FIM MotoGP World Championship Mugello, Italy June 2, 2013 Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 23 laps, 41:39.733 2. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), -5.400 3. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (YAMAHA), -6.412 4. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), -19.321 5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -19.540 6. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), -26.321 7. Michele PIRRO, Italy (DUCATI), -38.144 8. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (ART-Aprilia), -39.802 9. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -40.243 10. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-Kawasaki), -48.392 11. Randy DE PUNIET, France (ART-Aprilia), -48.480 12. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (SUTER-BMW), -73.708 13. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -74.601 14. Colin EDWARDS, USA (FTR-Kawasaki), -81.249 15. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (ART-Aprilia), -85.738 16. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (ART-Aprilia), -87.339 17. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-Aprilia), -87.758 18. Bryan STARING, Australia (FTR-Honda), -104.424 19. Lukas PESEK, Czech Republic (SUTER-BMW), -105.227 20. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), -3 laps, DNF, crash 21. Claudio CORTI, Italy (FTR-Kawasaki), -6 laps, DNF, retired 22. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (FTR-Kawasaki), -7 laps, DNF, retired 23. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -23 laps, DNF, crash 24. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), -23 laps, DNF, crash World Championship Point Standings (after 5 of 18 races): 1. Pedrosa, 103 points 2. Lorenzo, 91 3. Marquez, 77 4. Crutchlow, 71 5. Dovizioso, 50 6. Rossi, 47 7. Hayden, 45 8. Bautista, 38 9. Bradl, 30 10. Espargaro, 28 11. Smith, 24 12. Pirro, 22 13. Iannone, 21 14. Barbera, 13 15. De Puniet, 11 16. Ben Spies, 9 17. Petrucci, 8 18. TIE, Laverty/Edwards/Hernandez, 3 21. Abraham, 2 22. Aoyama, 1 More, from a press release issued by FIM: 2013 FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Gran Premio d’Italia TIM – Decision of the Race Direction Regarding the incident between Valentino Rossi (ITA) and Alvaro Bautista (ESP) in the MotoGP race of Mugello on 2 June. The Race Direction has reviewed the incident and held a hearing with both riders where all available evidence was reviewed. Based on this evidence the Race Direction decision is that it was a racing incident and no further action will be taken. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Pedrosa maintains Championship lead with 2nd place but Marquez crashes out The Grand Prix of Italy has seen mixed fortunes for the Repsol Honda Team. Dani Pedrosa started from pole and after a close encounter with Lorenzo in turn one, he dropped to second position. Teammate Marc Marquez had a fantastic start from 6th and managed to get to 3rd by the first corner. The three riders maintained this order for 18 laps, separated by tenths of a second in the hot Tuscan sun with Marc setting a new fastest lap of 1’47.639 on lap two. Then on lap 18, Marc passed Dani, who was suffering from lack of grip, and pushed to catch Lorenzo who had opened up a gap. With just three laps remaining, Marc unfortunately crashed out from second position in turn seven, this promoted Dani back to second and the race was decided. Dani remains at the top of the World Championship with 103 points, 12 points ahead of Lorenzo on 91 and Marc now drops to third with 77 points. Dani Pedrosa 2nd Championship Standing: 1st – 103 points “I didn’t feel fully comfortable in the race today, but I’m happy because I was able to gain a large number of points. In general, this was a difficult weekend. The back tyre was giving me a lot of problems with grip but taking 20 points from this race and maintaing the lead the World Championship is something positive” Marc Marquez DNF Championship Standing: 3rd – 77 points “Today we finished with our first DNF of the season, but after three difficult days of setbacks and hard work, I finally felt good during the race. I don’t fully understand why I crashed, as I lost both the front and the back at the same time and was unable to save it. It’s clear that we made a mistake, but we can’t go looking for excuses. We’ve looked at the telemetry and it shows that I was going at the same speed and on the same line as before but, anyway, you learn from these mistakes. We can’t forget that this is my first year in the class and I am here to learn how things are in MotoGP. In spite of everything we were still fighting for second place, which is a reason to be happy. I want to apologise to Honda and to the team, as they always support me and work so hard. Now we are turning our focus to Montmelo, and I can’t wait to race there” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Relentless Lorenzo wins at Mugello for third successive year Round 5: Italian MotoGP™ – Race Mugello, Sunday 2 June 2013 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft & Medium. Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative) Weather: Dry. Ambient 23-25°C; Track 41-44°C (Bridgestone measurement) Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo continued his affinity with the Mugello circuit, leading from the first lap to claim his third successive victory at the iconic Italian venue. Lorenzo passed pole-sitter Dani Pedrosa on the second corner of the race, and after being hounded by both Repsol Honda riders early in the race, picked up the pace on the thirteenth lap to gap his rivals and take the chequered flag by 5.4 seconds. Pedrosa inherited second place late in the race after his teammate Marc Marquez – who set a new race lap record of 1’47.639 – crashed out with three laps remaining. Finishing on the podium for the second race in a row was Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow who crossed the finish line in third place. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro continued his peerless record this season of being the top CRT finisher, coming home in eighth position. Weather conditions for today’s race were a carbon-copy of what was experienced yesterday for qualifying, with and a peak track temperature of 44°C recorded during the twenty-three lap contest. Grip levels were slightly improved from yesterday as there was no rain overnight, ensuring the rubber deposited on the track in yesterday’s sessions remained. With such similar conditions between qualifying and the race, the same tyre combination used in qualifying was again represented in the race tyre choice, with all riders selecting the softer rear slick option available to them, and all but one rider selecting the harder front slick option. Lorenzo’s second victory of the season sees him close to within twelve points of Pedrosa in the MotoGP™ World Championship standings, while Marquez’s first DNF of the year sees him twenty-eight points adrift of his teammate and third in the standings. Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “Congratulations to Jorge and Yamaha on continuing their dominance at Mugello with another victory here today. I am pleased that the crowd numbers at Mugello were up this year as it is one of the highlights of the MotoGP season, though it was a shame for the fans to have Valentino exit the race so early as I am sure he would have put in a strong performance today. Looking back over the weekend, I believe our decision to make all rear slicks for Mugello this year in our heat-resistant construction was correct, as these worked very well for both the works and CRT riders.” Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “Conditions for the race were the same as yesterday afternoon and so all the riders selected the same tyre combination that they used yesterday during FP4 and qualifying. We had no overnight rain so track conditions were the best they had been all weekend and this resulted in a very fast pace at the beginning of the race, with Marc setting a new race lap record on the second lap. I’m pleased with how our tyres performed this weekend as even though all our rear slicks this year at Mugello were in our heat-resistant special construction, we still saw new lap records in qualifying and the race.” Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing – Race Winner “I knew it was going to be a really hard race today because the weather this afternoon became much hotter than this morning. I kept trying every lap and I knew Dani was following me but after thirteen laps I pushed a little more and it seems Dani gave up at that point which made the end of the race a little easier for me.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Factory MotoGP Racing: Lorenzo Makes it Three in a Row with Masterful Mugello Victory Mugello International Circuit (Scarperia, Italy), 2nd June 2013 Jorge Lorenzo struck again at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello today, taking his third consecutive Gran Premio d’Italia victory in fine form. Starting from second position on the grid the Yamaha Factory rider wasted no time in striking, diving up the inside of leader Dani Pedrosa through turn three and taking control of the race. The reigning World Champion kept Pedrosa and Marc Marquez close behind until the halfway point, then put the hammer down, delivering a series of untouchable laps to build a gap that had grown to nearly five and a half seconds as he crossed the finish line. The race win, Lorenzo’s 25th Premier Class victory, moves him to second position in the standings on 91 points, now just 12 behind Pedrosa in front and 14 ahead of Marquez in third. Home hero Valentino Rossi’s Mugello race proved to be the nightmare opposite of his teammate’s success story. The Italian nine-time World Champion came together with Alvaro Bautista between turns two and three on the first lap, coming off at high speed and into the air fences to the disappointment of the thousands of fans present. The resulting DNF leaves Rossi in sixth position in the Championship standings on 47 points. Jorge Lorenzo 1st / 41’39.733 / 23 laps “The conditions and the circumstances were good for us and I didn’t make a mistake, I made my best performance even if the conditions were much hotter than this morning. We are still struggling so much when the conditions get hotter. Anyway the key of the race was in the middle where I improved my riding, I was able to brake later with less fuel in the tank so I was able to improve the lap time by two tenths, from this moment Dani gave up a little pace and I could get away and win the race, more or less like last year. It’s very special; I won the last three years here so this track is magic for me and very positive for Yamaha. It also reminds us to keep working on the bike as at the tracks which are not so flowing like Mugello we will struggle. I’m very happy to give this win to Yamaha Motor Racing President Shigeto Kitagawa because this was his last race here in Grand Prix, as he will retire. He has done a great job for the team in the last years and it is a big loss for us. I hope he will enjoy the different life he will have. Our president Yanagi-san is also lucky for me, I won the 2010 Championship in Malaysia when he was there on the track and again today a victory with his presence.” Valentino Rossi DNF / / laps “Unfortunately in the start I had a problem with the clutch spinning and I lost two or three positions. Then I was attacking because we had a good pace and I was fast. On the second corner I was on the outside already in front of Bautista. For me, from the inside he opened the throttle to close the line so he doesn’t lose another position but I was already in front so he came to me and took me on the boot. I was lucky because it was a bad crash and I arrived at the wall but I’m ok. We will try next week in Barcelona, but it is a pity because firstly it is Mugello and secondly I think we could have done a good race and maybe arrived on the podium.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “A great victory on a great moment in the season, it’s a very important moment. Of course it motivates Jorge a lot. He did a great job, pushing and pushing. The bike also behaved very well. He didn’t change lines at all or make a single mistake and could stop comfortably. Adding this victory we are able to close the gap and the Championship is open again.” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “A really good satisfaction to win our home race, especially the way of the win, it has been a superlative victory. Jorge led for the whole race and when he decided to push he made one second per lap to his competitors. I would like to congratulate Jorge, and all the team staff; they did a great job this weekend. It is a great pity for Vale because he had an accident that for sure was not his fault. To finish the race after only two corners is a real pity, you work hard all weekend and then for an accident you compromise everything. We were expecting a different result but anyway this is part of racing and we have to accept it. We are looking forward to Barcelona where the target is to close as much as possible the gap in the standings to our competitors.” More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics ASpar Team: ALEIX ESPARGARÓ TAKES BEST RESULT OF THE SEASON POWER ELECTRONICS rider places eighth at Mugello, repeating the best ever result for a CRT competitor. Randy De Puniet finishes eleventh The hills of Mugello were packed on Sunday for their annual installment of MotoGP action. The track has seen many memorable moments in its history, and did so again today. Jorge Lorenzo’s overtake on Dani Pedrosa on the second corner was one, as was the crash between Álvaro Bautista and Valentino Rossi which eliminated the home rider from proceedings at Turn 3. Lorenzo broke away on lap twelve and took victory after 23 laps, whilst behind him Pedrosa and Marc Marquez had diced for second. Marquez crashed out after moving ahead of his teammate, and Cal Crutchlow was thus thrust into third place alongside the two Spaniards. Aleix Espargaró cut a happy figure as he got off his bike, relieved with how the Italian Grand Prix developed. The Spaniard was once again the fastest CRT rider, and by some distance. He needed to race his second bike after his main machine failed to start for the formation lap. After staving off the initial nerves, the POWER ELECTRONICS rider undertook a brilliant race, after a good start. He rodeo n his own for most of the contest, finishing in eighth place and crossing the line just 39 seconds behind the race winner. The race position was the joint best ever for a CRT in MotoGP, along with his own result from last year at Sepang. Randy De Puniet began the day with a crash in the morning warmup session, which affected his plans. The Frenchman lost confidence with his front end, but was able to take his bike home in eleventh. 8th Aleix Espargaró: “When you finish a Grand Prix weekend, there are some races that you like more than others. I think today, along with Jerez, has been the best of the season so far. When I went out for the formation lap my bike would not start, which made me very nervous because I had to race with my second bike. Thankfully, Jorge was able to help calm me down. I started very well and saw that my pace was similar to that of Bradl and Hayden, which gave me a boost. I gradually upped my pace and managed to cross the line just 39 seconds behind the winner. I think that is a praiseworthy return at this circuit, which is very long. I pushed very hard throughout the race, and whilst the tyres allowed it I could set some 1’49s -although from lap 10 onwards I had to drop the pace slightly. I never tire of repeating that I’m very happy with this team, I’ve spent two seasons at POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar and it is a team that is professional but like a family. This is the basis of all our successes. I think we are near the limit of this bike, so we will continue working to see how much further we can go with it.” 11th Randy De Puniet:”This morningin the warmup session I suffered a heavy crash after losing the front -and without knowing why I went down. That made me lose feel when cornering. I started the race with great caution, not wanting to crash again. It was hard to turn the bike in, I had no feeling with the front and had to ride gently to avoid any nasty surprises. It was a shame, because throughout the weekend I had felt quite comfortable. Now we will look at the telemetry to see where our weaknesses have been. I am convinced that it must be something insignificant, but today it really hindered us. Fortunately, despite riding with caution we achieved a very positive result.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRADL REPEATS HIS STORNG PERFORMANCE GETTING THE 4th PLACE AT MUGELLO Mugello, 2 June: Stefan Bradl and his Team enjoyed another special weekend at the crowded Mugello circuit thanks to the excellent 23-lap race conducted by the German riding the RC213V. Bradl’s ride was simply astonishing as he started in the middle of the second row and kept the vastly experienced Andrea Dovizioso behind him, lap after lap. “Repeating the 4th place of last year is a very special feeling for me and the Team. Actually I am happy about the job we have done throughout the whole weekend but the race was a bit tough. Honestly I did not take a brilliant start losing some positions and after that I had to overtake the Ducati guys. It was not easy to relegate them behind me and I knew that Dovi would have tried to pass me in the last lap. He is a strong rider and I really enjoyed the battle with him. I must thank the whole Team and our partners and fans for their excellent job and support because I know this a special race for Lucio and his collaborators”. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo won a dramatic Gran Premio d’Italia TIM for the third successive year, leading home MotoGP™ championship leader Dani Pedrosa and Britain’s Cal Crutchlow, whilst local hero Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and Alvaro Bautista all crashed out of the race. Whilst Lorenzo made the perfect start by passing Repsol Honda Team’s Pedrosa in the first turn, Yamaha’s Rossi and GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista came together in the fourth corner of lap 1, putting an end to both their races, and shocking the yellow-clad home crowd. They fortunately walked away unscathed, and whilst both were disappointed and clearly annoyed, Race Direction deemed it was no one’s fault and declared it a racing incident. Back in the race, Pedrosa remained with Lorenzo until just past half distance, when small errors for two laps in a row allowed his teammate Marquez to attack, while Lorenzo put the hammer down, lapping at the highest pace of the race to pull out a healthy buffer. Pedrosa kept Marquez at bay until the 20-year-old went past on the inside of Savelli curve on the 19th lap. Marquez’s hard work was quickly undone in exactly the same place just two laps later, as an unforced error resulted in a fourth crash in three days. It was also the end of his bid to become the first rookie in MotoGP history to claim five rostrum finishes at the start of his premier class career. Marquez’s crash allowed Pedrosa to retake second place as Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Crutchlow made the podium for the second time in two weeks, becoming the first British rider since 1987 to take back-to-back podium finishes. Stefan Bradl delivered a mature ride to fourth place to equal his career-best result for LCR Honda MotoGP, which had coincidently been achieved at the same race last year. Ducati Team filled positions five to seven, with Dovizioso eventually winning a battle with teammate Nicky Hayden while Michele Pirro raced the GP13 Lab bike to just behind the factory pair. Aleix Espargaro carried his Power Electronics Aspar CRT bike to its best result yet in eighth spot, with Tech 3’s Bradley Smith achieving ninth despite being in immense pain with an injured wrist and finger. Hector Barbera completed the top ten for Avintia Blusens. Moto2 Scott Redding has become the first British rider to win successive races in the intermediate class since 1971, taking the Moto2™ chequered flag at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM in Mugello on Sunday. The Marc VDS Racing Team rider extends his championship lead to 43 points over second-placed finisher Nico Terol, as Johann Zarco completed the podium. On Saturday, Redding – who won his first Moto2 race last time out in France – celebrated pole position, starting in front of Japan’s Takaaki Nakagami as Germany’s Marcel Schrotter placed himself on the front row for the first time. Nakagami took the lead off the start line, but a decisive move from Redding saw the Gloucestershire rider slide through at Poggio Seco on the fourth lap. Nakagami, struggling under braking, immediately began to drop back and crashed out of the race at Scarperia on Lap 9 – this marked his second fall in as many Grands Prix. As Redding began to stretch out a healthy advantage over Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2’s Terol and Came IodaRacing Project’s Zarco, Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro set about the task of damage limitation. From tenth on the grid, the pre-season title favourite made significant progress in the second half of the race. Aided by contact between Alex de Angelis and Xavier Simeon, which put the Belgian out of the race, Espargaro stole his final position of fourth from Mika Kallio just two laps from home. Marc VDS’ Kallio would round out the top five, leading home Aspar’s Jordi Torres after an entertaining duel. Seventh-placed Simone Corsi on the NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up was the leading Italian rider from aforementioned teammate De Angelis, as Tom Luthi and Dominique Aegerter ended quiet weekends in the final two top ten positions for Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing and Technomag carXpert, respectively. Schrotter would finish 12th from third on the grid, whereas Tuenti’s Esteve Rabat – who had been the championship leader after Jerez – made a mistake and finished 13th. Six riders did not make the finish, including Indonesian duo Rafid Topan Sucipto and Doni Tata Pradita as the former fell and collected the latter at the first corner. Moto3 Luis Salom has claimed his second Moto3™ win of 2013 following a multiple-rider battle for victory in the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM in Mugello. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider pulled out a small advantage on the final lap to lead home Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins and Team Calvo’s Maverick Viñales, who retains his championship lead. Having won the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, Salom was yet to finish off the podium this year and has therefore maintained his impressive run. He went third on the opening lap and, with a handful to go, could be seen making the most of his KTM power to pull in front of the pack on the start/finish straight. The crucial moment came three laps from home, as Rins’ teammate Alex Marquez allowed Salom to pull out enough of a gap to hold the advantage, by the time Rins and Viñales re-joined the top three group. Rins, having bogged down slightly at the start, was nonetheless delighted with second place from third on the grid. Viñales led at half distance, having dispatched with Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 pole-sitter Jonas Folger on Lap 4 before heading up a thrilling lead group of six riders. Behind, another multi-rider cluster was contesting positions eighth and downwards, and on several occasions up to six men could be seen riding side-by-side on the drag down to first corner San Donato. Oliveira celebrated his best result of the season so far to finish fourth for Mahindra Racing from Marquez, both of whom enjoyed sizeable amounts of time in the lead. Folger ultimately finished sixth, whilst the top ten was completed by GO&FUN Gresini Moto3’s Niccolo Antonelli, Avant Tecno’s Niklas Ajo, Aspar’s Eric Granado and Caretta Technology – RTG’s Jack Miller. Five riders failed to make the finish of today’s race, including Romano Fenati, who flew over the front of his San Carlo Team Italia bike following contact with RW Racing GP’s Jasper Iwema, while Redox RW Racing GP’s Jakub Kornfeil and Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Matteo Ferrari were left highly frustrated to have ended up in the gravel trap of the final corner on the last lap. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Hayden, Dovizioso fifth and sixth at Ducati Team’s home GP, Pirro seventh As many enthusiastic supporters looked on from the Ducati Grandstand, both Ducati Team riders posted their best dry results of the year today at Mugello, with Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden riding their Desmosedici GP13 machines to fifth and sixth places, respectively, in the TIM Italian Grand Prix. The teammates started from rows one and three respectively, and after avoiding a first-lap crash involving two other riders, they found themselves battling one another, along with Stefan Bradl, in a fight for fifth place that lasted much of the race. The German got the better of that struggle, but after Marc Marquez fell near the end, Dovizioso and Hayden took the fifth and sixth spots. The Ducati Team racers were followed by Ducati Test Team rider Michele Pirro. Participating as a wildcard entry, the Italian advanced steadily through the pack from his 10th-place starting spot. His eventual seventh-place finishing position was his best result of the year so far, and the second-best of his premier-class career. Thursday and Friday will find the Ducati riders back on track at the Mugello circuit for a private test, in preparation for the Catalan Grand Prix in two weeks’ time. Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team, 5th “In terms of gap to the front and finish position, this is the best result that we could realistically expect. It was a really tough race, like always at Mugello. I gritted my teeth to try and stay with Bradl until the end, and I had a nice battle with Nicky. Unfortunately, I lost the fight with Bradl on the last lap, but it was fun—we passed each other four times! In the practice sessions, we’re able to do good times, but I think that fifth place at Mugello is the best we can do with our current package, so we still have a lot of work to do.” Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team, 6th “I had struggled with grip this weekend, but the team did a really good job of making the bike better in the race, and with some other people’s misfortune, I was able to fight for the top five. In the end, to end up sixth isn’t fantastic, but I had a good battle with Bradl and Dovi. They’re both good guys to race with, so it was fun, but then in the last two laps I developed a lot of chatter and had to back off.” Michele Pirro – Ducati Test Team, 7th “First of all, I must try to eliminate some mistakes, particularly one that has hurt me in all three of the races I’ve done so far: poor starts. I’m losing positions, and it’s my fault. Unfortunately, I lost my rear seat pad on the second lap, so I had to adapt to the new riding position. It was quite difficult because I had to work hard with my arms and legs to keep my weight forward. I also lost time with Iannone because we passed each other three times, which affected my race. I’m sorry because I’m sure I could have stayed closer to Andrea and Nicky and learned from them.” Bernhard Gobmeier – Ducati Corse General Manager “Our goal today was to be top five, which we achieved. Of course there were some crashes, but it shows that we can fight with the second group. Right now it’s clear that it will be very difficult to fight for the podium, as the bikes and riders ahead of us are extremely competitive. Both of our riders had a similar pace for the whole race, and although we know that we must improve our technical package, we’re pleased by Michele Pirro’s race on the laboratory bike, as he did good lap times in the latter stages of the race. In any case, we’re happy to have started from the front row for the second-straight race weekend, which shows that our bike can be quite fast for one quick lap.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: Race day got off to a good start for Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team rider Andrea Iannone. He had a good pace during this morning’s warm-up, shaving almost five-tenths from his best time he from yesterday’s FP3. Changes to the setup had given the Italian more control, allowing him to keep up with the small lead group. Everything changed in the race, however. In the first part of the race, Andrea struggled hard to stay in the top ten, wrestling with an unexpected problem with the rear of his bike that slowed his pace and caused him to run wide at the San Donato corner on lap thirteen. Iannone re-joined the race in nineteenth place and began to mount a comeback, and he recovered six positions to end up thirteenth. The Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team will return to action at the Catalan GP in two weeks. Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team “Right from the start, I was having lots of problems with rear grip—so much so that I considered stopping after the first four laps, as the situation was really weird. I’ve never felt the slide the rear so much for no reason. I hadn’t had this problem throughout the entire weekend, and not even this morning in the warm-up. After returning to the pit at the end of the race, we immediately checked the telemetry, and you can clearly see that compared to this morning, there was no grip. I was struggling every time I braked and coming out of all the corners, even when I backed off the throttle. At the moment, we really have no idea what the problem is, but we kept the same setting as this morning, when I had a good pace. The only thing we changed before lining up on the starting grid was the tyres, so for now, if we analyse how the bike was behaving, that’s all we can think of. Now Ducati is going to work together with Bridgestone to try and get a handle on what happened. Obviously, all I can say is that it was a major disappointment; after the warm-up, I was happy; we had a good pace to have a good race and stay close enough to Hayden and Dovizioso, but it just didn’t turn out that way. Now we’re thinking about Barcelona, another track that I really like.” Francesco Guidotti – Team Manager Pramac Racing Team “This morning we had found a good setting, and we thought we had overcome many of the problems Andrea was having. We were confident that we’d have a good race, but instead, Andrea ended up fighting with a slippery tyre that was really unusual. Now we have to check the data very closely, but Bridgestone will also definitely have to check the tyre, because there was such a huge difference compared to this morning that wasn’t connected with any particular technical cause.” More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing: Edwards in the points and Corti constrained to retire at Mugello The NGM Mobile Forward Racing Team’s home race at Mugello comes to an end with Colin Edwards in fourteenth position and Claudio Corti constrained to retire. The American rider manages to take points for the second time this season with the FTR – Kawasaki bike after a very intense race. The team decided to make considerable modifications to the bike during the warm up that turned out to be very good during the race but Edwards still feel the bike is missing power on exiting the corners. Italian rider Claudio Corti was not able to cross the finish line at Mugello due to problems with the electronics of the bike, as the traction control stopped working seven laps before the end of the race. Very unlucky day for the Italian rider during his home race, as while he was in fourteenth position a bee stung him, causing him considerable pain throughout the rest of the race. Both riders and the team look forward to the Montmelo GP that will take place in two weeks time in Barcelona and set as their goal to have both riders in the points. Colin Edwards “I thought I had a pretty good start and a few laps in Claudio got by me on the straight. Sat behind him for a few laps knowing that we both could go a little bit quicker. Got behind him and pushed as hard as I could, got passed him, passed Laverty and then Hernandez, it was a hard race. We loose out to the pop off the corner, I would like to be able to let go more of the brake because following some of these guys and seeing how they can just roll through while sometimes I have to keep load on the front. Today was kind of strange, normally we would run a setting all weekend and run minor changes on Sunday morning but we tried a completely new length and swing arm that we were going pretty good all weekend on, it was definitely better for sure. We are constantly testing at every race. Thanks to all the guys in the team they have worked very hard.” Claudio Corti “It is a real shame to finish the home race in the pits, it really wasn’t the scenario that I had in mind. During the warm up the bike seemed to be working all right but it wasn’t the case during the race. During the first laps I thought I was fast, I overtook Colin and Laverty and thought I was doing relatively well. After a few laps Colin overtook me. While riding behind him I could see that his bike did not slide as much as mine, making me want to use the traction control a bit more but after a few laps the traction control stopped working. As the tank was getting emptier it became harder to ride the bike. The problems with the electronics almost made me crash twice and decided to retire to prevent a serious crash. I didn’t see the need to take such a risk to finish the race in eighteenth place. We will analyze the data and do what its necessary to be ready for Barcelona.” Sergio Verbena, MotoGP Technical Director “In the end we have obtained the best race result of the season with Colin finishing in the fourteenth place taking two points this weekend. We have had some difficulties to find the right setting during for this weekend but we are satisfied of the work we have done. Our goal will be to be in the points at every race as we have done today. On the other hand Claudio was not so fortunate and had several problems during the weekend: the traction control stopped working during the race, he almost crashed twice and decided to enter the pits. We have to understand what has happened. We are sorry for Claudio because he was riding alongside Colin during most of the race and could have been in the points. We will see what happens in Barcelona.” More, from a press release issued by Avintia Blusens Racing: Great race of Héctor Barberá who finishes in top ten and second among the CRT Aoyama, sore due to yesterday?s falls, is unable to end the race Mugello, 2 June 2013. Very good performance of Héctor Barberá and the Avintia Blusens team at the GP of Mugello in the MotoGP class. Barberá did a good start and placed himself ahead of De Puniet and his very fast official Aprilia. After a few laps, a group was formed, led by the prototypes of Smith and Iannone, De Puniet, Héctor himself and Petrucci. Héctor kept the pace of the fastest riders and fought until the last lap, finally crossing the finishing line in a fantastic tenth position and being the second CRT. Only the prototype bikes and one of the official Aprilia of CRT were stronger than Barberá, who managed to put a significant distance between himself and the rest of CRTs. Heads and tails for the Avintia Blusens riders, because Hiroshi Aoyama -despite the bruises caused by Saturday?s falls, he wanted to be present on the starting grid for the GP- was unable to end the race. Due to the severe pain in his left knee and hand, and the loss of strength in his legs, he was advised to enter pit-boxes before, trying to be on the track, he could suffer another fall with worse consequences. 8 Héctor Barberá (10th, +48.392): We have done a good GP and I am happy. It is the best result I have got racing with this bike and we have finished in top ten, so it has to be viewed favourably. I say again that I am happy, satisfied and very grateful to the team for the work they are doing. However, I hold a grudge of not being able to win yet despite a great race. We are making progress, the team gives 200%, but we are fighting against a factory and that is very complicated. It is clear that we do things well because we are far ahead of the other CRTs, with the exception of the two official bikes, and this proves that the Avintia Blusens team is very competitive but, for the moment, winning is difficult for us. At Montmeló I hope that there will be less engine differences and we will be able to be protagonists again. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama (NC): I was very sore but I have started the race because I wanted to try to finish the GP. Finally it has not been possible because the knee and the hand bothered me a lot. In the morning I have been on painkillers to reduce the pain of my knee and this has allowed me to do a few laps, but then I have started to lose strength in the legs and I could hardly hold the bike. It has been a very tough situation because at the end I could not keep the line and I have decided to stop in order to prevent from suffering another crash. Tomorrow I will have a medical check-up and I will try to rest to arrive at Montmeló in the best possible conditions. More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Crutchlow storms to majestic Mugello podium Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow stormed to a second successive podium in 2013 after a fantastic late attack in today’s Italian MotoGP race was rewarded with a richly deserved third position. The British rider quickly seized fourth position from former Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate Andrea Dovizioso on the second lap, but leading trio Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez had already established a lead of over one second. Crutchlow showed tremendous fighting spirit and blistering speed in the second half of the 23-lap race to superbly cut into a big advantage held by Pedrosa and Marquez, who were locked in an exciting battle for second. The 27-year-old’s stunning charge paid off when Marquez was unfortunate to tumble out of second with just three laps remaining, just as Crutchlow was sizing up an attack on Pedrosa. With a brilliant third place secured to follow up his career best second in Le Mans last time out, Crutchlow called off his pursuit of Pedrosa to collect 16 priceless World Championship points that consolidated his fourth position in the rankings. Award for the bravest and most courageous ride of the day went to outstanding rookie Bradley Smith, who demonstrated amazing determination to bounce back from two heavy crashes ahead of the fifth round of the Championship. Nursing a nasty left hand injury after a heavy fall in Friday’s FP2, Smith suffered another bruising crash during this morning’s warm-up session. Way below his peak physical condition, it seems nothing can knock the 22-year-old’s confidence and he showed he has desire and determination to match his talent by riding his YZR-M1 machine to a heroic top 10. Smith, who will undergo skin graft surgery in San Marino to repair damage to his left little finger tomorrow (Monday), finished in ninth position and he will now begin a period of rest and recuperation to be in the best physical condition for the next race in Catalunya. Cal Crutchlow 4th – 71 points “I am really happy to be back on the podium because Mugello is one of the blue riband races on the calendar and that makes it feel a bit more special. It is an awesome result and I have to pay a big tribute to my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew who did an incredible job this weekend. I’ve not felt comfortable on the bike but today they gave me a package that was really competitive. In the second half of the race I was really strong and consistent and I could see for the last 10 laps I had the pace that was bringing me closer to Dani and Marc. I was in a really fast and consistent rhythm but I hate to be gifted a podium like that. I’m sorry Marc crashed because he was doing an amazing job again but to be honest I felt I could have caught Dani and taken third anyway. When I saw Marc crash I slowed down to not risk losing a second podium in a row, which is a fantastic achievement for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and me. I’m fourth in the Championship, top non-factory rider again, so it has been another great way to finish the weekend and continue our very strong start to the season.” Bradley Smith 9th – 24 points “To be honest ninth position was obviously a really good result considering the circumstances of today. This morning’s crash was the last thing I needed, so to be able to go the whole race distance with just one mistake was positive for me. I had a lot of problems with my left hand as well as with my wrist and it was magnified with Mugello being such physically demanding track. So I believe I did a really good job. It would have been good to beat (Aleix) Espargaro at the end but considering the whole weekend I should be satisfied with another top 10 result. After a very difficult weekend for my body I just need to rest as much as I can to put me in the best possible condition for Barcelona. We still learned a lot during these tough days, especially from the big crashes, but I suppose that’s all part of the game on my way to becoming a better MotoGP rider.” Herve Poncharal – Team Manager “Today ended a great weekend again for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. The dry weather helped us a lot after some concerns about rain and to see Cal on the podium again is a great achievement for everybody. His podium in Le Mans was amazing but to see him on the podium in Mugello is very special because he used to have a lot of problems here and he has struggled quite a lot. This shows how much he has improved and his charge in the second part of the race was very exciting and without a small problem at the start when he got tangled with Andrea I am sure he could have been fighting for second. He has proved he is fast in all conditions and definitely Cal is a podium contender every weekend. He is fourth in the World Championship and he recovered some points on Valentino and Marc and we are very happy tonight. Bradley started very strong and we knew this track was going to be special for him because he loves it and it was a pity to see him crashing and hurting his hand. But he showed incredible motivation and he was defying intense pain that most of us can’t understand in the race. Two very big crashes made it a difficult weekend but he was very strong and he got faster and faster and he set the eighth fastest time of the race, so big congratulations to him and I am very proud of my British pair.” More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing: Abraham took one point in an exciting race in Mugello Karel Abraham took one point for the overall MotoGP championship standings in this weekend’s race in Mugello, Italy. The Czech rider was twentieth on the grid and was overtaken by a few riders earlier in the race. He eventually managed to get in front of three riders and he even overtook, after a long and exciting chase, Yonny Hernandez on an identical ART bike. Abraham eventually finished fifteenth after Marc Márquez had crashed and fell. Karel Abraham: “Every point counts and the final result is not bad. Of course, the only reason why I have one point is that three riders in front of me crashed and fell. There is no point in analysing what could have been, but I would have preferred to collect points in full competition. I caused most of my problems after a bad start because many riders managed to get in front of me. It was very hard to make it up by trying to overtake them during the race. It cost a lot of effort. By that time, several riders I could have raced with had gained some advantage. I was nearly out of strength during the last seven laps, thinking I was seventeenth. Nevertheless I did what I could and still had time to overtake Hernandez. It was good enough for fifteenth place thanks to Márquez’s fall.” Marco Grana, Chief Mechanic, Cardion AB Motoracing “I can’t say it is a good result, but it is not bad either. We have one point, which means our goal has been achieved. However, we could have had more, considering the circumstances, but since Karel is ill, it is a decent result. We need to do better in the qualifying sessions of the upcoming events. With a better position on the grid, the chance for top twelve is much bigger. The bike worked well and I am confident we will be prepared for the Barcelona race. Our goal is to finish in top 15 in the qualifying session and make the best out of it in the race itself.”