Riders reflect on Misano MotoGP

MotoGP Round 13 Misano

Marc Marquez – P1

“Honestly speaking, I knew it wasn’t necessary to win because I saw that Rins was out and Dovizioso was far from us but I had some extra motivation. I just tried to stay with Fabio as close as I could and in the end I was weighing up whether to try or not. On the last lap I decided to go. I knew Fabio was very fast in Sector 3, so I made my move before that and closed the corner as much as I could. Fabio rode a very strong race today. I raced as smart as I could and in the end it is nice to win in Italy, but even nicer to have 93 points of advantage.”

Fabio Quartararo – P2

“I can only be happy about the result. We led the race until almost the end, but I knew Marc would try something on the last lap because he’s been fast all weekend. I was able to pass him back when he did, but I just went a little bit wide when he overtook me for a second time. I was faster than him in turn 11 and I fought until the end, but we had to settle for second. He had better grip at the end in one side of his tyres but I had an advantage on the right side, which is something to be proud of because it means I’m learning how to manage them. I gave it my all, but Marc has more experience in last lap battles and today he was able to use it all. It’s the first time I’ve even able to fight with him, and to be able to have battled with a seven-time World Champion is the best moment of my career so far.”

Maverick Viñales – P3

“I’m really happy because it was just about 1.5s to the top. We‘re getting closer at every race and we‘re trying to understand how we can be better, faster, and more consistent. This was a race in which the tarmac was very slippery, and I was there fighting for a top position. We need to keep working. We‘re starting to understand many things, but it‘s not enough yet. I have to improve, but I‘m gaining confidence in the races. Up next is Aragon, which is a track I really love and where I always feel like I can go fast. Yamaha is going in the right direction. In Silverstone Yamaha was also pretty strong. If Fabio hadn‘t crashed, for sure we would both have been close to getting the victory there. So, we‘re getting better every race. Especially on my side, I have to make another step, but we‘re going to make it. We‘re on our way and I really feel like we have the potential to fight for the victory.”

Valentino Rossi – P4

“I was hoping to fight for the podium, because it would have been beautiful to hear the cheers from my fans from up there, but the race went more or less as I expected. Maybe I expected Maverick to be a bit faster and Quartararo to be a bit slower, but anyway the three in front of me had a better pace. I knew there were two or three points on the track where I was going to lose some time. We tried to fix that problem during the weekend, but unfortunately we didn’t succeed. I started from seventh and it was hard: I could overtake Dovi but then I was passed by Rins. I struggled to overtake Franco because always at the point that I was going to do it, he was riding really well. I knew overtaking was going to be hard at this track, and so it was. Anyway, my pace was not as fast as the riders in front and even without the KTM in front, it would have been difficult to stay close to them. Since we‘ve restarted the championship after the summer break, we have changed many things on the bike, but I think this is our potential at this moment. The three in front today were faster, especially in the corner exits and that‘s where we are still missing something.”

Franco Morbidelli – P5

“I’m very happy about the result. We were very fast all weekend and had a good feeling with the bike, but unfortunately in the race the track temperature made the grip a little bit worse than in practice and I had to slow down a little to bring it home safely. All the Yamahas were fast in Misano but it wasn’t like that last year, so it seems like we’ve improved and hopefully we can carry that mojo forward to next weekend too. To take a top five in front of this huge home crowd was something very special, and it was a pleasant coincidence that it was my 100th Grand Prix too. I still remember my first race in Misano as a wildcard in 2013; it feels like it was yesterday, but I would have never thought then that I’d be here today on such a good bike with such a good team fighting for top fives in MotoGP.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P6

It was a difficult race, as we had expected. We all suffered because of the very little grip, especially at the front, and it was really difficult to push hard. Pity about the sixth place, because when I managed to catch Rossi and Morbidelli, who were fighting for fourth, there weren’t the right conditions to try and attack without making mistakes. However, I’m pleased with the work we’ve done this weekend, because on Friday our gap was a really big one and we managed to improve the situation for the race a lot.”

Pol Espargaro – P7

“We started 2nd and we fought top six-seven: we had a great weekend and we must be very proud. There are good riders and such good bikes that you need to go on the limit every single lap. At the moment I am controlling it quite well and I am finishing every race which is very important for the championship. We had good corner speed here but I was losing it all in Turns 3, 8 and 10 with [Andrea] Dovi and 11 with [Franco] Morbidelli. It was not much. Just two tenths per lap: almost nothing but in the end it makes a difference. I’m looking forward to jumping on the bike again and when you finish a race with that feeling then you want to start right away.”

Joan Mir – P8

“My goal today was to finish the race with a good feeling, after my recovery and the time off the bike. I didn’t feel completely comfortable with my bike settings this weekend, but we worked hard, and we were able to close the gap to the others a bit. In the end, 8th isn’t a bad result especially given that this track hasn’t really suited us. It feels good to be back, and I’m really looking forward to next weekend – Aragon is one of my favourite circuits!”

Danilo Petrucci – P10

“For sure it was a very hard race for me. Yesterday my qualifying was very difficult and so today I had a lot of positions to make up. I really did my maximum today, but unfortunately the lack of grip didn’t allow me to be very quick. In the end I managed to finish in tenth place and the only positive aspect of the weekend is that I’m back in third place in the overall standings ahead of Rins.”

Johann Zarco – P11

“The beginning of the race was complicated because of the Medium rear. It took six laps before it was really ready and I could feel comfortable. It is always better to have a bit more consistency than to feel better at the beginning and then drop away from the pace at the end. Step by step I was faster. I could maybe overtake riders but when I was ready to do it they were crashing in front of me! So I had this advantage to gain positions. Silverstone; I could not finish. I had the satisfaction here to see the chequered flag. We will have a few days rest now but then back to work at Aragon and that’s the best solution to keep fit.”

Aleix Espargaro – P12

“It was a difficult race. I knew that I would struggle. The grip was extremely poor and in these conditions we are unable to give our best. Plus, I did not have the best start, losing a couple of positions straight away that I tried to recover in the early laps. Once I caught Zarco, my goal was to overtake him, but despite making up ground in the braking sections, the acceleration did not allow me to maintain a faster pace than his, so in the end I settled for twelfth.”

Tito Rabat – P13

“It was a hard weekend as we started last after the issue we had in qualifying. I managed to do a great start, recovering positions and I could do a decent race and achieving 3 points, which makes me feel happy. It’s true that we got in Top 15 but I believe we still need to do a step forward”.

Jorge Lorenzo – P14

“If in Silverstone we were able to exceed our expectations, unfortunately today we weren’t able to do this and honestly I was expecting a little more. I was expecting my pace to be closer to the winner, maybe 1.5 seconds but in reality it was more. But my physical condition was better after the race and during practice we were able to be closer than before – this is a positive. The grip dropped for the race and I don’t think this helped us. I’m looking forward to Aragon to be able to push more physically and train harder as my condition improves.”

Hafizh Syahrin – P15

“I don’t know why but I had a strange feeling during all the race and I’m really sorry for the whole team to be unable to do a decent race. Anyway, I need to keep my head up and continue to work hard. We are motivated to do better next week!”

Miguel Oliveira – P16

“It has been a hard race as we predicted. It was a shame that I crashed in the beginning. There is not much I can say. It’s a real pity because we were again matching our target, which was the points. We could have been quite competitive in the race but to manage the front tyre in the heat, was difficult, therefore, I couldn’t avoid the crash. When I picked up the bike again, I also had a good pace, so it’s disappointing. We carry on our work next week in Aragon.”

Karel Abraham – P17

“It was a very hard race since I’ve been feeling sick for the last days and, even if I had antibiotics, I didn’t get much better really. After a few laps, I just could not follow the group, I felt like I had no strength at all. Unfortunately, we have another race next week and I won’t have much time to recover, but I’ll try to get there as fit as possible.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P18

“As soon as the race started I saw a warning about the front tyre on the right hand side. I was in a group behind Joan Mir, looking for an overtaking opportunity, but with this warning on the front I couldn’t keep the pace. I knew I was going to crash (if I kept pushing), but I didn’t want to slow down. I was trying to take care of the right side, but then I had the crash. I’m very sorry to the team as this weekend many people came to support us. Unfortunately, Cal crashed also, so I’m not happy for the team or myself, but it’s happened and now we must look at the data and focus on the next GP.”

Alex Rins – DNF

“It was a bad day in the office for us because of the crash. I suffered a bit during the whole weekend, everyone struggled a bit because the track wasn’t very grippy. At the start I made up some places, but then I couldn’t get past Pol for many laps because he is a very hard braker and the KTM had a strong acceleration. After I passed him I tried to enter corner 4 smoothly to keep a good cornering speed but for this reason unfortunately I lost the front. It was a shame, because I lost some points. But I’m really pleased that Aragon is coming up very soon, I like it there and last year I had a good result.”

Cal Crutchlow – DNF

“To crash out of a bad position way too far off the lead is never good. I didn’t have a good feeling (with the bike) in the test and didn’t have a good feeling all weekend here and that’s the reality of the situation. I didn’t think I would crash at that corner or in the race at all, I felt I could manage it until the end of the race so it was a bit of a shock to crash, even though I was going slow. In general, I just didn’t feel good with the bike this weekend and we need to improve for Aragon.”

Michele Pirro – DNF

“After the start, I suffered a bit in the first few corners, and then tried to recover and I passed Danilo because I was a bit faster than he was. I was trying to keep the pace of the other riders, but six laps before the end I lost the front at Turn 14. It was just a banal little crash, which caused virtually no damage to the bike, but in the incident I felt the pain in my leg, which I injured while training with a motocross bike, flare up again and I had to stop. I feel bad about it because once again I could have finished inside the top 10, like at Mugello.”

Pecco Bagnaia – DNF

“We did not expect to encounter so many difficulties after the tests and free practice. We struggled a lot because the feeling with the front tire was not good. I’m sorry for the team and for my fans but we will try again with determination in Aragon.”

Team Managers

Razlan Razali – Petronas Yamaha SRT Team Principal

“The podiums from both Fabio in MotoGP and John in Moto3 were great results, especially for John coming from far back on the grid to fight for the win. For Fabio to lead for so many laps and fight head-on with Marc Marquez is just incredible too. Franky can be happy with fifth too, when you look at all the factory bikes that were behind him. It was a strong weekend for Yamaha, and hopefully it’s the beginning of something and the first win isn’t far away. It was an unfortunate day for Ayumu, and for Adam it was just the initial part of the learning curve. For sure we’re happy with what we’ve achieved, but we can’t hide the fact that we’re a little disappointed to be so close to our first win in MotoGP but missing out on the final lap.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Petronas Yamaha SRT Team Manager

“It was a weekend of fantastic emotion, after having a race like today and battling with Marc Marquez for the victory on the last lap. It’s something for us to be very proud of, but we also need to say chapeau to Marc to be still fighting like this when he’s battling for a championship. It was a good fair fight and I hope that Marc has plenty more challenges like it from Fabio in the future. Franky also did a terrific job with fifth at home, and it’s great to see him line up in his 100th Grand Prix for us. We’re delighted with the teamwork this weekend; we’re leaving as a happy family!”

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“We had hoped to be part of the fight for the victory today, but unfortunately we came just short. Maverick had a good start, but then he felt uncomfortable with the front. It took him a while to regroup. However, he showed great pace, even better than the race leaders at times. In the last five laps he was really starting to come close, but it wasn‘t enough. But he did take the best result that was possible for him today and a second consecutive podium is encouraging. Valentino had the challenge to start from the third row, which is never an easy place to be in, but it‘s especially tricky considering how tight the first corners are here in Misano. He managed well and throughout the race he climbed up to fourth, for which he had to push until the very end of the 27 laps. We really had hoped to also have him on the podium, especially here in front of his fans. He also came close at the races in Austria and the UK, so we need to keep working, because our goal is to have both riders fighting for the win and on the podium. We have another opportunity coming our way shortly. We now all travel to Aragon for round 14 on next Sunday.”

Mike Leitner – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“The weekend was great for us. We made a clear step with our bike again with both riders in Q2 and Pol in particular made an amazing lap; our first front row start in the dry. Since Brno we have been pushing hard to bring new parts to improve the lap-time and it looks like we reached a step here in Misano. When we checked the data from the long-runs it was realistic that we’d finish between 6th-8th today and we did it. We’re really happy with another single-digit result and this was our target: to get inside the top ten. Our competitors get stronger, the bikes also and the riders are very strong in this top group but we fought with [Alex] Rins who won the last GP and also with [Andrea] Dovizioso who is right up there in the championship. I think we should be proud. There are people in the company pushing hard and we are going in the right direction. A mention also for Johann coming back from that crash in warm-up and also Hafizh taking points for the second race in a row. It is a pity that Miguel crashed but he kept going and could finish the race. We now focus on next weekend.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“It was a tough race for Alex, and he wasn’t really able to show his capabilities here. We need to check exactly what happened today, and then look ahead and start preparing for the next race, which is next weekend in Aragon. We hope he can be strong again there. Joan did a really good job today, and he made a nice comeback, we’re really pleased for him. Although we’re satisfied with Joan’s position, we hope both riders will do better in Spain next weekend.”

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“Joan did a good job today, we wanted a solid and steady race for him as a comeback, and he achieved that. He qualified well and converted it into a nice 8th place, with good race pace. We want to use this as a starting point for getting more good results with him and building on his success and experience before the end of the season. It was a pity for Alex today, he crashed, and he suffered with the front end a bit. This is racing sometimes and there’s nothing we can do about it. We’re just looking forward to Aragon where we hope to do really well.”

Hervé Poncharal – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“We ended up the weekend as we started it, too far back. We knew it was going to be difficult for Miguel due to his physical condition and injury sustained in Silverstone. We still had a few flashes of hope, but although the start was ok, the crash ended the weekend on a sad note. There was clearly, I think four, five points available there, but you need to stay on the wheels. So, thanks to Miguel to have spent the whole weekend trying although you were in pain. Thanks for getting back on the bike after the crash, because it was a brave attitude, but it’s a bit of a pity after the positive Austria and UK feeling, that we are back to where we were before the summer break, which is at the back of the field, so let’s hope Miguel’s feeling will be better in Aragon. Hafizh did a steady race, got a point, which is a reward for the whole Red Bull KTM Tech3 team, but he was very far down on pace. We have to have something to be positive, so we take the point to cheer, but the feeling is not very exciting. We are going to pack and drive directly to Aragon, where we hope things will be better.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin

“This has been a very demanding weekend for all concerned. We knew that track conditions were difficult after the test here last month, but we hoped that with more rubber on them during a race weekend from all classes they would improve, unfortunately they didn’t and it made it difficult for all concerned. I want to thank all of the Michelin Technicians for their dedication and hard-work this weekend, it was not easy and they all did a great job. I also want to thank the riders for pushing as hard as they did and putting their faith in the Michelin rubber despite the difficult surface. We will take a lot of information from this weekend and that will help in making the decision on what compounds we bring next year. We now head to Aragon in Spain and the Michelin Grand Prix; this is a track that needs special attention and we will have a range of tyres that will be very competitive and will give us the opportunity to push for fast lap times. MotoE produced two very exciting races and again showed how racing from sustainable energy is a very positive and enjoyable form of competition. The tyres worked very well considering the conditions, especially in the second race on Sunday morning when the track temperature was a bit lower. We are pleased to be associated with this series and look forward to the final races at Valencia, the title is still wide open and we will give the riders tyres that will suit the circuit and the bikes so they can push to the limit.”