Championship leader Marquez, Misano winner Pedrosa en route to Aragón
Fresh from Dani Pedrosa’s convincing victory at Misano and a productive day of testing at the same track two days later, the Repsol Honda Team arrives in Aragón for round 14 of the Championship, the last on European soil before the traditional trio of flyaway races – Japan, Australia and Malaysia – and the subsequent return to Spain for the season-ending Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana.
The ultra-modern 5.077 km track, which comprises 17 turns (10 lefts and seven rights) and a long straight of 968 m, hosted its first Grand Prix in 2010. Since then, current Championship leader Marc Marquez, who lives less than 200 kilometres from the track, has won on two occasions – in 2011 in Moto2 and in 2013 in MotoGP – and taken second in 2012 (Moto2). Dani has only raced in MotoGP at Aragón, winning once, in 2012, and finishing second three times: in 2010, 2011 and last year, when he came out on top of a great battle with Valentino Rossi.
One of the most unpredictable and hard-fought Championships ever currently sees Honda leading the Rider, Constructor and Team standings, having won four of the last six races, with four different Honda riders.
Marc Marquez
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 1ST – 223 POINTS
“Aragón is a circuit that I like more than Misano, and I think it suits my riding style better. That said, it’s also true that a particularity of this year is that things may change a lot from race to race, so we’ll see if we’re able to manage things well and if we can have a good weekend. We’ll approach the race ready to adapt to the situation we encounter, but of course we’ll try to fight for the podium again in front of my home crowd and my fan club.”
Marc Marquez Statistics
Date of Birth 17/02/1993
Birthplace Lleida, (Catalonia) – Spain
Height 168 cm
Weight 59 kg
Hobbies Mountain Biking, Video games
Racing Number 93
First Race 1998 “Enduro per nens”
Grand Prix Debut 2008 125cc Portugal GP (KTM 125 FRR)
GPs raced 145
GP pole positions 63 (14 in 125cc, 14 in 250cc, 35 in MotoGP)
Total GP podiums 87 (14 x 125cc, 25 x Moto2, 48 x MotoGP)
Total GP wins 53 (10 x 125cc, 16 x Moto2, 27 x MotoGP)
First GP Win 2010 125cc Italian GP (Derbi RSA 125)
World titles 4 (1 x 125cc – 2010, 1 x Moto2 – 2012, 2 x MotoGP – 2013, 2014)
Dani Pedrosa
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 4TH – 145 POINTS
“Of course we’ll arrive at Aragón in a good mood, as things that had already started getting better a couple of races earlier went perfectly at Misano, and we were able to achieve a great result. Anyway, it’s important that we keep our feet on the ground, as the races are very close and hard-fought this year. We must remain totally focused on our job and on our goals, which are to continue building on the base setup we’ve been working on lately and to find the pace to stay at the front. My fan club will be here and I’ll try my best to put on a good show for the fans.”
Dani Pedrosa Statistics
Date of Birth 29/09/1985
Birthplace Sabadell, (Catalonia) – Spain
Height 160 cm
Weight 51kg
Hobbies Cycling, Motocross, Windsurfing, Cinema
Racing number 26
First race1997 Pocket bike race
Grand Prix debut 2001. 125cc Japanese GP, Suzuka – (Honda RS125R)
GPs raced 257
GP pole positions 46 (9 in 125cc, 9 in 250cc, 28 in MotoGP)
Total GP podiums 144 (17 x 125cc, 24 x 250cc, 103 x MotoGP)
Total GP wins 52 (8 x 125cc, 15 x 250cc, 29 x MotoGP)
First GP win 2002. 125cc Dutch GP, Assen – (Honda RS125R)
World titles 3 (1 x 125cc – 2003, 2 x 250cc – 2004, 2005)