SCINTILLATING ROSSI SHINES FOR MICHELIN IN THE SPANISH SUN
Valentino Rossi gave a riding masterclass today to take his sixth premier-class victory on Michelin tyres at the Jerez circuit in Spain and his first MotoGP™ win of the season
Staring from pole-position, the nine-time World Champion got the hole-shot on his Yamaha and led into the first corner with the following pack in close attendance. Rossi increased his lead on the first of the 27-laps around the 4,423m Spanish circuit and showed his intent early on, with current champion Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha and the Honda mounted championship leader Marc Marquez leading the chasing pack. Rossi rode a faultless race throughout and never came under pressure as he stretched his lead at the front, before crossing the line to take victory by over two-seconds from Lorenzo, with Marquez securing the final podium position in third.
Rossi chose to use a hard MICHELIN Power Slick on the front of his Yamaha, coupled with a medium rear – the same as the other podium finishers – and with tyre conservation an important issue around the difficult Jerez circuit, the Italian served up a superb performance which saw him start from pole and lead a race from the beginning to the chequered flag for the first time in his career.
A large and enthusiastic crowd at trackside, all bathed in beautiful sunshine – which was a contrast from the foggy conditions that greeted the paddock first thing this morning – saw Honda’s Dani Pedrosa take the fourth position and the Suzuki pair of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales claimed fifth and sixth places respectively. Andrea Iannone battled his way through the field on his Ducati from eleventh on the grid to claim seventh, with the satellite Yamaha ridden by Pol Espargaro securing eighth to give the Spaniard the honour of First Independent Team Rider. Eugene Laverty in ninth and Hector Barbera – both riding Ducati satellite machines – rounded out the top-ten. In the championship classification, Marquez retains his lead, but with a reduced margin over Lorenzo in second and today’s winner Rossi in a close third.
Michelin will remain at Jerez for one more day for a full and comprehensive tyre test on the Monday, before heading back home to France for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship, which will be staged at Le Mans on Sunday 8th May.
Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP:
“I am so happy about this result because I felt good about the bike and the tyres from Friday onwards. I hoped I could be strong in Jerez this year, because last year I struggled a lot, so for me it was great. This victory was very important because it arrived at the right moment; it is a really important victory, starting from the beginning right to the end, so it was great!”
Nicolas Goubert – Deputy Director, Technical Director and Supervisor of the MotoGP Programme:
“This weekend we have had some very positive moments, the front tyres have improved a lot and the riders now have a lot of confidence in them. We brought a new compound here and that has worked very well in the different conditions – especially on the colder track in the morning – and we are very pleased with the results. We have also only had two crashes this weekend which is certainly a good sign of improvement, especially when you consider the number of falls in both Moto2™ and Moto3™, and how difficult the track conditions were. This afternoon the surface was over 40°C and that was more than 20° warmer than this morning, so tyre wear was an important factor and we are very pleased with the durability that our tyres showed. We now have an important test tomorrow, where we hope we can confirm the casing construction that we will use for the rest of the season.”
Piero Taramasso – Manager of the Two-Wheel Motorsport Group:
“We have had a good weekend here at Jerez and have learned many things, it was also very important for us to use all five versions of tyres in the race, three fronts and two rears, to see how they performed in race conditions. We have had a difficult situation to overcome this weekend as well though. On Saturday we lost the use of six of the tyre fitters due to illness, which was diagnosed as a gastro virus. They were treated by the MotoGP Doctor and made a bit of a recovery overnight, so that they were able to do their job today. This was a setback and we had to delay the start of yesterday’s Free Practice session to allow the technicians enough time to assist the remaining fitters to make sure all the tyres were on the rims and that they were warmed up and safe to use in the afternoon. We can do without these situations when we need to concentrate on the race weekend, but we are happy they’re now getting better and hope that they make a full recovery soon.”
More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing:
SAM LOWES STORMS TO MASTERFUL JEREZ VICTORY
Aboard the Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 Kalex machine, Sam Lowes delivered a master class victory in today’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Jerez circuit. Started from the pole position, the 25-year-old British rider took the lead on the second lap, keeping it until the checkered flag thus claiming his first win of the season.
Lowes rode a flawless race with Jonas Folger who followed him at short distance up to 10 laps to go, then he opened a gap on the German crossing the finish line with more than a two-second gap. Spaniard Alex Rins climbed to the third step of the podium.
With this victory Lowes extends his lead in the Championship with 72 points, 10 more than Alex Rins.
SAM LOWES (1st)
“It was a long race, no doubt! I knew that Folger had a good pace and I knew that also Rins was in the game, so I was expecting a tough race. The track conditions have changed several times over the weekend and today have changed again, with higher temperatures. However, here we have made many tests in the winter and thanks to this work the bike always worked very well. After the two second places, obtained racing two strong races, I was confident ahead of this event. I wanted to try to win and I did it, so I’m very happy for this first victory of the season. Now we look forward to Le Mans and the rest of the season!”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“It was a perfect day! We were waiting the victory from the first race and we are very happy to have achieved it today! I was a bit worried after the crash in the Warm Up, because you never know how you can react to a mistake, but today Sam was super, as always, and the team worked very well. This victory is very important because Spanish riders were racing at home, and because this was the first European race of the season. Leaving Spain collecting 25, and with a 10-point lead in the standings, is undoubtedly very positive, but we don’t want to start making calculations because it doesn’t make sense at this time. We just need to keep working well, having fun, and try to make other races like this!”.
More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team:
Simeon battles to tenth – Simon withdraws from the race
QMMF Racing Team rider Xavier Simeon showed speed and iron determination when he rode from 19th place on the starting grid to a Top Ten result in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Belgian had a good feeling with his Speed Up prototype all weekend long, but had suffered a setback with a crash in Saturday’s qualifying session. In the race, he was back to speed, bit ran into tyre problems as the race went on. Even though, he scored his second strong result in a row after having finished eighth in Texas two weeks ago.
Team-mate Julian Simon ran into bad luck with a high-speed crash in the warm-up session on Sunday morning. After hitting the airfence, the Spaniard walked away without serious injuries, but since he felt a bit dizzy, he and the medical team and the track agreed it was best to play it safe and withdraw from the race.
Xavier Simeon – 10th place
“To be honest, a top ten result and six points are good for the championship, but I’m not completely happy. I was clearly hoping for more, but starting from behind is difficult. I did good lap times and showed consistency all weekend long, but with the hotter track temperatures today, we struggled a lot more. After five or six laps I lost a lot of rear grip and I was one second slower per lap than in practice. After ten laps I saw that I could not reach the group in front of me, and since I had a lot of advantage to the group behind me, I decided to take it a bit easier and bring important points home safely. Now I will take all the positive aspects of the weekend with me to the next race. We made a big step with the bike, and since Jerez is probably the most difficult circuit with this bike, we have all reasons to be confident for the future. I have very good feeling with the bike and I will try to fight for a top five result at Le Mans!”
Julian Simon – did not start
“We were still testing a set-up that would have helped me to fight for a better position in the race, when I crashed in turn four, the fast left-hand corner behind the paddock. I hit the airfence at considerable speed and banged my head. Since I felt a bit dizzy, the doctors recommended to play it safe and withdraw from the race. I am sorry for my team that worked very hard for the best possible result this weekend, and I’m also sorry for the Spanish fans. The only good thing is that I didn’t suffer any serious injuries, so I expect to be back fully fit for the next race in Le Mans!”
More, from a press release issued by KTM:
BRAD BINDER TAKES SENSATIONAL FIRST CAREER MOTO3 VICTORY AT JEREZ
4th Rd. Moto3 2016 – Circuito de Jerez (ESP)
Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Brad Binder took his first career Moto3 victory on Sunday at the Jerez circuit in the most spectacular way possible, starting at last position, number 35 on the grid. The South African rider’s bike was deemed to have had a technical infringement in one of the practice sessions and this bumped him from second on the grid to the last place.
Three other riders fought a battle of attrition for the minor podium places, which finally went to KTM rider Nicolo Bulega of Italy (Sky Racing Team VR46) in second and Italian Francesco Bagnaia in third. Three other KTM riders secured top 10 positions – Joan Mir at sixth, Romano Fenati at seventh and Philipp Oettl in tenth. Bo Bendsneyder, Brad Binder’s rookie teammate in the Red Bull KTM Ajo team finished 21st.
The race glory however belonged to Binder: “I knew I could still do it even though I started last because all weekend I was working really hard on old tires and I had a really good rhythm. I knew it was going to be so difficult for the first few laps. I’m so happy. It was great to get my first win and from last position was incredible.”
The South African moved through the pack in the opening phases on his KTM RC250 GP with ease and confidence, and by only lap three had moved up into the points. And while Jorge Navarro, Bagnaia and Bulega distanced themselves from the pack in the early stages, Binder steadily picked off the other riders to move up to fourth in just the ninth lap. From then on he trimmed the gap of nearly four seconds to be on the tailpipe of the leading group by lap 14 of the 23-lap race and to move in contention for the win. He took the lead in the 19th lap and hit the gas to finish more than three seconds ahead of his rivals in what will go down as one of the most spectacular and memorable Moto3 races in the history of the sport.
Binder now goes into the next round of the championship with a 15-point lead from Navarro, who finally had to settle for fourth place after a nail biting battle for the minor podium places.
Spain’s Aleix Viu takes opening Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season got into action with first of two races at the Jerez international circuit on Saturday with Aleix Viu of Spain picking up an impressive win. A group of eight riders broke away to seize the major part of the race action before Viu, with three other riders dominated the lead in the second half of the 16-lap race. He finally managed to hold off his main attackers, Japan’s Ayumu Sasaki and Spanish compatriot Raúl Fernández in the last stretch and they went on to take the minor podiums.
Viu: “I knew they would try and pass into the last corner so I braked very, very late and hung on. I felt comfortable in the race, didn’t have to take chances and really enjoyed it.” All riders compete on the KTM RC250 RB bike.
Japan’s Sasaki put up a valiant fight for his podium second to get his season off to a positive start, while Fernández said he missed a little feeling in the front of the bike going into the corners. Probably the most disappointed rider was Kaito Toba who took an impressive pole position but slid off his machine in the opening lap.
Jerez Race 2 is on Sunday at 15.30 CET and can be seen live on redbull.tv staring ten minutes earlier.
Next Race: April 24, 2016 – Circuito de Jerez (ESP)
Results Moto3 Jerez 2016
1. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, 41:29.882 min (23 laps)
2. Nicolo Bulega (ITA), KTM, +3.336 sec
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Mahindra, +3.441
4. Jorge Navarro (ESP), Honda, +3.513
5. Jakub Kornfeil (CZE), Honda, +13.728
Other KTM
6. Joan Mir (ESP), KTM, +13.933
7. Romano Fenati (ITA), KTM, +13.993
10. Philipp Oettl (GER), KTM, +14.588
11. Andrea Migno (ITA), KTM, +14.874
12. Juanfran Guevara (ESP), KTM, +30.317
13. Gabriel Rodrigo (ARG), KTM, +30.668
19. Maria Herrera (ESP), KTM, +45.591
21. Bo Bendsneyder (NED), KTM, +53.795
DNF Fabio Quartararo (FRA), KTM, 17 laps
DNF Andrea Locatelli (ITA), KTM, 21 laps
Standings Moto3 2016 after 4 of 18 rounds
1. Binder, 77 points
2. Navarro, 62
3. Fenati, 47
4. Bulega, 36
5. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Mahindra, 34
Other KTM
10. Oettl, 27
11. Mir, 25
12. Locatelli, 24
15. Guevara, 12
19. Quartararo, 9
21. Migno, 6
23. Rodrigo, 3
24. Herrera, 2
25. Bendsneyder, 2
Results Saturday Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Circuito de Jerez 2016
1. Aleix Viu (ESP), 29:47.126 min (16 laps)
2. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN), +0.089 sec
3. Raul Fernandez (ESP), +0.186
4. Rufino Florido (ESP), +0.723
5. Makar Yurchenko (RUS), +4.091
Standings Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2016 after 1 of 13 rounds
1. Viu, 25 points
2. Sasaki, 20
3. Fernandez (ESP), 16
4. Florida (ESP), 13
5. Yurchenko (RUS), 11