FIM MotoGP World Championship
Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina
April 27, 2014
Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires):
1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 25 laps, 41:39.821
2. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), -1.837 seconds
3. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), -3.201
4. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -4.898
5. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), -15.029
6. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -19.447, Open
7. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -24.192
8. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), -29.118
9. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -33.673, Open
10. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), -43.279, Open
11. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), -43.352, Open
12. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), -44.819, Open
13. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), -45.178, Open
14. Scott REDDING, UK ( HONDA), -48.656, Open
15. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (FORWARD YAMAHA), -52.250, Open
16. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-KAWASAKI), -53.505, Open
17. Michele PIRRO, Italy (DUCATI), -53.669, Open
18. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-APRILIA), -56.570, Open
19. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (FTR-KAWASAKI), -63.140, Open
20. Colin EDWARDS, USA (FORWARD YAMAHA), -65.760, Open
21. Broc PARKES, Australia (PBM-APRILIA), -76.722, Open
22. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), -25 laps, DNF, crash
23. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (ART-APRILIA), -25 laps, DNF, crash
World Championship Point Standings (after 3 of 18 races):
1. Marquez, 75 points
2. Pedrosa, 56
3. Rossi, 41
4. Dovizioso, 34
5. Iannone, 25
6. Bradl, 24
7. Lorenzo, 22
8. Aleix Espargaro, 21
9. Smith, 20
10. TIE, Pol Espargaro/Hayden, 18
12. Aoyama, 15
13. TIE, Redding/Hernandez, 11
15. Cal Crutchlow, 10
16. Abraham, 8
17. Edwards, 7
18. Petrucci, 2
19. TIE, Barbera/Parkes, 1
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Marquez continues flawless start to 2014 leading home second successive Repsol Honda 1-2
2013 World Champion Marc Marquez has enjoyed another fantastic race weekend taking victory from pole position. He has become the first rider since Valentino Rossi in 2001 to win the opening three premier class races of the season, and all from pole – a feat not matched since Giacomo Agostini back in 1971
Teammate Dani Pedrosa capped the amazing weekend for the Repsol Honda team with his second place finish at the Red Bull Argentina GP, and has now finished on the podium at the last seven MotoGP races – his longest sequence of successive podium finishes since 2012. He now moves ahead of Alex Barros, into third place, on the top ten list of all-time point scorers in the premier class. (1st Rossi – 3884, 2nd Doohan – 2298, 3rd Pedrosa – 2092, 4th Barros – 2079).
It was a difficult start for Marc and Dani, who were 1st and 2nd on the grid respectively, slipping to 2nd and 5th by turn one. The early stages of the 25 lap race were filled with drama as riders passed and ran wide and Marc dropped back to 6th with Dani 7th by lap three. As the race began to find its rhythm, so did Marc and Dani, and they started to move through the traffic. By lap five Marc was up to 2nd behind Lorenzo but Dani was still amongst the pack. However, he overtook four riders and by lap nine was up to 3rd behind Lorenzo and Marc.
Marc was content to sit behind Lorenzo for thirteen laps but finally made a move on lap seventeen passing him comfortably and opening up a two second gap in just three laps. Dani then began to close the gap on Lorenzo. He set the fastest lap of the race (1’39.233) on lap twenty two and then on the penultimate lap he passed Lorenzo to claim second place for the Repsol Honda Team.
Marc has extended his lead in the Rider Championship to 75 points, with Dani on 56. Honda lead the Constructors Championship by 28 points and also the Team Championship by 68. The team must now pack up and fly directly to Andalucia, Spain for the GP of Jerez next week.
TEAM QUOTES
Marc Marquez
1st – Championship Standing: 1st – 75 points
“I am happy with how the weekend went in general and I’d like to thank all my team! I think it was a nice race for the fans, with plenty of passes and I wasn’t expecting it to be like that. As the race went on and I saw what the gap was to Jorge Lorenzo and I tried to catch up with him quickly and spend a few laps on his tail. When I saw that Dani was getting closer, I tried to overtake in order to maintain more of a gap. I took 25 more points today which are very important and I’ve put together three wins in a row, but we are aware that the season is very long and we are now heading to Jerez where Dani and Jorge are very fast. We will need to be up there with them, fighting for the win!”
Dani Pedrosa
2nd – Championship Standing: 2nd – 56 points
“I enjoyed the race but after losing some time at the start it affected me and I found myself alone again. In the final part of the race I had a good pace and was able to recover places, but it didn’t count for much. I took second place, but with the pace that we had we could have pushed for the win. You always have to learn and maybe I saved my tyres too much when I was riding as part of the group. Fortunately we found a good setup that allowed us to be more competitive, and this is positive”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:
BRADL ENDS IN 5th PLACE THE ARGENTINA GRAND PRIX
Termas de Rio Hondo, 27 April: the inaugural round at the renovated Termas de Rio Hondo circuit was followed by 53.000 excited fans that celebrated Marquez third consecutive victory. LCR racer Stefan Bradl, who was consistently fast throughout the weekend despite yesterday’s tumble in the Q2, took a very good start from the 9th spot playing an important role in the first part of the 25-lap race battling with the front guys. Towards the end the German was not very confident with the front and managed to finish in 5th position scoring further points in the final standing. Bradl is currently 6th with 24 points.
Stefan: “Considering yesterday’s crash in qualifying and the 9th position on the grid, I think we can be very happy with this result. I knew that we needed a good start from the third row and I made it. The first lap was a bit “crazy” but after that I think I played my role in the battle for the front group. We have been strong on braking and we could fight with the other guys and I had a lot of fun. In the final part of the race I could not match the speed of the front guys because I had some issues with the front so I preferred to remain calm to finish my race in a safe and good position”.
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
Lorenzo Returns to Form with Argentina Podium Fight
Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), 27th April 2014
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo made a stunning return to form today, taking third in the Gran Premio de la República Argentina at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.
Starting from second on the grid, Lorenzo catapulted from the line to take the hole shot into turn one, leading the MotoGP pack into the first ever MotoGP race at the circuit.
Teammate Valentino Rossi jumped two places to fourth as the story of the first laps began. What happened next was a flurry of activity with Jorge dropping initially to third with a wide corner and Rossi climbing to second. The positions were not to last as the Yamaha riders shuffled again, Lorenzo climbing back to retake the lead and Rossi dropping initially to fourth before passing Andrea Iannone for third.
With 22 laps to go a brief state of grace saw the Yamaha riders running in first and second. The moment was not to last as Rossi ran wide, dropping to seventh and giving himself a challenge to fight back up the rankings and chase down Sefan Bradl, Dani Pedrosa and Iannone in front.
Rossi began to move forward and showed a fast enough pace to have kept with the ultimate race winner. Unfortunately a mistake by Stefan Bradl under braking pushed him wide whilst running in fourth, costing valuable time and any chance of a podium. He was able to retain fourth, crossing the line less than five seconds from first place.
Lorenzo was meanwhile leading the race, back to his old self and holding off championship leader Marc Marquez for as long as possible. It wasn’t until just nine laps remaining that Marquez was able to take the lead, passing on turn five to move up. Lorenzo then did everything possible to hold second but was forced to concede and settle for third on the final lap as Pedrosa was able to pass.
The third place finish moves Lorenzo up to seventh in the standings on 22 points whilst Rossi retains his third position with 41 points.
The MotoGP paddock will move directly to Spain now for the first European round of the season at Jerez next weekend.
Jorge Lorenzo
3rd / +3.201 / 25 laps
“I’m really happy, this is probably the most sweet third place in my career in MotoGP, arriving after two difficult races. We have demonstrated that even in not our best shape we can fight with the Hondas and arrive in a proud third position. We want to improve; I want to improve my physical condition still and also the bike and when the moment arrives I think we will be ready to win races. We have to keep improving and have patience and wait for our moment.”
Valentino Rossi
4th / +4.898 / 25 laps
“I had the potential and the pace to end on the podium and especially to fight with the three guys in front. Unfortunately in the first laps first of all I made a mistake and lost a bit but the place I lost some more was when Bradl made a mistake. He arrived too deep in braking and he pushed me out of the track and I lost two seconds on that lap and so the podium.”
Massimo Meregalli
“It has been a positive race. Considering where we started from on Friday we have done a superb job. At the same time, it is a shame that we lost second place on the last lap and that Vale’s rhythm during the race couldn’t be capitalized on at the end to have both riders on the podium. Vale had difficulty stopping his bike in the beginning because of a combination of the hard front and very hot front brake temperatures. This podium gives Jorge back his confidence and now we are going back to Europe to familiar ground with no unexpected surprises to start our practice with on Friday. This race is a great addition to the GP calendar and we look forward to coming back next year with this weekend’s experience.”
More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing:
Argentinian fight for elite ten
Karel Abraham finishes in thirteenth position in opening Grand Prix of Argentina in circuit Termas de Rio Hondo. The Czech rider was fighting for tenth position during all race in group of five riders and at the end he finished on thirteenth place just behind Yonny Hernandez on prototype Ducati. The team Cardion AB equaled the best result and thanks to gain of three point moves to sixteenth position in championship of MotoGP
Karel Abraham
„I can say I´m really happy after this race. I finished in front of Redding and I fought the entire race with Aoyama and Hayden. Unfortunately I can´t stay in front of them to the end. I thought to be able to do it, but I had my front wheel blocked several time when braking hard, so I realized to not take too risk. In the last lap I tried to get over Yonny, but I was long on brakes and he take his position back. Nevertheless it was very good race for me and I hope to continue this way in Jerez.“
Marco Grana
chief mechanic, Cardion AB Motoracing
„We are really very happy about today´ s result. We worked on bike all the weekend to find the grip on the rear and stability on the grunt. And I think we succeed. We finished in front of Redding who was a top production Honda rider in Qatar. We were able to find with other Honda rider for the whole race. And we overtook Yonny Hernandez whose bike is about 15 km/h faster than ours. Karel did very good job and we are looking forward to Jerez to test many another settings to get faster. Finally Karel is in good shape, which allows us to work intensively on our bike to get our goal – be the fastest production Honda. It´s pretty good start of the season – we finished three races and gain point in each of them. We can be proud of that.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Third successive triumph for Marquez
An enthralling MotoGP™ race at the Gran Premio Red Bull de la Republica Argentina saw Marc Marquez clinch his third win of the year, ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in the top three.
As the race at Termas de Rio Hondo got underway Marquez got caught up in the crowd on lap one but played it patiently, picking off his opponents to get into second – eventually hunting down early leader Lorenzo, with his winning move coming 8 laps from the end.
It was a good day for the Repsol Honda team as Pedrosa stayed in the chase throughout the race, eventually overtaking Lorenzo on the penultimate lap for second.
Lorenzo’s Movistar Yamaha MotoGP teammate Valentino Rossi was briefly into second early on, but ran wide twice and dropped to seventh before fighting his way back up to fourth.
Solid runs from Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) and Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) saw them finish fifth and sixth – they were 15s and 19s respectively back on Marquez.
Monster Yamaha Tech3 teammates Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro were safely inside the top ten, which was completed by Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and top ‘Open’ rider Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar) – the Japanese competitor crossing the line 0.073s in front of colleague Nicky Hayden.
Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) was 15th after an early crash, whilst there was another DNF for Alvaro Baustista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) who crashed on the first lap, as did Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing Project).
Moto2™: Dominant Rabat cruises to round three win
Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) cruised to victory at the Gran Premio Red Bull de la Republica Argentina, taking the Moto2™ hole shot from pole and leading to the finish line, in front of fellow podium finishers Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Luis Salom (Pons HP 40)
Rabat totally controlled the race to extend his World Championship lead to 28 points, crossing the line two seconds ahead of second placed Simeon.
A lengthy battle for third was eventually won by Salom as he overtook Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) in the final stages and put the hammer down to record two fast laps and step onto the rostrum for the first time since his graduation from Moto3™.
Corsi had been in the podium hunt but eventually crossed the line behind Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) for his third successive fifth place finish.
The top ten was rounded out by Alex De Angelis (Tasca Racing Moto2), Mika Kallio Marc (VDS Racing Team), Sam Lowes (Speed Up), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Jordi Torres (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2).
A mistake from Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) saw him drop to ninth from second on the grid on the first lap and he ended up 18th.
Ricard Cardus (Tech 3) and Maverick Viñales (Pons HP 40) crashed out early on, Viñales remounting only to pull into the pits shortly afterwards. Mattia Pasini (NGM Forward Racing), meanwhile, retired with a technical problem in the early stages.
Moto3™: Fenati takes Argentina victory
The first ever Grand Prix victory at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo was clinched by Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) in an intriguing Moto3™ contest, with Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) joining the Italian on the podium.
As a huge crowd poured into the circuit to watch Sunday’s Gran Premio Red Bull de la Republica Argentina action the Moto3 riders produced another great spectacle with Fenati making his way through at the last corner to take the win.
Marquez and Miller appeared to be unhappy with Fenati’s late move but the race result stood after it was reviewed by Race Direction, though the Italian was later given a one penalty point punishment for ‘irresponsible riding causing danger to other competitors’.
A brilliant ride from birthday boy Livio Loi (Marc VDS Racing Team) saw him clinch fourth spot as he came from ninth on the grid on the day he turned 17.
Efren Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG) ended up crossing the line sixth, just behind compatriot Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0), with the former having run at the front for most of the race.
The top ten was completed by Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team), Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo), Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) and Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3).
Jakub Kornfeil (Calvo Team) went down on the first corner, with Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Andrea Locatelli (San Carlo Team Italia) also crashing together on first lap. A second crash for Hanika saw him highside out of the race in the final stages.
Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing) retired early due to a clutch problem and there were also crashes for John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG), Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46), Niccolo Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN), Matteo Ferrari (San Carlo Team Italia) and Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing), though all riders were ok.
More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:
Unstoppable Marquez wins Argentina Grand Prix
Round 3: Argentina MotoGP™ – Race
Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo, Sunday 27 April 2014
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Symmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main) & Hard (Alternative)
Weather: Dry. Ambient 25-26°C; Track 43-45°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Another dominant display from Marc Marquez this weekend culminated in the Repsol Honda rider winning his third race in a row at the Argentina Grand Prix.
Starting on pole, Marquez found himself as low as seventh place during the opening laps of the race, before he charged through the field to take the lead on lap seventeen. Marquez ultimately won the race by 1.837 seconds from teammate Dani Pedrosa, who has now finished on the podium at every race this year. In third place for the Argentina Grand Prix was Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo, the Spanish rider leading the first sixteen laps of the race after taking the holeshot into the first corner.
Clear skies and calmer winds than yesterday resulted in the best track conditions of the race weekend, with a peak track temperature of 45°C recorded during the race. The warmer conditions resulted in all riders selecting the hardest rear slick option available; hard compound for Factory Yamaha and Honda riders, and medium compound for the Ducati and open-class entrants. Front tyre choice saw six of the twenty-three starters select the hard compound front slick, with the remaining seventeen riders selecting the medium compound front. Tyre performance throughout the race remained consistent, with Pedrosa setting the fastest lap time of the race on lap twenty-two.
Marquez’s perfect win record gives him seventy-five championship points, while Pedrosa is in second place on fifty-six points. Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi remains third in the championship classification on forty-one points after finishing in fourth place today.
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“The lack of wind and warm temperatures today gave us what were the best track conditions so far this weekend and this allowed for a very fast race pace for the riders. The higher temperatures meant the harder compound rear slicks were used by all riders, while only the medium and hard front slicks were selected for the race. The performance of our tyres over race distance was exemplary, with half the riders setting their fastest lap time after the twentieth lap of the race. The large amount of development we did leading up to the race at Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo enabled us to deliver a tyre allocation that allowed riders to comfortably deal with what were rapidly changing track conditions over the race weekend.”
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda – Race Winner
“I enjoyed the race a lot, especially at the beginning among many riders and with all the overtaking. Jorge started to build a gap so I decided to try and follow him for a few laps, then I saw Dani was coming so I pushed a bit more and it was enough to take the victory. Thanks to my team and the Argentina fans. I am very happy with the result.”
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Great recovery for Espargaro after crashing at Termas de Rio Hondo
It was a very difficult race for NGM Forward Racing Team at Termas de Rio Hondo in the north region of Argentina.
Aleix Espargaro couldn’t take advantage from starting from the second row in the grid. The Spaniard was 10th when he crashed out at Turn 2 in the second lap. Fortunately Aleix was able to pick his bike up and rejoin the race. From that moment Espargaro made a very good race recovering from the 21st to the 15th position. Despite this result, Aleix remains the first open in the Championship ahead of Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama.
It was a very demanding race also for team mate Colin Edwards, who was taking the start of the Argentina GP from the 14th position on the grid. Colin struggled a lot in the 25-lap long race, loosing several positions and finally closed 20th.
Colin Edwards:
“It was not an easy race. I cannot ride this bike as I want, I’m not comfortable and I cannot push. Yesterday I had found a good set up but today I struggled a lot. We need to keep on working, analysing the data and test new solutions. I’d like to thank my team for the hard work.”
Aleix Espargaro:
“I’m very disappointed with today’s crash. I need to improve my feeling with the bike at the beginning of the race when the tank is full. I struggle a lot in the first laps, as the front tends to close. Today I crashed without realizing it. It’s a pity because we did a great job in the practices and I had the pace to fight for the first five positions. I look forward to Jerez, where I want to get a good result.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Argentina GP: a difficult race for Dovizioso and Pirro at Termas de Rio Hondo.
At the start of the race Dovizioso was immediately in amongst the battle for the leading positions, and he crossed the line on lap 2 in second place, but then problems with his front tyre meant that he was overtaken by his rivals over the next few laps.
Pirro on the other hand was never able to find the right feeling with his Desmosedici GP14 during the weekend and struggled throughout the 25 laps of the Argentinean race.
After the first three GPs of the season, Dovizioso however is still in fourth place in the overall standings on 34 points.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 9th
“It was a very tough race, to be honest I didn’t think it would go like that. I was a bit unlucky because I also had a problem with the engine, when oil came out and led to a loss of some power. I also think I made the wrong choice of front tyre because I was unable to brake and put pressure on the front wheel, neither under braking nor in the curve, and turn-in was slow as well. The race sort of went a bit wrong for me today, and it just confirms that we still have to improve a lot to be able to stay with the others.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Team #51) – 17th
“It was a disappointing result, after I had finally managed to find a good feeling with the bike during the warm-up. In the race unfortunately I made several mistakes and lost contact with the group that went from tenth to fifteenth place. It’s a pity, because my lap times towards the end were very close to theirs. Now I hope to make a big step forward at Jerez next week.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“After the result in qualifying, we had hoped for something better in the race. Unfortunately Dovizioso, after fighting with the leading group in the early laps, had a problem with his front tyre which forced him onto the defensive. We gained some consolation however from the excellent performance by Andrea Iannone who, on the team Pramac Desmosedici, ran a fast and tenacious race, demonstrating that the GP14’s competitive level has improved. We know we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us, but we are confident and optimistic about the next few races.”
More, from press release issued by Drive M7 Aspar Team:
AOYAMA BEST OPEN CLASS RIDER FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON, ROUNDING OUT TOP TEN
Japanese rider wins out after attractive duel with Nicky Hayden, placing tenth to his teammate’s eleventh
The MotoGP Grand Prix of Argentina was a highly entertaining race, with the most exciting moments coming right at the start, during the opening four laps. Jorge Lorenzo surprised many onlookers by taking charge of the race and gaining an advantage of a second on the first trio of laps, whilst Valentino Rossi, Stefan Bradl, Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso all looked to find their best spot in the pack with constant overtaking. Several riders crashed on the initial laps to further mix things up. The natural order of things resumed by the midway point, as the weekend’s fastest man, Marc Márquez, hunted down Lorenzo down seven laps in and followed him until Lap 16. He then passed his rival and set two hot laps to open a gap. Márquez won the race by 1.8 seconds from Dani Pedrosa, who also got past Lorenzo. It was an all-Spanish podium at Termas de Río Hondo.
The DRIVE M7 Aspar riders also contributed to the excitement of the GP of Argentina, waging a fierce battle almost to the chequered flag. The reward at stake was the honour of being the top Open class rider for the first time in 2014, and the two teammates were not going to back down. In spite of having troubles finding his pace at the start, Nicky Hayden was the first rider to approach the top ten spots, moving up from fourteenth position to pass Redding, Abraham and Hernandez. His teammate, Hiroshi Aoyama, was sixteenth after the first lap and also was forced to fight back. With four laps to go, the battle between the DRIVE M7 Aspar riders, Abraham and Hernandez intensified. It looked as if Hayden would be taking tenth spot after establishing a small advantage, but Aoyama reeled him back in and passed on the penultimate corner. It was the Japanese rider’s first Open class top spot of the campaign so far.
10th Hiroshi Aoyama: “The race was tough. At this new circuit we had many doubts about the durability of the tyres, but I’m very happy to have concluded the race as the best Open class rider. In the last third of the race my tyres were almost on the limit, but I guess this was similar for everyone. I had fun, coming from behind at the end of the race I had some good battles with Hernandez and Nicky and we swapped places several times on the closing laps. I’m glad I was able to place ahead of them and take tenth position. Earlier this year everything was new to me, but I’ve grown since I joined the DRIVE M7 Aspar team and I think that the result today is the reward for all our hard work. I’m excited, I hope to continue like this next weekend when we go to Europe. I want to thank the team and the sponsors for all of their efforts to make results like today’s possible.”
11th Nicky Hayden: “I really enjoyed riding today. In the race I would have liked to have taken a better result and beaten my teammate after an interesting fight. At the start of the race I did not had a good feeling with the front end. The track conditions had been improving throughout the weekend and so we worked to find rear grip. However, with the improving condition of the asphalt, having so much rear grip made the bike push onto the front end. I guess I am not the only one that this happened to, either. At first I struggled to pick up the pace and move up the field, because I couldn’t brake well. As the laps went by I started to feel more comfortable and I managed to overtake people. On the last lap Hiro closed the gap and he was better on the back straight section. I went a little wide and he got past me. It would have been great to finish as the top Open rider, but Hiro deserved it. I will have to be more attentive next time. Nevertheless I am satisfied and I think we did a very good job this weekend; things have gone well.”
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Fantastic race for Andrea Iannone
In this thrilling race held for the first time on the circuit Argentina, Pramac Racing closes the third round in the best way possible. Andrea Iannone earned the sixth place, his best performance ever since the star of his career in the Top Class. Even Yonny Hernandez gave his best, finishing for the third consecutive time in the points.
Andrea Iannone – Pramac Racing – at the start rocketed in the front group. During the first two laps positions mixed up several times, the Italian twenty-four year old protagonist of these hot phases conquers the third position. Halfway through the race, the following group composed by Pedrosa, Rossi and Bradl change their pace, overtaking the Italian. Andrea maintains his pace, showing great maturity, bringing home a precious sixth position and first Ducati rider, which earned him the fifth place in the Championship standings.
Yonny Hernandez – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – in his home race starts off earning six positions in the first lap. For over twenty laps the Colombian was in tenth place, keeping behind him experienced riders like Hayden and Aoyama. In the final stage of the Grand Prix Yonny fights to keep the position but is overtaken by the two riders. The twenty-five year old Colombian crosses the finish line in twelfth place, earning four points for the Championship.
The World Championship will fly directly to Jerez for the next race on the calendar , scheduled for next Sunday.
Andrea Iannone ( Pramac Racing)
“I’m very happy with how the race went, I pushed hard from the start and I was going to stay in the leading group, but unfortunately, between the eighth and the tenth lap I was forced to slow down due to the decay of the tires. I have more feeling with the bike and I work always better with my team. I thank everyone for the excellent work done this weekend in Argentina and Ducati for all the support they give me.”
Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing)
“I’m happy with the todays result, I fought again for the top-ten. In the last laps of the race I suffered the decay of the tires losing two positions. I’ve felt the support from my fans here in Argentina and I want to thank them all. Thanks to the team and in particular to Francesco and Giacomo Guidotti who are helping me to get better and better.”
More, from a press release issued by Scott Redding’s publicist:
Scott slowed by front grip issues in Argentina
Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina – 27 April 2014: Scott Redding brought his Honda RCV1000R home in 14th place, after struggling with a lack of front grip at Termas de Rio Hondo today.
The 21-year-old Briton had high expectations for today’s race, after a strong qualifying performance yesterday, but had to ride for the points after struggling for front grip from the start, especially under braking.
Scott will return to action in just five day’s time, during free practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.
Scott Redding // 14th
“It was a difficult race today. I started to struggle a little with front grip during morning warm up, but the problem was worse in the race. It made braking into the turns difficult and I was running wide a lot, which meant overtaking was impossible. This issue basically spoiled the whole race for me, as I lost around half a second from my pace in warm up, so I’m obviously disappointed. I wasn’t feeling great either. I started to come down with cold symptoms last night and, today, the energy levels were definitely down. It’s annoying, because we thought we had a good chance in the race.”