More Consistent Results For PBM MotoGP Team
If there were awards for consistency, then the Penrith-based PBM MotoGP Team would be well to the fore as once again both Michael Laverty and Broc Parkes brought the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene-backed PBM machines home at the GP Monster Energy de Catalunya.
However, in yet another cruel twist of irony, Ulsterman Michael Laverty saw his run of five finishes in 16th place end, instead bringing the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene-backed Aprilia ART-powered PBM home in 17th place at round seven of the MotoGP World Championship, with Australian team-mate Broc Parkes pipping him to claim 16th and in doing so recorded his best result since the opening round at Qatar where he scored the team’s one and only point to date.
There were high hopes for former British Supersport Champion Laverty and double World Supersport runner-up Parkes which saw Parkes qualify 19th with Laverty just two places back at the track in Barcelona.
In the race, the cooler temperate didn’t suit the PBM bikes quite as much as in practice and after a good start, Parkes battled with the leading Open class bikes but Laverty struggled to get past Colin Edwards and as a result had to give second best to his team mate.
Laverty’s latest result means he has scored five 16th, one 17th and one 18th place in seven races and apart from a technical problem in Austin; Parkes has finished every race also meaning 13 finishes out of the 14 races for the Paul Bird team.
Parkes holds 22nd overall in the 2014 MotoGP World Championship table following his ride into the points in Qatar, tenth in the Open class standings and third in Rookie of the Year. With his string of non points finishes, Laverty has yet to register on the scoreboard but importantly for the PBM team, they occupy seventh place in the manufacturer’s table and 13th in the team’s standings going into the next race at Assen in two weeks time.
Michael Laverty: “It was a good race for us but slightly disappointing in that we couldn’t replicate the pace we had during practice in the hotter temperatures, I felt today it was possible to battle with Aoyama and Pirro but the colder temperatures meant we were just a fraction off with the set up. In the race I got caught behind Edwards for too long and then had to work hard to get up to Broc. Again today we were only one minute down on the leaders which is our target, so I believe the whole team has done a great job.”
Broc Parkes: “I was really happy with my weekend as it was the best qualifying and second best race result this season. I was a little annoyed that there were only two people that went out of the race in front of me so we just missed out on a point as yet again, the attrition rate was low. It was the first time I beat all our main competitors and finished the closest to the front guys all year on time. I’d really like to thank the team as they worked great all weekend.”
Phil Borley, Technical Director: “A satisfying and strong performance by both riders today, although unfortunately again just missing out on the points. It appears the PBM bike works well at Catalunya and we have been much closer to the best Open riders here than at previous races. We hope that the improvements will continue at the next races.”
For more information, please visit the team’s brand new website www.pbmuk.net and www.pbmuk.net
More, from a press release issued by Husqvarna:
Ajo narrowly misses podium in Moto3 GP of Catalunya
Husqvarna supported rider Niklas Ajo carried through his strong performance all weekend on the Catalunya/Barcelona circuit to finish eighth in Rd. 7 of the Moto3 World Championship. Sadly for the young Finn, a mistake in the final corner cost him a potential podium place.
While Alex Marquez was a decisive race winner, Ajo was a very active rider in the following group of eight riders who jockeyed throughout the race to claim the two other podium places. Ajo was very strong in the final laps and was constantly in the top three riders in the group. He looked set to take his first career podium.
The young Finn did admit that it had been his mistake in the last lap that had cost him the podium place, saying: “I pushed a little too hard and I went into the corner too fast so that the wheel slid out. But the whole weekend was very good and we were able to fight in the front group without having to ride on the limit until the final lap. I made a rookie mistake in the last lap because I wanted to get on the podium, but we have improved a lot.”
Ajo has been gaining in form and confidence as the season progresses and is now being mentioned as a rider to watch in the coming races.
The Catalunya GP was less successful for Husqvarna factory rider Danny Kent of Britain who finished in seventeenth place, 21 seconds off the winning pace. It was the first time this season that Kent did not finish in the points.
Danny Kent: “The race didn’t go too badly. We were fighting for tenth place and I felt confident. But on the last five laps I lost a lot of grip on the rear.” Kent added that it was frustrating not to pick up any points.
Tires were always going to be an issue in the race as the circuit was still partly wet after heavy overnight rain. The choice of tires for all the riders except one was going to give them grip in the first half of the race, but then they had to contend with tire wear in the second half.
Team Boss Aki Ajo: “Niklas did okay and had quite an incredible weekend. The last lap was unlucky. I think he made a mistake because he wanted to be on the podium but he should be happy with his pace and with the confidence he has at the moment. “
Moto3 Results Rd. 7
1, Alex Marquez, ESP, Honda, 41:11.656
2, Enea Bastianini, ITA, KTM, 41:14.892
3, Efren Vasquez, ESP, Honda, 41:15.168
4, Jack Miller, AUS, KTM, 41:15.420
5, Romano Fenati, ITA, KTM, 41:15.518
Other Husqvarna
8, Niklas Ajo, FIN, Husqvarna, 41:21.437
17, Danny Kent, GBR, Husqvarna, 41:32.667
More, from a press release issued by KTM:
MILLER FIGHTS BACK TO 4TH IN MOTO3 GP CATALUNYA, STILL LEADS POINTS
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jack Miller of Australia fought back hard in the final corners to claim a fourth place in the Moto3 GP of Catalunya. He finished just ahead of rival KTM rider Romano Fenati to still lead the championship after Rd. 7. It was the sixty-fifth anniversary edition of the World Championship.
Winner Alex Marquez of Spain delivered a decisive pole to finish win. Second place went to Italian teenager and KTM rider Eneo Bastianini to claim his first career podium. The former Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup competitor was competing in his only his seventh Grand Prix and ahs looked impressive throughout the weekend. Veteran Efren Vazquez of Spain was third.
Miller, a Red Bull athlete who started the race from the third row, the first time this season that he has not started on the front row, shuttled back and forth between places six and eight during most of the race. He managed to stay in contact with the group fighting it out for the minor podium places and in the last lap made a bid to gain some more points.
Miller had to finish in front of KTM rider Romano Fenati to hang onto the championship points lead and his late charge in the final corners saw him edge out the highly competitive Italian. Before Sunday’s race, Miller and Fenati had split the victories in all previous races with three wins each. Miller now leads the championship by seven points from Fenati. He was also handed another advantage when Spain’s Alex Rins, also a championship contender had a DNF after technical issues.
Miller said later he had experienced some chattering problems but was nevertheless happy to finish fourth and not concede too may points.
Miller: “Until the last lap I was confident that I could pass, but I didn’t think I could get up to fourth place, so I’m happy about that. We did a good job today, we continue to lead the World Cup and we have to think about Assen now, where I think we can do a better job.”
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s rookie Karel Hanika rode a solid race to finish fourteenth. Five of the top 10 riders were on KTM machines, registering another strong result for the RC 250GP bike and the Austrian manufacturer.
Hanika said he had made a good start but got pushed off in the first lap and lost touch with the lead group. “I had to fight in the second group, where there was a lot of overtaking, and I learned a lot from that. I had to work hard. I think I could have been first in that group, but on the last lap the tire was completely spent and I couldn’t overtake. Fourteenth is not the result I had been hoping for, but I learned a lot in this race.”
Aki Ajo: Red Bull KTM Ajo Team boss: “ We have to be happy because Jack (Miller) managed to score some very important points that allow him to continue leading the standings –even extending the advantage slightly. However, obviously you always have to consider the things that didn’t go so well and that prevented fighting for the win, which is ultimately our goal. Since yesterday afternoon he had had some chattering problems on some corners and we have to see how far we can go towards solving this with this riding style.”
Next round at Assen NL, on June 26, 2014
More at motogp.com
Moto3 Results Rd. 7
1, Alex Marquez, ESP, Honda, 41:11.656
2, Enea Bastianini, ITA, KTM, 41:14.892
3, Efren Vasquez, ESP, Honda, 41:15.168
4, Jack Miller, AUS, KTM, 41:15.420
5, Romano Fenati, ITA, KTM, 41:15.518
6, Brad Binder, RSA, Mahindra, 41:15.704
7, Isaac Viñales, ESP, KTM, 41:15.787
8, Niklas Ajo, FIN, Husqvarna, 41:21.437
9, John McPhee, GBR, Honda, 41:30.234
10, Francesco Bagnaia, ITA, KTM, 41:30.253
Other KTM
14, Karel Hanika, CZE, KTM, 41:31.279¬
15, Jakub Kornfeil, CZE, KTM, 41:31.639
22, Gabriel Rodrigo, ARG, KTM, 41:47.888
23, Eric Granado, BRA, KTM, 41:47.956
DNF, Hafiq Azmi, MAL, KTM, 2:00.515
DNF, Niccolo Antonelli, ITA, KTM
Moto3 Standings after Round 7
1, Miller, 117
2, Fenati, 110
3, Vazquez, 92
4, Rins, 87
5, Marquez, 85
6, Viñales, 73
7, Masbou, 50
8, Bastianini, 45
9, Bagnaia, 42
10, Kornfeil, 38
Other KTM
18, Hanika, 16
21, Antonelli, 7
Moto3 Manufacturers Standings after Round 7
1, KTM, 170
2, Honda, 137
3, Husqvarna, 47
More, from a press release issued by Team Federal Oil Gresini:
SIMEON FIGHTS BACK BEFORE CRASHING. ROUSING RECOVERY AND FIRST POINTS FOR BALDASSARRI
The difficult Catalan race weekend ended with a crash for Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 and Xavier Siméon: started from the 21st place on the grid a complicated qualifying session, the Belgian was forced to retire with 5 laps to go as he lost the front at Turn 10 while he was battling for a top ten position. However, before the crash Siméon was able to keep a good rhythm as he achieved a better feeling with his Suter compared to what happened during practice.
In the Team Gresini Moto2 garage Lorenzo Baldassari celebrated his first World Championship points with the 11th place: the 17-year-old rookie, who started 24th on the grid, made a great comeback and in the final stages he also tried to enter the top ten fighting with Marcel Schrotter and Anthony West, in front of him under the chequered flag.
XAVIER SIMEON (DNF)
“My feeling with the bike during the race was good: now the situation is more clear. Essentially, we find it hard to exploit the potential of the new Dunlop hard tyres, a problem that is accentuated in qualifying; for this reason we started back on the grid. However, we can be more competitive on the race distance: after a few laps, when the tyres started to drop, our pace was very similar to that of the fastest riders. I also managed to reach the group of riders in front of me, even though the low grip level forced me to make many mistakes. In the end I tried to push to open a gap, but I fell as I lose the front. Too bad, I was feeling confident and I didn’t expect it. I want to thank the team so much, because they rebuilt my bike after the warm up crash, and they did a great job, as always”.
LORENZO BALDASSARRI (11th)
“I’m very happy! It was a tough race but I never gave up, riding with determination from start to finish. Also during the race we struggled with lack of grip, but lap by lap I started to learn how to ride the bike making it sliding and how to raise it quickly out of the corners, collecting valuable experience. It’s a great feeling to get the first points: in the final stages the top ten was within my reach, I was in ninth position but then I came together with Anthony West and Schrotter passed me. Anyway, this result is very important, now we want to start from here and continue on this direction”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“This weekend we have never been competitive, but in the race Xavier was going quite well, if we consider the situation we saw during practice and also his warm up crash, which certainly didn’t help him. Too bad for the retirement, we lost another opportunity to collect some important points. Baldassarri has instead taken his first points in a tricky and difficult category like the Moto2 World Championship: a result that we hope will be a good starting point for further growth. Now we have two important days of testing at Aragon, during which we will try to solve the problems we faced during the last two races”.
More, from a press release issued by Tech 3:
Stunning recovery crowned by personal bests for Cardus and Schrotter.
Tech3 Racing Moto2 Team’s Ricky Cardus rode to a superbly executed 7th place finish in his home race at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. Having endured a difficult qualifying session where he started the 23-lap sprint in 20th position, Cardus undertook a phenomenal start to overtake ten riders in the first lap. He remained with the leading group before becoming embroiled in a battle for 9th with Alex De Angelis where they exchanged notable passes. Cheered on by his home crowd and family, Cardus took the plunge on lap 14 to overtake De Angelis and consistently held the chasing rider to successfully meet the chequered flag in 7th position, his best finish in his entire Moto2 career and a fantastic result for the Tech3 Racing Moto2 Team with their self designed and manufactured Mistral 610.
Marcel Schrotter showed supreme resolution to clinch a very hard fought 9th place finish in Catalunya. The young German rider started the race from 17th on the grid having experienced a challenging qualifying session and completed the opening lap in 21st position. Nevertheless Schrotter quickly began ascending through the order, working his way up to 16th position on lap three. At the midpoint of the race he was involved with a fierce scrap with 6 riders for 11th which lasted until the chequered flag. The young German, whose perseverance was admirable, forcefully managed to overtake another two riders on the final lap to seize 9th and complete the Tech3 Racing Team’s most successful double finish this season, highlighting the ever growing potential of the Mistral 610.
Ricky Cardus : 7th – Championship : 16th – Points : 22
“The first thing I need to say is thanks to all the team, sponsors, Herve and the Tech3 staff. All weekend the team and I have worked very hard with various settings, trying to resolve a few issues we experienced and I have to say that we have done a great job. We improved the bike step by step and during the race I felt very comfortable with it. My start was brilliant and I managed to stay with the leading group for the first few laps before finally taking 7th at the chequered flag. I am truly happy about today’s result especially taking it here in front of my friends and family as well as considering how far back I started on the grid, it makes me feel even better. During the next week we will firstly test here and then later in Aragon and I am already looking forward to getting back on the bike and improve our confidence even more for the upcoming races. “
Marcel Schrotter : 9th – Championship : 14 – Points : 28
“I can’t feel anything other that joy after clinching a top ten finish after qualifying in 17th. I had a great start but then ran a little wide so I dropped a lot of positions straight away. Luckily, I quickly found my rhythm although it took me a while to get to the group. I am particularly happy with my overtaking today as my personal target was trying to be more aggressive. Unfortunately I ran a bit wide during the last lap which allowed three riders to pass me. However I didn’t want to give up and with just two corners to go, I went for it and regained two places on the back straight that gives me a boost in confidence. Aside from everything being positive, I still have a slight bittersweet taste as if I had a better qualifying position I could have got into the top 6. That will be my aim for the next race, but still 9th is a great result for the team especially together with Ricky performing that well as well”
Hervé Poncharal – Team Manager :
“The Mistral moto2 bike just seems to click with the Catalunya circuit and I will never forget our first victory in Moto2 occurring here with Yuki Takahashi in 2010. Today Ricky and Marcel produced a very exciting show. Ricky had an incredible start and all through the race he pushed hard, made no mistakes and ended up taking a fantastic 7th place finish which is his best ever result in Moto2. We are happy to have him in our team after what happened during the preseason and with every race he is confirming the trust we placed in him. On the other hand Marcel had another really strong race too. Despite a tricky open to his race he got his head down and pushed hard to climb all the way up to 9th. To consider he started from 17th, this is a brilliant achievement. Our two bikes were once again in the top ten and it’s our best result of the season so far in Moto2. This is a great reward to not only the riders who did a super job but also the team who have been working very hard and deserve big congratulations. There are two test days coming up now, one here on Tuesday before the Tech3 Moto2 team is heading to Aragon for second test later this week. Hopefully we can continue to stride forward and get another positive result in Assen.”
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Great sixth place for Mattia Pasini in Montmelo
It was a great weekend for the NGM Forward Racing rider Mattia Pasini, who crossed the finished line of the Catalunya GP in sixth position.
On board of his Kalex, Mattia made a very good race and this result gives an extra boost to Mattia after a difficult start of the season.
It was a very short round for his team mate Simone Corsi, his race came to an end on the first lap when he crashed out. Despite the incident, Corsi maintains the 5th position in the world championship.
Simone Corsi
“It’s a pity, my race was really too short. I made quite a good start and I was ready to fight to recover as many positions as possible and reduce the gap with the front guys. Unfortunately I was involved in the incident and I couldn’t do anything to avoid it. I’m really sorry, but sometimes racing is like this.”
Mattia Pasini
“I’m really satisfied: my target was to cross the finish line and to fight to finish in the top5. I didn’t push too much at the beginning and I preferred to focus and stay consistent in order to get the best possible result. Then, in the second half of the race I started to push, riding with the same pace as the front guys. I didn’t want to take any additional risks and I’m happy with this result.”