Aragon MotoGP™ debrief with Shinji Aoki

Wednesday, October 1 2014

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)

Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo secured his first win of the 2014 MotoGP™ season in a chaotic Aragon Grand Prix which started dry, yet finished in soaking wet conditions after a heavy downpour late in the race. Lorenzo won ahead of NGM Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro, who took second place for his first ever MotoGP™ rostrum, and Ducati Team’s Cal Crutchlow, who took third place for his first podium with the Italian team.

The Aragon race weekend started with cool, yet sunny conditions, before rainy periods occurred on Sunday. After a dry start to the twenty-three lap race, heavy rain fell in the latter stages of the contest and the peak track temperature of 23°C was 11°C cooler than the peak figure recorded in last year’s Aragon Grand Prix.

Q&A with Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department

The Aragon Grand Prix race weekend experienced the coldest track temperatures seen so far this year. How did Bridgestone prepare for this, given that in the past much warmer track temperatures have occurred?

“The Aragon circuit can experience large variations in ambient and track temperatures, so we have to ensure our tyre allocation for this circuit can deal with this possibility. When developing tyres for Aragon, getting the right balance between warm-up performance, durability, and cornering and braking stability is crucial. Our expanded front tyre allocation at Aragon this year proved to be well suited to the track conditions last weekend, and although just the soft and medium compound front slicks were used, if we had warmer temperatures then the hard compound front slick was also available to riders.

“For the rear tyres, Aragon is a circuit where the very wide operating temperature range of our current generation of MotoGP slicks is of real benefit to the riders. All three rear slick compound options were utilised throughout the weekend, including the race and not only did we have a new Circuit Best Lap record during qualifying, the general comments from the riders is that our tyres gave good feedback and consistent performance at Aragon.”

Temperatures were quite cool for Sunday’s race, yet three riders still selected the hard compound rear slick. We’ve seen all three rear slick options being used in a race before, but were you surprised that this occurred last Sunday with such low track temperatures?

“It’s not a surprise that some riders opted to use the hard compound rear slick in the race, as Marc Marquez was very quick on this option during FP3 when the track temp was around 20°C. His back-to-back comparison with the medium compound rear slick on Saturday morning showed that Honda were able to extract good performance out of the hard rear slick when track temperatures were cool, so this option was open to them on Sunday when the track temperatures for the race were lower than expected. Some Yamaha riders also evaluated the hard compound rear slick on Saturday, but for them, the medium compound rear slick seemed to work best.”

The main wet tyre at Aragon was the soft compound, but most riders had the alternative, hard compound wet tyre fitted to their spare bikes during the race, and used this after they changed bikes halfway through the race. Why did so many riders prefer the hard wet tyre over the soft compound?

“The warm up session on Sunday morning was important as it was the first fully-wet session at Aragon for a couple of years, and it enabled the riders to understand how our wet tyres were performing on this circuit. In the warm up session, all the riders except Dani Pedrosa used the soft compound wet tyre as this option offers the best warm-up performance and overall grip. However, Dani did a very good run on the hard compound wet tyres and ultimately finished the session quickest, so I think his performance was the main factor in the other riders having this option fitted to their spare bikes for the race. The balance between outright performance and durability of the hard compound wet tyre at Aragon made it the popular choice for the riders on Sunday.” 

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport:

Michael Dunlop wins with the Penz13.com BMW S 1000 RR at Frohburg.

Michael Dunlop and Penz13.com successfully joined forces to race at the Dreieckrennen at Germany’s Frohburg – Racing season in Japan has resumed.

Munich, 1st October 2014. Last weekend saw a special joint venture within the BMW Motorrad Motorsport community: Road Racing star Michael Dunlop (GB) and the German endurance squad Penz13.com Racing Team competed together in the 52nd Frohburger ADAC Dreieckrennen at Frohburg (DE). The partnership was supported by the experts from BMW Motorrad Motorsport, and it was a successful one. Dunlop claimed one win, one third place and a new lap record on the Penz13.com BMW S 1000 RR. Also the Japanese privateer BMW Motorrad riders were in action last weekend, tackling the penultimate round of the 2014 Japanese Road Race Championship (MFJ).

Road Racing: 52nd Frohburger ADAC Dreieckrennen.

The idea was born on the Isle of Man: Michael Dunlop, who claimed a historic triple with his BMW S 1000 RR at the legendary Tourist Trophy, and the German BMW Motorrad customer team Penz13.com Racing decided to team up for the Dreieckrennen at Frohburg (DE). Michael Dunlop’s uncle Joey, his father Robert and his brother William have already appeared on the winner’s list of this traditional event. And now it was Michael’s turn to bring home another Frohburg win for the Dunlop family. Together with the specialists from BMW Motorrad Motorsport they prepared for the road racing event at the “Frohburger Dreieck” near Leipzig, and after the weekend they can say: mission completed.

Dunlop was joined by Canadian Dan Kruger, who raced a second BMW S 1000 RR from the Penz13.com Racing Team. In total, four races were held in the two different Superbike categories, International Road Racing Championship “IRRC” and Open-Race. Dunlop and Kruger competed in all four of them. At the beginning things didn’t go according to plan for Dunlop, as in the Open race on Saturday he had to retire when heading for the podium due to problem which led to severe tyre wear. In the first of the three Sunday races he claimed third on the podium. In the following event he had to retire as the bike was cutting out, but the final race on Sunday saw Dunlop putting down the hammer.

In the final competition, the “Joey Dunlop Open” race he not only took victory, but set a new lap record in 1:34,355 minutes. He took the win 3.1 seconds in front of Didier Grams (DE) and Johan Fredriks (NL). Both Grams and Fredriks are also privateer BMW Motorrad riders and regular competitors in the IRRC with their BMW S 1000 RRs. Grams took both IRRC wins of the weekend, Fredriks won the Open race on Saturday night.

Canadian Kruger, who normally races in the Chinese Superbike Championship, added to the successful weekend for Penz13.com Racing. He finished all four races within the top-ten, claiming two sixth and two ninth positions.

Japanese Road Race Championship at Okayama.

The 2014 season of the Japanese Road Race Championship (MFJ) resumed last weekend with the penultimate round at Okayama (JP). In total, three privateer BMW Motorrad riders lined-up on the grid. Daisaku Sakai (JP) finished 12th with his BMW S 1000 RR from Confia Flex Motorrad 39. Kohji Teramoto (JP / Team Tras 135HP) was 15th, and Kiyotaka Yagi (JP / Yamani Racing Project) finished 22nd.

BMW Motorrad Race Trophy: Scoring period extended.

The scoring period for the 2014 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy has been extended by two weeks and will now end on 16th November. As a result, three more race events will be counted for the 2014 Race Trophy: the Macau Grand Prix, the season finale of the Spanish Superbike Championship (CEV) at Valencia (ES) and the Campo Grande (BR) round of the Brazilian Superbike Championship (BRSBK). The deadline for registration for the current season remains unchanged at the 2nd November. It is possible to register for the 2014 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy on the website www.bmw-motorrad.de/motorsport.

2014 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy – Current Standings.

Status: 1st October 2014

16. Ryuichi Kiyonari (JP/BSB/138,00), 17. Leon Bovee (NL/IDM/137,78), 18. Matthieu Lussiana (FR/BRSBK/137,00), 19. Daniel Rivas (ES/CEV/127,00), 20. Eeki Kuparinen (FI/CEV/120,00), 21. Alessandro Polita (IT/CIV/116,25), 22. Luca Conforti (IT/CIV/101,25), 23. Marc Neumann (DE/IDM/100,88), 24. Andy Rey (FR/FSBK/100,00), 25. Stefan Nebel (DE/IDM/97,50), 26. Hudson Kennaugh (ZA/BSB/97,00), 27. Michael Rutter (GB/IOMTT/BSB/96,83), 28. Florian Drouin (FR/FSBK/93,00), 29. Björn Stuppi (DE/EWC/92,75), 30. Hayato Takada (JP/EWC/MFJ/92,75), 31. Uwe Gürck (DE/SWC/91,32), 32. Gianluca Vizziello (IT/CIV/90,00), 33. Janine Davies (ZA/SAM/83,70), 34. Federico D‘Annunzio (IT/WSTK/80,00), 35. Jason Pridmore (US/EWC/79,00), 36. Fabrizio Perotti (IT/CIV/75,00), 37. Alessio Corradi (IT/CIV/73,75), 38. Mark Albrecht (DE/IDM/69,15), 39. Denni Schiavoni (IT/CIV/68,75), 40. Thomas Hainthaler (DE/IDM/62,25), 41. Florian Brunet-Lugardon (FR/FSBK/62,00), 42. Nicolas Pouhair (FR/FSBK/58,00), 43. Lucas Teodoro (BR/BRSBK/57,00), 44. Sylvain Barrier (FR/WSBK/EWC/56,50), 45. Marco Muzio (IT/CIV/55,00), 46. Daisaku Sakai (JP/MFJ/EWC/52,73), 47. Luciano Ribodino (AR/BRSBK/46,50), 48. Jean Foray (FR/FSBK/45,00), 49. Robert Muresan (RO/WSTK/42,00), 50. Marco Sousa (CA/CSBK/41,00), 51. Jörg Steinhausen (DE/SWC/40,80), 52. Kohji Teramoto (JP/MFJ/EWC/34,96), 53. James Westmoreland (GB/BSB/33,00), 54. Sergiy Grygorovych (UA/IDM/33,00), 55. Lucas Barros (BR/BRSBK/27,00), 56. Patric Muff (CH/BSB/23,33), 57. Rémi Boitel (FR/FSBK/21,00), 58. Camille Hedelin (FR/FSBK/18,00), 59. Tim Robinson (CA/CSBK/17,50), 60. Alessio Velini (IT/CIV/15,00), 61. Shinya Takeishi (JP/MFJ/EWC/10,73), 62. Imre Toth (HU/WSBK/7,00), 63. David Datzer (DE/IDM/6,00), 64. Peter Sebestyen (HU/WSBK/3,00), 65. Filip Altendorfer (DE/EWC/2,45), 65. Florian Bauer (DE/EWC/2,45), 65. Rico Löwe (DE/EWC/2,45), 68. Didier Grams (DE/Macau Grand Prix/0,00), 68. Martjin Polinder (DK/IDM/0,00)

More, from a press release issued by Apex Race Services/TT Motorsports:

Apex Race Services/TT Motosports Press Release for CCS at Palm Beach International Raceway.

A3Racing’s Alan Slaney was excited to get on track with his Apex Race Service’s prepared 2013 Triumph 675r during the CCS race at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Expert Alan Slaney felt great during Saturday’s practice. Slaney was only off of the fastest practice time by .69 of a second. Bike setup was spot on, with a gearing change and a couple of suspension adjustments, he was ready for his first race on Sunday.

“Practice went very well on the A3Racing/Apex Race Services Triumph 675r. We continued development and the progress we made at Roebling Road Raceway carried over to the current round of CCS racing,” Alan stated Saturday evening.

Alan stared Sunday just off the box with a fourth place finish in Expert GTU. In Expert Supersport Middleweight he finished fifth. Keeping his eyes on the box, he battled his way to a podium position in Expert Supersport Heavyweight with a third place finish. Slaney’s next two races saw him finish just outside the podium once again, finishing fifth in Expert Superbike Middleweight and fourth in Expert Superbike Heavyweight. In his last race of the day, Expert Grand Prix Middleweight he had a mechanical issue and limped the bike to finish the race and try and salvage points.

Alan Slaney- Team Rider

“The bike seemed to be working extremely well, yet something seemed a bit off as my race times didn’t come down as much as I anticipated. Later to find out that my clutch had be slipping the entire day and finally gave out completely in my last race of the day on the launch for Expert Grand Prix Middleweight. Regardless, it was a spectacular day of racing and my overall 9th place in Florida CCS expert remains. We head to Daytona for Race of Champions, then into the final double points round at Homestead in December with a 100 point lead over the 10th place expert plate.I would like to thank Apex Race Services, TT Motorsports, Amsoil, Bell Helmets, Ballistik Race Apparel, Fuel clothing, RynoPower supplements, Pirelli tires, Spy, Renthal and all my friends and family for the support! You guys mean the world to me and I wouldn’t be able to do this without you!”

Tim Hunt – Owner Apex Race Services

“As always I am very proud of Alan. He did a great job at Palm Beach International Raceway this weekend. He continues to be a dynamic racer and part of our team. I greatly enjoy the battles we have on the track. We are honored to have him representing Apex Race Services/TT Motosport.”

For more about team and shop happenings visit our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/TTMotosportcom?ref=hl

Apex Race Services/TT Motosport is a Motorcycle Race and Services center based in Pompano Beach Florida.

In addition we run a full service race team complete with track services, coaching, crew chief and team support.

Take a few minutes to look over our site at www.ApexRaceServices.com for more information.

More, from a press release issued by Triple Threat Racing:

Triple Threat Racing’s Hunt and Mollak never off the box at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Triple Threat Racing’s Tim Hunt and Chase Mollak were victorious during the CCS races at Palm Beach International Raceway. Combined they had three wins, two seconds and four third-place finishes.

Expert Tim Hunt started off his Sunday with a podium in the highly contested Expert GTU race. The Expert Supersport Middleweight race started with the same cast of characters once again battling each other for the coveted three podium positions. As always with this group of fast experts who are so use to racing against each other it was exciting to watch with Hunt finishing in third place. Formula 40 is run as a one wave combined race with the middleweight gridding up one row behind the unlimited class. The green flag dropped and Hunt had a great start. As they all dove into turn one he found himself in the middle of a liter bike sandwich. He was hit on the right side and managed to stay up, but the bike that hit him went down and red flagged the race. Tim finished the Expert Middleweight Formula 40 off strong, not only being victorious in the middleweight class but finishing second overall, ahead of all but one liter bike. In his final race of the weekend, Expert Grand Prix Hunt brought home another podium finish, bringing his Yamaha YZF-R6 home in second place.

Amateur Chase Mollak spent the first five laps in the Amateur GTU race playing catch up after having to start from pit lane. It was quite the edge of your seat race for everyone watching as he made his way through the pack and on to the podium with a third place finish. He kept the podiums coming through the day with another third place finish in Amateur Supersport Middleweight. Chase battled his way to the top step with a win in Amateur Supersport Heavyweight. With his fourth race of the day, Chase secured another plaque for his collection with a third in Amateur Superbike Middleweight. Mollak was able to put himself and his Yamaha YZF-R6 on the top of the box in his final race that day with a win in Amateur Superbike Heavyweight.

Triple Threat would like to thank all of our sponsors for helping to make this such a successful weekend. MedAge, Dunlop Tires, Arai Helmets, Ohlins, Ballistik Motorcycle Apparel, GPR, Motul, Vortex, Motoheaven, Hel, Moto-D, CEPsports.com, H2Pro Hydrate, Fuel clothing, Apex Motorcycle and Race Services, TT Motosport and Ricks Pics, Rick Hentz. Also we would like to thank all of the people who stopped by our pits to wish us good luck. We appreciate your love and support!

Laura Ellis – Team Owner

“Once again , I’m extremely impressed with the multiple podiums for Triple Threat racing this past weekend! Tim Hunt on the 71 bike proving time and again that rider fitness is as important as riding technique and a well tuned bike as he competes with riders less than half his age. Both Tim and Chase Mollak work hard not only on the track but in the gym as well. Even more critical to their winning edge may be their dedication to good nutrition and race day hydration. Other racers will soon have an opportunity to learn their winning techniques at the Apex Race Services Rider Development Course in early November at Jennings GP. Credit to TTR’s many victories this weekend must also go to the hard working Apex Race Services crew members and to Crew Chief Cory Hunt. With our sights now set on Daytona, watch us for more wins!”

Tim Hunt – Team Rider and Owner Apex Race Services

“I am very happy we had such a great weekend. As usual the team gave me a great bike and support. All I had to do was go out there and ride. With the talent pool being so deep here in Florida, I was very happy to be on the podium in all of my races.Thank you to my crew chief and son Cory for doing such a super job. Thank you to all of our sponsors for your continued support. MedAge, Dunlop Tires, Arai Helmets, Ohlins, Ballistik Motorcycle Apparel, GPR, Motul, Vortex, Moto-heaven, Hel, CEPsports.com, H2Pro Hydrate, Fuel clothing”

Chase Mollak – Team Rider

“I had a great weekend at PBIR! I was happy with the results from all of my races. Thank you to Tim and Leigh Anna Hunt, Cory Hunt and Laura Ellis for always being there for me. I would like to thank my sponsors Triple Threat Racing, Apex Race Services, TT Motosport, Ballistik Motorcycle Apparel, Arai Helmets, Dunlop tires, MedAge, H2Pro Hydrate, Fuel, CEP sportswear.”

For more about team and shop happenings visit our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/197956323580663/

Apex Race Services/TT Motosport is a Motorcycle Race and Services center based in Pompano Beach Florida.

In addition we run a full service race team complete with track services, coaching, crew chief and team support.

Take a few minutes to look over our site at www.ApexRaceServices.com for more information.