FIM MotoGP World Championship
Motorland Aragon, Spain
September 27, 2015
Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires):
1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 23 laps, 41:44.933
2. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), -2.683
3. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -2.773
4. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -7.858
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -24.322
6. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), -24.829
7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), -25.367
8. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -25.503
9. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), -26.452
10. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), -43.889
11. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (SUZUKI), -44.255
12. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), -48.176
13. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), -49.755
14. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (HONDA), -50.271
15. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), -50.364
16. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), -50.722
17. Loris BAZ, France (YAMAHA), -51.997
18. Stefan BRADL, Germany (APRILIA), -53.406
19. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), -56.859
20. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (DUCATI), -59.607
21. Toni ELIAS, Spain (YAMAHA), -75.237
22. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), -12 laps, DNF, retired
23. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), -14 laps, DNF, crash
24. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (ART-APRILIA), -18 laps, DNF, crash
25. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), -22 laps, DNF, crash
World Championship Point Standings (after 14 of 18 races):
1. Rossi, 263 points
2. Lorenzo, 249
3. Marquez, 184
4. Iannone, 172
5. Smith, 143
6. Dovizioso, 139
7. Pedrosa, 129
8. Petrucci, 93
9. TIE, Crutchlow/Pol Espargaro, 88
11. Aleix Espargaro, 76
12. Vinales, 74
13. Redding, 67
14. Hernandez, 47
15. Baz, 28
16. Bautista, 26
17. Barbera, 23
18. Miller, 16
19. Hayden, 13
20. Bradl, 11
21. Laverty, 9
22. Michele Pirro, 8
23. Di Meglio, 7
24. Hiroshi Aoyama, 5
25. De Angelis, 2
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
Lorenzo Lands Aragón Victory as Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Locks up Team World Title
Alcañiz (Spain), 27th September 2015
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team‘s Jorge Lorenzo was on another level today at the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón and took a stunning victory. Valentino Rossi had the Spanish crowd at MotorLand Aragón gasping for air as he entertained them with a sensational battle for second place in which he came just 0.090s short.
Lorenzo made a flying start from second on the grid to lead the MotoGP field into turn one with rival Marc Marquez in pursuit. The Yamaha rider showed his usual stunning pace on the opening lap, creating an advantage of over half a second as they headed into the second lap. Marquez tried to stay on the heels of Lorenzo, but was unable to keep up with his blistering pace and with 22 laps to go he crashed out.
By then Lorenzo already had a more than 1.7s advantage over the chasing group fighting for second, including Andrea Iannone, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi. As they dueled, Lorenzo in no time built up a margin of over three seconds, which he managed beautifully. It was a lonely race for the Spaniard, but his incredible consistency proved unbeatable today. With no rider able to match his pace, Lorenzo crossed the finish line with a convincing 2.683 seconds advantage over the rider in second place, and clinched the by himself designed Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón trophy.
Rossi defended his lead in the championship with tooth and nail today. He held his sixth grid position off the line going into turn one, and soon moved up the order as he overtook Pol Espargarò. The Italian, promoted to fourth by Marquez‘s crash, was able to get hold of a provisional third place podium spot when he overtook Iannone on lap four.
His next target was Pedrosa, who he shadowed for most of the race before making his move after 18 laps. What followed was a five-lap battle for second that ran that until the finish line. Rossi skillfully passed Pedrosa various times, but was unable to make it stick and ultimately had to settle for the final podium spot, 2.773s off his teammate.
Today‘s race results keep Lorenzo in second in the rankings and see him inch closer to his teammate Rossi, who holds the lead in the standings with a 14-point advantage and a total of 263 points.
JORGE LORENZO
I took a big sigh of relief, because I was pushing so much and my tension-level was very high. I was trying to pull away by some metres from Marquez. I knew it was going to be difficult because my pace was very similar to his and after the warm up I knew his pace was very strong. We probably would have fought all the race and he may have beaten me in the final part because he may not have noticed the drop of the tyres as much, but today I was lucky. I saw his crash on the board and then I had to wait another lap to see the gap to Pedrosa. That was already very big after two laps, but I still couldn‘t relax because I knew that Dani had Valentino behind him and on this track he can have a good pace. I needed to stay focused and not make any mistakes to maintain the distance and that‘s what I did all the race. I remained very concentrated and focused and it was worth it. This race was very important to forget about the last two races with bad luck concerning the weather and where I made some mistakes. Had I lost more points to Valentino, it would have been almost impossible to win the championship. Now it‘s a bigger chance, but you never know what happens at the three fly-away races, so we have to keep our feet on the ground and keep working well as we are doing now and try to beat the others on all laps of these next four races. Over the last two years we did a good job in Motegi, the bike works well there in what is usually a difficult track for us. The hard-braking and acceleration suits our rivals better, so it‘s not easy, but these last few years I‘ve been very fast and competitive. Maybe we can win, but for sure, with Marquez around it will be very tough.
I‘m very proud of the team and very proud of the work that everyone from Yamaha did in Japan. They worked on all aspects but especially on corner entry. That was our main weakness over the previous years. This Team World Championship title, that we secured already four races before the end of the season, means a lot to us. It‘s been an unbelievable year from the results to the performance of the bike and we are very happy.
VALENTINO ROSSI
I try everything, I give the maximum, because for sure it is important to arrive second and lose just the five points to Jorge, but at the end Dani today was very strong. I tried everything, but in the end he arrived in front of me. On the other hand I am happy about the race. First of all because it was very fun, and secondly because I was competitive, I was strong in the race and it was the best race of my career in Aragon, for sure, this circuit is always difficult. But now we have to look forward and try to do better. I stayed behind Dani because in the beginning it was very difficult to overtake and I didn’t have enough pace to stay in front. So I had to fight for everything in the last lap. I tried to overtake where I saw I was strong, but already from the first overtake I saw that Dani today was very strong, because he always came back. I tried to concentrate and stay on the line at entry every time, but on the last lap we touched at one time and I went over the curb, so at that moment I had just to try all or nothing, you know. In the chicane I tried without thinking, but he was able to cross the line somehow. Now we go to Motegi, it is a track that I like, where also last year I did a very good race. But Jorge last year was stronger than me and he was able to win. For this reason we have to try the maximum, the difference is just fourteen points and it will be very difficult, because the advantage is so small. We have to give the maximum, because we are competitive.
The Team World Title is a great achievement for everybody, because all the team, all the engineers were able to improve the M1 and gave us a great bike. We did a great step compared to last year and compared to Honda also, especially. It is also a great achievement for the riders, because we always care about this and this year me and Jorge were able to win a lot of points and arrived in front a lot of the time. So everybody in the team is very happy.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
It was a state of the art performance by Jorge, his level was unmatched and he managed the gap perfectly. He didn‘t make any mistakes and fully deserved his 60th Grand Prix win over all classes. Valentino did well to ride from sixth to third early on in the race and got caught up in a battle with Dani Pedrosa for the final two podium positions. The team has worked very hard all season long and it had paid off as Movistar Yamaha MotoGP is now the World Champion Team. I want to dedicate this title to all team members, who always put a lot of effort in finding solutions to bring us to a highly competitive level. I also want to dedicate this victory to Movistar, as we could not have given them a better gift than the Team World Championship title at their own title sponsored Grand Prix. I‘m especially happy that we have won this title in front of Mr. Alierta, President of Telefonica, who honored us with his presence in the garage during the race.
More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing:
Top 10 eludes Redding in difficult Aragon race
150927-wlead
Aragon, Spain – 27 September 2015: Briton Scott Redding was unable to battle for the top 10 in what was a problematic Motorland Aragon MotoGP race for the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider in Spain today.
Boosted by a career first premier class podium in Misano last time out, the 22-year-old was confident he could race his Honda RC213V machine into top 10 contention in this afternoon’s 23-lap battle.
But niggling technical issues hindered Redding’s charge in the latter stages of the race, just at the point when he looked well placed to attack Yonny Hernandez for 10th position.
Vibration and pumping from Redding’s rear tyre forced him to drastically reduce his speed in the final stages and he slipped back to 12th position to score points for the fifth race in succession.
Redding and Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS will now look to mount a stronger challenge in Honda’s vital home round at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, which kicks off the most intensive phase of the season, with races to follow in Australia and Malaysia on successive weekends.
Scott Redding: 12th
“It wasn’t a great day and a tough race capped off a pretty difficult weekend to be honest. We came here on a high after Misano knowing it would be difficult, but I had some brake issues getting up to temperature and a lot of pumping from the rear. I thought I could get Hernandez but in the last few laps I lost a lot of feeling with the bike. The rear tyre turned on the rim a bit but I don’t think that was my biggest issue. I felt some vibration and it had an impact on rear grip. But the last laps were a struggle and it was disappointing to see the times increase so much.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“It was a difficult race and obviously we missed the target of finishing inside the top 10. The lap times at the end of the race dropped quite a lot and he had an issue with the rear tyre. But that aside we still expected to be stronger and closer to the group that was ahead fighting for the top six. We have a very tough period of the championship approaching now with the flyaway triple header in Japan, Australia and Malaysia where we will be giving our all to finish the season in positive fashion.”
More, from a press release issued by OCTO Pramac Racing:
Yonny back in TOP 10 in Aragon Gp. Petrux crashes after 10 superb laps
The Grand Prix de Aragon ends with the satisfaction of Yonny Hernandez back in Top 10 and putting definitely over a difficult period. Danilo Petrucci’s race was instead stopped on the tenth lap when the bike lost grip and slid putting the rider of Fiamme Oro out for the first time this season.
Yonny started fast passing his teammate in the first corner. Following Petrux’s reply, Hernandez decided to not take unnecessary risks and administrate his 10th place as the pace race was not so fast. Back to the pit box the hugs and the joy of his team after a weekend in which Yonny has found back the best feeling with his Ducati Desmosedici 14.2 as shown during the morning warm-up.
After a not brilliant start, Danilo managed to lap really fast remaining close to the leading group and giving the feeling of being able to compete for a great result. Then, on lap 10, a crash difficult to explain (as evidenced by telemetry) and the disappointment for the first GP in which he could not bring home points.
With the 6 points scored today by Yonny Hernandez, OCTO Pramac Racing remains in the slipstream of the Top 5 (6th place, -10) in the team ranking (140 points).
Danilo Petrucci maintains the eighth position in the MotoGp Championship (93 points).
Yonny Hernandez rises to 47 points (14th place)
Yonny back in TOP 10 in Aragon Gp. Petrux crashes after 10 superb laps
10° – Yonny Hernandez – OCTO Pramac Racing Team #68
I am very happy because we have reached the Top 10 but also because I was able to get to the chequered flag after a difficult period. This gives me a lot of confidence ahead of the three races in Asia. I’m happy for the tenth place but I have to admit that the feeling with the bike during the warm-up was better compared what I felt during the race. The temperature difference has probably influenced a lot. I have tried in the first 5 laps to find a good race pace but I could not push as I wanted. I want to thank the team for the support they gave me during this period. They helped me a lot and this is a little satisfaction that I want to dedicate to all the guys. We have to continue in this direction.
DNF – Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing Team #9
It’s frustrating because I would have liked to have finished all the races bringing home points. But these things can happen, especially after 14 races where we did well. I was very fast, close to the leading group, and this is a very nice feeling. I’m sorry for the team that had given me a very fast bike. I was pushing, I did not believe to be over the limit so I am very surprised by the crash. Looking ahead it was still a very positive weekend. And so now I want to go to Japan to take back what I left here.
More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:
Lorenzo in a league of his own with emphatic Aragon Grand Prix victory
Round 14: Aragon MotoGP™ – Race
MotorLand Aragon, Sunday September 27 2015
Bridgestone slick compounds: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft (Symmetric), Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: Dry. Ambient 22-22°C; Track 34-35°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo proved to be unbeatable at today’s Aragon Grand Prix as the two-time MotoGP World Champion led from start to finish to close the gap to teammate Valentino Rossi to just fourteen points with four rounds remaining.
The win not only maintained Lorenzo’s tilt at this year’s MotoGP championship it also marked his sixtieth Grand Prix victory across all classes and was his 88th MotoGP podium on Bridgestone tyres. This sees Lorenzo surpass Casey Stoner as the most successful MotoGP rider on Bridgestone tyres with a total of 38 victories, 34 second places and 16 third-place finishes.
Lorenzo got the holeshot into the first corner and immediately set a scorching pace, setting a new Aragon Circuit Lap record of 1’48.120 on his second lap and led for the entire race, taking the chequered flag 2.683 seconds ahead of Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa in second place. Having qualified on the second row in fifth place, Pedrosa rode a fantastic race, holding off the fast-finishing Valentino Rossi who had to settle for third place. Such was the pace at today’s Aragon Grand Prix that the first four riders completed the race under the old overall race time record, Lorenzo’s race time being eighteen seconds quicker than the previous record.
The morning Warm Up session was subjected to cool temperatures due to heavy cloud cover but for the race, the skies cleared resulting in weather conditions that were almost identical to those experienced during qualifying yesterday. The track temperature leading up to and during the race was steady at 35°C so the riders selected the same slick tyre combinations used during race simulations yesterday. The medium compound front slick was selected by every rider for the race except Forward Racing’s Toni Elias who opted for the soft compound slick instead. Rear tyre choice showed a strong preference for the medium compound rear slick with sixteen of the twenty-five riders selecting this option, with the remaining nine riders selecting the soft compound rear slick.
Lorenzo’s sixth win of the season reduces the deficit to his teammate and championship leader Valentino Rossi to just fourteen points. Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez holds onto third place in the standings on 184 points despite suffering his fifth DNF of the season.
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Today we saw Jorge ride a very impressive race and I would like to say congratulations to him for such a fine victory and to Yamaha on their double podium at Aragon. Jorge is now the most successful MotoGP rider on Bridgestone tyres having amassed 88 podiums since he first used our tyres at the Qatar Grand Prix back in 2009. Today’s result sets up the championship for a thrilling conclusion over the next four rounds and with the next race being Bridgestone’s home race at Japan, I am sure the passionate Japanese fans will be treated to another exciting contest in a couple of weeks’ time. Our staff now head off on the three back-to-back races in Asia and Australia in good spirits as we look forward to supporting all the teams and riders in the final stages of the season.”
Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“For a while it seemed that for the third race in a row we were going to have conditions for the race that were very different to the practice sessions, but in the end the conditions were perfect so the riders were able to select the slick tyre options they used in their race simulations yesterday. This resulted in the medium compound front and rear slicks being the most popular combination. Aragon is a harsh circuit for the left shoulder of the front and rear tyres but tyre performance over race distance was consistent, with the overall race time this year being 18 seconds quicker than the old record. This is a pleasing result as it shows that the riders could maintain a strong pace throughout twenty-three laps at what is a tough circuit for tyres.”
Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Race Winner
“As always I made a good start and my strategy was to ride at the maximum from the beginning. It worked well as Marc struggled to keep up with me but I didn’t expect him to crash so when he did, I felt I could breathe a little easier. However, Dani kept a good pace and could keep the same gap to me, so I had to push all the way to the end of the race to take the victory.”
More, from a press release issued by AB Motoracing:
Seven laps and then it was over. Karel Abraham retired in Aragon due to an injured foot
Not fully recovered injury of the left foot was again a limiting factor for Karel Abraham during the MotoGP race. Czech rider had to give up a race after seven laps. He was not able to control a bike properly.
Karel Abraham
“The race weekend in Aragon was really demanding for the foot and I could not handle it any more. I was in Clinica Mobile and we were discussing whether something moved in my foot. We have also done an x-ray and it seems it was just overburdened. I will continue with rehabilitation but honestly I don´t feel it’s helping.”
Marco Grana
chief mechanic AB Motoracing
“Unfortunately Karel had to stop after seven laps because of pain in his foot, since the foot is not strong enough to keep the bike stable. We did everything to finish the race but it doesn´t make any sense to continue when we are falling behind by 0.5 second each lap. This track is harder for Karel than Misano and as a result, the injured left foot is overburdened. We could make quite good lap in QP, but only one lap. But maintaining it for the whole race is much more harder.“
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
ALVARO BAUTISTA IN THE POINTS ONCE AGAIN AT ARAGON WITH AN EXCELLENT RACE COMING BACK FROM BEHIND. BRADL HELD UP BY TYRE WEAR JUST AS A POINTS FINISH WAS WITHIN REACH
Circuito de Aragon (Spain), 27 September 2015 – Alvaro Bautista’s points finish (thirteenth) on his Aprilia RS-GP closes out a positive weekend for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini. Bautista, who started from the twenty-first spot on the grid, had an excellent start which immediately gained several positions for him. However, after getting bottled up in the battle at the first turn, he had to start his comeback from scratch. Without losing heart he set his pace, lapping at very good times which brought him up to battle with the group, recovering positions and finishing his one hundredth MotoGP race in thirteenth place.
Stefan Bradl also rode an excellent race on his number 6 RS-GP, settling in just behind Alvaro in a solid position for points, but in the final laps sudden tyre deterioration forced him back to eighteenth place.
ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“Overall it was a good weekend. We had absolutely respectable performance, in line with our goals for the season. Alvaro rode a top shelf race despite starting from behind and even after he was bottled up straight away after a good start, losing several positions. He rode a fantastic comeback race, lapping with extremely respectable times and battling it out in the group with Laverty and Vinales. With a better result in practice and without the trouble at the start he would have had the potential to make a play for it in the group with Redding and Hernandez. The gap was also reduced. Stefan also got off the line very well and rode an excellent race until he had problems with tyre deterioration that we need to understand better. In fact, he had a lot of tyre spin and we need to help him manage this problem. Stefan has a different riding style than Alvaro and we need to give him a hand with this.”
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“The crash yesterday in qualifying complicated things for Bautista because starting from the back always makes it more difficult to tackle the race. Alvaro rode a great comeback race though, riding in a very determined way, so I’m pleased with the result. Just like other times, maybe we could have brought home a better result, but the important this is that we are solidifying our improvements: for the last several races we’ve been consistently finishing in the points and today Alvaro could have maintained the same race pace as Hernandez and Redding. I’m sorry for Stefan who, after a brilliant first part of the race, lost a lot of grip at the rear, slipping back. In any case it’s nice to have a team with two motivated riders who push one another.”
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“I had a great start, gaining a lot of ground in the first few metres but then I was shut out on the first turn and I had to halt my progress. It took me a while to get past Laverty, who was braking very well, and once I had overtaken him I lost some more positions while I was behind Bradl, so I had to start all over again. I managed to overtake Laverty again and Bradl as well and at that point I would have liked to have gone after Vinales but it was too late, so I just held my pace, which was not bad at all, and I’m pleased to have finished in the points again. This was a very positive weekend. We learned a lot, thanks to the team’s hard work. Now we need to keep it up in the coming races.”
STEFAN BRADL
“Our work on the bike was slowed a bit during practice and today we paid for that in the race. In the last ten laps I didn’t have any more rear grip. In Warm Up we had tried various settings, finding one that seemed to give us more grip and in truth I felt very much at ease during the first part of the race. But then all at once, after midrace, grip started to drop little by little. The bike was sliding around a lot and the rear tyre deteriorated very quickly. In the finale contact with Laverty also made me lose contact with the riders in front of me, but at that point I didn’t have any chance of attacking them again because I was losing a lot of ground coming out of turns. It’s a shame because our performance at the beginning of the race was good. However, this weekend we had various positive notes and in the first half of the race we were fast. We’ll keep our feet firmly planted on the ground and take this race as a valuable lesson for the future.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Iannone finishes fourth and Dovizioso fifth in a good Aragón GP for the Ducati Team
Both Ducati Team riders had a good race today at the MotorLand circuit in Spain. Andrea Iannone finished the Aragón GP in fourth place, less than eight seconds behind the winner Jorge Lorenzo, while his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was one place behind in fifth.
Iannone, who started from the front row of the grid in third place, got off to a good start and was third at the end of lap 1. After Marquez crashed out on the following lap, he moved up to second, but was then passed by Pedrosa and Rossi over the next two laps. Iannone then remained in fourth place until the chequered flag. Thanks to today’s results, Iannone is still fourth overall in the standings, but has reduced the gap to Marquez to just 12 points.
Dovizioso, who started from row 5 in the thirteenth grid slot, managed to get an excellent start and made up numerous places on the opening lap, which he finished in seventh. The man from Forlì then continued to move up through the field over the next three laps and crossed the line on lap 4 in fifth. Dovizioso remained in that position until the flag, holding off attacks from Bradley Smith and Aleix Espargaro. Dovizioso is still sixth in the overall standings, but his gap to Smith is now reduced to just four points.
Ducati and the Ducati Team continue to lie third in both the Constructors’ and Teams’ standings.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 4th
“In spite of my physical condition, we did a good race, but I am a bit disappointed I was unable to stay with Pedrosa and Rossi. I thought I had their pace and that I could fight with them, but they were always quicker than me by a couple of tenths, which mirrored the lap times we recorded during FP4. I would have liked to be able to fight for the podium, because my team is working really hard and it’s important to get encouraging results for the whole squad. I gave my all, despite the fact that my shoulder was hurting, and I have to thank the guys in the Clinica Mobile because they gave me some pain-killing injections that eliminated the pain during the first part of the race.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 5th
“Let’s say that I am pleased and not pleased at the same time. With the race pace that I had, I think I managed to bring home the best possible result, but this doesn’t make me happy. For sure we have to work to improve the bike, because I am unable to brake and ride the way I want, and as a result I am not as fast as I would like to be. If I look at today’s race however, considering that I was starting from thirteenth on the grid, finishing fifth is a good result.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“Today our riders brought home a fourth and a fifth place, two good results that give us encouragement for the next races. Andrea Iannone had an excellent race: he fought through the pain barrier and always lapped at a constant pace, not far away from the riders who finished on the podium, and this result helps him to stay in the fight for third position in the world championship. It was a more difficult race for Andrea Dovizioso, who despite having a rather arduous weekend, was able to score a good result for the classification.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Magnificent second place for Pedrosa after intense battle with Rossi but Marquez crashes out on lap two
It was a day of mixed emotions at the Aragon GP for the Repsol Honda Team as Dani Pedrosa was engrossed in an historic battle with Valentino Rossi – coming out on top to take second place – but pole man Marc Marquez sadly crashed out.
As the race got underway, Marc dropped back to third from pole but managed to get back up to second by the end of the first lap and slot in behind race leader Jorge Lorenzo. Meanwhile Dani had made up a position and was in fourth behind Andrea Iannone. As Marc chased down Lorenzo on lap two, he made a small mistake in Turn 12 and lost the front. The bike slid into the gravel and was too badly damaged to allow Marc to continue.
Dani pushed on and by lap three he had passed Iannone into second place, by lap four he had Rossi on his back wheel. This remained the story for the following fifteen laps, with just hundredths of a second separating the two riders. Then with five laps remaining Rossi began to try and pass but each time Dani was able to respond and pass Rossi back. This continued for the remainder of the race, with Dani showing great determination to battle with Rossi – passing each other several times – and not give up on the second spot of the podium. On the final lap, Rossi passed Dani, but again Dani reacted and passed him back in Turn 7 and was able to hold on to beat him to the chequered flag by just 0.090 seconds.
Marc remains in 3rd place in the standings on 184 and Dani still 7th with 129 points.
Dani Pedrosa
2ND CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 7TH – 129 POINTS
“I’m really happy as it was a great race with Valentino! It was difficult, because I had him on my tail every lap and during the last five he tried to pass me, but I managed to stay in front of him. He is a rider who is very strong in this part of racing, and can usually beat anyone on the grid – and for me it is one of my weaker points. However, today I was able to beat him and I’m so happy because during the battle we swapped positions many times which gives me great motivation. I want to thank the entire Repsol Honda team and we will try to be stronger at the next race!”
Marc Marquez
DNF CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 3RD – 184 POINTS
“Today I can only apologise to the team and the fans, because we were working very well and we had a very good pace all weekend. On the second lap, when braking for Turn 12, I made a mistake and lost the front. It was my fault and I apologise. When a season is not going well for you, then nothing goes your way, and it seems that this season we are finding things hard. There are still four races to go and we will try to be at the front and fight to the end.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Lorenzo: jaws out of the water to reduce Rossi’s championship advantage
Jorge Lorenzo takes his sixth win of the season at rain-free #AragonGP ahead of Dani Pedrosa and championship rival Valentino Rossi as Marc Marquez crashes out.
Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo rode brilliantly to secure his 60th career GP victory in front of 67,000 fans at the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón. Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa was involved in an excellent fight with Rossi over the final few laps for the second step of the podium at MotorLand Aragon. Eventually Pedrosa would beat Rossi to the line by just a tenth of a second, while his teammate Marc Marquez crashed out of the race.
This means that Lorenzo has reduced Rossi’s advantage in the standings by 9 points to just 14 heading into the flyaway rounds, with just four races remaining. Movistar Yamaha’s first double podium since Brno saw them lift the team title for the first time since 2010.
There was drama at the start, as Marquez seemed to make a mistake allowing Lorenzo to lead into the first corner with Iannone in second, as the pole man dropped down to third. The Spaniard recovered to make a move on Iannone into second through the first few corners and set off after Lorenzo at the front.
Rossi, who knew he couldn’t let Lorenzo get away, started making his way through the field from sixth on the grid immediately, moving up to fifth at the end of the first lap at the expense of Pol Espargaro. The Italian was already two seconds behind Lorenzo in second.
Unbelievably, just as he was closing down Lorenzo at the front, Marquez lost the front at turn 12 and crashed out of the Aragon GP for the second year in a row. It was Marquez’s fifth DNF of the year – the most he has ever had in a World Championship season – which sees him now trail Rossi by 70 points in the standings with only 100 up for grabs.
Marquez’s crash moved Iannone up into second, but not for long as Marquez’s teammate Pedrosa passed the Ducati man on the 3rd lap. All the while Lorenzo was looking untouchable at the front as he opened up a 2.4s lead by the end of lap 3.
Rossi knew he had to get a move on and he passed Iannone to move into 3rd on the 4th lap, although at this point he was lapping 0.3s a lap slower than Lorenzo as his teammate opened up a 3 second lead at the front. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Espargaro was involved in the battle for fourth with Iannone when he ran wide on lap 6 and dropped down to 11th.
By lap 8 both Pedrosa and Rossi started to lap faster than Lorenzo and the gap had been reduced to 2.6s. Lorenzo got the “hurry up” signal from his pit board and responded, managing his pace beautifully over the next few laps.
Further back through the field Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro had caught Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in sixth and was starting to attack, while Cal Crutchlow and Danilo Petrucci also started to close in on the duo in front of them. That was before Petrucci trailed the brakes too much into turn 14 with 13 laps to go and lost the front, leading to Petrucci’s first DNF since the Malaysian Grand Prix last year. Smith, Espargaro and Crutchlow caught up with Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso in fifth with 12 laps to go and an excellent battle ensued between the four riders. However Smith ran wide at turn 1 and dropped to the back of the group, undoing all of his hard work.
With 10 laps to go the gap at the front between Lorenzo and Pedrosa was up to 3.3s, with Rossi still hanging onto the back wheel of the Repsol Honda in third. Lorenzo was riding a simply brilliant race at the front, consistently running in the 1’48s and increasing his lead on every lap.
Rossi meanwhile, was starting to size up Pedrosa ahead of him in an effort to secure a vital extra 4 championship points by finishing in second. With 5 laps to go he made his first move in anger into turn 4 but Pedrosa immediately responded to re-take the Italian. Undeterred, Rossi tried it again into turn 1, but he couldn’t get it stopped and once more Pedrosa fought back as the two became embroiled in a spectacular duel over the final few laps.
On the penultimate lap, once again Rossi made a move under braking into turn 1, but once again he could not get his M1 stopped and couldn’t make it stick as Pedrosa showed incredible grit to fight back. It was shaping up for an epic final lap battle between the two and it didn’t disappoint, Rossi went past in turn 4, before Pedrosa stuffed it up the inside into turn 7. It seemed as though Pedrosa had second in the bag, before Rossi made an outrageous move through turn 15, but once more he couldn’t make it stick. The Italian sacrificing the drive onto the back straight in an effort to make the pass, meaning Pedrosa could power his way back past Rossi.
In an incredibly exciting finish Pedrosa managed to hold on through the final corner to take second by just nine-hundredths of a second from Rossi. All the while Lorenzo rode the perfect race at the front as he took his 39th premier class victory by over 2.6s.
It was Pedrosa’s 97th premier class podium, but only his third of the season and first since the German GP. Rossi claimed his 14th podium from just 15 races this season and the 209th in his illustrious GP career, although the damage done to his championship lead could prove to be costly in his bid for a tenth title.
Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone ended up in an excellent fourth despite having to ride through the pain due to the shoulder he re-dislocated earlier in the week. He crossed the line 16 seconds ahead of his teammate Andrea Dovizioso who finished in fifth after holding off the charging pack behind him.
Aleix Espargaro came out victorious in the battle for sixth, crossing the line ahead of Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith in a frantic dash to the line. Pol Espargaro managed to fight his way back into ninth, while Yonny Hernandez on the Octo Pramac Racing Ducati completed the top ten.
EG 0,0 Marc VDS’s Scott Redding finished in twelfth, while Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista crossed the line in 13th in his 100th GP. Eugene Laverty (Aspar MotoGP Team) took his first Open victory in 14th as he beat his teammate Nicky Hayden to the line by less then a tenth of a second. Forward Racing’s Loris Baz was in 17th having earlier announced he will make the switch to the Avintia Racing team for 2016. Australian Jack Miller on the Open LCR Honda finished in 19th while there were crashes for Karel Abraham and Alex De Angelis.
All of this means that Rossi (263pts) saw his advantage over Lorenzo (249pts) in the MotoGP™ championship standings reduced by nine to just 14 points with four races remaining. Marquez (184pts) remains in third, but now he is only 8 points ahead of fourth placed Iannone.
Rabat wins after breathtaking duel with local hero Rins
Tito Rabat takes only his second win of the season after a race long battle with local hero Alex Rins at the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón.
EG 0,0 Marc VDS’s Rabat ensured the Moto2™ championship battle would continue into the flyaway rounds by taking a sensational victory in a re-started race at MotorLand Aragon. The Spaniard enjoyed an excellent fight with his compatriot Paginas Amarillas HP40’s Rins, whose family lives just 18 minutes away from MotorLand Aragon. Rabat, starting from pole for the 15th time in his Moto2™ career, held on despite a dramatic last lap to cross the line just 0.096s ahead of Rins.
Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes completed the podium, while championship leader Johann Zarco will have wait until the Japanese GP for his next chance to lift the title as he saw his lead in the standings reduced to 78 points after finishing in sixth.
The original race was red flagged after Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten) crashed at turn 15 on the opening lap. Simeon was unhurt and able to take place his place back on the grid for the restart. Aegerter was taken to Alcañiz Hospital after being declared unfit at the track’s Medical Centre. He sustained fractures in several vertebrae, in his right wrist and 4th metacarpus of the right, as well as in some ribs. His general condition is, however, good.
The re-started race was reduced to 14 laps and it was Rabat who led into turn 1 ahead of Rins and Lowes while Simone Corsi (Forward Racing) made a great start from 11th on the grid and was up to fifth by the end of the first lap.
It didn’t take Rins long to make his move into the lead while Championship leader Zarco found himself down in sixth as they crossed the line for the first time.
On lap 2 Alex Marquez also went past Zarco, pushing the French Rider into 7th and Zarco started to see his chances of lifting the title at Aragon disappear as the front five opened up a two second gap.
Paginas Amarillas HP40’s Luis Salom crashed out on lap 3 at turn 9 while Simeon crashed again, this time at turn 7, to cap off a miserable day for the Belgian.
All the while Zarco was lapping almost a second slower than the front two and found himself dropping back into seventh. Unfortunately for the hard-charging Corsi he would run wide on lap 4 and dropped down to 14th.
With 10 laps to go Rins and Rabat were starting to pull away from Lowes in third and had opened up a 1.4s gap at the front as the field began to spread out.
Rabat made his move on Rins into turn 1 under braking with 8 laps to go to re-take the lead from Rins. Rabat’s teammate Alex Marquez was in sixth and had been closing down the men in front of him but crashed out with 6 laps to go.
The two leaders kept increasing their lead and with 5 laps to go the gap to Lowes was 2.6s as it became clear that it would be a two horse race for the win. All the while Zarco was involved in an excellent battle for 6th with Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Lorenzo Baldassari (Forward Racing), Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) and a now recovered Corsi.
As the laps ticked down Rabat could not break Rins and the two remained inseparable at the front while Zarco made a move stick on Syahrin and was up into sixth by the penultimate lap.
Rabat led the way as they started the last lap, but it was obvious that a move from Rins was coming and it was a case of when not if. Rins tried it under braking into turn 12, but he ran a bit wide and Rabat fought back. Rabat lead down the back straight and despite almost running wide in the final corner he managed to hold on to take his 12th Moto2™ career victory. In the process he ensured the championship battle would continue for at least one more round.
Rins’ excellent rookie season continues with his 8th podium finish in just his 14th Moto2™ start, while Lowes crossed the line in 3rd to claim his fourth rostrum of the season.
AGR Team’s Jonas Folger ended up having a rather lonely race in fourth after battling hard with Lowes at the start as he pulled off his best result since his win in Barcelona. Derendinger Racing Interwetten’s Luthi held off the late-charging Zarco to claim fifth, with the championship leader crossing the line in sixth.
Syahrin, Nakagami, Corsi and Baldassari completed the top ten while there were also crashes for Federico Fuligni, Julian Simon and Edgar Pons.
This means that Zarco (284pts) still leads the standings from Rabat (206pts), with Rins in third (184pts).
Oliveira wins in dramatic Moto3™ race
Miguel Oliveira took the race win as title rivals Enea Bastianini and Danny Kent crash out on the final lap at the Aragon GP.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira took his third victory of the season in a dramatic finish that saw the two men fighting for the Moto3™ title crash out on the final lap. Leopard Racing’s Danny Kent and Enea Bastianini on the Gresini Racing Team Moto3 Honda scored no championship points. This means Kent will take a 55-point lead into the flyaways.
Estrella Galicia’s Jorge Navarro (+0.193s) took his first Moto3™ podium after crossing the line in second ahead of Romano Fenati (+1.505s) on the Sky Racing Team VR46 KTM.
From the start it was Oliveira who got the holeshot as Kent found himself dropping down to fifth, but it didn’t take long for Bastianini to get to the front and he led across the line after the first lap.
Oliveira then re-took the lead on lap 2 and tried to break away but the slipstream effect at Aragon meant that it was almost impossible to do so. Kent did not have a great start and found himself as low as eighth at one point. Romano Fenati on the other hand enjoyed a good start and by the end of lap 4 he had worked his way up into fifth from tenth on the grid.
On lap 6 Kent and Binder almost made contact and the British rider dropped back while Romano Fenati made his move into the lead. Kent recovered and found himself in an excellent scrap with his main title rival Bastianini before starting a charge that saw him up into third at the start of lap 8.
A few corners later Kent hit the front for the first time and immediately pulled the pin. The newly announced teammates for 2016, Kent and Oliveira, then had an excellent scrap at the front, swapping the lead a number of times. By this point a leading group of ten had broken away from the rest of the field with Alexis Masbou leading the chasing pack.
On lap 10 Antonelli decided to join the party at the front, and Fenati was looking menacing in fourth as the action heated up. Jorge Navarro started to make his move and Enea Bastianini had also started to mix it with the leading riders.
With 8 laps to go Isaac Viñales (Husqvarna Factory Laglisse) and Darryn Binder (Outox Reset Drink Team) crashed out under braking into turn 12 whilst battling at the front of the chasing group and Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had a nasty highside at turn 2. At the front each rider seemed to be taking turns leading the race as no one could open up a decisive gap try as they might.
Kent then had a big moment with 4 laps to go as he tried to move into the lead and found himself dropping back to 5th and into the grasp of Bastianini, while Oliveira took over at the front.
With two laps to go there were nine riders battling for the win as Martin started to drop off the back of the leading pack. Brad Binder took the lead for the first time on the penultimate lap and he and his teammate Oliveira looked like they had timed it perfectly as they opened up a slight gap heading to the final lap.
On an incredible final lap Bastianini had closed the gap and it was a three-way battle for the victory. Then in dramatic fashion the Italian caught the back of Binder and both crashed out in an incident that could have had a huge impact on the championship.
Just when it looked like Kent would benefit from his title rivals fall to extend his lead in the standings he also amazingly crashed out, as he lost the rear on the very last corner.
This left Oliveira to take his third victory of the season while Jorge Navarro claimed his first Moto3™ podium despite experiencing a heavy crash in the morning’s Warm Up session. Fenati completed the rostrum for his third podium of the season.
Efren Vazquez (Leopard Racing) was in fourth, ahead of Phillip Oettl (Schedl GP Racing) and Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold). Mapfre Team Mahindra’s Jorge Martin, Alexis Masbou (SAXOPRINT RTG), Hiroki Ono (Leopard Racing) and Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) completed the top ten.
Maria Herrera (Husqvarna Factory Laglisse) pulled off her career best finish in 14th, while Scotsman John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG) crossed the line in 17th.
All this means Danny Kent (234pts) still leads the championship standings from Enea Bastianini (179pts) while Miguel Oliveira (159pts) closes the gap to the Italian to 20 points in third.
More, from a press release issued by Forward Racing:
Baz keeps the Open leadership
The Grand Prix Movistar de Aragon weekend closes with both riders out of the points for the Forward Racing team. Loris Baz, riding again the Yamaha Forward after yesterday’s bad accident, crossed the line in the 17th place, while Toni Elias, at his first race with the Swiss team, was 21th.
Baz, who started from 22nd position on the grid, quickly regained contact with the group of other Open and fought for the whole race with Miller, Hayden and Barbera. Despite the pain in the neck, a result of a cervical contracture in yesterday’s morning practice, the Frenchman passed under the checkered flag in 17th. With this placement he keeps the head of the class with a 5-point lead over the Spaniard chasing him.
First race with Yamaha Forward instead for Toni Elias who started at the back of the grid. After a good start, the Spaniard struggled a bit and had little feeling with the front eventually losing contact with the group ahead of him. He finished in 21th position.
Loris Baz
“The overall balance at the end of this weekend is positive. The gap with other Open bikes was not huge and I did practically the whole race fighting with my direct opponents. I was not 100% fit because of the bad accident of yesterday, I had an intense pain in the neck during the race and I could not stay on the bike. I have not collected points in the championship nor I have lost any, I’m leaving for the overseas trip convinced we can do well”.
Toni Elias
“I had a good start and I immediately attacked the group in front of me. I was fighting with De Angelis, but he was forced to retire and I lost contact with those ahead of me. I was alone and, since this is my first race for Yamaha Forward, I did not have the pace to recover. My first weekend with the team is over and I really like the power delivery of this engine, but I have to keep working on the front to find the right feeling”.
More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing:
Recovery without reward for Barbera at Aragon
27/09/15 Avintia Racing MotoGP – Grand Prix of Aragon – RACE
Hector Barbera had a poor start and made another mistake in the second lap of the Grand Prix of Aragon today, that put himself in the last position at the beginning of the race. But the Avintia Racing rider kept calm and lap by lap started to gain positions to cross the line in the 16th position, only four tenths of a second behind Nicky Hayden and ahead of his toughest Open Class title contender, Loris Baz. But the great recovery of the Spanish rider was without reward in the overall classification and with four races to go, the gap to Baz is still five points.
The race was also difficult for Mike Di Meglio. The Avintia Racing team French rider had some technical issues on the starting grid and, although he recovered his pace and was comfortable fighting with some fellow Open Class riders, in the final part of the race he had some problems to stop the bike and was 20th when the checked flag came down.
The Grand Prix of Aragon was the last one before the MotoGP World Championship heads to the flyaway triple in Japan, Australia and Malaysia in consecutive weeks.
HECTOR BARBERA #8 / 16th (P3 Open) @HectorBarbera
I had a bad start and I lost my concentration a little. In the second lap, I went wide under braking when I was trying to overtake another rider going into turn 12 and I found myself last. Then I started to recover and to pass some riders, but when I caught them with six or seven laps from the end, my tyres were destroyed and it was not possible to fight for points. I leave the circuit with a bad taste, because today was one of these days to recover points and we didn’t. The positives are that I’m physically very strong and I did my faster laps at the end of the race, so that means we are okay. We still need to improve, with the chassis we reached our limit, but we have room to improve with the electronics to improve the drive going out of the turns.
MIKE DI MEGLIO #63 / 20th (P6 Open) @Mikejpp63
The race was bad. At the start, I had a problem with the clutch and the bike was wheeling a lot, so I was almost in last position. Then I was able to recover, but always riding very smooth to keep the tyres as we knew it would be quite tight to finish the race. I felt comfortable and after overtaking Baz, I was following Miller for some laps, always saving tyres for the end. But from one lap to the next, something happened because I was not able to stop the bike in the hard braking areas, I had vibrations and we have to check what happened. It’s a pity because today we had the pace to be closer to the front.
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:
CRUTCHLOW CLAIMS SEVENTH PLACE IN ARAGON GP
LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow maintained his fine record at the Grand Prix of Aragon as he finished in seventh position in Sunday’s race. The Briton has never finished outside the top 10 during his five visits to the Motorland Aragon circuit in the MotoGP class, although he admits he was not totally satisfied with his latest result.
Starting from eighth on the grid, Crutchlow made a poor start due to a clutch problem but battled impressively throughout despite being hampered by grip issues with his RC213V bike. However, the 29-year-old believes there are plenty of positives to be taken from this weekend in Spain as he looks to finish the world championship season strongly.
Cal Crutchlow #35 (7th – 42m 10.300s)
“I was not too happy with my final position of seventh, but again this was the best we could do with our package. I was riding quite well, but I had no grip with the rear of the bike. We had some other small problems, I had a slipping clutch on the start-line and lost four places immediately and we struggled with the acceleration of the bike.
“Overall I am pleased to finish because I had some big moments out there where I could have gone even though I was not riding too hard. I think it was a positive weekend, we finished seventh and I have some more knowledge of riding the Honda. We need to improve, but I think today’s race can help to highlight a lot of things.”
More, from another press release issued by LCR Honda:
MILLER UNDONE BY TYRES IN FINAL STAGES OF ARAGON GP
LCR Honda rider Jack Miller finished in 19th position after a competitive performance at the Grand Prix of Aragon on Sunday. For the majority of the race the Australian was part of a large group in the middle of the field and looked well placed for another points finish at the Motorland Aragon circuit.
However, tyre disintegration ultimately cost Miller over the closing few laps and he was dropped as he looked to ensure he kept the bike upright. He admitted his disappointment at the eventual result, but insisted he had taken a lot of positives from round 14 of the MotoGP world championship in Spain.
Jack Miller #43 (19th – 42m 41.972s)
“I was happy with about 90% of our race. It was really, really good all the way through until about five laps to go, then the front tyre gave way and it was too much as we were already struggling with the rear. After that I couldn’t hold the pace of the group any more and I had to slow down otherwise I would have crashed.
“For most of the race I was pushing to close the gap on the brakes from what I was losing on the gas and it was working, unfortunately the tyre let us down at the end. We are happy as we stayed in that big group for a long period and gained a lot of experience, but we will just have to keep working hard on the set-up of the bike.”
More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:
Eugene Laverty places as top Open Class rider for first time
POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar battles to finish fourteenth, whilst Nicky Hayden claims points at Motorland Aragon
With the excellent pace shown yesterday by Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo, it was almost certain that both would be fighting for victory today at the Aragon GP. Lorenzo came out strong and Marquez followed. However, the latter surprisingly crashed out at turn twelve midway through the second lap, whilst Lorenzo set a new lap record -1.48.120- to open up an insurmountable gap. Behind, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi battled for second. Five laps from the end, the Italian began to make his move, but Pedrosa held off every attempt from the Italian to place second. Rossi rounded off the podium.
Eugene Laverty took a result worthy of his improved performance since the return from the summer break. The POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider had marked the MotorLand circuit down as one that could be favourable for him, and that proved to be the case. Yesterday he qualified as the top Open Class rider and today he continued with that form. Although he lost some positions at the start of the race, Laverty was able to keep a steady pace and fight in a very experienced group, climbing up places and defending his final position. He crossed the finish line in fourteenth place, as the best Open Class rider on race day.
Nicky Hayden’s performance completed the positive day for the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar Team. Although he came into the race at MotorLand with a fractured right thumb, the American showed his experience and professionalism as he gained consistency throughout the weekend. Today he fought fight in a group that decided the positions from twelfth to seventeenth, and finished the race rounding off the points-scoring places.
14º Eugene Laverty: “I am very happy with the result in the race here at Aragon. The qualifying session yesterday was fantastic but it was just one lap, today was very important because we were strong in 23. I was used to fighting for the top positions and fighting to get into the points now is different, but the Open concept is something that helps us to stay motivated. I felt relaxed on the bike, and the bike was working better towards the end. I just rode my own race and focused on what I was doing. Even though we were battling for fourteenth, I treated it as if we were in the fight to win the race. That’s the way you have to approach it. Nicky is a great teammate and a great racer. You don’t know where he is going to be in practice; he might have a bad practice or a bad qualifying session, but then come Sunday he really puts it together for the race. He did just that today, and we had a great fight together. We have been doing a great job in the second half of the season and finally we were able to have something to show for it today, I hope to continue to progress in the upcoming rounds.”
15º Nicky Hayden: “I got a really good start, and I felt good for a couple of laps, but a few guys got past me and I couldn’t tag onto the group in front. We ended up in a big battle, and it’s a shame that we were so far back because there was some good racing. It was a lot of very hard racing for fifteenth. It’s not been the worst weekend for us. We definitely qualified well, and even this morning we weren’t so far off, inside the top fifteen a lot. I did my fastest lap of the race on Lap 18, which was nice. It shows the bike was working well, to be able to go fast like that. I was fighting with Eugene at the end, and I actually got in front of him late on at one place, but then he came past me at Turn 8. We had a little contact and I went wide, losing a little time, but I was able to catch up. It’s fifteenth place, but there a couple of positives to take from the race; the bike is working well. My thumb didn’t make things easy this weekend, but I don’t want to say that is the reason why I finished where I did. We are going to get it X-rayed to make sure nothing moved, and as long as that’s the case I’ll be ok and hopefully I will be better for Japan.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
ESPARGARO SCORES BEST SEASON RESULT AT ARAGON
Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s Aleix Espargaro raced to his best position of 2015 in today’s 14th round of the MotoGP™ World Championship at Motorland, Aragon in Spain, recording sixth position on his GSX-RR as team-mate Maverick Viñales fought-back to 11th overall.
The morning session saw both riders find solid improvements in their pace, being consistent with the top riders. This, in fact, was the case in the race as well, where both set their own rhythm and kept it until the end, providing the proof of the good set-up they had found. Espargaro immediately was in the top-eight fight, exploiting his seventh position on the grid and keeping in contact with the top factory riders. His race was all about trying to get up to fifth place; even though he couldn’t achieve the result he finally ended the race close behind.
Viñales, however, had to struggle at the beginning of the fight with riders who were equipped with the softer tyre, therefore paying for it in the early laps and giving some positions away from the start and running in 17th place in the middle of the race. But his race-pace was very solid and this paid dividends in the second part of the event, where he gained a more-stable performance of his tyres and recovered many positions, finally netting 11th place.
Both the results are a positive improvement from the last few races; at which both riders couldn’t express their full potential. They are now happy to be back in a better-performing condition and it shows great promise for the next race, the GP of Japan – that is effectively a home race for the team – but home soil for Suzuki Motor Corporation.
Satoru Terada – Project Leader:
“It’s good to see that we have gone back to better positions at the end of the race, both riders did a good job and in particular Aleix could finally end the race in sixth, right behind the other factory riders. This shows that we could finally give him a good machine. Maverick had to struggle a little more with grip, he couldn’t find a proper feeling on Friday and finally also in the race he apparently lacked in acceleration since the rear wheel was spinning, but the 11th place, with much overtaking, must be considered a good result. Here we brought some improvements in the engine – not a new one, but one with some new specs – and it looks that they were effective. Of course we need to improve more, but even a little step-forward is a good first positive point. Now we head to Japan, the circuit is not so favourable for our machine, but the riders like it very much and moreover we will have many of our team from Suzuki coming to support us.”
Aleix Espargaro:
“I’m very happy to be back in amongst the top positions. The last races were very hard for us and we weren’t where we deserved to be. In this race we could end in the positions that I think is more suitable for us and the only thing we have to do is to understand how to be this high-performing in every race. After Catalunya I think this was the most positive race in terms of feeling with the bike, assuming that we lost some acceleration in the straight it is very good that I was able to fight for the fifth place. I could also enjoy the race, I had very much fun because I felt comfortable. I must say thank you to my team because we really did make huge improvements and they put me in the best condition to exploit the materials that we have at this point.”
Maverick Viñales:
“Finally the result in the race is a little better than expected and I am happy that we could improve over the three days. Friday was really awful, so it is a great result to be as competitive as we were come Sunday. Of course we still have a lot to do, my team-mate took sixth so this means that the machine has a higher potential and we need to find the better way to exploit it. At the beginning of the race I did a good start and was preparing to overtake someone in the first corner, but unfortunately I had many troubles with the grip on the rear and I couldn’t accelerate enough to complete the move. Then I was in a group of riders using softer tyres, making them more competitive on the first laps, and I had to stay there and fight to keep my pace. Finally their performance dropped while my choice of tyres paid-off and I could overtake many of them. Being consistent is always the key for me and finally this race proved that it is true. We still have a lot to do, Japan won’t be easy, but we must be happy for the improvements we’ve made. It’s not easy to recover from a bad day such as Friday was but we did, and the 11th place is a good result.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Smith and Espargaro conclude Aragon challenge inside the top ten
Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Bradley Smith battled his way to 8th position in the demanding 23 lap sprint around the MotorLand Aragon circuit today aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1. When the lights went out, the young Briton undertook a decent start from 10th to close the first lap one position higher from where he began. He then built up his speed before firmly setting into his race rhythm as he confidently attempted to force his way into the top six. By the end of the 7th lap, Smith was running comfortably in 6th as he homed in on Andrea Dovizioso ahead. However, he unfortunately ran wide eleven laps from the end and was shuffled back two places. Nevertheless, the 24 year old remained focused and set his sights on closing back in on the fierce fight for 5th, with Cal Crutchlow in front of him. Smith pushed onwards as he continued to plug the gap and on the last lap he was still right behind Crutchlow, but despite his best efforts, he fired across the finish line in 8th. The result sees the young British rider still hold his record of completing every round this season in no lower than 8th. Furthermore, he remains as one of only three MotoGP riders who have concluded every race and he will now confidently head to Japan for the 15th event of the 2015 World Championship.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro finished the MotoGP race one position behind his teammate after producing a resolute effort in front of 67,000 Spanish fans. The young Spaniard got off to a solid start today by completing the morning’s warm up practice in 3rd position, leaving him fully optimistic of a good run in the afternoon’s race. When the fight began, Espargaro lunged forward from the head of the second row and diced with the factory MotoGP riders as he closed the first lap in 6th. He was running in 5th one lap later as he looked to mount a challenge to battle the front runners, but unfortunately he then slipped back to 9th on the 4th lap. Yet, Espargaro remained fully determined as he undertook a recovery charge to close back in on the group in front. At just over half race distance the 2013 Moto2 World Champion was closing in as he joined the pack of five, including his teammate fighting for 5th. He did his best to move in on Smith, despite suffering with an issue with his gear lever, yet time ran out before the chequered flag was waved. Next up for the 24 year old is the Motul Grand Prix of Japan where he intends to achieve a strong finish aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.
Bradley Smith
Position : 8th Championship :5th Points : 143
“I have to be happy with the result today after what was certainly a tough race at Aragon. All of the different manufactures were in the group that I was fighting in and each one was stronger in different areas of the track. As a result, the pack was really competitive and all of us were pushing as much as we could. Unfortunately, I made the mistake when I was right behind Dovizioso and almost ran into him. To avoid this, I had to go wide and it took me ten laps to make up that second that I lost which just proves how easily matched we all were. Yet, I am pleased with the result, especially considering that things didn’t go exactly as we wanted them to this weekend. Moreover, we were still in the hunt for 5th today which I was not convinced about before the start of the race. Therefore, to come away with this result and without loosing too many points in the championship is overall quite positive. In addition, it’s easy to make a mistake at a track like this, so I am happy to have kept it on two wheels! Next up is Motegi which I am looking forward to. The track layout is gruelling but I feel that I can run well there and I hope to give the Japanese fans a good show.”
Pol Espargaro
Position : 9th Championship : 10th Points : 88
“It goes without saying that today’s race was very demanding for me. The beginning itself was actually really positive but just when I pulled away from the riders behind me, I had to run wide as my gear didn’t engage and I was in neutral. Because of this, I lost several positions as well as some vital seconds which I tried to make up afterwards but it really wasn’t easy. In the following laps, I checked which engine maps gave me the best chance of catching the group in front. However, whilst I was pushing my hardest to make up the time, I lost the rubber on my gear shifter which caused the lever to be very slippery so shifting up and down was truly difficult for the rest of the race. Taking all of this into consideration, we have to be quite pleased with the fact that we finished less than two seconds from fifth, even though it is a pity to end up in 9th. We now have to look forward to the three overseas races, with the first round being in Japan, a place which I’m happy to return to after the incredible experience this summer at the Suzuka 8 Hours race.”
Hervé Poncharal – Team manager :
“It was another top ten finish for our two guys, but in all honesty, I can’t hide that we were expecting a bit more in terms of the final results today. Both of our boys had good starts and Pol was right up there with the leaders and looking good. However, he made a mistake and lost contact with the group which was a shame but he regrouped and fought right until the end in the second pack which was clearly where the action was. As for Brad, he did a good job also and to collect another set of points strengthens his championship fight. In the race, we knew he had a similar pace to Pol, even though the qualifying position was not ideal. So to have both guys finish inside the top ten is solid, yet we are a strong team and very competitive, so we need to find something more for the next races. We could have possibly been a position or two higher, but at the moment the four guys in front ride with a different rhythm and are very quick. The 25 second gap from the leader back to our guys is too big and this is what we have to work on. Tomorrow there is an important test and it will be interesting to see what we can do and improve. Today, we did our best and next is Japan where we hope to obtain two results on Sunday that are a bit higher up the field.”