MotoGP 2018 – Round 15
Thailand Race Results / Report
Chang International Circuit
Marc Marquez – P1
“Of course I’m very, very happy today because it’s the first time I’ve beaten Dovi in this way. We were very equal, and my strategy was to try and attack in order to open a gap and avoid having it come down to the last lap.
Thailand
“But Dovi had a very good pace and I was struggling with the front tyre, so I wasn’t able. Instead, I just tried to manage the tyres and stick to him. Honestly, I wasn’t so confident going into the final lap because I’ve lost many head-to-head finishes with him in the past.
“But this time, we swapped roles—I used Dovi’s style and Dovi used Marquez’s style!—and that worked to overtake him on the corner exit. It was a great feeling to race in front of all the Thai fans, who cheered and supported all of us riders equally, really enjoying the sport and making me feel good over the whole weekend. I’m really thankful to them.
“Now the first match ball will be in Japan, which is the most important race for Honda as it’s their only home Grand Prix. Of course we’ll try our best there, but if it’s not possible, the main target is still to achieve the title at some point.”
Andrea Dovizioso – P2
“I’m very happy with this second place, even though I lost out on the win right at the final corner. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much idea about Marquez’s strengths and weaknesses because I was almost always in the lead: I tried to counter his pass at Turn 5 but lost a bit of ground and even though I still managed to make up some at the final corner, I wasn’t close enough to pass him.
Thailand
“Pity, but for me this second place is worth more than the one in Aragón because on a track with these characteristics last year we would never have been able to fight for the win and so I’m satisfied with the improvements that we continue to make in every race. Together with my engineers, we always manage to understand something new, we’re working very well and now this gives us the chance of fighting for the win almost in every race.”
Maverick Vinales – P3
“I was stronger than I expected in the race. I got stuck behind Cal and fought a little with Valentino, and after that I felt really good. The bike was working well, so I’m very pleased about that. For sure I’m happy to finish so close to the top, to be on the podium, and to be able to recover nearly one second at the end, all under difficult conditions in which we used to suffer. I’m honestly very pleased, because the work we’ve done this weekend was done in a good way. It was hot and slippery, but we were still there, so we have to take this race in Thailand as an example and work even harder for the next race. I had a lot of confidence in the front, especially on braking. Let’s see if we can manage this again for the next races. If we can do it again in Japan, it will mean we have improved. It’s important to stay consistent, precise, and focused.”
Valentino Rossi – P4
“During this weekend we improved a lot. Unfortunately, I wasn’t strong enough for the podium, but it was still a much better race than we had at the last three or four rounds. I always stayed at the front, in all the sessions, I started from the front row – we were competitive, and it was a good weekend, but it’s still not enough. Our main rivals were a bit faster and we need to understand if this track helped us or if, in reality, we made a step.”
Thailand
Johann Zarco – P5
“It’s a track I like. The test has already been good in February. During the race weekend I was struggling, as I found it difficult to have a good pace, but in the race finally I was not that bad as I was thinking. I could enjoy it and was able to stick with the front, but still there was a gap in acceleration, so you need to compensate this, but when you try to catch them on the brake, you easily do a mistake and it was pretty difficult. I had to fight with Viñales in the beginning, but did a mistake and then I had to fight to catch back up. The pace was good. Then I saw Rins, I could push even more and overtook Crutchlow, plus Pedrosa crashed, so it was a tough race. It was difficult for me, but I think it was also difficult for them and at the end, I was fighting with Rins, who was in front of me. I was feeling good enough to catch him, but I knew that I had to stay focussed to don’t do any mistake. Finally, he went a little bit wide and I could go inside in corner nine to safe the fifth position. I’m pretty happy, because I’m not far from the winner and first independent is very good for the championship overall.”
Alex Rins – P6
“I pushed a lot from the beginning to try and reduce the gap to the front group and I lost a lot of time fighting with the other riders so I stressed a lot the tyre because I was pushing hard. Towards the end of the race I knew I needed to settle down and I realised I could take 5th or 6th which was not so bad. In the end I just lost the 5th place but it was not so bad and I’m quite happy. Things are going in a good way and we head to Japan next, which is a positive place for me and for the team.”
Cal Crutchlow – P7
“Today was a great spectacle and a good show again to be fighting at the front for some laps of the Grand Prix race. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep the pace of the front guys, I did my best, but after 15 laps I felt a big drop in the rear tyre which meant I was pushing the front tyre and the pressure went very high in the front of our bike. And I wasn’t able to manage the grip very well. Our team did a good job to give me a bike to be competitive this weekend, it was important for the championship points to finish the race and be there. It’s one of my worst finishes of the season – to be six seconds off the win and in seventh place is disappointing because I’ve been six seconds off and finished on the podium before in MotoGP. But now we look forward to the next three fly-aways, Honda’s home race in Japan, and we’ll try our best in them and I think the tracks will suit me better.”
Álvaro Bautista – P8
“We finish in Thailand with eighth place but just six seconds down on the winner, which is more important. It was about the start, when I touched with Morbidelli a few times and lost a lot of ground. For the rest of the race our lap times were competitive so let’s see if we can keep this going in the next races. Along with the team we made a step forward in Aragón and also here, with some fine tuning of the set-up, but we don’t have many more cards up our sleeve. To finish in the top ten is already a good result so let’s see what the next few races bring.”
Danilo Petrucci – P9
“It was a pretty difficult race for me. Unfortunately starting from the third row penalized me especially in the first laps. With this temperature, it was important to manage the race but I always had to push. In the end, I managed to pass both Iannone and Jack but I lost some points on Zarco and Crutchlow. The goal for Japan? The first thing is to do a good qualifying”.
Jack Miller – P10
“It was a good race and if I have to be honest I had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I struggled with the rear tyre right from the start, especially in the left-hand corners. Halfway through the race, I tried to get closer to the front group and then there was a good battle with Danilo, Iannone and Bautista. The temperature was really high: a good training for Malaysia”.
Andrea Iannone – P11
“I had a really bad start so I had to recover a lot as I lost many positions on the first few laps. This was really unfortunate because I had good pace but it was difficult after the start. In any case, I managed to get into the second group but it was really hard for me to overtake the other riders, especially on the braking zones. We look forward to going to Japan, it’s difficult to predict what will happen there, but usually it’s a positive track for us. We have speed and that is the most important thing.”
Hafizh Syahrin – P12
“I’m really happy to be back in the points. In the beginning of the weekend, FP1 until Qualifying, I was always in P18, so I felt a bit disappointed to myself, but I never gave up. I was really working hard with the team and they believed in me, which is what I needed. In the beginning of the race, my bike was overheating. The oil temperature was too hot and I didn’t feel the power of the bike. I tried to understand and try to think what I can do, so I decided not to use any slipstream because the bike was so hot. So, I first passed Nakagami and thought I can catch up with Morbidelli, I passed him and then I tried to keep the rhythm. I was really consistent. But still, I need to work hard in the next rounds and try to get closer to Morbidelli again. Now we made two points on him, but it’s still five to go, so we have to try to be in front of him for the rest of the season. Now we start to believe in our capacity, the bike worked well, I chose the right tyre and overall, we were working very well. I’m truly happy.”
Aleix Espargaro’ – P13
“The soft tyre, in my opinion, was the best possible choice today. I discussed it at length yesterday with the team and with the Michelin technicians. There were some doubts on duration and, on the final laps, I actually did prefer to maintain my position without risking. In any case, I think that I achieved as much as was possible today on this track that is definitely one of the most difficult on the calendar for us. Thirteenth place and two points cannot be fully satisfying. We need to improve, and we are well aware of our weak points.”
Franco Morbidelli – P14
“The race was very difficult because I struggled from the beginning with top speed and in the group I wasn’t able to brake as deep as I wanted. It was not easy get back into the points so I limited the damage and scored two valuable points.”
Bradley Smith – P15
“It was a bit like Aragon where we had good one lap pace with the soft tyres but in the race with the Hard option we are struggling a little bit more. Again I had a good start and reached P10 in the beginning. I learned from being around the other guys and we seem to be having the same problems. It will be good to make some more analysis this week and before we go to Japan. I think we will be able to find some conclusions and answers. I had a fun little battle with Scott (Redding) in the final laps and it was strange to be fighting so hard for the last point but that’s how competitive it is inside MotoGP at the moment; it is not easy to get that point. Japan next and we know it is a hard braking track and we have a lot of acceleration so we need to set up the bike in the right way. It’s a track I like with high-grip so I hope we might be able to use some of the softer compounds there.”
Scott Redding – P16
“To be honest, I am happy with the race today. On the first turn I didn’t took any particularly high risk, maintaining my usual braking point, but I managed to close the line well and immediately gain a few positions. Overall, the bike worked well today. I didn’t have any particular difficulties, despite the truly demanding conditions. We struggled in qualifying, but this morning in the Warm Up session we managed to find an improvement which will hopefully help me in the upcoming races as well.”
Karel Abraham – P17
“With the heat reflection from the ground it was horribly, horribly hot out there. Normally I don’t use the drinking system but luckily this race I did. In the race I think my start was very good, but unfortunately from the warm up this morning we had an issue with the front end shaking at the end of the straight and this makes the braking pads loose and when you go for the brakes there is nothing there, so you have to pump the brakes. It caught me by surprise a couple of times and I ran completely wide, fortunately not into the gravel but off the track, and I lost a lot. I lost contact with the group around me and then I was behind Pol and every time I got behind him to maybe make a pass I had the shake and had to roll off the throttle. I stayed in contact with him and in the last part of the race I think he had a technical problem because he waved me past. That was the most difficult part of the race because I had eight or ten laps riding on my own. The front was locking but I had to keep pushing to stay clear of the guys behind me, so mentally it was difficult and of course physically too. I was really happy to see the chequered flag. We finished the race and take the experience to Japan. We go there in a good mood to fight for the points.”
Xavier Simeon – P18
“First of all, I have to admit that I did a bad start once again and I was not able to attack in the first few corners as I would have like to. But apart of that, the race was not so bad. I tried to keep a constant and fast rhythm, only that the rear tyre consumption on the left flank was more excessive than we expected and it was hard to manage tyre grip until the end. Nevertheless, I think the team did a great job over the weekend and we were able to take a big step. We couldn’t fight for points, because starting from the back always makes this a difficult task. But overall the weekend was quite positive and I think this was my best race so far this season.”
Jordi Torres – P19
“I think that the race was okay, because I was able to finish a really hard race in scorching hot conditions, with tyres that are vey different to the ones I’m used to and that wear in a completely different way. But more than anything, I had to learn how to manage fuel consumption, changing the engine mappings when I was signalled to do so from the pits, and to be smoother with the throttle…there were many new things and therefore, I wasn’t riding as smoothly as I would have liked to. I didn’t ride according to my talent, instead I was riding in a programmed way. As far as everything else goes,the race was okay, I managed to show my front wheel to a couple of other riders, which had been my plan, and later I was able to hunt Xavi and get close to him. I just didn’t have the courage to show him my wheel as well.”
Tom Luthi – P20
“It is pity because I made big mistake at the beginning and that destroyed my race. I had a big moment after turn three on the first lap, the bike was out of control on the brakes and difficult to stop I was on the grass and in last position. Then I lost six seconds avoiding the Taka Nakagami crash so with my race gone I just continued on to try and understand the bike more. It was good physical workout in these hot conditions.”
Pol Espargaro – P21
“I arrived to the first corner and made a small mistake under braking but then I started to find my rhythm and was catching the group ahead with my teammate and brother. I reached a point where I was finished and could not push anymore. It was quite a good comeback. For sure I’m not happy with the result but it is good to be back and in Japan I think I will be close to 100%.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P22
“Of course I’m disappointed, unfortunately there were some easy mistakes. I made a mistake on the brakes in the last corner and was too fast into the apex and lost grip. I lost the front and crashed, after that I rejoined and just tried to finish the race. It was difficult because after the crash the handlebar was not in the correct position and the foot peg was not where it is normally. All I could do was finish the race, I’m really sorry to the team. Let’s focus on my home GP in two weeks and I’ll never stop trying to improve.”
Dani Pedrosa – DNF
“Today’s result was a very disappointing one as we had a real chance to fight for the podium. I lost the front when I was pushing hard and getting closer to the front. I hit a bump and couldn’t save it. The crucial moment was the start, as first I had an issue with the clutch and soon after that, Miller took the inside into the corner too fast and pushed us both wide so that we lost ground. As we had all been forced to use the hard rear, I struggled to warm the tyres up over the first three laps, and I didn’t have good grip. It took a while to get into a fast rhythm. The positive thing is that we had a strong race after that, catching the front group. We had a good chance but we didn’t make it. Hopefully the next race will be better.”
Team Managers
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
“It was great to see both Maverick and Vale fight at the front in today’s race. It has been a positive GP weekend for both, especially considering the challenges we faced previously at this circuit and also in the previous round. The team pulled through and has done a great job. Maverick took a good third place, with Valentino not far behind in fourth. It’s a shame our strong pace couldn’t be rewarded by having our two riders on the podium after such a strong weekend by both of them, but we can be satisfied about the step we made. This is a good confidence boost before the usual overseas triple-header without a break in between the rounds, which starts in two weeks. The first one up is the race in Japan, which of course is another important round for Yamaha as it’s our home GP. It will be crucial to keep the momentum we gained this weekend going during this busy period.”
Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 Yamaha Team Manager
“What a race here in Buriram for the Thai Grand Prix! After what we saw in Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP, I really wouldn’t understand if the Thai crowd doesn’t love this sport. I think it was an incredible day, an incredible and mad crowd, which is an unbelievable feeling. For Monster Yamaha Tech3, we didn’t really know what to expect here. There was a lot of concern about the track conditions, the heat on the track and the tyre was a bit of a worry for everyone. Johann bravely decided to take a medium front, which was the softer option compared to most of his opponents and at the end of the race that paid off. The lap time never dropped. He had a great start, was right in front with the group, unfortunately he had a little bit of a moment touching Maverick (Viñales) in turn one, where he lost a full second on the leading group and then slowly by slowly, him, Dani (Pedrosa) and Alex (Rins) caught back on the front, but Johann was behind. Then Dani made a mistake and you could see that he was clearly closing. Cal (Crutchlow) was slowing down and finally we didn’t know if we could have the possibility to pass Alex in the last sector of the last lap, but he made it. A top 5 is an unbelievable result, very close to the leaders and Yamaha was in three, four and five, so we were right behind the factory guys, plus the best independent rider, which is quite a lot time it didn’t happen and the independent championship between Johann, Cal and Danilo (Petrucci) is very close. It’s really exciting and I’m very happy for Johann and the whole team as well, because recently we went through some tough times and we know that a positive result brings a lot of positive spirit and a lot of the result is in the rider’s mind. So, Johann is leaving Thailand for a week off before Japan with a positive frame of mind, which is very important. On the other side of the garage, Hafizh had a bad start, but showed an unbelievable recovery. He was lapping really fast, I was impressed. He decided to go hard – hard like the big boys and made it work. He passed all of his main opponents and just to die on the rear wheel of Andrea Iannone. His race was honestly one of the best the whole year. It was a bit of struggle in Misano and Aragon and we didn’t know what to expect, but he showed us that we shouldn’t worry about the future. He’s learning a lot, his physical condition was great and without a small technical issue on his equipment I think there was a small possibility to end up ahead of Iannone. At the end of the day we are happy, our two guys made a great race and also very big congratulations to Hafizh and the entire Monster Yamaha Tech3 crew. Now we have one week before Japan, but if the show is the same there, it’s going to be another exciting week. Meanwhile, we are packing as happy guys.”
Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager
“After a very positive race in Aragon, I have to say this race was slightly disappointing. Alex was able to get within the top group, and despite his start position not being good, his pace was good. Finally he lost 5th place on the last lap and that was a pity, but he did well. Andrea didn’t get a very good start and lost some positions, and with this race being a very tight one and everybody so close on times, it was very difficult to overtake. Andrea’s pace this weekend has been very good but unfortunately we couldn’t turn it into a great result. The next round is Motegi, our home race, so we’ll check the data from here and try to come back stronger there.”
Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager
“As we expected, it was quite a tough race and Alex managed it well. But unfortunately I think we paid the price with our starting position because he had to push harder than the others at the beginning of the race, so at the end of the race his tyres were more stressed. But he took a Top 6 with good overtaking maneuvers and good recovery from grid and clever tyre management despite having to push from the start. Andrea struggled more and he also had to stress the tyres due to a difficult start, so by the end he had less capability to fight and stay close to the front and he finished in 11th. We knew it would be a difficult race and we’ve come out of it OK, so we look forward to Japan and hope to continue our positive trend.”
Mike Leitner – KTM Team Manager MotoGP
“We missed Pol here during the two day test in the spring and this was not great for our development: we felt that this weekend. Bradley had some acceptable sessions in practice and had a good race: 23 seconds behind the winner is not a disaster but of course everybody wants more. For Pol he was good in the morning with the lap-time but we knew it would be hard for him to ‘survive’ for long in these hot conditions and he did well for three-quarters before he couldn’t push anymore. I think he has to look forward to Japan and hopefully we will have two fit riders there where we can work towards a better result.”
Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager
“This has been a very complex and demanding weekend. The tyres have been under immense stress due to the very high temperatures we have had here this weekend. When we came for the test we were told it would be wet and cooler for the race, so we decided on the range of tyres accordingly, but it has been the complete opposite. The riders tried the whole choice of tyres throughout the practice sessions and we thoroughly analysed the performance and durability of all compounds and we gave advice to all teams and riders – as we do at every race – as to what our recommendation was. This guidance to use the hard rear proved to be the correct one as the race was exciting with consistent lap-times and a great battle between Marc and Andrea at the end. The tyres performed well all race and despite the intense heat and the excessive spinning this caused on an abrasive track, we are happy with the overall performance. It is never easy to decide on tyres so far in advance, especially for a track we haven’t raced at before, but with the data from this year we will certainly be in a stronger position to decide on the allocation for Buriram before the start of next season. I would like to congratulate the organisers for such a good event, it has been a pleasure to come to race in Thailand for the first time, the people have been great and today was a superb atmosphere, we are already looking forward to coming back next year! Finally. I’d also like to say thank-you to all the teams and riders for listening to our advice and taking the appropriate action to make the first visit here such a positive experience.”
Thailand
MotoGP 2018 – Thailand Race Results
- MARQUEZ Marc SPA Repsol Honda Team 39’55.722
- DOVIZIOSO Andrea ITA Ducati Team 0.115
- VINALES Maverick SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 0.270
- ROSSI Valentino ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1.564
- ZARCO Johann FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2.747
- RINS Alex SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar 3.023
- CRUTCHLOW Cal GBR LCR Honda 6.520
- BAUTISTA Alvaro SPA Angel Nieto Team 6.691
- PETRUCCI Danilo ITA Alma Pramac Racing 9.944
- MILLER Jack AUS Alma Pramac Racing 11.077
- IANNONE Andrea ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar 15.488
- SYAHRIN Hafizh MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 17.691
- ESPARGARO Aleix SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 21.413
- MORBIDELLI Franco ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS 22.802
- SMITH Bradley GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 23.628
- REDDING Scott GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 23.804
- ABRAHAM Karel CZE Angel Nieto Team 32.507
- SIMEON Xavier BEL Reale Avintia Racing 37.216
- TORRES Jordi SPA Reale Avintia Racing 39.204
- LUTHI Tom SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS 39.421
- ESPARGARO Pol SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 53.388
- NAKAGAMI Takaaki JPN LCR Honda 2 laps
- PEDROSA Dani SPA Repsol Honda Team 8 laps
MARQUEZ Marc SPA Repsol Honda Team 39’55.722
DOVIZIOSO Andrea ITA Ducati Team 0.115
VINALES Maverick SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 0.270
MotoGP 2018 – Thailand Race Results
MotoGP Championship
A seventh win of the season draws Marquez level with the absent Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) on 68 Grand Prix wins, while it also gives him a magnificent chance to wrap the title up at Honda’s home round – Motegi. The 2017 Japanese GP was the scene of another iconic Marquez vs Dovizioso tussle…will we be treated to another sensational spectacle in two weeks’ time?
MotoGP 2018 – Thailand – Championship Standings
- Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 271
- Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 194
- Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 172
- Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 146
- Jorge LORENZO Ducati SPA 130
- Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR 128
- Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati ITA 126
- Johann ZARCO Yamaha FRA 123
- Andrea IANNONE Suzuki ITA 113
- Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 102
- Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 87
- Jack MILLER Ducati AUS 74
- Alvaro BAUTISTA Ducati SPA 72
- Tito RABAT Ducati SPA 35
- Franco MORBIDELLI Honda ITA 33
- Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 32
- Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA 32
- Hafizh SYAHRIN Yamaha MAL 28
- Bradley SMITH KTM GBR 19
- Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN 18
- Scott REDDING Aprilia GBR 12
- Mika KALLIO KTM FIN 6
- Karel ABRAHAM Ducati CZE 5
- Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 1
