FIM MotoGP World Championship
Jerez, Spain
May 3, 2015
Race Results (all using Bridgestone tires):
1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 27 laps, 44:57.246
2. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), -5.576 seconds
3. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -11.586
4. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), -22.727
5. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), -26.620
6. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -27.021
7. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), -35.445
8. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -36.296
9. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -41.933
10. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), -51.072
11. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (SUZUKI), -51.674
12. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), -52.421
13. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), -53.052
14. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), -53.200
15. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), -57.344
16. Stefan BRADL, Germany (FORWARD YAMAHA), -59.018
17. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), -61.506
18. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (HONDA), -63.163
19. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (APRILIA), -66.895
20. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), -74.182
21. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (ART-APRILIA), -86.832
22. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (DUCATI), -1 lap, crash
23. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), DNF, -13 laps, crash
24. Loris BAZ, France (FORWARD YAMAHA), DNF, -19 laps, crash
25. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), DNF, -24 laps, crash
World Championship Point Standings (after 4 of 18 races):
1. Rossi, 82 points
2. Dovizioso, 67
3. Lorenzo, 62
4. Marquez, 56
5. Iannone, 50
6. Crutchlow, 47
7. Smith, 36
8. Aleix Espargaro, 31
9. Pol Espargaro, 26
10. Vinales, 20
11. Petrucci, 19
12. Redding, 13
13. Hernandez, 12
14. TIE, Dani Pedrosa/Barbera, 10
16. Miller, 6
17. Aoyama, 5
18. Hayden, 3
19. TIE, Baz/Bautista, 2
21. Bradl, 1
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
Lorenzo Storms to Masterful Jerez Victory
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Jorge Lorenzo delivered a master class victory in Jerez today, claiming the 55th victory of his career. Teammate Valentino Rossi also gave a brilliant performance to take his fourth consecutive podium this season and seal his 200th career podium.Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 3rd May 2015
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo was back on form and blew away the competition today at the Circuito de Jerez de la Frontera. He continued his weekend of dominance at the Gran Premio de España and took the chequered flag, not having lost the lead once, with staggering 5,5 second lead. Teammate Valentino Rossi also rode a strong race and continued his podium-streak by claiming third place and the 200th podium finish of his career.
Lorenzo had a great launch from pole position, taking the holeshot into turn one. Completely in the zone he immediately put the hammer down and rode away from the pack, with only rival Marc Marquez able to follow him. Lorenzo was quick to respond by upping his pace and rode a Circuit Record of 1‘38.735 on just his second lap. He pulled away and soon created a gap of over a second to Marquez, who was unable to keep up with his blistering pace. Consistently posting laps under the 1‘40 mark, Lorenzo remained unchallenged for the rest of the race and completed his perfect performance of the weekend when he took the flag with a 5.576 second lead, securing his fifth victory at the Andalusian circuit. Lorenzo now has his 55th career win, 34 of which are with Yamaha.
Teammate Rossi was also on the charge right from the start of the 27-lap race. Shooting from fifth to fourth into turn one, he soon closed the gap to Pol Espargarò to overtake him on lap four. The nine-time World Champion was now on a mission to close down a two-second gap to front runners Lorenzo and Marquez, while at the same time managing his lead over Espargarò and Cal Crutchlow. Though the gap to Marquez initially increased, the Doctor refused to give up. His determination was rewarded when, with 15 laps remaining, he started to wheel his rival back in. However, as the Doctor‘s front tyre began to wear down in the final stages of the race he was unable to repeat his performance in Argentina. He decided to settle for third and take his fourth consecutive podium this season, marking the 200th podium finish of his career.
Lorenzo‘s magnificent win earned him 25 points, moving him up to third position in the championship on 62 points, just 5 points behind Andrea Dovizioso in second.
Rossi‘s podium scored him 16 points, increasing his points total to 82. He now leads the championship by 15 points.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP will be back in action in two weeks time at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, held at the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit.
JORGE LORENZO
I am absolutely proud of myself and of the team that we finally delivered some extraordinary work, because we had some problems that have been beyond our control. Due to the lining of the helmet in Doha, my illness in Austin and the tyres in Argentina we couldn‘t demonstrate our true potential. This time I could do it during the whole weekend and especially on braking. Sometimes it happens that on Sunday I feel a bit worse on braking than during the rest of the weekend, but today that didn‘t happen. I was able to brake really late, enter well into the corners, and carry good corner speed and acceleration, so everything was fine. When this happens you have to make profit of it and win the race. I was thinking about jumping into the lake, but I am 28 years old…! It‘s not the same as when you are 23, so in the last second I decided to stop and go back to the bike. Today it‘s mother‘s day so it‘s very special, because my mum saw the race and saw me winning and tomorrow I turn 28. It‘s important that we recover some points to Vale because he‘s been very strong at the beginning of this season and always on the podium. It‘s also important we have recovered the feeling and ability to go fast and now we have to enjoy these hours, this night and this victory!
VALENTINO ROSSI
It was a difficult weekend. From Friday on we were struggling a lot to find the right setting and I wasn‘t able to ride on the maximum level. We improved and worked until after the warm up, trying to improve the setting. In the end it‘s a podium, so it‘s not so bad, but also in the race I wasn‘t strong enough to fight with Jorge and also with Marc. Especially entering the corners I wasn‘t at 100%. I had one moment in the race where I was not doing so bad and I was close to Marc. We hoped for another good fight until the end and I thought I could do it, because I got the gap down to one second, but had to give up. I have scored a lot of points and scored two victories and four podiums. This time I extended my lead to Dovizioso, but it looks like Jorge also came back into the championship with this victory. He is just 20 points behind, but the championship is still long. We don‘t have to think about the points yet, just of the bike, trying to be competitive every weekend.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
As a team we worked really well this weekend and got great results. Jorge finished this perfect weekend, starting from Friday morning’s first Free Practice, in the best way possible. He has been really strong and consistent the whole weekend. He was able to create a gap and managed to hold on to that until the chequered flag. He really deserves today’s stunning victory, in Jorge’s typical style. Tomorrow he will turn 28 and therefore we have two good reasons to celebrate tonight. Valentino couldn‘t get the feeling with the bike he was looking for today, but he still rode a good race. In the end he settled for third place and extended his lead in the championship. I really want to thank everybody in the team for their hard work and great performance. Today’s result delivers great confidence and motivation to keep working hard. Tomorrow we will back on track for a test session and we are all in the right mood to continue progressing.
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
Redding collects points after intense Jerez battle
Jerez, Spain – 3 May 2015: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Scott Redding claimed an important points scoring finish for the third time in four MotoGP races in 2015 after a hard fought ride to 13th place in Jerez.
The 22-year-old was locked in an intense five-rider battle for a top 10 finish in the 27-lap race, which took place in front of a partisan Spanish crowd of close to 123,000 fans.
Conditions for the 27-lap race were cooler than Friday and Saturday’s sweltering heat, but Redding was unable to capitalize on better than anticipated grip to claim a second top successive top 10 finish.
Redding and his Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS crew will remain in Jerez for a vital one-day test tomorrow, which gives the team the perfect opportunity to work on finding more rear grip to help the Briton be more competitive on the Honda RC213V machine.
Scott Redding: 13th
“That was another difficult race and I didn’t have the pace again. The bike was handling better on the front but I kept losing out on the exit. We need to try and work something out because I need to be finishing higher up. Maybe it is my riding style or a bit in the bike, but my main struggle is on corner exit. We’ve now got a one-day test and we need to try and find some more rear grip and something to help me get the bike turning so we can we be more competitive in Le Mans.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“We are very disappointed with the outcome of this weekend because we obviously had higher hopes than finishing 13th. We are still learning the package we have, but we have to be much more competitive than we showed in today’s race. Scott clearly doesn’t have the confidence he needs and we must all work together to try and find a solution. Tomorrow’s test comes at a perfect time, so we can work on some of the issues without the pressure of a race weekend. But it is clear that we can’t continue to be finishing where we are given the high level of our machinery.”
More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:
Lorenzo annihilates Jerez circuit record in dominant Spanish Grand Prix victory
Round 4: Spanish MotoGP™- Race
Circuito de Jerez, Sunday 3 May 2015
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative – front), Extra-hard (Alternative – rear)
Weather: Dry. Ambient 26-28°C; Track 38-40°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo underlined his dominance this weekend at Jerez by speeding to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, setting a new Circuit Record Lap time on his way to the chequered flag.
Lorenzo started from pole position and set an impressive pace throughout the twenty-seven lap contest, smashing the existing race lap record by eight-tenths of a second on lap two and setting an overall race time twenty seconds quicker than the old record as he crossed the finish line. Finishing in second place 5.576 seconds behind Lorenzo was Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez who despite nursing a broken finger on his left hand was able to resist a late charge from Valentino Rossi who ultimately took third place for his two-hundredth Grand Prix podium across all classes.
Yesterday’s clear and sunny conditions gave way to long periods of cloudy skies today and as a result, today’s peak track temperature of 40°C was fourteen degrees lower than yesterday’s high. The cooler temperatures didn’t have a large influence on race tyre choice, with twenty-three riders selecting the hard compound front slick – only Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales opted for the medium compound front slick. The medium compound rear slick was the most popular race choice with thirteen riders selecting this option, while eleven riders chose the soft compound rear slick. Only one rider selected the hard compound rear slick. The revised tyre allocation for this year’s Spanish Grand Prix brought with it a big boost in performance, with six riders able to lap under the previous race lap record.
Lorenzo’s first win of the season moves him into third place on the MotoGP points table, twenty points behind teammate Rossi who maintains his lead in the standings. Despite finishing in ninth place, Andrea Dovizoso still holds onto second place in the standings, the Ducati Team rider sits fifteen points behind Rossi after four rounds.
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“At a circuit where the final corner is named after him, Jorge certainly had the final say at Jerez with a dominant victory in front of the passionate Spanish fans. Congratulations to both Jorge and to Yamaha, who scored an impressive double podium. This weekend at Jerez we had the largest crowd we’ve had at a Grand Prix in many years, with over 120,000 fans in attendance just on race day. With three different winners from the first four races, I hope to see another large crowd at Le Mans in a couple of weeks’ time as the fight for the championship is already starting to become very interesting.”
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“After scorching conditions on Friday and Saturday, today was significantly cooler which resulted in the riders being able to extract even more performance from their tyres. Many riders were able to lap quicker than the existing race lap record and Jorge’s overall race time was twenty-seven seconds quicker than last year and twenty-seconds quicker than the overall record time. We leave Jerez with new qualifying and race lap records, and a new overall race record time on a circuit that is offering less grip each year, so it was a great weekend for Bridgestone. Now our efforts focus on tomorrow’s post-race test at Jerez before we head to Le Mans.”
Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Race Winner
“The fact that I could make a lap time of 1’38.7 at the beginning of the race was quite impressive. Today I felt really good, especially under braking which is what I sometimes struggle with on Sunday but this time, the whole weekend has been perfect. With the bike working so well everywhere, I was able to profit from my speed and talent, and to take a win at Jerez is really special.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
BAUTISTA CONCLUDES A POSITIVE WEEKEND IN THE POINTS
MELANDRI ALSO MAKES PROGRESS IN THE RACE
Jerez (Spain), 3 May 2015 – It was a positive weekend for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini at Jerez, the setting for the first 2015 MotoGP European race.
Finishing in fifteenth place and earning a point, Alvaro Bautista confirmed his good performance which earned him a spot on the fifth row of the starting grid during practice yesterday. And in the end the Spaniard had a few things to complain about with contact during the race and a problem with the brakes that kept him from doing better. With this result the Italian team strengthens its performance which brings it closer to the middle pack and that is the main objective at the moment. Melandri also showed improvement in the race, finishing in nineteenth place.
ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“Overall we’re taking home a very positive weekend, especially in terms of consistent performance and end results. After the qualifiers yesterday the race was also decidedly positive. It’s a shame that there were a couple problems, a race incident and a technical problem with the brakes that slowed Alvaro down. The feeling has also improved significantly and I’m pleased for Marco as well, who took a giant step forward in the race, gaining more confidence. The entire Jerez weekend has left us more optimistic for the rest of the season.”
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“I’m very happy with the result today. With Bautista we managed to start from a good position even if we did lose the advantage straight away. In fact, in the third turn Alvaro made contact with someone in the pack and had to sit the bike up which cost him a few positions. Without that incident he probably would have been able to do better. In any case it was a good race and now our goal is to earn points so we are satisfied. Melandri’s performance is also positive, with him taking a step forward compared to Argentina. These are all positive signs, even if we obviously know that there is still a lot of work to do.”
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“And it could have gone much better! I had a good start but I made contact with Barbera right at the beginning in the pack, which was nobody’s fault, and it cost me at least five positions. After three laps I had a problem with the brake which I was able to fix by adjusting the lever distance but it made it very inconvenient in the braking sections. Then I tried to maintain a constant pace to look after the tyres, especially the rear. In the final part I pushed harder and could see the pack in front of me battling for tenth place. It’s a good sign but it’s a shame that I wasn’t able to get closer to them earlier. In any case, things went well but they could have gone even better. I want to thank the team for their great work improving the bike which was really in top shape today compared to the qualifiers. Now we just need to keep going in this direction.”
MARCO MELANDRI
“Starting from behind doesn’t help, so I struggled a lot in the early laps and then finally I was able to set my pace. When I caught up Miller I was faster than him but unfortunately we are still struggling with grip on the rear and even though he didn’t brake very hard it took me several laps to overtake him and that cost me a lot of ground behind those who were ahead, also stressing the tyres quite a bit. I probably would have been able to stay closer to Hayden e Laverty. Now we’ll have to see how things go in France: I especially hope that some innovations arrive that can meet my needs.”
More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing:
Open Class victory for Barbera and Avintia Racing in Jerez
03/05/15 Avintia Racing MotoGP – Grand Prix of Spain – RACE
Perfect weekend for Hector Barbera and the Avintia Racing team in the Spanish Grand Prix with a new victory in the Open Class in front of more than 122.500 Spanish fans. He got two more Championship points today, but even more important is the fact that he was able to finish the race fighting for the Top Ten in a group with Hernandez, Petrucci, Viñales and Redding, all of them riding factory spec machines. Stefan Bradl was the next Open bike crossing the line, but almost six seconds behind Barbera who increases a little bit his leading in Jerez.
It was the opposite for Mike Di Meglio who struggled during the race with the same issues he had in yesterday’s qualifying. The Avintia Racing team French rider crashed in the opening laps, but jumped again on his bike to finish the race 22º.
The team will stay tomorrow in Jerez for testing and they will try to improve the bike for the next few races, the first in Le Mans in two weeks time.
HECTOR BARBERA #8 / 14th (1st Open) @HectorBarbera
I’m really happy for this new victory in the Open Class, but even more because we have been much closer to the factory bikes and I think that this weekend we have made a big step forward. After Argentina where we had more problems, today we confirmed our level. The team worked really well during the weekend and we are just where we wanted to be. We made our job but tomorrow we have a very important test and we will try to improve the bike even more ahead of Le Mans. The championship is long and we have to continue in this direction.
MIKE DI MEGLIO #63 / 22nd (7th Open) @Mikejpp63
I’m disappointed because the start was quite good but suddenly the bad feeling with the front from yesterday came back and I crashed braking in the first corner. I was able to get again on the bike and finish the race, but it took some laps to get my confidence back and get the feeling with the front because I felt like crashing out in every corner. Overall was a difficult weekend, and I feel sorry for the team, because this was the home race. Tomorrow’s test will be crucial to try to find a solution for Le Mans.
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Yonny celebrates his second Top 10. Petrux fights for the 12th place. Pramac Racing enjoy in Jerez
After the exciting Saturday’s qualifying, Pramac Racing can smile even on Sunday in Jerez thanks to the Top 10 conquered by Yonny Hernandez and the 12th place of Danilo Petrucci.
The Spanish Grand Prix saw the two riders of the Pramac Racing starting very fast. Danilo managed to win three positions during the first lap, taking immediately in eighth place followed by his teammate. The Pramac Racing riders maintained a good race pace but they had inevitably to give way first to Iannone (6th laps) then to and Dovizioso (18th laps) who both started with some difficulties.
The last 10 laps were spectacular. Petrux and Yonny battled passing each other a few time. Then even Vinales got involved in the fight. Yonny managed to take advantage after having responded quickly to the attack of Vinales, while Danilo failed to contain the Spaniard who overtook him during the last lap.
Pramac Racing can celebrate for the 10 points scored (6 for Hernandez, 4 for Petrucci) which consolidate the sixth place (31 point) in the team standing.
Petrux is 11th in the world championship with 19 points, while Yonny takes the second Top 10 of the season and rises to 12 points.
Yonny celebrates his second Top 10. Petrux fights for the 12th place. Pramac Racing enjoy in Jerez
10° – Yonny Hernandez – Pramac Racing Team #68
“It ‘was a very tough race and I’m happy for the final placement. On this track you have to stay focused for 27 laps because just one error can affect the race. My start was not very fast but my goal was to preserve the tires to be competitive at the end. And it was a right choice because in the last laps I was lapping strong to get the Top 10. It was a good fight that with Danilo and Vinales. It has happened even in Q2 when we hit a nice double qualification for Pramac Racing. It ‘s always a lot of fun to fight on track: this is the MotoGp. After two races went wrong I really needed to get back in the Top 10. Now I’m ready to do even better at Le Mans.
12° – Danilo Petrucci – Pramac Racing Team #9
“I started very well. In the first few laps I was the first rider of Ducati and this gave me a great satisfaction, especially because I was keeping a good pace. When I passed Iannone, however, I did’t manage to stay behind him. Then I hired a good fight with Yonny but let Vinales get closer and closer and I could not hold the 11th place in the last lap. But that’s ok also because on this circuit I do not feel very comfortable as there are a lot of stop and go and I like tracks smoother and faster. It was hard but it is a lot of experience that I put in my pocket. I am here to work and to learn and being with the top riders I’m learning a lot. In the end I’m glad this weekend: we made great qualifying and a good race”.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Injured Marquez takes wonderful second place with Aoyama crashing out of Spanish GP
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez produced a stellar performance to close the gap in the Championship with a well earned second place at the GP of Spain in front of 122,000 spectators. Teammate Hiroshi Aoyama unfortunately crashed out of the race but thankfully escaped serious injury.
It was a frantic start as pole man Lorenzo led with a blistering pace and breaking the race lap record on lap two. Marc did a fantastic job to stay with Lorenzo before a gap began to emerge mid-race. With fatigue setting in as Marc’s right arm compensated for his weaker injured left hand, Rossi had made his way through the pack into third place and was closing in. Marc showed grit and determination controlling the gap and taking an important second place and twenty valuable points.
Hiroshi was caught amongst the pack starting in sixteenth but dropped down to nineteenth in the early laps. Using the hard option rear tyre he knew the beginning of the race would be difficult but as the race progressed his grip level would improve and he could fight to move through the pack. He climbed back to fifteenth before a high speed crash in turn five – after losing the front – ended his race prematurely on lap fifteen.
Marc is now 4th in the World Championship standings with 56 points, 26 behind Rossi. With Pedrosa 14th on 10 points.
There is a post-race test scheduled tomorrow, with the original plan for Marc not to test however, tomorrow morning he will reassess his situation and if possible complete a few laps to test a new swing arm and give important information to the HRC technicians. Hiroshi had an x-ray after the race which revealed no break but heavy swelling in his shoulder. His condition will also be assessed in the morning to determine if he can test or not.
Marc Marquez
2ND
“This is a track where we’ve always struggled a little because of my riding style – and this year also because of my injury, but today we achieved what we set out to do. On the opening laps I followed Jorge, but by lap five I could tell that although my finger was not a problem, I was unconsciously working more with my right arm and it began to stiffen up. From then on, I decided to just try and finish the race strong. Then I saw that Valentino was closing in on me and I thought “it’s going to be Argentina all over again” but I gathered strength and this time I was able to maintain the gap between us. We leave Jerez a little closer to the World Championship leader, but Jorge has extended his advantage.”
Hiroshi Aoyama
DNF
“It wasn’t an easy race. We expected it to be much hotter but unfortunately the conditions changed. I still stand by my choice of hard tyre in the race, at the beginning we were struggling with the grip but from mid-race I began to feel better. We knew the hard tyre would be strong towards the end of the race and allow me to battle with the other riders, but unfortunately before I could capitalise from this I made a mistake and crashed. It was a hard race and ending like this is really disappointing. I’d like to thank all the team, they helped me a lot and it was a great experience.”
More, from a press release issued by Forward Racing:
Stefan Bradl second Open at Jerez
Stefan Bradl ended up very close to the points-zone while Loris Baz was forced to retire in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez for the Athinà Forward Racing team.
Bradl, second in the Open class only behind Barbera, 14th, crossed the finish line after a difficult weekend characterized by a flu and little feeling with electronics. The German is looking forward to return to work tomorrow during the test scheduled right on the Andalusian track.
Stefan Bradl
“It was a difficult race. Loris and I were the only ones in the Open category to have chosen the hard tyres. We made this choice convinced that we would suffer during the first few laps and comeback in the end of the race. I tried to do my best but it was not enough. I’m not 100% fit due to the flu. We have to analyze the data and work hard in view of Le Mans”.
Loris Baz
“I am not satisfied at all of my weekend. Unfortunately, the race finished ahead of schedule for me. I was struggling during the first laps, I was close to the group of Laverty and Bradl but it was very difficult to keep their pace. I tried to push harder, but I crashed in the last corner when there were still 18 laps to go. We have to stay focused and make the most of the testing tomorrow. For Le Mans the goal is to come back into the points”.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Iannone sixth, Dovizioso ninth in Spanish GP at Jerez de la Frontera
The Ducati Team came away from the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez de la Frontera with a couple of relatively disappointing results. Andrea Iannone finished sixth at the chequered flag after making a mistake at the start, while his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was classified ninth overall after running off the track at the final corner of lap 2, which pushed him down to the back of the entire field.
Iannone, who started from the front row after qualifying third on the grid on Saturday, inserted the ‘wet’ mapping by mistake a few seconds before the start, and as a result his race performance was undermined as the electronic management of his Desmosedici GP15 did not function optimally.
In spite of this handicap, the Italian then produced a good run to the flag, recovering well after a bad start to move up from eleventh to sixth, and he finished just four-tenths away from Pol Espargarò in fifth place.
Dovizioso instead had a problem on lap 2 of the race when he braked for the final corner and went straight on into the run-off area. The Italian then rejoined in last place and began a good recovery through the field that took him up to ninth place at the chequered flag.
Despite today’s result Dovizioso still lies second overall in the championship table, fifteen points behind Rossi, while Iannone is in fifth place, six points behind Marquez.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 6th
“For sure today’s race was very difficult for me, because I made an error that cost me very dear, one that I should have avoided. Unfortunately at the start I switched on the mapping for wet conditions instead of launch control, and as a result had to do the whole race with ‘wet’ set-up because the procedure to return to dry settings is very complicated. I tried to get the best result possible in these conditions, but we could certainly have scored a better result here at Jerez and so I feel very sorry for my team, which worked really well this weekend. In any case we can’t make any excuses, and starting from Le Mans I will try and make up for this weekend with all the guys in my team and Ducati by scoring some good results in the next few races.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 9th
“I am disappointed about today’s result, because I could probably have fought for fourth place with Crutchlow. We didn’t have the race pace to be able to aim for the podium, but in any case it was a real shame not to have picked up those points. I had a problem at the last corner on lap 2, when I made a small mistake and the bike almost switched off. Ho almost crashed because I lost my balance and had to go straight on into the gravel, but when I got back onto the track I felt that the bike had no problems and so I started to push hard once again. I was in last place and I had to overtake many slower riders, losing a lot of time, and at the end I couldn’t get any further up than ninth. It’s a pity, because even though the podium was out of reach for us today judging by the pace of the first three, I feel sure we could have scored some really good points.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“Unfortunately here at Jerez we were not able to score the results we had hoped for: both Iannone and Dovizioso had the chance to do a couple of good races and, without the problems they both had, we could certainly have taken home a lot of points in the championship. After the first three GPs of the season, when we always finished on the podium, we are clearly not satisfied with the way things went this weekend but now we have to focus on the next round at Le Mans with the aim of taking the GP15 back to the top positions in the race standings.”
More, from a press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:
CRUTCHLOW CONTINUES GOOD FORM WITH FOURTH PLACE AT JEREZ
CWM LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow produced another highly encouraging performance as he finished in fourth place at the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez de la Frontera.
Off the back of his podium finish in Argentina last time out, the Briton came home as the leading satellite rider in Spain, trailing only the factory bikes of Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and the victorious Jorge Lorenzo.
The result was made even more encouraging by the fact Crutchlow was still suffering from the flu symptoms that had bothered him all weekend. Although he finished nearly 23 seconds behind the race winner, the 29-year-old felt the gap was accentuated by his physical condition and was happy to maintain fourth spot rather than push unnecessarily.
Cal Crutchlow #35 (4th – 45’19.973)
“Fourth position was the best we could do today with my physical condition. I was happy enough to be honest, we had a good race and I pushed when I needed to push.
“In all honesty I could have been five seconds overall quicker on the race distance, I just didn’t need to be. I kept the gap to Pol Espargaro behind and I think it was just too difficult to chase Valentino, even at the start when I was caught up in the battle with Aleix and Pol.
“But the team did a great job to finish in fourth behind the three factory riders. The distance from the winner is a little strange, but we know why because of my physical condition, which also affected my feeling with the bike. But we did a good job and the whole team is pleased.”
More, from another press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:
MILLER TAKES 20TH SPOT AT JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA
Jack Miller had to settle for 20th position in the Spanish Grand Prix at a sunny Jerez de la Frontera on Sunday. For the third race in succession, the Australian managed to finish, but was less than satisfied with his performance over the weekend.
The CWM LCR Honda rider struggled to get to grips with the tight Spanish circuit on board his MotoGP machine and was ultimately not able to build on his encouraging 12th place in Argentina last time out.
A mistake midway through meant Miller was desperately trying to catch up ground to the group ahead of him in the second half of the race, but he was unable to make real inroads. He finished nearly a minute and a quarter behind race winner Jorge Lorenzo and acknowledged afterwards there was plenty of work to do at Monday’s test session.
Jack Miller #43 (20th – 46’11.428)
“It wasn’t a great race at all. We tried really hard, but towards the middle of the race I ran wide and lost the group. I pushed really hard to try and catch them up, but it was not enough.
“I had too many bad moments and decided if I kept on pushing like that I would end up crashing. So we finished the race, but not in the position I wanted. I hope in the tests on Monday we can find something positive for the races ahead.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Jorge Lorenzo puts on master class to claim Jerez win
Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo dominates the race in Jerez to take victory by over 5 seconds as Rossi claims his 200th podium.
Jorge Lorenzo reclaimed the Circuito de Jerez as “Lorenzo Land” as he proved to be simply untouchable on his way to his 55th World Championship victory. The Spaniard has dominated throughout the weekend, and continued this during the race as he led from the lights to the flag.
His winning margin of 5.576s was an indication of just how much he was in control of the race, as he even had time to salute the fans on his final lap before crossing the line to take the chequered flag.
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez rode valiantly with his broken finger and even managed to hold off a charging Valentino Rossi (+11.586s) at the end of the race to claim second. Rossi was 2 seconds behind Marquez with 10 laps to go, and the Spaniard must have had a feeling of déjà vu when his pit board said Rossi had closed the gap to a second with only seven laps left.
Unlike in Argentina, he managed to respond to keep the Italian at bay with Rossi eventually crossing the line in third, a further six seconds back, to claim his 200th World Championship podium.
CWM LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow secured a rather lonely 4th place to finish as the leading satellite rider 3.8s ahead of Pol Espargaro on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1. Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone won a hard fought battle for sixth against Aleix Espargaro on the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR.
Bradley Smith finished in eighth, while Andrea Dovizioso (9th) had to ride through the field after running wide a twice during the opening laps and finding himself down in 25th.
Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez completed the top ten with Hector Barbera finishing as the top Open class rider in 14th, just ahead of Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista (15th) who claimed the final Championship point.
Rossi (82pts) now has a 15-point advantage over Andrea Dovizioso (67pts) in the MotoGP™ World Championship standings whilst Jorge Lorenzo (62pts) has moved into third at the expense of Marquez (56pts).
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
MORE VITAL EXPERIENCE FOR TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR AT JEREZ
The Spanish Grand Prix marks another step forward in race development for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR as both the riders experienced a solid weekend close to the top and were therefore able to transfer back to the team plenty of precious feedback and data.
With Aleix Espargaro starting from sixth place on the grid and Maverick Viñales 14th, the team devoted the warm-up session to define the final set-up for the race and make a decision on which tyres to use. This was a decision which had not yet been made and it was one which was affected by the changing temperatures with race day being much cooler than the previous days’ afternoon practice and qualifying sessions.
When the red lights went out, Espargaro made a good start, getting to the first corner in fifth place, battling to keep his GSX-RR as close as possible to the front riders. This would prove to be difficult as his competitors seemed to have a slight performance edge. In the middle of the race he dropped to seventh place and finally took the chequered flag in that position, meaning another race finish in the top-eight with more important points scored in the championship.
Viñales in his race had to push hard from the very beginning to recover from 14th place on the grid. The crowded first corner saw him lose a couple of positions, but the positive feeling he had on his GSX-RR allowed him to stay close to the riders ahead and start gaining more and more positions as the race unfolded. As the performance of the tyres dropped, he could exploit the positive feeling he had with his GSX-RR’s chassis and keep a good pace, being able to fight for 10th position. The last few laps saw a flurry of overtakes between him and his competitors, with the series Rookie eventually finishing the race in 11th place; again very close to the top-10.
Satoru Terada – Team Director:
“I think the seventh place of Aleix is a good result, but everybody in the team feels that we can achieve better results. Of course we are new to this and we are gaining experience, but we are aware of our potential and we cannot say this result is fulfilling what our expectations are right now. Here we finally weren’t affected by the chattering problems we had in the USA and Argentina. We have brought some technical improvements here and apparently they gave us a good result, but tomorrow we will exploit the test day also to verify that we have solved the problem for real and it is not only a matter of the characteristics of the track. Maverick did a positive race in terms of his final result, but it was affected by his performance in qualifying: I believe that if he can start higher up on the grid he has the potential to end in the top-10 without major difficulties. Tomorrow we have an important day of testing here, we will work to verify the situation with the chattering, but also to make some improvements in both our electronics and chassis package to improve our traction, which could probably be the quickest way to find some more performance.”
Aleix Espargaro:
“I’m not really satisfied with the result of this race, it is positive that I got again in the top eight and I gained important points to get closer to seventh place in the championship, but we all feel we have the potential to aim for higher results. At the moment we have to work more on traction, it is not a matter of pure power anymore; it is more a matter of delivering the power that we already have more effectively. We made huge steps forward with the chattering compared to previous races and now we have to deal with the rear wheel spinning. We have one very important test day tomorrow. We will test some new parts but mainly we have to work on the electronics to find improved traction. The team is doing an amazing job and really supporting me so it would be nice to reward them with better results because I think we deserve them for the potential that we have.”
Maverick Viñales:
“I’m happy to have ended the race almost in the top 10 but for sure I regret the mistake I made in qualifying. My pace in the race was good and I did a lot of overtakes, but unfortunately when you have to make so many passes it takes you a lot of time and I couldn’t reach the pace I felt I could make; which I believe could have been around a second faster. This is what happens when you start in the middle of the grid instead of nearer the front. I think we have the potential to legitimately aim for the third-row and starting from there would mean a much easier race for us. I need to improve my style and my approach to qualifying. I’m still a rookie with the softer tyres so it’s taking some time, but I feel confident that we are following the right path to improve.”
More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:
POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders battle hard in Jerez
Nicky Hayden saw his performance hindered by a slower start and Eugene Laverty suffered with forearm discomfort
Conditions were excellent and in the beautiful setting of Jerez, Lorenzo was the man of the hour as MotoGP visited the world capital of motorcycling. The Spaniard dominated almost all the practice sessions, taking the pole with a superlative lap. And in the race he gave his rivals no glimmer of hope, leading from start to finish over the 27 laps. Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez tried to catch up their battle for second was an interesting sub plot after what happened in Argentina. But this time the Italian was unable to catch the young World Champion. So, Lorenzo took the victory, with Marquez and Rossi racking up vital championship points as they joined him on the podium.
It seemed that Nicky Hayden could feature prominently in today’s race, starting from 18th, but as the American would comment later his start and early race pace was slower than he would have hoped for. After the first third of the race, the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider found his pace and, near the end, gained a position to conclude 17th. Nor did Eugene Laverty have his best day in Jerez. The Irishman made a very important improvement during the warm-up session and so he started the race with more grip, but changes in geometry excessively overloaded his forearms later in the race. The POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider concluded in 18th.
Nicky Hayden, 17th: “Today I have not started well and I couldn’t get on the pace at the start of the race. It was a pity not being able to lap faster at the start of the race because, seeing my pace in the second half, we could have done much better. As the laps passed I began to feel more comfortable, I was able to increase to and maintain a decent pace. In the last laps I gained a couple of places, but I’m not satisfied because Jerez is a track I like, I expected more joy here. Fortunately we have a test scheduled for tomorrow, during which we’ll try to improve our feelings. Although we have not got a good result we are evolving our electronics gradually, so I hope we can be more competitive soon.”
Eugene Laverty, 18th: “Yesterday evening we did not have a good feeling, with the lack of traction, so this morning we made some changes in the warm-up session. Thanks to that we greatly improved the set-up of the bike, I managed to have more grip and be more consistent. This allowed me to start the race very well and safely at first. The changes made have helped us gain grip but affected the geometry of the bike. So we carried a lot of weight on the rear and every time we accelerated strongly the front needed a lot of control, so my arms were overworked. From the sixth lap I started to notice that I was putting pressure on my forearms. I was able to control pain for ten laps but when the bike started to slide in the final part of the race, it was almost impossible for me to ride. We have discovered how to improve the grip, which is something positive, but now we need a more balanced bike to avoid overuse of the forearms.”