’s over because it has been a really tough weekend for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. This is a special weekend for both Cal and Bradley and the motivation to do well is maybe sometimes a bit too big. But it seems that Cal has some bad luck here every year. We were hoping after the qualifying that he could fight for the podium but the crash this morning in qualifying did not help to build up his confidence. I believe he was just riding to see the finish line and I’m glad he scored some points and finished the weekend in positive fashion. I really want to thank Cal also this weekend for his bravery. He was pushing all the weekend and he never give up after some big crashes. Bradley also had a strong weekend. Again for nearly the whole race he was battling with Andrea and Nicky and he managed to stay in front of them for many laps, which is not an easy task considering how experienced they are. I’m happy both of them finished their home race and we can prepare for the next challenge in Misano after a very tough period in the Championship.” More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing: Top 15 for Edwards at Silverstone The Hertz British Grand Prix comes to and end at the Silverstone circuit with NGM Mobile Forward Racing riders Colin Edwards and Claudio Corti finishing in 14th and 18th place respectively. For the fifth time in a row Colin Edwards finishes in the points but after yesterday’s best qualifying CRT result, the Texas Tornado expected to stay closer to Espargaro in the fight for best CRT at Silverstone. Edwards had a good start and was able to have a good pace but after the eighth lap he seemed to have lost the side grip making it hard for him to carry the same corner speed at which point it became really hard for him to maintain a good pace. He will be working with his team in order to find a way to have consistent traction on flat tracks. Teammate Claudio Corti wanted to provide the team with a good result at Silverstone after not being able to finish the race last week. A collision that took him to the local hospital in Brno and from which he believes he was not fully recovered from. Corti admits that he didn’t find the ideal setting for his FTR – Kawasaki bike for Silverstone. The Italian rider is now looking forward to Misano and getting back to work. Colin Edwards “The race didn’t go exactly as we planned. Had a good start, saw Espargaro, who was obviously going to be my race of the day. I could see him but I just could not hold the same pace. I was doing 2´04.9, 2´04.6 and everything seemed to work okay, until about eight laps in the tire went away quite a bit, making me lose a bunch of drive and side grip. Couldn’t carry the same corner speed that we had previously and honestly we hadn’t done a lot of laps on the hard tire. When it started to fall apart I struggled to maintain the pace. I could see Iannone and Barbera, they were just right there but just couldn’t do anything with them. We need to figure out how to get some consistent traction on flat tracks like this; we have a couple of ideas already to work on for Misano. Thanks to all my guys, they worked very hard this weekend. The positive thing is we got top CRT in qualifying again but I am ready to get it for the race.” Claudio Corti “This weekend did not go as planned. I was hoping that after the Brno race and my stay at the hospital after the crash I would do better. There have been a series of factors that have not allowed me to find the ideal setting for my bike and I am probably still not 100% recovered from the incident. I am really sorry because I was really looking forward to racing here at Silverstone, its one of my favorite tracks. I finished the race very close to the points. We go to Misano for the next round well aware that we have a lot of work ahead of us.” Sergio Verbena, MotoGP Technical Director “We are partially satisfied with today’s results: for the fifth race in a row we have been able to finish in the points with Colin but taking into consideration the results from the last two races and yesterday’s qualifying result we were expecting to do a little better. Right after the first few laps Colin started to feel a lack of grip and was forced to continue the race with this problem. Up until that point his feeling with the bike was good, making it possible for him to stay with Barbera and Pirro, still the grip problem constrained him to slow down his lap times in order to finish the race. Claudio was able to recover after the Brno crash and overcome some of the technical problems had this weekend. He managed to do a good race and leave behind some of the other CRTs. The goal was to have both riders in the Top15 this weekend but we will continue working in order to help both riders to have a better second half of the race.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: 2013 FIM MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 World Championships Round 12, British Grand Prix, Silverstone Race day, Sunday, 1 September 2013 Weather: sunny Temperature: Ambient 18 degrees C / Track 29 degrees C HONDA’S HEROIC MARQUEZ TAKES SECOND; PEDROSA THIRD Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) starred in a thrilling British Grand Prix at Silverstone today, finishing a tantalisingly close second and third, behind winner and fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). Marquez took the lead twice in the last three laps, making his final bid for victory with three corners to go. He made it through, but Lorenzo dived inside at the next turn and held him off in the fast dash through Woodcote to cross the line just 0.081 seconds in front. Pedrosa was a further 1.4 seconds back at the flag, having been right with his fellow Spaniards in the final stages after coming through from a sluggish start. It was a miraculous ride from Marquez, who crashed at high speed in this morning’s warm-up session, dislocating his left shoulder. After treatment at the Clinica Mobile he was passed fit to ride, although he needed painkilling pills and injections. The 20-year-old rookie and World Championship leader started the 20-lap race from pole position, aiming to continue his record-breaking spree with a fifth consecutive win. And he so nearly did it. Watched by a record 73,000 race-day crowd, Lorenzo jumped into the lead from the start, Marquez shadowing him all the way while Pedrosa fought through from fifth on the first lap, setting a new lap record in the process. Lap after lap, Marquez stayed right with the reigning World Champion. He made his first pass towards the end of lap 18 of 20, going underneath Lorenzo at the tight Brooklands left-hander. Half a lap later Lorenzo out-braked the youngster into Vale to regain the lead. It stayed that way until the pair attacked Brooklands for the final time, Marquez repeating his earlier move. He made it stick, but after making a tight entry into the subsequent Luffield right-hander, he lost some grip and drifted just wide enough for Lorenzo to sneak through on the inside. Marquez’s result was his 11th podium finish from his first 12 MotoGP races. With six races remaining he leads Pedrosa by 30 points and Lorenzo by 39. Pedrosa had a great race after a difficult qualifying session yesterday, when he was fifth fastest. He knew he needed a great start if he was to challenge the leaders, but he didn’t get one. Nonetheless he kept his head and quickly started passing riders ahead of him. By lap four he was into third place with a clear track ahead of him, which allowed him to quickly close on the leaders, establishing that new lap record in the process. However, his red-hot pace had taken the best from his tyres and on the last lap he made a minor mistake which lost him the chance to attack those in front. Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) had a strong ride to fifth, enjoying an exciting duel with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), the pair swapping fourth place on several occasions during the final few laps. Finally Rossi got the upper hand, passing the chequered flag just 0.065 seconds ahead of the Spaniard. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) expected better than his sixth place finish. The former Moto2 World Champion struggled with a lack of edge grip and corner-exit drive, which prevented him from challenging closer to the front of the pack. Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) had a difficult race. He had a numb hand for much of the 20 laps – probably as a result of his crash during practice – and could do little more than just make it to the finish. Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) scored an important home win in the Honda-powered Moto2 series, triumphing after a tense and race-long battle with pole-sitter Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) and Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Suter). The Briton’s third win of the year puts him 38 points ahead of Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) who could only manage eighth place. Redding – who only days ago announced that he will join Fausto Gresini’s Honda MotoGP squad for the next two years – led most of the race but he had to fight all the way. Nakagami put a great pass on him at The Loop on lap ten, but then lost the lead a few laps later at Village. That was the break Redding needed because while Nakagami and Luthi fought over second place, he was able to get away out front. Nakagami crossed the line a second down after swapping places several times with Luthi on the last lap. It was his third second-place finish in succession. Luthi finished just behind the Japanese ace, with Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) closing up on them in the final stages after setting a new lap record. This was Luthi’s second consecutive third-place result. Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter) was fifth, less than a second behind Rabat. Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) had a mostly lonely ride to sixth, with Johann Zarco (Came Ioda Racing Project Suter) leading the next group, just ahead of Espargaro, Simone Corsi (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up) and Mattia Pasini (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up). Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda) put in a typically determined performance in the Moto3 race battling in the thick of the second group, in the race, won by Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo). He looked to have secured sixth place when Jonas Folger (KTM) squeezed past on the run to the finish line. Miller ended the race just sixth thousandths of a second behind the German. Also in the group was Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda), who swapped places with Miller, Folger and Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra). After saving his rear tyre mid-race, the Frenchman fought back to the front of the group, but then missed a couple of gears braking into Vale on the last lap, which let the other three come past. He crossed the line in eighth place, two tenths behind Miller. Isaac Vinales (Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda) was in the midst of the third group. He finished 11th, just ahead of Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda), Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini FTR Honda) and local John McPhee (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda). The MotoGP circus now heads back to the Continent, for the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano on September 15. Honda MotoGP rider quotes Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 2nd “I’m very happy with how things went today. This morning when my shoulder popped out I thought that my weekend was over, but the doctors were able to put it back in place quickly and that allowed me to be up there at the front, fighting with Jorge. I didn’t feel much pain, because I received an injection to dull the pain, but I was lacking strength and feeling tired by the end. Despite all this, I was able to battle all the way until the final corner with Jorge, who eventually emerged victorious today. Congratulations to him! For me these 20 points are like a win!” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd “I’m disappointed with the result today. I rode well but got a bad start and conceded a lot of seconds in the opening two laps, so I had to really push in order to recover ground. I gradually caught up with Marc and Jorge, but I wore my tyres out in the process and at the end of the race I lacked grip in the right-hand corners. I tried to calm down and slow my pace in order to lower the tyre temperature, although finally I wasn’t able to match their performance. That meant that when I attempted to pass, the bike slid out a lot and I was unable to really get involved in the fight for the win. I will have to give it another go at Misano.” Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 5th “Unfortunately once again I have had to concede to Valentino but we had a lot of fun out there. The last lap was really nice because we overtook each other several times but unfortunately I couldn’t make it stick and he beat me by just 0.065 seconds! That’s a shame but I am happy anyway because I have improved my feeling with the bike again here, we were able to make up a lot of ground at the start of the race and confirm our recent good form again. We just need to take another little step to be even more competitive but it is coming. Hopefully we can have another nice race in the next Grand Prix at Misano, the team’s home race.” Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 6th “I feel like we had the same race we had at Brno last week because we were facing the same problems. We struggled on the edge of the tyre, with no drive out of the corners and this is a bit disappointing for me because I am really strong on braking. We have to analyse why we can do a better speed in the practice on used tyres and not in the race. Of course we expected a better result today but there’s no time to complain now. We must work harder to find a solution for Misano GP.” Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 21st “My hand went numb after just three laps of the race today and I just couldn’t keep the pace up. I’m sure it was a result of my crash yesterday. I was really struggling but I was determined to make it to the end of the race so I kept pushing. We have fallen short of our objectives here but I couldn’t do much more today.” Moto2 rider quotes Scott Redding, Marc VDS Racing Team: race winner “I had pressure here, but also a lot of support, which made me want to win even more. I’ve worked really hard here to be consistent and it worked. The fans were going crazy on the slowdown lap and that gave me goose-bumps. I rode as hard as I could and worked to open a gap, but then one lap the bike jumped out of sixth and went down to second at the next corner – I thought I was down. When Nakagami ran wide and I retook the lead I knew it was time to go.” Takaaki Nakagami, Italtrans Racing Team: 2nd “I try my best, my 200 per cent, all race. Scott had a very good pace, so it was difficult to follow, especially T1 and T2. In T3 and T4 I was faster than the other guys, but it was difficult to overtake because my top speed was not so good, so it was difficult to attack in the braking area. And the end of the race I tried so hard to catch Scott because I was fighting with Luthi. My congratulations to Scott, he rode a great race.” Thomas Luthi, Interwetten Paddock: 3rd “It’s a good feeling to be back at the front and to fight for the victory. The team has worked hard after we missed some preseason testing and the first races [due to injury], so let’s say we are almost fully back; not to win, but at least to fight for the win. When we crossed the line at first I wasn’t so happy, but I enjoyed the race and I’m happy with the podium.” Honda Moto3 Rider quotes Jack Miller, Caretta Technology – RTG: 7th “We got pipped at the line, but it was a good fight and we were top Honda again, so I’m happy with that. The race could’ve been better – I got stuck in a group and although I think I could’ve gone faster, whenever I tried to break away I got passed on the straights. This time we did manage to save the rear tyre for all the race, which was good.” Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold: 8th “I got a good start and was in a fast group, fighting together all through the race. During the mid-stages I stayed at the back of the group to conserve my rear tyre, then with five laps to go I started to push again. I made it all the way to the front of the group for the start of the last lap, but then I made a mistake going into Vale. I arrived at the corner in third gear instead of first, so the three other guys all passed me. Fifth was our place today, so we did very well, apart from that one mistake.” Isaac Vinales, Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta: 11th “The result wasn’t what I wanted – we were hoping for better after I qualified in the top eight. It was a tough race in a big group, with many overtakes. I tried my best and tried so hard to get to the front of the group, so I could finish in the top ten. It didn’t quite happen, so we must keep focused and try again at Misano.”